Re: (TFT) Polyhedral Weapon Heresy

[Jay Carlisle <maou.tsaou@gmail.com>]

Again, what is 1 point of any of this stuff?

That is fundamentally, foremost, and above all the alpha a numero uno
reason one we ended up with psue sue sudio or howeverinthehellyouspellit
instead of a glimpse of the dark side once we lost the band leader... god
damn remote controls, but that's another matter isn't?
To give a go at putting me into english I'm asking what is being tweeked
when there's no objective definition of what a single point of damage is
supposed to represent? Jay?
I use these values to tie it down

1pt ST = 5.5 foot pounds

1pt DX = 1 second / DX

1pt IQ = 2 seconds / IQ

The figure for ST is used as a measure of force or work and DX and IQ are
used as units of time, fundamentally as a measure of the duration between
the physical initiation of two Actions in the case of DX and the frequency
of perceptual moments mentally for IQ at a resolution of one tenth of one
second. It gives a few base units that can then Scale up to help build
CRT's and can be modified to represent training, Talents, tools... without
some objective definitions of what the first unit is supposed to represent
its all a bit up in the air so I tacked it down told Dorthy to get down in
the cellar and am off to climb the mast and Lt Dan a bit till I remember
I've got legs... it one of those screwtape subjects really, delicious fun
in small doses but a bit crazymaking as a focus. I prefer constructive play
to destructive in stand alone settings and my ruthers is a strong mix of
the two. I've come to feel that the tabletop RPG is a medium
of communicative expression that differentiates itself from other
storytelling forms in its elevation of the audience from a passive to an
active role in the imaginative process. Rules are ideally paired with
components such that the information provided by the rule supports the
components use in a mannar such that as a new Player goes through the
mechanics of play the rules become "picked up" and the text becomes
generally unnecessary but FRP is the meta top of games mountain so to speak
and has some heftier information loads to carry on top off its social
functions as an objective authority that serves to help arbitrate
disagreements and provide an orderly flow of purpose and organization to
play proceedings. In the end though that's all just support for the heart
of the thing which is what goes on around the table in play and that should
be focused on the strength of this medium particularly which is that shared
imaginative creation that results in stories business that gets all mucked
up when I don't know what 1 point of damage means... the information age
however currently renders the Guniess barroom argument arbitrator approach
of the 70's obsolete and illustrations are not rules either along with
contents listings, indexes, or background stuff (examples of play get a
pass) but without objective definition it's the bloody geometric point all
over again for me. Anyway, the rest of the damage problem stems from that
walmart hodgepodge that glorious wtf AD&D gave us (which TFT "corrects"
kindda flipping the turn order on its head... an old DMG theory I dig)
which mixes time periods, materials, and techniques into a list that I'm
not sure in fact of a collection in the world that could currently or ever
match it, not that I've bothered to look, but weapons are tools and some
got very specialized in design for use in mass or as an answer to some
specific advance in equipment or tactics of an enemy but that's all lost.
Some good measurements and the things got a psudo-phase system to it I
recall though and... well I'm here aren't I? Gateway game. So that's yet
another try at getting a Jay into english translation of why I think this
stuff is important. Without it we're like movie directors with no hardware
support all cobbeling together our own cammers and formats, nobodys stuff
plays well on other peoples equipment... So this is an attempt to offer a
kindda freeware camera for any interested game organizational directors who
might want to cross pollinate their creations Amber style say or wars in
heaven, that kind of thing. What happens when two "brains" collide in the
multiverse? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZujuYiweht8
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