Morbid_Corvid

joined 2 years ago
[–] Morbid_Corvid@ttrpg.network 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Makes sense if there's one nation that dominates economically and/or diplomatically. Like English today, IRL.

Though, if one group does not have such a strong influence, you'd probably end up with something like the "Lingua Franca," a mix of multiple languages spoken by the most relevant nations (IRL, in Renaissance Western Europe that was a mix of Italian, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, etc.)

So Common may not be a proper language at all, but instead be a creole/pidgin of all the other big ones. So characters hearing a language they do not speak might still catch words here and there allowing them to decipher the gist of what was said. Also, Common would most likely be spoken in more metropolitan areas. A backwoods farming town may only really speak their native tongue, save for the mayor or merchants.

[–] Morbid_Corvid@ttrpg.network 17 points 2 years ago

"Merge finances" aka combine the family jewels.

[–] Morbid_Corvid@ttrpg.network 1 points 2 years ago

I don't really get to play much these days. But I'm currently reading Fléaux! to help me flesh out the Black Sword Hack campaign I'm planning.

[–] Morbid_Corvid@ttrpg.network 1 points 2 years ago

Wow, that is a substantial update! Looks good!

[–] Morbid_Corvid@ttrpg.network 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Off the top of my head, here are some I haven't seen mentioned yet:

I've only flipped through the rules, but I believe Call of Cthulhu (and by extension, it's derivatives) has degrees of success/failure.

Mutants and Masterminds has it too.

Systems with a single d6 resolution mechanic tend to have it as well (like Freeform Universal and Neon City Overdrive.)

Some systems, like Black Sword Hack don't really have degrees of success/failure, but a near success can be ruled a "yes, but" at the GM's discretion.

[–] Morbid_Corvid@ttrpg.network 3 points 2 years ago

I suppose I see it as a flaw because it generally goes underutilized. It's a cool mechanic, but only 1/3rd of it gets any regular use.

[–] Morbid_Corvid@ttrpg.network 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Thanks, you make some good points.

Upon reflection, I do tend to approach the game with more combat than it's designed for as my players love combat. And the general lack of dex and wil/cha attacks from sample foes in the various games just exacerbates the issue for me.

I like the Wil damage from casting spells in Mausritter. (If I remember correctly, Into the Dungeon: Revived does it as well.) It makes casting more high-stakes, which is something I love in a game. To me, magic should be scary, even to the one weilding it.

 

Hey all, games like Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland, Mausritter, Cairn, etc. All use Chris McDowall's elegant 'stats as health' concept.

It's a great concept: It keeps the character sheet compact, and links a character's prowess to their condition which is very immersive.

However, there's a flaw in this system I cannot ignore: Strength is by far the most important Stat as almost all attacks target a character's Strength. As a result Dexterity and Will/Charisma damage rarely comes into play.

Whenever possible, I try to apply Dex damage from attacks, traps or poisons that hinder movement, or Wil/Cha damage from spells or poisons that don't affect the target physically, but that's just a houserule and it's not always easy to come up with immersive reasons a foe would have these abilities.

How do you get around that at your table? What are your most common ways of targeting these stats?