> > > and only slightly "put one foot in front of the other".
> >
> > ... but disagree with this. I have found that it's VERY MUCH
> > keeping on putting one foot in front of the other ...
>
> Note that "keeping on" - that's the dicipline part. The mechanics of
> putting one foot in front of the other is pretty basic. :-)
Not what I've found ... ;-)
I actually put one foot in front of the other far more skillfully than before, frex making sure I put it there so as to cause the minimum amount of rebound, and placing the balls of my feet so as to get maximum available grip, and the best possible ratio between great muscular efficiency and small muscular stress.
And I move about the house (any house, not having lived in the same one for years) and about town with far less effort than before.
Anyway, this is getting anecdotal, and I think this particular point has been made ...
> > Supposing I *did* once have a generic Walk skill at 0w2,
> > and suddenly needed to do a Long-Distance Walk, what TN
> > would I have, given my natural ability to walk ?
>
> The first time? 6 - you know how to put one foot in front of the
> other, but you don't have the discipline to continue, the knowledge to
> take proper rest breaks, etc. You pack in the wrong stuff and forget
> your water.
>
> If you were in a Long Distance race agaisnt a person with "LD Walking
> 12", then your 6 vrs his 12.
>
> If you were in a LD race against those Land-Walking Piranhas* (LWP)
> with "Fin along Ground 12", you'd get the benefit of "Can't Fail",
> changing the contest from "Default Walk 6 vrs Fin 12" into "Can't Fail
> Walk 1w2 vrs Fin 12". (Note that your default walk 6 augments your
> Can't Fail for +1).
>
> *Land Walking Piranhas are magically able to breathe out of water, and
> can fin themselves along the ground, but are much better in the water
> than out.
Thought you might respond somewhat like that, but thank you for the image of me trying to outdistance the LWPs. :-p
> > Let's say I succeeded, enjoyed the experience, and spent my HP
> > on a non-generic Walk Long-Distance ability, what starting
> > TN would I have ? 12 ? Would seem a bit miserly IMO.
>
> 12. You've learned a lot from your experience. You leave the cast-iron
> skillet at home, and bring an extra liter of water. Against a person
> who has never hiked long distances before, you are twice as good as he
> is (LD Walk 6 vrs LD Walk 12). Against a long time hiker, you are a
> tyro.
Right. This is where I have a problem, related to the recent thread about whether ordinary humans should be defined as having basic TNs of 0 (or 6 instead).
I think that there should have been a "Human" entry in AR, as there was one in RQ, to start with. Humans have certain special abilities that set them apart from other creatures and races, and I would very much have liked to see keywords for the various PC races, and indeed I would very much have liked to see the creatures in AR given as so many keywords.
And it's an accepted idea in biology that humans do have several advantages over other creatures, such as having Hands, 3D Colour Camera-Principle Vision, Large Brains, Adaptability, Tools, being Upright (therefore being able to Walk, Run, See Far, etc.), and ... er ... that's it ?
Of course, HQ isn't a comparative biology game, and given the game system 0w2 does seem like a good place to set a theoretic value for "no self-respecting Hero can fail at" abilities
But Jane's suggestion that occasionally, there *are*
situations where a Hero could do exactly that,
ie fail to Walk from A to B, as well as the fact that
all Sereds have Run Fast 2W (ridiculously low value,
of course), among other innate TNs for the creatures
in AR, leads me to imagine that the various
creature "keywords" could have included
all notable species powers, including the
above-mentioned ones for humans and
other Man Rune creatures : as there would
never be very many of them, and that's how
frex. the Bobcat "keyword" is organised,
with its claws, agility, cunning, etc etc.
I hope that Issaries will have taken aboard suggestions that the Creatures "keyword" rules needed urgent revision BTW.
I just can't see that the Bobcat's Sprinting
ability should in any way be handled
differently to a Human's Walk or Run abilities.
> In a smelling contest between a dog and a man, I'd give the dog the
> benefit of "Can't Fail". (Of the 5 dogs in AR, only 2 have any "Scent"
> ability, but all dogs have better sense of smell than humans). In a
> contest between dogs, neither would get the "Can't Fail" bonus.
No problem between Dog and Human, but problems start when you have to do Dog vs. Gobbler, or indeed Buthur Dog-nose vs. Gobbler (always assuming no skills are explicitely given).
I just think that there has to be some sort of overall relative values structure between various different races and their various "Can't Fail" abilities ...
Sure, this can always be done on the fly, but I think that here we have something that's directly relevant to such AR-related problems as the various dissatisfying Run Fast TNs in that book.
> > > Walking around the
> > > house, on the other hand, *is* something that we take for granted
> > > (except when I have my -35 penalty for gout - I can get around,
> > > but it hurts like blazes, and it takes a *lot* longer - especially
> > > if I have to go up or down stairs...)
> >
> > I just think everyone gets at least a -15 because of all
> > the furniture etc.
>
> Not unless the room is *very* cluttered.
I guess I was really thinking of the standard world Resistance of 14 ...
> The "Can't Fail" 0w2 shouldn't need to be written down, because if you
> did then all sorts of wierd stuff would be on your character sheet.
Not so much stuff IMO.
Not that I'm absolutely suggesting that the weirdness would be desirable !!
> It just
> doesn't make sense to pit the [Morokanth's] "Fine Manipulatioin even
> without thumbs 17" vrs a human's default "pick up stuff 6".
I agree !!
I think I'd prefer the CRB expressed as a Bonus, say +20.
This approach would help make those AR Run Fast et cetera TNs be actually *meaningful*.
Julian Lord
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