>I need a different solution to this problem!
There are three solutions to this problem that I can see. I'll start with the one that toes the party line, but is most likely to cause controversy, interestingly:
That is, if the guy with the mundane running beats you in the foot race, it doesn't mean he's faster - we all know that's impossible from the other comparisons that can be made. Instead, he will win because you tripped, or he found a shortcut, or something totally unrelated to the abilities as described. Using this mode of play, you don't link the numbers with actual output in a direct sense so much as they simply tell what ability is more important to what character in terms of how often they should "win" consests with it. That is, they "should" win agaist inanimate objects, but they "should" have a harder time against people in dramatic terms, so the mechanics make it so.
Like I said, people used to the idea of mechanics representing in-game effects in a simulative way (almost everybody) may have a hard time wrapping their heads around this idea. But basically it works because it's good for the outcome of play in terms of creating a story.
Note that somebody is now going to tell me that this is totally unsatisfactory. That's why I've included the other options, because I'm aware that for some this isn't an option that they want to accept (IOW, you don't have to tell me, I already know).
The other options for those who don't want to abandon the sim elements: 2. Go back to Hero Wars. In that edition there was no such definition between magic and non-magic in terms of effect. Actually this is probably even more narrativist than number one, beacuse it doesn't try to say anything about what's more important to outcomes other than the players think it is, and take high abilities. OTOH, it also works as an outcome based simulation because there are no results that don't make sense with other results in terms of in-game interpretation. Works well across both modes.
3. Make Magic King. The solution that I think Christian wants to hear is to just say that any time you go up against a character with a mundane ability, you roll against a 14. This is the most simmy option because it says that character ability doesn't matter in a magical contest unless it's magic. We don't care that your hero is a good runner, this is magic, so it doesn't count. This is consistent, but it does have the problem that it's a tad dry, and makes magic an even more potent choice than it already is. I mean, if I didn't fear the Humakti with their heads-off feats before, I will now. Meaning you may see players flock to magic for it's increased effectiveness (which they should, that's what the system would be telling them to do at that point).
These are all functional choices, so just pick the one you like. What really gets my goat is the "narrow constructionists" who think that this solves the problem by limiting the uses of magic. It really doesn't, it just makes magic less creative, stilted and odd. Back in Hero Wars, nobody worried about these things because the effects all balanced out in a way that people could understand. Now with the split people are getting all confused about how it "makes sense". Well, it doesn't and I don't think you can make it make in-game sense. So please don't try. Either accept it as a genre effect, or change it in one of the two simple ways that make it less confusing again.
Mike
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