> I thought that the combat "ability" was a sum of everything about
the person (other than equipment bonuses) that was most relevant to
combat.
It can't be 'everything', because otherwise there wouldn't be augments, except in unusual situations. And it seems not to be 'other than equipment bonuses', either, at least under normal circumstances.
> Put them on the same footing: The Seshnegi gets no armor, no sword,
> no mount. The Heortling gets no woad, no javelin, no shield, no
> sword. (Admmittedly, the Heortling frequently goes iinto battle
> stark nekkid, but set that aside.) They are both up to their waists
> in water, so no terrain favoritism either. Now how do you feel?
>(Seriously. I'm pretty undecided.)
Under those circumstances they can't use their usual combat abilities anyway, as they lack the relevant weapons. If they do have to fight, they probably both use Mud Wrestling 6, or something. The question is more what would happen if they did have their sword and spear, but are otherwise as you describe (assuming that sword and spear are both +3, and so cancel out, as seems likely). Under those circumstances, if they have the same rating, I'd expect them to be evenly matched. Robin would, I gather, expect the Heortling to have the edge, since he isn't lacking anything he'd normally have, while the Seshnegi is lacking kit that he's used to. This feels instinctively wrong to me.
But if there are rules for equipment, even if they're optional, I can do things the way that feels right to me, while others can ignore them, and make it feel right for them, too. And seemingly, there will be, so that's OK.
> Which raises the question: What if you have Sword Fighting 10W and
> Spear Fighting 20W2? Wouldn't the in-story event of getting armor
> help both? Does that mean you have to spend double the hero points?
I think the intended answer would be 'yes', and the justification would be that you'd have to practice with both skills to overcome the fact that you're used to using them with less effective armour. Which is one of those intrusions of game mechanics into the game world that damages my suspension of disbelief, but which I'd guess most other people find not merely non-intrusive, but exactly how they'd expect the game world to work.
-- Trotsky Gamer and Skeptic ------------------------------------------------------ Trotsky's RPG website: http://www.ttrotsky.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
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