Re: Berserk OTT!! from Wulf Corbett on 2000-07-20 (HeroQuest-Rules)

From: Wulf Corbett <wulfc_at_...>
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2000 11:54:17 -0000

> Is it just me or do other people find Berserk to be over the top.

Berserk isn't, but a well-designed berserker could easily be...

One
> of my players uses berserk and quickly ends up with AP far in
excess
> of other combatants.

Presumably because he crits a lot? I can see this happening, I agree.

>This has now forced another party member to
> learn a calming skill just to stop the party being decimated by
this
> character.

Good. Never send in a berserker with no way to calm him. Unless everyone else stands back and prepares to beat seven shades of S**t out of him as soon as he runs out of enemies...

>Should the character calming fail I shudder to think how
> many of the party would be killed by this character.

They could gang up on him. I would...

> The only solution to this would seem to be to ensure that the
berserk
> character will always lose the combat in the end, but this is
> unrealistic and unfair.

Not so unrealistic if no-one else wants to fight alongside him...

> Any thoughts on this.

Besides having all the other PCs telling him to shove off, they're having nothing to do with the psychopath, here are a few:

Give him bigger, nastier enemies, and have them attack singly (multiple attacker penalties).
What's his magic or Spirit Combat resistance? My own sole berserker (an Uroxi minotaur... yes, it's excessive, but he's been around since RQ1 and we'd all miss him if he had to 'retire') has a Healer Follower who can calm him, and a flaw that he's scared of spirits. Beat yours up by incorporeal attacks (magic or spirit) and he might not be so cocky.
have the bad guys run away. He'll follow. Ambush him. Repeat often. He can't learn, he's berserk. The player will get fed up, and be forced to modify the character.
Get some form of magic, be it spell/spirit/feat or item that can disable him. Have him posessed by a Passion spirit of loyalty, os fear of kinstrife, or whatever. All these can be arranged by your friendly neighbourhood Spirit Talker...

Wulf

>
> Jarec