Welcome!
> 1. How are people handling the balance between specific/general
> skills? I've found us using Scan Plains for Danger in our Prax
> setting as a substitute for almost all the old perception skills. Is
> the general idea to develop more specific skills (Search or Spot
> Hidden equivelants perhaps) or to continue with fewer skills and
> apply improvisational modifiers almost all the time? It seems to me
> that the danger could be ending up with some very specific skills
> (Spot Rodent Under Desert Bush) that are rarely useful, and some
very
> broad skills that cover a wide range of things (did anybody out
there
> ever play the Ringworld game? Repair fixed everything but you needed
> a specific branch of Organic Chemistry in other circumstances)
We give it an improvisiation penalty depending on how 'relevant' the skill is. Scan Plains for Danger is good if you're a) on the plains and b) scanning for danger. What if you're looking for good fodder? What if you're in an elf-forest? I'd give penalties to the ablity. I personally try not to get into the endlessly subdivided skills -- its a subtle trap in which you eventually know everything about nothing. But your game can and will vary from the 'norm'
> 2. My players expressed concern that during contests the lower dice
> roll wins if both players succeed. So having a Mastery means that
you
> are less likely to fumble/more likely to succeed through a bump, but
> can still lose that round very easily. We've not really played
enough
> to see how this pans out long term. Any thoughts?
Its odd at start. But you get used to the dice. Yes, it means that if one person rolls lower, and has a lower skill, they still win. Its the other way around from Pendragon and feels odd... but its built around the '1=critical.' And if you have a mastery, your bump up puts you at a better _level_ of success than your opponent. My 15 with a mastery advantage will beat your 2 without it (Assuming I can get a success with a 15, of course).
It seems to work -- mastery advantages are highly sought after. As are suituational bonuses and advantages
> 3. Does anyone have any more info on Animism in Prax? (Why do I get
> the feeling this has been asked every ten minutes for the last year
Yep! But I think the Prax Pack folks might have some info for you... I believe they have a Yahoogroup here too.
But basically, there's a Waha Tradition with a stack of practices. 2nd Ed Animism is a heck of a lot better set up than 1st ed.
> if so sorry, but I did try going back through previous messages with
> little success). Thoughts on Praxians practising integration? Normal
> Waha/Eiritha worshippers (not just Shamans) having Spirit Combat
like
> Storm Bulls if so?
Integration is practiced by the Praxians, I think? But others more familar with that culture will probably give more detailed answers than I. Not sure about Possession.
There's a very long, detailed write up on the Transcendent StormBull/Urox on the Issaries Website. I believe its a previous spotlight and ad a lot of very useful information.
> Sorry this has been a bit long, look forward to any responses.
>
> Cheers
>
> Mitch
Hope this helps!
Jeff
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