Re: HW as a concept, and _Adding_ abilities, wealth and wells

From: gamartin_at_...
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 08:09:13 -0000

> You are suggesting that the solution to 'the Wealth problem' is drop
> the use of Wealth abilities?

No, I'm suggesting that a mechanically determinate financial system is too complex to be modelled accurately with the tools available, and that the PRESENT wealth ability works well, IMO, as an abstraction.

> That would leave us with a game system that successfully models the
> ability to boasting or have nagging parents, but can not model have
> more or less cows or coins. Strange.

It models both in exactly the same way; I am objecting to a MORE determist method for wealth as a special case.

> with sufficient precision to be able to work out how much a
> character's Wealth TN would increase if they acquired a given
> quantity of stuff (cows, or whatever). No amount of knowledge of TNs
> can tell you that.

Indeed. But I say again, it is an economically meaningless question. They arev "one point out of a hundred more wealthy" - that is all the mechanic can and should tell you, in exactly the same way we measure all other abilities. WHAT is the quality that a 5w swordsman has over a 4w swordsman? The system does not tell us.

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