>Problem 1: if a wyter has a W2 ability to detect foes, it is almost
>impossible for foes to sneak up on a group that has a wyter, because
>few foes will have a W2 sneaking ability. With such high power magic
>radar, how do Heortlings raid each others tulas for cattle? The
>wyter's ability is likely to be high enough to deserve an automatic
>success: no contest.
A couple of points -- the wyter communicates clearly only with the leader of the group it serves. So the wyter may detect the intruders, and the band (clan, sect, whatever) becomes aware that something is wrong, but only the the leader (possibly sleeping off a drunk) will know that the Black Oaks are attacking from the west.
It may also be possible for the raiders to augment their magic with time and place modifiers ("We always begin from Raider's Hill, boy. Why do you think it's called that?") or get a big bonus against their neighbor's wyters by performing some sort of ritual. ("The Apple's "BloodyEye" is a fierce guardian, but he loved the Lady of the Apple Grove when alive. This song and a wreath of apple leaves around your neck will make it harder for him to sense us.") And so on. If you've been raiding your neighbors for a couple of hundred years, you probably have some idea what there wyter is like and how to avoid or weaken it.
Also, cattle raiding is an appropriate Orlanthi action -- maybe some or most wyters don't really notice raiding or figure that "it's all in good fun." If the clan's watchers can't spot the raiders, they are soft and need some toughening up. On the other hand, if the invaders are broos or Imperial Troops, the wyter will be after them.
>Problem 2: a wyter can augment the whole group, and as it does so
>without consuming an action of a player character, such an
>augmentation is (practically) always available (except for the very
>first round of an extended contest). As the augmentation is uniform,
>if might as well be ignored (in the same way that armour and weapon
>ranks are usually ignored): no effect on any contest.
Assuming it's an augmentation-providing wyter. Without consulting the wyter rules, I recall that there are several types, some may not offer this option. The wyter also has to offer an ability that is useful in a typical pc-involved contest. If the ability offered is Find Lost Sheep, that's not such a problem. Most clan wyters are more likely to offer Find Blackberries, Domestic Harony, and Preserve Grain than Crushing Blow or Bet That Hurts. The War Clans are, of course, and exception, which is why people don't like attacking War Clans if they can avoid it.
It also seems to me that, if the wyter offers a combat ability (which is what I'm guessing this is mostly about), it may be necessary for the wyter to be in or near the combat. Which means there is a chance that the wyter will get killed/captured/neutralized/etc. For hero band wyters, which are more likely to offer "useful" abilities than Clan wyters, this is doubly true -- I don't think hero band wyters have the clan wyters' "tula-wide" range on the average; their "constituency" is too small.
>Problem 3: description of the wyter's activities takes the action
>away from the player characters, and so is undramatic.
Unless the players are encouraged to identify with the wyter (which would be good, since their characters certainly do). Let them call on the wyter and describe what it does. Encourage them to go on quests to strengthen it, spend HP for it, etc. Make them develop Relationship to Wyter. Put the darned thing in danger every now and again. Make 'em love it.
Peter Larsen
--
Powered by hypermail