Ability advancement rate

From: Benedict Adamson <badamson_at_...>
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 15:10:08 +0000

Graham Robinson wrote on [HeroWars]:
...
> If you bump up your best skill by one each week...
> Players COULD be running around
> with 5W5 characters, and followers with 17W4 in their best skills!
...
> I'm personally wondering how to slow down players improvement of good
> skills, so that Tarsh raiders of the W2 level still seem a challenge. The
> linear improvement system seems flawed for long campaign play.
...

The 5W5 character would have no other significant abilities. Such characters are actually pathetically weak, because it is easy to attack their weak spots. In practice, players must spread their HPs around. My Vingan's best ability is almost a whole mastery behind the best ability in our group, yet she is not really greatly weaker because she has mastered several abilities.

There is therefore no real need to introduce extra or changed rules to slow down character development. If a Narrator is worried about the speed of development, I suggest running an episode in which the characters must use their weaker abilities.