Re: A thought on limiting improvisation

From: asmpd_at_...
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2002 17:28:17 EST

"bethexton" <bethexton_at_...> wrote:
> One topic that has come up a few times is that a skilled initiate can
> do most of what a devotee can, for not all that much of a penalty
> according to the HW rules (yes, a -3 improv penalty to do specific
> feets isn't trivial, but compared to the level of commitment it seems
> small).
>
> Now, I know rumour has it that in HQ the improv penalty will be
> increased substantially, but I had another, complimentary, idea.

At Origins, I had the opportunity to watch Greg run part of a HeroQuest scenario (if I had known that it started two hours earlier, I would have been playing in it). He discouraged the initiates from attempting to use feats; instead they could only augment other abilities with their affinities (though he relented at least once, applying a -10 penalty). Jeff Kyer was playing and may have more to add to this observation. These changes (initiates only augment with affinities, improv penalty is -10) have been mentioned before, IIRC, so I'm not claiming this is new information.

I've been disallowing feat improvisation for initiates for a while, with improv penalties of -10 for devotees.

[snip capping improvised feats at Mythology]  

> You still need improve penalties on the actual magic skill, but at
> the very least this gives heroes another incentive to buy up their
> mythology skill. This also gives the possibility that initiates
> would suffer a substantial penalty on their mythology skill when
> improvising, that devotees wouldn't (devotees knowing more of the
> truth behind myths).

My group uses Mythology to perform rituals (crucial to crossing over) and they're getting addicted to the "rush" (with regard to drama and ability improvement) from the Other Side, so they are very interested in improving mythology.

Thanks,
Andy