Re: Don't be this guy

From: charlescorrigan <charles_at_...>
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 15:28:24 -0000

>
> Needless to say, I don't agree with Ian on
> much of this...
>
> > I might call it Run Fast on my character
> > sheet, but it has no relation to Run Fast
> > on a horse's character sheet or a mouse's.
> > It may have far more relation to Sprint
> > on another humans. Understand what is
> > being implied.
>
> Then why give humans and horses 'Run Fast'?
> They both run, they can both do it fast, if
> I can't use the number directly, the number
> is WRONG. I don't want to spend time in a
> game saying 'okay the horse has a run fast
> 17, and you have run fast 2W2, but the
> horse is a horse so it gets a bonus of
> <make up number> 10W2, for a total of 7W3'.
>
> In many cases I'll want to compare the
> horse and the human, if they use
> different scales, it makes more work for
> me. Far better to just say 'okay the
> horse has a run fast <make up number>
> 7W3...' in the first place.
>
> Abilities whose names imply they can be
> directly compared should have numbers that
> allow them to be directly compared.
> Anything else is an extra level of
> complexity that is COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY.

Totally agree!

Someone telling me that the skill of Running that belongs to a Horse means something different and is on a different scale to the skill of Running that belongs to a Heortling would prompt me to ask why.

That is what we have a system (any rpg system) for - as a shorthand and structure so that we can spend time working the story, not the mechanics and semantics of what words mean.

The fact of the existing printed numbers being a starting guideline or just plain wrong (or even deliberately designed by that sadist Greg to create this kind of debate, take your pick) and that these numbers should be modified to fit the story is simple for me to grasp. Screwing with my mind over the definition of a simple word in common usage is not easy for me to grasp.

It is also important to have an coherent and consistent worldscale that includes both magical and mundane ratings. This must be small (at most about half again what is in the HW 1st edition resistances and difficult magics tables). This is to give guidelines for unusual magics and quests and to give some basis of comparison between campaigns. If it is too big, it will give the rules lawyers to much to work with.

regards,
Charles