Re: Creatures vs good armour

From: simon_hibbs2 <simon.hibbs_at_...>
Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 16:02:12 -0000

> Does a manticore gain any benefit from having extra attack modes,
> Claws, Sting and Tusks... or is this absorbed by the AP system?
> (other than the sting having poison). Would it be worth saying
that
> creatures with mutiple attacks count as multiple attackers?

I've hit this porblem with Scorpion Men as well - how to take into account their extra sting attack? I'll show how I handle them, and maybe you can use some of these ideas.

The simple method is simply to assume it's all rolled up in their Close Combat ability, and I'm sure for some people that's a perfectly sufficient option.

Personaly I prefer to try to bring out the individual capabilities of bizzare creatures like these in the way the game system is applied, but even here there are a number of ways we can go about it.

First of all the tail attack. I'd be inclined to treat this as a follower. This allows the creature to use this extra attack to 'outnumber' an opponent, which I think is nice. It also means the adventurer can try to cut off the scorpion man/manticore's tail - i.e. take out the 'follower', which is also nice, from a narrative standpoint.

I'd give an experienced Scorpion Man basic fighting abilities something like this :

Close Combat 15W
Stinging Tail 5W (Acts as a Follower)
Exoskeleton ^2

The stinging Tail can augment the Scorpion Man's CC by 2, or lend the Scorpion Man 25 APs, or sting an opponent in a Simple Contest each round. Success in the simple Contest infects the opponent with Poison 5W

Poison acts as another Follower of the Scorpion Man's - either augmenting the Scorpion Man's CC by 2 more, or lending it APs, or engaging in an extended contest with the victim after the end of the fight.

Common Scorpion Man tactics are :

1. Use the Tail to sting an opponent in a Simple Contest each round untill it scores a 'Hit'. During which time the adventurer gets a -3 modifier for being 'outnumbered'.
2. Once poison is in the opponent's system, the Scorpion Man normaly uses the poison and stinger to augment it's CC by 4, and 'outnumber' the opponent for a -6 modifier.
3. If the Scorpion Man starts losing, it uses the stinger and poison to boost it's APs, and 'outnumber' the opponent for -6.

As for the potency of the poison, that depends on the level of success of the Simple Contest sting attack. I'd make it a proportion of the Scorpion Man's Stinging Tail ability :

Marginal Success = -15
Minor Success = -10
Major Success = -5
Complete Success = +0

Note: I'd like to be able to use a standard chart for this, but none of them realy suit.

I think that makes Scorpion Men, a lot more fun to GM and a greater and more interesting challenge for PCs. I hope you can adapt this approach to running Manticores.

Simon Hibbs