>Keith Nellist (I think) had what could be an excellent suggestion --
>when trying for multiple augmentations, only the best result takes
>any effect.
>
>I appreciate this may sound extreme to fans of the current approach
>(and it seems a bit austere even to me), but if this were rewritten
>to be "only the best three", that -- coupled with a ban on multiple
>augments off the same ability -- would sort out both of my problems.
>
Ah, now that sounds like a reasonable compromise.
In my game, I enjoy watching the players scrounge for augments because it forces them to really look at their character's abilities and relationships. To this end, I don't use the limitation of only one augment from a mundane ability. "OK... So I have my bargain ability, augmented with my negotiation magic. I also have a high Wealth, an information gathering network, friends in high places, an eye for value, and a good relationship with our noble House." Often the other players will chime in with their own abilities and relationships for additional augments. The vast majority of these augmentations are only a point or two, but they can add up to a mastery or so overall.
I should also say that such augmentation fests are only used for major/climactic contests in an episode, and the villain does the same thing. Some episodes are built around finding out what the villain's augmentation regimen is likely to be, and working to thwart it.
Graham describes a 10w3 ability augmentation contest using the ability/5 scheme:
>On the other hand, +1 per five gives a +14 that seems a little generous, but not ridiculously so. I'm very tempted...
>
We used the (ability-10)/5 augmentation scheme for my entire game last
year and it didn't cause us any trouble. The auto-bonus was high enough
that my players (with 5w2 ability characters) used it regularly, and it
helped speed up the flow of play nicely without robbing it of color.
That said, I think a (ability-15)/5 scheme is closer to what a typical player would consider reasonably safe and provides a worthwhile bonus until W3 and above. I don't think I am going to change it for my game, though. My players would surely go into revolt if I did! <laugh>
~Kevin
*PS: A tip for the math challenged (like me): These systems might be more easily calculated as "(ability/5)-2" or "(ability/5)-3".
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