>You don't like having a "Mithril mailshirt" ability at 10W3 (or even 10W4)
>?
>Seems quite elegant to me. It could be used directly as an defense ability
>and
>almost nothing could pass through it, which seems good to me. The downside
>is
>that you can't do anything else with it, except maybe use it as a "Wealth"
>rating :)
>I know I tend to forget that attack and defense abilities need not be the
>same,
>but in this case, it's a good way to 'simulate' a Hero with a low CC and
>high
>defense.
>
>In a similar way, some characters IMG now have 'objects abilities' which
>are
>higher than their CC abilities and so they use them directly, augmenting
>with
>the appropriate Close Combat.
Yep, I'm starting to really see this as the way to go. Given that there's now a mechanical way to differentiate magic and normal Abilities (applicable resistances), I see no reason why one sholdn't rate all objects just like magic objects. If the mechanics work for the magic items, why wouldn't they work for normal items?
In any case, one could even argue that the mithril shirt *was* magical, mithril being described as being magically strong and light. It seems totally appropriate to enumerate any specially crafted items (I'd argue any item) as an Ability, given that they have their own plot significance.
Nobody's saying that the character should have any extra actions or anything. Just that this Ability could be used on defense in lieu of an offensive ability. And, if you think that the combat ability is more important in a battle, then you can still use the Ability to augment just as though it were a Bonus item per the normal rules. This becomes up to the players and GM to negotiate, just like every other use of Abilities.
Note that this *wouldn't* make sense for use as a final action as these rarely give the character AP back (need a transfer) on a success, they more often just cost the other guy AP. I would, however, see more sense in having the shirt be the Ability used in a defense against a Parting Shot (or whatever the correct title is) against an already incapacitated foe. This would very much make sense. Think of the Troll's shot as putting Frodo at -22, and then he "leans into it" a bit more to finish him off bidding another 9 AP. The shirt's Ability comes into play here (he's incapacitated, certainly he can't reasonably use his Sword Combat or dodge as a defense) to keep him from croaking.
Anyhow, I think that the rating should be used for whatever makes sense. If it's a trading deal, then abosolutely the shirt's rating should work like wealth. In general, this makes for a great "economic" system for the game. What's something worth? What's it's rating? Or make a Bargain roll, and augment with the ability. Or vice versa. How hard is that Mithril shirt to destroy? What's it's rating? What if I hit someone with it? What's it's rating with a -40 Improv Penalty (still a better weapon than nothing if rated at 10w3)?
If followers can have ratings for a character, that says mundane external things can have ratings for the character. If magic items can have ratings, that says that objects can have ratings. As it stands, the rules say that mundane objects can't have ratings as an exception to these rules. It's an exception that I can't see the advantage in playing. The "advantage" of simplicity, IMO, is easily outweighed by the simplicity involved in not having the exception to the rules in the first place. Since we all have to know how to use the normal rules, not much is gained by the exception. And much is lost, IMO.
Mike
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