Mike:
>Now, we move on to armwrestling. Now it's my 5W2 vs. your 5W
>right? So I win handily.
I'd apply exactly the same analysis I've been advocating for the last few examples, and which it's getting a bit tedious to re-write so often. Maybe I'll just start cut-n-pasting.
What myths of Orlanth's strength do we have? Ok probably not an awful lot in official print, but as with any other feat we can come up with a list of the feats of strength our clan knows Orlanth performed, and go from there. Uses of the ability that match these known mythic feats get a 14 resistance. other uses either get an apropriateness modifier, or are 'difficult magic', or however you prefer to handle it.
Now Obviously there is a problem inthat we don't know all the myths, so this isn't the best of all possible worlds. I know what I'm advocating isn't going to suit everyone. I have said that already, but IMHO it's a viable way to resolve it and the method I'd prefer to use for my characters and in games I run.
We know this is how it's supposed to work in Glorantha. The myths give feats which people use to bring magic into th world. I real don't see what's Mike thinks is so horribly wrong, 'narrow' even, about wanting to do that in the game.
Alex:
>I must admit I'm not seeing the distinction between what's mad,
>and what commonly occurs. Would it be 'mad' to 'run' a running
>contest as, well, a running contest? As opposed to two separate
>tests against the distance's resistance. Exactly the same issue
>applies.
I would probably run a streight running contest as ability against ability, because everyone's abilities and resistances are 'symetrical'. There's no advantage to one side or the other whichever way I'd run it, so I'd go for the most convenient way. In the spear balancing example the resistances and abilities are not symetrical, so I'd run it differently in order to take into account what is happening in the game world.
>This seems a little uncomfortable to me. It seems to say that you
>agree there is a issue here, but you feel you're able to 'manage'
>it. Doesn't this rather gloss over what's actually happening in
>the game world?
Taking account of what's happening in the game world is exactly what I'm trying to do. i.e. When the abilities being used and how you use them in the rules need to be adjusted to match what's happening in the game world, you adjust them. It's not just a purely simulationist agenda either, it's a narativist one as well. I don't think making everything bland and generic by ignoring descriptive details that make characters special is such a great idea.
Simon Hibbs
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