No - the example below is the resistance difference between a magical and mundane *attack*, not defense.
There was an
> example of a tree being jumped over, IIRC: using
> magical jumping abilities, the (mundane) tree only had
> a Size of 14, but if you used mundane jumping at the
> same rating as your magical jumping, the tree could
> bring its full 10W2 or whatever to bear.
If you use a Mundane attack, you (normally) don't use the "World Default 14" resistance, you use the tree's "Tall" (or whatever) If you use appropriate magic, you get that 14 ("Jump Tree" magical ability) If you're improvising from something close to appropriate, you might or might not get the 14 - it's a grey area ("Jump Wall" Magical Ability)
If the *tree* has a magical abiltiy to prevent someone jumping over it, you don't get the 14 *even if* you have the specific magic - the tree resisst with "Swat pesky jumpers" or whatever.
Magical and Mundane abilities differ when they are the "attacking" ability,. but not when they are the "defending" one. There is no penalty for Dodging a fireball as opposed to using "Reflect magic". Both are used at full value, there is no penalty because "Dodge is a mundane ability".
>> (figuring that if you're not "In love 5w",
>> you're not really In
>> Love, I suppose - "In Love 17" is pretty weak, and
>> would probably fall under "potential partner").
>
> Erm.... while I can see your point, this makes me more
> doubtful than ever about the character generation
> system. Your PC is married. But even if they put their
> precious 20 points into the relationship with their
> spouse, they're not really going to be in love by this
> yardstick. Never mind the description of them and
> their children, they're beginning characters, so they
> can't feel strongly about anything. There's something
> wrong here!
A nice narrator might waive some cost to make a strong relationship :-).
I must say that I didn't write those resistances, so I won't try to speak for whoever did...
While I agree that the Char Gen system doesn't give you that "Love Wife 10W" that your character description seems to indicate, it also doesn't give you that "Clan Champion level Swordsmanship 10w3" that your description would indicate, either.
Saying "You can put whatever you want there" doesn't really work for most (MOST) people. In my Engiziland game I told the players: "You can assign any numbers you want, I'll deal with it". And the players asked for "guidelines", so I gave them slightly-better-than-the-rules numbers for their beginning characters. And *every* player used those guidelines, not a single one went outside of them. Even though I specifically *told* them they could "put what they want" as abilities.
While your (Jane's) players have no trouble with the "choose a number, any number" method, most players want a solid guidline. Don't blame the rules for giving them what they want, even if its not what *you* want.
RR
He was born with the gift of laughter and the sense that the world was mad
R. Sabatini, Scaramouche
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