Jamus Elsium respondet:
> > Would you be happy with some kind of relative
> > numbers? (Lancelot - Best Knight in Realms +2W)
>
> The problem with that is that it provides no way to tell when the PCs
> have reached or exceeded Lancelot's ability.
I don't favor the approach either, but -- to be fair -- it does address the concern that I previously laid out. It clearly allows me to make comparisons between NPC's. It would only work within a specific publication. It does not interfere with the pass-fail cycle for setting resistances for the PC's. In fact, it's a hint at which level of this chart to use:
Nearly Impossible = Base +M2
Very High = Base +9
High = Base +6
Moderate = Base
Low = Base –6
Very Low = Base –M or 6, whichever is lower
I think if I cared enough about the issue, I could write NPC descriptions with an eye on this chart, to help me remember where NPC's rank relatively to each other: "Lancelot is widely regarded as nearly impossible to overcome in normal combat." "Although George speaks frequently in public, his oratorical skills are very low." Anything with a moderate level compared to the implicit benchmark doesn't need anything else said about it. I don't think, though, that NPC descriptions written in such a manner would be very captivating. So, I doubt that I'd want to see them in published materials.
If I just needed a quick sketch of an NPC that allows comparison to other NPC's, I'd just write characteristics on six lines below a name. The first for very low, the next for low, etc. (putting the nearly impossible line last because it is unlikely to be filled for most NPC's). That's probably not good for important characters or for published adventures, but would be good enough for the house campaign. In fact, I'd probably put them on index cards and include notes whenever the character interact with them (e.g., "lives in Hardrocks lodge" "met party in Dark Woods" etc.)
I wouldn't use this method for PC's because its unnecessary (comparing ulinke things using the wrong method) and deters flamboyant language and thus interesting character concepts.
Chris Lemens
Powered by hypermail