Re: Umbrella keyword and specific abilitie bonuses

From: Jeff <richaje_at_...>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:17:08 -0000

> >But what if the farmer was Farmer 17 (Stout spear +1) against
> >Mercenary 17 (Sword and Shield +2). Stout spear versus Sword and
> >shield sounds like a fair match (no specific ability bonus either
> >way) but it means that the farmer, riffing of his Farmer skill, is
> >almost a match for the Mercenary who's skill riffs of a much more
> >specific umbrella skill...
> Sounds OK to me. They both put points into the ability, so it's
> important to the character.

This is the key point. A farmer that has put points into a specific fighting ability can be match for any Mercenary. Let me give a literary example - in many of the Icelandic sagas, the heroes are Farmers, not Mercenaries. Yet they are skilled fighters, routinely killing berserks and other Mercenaries. That's how I feel Sartar is - most men are fighters. A bold farmer can be a match for any huscarl of the king.

HQ2 works on these sorts of literary tropes (other games do as well, but they are usually hidden within the assumptions of the rules system).

> What you're neglecting is that a mercenary is likely to have a lot
> more abilities to augment with. And have skills relating to what
> leads up to the fight (scouting, making camp, being on watch).

Also, I have noticed that the Air + Movement rune or Air + Death + Movement rune combinations seems far more common amongst mercenaries than amongst player character farmers.

Jeff