Re: Re: Edges and Handicaps.

From: David Cake <dave_at_...>
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 09:32:41 +0800


At 12:00 AM +0200 29/6/00, Henrix wrote:
>The naked people with chain saws are probably berserkers and have to bet at
>least half their AP every time, and perhaps both sides should indeed have an
>edge.

        They could just be playing 'DOOM' the RPG (which conveniently uses HW mechanics). In which case the contest should still be faster and bloodier than if they were using popsicle sticks.

At 3:18 PM -0700 28/6/00, David Dunham wrote:
> >The place where it seems (i.e. I may have got this wrong) to get
>>scary is that in a contest you would probably use one edge while
>>acting (i.e. those that enhance your weapon/attacking ability) and a
>>different edge when resisting (i.e. those that enhance your
>>shield/armour/defending ability)
>
>But this is already the way things work, if you use the weapon/armor ranks.

        No - you use different edges depending on whether you are the 'attacker' (not a properly defined term - one creating the hurt), not the actor (one initiating your contest. If you are the one inflicting the damage, you use the edges and flaws of your weapon vs their armour, regardless of who initiated the combat. Whether it is the edge of your armour or your weapon that comes into play depends on how you succeed at the contest - not whether you are acting or not.

At 12:28 AM +0200 29/6/00, Jonas Schiött disagreed:
>No, it depends on who's the attacker and who's the defender in any
>particular exchange.

        There is no such thing. There is actor and opponent, but if both are using their fighting skill both are attacking and defending in any given exchange. Combat does not work like RQ - if the defender wins, they have not just escaped unharmed, they have hurt their opponent.

        If you 'attack'(ie act), and fail, and the defender succeeds, they do exactly the same thing to as if they initiated the attack. They whack you with their weapon, and get the edge of their weapon, regardless of whether they initiated the exchange or not. Who was the 'actor' is irrelevent once you have decided the ability and the bet.

        If you are attacking and defending with the same skill, it doesn't matter much whether you are the actor or the opponent.

        When the contest is using quite different skills (ie one is attacking with magic, but the other is attacking with ranged weapons), then defender and attacker match more closely to opponent and actor.

At 3:18 PM -0700 28/6/00, David Dunham wrote:
> >Should you routinely use a separate "attacking ability" and
>>"defending ability" throughout extended contests, swapping over
>>between bidding rounds?
>
>Yes.

        It defends on what you mean by routinely. Often, but there are probably more cases where you do not. THe most routine case is probably fighting between two combatants, in which case you usually do not. Right?

        Of course, no one wants their games to be routine.

	Cheers
		David

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