Re: ENCHANTED WEAPON EDGES

From: Julian Lord <julian.lord_at_...>
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 05:22:42 +0200


Guy Hoyle :

>The part that confuses me is that there's nothing in the character
>description which gives me any idea why these devices have the values that
>they do. If A player comes to me and says "I want a sword as powerful as
>Cutrid the Black's mace", am I giving him a hugely powerful weapon? What
>kind of scale am I dealing with here?

My 02 % ...

The scale of HW is the same as D&D, is the same as Pendragon, is the same as RQ stats : normal human range is defined as 1 to 20*. A normal HW human should have his Abilities in the region of 10 (and incidentally, his Running ability should be 10 : anything higher than that is already heroic, and HW horses are defined as being able to succeed in their Running ability about twice as often as an ordinary man which, in HW - off the top of my head - means that they run about four times as fast (or as far, depending on how you define the Run ability IYHW) as an ordinary man ; and so can a hero with Running 2w IMO).

But, because of the mechanics of HW (opposed contests instead of skill checks), the scale used for equipment, arms, and magic items should be based on 50% of equivalent values in D&D, Pendragon, or RQ. So, IMO, RQ Lamellar should be ^3, and platemail ^4.

This is close to what HW:RiG has on p. 147.

The ^ of a converted weapon should probably be 1/2 average damage (rounded up), so a RQ dagger should be ^3 and a greatsword ^5. Unlike the rules in HW. Most 'simulationist' RPGs assume that weapons are inherently more powerful than armour, as a game balance feature. I actually believe that the weapons and armour rules in HW are incorrect (from a 'simulationist' POV), and that historically, weapons are more efficient than armour.

One could derive more 'simulationist' HW weapons & armour lists from the RQ ones fairly easily using these basic principles.

A D&D 2-handed sword +4 (but let's use the more sensible RQ greatsword damage rules as a basis) would do an average of (2D8 + 4) or 13, x1/2 = 6.5 rounded up makes a ^7 weapon. Or, (greatsword ^5 +4/2) = ^7.

A matrix for Bladesharp 8 should should be equivalent to a ^4 Bladesharp Spirit/Fetish. Using it on a greatsword would produce a ^9 weapon. And so on.

Obviously, not all magic items are weapons ; but this should give you some idea of the scale to apply.

Just remember : ordinary man = 10 ; other scales at about 50% / 200% (depending on your perspective) of the values of most D20 or 3D6 'simulationist' systems.

cheers,

Julian Lord

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