Small and Stupid

From: James A. Holden <jaholden_at_...>
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 14:23:40 -0700


I have been enjoying my copy of AR, but some of the creature descriptions made me think about how to use certain kinds of abilities.

Take a rubble runner, with a Small ability, for instance, or a great troll, with a Stupid ability. How do you use these abilities in contests with other characters?

For instance, a character wants to shove a rubble runner and push it over a cliff. This might be a contest of the character's strength versus the rubble runner's size. How does this work with a Small ability, however? If you pit Strength rating against Small rating, the smaller the rubble runner, the harder it will be to push it over the cliff.

Similarly, imagine a character engaging a great troll in a contest of wits (maybe this is one of those "no hero would ever fail" situations!). A Clever vs. Stupid contest breaks down for the same reason.

I can think of situations where "positive" use of these kinds of abilities could be useful. For example, the rubble runner might be able to squeeze through a crack in a wall with a successful Small roll. But much of the time, these abilities will need to be used in contests, and I don't see how to do that.

Has this come up in anyone's games? How are you handling this?

James

Powered by hypermail