> Well, the one thing I'd like to see from anyone else's designs is the
> number & strength of spirits in fetishes & integrated as talents. The
> average Animist (even a shaman) seems to have under a half dozen
> spirits, and these at a fixed strength. Now, I say 'fixed', but can a
> spirit's might be increased by the character, spending HP on it as
> though it were an ability? I think not (although talents can,
> clearly).
Well, you wouldn't see this from a starting character.
p.209 does say that 1-use fetishes can't be improved. However, it does imply that permanent fetishes can be improved.
This is a potential problem I'd like to know the playtest experience with. I think a beginning character probably wants lots of fetishes (for more abilities), but if they can't be raised, then talents make more sense over the long run.
> So animists suffer not only from a limited selection of
> magic effects, and few uses of those they have, but from relatively
> low target numbers (most shamans, even powerful ones, are going to
> catch spirits around the 13-17 might range as standard fare, whereas
> Theists rapidly reach mastery levels, and exceed them, in 3 affinities
> with 3-6 feats, usable any time, all the time).
Shamans will be catching more powerful ones during play (providing the Narrator is willing to play out shaman encounters, which since they're essentially a single player's bookkeeping are kind of boring). I think the example shaman on p.211 is a plausible range of mights -- I'm not sure why you get the low number as "standard fare" for a shaman. (12 is of course standard fare for tribesmen.)
As for the limited selection, a tribesman's 5 fetish slots can at least change between adventures.
David Dunham A Sharp david_at_... Voice/Fax: 206 783 7404 http://a-sharp.comEfficiency is intelligent laziness.
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