>Back from our PDX, OR groups first HW session.
Too many abbreviations already...
>1) Initiate vs Devotee--If I am an Initiate of Humakt.
>do I have access to ALL feats listed under the
>affinities? And, these are with a -3 improve penelty?
No, you have only the Affinities, which cannot be used as they are, you must Improvise from them. In my opinion, Improvising a listed feat is at the standard penalty. However, I am told that Greg's original idea was that you do not Improvise a Feat at all, just an effect. Thus, using a Movement Affinity, you just call "Orlanth, aid me! Take me to the top of that tower!", and roll the Affinity with penalty as decided by the Narrator. Exactly HOW you get to the top of the tower is up to Orlanth/the Narrator, so long as it's within the scope of the Affinity. Mind you, Greg also thinks the standard Improvisation Penalty should be -10!
>If during the game I thought of a new feat, could I
>use it with a greater penelty? If so, what?
The rules say the standard penalty applies unless the Narrator says otherwise. So it's -3 or greater, at the Narrator's discretion. Using the above rule, of course, you don't get to choose a feat...
>Would I have to use one HP to keep the feat at the
>sessions end?
An Initiate cannot cement feats, you can't keep it.
>How is are the above questions answered if I were a
>devotee instead?
Devotees get all the listed feats at full Affinity rating. To Improvise a new feat, or a less-than-strict use of an existing one (for example, using Swordhelp on a spear), apply the penalty, standard being -3 or more, Narrator's decision (based on how close it is to the known Feats). And then you DO need a HP to cement a new feat.
>2) If each player gets one HP at the beginning of a
>session, can it be used or saved?
Yes...
>If used prior to
>play, would it automatically be considered
>unrelated--say if I tried to aquire a new feat.
Hmm... I don't like the idea of it being used before play at all, but if you did, it would be unrelated (unless it related to the LAST session).
>I can always use that HP during the game to aquire a
>skill.feat/spell etc. Right?
'During'? Well, I wouldn't allow suddenly learning Climb while hanging off a cliff face, but at a suitable break in the scenario, or when in a situation likely to teach a new Ability, yes. You can suddenly 'remember' you know how to Climb (spend the HP and just say "oh, yes, I've known that a long time, just never used it before..."), but I'd disallow obvious tricks to get out of difficult spots.
>3) I am a warrior with a Spear and Shield fighting at
>10w. I then augment my spear with a feat for a +5
>edge. I then use a feat to give my shield a +5 edge.
Hmm... for a start Edge normally comes in multiples of 2, so how you got +5 is interesting, but irrelevant... Edges, like all Augments, are specific to how you state the application. If you use Swordhelp, and say "I flick my sword around until it slices the air like a razor", that sounds like an attack augment to me. "I flick my sword around until it becomes an impassable blur of steel" sounds defensive. I may or may not allow "I flick my sword around until it becomes a blur of impassable razor-edged steel" as both attack & defence. However, what I WOULD say is that you can only use any one specific magic on any specific Ability once - so to affect both Sword & Shield within 'Close Combat: Sword & Shield', you need to use two different magics. Great Blow on attack, and Unbreakable Shield on defence, for instance.
>Is my ability then 10w^10 for BOTH attacks and
>defenses, or is 10^5 for either? How does the weapon
>rank fit in? If it is 4--then is my attack 10w^14 and
>defense 10w^10? If my armor is rank^2?
How the Edges affect the Ability depends how you described the effect (and is basically up to the Narrator). IF (and I would be loathe to allow it) you got both augments to affect both attack & defence, you would get +10 on both uses of the Ability. And then you add the Rank - BUT you definitely only add weapon rank to the attack, and armour Rank to defence.
>If I augment my spear and shield with a physical
>skill, such as STRONG, would the bonus be an edge or
>amodification of the TN. If used as an edge, then
>would that simply be added to any weapon edge for the
>length of the encounter? What about TOUGH? Could that
>be used to augment armor? Can I use both or only one
>for that encounter?
You can use any Augment as either Bonus (modify TN) or Edge as you wish, and as your Narrator agrees. Strong would seem to me to be better suited to Edge (hit harder), but if you are using a heavy weapon, it might help you hit better too. And yes, it adds to Edge if used as Edge. With adequate time & preparation you can build up a mighty load of Edge (let's just hope you hit...). Tough can be used to Augment armour, normally as an Edge again. You can use only one mundane Ability as an Augment on any one Ability (plus any number of magical Augments you have time for), so you can't use both on one Ability, but given time and opportunity, you can use both on separate Abilities at any one time, plus any number of others following the same rules.
>4) We had trouble with SWIFT skill. Obviously that
>helps with running. But, One player wanted to use it
>to augment their fighting abilitywith an imnprove
>penelty. Would that be a fair use of the skill?
Yes, very fair. It's the HW equivalent of a high RQ DEX. However, be careful of overuse of such wide-effect Abilities. I would have asked it to be renamed 'Agile', 'Fleetfooted', 'Dextrous', 'Running', or something. Give him a reputation of 'Unsatisfying 13' with the ladies...
Wulf
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