Re: Broad Affinities

From: Nick Brooke <Nick_at_...>
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 07:07:34 -0000


Ed wrote:

> The rationale was that Greg did not like the fact that you could
> buy a broad skill (hunting was the one I think he used) and use it
> for all kinds of different things without penalty.

I didn't like this idea when I first heard it, and I still don't like it. There's occupational keywords for Hunters, and if you want to be a good hunter you need to be buying up all of the abilities they contain (Heortling: Archery, Butcher, Hide in Cover, Set Traps, Stalk, Know Animals, Listen, Mimic Animal Sounds, Track, Patient). If a player wants to take "Hunting" as a write-in ability, the Narrator should check this list and direct them to take either the keyword, or one or more of the abilities within it. (If there's a "Hunting" ability and Hunters don't get it, something's wrong with the world).

If you take just "Track" (to an abusively high level?) and none of the other abilities, you aren't going to be such a great hunter: it's simplicity itself for a Narrator to shaft you by checking a default hunting ability you didn't bother to buy.

(Alternative: if you allow character keywords as single write-in abilities, what do you do when a player wants "Warrior" as an ability: not the expensive keyword, just a one-word cheapo skill?)

> With regards to close combat, I seem to remember that Roderick
> interupted Greg and disagreed with him on exactly how this will
> work and that this still needs to be finalised.

That proposed revision sounded slightly weird: instead of Heortlings writing "Close Combat (fyrd combat)" on their character sheets, they'll have to write "Heortling Close Combat (fyrd combat)". Isn't the "Heortling" bit already contained in their cultural keyword? Aren't we already capable of assuming that this doesn't give you a high default in "poncing around with rapiers", "sumo", and other unrelated techniques?

> I can't guarantee that this is exactly what was said; beer and
> lack of sleep (too much to do!) seem to negatively affect my
> memory!!

Likewise. But these are what I think I remember.

Cheers, Nick

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