Post by shaungamer on Sept 15, 2008 0:10:09 GMT -5
One of the play testers came up with some interesting ideas about the way DP currently works. I have listed the issues below, and where possible listed a FIX or two that we could try.
I would really like to see the play testers give their input and opinion of what is mentioned here. I know there is a lot, but even if I could get some feedback on one or two items (Or just a note saying "Yes I agree" or "No I don't think this will work") it would help tremendously.
Monster's Detection: The monsters in almost every case detect the heroes so often as to make the detection rules obsolete.
I changed the detection ranges and rolls with the rewrite, because I found it too easy to sneak up and kill monsters before they had a chance to retaliate, according to the old rules.
We could fix this with a law or laws for monsters, something like “Territorial”: this monster automatically detects anyone within 4 spaces, or “Brain-Damaged”: This monster can only detect characters on the square directly in front of it.
Or we could just use the monsters range to auto detect heroes and forget about a roll to get the same effect.
Another possibility is auto detect if any monsters face the heroes otherwise roll against the Monster with the best WIT for detection.
Pushback: On occasion, someone who has been pushed back can end up in an advantageous position as a result of the push.
Should we allow the attacker a follow up into the open space as a free action?
Damage side Effects: At low levels, it works ok but at high levels it seems odd…a higher level character could easily have LIF of 10+ and if he is struck by 3 points of damage, he will definitely at least be stunned and at least lose action next turn, even though 3 damage represents less than 1/3 of his LIF, whereas if a low level character with say a LIF of 2 takes 1 damage (a loss of HALF of his life in one blow) he has a 1 in 3 chance of not even being stunned.
The following suggestion has been made:
If the damage you take is less than half your RES there is no special effect other than the push back.
If it is greater than half your RES, but not higher, you are stunned and must roll RES to recover next turn.
If it is greater, you are incapacitated and must roll RES to recover next turn.
If it is twice your RES, you are mortally wounded. A mortal wound would be some combination of incapacitation and the necessity of another player taking an action to give you first aid, perhaps with an item made for this.
Transporting Dead Characters: In particular to get them to a Sarcophagus! I have always played that the load was shared amongst the remaining Heroes in an untracked way. I guess the comic nature of the game let me get away with unreasonable assumptions.
My suggestion would be; a character carried by two Heroes would cause no Move issues, A character carried by one Heroewould reduce the Hero's move by 1 square. The Character would need to be dropped to perform other actions and retrieved later.
Statistic Levels: The game is pretty good as is, with low level characters, but there is a serious breakdown at high level. It is not inconceivable (though it may be unlikely) that a high level character could have a stat of 40+ (a level that would be God-like) by placing the 5 points he got per level in only one ability.
A suggestion is to place caps on stats based on level, as below:
Personally I really like this cap, as it stops characters from being too powerful in one particular area early in their carreer.
It also reduces the total number of D6s rolled in an action.
Statistic Costs: These seem a little skewed. A score of 5 in one statistic is better than a score of 1 in 5 statistics, but they all cost the same amount of points overall.
Perhaps change the amount of points awarded per level and change the cost system. To raise a stat, you must spend the amount of points you wish to raise it to e.g. to raise an ability from 4 to 5 would cost 5 points.
It should be easier to raise a stat from 1 to 2 than it is from 7 to 8 as statistic increases lend a nearly exponential bonus.
I find this doesn’t really work well for Hero creation. You would be better off spreading your scores (creating very similar characters), rather than concentrating on a few attributes (creating very different characters).
So my suggestion would be to leave creation points as they are, but change Advancement points to pay by worth. That way someone could have a stat of five for their new character, but be less inclined to spend six points to increase it to six during an advancement.
This will mean an adjustment in the points you get for each level increase. (5 points would not get you far at all!!!)
Experience: We have talked of the XP pool before, but I thought I would post an idea.
Experience is dealt out to the Heroes every 120 points instead of waiting until a total is reached. The 120 points is divided amongst the surviving party. I chose 120 because it divides into 2,3 or 4 Heroes evenly.
I would really like to see the play testers give their input and opinion of what is mentioned here. I know there is a lot, but even if I could get some feedback on one or two items (Or just a note saying "Yes I agree" or "No I don't think this will work") it would help tremendously.
Monster's Detection: The monsters in almost every case detect the heroes so often as to make the detection rules obsolete.
I changed the detection ranges and rolls with the rewrite, because I found it too easy to sneak up and kill monsters before they had a chance to retaliate, according to the old rules.
We could fix this with a law or laws for monsters, something like “Territorial”: this monster automatically detects anyone within 4 spaces, or “Brain-Damaged”: This monster can only detect characters on the square directly in front of it.
Or we could just use the monsters range to auto detect heroes and forget about a roll to get the same effect.
Another possibility is auto detect if any monsters face the heroes otherwise roll against the Monster with the best WIT for detection.
Pushback: On occasion, someone who has been pushed back can end up in an advantageous position as a result of the push.
Should we allow the attacker a follow up into the open space as a free action?
Damage side Effects: At low levels, it works ok but at high levels it seems odd…a higher level character could easily have LIF of 10+ and if he is struck by 3 points of damage, he will definitely at least be stunned and at least lose action next turn, even though 3 damage represents less than 1/3 of his LIF, whereas if a low level character with say a LIF of 2 takes 1 damage (a loss of HALF of his life in one blow) he has a 1 in 3 chance of not even being stunned.
The following suggestion has been made:
If the damage you take is less than half your RES there is no special effect other than the push back.
If it is greater than half your RES, but not higher, you are stunned and must roll RES to recover next turn.
If it is greater, you are incapacitated and must roll RES to recover next turn.
If it is twice your RES, you are mortally wounded. A mortal wound would be some combination of incapacitation and the necessity of another player taking an action to give you first aid, perhaps with an item made for this.
Transporting Dead Characters: In particular to get them to a Sarcophagus! I have always played that the load was shared amongst the remaining Heroes in an untracked way. I guess the comic nature of the game let me get away with unreasonable assumptions.
My suggestion would be; a character carried by two Heroes would cause no Move issues, A character carried by one Heroewould reduce the Hero's move by 1 square. The Character would need to be dropped to perform other actions and retrieved later.
Statistic Levels: The game is pretty good as is, with low level characters, but there is a serious breakdown at high level. It is not inconceivable (though it may be unlikely) that a high level character could have a stat of 40+ (a level that would be God-like) by placing the 5 points he got per level in only one ability.
A suggestion is to place caps on stats based on level, as below:
Level | Max Ability |
1 | 5 |
2-3 | 6 |
4-5 | 7 |
6-7 | 8 |
8-9 | 9 |
10 | 10 |
Personally I really like this cap, as it stops characters from being too powerful in one particular area early in their carreer.
It also reduces the total number of D6s rolled in an action.
Statistic Costs: These seem a little skewed. A score of 5 in one statistic is better than a score of 1 in 5 statistics, but they all cost the same amount of points overall.
Perhaps change the amount of points awarded per level and change the cost system. To raise a stat, you must spend the amount of points you wish to raise it to e.g. to raise an ability from 4 to 5 would cost 5 points.
It should be easier to raise a stat from 1 to 2 than it is from 7 to 8 as statistic increases lend a nearly exponential bonus.
I find this doesn’t really work well for Hero creation. You would be better off spreading your scores (creating very similar characters), rather than concentrating on a few attributes (creating very different characters).
So my suggestion would be to leave creation points as they are, but change Advancement points to pay by worth. That way someone could have a stat of five for their new character, but be less inclined to spend six points to increase it to six during an advancement.
This will mean an adjustment in the points you get for each level increase. (5 points would not get you far at all!!!)
Experience: We have talked of the XP pool before, but I thought I would post an idea.
Experience is dealt out to the Heroes every 120 points instead of waiting until a total is reached. The 120 points is divided amongst the surviving party. I chose 120 because it divides into 2,3 or 4 Heroes evenly.