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Deepcut wrote:

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MFB,
I was looking at the Weapon Skill description. It seems more logical to have the skill subsets arranged by weapon type, like they are set up in the weapon table. What do you think?

Another question, or ruling: the Mind Control spell says that a mind controlled PC loses its action in the turn when it becomes mind controlled. Does that mean that a higher Dex PC would lose an action that it already took? IE if the high Dex PC hit an enemy but subsequently became mind controlled, would that attack be rescinded? How does that work?

One more question: Is there no concept of engagement in LAW rules? How do you play with/without engagement? How does that impact gameplay? How do you protect rear-guard PCs, like magic users?

Thx.

Weapons: You are probably right. I hope to address several issues with our rules as a result of this game, this will be on the list.

Regarding Mind Control and higher DX, keep in mind the LAW turn plays different than the Melee turn. In LAW, you move and then act immediately, then the next person on your side moves and acts, etc, until all your dudes have gone. Then the enemy takes his turn, moving and acting his men one at a time until done.

So Cabin Boy casts Mind Control on an orc, and CB's turn is over. Now it is the orc's turn; he is Mind Controlled, and cannot act, so turn over. Now it is Cabin Boy's turn again; CB can control the orc now, and the orc acts on your turn, as if he was in your party. Does this clarify?

Engagement: a bone of contention with many old TFT'ers! We have a soft engegment, the concept of Counterattack. Specifically, if an opponent moves adjacent to you, and does not attack - he wants to continue on to get to the mage behind you - you can attack him before he continues his movement. So we do not have the invisible barrier that makes you stop, but moving by someone subjects you to being lit up.

Now in this game, since we will be more abstract, I'll allow a shield wall in most situations to protect Cabin Boy. That is, if two warriors state they are protecting him, I won't run any opponents Adjacent to CB. We will be loose, but (hopefully) fair.

Deepcut wrote:

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FYI, I changed a few skills/spells/weapons since you first posted. For example, I was concerned about a Travis-like opponent vs. spears, so I upgraded the weapon skill and designated it for Damage. I also played around with the spells a bit.

Also, a question on Illusion Spells: what happens to the illusion if one character disbelieves successfully? Does the illusion disappear for everyone or does it remain for anyone else who fails the IQ check?

On the weapon skill, you don't designate it now, just at the time of attack. See one of my post above, I think 21.

For illusions, one dude successfully disbelieving will make it disappear for everyone.

Deepcut wrote:

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Mister Frau Blucher wrote:

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So Cabin Boy casts Mind Control on an orc, and CB's turn is over.

What if the Orc has a higher Dex and attacks first? How would you describe the round?

Also, can you describe the methodology for IQ checks when spells are cast? IE what happens to the opposing rolls if they are both above the maximum allowable number? IE 16 or above for both rollers? What if the opposing rolls are >IQ for both rollers? I would love some more color on spell casting.

I am not being clear on the sequence of turns. It is not like Melee (I move, you move, then we act in order of DX). In LAW the action is not simultaneous. It is clearly delineated in separate turns. Basically, If Chocki and Cabin Boy were on a side, and there were two orcs on another side, it works like this: Determine who has initiative (one time only, at the beginning of the fight). The winner takes the first turn. For argument's sake, you win. Chocki moves adjacent to an orc and attacks. You roll to hit and damage immediately. The CB casts his Illusion spell - he rolls for its success immeditaely. Now your turn is over, and it is the orc's turn. The orc beside Chocki attacks him - it is rolled immediately. The next orc moves up to the illusion and strikes at it - and it is resolved immediately. Now the orcs are done, and it is your turn to move/act again.

Each figure moves and then immediately resolves his action. There is no separate phase for resolving actions, as in Melee. So it doesn't matter if the enemy beside you has a higher DX; if it is your turn, you move and act first.

Now the two exceptions are Dodge and Counterattack. Read those, and I will prepare to clarify.

As to spells: if the caster rolls higher than his IQ (or a 16-18) the spell has failed, it doesn't matter what the guy resisting it rolls. If they both succeed, it is a question of who rolls higher, while still succeeding. If CB rolls a 9, but the guy resisting the Mind Control rolls a 10, CB has failed. But if the resister's IQ is 9, then he obviously rolled too high and CB wins.

Here is a bit of color: on Contested skill checks or spells, you may roll more than 3 dice. This means you will probably roll higher (average for 4 dice is 14) and have a better chance of beating your opponent, but of course you can on the flipside roll a much higher number and fail. But with an 18 IQ, you can usually opt for rolling 4 dice (or an occasional 5 dice) and get a higher result than your opponent, while still passing your check.

If this is not worded strongly enough in the rules, we absolutely want to improve it.

Deepcut wrote:

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Mister Frau Blucher wrote:

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Here is a bit of color: on Contested skill checks or spells, you may roll more than 3 dice. This means you will probably roll higher (average for 4 dice is 14) and have a better chance of beating your opponent, but of course you can on the flipside roll a much higher number and fail. But with an 18 IQ, you can usually opt for rolling 4 dice (or an occasional 5 dice) and get a higher result than your opponent, while still passing your check.

If this is not worded strongly enough in the rules, we absolutely want to improve it.

I did not pick up on this rule variation, so I am happy that you clarified it. Still not very useful bc 3x failure rate.

As usual, I left out critical intel. As you increase the dice, the ceiling for failure goes up to. Just as for three dice, it is the top 3 numbers, for four dice it is the top 4 (21-24), for five the top five (26-30), etc.

Deepcut wrote:

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MFB,
How does flying affect spell casting IQ checks and melee/ranged to-hit roles for a PC that is Flying either as a weregoyle/weredragon and/or as a receipient of the Fly Spell? The LAW rules seem to indicate no negative impact from Flying, whereas the TFT rules would have a negative modification and require a weregoyle to land before attacking.

Like many situations, this is one left nebulous, not to cause problems, but more for space limitations. Obviously the rules could be more in depth, but they could even be lighter than they are. Like all situations not covered by the rules, this is the province of the judge.

In the past, I have ruled that attacks from/against flying dudes are 4/DX (4d6 rolls against DX). That has seemed to be prohibitively punishing, except for high DX's. So I have also ruled no penalty.

What I will do, unless you want it set in stone, is to rule by the situation. There are some locations with a low ceiling, which would make flying difficult much less any actions, and others that will be open. I'll try to be wise. As far as attacking while flying, I will allow it - that is, you don't have to land. If it is a cramped situation, there will be a penalty; if open, I'm inclined to roll without penalty.

If you want a concrete ruling rather than a situational, let me know and I'll come up with one.

Deepcut wrote:

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Mister Frau Blucher wrote:

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As usual, I left out critical intel. As you increase the dice, the ceiling for failure goes up to. Just as for three dice, it is the top 3 numbers, for four dice it is the top 4 (21-24), for five the top five (26-30), etc.

I see what you mean, but what does that do to the IQ ceiling? IE, you have a lesser chance of auto-failing, but what about rolling higher than your IQ? If 4d6 are rolled what happens if CB rolls above 18? Still a fail, or does that number change?

If you roll higher than your IQ, you fail, no matter how many dice you roll.

Rolling more dice produces a higher number, but the risk of failure rises also. It is a gamble.