tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post5481967616557739137..comments2024-03-28T09:41:39.187-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Double Damage and "Instant Death"James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47717659153263271802022-01-21T18:48:59.781-05:002022-01-21T18:48:59.781-05:00In EPT, damage can be split over multiple opponent...In EPT, damage can be split over multiple opponents. How is the lucky hit rule employed in that case? Maybe you can only hit a single opponent if you opt to try for instant death? (The rule does say “the opponent”.) That would provide another reason for it to be optional.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80047480397256470322022-01-21T18:43:35.878-05:002022-01-21T18:43:35.878-05:00It’s still early days, no? Maybe at some point th...It’s still early days, no? Maybe at some point this would make for a House of Worms post.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87597118509188712972022-01-20T19:49:49.067-05:002022-01-20T19:49:49.067-05:00Indeed it was, but Eselné is an imperial prince, a...Indeed it was, but Eselné is an imperial prince, after all, and Nebússa's wife comes from the hereditary aristocracy of Méku. It was the first time I think I've ever given a PC a magic item like that, so I did it partially as an experiment to see how it'd affect the campaign. So far, I can't say it's mattered much.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-57812770906254226872022-01-20T19:45:57.480-05:002022-01-20T19:45:57.480-05:00Wow, that’s a nice gift.Wow, that’s a nice gift.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3100961707819019472022-01-20T16:24:01.070-05:002022-01-20T16:24:01.070-05:00A magical book – a wedding gift from Prince Eselné...A magical book – a wedding gift from Prince Eselné – is responsible for Nebússa's gaining of a level.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-12400553900574522802022-01-20T16:10:03.290-05:002022-01-20T16:10:03.290-05:00In that answer, Barker also acknowledges the letha...In that answer, Barker also acknowledges the lethality of EPT, suggesting that low-level characters have need of patrons to loan them magic items and provide cannon fodder. I’m not sure how that helps as it lowers the risk but also the reward (both from sharing of treasure and the fact that only the character who deals the killing blow gets the XP - and using an Eye halves the XP from the kill).Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61051828824648737012022-01-20T16:05:10.667-05:002022-01-20T16:05:10.667-05:00Note also our host’s caveat of “without magical ai...Note also our host’s caveat of “without magical aid”. The magic books in EPT provide a shortcut to advancement, if the GM makes them available.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42936460909479756012022-01-20T16:03:16.197-05:002022-01-20T16:03:16.197-05:00Depends on what you mean by “legitimately”. In th...Depends on what you mean by “legitimately”. In the December ‘77 issue of the Dragon (#11), M.A.R. Barker answered a question about the XP reduction factor, in which he states, “I have played in D-and-D campaigns in which we all shot right up to 27th level wizards or whatever”, and that this was the motivation for the reduction, mid-level characters being ideal in his view.<br /><br />In this context, the human encounter tables in EPT make less sense, with plenty of high-level NPCs to run into. They are also strange in that fighter level directly correlates with military rank.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-30098809441871265592022-01-20T14:10:15.460-05:002022-01-20T14:10:15.460-05:00> since I assume they wouldn't bother rolli...> since I assume they wouldn't bother rolling for that 19+ confirmation on something with a just a handful of HP left.<br /><br />Oh no, we never know how many hit points an opponent has left, and we don't roll damage until the critical is resolved. As soon as a 20 comes up in the dice roller, we all huddle up to the screen to await the next result. A bit macabre really.Stephen Wendellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828432713646210247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35097972037262432272022-01-19T16:41:29.318-05:002022-01-19T16:41:29.318-05:00Whew, I'd forgotten the XP reduction factor. ...Whew, I'd forgotten the XP reduction factor. The D&D Fighter chart (which is the 32K/64K/etc one) is plenty slow already IME. By 6th earning even a level a year with a weekly game must be an amazing accomplishment, and it'll just slow down from there.<br /><br />Really goes to show what utter BS people's stories about really high level D&D characters back in the early 80s were, doesn't it? No way did anyone reach the high teens or even higher legitimately in any reasonable time frame. Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67309269062664695742022-01-19T15:23:03.659-05:002022-01-19T15:23:03.659-05:00All the "double damage on crit" rules I&...All the "double damage on crit" rules I've seen outside of EPT doubled all the bonuses as well. Some explicitly multiplied the damage by two, a few called for rolling twice as many dice, most didn't bother to say one way or the other. Rolling once and doubling produces more swingy results than rolling multiple times and adding, of course. So which you use depends on how much you want to lean into the already-swingy nature of crit mechanics.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-77384072478629414532022-01-19T15:20:59.282-05:002022-01-19T15:20:59.282-05:00In EPT, level 6 is 32K, while level 7 is 64K. Bear...In EPT, level 6 is 32K, while level 7 is 64K. Bear in mind, though, that the game includes XP reductions based on level. For example, at levels 4 and 5, XP is acquired at 50% earned; at level 6 and 7, it's 25%, so the amount needed to gain level up is actually much more than the nominal amount I mentioned above.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47004342678422490362022-01-19T15:13:50.705-05:002022-01-19T15:13:50.705-05:00What's that come to in terms of XP, around 35,...What's that come to in terms of XP, around 35,000? And how many XP to reach 7th? 8th? I'm rusty on the system but I dimly recall it following roughly the same doubling pattern OD&D did. Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-78539524931506427712022-01-19T13:18:27.438-05:002022-01-19T13:18:27.438-05:00I’ve never looked at the Hârn rules. Could you gi...I’ve never looked at the Hârn rules. Could you give any more details about what works so well and how easy it would be to integrate with D&D?Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32484815902566404192022-01-18T16:29:08.355-05:002022-01-18T16:29:08.355-05:00The highest level achieved by any character withou...The highest level achieved by any character without magical aid is 6th level. Aíthfo was among those at that level.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-85780626014277557632022-01-18T16:23:27.546-05:002022-01-18T16:23:27.546-05:00What is the highest level that’s been achieved (if...What is the highest level that’s been achieved (if you don’t mind answering)? And what was/is Aíthfo’s? That would help illuminate just how lethal EPT is.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-68302895024731218532022-01-18T16:20:23.833-05:002022-01-18T16:20:23.833-05:00Most of the PCs are 5th or 6th level.Most of the PCs are 5th or 6th level.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52511323646390070932022-01-18T16:16:23.846-05:002022-01-18T16:16:23.846-05:00“Just looking at (in this case) EPT, the XP needed...“Just looking at (in this case) EPT, the XP needed to increase in level makes it highly improbable that anyone can get very far in their adventuring career without dying to that 1-in-200 instant death chance that every single attack roll equates to.”<br /><br />Doesn’t House of Worms serve as a counterexample? I would be curious to learn what the levels are of the PCs in it.Bonnaconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12667671409170609819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43482195865982240542022-01-17T14:12:12.431-05:002022-01-17T14:12:12.431-05:00That's one of the things I liked about Cold Ir...That's one of the things I liked about Cold Iron, a college friend's home brew game in the 1980s. The system uses a clever dice mechanism to implement the standard normal distribution to produce a modifier that is added to (or subtracted from) your OCV and compared to your opponents DCV. OCV and DCV improve with level, as do hit points. A crit happens if your OCV + modifier is enough larger than your opponents DCV (and since the normal distribution is open ended, so are crits). It allows for those dramatic one shot kills while making them rare enough that PCs rarely are one shot killed (and even then, the system has a robust negative hit point system that makes true death pretty rare for PCs as long as they hold the field). If you're outnumbered, your opponents are probably enough weaker than you to make the one shot kill a one in a million (or worse) kind of thing. On the other hand, I've had a PC + GMPC group one shot kill a dragon after some serious buffing... (sadly it was the GMPC who scored the crit - I don't do GMPCs anymore...).<br /><br />That said, it sounds like Tekumel has enough options to make the instant kill crit not a game ender. Cool!Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15855679156477779666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89600550595961448312022-01-16T23:50:21.681-05:002022-01-16T23:50:21.681-05:00That's why modern game designers generally don...That's why modern game designers generally don't go with instant death crits any more. Just looking at (in this case) EPT, the XP needed to increase in level makes it highly improbable that anyone can get very far in their adventuring career without dying to that 1-in-200 instant death chance that every single attack roll equates to. No matter how careful and clever a PC is, it's nigh impossible to completely avoid ever being attacked, and (unlike save-or-die effects, an even more common career ender) your odds of living through crits don't improve as you level up. Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-23325964728703699502022-01-16T19:08:01.249-05:002022-01-16T19:08:01.249-05:00When I was much younger, playing 1e, my players wa...When I was much younger, playing 1e, my players wanted to use this rule in the game. As the DM, I was reluctant but they insisted... double damage and instant kills! But their enthusiasm dipped a bit when I pointed out that they generally rolled 5 attacks a rounds, but their enemies (at this stage goblins, orcs, hobgoblins) outnumbered them in most fights, so I had way better odds of getting crits on them...Jason Langloishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02507550527211520786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-41792796966976955062022-01-16T12:08:12.603-05:002022-01-16T12:08:12.603-05:00That's how we've always done it, and conti...That's how we've always done it, and continue to do it. <br /><br />Maybe because it was never a written rule for us and that's how we interpreted the spoken words, "double damage." Or maybe because it's just easier and faster to do it this way.Etrimynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12412524174369676893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-50741198990174255252022-01-16T11:22:10.693-05:002022-01-16T11:22:10.693-05:00I don't know where my original group's hou...I don't know where my original group's house rule came from, but in our interpretation of "double damage," a natural 20 meant we rolled damage normally, included the bonuses, and multiplied it by 2.Gordon Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12907319916602597979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54952660483591128832022-01-16T06:57:53.261-05:002022-01-16T06:57:53.261-05:00High drama indeed. I think everyone who has ever p...High drama indeed. I think everyone who has ever played RM or MERP can tell many stories of hilarious critical hits. I like it a lot.AndreasDavourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54780255590997240512022-01-15T18:20:32.196-05:002022-01-15T18:20:32.196-05:00That is a complicated story.
The short of it is ...That is a complicated story. <br /><br />The short of it is that, by the time the PCs returned to Linyaró, they discovered another person had been installed as governor in Aíthfo's absence, seemingly with the approval of Prince Mridóbu, their own patron. The PCs deferred resolving this matter for the time being, deciding instead to join forces with the "new" governor on a matter of mutual interest. (A decision aided by the fact that most people in the colony already believe Aíthfo and his former administration <i>abandoned their posts</i>, since they had no way of knowing what had actually happened.)James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.com