Re: [BNW] Leaping, etc.

["I. Dwayne Koonce" <dwayne@txcyber.com>]

On Thu, 9 Dec 1999, Theo McGuckin wrote:

> 
> I think some of these have been answered.
> 
> > > The jumping distances seem pretty wacky. [snip]
> > 
> > The problem is the issue of what trait (mainly Strength) bonuses do (and
> > don't do).  Unfortunately, there are almost no examples in the rulebook
> > that feature trait bonuses.
> >
> > 1)  There are several places in the rules where traits are treated as
> > straight numbers, rather than dice pools + bonuses.  Are the bonuses
> > treated as extra dice?  Horizontal leaping, for instance--a half inch for
> > each "point" of Strength.  I'm playing a Bouncer, with a Strength
> > of 2d6+3.  Is that 2 "points", or 5?  I would hope it's 5, since being a
> > Bouncer I plan to jump a lot.  Lifting, carrying, and throwing are based
> > on comparing Strength to the Size of the object.  In the example for
> > throwing, a 4d6 is clearly treated as a 4 for these purposes--how's a
> > 2d6+3 treated?  What about wounds?  "Up to his Strength", "double her
> > Strength"--do bonuses affect these?  The rules are silent on this.  It
> > could've been clearer, if some of the exmples had used something other
> > than a Blaster.
> 
> Well the FAQ that I printed off of the Barony of Gilead page indicates:
> A. The Goliath's bonus does effect leaping distance (so the bouncer's
> would too)
> B. It also effects # of wounds per location.

I found that, but it only talks about the Goliath.  It should be clarified
for Bouncers and Scrappers, as well.  (Or, if it only affects the Goliath,
then it's a _separate power_, and not part of his Strength bonus.)
Personally, I think a full +3 bonus to leaping definitely makes sense for
Bouncers.  The +3 bonus to wounds isn't unreasonable--Scrappers are
supposed to take a licking and keep on ticking, and Bouncers should be a
bit tougher than humans anyway--and they don't have armored skin.  (A
bonus to wounds isn't all that powerful--it lets you stay conscious to
accumulate higher wound penalties than mortals are capable of. :)

> > 2)  Incidentally, there is no rule for vertical leaping.  My GM will be
> > happy to house-rule it (hi, Mike!), but this seems like an oversight in a
> > game that spells out everything else in term of map inches.
> 
> What did you think of my rules suggestion?

Seemed pretty reasonable for horizontal jumping, but I think a yard per
point of Strength might be a bit high for vertical jumping.

> > 3)  Fighting.  Okay, this is just irking me.  What's the most accurate 
[snip my Fighting rant]
> 
> One possible "patch" for this would be to allow multiple dodges (i.e. the
> Goliath rolls to hit with his one action, the Speedster dodges and doesn't
> make it, so the Guide lets him use another action to try and dodge again).

This doesn't change the "uncannily accurate Goliath" problem.  If I were
to run a BNW game, I'd probably have one generic fighting skill (well, 3
skills:  hand-to-hand, edged, and club) in the Speed category, and ditch
Fighting and Covenant Martial Arts (but not Telekinetic Martial Arts, of
course). I'd also probably turn Throwing upside down--base it on Speed,
with the range category determined by Strength.

> Oh! Oh! I had another idea. How about this:
> Unless the book specifically states it bonuses to not apply to "skilled"
> rolls. So for the Goliath, his str. bonus would apply to damage, size for
> wounds and leaping because there are no skills associated with these
> rolls. It would not apply to fighting or throwing as there is a skill that
> adds to the dice (so he would just get his 5d6, not 5d5+5).

That's fairly sensible.

> > 4) Acrobatics.  Okay, maybe I'm the only one who cares, but it looks
> > unfinished.  Is it supposed to do anything other than halve falling
> > damage?  (Impress women on a Challenging(10) roll?)  Can it decrease it by
> > more than half if I get a lot of successes? I'm just not sure how
> > comfortable I feel leaping from rooftop to rooftop without knowing these
> > things. :)
> 
> Yeah, I wasn't too sure about this one either, seems like a really
> phenomonal roll should allow you to catch that flag pole sticking out of
> the building, swing around it three times (a la spiderman) and then land
> gently on the ground.

Well, that's going to be entirely based on the situation, so the GM will
need to pick a TN and you make your roll.  I was just wondering if a high
acrobatics roll would ever drop it below half damage, without having
something to stop your fall.  (Maybe I just need a flagpole map of Dallas
[the city our game's set in].)
 
> > my GM has house-ruled most of these quite reasonably IMO.  (I haven't
> 
> Could you share some of his rulings? It might help others who have similar
> quandries...

Sure.  (He's on the list, I imagine he'll correct me if I get these
wrong.)  I think he gave me my full Strength bonus for horizontal leaping,
and just made up a number for my high jump.  For wounds, he gave a +1 to
characters with +3 Strength, and a +3 to characters with a +5 Strength.
And he ruled that the Strength bonus does not add to Fighting skill rolls.

> Lucky snot, we have yet to start playing (focusing on getting our old
> Deadlands game up and running) which really blows my credibility in
> suggesting rules changes/clarrifications (oh well).

What we've learned so far:  Unless you like intra-party conflict, start
the game with all the characters knowing each other.  It's hard to make
friends when you know you're hunted by a fascist government.  (Or if
you like IPC, go hog-wild.  :)

-- 
Dwayne Koonce <dwayne@txcyber.com>
"In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal
that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to
time." --Edward P. Tryon