Re: [BNW] Leaping, etc.

[Theo McGuckin <tsm@jlab.org>]

A little dated (for the internet) but here is a reply:

> Regardless, and as previously noted, the point remains that Strength and 
> Strength adds seems to be somewhat unbalanced compared to other Powers that 
> boost attributes.  See the original post about comparing a Gunner to a 
> Goliath.
> Or to put it another way...a Bouncer or Goliath gets more for their pluses 
> to Strength than a Genius gets for his +5 Smarts or a Speedster for his +5.
> I don't mean the skills related to that attribute, but the secondary effects 
> you get.  Having a +5 Smarts gives you +s to skills...having +5 to Strength 
> gives you +s to skills as well, but also gives you a damage bonus _and_ 
> gives you Wound benefits.

I think part of the problem here is that the str. add is just that, an add
to the str., whereas (for the bouncer and speedster) the speed add only
adds to certain things (pace, dodge, init) not to the speed base att.

Maybe it would have been better if they had given the char a +5 (or +3) to
damage rolls, leaping distance, wounds per location, lifting, etc. but not
to hit.
The AEG guy (sorry AEGman, I can't remember your name :( said that part of
the reason that goliath got the add to his fighting is because he only
gets to go once, so he should have a good chance to hit that one time
(otherwise he is useless). But, honestly, I think that 5d6 (from str.) + 5
(from fighting skill) is enough. That gives him the base 5 needed to
succeed easy (I know you add in your opponent's skill) and a probility of
60% of getting a 6 on one of those d6's (for a 12+ roll).

Eh... I personally like the scrapper, bouncer and tough better anyway. The
goliath really is too limited.

> The real puzzlement is that the Bouncer archetype seems a bit...goofy.  It's 
> almost as if it were designed to _avoid_ abusing the Strength/Wound thing.  
> If you get rid of the Slight hindrance (plenty of way to pick up the 5 
> points), bump the Spirit down two die (yes, it's nice to have that high a 
> Spirit, but hardly essential), raise the Strength those 2 die, and take 
> Fighting instead of Martial Arts, you have a Bouncer who can take 
> approximately ...35 damage (depending on whether he takes it in one shot or 
> multiples) to a body location before he gets into Pulping.  Compared to the 
> 20 that the archetype can take.

Yeah, I read the description (about him having a good str.) looked at the
2d6 and scratched my head. Even with the +3, it isn't THAT great of a str.
until you start to consider the ramifications of that +3 to lifting,
jumping, wounds. I think he is one of the best all around deltas (nice and
concealable, good stats, hard to hit). Not as powerful as some, but also
not as obvious (you get hit by a blaster, you know you were deltad, you
get hit by a bouncer, you're not sure if he just wasn't really fast and in
good shape, "He seemed like a just a little guy." "Yeah, the little ones
always got somethin' to prove."

> Compare that to the Blaster, who can take 15 points of damage (factoring in 
> their Armor, sort of) to a location and then starts worrying about Pulping.

Well yeah, but blasters can DO a LOT more pulping than a bouncer (2d6+3
vs. 5d6+10) and I figure that the more actions vs. multiple shots about
balances out, and the blaster has range advantage.

> >You know Steve Crow, you could have cut off some of that extra stuff you
> >weren't responding to...
> >
> 
> I left it in your capable hands.  :)

Gee, thanks ;)

-Theo McCracken, whose thoughts and ideas are solely his own and do not, 
in any way, reflect those of Jefferson Lab or its staff. Unless of
course there is any money to made off those ideas, in which case the lab
says: "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"