[BNW] reiterate: Splitting Skill Points [MATT}

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

Since Matt responded to the last post I had up with a rule-question, but not 
on this topic, I'm going to post it again with his name in the header.  
Nothing new here, for those who saw the post before.

The rules talk about splitting your skill points on page...81 or so.  You 
can use 2 Spirit points to buy 1 level of Strength (or Speed, or Smarts) 
Skill.

It isn't clear that this is talking about initial character creation _only_, 
and it's not in that section.  But assuming it is so...

Why would you?

The rules put _no_ limit on where you can spend Skill Points, or the 
purchase of positive and negative quirks.

So...a character with 9 Strength Skill Points could buy 5 points of Strength 
Skills, and then use the remaining points to buy 4 points of Positive 
Quirks.

This character could also then take 4 points of Negative Quirks and put the 
resulting skill points into _another_ attribute.

In this manner, you can "transfer" up to 10 points (the cap on Negative 
Quirks) from one Attribute's skill points to another.


There seems to be an unstated restriction that you can only buy Positive 
Quirks with points from Negative Quirks.  However, this is NEVER stated in 
the rules.

Previous games such as Deadlands and Hell on Earth seem to vary on this.  It 
doesn't seem to have hurt HoE that you can spend your skill points where 
ever you wish.

It is also simpler simply to spend the points wherever you wish, rather than 
have a subsystem that limits where you can spend them (i.e., Strx3 in 
Strength skills, Speedx3 in Speed skills, etc.).  Simplicity isn't 
necessarily always better, but it often is.

Yes, that might lead to a congregation of skills in one attribute, but:

A) Hell on Earth demonstrates this is not necessarily a problem

B) Such "congregating" tends to be its own punishment.  If a character 
really "transfers" all 10 of his Spirit points over to Speed, he's going to 
suffer in the Spirit and Spirit-based skill department.

With that in mind, one of two things seem necessary:

1)  A clear ruling stating that Positive Quirks can only be bought with the 
points from Negative Quirks

2) Lifting of the cap


Hope that helps.

---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com