Re: [BNW] Covenant Powers: Unbalancing ?

[GMPax@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/3/00 11:20:05 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
iguana.1031@gateway.net writes:

> I agree - back in the days when I ran AD&D, I was very generous to clerics -
>  act properly, uphold the tenents of your religion, and sometimes even get
>  bonus spells ("Have a free Bless spell the next time you're in a fight") -
>  but I penalized them just as much if they didn't uphold MY idea of their
>  faith - remember, deities have moods, too, and they all coincide with that
>  of the DM.
>  
>  I'd do the same thing.  The Covenant gets powers through their Faith.
>  Having lived as and lived with extremely devout people, there is a huge
>  difference between being a practicing Catholic and having true Faith - and
>  there is a bigger difference in how said people behave.  If the player
>  doesn't role-play true Faith, regardless of situation or abilities, they
>  don't deserve said powers and take 'em away.  It's a great incentive for
>  getting them back in line.

No, the covenant doesn't get powers through faith.  Otherwise the Regs would 
have access to the same abiliteis as the deltas.

The powers listed in Ravaged Planet are _delta_ powers, and are a function of 
genetics.  If you are unkind, does your hair change color?  Nope ... hair is 
a genetic trait, not a "if God likes you your get the hair color of your 
choice" ... same with the Covenant powers.

And I'm not worried about people playing it right.  I'm worried about people 
who DO.

If I play, say, a Bouncer well enough to qualify for a bloody Oscar ... and 
the Covenant player olays veryw ell, but not AS well ... the Covenant player 
gets more power than me, as a "reward for good roleplaying," eh?

What about little, played-really-good-also, bouncer-package me?

A sit stands, the Covenant is more powerful than any other pakcage, due 
primarily to the extreme versatility.

Seriously.  Covenant characters can mimic the effects of several packages:

--> Blaster or Scorcher: Wrath of god; yeah, less damage, but ... still, it's 
damage-at-range.  Call it Blaster Lite™.

--> Healer: God's Mercy.  Heck, that one even lets Covenant heroes pick up 
HEALER-ONLY Tricks!  The Covenant gets a +5 bonus to medicine rolls, the 
Healer gets +10 ... big difference _there_ ... there's little reason to be a 
Healer instead of a Covenant, with that one .. because the covenant gets that 
AND MORE, besides!

--> Goliath: Strength of God; sure, sure, it'll take a big roll to duplicate 
the strength of a big, hulking goliath ... but then, the Goliath cannot get 
HIGHER either, whereas the Covenant, with a _really_ good roll (and a really 
good Faith skill), can theoretically get an unlimited number of successes.

--> Tough:  Armor of Faith (IIRC the name); nowhere near as good, but, like 
the goliath: with enough skill and luck, the covenant can (briefly) have 
better armor than the Tough.  A LOT better.

That's four.  It would take a faith of FOUR to get all those abilites, in ONE 
hero.  And the Covenant_requires_ a Faiths kill of 3 or more, anyway.  Now 
look: the target number is a five.  Minimum skill is a 3.  What's five minus 
three?  You got it: TWO.

Unless the Covenant hero rolls more ones than anything else, they are 
guaranteed at least minimal success.  "Sure" you say, "same with everyone 
else who has _any_ real skill with their power!"  Well guess what ... that's 
the problem.  In many ways, the Covenant hero is as good a healer as a FULL 
HEALER.  About halfway between most people, and Goliaths.  About half as able 
to burn-and-destroy badguys as Scorchers or Blasters.  And potentially as 
tough and resilient as, say, a Scrapper ... wihtout the healing (though they 
HAVE that, if they pray ...).

ALL AT ONCE.

And that's too much.  I had 2 of my 3 players asking me WHY the Covenant got 
so much ... and why I was letting my g/f play one, if they are that much more 
powerful than anything else.

So, again I say: the Covenant, as written, needs toning down.

I had a few ideas (none of which my g/f would even consider, grr):

NUMBER OF POWERS: one per point in faith is too much.  One, PLUS one for 
every TWO _full_ points of faith:

Faith       # of Powers
  3              2
 4-5             3 
 6-7             4
 etc            etc

--- OR ---

Target Numbers to use ALL covenant powers are TEN, not five.  HOWEVER: The 
armor power IS one of the weakest; it's TN remains ten, but the effects, per 
success, are doubled.

EXCEPT the one that hedges out evil beings, that one works identically to 
that written in the book, and ANY Covenant hero, even REGULARS, may use it.  
It make sense as a "power from above" ... and gives the Regulars a chance 
against vampires, and such.

Either of those would, IMO, balance the Covenant more properly against the 
other packages.

Sean
GM Pax
ICQ# 18582108