Adam West: "How do you propose to do that?"
Newmar: "By being your partner in life, I mean it's me and you against the world."
West: "What about Robin?"
Newmar: "Why I'll have him killed. Painlessly."
Batman Displays His Knowledge, 1966
The rules inÆternal Legends are normally pretty clear, but sometimes, like Catwoman in the above quote, I think it's possible to not quite get them.
Like last time, I haven't played the game, but I've now created some characters, tried a solo round or two of combat, some skill checks, the magic system and a few other odds and ends. And, as I said in my last post, I think a few examples and designer's notes could make things a lot clearer.
The mechanics used are called the Ready 2 Run system, and they're pretty straightforward, simple, and seem solid enough, especially for a system which explicitly calls for trust among the players. So the fact that this analysis below may look like a lot of griping isn't because the system's broken, but because I think these are areas which could trip a player up, or are neat and I want to elaborate on more.
I'm going to assume you've read the rules, which means these comments will probably be of use only to a very small number of people, most of who will never read this blog. C'est la vie.
I'm going to assume you've read the rules, which means these comments will probably be of use only to a very small number of people, most of who will never read this blog. C'est la vie.
Character creation
The first character I created -- a theology major turned cop -- took 15 minutes, and would have gone faster if I hadn't needed to double check how some of the rules worked (particularly Spheres). A second one -- a Dwarven cat burglar -- went even quicker. If you have a rough concept, creating a character can probably be done in a few minutes. For my second one, the hardest part was figuring out some appropriate Beliefs.
Some tips:
- There's a lot of neat, non-obvious synergy possible. For example, I chose a Dwarven burglar because Dwarf Legends have an ability to sense things at a distance through the earth. I thought this would be a really neat way to case a joint before robbing it, figuring out how many guards were around and where they were stationed while 1,000 feet away and looking in a different direction. (She's also faster than you'd think, because Dwarfs get a bonus to health and running speed is based on health. I can't tell if that's a bug or a feature, but it works well for a non-combat oriented character to get away.)
- Some concepts call for a specific Sphere. The cop, a fighter type, screamed for Strength. Others will require a bit of lateral thinking. I chose Splendour for the cat burglar, going for an Indiana Jones, seeker of knowledge and artifacts feel. It's not an obvious match (mages re the ones who truly dig Splendour) but it's at least a square peg in a rectangular hole.
- While the rules say you start with two Aptitudes, remember that you'll be playing a Legend, so you get a sphere Aptitude too. That gives you some extra flexibility.
- Like I mentioned last time, check out the sample characters from the game's website. It helped clarify a fair number of details for me.
Task resoltion
This only takes up a page or two, which is all it needs. It's pretty self explanatory, especially if you've played any game with a Stat + Skill die pool before. My only complaint is that the extended task resolution method is confusingly worded. An example could have cleared that up easilyExample: Kylie (Body 3, Aptitude Cat Burglar 3) has to scale a 30-story building in a blizzard to get to the penthouse, where an elf is keeping a rare copy of Summoning Demons For Fun and Profit.The GM rules the conditions are so bad this is an Extended Task which would take a Professional climber 30 minutes. The chart says a professional-level task has a threshold of 3, and it should be divided into three checks. Every roll Kylie makes represents 10 minutes of game time spent climbing; she'll need to accumulate 9 successes total to get to the top, and at least 3 successes each time to make progress on the icy building.
I think that's how it works, anyway.
Some tips:
I think that's how it works, anyway.
Some tips:
- Unless you don't mind a big whiff factor, spend Will, and justify using your Beliefs, Sphere, and magic to help get bonuses. Every die rolled will, on average, give you half a success point. A starting character is probably going to have 4-8 dice in their basic pool, which means 2-4 points per roll. Since a Difficult task requires 5 points, these supposedly impressive Legends don't look too competent unless they're making an effort.
- I just want to say I love the Expertise rule. You get to define a niche where your character is given primary control in a situation. Since Aptitudes are so broad, it allows a good place for overlapping character ideas to shine. The Bodyguard might specialize in hand-to-hand combat while the Soldier specializes in tactics. Also, while I don't think it's particularly relevant for this system, it helps a player who doesn't think in terms of character optimization get spotlight time to do what they want when another player would dominate them on paper.
Combat
Given how simple the task resolution is, combat feels relatively complex. This is achieved through a bidding process. Every round, you have a number of points equal to your Wits to spend. Every action costs at least one point, and some require more. It can also be used for defense, or to add dice to an attack or action. Since Wits is based on Mind, I think this may be the only game I've seen where intelligence is arguably the primary characteristic in battle.
I like this because it leads to a lot of interesting choices through a simple decision. Should I put only one point of Wits into my attack, and hope I roll well? Should I put several points in for a better chance to hit, or does that risk points I could use to defend against the counterattack I know is coming. Maybe at the start of the round I should spend points to boost my order in combat, which means I'll attack early, but with fewer resources to attack or defend.
The damage system, with three different types of injuries, is probably the crunchiest bit of the R2R system. As a sidebar notes, it's possible to incapacitate or kill someone by either nickel and diming them with a bunch of weak, light blows; or to do it with one decisive blow. A punch will probably just bruise, but if they're battered up, or it's a good shot, it could wind up breaking bones.
Magic
Among the Aware, the ability to use magic is very common. If you learned an Aptitude while Aware, you probably learned how to cast some spells or enchant some items to make your life easier. (This is in the book, but it's one of the things I didn't realize until I was creating a character.) While it's difficult to enchant complex items with mechanical parts, simple devices such as books, hand weapons and clothing are easy to make magic. Aware tailors probably make their suits so the buttons can never tear, and the jacket grows with a man's waist-line.
Even someone without an appropriate Aptitude can learn a specific spell for just a couple of experience points and a teacher. I'd be inclined to say that for an Aware community, many spells are taught in an evening workshop.
Technically, each spell must be a form of Alteration, Creation, Destruction, Divination or Preservation. If you have an applicable Aptitude, it's got to relate to that domain, but it can be freeform magic within those parameters. One mage might achieve an effect by chanting and gesturing, another by singing. It's all good.
There are three effect levels: minor, significant and major. I didn't look too closely, but there's a huge cap in casting costs between minor and significant. The system looks like it encourages people to use a bunch of small effects rather than regularly blowing up buildings with an ancient blasphemous invocation.
I like this because it leads to a lot of interesting choices through a simple decision. Should I put only one point of Wits into my attack, and hope I roll well? Should I put several points in for a better chance to hit, or does that risk points I could use to defend against the counterattack I know is coming. Maybe at the start of the round I should spend points to boost my order in combat, which means I'll attack early, but with fewer resources to attack or defend.
The damage system, with three different types of injuries, is probably the crunchiest bit of the R2R system. As a sidebar notes, it's possible to incapacitate or kill someone by either nickel and diming them with a bunch of weak, light blows; or to do it with one decisive blow. A punch will probably just bruise, but if they're battered up, or it's a good shot, it could wind up breaking bones.
Magic
Among the Aware, the ability to use magic is very common. If you learned an Aptitude while Aware, you probably learned how to cast some spells or enchant some items to make your life easier. (This is in the book, but it's one of the things I didn't realize until I was creating a character.) While it's difficult to enchant complex items with mechanical parts, simple devices such as books, hand weapons and clothing are easy to make magic. Aware tailors probably make their suits so the buttons can never tear, and the jacket grows with a man's waist-line.
Even someone without an appropriate Aptitude can learn a specific spell for just a couple of experience points and a teacher. I'd be inclined to say that for an Aware community, many spells are taught in an evening workshop.
Technically, each spell must be a form of Alteration, Creation, Destruction, Divination or Preservation. If you have an applicable Aptitude, it's got to relate to that domain, but it can be freeform magic within those parameters. One mage might achieve an effect by chanting and gesturing, another by singing. It's all good.
There are three effect levels: minor, significant and major. I didn't look too closely, but there's a huge cap in casting costs between minor and significant. The system looks like it encourages people to use a bunch of small effects rather than regularly blowing up buildings with an ancient blasphemous invocation.
No comments:
Post a Comment