Some thoughts on reductions
I’ve been looking around a little and thinking about reductions as well as skills. And well, I think I got an idea that works.
It’s to decrease the number of speciality skills with one so all specialities only have two. For some specialities they have a redundant skill or even a skill which serves no good purpose other than to give them a third skill. Also, this change would be very quickly done.
The specialities would loose;
Druid
Animal Training – This is a skill which I’ve had a hard time making anything fast for. IN fact there is nothing special about it so far. It’s a higher boost skill. Thus it can be turned to a regular skill instead.
Hannje
Acrobatics – Mostly redundant and too flashy but with no real effect.
Healer
Target – Has nothing to do with lay on hands, target is a good skill for healers but not necessary.
Kremis
Surprise Attack – This was a hard choice since Kremis is one of the few specialities who actually earned all their skills. But removing this is actually the most logical thing to do. Kremises could use poisons instead to do the same thing as their Surprise Attack.
Mage
Multitrance – I think this is the skill which is least useful skill plus it might as well be a regular skill I think. It’s nothing special with the speciality version of it. It only blocks very useful techniques from everyone else.
Tekkan
Dual Wield – Yes, you read it right. Even though this is my Berserk to my Tekkan I think this skill absolutely must go. To begin with making anything to this skill in a speciality makes it almost too powerful or too dull a speciality skill. It’s caused me a lot of trouble and I think it’s time I took care of it by dealing with it in the best way I can… by removing the obstacle.
Tyniker
I must admit that when it comes to my perfect Tyniker I seriously doesn’t know which skill to reduce. They are perfect in most ways and I’m very reluctant to remove any skill. I’m thinking though of maybe removing the Bombs (Alchemy) since maybe this is the most illogical thing to be able to do as a simple thing. But to be honest I still can’t decide… Any suggestions here?
Warrior
Grappling – Easy one! A good guardsman or warrior of an hounorable work should have grappling, but I don’t think it’s necessary for everyone to have it. Plus I think that grappling could be used by everyone instead. Warriors are, after all one of the most common Specialities.
As an end note I think that maybe one could make two special exceptions in this. If one would to remove Aim from warriors, which I want to do since it also just locks up techniques others should have, and only leave them with their super improved three-way athletics and give Tyniker three speciality skills it should be good. Of course I will then reduce Warriors training time and cost greatly so they will be around 2-4 years tops. This is the suggestion I like the most for the moment concerning Tyniker and Warrior. Otherwise I think this reduction is a good one. And as always most specialities have advancement possibilities with their arts.
Best Regards,
Herid Fel
This is good. I agree that some of the skills just seem to lock up stuff you want to do with other specialties. More possibilities to “multiclass” without multiclassing. That is, create a character that uses stuff that is now normally associated with another class.
Regarding the exceptions, I see no problem with them except your obsession with equal numbers. So if you ask me, do it. Do it now.
Equal numbers? Now I don’t see what you mean? You mean with equal numbers for all the specialities, well that’s for balance and also in most cases since the specialities has become the skills they are associated with.
This sounds like a good idea to me, I have no objections.
The general stuff, that there must be a certain number of things for it to be even in the rules. Things like there must be as many physical and mental properties. But never mind that. Good reductions anyway.
Ah, well, that actually hasn’t to do with any obsession. It has to do with the simple thing of the world and the in-game functionality of the world. The Way of Balance. You understand?
Well, well… I will introduce this most likely, but not immediately. It will come when I’m finished with the obvious reductions. I will post later with the next decision.
I dont know, in most cases you present I guess its pretty much a redundant skill with some special moves, but in some I think you undermine the use and what they give.
For example, a kremis suprise attack? come on its much more than just poison, I mean their shadowstab(?strike?) is almost a signature move to them, atleast its something they have always had. And then you had their special bloodstab which was worse than normal bleeding.
And as always if you dont have them on specialty it will be much much harder to increase the skill level on them since you need to have the properties at the required level, this concerns all by the way.
Still if you want to do this although I dont really see why since it wont be an reduction? kind of but the skills will still be there right? Unless you plan on putting skills together.
About the other specialties I dont have much to say if you go through with it except in the case of the warrior(yes again)
Now, you say that you want to remove aim to be able to unlock those techniques to other specialities, hmm ok I guess that makes sense, but why not let them keep grappling? I mean if you remove both of them and only leave athletics warriors will feel pretty meh compared to other specialties, and yes what they get from athletics is good but hardly comparable as to having two speciality skills unless you buff athletics more in my opinion.
And I dont agree that lowering their age and cost will really be a good band-aid. they will feel pretty dull, and they will basically have no way of specializing in anything except athletics making it basically no diversity between warriors except the other skills but that goes pretty much for all specializations.
And still, even if warriors are the most common, they should still feel interesting and refreshing for a player to chose even if they are common in-game.
Oh, and I do agree if you are going to remove anything from tyniker I would say alchemy, they could always make bombs before going into battle, the other two feels more unique.
Oh yeah I just thought of something more, is animal training the one with apt in its skill? will be tough for druids if that is the case.
Oh well just my thoughts about things.
Shadow Strike is not their signature move in my opinion. It’s Deviate. That’s always been the power they had which have been most amazing. Shadow strike only adds damage to a strike, this too can be done with special coatings and poisons for blades. Plus they have the Dark Arts some things will go and become more arcane and powerful this way.
Their Blood Strike though is also possible to simulate with poisons. The only thing was that you need a healer and cannot just bandage the wound to stop the bleeding. It’s possible and have been possible with poisons for quite some time.
This I don’t really care about since it’s kind of the point. Only the things which is most basic for the speciality is to have that advantage and also that’s a rule deviation I prefer to remove.
It will be a reduction in rules since the speciality skills need a second extensional rule-set to do what I intend for them to do. Remember that most specialities has things which is special in a way which often requires special methods to even be able to use.
I might boost Athletics, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Maybe Warriors will become more dull but I don’t really think so. I think that Warriors will most likely be the most flexible speciality there is since this in essence makes it possible rulewise and in-game wise for a Warrior to actually advance into a second speciality in-game without any addition to the rules other than it must be done in-game. This with the exception of inborn specialities such as Mage or specialities which requires some ortodox methods such as Tyniker. No, I stand by these changes.
No, Animal Healing is the one with APT. They will only lose a skill with CHA and WILL.
What PB said made me think of one thing, there will be a few cascading effects by reducing the number of speciality skills. Most of these skills should likely become favoured skills, but just adding them to the list will make several specialities have them. Which reverses a change you made a while back. So making this change would require a couple of more fixes.
Yes, I knew that already when I came up with the idea. I don’t think though that is a problem.