[PnP] my first post - a few very noob questions

[Paul L. Ming]

Hiya.


> 1) Can magic users wear armor and does it affect their ability to cast
> spells? From my reading so far, I assume magic users can wear whatever
> they like with no penalty. That seems strange to me.
>   
   Yup, they can wear whatever they want as per the rules. Personally, 
my house rule is that for every AV of armor that they wear, the Cost per 
PMR goes up by 1. So, a caster casting a spell that costs 11 mana, and 
he can cast it normally at a rate of 3 per PMR would cost 3, 3, 3, 2 
normally; but if he is wearing 2 points of AV his cost goes up to 5, 5, 
5, 4. The spell still takes the same length of time, but it just costs 
more mana.


> 2) Are there any house rules to take OCV/DCV or the target's
> agility/dex (or anything) into consideration when targeting them with
> ranged weapons? 
>   
   Again, you are correct. However, it would be a simple matter to 
simply use the listed "Line" number as the missile OCV and then subtract 
the defenders DCV from that. So someone shooting a Heavy Crossbow at 
short rage at a target with DCV 4 would roll on line +2 on the Combat table.

> 3) Are there any house rules to keep the all-mighty Status roll from
> making or breaking a new character? It seems that so long as you make
> a status of 3 or higher, you don't really need to spend any initial
> increases on cash. So now you have both a cash advantage and a
> skill/character point/experience point advantage over characters with
> a status of 1 or 2.
>   
   I never had a problem with it, personally. Status is a double-edged 
sword. You may have more wealth (and thusly better equipment), but with 
that wealth you have all the responsibilities that comes with it. A 
Station 3 character has a business to run, faculty members to appease, 
higher-ranking officers to obey, etc. As long as you keep the 
"background" of the station in play, it all works out.
  As a house rule, you could always just limit a characters station to 1 
or 2 for everyone.

> 4) Can I assume that most P&P GMs are VERY liberal with spell success
> modifiers? It sure seems like the players can romp all over the NPCs
> without them. As an example, "Abandon"; I like to assign a 5 to 10
> penalty if the target is already leery of the caster, up to 25 if they
> are already in combat. Meanwhile, I would consider a bonus of around
> 10 if the caster can cajole the target into a discussion to at least
> consider "forgetting all your woes" before casting his spell.
>   
   Spells in P&P are *very* powerful. However, the big balancing factor 
for me has always been the uncertainty of the targets MDV. :) A high MDV 
and only a 'moderately bad' roll to cast can quickly result in an 
Abysmal Failure. I also have a house rule that limits the number of 
'spells' a character can start with. The limit is based on a total 
number of  BMC's worth of spells. This way, a player can choose a list 
with a few high-power spells, a lot of low-power spells, or (most 
commonly) a general mix of them.
   Adding modifiers in-game is also kind of expected in P&P. This isn't 
a game system that relegates the GM to nothing more than a player who 
rolls for the monsters. P&P expects that the Referee to actually be a 
master of the game. In this way, P&P is quite heavy on the "Referee 
adjudication" aspect of play. This is GOOD! So, keep applying those 
modifiers in an even manner and everyone will know what to expect.

> 5) I do see ambush rules, but are there any rules (House or otherwise)
> that dictate how soon two groups of travelers will see each other in
> the wilderness? Or who will see each other first? The skills don't
> seem to account for sensory perception very much – is that generally
> ignored in games that you folks run?
>   
   I have created my own stat called "Awareness" (I+A+Em / 3, ru). This 
is used for general 'awareness and perception in general'. I use it to 
see if a character notices scuff marks on the floor near a secret door 
in the wall, for example. If the characters specifically search an area, 
I move to appropriate skills (Survival, Tracking, etc.).
  As for distance in a non-ambush situation...again, P&P makes the 
Referee earn his keep by using his brain. I just think of the situation 
and use my judgment. An Awareness check would probably be made; success 
indicating  a greater distance at which the 'targets' are noticed.

> Sorry if that's too much too fast. I'll take whatever kind of response
> I can get.
>
> By the way, I live in Tarpon Springs, Florida and am always looking
> for interested gamers. We're going to the Necronomicon in October 5,
> 2007 at the Hyatt in downtown Tampa. A bunch of gamers get together
> there each year. No P&P so far, but you never know what might show up
> on the schedule.
   hehe...I'm just about as far away from you as I can be and still be 
on the same continent (I'm in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada).  My brother is 
in Florida...can't remember where (he and his fiance just moved there 
last month).

   Ask as many questions about P&P as you want...we are a pretty tight 
nit group here. :) Welcome aboard!

Paul L. Ming