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

[logicmage at comcast.net]

I think you guys are too locked into a think that D&D started with magic users not being able to wear armor.  That was just Gygax and friends prefered.  If you look in some of the fiction and in some few games, it make no difference.  Thats one reason why I like P&P.  But then again go with whatever you like.

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Scott M" <scottee.mac at gmail.com> 

> > 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. 
> > 
> 
> I like what you posted. Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to try 
> a variant though, which is to subtract the AV from the casting speed 
> per phase. Just me, but I really like discouraging armor use for 
> mages. 
> 
> > 
> > > 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. 
> > 
> 
> I was thinking along the same lines if there wasn't a better rule. 
> Thanks. I feel compelled to include the OCV as well though (otherwise 
> all missile weapons just became a lot harder to use). So I'll probably 
> use the rules as written, modified by the OCV minus the DCV (so, 
> similar to melee attacks, just adding the range modifiers). 
> 
> 
> > > 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. 
> 
> You bring up a good point with the background. I haven't been using 
> that as much as I should have been. More, when someone starts as 
> status 3 or higher and gives up all their income for experience, 
> expertise points, or character points, I should come up with some 
> reason why a character from so much money would suddenly find themself 
> without. Probably he alienated the source of the cash flow, and that 
> would have repurcussions. 
> 
> 
> > 
> > > 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. 
> > 
> 
> Cool, thanks for the sanity check here. 
> 
> 
> > > 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. 
> > 
> 
> I really like the use of Survival for the affected terrain. I'm not 
> sure how I'm going to introduce alertness/stealth. I'm leery of adding 
> a ton of new skills, but I might toy with the idea of make some 
> derived stealth/alertness scores by using the associated survival 
> skill as modified by agility or intelligence, accordingly. I'll give 
> it a shot and let you know how it turns out. 
> 
> > > 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 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________ 
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> > pnp at abroere.xs4all.nl 
> > http://abroere.xs4all.nl/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pnp 
> > 
> 
> Thanks again Paul. I really appreciate the feedback. 
> 
> 
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