Aldeon LARP
Aldeon Topics => Errata Suggestions => General Discussion => 2015 Errata Suggestions => Topic started by: Selerik on October 18, 2015, 12:36:47 am
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I can see your cause for concern. I would argue that a player who makes a 2nd level character deadlier than another, even with the same stats, is bringing something extra to the game and probably knows they can take on greater threats than typical for their level. How to address that can be difficult for sure, since the skill levels is rarely a simple one. Even with all combat stats, a character broadly built would be less potent than a specialist at some times and more potent at others.
As far as mystery, I can appreciate mystery in a game, but I can also appreciate a hint of what you're getting into being over your head. If you want to stay away from level-tracking encounters, an alternative system for that might be color-banding encounters. Green would be easy - minimal risk, blue would be mildly challenging - risk, but probably no risk of death, so on so forth ending with a difficulty for severe risk of fatalities and other bad stuff. It doesn't specifically give a power level, but it gives an idea of the danger involved - as well as the rewards. That can also be a cue for the people NPCing, on whether to hold back or go berserk.
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I like the idea of a way to determine if something will be too hard for a party, but its a hard thing to do. A low level rogue or mage is still a big threat if played right. I agree modules should have a difficulty meter on them, or atleast most of them. But its very hard to determine player strength. One way I have seen it done is to take the total level of the party and use that to warn players if they are under leveled for it or not.
My problem lies with telling people how hard a module is because that takes the mystery out of it. So I would really like to see only plot be involved with warning people and keep it simple if they recommend it or not. That would only be a warning, and players could heed it or not.
As for the were-creature module, it was super overpowered and as zach said pretty much no team walking into that could have beat them. Then again, now that a team has been wiped out by it, we can learn from their misfortune. And we should thank the heroes that laid down their lives to get said information.
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Thanks for the feedback.
I feel like I should clarify with Combat Readiness that it is something that players would be keeping track of, rather than plot. For instance, I'm a level 5 character. However, I have 30 points in trade/scholar skills, making me effectively a level 2 character for combat-relevant stats. That is important for me to know and to be able to tell a plot or other player trying to figure out if I'm strong enough for an encounter.
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I know that modules have had a sort of challenge rating associated with them, but if a plot thinks a group is pretty strong they may not try to turn them away. Sometimes you have to walk into danger unknowingly.
I assume the particular module you're referencing is the one with all the were-creatures, which I agree was obscenely overpowered for pretty much any party. With the lack of silver weapons in this game along with the potency of these shifters, I really don't know if any party in this game could have won that module. And lets be honest, the morally right thing to do in that module was to avenge the deaths of the townsfolk. I don't know if plot meant for the module to be that grossly overpowered but that's how it ended.
I don't think that combat readiness is a bad idea and I could see it being beneficial to size-up because you can get an idea of the actual combat level of the opponent your facing. However, I don't want to add more detail to NPC's stat sheets because that can take enough time to write as it is.
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Hey all,
It can sometimes be difficult to know how challenging a scene will be for a group of players. I know players and plot have tried to find a balance for this, but when scenes are too easy or too hard it can leave people unsatisfied with their experience. While I know immersion is important, fun is as well, and that is why I am making this suggestion.
Challenge Ratings for Modules, and Challenge Readiness for Players. I'll explain them in order.
Challenge Ratings for Modules is a rough number associated with the average power level a six person party would need to manage the threats involved. It is not the sort of information players currently have when the rumors of the day come through, and even just having an estimate there would help guide players adventuring towards threats that suit where they are in the game.
Challenge Readiness is how dangerous of a combatant a player is. This is effectively their level minus all CP invested in Scholar and Trade skills. Example: A character who is a Rank 10 Tracker (20 CP) would be valuable for finding a battle, but would be considered two full levels below their actual level for Challenge Readiness due to Tracking's inability to contribute to combat directly. This is a ROUGH estimate of power, and something being too high or low in Challenge Rating should not be taken as a hard rule. This doesn't account for the loss of power a character faces if low on stamina, mana, or similar, and is based on being at peak condition. Likewise it cannot account for buffs you have active, or the difference in natural HP or Armor from one class to another. It is just meant to be a more reliable measure than raw character level.
Note that the above suggestions in no way require a rewrite and in no way change game mechanics. At most, Challenge Readiness (or whatever it is renamed to) could end up being noted next to the total level on character sheets.
I didn't exclude Stealth skills in the Challenge Readiness calculation, even though many of them are non-combat. This is because I am lazy and don't feel like figuring out which to include/exclude tonight. It should also be noted that the addition of Challenge Ratings diminishes the potency of Size-Up. If this system were added, please consider whether Size-Up would need to be changed in cost or potency.
I look forward to your thoughts.