Re: Iron Heroes: the good things


"Justisaur" <justisaur@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1123337713.519136.157220@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Malachias Invictus wrote:
>> Traits: I really like the idea of customizing human characters.
>> Everyone
>> gets 2 of these. Some are a bit more powerful that others (e.g. Mighty
>> Build allows you to use Large weapons without penalty), but they are, for
>> the most part very interesting. You have Background traits (you can only
>> have one), Mental traits, and Physical traits to choose from.

> This is nice for the PCs but more work for the DM again. I'm getting
> rather tired of all the work neccessary to make a good NPC challenge.
> I'm sorely tempted to go back to 2e these days.

There are not *that* many traits, and once you are familiar with the system,
they are easy to just slap on. NPCs seem to be pretty easy to make on the
fly. Additionally, you could always just use Traits that do not apply to
that combat, effectively ignoring them.

>> Tokens: A workable and fun departure from the "uses per day" mechanic.
>> Essentially, you earn tokens for doing certain things, mostly in combat
>> (aiming for the Archer's Aim tokens, getting hit and a few other things
>> for
>> the Berserker's Fury tokens, etc.). The tokens are used to power
>> abilities
>> during the combat. It makes the character "earn" the more powerful
>> abilities by saving tokens, rather than limiting them to once a day or
>> the
>> like. Some feats also use them, and some are also used out of combat.
>
> Might be interesting, might be a chore. I can't even hardly get my
> players to keep track of thier wand charges, adding something else to
> the mix is just going to be more paperwork they won't want to do.

I am using those flat glass counters you can get at craft stores. Red for
Fury, blue for Aim, etc. You spend them pretty fast, so I see no real point
in writing them down on something besides a 3x5 card. Then again, there is
some discussion about making little "token cards" that can be printed on
card stock and cut out, for the tokens.

>> Skills: The most elegant part of the system, by far. There are no
>> class/cross-class skills. Everything costs the same. However, classes
>> have
>> Skill Groups, which essentially allow the character to spend 1 skill
>> point
>> to gain a rank in several related skills favored by that class. For
>> example, Berserkers get the Athletics group, which puts one point each in
>> Climb, Jump, and Swim for each point put into the group. Each character
>> class also has quite a few skill points, ranging from 4/level at the
>> lower
>> end to 12/level for the Thief class (the super skillmonkey of the book).
>> They made Knowledge one skill: essentially, you decide on the field of
>> study
>> when you buy your initial ranks in it. However, you can spend one skill
>> point to add another field of study (for example, if you have 5 ranks in
>> Knowledge with the Arcana field of study, you can spend another point to
>> either raise this to 6 ranks or to leave it at 5 and add, say, Religion
>> as
>> an additional field of study at 5).

> I don't like the way you've described it. You can only have one
> knowledge skill and you have to choose between depth or breadth?

For any given skill point, yes. Of course, if you have 3 skill points, you
could spend one on depth and two on breadth, or any other combination. A
sage-type character would of course spend many points on both.

>> Skill Challenges and Stunts: Nifty, very cinematic ways of using your
>> skills
>> to gain advantages in combat. I cannot really do it justice by
>> describing
>> it, but just think of all the crazy ideas you or others in your group
>> have
>> come up with your characters doing. There are solid mechanics for doing
>> them, even if they are weird.

> This is good.

It really encourages creativity in combat, and using the environment. I
cannot wait to run my first bar fight.

>> Class-Based Defense Bonuses/Armor as DR: This makes being flat-footed
>> *really suck*, as you lose your entire Active Defense bonus (Dex + Class
>> +
>> other). It certainly makes ambushes and sneak attacks scarier. It makes
>> touch attacks less scarier, though. The armor DR is variable, expressed
>> as
>> a die roll (from 1 point for padded to 1D8 for full plate). I like the
>> idea
>> of characters being nimble enough to dodge attacks, rather than just
>> "taking
>> it"

> 1st strike is already a huge problem in 3.x IMHO, if this just makes it
> worse, it's not a good thing.

Armor as DR mitigates this quite a bit. Alpha strike is still nice, but not
a sure thing. Also, with the skill system as it is, the ambushees have the
points to put into Spot and Listen.

>> Feats and Feat Mastery: another elegant system, replacing most feat
>> prerequisites with class-based mastery requirements. Ten levels of
>> Dodge,
>> all of them interesting. Crazy powerful feats at Mastery Level 10 in
>> each
>> category.

> So I take it multiclassing is out?

It is not very well integrated, in my opinion.

>> Archer: finally, a kick ass, all-in-one-package archer - he can snipe, he
>> can ambush!
>
> Sounds nice.

The ability to Aim to get that better shot is really cool. I like the idea
of the melee guys occupying the big bad creature long enough for the archer
to build up a huge token reserve and give 'em the Laketown Special.

>> Berserker: what the Barbarian wishes he was - crazy, and fun to play -
>> you
>> can keep up your Berserker abilities as long as people keep pissing you
>> off.
>
> Ah here we go. I love Berserkers. Barbarians just don't quite have
> the totally f'n nuts going for them.

The greatest thing about it is the Fury tokens. When you activate Berserk
(there are 3 flavors, by the way, and you *could* have all three going at
once), it lasts for 2+Con bonus in rounds. As a free action, you can spend
1 Fury token to extend this by 2 rounds. Since you get a fury token every
time you are hit, you are thereby encouraged to wade into the fray. You
also get 5 Fury tokens if a companion goes down in combat (that reminds me
of Erik the Viking), and you can spend a round or part of a round biting
your shield or punching yourself in the head (called Stoking Your Fury), to
gain tokens.

>> Harrier: very mobile hit-and-run fighter - at higher levels, can "flank"
>> with himself by corkscrewing an opponent.
>
> O.k. that's just stupid.

I think it is *more* stupid that a Monk with an 80' move *can't* corkscrew
their opponent for some sort of bonus. Flanking seems to be the obvious
benefit. These guys are supposed to be *really* fast movers.

>> Arcanist: nice class, good knowledge/lore-based abilities, too bad the
>> magic
>> system is largely poop.
>
> Since it's a low magic system, it doesn't suprize me.

The problem is that some types of magic are crazily overpowered, while
others are of the "don't even bother" category.

> But I don't have much interest in playing in a system with a crappy magic
> system. This
> pretty much kills it for me right there.

It is mostly a very low-magic implied setting anyway. I am looking at other
alternatives, and the Arcanist is a very cool class, so I am hoping to port
another magic system there (Black Company springs to mind).

>> Death: when you hit -10, make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to your
>> negative hit point total. Fail and you die. Make it and you deteriorate
>> by
>> 1 hit point per round until someone else stabilizes you (no
>> auto-stabilize
>> at -10 or lower) or you fail the next round's save and die. I like this,
>> as
>> it gives the tough characters a good chance of survival when hit with
>> "overkill damage".
>
> Anything to slow down damage inflation/death spiral that's in the
> current system is good.

Agreed. This is *especially* true in a game without Raise Dead capability.
Then again, there *is* a high level Healing Lore feat that allows you to
resuscitate a dead companion within a few rounds of death under certain
circumstances (if he dies from "bleeding out" rather than the initial strike
that took him to negatives).

--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley


.

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