WotG Question
WotG Question
Great time for the Eos Press forums to be hacked. I'm running the end of Auspicious Beginnings tomorrow and I wanted to ask for suggestions on ways to encourage characters to use that Lightfooty goodness and move around the battlefield, rather than just stay in one spot and slug it out with their foes. Fortunately, I remembered that one of the Actual Plays described there comes from a game that came out of this forum (which I SO wish I had known about sooner!), and I figured it was high time I signed up anyway. Since you guys have actually played the game, do you perchance have any suggestions? Thanks for your time.
Mike
Mike
- devlin1
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Welcome to the forums! Yeah, that's a pisser about the WotG boards, huh? But anyway.
Tough question to answer. I've found that my players usually enjoy standing stock-still and trading blows with their opponents as if they were 1920s-style pugilists. If I were a better GM, I'd remember to have their opponents hop/skip/jump around more, which I would think would subtly encourage the players to do the same, but part of the problem is that under the current rules, Dodging is almost always inferior to Blocking (Settling Stone, as I recall, even parried an arrow last session instead of trying to Dodge -- and succeeded, even with the -10 penalty), so almost no one bothers to Dodge when he can Block.
I will say that Sam, aka Five Fingers Flaming Monkey Fist, tends to Dodge and Lightfoot a bit more than the rest (I'm thinking here of the fight with the Dirty Ting Brothers in the Fortunate Rest in Bird Progress City -- which hasn't been summarized yet for our adoring public -- in which he had a running battle along the walls with one of the Tings). Then again, I specified some slightly more interesting architecture in that encounter, so maybe another way to encourage that sort of thing would be to detail the environment. Let them know there are carts, overhangs, poles, a bamboo forest, a building under construction, tops of onlookers' heads, and so forth, then have the badguys take advantage of their environs. I'm convinced that roleplaying NPCs better will naturally lead to more mobile fights, but since I seem to kinda suck at that, right now it's just a theory.
I haven't read all of Auspicious Beginnings, although I like what I've seen, so I couldn't give you specific advice on that particular adventure, but based on all the wuxia nonsense I watch, it seems to me that in general, people use Lightfoot to get away, and then their enemies use it to pursue them/close distance. If the badguys are constantly leaping from rooftop to rooftop, what choice will the PCs have but to do the same?
I'd suggest making the opposition so strong that the PCs are forced to use every option available, including Headlong Flying Leap, etc., but in our game, the answer to tough opponents is rarely, if ever, Lightfoot. Of course, offhand I can only think of two encounters in which any of the players were really concerned about their characters' welfare in a fight: Five Fingers Flaming Monkey Fist vs. the Qing Cheng dudes outside Winding Silk City, and this last encounter on a riverboat, in which Hell's Disasters caused a few grunts of concern. However, when the dust settled, none of the PCs were seriously hurt (and some weren't hurt at all, so clearly I have to step that up a bit) and Lightfoot had nothing to do with it.
Anyway, if I think of anything genuinely useful apart from these late-night ramblings, I'll post it later. I'd also like to hear what my players think. Players?
Tough question to answer. I've found that my players usually enjoy standing stock-still and trading blows with their opponents as if they were 1920s-style pugilists. If I were a better GM, I'd remember to have their opponents hop/skip/jump around more, which I would think would subtly encourage the players to do the same, but part of the problem is that under the current rules, Dodging is almost always inferior to Blocking (Settling Stone, as I recall, even parried an arrow last session instead of trying to Dodge -- and succeeded, even with the -10 penalty), so almost no one bothers to Dodge when he can Block.
I will say that Sam, aka Five Fingers Flaming Monkey Fist, tends to Dodge and Lightfoot a bit more than the rest (I'm thinking here of the fight with the Dirty Ting Brothers in the Fortunate Rest in Bird Progress City -- which hasn't been summarized yet for our adoring public -- in which he had a running battle along the walls with one of the Tings). Then again, I specified some slightly more interesting architecture in that encounter, so maybe another way to encourage that sort of thing would be to detail the environment. Let them know there are carts, overhangs, poles, a bamboo forest, a building under construction, tops of onlookers' heads, and so forth, then have the badguys take advantage of their environs. I'm convinced that roleplaying NPCs better will naturally lead to more mobile fights, but since I seem to kinda suck at that, right now it's just a theory.
I haven't read all of Auspicious Beginnings, although I like what I've seen, so I couldn't give you specific advice on that particular adventure, but based on all the wuxia nonsense I watch, it seems to me that in general, people use Lightfoot to get away, and then their enemies use it to pursue them/close distance. If the badguys are constantly leaping from rooftop to rooftop, what choice will the PCs have but to do the same?
I'd suggest making the opposition so strong that the PCs are forced to use every option available, including Headlong Flying Leap, etc., but in our game, the answer to tough opponents is rarely, if ever, Lightfoot. Of course, offhand I can only think of two encounters in which any of the players were really concerned about their characters' welfare in a fight: Five Fingers Flaming Monkey Fist vs. the Qing Cheng dudes outside Winding Silk City, and this last encounter on a riverboat, in which Hell's Disasters caused a few grunts of concern. However, when the dust settled, none of the PCs were seriously hurt (and some weren't hurt at all, so clearly I have to step that up a bit) and Lightfoot had nothing to do with it.
Anyway, if I think of anything genuinely useful apart from these late-night ramblings, I'll post it later. I'd also like to hear what my players think. Players?
Mike Olson
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In Settling Stones defence he is a 300 pound Buddha bellied brute. I've intentionally kept him from taking too many levels in Lightfoot. I'm just trying to avoid images of Shaolin Soccer. That being said, the one time I did use it without being knocked out of a boat was when Dev made a point of describing the surroundings and included things to be jumped on. It all depends on the player. But for me that helped.
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Well, Scholar Xi-Tong is um... a scholar. Either he's flinging around curses, using Daoist Secret Techniques, or using his special weighted lute-string strangulation weapon. Most of the time, this is from a distance. Not a whole lot of call for Lightfoot. He's only got one level in it anyway.
But I agree with devlin that GMing NPCs in such a way would also encourage the players to use it as well.
But I agree with devlin that GMing NPCs in such a way would also encourage the players to use it as well.
Hey man, I'm slinging volume and fat stacking benjies, you know what I mean? I can't be all about spelling and shit!
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[quote="J@ke"]In Settling Stones defence he is a 300 pound Buddha bellied brute. I've intentionally kept him from taking too many levels in Lightfoot. I'm just trying to avoid images of Shaolin Soccer. That being said, the one time I did use it without being knocked out of a boat was when Dev made a point of describing the surroundings and included things to be jumped on. It all depends on the player. But for me that helped.[/quote]
Yeah, I was going to mention that you were using Surefoot to run on the water behind the boat when you were knocking that yin-yang faced guy silly.
Mechanically, from what I've seen, Lightfoot doesn't seem to offer enough of a benefit for people to want to use it as frequently as the game apparently would like. Ostensibly, if you put a little distance between yourself and your opponent in a fight, it's because there's some tactical advantage in doing so, and not necessarily because you're just trying to dodge him. I could see a Lightfoot-like style that used opposed Athletics rolls to grant bonus dice to Fight/Melee or Improved Breath or something genuinely (and offensively)
Mike Olson
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Hm... i guess I do like to get around a bit, (like jumping into the trees in my first fight, or the noodle house battle, etc), but not when we are on a smallish boat, for example -it just didn't seem appropriate at the time. Guess I could have run across the water to the archers, for example, but I wasn't in Wuxia mode - I was seeing the water as an obstacle and not another surface for me to traverse. Plus I was kinda annoyed at the guys whacking me in the face at the time ;)
Of course, if the enemies had been using lightfoot to jump over the boat while jabbing me in the face, then disappearing over the other side - you bet your sweet ass I'd be chasing them down to mix it up - so the 'better description/bad guys moving' theories probably hold some water. I can try to help by asking about the surroundings too, so you don't always have to remember Mike.
for some reason, I like to dodge despite its craptacular-ness. Probably the whole 'my character is nimble and such' thing I have going. Of course, I should probably be doing a better job of using lightfoot in that case (expecially as I bought more techniques in it than the standard).
I think part of the problem is that lightfoot seems to be 'that other technique they gave me for free'. I'm usually looking to the techniques I chose and put destiny in first, and Lightfoot gets overlooked.. I'm not even sure if it is on my 'Kung-Fu Crib Sheet'
Of course, if the enemies had been using lightfoot to jump over the boat while jabbing me in the face, then disappearing over the other side - you bet your sweet ass I'd be chasing them down to mix it up - so the 'better description/bad guys moving' theories probably hold some water. I can try to help by asking about the surroundings too, so you don't always have to remember Mike.
for some reason, I like to dodge despite its craptacular-ness. Probably the whole 'my character is nimble and such' thing I have going. Of course, I should probably be doing a better job of using lightfoot in that case (expecially as I bought more techniques in it than the standard).
I think part of the problem is that lightfoot seems to be 'that other technique they gave me for free'. I'm usually looking to the techniques I chose and put destiny in first, and Lightfoot gets overlooked.. I'm not even sure if it is on my 'Kung-Fu Crib Sheet'
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[quote="dnd3eplayer"]I'm not even sure if it is on my 'Kung-Fu Crib Sheet'[/quote]
It's not, because there wasn't really room and it's common to everyone, so I didn't bother. There are some mechanical tweaks that would make Dodge (and, by extension, Lightfoot) more attractive, like not including a weapon's Strike when blocking, so maybe we can try something next time and see what effect it has.
Mike Olson
"In this economy, it's not easy to feed a growing family. So we eat Haunkkah gelt for dinner and look at a picture of broccoli." --Paul F. Tompkins
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Yeah yeah, GM the NPCs in such a way that encourages the players... I thought of that, but I wanted an EASY answer. ^^; I do really appreciate all the replies, though. Turns out I stll have more time to come up with an answer since everyone bailed on tonights' game.
Having tough opposition could make it happen. It occurred to me that if the PCs are fighting an overwhelming force that DOESN'T have Lightfoot, it becomes a big advantage. A whole bunch of mooks can be a big threat, but they can't move more than ten yards in a round. And ranked fighters need Lightfoot 2 to cover ground as a free action. I suppose another way to encourage it would be to make sure the opponents have Knockback as a critical, to move the PCs around the battlefield whether they like it or not.
Mike
Having tough opposition could make it happen. It occurred to me that if the PCs are fighting an overwhelming force that DOESN'T have Lightfoot, it becomes a big advantage. A whole bunch of mooks can be a big threat, but they can't move more than ten yards in a round. And ranked fighters need Lightfoot 2 to cover ground as a free action. I suppose another way to encourage it would be to make sure the opponents have Knockback as a critical, to move the PCs around the battlefield whether they like it or not.
Mike
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Improving dodge
Encouraging dodge:
If you're trying to simulate someone having better control over the distance between ones self and The Enemy, I can think of a couple ways to do it:
Initiative/Athletics vs Initiative/Athletics, like a damage roll... each result die is +5 to dodge. It's somewhat based on reality, but may be a bit overpowering.
I can see a Really Fast character suddenly dodging a lot... which makes perfect sense.
BUT, this reduces the utility of Lightfoot 2 (specifically it's dodge bonus). +10 to athletics can translate into +10 to dodge if you were already faster than your opponent.
You'd almost certainly want to throw armor penalties in there (if they're not already, still waiting for my WotG book).
Reduce blocking:
I watched "Iron Monkey" the other night, to get those Wulin Juices flowing. I noticed that they hurled their environment at each other quite a bit... throwing structural beams, kicking chimneys and so on.
You might encourage people to move around by providing useful-but-disposable weapons in the scenery. If the NPCs are making use of these handy dandy weapons, it'll encourage the PCs.
"But disposable". There's a way to cut down on blocking: have people try to break their weapons... or at least go for more disarms.
Another way to reduce blocking (cribbing from Iron Monkey again): Sufficiently powerful attacks can cause knockback/down despite being blocked. Wong Fe-hung (the kid) was knocked on his butt repeatedly when blocking a staff with his umbrella.
It's really "in genre" to have people block successfully, but still skid back a ways (on their feet the entire time of course).
That sounds powerful enough that you might want to add it as an effect to some 2nd+ kung fu techniques.
"Unless the defender gets a critical success on their block, they suffer their choice of knockdown/knockback. If it's a tie, the opponent chooses"
You might want to take Might or weapon size (1h vs 2h) into account there too... though that's starting to bog things down.
Rules check:
IIRC, blocking a ranged attack is much harder than dodging. You don't get your weapon's strike bonus, and you suffer a -10 penalty.
So unless their dodge skill kinda sucked or there was something behind them they wanted to protect, I can't imagine not dodging in that situation.
Another suggestion:
Wire-fu movies have lots of both blocking and dodging. To encourage players to mix it up, add a cumulative penalty for using the same defense over and over again... Get them to switch back and forth.
Rather than keeping track of each attacker vs defender combo, just track what they did in a round. If they do both in a round, no accumulation.
And Another:
Give a (possibly weakened) reply on critical dodges with lightfoot... A character dodged and struck with a single motion:
Opponent: Boot to the Head!
PC: Heavens Broom Sweeps Away Injustice! <leg sweep>
Opponent: Thud
(calling out some polysylibic name in the time it takes to dodge a kick seems a little far fetched, but what the heck)
--Mark "Jonesing for WotG" Storer
If you're trying to simulate someone having better control over the distance between ones self and The Enemy, I can think of a couple ways to do it:
Initiative/Athletics vs Initiative/Athletics, like a damage roll... each result die is +5 to dodge. It's somewhat based on reality, but may be a bit overpowering.
I can see a Really Fast character suddenly dodging a lot... which makes perfect sense.
BUT, this reduces the utility of Lightfoot 2 (specifically it's dodge bonus). +10 to athletics can translate into +10 to dodge if you were already faster than your opponent.
You'd almost certainly want to throw armor penalties in there (if they're not already, still waiting for my WotG book).
Reduce blocking:
I watched "Iron Monkey" the other night, to get those Wulin Juices flowing. I noticed that they hurled their environment at each other quite a bit... throwing structural beams, kicking chimneys and so on.
You might encourage people to move around by providing useful-but-disposable weapons in the scenery. If the NPCs are making use of these handy dandy weapons, it'll encourage the PCs.
"But disposable". There's a way to cut down on blocking: have people try to break their weapons... or at least go for more disarms.
Another way to reduce blocking (cribbing from Iron Monkey again): Sufficiently powerful attacks can cause knockback/down despite being blocked. Wong Fe-hung (the kid) was knocked on his butt repeatedly when blocking a staff with his umbrella.
It's really "in genre" to have people block successfully, but still skid back a ways (on their feet the entire time of course).
That sounds powerful enough that you might want to add it as an effect to some 2nd+ kung fu techniques.
"Unless the defender gets a critical success on their block, they suffer their choice of knockdown/knockback. If it's a tie, the opponent chooses"
You might want to take Might or weapon size (1h vs 2h) into account there too... though that's starting to bog things down.
Rules check:
IIRC, blocking a ranged attack is much harder than dodging. You don't get your weapon's strike bonus, and you suffer a -10 penalty.
So unless their dodge skill kinda sucked or there was something behind them they wanted to protect, I can't imagine not dodging in that situation.
Another suggestion:
Wire-fu movies have lots of both blocking and dodging. To encourage players to mix it up, add a cumulative penalty for using the same defense over and over again... Get them to switch back and forth.
Rather than keeping track of each attacker vs defender combo, just track what they did in a round. If they do both in a round, no accumulation.
And Another:
Give a (possibly weakened) reply on critical dodges with lightfoot... A character dodged and struck with a single motion:
Opponent: Boot to the Head!
PC: Heavens Broom Sweeps Away Injustice! <leg sweep>
Opponent: Thud
(calling out some polysylibic name in the time it takes to dodge a kick seems a little far fetched, but what the heck)
--Mark "Jonesing for WotG" Storer
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[quote="mstorer3772"][b]Encouraging dodge:[/b]
If you're trying to simulate someone having better control over the distance between ones self and The Enemy, I can think of a couple ways to do it:
Initiative/Athletics vs Initiative/Athletics, like a damage roll... each result die is +5 to dodge. It's somewhat based on reality, but may be a bit overpowering.
I can see a Really Fast character suddenly dodging a lot... which makes perfect sense.
BUT, this reduces the utility of Lightfoot 2 (specifically it's dodge bonus). +10 to athletics can translate into +10 to dodge if you were already faster than your opponent.
You'd almost certainly want to throw armor penalties in there (if they're not already, still waiting for my WotG book).[/quote]
Yeah, that'd kinda screw Lightfoot's utility. Run Like A Deer gives a +5 Dodge bonus, and Headlong Flying Leap gives a +10, but then again opposed Athletics rolls don't cost any Chi.
Armor penalties only come into play for Medium and Heavy Armor, which almost no one wears. In our first session, Iron Tower Po wore Quality Medium Armor, but most people wear Light Armor, if anything. Well, they wear clothes, but... you get the idea.
[quote="mstorer3772"][b]Reduce blocking:[/b]
I watchedthe other night, to get those Wulin Juices flowing. I noticed that they hurled their environment at each other quite a bit... throwing structural beams, kicking chimneys and so on. [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108148/]"Iron Monkey"[/url]
You might encourage people to move around by providing useful-but-disposable weapons in the scenery. If the NPCs are making use of these handy dandy weapons, it'll encourage the PCs.[/quote]
This sort of thing is built into the system, in a way. Without using kung fu, these sorts of maneuvers could be as easy as Ranged rolls]"But disposable". There's a way to cut down on blocking: have people try to break their weapons... or at least go for more disarms.[/quote]
Disarm is a critical effect that can be achieved three ways:
1. Through a quality of the weapon you're using (some weapons are built for that sort of thing)
2. Through your kung fu (some kung fu styles have Disarm as a Default Critical)
3. Through a Kung Fu Marvel (not too difficult)
My point is, though, it's not like taking a -4 to hit, and so on. Disarms generally occur in pretty limited circumstances (as written). Also, recovering a dropped weapon is brutally easy, so unless you Disarm someone at range while they're on a boat and their sword drops into the water, they'll likely pick it up right away with a Free Action.
[quote="mstorer3772"]Another way to reduce blocking (cribbing from Iron Monkey again): Sufficiently powerful attacks can cause knockback/down despite being blocked. Wong Fe-hung (the kid) was knocked on his butt repeatedly when blocking a staff with his umbrella.[/quote]
Again, built into the system. I know you don't have the book yet, so consider this a bit of reassurance that the game has anticipated (some of) your needs. It's possible to take no damage from an attack but still suffer its Critical Effect, such as the example given above: Hsi-Ping wasn't injured by the arrow that disarmed him, but it still disarmed him. Knockback is huge in WotG -- it occurs in increments of 10 yards, for God's sake -- but can be reduced by spending Chi. So it's not too much of a stretch to say that Fei Hung Blocked so unsuccessfully (that is, damage got through) that the attack was a Critical (exceeded his Block by 10+), then used his Chi Aura to reduce the damage to zero -- but still took Knockback from the Critical, for which he spent Chi to reduce the KB to something manageable.
[quote="mstorer3772"][b]Rules check:[/b]
IIRC, blocking a ranged attack is much harder than dodging. You don't get your weapon's strike bonus,[i]and[/i] you suffer a -10 penalty.
So unless their dodge skill kinda sucked or there was something behind them they wanted to protect, I can't imagine not dodging in that situation.[/quote]
I can definitely imagine Blocking over Dodging in that situation if you have 6 dice in Fight and only 2 in Dodge. I believe that's the case for Settling Stone.
[quote="mstorer3772"][b]Another suggestion:[/b]
Wire-fu movies have lots of both blocking and dodging. To encourage players to mix it up, add a cumulative penalty for using the same defense over and over again... Get them to switch back and forth.
Rather than keeping track of each attacker vs defender combo, just track what they did in a round. If they do both in a round, no accumulation.[/quote]
I'm torn on this. Part of me wants to assess a penalty for using the same Technique in
I like the direction you're going, though. I'd just need to think about it more.
[quote="mstorer3772"][b]And Another:[/b]
Give a (possibly weakened) reply on critical dodges with lightfoot... A character dodged and struck with a single motion:
Opponent: Boot to the Head!
PC: Heavens Broom Sweeps Away Injustice! <leg sweep>
Opponent: Thud[/quote]
This kind of thing, along with the Initiative winner getting +1 attack die/10 points of success over his opponent, seems like a viable solution, although the Reply would definitely have to be penalized. Common styles usually don't give Replies until the third Technique](calling out some polysylibic name in the time it takes to dodge a kick seems a little far fetched, but what the heck)[/quote]
No, you know what's far-fetched?
Mike Olson
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- devlin1
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[quote="mordraine"]Hey, you're the GM. Whatever you say, man.[/quote]
No, I can't be that callous to my players' needs. Besides, if it were an actual lute string, its range would be what, four feet? Who needs that?
Mike Olson
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[quote="devlin1"]No, I can't be that callous to my players' needs. Besides, if it were an actual lute string, its range would be what, four feet? Who needs that?[/quote]
It's not just one lute string. Xi-Tong has a large coil of string, from which a length is cut to fit on a lute.
Hey man, I'm slinging volume and fat stacking benjies, you know what I mean? I can't be all about spelling and shit!
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[quote="mordraine"]It's not just one lute string. Xi-Tong has a large coil of string, from which a length is cut to fit on a lute.[/quote]
What, like a... like a fishing reel?
Anyway, I don't need anything justified. "Legends of Ji Gong" repeatedly proves to me that in this genre, reality is a tertiary concern at best.
Mike Olson
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[quote="devlin1"]
My point is, though, it's not like taking a -4 to hit, and so on. Disarms generally occur in pretty limited circumstances (as written). Also, recovering a dropped weapon is brutally easy, so unless you Disarm someone at range while they're on a boat and their sword drops into the water, they'll likely pick it up right away with a Free Action.
[/quote]
Actually, I'm not so sure Disarm is so useless. Unless you have one of the Fu techniquese that makes your weapon fly to your hand, it's a Simple Athletics roll to recover it. And since it's not Trivial, that requires a Full Action, not a Free Action. So for at least one round, you have to choose whether to recover your weapon or attack without it.
Furthermore, according to page 68, you can "make an opposed Tactics skill roll as a free action under Athletics" I'm not really sure from that exactly what you roll, but it sounds like by using a free action, you can make someone have to beat your roll to get their weapon back, making Disarm potentially more useful. If fighting someone who is good at that, I can see leaping away to kick a chimney at them instead.
Another thing that ocurred to me, though I don't know if the rules support this or not, is using tactical opposition as a free action to prevent someone from moving away. I'm thinking of Michelle Yeoh keeping the Green Destiny thief from escaping in
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[quote="SDSkuld"]Actually, I'm not so sure Disarm is so useless. Unless you have one of the Fu techniquese that makes your weapon fly to your hand, it's a Simple Athletics roll to recover it. And since it's not Trivial, that requires a Full Action, not a Free Action. So for at least one round, you have to choose whether to recover your weapon or attack without it.[/quote]
It's only a Simple (15) Athletics task, and if you get a Critical Success, it's a Free Action.
[quote]Furthermore, according to page 68, you can "make an opposed Tactics skill roll as a free action under Athletics" I'm not really sure from that exactly what you roll, but it sounds like by using a free action, you can make someone have to beat your roll to get their weapon back, making Disarm potentially more useful. If fighting someone who is good at that, I can see leaping away to kick a chimney at them instead.
Another thing that ocurred to me, though I don't know if the rules support this or not, is using tactical opposition as a free action to prevent someone from moving away. I'm thinking of Michelle Yeoh keeping the Green Destiny thief from escaping in[i]Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[/i] [/quote]
Yeah, the opposed Tactics/Athletics thing sounds good, but I also think it's unclear. You could Disarm someone, then use Tactics to put yourself between him and his weapon, requiring him to make another opposed Tactics or Athletics roll to get around you. Opposed Athletics rolls have come up once or twice in our game when someone has tried to get distance between himself and an opponent.
For us, though, the real "problem," if it can be said there is one, is that we only play once a month, so it's hard enough for the players just to remember how the simple things work, let alone tactical opposition. It'd probably be a good idea for me to write a combat summary of some kind so everyone knows what's possible in a round.
Mike Olson
"In this economy, it's not easy to feed a growing family. So we eat Haunkkah gelt for dinner and look at a picture of broccoli." --Paul F. Tompkins
Spirit of the Blank: A blog.
Roll Some Dice: Another blog.
"In this economy, it's not easy to feed a growing family. So we eat Haunkkah gelt for dinner and look at a picture of broccoli." --Paul F. Tompkins
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- jimmy corrigan
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[quote="jimmy corrigan"]wang hsi ping has continually used lightfoot techniques to space against opponents. at least once in every fight ('cept for when he was under a table in a noodle house consoling npc's), if i'm remembering right.[/quote]
That's sort of thing I'm trying to encourage. What motivated him to do that? Escape from a thrashing?
- jimmy corrigan
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[quote="SDSkuld"]That's sort of thing I'm trying to encourage. What motivated him to do that? Escape from a thrashing?[/quote]
oops. looks like i mistyped. i meant to type:
"wang hsi ping has continually used lightfoot techniques to
sorry for the confusion. let it be known, wang hsi runs from no man. unless, of course, he does.
- devlin1
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[quote="jimmy corrigan"]let it be known, wang hsi runs from no man.[/quote]
Of course he doesn't-- he's a PC!
Mike Olson
"In this economy, it's not easy to feed a growing family. So we eat Haunkkah gelt for dinner and look at a picture of broccoli." --Paul F. Tompkins
Spirit of the Blank: A blog.
Roll Some Dice: Another blog.
"In this economy, it's not easy to feed a growing family. So we eat Haunkkah gelt for dinner and look at a picture of broccoli." --Paul F. Tompkins
Spirit of the Blank: A blog.
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- mstorer3772
- One-Armed Skeleton
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Shields and grappling and such.
[quote="devlin1"]
I honestly think the fix is even easier than any of these: don't add a weapon's Strike when it's used to Block. Instantly levels the Block/Dodge playing field, especially when you can spend 2 Any Chi to get a +5. I'm also seriously considering redoing the weapons chart (again) to remove Strike modifiers entirely. Maybe I'll do that for next time.[/quote]
I dislike that one. Having done more than my fair share of boffer-style LARPing (Amtgard), I'd say it's much easier to block than dodge
And I'm not too happy about the way shields are handled either... as a weapon (+0/+10/-5) that treats ranged attacks just like melee attacks.
Initiative? Sure. Trying to smack someone with a relatively heavy shield is going to be slower than fists & feet (or just about anything designed as a weapon).
Strike: Meh. Actually hitting people with a shield isn't that easy simply because it's slow. BLOCKING? Easy.
Damage: Same as a hand? Nah... a metal shield is gonna hurt. Ask anyone who's ever fought Captain America. ]
No, you know what's far-fetched?
Not if the guy playing the lute was 40 yards tall...
Another WotG question:
Grappling. I didn't see a single style of kung fu that gave any advantages to grappling.
Am I missing something?
As someone who has also taken a few Aikido classes, I feel
Grasping Palm Style
Uncommon kung fu.
Jade Chi, Brutal (palms only... though I was thinking about any weapon that can entangle)
Criticals: Knockback or Hurl (see below)
Some possible effects:
<bad german accent>Der flippen-tossen, ja!</bad german accent>
Comment: This technique is can WRECK groups of minions. Alternative title: "Meat Bowling".
Blocking a God Weapon with someone else's won't break your weapon. And blocking an armed attacker with SOMEONE ELSE'S arms doesn't hurt... you
Note: That means someone with Lightfoot (4? the one that allows you to fly) could tie up any number of people, fly a mile or so up, and let go... provided they had x2 Any chi to spend.
*Bonus: 3 destiny: +5 to escape a grapple.
*Bonus: 3 destiny: Alows "grapple" as a critical for any unarmed attack (excluding gauntlets?).
"Hurl" critical:
Practitioner may throw their opponent using "Grasping Palms" or "Ranged" skill against any target in range of a lift+10 roll. "Grasping Palms" skill may be subbed for Lift as well, though without the +10 bonus.
Init: N/A Takes place immediately.
Strike: +0
Damage: Based on what the other guy is wearing (armor value - 5):
No armor: -5
light: +0
meduim +5
heavy +10.
The projectile is considered "disoriented", and may not use their chi aura (as they go spinning through the air). Not an issue with one of Whirlwind's "pre-killed" minion, but quite handy when outnumbered by "named" opponents.
Hmph. While I'm at it, I'm thinking anyone that's grappled should be considered maimed until they escape. With one hand cranked behind your back, it's hard to swing a greatsword/melon hammer/etc properly.
- jimmy corrigan
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- devlin1
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[quote="mstorer3772"]I dislike that one. Having done more than my fair share of boffer-style LARPing (Amtgard), I'd say it's much easier to block than dodge[i]when you want to be able to strike back[/i] .[/quote]
I'm not sure how this impacts/interacts with not including Strike on a Block. There's a level of complexity I'm not willing to breach, and I think realistically trying to model Amtgard-LARP-boffing-whatever is definitely on it. Reality and wuxia don't have much in common. It's difficult for me to accept sometimes, but it's true, and the system seems to have been designed with that disconnect in mind.
What about if Strike were only included on a Block when using a technique that grants a Reply?
Mike Olson
"In this economy, it's not easy to feed a growing family. So we eat Haunkkah gelt for dinner and look at a picture of broccoli." --Paul F. Tompkins
Spirit of the Blank: A blog.
Roll Some Dice: Another blog.
"In this economy, it's not easy to feed a growing family. So we eat Haunkkah gelt for dinner and look at a picture of broccoli." --Paul F. Tompkins
Spirit of the Blank: A blog.
Roll Some Dice: Another blog.
- mstorer3772
- One-Armed Skeleton
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 10:13 am
[quote="devlin1"]I'm not sure how this impacts/interacts with not including Strike on a Block. There's a level of complexity I'm not willing to breach, and I think realistically trying to model Amtgard-LARP-boffing-whatever is definitely on it. Reality and wuxia don't have much in common. It's difficult for me to accept sometimes, but it's true, and the system seems to have been designed with that disconnect in mind.[/quote]
I'm with you on the Reality-vs-Wuxia front... each of these things I'm coming up with adds complexity, slows things down, etc, etc... which is something that WotG is clearly trying to avoid.
[quote]
What about if Strike were only included on a Block when using a technique that grants a Reply?[/quote]
Given the 'reality ain't wuxia' argument, I'm inclined to just shrug and let it slide.
--Mark Storer