In article <ius813lhjmicknbr2rsdkc21v88608mdc8@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
Erol K. Bayburt <ErolB1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>Agree about trimming the numbers down. Have mixed feelings about items
>being colorful/visible vs not. I think it's more im****tant that the
>item & its effects be visible to the player - i.e. a relatively big
>bonus, for the character's power-level. Gaudy but wimpy items might be
>a little better than quiet & wimpy ones, but "big" pluses are better
>than either, and not so dependent on visibility for their coolness.
>Edgar Ironpelt's flaming burst greatsword "Dunar!" was a great,
>character-defining magic item, but so was Don Maximillian's magical
>rapier-and-dagger set: The two weapons when used together functioned
>as a "+5 Defender." Bonuses could be ****fted between the rapier (bonus
>to hit & damage) and the parrying dagger (bonus to AC). This didn't
>have any flashy special effects, it just let Max look more competent.
Your comments and Warren's have made me realize that while Feng
Shui really prioritizes effects that are visible to outside
observers (it's a naturally flashy genre) I'm often happy with
effects that are only visible to the character. What I really
don't like are effects that are not visible at all.
In a d20 based system a +1 to the roll is fairly marginal--you
have to have it for a long time before you notice that it's there,
if you ever do notice. (This does not apply to, for example,
+1 to damage, which is on a different scale.) If you have a
low-level party, it seems as though it should be a big deal
that Fred has a masterwork sword inherited from his adventurer
granddad; but in practice you won't be able to tell.
Each of my SCAP PCs except the wizard has, differently distributed
across slots, +3 to +6 in save boosts and +6 to +12 in AC boosts.
I couldn't reliably tell you what those plusses are coming from,
and if one plus mysteriously vanished, I'd probably never notice.
I do notice that the wizard has an AC 13 points lower than the
rest of the PCs, though, or that the swashbuckler has a Dex 6 points
higher.
It seems to me that while +1 is undeniably useful--if you load
up on those across a whole party you can see that something has
changed--it is not big enough to be noticable on a single PC, and
that's disappointing. +2 begins to be noticable.
Things like Tillie's ring of See Invisible, which are not externally
flashy, are definitely flashy to the PC--the wide-eyed look of
alarm when Tillie sees something that no one else can see is an
im****tant bit of character byplay. I'd like more of that and less
+1 protection/resistance/etc.
Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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