Jump to content

Is Sword Trance broken?


Tywyll

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Kloster said:

Extension is described as a separate spell. In addition, Jason explained in the Core Rules question thread that extension spells only " makes the spell last longer ", and that Dismiss is not affected by Extension. I think the answer is the same for Dispel Magic.

Kloster

FAir enough, and good to know. Is there an official errata where this sort of thing is kept? I don't fancy having to read every thread to find where things are fixed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, d(sqrt(-1)) said:

With this sort of spell e.g. Axe Trance in RQ3 I always used a house rule that you couldn't more than double your base skill.

Definitely a start, but still doesn't have the same issues that it did in RQ3. In this system, where skills over 100 cancel out the opponent's skill, you have a huge advantage that didn't exist under RQ3. Having +100% is great, but it doesn't do squat to an opponent's skill. IN RQG it cancel's an opponent's skill out, which is MUCH stronger. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, Russ Massey said:

I tend to beleive that any 'Trance' spell should be handled as the Aldryami 'Arrow Trance' used to be. While the spell is in effect you are in a combat focussed trance and cannot use any skill other than to attack with the trance boosted skill. You cannot eat, drink, sleep or converse while the spell is in effect. That would make any extension lasting more than a day impractical.

That would be a definite way to balance it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Tywyll said:

While those things can certainly impede the character, they are no more powerful or prevalent than against other characters. Also, this combo doesn't inherently prohibit the Humakt from having protections against those things. Good armor + protection battle magic protects against most of those threats. Or Spirit Screen if you are going up against shaman.

They impede a Humakti as much as any other character ...  if being subject to those ranged attacks is a danger to them, it's just as much a danger to SwordTrance'd characters!

And don't forget that Sword Trance isn't the only Rune Spell floating around... Earth/Fertility Aldryami might object with ArrowTrance, for example.  And there's no reason to think (as suggested above) that there won't be a "Maul Trance" (or something comparable) in some Darkness cult; or just Berserker/Fanaticism or a bunch or MP's dumped into Bludgeon or something (he may hit less, but a Great Troll with a Maul probably only needs to hit once to end the fight... ) ,

And not every magical spirit attacks via Spirit Combat.  Sword Trance doesn't help you avoid falling into that big ol' hole in the ground, or being covered by the tons of earth, from a gnome; or being sucked underwater by an Undine; etc etc etc.

You can be sure that any Humakti who are easily carving their way through the melee ranks will suddenly be the preferred target for ALL the casters and ranged-combat specialists.

4 hours ago, Tywyll said:

But the majority of encounters will probably be against opponents who are also going to use melee attacks and therefore have no hope against the character. 

Huh.  Well, that would NOT be my own expectation as a GM or player (in any edition of RQ (or any other Gloranthan RPG)).  I'd expect some of the casters and summoners to be just as badass in their own way as the Humakti is in theirs.  Same for the missile-specialists.  And I would expect the "majority" of encounters to NOT be limited to melee-fighters only.

YGMV, and clearly does.

But don't forget that this is RQ, and numbers STILL tell...  Even low chances to hit add up, when enough attack-rolls get made... And even with a 240+ on %Attk, splitting the attack 4 ways, or 6 ways, means the mighty will, eventually, still fall.

Sword Trance is powerful, yes!

Broken... I don't see it that way, no.

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Tywyll said:

Definitely a start, but still doesn't have the same issues that it did in RQ3. In this system, where skills over 100 cancel out the opponent's skill, you have a huge advantage that didn't exist under RQ3. Having +100% is great, but it doesn't do squat to an opponent's skill. IN RQG it cancel's an opponent's skill out, which is MUCH stronger. 

Yup, plus Sword Trance isn't the problem here, it's the duration that is the potential problem. Otherwise it's no big deal. For 12MP a character (who knows it) could have Bladesharp 12, which would add +60% to his attack and +12 to damage.It ability to keep the spell up for days and days where the danger lies. 

 

 

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Tywyll said:

That would be a definite way to balance it!

I don't think it does - Extension isn't the problem. As a GM, every potential combat encounter has to be planned around that spell. That spell reasonably represents a 100 point swing in the opponents' chance to hit AND defend against a character that can cast that spell. Opponents intended to challenge said character with the spell, will walk all over them if they (don't/can't/fail to) cast it. Those same opponents will likewise walk all over anyone else in the party who doesn't have the spell.

Classic "monster" opponents become similarly problematic: if they have any chance of hitting the Trancer, no one else in the party will be able to defend against the monster's attacks. All fights focus on that one character, even if the other party members are so-called warriors, too.

Look at the mechanics, alone: Each MP stacked with the spell provides +10% to hit and -10% to be hit (the effective equivalent of Bladesharp 2 and Shimmer 2). Unlike Arrow Trance (from the RQG Bestiary), the user can Parry, and there is no prohibition on spell casting or behavior (RAW). Because it adds to the skill, not just the attack (like Bladesharp) it would be a great spell even if it were +10% per Rune Point. Compare to Crush, each RP of which gives +10% to hit (only) and +1d4 Damage (effectively Bludgeon 2).

The Spell is challenging because of the way RQG handles skills over 100%, and the fact that it works off of MP, which are much more readily available than RP. Even without factoring Extension into the equation.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tywyll said:

Is there an official errata where this sort of thing is kept? I don't fancy having to read every thread to find where things are fixed.

As far as I know, unfortunately no. I remembered Jason's ruling and I had to parse the whole thread to find it. I think it is time for a Rune Fixes #2.

Kloster

Edited by Kloster
Typing mistake
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, Thyrwyn said:

Look at the mechanics, alone: Each MP stacked with the spell provides +10% to hit and -10% to be hit (the effective equivalent of Bladesharp 2 and Shimmer 2).

If he parries with his attack weapon, yes. I haven't checked if it is legit (In RQIII, it was such only with 2 handed weapons), but it is a sure way to rapidly loose his main weapon.

 

59 minutes ago, Thyrwyn said:

The Spell is challenging because of the way RQG handles skills over 100%,

This, for sure, but others also are.

Kloster

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Atgxtg said:

Yup, plus Sword Trance isn't the problem here, it's the duration that is the potential problem. Otherwise it's no big deal. For 12MP a character (who knows it) could have Bladesharp 12, which would add +60% to his attack and +12 to damage.It ability to keep the spell up for days and days where the danger lies. 

It was mentioned in an earlier post too, the idea of Extension prolonging Spirit Magic spells. It doesn't:

p328

Quote

This spell extends the duration of any temporal Rune spell that has a normal duration of 15 minutes.

So we don't need to worry about those use-cases. Also, Mobility and Vigour are not variable. And there's a flat cap on how many points of a game-breaking Spirit Magic spell you can have: your CHA. So even a Bladesharp 21 "only" adds 105 to your chance to hit (and the 'trivial' 21 damage :) ); this is not a limit for [Weapon] Trance. Getting large magic point stores is trivially easy for Rune Master level characters. Capping the spell by saying the MP tied up in it don't come back until the spell expires doesn't work if you don't use any of your own or a spirit's MP, just stored ones.

Extension, even with the "you don't get to pray for  the RP back for the spell or the Extension until the spell expires" errata, is a useful spell in all manner of cases. While it may not be efficient to whack 5 points for a year-long, it's pretty impressive to have double your STR or CHA "all the time" by spending three points alongwith the cast and getting a week's use out of it. Whether that's 'efficient' would depend on how much use you'll get out of the spell during the time of the Extension; I'd expect a lot of Extended Charisma spells to be in evidence at a Clan or Tribal Moot. A Shield-5 spell, for example, might be well worth Extending for a whole day if you're going into a set-piece battle, where you expect to be in more than one clash, since you might not want to spend the RP on casting it twice, or more.

For me, it seems 'obvious' that the Extension and the Rune Spell are separate entities to be Dismissed or Dispelled (with the corollary that an Initiate of two Cults can Extend a spell from one Cult using RP from the other), and most 'significant' enemies will have access to the Common Rune Spell. I'm not sure how you target the "Sword Trance" (or the Extension, for that matter), since it's not an 'obvious' spell. It's probably got some visuals involved, but would those be enough to tell you that the reason no one is successfully parrying the whirlwind of bladed death is because they're affected by Sword Trance, and not some other spell, while being damn good with a Greatsword? I don't think the RAW descriptions of Second Sight, Soul Sight or Pierce Veil lets you discern what spells are affecting the subject of your viewing, only that 'some' spells are. Could a Dispeller just say "I Dismiss-3 whatever it is that's making them so 'oribble!"? I'd say not. Could they say "I Dismiss-3 Sword Trance on the Humakti," taking the risk they don't have Sword Trance up to dismiss? Possibly. And you have to be able to target a specific spell to Dismiss it in particular, because otherwise the dispel just starts on the biggest defensive spell it can blow down. It's not such a problem with weapon enhancement spells, because you can see the SFX, and dismiss "...that bright glow on their sword...", and you'll probably be doing something useful. But dismiss on "...that glowy aura..." could be dropping a Charisma spell, or a defensive spell (which might be useful, or might not be, depending on whether you're going to be attacking against whatever mode of defense was being provided) or Second Sight... or anything. And what SFX does Extension have? Nothing particularly distinctive, I'd say.

Whether the MP added in to increase the bonus count as part of the spells strength for Dismissing purposes would depend on how you view such spells. If Heal Wound MP count towards breaching the magical defenses of the target, then MP in the Sword Trance spell should count for strength against Dismisses. If the Heal Wound needs additional, separate MP over and above the ones added for effect, for boosting its strength to get through Shield etc, then the MP in a Sword Trance shouldn't count as strength. This, for me, suggests that the latter of those two cases is the case: MP in a Rune Spell "for effect purposes" don't count for "strength" purposes. Makes healing that Shield-5-for-a-day-warrior expensive, but only by as much as the damage that has been stopped, which you don't have to heal.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, womble said:

For me, it seems 'obvious' that the Extension and the Rune Spell are separate entities to be Dismissed or Dispelled (with the corollary that an Initiate of two Cults can Extend a spell from one Cult using RP from the other), and most 'significant' enemies will have access to the Common Rune Spell.

Yes.

7 minutes ago, womble said:

I don't think the RAW descriptions of Second Sight, Soul Sight or Pierce Veil lets you discern what spells are affecting the subject of your viewing, only that 'some' spells are.

Right.

8 minutes ago, womble said:

Could they say "I Dismiss-3 Sword Trance on the Humakti," taking the risk they don't have Sword Trance up to dismiss?

Yes, of course you can. Risky, but can be worth it.

 

9 minutes ago, womble said:

Whether the MP added in to increase the bonus count as part of the spells strength for Dismissing purposes would depend on how you view such spells. If Heal Wound MP count towards breaching the magical defenses of the target, then MP in the Sword Trance spell should count for strength against Dismisses. If the Heal Wound needs additional, separate MP over and above the ones added for effect, for boosting its strength to get through Shield etc, then the MP in a Sword Trance shouldn't count as strength. This, for me, suggests that the latter of those two cases is the case: MP in a Rune Spell "for effect purposes" don't count for "strength" purposes. Makes healing that Shield-5-for-a-day-warrior expensive, but only by as much as the damage that has been stopped, which you don't have to heal.

Dispel and Dismiss specifically have to beat the Strength or the Rune Points, not counting the Magic Points used to boost the effect of the spell.

Kloster

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, womble said:

It was mentioned in an earlier post too, the idea of Extension prolonging Spirit Magic spells. It doesn't:

Interesting. It used to. THeat was one of the issues about RQG that was brought up in the past.  So is there a way,to extend Spirit Magic anymore?

7 minutes ago, womble said:

Extension, even with the "you don't get to pray for  the RP back for the spell or the Extension until the spell expires" errata, is a useful spell in all manner of cases. While it may not be efficient to whack 5 points for a year-long, it's pretty impressive to have double your STR or CHA "all the time" by spending three points alongwith the cast and getting a week's use out of it.

Yes, and that's the crux of the matter. I don't think Sword Trance is unreasonable or a problem. You get to spend MP to get a bonus to hit. It's about on par with Bladesharp. Yeah you can burn more MPs into it than you probably can with Bladesharp, but then you are spending lots of MPs and temporarily losing some rune magic to do so. 

The question is if long term extension is a problem, at least when combined with a spell like this, where a characters can boost the benefits by spending more MPs? And I honestly don't think we will really know the answer to that for awhile yet. Probably not until RQG has been around for a couple of years, and we see what happens. If everybody starts houseruling things or not.

 

 

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, g33k said:

They impede a Humakti as much as any other character ...  if being subject to those ranged attacks is a danger to them, it's just as much a danger to SwordTrance'd characters!

Yeah, which means it is irrelavent to the discussion. 

1 hour ago, g33k said:

And don't forget that Sword Trance isn't the only Rune Spell floating around... Earth/Fertility Aldryami might object with ArrowTrance, for example.  And there's no reason to think (as suggested above) that there won't be a "Maul Trance" (or something comparable) in some Darkness cult; or just Berserker/Fanaticism or a bunch or MP's dumped into Bludgeon or something (he may hit less, but a Great Troll with a Maul probably only needs to hit once to end the fight... ) ,

That doesn't fix the problem. That just makes it worse. 

1 hour ago, g33k said:

And not every magical spirit attacks via Spirit Combat.  Sword Trance doesn't help you avoid falling into that big ol' hole in the ground, or being covered by the tons of earth, from a gnome; or being sucked underwater by an Undine; etc etc etc.

Nor will Sword Trance prohibit you from avoiding those things in the same way that anyone else does. What it will do is give you an "I win" button for combat.

1 hour ago, g33k said:

You can be sure that any Humakti who are easily carving their way through the melee ranks will suddenly be the preferred target for ALL the casters and ranged-combat specialists.

That's the same for anyone with high skill. So what?

1 hour ago, g33k said:

Huh.  Well, that would NOT be my own expectation as a GM or player (in any edition of RQ (or any other Gloranthan RPG)).  I'd expect some of the casters and summoners to be just as badass in their own way as the Humakti is in theirs.  Same for the missile-specialists.  And I would expect the "majority" of encounters to NOT be limited to melee-fighters only.

I didn't say only, I said that they will have melee in them. Look at the majority of published modules. The purely physical encounters far outweigh the purely metaphysical ones. 

1 hour ago, g33k said:

YGMV, and clearly does.

But don't forget that this is RQ, and numbers STILL tell...  Even low chances to hit add up, when enough attack-rolls get made... And even with a 240+ on %Attk, splitting the attack 4 ways, or 6 ways, means the mighty will, eventually, still fall.

Sword Trance is powerful, yes!

Broken... I don't see it that way, no.

I don't understand what you are getting at with the comment about the mighty will fall. 

None of what you said really addresses my concerns. Yes, the game master can refuse to throw a melee fighter at the player. Yes, the game master can arbitrarily give the trollkin skills in the 200% range. Yes the game master can throw the Chaos Bat at the Humakt...

None of that makes any difference to whether this spell is imbalancing or poorly designed. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Atgxtg said:

Interesting. It used to. THeat was one of the issues about RQG that was brought up in the past.  So is there a way,to extend Spirit Magic anymore?

Yes, and that's the crux of the matter. I don't think Sword Trance is unreasonable or a problem. You get to spend MP to get a bonus to hit. It's about on par with Bladesharp. Yeah you can burn more MPs into it than you probably can with Bladesharp, but then you are spending lots of MPs and temporarily losing some rune magic to do so. 

The question is if long term extension is a problem, at least when combined with a spell like this, where a characters can boost the benefits by spending more MPs? And I honestly don't think we will really know the answer to that for awhile yet. Probably not until RQG has been around for a couple of years, and we see what happens. If everybody starts houseruling things or not.

 

 

I think it WOULDN"T be a problem if it weren't for the way skills over 100% are handled. That's, to me, the real issue. If there was no anti-parry, this wouldn't be a big deal.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Thyrwyn said:

I don't think it does - Extension isn't the problem. As a GM, every potential combat encounter has to be planned around that spell.

I disagree. So the Humakti has a "win that fight" option to call on. Fine, let them win the fight. What is the problem? Eventually they will get cocky and/or you will critical, and meet the same inevitable demise as every other Humakti.

Edited by PhilHibbs
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Kloster said:

Dispel and Dismiss specifically have to beat the Strength or the Rune Points, not counting the Magic Points used to boost the effect of the spell.

Do you know where I'd find that rule?  Is it in the book somewhere?  I scoured the official rulings thread, and couldn't find it there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, HreshtIronBorne said:

'as long as you don't mind being a Sword Zombie all season.'

That's how'd I'd play it, and would probably go further to say that they are in a Trance, aka they won't drink or eat.  A few days or week of that effect, and they are dead.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tywyll said:

Yeah, which means it is irrelavent to the discussion.

Nor will Sword Trance prohibit you from avoiding those things in the same way that anyone else does. What it will do is give you an "I win" button for combat.

It means the Trance'd doesn't have an "I win" button:  they have an "I win a 1:1 or 1:few melee" button.

Just like a massive Spirit Screen gives somebody an "I win Spirit Combat" button.

So you use spirits on the Trance'r, and a sword against the shaman

Or a poisoned arrow against either of them.

Even a huge mob of pathetic trollkin, if they are all desperate enough to ignore the risk to each of them, are a credible threat to both.

There are so many different threats, of different kinds, that I don't see a spell like Sword Trance as an "I win" button; it's just too limited.

1 hour ago, Tywyll said:

I didn't say only, I said that they will have melee in them. Look at the majority of published modules. The purely physical encounters far outweigh the purely metaphysical ones.  

I don't think it's "broken" in the context of the entire system, to have a spell that makes one PC the best fighter in the melee.  I expect MOST combats to have BOTH melee and ranged parts, and at least some metaphysical parts.  Dominating the melee is just... don't get me wrong, it's good, REALLY good.  But it doesn't dominate the whole melee/missile/spell/spirit/etc battlefield.

After a round or two, that melee-dominant fighter is *THE* favored target of all the non-melee types (who do NOT want to face THAT in melee!).  To have this Trance+Extension going, they DON'T have other rune-spells available that might save them from the threats they just invited...

1 hour ago, Tywyll said:

I don't understand what you are getting at with the comment about the mighty will fall. 

None of what you said really addresses my concerns. Yes, the game master can refuse to throw a melee fighter at the player. Yes, the game master can arbitrarily give the trollkin skills in the 200% range. Yes the game master can throw the Chaos Bat at the Humakt...

I mean NUMBERS WILL TELL.  Lots of attack-rolls from foes mean that a few criticals will, statistically, get rolled.  Lots of foes mean the Trancer splitting attacks, dropping that massive attack roll down to something that misses often enough; or just not engaging some attackers(!).   Even Subsequent Parries begin to lag a bit vs. a horde.

My point is that it's good, maybe REALLY good... but not "broken" good.

Edited by g33k

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, PhilHibbs said:

I disagree. So the Humakti has a "win that fight" option to call on. Fine, let them win the fight. What is the problem? Eventually they will get cocky and/or you will critical, and meet the same inevitable demise as every other Humakti.

Or every other character. That's pretty much the math behind any form of RQ, play long enough and eventually a bad die roll will take you out, if nothing else does. The story of Rurik and the Trollkin comes to mind. 

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tywyll said:

I think it WOULDN"T be a problem if it weren't for the way skills over 100% are handled. That's, to me, the real issue. If there was no anti-parry, this wouldn't be a big deal.

 

The issue might be that there is no "Parry Trance". Or the carnage if two "tranced" people fight each other.

31 minutes ago, Thyrwyn said:

But it worked differently in RQ3. It didn't affect defense. 

Yes it did work very differently in RQ3. Quite a bit worked differently in RQ3, and IMO, much of it was an improvement over RQ2, mechanically. 

  • Like 3

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fixes-

Since the spell is clearly broken, here are some fixes I think that would make it work better.

1) Make it like Crush, stackable 1 point spell, each point adds +10% and +1d4 damage.

2) Make it stackable and each level adds +10(15, 20)% to skill. No MP involved.

3) Make a global rule that magic boosts for skills bringing them over 100% do not function like anti-parry.

4) Make a Tranced character unable to act outside of combat-only offensive actions can be taken, no skills beyond attack and parry, only cast offensive magic, etc. This still leaves the abuse but would remove it as an Extendable spell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Tywyll said:

Fixes-

Since the spell is clearly broken, here are some fixes I think that would make it work better.

Hold the phone there Tywyll. I don't think there is a consensus that the spell is broken. You might have things about it that you don't like, at least in conjunction with some of the other rules in RQG, but that doesn't mean that everybody is up in arms over this. I'd say the reaction about this so far is mixed at best.If you feel the need to houserule this and want to post your houserule that's fine, but it's hasn't been show to be "clearly broken". At least not yet. Functionally it works, and seems to be fairly easy to understand an implement.  So I would say it isn't "broken" per say. You,(and others) might not like how it works, but it does work. 

Plus even if you implement your fix for this, what will you do if someone shows up with lots of bladesharp? You  got the same anti-parry "problem" in a easier to use format, that can be cast on others. And the +1d4 per point to damage is going to be far more broken than what you are trying to fix. That's a game changer.  Just three points of this (+3d4) would be like adding 16 points of Strength (+2d6)!

 

 

  • Like 1

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The whole trance thing keeps it from being broken.  If you actually enforce that, nobody is going to extend it for a season.  You will die of dehydration if nothing else.  I do not at all see it as broken.  Lots of things can be unbalancing if the DM doesnt enforce the downsides with the upsides

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Tupper said:

Do you know where I'd find that rule?  Is it in the book somewhere?  I scoured the official rulings thread, and couldn't find it there.

1) RQG P260: Dispel Magic Variable, Ranged, Instant - This spell eliminates magic: 1 point removes 1 magic point of spirit magic or intensity of sorcery spells; 2 points removes 1 point of Rune magic spells. The total points of the spells must be eliminated to destroy the spell. Dismiss Magic works the same way but is twice as powerful-each point of Dismiss magic removes 2 points of spirit magic or intensity of sorcery spells; 1 point removes 1 point of Rune magic.

So, a Dispel Magic 2 would remove the 1 Rune Point of a Sword Trance spell, whatever the number of Magic points spent.

2) In the Runequest Core Rules question thread, P3, Jason said (November 17, 2018):

Q: How does Dismiss Magic work on Runespells with extension?

A: As normal.

Q: Does extension make the main spell bigger and harder to dismiss?

A: Why would it do that?  Extension makes the spell last longer. That's all it does.  

Hoping this clarifies.

Kloster

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, g33k said:

Even a huge mob of pathetic trollkin, if they are all desperate enough to ignore the risk to each of them, are a credible threat to both.

Alas, no. There is a point that no one on this thread has highlighted, except Tywyll, who failed to get the most important point, though.

The "multiple defense rule at a cumulative -20%", coupled with the anti-attack effect of a weapon skill, makes this spell extremely effective against mobs of opponents. Unless the GM allows the unrealistic option of more than 5-6 opponents per round engaging the entranced humakti with 200% sword skill, each round will see one poor fella slaughtered by an unparriable attack, and the rest with their weapons damaged because they will miss their attacks while the humakti makes his parry. In the case of trollkin, after round two very few of them will still have their spear. In the case of mobs of unintelligent or semi-intelligent opponents using natural weapons (wolves, bears, ghouls...), most kills will be the effect of parries, not attacks, and the advantage of numbers is not there, as a 200% swordsman is still at 100% parry when the sixth opponent attacks.

Nor does throwing in bigger opponent able to overcome the humakti parry help that much: five uzdo with troll maul have more or less the same effect as five trollkin, as their maul attacks will miss, forfeiting their chance to damage the sword - which instead can damage the mauls. It will just take more time for the humakti to hack the trolls apart or to break their weapons, but the odds are still largely in his favour.

Just think of the first encounter in the Broken tower: a guy with Sword Trance can take on the whole lizard pack single-handedly. For each attack he takes, there is only a 1-in-400 chance that he takes damage, and a 398-in-400 chance of damage to the lizard head or claw. Anyone betting his money on the lizzies?

Is a sword-trancer invincible ? Of course not, but he is virtually untouchable by unintelligent foes, no matter how powerful. It is up to you to determine if a 1-point rune spell should allow this in your campaign. Extension is not the problem, as casting it on demand when you face the right kind of opponents is possibly a more effective strategy.

  • Like 6

Proud member of the Evil CompetitionTM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...