Re: draft Troubadour

["dbarrass_2000" <david.barrass@ed.ac.uk>]

So far so good.

A few comments. These are meant as constructive criticism

1) I really do prefer all numbers - and dots instead of hyphens, so
[6-620d] would be [6.620.4].  This is a quibble and doesn't really
matter in the long run, if it is to be with hyphens and characters I
shall adapt

2) The sections and formulae, could we make them stand out more?
Often, when looking through rules, you want to check a specific point
quickly and don't want to read the entire section
Here is a suggested re-write for one sub-section; what the sub-section
deals with is immediately apparent and the formulae are presented
where they can easily be seen.  Its not subtle and things may be
missed if rushed, but sometimes I give up trying to find a specific
formulae and make it up

[6-620e] DISGUISE
A troubadour is able to disguise herself to appear to be a different
gender, profession, social class, or race. 
The disguise ability is not intended to allow the troubadour to
attempt to appear as another specific individual, but rather to appear
to be someone other than who she really is. The GM may also impose
severe penalties if the character is physically unsuited for the
disguise they are attempting to adopt (such as a dwarf attempting to
disguise herself as an elf). Conversely, the GM may award bonuses if
the character has added aptitudes or knowledge to help with the disguise.
The troubadour's base chance to avoid detection is:-
([12 x Rank] - [2 x Observer's Perception])%. 
If the troubadour is attempting to appear to be of the opposite
gender, her base chance is reduced by:- 
(11 - Troubadour Rank).
If the troubadour is attempting to appear to be of another race, the
base chance is further reduced by:-
[2 x Observer's Perception]. (unrevised)
If the GM's roll on percentile dice is equal to or less than the
troubadour's success percentage, the being to whom the troubadour is
falsely representing himself is taken in. If the roll is greater than
the success percentage, the being notices inconsistencies (with the
role being assumed) in the troubadour's appearance or behaviour. The
inconsistency becomes more glaring as the roll approaches 100. If a
troubadour is using disguise in close proximity to a being, a check
against their success percentage must be made every hour.


If we were doing this in rtf I would probably bold the header and formulae

3) Sections h and i are we just rewriting the rules or adding to them?
  That you have identified them as non 2nd edition is good, but I'm
now confused as to the aims of the exercise

4) More specifically, section h. We had a long series of discussion
about this in Sept to Oct last year in DQ_list.  jrr_talking came up
with (in my opinion) an excellent system for exactly this type of
situation

This really is an excellent start.  I shall be in the US all next week
so I shall not be able to contribute for a bit (you're all probably
glad I won't be sticking my oar in)

David

PS Would a Dwarf, even a female one, be offended if referred to as
she? ;--)