Re: [dq-rules] Re: draft Troubadour feedback

[rthorm@cornellbox.com]

I'm glad for the comments David.

For the moment, I'm going to stick with letters, because I'm afraid not
everyone
will be willing or able to adhere to the nine paragraphs stricture.  Look at
some of the New Zealand group's stuff, and you'll see some very involved rules
(many paragraphs).  But if there is broad consensus in favor of that, I'll be
more than happy to revert.  This could also well be something that doesn't get
decided completely until we're further along.  Keep kicking this around, but I
think the decision will force itself one way or the other, eventually.

Sections h and i were new additions to the rule.  I did make some other changes
in the text, as well.  The bit about using only 1 x Rank on difficult minor
magic, for example.  Section h was another pass at the fractional knowledge
approach to Troubadour.  I like it in that it keeps the original XP hierarchy. 
I expect there will be more discusion about these inclusions, as well as the
other tweaks.  But additions and changes are part of my intent here as well, so
these issues need to be considered and commented on.

I'm attaching footnotes as I go along, either to cite sources for further
information or to provide designer's notes and added commentary.  These will
probably be stripped out and compiled separately later on.  But I think it's
good to provide this as each section is written, rather than going back and
reconstructing it later.  Your other comment on indexing as we go probably fits
in there, too.  Do any of the indexers want to bring in some guidelines or
suggestions about doing this?

I was having similar thoughts about the presentation of formulae.  SPI's format
was to include the formula within the text.  It would be a further step away
from repeating their work to clearly (ie surrounded by white space) pull out
the pertinent information.  I'd take it even further: 

[6.620.e] 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.

     Base Chance Disguise:
([12 x Rank] - [2 x Observer's Perception])%

     Modifiers (all cumulative): 
Troubadour is attempting to appear to be of the opposite gender:
  -(11 - Troubadour Rank)
Troubadour is attempting to appear to be of another race:
  -Observer's Perception
Observer is of the same race Troubadour is attempting to impersonate:
  -Observer's Perception

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 behavior. 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.
     -----

Even in plaintext this works pretty well, I think.  Read the whole rule to
understand it and learn the game, but then just quickly find the formula you
need later on when you need it, without having to reread the entire paragraph.

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm especially interested now in what you and everyone
else think about the revised format for emphasizing the formula in a rule.

  --Rodger


----------------------------------------------------------------
This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.