Armour Ablation

dT&T makes warriors have a SR on LK to avoid armour damage IF they choose to make use of their double-protection advantage and it has to be used during battle. OK, let's think about that....

First off, what advantages to warriors get over wizards and rogues? In 5.5, really just the double protective value for armour; in 7.5 they also go one extra add per level for a weapon in combat (now I thought that was so infinitessimally small a bonus that I made it a whole dice per level, something that hardly made them dominate the game). In dT&T, they get the armour bonus plus the whole dice per level for weapons BUT they alone may suffer armour damage under game mechanics as opposed to GM fiat.

Secondly, does armour damage seem reasonable? I'd say yes - not essential and few want to take away from the pace of the game by cluttering it with clunky rules but worth considering.

Third up, is the new rule simple? A LK SR - what could be easier? I think we can remember that and get it down without loosing the plot.

Fourthly, is it fair? (I accept fairness is not guaranteed in life, the game or anywhere I've been.) I think not...

dT&T already does away with INT SRs for wizards casting spells (Hah! but I won't!) so why ping the less desirable warrior? More pressingly, why shouldn't everyone run the risk of armour damage? How about a LK SR for anyone whose armour takes more hits that its maximum defensive capacity? Take that, wizards and rogues! It just takes more whacking away to get a warrior to run the risk of holey armour.

I like the notion in dT&T that warriors can make running repairs to their armour and that of their mates.

So - I give this rule change a plus but will house-rule it myself in the Elaborative Spirit :)

Solos for Higher Level Characters

I was asked what to recommend - but I don't have many that would fulfil the specifications...

As for my efforts, The Arena of Khaboom has its moments as does Strangebrew, while Wizard Went a-Wooing caters for L13 wizards.

Here's my suggestion...

1. Saving rolls: either a) follow 5.5 and make 1,3 a failure as well as 1,3 or b) raise all INT, LK and DEX SRs so that you need a minimum of 6 to make the roll e.g. your INT is 54 so you need a L9 SR for success (you can imagine a tougher situation to fit the level of the SR).
2. For MRs, roll 1d6 then:

• 1 or 2 - start with a MR that gives 50% of your combat adds (e.g. your CAs = 100 so base MR is 100) then add 2d6 DARO x 10
• 3,4 or 5 - start with 75% (e.g. with CAs = 100 the base MR is 150)
• 6 - start with 100%

You can do something similar for foes with attributes, substituting 50, 75 and 100% with their CAs equaling 75, 100 and 150% of your CAs depending on the roll of 1d6.
There - that might give you more of a challenge!

Elaborations

I realise that the Elaborations section is one big permission slip to discard any of the core rules and to do something another way!

There are good examples given but it is hard not to extrapolate the approval to go your own way.

I think this is excellent!

There is still at times a semi--preachy tone (like where we are told in the core rules that the 7.5 idea of spells sometimes failing for wizards - i.e. needing an INT SR to cast - is not right because, after all, warriors never lose their double-armour protection bonus (well, actually they kinda do because of the new ablation core rule!) but, what the hey!, we can let that go amongst old friends.

So, whereas I was going to critique the notion of giving bakers an extra 2d6 on every SR to bake a loaf of bread (representing the number of years they have trained/worked), I am just going to say 'thanks' for the nice ideas and a very big 'YAY!' for the top brass' 'yes' to tinkering.

Another big tick marked up in the Ledger of Judgement.

What I'm Listening To

I had never read the Tarzan books before. I remember reading an article in a Sorceror's Apprentice by Ken comparing Conan and Tarzan and being surprised that Tarzan came off slightly the better of the two. Now I'm not so surprised.

Mind you, I'm too lazy to read now and so I listen as I pound the streets:

 

Librivox is free, easy to download and many of the readers are really good! Give it a try...

Languages - What dT&T Did to the World of Communication

In the Elaboration section, at page 201, we find '14.0 Languages'.

I remember asking about languages on Trollhalla and Ken replying that there was a major overhaul but he wasn't going to spoil the surprise.

My first question regarding a rule change is: "Was the old rule seriously flawed?". I'd say 'yes' to that, pretty much as the book does - to have a bunch of new languages 'arrive' as your INT goes up is a stretch too far even in a magic-rich world.

Next question: "Does the new rule solve the problem?". Answer: yes, it does. Languages are split into groups in a sensible fashion and every 3 INT points over the bar gives you a shot at a new language. Fair call, I'd say.

Last question: "Is the rule simple to apply?" Answer: yes, it is.

This time round, characters don't necessarily get literacy. Oracy is the norm but for wizards or  those making a L2 INT SR, reading and writing comes as well as reasonable conversational ability.

I like the naming of the languages e.g. not 'ogrish' but 'Hroga' and the division of the Common Tongue into major dialects based on geography is cool.

You might think it it too rooted in Ken's Trollworld but it is so straightforward to take what you want, adapt where you will and leave what you don't care for.

So, I'm giving this 10 out of 10. I didn't bother to make a major revision myself but waited patiently for this and that turned out to be a good call.

My Package Arrived!

I went up the hill to make sure the bees kept on our land had water and what did I find sitting on the bench outside the guest apartment? Yes!! dT&T was finally here!

I hurried down the hill and excitedly opened it and guess what happened?

Yes, my daughter snaffled it!

Rather than review the whole book - which is weighty and gorgeous in equal measure - I shall cherry pick sections and write on those.

Languages first, I think...

Weirdworld Revisitied

 

It was too hot to work outside and I am not that good at siestas so I decided to have a crack at one of the very early Flying Buffalo solos. I imagined it would prove deadly very quickly and very often.

It has what I think may be the least attractive Liz Danforth cover - but maybe I just am not knowledgeable enough to  appreciate it.

My first character was (yes,'was') a human warrior named Blarney Scrotes. Barney gained a skull that could talk named Fred but went horribly wrong when he failed to heed a clear warning and died in a pool of lava. I don't suppose Fred felt to good about it either.

Next up was Tombola Fuggins. She did quite nicely to begin with and gained first a light-sabre sword and then a poisoned spear. She met a gunfighter (sic) and accepted the challenge of a fastest draw contest but was told she had no gun (she figured she could fire the light-sabre). The gunslinger gave her a gun and she resisted the temptation to just shoot him with it and went on to put a slug in him. Her reward was her gun turning to gold - worth 500 GPs. That was all dandy but she too failed to heed another warning and was promptly consumed by something very big.

I rolled up a hobbit called Wuddles Begaddlethorp. I like that name. When Wuddles enters Weirdwolrd, he will take due notice of all warnings!