I've had a chance to read thru The Tunnels & Trolls 6th Edition (unauthorized) and there are bits I'd like to steal in whole, and other bits I'd rather balance out.
I never really liked the doubling of armor for warriors, as it wasn't level based, and I felt it should be. 6e makes it a straight +2 armor points per level instead of the doubling, which is a major powering down, especially at low levels.
At the same time, 6e ramps up the combat adds for warriors at an immense rate. It adds the new level to the previous level as combat adds. So the progression is +1 / +3 / +6 / +10 / +15 for the first five levels. +21 / +28 / +36 / +45 and finally +55 at level 10. It get's even more unbalanced at higher levels. In 7e, the combat bonus at level 10 would be +10, as a ground zero reference point.
What I would like to propose for my house rule would be to use the same progression for both armor points and combat adds. It would be +2 per level for the first 5 levels, +3 per level for levels 6 thru 10, +4 per level for levels 11 thru 15 and so on.
This gives us a progression of +2 / +4 / +6 / +8 / +10 for both armor and adds for the first five levels, +13, +16, +19, +22, +25 for levels 6 thru 10
Overall it balances out the curve of the combat adds progression, while advancing the curve of the armor points slightly.
Hmm. You mean the combat adds are not based on stats, but on level?
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like too much of a D&D'ism to me. Level haven't been such a central concept in T&T as in D&D, and I'm quite frankly not sure I'd think it would be an improvement to take inspiration from that D&D trait.
Having armor usage improve have some merits, I'd admit. But, considering armor doubling is most effective at lower levels, where it's needed most, I kind of think it makes the game more fun that way.
6e gives combat adds based on stats AND level. 7e does too, its just a much slower progression. The additional CA is an attempt to balance against the wizard's huge power jump at higher levels.
ReplyDeleteAs for the armor, if you are boosting the CA, you can tone down the armor. But you are correct in that it weakens the low level warrior
"7e does too, its just a much slower progression."
ReplyDeleteIt does? Please refresh my memory.
7.5 e rules, page 13
ReplyDelete"Warrior Bonus: It is the years of
training as a child or young person
that enables the Warrior to be proficient
with any weapon he
chooses. While any Citizen can
pick up a sword and swing it, the
average person has little idea of
how most weapons should be
wielded properly. Thus, the
Warrior Bonus gives every Warrior
a little extra damage based on his
character level: Simply put, the
Warrior gets to increase his combat
adds by his character level.
This is a small thing at the beginning
of the character’’s career, but
could be quite an advantage as the
character increases in prowess.
The game makes the assumption
that weapons you choose to equip
your character with are weapons
that he/she has practiced using in
the past"
I guess you are right. I have totally missed that!?
ReplyDelete