Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

Questions and discussions about the game system.
Répondre
Murder-of-Crows
Messages : 34
Inscription : 18 nov. 2012, 23:51

Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

  •    
  • Citation

Message par Murder-of-Crows » 26 nov. 2012, 22:07

By the book, blind-fighting is a discipline of the close combat domain. But apparently the discipline is used to half the blindness penaly of -4 down to -2. That would imply that you can test blind-fighting normally. But also implies that I have to spend experience on a skill that basically gives me a flat +2 bonus.

One idea to salvage blind-fighting would be to have the player test blind-fighting each time he fights blinded or in darkness instead of the usual weapon skill. The disadvantage is here that a character who only knows close combat without any disciplines would not be penalized by darkness/blindness.

Thus my idea of turning blind-fighting into a fighting art that gives a +2 when fighting in darkness or being unable to see (effectively halfing the blindness penalty). Thus it will cost only 20 experience, instead of consuming huge amounts of experience for an uncertain flat bonus.

What do you think?

Avatar de l’utilisateur
Clovis
Traducteur
Messages : 2156
Inscription : 30 sept. 2012, 23:44
Localisation : France

Re: Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

  •    
  • Citation

Message par Clovis » 26 nov. 2012, 22:48

You raise a good point: it's true Blind Fighting is a very peculiar Discipline (as is Acute Senses) in the sense that it apparently does not need to be raised to be used: having it at a level of 6 is apparently enough.

That said, my opinion would be that there are two ways to solve the issue:

N°1 : do as you said and turn it into a Fighting Art instead of a Discipline.

N°2 : leave it as it is, and dictate that each time a Character tries to fight (or act in any way) when blinded, he has to make an Acute Senses / Blind Fighting roll to see if he manages to make constructive use of the Discipline and effectively manage to halve the penalties. The more confusing the situation is for the blinded person, the higher the Difficulty Threshold will be.

Example :

Gaïwen is a seasoned traveler with 4 in Reason and 7 in the Acute Senses Discipline. He is currently being chased by an unknown creature in a dark cavern, and has to make a Complicated (14) Feats (Running) roll as he stumbles blindly on treacherous, slippery ground. He should have a -4 penalty to his roll, but thanks to his Acute Senses Discipline, he can attempt to halve such a penalty by succeeding in a Difficult (17) roll, since he is in a panic, and cannot take time to watch his step.
Gaïwen's Player rolls the die, and gets a lucky 9, bringing him to 20, and therefore a sufficient score to halve the -4 penalty. Now, with 2 in Combativeness and 5 in Feats, the Running roll is made, and the Player gets a 7, bringing him to an unfortunate 12 (2+5-2+7 = 12).
The GL describes how poor Gaïwen slips on a wet rock and falls loudly on the hard, stony floor, while the beast's panting is getting closer...
Allez, come on, allons-y, here we go, en avant, godspeed, hardi, let's do this!

Murder-of-Crows
Messages : 34
Inscription : 18 nov. 2012, 23:51

Re: Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

  •    
  • Citation

Message par Murder-of-Crows » 26 nov. 2012, 23:19

The number of dice rolls in the dark will drastically increase then. I can see that slowing down the game.

A third option would be: Whenever you are in darkness or blinded, you use the lower of Blind-Fighting/Acute Senses or your other applicable skill. That could also work for mounted combat.

Avatar de l’utilisateur
Clovis
Traducteur
Messages : 2156
Inscription : 30 sept. 2012, 23:44
Localisation : France

Re: Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

  •    
  • Citation

Message par Clovis » 26 nov. 2012, 23:37

This is the biggest problem it would raise indeed. However, if the Player with the Discipline is able to show autonomy in making the rolls for his Character, then it can not slow the game down too much.

Moreover, situations where Characters are blinded do not happen very often, so that remains a minor problem.

I'm not for the third option you propose: doesn't seem balanced to me, since starting Characters will not see a differrence between using Blind Fighting and using Close Combat, as they probably won't have a Discipline in Close Combat yet.

All in all, I do think the Fighting Art alternative is fine. I just wanted to provide another possibility, should you or another GL want to keep these skills as Disciplines.
Allez, come on, allons-y, here we go, en avant, godspeed, hardi, let's do this!

Murder-of-Crows
Messages : 34
Inscription : 18 nov. 2012, 23:51

Re: Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

  •    
  • Citation

Message par Murder-of-Crows » 27 nov. 2012, 00:07

Clovis a écrit : I'm not for the third option you propose: doesn't seem balanced to me, since starting Characters will not see a differrence between using Blind Fighting and using Close Combat, as they probably won't have a Discipline in Close Combat yet.
You are right about the amount of difference it makes to beginning characters (nearly none). But a lot of other games use the lower of two abilities as the limiting factor in unusual circumstances. So in the long run, it will make a difference.

And in case of non-combat actions you'll have the lower of Perception/Acute Senses and whatever other skill is used. So, here it would make a difference.

Moreover, similar mechanics could be applied to riding.

Avatar de l’utilisateur
Clovis
Traducteur
Messages : 2156
Inscription : 30 sept. 2012, 23:44
Localisation : France

Re: Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

  •    
  • Citation

Message par Clovis » 27 nov. 2012, 00:27

Murder-of-Crows a écrit :
Clovis a écrit :Moreover, similar mechanics could be applied to riding.
You mean using the lower of your Attack rating and your Riding rating? Why not.

In the end, it's all up to the GL to set what he thinks is the best way to go. Ultimately, what I provide is only advice, not thou-shalt-nots!
Allez, come on, allons-y, here we go, en avant, godspeed, hardi, let's do this!

Murder-of-Crows
Messages : 34
Inscription : 18 nov. 2012, 23:51

Re: Blind fighting: Discipline or Fighting Art?

  •    
  • Citation

Message par Murder-of-Crows » 27 nov. 2012, 00:56

Thanks for your quick replies! :D I really appreciate that. Now I have three options to choose from and even one that feels right to a member of the Esteren team. Many thanks!

Répondre