Re: [HoE] Templar Gift - Impressions?

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

>From: Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>
>
>Steve Crow wrote:
> >
> > Wanted to get folks' opinions on the following Templar gift, created 
>because
> > basically, Templar suck against relatively high-armored (4+) opponents 
>if
> > they stick with HTH, which is supposed to be their forte:
> >
> > Cutting Edge
>
>I borrowed an idea from someone else for my own Sharpness edge, although
>I think mine was handled a little differently. My version is a little
>overpowered... for each level the Templar gets an AP value of 1 for his
>sword.
>

That was the alternate version the player in question suggested.  It did 
seem like there should be some "price" to pay for getting the AP, rather 
than a simple 1 level = 1 AP.  Both of us felt this was a bit more 
reasonable and made the Gift a bit more interesting, as it were.

> >         The Saints do not ask their avatars to throw rocks, but instead 
>guide their
> > sword arm to the weak points in the enemy's defenses.  In game terms 
>this
> > means that for each level of Cutting Edge that the Templar possesses, he 
>may
> > spend a raise on his to hit roll to ignore one level of armor value.
>
>Much more reasonable power, I suppose, but I can't imagine anyone using
>more than one or two raises on this. Actually, if I ever saw a Templar
>get five raises on a roll, I'd probably step in and say "Uh, don't
>bother rolling for damage, it's toast."
>

Why?  Raises don't give you damage per se.  They don't even assure you a hit 
to the head,

The main question, of course, is how heavily armored is your opponent?  If 
you need more than 2 AP, then you're going to use more raises.

Part of this is the...eccentric nature of how HTH weapons work against 
armor.  If your opponent's Armor reduces the damage of your sword below 1d4, 
then your HTH fighter does _no_ damage, regardless of their strength.  
(There is a provision for very large HTH fighters doing non-lethal damage, 
but this doesn't seem applicable to player characters.)

Head and gizzard shots (assuming your opponent has them to hit! - with, say, 
a King Rattler we don't bother) can vary this somewhat.  And you can 
probably go for some kind of called shot ("I bypass the Cyborg's head armor 
by stabbing him in the eye.")

One good example is a Lurker.  It seems to have no particular vulnerable or 
weak spots, and no head or gizzards to specifically target (look at the 
picture in the basic rules.  It has Armor 4, so a Templar with a "standard" 
sword who does 2d8 damage does (reduce 4 steps - 2d6, 2d4, 1d4, XXX) no 
damage.  At least, as the rules seem to read.

>Another problem I see is that you can use a raise to modify the hit
>location already, so using this power is kind of pointless, especially
>if you can modify the hit location to something that has lighter or no
>armer. Good example would be a human opponent wearing kevlar or body
>armor but no helmet.
>

That is true, but particularly with the release of Monsters/Muties, there 
are a number of creatures that are pretty evenly armored and seem to have no 
obvious weak spots.  Then there is the aforementioned Lurker, various 
Cyborgs and Battlesuit users...

It should probably be clearer, but you should probably be able to declare if 
you are using the raises for AP _after_ you roll the hit location.

> > Greater Reward
> >
> >         In addition to aiding the Templar find weakness in his or her 
>opponent's
> > armor, the Saints also help the Templar to see flaws in their opponent's
> > fighting style.
> >
> >         In game terms this means that the Templar may reduce their 
>opponent's
> > Defensive Bonus by an amount equal to their Faith skill level.   This 
>does
> > not overcome the initial target number required to hit, or reduce wound
> > penalties.  It simply reduces the defense gained from skill and weapon
> > Defensive Bonus.
>
>This is interesting, although it doesn't seem to have anything to do
>with getting past armor, unless the armor is giving some kind of
>defensive bonus.
>
>

Well, the Gift creator thought this was appropriate, since many other 
published Gifts are equally diverse between the two "levels".  He also felt 
that typically, a more powerful "lesser" rewards tends to mean a more 
powerful Greater Reward, and vice versa (again, this seems typical of 
published Gifts).

He also wanted the Templar's Faith to _do_ something, since typically the 
only real reason to take Faith is to use the prerequisite Lay on Hands.  
There's...what? one other Gift that is Faith dependent?

As the first paragraph of the Greater Reward above notes, this Gift is more 
in the lines of a "find weakness".  As such, the lesser reward relates to 
finding a weakness in their armor, while the greater reward relates to 
finding a weakness in their fighting style.  But no, it doesn't have to do 
with getting past their armor per se - just past their "defensees."

Hope that clarifies.

---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/

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