Re: [HOE] Why is Blastin' a Knowledge aptitude?

[Theo McGuckin <tsm@jlab.org>]

<dividing up syker disciplines into different stats>

While I think the idea is neat and you definitely put a lot of thought
into it, I don't think it's a good idea. 

First off, it's not really fair when compared to the other AB's. All the
other (that I can think of off the top of my head) AB's require only one
stat to roll against for their powers (maybe junkers are different, I
can't remember, but even then they have time on their side). To require
sykers to have several good stats to have a good selection of powers just
doesn't seem right to me.

As far as it being knowledge and sykers not being geniuses. I think that's
the difference between knowledge and smarts. Knowledge is how much you
know, smarts is how you use your knowledge (hence tinkerin' being a smarts
skill). The sykers got a lot of training and had to study hard to learn
their powers, but they didn't have to be geniuses and come up with the
powers on their own, someone else (with a high smarts probably, did that
already).

Finally there's the arguement that hucksters use multiple traits and
sykers kinda came from hucksters some too, so why not have sykers use
multiple traits? I think this argument is flawed mainly because you're
"breaking sykers, like hucksters", not "fixing sykers, like hucksters". It
seems like an awful lot of list traffic (and a couple PEG updates) have
gone into "fixing" hucksters. Various ideas of incorporating strain-like
things and what not (and even myself, I came up with a bluff/call/raise
system) have gone back and forth for years now. When probably the fix
would be to not require hucksters to have 4 or 5 good stats to be able to
cast their hexes. Sure shamans work the same way, but they can string
together rituals for greater effect and, with a few exceptions, have the
luxury of applying any ritual (and therefore any particular stat) to all
their favors. I'm playing a shaman and I always include Pledge in all my
rituals because I've got a decent stat for it and it's quick.

Some people have argued that requiring multiple stats gives hucksters more
"well-roundedness". But I think in most cases the opposite is true. You
either get a player that decides that he can't possibly get all the stats
up that he needs so he winds specializing in one type of hex/stat (usually
combat) or you wind up with a player that tries to do the right thing and
spread his abilities around to make a decent, well-rounded character, but
winds up unable to do anything because he's constastly rolling 5d8 to cast
hexes.

Anyway, this is turning into a message about huxsters, which is
approaching off-topic-ness, so I'll cut it here.

Theo McGuckin - SysAdmin, JLab, Safety Warden (Bldg. 85)


	"And oh yes... you must find the Jade Monkey before the next full
	 moon."
	"Actually sir, we found the Jade Monkey; it was in your glove
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	"And the road maps?  And ice scraper?"
	"They were in there too, sir."
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