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

[john tfs <johntfs1@yahoo.com>]

--- Theo McGuckin <tsm@jlab.org> wrote:
> 
> <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.
> 

Sykers are already pretty well limited to choosing
powers that are either within their specialty mode or
in the main rulebook.  The archetype Sykers generally
picked most if not all of their starting powers from
within one mode.  Spreading the types of Traits used
to "power" certain Modes gives players a reason to
save up some chips to boost those Traits.  

> 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).
> 

I'll agree with you there, and this is my argument as
well.  My argument is that Sykers shouldn't have to be
geniuses to USE their powers once they've learned
them.  Almost anybody can learn almost anything if
they put sufficient time and effort into it.  I
learned that during Advanced Calculus.  I wasn't very
good at it, and I'm not going to win the Nobel Prize
for Mathematics anytime soon, but I could, at the
time, work calculus problems.

> 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.
> 

The "breaking" for Hucksters isn't the multiple
Traits, it's the sheer randomness of the cards.  Most
Hucksters can usually get Fair (5) needed to use their
powers.  The kicker comes when the cards are drawn. 
It can be hard to get even a pair on five cards, much
less Jacks, Two-Pair or higher.  With Sykers though,
achieving a (5) will get you at least a minimal
success much of the time.  Somebody rolling 5d6 will
probably get a (5) most of the time.

> 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
> 	 compartment."
> 	"And the road maps?  And ice scraper?"
> 	"They were in there too, sir."
> 	"Ex-cellent!  It's all falling into place."
> 
> 
> 
> 
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=====
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