Clay wrote:You got it correct. No Endurance cost since you evened out the Perk with a Flaw. Only the one attack will get the +3 bonus until you delineate other attacks. You're also right about the attack roll, though it should be noted Combat Skill and Agile will also improve your ability to fire the bazooka. Combat skill is not cumulative with Hobby/Knowledge, however.
Ah, good.
That's all nice and easy. Combat Skill and Knowledge/Hobby (fighting skills) were never compatible in my games before, as per the previous OVA rulebook.
So, I could theoretically play by the new rule(s) already. Still awaiting a final decision plus examples, though. Thank you.
Hi guys...long time no post! It's been a hectic life lately, so I apologize for not being around...been busy finishing school, getting married, and all that fun stuff life brings. ^_^
Anyway, back to the topic at hand:
Martial Arts, Power Move, and Weapon all become one ability, huh? The versatility of Power Move, with the simple math of Weapon...I'm not seeing much to not like, here. Granted, naming has always been a problem, so that's no real shocker, is it? ^_^;;
A nice side-effect of combining them is the removal of "this perk/flaw works for Power Move, but not Weapon." It was always kind of a wtf when you could (not) use certain perks or flaws. Streamlining is a good thing, and it further enhances the feel and verisimilitude of the rules.
FWIW, this idea get's the "Pherret's Stamp of Approval" ^_^
As for names, Why not just stick with Power Move? At least until a better name crops up?
Main problem with Power Move is it doesn't cover certain attacks well. Striking someone with your kendo sword is not exactly a power move.
It'll come to me eventually, hopefully!
Another concern I have, and I thought I'd bring it up to see if you all think it's a justifiable one.
OVA is not exactly the most anti-min-maxing kind of game. But at the same time with this new Ability, there is not really a good reason for a character to not be good at, well, everything. There's no cost "penalty" for having a sword, a gun, martial arts talent, a chi blast, and a explosive device. There's no real reason to create a frail mage with some attack spells.
But, even in the current rules, there are countless ways to maximize combat potential, even if it's just choosing another Weapon +3 instead of, say, Charisma.
What you think? Good point, or am I just nitpicking?
Depends on the game and the player. I had no problem with creating a very non-combat-oriented character for an Exalted campaign. Of course, this was a campaign based on Legends of the Hidden Temple, but you get the point.
I really don't see why we can't have three combat Abilities: A To-Hit ability, a Damage Ability, and Power Move.
Joe_Mello: Could you make a common sense roll, please, Ryu?
Ryushikaze: With Smart?
Joe_Mello: Sure
*Ryushikaze rolls*
Joe_Mello: SHE'S DEAD!
Despite all the talk, I'm not dead set on this one catch-all, and may very well do what you're saying.
The main problem is that Power Move, as it stands, seems to confuse everybody. No one can quite get it right. It follows its own unique chart, rules, and so forth.
I thought if I could make damage, in general, all work the same, it'd be easier on everyone. Every attack works the same way. If you add perks, it ups Endurance. If you add Flaws, it decreases Endurance.
However, with a Damage ability (which we'll assume works just like Weapon for now) You have an entirely different set of rules that does not behave the same way. Suddenly you get "free" perks. You're also limited to one weapon/attack. Even if we change it so that Damage allows a suite of attacks, just like power move, how different can they be if you ban (arbitrarily) the Extra Damage perk? And if you don't ban the extra damage perk, what stops players from buying Weapon +3 and then loading up 3 or 4 "Extra damage" perks?
By lumping it all together, everything behaves the same, and because of the enforced endurance cost, it's a bit harder to abuse.
You see where I'm going? I really want simplicity and conistency, and ideally, remove the Power Move DT chart that everyone misinterprets in favor of buying a few "extra damages" on your own.
But as you seem to realize, this opens up its own problems.
But as you seem to realize, this opens up its own problems.
But I view them as smaller order of problems, in the grand scheme of things. If you think about it, most players who would abuse such a thing are the players who would prefer to play a different game.
OVA is all about simplicity and ease of use, but power-gamers want complexity so they can "bend the rules" to make themselves uber. The less rules, the less likely there is going to be any gaping holes.
TheBouncyPherret wrote:OVA is all about simplicity and ease of use, but power-gamers want complexity so they can "bend the rules" to make themselves uber. The less rules, the less likely there is going to be any gaping holes.
Power gamers can have a field day with OVA, since plenty of room for abuse opens up when you stretch to cover all of the anime genres and subgenres. I've had to educate my D&D 3.5 players a bit that just because you can make broken characters, doesn't necessarily mean that you should or that it'll be fun to run them.
-One common to-hit ability named "Combat Skill: _______" The blank is intentional because the player could purchase multiples in different fields (eg martial arts, swords, long-range artillery, etc.)
-One common damage ability named "Strike Force: _______" In theory, this would match-up with the Combat Skills. Like ye olde Weapon, you could get Perks/Flaws and have the max Endurance as 5x the level, but this would be real Endurance.
-Then there would be "Power Move." It would have the same amenities as "Strike Force" but would have the special DT table and a base 10 EP cost (as a trade-off for the special DT). I'm not sure if making it a suite or not is a good idea, but if you were to suite it, each sub-group in the Power Move would have the Max endurance be 5x the level + 10.
Good idea? Bad idea?
Joe_Mello: Could you make a common sense roll, please, Ryu?
Ryushikaze: With Smart?
Joe_Mello: Sure
*Ryushikaze rolls*
Joe_Mello: SHE'S DEAD!
I'm not quite sure I get what this accomplishes. Essentially you have Power Move, and an Ability just like Power Move except it has no default Endurance cost and no exponential DT. Why the distinction?
Also formulas are something I'd really like to avoid. Things like 5 x level + 10 or 2 + 3 times your level are things Players are not going to remember, and they don't exist in OVA for that reason. There's only 3 kinds of math: Simple addition and subtraction to determine the number of dice you roll/count up totals, multiplication for damage, and simplistic division for things like knockback and entangles. All of these can be done instantly with little thought. I really don't want formulas that have to be referenced back and forth in the rulebook, even if it is only during character creation. This is another reason why Power Move, with its wonky DT progression, built in Endurance costs, and other one-time rules bothers me as is.
I appreciate the thoughts, but it seems to go towards making the rules more complicated than simplifying them as was the intent.
What I was trying to accomplish is to make two similar Abilities, and yet make enough of a distinction to warrant Power Move and Regular Damage to be different.
-For the Regular, I wanted the Endurance cost to range anywhere between 0 and 5x the level.
-For Power Moves, I wanted the base EP to be 10 and allow the Endurance cost to be anywhere from 5 (as a rule, Power Moves must cost EP) to 5x level +10. The reason the +10 is in there is so the distance from the base to the ceiling is the same with both Abilities.
Now the no-brainer thing to do is to make Power Move a Perk and just have the DT grow exponentially from there, but that's not what the spirit of the original Power Move is.
This isn't going to get too much simpler no matter what we do, so we may as well group the identical terms and make everything else similar as possible. If you have problems, you can do what I've been doing and house-rule for logic.
Joe_Mello: Could you make a common sense roll, please, Ryu?
Ryushikaze: With Smart?
Joe_Mello: Sure
*Ryushikaze rolls*
Joe_Mello: SHE'S DEAD!
I'm throwing all my weight behind "Technique." Go ahead and google "skill technique." You'll be taken right to Sports Science pages which will tell you their defined difference between the two.
Using the language of sports science and the example of fencing (Hey, it's a combat sport), I can mention two techniques: The lunge and the fleche. Skill is your capacity to choose and apply those techniques.
