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<blockquote data-quote="Sparky McDibben" data-source="post: 9017677" data-attributes="member: 7041430"><p>Alrighty, y'all! Today we delve into Gambits!</p><p><img src="https://imgix.ranker.com/list_img_v2/18811/2478811/original/why-gambit-is-the-worst" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><em><span style="font-size: 10px">Pictured: The wrong gambit</span></em></p><p></p><p>Gambits are described as "a ploy or tactic used to gain the upper hand. Whether in a social setting or on a battlefield, when a person casts a gambit, they are using their wits and materials available to them to create a discrete effect." Essentially, gambits are cool things your character can do a limited number of times per day.</p><p></p><p>Or, to any 5E player, spells!</p><p></p><p>In the base (historical) rules, only two classes get gambits, and both of them are half-casters (firebrands and rangers), so neither of them gets slots above 5th level. (This is good, because while you get kind of get away with <em>revivify,</em> <em>resurrection</em> is going to draw some hard questions from Cotton Mather). The firebrand has a full-up list of gambits included in their class description. The ranger seems like you should be able to use the whole ranger spell list plus new ranger gambits (the rules make reference to reflavoring <em>barkskin</em>), but it's not actually stated anywhere that I can find. </p><p></p><p>The actual gambits themselves are scattered among all three pillars of play, with refreshing attention paid to social and exploration interactions. As an example, we have <em>logjam</em>, which lets you turn any given lumber-based obstacle into an impediment or a trap for your enemies. I think a skilled GM will have no problem creating all manner of interesting RP moments with these tools. </p><p></p><p>However, there are going to be some PCs who absolute <em>hate </em>this system, and those are the challenge-based players. For some folks (and I include myself in this camp), I don't want to found an intelligence network because I cast the <em>intelligence network</em> gambit, but rather because I put in the time, skill, and forethought to establish one. Furthermore, if I try to do this on my own without the gambit, can I? Or is it only available to those who have the right gambits?</p><p></p><p>That being said, as a GM, I cut the developers a lot of slack on this one. <em>I </em>love clever solutions to problems. I love it when the players make their own tools. But I have several players in my current group who just don't care. They want to "do the thing" and not have to think about it. They certainly don't want to have to research what a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fougasse_(weapon)" target="_blank"><em>fougasse</em></a> is. And so I think encoding these things on the character sheet is the best way to impart these bits of historical knowledge and interesting ideas, because it gives PCs a reason to care.</p><p></p><p>Moreover, the gambits also require forethought and setup - they pay off the best when you take the time to explain how they work. The <em>fougasse</em> I mentioned? It takes an hour to set up (and remains in effect for 24 hours) as essentially a large landmine or improvised mortar, while the material components are shovels and 60 gp worth of powder. So you can't just go, "I cast <em>fireball</em>," you have to actually plan ahead and then lure the bad guys where you want them, while praying everything goes according to plan and a deer or something doesn't wander in and accidentally vaporize itself on your super-deadly mine.</p><p></p><p>I think for me, the things that would make this section perfect are 1) a curated ranger spell list, so I don't have a player insisting they can use <em>lightning arrow</em> with a musket, and 2) a small sidebar to let GM's know that if your players want to do something that's like a gambit, they don't necessarily need the slot to do so...but they will need to double either the prep time or the prep cost, or both, to achieve the same effect. That way gambits don't limit player creativity, but spur it onwards, while giving GM's a touchpoint for damage, setup, and scale. Oh, and 3) more gambits which are just as cool as these are!</p><p></p><p>All in all, I've been looking for a low-magic version of D&D for a while, and this is one of only two rulesets that have really scratched that itch for me (the other being the great <em>Adventures in Middle Earth</em> supplement by Cubicle 7). That's hard to do, and damned if they didn't turn out an amazing design. Good job, y'all!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sparky McDibben, post: 9017677, member: 7041430"] Alrighty, y'all! Today we delve into Gambits! [IMG]https://imgix.ranker.com/list_img_v2/18811/2478811/original/why-gambit-is-the-worst[/IMG] [I][SIZE=2]Pictured: The wrong gambit[/SIZE][/I] Gambits are described as "a ploy or tactic used to gain the upper hand. Whether in a social setting or on a battlefield, when a person casts a gambit, they are using their wits and materials available to them to create a discrete effect." Essentially, gambits are cool things your character can do a limited number of times per day. Or, to any 5E player, spells! In the base (historical) rules, only two classes get gambits, and both of them are half-casters (firebrands and rangers), so neither of them gets slots above 5th level. (This is good, because while you get kind of get away with [I]revivify,[/I] [I]resurrection[/I] is going to draw some hard questions from Cotton Mather). The firebrand has a full-up list of gambits included in their class description. The ranger seems like you should be able to use the whole ranger spell list plus new ranger gambits (the rules make reference to reflavoring [I]barkskin[/I]), but it's not actually stated anywhere that I can find. The actual gambits themselves are scattered among all three pillars of play, with refreshing attention paid to social and exploration interactions. As an example, we have [I]logjam[/I], which lets you turn any given lumber-based obstacle into an impediment or a trap for your enemies. I think a skilled GM will have no problem creating all manner of interesting RP moments with these tools. However, there are going to be some PCs who absolute [I]hate [/I]this system, and those are the challenge-based players. For some folks (and I include myself in this camp), I don't want to found an intelligence network because I cast the [I]intelligence network[/I] gambit, but rather because I put in the time, skill, and forethought to establish one. Furthermore, if I try to do this on my own without the gambit, can I? Or is it only available to those who have the right gambits? That being said, as a GM, I cut the developers a lot of slack on this one. [I]I [/I]love clever solutions to problems. I love it when the players make their own tools. But I have several players in my current group who just don't care. They want to "do the thing" and not have to think about it. They certainly don't want to have to research what a [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fougasse_(weapon)'][I]fougasse[/I][/URL] is. And so I think encoding these things on the character sheet is the best way to impart these bits of historical knowledge and interesting ideas, because it gives PCs a reason to care. Moreover, the gambits also require forethought and setup - they pay off the best when you take the time to explain how they work. The [I]fougasse[/I] I mentioned? It takes an hour to set up (and remains in effect for 24 hours) as essentially a large landmine or improvised mortar, while the material components are shovels and 60 gp worth of powder. So you can't just go, "I cast [I]fireball[/I]," you have to actually plan ahead and then lure the bad guys where you want them, while praying everything goes according to plan and a deer or something doesn't wander in and accidentally vaporize itself on your super-deadly mine. I think for me, the things that would make this section perfect are 1) a curated ranger spell list, so I don't have a player insisting they can use [I]lightning arrow[/I] with a musket, and 2) a small sidebar to let GM's know that if your players want to do something that's like a gambit, they don't necessarily need the slot to do so...but they will need to double either the prep time or the prep cost, or both, to achieve the same effect. That way gambits don't limit player creativity, but spur it onwards, while giving GM's a touchpoint for damage, setup, and scale. Oh, and 3) more gambits which are just as cool as these are! All in all, I've been looking for a low-magic version of D&D for a while, and this is one of only two rulesets that have really scratched that itch for me (the other being the great [I]Adventures in Middle Earth[/I] supplement by Cubicle 7). That's hard to do, and damned if they didn't turn out an amazing design. Good job, y'all! [/QUOTE]
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