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Modifying Abilities
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<blockquote data-quote="Nahat Anoj" data-source="post: 2025795" data-attributes="member: 25075"><p>Well, I'm redefining what Abilities are and how they relate to the system. In the process, I don't think the old terms Intelligence and Wisdom fit. </p><p></p><p>Under the scheme I propose, the Abilities really are:</p><p></p><p>Physical Power</p><p>Physical Finesse</p><p>Physical Resistance</p><p>Mental Power</p><p>Mental Finesse</p><p>Mental Resistance</p><p></p><p>I then renamed them to make them easier for d20 users to recognize and interpret. Thus, I could call the first three Abilities Brawn, Adroitness, and Stamina, but Str, Dex, and Con work fine and are easily recognizeable. So I agree with you in that the old terms, if appropriate, should remain in use.</p><p></p><p>This leaves us with the last three. Let's first talk about Mental Power. Mental Power is like Mental "Strength." It's a character's ability to influence other people's mental states in a way similar to how Str allows a character to influence other people's physical states (such as by hitting them). This sounds a lot like "force of personality" to me, so I think Cha is a good term.</p><p></p><p>Next is Mental Finesse. This should be something like Mental "Dexterity." Dex allows a character to avoid physical damage, move quickly and gracefully, and otherwise coordinate his physical faculties. Similarly, Mental Finesse would involving "dodging" mental damage, thinking quickly and creatively, and coordinating his mental resources. I could call this Int, but Int as it currently is in d20 means primarily brainpower, learning and reason. In other words, I think Intelligence has too much baggage. Wisdom would work a little better, but I think Wits is a *perfect* better fit for Mental Dexterity.</p><p></p><p>Finally it's Mental Resistance, which should be like Mental "Constitution." Constitution implies physical toughness, endurance, and overall health. Mental Resistance should therefore be about mental toughness, resolve, and mental health. This in no way describes Int, and it describes only the willpower part of Wisdom (which has intuition and awareness components to it). Again, I think Wisdom has too much "baggage" for Mental Resistance, so I'll use Willpower until I can find a better word. </p><p></p><p></p><p>From a game mechanics perspective, I think Saving Throws are basically Skills that are 1) used only in reaction to something, 2) "always on," 3) and automatically go up each level (as opposed to having discretionary points spent on them like Skills do). However, many Skills such as Spot, Sense Motive, and Listen, have reactive components to them. To make things more intuitive, I would prefer that the reactive aspect of these Skills be handled by a Save (such as an Awareness save).</p><p></p><p>Your ideas for Saves are pretty neat, by the way.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Again, that was one of my concerns, as it's a popular character concept in d20 (I like it, too). However, isn't it possible for a person to have excellent perception but who doesn't have a lot of focus? (this is a rhetorical question, really, because I could just make a Feat that let's a character use his Int bonus instead of Wis bonus for perception - ultimately it boils down to a matter of taste).</p><p></p><p>I should say that I like d20 perfectly fine as is. In fact, I'm gearing up to run a Blue Rose game and I'm sure I'll have no problem with the Abilities. I'm just trying to streamline things in a manner I find appealing and may be more intuitive, therefore helping new players learn the game or allowing GMs to adjudicate things more quickly.</p><p></p><p>Jon</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nahat Anoj, post: 2025795, member: 25075"] Well, I'm redefining what Abilities are and how they relate to the system. In the process, I don't think the old terms Intelligence and Wisdom fit. Under the scheme I propose, the Abilities really are: Physical Power Physical Finesse Physical Resistance Mental Power Mental Finesse Mental Resistance I then renamed them to make them easier for d20 users to recognize and interpret. Thus, I could call the first three Abilities Brawn, Adroitness, and Stamina, but Str, Dex, and Con work fine and are easily recognizeable. So I agree with you in that the old terms, if appropriate, should remain in use. This leaves us with the last three. Let's first talk about Mental Power. Mental Power is like Mental "Strength." It's a character's ability to influence other people's mental states in a way similar to how Str allows a character to influence other people's physical states (such as by hitting them). This sounds a lot like "force of personality" to me, so I think Cha is a good term. Next is Mental Finesse. This should be something like Mental "Dexterity." Dex allows a character to avoid physical damage, move quickly and gracefully, and otherwise coordinate his physical faculties. Similarly, Mental Finesse would involving "dodging" mental damage, thinking quickly and creatively, and coordinating his mental resources. I could call this Int, but Int as it currently is in d20 means primarily brainpower, learning and reason. In other words, I think Intelligence has too much baggage. Wisdom would work a little better, but I think Wits is a *perfect* better fit for Mental Dexterity. Finally it's Mental Resistance, which should be like Mental "Constitution." Constitution implies physical toughness, endurance, and overall health. Mental Resistance should therefore be about mental toughness, resolve, and mental health. This in no way describes Int, and it describes only the willpower part of Wisdom (which has intuition and awareness components to it). Again, I think Wisdom has too much "baggage" for Mental Resistance, so I'll use Willpower until I can find a better word. From a game mechanics perspective, I think Saving Throws are basically Skills that are 1) used only in reaction to something, 2) "always on," 3) and automatically go up each level (as opposed to having discretionary points spent on them like Skills do). However, many Skills such as Spot, Sense Motive, and Listen, have reactive components to them. To make things more intuitive, I would prefer that the reactive aspect of these Skills be handled by a Save (such as an Awareness save). Your ideas for Saves are pretty neat, by the way. Again, that was one of my concerns, as it's a popular character concept in d20 (I like it, too). However, isn't it possible for a person to have excellent perception but who doesn't have a lot of focus? (this is a rhetorical question, really, because I could just make a Feat that let's a character use his Int bonus instead of Wis bonus for perception - ultimately it boils down to a matter of taste). I should say that I like d20 perfectly fine as is. In fact, I'm gearing up to run a Blue Rose game and I'm sure I'll have no problem with the Abilities. I'm just trying to streamline things in a manner I find appealing and may be more intuitive, therefore helping new players learn the game or allowing GMs to adjudicate things more quickly. Jon [/QUOTE]
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