Angel Tarragon
Dawn Dragon
The current maneuverability system works fine for me. I've been using it for quite awhile, being that my campaign is half sky based.
New Skill: Fly?
- Thread starter Pielorinho
- Start date
Perhaps make all this a Dex check instead of adding a new skill (most dragons have a 10 Dex their whole lives) and then add a bonus/penalty for size (maybe just add their size combat modifier?). If a creature takes one of the feats that makes them better fliers, then just have the feat grant a +4 to the Dex check.
And, to make things interesting, say that creatures with a fly speed can always take 10 on this check.
Dave
And, to make things interesting, say that creatures with a fly speed can always take 10 on this check.
Dave
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Interesting thoughts.
To folks that use the maneuverability tables, I would love love love for someone to set up a detailed combat example, a la WOTC's Rules of the Games, describing a combat between (say) a flying wizard, a dragon, and a will o' the wisp, including all kinds of tight turns, sudden elevation gains and drops, and so forth. I've spent a long time reading and rereading the rules, and i just can't figure out what they're supposed to look like in play.
Plane Sailing, the hummingbird/dragon disparity is interesting, and I hadn't thought of that. Consider, however, the following factors:
1) A hummingbird gets a +16 bonus to flying, due to its size (fine).
2) A hummingbird might easily get a +8 racial bonus to flying.
3) A hummingbird will probably have a dex of 18 or more--those little guys are fast.
4) A hummingbird will have four ranks in fly.
5) A colossal dragon gets a -16 penalty to flying.
6) A dragon usually has a 10 dex.
Taken together, the hummingbird would probably have a fly skill of +32. An ancient red dragon will have a fly skill of +27, if she's maxed out the skill.
Hmm. Is this a problem, that a thousand-year-old dragon who's focused on learning to fly would be almost as good as a regular hummingbird?
Maybe.
Ignoring the flight tables could work, as Piratecat suggests; that's mostly what we've done so far, just eyeballing the turning radius and so forth. But it'd be kind of nice to have a good system for doing it.
I recognize the danger of adding new skills, and indeed most of my houseruling around skills has involved combining them (so that jump, climb, and balance are subsumed under athletics, and hide and move silently are under sneak, and spot and listen are under perceive). Having combined so many skills, thereby freeing up skill points, makes me a little less wary about adding new ones in.
Daniel
To folks that use the maneuverability tables, I would love love love for someone to set up a detailed combat example, a la WOTC's Rules of the Games, describing a combat between (say) a flying wizard, a dragon, and a will o' the wisp, including all kinds of tight turns, sudden elevation gains and drops, and so forth. I've spent a long time reading and rereading the rules, and i just can't figure out what they're supposed to look like in play.
Plane Sailing, the hummingbird/dragon disparity is interesting, and I hadn't thought of that. Consider, however, the following factors:
1) A hummingbird gets a +16 bonus to flying, due to its size (fine).
2) A hummingbird might easily get a +8 racial bonus to flying.
3) A hummingbird will probably have a dex of 18 or more--those little guys are fast.
4) A hummingbird will have four ranks in fly.
5) A colossal dragon gets a -16 penalty to flying.
6) A dragon usually has a 10 dex.
Taken together, the hummingbird would probably have a fly skill of +32. An ancient red dragon will have a fly skill of +27, if she's maxed out the skill.
Hmm. Is this a problem, that a thousand-year-old dragon who's focused on learning to fly would be almost as good as a regular hummingbird?
Maybe.
Ignoring the flight tables could work, as Piratecat suggests; that's mostly what we've done so far, just eyeballing the turning radius and so forth. But it'd be kind of nice to have a good system for doing it.
I recognize the danger of adding new skills, and indeed most of my houseruling around skills has involved combining them (so that jump, climb, and balance are subsumed under athletics, and hide and move silently are under sneak, and spot and listen are under perceive). Having combined so many skills, thereby freeing up skill points, makes me a little less wary about adding new ones in.
Daniel
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Somewhere on this board I suggested adding a Manouverability skill basically for this same reason but extended beyond flying to all Move types (Run, Swim, Climb, Burrow)
It would allow things like Legolos running in, climbing the Oliphant and then surfing down its trunk to be done without a whole slew of different rolls, and it would make chase scenes and races easy to handle.
I also don't have a problem with a maxed out dragon flying almost as well as a hummingbird (or willowisp) since is had to make sacrifices (in other skills) to gain that manouverability.
It would allow things like Legolos running in, climbing the Oliphant and then surfing down its trunk to be done without a whole slew of different rolls, and it would make chase scenes and races easy to handle.
I also don't have a problem with a maxed out dragon flying almost as well as a hummingbird (or willowisp) since is had to make sacrifices (in other skills) to gain that manouverability.
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Ooh, Tonguez, I like that. Maybe I could further consolidate skills into Athletics (strong) and Athletics (dextrous)? Let the character make a case for why a particular action falls into her area of expertise, and be lenient on them; let bad guys have the same leniency.
Flight, however, would almost always be dextrous, just as climbing would almost always be strength.
That might work, and resolve the problem without creating a new skill.
Daniel
Flight, however, would almost always be dextrous, just as climbing would almost always be strength.
That might work, and resolve the problem without creating a new skill.
Daniel
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