Why would Picasso or Einstein have so many hit points?
- Thread starter Vrecknidj
- Start date
Liquidsabre
Explorer
Einstein of Relativity-Dale
Expert 10
AC 10
HP 10d6-10
+6/+1 Melee (1d2-1, tattered notebook)
+7/+2 Ranged (1d2-1, pencil with no eraser)
Str 9, Dex 11, Con 8, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills: Concentration +12, Craft (Scientific Theory) +18, Diplomacy +14, Knowledge (Mathematics) +15, Knowledge (Physics) +23, Knowledge (Religion) +15, Perform (Debate/Lecture) +14, Profession (Patent Clerk) +10, Sense Motive +10. (With plenty of skill points to spare in various life-skills/hobbies lost to the pages of history).
Feats: Education (FR), Leadership, Research (EB), Skill Focus (Craft: Scientific Theory), Skill Focus (Knowledge: Physics).
Sounds about right.
Remember we don't live in an epic world. Rarely would you see a 10-12th level individual in a modern world.
Though D20 Modern would better suit an Einstein-build with Fame instead of Leadership and Research skill ranks, massive damage threshold, etc. But easily buildable with a relatively reasonable result!
Expert 10
AC 10
HP 10d6-10
+6/+1 Melee (1d2-1, tattered notebook)
+7/+2 Ranged (1d2-1, pencil with no eraser)
Str 9, Dex 11, Con 8, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills: Concentration +12, Craft (Scientific Theory) +18, Diplomacy +14, Knowledge (Mathematics) +15, Knowledge (Physics) +23, Knowledge (Religion) +15, Perform (Debate/Lecture) +14, Profession (Patent Clerk) +10, Sense Motive +10. (With plenty of skill points to spare in various life-skills/hobbies lost to the pages of history).
Feats: Education (FR), Leadership, Research (EB), Skill Focus (Craft: Scientific Theory), Skill Focus (Knowledge: Physics).
Sounds about right.
Remember we don't live in an epic world. Rarely would you see a 10-12th level individual in a modern world.
Though D20 Modern would better suit an Einstein-build with Fame instead of Leadership and Research skill ranks, massive damage threshold, etc. But easily buildable with a relatively reasonable result!
DarkMaster
First Post
Liquidsabre said:
Storyteller01
First Post
BryonD said:At the risk of a total hijack......
I don't agree that "in his day" is a good consideration.
I woundn't limit a modern day physics expert character to 5 ranks because the expert in my Star Trek game only has 8 ranks and knows a whole lot more than this guy.
I'd easily give Einstein a +20 or more in physics.
I'll certainly agree that there could be other experts from his day that were even better than him, but did not get the same level of acclaim. (Heck, I could name some...)
But he was among the best in the world and his check should reflect that.
Now, if I ran a game in which Al got time warped to modern day, then I'd slap him with a -15 circumstance penalty to all physics checks. Or send a modern day grad student back in time and give him a +15 circumstance bonus (and an off-setting -10 for loss of modern technology to work with)
[seriously side tracked]
Not sure I'd agree with that. Modern day scientists are still making discoveries based on his theories. I'd say that he (and those with less acclaim) would still be teaching todays students something new (remember, he threw away a theory dark matter at the beginning of this century, which is just now being proven correct).
Storyteller01
First Post
I was toying with thias idea...
How about using blocks of damage, instead of hp?
Basically, 4 hp = 1 block (so a 1st level wizard should have on block).
Excess points points (such as a fighter with two and a half blocks) could be added to the negative value of hp (ie: said fighter can last to negative 12 hp, or negative 3 blocks)
Weapons would do blocks of damage (so a longsword will do upwards of 8 blocks of damage). Strength adds additional blocks to the damage. A fighter with a 15 Str would kill old Einey in two strokes! (50/4=12.5)
How about using blocks of damage, instead of hp?
Basically, 4 hp = 1 block (so a 1st level wizard should have on block).
Excess points points (such as a fighter with two and a half blocks) could be added to the negative value of hp (ie: said fighter can last to negative 12 hp, or negative 3 blocks)
Weapons would do blocks of damage (so a longsword will do upwards of 8 blocks of damage). Strength adds additional blocks to the damage. A fighter with a 15 Str would kill old Einey in two strokes! (50/4=12.5)
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Primitive Screwhead
First Post
Re: Coredump...
Nah.. the designers never could have considered that!
You might want to check out a thread further down... Ken Hood's Grim n Gritty rules.
The short version is that each character has a set of 5 wound conditions. For each 5 points you take, you escalate your condition. That means all things die after taking 25 points of damage. This is offset by a defense bonus, reflecting your ability to dodge/avoid damage, and Soak, your ability to be hit without taking damage.
Its in his first revision, but the rules are solid and mirror those of CP2020 without horrible convoluted conversion from 'normal' hit points.
Nah.. the designers never could have considered that!
You might want to check out a thread further down... Ken Hood's Grim n Gritty rules.
The short version is that each character has a set of 5 wound conditions. For each 5 points you take, you escalate your condition. That means all things die after taking 25 points of damage. This is offset by a defense bonus, reflecting your ability to dodge/avoid damage, and Soak, your ability to be hit without taking damage.
Its in his first revision, but the rules are solid and mirror those of CP2020 without horrible convoluted conversion from 'normal' hit points.
Gez
First Post
Bah, Einstein probably was merely a 2nd level expert... His wife, on the other hand... (seriously, there's suppositions about goold old Albert having "stolen" the work of his wife, who was also an excellent scientist, but who was a woman in a macho age -- I wasn't an intimate of the Einsteins, so I won't claim I have an idea of the truth, or lack thereof, behind it).
My homebrewed Expert class gains bonus feats like a fighter. Except those aren't combat feats, but skill feats. Like the various +2 to to skills, Skill Focus, and other homebrewed feats, notably Greater Skill Focus (everyone can guess what it does), Specialist (gives a +2 bonus on a particular subfield of a given skill, for example "swords" for Craft: Weaponsmithing) and Routine-Minded (gives a +2 bonus on skill checks when taking 10).
This lets me having experts that can be incredibly competent without being able to armwrestle a dragon. Additionally, this makes the Expert class a valid choice for a PC as well.
(seriously, there's suppositions about goold old Albert having "stolen" the work of his wife, who was also an excellent scientist, but who was a woman in a macho age -- I wasn't an intimate of the Einsteins, so I won't claim I have an idea of the truth, or lack thereof, behind it).My homebrewed Expert class gains bonus feats like a fighter. Except those aren't combat feats, but skill feats. Like the various +2 to to skills, Skill Focus, and other homebrewed feats, notably Greater Skill Focus (everyone can guess what it does), Specialist (gives a +2 bonus on a particular subfield of a given skill, for example "swords" for Craft: Weaponsmithing) and Routine-Minded (gives a +2 bonus on skill checks when taking 10).
This lets me having experts that can be incredibly competent without being able to armwrestle a dragon. Additionally, this makes the Expert class a valid choice for a PC as well.
2 points...
1) Giving Einstein enough hit points to survive an typical mid-level d20 adventure is good thing because it allows the GM to include him the adeventure. Picture slinging Einstein over the back of the motorcycle, both of you doding a hail of Nazi bullets. Free free to sustitute any famous artist/scientist/pop star for Einstein... Stephen Hawking and Madonna would make excellent additions to any any modern-day scenario, but only if they could take a few hits...
2) Here's an elegant solution to the original problem. Give Einstein 4 hp and a +30 in theoretical physics. How did I arrive at those numbers, you ask? I assigned "4" for his HP's and a "+30" for his skill modifier. There's absolutely no need to redesign the whole character/NPC generation system. Just know when to use it and when to discard it. The game doesn't break if every single NPC isn't statted legally.
1) Giving Einstein enough hit points to survive an typical mid-level d20 adventure is good thing because it allows the GM to include him the adeventure. Picture slinging Einstein over the back of the motorcycle, both of you doding a hail of Nazi bullets. Free free to sustitute any famous artist/scientist/pop star for Einstein... Stephen Hawking and Madonna would make excellent additions to any any modern-day scenario, but only if they could take a few hits...
2) Here's an elegant solution to the original problem. Give Einstein 4 hp and a +30 in theoretical physics. How did I arrive at those numbers, you ask? I assigned "4" for his HP's and a "+30" for his skill modifier. There's absolutely no need to redesign the whole character/NPC generation system. Just know when to use it and when to discard it. The game doesn't break if every single NPC isn't statted legally.
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