Dumb Questions

Discussion on playing Earthdawn. Experiences, stories, and questions related to being a player.
CPFCPF
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by CPFCPF » Wed Dec 07, 2016 12:38 pm

So the calculated rolls match the theoretical values. Yay, program working as intended :P

Thanks for the algebra! The million roll feature was just a curious side project, I made the program mainly to simulate different step rolls. Our group consists of 9 people, who are all actively playing. And if I would roll all the dices in battles for real, that would take ages, cause a gamemaster is constantly changing the dice between the rolls. The program just enters a creature to the screen and provides a button for each skill, the creature has. Especially in big battles, this reduces the time drastically.

PiXeL01
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by PiXeL01 » Sun Dec 11, 2016 1:21 pm

This is one from my gutterminded group.
From Namegivers of Barsaive (third edition) we can draw a few conclusions about the T'Skrang; for instance T'Skrang "couple" not "mate".
Females are not packing heavy up top simply because they do not nurse, males do instead.
Given the number of eggs females lay at the time their physiology would defer a lot from other Namegivers.
That goes for males too I assume, but how much?

So to compare with animals we can observe today are T'Skrang more like chickens or platypuses?

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Tanthalas
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by Tanthalas » Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:57 pm

PiXeL01 wrote:This is one from my gutterminded group.
From Namegivers of Barsaive (third edition) we can draw a few conclusions about the T'Skrang; for instance T'Skrang "couple" not "mate".
Females are not packing heavy up top simply because they do not nurse, males do instead.
Given the number of eggs females lay at the time their physiology would defer a lot from other Namegivers.
That goes for males too I assume, but how much?

So to compare with animals we can observe today are T'Skrang more like chickens or platypuses?
For some reason the curse phrase about a t'skrang cloaca comes up frequently with my group. I've always assumed their bits are similar to sea turtles and I've tried not to think too hard about it after that.
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Tattered Rags
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by Tattered Rags » Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:10 pm

Tanthalas wrote:I've tried not to think too hard about it after that.
Exactly what I'm trying to do right now. Thanks.
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PiXeL01
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by PiXeL01 » Fri Dec 23, 2016 9:19 am

:shock:

Can Awareness only used when actively searching for something or does it also work in Passive situations such as spotting tails you were not looking for?

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Mataxes
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by Mataxes » Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:00 pm

PiXeL01 wrote::shock:

Can Awareness only used when actively searching for something or does it also work in Passive situations such as spotting tails you were not looking for?
It's not intended to only be used actively. That's part of the reason the Strain cost was removed (compared to ED3 "Search" talent).
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Tanthalas
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by Tanthalas » Tue Dec 27, 2016 4:05 pm

PiXeL01 wrote::shock:

Can Awareness only used when actively searching for something or does it also work in Passive situations such as spotting tails you were not looking for?
4th edition Awareness is quite a bit different than 3rd edition Awareness. 4th edition Awareness seems like it can reasonably be used whenever the Adept is not completely absorbed in something else and could reasonably be assumed to be observing his surroundings. It should be noted, however, that it explicitly lists that the talent only works on things within 'Short' visibility range (with two extra successes increasing that to medium range). Looking into the GMG, short visibility is 25 yards under ideal conditions. If they are attempting to notice something further away (but still in medium range), Awareness adds a flat +10 to the difficulty.

That is something I was definitely doing wrong when I first started running 4th ed.
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Lys
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by Lys » Tue Dec 27, 2016 4:40 pm

The Awareness talent/skill is probably one of the best improvements that ED4 made to the game in terms of playability, precisely because it allows you to use it as a passive ability. Beforehand with Search and the various Detect X skills you had to be actively searching for stuff in order to benefit from the talent, and spend strain while you were at it as well. This would slow down the game immensely as your Scout or Thief would have to actively make a Search/Detect rolls every time she thought there might be something amiss, and it could be very frustrating to see her health would drain away with nothing to show for it. It was one of the things that greatly frustrated my group during our Kaer crawl. Now there's no need, and the GM can feel free to just call for Awareness checks when there's actually something interesting in sight. The GM can deal with the Adept not actively looking around or being distracted by just adding a penalty to the Awareness roll. It's all so much faster and more fun.

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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by PiXeL01 » Sun Jan 08, 2017 8:16 am

Animal Bond:

How many times can an adept attempt to turn an animal from hostile to neutral? Only once or attempt each round until he succeeds?

Scenario:

Our group got waylaid by Jub Jubs at a ford. The Beastmaster uses Dominate Beast on one and then attempts to use Animal Bond on it, which he fails the first time. The following round he attempts again, saying the description says he can, as it is only the improvement from Neutral and up that has a timer of one day (week if skill).

Personally I would say you get one go at it and then if that fails you would have to wait at least until the next morning. What's correct?

Talent Description:

Animal Bond
Step: Rank + CHA Action: Standard
Strain: 0 Skill Use: Yes (Novice)
The adept develops a bond of trust with an animal, making an Animal Bond test
against the animal’s Social Defense. If successful, the animal takes a Neutral attitude
toward him (the Gamemaster’s Guide has more information on attitudes). The adept
may make additional tests to further improve the animal’s attitude, but must spend at
least one day with the animal between tests, treating it well during that time.
Each subsequent improvement requires an additional success on the Animal
Bond test (so it requires two successes to improve from Neutral to Friendly).
Once the animal’s attitude increases to Loyal, it willingly takes risks for the adept
and expects appropriate rewards for doing so. (This is more easily accomplished for
an animal than for a Namegiver friend. For example, all a dog really wants is lots of
affection and enough food.) A Loyal animal will accompany the adept on adventures
if he so desires, and is referred to as an animal companion. An adept can maintain a
number of animal companions equal to his rank in Animal Bond.
An animal will not maintain a better attitude towards an adept than the adept
shows to it. As a result, mistreatment, neglect, or abandonment can offset the talent’s
effects, worsening the animal’s attitude towards the character. If an animal companion’s
attitude drops below Friendly, talents or abilities that target animal companions
will no longer work.
This talent can only be used on non-sentient, natural creatures. It cannot be used
to improve the attitudes of Horrors, Horror constructs, or sentient beings of any kind.
Skill Use: The non-magical version of this talent requires one week of time to pass
between tests to improve the animal’s attitude beyond Neutral.

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The Undying
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Re: Dumb Questions

Post by The Undying » Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:15 am

I'd agree with a 1/day, regardless of outcome. I think it'd be hard to argue that the intent is "Talent spam until a success occurs." Yes, it says "may make additional tests to further improve the animal’s attitude, but must spend at least one day with the animal between tests." However, I think the intent is pretty clear: you get one test out of the gate, and additional tests require a day with the animal, treating it well during that period.

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