--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, "Tim" <ethernaut@...> wrote:
>
> Absolutely. For when the *success* is assured but you need to know if the
character does it with style.
>

The best one off games are based on movies everyone has seen; everyone knows
what to do and where to go. The dice keep the game honest and throws players
curve balls.

'Success... or SUCCESS' and Boxcars are the two advances rules that saw the most
use.

I've just signed on to run a Pirates (vs. Vampires) chat game in the coming
year. One thing that I've been thinking about is how to really get the most out
of ship-to-ship combat. I have not settled on any approaches yet, so I'm curious
to hear from other people about their experiences (or just notions) about how to
handle such things in Risus. Certainly, ship combat can be just like any other
combat. But I'm open to interesting ideas that can make the fight exciting for
everyone (and not just the captain).

Specific questions:

* Are ships tools-of-the-trade? If yes, this would imply that ship combat is
just a combat between captains (perhaps with crews as teams). I suppose
exceptional ships could be bonus gear.

* Are ships characters in their own right? Perhaps they are sidekicks of the
captain? Perhaps everyone in the party can contribute dice? If this approach is
used then ships could be team leaders/members in a fight.

BTW: I really like the ship combat rules in Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. It
would be cool to borrow ideas from this and other games, but I'd prefer to work
within the existing Risus rules framework.

I just finished reading Savage Worlds' _50 Fathoms_ (awesome game and resource,
BTW) and they handle ship combat as your first option: a combat between
captains, with the crew as a supporting team. Certain special ship features
offer bonus dice: for example, if you have magical (or just lots better than
average) cannon, then they add +1 die to the crew's team. I think the key to
this approach is to figure out how similar the ships involved are and then apply
bonuses for big differences.

So if you've got two small sloops chasing each other, they're basically the same
ship, in the same wind, so the thing that makes the difference between them is
the captain and crew. But if you have a heavily gunned frigate chasing the
sloop, you'd want to somehow mark that the sloop is much faster (it's lighter
and smaller) but the frigate can blow it out of the water with half its cannon
still below decks. I'd be tempted to do that as a situational modifier, but
you'd probably want to make some guidelines as to what different differences are
"worth".

What's cool about the ship combat rules in _Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies_?

(I've been thinking about running a non-pirates ship-based Risus game myself,
but it's only in the very beginning stages. I'd love to know what you end up
doing for your game.)

-- Mike
______________________________________________________________________________
Mike Friedman | HighWire Press, Stanford Univ | friedman@...

On Dec 21, 2009, at 11:43 AM, Tim wrote:

> I've just signed on to run a Pirates (vs. Vampires) chat game in the coming
year. One thing that I've been thinking about is how to really get the most out
of ship-to-ship combat. I have not settled on any approaches yet, so I'm curious
to hear from other people about their experiences (or just notions) about how to
handle such things in Risus. Certainly, ship combat can be just like any other
combat. But I'm open to interesting ideas that can make the fight exciting for
everyone (and not just the captain).
>
> Specific questions:
>
> * Are ships tools-of-the-trade? If yes, this would imply that ship combat is
just a combat between captains (perhaps with crews as teams). I suppose
exceptional ships could be bonus gear.
>
> * Are ships characters in their own right? Perhaps they are sidekicks of the
captain? Perhaps everyone in the party can contribute dice? If this approach is
used then ships could be team leaders/members in a fight.
>
> BTW: I really like the ship combat rules in Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. It
would be cool to borrow ideas from this and other games, but I'd prefer to work
within the existing Risus rules framework.
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

>Certainly, ship combat can be just like any other combat. But I'm open to
>interesting ideas that can make the fight exciting for everyone (and not just
the captain).

Maybe ship combat is run using the Cascade rules from the Companion?
That strikes me as giving individuals more impact on the overall
battle, and can let the players describe what their characters are
doing during the battle as they work through the Cascade mechanics.

--
Jay Shaffstall
RPG Editor for Bella Online
http://rpg.bellaonline.com

One of the rules I came up with can be found in my Adventure Street
Omnibus set at Risusiverse.  IN the "Ripping Air Yarns"
<http://risusiverse.wetpaint.com/page/Ripping+Air+Yarns>, tiy'll find
the 'House Rules' section.

There, I advocate using the Sidekicks and Shieldmates rules from the
Companion.  Then, in combat situations, use the Team Up rules, teaming
the ships with their pilots.  That's just a summary, the full
description is at the site.

--
Hank Harwell, IOR #43
Brother Cleireac of Inisliath (SCA)

LiveJournal: <http://cleireac.livejournal.com/>
NOW on Twitter! <http://twitter.com/cleireac>

I own a bunch of Savage Worlds books but not 50 Fathoms. Sounds like it might
have an interesting take of ship combat. I may need to check it out.

Re: Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies...

It's an interesting system that expands on the standard PDQ# dueling rules.
There are specific crew officers: Captain, First Mate, Master of Arms, Master of
Guns, and Sailing Master. The Captain can issue a number of orders per turn
based on his relevant forte (equivalent to a Risus cliche). These orders can go
to player characters or NPCs in various crew positions (not just the officers).
He can even give himself an order. If the PC or NPC makes the roll they generate
style dice. If they fail then either they or the ship takes "damage" (which need
not be physical... very Risus-like). The total number of style dice are
allocated to either attack or defense (the captain has regular dice and each
style die can be a +1 or take-the-highest reroll). Style dice can also be used
to accomplish specific ship-combat actions... they can be used for damage
control, initiating a boarding action, to allow for a sniper action against the
enemy crew, etc.

The nugget that I most like is the captain issuing orders to player characters.
Everyone one is involved and doing the things that their character
(theoretically) likes doing. It's a great way to describe the crew acting as a
team.

I don't suppose such an elaborate system is needed in Risus. The team combat
rules would work just fine. Having the captain issue the orders to the team
members first would be good roleplaying.

In S7S, the ship is treated as a forte that augments the captain's roll. In
Risus-terms, this resembles bonus dice. Then again, there is nothing to prevent
a ship with cliches from "teaming", you just wouldn't issue it orders. I'm
starting to think that like having the ship be a character because because it
would be easier to track its "damage". That, and it is very genre-appropriate
for a ship to have it's own strengths and quirks. Having the ships be characters
also mostly solves the sloop vs. frigate problem you described.


Tim

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, Michael Friedman <friedman@...> wrote:
>
> I just finished reading Savage Worlds' _50 Fathoms_ (awesome game and
resource, BTW) and they handle ship combat as your first option: a combat
between captains, with the crew as a supporting team. Certain special ship
features offer bonus dice: for example, if you have magical (or just lots better
than average) cannon, then they add +1 die to the crew's team. I think the key
to this approach is to figure out how similar the ships involved are and then
apply bonuses for big differences.
>
> So if you've got two small sloops chasing each other, they're basically the
same ship, in the same wind, so the thing that makes the difference between them
is the captain and crew. But if you have a heavily gunned frigate chasing the
sloop, you'd want to somehow mark that the sloop is much faster (it's lighter
and smaller) but the frigate can blow it out of the water with half its cannon
still below decks. I'd be tempted to do that as a situational modifier, but
you'd probably want to make some guidelines as to what different differences are
"worth".
>
> What's cool about the ship combat rules in _Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies_?
>
> (I've been thinking about running a non-pirates ship-based Risus game myself,
but it's only in the very beginning stages. I'd love to know what you end up
doing for your game.)
>
> -- Mike
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Mike Friedman | HighWire Press, Stanford Univ | friedman@...
>
> On Dec 21, 2009, at 11:43 AM, Tim wrote:
>
> > I've just signed on to run a Pirates (vs. Vampires) chat game in the coming
year. One thing that I've been thinking about is how to really get the most out
of ship-to-ship combat. I have not settled on any approaches yet, so I'm curious
to hear from other people about their experiences (or just notions) about how to
handle such things in Risus. Certainly, ship combat can be just like any other
combat. But I'm open to interesting ideas that can make the fight exciting for
everyone (and not just the captain).
> >
> > Specific questions:
> >
> > * Are ships tools-of-the-trade? If yes, this would imply that ship combat is
just a combat between captains (perhaps with crews as teams). I suppose
exceptional ships could be bonus gear.
> >
> > * Are ships characters in their own right? Perhaps they are sidekicks of the
captain? Perhaps everyone in the party can contribute dice? If this approach is
used then ships could be team leaders/members in a fight.
> >
> > BTW: I really like the ship combat rules in Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. It
would be cool to borrow ideas from this and other games, but I'd prefer to work
within the existing Risus rules framework.
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>

I've always been intrigued by the Last Man Standing rules from the Companion (I
assume you are referring to those). I just never seemed to find the right game
situation for them. I'm not sure if ship combat is that situation. Seems Last
Man Standing is less about teaming and more about "every man for himself". But
it does make me want to go back and read the rules to see if there is something
that I might have missed.

Tim/RisusMonkey

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, Jay Shaffstall <jshaffstall@...> wrote:
>
> >Certainly, ship combat can be just like any other combat. But I'm open to
> >interesting ideas that can make the fight exciting for everyone (and not just
the captain).
>
> Maybe ship combat is run using the Cascade rules from the Companion?
> That strikes me as giving individuals more impact on the overall
> battle, and can let the players describe what their characters are
> doing during the battle as they work through the Cascade mechanics.
>
> --
> Jay Shaffstall
> RPG Editor for Bella Online
> http://rpg.bellaonline.com
>

Cool! I remember those rules! I always thought a "Crimson Skies"-style Ripping
Air Yarns game would be awesome.

But yeah, your vehicle rules are very much along the lines of what I've been
thinking about. The main areas that I'm trying to puzzle out is how to involve
the rest of the crew. Not just in Teaming (I think the Team rules are probably
fine for that). I'm also trying to decide if other PCs can contribute dice to
the Ship. And do they have to blow their own dice to do it? Or does everybody
get a die to throw at the ship for free? I also need to figure out how many dice
a player character ship should have (maybe I should aim for 10?). I'm still
mulling that over.

Tim/RisusMonkey

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, Hank Harwell <cleireac@...> wrote:
>
> One of the rules I came up with can be found in my Adventure Street
> Omnibus set at Risusiverse.  IN the "Ripping Air Yarns"
> <http://risusiverse.wetpaint.com/page/Ripping+Air+Yarns>, tiy'll find
> the 'House Rules' section.
>
> There, I advocate using the Sidekicks and Shieldmates rules from the
> Companion.  Then, in combat situations, use the Team Up rules, teaming
> the ships with their pilots.  That's just a summary, the full
> description is at the site.
>
> --
> Hank Harwell, IOR #43
> Brother Cleireac of Inisliath (SCA)
>
> LiveJournal: <http://cleireac.livejournal.com/>
> NOW on Twitter! <http://twitter.com/cleireac>
>

Anything  I say falls under "There's no wrong way to play", of course, and
forgive me if I'm being too obvious.

The main reason I wouldn't use the ship as the main character is that a ship
that isn't an AI  (in some form or another, like the Black Pearl) just
doesn't take any actions on its own. It's not a character in a game sense
because it doesn't initiate any action; it's a Tool of the Trade. It also
takes away focus from the characters, and focusing it on their tools. The
secret of making it work is describing what's happening imaginatively enough
to keep the players interested, as it is in all Risus contests, so you might
be able to pick up some ideas from these other games, but I wouldn't usually
try to adapt their rules to Risus. If I was planning to run a pirate attack,
for instance, I might make some nots about pirate tactics such as lurking in
a cove for unsuspecting treasure ships, boarding actions, grapples, swingin'
from the riggin', bringing down the sails, blowing holes in the hull, etc.,
but all these things would depend on the appropriate rolls in PC vs non-PC
battle.  If the helmsman fails his evasive action roll, for example, the
pirates' broadside cannons might damage the hull (e.g., the Helmsman lost a
dice).

I could see a case being made for them being plus-dice gadgets, but I try to
keep a tight leash on those; they're like having Lucky Shots or Questing
Dice that don't run out. They'll be used in every single situation the
characters can justify.
On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 4:14 PM, Tim <ethernaut@...> wrote:

>
>
> Cool! I remember those rules! I always thought a "Crimson Skies"-style
> Ripping Air Yarns game would be awesome.
>
> But yeah, your vehicle rules are very much along the lines of what I've
> been thinking about. The main areas that I'm trying to puzzle out is how to
> involve the rest of the crew. Not just in Teaming (I think the Team rules
> are probably fine for that). I'm also trying to decide if other PCs can
> contribute dice to the Ship. And do they have to blow their own dice to do
> it? Or does everybody get a die to throw at the ship for free? I also need
> to figure out how many dice a player character ship should have (maybe I
> should aim for 10?). I'm still mulling that over.
>
> Tim/RisusMonkey
>
>
> --- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com <risustalk%40yahoogroups.com>, Hank
> Harwell <cleireac@...> wrote:
> >
> > One of the rules I came up with can be found in my Adventure Street
> > Omnibus set at Risusiverse. IN the "Ripping Air Yarns"
> > <http://risusiverse.wetpaint.com/page/Ripping+Air+Yarns>, tiy'll find
> > the 'House Rules' section.
> >
> > There, I advocate using the Sidekicks and Shieldmates rules from the
> > Companion. Then, in combat situations, use the Team Up rules, teaming
> > the ships with their pilots. That's just a summary, the full
> > description is at the site.
> >
> > --
> > Hank Harwell, IOR #43
> > Brother Cleireac of Inisliath (SCA)
> >
> > LiveJournal: <http://cleireac.livejournal.com/>
> > NOW on Twitter! <http://twitter.com/cleireac>
> >
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Ah yes, I totally agree and yet I'm still torn...

Until I read the Companion I never knew how expansive Tool Of The Trade could
be. Then I got it. Ships. Armies, Faceless Minions. A Pack of Annoying Yip-Yip
Dogs. It's all there. I love this approach. As Guys says, it really puts the
focus on the characters.

And yet... sometimes it's cool to put a little focus on the tools. Other than
bonus gear, Risus doesn't really have any way to distinguish one set of tools
from another. And like Guys says, Bonus Gear can get out of hand. In my
experience, they are best reserved for rare rewards and they are best when
fairly specific about when the bonus can be used. That way, you don't have the
infinite Lucky Shot problem with ever-escalating dice pools.

Which brings me back to ships.

If I make the ships Tools of the Trade then there might be rare Bonus Die ships.
It's possible, but the characters won't start with one and I don't see them
upgrading any time soon. It's more likely that I'll use very-specific and
limited use charms or talisman bonus gear to adorn the ship and crew.

In most case, ship combat would be a straight-up contest of captains with
crew-members teaming at their option. If there is a severe difference in the
combat capability of the enemy ship then.. well... I can tweak the enemy
captain's cliche a die are two in either direction and no-one will know the
difference.

It's a great approach and feels very true to the spirit of Risus (whatever that
means).

But then I think about treating the ship like a character. Unlike Guy, I really
don't have a problem with inanimate objects having cliches and joining in the
Team rules. I've done it before as a way to flavor bonus gear a little
differently. Usually, there was some kind of intelligence residing in the item,
but not always.

I guess the main advantage of ships-as-characters is still damage for me. If the
ship is a Tool and the crew members take "damage" in a fight then it can lead to
weird situations when the crew doesn't really need the ship (like shore
excursions). Yes, a damaged ship can be ego bruising and healing is a simple
matter of GM fiat, but returning to a damaged ship might be a little jarring. It
might be more straight-forward to have the ship take its own damage.

I'm no longer leaning solidly in one direction or the other. Must give it more
thought...

Thanks for all the replies thus far!

Tim


--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, Guy Hoyle <guy.hoyle@...> wrote:
>
> Anything  I say falls under "There's no wrong way to play", of course, and
> forgive me if I'm being too obvious.
>
> The main reason I wouldn't use the ship as the main character is that a ship
> that isn't an AI  (in some form or another, like the Black Pearl) just
> doesn't take any actions on its own. It's not a character in a game sense
> because it doesn't initiate any action; it's a Tool of the Trade. It also
> takes away focus from the characters, and focusing it on their tools. The
> secret of making it work is describing what's happening imaginatively enough
> to keep the players interested, as it is in all Risus contests, so you might
> be able to pick up some ideas from these other games, but I wouldn't usually
> try to adapt their rules to Risus. If I was planning to run a pirate attack,
> for instance, I might make some nots about pirate tactics such as lurking in
> a cove for unsuspecting treasure ships, boarding actions, grapples, swingin'
> from the riggin', bringing down the sails, blowing holes in the hull, etc.,
> but all these things would depend on the appropriate rolls in PC vs non-PC
> battle.  If the helmsman fails his evasive action roll, for example, the
> pirates' broadside cannons might damage the hull (e.g., the Helmsman lost a
> dice).
>
> I could see a case being made for them being plus-dice gadgets, but I try to
> keep a tight leash on those; they're like having Lucky Shots or Questing
> Dice that don't run out. They'll be used in every single situation the
> characters can justify.

After thinking about it some more, I guess how you handle the situation
comes down to the wueation about the role your ship plays in the campaign.

In a past campaign (as a player, and not Risus), we were from a Viking-like
culture, and started out with a fishing vessel, "The Rusty Scab". We traded
up at every opportunity, eventually ending up with a much better ship...
which we might never have gotten around to naming.  Our ships really had no
personality.  If I was running it in a Risus game, I'd probably run it as an
NPC.

However, something like the Starship Enterprise, which is often cited as
"one of the main characters of the show", it does kind of have a
personality. She's often referred to as "a beautiful lady". Dr. McCoy (in
the first episode of TNG) says something like, "Treat her right and she'll
always bring you home" (in reference to the Enterprise-D).  She's constantly
anthropomorphised, so I can see making a ship like that a character, with
cliches and everything. However, it's worth pointing out that only the
Enterprise (and the Voyager, and the Defiant, on their own shows) are
usually given this kind of personality in the show.

If ships in my campaign were just vehicles to get you around safely from
place to place, I probably wouldn't bother giving them cliches, just a few
lines of description. If the campaign was like "The Voyages of the Starsip
Enterprise", where the crew has invested blood and sweat into the well-being
of the ship, and vice-versa, I'd call it a character.  Either way can be
appropriate, depending on what you want.

Guy


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I think this is reflected in other games, some of which have complicated
character sheets for vehicles, others of which do not.



I remember someone was suggesting a Risus version of the game CAR WARS.  In CAR
WARS, the cars themselves had detailed character sheets which were more detailed
then the drivers.  To get a car-wars like feel in Risus, you might want to
define the car as a character (perhaps with the driver as a tool of the trade?)



Science fiction games sometimes had detailed character sheets for spaceships. 
Traveller comes to mind.  I agree with whoever pointed out that on Star Trek the
Enterprise was very much a character in itself.



It really depends on what kind of game you want.  In CAR WARS the emphasis was
on the cars.  But other games don't emphasize things like cars.  I think the
basic rule would be have more detail for whatever you want to emphasize.



Karl Paananen

_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection.
http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141665/direct/01/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, "Tim" <ethernaut@...> wrote:
> Specific questions:
>
> * Are ships tools-of-the-trade? If yes, this would imply that ship combat is
just a combat between captains (perhaps with crews as teams). I suppose
exceptional ships could be bonus gear.

Whoever did Risus Star Wars treated ships as 'gadgets', an optional rule I liked
but never used. I don't remember if he had ship combat rules.

> BTW: I really like the ship combat rules in Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. It
would be cool to borrow ideas from this and other games, but I'd prefer to work
within the existing Risus rules framework.
>

Pineapple Leader has WW1 dogfight and Mecha rules sets for Risus.

I like Sky Galleons of Mars; which is perhaps too crunchy for your needs or
taste.

On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 1:23 PM, Karl Paananen <karlpaananen@...> wrote:
>
> I remember someone was suggesting a Risus version of the game CAR WARS. In CAR
WARS, the cars themselves had detailed character sheets which were more detailed
then the drivers. To get a car-wars like feel in Risus, you might want to define
the car as a character (perhaps with the driver as a tool of the trade?)
>

I think that would have been me as well, riffing on the same rules for
Sidekicks and Shieldmates and Teaming up.

--
Hank Harwell, IOR #43
Brother Cleireac of Inisliath (SCA)

LiveJournal: <http://cleireac.livejournal.com/>
NOW on Twitter! <http://twitter.com/cleireac>

I have a cleric in a typical swords and sorcery type world. I know that I can
probably have them do combat by using offensive cleric spells, but what if the
cleric wants to heal during combat? I would think that would be a TN, but I'm
not sure what would be a good number to use.

Has anyone else had experience with a healer class trying to heal in combat?

If the healer is part of a team, I wouldn't give the PCs back any of their dice.
I'd just make that one of his actions. When the going gets tough for one of the
PCs"I'm healing the fighter!" Roll the bones, and add them sixes onto the
leader's roll; with luck, the Fighter can stuff his innards back in and keep on
fighting.

Remember, cliches aren't hit dice... that is, they're not JUST hit dice. They're
also skills and abilities and hit dice and saving bonuses and armor class and
more! All that crunchy stuff is melted into that Risus sweet chewy goodness.
Even though he can't actually restore any dice that have been expended, his roll
can allow somebody that's down to his last die to join in the fray one more
time... as long as he doesn't lose that last die and drop ou ofthe group.

Guy

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, "liquidhot_maagma" <cumberland@...> wrote:
>
> I have a cleric in a typical swords and sorcery type world. I know that I can
probably have them do combat by using offensive cleric spells, but what if the
cleric wants to heal during combat? I would think that would be a TN, but I'm
not sure what would be a good number to use.
>
> Has anyone else had experience with a healer class trying to heal in combat?
>

>
> I have a cleric in a typical swords and sorcery type world. I know that I can
probably have them do combat by using offensive cleric spells, but what if the
cleric wants to heal during combat? I would think that would be a TN, but I'm
not sure what would be a good number to use.
>




Just off the top of my head, I would assume that a good rule of thumb might be a
TN of 5 times the number of dice lost.  If you make the roll, the patient heals
ONE die.



So if the Barbarian (4) has taken one die of damage, and is acting as a
Barbarian (3), the D&D-Style-Cleric would need to beat a TN of 5 to heal him
back to 4.



If a Barbarian (4) has taken TWO dice of damage, to Barbarian (2), the
D&D-Style-Cleric would need to beat a TN of 10 to heal him back to (3).  (Then
on his next turn could beat a 5 to heal him fully)



But the GM would have to make sure that the dice lost and thus regained were
something that a cleric could heal.  As someone else pointed out, Cliche dice
are not just Hit Points.  If a character was losing dice because of loss of
ammo, or loss of a tactical advantage, I don't see how a Cleric could heal that.



Karl

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Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 8:26 AM, Karl Paananen <karlpaananen@...>wrote:

>
>
>
> But the GM would have to make sure that the dice lost and thus regained
> were something that a cleric could heal. As someone else pointed out, Cliche
> dice are not just Hit Points. If a character was losing dice because of loss
> of ammo, or loss of a tactical advantage, I don't see how a Cleric could
> heal that.
>

Ammo? Maybe "The Lord will provide..." and the cleric brings out a clip of
bullets he'd been hiding for just such an occasion. As for loss of tactical
advantage, a reassuring omen or a rallying speech that moves the troops to
do the impossible.

Guy


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 7:37 AM, Guy Hoyle <guy.hoyle@...> wrote:
>
> Ammo? Maybe "The Lord will provide..." and the cleric brings out a clip of
> bullets he'd been hiding for just such an occasion. As for loss of tactical
> advantage, a reassuring omen or a rallying speech that moves the troops to
> do the impossible.

I wouldn't allow a cleric to heal dice during a fight, but I might
allow it afterward. Even non-physical damage could be recovered via
counseling. During combat, the cleric is probably healing, singing a
good war chant, and cracking skulls with the rest of them. Thus his
contribution of dice to the team-up.

--
Hollis McCray
Mutant Registration Number #US2002023904

Warning: Proximity to this individual may expose you to the following RPGs:
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--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, Hollis McCray <ascensionschild@...> wrote:

> I wouldn't allow a cleric to heal dice during a fight, but I might
> allow it afterward. Even non-physical damage could be recovered via
> counseling. During combat, the cleric is probably healing, singing a
> good war chant, and cracking skulls with the rest of them. Thus his
> contribution of dice to the team-up.

Agreed.Any restoration of dice should be part of the healing process after
battle. A cleric would probably be able to speed up the process,but that's up to
the referee anyway.

Guy

> Agreed.Any restoration of dice should be part of the healing process after
battle. A cleric would
> probably be able to speed up the process,but that's up to the referee anyway.
>
> Guy

While I'm all for healing only AFTER batlle, I have an idea for healing in
battle if a player really wants the ability to - let the cleric lose 1 die in
his cliche to heal 1 die in anyone's damaged cliche.  This will ensure that the
cleric just can't get lucky rolls and extend battle indefinitely.  I think I'd
even allow a cleric sacrificing multiple dice at once if they needed to.  Just
make sure that the cleric has to do something like pray or fast or...something
time consuming to heal dice lose to sacrifice.

I like the 'healing' as a classic team up. But if you want to keep it more to
the D&D idiom, the sliding TN is good and the cleric should have to give up dice
of his own, Lucky Shots, Questing, or Cliche dice, or else you are giving away
free dice. Even co-op players will abuse that rule.

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, Karl Paananen <karlpaananen@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> >
> > I have a cleric in a typical swords and sorcery type world. I know that I
can probably have them do combat by using offensive cleric spells, but what if
the cleric wants to heal during combat? I would think that would be a TN, but
I'm not sure what would be a good number to use.
> >
>
>
>
>
> Just off the top of my head, I would assume that a good rule of thumb might be
a TN of 5 times the number of dice lost.  If you make the roll, the patient
heals ONE die.
>
>
>
> So if the Barbarian (4) has taken one die of damage, and is acting as a
Barbarian (3), the D&D-Style-Cleric would need to beat a TN of 5 to heal him
back to 4.
>
>
>
> If a Barbarian (4) has taken TWO dice of damage, to Barbarian (2), the
D&D-Style-Cleric would need to beat a TN of 10 to heal him back to (3).  (Then
on his next turn could beat a 5 to heal him fully)
>
>
>
> But the GM would have to make sure that the dice lost and thus regained were
something that a cleric could heal.  As someone else pointed out, Cliche dice
are not just Hit Points.  If a character was losing dice because of loss of
ammo, or loss of a tactical advantage, I don't see how a Cleric could heal that.
>
>
>
> Karl
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free.
> http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Of course risus is not d&d, nor would I want it to be, but if your playing a
classic d&d style fantasy game the cleric's role is healing. And I would allow
it during combat.

I also would not make it target number based, but like d&d make it a limited
usage (number of times per day).

The way I treat any kind of super/supernatural power in risus is to give the
power a number of use per day = 3 times the clliche level.

So a introspective cleric of yorg 4 would have 12 daily uses of cleric power ...
i use x3 as the default, but the multiple can be increased for a more powerful
game or decreased for a less powerful game.

Greg


________________________________
From: Dan <dsuptic@...>
To: risustalk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 1:19:01 PM
Subject: [risustalk] Re: Healing During Combat




> Agreed.Any restoration of dice should be part of the healing process after
battle. A cleric would
> probably be able to speed up the process,but that's up to the referee anyway.
>
> Guy

While I'm all for healing only AFTER batlle, I have an idea for healing in
battle if a player really wants the ability to - let the cleric lose 1 die in
his cliche to heal 1 die in anyone's damaged cliche.  This will ensure that the
cleric just can't get lucky rolls and extend battle indefinitely.  I think I'd
even allow a cleric sacrificing multiple dice at once if they needed to.  Just
make sure that the cleric has to do something like pray or fast or...something
time consuming to heal dice lose to sacrifice.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

While I'm all for healing to be abstracted during team-ups, I often find
that characters with healing abilities may not be part of a given team (they
may be late comers or they may be bouncing between multiple melees or they
might just have other stuff to do). In that case, I do something very
similar to what Karl suggests. In fact, I like what Karl does *better* than
what I do and will be adapting in from this moment on. :)

Tim/RisusMonkey

On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 9:26 AM, Karl Paananen <karlpaananen@...>wrote:

> Just off the top of my head, I would assume that a good rule of thumb might
> be a TN of 5 times the number of dice lost. If you make the roll, the
> patient heals ONE die.
>


> Karl
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, grogthing <grogthing@...> wrote:
>
> Of course risus is not d&d, nor would I want it to be, but if your playing a
classic d&d style fantasy game the cleric's role is healing. And I would allow
it during combat.

Clerics traditions are Healing, Turning Undead, and Back Up Fighter. The latter
two can be handled through cliches; but Healing is far too useful to let it run
free.

> I also would not make it target number based, but like d&d make it a limited
usage (number of times per day).

Why no target number? Healing a cliche would be tantamount to giving away free
dice. There should be some cost to something that useful.

I refer you to Risus Magic's premise that the more useful a spell the higher the
TN.

> The way I treat any kind of super/supernatural power in risus is to give the
power a number of use per day = 3 times the clliche level.

Why not just have Questing Dice for "Cleric Spells".

> So a introspective cleric of yorg 4 would have 12 daily uses of cleric power
... i use x3 as the default, but the multiple can be increased for a more
powerful game or decreased for a less powerful game.

12 slots seems like a lot to start with. Power levels can be increased by upping
the dice limits and or giving dice for specific aspects of a character.

Maybe as level increases a Fighter can take extra dice for Lucky Shots and be
able to stack Lucky Shots. Say Groo, Guard Stomping Barbarian (6), having maxed
his cliche limit, takes another die or two as Lucky Shots and gets to stack 3
Shots at a time.

At that point of the campaign, Groo, Guard Stomping Barbarian (6), can stack
three Shots and become Groo, Guard Stomping Barbarian (9). That way he can
single handedly stomp a Guard Grunt Squad (8) or bitch slap an Grumpy Ogre (8).

Thanks for all of the input. We just had our game session and I went with the
suggestion to act as if the cleric's dice was part of the healing abilities. So
if the cleric wasn't part of the team, I said they would heal the physical
wounds and buff that character to level another attack.

So Warrior(4) has been reduced to 3 die, but Cleric(5) rolls 5 dice and those
count as an attack against Warrior's current enemy. So while he doesn't gain any
dice back it's tactically the same as if the Cleric did a direct attack (without
violating any non-violence pact they may have with their Gods or self).

Without wandering too far afield, anyone have ideas for Risus in the Classic D&D
idiom?

Sadly, I just discovered, some of the oldest Risus links have bitthedust,
which MUST BE REMEDIED soon! But here's a grab-bag of sites that may scratch
your itch:

Dungeonautica, which is one of the best:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/vdiakuw/DNGmain.htm

W. Doug Bolden's The Heroes of Oblend:
http://www.wyrmis.com/rpgs/oblend.html

The always-groovy Risusiverse: http://risusiverse.wetpaint.com/

Modesty forbids mentioning my own *cough* humble efforts at
http://www.guyhoyle.net/risus .

Guy

On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 10:32 PM, Nero <nrgrmss@...> wrote:

>
>
> Without wandering too far afield, anyone have ideas for Risus in the
> Classic D&D idiom?
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

That sounds like a great way to do it. As long as you had fun, there's No
Wrong Way to Play.

Guy


On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 10:28 PM, liquidhot_maagma
<cumberland@...>wrote:

>
>
> Thanks for all of the input. We just had our game session and I went with
> the suggestion to act as if the cleric's dice was part of the healing
> abilities. So if the cleric wasn't part of the team, I said they would heal
> the physical wounds and buff that character to level another attack.
>
> So Warrior(4) has been reduced to 3 die, but Cleric(5) rolls 5 dice and
> those count as an attack against Warrior's current enemy. So while he
> doesn't gain any dice back it's tactically the same as if the Cleric did a
> direct attack (without violating any non-violence pact they may have with
> their Gods or self).
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In risustalk@yahoogroups.com, Guy Hoyle <guy.hoyle@...> wrote:
> But here's a grab-bag of sites that may scratch your itch:

Not my itch. I might be able to get a group together if I can strike the right
D&D 'feel' using Risus.

Dungeon Master seems closest to what I'm shooting for.
http://risusiverse.wetpaint.com/page/Dungeon+Master

> Sadly, I just discovered, some of the oldest Risus links have bitthedust,
> which MUST BE REMEDIED soon!

Tell me about it. Half of my game link are useless now that GeoCities is no
more. A lot of great fan stuff is lost because it didn't make the jump to
somewhere new. Google has a nice web site service. Excite and Lycos have OK ones
too.