From:	ROBERSON@***.EDU
Subject:	Combat Pool
Date:	Fri, 9 Apr 93 02:45:45 CET

That's it, I'll have to go pull out MY rulebook and read it carefully. But
before I do that I'll just throw my opinion up to be used as target practice.

I agree with with Magister that Carter is interpreting the rules rather
literally in defining what is actually happening. I recognize that the Combat
Pool is NOT a dodge pool. To me, it is representative of your experience and
prowess at combat. Its constituents, Intelligence, Wilpower, and Quickness all
have their place in its defintion:

Intelligence is your ability to quickly analyze a situation and act accordingly.
Quickness is your ability to move/dodge to avoid attack or improve your attack.

Willpower is your "will to live/win", a measure of how driven you are to succeed
Now this last bit, Willpower, is why I would let Combat Pool be used fordamage
resistance tests. The power of the mind over the body is rather amazing,
especially under the influence of combat-generated adrenalin (let's leave the
pump out of this).

As far as I know (and I will be reading up on this later) Combat Pool allows
youto:

Increase your own attack
Avoid an incoming attack
Resist damage from an attack

It seems to me that the player would have a choice as to taking damage
and resisting or avoiding it in the first place. This decision would rest on
thesituation. Now the only time the target numbers would be different is if you
are treating the CP as a dodge/attack pool only or if the target to "dodge" is
based on something besides the power of the weapon, both variants that have
appeared on the board.
SO: Here's my proposal:
Avoiding an attack and resisting damage from an attack are two different
processes. Therefore, I would assign a target number to dodge different
from the target to resist damage. (I won't say what because I'm still
considering it). The target can allocate CP dice to dodge. Remaining
CP dice can be used to resist attack (should the "dodge" fail) or
increase the effectiveness of an attack. Again, the player's choice
will vary from situation to situation. A character with low body will
pour dice into dodging, unless the attacker is very good, in which case
the target will save it for resisting damage.

It's amazing how much discussion comes from one rules variation


J Roberson