From:	"S.F. Eley" <sfeley@******.DIGEX.NET>
Subject:	Re: Wild off the wall ramblings that will probably be thwapped
Date:	Tue, 29 Jun 1993 00:51:38 -0400

Well, not quite......

I see the Pools as a reflection of the fact that a person can concentrate on
only so much in a limited amount of time. If a combat turn is only a few
seconds long, then it's conceivably possible that somebody could dodge, shoot,
kick someone in the groin, type in a passcode and sustain a spell, all at the
same time. Not easy, but if your life depended on it you might be able to
do it. But without pools, there's no priority system. What if getting out
of the way of that sword is more important to you than your own aim? If
that's what you're concentrating on, the game mechanics can reflect that.
Using pools. Specifically, pools are the extent to which you can apply
yourself, above and beyond those aspects of a skill that you know by rote
(the skill number).

This is just my opinion, of course. And it applies to every pool EXCEPT the
Karma Pool. The Karma Pool, naturally, is pure luck and Fate.

---

In regards to the Skill Web: No, it's not JUST supposed to be used "in
emergencies." Most normal people have at least a general knowledge about
a huge diversity of subjects -- there isn't some brick wall of skill beyond
which they know absolutely nothing. A person with good Car skill should be
able to at least figure out how to start an aircraft, probably get it moving,
MAYBE fly it safely. He just wouldn't be very good at it, and would make
plenty of mistakes. Hence the Skill Web.

_TNX._