| From: | Adam Treloar <guardian@*******.DIALIX.COM.AU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Melee Combat Revisited |
| Date: | Wed, 31 Dec 1997 01:33:00 +1100 |
> / I good idea... Based on an incorrect assumption. Just because a person is
> / slow doesn't mean that they necessarily have slow reactions. A mage, for
> / example, can have a reaction of 6 or so, and so can a sam. The increased
> / dice means he has more actions a round, not that he necessarily goes
> / faster. In the case of vast differences, tho, (say 3 or 4 vs 14) it would
> / work...
>
> That's a new response to the problem :)
>
> However, in SR initiative does equal reaction time. Blame it on FASA
> for calling something Reaction that isn't really reaction :) The
> Reaction stat is just a number that's applied to the initiative
> equation. Think of it this way: A character's Reaction for a given
> combat round equals (Quickness + Intelligence)/2 + 1d6. But the
> industry standard is to refer to it as initiative (blame Gygax if you
> want). I guess FASA wanted to clean up the equation so they decided
> to call (Q + I)/2 Reaction so that "initiative" would be Reaction +
> 1d6.
True... But until it's fixed, that's what reaction IS. The stat. Not
your initiative.
Possibly another way to look at it is the difference between motor speed
and reaction. A person with high initiative can do a lot, meaning he can
get his muscles moving faster than someone else (but then, that's what
quickness is supposed to be...) For example, the guy with low reaction
but high initiative takes a while to get himself moving, but when he does,
he moves quick...
Hmmm... No solution...
> Take ranged combat. By your definition a character with a Reaction
> of 9 should go before a character with a reaction of 3.
All things being equal, yes. But only when REACTING to something.
But if the
> first character is unenhanced (he's maxed out his quickness and
> intelligenc with experience) and the second character has +3d6 (let's
> say he's a mage with a spell lock) then the first character will
> average an initiative of 12.5 and the second character will have an
> average of 17. If they're aware that each is attacking the other
> character A won't be able to "react" before character B (assuming
> they role average initiatives).
Personally, I prefer to use reaction more than it seems everyone else
does. By the rules, though, You're right. And I think it's a bit wrong.
> <ponders>
>
> You could give characters a reach bonus for high reaction (use the
> recoil table from FoF but apply it to Reaction), and use the SRC
> rules for reach so it balances out (character A with a +3
> reaction/reach bonus for melee combat vs character B with a +2
> reaction/reach bonus would have a -1 modifier to his target number,
> B vs A would have a +1 TN modifier).
>
> However, your typical Sam PC has a reaction of 12 which would give
> him a something like a +4 (+5?), put a katana in his hands and... "It
> slices, it dices! The new Samomatic Food Processor!"
>
> All right! I'm killing my own ideas! :)
*blinx* The average sam has 12!?! My god... I'm glad I'm not a mage in
YOUR game... :P The average for us is around 6 - 8... an occasional 10
thrown in to be super fast. But then, we're not ones to play with
fly-by-... err, move-by-wire, or the higher 'flexes, either.
Depends on the game you're running, I suppose.
Guardian
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"Any sufficiently advanced magic is indestinguishable from technology.
So there."
Adam Treloar aka Guardian
s777317@*****.student.gu.edu.au http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1900/
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