> Subject: [projectaon] Re: Book 13 Erratum > From: crusty.chris@xxxxxxxxx > To: projectaon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Date: Tue, 15 May 2012 12:33:42 +1200 > > On Mon, 2012-05-14 at 23:33 +0000, John TFS wrote: > > > > A footnote could be included to mention the other Items. My concept > > was to balance the LW character with the New Order books for Project > > Aon players. > > Ah, I see. > Well I guess thats where we differ in opinion then. > I see the New Order book as a completely different series as there is no > interaction/continuation between veteran Lone Wolf characters and New > Order books (like Grey Star) and hence no reason to bring them into > parity. Both series feature Kai Grandmasters as their viewpoint character, so there should be a degree of parity between them. And this, overall, is the main point of my argument: parity. The person who put in the effort to play through all 12 of the previous books should be not be a Grandmaster through the technicality of possessing a bunch of Special Items than happen to raise his skill to Grandmaster level or devalue three Grandmaster Disciplines due to "hidden loyalty bonuses." At the same time, the Veteran should be able to find the GM books a relative challenge instead of cake-walking through them because of a massive Item-induced CS and EP. So, yes, I pared down the Items. Of the six possible carryovers, four (Sommerswerd, Dagger of Vashna, Helshezag and the Jeweled Mace) get mentions at various points in the GM series. Of the other two, the Crystal Star is probably the first Special Item you get in the books and the Silver Bow is the "Sommerswerd" of Bows and deserves to stay. As for the four I removed, the Silver Helm was a nice minor magic item and the other three (Silver Bracers, Kagonite Chainmail and Korlinium Scabbard) were Items fairly specific to Book 12 and mostly there to help LW make it through the battles with Kraagenskul and, potentially, Taktaal and Gnaag. > > > The New Order GM starts the game with CS from 25-34 and an EP of > > 30-39. He also gets a Kai Weapon which gives him a base bonus of +5 > > CS or a circumstantial bonus from +7 to +9. The Sommerswerd's > > permanent +8 CS bonus is a little more potent than that of a Kai > > Weapon, but not outrageously so. Having all those other Special Items > > added in would tend to nerf things more than a little bit, so I tossed > > them. > > > > Youre making the assumption that combats (ie the CS/EP scores of > enemies) in the Grandmaster series are comparable to combats in the New > Order series. > > combats from first book of both series, removing duplicates (also not > taking into consideration situational modifiers). easiest enemy in in > 21votm has a higher CS than half the enemies in 13plor, that being said > there are a couple of nasty fights (3 Ruel Giganite, Exterminus, > Degradon). > > 13plor > > COMBAT SKILL 18 ENDURANCE 28 > COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 26 > COMBAT SKILL 20 ENDURANCE 28 > COMBAT SKILL 22 ENDURANCE 21 > COMBAT SKILL 23 ENDURANCE 23 > COMBAT SKILL 23 ENDURANCE 27 > COMBAT SKILL 24 ENDURANCE 30 > COMBAT SKILL 25 ENDURANCE 40 > COMBAT SKILL 26 ENDURANCE 30 > COMBAT SKILL 28 ENDURANCE 28 > COMBAT SKILL 30 ENDURANCE 30 > COMBAT SKILL 30 ENDURANCE 40 > COMBAT SKILL 32 ENDURANCE 20 > COMBAT SKILL 32 ENDURANCE 30 > COMBAT SKILL 32 ENDURANCE 36 > COMBAT SKILL 32 ENDURANCE 40 > COMBAT SKILL 34 ENDURANCE 38 > COMBAT SKILL 34 ENDURANCE 44 > COMBAT SKILL 35 ENDURANCE 30 > COMBAT SKILL 36 ENDURANCE 22 > COMBAT SKILL 36 ENDURANCE 34 > COMBAT SKILL 36 ENDURANCE 39 > COMBAT SKILL 40 ENDURANCE 26 > COMBAT SKILL 40 ENDURANCE 30 > COMBAT SKILL 40 ENDURANCE 40 > COMBAT SKILL 43 ENDURANCE 56 > COMBAT SKILL 46 ENDURANCE 36 > COMBAT SKILL 47 ENDURANCE 30 > COMBAT SKILL 49 ENDURANCE 36 > COMBAT SKILL 50 ENDURANCE 50 > COMBAT SKILL 50 ENDURANCE 80 > Mean CS 33. Mean EP 34 > 21votm > > COMBAT SKILL 33 ENDURANCE 35 > COMBAT SKILL 33 ENDURANCE 36 > COMBAT SKILL 36 ENDURANCE 40 > COMBAT SKILL 37 ENDURANCE 36 > COMBAT SKILL 38 ENDURANCE 36 > COMBAT SKILL 38 ENDURANCE 38 > COMBAT SKILL 39 ENDURANCE 38 > COMBAT SKILL 40 ENDURANCE 40 > COMBAT SKILL 42 ENDURANCE 40 > COMBAT SKILL 44 ENDURANCE 39 Mean CS 38. Mean EP 38 Well, granted that on average, the combats in VotM are tougher than those in TPLoR, though there's a fully four fights in TPLoR with enemies that have a higher CS and at least near-equal EPs than the most dangerous enemy in VotM.. However, I will say that quantity is also a quality. There are more than three times as many possible battles in TPLoR than there are in VotM. Even fights with CS 9 EP 9 Giaks will wear down and kill a Grandmaster if there are enough of them. > > > > > As I said above, I made the assumption that the player going from the > > Kai/Magnakai series to the GM series would have gone through all the > > books - because he'd be doing this on the Project Aon site. > > > > Not necessarily. > The first thing I did upon finding this site was replay all the > adventures I had read (I missed quite a few Magnakai and a couple of the > Grandmaster adventures because the books were only available in second > hand stores when i was a kid and i could never find all of them) ... i > didnt see the point in indulging in nostalgia for things i had never > read. Eventually i did go back and read them though I have never played > them (probably why i never realized why combats in book 17 were so > hard). > In that case, it seems to me that you should create a character and actually play through all the books in order. Just as a doctor should spend time as a patient to gain perspective, a person involved in writing/clarifying the rules of a game book series should experience that series as a player. I know when I found out the my Lone Wolf, who I'd played through twelve full book was apparently a worthless pussy only on par with a newbie Grandmaster because of the stuff he'd picked up and a bunch of "hidden loyalty bonuses" that felt more like cheats than anything else, my reaction could pretty well be summed up with: http://superiorrealities.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/elrond-bullshit.jpg > Also, youre making the assumption that the someone doing the reading is > a "he" ;P Sorry, how about this: As I said above, I made the assumption that the player going from the Kai/Magnakai series to the GM series would have gone through the all the books, because he, she or it would be doing this on the Project Aon site. > > > > > ~~~~~~ > Manage your subscription at //www.freelists.org/list/projectaon > >
Attachment:
tumblr_lr9gbtopaE1r2ttivo1_500.jpg
Description: JPEG image
