Re: Mods and DP

["Kevin Collins" <kcollins@bilbo.bio.purdue.edu>]

> 
> Wow, looks like a lot of GM's who have been around the game
> for a good, long time are in agreement that mods should be
> limited by their associated stats.  Moreover, that they've thought
> this for a long time.  Hmmm, Dan, what do you think?
> 
> On the topic of that 'sacred and untouched ground' that Steve
> alluded to; I could see limiting that as well.  Based on that huge
> round of discussion and the pretty-much-official description that
> Dan provided regarding DP (or specifically, how DP has been
> viewed from the beginning by the game designers), my initial
> thoughts are that if we are going to limit DP, then we should use
> HEA (toughness to absorb the worst of the blow) and AGI
> (juke/spin/twist to avoid the worst of the blow) in conjunction.
> 
> Perhaps something like (HEA + AGI) * 2.  Not too complex an
> equation and it gives the average joe (not that any Joe I've ever
> met has been average  :-)  ) a max of 40-44.  Adventurers who
> are particularly gifted could get up into the range of 60-70 DP.
> Hmmm, with reasonable limits on mods and DP, that parry skill
> is looking better all the time.  :-)
> 
> Oh, here's an item that Kevin made me think of.  What about
> those racial bonuses to mods?  First off, Kevin, giving racial
> bonuses to mods and then allowing a higher cap on those mods
> due to exceptional stats is way overkill (elves get +4 to MM
> already and their exceptional PER gives them a cap of AGI+4)?
> Ouch!  Don't get me wrong, Kevin, I can understand the desire
> to modify the caps due to exceptional stats (and inferior stats
> for that matter).  I just don't like non-humans getting that double
> bonus.  Personally, I've long had a problem with the fact that
> the adjustment to mods for race is a _bonus_.  That means that
> as I start out with my orc warrior, my racial bonus to grapple is
> worth 2000 eeps, but once I've bought up to GM 10, that racial
> bonus is now worth 10000 eeps!  It's even worse if my orc isn't
> a warrior (of course).  I would much rather see a flat assignment
> to the mod that the adventurer can then buy up from based on
> their background (i.e., all orcs are born and raised to grapple,
> hence they start with a grapple mod of 4, additional training in
> that area is based on their chosen profession).  Of course, if
> this were the case, then I could see adjusting mods by +/-2 or
> so for each rank of exception/inferior stat associated with the
> mod.  Now, I know that this is a pie-in-the-sky kind of idea, so
> we can drop this discussion right now and it won't really bother
> me any more than the racial bonuses already bother me.  It's
> just a thought.
> 
> Lyle
> 
> 

Orcs, elves, and dwarves get a few thousand EPs for their racial MOD 
bonuses, but humans get an additional placed roll (worth 20,000 EPs, I
think).  I would rather re-foll a low stat than get a few extra mods.

Kevin