TL statting

[greg_r]

I've been thinking a lot about Smithy's stats in TL today (both because I've got him on my mind and because it's a slow day). I can't remember what I said about the cut, but it's ended up being a very rambling self-discussion about Smithy as a set of stats as well as a character. It's pretty incoherent in there, so I would probably advise not looking into it, that said I'm not locking the post (partly becuase I don't know how) but also partly because it might be interesting to some people to hear my crazy thoughts about some things.

Mostly with regards to feeling kind of bad for any patrol that he goes out with/team he gets put on for 24hr style games. I know that it's really characterful and at the end of the day I can do what I want with my character as there is no right or wrong way to play TL, but it's still a little silly when I look at the facts.

Smithy is almost a rank 50 character (I will round a lot here for ease of numbers). Of which 30 ranks are useful skills that contribute to the game in up-time. Of the 20 ranks that do something in downtime 10 ranks are either completely useless (such as make weapons without any intention of getting make superior) or are pre-reqs for make superior skills, which are kind of cool.

If I take Smithy's 30 ranks of skills and give him a guild then it gets even funnier/worse for parties he's on. The most obvious choice for I use armour and a shield plus have a couple of miracles is a defender, this would make Smithy a rank 22 character with the rank of Corporal. If I go the other way and make him a paladin (ignoring the fact that he'd buy different skills to reflect the more favourable cost of miraculous strength and normal damage) smithy would be a rank 36 character ... Who'd also be immune to fear, have an Aura of Courage, Paladin weapon, etc, etc.

So what's the point of this? I'm not sure yet, there are several points I guess. First is that, in case we didn't need it, here's some proof that warriors are OP in TL, as a massively under-ranked (effectively) character Smithy has not only stood in the front-line getting the worst of the enemy every game he goes on but also is yet to lose a DT. (Not through lack of trying, but when most things bruise and your a human with all your DTs it's actually really hard to be killed without monsters hitting you while you're down or similar. Aside: came so close in such an epic way at the 24hr, damn you enhance will!)

Second point I guess is the obvious one, should I do this with my character/ do I break the spirit of the game by investing so heavily in selfish skills that earn me money while having less skills that contribute to actually winning the game I go on? At the moment I think it's ok. Sure, even if it's mostly because the human-warrior stats are so good if you're not making yourself an obvious target in some way (by being a defender issuing orders or by being immune to the fear that evil thing is using to keep all your buddies/healing away) and you're willing to accept pretty much all the help you can take (which is slowly changing). This is also probably a part of why Smithy hasn't died, much as he tries to make himself a target for enemy attacks his focus on defence over offence and reasonably mellow demeanour just don't make him an appealing target in many ways (I hadn't really thought about it this way before). Which I guess does make me feel a little bad as it really wasn't my intention to create a character who just won't die. It's also starting to show that maybe I need to think about his character points spending a bit harder after being the biggest healing sponge during the 24hr, which wasn't exactly surprising, but still a bit rubbish.

So, what am I going to do about this going forwards? My intention had been to try to make effective character point spending decisions for a while to try and balance out the lack of a combat guild and large number of points spent on things which don't help the party. I say that was my intention because then I started thinking about how cool a permanently strengthened suit of chainmail would be... DAMNIT! just what I wanted, another massive points investment for a marginally useful skill that helps me in spades but helps parties I go on much less. So, can I make this work or should I really drop that idea in favour of being a more rounded character? Well, looking at the rules, I /can/ make scrolls of effects which lets me cast off my own power with reduced flexibilty, which is something... And I would like pretty much everything on the order list ... And it would mean I get stung least by the character points tax for class changing to priest (which I'm seriously thinking about, provided I can get enough RP nudging in that direction). Gah! Fine, kick-ass permanent items coming right up, plus item trading might make him a bit less of a drain on party resources. Especially if he become pretty much self-sufficient on wounds healing and double especially if he has standing to spare for party wounds healing.

Ah well, even if his character points are a constant source of irritation at least he's still a blast to RP as. Plus the fact that he's not (really) guild-affiliated* and a genuinely nice guy can be a real asset  at times when a soft touch is needed for diplomacy, either from or within the party. Plus (I think) he's fairly good at reducing intra-party tensions. So those both count in his favour.

*ok he has a couple of guild affiliations and some pretty serious personal code stuff going on, but all of it is pretty much entirely inclusive. It's more than the Defenders "protect kingdom citizens with your life" or even a Paladins "protect the weak with your life" it's very much a "protect everyone with your life, you have both experienced a rich and full life already and can likely be brought back to this plane if necessary more times than they can".