Elf-hair Bowstring

[Insect King]

Elf-hair Bowstring -- Cultural Reward
Requirements: (available to all elves; requires Standing 2 and a bow or great bow as a favoured weapon or a bow-based virtue or reward)
By using a single hair especially plucked willing from the head of a noble elf of fair head and fair tongue from the elder days, which is strung on a bow or great bow, the weapon gains the following benefits: +10 to short, medium and long ranges. You also get to reroll the feat die and all success dice once if they roll a 1.

[Deadmanwalking]

Virtues and Rewards never require prerequisites in the base game, and I don't think changing that is a great plan. Additionally, Elves of Lorien already have a Reward using this concept (among others), so I'd avoid it for that reason.

The mechanics are a bit less than clear, too. I don't know quite how often it allows re-rolls, to be honest.

[Insect King]

>Virtues and Rewards never require prerequisites in the base game, and I don't think changing that is a great plan.

Then drop it. I assumed those would be for advanced characters. I was thinking of making it a minor magical item like lembas, Lothlorien cloaks and Woodland Bows.

>Additionally, Elves of Lorien already have a Reward using this concept (among others), so I'd avoid it for that reason.

I didn't know. I'll check them out.

>The mechanics are a bit less than clear, too. I don't know quite how often it allows re-rolls, to be honest.

Once.

C.

[Deadmanwalking]

Then drop it. I assumed those would be for advanced characters. I was thinking of making it a minor magical item like lembas, Lothlorien cloaks and Woodland Bows.

Sure, but that's what that stuff costing Valour (or Wisdom) to acquire represents already.

I didn't know. I'll check them out.

You should, they're cool.

Once.

Yes, but under what triggering circumstance? Is it only if the Feat die rolls a 1? If any die rolls a 1? If the Feat die rolls a 1, once per combat?

[Insect King]

>Sure, but that's what that stuff costing Valour (or Wisdom) to acquire represents already.

Nope, standing is not represented by Valour or Wisdom. You need bucketloads of treasure to increase standing and it rapidly becomes expensive to upkeep (not to mention the strange rules that require standing to be increased such as starting an inn).

>Yes, but under what triggering circumstance? Is it only if the Feat die rolls a 1? If any die rolls a 1? If the Feat die rolls a 1, once per combat?

Both feat and success dice and once per attack.

C.

[Deadmanwalking]

Nope, standing is not represented by Valour or Wisdom. You need bucketloads of treasure to increase standing and it rapidly becomes expensive to upkeep (not to mention the strange rules that require standing to be increased such as starting an inn).

Sure, but Valour and Wisdom are also measures of how much people respect you. Indeed, aside from Holdings, all Standing ever does is add to them. Which is sorta where I was going with that, inasmuch as you need to be respected to be given the cool stuff, but Wisdom and Valour already equal respect.

Both feat and success dice and once per attack.

So any one on any die is re-rolled? That's...interesting. I'm leaning in the direction of thinking it's a little too powerful, but I'd need to think on it more to be certain. Maybe only success dice and not the Feat die? That'd be a bit less potentially overpowering, I think.

[Insect King]

>Sure, but Valour and Wisdom are also measures of how much people respect you. Indeed, aside from Holdings, all Standing ever does is add to them.

Valour and Wisdom are just courage and experience. People may respect that like they'd respect a poisonous snake but standing is social currency and esteem.

>Which is sorta where I was going with that, inasmuch as you need to be respected to be given the cool stuff, but Wisdom and Valour already equal respect.

People being robbed respect the bandit's threat but that doesn't mean they'll want to listen to him talk at the town meeting. Don't worry about it too much, it's just another of TOR's bizarre rules that have no real purpose other than fill pages.

We just use courtesy or awe of we need to buy mostly we just roleplay through dialogue.

Both feat and success dice and once per attack.

So any one on any die is re-rolled? That's...interesting. I'm leaning in the direction of thinking it's a little too powerful, but I'd need to think on it more to be certain. Maybe only success dice and not the Feat die? That'd be a bit less potentially overpowering, I think.[/quote]

Sure, only success dice is a fair option but how much more powerful is rerolling all feat and success dice 1s than say rolling feat die twice and choosing the best result?

I'm a believer in giving a little more and trimming back in playtesting.

C.

[Rich H]

Don't worry about it too much, it's just another of TOR's bizarre rules that have no real purpose other than fill pages.

Please keep it courteous and at least constructive. The writers and designers and artists of the game frequent this forum and this is effectively 'their house' so as a guest try to bear that in mind, thanks.

[Glorelendil]

Don't worry about it too much, it's just another of TOR's bizarre rules that have no real purpose other than fill pages.

Please keep it courteous and at least constructive. The writers and designers and artists of the game frequent this forum and this is effectively 'their house' so as a guest try to bear that in mind, thanks.

And maybe some humility might be in order, too.

He wouldn't be the first to come here saying "such-and-such rule is bad" only to eventually realize that it was far more subtle and well-designed than it first appeared.

[Glorelendil]

I wanted to address the following:

People being robbed respect the bandit's threat but that doesn't mean they'll want to listen to him talk at the town meeting. Don't worry about it too much, it's just another of TOR's bizarre rules that have no real purpose other than fill pages.

We just use courtesy or awe of we need to buy mostly we just roleplay through dialogue.

If I'm reading this correctly, essentially you are ignoring some of the rules of the game (Social Encounters) in favor of your own free-form improv, and then complaining that the rules you are ignoring have no real purpose.

To me that sort of sounds like resolving combat through arm-wrestling at the table, and then complaining that the combat section is extraneous.