Balancing Virtues and Rewards

[Corvo]

About the long sword thing...
A path not (yet) treaded is the simple "+1d6"
Increases to hit chance and damage (indirectly).
Too powerful? Maybe.

Another path unexplored is the chance to reroll some or all the dices of an attack/skill roll

[Glorelendil]

About the long sword thing...
A path not (yet) treaded is the simple "+1d6"
Increases to hit chance and damage (indirectly).
Too powerful? Maybe.

Another path unexplored is the chance to reroll some or all the dices of an attack/skill roll

For the former, do you mean an extra Success die, including potential Tengwars? If so, that's what Shadow Bane does, although it requires Forward. Or did you mean +1d6, but ignoring Tengwars?

But I like the latter suggestion; it has some promise. It seems a bit thematic with Woeful foresight (although then it begins to feel more like a Virtue than a reward).

Or....how about this: "When you are Weary, attack rolls only ignore 1s and 2s." Mathematically, that halves the Weary penalty. (I.e., each die is worth 3 on average, as opposed to 3.5 un-weary and 2.5 weary). What I like about it is that Bardings typically have lower Parry but higher Armor, so they lose Endurance faster, and it has the mechanical effect of giving them better attack rolls. (Equal to +2 at Skill: 4 when Weary). But it wouldn't help them with Protection rolls, other combat tasks, or common skill tests after the fight.

The description could be that the sword is perfectly balanced and easier to wield when you're tired.

I don't know about you but I'm grinning. I like this....

[Glorelendil]

And here's my first pass at Elf-magic. All the language needs some TLC (especially the trait name) but this should get the general concept across. It's meant to be a more powerful trait than most, with a lot of flexibility in how it's invoked.

Elf-magic

New trait: Fair Folk. The spirit of the Eldar burns brightly in you, even as it fades from the world. You are sensitive to the lingering presence of Elven “magic” (as mortals would call it), and others sense it in you...if you choose to reveal it.

For 1 XP: Elf-lights
(As per description in rules, without Hope cost.) Each Adventure Phase you may use this ability as many times as your Wisdom score.

For 2 XP: Enchanted Slumber
(As per description in rules, and costs 1 point of Hope.)

[zedturtle]

About the long sword thing...
A path not (yet) treaded is the simple "+1d6"
Increases to hit chance and damage (indirectly).
Too powerful? Maybe.

Another path unexplored is the chance to reroll some or all the dices of an attack/skill roll

For the former, do you mean an extra Success die, including potential Tengwars? If so, that's what Shadow Bane does, although it requires Forward. Or did you mean +1d6, but ignoring Tengwars?

But I like the latter suggestion; it has some promise. It seems a bit thematic with Woeful foresight (although then it begins to feel more like a Virtue than a reward).

Or....how about this: "When you are Weary, attack rolls only ignore 1s and 2s." Mathematically, that halves the Weary penalty. (I.e., each die is worth 3 on average, as opposed to 3.5 un-weary and 2.5 weary). What I like about it is that Bardings typically have lower Parry but higher Armor, so they lose Endurance faster, and it has the mechanical effect of giving them better attack rolls. (Equal to +2 at Skill: 4 when Weary). But it wouldn't help them with Protection rolls, other combat tasks, or common skill tests after the fight.

The description could be that the sword is perfectly balanced and easier to wield when you're tired.

I don't know about you but I'm grinning. I like this....

I know it steps on one of the hobbit virtues but what about ignoring Weary status when making any tests with weapon? Protection tests and other skills would still be Weary.

[Glorelendil]

I know it steps on one of the hobbit virtues but what about ignoring Weary status when making any tests with weapon? Protection tests and other skills would still be Weary.

I thought about it, but Hobbits have to spend a point of Hope and it only benefits a single action. (True, it could be actions other than attacks, but still...a point of Hope!) By counting the 3's it halves the benefit, for no Hope.

Of course, that Hobbit virtue is one of the ones I would change, too....

[Blubbo Baggins]

The Hobbit Virtue would be simple to fix, and it's a shame C7 did not with the Revised Rules:

Hobbit gains "Brave" trait (this can totally be invoked to overcome a standard Fear test)
Spend a point of Hope to ignore Weary status for a number of tests/checks equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Boom, now I'd build a Hobbit around that Virtue, for story and effect.

[Glorelendil]

The Hobbit Virtue would be simple to fix, and it's a shame C7 did not with the Revised Rules:

Hobbit gains "Brave" trait (this can totally be invoked to overcome a standard Fear test)
Spend a point of Hope to ignore Weary status for a number of tests/checks equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Boom, now I'd build a Hobbit around that Virtue, for story and effect.

Yeah, that's good. I like it better than mine.

[Corvo]

About the Woodmen "A Hunter's Resolve"...
I like it thematically and mechanically, wasn't for the hope point cost.

What about just excising the Hope point cost and keeping the rest as written? I'm wondering if the "once per day" limitation can be enough: recovering 5-8 res per day isn't terribly overpowered if compared to Staunching Songs, Brothers to Bears, Ravens of the Mountain...

[Glorelendil]

About the Woodmen "A Hunter's Resolve"...
I like it thematically and mechanically, wasn't for the hope point cost.

What about just excising the Hope point cost and keeping the rest as written? I'm wondering if the "once per day" limitation can be enough: recovering 5-8 res per day isn't terribly overpowered if compared to Staunching Songs, Brothers to Bears, Ravens of the Mountain...

Well, you're unlikely to have more than one Combat per day, so it ends up being equal to +5-8 Endurance, which is twice the other virtues that raise Endurance.

Nobody had any reactions to my revised Elf-magic?

[zedturtle]

Nobody had any reactions to my revised Elf-magic?

I'm a bit confused about the 2 XP cost for Enchanted Slumber.

I'm not as fond as you are about the traits attached to virtues, but I'm ok with Fair Folk.

How about this for a revised version of Stinging Arrow:

Stinging Arrows
Your arrows flicker as if with a magical fire, making them fly true and bite hard. Add your basic Heart rating to your Injury rating for your bow.

I would keep Elf-lights and Enchanted Sleep as written. I think the trouble with the 'as many times as your Wisdom score' stuff is it becomes another thing that you have to keep track of.

- - - - - -

Here's a new version of Deadly Archery, to go with Wood-elf Magic:

Deadly Archery
...no use against the arrows of the Elves that could hit a bird’s eye in the dark.

You have practised for many long years until you are capable of performing feats with a bow that mortals find astounding. Your arrows have twice the range of others and you are less affected by circumstances: a mild Hinderance does not affect you, and a moderate Hinderance adds only +2 to your TN.

Additionally, you may spend a point of Hope to select Rearward Stance even if you would not otherwise qualify, either due to the number of opponents or the number of allies in close combat.