A Couple More Questions Regarding Treasure and Such

[Kullervo]

I'm expecting/hoping that...some day...Durin's Way becomes ridiculously useful.

/fingerscrossed

You and me both... Actually, I kind of wonder if being inside something like Mountain Hall, or Erebor is counted as 'Underground'. It technically is? I think?

You're talking about the (hypothetical) Moria Campaign, right?

Man, I hope that is a thing at one point.

[Earendil]

Kullervo: in general I agree with you about the Rewards and Virtues for Dwarves. Axe of Az is great if (and only if) the weariness effect happens as soon as the Gandalf is rolled, so if my Dwarf player picked it I'd definitely rule that way. Durin's Way is good if (and only if) your LM makes sure here's a lot of underground fighting, but that can be difficult to achieve when running prewritten scenarios. The Hauberk is a bit rubbish, especially if your Favoured Body is only 1 more than the standard. I'd be inclined to just make it a flat +3: still not amazing, but a life-saver in the right situation, and at least it doesn't encourage min-maxing with Favoured Attributes. And yes, both Old Hatred and especially Stiff Neck are fantastic.

Why do you say Dwarves can't use long-hafted axes? I don't remember ever seeing that. Although of course the Axe of Az is explicitly a Great Axe, which is a bit of a problem for people who like shields!

But other cultures' rewards and virtues aren't exclusively great either - note the extensive discussion on the forums about Deadly Archery! (I made that a flat +3 as well, and also made it a constant effect instead of requiring Hope expenditure.) The only way I think Dwarves have been hard done by is in terms of there being so little info on Erebor, and no Fellowship Phase Undertakings geared towards them. But the LM and players are free to come up with their own ideas, and anyway that should change when the Erebor book comes out!

[Borri]

Why do you say Dwarves can't use long-hafted axes? I don't remember ever seeing that.

=> Core Rulebook, p.77, small-sized Heroes
" [...] The weapons available to Hobbits and Dwarves are as follows:
• Dwarves: short sword, sword, axe, great axe, spear, mattock, dagger, bow.
• Hobbits: short sword, axe, spear, dagger, bow."

There's no long-hafted axe on the above list. I don't really understand either but that's RAW.

[Earendil]

Woah, I'd either never noticed that or had forgotten completely. One of my players has a Dwarf and has been using a long-hafted axe for ages. But I think it would be a bit unfair to take it away from him now!

But that's good to know for future reference. He is kind of lethal with it (though perhaps not more so than the Barding with a longsword and the Swordmaster virtue) so maybe they felt it was a bit unbalanced in the hands of dwarves...

[Kullervo]

Yeah, long-hafted axe was my first choice for Lofar, my dwarf character. Figured he'd usually fight with the one-handed version, and if it got really desperate, he'd throw aside the shield and use it as a 2 hander. It felt fitting with the character's personality to do something like that, but sadly, then someone pointed out that I couldnt do that. Stat wise... The 1h version of the long-haft axe is the same as a 1h axe, except it weighs 3 instead of 2. The damage portion of the 2h version is 2 lower, too... It doesnt seem too broken, but I guess its just the varied options it gives. Apart from this, I am not entirely sure why Dwarves are restricted from using it, as they can use Great Axes, and those seem to be just as long, but perhaps I'm wrong! Great Shields I can understand though. Not an easy thing for a dwarf to use.

...Although of course the Axe of Az is explicitly a Great Axe, which is a bit of a problem for people who like shields!

But other cultures' rewards and virtues aren't exclusively great either - note the extensive discussion on the forums about Deadly Archery! (I made that a flat +3 as well, and also made it a constant effect instead of requiring Hope expenditure.) The only way I think Dwarves have been hard done by is in terms of there being so little info on Erebor, and no Fellowship Phase Undertakings geared towards them. But the LM and players are free to come up with their own ideas, and anyway that should change when the Erebor book comes out!

Yeah, cant imagine Lofar without a shield unless it was an emergency since he was going to be the defender but... Well, as it stands, his companions are more suited for that role, so I am honestly considering the Axe of Az more seriously, though it'd leave me at a pretty sad +5 Parry. Perhaps this may work for the best due to recent events where he had to escape due to not being stealthy enough - maybe he thinks if he was more lethal, he could have drawn the attention of the orc force more instead of being forced to run. And yeah, I dont think Dwarves got the short end of the stick anymore - other cultures have their own less than impressive Rewards/Virtues, and grass is always greener, etc. Besides, with Erebor on the horizon, its all I really wanted, since I need to speak to Dain and get information!

[Falenthal]

Why do you say Dwarves can't use long-hafted axes? I don't remember ever seeing that.

=> Core Rulebook, p.77, small-sized Heroes
" [...] The weapons available to Hobbits and Dwarves are as follows:
• Dwarves: short sword, sword, axe, great axe, spear, mattock, dagger, bow."

There's no long-hafted axe on the above list. I don't really understand either but that's RAW.

While this might be a kind of "cultural" decision (Long-hafted axes being developed only by Woodmen), I'd allow any Dwarf in my game to choose it as his weapon. After all, he'd have a higher Encumbrance because of the weapon than a one-handed axe, and the shield on top of that. I don't see how it could be broken, and I also think it might be an appropiate weapon for a dwarf cultural-wise.

[Kullervo]

Well, if the dwarf is in Fellowship with woodsmen, can be justified as picking it up from them. I'll try to ask my LM before the next session, maybe I can Craft one during the Fellowship phase or pick one up from the market. But yeah, RAW vs LM I guess. One of the players, I think said the axe was too long for dwarves, but I still disagree with that.

[Glorelendil]

I think the rationale is that weapons that are too long proportional to the body just can't be effectively wielded if you're too short. Dwarves can't use the other 1H/2H weapon, Longsword, either.

Personally the concept of the "long-hafted axe" is one of my least favorite details in TOR.

[zedturtle]

Personally the concept of the "long-hafted axe" is one of my least favorite details in TOR.

Huh, why is that? It's attested to and all, and I think a neat idea. (I like the TOR system where an axe can be as effective as a sword but still feels different mechanically.)

[Glorelendil]

Personally the concept of the "long-hafted axe" is one of my least favorite details in TOR.

Huh, why is that? It's attested to and all, and I think a neat idea. (I like the TOR system where an axe can be as effective as a sword but still feels different mechanically.)

Yeah but was it usable 1-handed?

I agree that it enables more character choice, though.