Intimidate Foe, a little too good?

[Deadmanwalking]

Awe isn't always the best plan vs. large numbers of mid-level or higher adversaries. It's great vs. anything with 1 Hate, or when you can use it on big stuff.

Let's actually examine the Cave Troll situation. Cave Trolls have Hideous Toughness, which means that every Hate drained effectively costs the Troll 7 Endurance. 14-28 (14-35 w/Valour 5) Endurance in a single action is a very respectable turn, and way more damage than many PCs can dish out via conventional attacks. It does have the disadvantage of not getting to Pierce, but it also has the advantage of making the troll Weary at a lesser threshold.

Now, there are certainly people for whom it's not worth it. A Body 7 Beorning with a Great Spear is definitely better off just attacking under most circumstances (vs. that particular foe, anyway), as are most others who can make Called Shots. but that's not remotely universal.

[Rich H]

Awe isn't always the best plan vs. large numbers of mid-level or higher adversaries. It's great vs. anything with 1 Hate, or when you can use it on big stuff.

Let's actually examine the Cave Troll situation. Cave Trolls have Hideous Toughness, which means that every Hate drained effectively costs the Troll 7 Endurance. 14-28 (14-35 w/Valour 5) Endurance in a single action is a very respectable turn, and way more damage than many PCs can dish out via conventional attacks. It does have the disadvantage of not getting to Pierce, but it also has the advantage of making the troll Weary at a lesser threshold.

Now, there are certainly people for whom it's not worth it. A Body 7 Beorning with a Great Spear is definitely better off just attacking under most circumstances (vs. that particular foe, anyway), as are most others who can make Called Shots. but that's not remotely universal.

Good extra analysis to what I posted a little upthread, nice one; especially the comparison of Hate to Endurance loss - I really like that.

This adds to the idea expressed earlier that TOR has no 'sure fire' option in all situations; applicability and usefulness are heavily dependant on the situation to hand. This is a real strength on the rules that there are very few optimal options that can be used all the time.