Power levels

[Stormcrow]

Recently I've been seeing people throwing around phrases like "250 XP character." How are people coming up with these numbers? Guesswork? Or has someone produced some kind of guide to matching experience and advancement points to various canonical characters?

[Angelalex242]

We come up with those values by asking the following question:

What TN would a Loremaster set for a character if a player in his game asked to what was done in that movie I just saw?

How many dice would he need to reliably pull it off?

Okay, now we know how many dice the character has.

The individual definition of power levels comes from the retirement page in the loremaster handbook. Different xp of characters leads to different xp for heirs. Since that caps out at 250 xp (+14 for the heir), we say 250 XP is the 'highest level character practical.'

[Stormcrow]

Ugh! I don't use the movies to set target numbers!

The section on retirement isn't capped at 250 XP; it limits inherited XP to 14 at 250 XP or more. In fact, the book says an average retirement will occur after 15 years of 13 XP each; this is 195 XP as an average (not a maximum).

I've been considering the possible ranges for various elements of a character.

Attributes range from 1–12, apparently absolutely (the section on Loremaster characters puts a dragon's attribute level at 11–12). Wisdom and Valour range from 0–6 (player characters never have 0, but some Loremaster characters might). So do all skills. Endurance and Hope are based on other factors, but can be improved no more than five times with virtues. Favoured attributes are likewise able to be improved, apparently to an absolute range of 2–15. Standing goes from 0–6.

Of course, these numbers don't correspond to experience or advancement points when you're not dealing with player characters. However, I suspect, based on the absolutes of the Attribute Level table in the Loremaster's Book, that these ranges do apply to any incarnated being (so they apply to Gandalf or a Balrog, but not to a Vala or Maia who hasn't taken on a body the way the Istari did).

In any case, it doesn't seem to me that measuring Loremaster characters by experience and advancement points is a particularly useful way to do things. A nice thing might be a table like the Attribute Level table in the LB, only for Wisdom and Valour. I'm sure we'd all give Gandalf or Elrond a Wisdom of 6, but how much Valour do they have?

[Angelalex242]

Well, the heavy hitters project was to stat the company of the Ring (except Gandalf) as Player Characters.

The second phase of heavy hitters will be statting the 13 dwarves and Bilbo Baggins as Player Characters.

That said, Rich H's list of good events that could happen during a travel phase includes 'A Wizard joins the party.'

There are, of course, 5 options for that, and only 2 of them are realistic.

By realistic options, I'd say they get Gandalf on a 8, 9, 10, Rune, and Radagast on any other roll...except an Eye, in which case I'd be sorely tempted to say Saruman joins the party...

If the Blue Wizards are included, you get Gandalf on his Rune, 10, 9, Radagast on 8, 7, 6, 5, Blue Wizard 1 on 4, 3, Blue Wizard 2 on 2, 1, and Saruman on the Eye. (Saruman joining is only nominally a good thing...)

[James Harrison]

Tangent on wizards, if travelling along the Anduin vale it is also conceivable that Sauraman joins; much more likely than a blue wizard!

[Angelalex242]

I'd have Saruman join only on an Eye. If he joins the company, that's NOT necessarily a good thing, ya know, him being Count Dooku and all...

[Elmoth]

Sauron would be opposing Saruman at the time of this story. In fact, he opposes it all the time in his own point of view while playing nice to Barad Dur. he is perfectly fine helping a party of PCs unless they discover something BAD about him, like him being Da Boss of a party of orcs they are facing or something like that (eye in the awareness roll, for example). Otherwise I can see him helping them in kicking some ass if that suits him. Otherwise he would be unable to join them in the first place.

Xavi

[James Harrison]

I'd have Saruman join only on an Eye. If he joins the company, that's NOT necessarily a good thing, ya know, him being Count Dooku and all...

Surly having a JEDI in the party should happen on a Gandalf rune?

[Angelalex242]

Unfortunately, Count Dooku's got a red lightsaber, and the Sith all work for Sauron