Advancement question

[Indur Dawndeath]

Just a quick question.
Why is it important when you are rewarded an advancement point as a result of a fellowship action, that it is in a specific skill group, like Perception or Movement.
My understanding is that advancement points are distributed during the fellowship phase, so why not just record the bonus advancement point on the character sheet?
If the meaning is that you start the next adventure phase with the first advancement crossed out in fx. Movement, then it is almost worthless, as everybody will succeed in a standard travel test at some point during the adventure...
Anyway, how are you guys reading it??

Cheers

[cuthalion]

Well, my understanding was that it affected how you gained APs--not how you spent them. There is no relationship to the second you are right. However, regards the first, (1) dividing the available APs over the skill groups, (2) increasing the difficulty of gaining each pip in the skill group, together with (3) the max of 3 APs per skill group are all meant to be limiters. Well that and ensuring characters using a broad array of skills is rewarded.

Does that answer your q?

[Dunkelbrink]

I think Indur asked about Advancement points gained during the Fellowship phase. And yes, my understanding is that you start the next adventure phase with a tick in the corresponding box (not too powerful as you point out). Maybe you can let the player tick off the last box in the relevant skill category instead? Since that box is harder to claim it would make the fellowship phase reward a bit better.

[Indur Dawndeath]

Hi Cuthalion,
I'm not sure I understand your answer.
Example: you spend the Fellowship phase guarding the East Road and roll a 6:
6-7. Good watch: Gain an Advancement point in the Perception skill group.
Now, where is that recorded?

According to Adventurer's companion the Undertakings are chosen after you spend advancement points, which will mean that all 3 slots are empty in each skill catagory.

But if the reward of a successful undertaking is only the first slot in the Perception skill catagory, then I have been doing this wrong...

I have been giving the player the advancement point directly and he'll start the adventure with all skill catagories empty like everybody else.

[Indur Dawndeath]

I think Indur asked about Advancement points gained during the Fellowship phase. And yes, my understanding is that you start the next adventure phase with a tick in the corresponding box (not too powerful as you point out). Maybe you can let the player tick off the last box in the relevant skill category instead? Since that box is harder to claim it would make the fellowship phase reward a bit better.

Thanks, that was my point...
how are you handling it?
EDIT: And if a player choses to Confer with Saruman to get his next LORE skill level at half cost, is that not valid in this current fellowship phase? Does he have to wait until the next fellowship phase...?

[cuthalion]

I think Indur asked about Advancement points gained during the Fellowship phase. And yes, my understanding is that you start the next adventure phase with a tick in the corresponding box (not too powerful as you point out). Maybe you can let the player tick off the last box in the relevant skill category instead? Since that box is harder to claim it would make the fellowship phase reward a bit better.

Thanks, that was my point...
how are you handling it?
EDIT: And if a player choses to Confer with Saruman to get his next LORE skill level at half cost, is that not valid in this current fellowship phase? Does he have to wait until the next fellowship phase...?

Oops. Completely misread that apparently. sorry!

Glad you got your question answered.

[Dunkelbrink]

[/quote]
Thanks, that was my point...
how are you handling it?
EDIT: And if a player choses to Confer with Saruman to get his next LORE skill level at half cost, is that not valid in this current fellowship phase? Does he have to wait until the next fellowship phase...?
[/quote]

The issue hasn't really been raised in my campaign, but I'll probably go with RAW (one tick in the category) for now. About the LORE question: you can definitely use the discount right away (unless you interpret the fellowship phase structure very rigidly but there's really no support for a strict cenrtain order). The next time you buy the skill level you get the discount, and that could be the same or following Fellowship phases.

[Indur Dawndeath]

The issue hasn't really been raised in my campaign, but I'll probably go with RAW (one tick in the category) for now. About the LORE question: you can definitely use the discount right away (unless you interpret the fellowship phase structure very rigidly but there's really no support for a strict cenrtain order). The next time you buy the skill level you get the discount, and that could be the same or following Fellowship phases.

I was not using a strict order and was therefore handing out the advancement point gained in the fellowship phase to be used in the same fellowship phase in the same way that I was allowing the players to buy ex. LORE at reduced rate in the same Fellowship phase... hence my question about the relevance of the advancement point catagory.
Was just wondering if people was using the strict order of undertakings...

[SpottedBill]

I noticed this odd rule in some Undertakings as well, but I forgot to really do anything about it. Those first ticks are easy to get anyway, so it's pretty disappointing for the player if they just get the first advancement point box ticked for the next adventure. I think I'll let them add an extra advancement point to their pool during the Fellowship phase from now on.

[Earendil]

I think this only came up once in my game before it ended, but what I did was allow the player to tick the 3rd box instead of the 1st. It is (IMO) a bit crap if all you get is the first box ticked, because that's easy to get: the one that's hard to get is the third.

The problem with allowing the point to be taken at the start of the Fellowship phase, before spending them, is that in that case there's no point in saying which group it belongs to: it's just an advancement point. So I think the intention was not to make it too big a benefit: give the player a bit of a head start for the next adventuring phase, which they can spend in the following fellowship phase, but not something that they couldn't theoretically get anyway. I just think making it the first tick isn't enough of a benefit.