Protective Modification

eldritchfire
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Posts: 22

Protective Modification Oct 12, 2014 8:32:32 GMT -8

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Post by eldritchfire on Oct 12, 2014 8:32:32 GMT -8

As many who follow the G+ Fate community know, I'm not a big fan of Weapon/Armour rating: just adding/subtracting shifts is boring to me. The Harmful feature in Jadepunk, however, is pretty cool since it still relies on the "accuracy" of the attack. But Protective is the same old "reduce stress by X."

In Achtung! Cthulhu, Ryan Macklin came up with a new way of handling Armour that I think is awesome (I did something similar way back in May of 2013): your Armour rating is added to the amount of stress your stress boxes and consequences absorb. With armour 1, for instance, your 2-stress box now is worth 3, and your moderate consequence is worth 5 instead of 4. So even with insanely high Armour a hit is still a hit, and you have to check off at least one stress box, even if it's overkill. Armour 3 with a 1-stress hit means you still need to check off your first box (which can absorb up to 4 stress). This puts the pacing in the hands of the attacker, and Armour doesn't drag a fight on and on with nothing happening.

I think that this modification would go well with the high-action of Jadepunk. Thoughts?

-EF

Ryan M. Danks
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Writer, Martial Artist, Game Developer

Posts: 69

Protective Modification Oct 21, 2014 10:55:04 GMT -8

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Post by Ryan M. Danks on Oct 21, 2014 10:55:04 GMT -8

I don't see how it changes anything.

Protective 3 = -3 stress from a hit.
Armor 3 that adds to the amount each stress box can take = -3 from the hit after you select which stress box you're going to use.

To my understanding, that works out to the exact same thing.

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then improbable, and then, when we summon the will they soon become inevitable" - Christopher Reeves (In Loving Memory of a fallen Hero

eldritchfire
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Posts: 22

Protective Modification Oct 22, 2014 5:44:59 GMT -8

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Post by eldritchfire on Oct 22, 2014 5:44:59 GMT -8

The current rules reduce the amount of stress taken, while the proposed system increases your stress capacity. Some examples.

You take a 5-stress hit, and have armour:1. In the current rules, you reduce by 1, take a minor consequence and check your second stress box. With the modification, you take a minor consequence (worth three stress) and mark your first stress box (worth 2 stress).
You take a 1-stress hit and have armour:1. Normal rules reduce by 1, and give your opponent a boost. With modification, you check your first stress box (worth 3), no boost given.

The main difference is the second example: any successful hit will still cause stress. Every success is more meaningful, to me. And it follows the Fate Core philosophy of no malus, all things are a bonus. High armour does not mean invulnerability to weak attacks, it means you're more able to weather the big attacks easier.

Of course, the above examples are for the first hit in a conflict only. After that, there's no telling what stress boxes are checked and what consequences are used. So the math quickly changes depending on the circumstance.

-EF

Ryan M. Danks
Administrator

Writer, Martial Artist, Game Developer

Posts: 69

Protective Modification Oct 22, 2014 10:34:48 GMT -8

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Post by Ryan M. Danks on Oct 22, 2014 10:34:48 GMT -8

I don't see that being a big deal, though I think it will tend to make PCs uber powerful, especially given that stress restores at the end of every scene, and it's already a difficult thing in Fate to deal real harm to someone (I, personally, have never suffered a single consequence in any Fate games I've played in). I would say that it goes against the fast-fight ethos we tried to build in Jadepunk.

That said, if it works for you and your table, I don't think it breaks anything mechanically. I would still limit the Protective ranks, though. Even 2 ranks makes that 5-stress hit virtually nothing, as it can be absorbed with your 3-stress box (and how many 5-stress hits do you really get hit with in a battle?).

A place of concern, for me, would be dueling. If you always suffer at least 1 shift, then protective does nothing in a duel (since even a single shift means the opponent gains a victory point). It could limit the ability to gain 2 vp in the same hit, and that's of benefit, but if all of the hits are 1s and 2s, the player with Protective is going to feel cheated out of their Asset use. And if you use rules that contradict each other (minimum 1 shift in one circumstance, but other times it negates completely), you will look inconsistent.

Still, if you find a way to make it work, go for it! And let me know so we can put it somewhere as an optional rule.

Personally, I like where things are, since 1 level of Harmful = Protective 2 (1 shift doubled = 2 shifts, which Protective 1 will only reduce to 1 shift, dealing stress).

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then improbable, and then, when we summon the will they soon become inevitable" - Christopher Reeves (In Loving Memory of a fallen Hero

Post by eldritchfire on Oct 12, 2014 8:32:32 GMT -8

Post by Ryan M. Danks on Oct 21, 2014 10:55:04 GMT -8

Post by eldritchfire on Oct 22, 2014 5:44:59 GMT -8

Post by Ryan M. Danks on Oct 22, 2014 10:34:48 GMT -8

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