Player's and Narrator's Guides Core Rules: What's broken?

[LUGTrekGM]

I don't think powergaming in Trek happens more than other games, it's just rampant with gamers in general who want to be larger than life, or more powerful in respect to the average.

[tonyg]

How about upping the weapon damages for the lower-tech weapons?. As currently written, it takes around 5 hits with a sword to incapacite an average NPC. Four shots with a pistol.

On the show people swho get shot/stabbed, etc either get a minor injury, incapacitating wound, or are killed outright.

Maybe revise the critical rules. Max damage isn't that much compare to the amount of damage that characters can soak up. Sometime like double damage sor a complete success and triple for an extraordinary sucess (or maybe +2d6/+4d6) would

Put back the stunning rules to character who rop a wound level (from ICON). This way a character can be knocked out (and taken out of a fight) without winding up in intensive care.


All this makes a big difference when a narrator is trying to run one of those "Kirk brawling with the guard" type of fights that occur.

[Doug Burke]

The problem there would be more accurately addressed by a "mook rule" similar to what LOTR has as an option. In short, heroes never fall down after one hit (unless it's dramatically appropriate), but the bad guys do (cinematically speaking, of course)...

With that said, I worked with Jesse Heinig and Jeff Tidball back in the day to make sure the melee and archaic ranged weapon damages were consistent btween the two games. Those values are listed in the current errata for both games as well (if you didn't know that already)...

[PGoodman13]

The problem there would be more accurately addressed by a "mook rule" similar to what LOTR has as an option. In short, heroes never fall down after one hit (unless it's dramatically appropriate), but the bad guys do (cinematically speaking, of course)...

Probably more of a Narrator's Guide thing, I think...though that's coming soon enough, I suppose.

[Doug Burke]

True enough. Although the title of the thread is for both...

[PGoodman13]

True enough. Although the title of the thread is for both...

Very true, and I intend to follow up on this when I get to the Narrator's Guide errata...but that's not due this weekend.

[Doug Burke]

Very true, and I intend to follow up on this when I get to the Narrator's Guide errata...but that's not due this weekend.

Sorry, man. Just living up to my tattoo...

[tonyg]

The problem there would be more accurately addressed by a "mook rule" similar to what LOTR has as an option. In short, heroes never fall down after one hit (unless it's dramatically appropriate), but the bad guys do (cinematically speaking, of course)...

With that said, I worked with Jesse Heinig and Jeff Tidball back in the day to make sure the melee and archaic ranged weapon damages were consistent btween the two games. Those values are listed in the current errata for both games as well (if you didn't know that already)...

Well Doug,
Since the topic of this threat is for us to point out what we think is broken in the CODA rules. In my option the weapon damages and wound level relationships in CODA are broken. I guess you don't agree with me. That's cool. Still, if given the opportunity to point out something that I think needs improment, I'd be at fault if I didn't speak up.


I am also familar with the "mook rule" that you speak of in LOTR. Don't care for it, and I don't think it works well for Trek. Weapons in Trek are deadly-even to the main characters and imporant guest stars. The CODA rules really don't reflect this.

In CODA, shooting a healthy Spock with a rifle (or musket) isn't capable of incapacitating him.

[Doug Burke]

Well Doug,
Since the topic of this threat is for us to point out what we think is broken in the CODA rules. In my option the weapon damages and wound level relationships in CODA are broken. I guess you don't agree with me. That's cool. Still, if given the opportunity to point out something that I think needs improment, I'd be at fault if I didn't speak up.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have spoken up, man. I'm just explaining the reasoning behind it.

In CODA, shooting a healthy Spock with a rifle (or musket) isn't capable of incapacitating him.

True enough. But then, that scene in "A Private Little War" was definitely a "dramatrically appropriate" moment...

[tonyg]

Sorry Doug,

I didn't mean to imply that I felt muzzled. I just wanted to show that I think the injury rules could be improved. One thing about CODA compared to ICON, is that wound levels have increased although weapon damage ratings are about the same.

As for Spock shooting being "dramatically appropriate" well, from a story perspective definately. From a gaming perspective, perhaps, but only for an NPC. As a narrator, I'd consider it too arbitray to pull on a player. As a player, I certainly wouldn't be pleased if the narrator invokes "dramtically approrate" on me and turned a flesh wound into a life threatening one. To me it is more alone the lines of what to do when a player gets called away at the beginning of an advenuture, and can't play the session.

[Ineti]

I didn't mean to imply that I felt muzzled. I just wanted to show that I think the injury rules could be improved.

I really hope we can get Decipher to release the Fields of Battle book for the LOTR game. It contains a bunch of optional rules that enhance combat and injuries--I think the rules would port over to Trek quite easily.

[Doug Burke]

To me it is more alone the lines of what to do when a player gets called away at the beginning of an advenuture, and can't play the session.

Same here. But still an example of when it would be used...

[Doug Burke]

I really hope we can get Decipher to release the Fields of Battle book for the LOTR game. It contains a bunch of optional rules that enhance combat and injuries--I think the rules would port over to Trek quite easily.

Amen to that, Jim. I'd love to see that one...

[tonyg]

I really hope we can get Decipher to release the Fields of Battle book for the LOTR game. It contains a bunch of optional rules that enhance combat and injuries--I think the rules would port over to Trek quite easily.

I'm not aware of that book. Any info on it somewhere. I hate being the last one to drool.

[Ineti]

I'm not aware of that book. Any info on it somewhere. I hate being the last one to drool.

There's probably bits and pieces about it on these forums and the Decipher forums. Try a search for "Fields of Battle."

Basically, it's the guidebook for warriors and barbarians (LOTR specifically). It includes a bunch of new elite orders, combat rules and other fun stuff designed to enhance combat, injuries, and the like. I don't know if there was a Trek book similar in scope, but I would imagine there would have been if there wasn't already.

Since the two settings use the same basic Coda rules, I don't see why most of the rules in FOB couldn't be ported over to Trek.