Races

[vgunn]

Originally posted by Scottomir
but that is why I favor using Courage to distinguish the ages.

And certainly you are free to do as you choose! I may see it differently, but we are not alone in the oft disagreements and interpretations on the lore and history of Middle-earth.

[Green]

I'm currently running a 1st Age game online, and it's going very well, despite the problems in using CODA's LotR as the system for the game. If I were to do it over again (and I just might, if only to see how things work differently the second go-round), these are a few of the things I'd do differently:

1. Provide a thorough write-up of what specific attribute scores and skill ranks mean. One of the things that made my job a bit more difficult when creating characters and tweaking rules for my game is the fact that everything is written in numbers without explaining what everything means. The only difference, for me, between an attribute score of 9 and one of 13 is that I know that a 13 gets a +3 modifier and a 9 only gets a +1. For skills, I only know that a 7 is better than a 2, but not how that translates into less mathematical terms. In other words, I only know of how the numbers relate to each other, not to how they relate to the world or the characters. As a result, I often felt like I had to go into "more is better" mode. Thus, I had to do a lot of revision when it came to characters to bring them into more manageable scales.

I have done a little work with skill ranks. I only need to do that for attributes. I've got my work cut out for me in that department.

2. Be rid of attribute and skill maximums, or at least drastically alter them. This is in tandem to #1. If the FotR sourcebook is anything to go by, the greatest leaders of the 2nd Age had scores as high as 15+ in some attributes and as many as 17 ranks in some skills. While I certainly don't think starting characters should be this powerful, I think the potential should be there. I loathe having to fudge my way to making powerful characters because I feel like I'm cheating. If I require the players to follow the rules with their characters, I feel like I should do the same with mine.

One idea I have is to make it so characters can have more than 2 favored attributes. Of course, adding another favored attribute would probably require spending all 5 advancment picks, but you would get the benefits of it, if only much later.

The other idea I had was to redo the ability maximums like this. For non-favored attributes, the maximum is 12 + racial modifier. For favored attributes, the maximum is 15 + racial modifier. This is mainly so that the players do not always have to play second fiddle to the other characters in the books. If, by some slim (or not-so-slim) chance a Narrator wants to have the PCs play younger versions of, say, Gil-Galad, Elrond, Glorfindel, etc., there is a way you can do this without having to go by Narrator fiat. In other words, this is more for consistency than "realism."

I'd probably introduce something called Favored Skills to go along with Favored Attributes. They would (naturally) be order and racial skills picked at character creation. I'd choose something like 4 skills to be favored skills. With these skills, you can go higher than the maximum of 12 ranks. I may allow players to pick additional favored skills or increase the maximum ranks by 2 for 4 or 5 advancement picks each skill. Initially, the maximum ranks for favored skills is 14. By spending additional picks (maybe 4 or 5, as with choosing favored skills), you can increase it to 16. The absolute maximum I'd venture would be 18. This is mainly so that characters who have multiple orders are not unduly penalized. Only order and racial skills (languages and lore) may be chosen as favored skills.

3. Revise (or rather, rewrite) the magic system. I agree with Manveru. The CODA system does well enough for 3rd Age magic, but the magic of the 1st Age is a great deal more flexible and powerful. There are some things that characters do in The Silmarillion that do not have a corresponding effect in the core book. While it is certainly easier to work with, I find that it doesn't do much for retaining the grandoisity of the 1st Age. I would like to see magic handled more like skills ("ranks" + Attribute modifier), but not exactly like them. Off the top of my head, this is what I'd do.

3a. Instead of having a catalog of spells, I'd just have them very broadly defined along the specialties. You'd have Air and Storm, Beasts and Birds, Secret Fire, etc. I might have to create one for things like the Crafting-spell and Enhance Food where the magic is worked through another activity instead of through will alone. You would naturally get your first specialty for free, but others would have to be gained via spell picks (about 3 or 4 picks per additional specialty).

If I really wanted to do something different, I'd go through the skill lists and determine which specialties are associated with them. Inspire and Intimidate, for instance, would be groups with Secret Fire. Ride would be linked to Beasts and Birds. I have no idea what I'd do with this just yet.

Of course, I think I will keep the grimoire handy just as a sample of the types of effects you can have.

3b. The Spellcasting ability for Loremasters and Magicians would still give you the picks as stated in the core book, but you would be able to do more with them. Picks essentially give you "ranks" to spread amongst your magical abilities (divided by specialty, as above). The max would still be 12, except in extenuating circumstances or if I create another Magican order ability that lets you take a particular specialty above 12 ranks (prereq: Spellcasting, Spell Specialty, Appropriate Specialty 12 ranks). When casting a spell, you roll ranks + Bearing mod.

You can also use picks to gain another specialty (say, about 3 or 4 picks for each additional specialty past the first).

I do not know if 1st Age magic should require gestures and incantations. If they do, I'd keep the Spellcasting Method rules the same. If they don't, I'll probably adjust the Spellcasting Method ability to give a bonus to casters when using particular methods. For instance, using Runes may give the magicican a bonus equal to the number of ranks in the appropriate Craft skill. Ditto Songs of Power giving a bonus equal to the ranks in Perform: Song.

Dwimmer-Crafty would proboably remain unchanged.

As for developing spells into abilities, I think what I may do is make it possible for any spell to become an ability. Or, I may reduce the costs of doing so while still limiting what types of spells can become abilities. Say, instead of requiring 10 additional spell picks, I'd only require 6 (3 for removing gestures, 3 for removing incantations; TN not a problem by this stage). Of course, I may just keep it the same for simplicity's sake.

3c. Because the magic of the 1st Age is more flexible and more potent, I'd leave it up to the player's imagination and the Narrator's discretion to develop and describe effects. I may, however, create guidelines for particular effects (such as temporary boots to skills or attributes for effects aimed at doing such, or requiring an opposed Willpower test for enchantments and displays of power). This is mainly to prevent players from cajoling Narrators into ruling that a marginally successful spell similar to the Healing-spell grants a +5 bonus to Heal tests as well as to keep Narrators from limiting an extraordinary success on an effect similar to Display of Power to a measly +2 to Inspire or Intimidate.

4. Increase starting Courage. In my game, I give it out for free, but I still think I should have let the PCs start out with more. I think 6 is good if only a few (or none) of the changes mentioned above are used. If I do use them, I'd probably drop it down to 4 or even keep it at 3 and give away Courage for free.

5. Tie Renown to the Rank edge. I'd probably give +5 Renown for each level of the Rank edge. Of course, whether this be good or bad renown depends upon the deeds of the character and (to a lesser extent) the relationships that character's Rank provides. Having your Renown based upon your ties to the host of Fingolfin is very different from those based upon relationships with the host of Fëanor.

That's about all I can think of right now.

PS. Although, I should probably just use Kathanaksaya instead. Much, much simpler.

[Captain Novaes]

Hey Green, if you ever work up that table suggesting what different ranks in skills and attributes mean, be sure to pass it along here!

In the TTT book there's an optional rule stating that you can raise a Favored Atribute one point higher than the racial maximum. That still doesn't account for the levels found in some epic characters, but it's a start.

[Green]

Originally posted by Captain Novaes
Hey Green, if you ever work up that table suggesting what different ranks in skills and attributes mean, be sure to pass it along here!

In the TTT book there's an optional rule stating that you can raise a Favored Atribute one point higher than the racial maximum. That still doesn't account for the levels found in some epic characters, but it's a start.

Certainly. As of right now, I only have the skill ranks down.

0 ranks: untrained (example: Merry and Pippin's combat skills at the beginning of FotR)
1 - 3 ranks: novice (example: Bilbo's Legerdemain and Stealth. He's aided more by his agility and perceptiveness than training or experience)
4 - 6 ranks: seasoned (example: typical Gondorian soldier's Armed Combat skill)
7 - 9 ranks: expert (example: Boromir's Siegecraft, Survival skill of a Ranger of the North)
10 - 11 ranks: master (example: Rohirrim Ride skill, Aragorn's Track skill)
12+ ranks: most exalted amongst the Free Peoples (example: Legolas with Ranged Combat: Bows, Elrond's Healing, Feanor's and Telchar's Smithcraft).

I'll try to follow up with the attributes sometime later on.

[Manveru]

Side note: I'm really enjoying the First Age ride Green's running via online chat. I've been waiting YEARS to find a Narrator that could capture the feel/pathos of ME for a long time, and Green's no sluff, the real deal.

Shameless,

Manveru

[Green]

*beams*