- ----- Original Message -----
From: Alaric
To:
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 1999 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [BIRTHRIGHT] - Stat levels - slightly OT (was: Training and the
Tyranny of Six-sided Dice)


Memnoch wrote:

> > >I've been following this thread for a couple of days now. and I believe
I
> > >may have a workable solution:
> > >
> > >I may be old, but does anyone remember the Unearthed Arcana Cavalier?
What
> > >happened with this character class was that every time he/she advanced
'
> >

Sidhain replied:

> > ''thankfully 2edition did away with this and that other Munchkin
Abomination
> >

Alaric couldn't help but add:

> I don't know the class, but a character that had as one of his only
> advantages, balanced by a healthy disadvantage, could easily have some
> sort of stat advancement ability, IMO

Which means I am compulsed to add:

Actually the advancement of the scores from the Cavalier is something I use
from time to time. It really depends on the game I am running and the power
level therein. If the players are starting off with a lackluster rolling
system such
as 3d6 take it and stick it; something like this gives them a feeling of
hope
that they can someday be a munchkin without really giving it to them.

The beauty of this is that the player would have to roll 20 every time the
dice fell
to raise their stat by one point every five levels, which would therefore
only be
four advancements on the way to 20th.

Assuming they roll the middle and get 10 for an average each roll, they are
only
going to do this twice in the life of a normal character. So if Billup
started with
a 15 STR and ended with a 17 I would not cry. Nor would I cry if he actually
popped all four times with rolls of "20" as this would only be the first %
catergory
of 18 STR being attained AT 20th level. By then they usually have something
magical that makes this advancement quite token.

On a related thread:

When using this system, I tend to develop some fighter magic items that
give out points that can be added to this amount and thusly raise the score
by one measly point. You'd be suprised how excited a person can get
when they find gauntlets that add 4d6 % points to their strength and
push them from say 13 to 14.

These items can work just as well for other classes. A wizards hat that
gives
some percentage points for INT, a book that does the same for a priests
WIZ score.

They make for some really nice Junior Woodchuck items that really don't
throw the balance off. This is something that can really help in BR games
where you really don't want to let it get all high magic.

A fighter might find Haelyn's Girdle, an item of power crafted by the
priests
of the aforementioned god. This might raise the STR (or Con) of a fighter
by X% points if they are blessed by a priest of Haelyn.

It makes a nifty belt buckle, might give ONE point of str to a person, and
even
has some nice religious tie-ins so you can prevent the party from bundling
up\
just one person with all the STR items as you can give them one that person
can't use (in this case the warrior might follow Belinik, and therefore
would
get no benefit from the Girdle); and force them to share the toys with each
other.

These are just my thoughts. I make no claim to them!

Craig