home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: rec.games.design
- Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!torn!csd.unb.ca!news.ucs.mun.ca!kean.ucs.mun.ca!jbridson
- From: jbridson@kean.ucs.mun.ca
- Subject: Re: RPG: The basic rules to ARM
- Message-ID: <1993Jan21.130935.1@kean.ucs.mun.ca>
- Lines: 49
- Sender: usenet@news.ucs.mun.ca (NNTP server account)
- Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada
- References: <q6f37tg@rpi.edu> <C12s3v.IzK@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz>
- Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 15:39:35 GMT
-
- In article <C12s3v.IzK@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz>, cctr120@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz (Brendon Wyber) writes:
- > Just some comments on the ARM summary.
- >
- > Fitness isn't that appropriate a name for the characteristic. Something more
- > like "Athletic Ability" would be more appropriate.
-
- Hmm, I suppose Fitnee does connotate endurance as well as short-term acts.
- Perhaps Athleticism... not very catchy though. I'll have to consider this.
-
- > From what I have read of the system, it revolves around two integral
- > components, the logrithmic scale and the +1d6 -1d6 task resolution system.
- >
- > The logrithmic scale seems quite yucky and would put a lot of people off it
- > straight away. Since the rest of the game is so simple, it seems a pity to
- > have a calculator for working out logs.
-
- Well, maybe I shouldn't put Scale right at the start... :-) I have found
- that the five values you basically need to know (1, 1.5, 2.5, 4, and 6)
- come quickly to the memory. I'll see if I can revamp that section to make
- it less off-putting...
-
- > The task resolutions seems to de-emphesize the skill level. Not enough
- > variation is possible.
-
- Note: I need to put more examples in version 1.1. In my play-testing
- endeavours, the difference between skill level II and III, for example, has
- a large effect on the outcome. It does seem like variation has been cut
- drastically in terms of differences in characters, but do remember that
- there are "mods" that frequently come into play. I'll reconsider boolean
- skills too.
-
- > To be quite honest I don't see what is really that "advanced" about it.
-
- I'll try and justify this grandiose title. I do not equate advanced with
- detail and complexity... I tend to shy away from games with plenty of
- detail (in the mechanics) as I feel it restricts my imagination - which is
- the primary reason I play RPG's - and makes it less enjoyable. SO advanced
- to me means as simple and flexible as possible.
-
- Anyhow, thanks for the criticism. You've given me more to think about...
-
- > Be seeing you,
- >
- > Brendon Wyber Computer Services Centre,
- > b.wyber@csc.canterbury.ac.nz University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
- >
- > "Ph-nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."
-
- Robert Bridson (using jbridson's account)
-