Elric - Prince Gaynor

[DamonJynx]

Hi all, yet another Elric question.

The entry for Prince Gaynor states that he has 20 POW dedicated to his Pact with whomever he's serving at the moment. This leaves him with 1 MP available to fuel his Heroic Abilities, however he falls unconscious when he has 0 MP. Is this correct? Or, does he 'break' the rules due to his nature as the 'Eternal Enemy"? What about Heroic Abilities gained as gifts? I just want to be sure of my answer (I don't like using GM fiat unless I have too) before I introduce him to the party - who need to learn that not every encounter can be overcome with combat.

I'm sure the encounter will most probably alienate my players to a degree, as there is a high degree of probability it will end in a TPK (if they attack him) but Gaynor will not be the one initiating combat.

 

[tarkhan bey]

Hi DJ, I will dig out my Elric stuff when I get home. I'm fairly certain that Gaynor is only 'treated' as having 20 points of his Pow dedicated to whichever pact he has at that given time. I think that he can actually use all of his MP. I think it was something about his mercurial nature and shifting allegiances. I can't remember where I read this though, it may have been clarified by Loz in an earlier post.

Anyway, if Ronzo the Grim is still with your group, he is well aware of Gaynor the Damned.

 

[danskmacabre]

The only thing I can find is an Errata thread I raised last year.
Loz mentions Gaynor's pact in there.
http://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=47427

But it's not clear what the answer is, but I guess it infers that Gaynor has only 1 MP available to him.
I suppose you houserule that since he has specific heroic abilities. Maybe he can use dedicated POW for Heroic abilities when using them specifically in service of his current patron?

 

[Loz]

Gaynor's MP and Heroic Abilities are a loop-hole. I should've spotted that but didn't. C'est la vie.

To rectify it, I'd rule that Gaynor is a special case (he IS the Eternal Enemy, after all). Rather than using MP to invoke an ability, as is the RAW, have him make a Persistence roll instead. If it fails, the ability can't be used. If it succeeds, so does the ability but at no MP cost.

Really though, Gaynor's other Gifts more than compensate for this little loop-hole and Gaynor's the kind of major protagonist who shouldn't be challengeable by anyone except the Eternal Champion.

I've said it before: I hate statting-up characters from books because it can be very difficult to accurately reflect how they act in a piece of narrative fiction using game mechanics without lots of hand-waving. I think this little thread proves that point.

 

[danskmacabre]

Gaynor is pretty much unkillable in the books anyway, that is until Corum uses the hand of Kwyll to tear open his Visor which even then only temporarily banishes him.

 

[havercake lad]

Just put 'GM INTERVENTION' in Gaynor's Heroic Abilities and that should cover any glitches ! :wink:

 

[DamonJynx]

Gaynor's MP and Heroic Abilities are a loop-hole. I should've spotted that but didn't. C'est la vie.

To rectify it, I'd rule that Gaynor is a special case (he IS the Eternal Enemy, after all). Rather than using MP to invoke an ability, as is the RAW, have him make a Persistence roll instead. If it fails, the ability can't be used. If it succeeds, so does the ability but at no MP cost.

Really though, Gaynor's other Gifts more than compensate for this little loop-hole and Gaynor's the kind of major protagonist who shouldn't be challengeable by anyone except the Eternal Champion.

I've said it before: I hate statting-up characters from books because it can be very difficult to accurately reflect how they act in a piece of narrative fiction using game mechanics without lots of hand-waving. I think this little thread proves that point.

I thought as much. My ruling will be; that as a direct agent of a Patron Lord with his soul dedicated fully to his Patron, he can use each Heroic Ability once per day without penalty, subsequent uses will require a roll as per your suggestions Loz.

I've attached a link to my version of Gaynor for your amusement.

I agree totally, that he should only be able to be bested by an aspect of the Eternal Champion. And the only thing in the YK that can give him what he seeks (i.e. death) is Stormbringer or Mournblade, though it probably wouldn't be a 'death' he'd particularly enjoy :wink:

Edit: Why are the dice so unkind? What should have been a TPK was far from it!
Gaynor rolled 3 bloody fumbles, and the guy who is the groups Assassin using a bow (playing a female), the only common weapon he does not have a ward gift for, rolled 2 bloody critical hits after Gaynor lost the opposed Perception vs. Stealth rolls against the little bitch. It ended up with Gaynor's inert armour mysteriously fading away after receiving a major wound to the head!

But it was fun...and the guy's have now learnt that sometimes it's not a good idea to attack things without having a clearer understanding of what you're attacking. So the encounter served its purpose - to a point. The assassin is apparently more afraid of the Merghen, than a demi-god agent of Chaos, which is a choice she will no doubt not live to regret...