Warrior's Companion - February 2009

[seanbickford]

I think Permanent Damage is great. Anything to make the PCs fear combat is a good thing. The grittier the better. I also think that PD can cinematic--losing an eye, cool scars. I would, however, never ever use a table to determine PD.

I do agree that the "upward trajectory" still must be maintained. My personal view is that PCs get battered and beaten always becoming stronger and stronger until they die or "win," BUT they become scarred/insane along the way. I realize that this is a bit more Lovecraft than Howard, but it works for me.

 

[rabindranath72]

It also seems like these rules add a significant amount of bookeeping. It seems like they might be useful for characters that use fate points for left for dead or other such circumstances.

Not necessarily. The Pendragon combat system is both fast, heroic and gritty at the same time, and it allows for Major Wounds which may take a bit to heal, and which may have repercussions on a character's stats.

 

[Lord Jolly the Scribe]

The first system I ever played was Vampire the Masquerade and they had Flaws. With Flaws (such as One Leg, One Eye, and Deaf), players earned more bonuses in the beginning when they made their character and earned more xp as the game progressed. That is how you could use permanent damage. As a tool for good roleplaying.

I could also see it used as a punishment for PCs who abuse rules.

As for the other stuff, why not? If a player can use a rule to gain an advantage, let them. Just make a bad guy a little more intersting. Heck, use the weapon and armor modifications to throw a curve to a player who metagames and hasn't seen it before or knows what to do when a guy pulls a move he "expected" him to do.

And I understand the need for making a game about heroes and taking away stuff like permanent wounds to show their above average abilities and heroic qualities but if that were the case, then why have encumbrance and AC penalties.

 

[Supplement Four]

Yeah, I dug through the preview, and the preview did it's job. It sold me on this book.

I'm getting it. Looks to be exactly what I want it to be.

Hey... Amazon has it for $16.47. OK. Good price. But, the kicker is...it ships in 1 to 3 months! Whassup wid dat?

Anybody got a review on this book?

 

[flatscan]

Yeah, I dug through the preview, and the preview did it's job. It sold me on this book.

I'm getting it. Looks to be exactly what I want it to be.

Hey... Amazon has it for $16.47. OK. Good price. But, the kicker is...it ships in 1 to 3 months! Whassup wid dat?

Anybody got a review on this book?

Forget Amazon. I had pre-ordered it months ago from Amazon and got that same message. Found it on eBay for the same price as Amazon and it got to my house in a couple of days. I haven't done a complete read through yet, but the parts I have read, including about permanent wounds, are awesome!

 

[Supplement Four]

I haven't done a complete read through yet, but the parts I have read, including about permanent wounds, are awesome!

Thanks. I'm definitely getting it.

What's funny (to me) is that, things like the permanent wounds, are what I was doing with some slight house rules when I started my campaign a year ago, and it seems like everybody and his brother griped me out on this forum for trying to attempt...excatly what this book is doing!

From what I saw, I like. I'm going to go searching for it and try to find a good price.

 

[flatscan]

What's funny (to me) is that, things like the permanent wounds, are what I was doing with some slight house rules when I started my campaign a year ago, and it seems like everybody and his brother griped me out on this forum for trying to attempt...excatly what this book is doing!

Well, I know permanent wounds would be a hard sell to my group, but I myself really dig the idea.

 

[B_Steele]

I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the book. Thief's Companion is hot on its tails...be prepared for another set of optional awesomeness!

-Bry

 

[Supplement Four]

I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the book. Thief's Companion is hot on its tails...be prepared for another set of optional awesomeness!

-Bry

Cool beans! :wink: