Looking for some good advice....

[runestaff]

Greetings all, I have no real experience yet in running T&T so would value your input on some of the ways I am planning to house-rule certain aspects of the game. Kind of shooting in the dark but here goes....

1) Spite Damage: allowing players to choose to either take it form CON or reduce their Armor Values (kind of a nod to earlier editions where the Armor was ablative similar to this, but for regular damage.....).
2) AP Costs for attributes: I can see how the rapid number inflation in the 7th edition could cause problems with the whole SR system in the long haul....So have the cost per point equal the 10's range of the attribute. 1-19 would cost x10 AP per point as written, but 20-29 would cost x20 AP per point, 30-39 would be x30 AP per point, etc, etc....
3) Wizard Battles: Instead of a lot of "bad feelings" use the current WIZ ratings as a kind of MR (Magic Ratings instead of Monster Ratings), used exactly like the MR's in 5th edition where the number of dice and adds goes down as the MRs decrease (noting that spite damage would still affect CON). This would abstract the Wizards Duel just like regular combat until one side gets knocked down to 0 WIZ then the winner may blast away as well as he/she/it can....

Sometimes I let my mind wander and the above is what I pried out of it's mouth when it came home. Not sure what else it will show up with but if anyone would care to give me their thoughts about them it sure would be appreciated... Thanks

[wilowisp]

While it all looks relatively fine, and T&T is INTENDED to be house-ruled (see the sig!), there is still something to trying something as-is before you change it. I found several things that made me go "Huh" in T&T before I actually played it; and then in play, they were fine.

I'm relatively new to T&T too, BTW- and I've houseruled a bit. I'm just saying, ya' oughta try it straight, at least once.

[cartomancer]

I figure if you like the changes and your players are game, go for it. The thing to keep in mind is that rules should help you, not chain you up so, if you play a house rule (or a regular rule come to think of it) and one of your players thinks of a way of improving it (as defined by everyone going 'Oh, yeah!, that's better') then feel free to change it agian... And again if needed. Even if it's mid play.

It's keeping the game going that counts really and, making sure it is enjoyable for all concerned. As long as your doing that, you can throw anything at a player and they'll still smile.

[quoghmyre]

Not many here agree with me but ;D

If there's a rule in the book then stick with it as long as possible. If something just doesn't work for you and your group, then make a house-rule.

I'm a strong believer in make a SR not a rule.

Ideas based your you HRs.
Spite Damage: The players make a SR on Luck, if they pass no Spite gets through, fail take it on off the armour, if they critically fail <5 take it off the CON.

AP Costs for attributes: Try and get a copy of 7.5 I think this is fixed in that. Go with Ken's fix.

Wizard Battles: Like missile damage, it's real easy to wipe out the party if you start throwing Magic at low level characters. Speed SR, Luck SR, IQ SR can all play a part in protecting the Wizards.

It's a lot easier to mix up SRs, adding some or leaving them out, than changing a "Rule". Personally I don't like playing in a game where the Rules change mid game, while I have no problem with the GM handing out more or less SRs as things progress.

All that said, just to cover my maybe and before I get toasted, it's your game play it how you choose.

[feldrik]

Quogh speaks wisdom.
From your player's viewpoint it is always easier to add something than take it away. Their input will also help you make the game what your group wants.

[mahrundl]

Runestaff, all of those ideas sound workable, at least on the surface. I would tend to agree that it's worth playing with the rules as written* initially, and make changes once you've seen how they play. Quog's point about SRs is a good one - they are one of the most powerful features of the game.

But it's your game, so feel free to ignore** me*** if you want.

* 5th edition, naturally.
** except for the bit about 5th edition... ;D
*** (everyone else does)

[runestaff]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me your opinions, it really is appreciated. I think I will take a step back and proceed with the rules as written to start with. I will most definitely be using the 5th edition to do this with, it has stood the longest test of time by far. But I will keep these on the back-burner until I work my way up to the 7.5 rules. I will probably have a good laugh when I get to that point too....."Jeez, why was I gonna do that?" LOL. Thanks again everyone and Happy Gaming!

[Aramis of Erak]

Jun 28, 2010 0:12:44 GMT -5 quoghmyre said:

Not many here agree with me but ;D

If there's a rule in the book then stick with it as long as possible. If something just doesn't work for you and your group, then make a house-rule.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I've houseruled the hell out of T&T, but I have played it RAW and know what didn't work for me and my group.

Jun 28, 2010 0:12:44 GMT -5 quoghmyre said:

AP Costs for attributes: Try and get a copy of 7.5 I think this is fixed in that. Go with Ken's fix.

10x Stat for all levels IS the fix from Ken; 7.0 was stat x100

But note that, given 7.X's system for determining levels, anything which slows high attribute gains will also slow down leveling, which is already still slow in 7.5 (and was painfully so in 7.0)

[Hogscape]

What Quog says - don't house rule until you've tasted vanilla. I played T&T for over 2 years before my first house rule.

[runestaff]

Gotcha...guess I just got a little ahead of myself. I was a little nervous about the switch from a level based attribute increase to a free for all point buy (especially when I saw the numbers for 4th level characters in the 40's, something my solo characters from the 5th edition never achieved). LOL. I appreciate the feedback to help squash those jitters.

Other then that I guess I was just a little overwhelmed by how dynamic this system is. I have an excessive amount of rule sets in my RPG collection and I have to say there are too many of them where the system feels very static. Like you have to constantly push it into motion as it is played. But not Tunnels and Trolls, it starts moving and keeps everything rolling at a smooth, constant speed which is very different in 'feel' then what I was using when I came away from active gaming years ago. So with GM cold-feet I felt if I put some personal 'touches' on the rules I could control that motion better. But I see now that, in fact, that's all it was....there is no need for such things as it's game speed is just fine and very controllable. With a combination of your input, reading the excellent Trollzines, and further play-testing I feel as though I have my head firmly around this issue (the article on combat maneuvers in the 1st issue was extremely helpful). You were right on target wilowisp, there were a lot of 'huh? what?' things that were worked out when I honestly just tried them out in play.

So, once again, hats off to you and thank you for your words of wisdom.... (for what it's worth, I am sticking with the 7.5 rules after all ;D)