Some Applications

Here are some applications I have floating around in my head, and I want to get them down before I start forgetting them. I’m actually starting to get close to building a play test rules document, but I’ll hammer out a few more things first.

Short Hand: Application (linked ability). How it works.

• Bonus Attack (fighting; only for creatures using natural attacks). You may elect to split your fighting between two attacks each turn. You must designate what the second attack is (for example, using a bite as your primary attack and a claw as your second; using two claws; using a tail strike primarily and a bite as your bonus attack).
• Finesse (precision). Your precision (instead of your might) sets the maximum rating for melee weapons you may wield (rated at precision +1). You now add precision to damage rolls with finesse-based weapons; with might +2, precision +7 and finesse, you may wield a +8 finesse-based melee weapon (a scimitar, a quarterstaff, a katana), and you deal 2D +7 (precision) +8 (weapon rating) damage. If you pick up a war hammer (a might-based weapon), you only deal a maximum of +5 damage with it; your might + the weapon rating, limited to might +1.
• Rage (stamina). You have a pool of points each scene equal to your stamina rating to add to might rolls as needed. You can add all of these to a single might roll, or you can distribute them as the fight continues. The Hulk, with his Stamina +10, has a pool of 10 points to add to rolls with his already extremely formidable Might +12 from his Rage. His might stays +12, but he has a pool of 10 points to bump this up as needed. If wants to use his rage to lift several thousand tons, he’s probably going to be able to do it; even if he rolls poorly, he can always burn a Resolve point to add his invulnerability to the roll (for example), using his own body as a fulcrum.
• Shield Use (fighting). You have a pool of points each scene up to your fighting rating (depending on the shield) to add to armor soak rolls as desired. For example, with fighting +6 and shield use, you can carry up to a shield +6. If you only have a shield +4 available, you only get to add 4 points to your pool each scene to add to armor soak rolls.
• Two-Handed (might). You have a pool of points each scene equal to your might rating to add to fighting rolls as desired. With might +8 and two-handed, you have 8 discretionary points to add to fighting rolls over the course of the battle. You could elect to add all of these to a single attack roll, or you could parcel them out as needed, increasing fighting rolls to score hits later in the fight when you may have barely missed.

Note: You can only apply shield use, two-handed or bonus attack (two weapons, one in each hand) at any time. You could potentially purchase all three, but you’d have to change between attack forms as the fight went on (probably as free actions)… although this might be interesting in a prolonged fight. In an epic battle with a dragon, you begin with your shield out, beating away its attacks… once you’ve used all your shield points, you discard your shield and double-grip your bastard sword, laying into the beast with several mighty blows. Once you’ve used all of your bonus points from two-handed, you slip your bastard sword back into your right hand, and draw your short sword with your left, striking with two weapons for the rest of the battle. I like the dramatic sense of this, and the way a battle flows as a result.