Starting Basic Fantasy Tomorrow!

[corky]

Our group has finally decided to take the plunge in order to simplify our gameplay. After reading through the core rule book, we found a couple things that kind of concern us...mostly about game balance.

Hold Person/Ghoul paralysis - Does this really last TURNS? Seems very overpowered, especially when it can possibly effect multiple people.

Supplement books - Have these gone through a rigorous testing process or are they just things members have written and, therefore, very open to balancing issues?

Charisma - Is this still a "dump" score?

These are just a couple of things we had in mind. I'm sure we'll be back here to ask a bunch more questions.

Wish us luck...I haven't rolled for ability scores for at least 12 years!

[SmootRK]

Cheers. Happy to hear about another who upgrades their game by simplification.

Re: balance in general - The core rules are about as balanced as can be, considering most aspects are based upon other game editions that have been in use since the early 80's. I am sure specifics can be cited that are odd, like the Hold Person, but that is the way that it was played through all this time. That spell was a major choice of spellcasters, but as a GM, if a player loads up with the spell exclusively, then they ought to be fighting more non-humanoids to learn their lessons about having a balanced range of spell choices.

Re: Supplements - yes, they are mostly just material written by others to share with the community. Some are very balanced, while others need work. Some might fit your style of play, and others don't. My suggestion is to start with Core material, then only add the stuff that you research to fit into your game. Nobody is going to be told that they 'should use' supplements. I don't even utilize all the material that I have personally written to share with the community.

Good Luck

[prongbuck]

Whether or not Charisma is a dump stat, or how "dumpy" it is, depends, here is why:

The reaction modifier portion of Charisma is always* useful (*As useful as your DM chooses to make it that is).

How big is your game group, how many players will there be? What game system are you switching from? How many characters will there be in the party?

The reason I ask is that these retro-clone games have a fundamental difference when it comes to making characters. In the retro clone games it is more about generating characters as opposed to creating characters in more recent RPG's. According to the rules abilities are rolled 3d6 in order, so the dice fall where they may. RIght off the bat I think this essentially kills the whole concept of a dump stat since players don't get to choose which rolls go where.

I currently have 2 game groups with 4 players in each. For a number of reasons I decided to have each player generate and play 2 characters. This means that each group has a party of 8 characters, each party has plenty of variety in classes and races and have not had to hire and retainers or other aid. In this case the retainer morale and maximum number of retainers that can be hired portion of Charisma is essentially useless which means you could say that Charisma is a dump stat.

My game setup is not typical though. Typically each player plays one character. In this case each of my parties would have 4 characters, randomly generated with 3d6 in order rolls (I also make them roll for HP at level 1. Harsh? I don't think so ), and there is a good chance they would be missing a cleric, magic-user, or thief. In this case Charisma is not a dump stat as it will be important in determining how many retainers a character can have working for them and just how loyal those retainers will be.

[Hywaywolf]

Charisma can come into play if the players are more into roleplaying than just hack and slash. If towns are just plces you go to to get your hitpoints back then charisma is not very valuable, but if town id a place of intrigue and adventure then having good reaction roles can help quiet a bit.