Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 beta 3/9/83; site sdcrdcf.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!jonab From: jonab@sdcrdcf.UUCP Newsgroups: net.games,net.games.frp Subject: Re: Looking for a new game... Message-ID: <340@sdcrdcf.UUCP> Date: Mon, 20-Jun-83 10:18:29 EDT Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.340 Posted: Mon Jun 20 10:18:29 1983 Date-Received: Wed, 22-Jun-83 10:33:04 EDT References: <2032@tekmdp.UUCP> Reply-To: jonab@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Jonathan Biggar) Organization: System Development Corporation--a Burroughs Company Lines: 55 My favorite role playing game is Fantasy Trip. Do not dismiss it in view of only the basic Melee and Wizard modules. The advanced system introduces non-combat skills, and also gives decent rules about setting up dungeons. As to your specific questions: 1) There are only two classes in FT: Magic users and everyone else. However, magic users can learn to use any weapon, and non-magic users can learn spells, but at a premium of skill points. (Skill points are equal to your intelligence, and you can use them for weapon skills, spells, or other non-weapon skills like literacy, horsemanship, thief, detect & remove traps, etc. 2) Fantasy trip has a very simple spell point system. Each spell causes a certain amount of exaustion to the character, which is applied against his hit points, but he can rest and get them back faster than he can heal wounds. 3) Fantasy trip has a non D&D combat system. Each player has a dexterity rating affected by armor and what else he is carrying that he must roll less than to hit. Each weapon then does a different random amount of damage, which is reduced by the targets armor and shield. I prefer this combat system because it is much more realistic and it takes less time to resolve battles. As a GM, I give each player a list of the options he is allowed to choose from each combat round. They are very explicit and cover almost all combat situations. The battles run faster once your players have played a couple of times because he knows exactly what he is capable of doing at each point, and because FT requires a tactical map for the battles, he has no problem visualizing the spatial relationships envolved. 4) No frp game will easily rid itself completely of discrete levels because at some point you have to say that a character is able to do something better than he did before. However Fantasy Trip does a good job at making the levels close enough together that the character does not jump unrealistically in skills. After accumulating enough experience, a character may trade them for one extra point of strength, dexterity, or intelligence. Strength dictates how large a weapon you can swing, and is also equal to the characters hit points. Dexterity is a direct measure of how likely the character is to connect when he swings a weapon, and Intelligence gives how many skills an spells the character may know. So when a character gains a level, he can choose to take more damage, hit his opponents more often, or learn one new spell or skill. The main disadvantage with Fantasy Trip is that there is little aid for a novice game master who is trying to create his own world from scratch. Knowledge of other frp games and a lot of time is required to be able to set up a coherent world. However if all you want to do is design dungeons for the players to explore, it is really no worse than any other game. Jon Biggar