Ikkuhyu wrote:I find many of the 2nd edition choices to be better suited for a faster paced game.
I agree. The more I go over and think about the rules, the more I like them.
Ikkuhyu wrote:I'm not usually that liberal with DD (and I don't let them convert to XP), but the issue is easely fixed by letting panache give you DD per scene...The screen time explanation may work in a vacuum (and I liked it initially)...
I have gotten progressively more liberal with DD over time. I used to be super strict, and I've discovered that the more liberal I got with DD the more willing my players were to actually do interesting things because they weren't worried about hoarding up their DD for when they "really needed it."
Ikkuhyu wrote:It is more game balancing though
Personally I disagree, but that's just a matter of different opinions. I dislike anything that encourages "Trait loading;" we had to limit the number of HP people could spend on Traits, because people started loading up all their Traits at Rank 3, and it kept throwing the balance WAY off for other players who had invested their HP in skills and advantages - sure over time the balanced Players would be stronger, but it was painful to watch some guy who bulked up their traits out-do you constantly until you've earned enough XP over several months of sessions to surpass them; it's one of the reasons I started becoming more liberal with DD since the reason the Trait Loading happened at first was to get that 3rd DD and then they started realizing higher traits meant probability was more likely to be on their side.
Ikkuhyu wrote:The way the original system works I have often felt like there were only 3 relevant traits: Finesse, Panache and Wits, they cover 99% of all the skill checks...
In general, I agree that Finesse and Wits are probably the most used Traits, but I wouldn't disregard Resolve as just the "Wound Soak" trait, and while I agree of the 5 Brawn probably has the least application, I'd argue that it's probably because your heroes aren't getting put in a place where they need to use them (Resolve is critical for Sorcerers, the Swimming and Drowning rules, and Fear.) Having gone back to the original books (the PG, GM's Guide, Erebus Cross, etc) over the years, I've realized that Trait and Skill combinations were never supposed to be strict - check out page 135 and 136 of the GM's guide - the trait you use depends on "how" you're going about doing what you're trying to do; you can see this highlighted really well, coincidentally, in the 2nd Ed QS for the ballroom scene. Here are some examples of what I mean:
* Most athletics: Swinging, leaping, Sprinting, any sort of gymnastics or acrobatics, climbing - strength is just as critical as form to success (in some cases more) - and for any sort of running or swimming, Resolve plays just as big if not a bigger role than form.
* The swimming and drowning rules call out Resolve specifically, so does Fear.
* William Wallace's speech at the end of Braveheart, I would argue, had more to do with sheer determination and force of will (Resolve) than Wits. Charlie Chaplin's speech from
The Great Dictator's brutal honesty screams resolve to me more than Wits as well. If you were trying to rally the troops, how were you doing it, were you appealing to logic and well-crafted memorable words (Wits), through pure determination and sense of right or wrong (Resolve), or through pure Charisma (Panache)?
* The GM's guide outright tells you, if a fight is getting stretched out and they party is exhausted, have them use Resolve + Attack instead.
* Resisting Seduction? That's Resolve, not wits.
* If a hero is trying to woo a debutante at a ball, how does he do it? Does he introduce himself while making sure she sees his muscles ripple and flex (Brawn,) is he trying to use clever words and innuendo (Wits,) is he just relying on sheer force of will (As I begin to walk away, I stop after two steps, slowly and deliberately turn back to her and look at meet her gaze directly, "Well, aren't you going to join me?" - Resolve,) is he trying to emphasize his style or flair or that "something else" about his personality (Panache)?
Anyway, I hope you don't see this as me disregarding your ideas. At one time I'd house-ruled the hell out of 1st Ed myself. Over the years though, with the exception of a few specific House Rules (specifically around Passive and Active Defense and Naval Combat...and not counting the absolute atrocities that came in the later books, most of which I just outright ignore - I'm looking at you Sophia's Daughters, Cathay, and *ugh* Zerstorung) I've actually started adhering closer to the original rule-set.