The Professions of Arms

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Let's move on to the next letter.

 

We started talking about Gladiators but didn't go into depth.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary remembers Lucius suggesting it should be PRE based, as it's a performance art.

[DEFCON Clown]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

I still say it should be based on INT just because its a performance to those who are watching doesn't make it any less real or dangerous for those in the "show".

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Then why INT, as opposed to STR or DEX?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary suggests BOD. Survival is everything, right?

[DEFCON Clown]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Because you have to be smart to defeat and kill an opponent who, like yourself, has been trained to fight and kill for years. And as to Body being used as the CHAR base for a skill that just doesn't seem right to me. Although I do like that any skill based off of Body (Most of which would probably be Combat skills) would get worse and worse the more you are hurt, sort of an automatic penalty.

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Because you have to be smart to defeat and kill an opponent who' date=' like yourself, has been trained to fight and kill for years. And as to Body being used as the CHAR base for a skill that just doesn't seem right to me. Although I do like that any skill based off of Body (Most of which would probably be Combat skills) would get worse and worse the more you are hurt, sort of an automatic penalty.[/quote']

 

Hadn't thought of that. Not sure if it should work that way or not; but then, I'm sure a DEX skill for example would have a lower roll if most of the DEX was drained away.....

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary notes that we still haven't discussed possible uses for the skill

[JackValhalla]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

I got nothing, if we're thinking INT based.

I can kinda sorta see a PRE based PS: Gladiator, and that's basically just fighting with style. You know, enough theatrics to entertain the crowd without actually giving an advantage to your opponent.

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Possibly it could be based on different characteristics for different characters.

 

A DEX based Gladiator could use the skill as complementary to Teamwork, or then again use it against Teamwork as an opposed skill (practice at fighting groups and not letting them gang up on you) or (probably at a penalty) to scoop up a dropped weapon without losing half a phase (a common arena situation.)

 

An INT based Gladiator could use the skill as complementary to Tactics if in a one on one or small group fight, or against opponents similar to those of the arena ("It's going to go for your throat - when it leaps, duck, and I'll smash it as it sails over you") or to recognize someone's fighting style, or as complementary to a PERception roll to negate the old "sand in the eyes" or similar tricks.

 

A PRE based Gladiator could use the skill to aid a PRE attack by pulling off some stunt that's partly showmanship, but also clearly communicates the idea "I am dangerous and skilled" or as complementary to Streetwise or Bribery or the like if dealing with a fan ("So your little girl was there when I broke my sword and had to kill the lion with my dagger? Tell you what. Take this dagger for her and say it's from me! Just sell us the horses for my friend's silver, and don't tell anyone I left town, or who you saw me with. Our secret, right?")

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary wants to know about STR based and BOD based Gladiators...

[Vondy]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Do Stuff 20-

Know Stuff 20-

[CraterMaker]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

PS Gladiator might inform a gladiator of good ways to fight against certain things - Like knowing the weaknesses of chariots (making a ramp of shields to flip it) or the fighting styles of some wild animals (these animals fight in packs, those animals try and drag people off to maul them..)

 

It might work as a complementory skill for violence based Pre attacks - theres stabbing someone through, and then theres the way to do it to spray blood into the third row of the arena..

 

-CraterMaker

[ThothAmon]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Where to stab or slash for a slow kill, a crippling blow, or lots of blood but no real damage.

 

How to assess another fighter's strengths (not weaknesses).

 

Gauge the mood of a crowd so that you know what kind of show they expect. It does help you get the thumbs up

 

An adjunct to Trading when arranging the fees for an arena contest or for purchase of a new slave.

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Next up:

PS Hoplite

 

Lucius Alexander

 

A palindromedary in bronze barding

[TWoods]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Just wanted to post some thoughts and hope I'm not going off the direction of the topic.

 

If there is any amount of down time between adventures characters could be allowed to role their PS to see if they made any money using their skills. Like (Every point under skill roll x weeks of downtime)x 10 gold or something.

 

Characters who have the same PS skills get along better. A PS Theif may be the only person in the party able to talk a group of other theives from killing them. A PS Barbarian may be the only party member that gains the respect of a barbarian tribe they run into.

 

I'm new here so ignore me if this is trash

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Just wanted to post some thoughts and hope I'm not going off the direction of the topic.

 

If there is any amount of down time between adventures characters could be allowed to role their PS to see if they made any money using their skills. Like (Every point under skill roll x weeks of downtime)x 10 gold or something.

 

Characters who have the same PS skills get along better. A PS Theif may be the only person in the party able to talk a group of other theives from killing them. A PS Barbarian may be the only party member that gains the respect of a barbarian tribe they run into.

 

I'm new here so ignore me if this is trash

 

Actually, that makes sense, and neither idea is one we've really touched on yet.

 

In the Labyrinth had some great rules for both making money and having "events" in adventure "downtime" and something similar to their "jobs table" would be a useful addition to the Fantasy Hero, I think.

 

You're right that having similar PS Skills means characters have something in common that might smooth interactions. However, in many cases this might be better represented by other skills. Streetwise would let you know the jargon of local criminals, and maybe some names to drop. Tribal Culture Knowledge would help you understand what a band of barbarians would respect, and you'd need their language to, well, speak to them in their own language. Courtier ("High Society" as it's listed in the book) rather than PS: Knight might be what you need to convince a knight that you're important enough to send a message to the Baron about, rather than being tossed in the donjon and forgotten.

 

But in all these cases the professional skill would probably be complementary, and in some cases might be enough on their own to be effective.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

TF: palindromedary

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Next up:

PS Hoplite

 

Lucius Alexander

 

A palindromedary in bronze barding

 

Apparently, no one's interested in hoplites.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary thinks the general reaction is probably "It's all Greek to me."

[Vestnik]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Apparently, no one's interested in hoplites.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary thinks the general reaction is probably "It's all Greek to me."

 

Hoplites are hopeless.

[Lucius]

The Professions of Arms

 

Okay, let's try this one.

 

PS: Hero

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Did the palindromedary eat my tagline?

[CraterMaker]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

I googled Hoplites and am doing some >slow< research -

 

I got sidetracked by some cool Skeletal Hoplite pics, but I should be back on course by thanksgiving. But, I did find out that Hoplites were raised to be warriors from birth (actually, all the menfolk were), so that's pretty cool..

 

-CraterMaker

[Alcamtar]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

PS: Knight (PRE)

 

Prerequisites: Social Status Perk, Riding, at least familiarity with Sword and Lance. Most knights are educated in literacy, history, and warfare.

 

Knights are well versed in mounted combat and knightly weapons of fine quality. They'll be able to analyze the artistry, quality, and origin of weapons. They know how to maintain their gear from their days as a squire, but these days someone else does it for them. They know how to care for a mount, how hard they can push it, etc. They know the rules of chivalry and of honorable warfare, and know how to play on another knight's psych lims.

 

Knights are accustomed to command, whether it be squires or troops or crowds of people. Most knights have formal training in strategy and tactics, will be familiar with classic stratagems. Additionally they will often be professionally aware of the relative military strength of various nobles or mercenary units, the hiring and management of mercenaries, etc. Much knightly knowledge is related to administration and effective use of servants, rather than personal hands-on knowledge. Knights know how to train squires.

 

Etiquette and protocol is second nature to a knight. Between their tendency to assume command and their knowledge of protocol, knights can often slip right through bureaucratic red tape. They know the proper forms of challenge, and also know how to weasel out of a challenge without losing face. They know how to influence rulers through flattery, and will recognize politically valuable or sensitive information when they hear it. Some knights or less noble character are adept at sneers, insults, intimidation, or bribery.

 

Many knights are skilled in the arts of romance, and even if they are not, the knightly mystique works in their favor. Knights know how to dance and will typically be up to date on the latest court gossip; even if they have been away, an hour chatting and a successful PS roll will bring them up to date. Knights will know popular ballads and legends. Knights are familiar with hunting and falconry.

 

Complementary to Bureaucratics, High Society, Oratory, Seduction, Tactics

 

Examples of PS: Knight in Use

 

The party is invited to a ball. The knight circulates and makes a PS roll to catch the latest gossip, and also makes a complimentary Seduction roll to win the favor of a lady, which he then pins to his surcoat in order to enrage a rival.

 

The party needs to see a local baron but encounters a stubborn door warden. With a complementary Bureaucratics roll the knight establishes himself as the alpha male and twists the bureaucrat's excuses back on him, quickly winning admittance.

 

The party is ambushed by bandits, but with a PS roll the knight realizes that they are using Korvad's Trap, a tactic taught among the southern provinces. Suspecting there must be another knight organizing the brigands, he issues a carefully phrased challenge that forces the other to reveal himself or be branded a coward.

 

The knight realizes his horse needs grooming. He makes a PS roll and gets someone else (who by now is used to this treatment) to do it for him, while he kicks back and works on a poem he's writing to the fair lady Ismella.

[Alcamtar]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

PS: Paladin (PRE)

 

Prerequisite: Perk (some sort of blessing or clerical investment), KS Theology. Paladins are likely to have a smattering of familiarities and contacts.

 

Note: I see the paladin as a humble servant of a good god. He is not necessarily noble or even particularly attractive, although he could be. A paladin who also happens to be a knight would have two professional skills, one for each. My favorite paladin concept is a gruff earthy dude in battered armor who gets the job done, is merciless to his enemies, yet humble and gentle toward the weak.

 

Paladins have a frank and trustworthy demeanor that aids in disarming opposition and appealing to conscience. They often know where to find help, and have something akin to Streetwise when it comes to locating and contacting allies. This extends not just to humans but to "good" monsters as well.

 

Paladins also have finely honed discernment when it comes to detecting falsehood, fear, or evil intent in conversation. This extends to intuition about the character of a person, or even a lingering taint on a location and may be complementary to Danger Sense (with respect to evil dangers).

 

Paladins have a professional knowledge of demons and evil cults; they are able to identify major players, and can recognize "cultic behavior" when they see it. They have a working knowledge of their own religion as well as that of their enemies.

 

 

Complimentary to:

- Conversation (with respect to lies or dark secrets)

- Danger Sense (for supernaturally evil dangers)

- Deduction (regarding demons and cultists)

- Find Weakness (against demons and evil spells)

- Persuasion (getting help for a quest)

- Oratory (for calming or stirring up mobs)

 

Example of PS: Paladin in Use

 

The party is traveling and stops at a local inn. During the course of the evening the GM has the paladin make a PS roll to notice that the people are suspicious and seem to be avoiding something, although nobody else in the party notices. The paladin is able to win the trust of a local tinker, who divulges that the town is stalked by a demon or something (complimentary Conversation).

 

The party finds a priest's body with a strange wound. The paladin makes his PS roll to recognize this as a ritual cult slaying probably related to worship of the snake god.

 

A paladin comes across a crumbling ruin and decides the spend the night. He makes a PS roll and senses that a great evil was perpetrated here long ago. Being accustomed to this sort of thing, he shrugs and lays out his bedroll.

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Alcamtar:

 

I like your take on both knights and paladins. You may remember, I did suggest one way to do paladins was with a combination of PS: Knight and something like PS: Holy Man or Monk.

 

It strikes me that in many cases, exactly what these skills can do will depend a great deal on how the words and concepts are defined in a given campaign. To take my last example, what does "hero" mean? It's going to depend on who's running the game and how they think of "heroes."

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary can think of three different workable paradigms, but can't take off running in all three directions at once - only two.

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Next up:

 

PS: Infantry

 

We've already done Cavalry and got some excellent responses, so I have high hopes for the discussion out of this one.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

PS: Palindromedary Cavalry

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

PS: Infantry.

Prerequisite: CON

 

CON, you ask? Yes, I suggest PS: Infantry should be a CON based skill. Endurance and toughness are vital to a profession where sometimes the choice is, "March or die."

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary hopes that will get someone talking. Even if only to argue.

[CraterMaker]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Well, PS Soldier should be complimentary to Survival, definately.. I'm not particularly versed in the Long Term Endurance rules, but I could see a successful PS: Soldier roll slightly reducing a characters (or squads) LTE expenditure for the day..

 

-CraterMaker

 

Err.. Sorry, see now that it's PS Infantry, rather than Soldier..

[Lucius]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Well, PS Soldier should be complimentary to Survival, definately.. I'm not particularly versed in the Long Term Endurance rules, but I could see a successful PS: Soldier roll slightly reducing a characters (or squads) LTE expenditure for the day..

 

-CraterMaker

 

Err.. Sorry, see now that it's PS Infantry, rather than Soldier..

 

Hey, I was thinking the same thing!

 

That's why I was thinking CON based.

 

I think PS: Infantry, like PS: Porter, may help a character to carry more, or carry it farther without getting tired. The soldier knows how to pack efficiently, how to distribute the weight, what stride he can maintain for long periods without getting tired, etc.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

PS: Palindromedary

[Markdoc]

Re: The Professions of Arms

 

Hey, I was thinking the same thing!

 

That's why I was thinking CON based.

 

I think PS: Infantry, like PS: Porter, may help a character to carry more, or carry it farther without getting tired. The soldier knows how to pack efficiently, how to distribute the weight, what stride he can maintain for long periods without getting tired, etc.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

PS: Palindromedary

 

That makes sense: the only detailed descriptions we have of ancient infantry training are the republican roman ones and their training consisted mostly of:

Running, lifting heavy things, running with heavy things, moving earth, running in unison and occasionally weapons drill.

And the penalty for dropping out of the order of march on a run was death, so you know they took it seriously.

 

Basically roman generals seem to have belived that if you could get your soldiers where you needed them in fairly good shape, and they coud maneuver, then it didn't matter if their combat skills were fairly basic. And judging by history, they may just have had a point.

 

cheers, Mark