Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

[tarragon]

This is kind of a split from a discussion starting at the end of the 6E Characteristic Maximum thread where both mayapuppies and killer shrike are noticing lower CVs in Heroic level games and a follow up to my thread 5E character in 6E game where I talk ask about just dropping5E characters in a 6E game.

 

I'm starting up a new 6E fantasy campaign after not having GM'd since the early '90s. I'd like to keep my workload as small as possible so I'm planning on making heavy use of the 5E Bestiary and Monsters books.

 

Almost everything seems to work if I drop these in untouched with one exception. My thinking is to keep the PCs CV in the 4-6 range. More than that an the costs get prohibitive. They'll still be beyond normals with their 3 CV, particularly once the PCs add martial maneuvers and skill levels. The problem is that it seems like a lot of the book monsters would seriously outclass them at that level.

 

Currently one PC has been built and will probably serve as a model for the others. She's a prodigy light fighter with OCV 5 DCV 6, with no skill levels and a good set of the fencing maneuvers.

 

I'd still like to use these books with minimal effort if I can. I'm thinking of taking the sheets as is with the exception of CV which I would calculate as DEX/4 or DEX/5. A number of the sheets use breakpoint DEXs, 14 and 20 are very popular. With the division I suggest that would change:

[font="Courier New"]
DEX    Cur CV    /4 CV     /5 CV
10       3         3          2
11       4         3          2
12       4         3          2
13       4         3          3
[b]14       5         4          3[/b]
15       5         4          3
16       5         4          3
17       6         4          3
18       6         5          4
19       6         5          4
[b]20       7         5          4      [/b]        
[/font]

 

Anyone have experience with using the 5E books relatively untouched in 6E?

Any thoughts on my idea of changing the CV divider?

Am I simply wrong to think that PC CVs will end up in the 4-6 range?

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

 

Well...bottom line, OCV vs DCV is a purely relative equation. Its 11 + (OCV - DCV).

 

CV inflation is basically an arms race; it doesn't matter what the actual numbers are, only the spread matters. Or in otherwords, it doesn't matter that your guy has 20 OCV if the average opponent has 20 DCV. It's no different than if you have a 4 OCV and the average DCV is also 4.

 

So any methodology you follow that applies equally to both will work.

[mayapuppies]

Re: Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

 

I completely agree with KS here and to be blunt, should you want to keep your work even less intensive, I happen to publish a setting that is geared towards these lower CV's. Info is in the sig.

[Tasha]

Re: Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

 

That's all true, but the higher the campaign average CV the greater the distance is between the PC's and the totally normal people at CV 3.

 

In a low CV game even regular or slighlty trained mooks are dangerous to the PCs.

 

In a very High CV game the Mooks are either themselves head and shoulders above the regular population, or they are totally no challenge to the PCs to the point where a Mook will have no chance what so ever to hit a PC.

 

For a heroic game I would agree that lower is better, but not so low that the heroes aren't very heroic. I like a range from 7-9CV (after levels, that's base CV5 with 2-4 levels).

[Panpiper]

Re: Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

 

Easiest way to handle it is to use your monster stats straight from the book, but, and this is an important 'but', take it easy on your players for the first couple of months. Let them get used to the idea that they are 'starting' characters and have to build up to the 'combat levels' of the monsters that exist in the game. And then let your players spend their first 20 or 30 character points buying levels as they gear up to the higher OCV/DCVs of the monsters. You will find at the end that your player characters will be both highly specialized and be making much more tactical use of maneuvers.

[Matt Holck]

Re: Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

 

the issue I have with the dropping of CVs is the base level 3

as the CV drops, the general population will be able to hit the PC fairly often

that will effect game outlook

[Vondy]

Re: Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

 

For 6e I've put mooks in the 3-4 range. I expect named characters to weigh in between 5-8. I also expect protagonists (and significant baddies) will have maneuvers or levels that help them pop the cap and/or penalty levels to give them the ability to better manipulate circumstances to their advantage. I say this of characters who aren't traditional combat types, too. A feisty PC noblewoman might have martial dodge (evasion), nerve strike (wicked groin kick), flash (eye gouge), etc. But overall, the new edition is inspiring builds with lower overall CVs. A character with base CVs of 8/8 when I'm designing them is an elite veteran. Most PCs have been in the 6-10 range with one move that hits 11+. Something else to consider is gear: armor, shields, and weapons can give characters an additional edge the mooks don't have.

[Matt Holck]

Re: Lowering CVs from imported 5E characters?

 

the lower DCV while make 1/2 DCV for sweeps and being prone nor as severe