Bounding Question

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    • Bounding Question

      Quick question about the semantics of the animal ability.

      Let's say a hare has bounding, and has invested no more points into it. So theoretically that is a rank of 1 in bounding. However the linked ability (agl) gives him 5 dice for the ability.

      Now, assume the player rolls successfully. Does the hare get to bound 20 feet, (20 feet per rank)...in which he is moving slower than normal movement, or does the hare bound 100 feet (the linked ability grants 5 base dice).

      I'm sure I'm confused and reading too deep into the wrong thing.

    • RE: Bounding Question

      Hey there Pigi314159!

      A character that has the Bounding Animal Ability, and invests no further points in that Ability, starts off with a Ranking in Bounding equal to that character's Agility (its linked Characteristic)... I'm not sure where you got "1" from... This Ranking also represents the number of dice you get to roll when performing it...

      The player of a hare Zoic (whose Animal Template for Rabbit shows them starting with an Agility of 5) who chooses not to invest any more points in either his starting Agility or his Bounding ability will have a starting Rank of 5 in Bounding, which means that you roll 5 dice to attempt movement by Bounding, and will be able to travel 100 feet (the rank of 5 x 20 feet) per Round. While doing so that character would also be Bounding 5 feet off the ground, and 15 feet forward with each jump effortlessly...

      The initial cost for having the Bounding ability (3 points) is included in the price of the Animal Template (which gives all abilities at the base value according to their Characteristic Link)... However, as it states in the Animal Abilities Table (pg. 102), and after Bounding Cost (pg. 104), a player may spend two more Character Points for every 1 point of increase desired in the Ranking... Thus, if you have the base Ranking of 5 as a hare Zoic, and you wanted to have a Ranking of 7 instead, you'd need to spend 4 more points to get it there....

      This is mentioned in the second paragraph under Animal Abilities (pg.101) as well, where it talks about the Animal Abilities Table and how it lists its data... It describes that the Cost of each ability on the table is displayed in Character Points like this (initial cost / cost to raise the Ranking by 1 point)... So in the case of Bounding, the cost is (3 / 2), which means it's 3 points to buy initially (usually as part of the Animal Template cost), and 2 points to raise it's value directly for each 1 point raised. The paragraph then goes on to state that the Ranking is equal to the number of Action dice you get for the ability, based on its Characteristic Link.

      Please let me know if this clarifies it for you,...and please give me an idea of where you may have thought we indicated that your Ranking for that particular Animal Ability started at 1 (which is not correct)... If we've not made that clear, or if we've stated that somewhere in error, we certainly need to address that on our end...

      Thanks!

      Scottie ^^

    • Where I get the 1 is probably carry overs from old systems and not fully understanding this one. In other systems buying a skill gives you a "rank" of one in that skill, so naturally I assumed having the skill in the template would give you a "rank" in that skill, which would then be added to the linked attribute for dice pool. However, you would still only have 1 rank for the purposes of determining distance.

      This only struck me as an issue with bounding because it states "...every level allows the Zoic to leap..." etc. This to me implies there is a difference between action dice and levels of (in this case) animal ability. However, I can see that the two, when describing an animal ability or skill, are one in the same. It is definitely a question of semantics as I'm attempting to define "level," and "ranking" in a purely objective matter. I guess the appearance of the word level when only previously ranking and action dice had been used caused me to delve far deeper than I should have.

      Thanks for the clarification!

      (And for simplicity sake...Pi Gi or Pigi is good enough for me...unless you feel like memorizing the first 6 digits of pi.)

      The post was edited 1 time, last by pigi314159 ().

    • Oh good Pigi,...glad that helped clear it up a bit! I'm sorry if any of our rules were a little vague or confusing...

      Just keep in mind that the word "level", when used with various Attributes, is generally referring to the Rank level (Ranking) of that attribute, also meaning how many dice you have in it, and what "value" it is;....all essentially one and the same.... (though the cost to achieve those levels/ranks generally vary depending on the particular Attribute in question)...

      We try to keep it as simple as possible such that for those Skills and Abilities that require dice rolls to accomplish, or allow you to add dice to another roll (in the case of Talents or Advantages for example) the Ranking "level" (numeric score) indicates, and is generally the same as, the number of dice you get to roll (or add to a roll) when attempting it...

      Most Animal Abilities and Skills that you have to roll dice to perform have a starting Rank "level" (when purchased fully) equal to the Characteristic they're based on, generally, and give you that same number of dice to roll initially (unless you buy it or its linked Characteristic up higher then or later).

      Most Talents and Advantages that actually add dice to various rolls (some do, and some don't) are purchased for a certain number of points (which can vary, depending on the particular Attribute), and generally begin with a starting Ranking "value" of 1 (meaning they add one die to an appropriate roll, if they add any dice at all)...

      These are just general rules of thumb, and it's always wise to read the individual descriptions carefully since there are sometimes subtle differences between how the various attributes work and cost, but the basic concepts above apply much of the time...
      Hopefully this all works out for you, and get a really great character out of the effort!

      Feel free to let us know if you have any other questions...

      Scottie ^^

    • No need to apologize for the clarity of the rules, in general I find them very good. Having only one instance where I looked to the skies in confusion is pretty good. Like I said, it was the use of all these darned words that confused me.

      As for really great character...time will tell. As amusing as a pika named Chu, who is a mage and wants to call thunderstorms down is...I'm not sure I could handle the not so subtle reference without bursting out into laughter constantly. But hey, fun is fun, right?

      I must join the chorus in saying awesome work. I look forward to your supplemental books. One of my players was most disappointed sloths did not make the first cut...and they all wanted to make pygmy marmosets, in my opinion, one of the creepiest animals on the planet. So I look forward to reading even more books!

    • Ha ha!!! That's gonna be FUN to run,...I'm betting... (A pika named Chu,....nice!)

      Be sure to let your friend that's wishing we had a Sloth template know that we highly encourage folks to try their hand at making their own Animal Template if there's one we missed on this first run... There is that Animal Template creation section in the Appendices that's actually pretty fun to play around with, and at some point we may even provide a downloadable tool that makes creating the data even easier! (We're experimenting with it now as we make the next 90 templates for the Magic and Martial Arts book...).

      Thanks for the kind words and compliments!

      Scottie ^^