[Rq-rules] Re: Magic Spirit Sorcery Skills/Knockback domino

[Simon Phipp]

David Smart:
  
> I've a question regarding RQIII magic spirits.
>
> Has anyone developed a system for assigning the sorcery skill levels
> of magic spirits that can cast sorcery spells?

  Generally it hasn't come up in my games except when Sorcerers' Ghosts take the field, in which case I created a sorcerer from scratch.
   
  But, I normally used the 25% Beginner, 50% Apprentice, 75% Adept, 90% Magus rule of thumb. Sometimes when I've been lazy I've used INTx3 or INTx5 as quick skill/spell levels.
   
  What we need is something like the RQ2 spirit/RQ3 Daka Fal tables with percentages linked to INT/POW and to skill levels. But that might be a bit complicated.
   
  Marko Perälä:
   
  > I had another moment of Munchkinism. Here is the question: Can knockback into
> people cause a chain reaction?
   
  Oh, absolutely. You can also do the "Spike" manouvre and knock someone into the ground with an overhead smash.

> For instance, lets say that a Giant (STR 170, SIZ 170) is cranky and punches
> person A (SIZ 12) in face. He recieves 72 (d3+20d6) points of damage and flies
> into person B (SIZ 11). Flight is 60 meters and according to Knockback into
> people-rule both recieve d6 points of damage per 5 meters or fractions flown.
   
  Yep, probably right, but I've never liked the knockback flight damage myself. I prefer to use the 12D6 as a maximum and if the knocked back person hits something before he stops, then he takes the remainder of the flight as damage. So, I knock you back 60 metres, but you hit a brick wall at 20 metres, so you take 40metres-worth or 8D6 damage. The rationale being that the firther you fly, the slower you get and the less force behind you, which is rubbish from a physics point of view but reasonable from a game point of view.
   
  It also gets around the problem:
  1. A giant hits me doing 72 points of damage, I fly away for 60 metres and hit a wall doing 12D6 damage.
  2. A giant hits me doing 72 points of damage, I fly away and hit a wall 1m away, 1D6 damage.
  3. In the amended version, the first case would actually take no damage as his movement is used up and the second one would take prety much the full whack.
  
> That means 12d6 points of damage, on average 42 points. Now, does it end here,
> or does person B also take flight for the damage he got into person C (SIZ 14)?
   
  Yes, he would.
  
> That would mean 6d6, or 21 points of damage to C and 7 meters of flight into D
> (SIZ 18), who gets 2d6 damage and no further knockback. For the sake of
> argument lets assume all of Giant, A, B, C and D are correctly positioned for
> this effect to be possible.
   
  That's exactly how I'd play it. If I felt particularly generous, I might give them a DEX or Luck roll to get out of the way, but if they are stacked together it might be difficult.

> I'm for domino - effect, since I found no rule to forbid it, but I might be
> missing something essential. Comments?
   
  It's fun and can be used in all sorts of circumstances. 
   
  Our Great Troll jumped onto the roof of an apartment in the Rubble, using the Jumping spell, and landed with some force (the GM used the Falling rules to determine how much damage he would do to the roof) and smashed through the roof, falling to the floor below, and the floor below that and the one below that ... He ended up opening the door, brushing himself down and walking out as if nothing had happened.

> Furthermore if domino - effect was possible, could it be done on purpose with
> aiming and all (like in biljard)? And if it could be done, what would it take
> (an aimed blow perhaps)?
   
  I'd say it would be difficult and an aimed blow (half chance) would be enough. But, it depends on the situation - if everyone was walking in a line and a giant jumped out and pushed the first one back, then he could cannon into the others and knock them all down. Similarly, a good sweep attack could _both_ knock opponents into each other _and_ hit said opponents with the sweep.
   
  Giants are fun. I like the bellyflop option as well - the giant jumps up and lands on a group of opponents - they must make a DEX roll to avoid him otherwise he does in effect a Trample doing double damage bonus to them. So, your big giant (20D6) would do 40D6 to anyone he bellyflops over. However, a Set Spear would probably skewer the giant as well, so it's not the best tactic.
  

Tom Cantine:

  > My knockback house rules provide for this. I calculate basic knockback 
> as the rolled damage bonus of the attacker (or original impactor) plus 
> current movement rate in m/SR, minus the rolled damage bonus of the 
> target, to a minimum of zero. In the case of secondary knockbacks, I 
> treat the current movement rate as however many meters remain unspent 
> of the current knockback.
   
  That's an interesting way of doing it.

  See Ya
   
  Simon
   
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