[Rq-rules] Strike Rank Questions

[Nick.Middleton at wrsl.com]

Hi Andre,

> I’ve got a “problem” and would  like some help dealing with a few
> issues that recently came up. I’m sure the  group has dealt with
> this before, and in fact, I’ve got something tickling my  memory
> synapses, but for the life of me it won’t come to the surface. So I’
> m  resorting to those more knowledgeable than myself. The subject is
> Strike Ranks  Jin RQIII.

Be warned that there are some, er, "rough spots" in RQIII SR - thing s that
different groups find annoying / implausible and which they fix in
different ways. The RAW are perfectly workable, but there are some
subtleties that can be quite elusive. All my comments in the following are
thus MY interpretations of the rules: I'm sure others will have their own
opinions.

First off: do NOT equate 1SR with 1 second! Whilst in some circumstances it
can be useful to do so, in many cases tying each SR to a defined unit of
time confuses the issue. SR is an abstraction to help create a playable,
plausible order to the fluid, dynamic chaos of hand to hand melee so we can
play it out as an enjoyable game and believe in the outcome...

> The first issue is as follows. On  page 49 of the RQIII permabound
> edition, under the Melee Activities section, is  the example of
> Tostig who after being wounded on SR 4 decides he’s going to drop
> out of combat to cast a Heal 4 on himself thus, “…changing his
> Statement of  Intent (costing 3 strike ranks) and will begin casting
> a Healing 4 spell. The  spell will require 7 strike ranks to cast
> (Tostig’s DEX strike rank modifier  plus 1 per magic point in the
> spell). The spell will take effect on strike rank  1 of the next
> melee round” (Perrin 49-50).
>
> Now…is the SR math here correct?

Haven't got my book to hand, but IIRC I've always assumed that in that
example it should read "SR 4 of the next round".

>  Would someone in the know break it
> down for me. I see he’s on SR 4 when he  decides to change his
> Statement of Intent, which costs him 3 strike ranks, so  now he’s on
> SR7. The text now says the spell will require 7 strike ranks to
> cast, I’m assuming this is his SRM of 3 and 4 strike ranks for the
> four magic  points in a Healing 4.

Technical point: NOT his SRM (which is SIZ SR + DEX SR; only DEX SR is
relevant to spells and missile weapons). The best (by the RAW) he could do
(if his DEX was 20+) is SR 2 of the next round (DEX SR 1 plus 4 SR for the
Heal: start casting on SR 7, taking 5 SR, and magic is allowed to "wrap
round", so SR 2).

> That 7 plus the 3 from the
> changing Statement of Intent  and the SR4 when he was wounded equals
> 14 SRs, does it not? The begs the  question, how then could the
> spell take effect on strike rank 1 on the next  melee round? Help me out.

No, I think you have it right - but as I said I think the text gets the SR
next round wrong.

> The second issue has to do with a  “+3” strike rank modifier the
> origins of which I can’t seem to understand. On  pages 48-49, under
> Modifiers and Magic Use it says, “If the adventurer begins a  second
> spell during the same melee round in which the first is cast, he
> must  spend 3 strike ranks before beginning the second spell.” My
> questions are, how  is this +3 addition derived? Where does it come
> from? What is it for?

Remember the "a playable, plausible order" bit? RQ achieves that in SR by
imposing a "minimum" spacing of 3SR (it was 5 in RQII) between actions. So
if you change intent, you are delayed by 3SR; if you attempt a second
spell, you are delayed 3SR; if you attack with two weapons the second
weapon strike happens 3SR after the first. If you look carefully at the
numbers it means that two small spells or physical attacks a round are
possible, but 3 only just (minimum DEX SR is 1, minimum SIZ SR is 0, action
spacing is 3, so even with an SR 0 weapon, 1 + 3 + 1 + 3 +1).

> Related to this, but from the  world of combat, is the concern of my
> third issue. On page 66’s Missile Weapons  Table in the footnote
> concerning the definition of “1/SR” designations is says,  “Use the
> weapon on the adventurer’s DEX strike rank, then on his DEX SR +3
> +DEX  SR again.” The example below it refers to the +3 addition to
> be the time it  takes “…to get another arrow and notch it…” My
> question here is, if the +3  represents the movement of getting
> another arrow and notching it…what happened  the first time he fired
> the bow?

The assumption is that the character has an arrow out and notched in the
bow.

>Shouldn’t it have been, from SR 1 of the round,  +3 for
> drawing and notching, fire on DEX SR, then another +3 for drawing
> and  notching, followed by DEX SR again?

If the character clearly DOESN'T have an arrow notched ready, yes. Note
however that the rules do also make mention that the GM can allow a
character to combine the 3SR for readying  a weapon  with cautious
movement, so if the archer is expecting trouble it seems reasonable that he
can have drawn an arrow from his quiver and notched it already (and there
are specific rules for surprise circumstances).

If your PLAYERS are new to RQ, I'd be quite draconian about the 3SR spacing
(to ready a weapon or whatever), as it helps drum in to people the rhythm
and structure of RQ combat rounds. And really drive home the SR<> seconds
message! I've had problems in the past with people misinterpreting the 3 SR
delay as "it takes 3 seconds to draw a sword" and then argue that what they
want to do is far quicker than drawing the sword: simple speed is n't the
issue however, and the sooner players grasp that abstraction, the better.

> I appreciate any comment. I have  some fairly concerned, and
> dexterous, players who are eager to hear from you  JThanks in advance.

Cheers,


Nick Middleton



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