Rules Discussion
Re: Rules Discussion
Right, I'm not going to revise his move for a second time. He's just out of Engaged range so far, but it depends on what Ito does this turn. (Actually I have to reword his last action a little. He and Ito are too far apart to for katana attacks, so he shouldn't have had an attack roll. Derp. Akemi said this guy is very clever, but GM is struggling to show any of that cleverness!
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
From your description of the terrain, my inclination as a GM would be to require someone to be facing rocks like that (unless maybe a ninja). I know I wouldn't be able to step backwards and up 2 feet or even a foot would be challenging, while facing it would be doable to make the same step up. But your game, your scenario... Certainly having moves like that that take multiple actions is reasonable.jemmus wrote: ↑Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:10 pm In this situation, what do you guys think about letting character make the move over two turns? He needs 8 BMA points to step backwards, but he only has 5. On one turn he does a Walk action as his primary, using 5 BMA. The second turn he does another Walk as his primary, using 3 BMA, and enters the square. (This is a unique situation because of the special terrain rules I made for this scenario. It may never come up again).
Re: Rules Discussion
Thanks ffilz, I appreciate the advice. Bushido's rules are so wargame-like that I forget that we need plausible realism and RP immersion too.
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
It's always a fine balance. I love these crunchy systems (though in PbP they can be a bit much), and actually part of the fun of running them is making the calls to reason. In old school gaming, one expected the GM to do so compared to newer things like 3.x where the crunchy tactical combat was presented as a board game that thou shalt not deviate from...
Re: Rules Discussion
What do people thing about changing facing during detailing time scale? I don't see anything in the rules about that. The two Options below are the closest I can find. Changing facing doesn't see as involved as the Alter Position option, which is a primary action. Does it fall into the catch-all Perform Action option, which is secondary? Note Perform Action allows "performing some complicated action, which would seem to be primary, but it's not.
Alter Position
This Option allows the character to stand up from a prone
position, kneel down, lie down, etc. If he chooses this Option while
Engaged, the character must make a speed Saving Throw in orderto
succeed.
Perform Action
This Option allows a character to progress in performing some
complicated action during Detailed Time Scale. The action might
require a certain number of these Options to be executed, or each
choice of this Option might represent a whole or partial Task Turn.
The Gamemaster must decide how this Option will apply based on
the nature of the action that the character wishes to undertake.
Alter Position
This Option allows the character to stand up from a prone
position, kneel down, lie down, etc. If he chooses this Option while
Engaged, the character must make a speed Saving Throw in orderto
succeed.
Perform Action
This Option allows a character to progress in performing some
complicated action during Detailed Time Scale. The action might
require a certain number of these Options to be executed, or each
choice of this Option might represent a whole or partial Task Turn.
The Gamemaster must decide how this Option will apply based on
the nature of the action that the character wishes to undertake.
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
I think you are just over-thinking it. 
The rules we already quoted handle a 60 degree facing change as 1 yard of movement.
Almost all basic/primary actions have a number of yards movement included with them. You can use them to move or change facing. Or, you can use a Move action to focus on movement and spend the yards to move or to turn.
The rules we already quoted handle a 60 degree facing change as 1 yard of movement.
Almost all basic/primary actions have a number of yards movement included with them. You can use them to move or change facing. Or, you can use a Move action to focus on movement and spend the yards to move or to turn.
Re: Rules Discussion
Jemmus, can you move these two posts to this thread so that the House Rules thread stays cleaner? Thanks!jemmus wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 2:37 pm Those were my exact thoughts too. But the rules don't differentiate between melee weapons and missile weapons. The discussion is here: viewtopic.php?p=570835#p570835 Since we're trying to be as "by the book" as possible, we didn't want to modify the rule.
I also think giving a BCS bonus for Elevated Position for missile weapons makes sense, but the rules (right beside stating the Elevated Position bonus for melee weapons) don't list one. So another "by the book" situation.
Re: Rules Discussion
Done. Actually I just deleted them, because they're quoted in your post here.
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
I just read through the study and learning rules, and they're not as complicated as I thought. Basically, each week the PC's skill in a bugei or art goes up by his Learning Rate, plus some bonuses based on how good the teacher is. Using the late and rather dim Toshizo as an example:
Learning Rate =( Wit (5) + Will (10) ) / 2 = 7.5. So with no bonuses (such as studying with a teacher), Toshizo increases his skill score by 7.5 each week. For example, in a week his kenjutsu skill of 55 would go to 62.5. Not bad!
Then each of these will give a bonus of one point per week.
Teacher is higher level than PC
Teacher is 6th level
Teacher has 99 in the skill (is a Master)
Studying in school that specializes in the skill
Skill is a bonus skill for the PC's profession
Student has a torimono (scroll) for that skill.
So if Toshizo studies with a 6th level Master in a school specializing in kenjutsu (the ideal situation), he gets 6 more points per week. So 13.5 per week.
Hindrances are also a factor, but we'll get to that if it comes up. An example is the PC has a job and isn't studying full time. In that case, Toshizo's rate would be 13.5/(2 * 1 hindrance) = 6.75 per week.
Costs aren't that bad. In the example of Toshizo's dream education in an academy with a Master, he'd pay 9 silver per week.
By the way, you guys have the option of joining together to hire a group tutor. That's in the rules.
Before starting to study, PCs must declare their freely improvable skills. We decided on this way back when we first started Frank's game. Actually I'm pretty sure we actually decided that players have to do that at chargen, but we were so busy trying to figure out chargen itself that we probably didn't do it.
Learning Rate =( Wit (5) + Will (10) ) / 2 = 7.5. So with no bonuses (such as studying with a teacher), Toshizo increases his skill score by 7.5 each week. For example, in a week his kenjutsu skill of 55 would go to 62.5. Not bad!
Then each of these will give a bonus of one point per week.
Teacher is higher level than PC
Teacher is 6th level
Teacher has 99 in the skill (is a Master)
Studying in school that specializes in the skill
Skill is a bonus skill for the PC's profession
Student has a torimono (scroll) for that skill.
So if Toshizo studies with a 6th level Master in a school specializing in kenjutsu (the ideal situation), he gets 6 more points per week. So 13.5 per week.
Hindrances are also a factor, but we'll get to that if it comes up. An example is the PC has a job and isn't studying full time. In that case, Toshizo's rate would be 13.5/(2 * 1 hindrance) = 6.75 per week.
Costs aren't that bad. In the example of Toshizo's dream education in an academy with a Master, he'd pay 9 silver per week.
By the way, you guys have the option of joining together to hire a group tutor. That's in the rules.
Before starting to study, PCs must declare their freely improvable skills. We decided on this way back when we first started Frank's game. Actually I'm pretty sure we actually decided that players have to do that at chargen, but we were so busy trying to figure out chargen itself that we probably didn't do it.
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
You don't use the wit + will. You convert it with a table to a value of 1-3. (Thus, 2 for both Kentaro AND Haruto despite their wildly different scores.) So it can't possibly go above 8 (with a perfect teacher/school) and no hinderances.
Having a skill above 60 is a hinderance (and divides I half) so that's unavoidable.
You don't declare all freely improbable skills. You can declare them one at a time until you run out.
Having a skill above 60 is a hinderance (and divides I half) so that's unavoidable.
You don't declare all freely improbable skills. You can declare them one at a time until you run out.
Re: Rules Discussion
Oh, then my old Toshizo character sheet has a bad formula for calculating Learning Rate. Well, not a bad formula, it expects the user to use the value to reference the table.
Toshizo's average of Wit and Will is 7.5. So his learning rate is 2. So if he had a perfect teacher, a specialized academy, and a torimono, he'd get 8 points per week. (We're busy with creating chars for the other game, so I thought a walk-through of Study might be helpful).
Profession LR=1 LR=2 LR=3
Bushi 1-7 8-17 18 or more
Toshizo's average of Wit and Will is 7.5. So his learning rate is 2. So if he had a perfect teacher, a specialized academy, and a torimono, he'd get 8 points per week. (We're busy with creating chars for the other game, so I thought a walk-through of Study might be helpful).
Profession LR=1 LR=2 LR=3
Bushi 1-7 8-17 18 or more
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
He would get 7 with a perfect teacher and LR 2. but that's only until skill 60, after which it cuts in half to 4.
( That's the same calculation as above for Kentaro and Haruto.... and basically most any PC in normal ranges.)
but that's only until skill 60, after which it cuts in half to 4. ( That's the same calculation as above for Kentaro and Haruto.... and basically most any PC in normal ranges.)
Re: Rules Discussion
A hinderance is -1 BCS, right?jemmus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:20 pm Agreed, good call I think. I'd like to propose that using a katana indoors be at a hindrance. Unless it's in a dojo with open floors and high ceilings. Historically wakizashi were favored for indoor fighting. Kenjutsu uses a lot of overhead strikes, and getting a long katana caught on a rafter or a doorframe could be instant death.
Should we specify -1 BCS for Katana and -2 BCS for a no-dachi?
Does this apply to other Medium or Long weapons?
Re: Rules Discussion
I've never been able to find what the specific effects of combat hindrances are. (Actually I think I should have said "Restrictions" instead. The rules just say that the effects can be cumulative.
-1 BCS for Katana and -2 BCS for a no-dachi sounds good to me. I suppose if it applies to katana and no-dachi, it should apply to other medium and long weapons also. All of the long ones would seem hard to use indoors. Examples: naginata, yari, tetsubo, ono. But some of the medium ones seem usable indoors, because they don't have the overhead swing. Examples: kama, jo, jitte, kiseru, tonfa. But club would be similar to a katana, I think. Maybe for simplicity just apply it to all medium and long?
Restrlctlons
These are hindrances to combat due to the environment around
the attacker. They may not be ignored.
Restrictions consist of solid objects such as trees, walls, ceilings,
etc. which are within Range of his weapons. The value depends on
the number of such hindrances within Range.
-1 BCS for Katana and -2 BCS for a no-dachi sounds good to me. I suppose if it applies to katana and no-dachi, it should apply to other medium and long weapons also. All of the long ones would seem hard to use indoors. Examples: naginata, yari, tetsubo, ono. But some of the medium ones seem usable indoors, because they don't have the overhead swing. Examples: kama, jo, jitte, kiseru, tonfa. But club would be similar to a katana, I think. Maybe for simplicity just apply it to all medium and long?
Restrlctlons
These are hindrances to combat due to the environment around
the attacker. They may not be ignored.
Restrictions consist of solid objects such as trees, walls, ceilings,
etc. which are within Range of his weapons. The value depends on
the number of such hindrances within Range.
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
Oh, yes, that quote already covers it! Longer weapons have more restrictions because there's more stuff in reach. A ceiling is -1 BCS, a ceiling and two walls (for a small hallway) would be -3 BCS. A medium weapon has a two-yard reach and a large weapon has a three-yard reach, so those will add up easily to accomplish the goal you're looking for. That's not a house rule, then... it's a normal rule. 
Re: Rules Discussion
House Rules:
Normal example: Kentaro studies nine weeks and gains 11 points in Kyujutsu and 28 points of Kenjutsu for a total of 39 points, rounding up to +4 attribute points to spread across his skills. This raises his STR from 31 to 35, granting him a +1 to damage and improving his encumbrance enough that he can carry both a sword and a bow at the same time, not having to leave one or the other on his horse.
Extreme example: With nine weeks of private instruction, Haruto raised four skills a total of 73 skill points. In RAW, this is .7 attribute points, so no actual change. In the house rule, this allows 7 points distributed between Will and Wits, which allows 7 power points and +1 to his Magic Capability BCS for that learning.
- Faster Attributes: Every 10 points of skill increase adds 1 attribute point. RAW, every 50 points a Bugei is raised increases one physical attribute by 1 point and every 100 points a Fine Art is raised increases one mental attribute by 1 point. (They state that each raise in BCS [5-point increments] raises .2 and .1 attributes, respectively, with no rounding up.)
- Spells with schools: For each workweek spent learning a magic skill, one spell of those available in the learned skill range is also acquired. If the school increase isn't large enough to reach a new spell on the list, none is learned. RAW, school learning follows skill rules and spells follow task rules, such that you can greatly increase school knowledge and learn nothing you can do with it, and doing both simultaneously is unnecessarily complicated. This house rule adds benefit to regular study, but much less than starting skills, which grant all spells when you gain skill points.
Normal example: Kentaro studies nine weeks and gains 11 points in Kyujutsu and 28 points of Kenjutsu for a total of 39 points, rounding up to +4 attribute points to spread across his skills. This raises his STR from 31 to 35, granting him a +1 to damage and improving his encumbrance enough that he can carry both a sword and a bow at the same time, not having to leave one or the other on his horse.
Extreme example: With nine weeks of private instruction, Haruto raised four skills a total of 73 skill points. In RAW, this is .7 attribute points, so no actual change. In the house rule, this allows 7 points distributed between Will and Wits, which allows 7 power points and +1 to his Magic Capability BCS for that learning.
Re: Rules Discussion
Slight correction, a BCS increment adds .1 or .05 but that is still 50 or 100 skill rating...
I'm not sure we need the accelerated attribute increase, but if we went with it, what would the rate for pure attribute training be? Or would we dispense with that and say you need to train (even if it's self training) in SOME skill as part of your attribute training?
I'm not sure we need the accelerated attribute increase, but if we went with it, what would the rate for pure attribute training be? Or would we dispense with that and say you need to train (even if it's self training) in SOME skill as part of your attribute training?
Re: Rules Discussion
I posted in the OOC thread before I'd seen these posts. The x5 multiplier for attribute increases I proposed comes to exactly the same thing Marullus proposes.
My post in the OOC thread also addresses attribute increase through exercising. I think it should be the same-- x5. RAW is .1 increase, either through studying or exercising.
Agreed about the house rule for spells.
My post in the OOC thread also addresses attribute increase through exercising. I think it should be the same-- x5. RAW is .1 increase, either through studying or exercising.
Agreed about the house rule for spells.
PCs
Re: Rules Discussion
Repeating my post from the other thread...
9 weeks is 3 months... A week is 10 days in Nippon. p.33 is the first reference, but see section 1113.1 on p.60...
With the RAW for attribute improvement from skill training, I think the attribute training does need to be a full point, at least for physical attributes. It's pretty easy to learn at 6 or 7 points a week which is 18-21 per month, which is about 2 attribute points per month for physical attributes (1/2 for mental). Dedicated attribute training should pretty much match that. Private tutor can get even a bit higher. So it actually seems like dedicated attribute training should be 2 points per month for physical attributes. Even just being trained in a bonus skill by a teacher with a superior skill is 4 points a week or 12 a month for 1.2 physical attribute points.
marullus is proposing an even faster attribute improvement rate from skill training, which then needs to be accounted for in attribute training.
9 weeks is 3 months... A week is 10 days in Nippon. p.33 is the first reference, but see section 1113.1 on p.60...
With the RAW for attribute improvement from skill training, I think the attribute training does need to be a full point, at least for physical attributes. It's pretty easy to learn at 6 or 7 points a week which is 18-21 per month, which is about 2 attribute points per month for physical attributes (1/2 for mental). Dedicated attribute training should pretty much match that. Private tutor can get even a bit higher. So it actually seems like dedicated attribute training should be 2 points per month for physical attributes. Even just being trained in a bonus skill by a teacher with a superior skill is 4 points a week or 12 a month for 1.2 physical attribute points.
marullus is proposing an even faster attribute improvement rate from skill training, which then needs to be accounted for in attribute training.