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I commend you for actually posting ideas for possible improvement.

as well as giving me the chance to be the reactionary post that tears your idea apart mwahahaha!

riposte: slightly clunky mechanic that can be easy to exploit (have an empath go down a line of warriors hitting them with a fist for 15 magic, warriors parry and now have a pre loaded 15 magic, etc.)

maim: new calls are generally a no no, and it has different effects based on location hit, also bad.

HOWEVER!

I do agree that almost EVERY warrior swap out is a pretty bad skill and needs replacing, the one exception is the basic use shield swap out.

slightly clunky mechanic

Just so that I'm clear....

Antagonist "7 magic sleep"/ **hits warrior with claw.**
Warrior "parry!" /**Hits antagonist with large, really cool, and well crafted dwarven hammer phys rep**/ "7 magic sleep"

That’s clunky?! I mean i know we would be adding Parry into the same thing Nick has been doing as n an NPC for the last several events as various NPCs.....I just don’t see how one extra word makes it clunky...did you think it was clunky the last time you played and saw Nick do that?....of that’s right...what was i thinking, expecting you to attend events before speaking about rules or suggestions that dont work....silly me.

that can be easy to exploit (have an empath go down a line of warriors hitting them with a fist for 15 magic, warriors parry and now have a pre loaded 15 magic, etc.)

Well...i was going to reply "yes..brilliant...now you have a line of warriors that have a charged 15 magic they can only use on the empath that hit them, except even that would not work since riposte only works VS melee attacks and channel rules state packet(IE non melee)". But i guess you and I have different ways we define exploit.

See...the first line of the skill specifies the duplicated attack is only good to against the PC/NPC that attacked the warrior using this skill. Its right in the first line.....up front...at the beginning and such.

Maim: new calls are generally a no no

oh yeah that’s true, since the staff has never added new calls before...and then we have to worry about out player base, which I'd guess generally have above an average IQ, being able to handle a new one word call that most will likely not even have access to.

and it has different effects based on location hit, also bad.

HOWEVER!

you mean...like shatter does when IT hits different areas? I can see how such a skill would never make it into the game. How awful it would be for the rather sharp and clever players, mentioned above, to have to be able to know where a melee attack landed to know which of the three obvious effects apply based on what was hit. I mean...arm...can't use...leg ...cant run...torso press and poison....its ...its like a pitch black labyrinth. The horror...

skills that have complicated pre requisites or are based on location are tricky, especially in mass battle situations when you have to keep track of multiple hits and numbers and effects at the same time. shatters mechanic is irritating and still causes debate, people STILL think the number in knockout does damage, and get confused by what charm does what.

channels can be delivered melee via fists, claws, or any weapon that specifically has the effect to let channels be channeled through it (I have personally had 2 of these kinds of swords) this has been around since I began playing and many people that cannot throw, don't want to carry packets, or would just prefer to swing through a weapon have taken advantage of this fact. from a balance standpoint GM's don't mind because it just adds further ways to mitigate the damage (parry)

new calls are always avoided if they can be for obvious reasons (everyone does need to know almost every call because they can be effected by it) when designing a new skill im often told to try and achieve the effect im looking for through the combination of currently existing skill effects and time mechanics.

the thing that gets thrown around the most when I talk with GM's or other players is "well that's a cool idea but it does not fit in the FH system" and FH's principle design philosophies have been 1) fast advance, 2) low numbers, 3) simple


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slightly off topic the introduction of terror and how to resist it is simply the magnitude system in disguise, soon it wont be terror, but fear 1 and fear 2.

skills that have complicated pre requisites or are based on location are tricky,

coming from a LARP whose rules make CARPS look simple and fluid, I find it odd and suprising you would even try to label this as a complicated skill. I think its all about context.

shatters mechanic is irritating and still causes debate, people STILL think the number in knockout does damage, and get confused by what charm does what.

This isnt about how complex they are or are not, its because there are no more than 5 events a year with a huge gap between last event of the year and first event of the next and those skills arent used every event. If this was an event everymonth LARP, it wouldnt be an issue. Though the charms could be given a better call.

channels can be delivered melee via fists, claws, or any weapon that specifically has the effect to let channels be channeled through it

while a special item that allows it is understandable, its not legit according to the rule to do so under any other situation. If GMs have been allowing it, the rules need to change, and that I would have issue with.
As far as your example, however, the warriors still could only target the empath.

new calls are always avoided if they can be for obvious reasons (everyone does need to know almost every call because they can be effected by it)

I flat out disagree and think such a paradigm implies thinking the players just arent smart enough to handle it. while the FH event calander does make that harder, its not rocket science.

when designing a new skill im often told to try and achieve the effect im looking for through the combination of currently existing skill effects and time mechanics.

I can agree with this, why add new calls IF its not needed
. for these skills it would be needed, unless "press...poison""disable limb" seems better, which it doesnt to me. "Maim" is one stop shopping.

not debating your skill suggestions with this post just pointing out its not so much thinking people are stupid as it is designing for the system. and the system is focused on being simple.

a simple and bulletproof system can still result in complex gameplay, strategy, and tactics. examples: chess, go, etc.

as I said in my first reply though, I totally agree that almost every warrior swap out needs fixing though.

and my reply was intended to state, those are fairly simple skills. There are some in the game, but these dont even come close in complexity.

Riposte: I just don't care for this. I'm not a big fan of total reflection of attacks because there is a high probability of abuse. I have a mechanic that allows a similar effect but does not allow a full reflection.

I would just make it so that you can attack a target that just hit you for 2 vorpal or 2 crush.

Maim: Adding calls is well...Not gonna happen. I can pretty much leave that there.

By total reflection you mean...?

I would like see responces other than " grrr...new call bad, cant add new call" since they have gotten added over tha last two years at FH. Its not a valid argument against the proposed skill, just regurgitated dogma. and not dogma the staff seems to reflect by the addition of new calls.
Doesnt mean I expect to see it in the rules. Just not impressed with a "because" level critique of it.

Ok. By total reflection I mean attacking your target for the full amount you were hit with. As an example...I hit you for 5 vorpal you use Riposte and strike me for 5 vorpal.

Maim is a powerful offensive ability. It surges as well meaning you need to incorporate how it works when it hits shields and weapons. Also Maim has 3 different effects, one for arms, legs and body. This makes it a complex call. Not that it's terrible or anything. Tons of games have similar calls and are just fine. Also how do you resist? Will it be incorporated into another resist or do you need to add or change something else?

Edited for phone mess ups and not reading thoroughly

Just throwing this out there since my name was brought up. Kaylan is right that we have had a few monsters with a sort of "Reflect" ability. For the most part though it's reserved for very powerful enemies, or if the RP is sound. Case in point, General Onyx. Basically a massive slab of polished obsidian, minus the brittleness. Every flat surface (especially one large one) reflecting the various opponents he was fighting.

As a PC skill Reflect/Riposte has to make sense mechanically not only with itself but with other abilities. We'll use the call "Sleep" and the call "Magic" as examples. So Awesome NPC Ambien is fighting Ballin' Fighter Brawn. Ambien swings a "7 Magic Sleep" at Brawn, who doesn't have "Magic" or "Sleep" in any of his skill sets. Yet once in a blue moon he gains them when he uses Reflect/Riposte. I'm just curious how that works.

As for Maim, all I can really contribute is that I find it interesting. A multi-use skill based on where you can land a blow. It sounds to me like a melee combat call like "Charm." You have different Charms that can affect a person, you have different "Maims" that can affect a person.

Keep it up folks! I like this topic! \^^/

It surges as well meaning you need to incorporate how it works when it hits shields and weapons.

at no point did i say it surged. its written so you have to hit the player...just like regular damage.

Also Maim has 3 different effects, one for arms, legs and body. This makes it a complex call.

Its one attack with effects depending on where it lands. each effect is VERY VERY obviosly tied to what would logically happen if hit with a "maiming" effect in that area...arm...cant use arm...leg...hinders movement....torso...shoved back and wind knocked out of ya...

I dont see that as complex at all.

Also how do you resist?

Parry, just like getting hit with 5 vorpal.

As a PC skill Reflect/Riposte has to make sense mechanically not only with itself but with other abilities. We'll use the call "Sleep" and the call "Magic" as examples. So Awesome NPC Ambien is fighting Ballin' Fighter Brawn. Ambien swings a "7 Magic Sleep" at Brawn, who doesn't have "Magic" or "Sleep" in any of his skill sets. Yet once in a blue moon he gains them when he uses Reflect/Riposte. I'm just curious how that works.

The Pc isnt picking up skills, he is hitting the attacker with his own attack....turning ambiens blades/claws/sharp pointy sticks...back onto ambien

If it's a call that does not contain a number it surges. That also means you cannot use parry to negate the calls effects. If it is a call that does not contain a number yet does not surge then it is an exception. Exceptions add confusion. I see the vision you have here but as worded now it is far from complete.

As for you not seeing it as complex...I don't know what to tell you. I assume you are looking for perspective and feedback to make your skill better. Rule designers have a hard time seeing what is complex because they came up with the idea. This is my opinion on it. The call is complex. Not bad, just complex.

you could fix that by calling 1 vorpal maim or something like that. (you know the way they did hamstring.)

riposte makes more sense as a reload. (20 seconds sounds good.) You still take the damage or you spend 2 lp. thats not so bad.

I like maim. I would leave it as cooldown. a fighter could just drink a potion to fix it so it's not powerful. it's interesting. I'd make it so you can't maim the same place twice because it would be too hard to keep track off.

I know people will completely disagree, but I don't think warriors need much help. They are already combat gods when it comes to dishing out and giving punishment. The swap out skills might not be awesome for raw damage, and a good number of them are stupidly worded/horrible in effect, but the upside is that the normal ones are great for what they are.

I played a warrior for several years, never had a single swap-out skill, and didn't even have a way to boost my damage higher than "2" (even with disciplines), and never felt underpowered.

I will agree however that a good many of the swap out skills for warrior seem poorly implemented, but the ones you offer would need to be Master skills for sure.

I know of one magic item that granted "reflect" and it could only affect channels, forced the character to be able to catch the packet, spend some LP (2, I think?), and from what I understand cost a bunch to upkeep. Warriors should not be able to reflect nearly everything (essentially) that is thrown at them on the field as a skill. They have to have some weaknesses to offset raw damage potential and great soak.

It should not take a druid using a 4th level path skill, a 5 minute "mimic" implementation, and 15 seconds of charge time per swing to circumnavigate a warrior's shield by swinging "5 crush", only to have the warrior spend 2LP to swing it right back at that druid as an advanced skill. Every single warrior would take that skill.