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Inquisitor Jamas Orian

Started by Jamas Orian, August 21, 2010, 03:01:47 PM

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MarcoSkoll

Quote from: Jamas Orian on August 24, 2010, 01:07:24 AMPersonally I've always used the BS rating for actually 'aiming' the thing.
Ballistic skill relates to how well the character can use firearms, with naff-all correlation to how accurately they can control their psychic effects.

Let's say you need to represent a pyrokinetic who is deadly with their powers, but if they need to use a gun, they're pretty rubbish. After all, that would happen quite often - why would someone who can immolate you with a glance really need to practice with a firearm?

And that's exactly what I've done with Maya Avens - She gets BS 47, because while she knows roughly how to use a firearm, she's only ever done basic training and almost never uses her laspistol.
However, that simply wouldn't represent the huge power of her pyrokinetics. At that point, she uses her terrifyingly high Wp of 85.
You may look at that and think "OMG, that's so high, she'll never miss" - but of course, she's already like I said, risked psychic burnouts and the power not working at all.

Taking into account the chances of failure, let's look at a Difficulty 5 fireball, first action of the turn.  There's a ~32% chance of her suffering a risky action, a 20% chance of the power not working at all (although her channeller staff does count as a psychic hood, so the re-roll does reduce that to only 4%)... there's only a 65% chance the power works at all. It goes down to 55% without the staff.

Now, that's only if it's her first action of course, because for a Speed 4 character, there's only a 13.5% chance of a risky action failing on your second action - this is because Risky actions are dependent on rolls of 1 (also an action fail), then you're less likely to make it far enough through your actions to actually reach the Risky one. This also means that for an average character, it's impossible for a risky action declared as their last action to go wrong. However, there's then a ~31% chance that she'll not succeed in getting more than one action, so she's actually even less likely to actually get that far.

So, if declared as her second action, there's only a 57% chance of the power working that turn. She's 58% less likely to burn her brains out with a risky action (well, it could be zero, if her first action was a pause for breath to check for a risky action that turn - still, that's no power either), but 12% less likely that the power will work at all.

When my chances of the power working at all hover in only the 60% range, do I not deserve a reasonable chance of it actually hitting when it's actually been "cast"?
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles

Kaled

BS isn't just about using firearms, but also about how accurately a character can throw something - and if they're throwing a fireball then why not use BS? Of course much will depend on the power in question and how it is manifested by a particular psyker. But if you always use Wp then how would you represent someone who's good at conjuring up a fireball but who isn't so good at aiming it at their target? I'd say there's good reason to use Wp for casting and BS for shooting - instead of using Wp for both I'd give a modifier to BS for a psyker who can't shoot a gun but who's attained a high degree of accuracy with their powers.
I like to remember things my own way... Not necessarily the way they happened.

Inquisitor - Blood Bowl - Malifaux - Fairy Meat

Kaled

Can't edit posts from here, so I'm afraid you'll have to put up with me double posting to clarify. If the psyker somehow controls the psychic bolt and wills it to hit the target, then using Wp seems reasonable. Id they merely launch it at the target and once it leaves their hands (or eyes, or staff, or whatever) tehn they have no further control over it's flight then BS seems the way to go.
I like to remember things my own way... Not necessarily the way they happened.

Inquisitor - Blood Bowl - Malifaux - Fairy Meat

MarcoSkoll

I'd look at it a bit differently. In the case of Maya, I marked her BS down on the very basis that she so seldom actually needs to shoot at someone, because of her pyrokinesis. At that point, it becomes pretty silly to use her BS for her pyrokinetics.

As far as thrown objects, I should note that my group usually uses WS for the hit roll! After all, there's far more resemblance between throwing a object and swinging a sword than there is to shooting a rifle. (You may disagree, but it's worked very well for us.)
That is to say, we generally look at things as "the control needed to make something go in the right direction". And as most psychic attacks are controlled by the mind, with very little similarity to shooting... well, Wp seems more appropriate. We don't always use Wp, but it's rare that we find a reason not to.

And as far as your "pyromancer who hardly hits", I might as well propose the alternative solution to what you said. Use their Wp, but with a negative modifier, as opposed to giving all "well controlled psykers" BS bonuses.
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles

Jamas Orian

I'd be inclined to say that's what Ranged psychic powers are for.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on August 24, 2010, 02:15:56 PM
...lots and lots of maths...

*brain bleeds*

MarcoSkoll

Quote from: Jamas Orian on August 24, 2010, 05:46:19 PM
Quote from: MarcoSkoll on August 24, 2010, 02:15:56 PM...lots and lots of maths...
*brain bleeds*
I have a LOT of that kind of stuff around. Entire tables of Risky Action percentages for characters of every Speed from 1 to 8 (because I hope that I never encounter a Speed 9 character...), for every action in the turn and the chance of reaching said action - for both Normal and Heroic characters.

I deliberately try not to think too much about these in games, but they're very useful for writing rules and doing "Mathhammering".
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles

Kaled

I guess in the end it makes little difference. Personally, as most of my games are at Conclave events and thus played against people from all over, I prefer to stick to the 'official' rules wherever possible. Giving one character a 'special rule' is, in my opinion, easier than changing the main rules but if I was playing in an established group I might do things differently.
I like to remember things my own way... Not necessarily the way they happened.

Inquisitor - Blood Bowl - Malifaux - Fairy Meat

Jamas Orian

#22
Finally a drawn picture of Jamas!


Shannow

I am jealous of people who can draw  >:( you talented buggers! The face instantly reminded me of blood the last vampier, which is definitely a good thing! The overall pencil shaded look is a style I really like as well, so great stuff!

Rob

Ps - pretty nifty signature too :P
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

Time to die.

MarcoSkoll

Wait - if you've finally drawn a picture, why is it dated from 2008? Not that I'm complaining or anything (it's a good picture by any means) - I'm just horribly prone to asking people inconvenient questions.

Quote from: Shannow on August 30, 2010, 06:38:28 PMPs - pretty nifty signature too
I'm not going to tell you how many attempts it takes to even get the horrible scrawls at the bottom of my drawings. (Hint: It's not normally one.)
Don't ask how I can draw, yet still have handwriting that looks like a seismograph in the middle of an 8.6 earthquake - because I really don't know.
S.Sgt Silva Birgen: "Good evening, we're here from the Adeptus Defenestratus."
Captain L. Rollin: "Nonsense. Never heard of it."
Birgen: "Pick a window. I'll demonstrate".

GW's =I= articles

Jamas Orian

The drawing is the result of lots and lots of practice and staring at people for a long time =D. Thanks for the feedback though.

Personally, if you want to get into drawing things, start with swords and guns, and make lots and lots of rough sketches before trying to draw something very concrete.

I've amended what was written, it should have read 'a drawn' rather than 'drawn a'. This picture has lived on my wall for about the last 2 years.

Elva

I can sympathize with ya Marco. Some people have mistaken my writing for some bizzare attempt at elven script (it was amusing to see my local GW staff try and figure out my High Elf list for a fantasy tournoment) . Though, I agree that drawing is all about practice and observation. I started out with next to know skill or knowledge and gradually worked my way up by getting a sense of proportions and perspective, plus other things.

I wish I had that piece of advice when I began to sketch. I started drawing figures first, and now I find I have to work hard at technical aspects such as guns, amrour, swords ect.

And I love the armour, what tools did you use to get it like that? I suspect maybe different graphite pencils(2h, hb, 4b ect).
"Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition!!"

Jamas Orian

Nope. That entire picture was done using a 10p Bic Biro

Elva

I feel like an idiot, but I have no clue what that is. :P Though it sounds worth investigating.
"Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition!!"