Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[Wendigo1870]

For Rippers:

Go for as much Positive Reason as possible (Down to Earth Edge, increasing Spirit (which in my campaign starts from character creation), ...), then go for a Spirit-focused character (Trait + Related skills).
My player with the PC Priest with AB: Miracles has a +3 Reason bonus (Spirit D8 = +2, DtE Edge = +1) on all his Spirit (related) rolls, including his Faith (casting skill), Guts, Persuasion, ...!

Another player maxxed out on Status 13 (Filthy Rich, Noble), which you can risk replacing your Charisma with. He can risk having negative Charisma (through Rippertech or Hindrances, ...), 'cause he'll use his Status anyway. With a +13 bonus it's very unlikely he'll ever fail his roll, and other characters won't likely risk their own Status by opposing him. (This also immediately gives him the biggest advantage possible with the Connections Edge).
Of course should it ever happen he botches his rolls, he'll lose a massive -13 (or even -26!) Status.

And one of my players (a typical Slayer) is currently at -6 reason from various Rippertech implants. However with a few weeks downtime for him (recuperating from wounds, while the rest is researching and investigating), he'll smoke through a truckload of Opium to make up for this lost reason; It's very likely he'll end up with 0 reason at the end of the month (and a nasty Opium addiction, but hey, as opposed to -6 Reason that's a small price to pay).
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He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

[Style]

The lucky trickster:

Young, Luck, Great Luck, Half-Folk
plus
Dirty Fighter, Really Dirty Fighter, Tricky Fighter, Acrobat

(With Really Dirty Fighter allowing you to spend a benny to get the drop.)


The lucky damage dealer:

Young, Luck, Great Luck, Half-Folk
plus
No Mercy


Someone already mentioned playing a lucky character and using Common bond. If your game uses qualities (from Sharkbites Volume 3, Number 2, page 10), playing a lucky character is not a bad strategy either.

[skylion]

[Tuesday]

I was thinking specifically that fleet-footed implies a certain physical fitness, despite Elderly and Obese, and that this specifically matched up with Ridcully.

But yes.

[Psy-Kosh]

Does Ridcully have the round shape popularized by the rest of the wizards? I got the impression that he's supposed to be all around fit. So low strength and vigor wouldn't quite fit him, would it?

Also, I want to say something about intelligence with regards to him, but he's not stupid either, not exactly. he's instead, well, Clueless may fit him. And perhaps either Overconfident or Arrogant, not sure which, and I'm not even completely certain about either of those.

[Sitting Duck]

I'd peg Ridcully as d6 in Smarts and d10 in Spirit. Of the Hindrances you suggested, Overconfident seems to fit best, though I'd add Stubborn.
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The rabbit is cuddly. Kids like little cuddly sidekicks. I mean-- The rabbit-- It's a time-tested-- Okay, the rabbit bites.
Blog: http://sittingduck1313.livejournal.com
Evil Wig Enterprises Minion #10 - The Fink

[Psy-Kosh]

Definately stubborn, no question there.

Spirited? Hrm... Actually yeah, you're right, that works for him. :)

[Incredible Mulk]

Sorry, DaoLong, but Versailles is a city in France.
Maybe you mean Versalis?

[Lucullus]

I'm a new player of the SW system, and a new poster here.

My question is related to min/max, in a sense. When looking at the rules, the ambidexterity edge immediately jumps out as a way to make the strongest fighting character. That said, I'm here to ask you learned people how one can make a characer just as good at fighting without using this edge?

Is it possible?

OR do I have to take it just to ensure my fighting abilities will be the best?

For reference: The campaign is in a medieval setting. Currently, my character has sword and shield+armour. However, that can be changed.

Thanks in advance for any info you could provide.

Lucullus

[NulSyn]

[Style]

[Tuesday]

Ambidexterity is certainly the first step on *one* way to make a great warrior. However, it only eliminates a single -2 penalty, and in order to use it, you are limited to one-handed weapons.

Two-Fisted is generally a stronger Edge because it eliminates *two* -2 penalties - the Multi-action penalty when attacking with both hands - but Two-Fisted doesn't help you if your right hand is injured or restrained and you're making a single action with your left. It also doesn't help you in non-combat situations the way Ambidextrous might.

As well, someone with Ambidextrous and Two-Fisted *does* make two attacks each round, both at no penalty. This is nice, but they're only one-handed attacks! For the same price (two Edges), I could buy Improved Frenzy and make two attacks with a greatsword! Assume a D10 strength, that means that rapier-and-dagger fighter makes two attacks, one at D10+D6 and one at D10+D4. The greatsword fighter makes two attacks, both at 2D10 damage.

The rapier-and-dagger fighter, of course, has *3* higher Parry, and doesn't require a D10 Strength - he can get by with a mere D6 Strength, *and* he can throw his offhand weapon if he needs to. It's a tradeoff.

If the two-handed fighter buys Improved Frenzy as well, he's got *three* attacks per round at no penalty, which no single-weapon fighter can match. However, a single-weapon fighter who buys Trademark Weapon (or Right Hand Of The Devil - HOLY CRAP!) gets it for every attack, where a two-handed fighter has to buy it twice as often to have it apply to all his attacks.

The two-weapon fighter is also giving up the benefit of a shield. This can be a serious advantage, especially in high fantasy games where magical shields exist, or in other games where Edges that give bonuses for shields apply.


So yeah. You can make a SCARY ambidextrous character, and going ambi/2F makes you scary and saves you a lot of points in other ways, but on the same points I can make a non-ambi/2F character who's scary in similar ways, and one who's scary in different ways. It's an advantage, but not an unbalancing one.

(One last SERIOUS advantage to Ambidextrous: Gun in right hand, sword in left. No unarmed defender penalties for you, no multi-action penalties for drawing a weapon, can attack at range or in melee each round at no penalty. Oh, and even if you stick to ranged combat on your turn, you still get the free melee attack against people who leave melee combat with you. Like I said, it's a NICE trick.)

[Style]

To follow up Tuesday, the beauty of SW is there are many ways to build a great character, that are all more or less balanced. Each has a trade off. Many other games don't have that.

For example, in Conan D20 you're almost a moron if you play a melee fighter who does NOT max out strength, use power attack, and wield the biggest two handed weapon you can find. They have a couple rules in place that make this hands down the most successful combination.

[Lucullus]

[NulSyn]

[Lucullus]

[AFDia]

[Lucullus]

[Tuesday]

Agility makes Fighting cheaper, but isn't *required*. You can have a D12 Fighting with a D4 Agility, and if Fighting is *all* you do that requires Agility, it may be cheaper that way and you can get a Strength and Vigor of D12 much faster.

[AFDia]