Well it’s upon us - our group’s first game is tomorrow and while creating character’s for some of my players earlier this evening I came upon a couple of points that I needed clarified and then a question for myself as a GM.
Clarification #1 - Educated on the Battlefield it states you get a helm unless your archetype gives you armor to begin with in which case you get a “battlefield honor”. What exactly is a “battlefield honor”?
Clarification #2 - With the homeland talent Of Saddle and Bow it states that you get the Hunter talent so long as you have a horse and bow readied. Does that mean that as long as the character is on horseback with a bow equipped that they get the Hunter talent anywhere? Or is it still restricted to their homeland?
And lastly my question - I have been reading through some of the adventures from multiple sources (Pit of Kutallu, Jeweled Thrones of the Earth etc.) and I’ve seen places where they want tests to be made that should be Struggles. Like Stealth tests that state that they are D3. Shouldn’t that be a Struggle with an NPC rather than a test with a difficulty?
Clarification #1 - Educated on the Battlefield it states you get a helm unless your archetype gives you armor to begin with in which case you get a “battlefield honor”. What exactly is a “battlefield honor”?
I don’t think this is clarified in the core rulebook, but I would say it is medal of honor or something else that distinguishes you as leader or experienced fighter. I don’t think there is mechanical effect. If important for the player, I would give some form of bonus to Command and Warfare tests during Battles (Conan the Mercenary)
Clarification #2 - With the homeland talent Of Saddle and Bow it states that you get the Hunter talent so long as you have a horse and bow readied. Does that mean that as long as the character is on horseback with a bow equipped that they get the Hunter talent anywhere? Or is it still restricted to their homeland?
The effects of the homeland talents are not tied to your homeland, unless explicitly stated. In regards to the “Of Saddle and Bow”, the reduction of Animal Handling difficulty is global, while the Hunter effects are tied to your homeland (it is stated in the talent description).
And lastly my question - I have been reading through some of the adventures from multiple sources (Pit of Kutallu, Jeweled Thrones of the Earth etc.) and I’ve seen places where they want tests to be made that should be Struggles. Like Stealth tests that state that they are D3. Shouldn’t that be a Struggle with an NPC rather than a test with a difficulty?
Yes, it can be a struggle with NPC and the difficulty of the test can be different for each participant in the struggle. For example you are crossing a river by swimming and a crocodile tries to grab you and do death roll to you. It is a struggle between you and the crocodile. For you it is higher, such as D2/3 as the river is not helping you with solid footing to resist, while for the crocodile is natural terrain and he aims at D1. After the rolls you compare the degrees of success left after the base difficulty is covered.