Performance Requirements for Item Use
This came up last game, so I thought I'd tackle it. As it stands, items have absolutely no performance requirements. All you have to do is state the effect. No verbals, no counts, just the action.
This is a fine solution from a pure usability perspective. However, it's been pointed out that it lacks realism. The item you need appears in your hand, ready to use, the instant you need it. It's also more difficult to marshal. If I throw a packet and say Ruin, it's impossible for an onlooker to tell if I used a Ruinous Gaze or Corrosive Acid.
To correct this problem, I've heard two solutions proposed. The first is that you must actually have the tag or phys rep in hand when using an item. This is a realistic approach, but it has the consequence of making items much more difficult to use in a hurry or in the dark when you're most likely to need them. It might not be so bad if you keep your items in an easy-to-retrieve location. And there's an added marshalling benefit in that people can tell when you go out of your way to have a tag in your hand. However, since nobody can tell what tag you're actually holding, I worry that people would simply flub and use whatever tag they pulled first.
The second solution is to apply some sort of performance requirement to item use. A three-count is a reasonable way to simulate retrieving, preparing, and/or using the item in question without the problems of the in-hand approach. And the added performance would help people tell more easily that you're using an item.
Bear in mind that, with this last approach, there would be a performance requirement for every single-use and charged item. Salves and potions would have three-counts, but so would poisons. Emblems and wands would have verbals. Daily and adventure items would likely be exempt from this requirement.
I feel like this last solution is the best, but I want to hear how everyone feels about it before it becomes official. Do we like it? Is it as realistic, marshallable, and usable as we need it to be, or is there a better solution? Please share your thoughts.
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I don't think it should be possible for someone to look at me while I'm casting spells and be able to tell exactley where or what it came from. I don't care for the first solution and I don't mind the 3 count for potions/salves or the verbal for emblem/wand but how would it work for poisons?
" A-bra-ca-dab-bra homes."
Someone doesn't have to know exactly how you did something, so long as the have some idea that you either did or did not use an item. The point here is marshallability. If a fight ever comes down to marshalling, the fact that it was apparent that you used an item helps verify how you did what you did. Less confusion, fewer arguments, in theory at least.
I don't care for the first solution, either, because it lacks usability and would disproportionately affect honest players. I'm not sure what the second solution would look like for poisons; all I know is that we need something like that for parity's sake. An "applying" three-count would work for venoms. I'm open to ideas for acids and gases.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
- Wizard of Oz
"Everyone's a critic!" - Dying words of Rizzik the Corpsecrafter
The only problem I can see with not having a performance requirement for items is people cheating but I think that items now are as easy to marshal as they would be if you added the counts or verbals. So unless we start having a real problem with it, I would like to leave it as it is. Currently it is simple and even across the board, trying to change it adds new problems and several new game/rules mechanics that actually make marshalling and playing more difficult.
I could go either way right now. On the one hand, even if we don't perceive a real marshalling benefit, a performance requirement would add a touch of realism and reduce the capacity for heavy item-users to go nuclear. On the other hand, no performance requirements are, as you pointed out Jessi, much simpler. And I'm a big fan of embracing simplicity as the game system continues to evolve.
I'll have to discuss it with Nick some more. I doubt we'll reach a decision before the event, though, so the ruling will likely remain as it is now for the time being.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
- Wizard of Oz
"Everyone's a critic!" - Dying words of Rizzik the Corpsecrafter
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
I agree with Jess. If it becomes a problem then address it.
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