Affinity with Bow

[Ingram]

i have a player who chose affinity with bow. my question is- does the attack become open ended, or just the one bonus die he gets for selecting the trait?

ingram

[Drozdal]

I think that this problem was sloven in rulebooks - hmm i do not have books in front of me - but it defineatly would not open end the roll - only add bonus die - and this trait must be played by player ;]

Drozdal

[Ingram]

yeah, it's just that it's a hefty pt cost for the privilege of saying "affinity". the cost for faith or gifted is equal to affinity- imho it should grant some equally major influence in the game, not just a single bonus die.

Ingram

[Kublai]

I believe Affinities are priced fairly, especially if you consider Missle Weapons. Unlike melee, where a lot of successes are necessary to really get in good blows, missle weapons only require one success over the Obstacle to have a fair chance of killing your target (I should say "human" target, yes?). Seeing as how you can aim and lower most Obstacles to 1, and extra die will almost gaurantee enough successes to double the Obstacle and get the +1 to the DOF. That is a very powerful bonus in BW terms.

In BW, one extra die really does mean a lot. I guess this opinion comes with years of experience playing the game (in all of its incarnations). I firmly believe that most "balanced" players will come to this appreciation, as well.

[Ingram]

thanks for the prompt answers! i am very new to bw, and i don't want to get off on the wrong foot with this system with my group. i understand 1 extra die may make a difference in the type of success for damage, but for 5 pts it needs to have more of an impact for me. Kublai, could i ask you to discuss this with Abzu (who also gave me his opinion) ? i know this is a forum, but anything from you designer types i'm going to treat like assistant rules- there if you need them, from "they who know". thanks

Ingram

[luke]

i have provided many suggestions and examples in the traits list of what i think should cost what. If you disagree, you are free to modify. But take care! BW is a subtle system, you can't always see the long term effects of making seemingly small changes. And I know from experience that it is easier to give bonuses than take them away. Players HATE it when you have to reneg on their superpowers, no matter how unbalancing they are.

That said, I think Affinity should be an either/or. Either you get the open-ended skill tests (very powerful) or you get a bonus open-ended die (reliable and potent). Ultimately, the choice is yours. What suits your group best?