Challenge: 4 lifepaths = gray weapon?

[eruditus]

Can you make a character that starts with a gray weapon? How would you do it (and have it be a leagal character)?

[luke]

Can you make a character that starts with a gray weapon? How would you do it (and have it be a leagal character)?

There is no current method for this. Not in the "classic" version, nor in the revision.

of course, using the Monster Burner, you could create one for a character with a wave of your pen.

i don't plan on expanding on gray shade equipment for some time now. but eventually.
-L

[Fourth Horseman]

IMHO--A G weapon is the sort of thing Arthur Pendragon pulls out of a rock. Not the sort of thing a starting character should be found with. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, when BW was a vellabound paper pamphlet, I played a character with a G weapon. It was the magic butter knife and it wasn't terribly fun. One can still make quite the obscene B magic weapon as an heirloom without stepping into the G scale. There should only be a couple of G weapons floating around a campaign world at any one time with a player having to spill much sweat and blood trying to get one.

[Kublai]

Arthur was sooo a 3 LP character! :twisted:

Anyway, you can't buy a grey weapon with resources, so what exactly are you proposing, eruditus?

[Kevin]

I think it was a question rather than a proposal. I for one am glad that there's no way to get a grey weapon with resources for a starting character. A grey weapon would be a lot like Sauron's mace at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring movie. You know, the one that just mowed down groups of warriors with a single hit?

[luke]

I think it was a question rather than a proposal. I for one am glad that there's no way to get a grey weapon with resources for a starting character. A grey weapon would be a lot like Sauron's mace at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring movie. You know, the one that just mowed down groups of warriors with a single hit?

Yes, yes and yes!

And Rich is right, too. They aren't meant to be toys, but the focus of a whole campaign. And he should know, he played one of the few characters in BW history to wield Gray sword. It was ugly.

-L

[Fourth Horseman]

Arthur was sooo a 3 LP character! :twisted:

That he was. But if you'll allow me, his character didn't START with the G weapon. He had to go on an ADVENTURE to do that. And oh what an adventure it was:

2 Deeds points: 1 persona point, 3 fate points.

Trait voted: charimsatic aura

BTW now that you're king you get a bonus to resource tests. Kudos for pumping all your resource points into the Merlin contact, instead of buying the superior quality weapons.

Although I must say, it was rather generous of the GM to give Arthur a gray sword on his first frickin' adventure. Although I guess he had no choice then to give him the sword after he toook the Uthar's Heir trait. Still what kind of a GM lets a character buy that trait for 1 point? The GM must have some alterior motive, I sense some major railroading in the future of that campaign.

[luke]

:lol:
:twisted:

[eruditus]

::whispers to fourthhorseman::

Dude, keep an eye on your wife! I got your back!

[Kevin]

Cute. :lol:

In all seriousness, I wouldn't make Excalibur/The Sword in the Stone (two different swords (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur), BTW) a grey weapon. There's really nothing in Arthurian legend that even indicates the sword (as opposed to the scabbard) had cool powers.

Going by the translation of Excalibur as "cut-steel" I would probably just bump up its VA.

[eruditus]

Anyway, you can't buy a grey weapon with resources, so what exactly are you proposing, eruditus?

Well that being said, other gray stuff seems to be SO much more accessible. Don't get me wrong, I understand the scope of gray damage but you can attain gray damage through three other means in character creation (gray power, gray martial arts/precision training, gray power and wrestling, etc) - it just seems lopsided that other alternatives to gray damage would not be offered. You can achieve heroic armor but not - heroic weapons. Doesn't that seema bit odd? Again, not that everyone should be swinging them around, they have to come with a price, but I would think they should at least be attainable.

I suggest three options (which I will develop further):
- A spell that makes a weapon temporarily gray.

- A high ob weapon MA manuever that allows you to focus your energies to make your weapon gray (something other than a sword would be nice).

- Allow a gray weaponsmith buy a trait that allows him to start with a gray weapon.

[Kublai]

So understood, but what does any of this has to do with 4 lifepaths?

[luke]

Don, I don't often do this, but I'm going to offer a full unadulterated game creator's VETO to your ideas.

Why? "Damage" in an rpg like Burning Wheel is the fastest way to remove a player from the game. The system is very unforgiving as it is. Alloying the ability to perform "one touch kills" with player concepts in the core rules is a recipe for disaster.

Precision training damage was a beta. It has, in fact, been removed from the Revision.

Wrestling wah? I have no idea what you're talking about.

Hands of Stone is my gimme for all the gray tweakers out there. The character bodily becomes the weapon. His use is limited AND THE POWER CANNOT BE PASSED to another character. It lives and dies with the character.

As always, folks are free to experiment in their games with the suggestions proposed on these forums. That's cool with me. But if my opinion holds any weight, I would advise not incorporating Don's suggestions above.

NO
-L

[Fourth Horseman]

Wow Don. You really stunk up the room this time. Even I've never managed to get myself VETOED :lol:

Still, I agree with Luke you are just asking for it by giving a starting player a grey weapon (or a block of gold worth 10 resource points for that matter) :wink:

It shouldn't be a hardcoded mechanic, its bad enough GMs will use their discretion to fall into this trap and learn the lesson the hard way.

[jc_madden]

I think both questions (grey armor and weapons) were sneaky ways of having other people make his uber arena toon for him. :P