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The flaw with Mark of the Odd games (ttrpg.network)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

7 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hey all, games like Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland, Mausritter, Cairn, etc. All use Chris McDowall's elegant 'stats as health' concept.

It's a great concept: It keeps the character sheet compact, and links a character's prowess to their condition which is very immersive.

However, there's a flaw in this system I cannot ignore: Strength is by far the most important Stat as almost all attacks target a character's Strength. As a result Dexterity and Will/Charisma damage rarely comes into play.

Whenever possible, I try to apply Dex damage from attacks, traps or poisons that hinder movement, or Wil/Cha damage from spells or poisons that don't affect the target physically, but that's just a houserule and it's not always easy to come up with immersive reasons a foe would have these abilities.

How do you get around that at your table? What are your most common ways of targeting these stats?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I see the effect but why is it a flaw? Why would you need to „get around“ that?

Characters roll their stats randomly. Some are lucky, some are not. As a player you adapt your strategy accordingly.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I suppose I see it as a flaw because it generally goes underutilized. It's a cool mechanic, but only 1/3rd of it gets any regular use.