The Sage’s Answers, Part 20
With Quen and Stun answered, we’re going back to multiple questions and this week Cody’s tackling 20 of them at once!
As always, we’ll be posting each The Sage’s Answers on our blog, our Facebook, and on the r/WitcherTRPG subreddit. On our blog, I’ll be tagging each entry with “sagesanswers” to make them easy to find.
Aapo Toivonen asks…
The question is how much should the GM give I.P to the players and how should they spend it? (Note, this question was cut down from a much longer one in the interests of brevity).
Cody answers…
Hey, Aapo! General I.P. points are earned based on involvement in the game. If you want you can give your players a flat amount per session but it’s set up so that if a player showed up and just played they get 3 points. If they did something out of the box and cool they get 5 points. If they did something that everybody in the game is talking about for hours they get 8 or 9 points. Your General I.P. is a large pool of points that remain yours until spent and can be used on anything that it would be reasonable for your character to have gotten better in.
We wanted to avoid a player spending a bunch of adventures killing monsters with a sword and then use all of their I.P. to learn how to go into business when they had never even haggled before. If it would make sense for your character to level up in a skill or stat (or learn a spell) then it is fair game with your General I.P..
So, if you save I.P. from a session and use it the next session or even five sessions later, it is legal for you to level up in anything that your character has been doing consistently enough that it would make sense for them to get better at. I.P. gained via training or studying a Skill can only use be used for to raise that specific Skill.
Pavlakis S asks…
Page 154 for Layering Armor: I have understand the system with SP (which is pretty smart), but what about Armor Enhancements and Encumbrance Values? Do they add up, or you take the highest, or something else?
Cody answers…
Hey, Pavlakis! When layering armor combine the Encumbrance Values of every armor being layered. This is the total amount subtracted from your Reflex and Dexterity while wearing the layered sets. Layered armor isn’t generally easy to move in.
The SP bonus of any enhancements should be applied to the individual armors before they are put into the layering calculation. They are not added to the final SP of the layered set. You do gain any special effect of every armor piece in the layer set (for example, if one has Slashing Resistance and one has Fire Resistance you get both) but if both pieces of armor have the same Resistance to a type of attack they don’t combine to grant an even greater Resistance. For example, if you layer an armor which has Slashing Resistance with another armor which has Slashing Resistance, you simply have a layered set with Slashing Resistance, nothing more.
Pavlakis S asks…
I’m a bit confused with costs. Let’s say I want to buy Nilfgaardian Greaves (price 850), easy. But then I want to craft it. At page 135 the cost in the column says 1274. I suppose (I’m not sure) this is the cost for the diagram. But at investment it says 631. So, this is the cost to buy the materials? And if so, does the difference (850 – 631) is the cost for the craft itself, and if I have the mats, I will pay this? Help me on this a bit with an example.
Cody answers…
Here’s how this situation should go! If you want to buy Nilfgaardian Greaves you have to find them for sale first. Since they are a Rare Item you won’t find them at any old shop. You’ll probably have to find some Nilfgaardian deserters or battlefield scavengers. Then you must pay 850 Crowns. If you want to craft a set of Nilfaardian Greaves you first need the diagram. The diagram costs 1274 crowns but once you have it (or you memorize it, which allows you to learn the diagram without having to buy it) you can make these greaves whenever you like, provided you have everything you need. If you are in a settlement you can speed things up by paying the investment cost (631 Crowns) and get all the materials that way. If you already have some of the materials, you only pay for the materials you don’t have. If you want to spend the time you can go foraging and crafting the materials required. If you put in the time this allows you to make the Nilfgaardian Greaves for free. Yes, you pay more for the diagram than you would for the Greaves, but now you can make multiple sets to give away to allies or sell for fun and profit.
Pavlakis S asks…
Page 42 and 268 for Monsters and Magical Training: In the games, all monsters (except Humanoid and Wolves) are magical. Is that the case on RPG also? And if it is, let’s see the “Magical Training” of a Mage. It says “Magical Training can also be rolled as a form of Awareness that detects magical beings, spells, and hexes.”. So it detects all monsters? And if yes, does that anything have to do with the Witcher Knowledge, just because it is a magical creature?
Cody answers…
We could have done a better job with the wording here. Magic Training can be used to detect any being that has active magic on it or was brought about by magic. So, you could detect Grave Hags with Magic Circles, Sirens with their illusions up, Wraiths of all forms, and Golems. But you couldn’t sense griffins, Endrega, or Ghouls. We’ll update that.
Pavlakis S asks…
page 47 for Luck: Does Luck add to the roll or the base skill? Or is it just a “Bonus”?
Cody answers…
Luck is a bonus that is added onto a single roll and must be spent before you roll. So, if you needed to roll Swordsmanship and you added 4 points of luck, you would roll 1d10, add your swordsmanship base value, and then add 4 to the total.
JasontheRand asks…
The relic armors don’t have a type listed. Is each considered light, medium, or heavy armor and can relic armors be layered with relic or non-relic armors? Also, is ENC the same as EV?
Cody answers…
Hey, Jason! Thanks for catching that! Raven’s Armor is Light, The Mountain Folk Armor is Medium, and the Draug Armor is Heavy. Yes, you can stack relic armor with other forms of armor and yes, ENC is the same as EV in this circumstance! We’ll go through and make the appropriate changes!
Kaladblog XI asks…
A question about magic. When casting through a weapon with Greater Focus your spell DCs are considered 2 points higher. This means it’s harder to cast spells, and I presume it’s a way to tune down higher levels of standard Focus. Am I right?
Cody answers…
Hey Kaladblog XI! No, actually what that means is that when you cast a spell that establishes a DC (usually area of effect spells like Merigold’s Hailstorm) the DC the opponent must beat becomes 2 points higher.
Soft World asks…
So, my question is: the weapon effects table in page 72 states that meteorite weapons have 5 points of extra stopping power. What does this mean? I understand that blocking or parrying negates full attack damage, so what’s the use?
Cody answers…
Hey, Soft World! What this means is that Meteorite Weapons are really tough. Each time you block an attack your weapon takes 1 (or more based on abilities) point of damage, lowering its reliability (SP) score. When your weapon runs out of reliability (SP) it is broken. Meteorite Weapons have a reliability 5 higher than a comparable weapon, which is one of the reasons why Witcher swords can take so much punishment. We’ll update things to make this clearer.
Umberto asks…
Can spells/signs which are designated as a Magic Shield be cast as a defensive action? I.e. if someone casts a fire spell at a mage, can the mage cast Dispel Magic to defend against it (at the appropriate Stamina cost if it is an extra defensive action)?
Cody answers…
Hey Umberto! Yes, Dispel and the Heliotrope Sign can be used as defensive actions against magic attacks cast by opponents. You do pay appropriate Stamina costs based on extra actions and you also must factor the Stamina cost of the spell into your total Stamina cost for the round. This means you can go over your Vigor Threshold and take damage if you use this method to defend against too many spells per round.
RBDash55 asks…
How does Bleed Resistence work?
Cody answers…
Hey, RBDash55! Bleed Resistance means that you take half damage from the persistent damage of the bleed effect. For example, instead of taking 2 points of damage per round you would take 1 point. We’ll make a note of that!
Arcade Master asks…
What skill do monsters incapable of wielding weapons attack with? Why does a griffin have both Brawling and Melee?
Cody answers…
Hey, Arcade Master! Claws, Fangs, Horns, and Tails all use Melee to attack. Griffins have both Brawling and Melee because Brawling is used for grappling. We’ll make a note to clear that up in the text.
Dimiurko asks…
What is the DC for using First Aid/Healing Hands to start HP recovery?
Cody answers…
Hey, Dimiurko! We’ll make a note that the DC to start HP recovery is 14 unless the GM decides that a character is wounded to a point where that DC should be raised.
Dimiurko asks…
What are the rules for climbing? What about moving in difficult terrain?
Cody answers…
We’ll have to make a note about this. You can climb a number of meters per movement equal to your Jump value. We don’t really go over difficult terrain unless it is caused by a specific environment or effect. If you want to factor in something like, cracked earth, tangled vines, or copious amounts of rubble you could use the same penalties as those caused by Stammelford’s Earthquake (-2 to REF & -3 to SPD).
Yoda0VGs asks…
Since the damage from a critical bypasses armor, does it also ablate any armor in the region it hits?
Cody answers…
Hey YodaOVGs! If you score a critical hit but you don’t penetrate the armor with the base damage, the armor is not ablated. It’s assumed that the bonus damage and wound effect happened because the impact of your weapon caused internal injuries. For example, your sword may not have penetrated your target’s armor but it hit them so hard the blunt force trauma might have cracked a rib, which popped into a nearby organ as they moved.
Levente Kajtár asks…
How does Luck work or not work with the Journeyman ability in the Forge Master Branch?
Cody answers…
Hey, Levente! This is poorly explained. You can use Luck to raise your value for your Journeyman roll but you cannot use Luck to raise the bonus SP or Damage past 5 points. So, if you added luck to your roll and rolled 12 above the DC you would still only have a bonus of +5. We’ll make that easier to understand!
Levente Kajtár asks…
Can the Master Craftsman skill be used multiple times to give multiple benefits to a piece of weapon or armor (for example, 50% bleeding AND -2 Stun) or is it one use per item?
Cody answers…
We should make this clearer as well. The effect you get is based on the weapon. So, if it’s a bludgeoning weapon you get Stun and if it’s a piercing or slashing weapon you get Bleeding. You can apply this benefit multiple times if the weapon has both bludgeoning and piercing/slashing damage but the effect only applies for the associated damage type.
Levente Kajtár asks…
Can Signs be overdrawn like spells? If a Witcher has a Vigor Threshhold of 5 but wants to put the maximum of 7 STA into the Sign, does he have to use HP in place of the last two STA points?
Cody answers…
Yes, you can overdraw Signs just like you can overdraw spells or invocations. So in the scenario you proposed your witcher could cast his Sign at 7 STA but he would take 10 points of damage.
Levente Kajtár asks…
How often can an individual tap a specific Place of Power for 10 IP or 5 units of Fifth Essence?
Cody answers…
You can theoretically keep doing it indefinitely but the second time you do it you must make a DC: 20 Endurance check or fail and take 5d6 damage plus elemental fumble effects. And every time after that the DC goes up by 4. We’ll make a note that you must wait at least a month before the use of the place of power no longer requires a roll.
Łukasz T. asks…
The augmentation skill doesn’t require a forge. Does it require crafting tools?
Cody answers…
Hey Łukasz! Yes indeed, Augmentation does require crafting tools. We’ll make a note of that!
Val0200 asks…
Does the Marksman Perk for Elves give +1 or +2 points in Archery skill ? It says +2 in the Perks description but, when they talk about Bonus Skills, max skill value, etc, you can read : “if you decide to play an elf and put 6 points into Archery, your Marksman perk can raise your initial Archery skill value to 7”, and then “you can raise your Archery skill value to a total of 10 plus the bonus Marksman value, putting you at 11”, meaning the Marksman Perk only gives +1.
Cody answers…
Hey, Val0200! This is a continuity mistake. The Archery bonus from Marksman should always be a +2.
Whew! That was a bit exhausting!
Keep your swords sharp!
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Another question that occured to me: is bleeding cumulative? In my opinion it would make sense that it is possible to have at least one instance of bleeding per body part (just like burning can affect each body part seperately). It may even make sense to allow several instances per bdy part, but this may make bleeding too strong.
Good question. I’ll ask.
Thank you very much!
I just created a Craftsman and noticed that Crafting Tools are not an option among the starting gear. There are Forging tools, an alchemy set, and even a Tinker’s Forge, but no simple crafting tools. I would suggest adding them to the same line as the alchemy set, so a craftsman can choose between the two (I suppose usually a Craftsman will choose one of these two “crafting branches”).
Forging tools are properly named Crafting Tools. They encompass whatever tools you would need for your crafting style at the start of the game.
At first I read “forging tools” as in tools used in a forge, but the description for the forgery kit (on page 92) brought me to forging as in forgery. Maybe it would be good to rename it to “crafting tools” in the description of the profession to avoid confusion, as it is also called crafting tools in teh description on page 92.