I understand why one can't be sneaky when he's running. I understand why one can't be convincing when he's aggressive. I understand why one can pay less attention to things when he's light-headed (that one was lore-luck for those of you who didn't get it). But why can't one be brave-minded when he's fighting? Why one can't be lucky when he's casting spells?

Spellcasting is a lot like driving. It takes far more concentration then people realize.

If you have ever played fantasy RPGs, there is always some mechanic for forcing a spellcaster to miscast their spell, and thus losing the spell, i.e. failing to cast the spell.
Luck is more Perception and Awareness then Fate, Karma, and Dharma. So, while you are focusing on casting your spells, you are less able to pay attention to what is happening around you.

As for Fight/Will: Desperation and Fear turn people into stronger and faster versions of themselves because of the massive release of Adrenaline and other chemicals. In other words, having Low Will means you are fearing for your life, watching the shadows, waiting for something to jump out and scare you. Watch some horror movies where the heroes are trying to "sneak" away from where the monster is. They jump at every little noise, half scared already.

My justification for the lore/luck slider has always been tied to my perception of the Cthulhu Mythos. That is, the less you know, the better off you are. The whole thing was always kindof about the horrors man was not meant to know. Here, the more you know stuff (have your lore high), the more bad stuff is likely to befall you (low luck).

What I have slightly more trouble with is the whole idea of sliders, and what that represents. But I don't have too much trouble with it, because it's such a good mechanic. My concern over what it represents is subsumed by how well it works for the game and for me.

I think the Horror/Combat aspect of the slider is explained by either being able to look at the monster closely enough to strike its weak spots, or avert your gaze enough not to have to think about it too much, but not both.

dkw said:

Good expalnation on lore/luck. Spellcasting indeed required contentrating and as you said, when you're concentrating you're less likely to know what's around you (Lantern and Warning Mirror do an excellent job for the flavor of luck).

But I like cim's expalnation on horror/combat better; in order to deal more damage to the monsters, you need to move closer to them. The closer you are, the more terrifying the monsters look.

Seems like we've settled it, good job guys!

cim said:

Best justification I've heard. Thanks

As for Lore/Luck:

The more one knows about the Mythos, the less lucky one tends to be...

I was going to say raspberry.

Anyone else think they look like pills? Weird.

tamsyn said:

Of course. In between turns you can meta-game some Dr. Mario

now that is a rpg challenge!