Attributes that suck

[Ebiris]

As it stands, Acrobatics is blatantly worthless - it provides a bonus equal to its level for body checks relating to acrobatic feats. Which begs the question of why not just increase your body stat, since it costs the same?

Here I shall attempt to rectify this sad state of affairs, and bring the stat into line with Agility and Fast Reflexes. Yes, I have level 2 acrobatics, I'm biased, I admit it. But hopefully this seems reasonable, anyway.

Here's the stat as written in the book.

Acrobatics - 1 point/level

Acrobatics gives the character the ability to perform a wide array of gymnastic feats including flips, jumps, bends, and contortions. At higher levels, the Acrobatics attribute also allows the character to temporarily change the Law of Gravity (or at least it sure looks that way!)

Level 1 - The character knows a wide range of basic acrobatic maneuvres.
Level 2 - The character is skilled. Twice as talented as the previous level.
Level 3 - The character is very skilled. Twice as talented as the previous level.
Level 4 - The character possesses world-class skill. Twice as talented as the previous level.
Level 5 - The character possesses unparralleled skill. Twice as talented as the previous level.
Level 6 - The character possesses immeasurable skill. Twice as talented as the previous level.

It sounds pretty nifty, really, but it's rather lacking in practical application, isn't it? Let's see if we can fix it with some hard numbers!

Level 1 - Provides a -2 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 2 - Provides a -3 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 3 - Provides a -4 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 4 - Provides a -5 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 5 - Provides a -6 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 6 - Provides a -7 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.

That puts things in better perspective, doesn't it? But we're not done, yet! Agility and Fast Reflexes provide combat bonuses in addition to the enhanced body checks, so what can Acrobatics do? Here's my idea, I call it... the Stunt Pool!

How it works is simple (kinda). Each level of the stunt pool gives the character a +1 that she can apply to either her ACV or DCV at any time to give her action an extra kick. The tradeoff being that she loses her opposite action if she performs a stunt (at least, a stunt using these bonus points. A stunt that's nothing more than a cool description costs nothing). Examples make things clearer, so, as Usagi as 1 point in her stunt pool, she can give herself a +1 to her DCV during a combat round, but in doing so she forfeits her attack that round. Or she can boost her ACV roll, but in going all out she loses any chance to defend during that round. Having 2 points allows a +2 bonus to either stat.

I considered allowing a split stunt pool for ACV and DCV if you have more than 1 point, but it kinda broke my system, so let's forget that. Also, Extra Attacks kinda breaks it as well, but since that's banned we can just forget about that.

So, here's the final stat breakdown for GM approval!

Level 1 - Provides a -2 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 2 - Provides a -3 bonus to any form of acrobatic check. +1 to Stunt Pool.
Level 3 - Provides a -4 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 4 - Provides a -5 bonus to any form of acrobatic check. +2 to Stunt Pool.
Level 5 - Provides a -6 bonus to any form of acrobatic check.
Level 6 - Provides a -7 bonus to any form of acrobatic check. +3 to Stunt Pool.

[Anastasia]

I'm going to print this out to study at work tonight.

While I do so and mull over the finer points of this - girls, do you have any thoughts or feedback on this to chip in? I rather like Usagi stepping up and throwing an idea out. <_<

[Anastasia]

Okay.

Let's give it a try and see how it goes, Usagi-chaaaan. It's interesting enough to give a try and see what sticks.

[Dracos]

Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen one of these.

Nolstalgia++;

Dracos