Current Errata for True 20?

[True20Chick]

I see your point, and I'm sorry if my answers discouraged you in any way. I'm sorry if I came off sounding flippant or dismissive. That wasn't my intention.

I would like to further explain that unless I say "I heard from Steve Kenson," my answers here are not official. I try to answer questions based on my experience as a gamer and knowledge of True20, but Steve K. is the final authority. So if I say something is "up to the Narrator," that's not the official word; it's just my take on things.

About Arrows and Bolts...

To be honest because I don't use the Wealth system I never noticed before that the equipment list doesn't have a Purchase Difficulty for arrows or bolts. There are costs for bows, but not their ammo. I realize now that that is what you were getting at with your questions about infinite supplies. My apologies!

In D&D arrows were sold in units of 20 and bolts in units of 10 for 1 gp. One could assume the same for the Purchas Difficulty for arrows in True20. Using the "Hard Coinage" rules in the True20 Companion, that works out to be a Purchase Difficulty of 2. You can also use the Hard Coinage table (if you have the Companion, that is) to work out the costs of multiple sets of arrows and bolts. i.e. 20 arrows = 10 gp = Diff 2, 100 arrows = 50 gp = Diff 7, and so on.

I hope that helps!

[Ruin]

I'm sorry if I came off sounding flippant or dismissive.

Not at all. I understand that you're doing your best and I appreciate that. And the costs you provide for buying arrows do indeed help. Thank you!

But I also wonder, will these items and costs get added to the official Errata? Will number of shots in an ammo clip? Number of shots used in a burst, or number of Shuriken thrown in a group, or the number of Shuriken grabbed in Draw action? Etc. Also, will the official Errata ever get merged into an update of the official T20 rules?

These message boards are wonderful for those who read them, but I'm primarily concerned about people new to T20 who are just trying to use the official rules as they stand without hunting through forums to find answers to their questions. Since Steve K. is the final authority on these matters, I guess what I really want to know is if he follows these forums at all, and has he ever expressed interest in updating the T20 rules to include and clarify some of these kinds of details?

[True20Chick]

And the costs you provide for buying arrows do indeed help. Thank you!

You're welcome.

But I also wonder, will these items and costs get added to the official Errata?

I'll add it.

Will number of shots in an ammo clip? Number of shots used in a burst, or number of Shuriken thrown in a group, or the number of Shuriken grabbed in Draw action? Etc.

It's not official, but I've addressed some of those concerns here:
http://true20.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=18647#18647

And as for the number of shiruken you can draw as a group, I'd stick with no more than 5.

Also, will the official Errata ever get merged into an update of the official T20 rules?

That is part of the reason why I'm keeping an errata list. If there is another printing or a 2nd edition, it will be readily available for inclusion.

Since Steve K. is the final authority on these matters, I guess what I really want to know is if he follows these forums at all, and has he ever expressed interest in updating the T20 rules to include and clarify some of these kinds of details?

He does post here from time to time, but it's con season. They were at Origins last week, and are prepping for GenCon in a few weeks. Once things slow down a bit, I'm sure he'll come back around here. And he is very good about answering questions put to him. As for when or if a new printing is going to be made, I really don't know.

[Ruin]

Also, will the official Errata ever get merged into an update of the official T20 rules?

That is part of the reason why I'm keeping an errata list. If there is another printing or a 2nd edition, it will be readily available for inclusion.

Wonderful.

Since Steve K. is the final authority on these matters, I guess what I really want to know is if he follows these forums at all, and has he ever expressed interest in updating the T20 rules to include and clarify some of these kinds of details?

He does post here from time to time, but it's con season. They were at Origins last week, and are prepping for GenCon in a few weeks. Once things slow down a bit, I'm sure he'll come back around here. And he is very good about answering questions put to him. As for when or if a new printing is going to be made, I really don't know.

Good to hear. I'll save some of my questions for him!

Thanks again, True20Chick!

[Ruin]

True20Chick, it seems like I must really love listing every little seeming inconsistency I notice, because I have more errata for you.

Pages 66 and 100, Errata: The Mind Touch power (page 66) does not list Mental Grappling among the list of actions you can perform with the power. Only by reading the Actions section can you learn that Mental Grapple (page 100) is an ability granted by the Mind Touch power. Since this option is only open to characters with the Mind Touch power rather than a general action available to everyone, it should probably be moved from the Actions section and placed in the Mind Touch section.

Page 86, Errata: The chart on shield bonuses (page 86) has already been amended in the Official Errata to dispense with the Blocking column text except for where is lists the kind of projectiles that can be blocked. However, the adjacent paragraph describing shields also needs to be updated to remove the sentence saying "Additionally, shields provide a bonus to attack rolls to block attacks (see Chaper 6 for more on cover and blocking)."

Pages 86 and 95, Errata: Also regarding shields, they are described as providing a Dodge bonus ranging from +1 to +3. Yet the description of the Dodge Bonus (page 95) makes no mention of shields, while the Parry Bonus (also page 95) says you can only parry if you're armed or have a shield. A decision needs to be made whether shields provide a dodge bonus or a parry bonus (or either), and text needs updating accordingly.

Cheers!

[Ruin]

Hopefully these posts of mine aren't getting annoying....

Page 81, Clarification: Nunchacku are Exotic weapons, but they don't really offer much over a simple club. Logically, I can understand why this would be considered "Exotic", but from a game-balance point of view, why would anyone spend a feat to use this weapon?

Page 81, Clarification or Errata: Spears, although T20's only listed pole-arm, make no mention of being able to strike opponents 10 feet away as a melee weapon. Logically, this doesn't make much sense, especially since T20 has other examples of reach weapons, like the chain. Is this an oversight, or are pole-arms deliberately not given reach in T20?

Page 81, Clarification: The Melee Weapons table and the Range Increment paragraph don't do a very good job differentiating between reach weapons and weapons that can be thrown, instead just lumping both sorts of weapons together under "Range Increment" column. It would be really nice if this table could list these properties seperately so it didn't look like you could throw a whip at first glance.

Cheers!

[Ruin]

Lost in errata
In a whirl of text and time
My life is wasted

Haiku!

Page 66, Errata: The Move Object power has contradictory upkeeps listed. In the power's header it says its upkeep is "maintenance", while at the bottom of the power under Time the upkeep is listed as "concentration".

Page 54, Clarification: Under "Taking 10 and 20" it says you can take 20 on a power check, but the difficulty for resisting fatigue goes up by +20 as a result. So as far as I can tell, there seems to be no reason not to take 20 every time you use certain powers that have no risk of fatigue as long as you're not rushed or under pressure. For example, if using the Body Control power, it seems you would always want to take 20 when using "Speed Recovery" as you'll always being using Speed Recovery when you're not rushed or under pressure and by taking 20 you'll always succeed. Similar reasoning can be applied to Heart Reading and Nature Reading. Or am I missing something?

Page 66, Errata: The Enhance Senses power has no risk of fatigue, yet under the power's Time heading it warns that if you take 20 you'll take 2 minutes "and suffer a +20 increase to the fatigue Difficulty." Either that last bit should be struck, or this power should be listed as fatiguing.

[True20Chick]

Page 66, Errata: The Move Object power has contradictory upkeeps listed. In the power's header it says its upkeep is "maintenance", while at the bottom of the power under Time the upkeep is listed as "concentration".

This will be fixed in the upcoming errata. It requres maintenance, but not concentration.

Page 54, Clarification: Under "Taking 10 and 20" it says you can take 20 on a power check, but the difficulty for resisting fatigue goes up by +20 as a result. So as far as I can tell, there seems to be no reason not to take 20 every time you use certain powers that have no risk of fatigue as long as you're not rushed or under pressure. For example, if using the Body Control power, it seems you would always want to take 20 when using "Speed Recovery" as you'll always being using Speed Recovery when you're not rushed or under pressure and by taking 20 you'll always succeed. Similar reasoning can be applied to Heart Reading and Nature Reading. Or am I missing something?

Page 66, Errata: The Enhance Senses power has no risk of fatigue, yet under the power's Time heading it warns that if you take 20 you'll take 2 minutes "and suffer a +20 increase to the fatigue Difficulty." Either that last bit should be struck, or this power should be listed as fatiguing.

Taking 20 on Enhance Senses makes it fatiguing, with a +20 bonus. That was the official answer to the Enhance Senses question, and is in the official errata PDF.

http://true20.com/files/true20errata.pdf

Since it's true for Enhance Senses, I'll ask Steve if it's true for taking 20 on other non-fatiguing powers as well. My guess is "yes."

For Nature Reading, weather prediction takes 1 minute, so taking 20 on it takes 20 minutes. Gaining facts about the environment takes 10 minutes of meditation, so that's 200 minutes if you take 20. Since taking 10 doesn't take any extra time, you may as well take 10 instead of 20 when you can. The Difficulty is only 10 for those, so you're guaranteed success.

With Heart Reading, taking 20 improves your bonus to interaction skills for 1 minute, after observing them for 2 minutes. That's not a bad trade, IMO.

[True20Chick]

Hopefully these posts of mine aren't getting annoying....

Nope!

Page 81, Clarification: Nunchacku are Exotic weapons, but they don't really offer much over a simple club. Logically, I can understand why this would be considered "Exotic", but from a game-balance point of view, why would anyone spend a feat to use this weapon?

Nunchaku might be considered exotic because other flexible weapons are exotic also, such as whips and chains. The idea is that such weapons are difficult to master. They are also Small, which means they can be dual-wielded, but do the same damage as the Medium sized club.

It's technically not errata that they are exotic, but if you'd rather they not be that's your choice.

Page 81, Clarification or Errata: Spears, although T20's only listed pole-arm, make no mention of being able to strike opponents 10 feet away as a melee weapon. Logically, this doesn't make much sense, especially since T20 has other examples of reach weapons, like the chain. Is this an oversight, or are pole-arms deliberately not given reach in T20?

I'll ask Steve whether he feels it should be added back in given that the Bestiary and the Companion have expanded weapons lists that feature more reach weapons.

Page 81, Clarification: The Melee Weapons table and the Range Increment paragraph don't do a very good job differentiating between reach weapons and weapons that can be thrown, instead just lumping both sorts of weapons together under "Range Increment" column. It would be really nice if this table could list these properties seperately so it didn't look like you could throw a whip at first glance.

The "reach" designation was likely left out of the weapon description because True20 doesn't use attacks of opportunity. The reason why chains and whips have an entry in the "range increment" column is in their descriptions, even though it's technically not an "increment" at all.

[True20Chick]

Pages 66 and 100, Errata: The Mind Touch power (page 66) does not list Mental Grappling among the list of actions you can perform with the power. Only by reading the Actions section can you learn that Mental Grapple (page 100) is an ability granted by the Mind Touch power. Since this option is only open to characters with the Mind Touch power rather than a general action available to everyone, it should probably be moved from the Actions section and placed in the Mind Touch section.

This is something to consider if there is to be a revised or second printing.

Page 86, Errata: The chart on shield bonuses (page 86) has already been amended in the Official Errata to dispense with the Blocking column text except for where is lists the kind of projectiles that can be blocked. However, the adjacent paragraph describing shields also needs to be updated to remove the sentence saying "Additionally, shields provide a bonus to attack rolls to block attacks (see Chaper 6 for more on cover and blocking)."

Noted.

Pages 86 and 95, Errata: Also regarding shields, they are described as providing a Dodge bonus ranging from +1 to +3. Yet the description of the Dodge Bonus (page 95) makes no mention of shields, while the Parry Bonus (also page 95) says you can only parry if you're armed or have a shield. A decision needs to be made whether shields provide a dodge bonus or a parry bonus (or either), and text needs updating accordingly.

It's been decided. The official word from Steve is that a shield provides a dodge or parry bonus, at the discretion of the wielder.

http://true20.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=13019#13019

[Ruin]

Taking 20 on Enhance Senses makes it fatiguing, with a +20 bonus. That was the official answer to the Enhance Senses question, and is in the official errata PDF.

Ah, sorry, I'd forgotten that. I should double check the existing errata before each errata post.

Since it's true for Enhance Senses, I'll ask Steve if it's true for taking 20 on other non-fatiguing powers as well. My guess is "yes."

That makes sense to me. If Steve agrees, I'd recommend adding that caveat to the "Taking 10 and taking 20" section on page 54. i.e. "Taking 20 with a non-fatiguing power makes that use of the power fatiguing."

For Nature Reading, weather prediction takes 1 minute, so taking 20 on it takes 20 minutes. Gaining facts about the environment takes 10 minutes of meditation, so that's 200 minutes if you take 20. Since taking 10 doesn't take any extra time, you may as well take 10 instead of 20 when you can. The Difficulty is only 10 for those, so you're guaranteed success.

With Heart Reading, taking 20 improves your bonus to interaction skills for 1 minute, after observing them for 2 minutes. That's not a bad trade, IMO.

I don't think that's right. (Or if it is right, I think we have another point of errata.) Taking 20 on regular checks takes twenty times as long, as outlined on page 8. But the section on power checks, page 54, doesn't say anything about taking twenty times as long when taking 20 for powers. Instead it lists the +20 difficulty on the fatigue check. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[True20Chick]

It also says it's like "20 uses of a fatiguing power." To me, that means it takes 20 times as long like taking 20 on skills, since you're using the power 20 times.

[Ruin]

Page 81, Clarification: Nunchacku are Exotic weapons, but they don't really offer much over a simple club. Logically, I can understand why this would be considered "Exotic", but from a game-balance point of view, why would anyone spend a feat to use this weapon?

Nunchaku might be considered exotic because other flexible weapons are exotic also, such as whips and chains. The idea is that such weapons are difficult to master. They are also Small, which means they can be dual-wielded, but do the same damage as the Medium sized club.

It's technically not errata that they are exotic, but if you'd rather they not be that's your choice.

I don't mean to say "they are not exotic", I mean to say "nobody in their right mind is going to waste a feat to use them, except maybe for flavor".

The fact that they are a light weapon which can be easily used with Two-Weapon Fighting is not a compelling reason to spend a feat on them. From the way Two-Weapon Fighting machanics work, detailed on page 106, it really doesn't matter what weapon is in your off hand as long as it counts as a light weapon for you. Then if both weapons hit, you add +2 to the damage of the better weapon. So you could just as easily arm yourself with a club and a dagger, which are both simple weapons, and you'd be just as effective as if using nunchaku without wasting a feat on an exotic weapon. That's all I'm saying.

Page 81, Clarification: The Melee Weapons table and the Range Increment paragraph don't do a very good job differentiating between reach weapons and weapons that can be thrown, instead just lumping both sorts of weapons together under "Range Increment" column. It would be really nice if this table could list these properties seperately so it didn't look like you could throw a whip at first glance.

The "reach" designation was likely left out of the weapon description because True20 doesn't use attacks of opportunity. The reason why chains and whips have an entry in the "range increment" column is in their descriptions, even though it's technically not an "increment" at all.

Right, but even without attacks of opportunity you can have situations where you can stab past some friends or bars or through a murder hole or whatnot and still be out of range of someone with a sword. I just personally think it would be nice (and make sense) if the rules specifically said in the spear's descritpion that it could be used against an opponent 10 feet away. I also think it would be nice not to gang together this kind of melee range with the range increments of thrown weapons in the Melee Weapons table. Just for clarity's sake.

While we're on the subject, I note that the Quarterstaff is listed in the table with a 10 foot range increment, but there's nothing in the description that says it can strike someone at that distance in melee. Is this supposed to double as a thrown weapon?

[Ruin]

It also says it's like "20 uses of a fatiguing power." To me, that means it takes 20 times as long like taking 20 on skills, since you're using the power 20 times.

If it were really like using a power 20 times, you wouldn't just be taking +20 on that fatigue check, you'd be taking an additional +20 on all fatigue checks until you went without using a power for an hour (perhaps this is also supposed to be implied?). You also might also have potentially failed more than one of those 20 power checks, taking multiple levels of fatigue and even dropping to the unconscious state.

In this case the text of the full sentence on page 54 is "Taking 20 with a power check increases the power's fatigue save Difficulty by +20 however, since it counts as twenty uses of a fatiguing power." In that context, it sounds like it's just being used to justify the increased fatigue save difficulty for that particular power check. If it's supposed to additionally imply a twenty times increase in casting time, or +20 difficutly for subseqent power usues, I would argue that it's a lot better to state so very explicitly.

[True20Chick]

All of this is in an email to Steve. When I get the final answers, I will post them.