[Cainehill]

Originally posted by Scott Hebert:
And regarding the 'greater need for bigger Pretenders for Dominion', I think this is an effect of the game, rather than a driving force. You mention that, rather than increasing Dominion, ways of increasing the survivability of the Human Pretenders should be found. Well, I took the easiest way of doing that I could. I raised their starting Dominion. This increases their stats and their HPs without actually changing their base stats (which would be against the feel of the game).

Personally, I'm not sure that the human pretenders should be so terribly frail and weak. I suppose it's partly a result of the quantity and variety of fantasy that I've read, but....

In fantasy, you have the wizards who are ultra powerful, but easy to kill. Think Fritz Leiber, think AD&D (most popular paper/dice fantasy role playing game in north america (vice Runequest in Europe, Last I knew)). Generally though - those mages don't get mistaken for deities.

Then you have authors whose powerful mages seem to be on the verge of deification - almost impossible to kill, who have imbued themselves with near superhuman powers. Think Glen Cook's Black Company series - heads chopped off, the mages live, they had to be imprisoned in cairns for hundreds or thousands of years because they couldn't be killed.

That seems a lot more like a would be god than someone who is easier to kill than a sickly militia conscript, and who can only cast Air Shield as they begin their quest for Godhood. Would you worship a sickly crone with parlor tricks?

I really think the humanistic pretenders need some beefing up. Ethereality, Luck, at least a couple of half-way impressive starting spells to impress the natives, something.