Skill Manuals

[whiskeytango]

My group has been toying with the idea of adding some new items lately, namely Tome of Magic-esque Skill Manuals. The basic idea is that there would be like a "manual of speed" which a character could use to auto-learn one speed skill, it would cost something similar to a ToM, maybe a bit less so that they might see some use ever, and that a character could use only one manual for each skill set they have, if you can find them.

I think this idea was born out of two things: 1) stuff like that existing in a lot RPG video games, like Skyrim and WoW, and 2) we've had a super long campaign going on for a while, several characters have completely maxed out their experience, and its getting boring but we don't want to stop.

Any thoughts on this sort of thing?

[Agoz]

Well, as I recall there is a training manual in the fighting pits, so there is a basis for there being skill manuals, I say go for it!

[grumbaki]

Given your problem, it seems like a temporary fix. Perhaps you could consider adding more of an RPG element to it. Make a new table for heroes to gain experience, once they max out. Instead of getting straight experience points, they have to do certain things to earn special skills.

* Monster Hunter: Take a monstrous creature out in close combat by himself (can't be wounded previously). The hero may re-roll failed rolls to wound a monstrous creature in the first round of combat.

* Leap of Faith: Must take an enemy hero, who is also maxed out on experience, out of action with a diving charge. The hero may re-roll his initiative test when making diving charges.

* Dead-Eye Marksman: Must take an enemy model OOA with a ranged weapon three turns in a row. The hero may re-roll their first missed hit with a missile weapon each game.

There are just some ideas. So instead of having a race to get gold to upgrade your maxed out heroes, figure out some heroic actions that you want to encourage people to take. Have people want to get their heroes swarmed by 8 enemy models, because the know that if they can win the combat, he'll get a nice upgrade. Having heroes hunt down big nasties to prove their worth, and give bonuses for taking out other maxed out enemy heroes. For a mature campaign with nowhere to go, your group might enjoy having their heroes rewarded for being heroic.

[Nymie_the_Pooh]

Maybe treat it more like the magazines from New Vegas than full skill books. A warrior reading it would gain the skill for a limited time. I'd start testing with the warrior reading it before a scenario and having it wear off after the scenario is finished. If it proves too powerful then you don't have to worry about taking the skill away from the warrior. If it's not strong enough then reduce the cost of the tomes, make them last longer, or make them permanent. The problem with giving a skill permanently to a warrior is that it is not reflected in their rating. I know ratings aren't highly accurate by any means, but it does provide some attempt at balance as games go on and I hate to add anything that completely ignores it. If you want to make the skill gain permanent then I'd increase their rating to reflect the new knowledge.

I like Grumbaki's suggestions. They are characterful and reflect a warrior's individual achievements.

Another option you may not want to hear is retirement. One of the big problems with Mordheim is that there is no natural end to the campaign. There are some player created supplements that handle ending a campaign (Border Town Burning comes to mind). Without an end in mind most campaigns go until they just sort of peter out and the players lose interest. If you retire a warband perhaps they can pass on some sort of bonus to the warband you are replacing them with and you can have a fresh start without giving up everything you have worked to gain so far. Take some aspect of the current warband based upon current rating and pass on something from that warband to the one replacing it. It could be something as simple as some characteristic common item from the old warband becomes common for the new warband to reflect the old warband leaving some behind in their old camp or maybe even a cache of gold or a magic sword. A high rating with a Marienburg warband might mean some of their old trading contacts may visit the area looking for them so the new warband gets a bonus to finding rare items. Possessed spending a long time in one location may leave the area tainted when they finally decide to leave Mordheim and therefor provide a means for another group to gain a mutation if they move into the territory behind them. Maybe the previous warband set up the area to make themselves more self-efficient so there is a reduced upkeep cost for the warband moving in.

It might be possible work in some aspects of Necromunda which tends to be able to handle a slightly longer campaign because the players can gain or lose territory even late into a campaign and their income is directly tied to the territory they control. There is also a maximum in place for the amount of territory a gang can hold. One thing there though is the reverse of Mordheim is true. Their henchmen work the territory for income instead of the heroes. Instead of working the people of a territory each location could reflect the resources one is likely to find when scrounging through a territory that had already been picked over at least once so would probably drastically reduce the income your group is probably used to.

It almost sounds like what you need is an expansion of some sort. Maybe a series of scenarios to unlock new areas with all new magic items and scenarios of its own with an expanded experience grid. Provide some things that likely would be overpowered in the regular game but are countered by other new overpowered aspects. Make some rules that those items can't be used by a warband that hasn't made their way to the area and possibly find some way to link the items to the new area in such a way that they either can't be used in Mordheim as we know it or are used at reduced effect in case the warband is back in Mordheim facing off against a less experienced warband. Maybe increase the lethality of the game. I'm not suggesting raising the chance of outright death per se, but a higher chance of injury could provide some incentive for the player to retire a warrior. From reading the couple of posts here your group has sort of hit the ceiling of what is possible with Mordheim as it stands now and tweaks probably won't be enough to keep things going for long.