Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sildatorak Sep 09, 2003 23:45:20	Does anyone else have a problem with the Manic-Depressive feat for the bleakers? The way it is worded you are almost guaranteed to be either manic or depressed on any day, so you would be completely insane in almost no time. "At the beginning of every day, roll 1d20. On a result of 1 or lower you are depressed […] On a roll between 2 and 20 you are manic […]You may choose to add or subtract your Wisdom modifier (if positive) from this roll […] a natural roll of 20 always results in a manic state." 3 days in a row gets you a save to resist getting (or increasing) an insanity rating. If my math is right, the probability of someone with this feat and an 18 wisdom being in a normal state is only 15% (a roll of 17, 18, or 19). This means that on any 3 consecutive days their is a 60% chance of being manic or depressed on all of them. Every bleaker should get an insanity rating about twice a week. I know they're barmy, but that makes slaadi look sane. Maybe I should just join the Guvners…
#2 Shemeska_the_Marauder Sep 10, 2003 1:45:16	Hrmm... I honestly thought it was written differently. Back in 2e it was a 1 depressive, and 20 manic, or something similar. That seems a bit bent there. But I didn't have much a roll with the faction material, so I'm not the best to ask about it.
#3 christuschristus Sep 10, 2003 11:56:33	Check out this thread here, for a previous discussion on the matter. Quickly, not all bleakers will have this feat, so not all bleakers need worry about it. There are plenty of other feats and PrCs for bleakers to pick up. Any bleaker who takes the Manic-Depressive feat will end up insane pretty quickly (which is useful for some of their other abilities down the way). But again, there are no "core" feats that faction members must take. There's a lot more room for individual development.
#4 sildatorak Sep 10, 2003 14:38:05	What about the problems that arise when you follow up with the other feats? If you have a bleaker has manic depressive, insanity buffer, and insanity focus, they are going to end up with an ever-increasing wisdom for game mechanic purposes, and at a fairly good rate. I just think the feat needs a minor fix. Here are a couple of possibilities: Cap on the amount of insanity one can accumulate, maybe equal to character level? Decrease the range for mania. If the bleaker were manic on a roll of 10-20, the chance of a wisdom 10 cutter spending three days in a row in a nonnormal state would be only 21%, and it would be 12.5% if the range were 12-20. (Well slap my face and call me a moingo). This would also allow wiser manic-depressive Bleakers to have greater control over their decent into madness, and I think that describes force of will pressing against the vast tides of pointlessness quite well.
#5 saurstalk Sep 10, 2003 14:48:24	Originally posted by Sildatorak Does anyone else have a problem with the Manic-Depressive feat for the bleakers? The way it is worded you are almost guaranteed to be either manic or depressed on any day, so you would be completely insane in almost no time. "At the beginning of every day, roll 1d20. On a result of 1 or lower you are depressed […] On a roll between 2 and 20 you are manic […]You may choose to add or subtract your Wisdom modifier (if positive) from this roll […] a natural roll of 20 always results in a manic state." 3 days in a row gets you a save to resist getting (or increasing) an insanity rating. If my math is right, the probability of someone with this feat and an 18 wisdom being in a normal state is only 15% (a roll of 17, 18, or 19). This means that on any 3 consecutive days their is a 60% chance of being manic or depressed on all of them. Every bleaker should get an insanity rating about twice a week. I know they're barmy, but that makes slaadi look sane. Maybe I should just join the Guvners… How do the rules define Manic and Depressive? In real-life terms, one who is manic-depressive need not go insane. Given the manic-depressives I know, those shifts in state can be difficult, but not incapacitating. Heck, manic shifts can even lead to great periods of productivity.