Cactus Game Design Message Boards

If a card says increase (or decrease) a character's abilities by 50%, and does not mention rounding, do you keep the decimals for odd numbered-abilities? For instance, if I use it on a 7/5 character, do they become 10.5/7.5?

Weird, I always thought that you just round naturally.

I first found this ruling in David Easterling's player guide, which I believe was from right after Prophets. So, 1997?

Page 80

Redemption has decimals? What about for cards like The Testimony? Can I choose e and 7-e?

Here's the part of the page on "Amplify." I think reproducing this small sample is OK under copyright laws, but if it isn't I'll remove it.



ADDED: Sorry it's so big-I didn't realize the image was that large.

Here's the part of the page on "Amplify." I think reproducing this small sample is OK under copyright laws, but if it isn't I'll remove it.

From my limited understanding of copyright, if this is one page, and it has a total of at least 80 pages, then that would put this at 1.25%, which is well below the 10% or 15% that is allowed in fair use (if especially since you are citing it as taken from another source and crediting the actual creator at least in a roundabout way).

To the actual ruling. This always seemed like a funny ruling, it only, from my memory, affects this one card and due to the wording can never make a fraction with a denominator other than 1 or 2 (denominator of 1 means it is an integer and a denominator of 2 means a half integer like 1/2, 3/2, 5/2 and so on, for those who aren't well versed in math terms). Since rarely will the half actually matter, if you are 5.5/8.5 you will still win against a 8/5 and lose to a 9/6 just like if you had been 5/8, so you would need another ability that interacts with the extra 1/2 to make it matter. But there is nothing weird, inconsistent or difficult about the ruling as it is.

That's actually not entirely true. 5/8 Hero versus 8/5 EC is mutual destruction whereas 5.5/8.5 Hero versus 8/5 EC is not (the Hero is winning) and a 9/6 EC would be winning outright as well. It affects initiative as well as battle outcome.

Especially since my son's EC had First Strike, so he thought he had his opponent beat.