Larkas
2014-12-21, 07:46 PM
I stumbled upon this (http://paizo.com/products/btpy8pf3) recently and, being somewhat fascinated by the GUMSHOE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUMSHOE_System) system (http://pelgranepress.com/site/?p=13319), decided to buy the book and give it a read.
Basically, it is an attempt at tacking the GUMSHOE framework to the Pathfinder system. The basic idea, it seems, is to give the game some brain in the "getting to what matters" part of play (primarily informing investigations, but also explorations, interactions and (re)searches) while keeping the arguably good combat brawn of Pathfinder intact. It is generic enough that it should work with most d20 derivatives with little or no adaptation needed (D&D 3.5 is a given, but it should also work with stuff like d20 Modern, Star Wars d20, Big Eyes, Small Mouth d20, etc. Maybe even Legend with a few tweaks.).
I'm all for trying to enhance the part of play that doesn't (necessarily) involve beating bad guys to a pulp, seeing as that's a rather weak point in D&D-like games, so I was obviously intrigued by this book. During my cursory read, however, I couldn't help but get a little worried by their tweaks to the skill system. Specifically, it seems like they didn't quite tweak it enough, seeing as the General/Investigative skill divide left some combat uses stranded in the wrong side of the field, which then got nerfed into the ground (spending a point to feint in combat, for example, means that you're left with one less Bluff point to use in a more relevant, investigative scenario. That's a huge downside, even if the feint is automatically successful). A more holistic approach, getting a few clues from here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/alternativeSkillSystems.htm#maximumRanksLimitedCho ices), and then adding point-spends for General skills (i.e.: you can roll to Jump over the chasm, or you can spend a point to succeed automatically) seems like a much more elegant, streamlined and frankly easier approach to the skill system.
Regardless, the book is a solid DM read, as it seems like the GUMSHOE framework can be useful for setting up an adventure even if you use no game rule found in the book. Also, the tweaks to spells are gold, as are the new spells. Lastly, the supplied adventure is a nice way to see the framework in action, even if it is somewhat under CRed (and the sidebars are all over the place). It seems like a very nice tweak to the Pathfinder system, and frankly is light enough that it should work even with ongoing adventures with very little effort (most of the work to incorporate it happens on the DM side, anyways).
I have no experience with the tweaks proposed in the book in actual play, however. And hence, I turn to the Playground: have you ever used Lorefinder on your table? How did it go? Are my worries regarding the skill system unfounded?
Basically, it is an attempt at tacking the GUMSHOE framework to the Pathfinder system. The basic idea, it seems, is to give the game some brain in the "getting to what matters" part of play (primarily informing investigations, but also explorations, interactions and (re)searches) while keeping the arguably good combat brawn of Pathfinder intact. It is generic enough that it should work with most d20 derivatives with little or no adaptation needed (D&D 3.5 is a given, but it should also work with stuff like d20 Modern, Star Wars d20, Big Eyes, Small Mouth d20, etc. Maybe even Legend with a few tweaks.).
I'm all for trying to enhance the part of play that doesn't (necessarily) involve beating bad guys to a pulp, seeing as that's a rather weak point in D&D-like games, so I was obviously intrigued by this book. During my cursory read, however, I couldn't help but get a little worried by their tweaks to the skill system. Specifically, it seems like they didn't quite tweak it enough, seeing as the General/Investigative skill divide left some combat uses stranded in the wrong side of the field, which then got nerfed into the ground (spending a point to feint in combat, for example, means that you're left with one less Bluff point to use in a more relevant, investigative scenario. That's a huge downside, even if the feint is automatically successful). A more holistic approach, getting a few clues from here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/alternativeSkillSystems.htm#maximumRanksLimitedCho ices), and then adding point-spends for General skills (i.e.: you can roll to Jump over the chasm, or you can spend a point to succeed automatically) seems like a much more elegant, streamlined and frankly easier approach to the skill system.
Regardless, the book is a solid DM read, as it seems like the GUMSHOE framework can be useful for setting up an adventure even if you use no game rule found in the book. Also, the tweaks to spells are gold, as are the new spells. Lastly, the supplied adventure is a nice way to see the framework in action, even if it is somewhat under CRed (and the sidebars are all over the place). It seems like a very nice tweak to the Pathfinder system, and frankly is light enough that it should work even with ongoing adventures with very little effort (most of the work to incorporate it happens on the DM side, anyways).
I have no experience with the tweaks proposed in the book in actual play, however. And hence, I turn to the Playground: have you ever used Lorefinder on your table? How did it go? Are my worries regarding the skill system unfounded?