I have a sort of OCD thing about getting max hit points, but I actually like to fail to write spells now and then. It means having to find new ways to win battles when your mage just never got the hang of that really helpful spell yet.
Sounds pretty logical, and very spicy as a possible roleplaying element... But what about those scrolls that can be found only ONCE throughout the game, and your mage simply fails scribing? Isn't it a big waste? Ok, save-load is cheating for you; why not drink a potion to raise your intelligence, and write down to your mage book everything you need, foolproof?
I start a game with the intention of challenging myself by using INSANE (...)
Ok, of course. Provided that one does start the game with that intention, lowering it to defeat obstacles is cheating. But what if he does not? What if from day one, since before rolling the character I know I want core rules with exception of rolling for HP and spell failure? Because that's the situation most people are in.
Also, even your example is cheating only when that person reverts back to insane and claims to be beating the game on insane. All claims to defeating EASY difficulty are fair and square, since that person did indeed defeat the game on difficulty that is equal or higher than what is claimed.
The example works without the word challenge, if you'd like.
I start a game using INSANE. Among other things, this implies the rule of enemies dealing extra damage. I decide to head straight to Firkraag in order to get a special kind of weapon. However, I find my level 8-ish part unable to beat Firkraag. I'm forced to lower the difficulty to EASY in order to beat him. In doing so, I violate the rule of enemies dealing extra damage and thus I cheat the INSANE ruleset.
I added it for emphasis/clarity. Perhaps I failed.
@FinneousPJ What I think @Deltharis is trying to say is that they are effectively creating a custom difficulty using the "Core Rules" setting as a basis but modifying to allow guaranteed spell learning and max hp, creating a difficulty somewhere between "easy" and "core rules." They do not consider this cheating because they are not holding themselves to the standards of the "core rules" ruleset, but the custom one they have crafted. It is only "cheating" if you want to claim success by the full standards of the "core rules" difficulty.
@Kaigen Yes, I understand this. My intention is not to accuse anyone. I'm simply trying to explain the viewpoint of why it is applicable to the word cheating. I think the concept of "core-light" by @Deltharis is a great idea. It'd be nice to have it in the game as built in (though I'd prefer with average HP if the problem is the randomness rather than not having maximum).
@FinneousPJ And the reason that the use of the word "cheating" rankles is because they are not cheating their own set of rules, just the rules you are trying to hold them to.
I'm not trying to hold anyone to any rules. Someone claimed this cannot be called cheating. I have presented a case as to why it can. Whether it should be is another issue. Personally, I don't mind either way. If there was a toggle for average HP every level I'd probably use it.
@Kaigen Thanks, that was what I meant. @FinneousPJ Great to see we are getting somewhere! Ok, if you don't mind, could you answer some questions to further narrow the cheating part in your scenario?
Is it cheating regardless of what happens next? That is, if you after failure with Firkraag leave the game on EASY did you cheat or simply change difficulty? Or both? Is the classification different when you back it to INSANE until another too hard challange comes? Would you call cheating every instance of lowering game difficulty after the start of the game? Would a spike in the other direction (EASY, got to easy, changed to INSANE than went back to EASY after seeing Firkraag) also reek of cheating?
@Kaigen Thanks, that was what I meant. @FinneousPJ Great to see we are getting somewhere! Ok, if you don't mind, could you answer some questions to further narrow the cheating part in your scenario?
Is it cheating regardless of what happens next? That is, if you after failure with Firkraag leave the game on EASY did you cheat or simply change difficulty? Or both? Is the classification different when you back it to INSANE until another too hard challange comes? Would you call cheating every instance of lowering game difficulty after the start of the game? Would a spike in the other direction (EASY, got to easy, changed to INSANE than went back to EASY after seeing Firkraag) also reek of cheating?
Yes, if the original premise of my game was INSANE difficulty, then I'd feel as though I'd cheated even when leaving the game on EASY. The cheating comes from the fact that INSANE implies (among other things) enemies dealing extra damage. If you lower the difficulty, you have violated this rule, and thus cheated. Of course, you can make your own ruleset where you're going back forth, and work within that. Then it's not cheating the rules in your head. It's still cheating the rules of insane.
From EASY to INSANE is also a violation of rules. However, it's not cheating, because you're not gaining any advantage
@FinneousPJ So what, you're just playing the pedant to point out there are scenarios where changing the difficulty would count as cheating even though those scenarios were not under consideration when someone said "changing difficulty is not cheating"? If someone was trying to earn an achievement or some kind of bragging rights you might have a point, but is anyone really arguing that changing the difficulty for level ups shouldn't disqualify you from a hypothetical "beat the game on core rules" achievement?
Ok than. If we call every instance of lowering the difficulty after the game has started "cheating", than we ARE extending what the word means beyond what most people (or at least I) feel it means. And yes, under that assumption messing with those rolls is cheating. I don't exactly agree with that way of thinking but it is internally consistent which makes it ok in my book.
What's the point in chosing the highest difficulty and then use cheats or reloads? If it's too much, then choose a moderate difficulty from the very start.
There are enough Potions of Genius and Potions of Mind Focusing in the game to allow 2-3 mages to always have 24+ INT when scribing, if you do your spell scribing in batches. This does mean you won't always have access to a new spell the moment you find it, but.. it's what playing on Core means. You either scribe in batches when you've downed enough INT potions, or you risk losing a scroll.
As for hitpoints, well.. I like that CON actually matters a lot on Core. A character with 7-14 CON will at best end up with middling hitpoints, at worst die in two hits. Monsters have random hitpoints, why shouldn't you?
Monsters have random hitpoints, why shouldn't you?
I did not know this. Is it true for all enemies in the game? I always assumed that each foe in the game would have a set amount of hit points, perhaps differing per level of the player.
Yeah, sadly I refuse to have such a pitiful amount of HP and I cant bear the idea of losing that one scroll of whatever in the game to chance. I do however use BG Tweaks to give all creatures in the game maximum HP as well so I feel at least that part is justified.
Always for writing spells, never for leveling up. I've never understood why a scroll should be destroyed just because your mage makes a mistake in copying it.
Monsters have random hitpoints, why shouldn't you?
I did not know this. Is it true for all enemies in the game? I always assumed that each foe in the game would have a set amount of hit points, perhaps differing per level of the player.
Actually, now I'm not so sure anymore. It may have been I just imagined the whole thing with random hitpoints, as I can't find any source on it.
Comments
I believe that this is a first for me to quote MYSELF, but on even this simple topic we appear to be having a communication block. So, I repeat:
Also, even your example is cheating only when that person reverts back to insane and claims to be beating the game on insane. All claims to defeating EASY difficulty are fair and square, since that person did indeed defeat the game on difficulty that is equal or higher than what is claimed.
I start a game using INSANE. Among other things, this implies the rule of enemies dealing extra damage. I decide to head straight to Firkraag in order to get a special kind of weapon. However, I find my level 8-ish part unable to beat Firkraag. I'm forced to lower the difficulty to EASY in order to beat him. In doing so, I violate the rule of enemies dealing extra damage and thus I cheat the INSANE ruleset.
I added it for emphasis/clarity. Perhaps I failed.
Is it cheating regardless of what happens next? That is, if you after failure with Firkraag leave the game on EASY did you cheat or simply change difficulty? Or both? Is the classification different when you back it to INSANE until another too hard challange comes? Would you call cheating every instance of lowering game difficulty after the start of the game? Would a spike in the other direction (EASY, got to easy, changed to INSANE than went back to EASY after seeing Firkraag) also reek of cheating?
From EASY to INSANE is also a violation of rules. However, it's not cheating, because you're not gaining any advantage
As for hitpoints, well.. I like that CON actually matters a lot on Core. A character with 7-14 CON will at best end up with middling hitpoints, at worst die in two hits. Monsters have random hitpoints, why shouldn't you?