riddle masters and attributes

[malum]

two questions, and sorry if i ask something already posted, or in the book somewhere, for i havent got to read every word of it yet.

first, if a character foolishly fights a person who has solved the riddle, does he automatically lose, or does the master just get a whole bunch of extra combat dice?

and if a nationality gives a bonus to an attribute, can that start higher than 7, and go to 11?

[Brian Leybourne]

if a nationality gives a bonus to an attribute, can that start higher than 7, and go to 11?

IMO the answer here is yes. In fact, it MUST be right, because if that wasn't the case, then the nationality bonuses are meaningless.

Most of them give a +1 and a -1. This cancels out to zero, and unless you assign your attributes without knowing what your nationality bonus/penalty will be (which you don't) then it has no base effect on your character.

The only effect is if it allows you to increase your attribute above the normal starting max.

Therefore yes.

Jake, feel free to contradict me :-)

Hmm.. this does mean that with attribute priority A, you could start with an attribute at 9. Now that's scary.

Brian.

[Lance D. Allen]

It specifically states that attributes cannot be above a 7 or below a 2 before racial/nationality modifiers are applied (pg. 19) It is unclear about whether it is possible to go to 11, but this question was asked, and I believe answered in another thread.. Not certain, though.

As for fighting a Riddle Master.. Just make the character an (to quote my friend) "Uber-badass" with totally unreal proficiency levels. If your PC can beat them, then maybe they've acchieved the Answer, too.

[malum]

i dont think one could solve the riddle by killing someone who has already solved it. the riddle of steel goes a lot deeper than one person getting a lucky hit on a better fighter.

[Rattlehead]

At the risk of sounding cheesy....

Maybe the answer isn't an answer at all, but a state of mind? Think about that a bit before flaming me...

Brandon

[Lance D. Allen]

It was a tongue-in-cheek remark, Malum. What I meant was that, to beat a Riddle-Master, you'd have to be nigh invincible already. Remember what it says...

What is it?
It is invincibility - to strike with all, and to be struck by none.
It is understanding - to ask questions and to know the answers.
It is peace - to walk without fear, to know that the end is in your own hands.
It is skill - to feel the elegance found in violence, and to know the beauty found in stillness.
It is Spirit - to gaze into the face of your God and to know him before he comes for you.

What is the Riddle of Steel? Where is it found?
That is the question with no answer

(Sorry, love that passage..)

Someone who is a master of the Riddle of Steel is the closest thing this setting would have to a demi-god. If you can beat someone like this, then perhaps you have already acchieved that level of enlightenment. One does not get lucky strikes against someone like this... If you kill them, you're either their equal... Or they were ready to die. If you know the difference....

But hey.. It was a trite answer, so don't mind me.