Basic Attacks, Swords, Bows, Guns, At-Will Spells, etc.

[Aron Times]

Oooh, my post got a lot of replies! A lot of interesting information in this thread, including how firearms are rightfully powerful. Too many RPGs make the mistake of adding firearms but making them way too impractical to use. Of the RPG systems I've played, the New World of Darkness (both pre- and post-God Machine update) is one of a handful where firearms are very powerful. in the nWoD, the main weaknesses of firearms are availability (in games set in countries with tight gun control) and stealth (in that they are really LOUD and ruin your stealth). Still, if you're fighting the creepy monsters of the nWoD, and stealth isn't an issue, you can't go wrong with firearms. Among CRPGs, Arcanum had powerful firearms, though they didn't work well with magic. I remember trying to balance magic, er... magick and science, wielding spell and firearm, and my firearms couldn't penetrate magical creatures' innate technological resistance (and technological creatures' innate magical resistance with my spells).

 

That reminds me...

 

Is there going to be something like the insane sewer level in Vampire: Bloodlines or the Black Mountain Clan caves in Arcanum? Those two levels pretty much made it impossible to complete the game if your character didn't focus on combat skills. Up to that point, you could progress through the game with minimal combat skills, but suddenly, BANG! You're in a mandatory Dungeon Deathtrap of Doom™! Those were the low points in both games, and are referred to as Scrappy Levels in TV Tropes.