Hi there,
Some questions arose during my last session with my son.

First, how do you handle underwater combat? I have deemed it a major complication thus bestowing a +5 to all TN.

Second, my son love to use a leg sweep combat move with his character's tail having found it a powerful effect when the opponent fails his save. But there is a save so I find it OK. What may be a bit too powerful OTOH is the 1-boon effect 'knock prone' especially when you compares it with other boons like 'combat shuffle' or 'daze'. It may be justified to make a 2-boons of it.

Last and subsequent to my second point, what can you do when you are prone. Your DEF is down to 12+magic bonus so you forego your speed bonus and others but I take it you can still use combat moves such as dodge. But can you elect to fight, defensively or not? If you try to stand up, it costs 2 APs but I have ruled it requires a save vs speed (TN 10 for mundane action + 10 for under melee = 20) as well. Does it seem fair?

I have tried my hand with a high level character. This is a loose conversion of my namesake Fidoric formerly a 30th level fighter in RMSS from Middle-Earth.
If find the result quite good but I cannot guarantee I did not make some approximation along the way as I have bought skills by blocks of 5 ranks. Nonetheless, it should be a good indication of a high-level fighter. I have not play-tested it at the moment but my first impression is that he kicks ass ! For example he has :

AB+30 with broadsword (or +29 with sword&board style),
  - Base damage 15 (DR8 + str 2 + Wp specialty 2 + magic 3)
  - Multiple attacks become practical with 25 ranks and advanced combat training.
  - Very high DEF 37 (15+3 speed + 3 armor + 9 shield (full +4, shield training +1, style ability +2, magic +2) + 7 combat training (CT2 + 25rks in heavy blades)).
All this means he possibly attack twice (or more) with +25, DEF 37 and base damage 15 !

Some questions arose with his combat style:
  - The second ability in sword and board is second weapon attack. It is to be used with tiny or small weapons. I think most shields should be bigger; a full shield should be medium or large I think.
  - Besides, this ability allow to perform an additional attack. Does it come in addition of the additional attacks from high skill ?
  - Last option available with that ability, you can forsake your additional attack for an additional (rk-3) to DEF. With 24 rks, it is a straight bonus of 21 to DEF (total DEF = 58 ?).
I think this option works better with daggers and the likes so maybe it should be removed from the sword and board style.

Finally, I have given him a +3 sword (AB and DR) instead of a +25 OB in RMSS, a +3 mail shirt instead of a +15 or +20 mail hauberk (AT16) and a +2 full shield. I think this is not too much for a high level character.

Here is a short summary of Fidoric:

Human, highlander culture (close to rural), level 30
CHR 10, CON 14, DEX 16, INT 11, SPD 19 (save +9), STR 16, WIL 13, WIS 14
DEF 37, AR 14 (Chain hauberk + Full shield)
HP 72, SP 0, Fate 3, Move 10, init 4 (+lightning reflexes)

Combat:
+30 heavy blades (broadsword) (15)
+29 sword & boeard (15) (all moves)
+15 boxing ([attachment[/attachment]

Yesterday I was rereading the combat styles chapter from LN8 when an idea sprang to life. Would it be possible to make casting styles similar to the combat styles?
I do not have much time to explore that idea at the moment but maybe somebody has already thought about something like that?
For example, you could learn spell bases instead spells (though that should not be mandatory), use a magecraft skill plus a spellcasting sphere per base or school.
Then you can learn specific casting moves to modify the casting parameters exactly like you do with combat moves:
-quick casting: less APs to cast,
-slow casting: less SP but greater casting time
-lifeblood casting: ability to convert HP into SP to power up your spells,
-silent/stealth casting: trading a casting penalty for less noticeable casting,
-power casting: to make your spell harder to resist in exchange of a increased SP cost,
-defensive casting: allowing you to use part of your spellcasting to protect yourself from an incoming spell in exchange for some additional SP...

I think I will give this a deeper thought has the concept seems very cool. It may be enough to sum up the spellcasting parameters like range, scope and so on and then create moves to alter them.

Then you create casting styles maybe with access to a specific school or base, why not a talent and then some moves with a discount and here is a casting style ! Each casting move would only be usable with the school or base of the style.

I may be a bit enthusiastic but it doesn't seem so hard to do. The hardest part should be to create a set of guidelines to determine the cost of the different moves according to the modifiers they give...

I would really like some feedback on this.

Lately, I have been toying with some weapon characteristics that do not appear in the core rules. Not that they are truly needed, but I fear I am basically a fighter and always searching to expand their options...
I have attached a proposition for an expanded weapon table including some new stats and  would like very much to have feedbacks on those. Please note that this is only a first draft and likely need to be tuned finely.

Those new stats are :
1. ENC = not truly a game stat, it is just weight*length and was use as a broad guideline to sort weapons out.

2. Hands = the number of hands required to use the weapon

3. Reach = this stat tries to simulate the impact of longer weapons in combat. Each weapon is rated either short (roughly 1-2 feet), medium (2-4 feet), long (5-6 feet) or very long (6+ feet). That is the standard weapon reach. Basically, if two combatants are equipped with weapons with the same reach, they are likely to stay at the standard reach. But when two combatants use weapons with different reaches (dagger vs spear for example), one is likely to try to close with the other (the guy with the dagger) whereas the Spearman will try yo keep the dagger wielder at bay.
Each round, you can try to close or increase the distance between two combatants by using one AP and making an opposed Save vs Spd or acrobatic roll. If fighting is not in the standard weapon reach, each attack is made at an additional cost of 1 AP per difference in reach (eg. a short weapon at long range needs 2 additional APs to atack). Note that this give smaller weapons an edge as they require less AP to attack.
Weapon reach may be altered by combat moves (haft jab reduces reach - allowing a spear to be used at medium range without penalty - whereas lunge increases it). Reach may become an additional element for combat moves but I have not delve into this much yet).

4. Init mod = a simple adjustment to initiative roll to simulate weapon speed.  

5. DR (Main type) & DR (Secondary) = most weapons can be used to achieve different kinds of damage. For example, you can use the flat of a sword blade to cause bashing damages. Most of the time, the secondary DR is lesser than the primary DR (translating the fact that a weapon is more efficient when used in the way it was designed to be) but still it can be useful to change the kind of damage delivered (some monsters or different armor types may be more susceptible to slashing than to bashing attacks).

6. Min Str = some weapons require above average strength to be used effectively. I propose that for each point of strength below the minimum, the DR of the attack is reduced by 2. Somone with a stregth of 11 using a greatsword will only cause 6 points of base damage.  

7. Min Dex = some weapons are trickier to use than others (chains for example). I propose that for each point of dexterity lacking, each attack requires 1 additional AP.

Comments ?

Two questions came to me as I was about to create a martial artist NPC.

1. The martial artist receives 5 points worth of free combat moves.
Question: Do those moves count against the maximum number of known moves (combat training 1 is limited to 1 move for every 3 ranks) ?

2. The martial artist has weapon kata * 2 as part of his professional talents. In the Building Blocks of the profession (LN3, p5), it shows the cost for this is 6 points. The cost for the weapon kata basic talent  is 3 for tiny weapons.
Question: Does it imply that the martial artist is limited to 2 tiny weapons ? Should he be allowed to learn up to 6 points of weapon kata (ie: 2 tiny or 1 small or 1 medium or 1 large) ? Is it a big deal to allow him any two weapon kata (disregarding the effective talent cost) ?

Polearm fighting:
This style is mainly used by knights and men-at-arms with polearms. Designed for armored fighters, it emphasizes offensive moves over defensive ones as those fighters rely on their armor for protection. This style is usable with either polearms or poleaxes.
   Weapon requirement: None
  All Out Attack  (5)
   Feint       (3)
   Haft Jab        (3)
   Power Strike    (5)
   Probe       (2)
   Shove       (3)
   Slash       (2)
   Thrust      (3)
   Trip        (3)

Viper Fang:
That fighting style is designed around the use of a dagger in combat. More advanced practitioners may even wield two daggers for increased damage. This style is strongly connected with street thugs and assassins and in some place, displaying its techniques may be enough to be suspected of illegal background.
 Weapon requirement: None
  Cut     (4)
   Feint       (3)
   Killing Strike  (3)
   Parry       (4)
   Power Strike    (5)
   Probe       (2)
   Riposte     (4)
   Stab        (2)
   Thrust      (3)