Quote:
Originally Posted by Tegyrius
Timeline development should always take into account the desired end state - in other words, what do you want the game world to be like at the "today" of the game, the time in which campaigns are occurring? It seems that FL has chosen to have a world that is slightly less devastated than in previous editions. Witness the presence of a working A-10 in one of the boxed set's random encounters, and the implication that this is an uncommon but not exceptional occurrence.
- C.
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This is one of FL's more 'unusual' choices IMHO. A-10's fly, but personal and group equipment is dramatically scaled back from previous editions. 1/6 of all PCs start with 1 spare magazine only.
In 1st edition, "Each character begins the game with a set of fatigues, combat webbing, a rucksack, and a personal weapon."
Even if a 1st edition PC ended up with 1 month of Time in Combat (not sure this is mathematically possible) and are also enlisted, they would a 500 equipment allowance and could purchase 5x 280-round cases of 5.45mm/5.56mm ammo at a cost of 100 each, representing almost 47 full magazines of ammo.
Personally, I'd like to see more balance in this area for 4e games. 2013 handles this well with group equipment rolls for a wide range of useful options (animals, food, fuel, support weapons, vehicles) plus individual selections equal to weight allowance to preserve player agency and support PC concepts.
That's the gold standard in my opinion. 4e tries hard with the 'group gear' concept, but gimps the PC equipment so much that character concepts suffer unnecessarily and group gear gets allocated to things many PCs should probably start with.