Bad Rule: Godbound’s Lesser Foes
Godbound is an excellent game. A really interesting setting, and a very nice implementation of astounding powers and heroism. I have some quibbles (if I ever run a game PCs will start with two Words, not three, as that clarifies who the character is. Perhaps the intrinsic of a third word and a one point discount if/when they buy that word to maintain some balance), but overall I really like it. You can get it here. With that said, let’s dive into my complaint of the day.
“Many gifts have effects that are only applicable to targets with equal or fewer hit dice than the hero has character levels. Such targets are known as lesser foes, whether friendly or hostile. Thus, a newly-formed Godbound at the first level of experience counts all creatures with one hit die as lesser foes, which includes the vast majority of ordinary men and women. NPCs use their hit dice to determine whether or not their enemies count as lesser foes to them.
Godbound are never lesser foes, even if they have fewer levels than
their assailant has hit dice or levels. … Worthy foes are those enemies with more hit dice than the Godbound has levels or the NPC has hit dice. Many gifts either don’t work on worthy foes or allow them to make saving throws to resist the worst of their effects. Godbound are always worthy foes.”
Now, it’s pretty clear, to me, that the intent of this rule, or pair of rules if you’re being persnickety, is that all foes are divided into worthy foes and lesser foes. P or ~P is true. However, in the rules as written, there is a gap, as those two are defined separately. It would be simpler and more elegant to simply define lesser foes and then say that “all foes who are not lesser foes are worthy foes”.
Also, this rule is of questionable accuracy to intent: there are non-godbound powerful entities in the setting who a GM would hesitate to call “lesser”, as that’s a term that’s intended to describe the faceless mooks you plow through (based on my read of the rest of the rules). It would be almost paradoxically more precise to admit this uncertainty, and say that anyone with a name and combat prowess is a worthy foe, or anyone the GM expects or wants to seriously challenge the players, because at least if this happened the rules would not be casually broken.
That’s why this is a bad rule.