I think I see the misunderstanding here. Dunno whose fault it is, but you've got the wrong idea of what I was trying to say throughout the thread.
What I was trying to say is that some parts of the game's balance require it to be possible for a PC to be deprived of an item without a Compel.
That's what makes an IoP not free Refresh.
Possible? Yes. I just think it's unlikely. I tend to assume that players will have their 'standard' equipment more or less by default unless otherwise stated--look at the books. The only times that Michael, for example, is ever without Amoracchius--either to hand or within reasonable distance--is when someone has specifically taken it from him.
Harry has his staff and blasting rod unless he's specifically noted as leaving it behind, having it taken away, or he has trouble bringing it into some place.
I can't for the life of me think of a scene where Murphy doesn't have a gun on her somewhere.
Gard's walking around in broad daylight with a
battleaxe, but it's okay because she stows it in a dufflebag.
And I don't know about you, but if
I thought it was a reasonable possibility that I was going to be attacked by ghouls, I'd make sure to have something that goes bang on me at all times, too.
Nah, you're still not guaranteed. A flukey roll can ruin your day.
Yeah, but we were working under the argument of even rolls. And even with just average rolls (-1 to +1), the stunts create a significant advantage on the player who's supposed to be playing someone who's barely aware that Ghouls exist.
And even without stunts, no creativity is needed for a fairly certain win. Just have an Aspect that mentions your weapon of choice and invoke that with the FP you could have spent on stunts.
That's costly, though--getting creative lets you do more without spending your whole pool of fate points. The game should normally reward creativity. These stunts reward complacency.
So with my previous assumption:
Ghoul (per OW):
+4: Fists; Athletics
+3: Endurance; Alertness; Intimidation; Presence
Powers:
Claws (weapon 2 fist attack)
Inhuman Strength & Speed
Supernatural Recovery
Pure Mortal (No stunts) (A)
+4: Weapons; Athletics
+3: Alertness; Endurance
This is a good rundown. Though I question the assumption that they're going to start in separate zones. My combats tend to start in the same zone. That said, the ghoul can tag the consequences he inflicts, too--that first scenario ought to be over a lot quicker in that case.
This can go on. In most of these situations the PM without stunts will lose. The only thing the stacked stunts do is bring them onto a similar level. A ghouls block is at 5 so there is a stunt to match that. A ghoul gets +2 to their damage so there is a stunt to match that. A ghoul probably should have taken something to increase its attack because now I have the slight advantage and can fare much better at this game.
Brings them past that level, actually--the mortal is dodging at 6 to the Ghoul's 5, and is doing Weapon:5 damage to the ghoul's 4. So if they're rolling evenly, the situation's totally reversed from that first scenario--the ghoul isn't landing any hits, and the pure mortal is dealing consequences each time--even if the ghoul is healing two milds, he's not healing the stress--so that third shot's going to need a Moderate to survive anyway, or two milds, which is in a way worse because he can't heal them now, and the pure mortal can tag his next attack for +4.
Apply those stunts to a Submerged pure mortal, and I can't think of anything in OW that can hit them physically (some of the spellcasters can manage it, maybe the Plot Device level characters), and only the ones with Supernatural Speed would ever avoid a hit.
What it comes down to, still, is that just having a particular weapon is not a strict enough restriction for the full bonus to these stunts--most any player, unless they're carrying around some ludicrous monstrosity of a weapon, can figure out some way to keep their weapon on or near them unless specifically otherwise stated. So even
if there are going to be times they just don't have the weapon without a compel, that's going to be such a minority that it still plays out as a flat, permanent bonus to the skill.
Sanctaphrax, you say it's okay because Items of Power are balanced based on it, but Items of Power are supernatural powers--which are supposed to be more broadly applicable than stunts. You can't use the same rubric for one as you would the other. Hell, even the one supernatural power I can think of that provides a flat bonus to the attack skill--True Aim in the Sword of the Cross--still has a more strict restriction than "just holding this sword."
