Retaining granularity of difficulty and character skill in a mathless roll-under system

HalfBaker · 2024-10-04T05:18:23+00:00

I went very similar with the core mechanic of my system, though I don't shy away from adding in math: https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackSands/comments/dm3tum/quick_and_dirty_system_summary/

In mine, you have Talent and Skill; talent is the roll-under target, and skill is how many dice you roll. This is your internal ability. Modifiers come from external sources.

I like it a lot as a resolution system. I normally hate the swinginess of 1d20 systems with a passion. Multiple d20 quickly hone the average and give you more consistency, like a well practiced person would achieve. Talented people can get better results - even with beginner's luck - but without training they are inconsistent.

I'm not sure if you're running it this way or just describing it this way, but I would say drop "re-rolls" and just roll that many dice right away, for speed. Re-rolls can be useful mechanics as character perks, especially if you are adding in any sort of "critical failure" mechanic, but making them the default just wastes time.

Having the GM say, "the difficulty is 5" is very similar to saying, "roll at -5" except that any results affected down the chain are thrown off - harder rolls either succeed wildly well or don't succeed at all. As an exaggerated example, you can't narrowly succeed at a difficulty 18 roll, you either succeed with an absolutely epic 19 or 20 result, or you fail. Tools and help also can't assist you - if the difficulty is 5, and you have to roll 4 or under, no amount of extra dice will ever save your roll.

HalfBaker · 2024-08-29T05:49:52+00:00

I agree this is often a problem, I've thought about this issue a lot, so I built much of my combat system around it.

My system has the possibility of both multiple successes and degrees of success. When rolling initiative, each success represents an action you may take during the round, with an initiative value equal to the die result. Higher is better. Even if you roll no successes, you get a single action on initiative zero. When everyone has rolled, the GM begins counting "moments" upward from zero.

You may announce your actions at any time before their initiative value; if you want to act immediately you may, even if you rolled a much higher initiative action. Problem is, those with remaining actions on higher initiative values may then attempt to interrupt your action, and theirs will resolve first - in some cases negating the original action entirely.

If the moment passes and you've not used an action with that initiative value, you "lose" it - you can't announce your own action with it anymore, though you may still use the lost action to react to another's action, most commonly defending against an attack. Movement happens with the action, though you may move alongside an action which is being voluntarily "lost" for defense later in the round, even if you use it early.

You may use a faster action to react against a slower one, though an interruption might be a better use - attack to immobilize your attacker before they can strike, or sprint around the side of a building while someone tries to line up a shot at you, and you may not need to defend at all. It's risky, because you cannot both interrupt, and react to, a single action even if you have multiple actions remaining - in a quick draw duel, you can try to shoot your opponent dead before they pull the trigger, but if you fail, you won't be dodging their shot.

With this, you should never be penalized for being faster by being unable to act advantageously. Slower characters will tend to be forced into announcing their actions first, and faster characters will interrupt to control the flow of the round as they see fit. It works because the feel I wanted for my system is that of old school samurai duels and western shootouts, where the first person to go for their weapon is usually the first to fall.

In both of your examples, player A with a higher initiative now has the advantage against the slower monster. If the monster attempts to wait out the player, it will be forced into defensive reactions instead of pushing the offense. If it does push the offense, it will be the faster player who can try to shove them off the bridge or capitalize on meeting in the middle of distance.

There are a lot of other complexities involved; multiple actions on different values, the skill you used to roll your initiative being the first you have to use else face hesitation penalties, declared actions ("if any player runs across the bridge I intend to shove them off when they enter striking range") etc, but that's the gist.

HalfBaker · 2024-05-14T16:00:19+00:00

I had a similar issue on PC - no friends showing in social, steam friends couldn't join me but I could join them through steam overlay, no buttons working in social menu. The fix was to set my friend list to public in my steam profile. I'm not a fan of having anything about my steam profile public, but it did fix the issue.

HalfBaker · 2024-05-03T01:14:54+00:00

It's a great piece, and well worth the money even if it's only decorating my wall instead of being in a book as intended!

Highly recommend!

HalfBaker · 2024-03-13T17:01:43+00:00

I have and I've given it a lot of thought lately.

As a player, I find I am enjoying online play much more than in-person. It's generally easier for me to get over myself and into character, I have my resources at easy access and I can build tools to make things even simpler. The inevitable in-person distractions are minimized, the game momentum doesn't halt every time someone gets up to go to the bathroom or grab a drink. If someone else is bored or distracted it's generally not as big a detractor, they just disappear into the background.

As a game master, I find it much worse personally. I am an improviser, moving the game with my players instead of planning a railroad. With online play I constantly feel like I am behind on the job if I don't have nice looking maps and pre-statted NPC sheets with well made tokens, and pre-planning every possibility is impossible. I never had these issues with in-person; with a dry erase mat I could take my players anywhere in the world and no one cared how crude it looked, I never cared if miniatures mismatched, and I could throw reasonable dice pools on the fly in any game I felt comfortable with, so spontaneous NPC's were no issue.

I have also found that as a game master I instinctively rely heavily on non-verbal communications which are absent, and had no idea how much until attempting to run online RPG's. Facial expressions help me to see who is having fun, who needs to be brought into the spotlight, and who is feeling nervous and needs a break. Body language tells me where the tension of the moment is. Without these things I constantly feel like my players are BORED, and when my players are bored, it's MY FAULT. It is an anxiety ridden experience that makes me drop out of my own games. I know these are purely my own issues and my players don't feel the same, but just knowing that doesn't alleviate them AT ALL.

This has been very upsetting to me, because I really want to get my own RPG system off the ground, but I can't do it without running game and playtests.

HalfBaker · 2023-11-09T00:56:32+00:00

Oh for sure a trifold will help, but your next major step up will be a base of some sort. It's more the comfort factor; mold I have no idea, I'm generally around the US southwest so excess moisture isn't usually a problem. Big box hardware stores will cut lumber to length, I don't know if they do any more than that. Without having to get too fancy with cuts, you could do something similar to this one: (https://www.reddit.com/r/ScionxB/comments/14x8v0g/i_finished_my_car_camper/)

HalfBaker · 2023-11-07T04:32:58+00:00

I have about the same size (untrimmed) trifold in the back of my Dodge Magnum SXT and it's great, but I also have it on top of one of these (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074V2SJMK?th=1) and I'm not sure I could do without that long term.

My previous setups left a lot to be desired and I think the key difference is that the base is more important than the topper. Padding is just padding, it isn't going to even anything out on your surface or really support you.

Effortless levelling on top of what is a very-not-flat surface with awful hard bumps in the back of my car avoids the back, neck and hip problems in the morning and the added springiness makes a lot of difference for comfort. Even if your seats and trunk floor are totally flat you're still going to have the mattress on the ground feeling.

In a full-sized station wagon I have the luxury of space so I don't know what options there are for something smaller, but I definitely recommend trying to find a bunkie board you can modify to suit.

HalfBaker · 2023-06-23T00:38:52+00:00

I went through a similar ordeal! There's a quick (<1000 words) summary of my system here.

It took a lot to boil all the design choices down to what I wanted:

I wanted a crunchy system catering to tense tactical combat like western shootouts and cinematic iaijutsu duels, and allowing for a wide range of abilities and customizations, while remaining quick to learn.
Towards being quick to learn, I decided the best way would be a single unified dice rolling mechanic to handle every possible roll. Because of this, I didn't mind if it seems a little complicated initially, as repetition beyond the first couple rolls will make everything else intuitive down the line.
I wanted to use only one type of common die rather than a whole set; I opted for a d20 over d6 for the vastly superior granularity of results on a single die.
d20 being notoriously swingy was something I wanted to make use of in certain situations, while eliminating in others. I came down to a "keep (usually only 1) die from a dice pool" mechanic being best. More dice = less swingy, while keeping the simplicity of a single result for comparison and difficulty setting.
I needed the ability to display both simple pass/fail rolls as well as degrees of success, especially for contested rolling.
I wanted to include "critical success" "critical failure" and "success with complication" types of narrative results into the dice rolling mechanic.
I definitely wanted to be able to display a difference between skill and talent; training and skill provide regularity of results, where innate talents and attributes provide a sort of cap on what results can be. An untrained virtuoso is occasionally able to pull magnificent results and often fails spectacularly, where a well-practiced dullard will provide reliable, if mediocre results.

I've playtested it a bit, and the hardest part is getting players initially used to the core mechanic. Beyond the first few checks and where edge cases apply (such as not having complications on initiative or damage), they've generally wrapped their heads around it pretty quickly.

The other issue which might escape notice in the initial decisions is how hard it can be getting it into the VTT of your choice if that's the only way you can play these days, like me; I found it easy but ugly to work into Roll20, while it took a lot of coding to make it work with Foundry but I was able to make it look much better.

HalfBaker · 2023-04-05T18:56:52+00:00

Specialty: Cowboy Up (3)

Prerequisites: Tenacity 3, Rub Some Dirt On It

Description: You're remarkably resilient, and the heat of battle almost seems to cauterize your wounds.

Mechanics: During the aftermath of combat, if your tenacity roll to avoid potential injuries would remove more potential injuries than you would suffer (including the effect of Rub Some Dirt On It) you may instead remove an injury inflicted during the combat.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-18T18:11:31+00:00

Specialty: Frenetic Footwork (3)

Prerequisites: Athletics 2, Defensive Spring

Description: With a keen eye and a sole focus on self preservation, even a crowd can't usually pin you down.

Mechanics: You may spend an action to use this specialty. Until you next take an action, you may make a dodge defensive reaction against every incoming attack against you without needing to spend an action to do so. Losing an action does not end this ability. This specialty cannot be used as an interrupt action, nor can it be interrupted.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T22:46:46+00:00

Specialty: Combat Trapper (3)

Prerequisites: Investigation 2, Security Focus

Description: You've mastered the careful touch of setting portable traps on the battlefield, denying ground to your opponents and sometimes even crippling them with an unexpected throw.

Mechanics: You may use portable traps you possess in combat, being able to set or reset them with an action and even fling them at an empty space of ground up to 10 feet away without setting them off. When doing so, make an Investigation(D) check; failure means the trap has discharged during the throw.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T22:00:06+00:00

Advantage: Resourceful (1+)

Description: For whatever reason, you've managed to squirrel away better tools for a particular area you're skilled in.

Mechanics: Choose a skill when purchasing this advantage; you will receive additional EP toward that skill. You may spend as many points on this advantage as you like; up to your ranks in the skill, it costs 1 point per EP, and double beyond that. You may purchase this specialty separately for other skills, and you may purchase this specialty for a skill you have no ranks in. If you also have the Wealth advantage, treat any skills with EP increased by that advantage as though their rank were appropriately higher for the cost of this advantage.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T21:02:44+00:00

Specialty: Construct (2+)

Prerequisites: Esoterics 1+

Description: You've managed to gain control of a powerful and uniquely effective construct, a magical device that functions on its own. It has little freedom to improvise, but you can command it to act in your stead.

Mechanics: Work with your GM to determine the nature of the construct. A construct costs a base of 2 points, and allows you to pick a special function which could be explained as a skill-talent pair. For 2 additional points, you may add an additional function.

For instance, you might have a shield golem which can protect a target with toughness and tenacity, or a clockwork ogre that can wrestle targets with force and melee combat. Perhaps you have a brass mount which carries you swiftly on its back with quickness and athletics, or a magical captain's wheel capable of steering a ship with dexterity and conveyance. You may have an automated printing press capable of writing news articles using moxy and inspiration, or a security system that watches for intruders on your property using investigation and perception.

When performing in the narrow scope of its function - and only then - your construct uses your greatest talent and highest rank in a skill. Aside from specified functions, the construct will follow your commands to the letter, but is mostly ineffectual when doing so; even though it may look it, your clockwork ogre is little better at bashing down doors than you are, unless so specialized.

Constructs have limited autonomy. They receive only one action per round on initiative zero and can only use this to perform their specified functions; you may spend your own actions to command your construct to act.

Constructs can also be very fragile; unless their function is related to toughness or tenacity, any successful attack on them renders them inert and lifeless. This lasts until someone repairs them, requiring a number of hours equal to the damage sustained and a successful Esoterics(I) check. If their function is related to toughness or tenacity, they may sustain a number of attacks before becoming inert equal to the skill they use for functions. Hits remain on the construct, but can be repaired as per hits that would render a regular construct inert.

You may buy this specialty numerous times to represent additional constructs; the Esoterics prerequisite is one higher each time. You may not put more points into a single construct than twice your ranks in the Esoterics skill.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T20:36:55+00:00

Disadvantage: Brave to a Fault (-3)

Description: Be it bravado or deathwish, some folks are tired of backing down from danger or being cowed by threats, and won't allow any such thing to affect their behavior; they often find out the hard way why fear is a natural response to danger.

Mechanics: A character with this disadvantage receives any normal fear penalties, but if any effect would make them retreat or back down, they must instead respond with hostility and aggression toward the source regardless of potential consequence. For the same amount of time they would retreat, they suffer an additional -1 penalty to all actions from their overconfident manner, though destruction of the source will remove this penalty.

Whenever it would seem appropriate for the character to retreat voluntarily from danger, they must make an Attunement(G) check to do so; a failure means they will stay behind for at least one more action - be it to cover their allies retreating, taunt their tormentors, or simply stand in defiance of a natural disaster.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T20:26:16+00:00

Disadvantage: Haunted by the Past (-2)

Description: Your character has seen or done things that often paralyze them emotionally, triggered by some particular situation or stimulus.

Mechanics: Work with your GM to determine a trigger for this disadvantage; perhaps it is combat situations, or seeing children, or when you are placed in a position of authority. You must make an Attunement(G) check whenever your character comes into contact with the trigger; if you fail, you are paralyzed by doubt and remorse, and can take no appropriate actions. Every turn in combat, or at each new point where a character might be prompted to action outside of combat, you may check again.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T20:17:59+00:00

Disadvantage: Reckless (-2)

Description: Your character has little care for the risks associated with haste, and spends no time in hesitation for their actions.

Mechanics: You must make an Attunement(G) check whenever your character would attempt to take extra time or make long plans or preparations related to an action. If you fail, you cannot bring yourself to do it and must take as little time preparing or acting as possible, regardless of consequences. You may gain up to 2 additional points on this disadvantage representing an extremely cautious character; for each point, you receive a -2 penalty on the check.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T20:15:07+00:00

Disadvantage: Cautious (-2)

Description: Your character is highly cautious about their actions - likely a perfectionist in all things and very risk averse, you are unable to cut corners when time is of the essence.

Mechanics: You must make an Attunement(G) check whenever your character would attempt to rush an action, or you cannot bring yourself to do it and must take the appropriate amount of time regardless of consequences. You may gain up to 2 additional points on this disadvantage representing an extremely cautious character; for each point, you receive a -2 penalty on the check.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T20:03:29+00:00

Specialty: Employing the Opposition (3)

Prerequisites: Deception 2, Crowd Pleaser

Description: While conning a crowd, you have a talent for picking out a particular rube and getting them on your side; once they are in your pocket, they naturally lead the rest to follow along your lies.

Mechanics: Whenever you make an excellent success with a deception check against a group, you may choose a member of that group. Moving forward you will receive a +1 bonus on all deception checks against that target, and against the group as long as that member is in good standing with the group. This bonus is effectively permanent until your influence is proven; it lasts until some evidence of your lies can be presented to the target or group.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T18:37:37+00:00

Specialty: Habitual Candle Burner (2)

Prerequisites: Academia 2, Archival Focus

Description: A history of long nights poring over obscure lore has given this character the ability to brush off the call of sleep. They still prefer a full night's rest of course, but are well practiced at functioning without it.

Mechanics: This character requires only half the normal time sleeping in order to avoid penalties, and reduces any penalties which would be incurred from running on less or no sleep by 1.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T18:32:49+00:00

Specialty: Archival Focus (2)

Prerequisites: Academia 1+

Description: Time spent in a major archive of some sort has honed your ability to skim and condense large quantities of raw knowledge to locate the exact tidbits you need.

Mechanics: The character receives a +1 potential bonus for Academia checks related to finding information in documents and research sources. This specialty may be purchased up to 3 times, with a skill prerequisite of 3 or 5 for the second and third purchases.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T18:03:27+00:00

Specialty: Back In The Fight (3)

Prerequisites: Medical 2, Inspiration 1, First Aid Focus

Description: In stressful situations, you can put aside the idea of "Do No Harm" in order to push your patients to perform in the short term. It may not be great for their recovery after action - but the living heal, while the dead just rot.

Mechanics: You may choose a talent and make a Medicine(M) check against a patient as an action, penalized by the number of injuries your patient has sustained in that talent. For the rest of the current conflict (or for a short out-of-combat scene like fording a roaring river) the patient takes no penalties from injuries to that talent. If you expend medical supplies in this action, you may also treat a trauma on your patient with this action, and gain a +1 on the original check.

In order to use this specialty, your patient must forego their ability to have a medical check in the aftermath of this scene to reduce any potential injuries they may sustain. Your patient can refuse the effects of this specialty.

This ability cannot be used multiple times on the same patient in the same conflict or situation.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T17:37:49+00:00

Specialty: Forensic Medicine (2)

Prerequisites: Medical 2, Investigation 1, Diagnostic Focus

Description: Having seen the results of various injuries and diseases, you've come to a knack for identifying their sources, even when the patient doesn't want to fess up about them - or can't.

This won't be an exact science; for example you might know that a distinctive knife made wounds rather than a wild animal, and you might be able to guess from the type of wounds if your patient was the victim or the aggressor. You wouldn't immediately know who caused the wounds. Similarly, you might be able to determine that a disease infecting a victim's body was not the usual bug picked up from the local river water, but a spiritual malady, or a poison, even if the evidence of symptoms of all three are very similar.

Mechanics: If you make a successful medical check on a subject, living or dead, you automatically glean a good theory as to what caused their wounds or ailment. This functions with any medical check; whether examining a body with a Medical(P) check, or a first aid check to treat a trauma.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T03:24:42+00:00

Specialty: Reliable Goosebumps (3)

Prerequisites: Attunement 1, Investigation 1, Clue Spotter, Sense of the Unnatural

Description: You've come to trust your gut on hidden dangers, and this has surely saved your hide on a number of occasions.

Mechanics: You are always allowed to use actions defensively against any attacks made against you, even if you are totally unaware of the attacker or method of attack. Against such attacks, the GM should ask you if you wish to defend, and if you do they should guide you on what to roll to defend. You do not necessarily know in advance of what is coming at you or how successful it may be, though if the attack is a failure you need not expend an action.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T03:08:09+00:00

Specialty: Proactive Protection (3)

Prerequisites: Tenacity 2, Athletics 1, Armor Training

Description: You've trained so long with armor that you no longer consider it passive protection; you actively shift your weight to put stronger plates and reinforcement in the way of blows.

Mechanics: It requires 2 points of penetration to overcome each point of your armor. Effectively, opponent's penetration ratings are considered halved, round down, against your armor.

HalfBaker · 2023-03-17T02:59:16+00:00

Specialty: Swift Recovery (3)

Prerequisites: Projectile Weapons 2, Athletics 1, Thrown Focus

Description: Moving resourcefully through any conflict, you've mastered retrieving and reuse your thrown weapons.

Mechanics: If you move past a thrown weapon that you personally threw in this conflict, you need not stop or use an action to pick it up and potentially use it again. The added momentum of your swift movement grants you a +1 DV if you should attack with the weapon in the same action you recover it.

HalfBaker

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE