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Gameplay Discussion/Q&A.

Posted by GamemasterFor group 0
Gamemaster
GM, 23 posts
Thu 28 Jun 2012
at 02:44
  • msg #1

Gameplay Discussion/Q&A

Here I will provide both information and an opportunity for Q&A concerning the custom system mechanics we'll be using for this game. I'll begin with character sheets.


Players will notice some details on their character sheets which differ from the standard Victory Point system. Explanations follow:

1. Tech is no longer a Characteristic, it is now a field of knowledge that all characters possess with a base rating (which is 3 for the average human, possibly more or less depending on a character's homeworld/environment and background). Otherwise, it represents the same thing as in VPS.

2. "Intellect" replaces Tech as a Characteristic, representing intelligence related to comprehension of technical and abstract concepts (such as sciences and complex mathematics).

3. There is now an extra category of skills apart from Natural Skills and Learned Skills: Knowledge, which includes lores, sciences, and other fields of education and study that don't involve physical actions on characters' parts.

4. Fight has been removed from Natural Skills; replacing it are various martial art Learned Skills (Mantok, Koto, Iron Heel, etc), each with their own style of combat and maneuvers. Untrained fighters simply rely on Dexterity in hand-to-hand combat.

5. Melee has been removed from Natural Skills; replacing it are various weapon style Learned Skills (like Fencing, Kenjutsu, Kraxi, etc), each with their own weapon selections and types of maneuvers. Untrained combatants simply rely on Dexterity in melee combat.

6. Shoot has been removed from Natural Skills; replacing it are various firearms Learned Skills (such as Slug Guns, Lasers, Blasters, etc). Untrained shooters simply rely on Dexterity in firefights.

7. The following Natural Skills have been renamed:

Dodge is now Evasion (where as "Dodge" is a specific type of action among others that fall under this catch-all skill)
Impress is now Intimidation (where as "Impress" is an action that falls under Charm)
Observe is now Awareness (where as "Observe" is an action that falls under this skill)
Sneak is now Stealth (where as "Sneak" is an action that falls under this skill)

8. Empathy, Focus, Inquiry and Knavery are now Natural Skills (each having a base rating of 3).

9. Characters now automatically gain various lores depending on their homeworld/region, environment, social class, faction, and other aspects of their background from each life-stage. These lores are not purchased with points, they are awarded freely as appropriate.

10. Individual Martial Arts, Fencing and Firearms Actions are no longer purchased with points - they are gained automatically depending on ratings in their corresponding Learned Skills (i.e. Koto, Fencing, Slug Guns, etc).
Kidhido'on
player, 19 posts
Etyri
Charioteer
Sat 30 Jun 2012
at 23:26
  • msg #2

Re: Gameplay Discussion/Q

Just out of curiosity, how extensive are your changes, and how much of those modifications are you going to be sharing with us? Anything influenced by the FS rules upgrade that's been in the works for a while?
Gamemaster
GM, 31 posts
Mon 2 Jul 2012
at 00:47
  • msg #3

Re: Gameplay Discussion/Q&A

My changes are quite extensive, though nothing was influenced by the FS rules upgrade (which I haven't reviewed). I'll list some of the most drastic modifications here:


Actions

Characters will often need to perform various actions, depending on their situations. For the most part, the outcomes of these actions will be determined by the GM’s discretion. However, in dramatic situations, or those in which the outcomes are uncertain, a 20 sided die is used to simulate the effects of chance. In many cases, the GM may conduct dice rolls in secret to determine these results. Sometimes, however, players may be called upon to make dice rolls themselves.

Goal Number, Difficulty Margin & Proficiency Rating

When determining the outcome of an action, the GM first sets a Goal Number for the action. The Goal Number (or “Goal”) represents the objective a character is trying to reach – the number the player is aiming for on a d20. The GM may either select the Goal himself or roll a d20 to generate it randomly.

Once the Goal is set, the GM assigns a Difficulty Margin to the action, based on what the character is trying to accomplish and her assets or obstacles regarding that endeavor. The Difficulty Margin (or “Margin”) is the maximum distance up or down from the Goal Number that will be considered “successful”. For example, if the Goal is 12 and the Margin is 5, the player must get within 7 and 17 to succeed. A result of 1-6 or 18-20 would indicate failure. If the Margin is 0 (a highly difficult task – zero margin for error), the player must attain the exact Goal Number to succeed.

Fortunately, success or failure of actions isn’t dependent solely on chance. Chance plays a role in everything, but more often a character’s success will depend on his abilities in a given area. This factor is represented by the Proficiency Rating. The Proficiency Rating (or “Proficiency”) signifies the culmination of all of a character’s traits, talents, skills, knowledge, and miscellaneous factors relevant to the task at hand. For example, if a character is trying to maneuver a spacecraft through a chaotic asteroid field, her base Proficiency is her Spacecraft Piloting skill; if a character is leaping across a wide chasm, his base Proficiency is his Vigor skill; if a character is attempting to find nourishment in an expanse of dry badlands, her base Proficiency is her Survival skill; and so on. Characteristic modifiers and other factors can increase or decrease a character’s Proficiency in a given situation.

Once the Goal and Margin have been set, the player rolls a d20. The character’s abilities allow the player to adjust the die roll up or down to a maximum of the character’s Proficiency, in order to get within the declared Margin of the Goal. For example, suppose the Goal is 10, the Margin is 2, and the character’s Proficiency is 6. The player must get within 8-12 to succeed. The player rolls a d20 and gets a 17 – too high. But since the character’s Proficiency is 6, the player adjusts the roll by -6, bringing the result down to 11 – a success. The character’s expertise allows her to exert more control over her actions and overcome random situational factors which would otherwise interfere with her attempt. Had the player rolled a 19-20 or a 1, the result would have been a failure – despite the character’s skill, chance still would have thwarted her.

Of course, there are varying degrees of success in any situation – just because a character succeeds in something doesn’t necessarily mean he did well. He might have just barely succeeded or accomplished a mediocre level of success. By the same token, a character can also achieve an exceptional success, above and beyond what is required. The scale for measuring the relative success of actions is called the Success Rating. The Success Rating (or “Success”) of a given task is determined by the Difficulty Margin and the proximity of the player’s result on a d20 to the Goal Number. The Margin determines the parameters of the scale; the more difficult the task, the more effort is required to achieve a high Success. A Margin of 2 (as in the example above) means the Success ranges from 1-3 (1 for a barely adequate success – 2 spaces from the Goal Number; 2 for a mediocre success – 1 space from the Goal; 3 for a satisfactory success – 0 spaces from the Goal). In the above example, the player’s result on the d20 (after adjusting the roll with the character’s Proficiency) was 11 – one space from the Goal, which was 10. Therefore, the character achieved a Success of 2 – mediocre. Refer to the chart below:

                                    DISTANCE FROM GOAL NUMBER                     
MARGIN    9        8        7        6        5        4        3        2        1        0   
9     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10
8     0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9
7     0     0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8
6     0     0     0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7
5     0     0     0     0     1     2     3     4     5     6
4     0     0     0     0     0     1     2     3     4     5
3     0     0     0     0     0     0     1     2     3     4
2     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     1     2     3
1     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     1     2
0     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     1

SUCCESS RESULT
1    Barely Adequate
2    Mediocre
3    Satisfactory
4    Decent
5    Very Good
6    Excellent
7    Impressive
8    Exceptional
9    Near-flawless
10  Flawless

In addition, if the player was able to reach the Goal Number, she may add a total to the Success Rating equal to her character’s Proficiency minus 1 for each degree of adjustment made to the roll. For example, suppose the Goal is 8, the Margin is 3, and the character’s Proficiency is 5. The player rolls a 6, then adjusts the roll by +2 using her character’s Proficiency – reaching the Goal of 8. The initial Success for reaching the Goal in a Margin of 3 is 4 (Decent) – but the player adds an additional 3 using her character’s Proficiency (5 minus 2 degrees adjusted = 3). The character’s Success becomes 7 (Impressive). A character’s Success cannot exceed 10 (Flawless). Success can only be measured by the difficulty of the task being performed. A marksman can only hit a bulls-eye so well before achieving perfection. He’d need to challenge himself further to more effectively test his skills – shooting the same bulls-eye from an additional 100 meters, or firing one-handed.

Critical Success

If a player rolls the exact Goal Number when performing an action, he achieves a Critical Success. A Critical Success is a rare occurrence – symbolizing the peak of effort, skill, and luck. It is those moments in a story when characters perform at their greatest capacity – achieving extraordinary feats above and beyond their usual endeavors. And it grants special results, according to the situation: a gunfighter takes a perfectly aimed shot that hits right through his foe’s helmet visor, taking him down instantly; a hacker cracks the exact code that grants her total access to the ship’s on-board computer; a star-pilot twists his craft in a perfect wheel-barrow, just barely evading the barrage of laser-turret fire and sliding through the hangar doors an instant before they close; etc. In terms of system mechanics, a Critical Success automatically scores a Success of 10 (Flawless), regardless of how slim the Margin is. When characters score Critical Successes during epic scenarios, the GM should devise something awesome enough to match such a rare accomplishment, and have it dramatically alter the course of the story in some way: a lowly peasant is knighted by the Emperor for his heroic deed; an event triggers a special discovery that provides the opportunity for a new adventure; a character’s stunning success causes her to awaken dormant abilities within herself which she never knew she possessed; etc.

Contested Actions

Sometimes the only factor determining the success or failure of an action is the relative success or failure of an opposing action – an arm-wrestling contest, a stealthy thief sneaking past an observant guard, or a steady gunner drawing a bead on an evasive target. In these situations, the GM first declares a separate Goal Number for each player involved (either arbitrarily, or via each player generating their opponent’s Goal Number with a d20 roll). The GM then calculates each player’s Margin. The Margin for an opposed action depends directly on the Proficiency of the opponent – the higher the opponent’s Proficiency, the lower the Margin. The base Margin for each player involved is 10 minus their opponent’s Proficiency. So a relatively easy opponent (Proficiency 3) will modify a player’s Margin to 7, while a tough opponent (Proficiency 8) will bring a player’s Margin down to 2. If an opponent’s Proficiency exceeds 10, not only is the player’s Margin reduced to 0, but the opponent may adjust the player’s Goal Number up or down by 1 for each Proficiency level above 10. After the players involved have had their Margins defined, each rolls a d20 and adjusts their roll using their Proficiency, per the usual system. Whoever scores a higher Success is the victor; the degree by which a player’s initial Success exceeds his opponent’s becomes that player’s effective Success Rating for the contested action.

In the event of both (or more) contestants achieving the same Success Rating, they cancel out each other’s actions completely: the arm-wrestling ends in a tie of mutual exhaustion; the guard is on the verge of suspicion but still hasn’t detected the skulking thief; the dodger just barely evades the gunner’s fire; etc. Contested actions are treated as feats that negate one another; therefore, the outcome of a tie favors whoever’s success is based more around negation than enforcement – the defender over the attacker. When in doubt, the players’ characters are granted the advantage over non-player characters.

Multiple Actions

Characters can also perform multiple actions per turn. The number of actions a character may take in a turn is limited by two factors: how fast she can move (Dexterity), and how fast she can think (Wits). Therefore, the maximum number of actions a character can take in one turn is equal to his Dexterity or Wits rating – whichever is lower. For each additional action a character takes in a single turn, she suffers a cumulative -2 penalty to all actions performed in that turn. Thus, the penalties for multiple actions are as follows: 2 actions: -2; 3 actions: -4; 4 actions: -6; etc.

Desperate Actions

In desperate situations, a character whose Dexterity is higher than his Wits – that is, he can move faster than he can consciously react – can still choose to take a number of actions up to his Dexterity rating. However, he has less control of his actions and suffers a penalty equal to the difference between his Wits score and the number of actions being taken. For example:

Ethan is in a gunfight. He has Dexterity 5 and Wits 3. Normally, he’d be restricted to 3 actions, but this time he chooses speed over accuracy – taking 5 actions (his maximum). Each of his actions suffers a multiple action penalty of -10 (-2 per every action beyond 1; 5 actions = -8 penalty plus an additional -2 penalty for taking 2 more actions than his Wits rating).

Priorities

A character needn’t distribute her multiple action penalties evenly between all her actions; characters are capable of setting Priorities to specific actions in any turn – placing more effort into some than others. For example:

Jiera is in a bar-fight. She takes 3 actions this turn: a defensive block, a punch, and a kick. Normally, all three actions would suffer a -4 penalty, but Jiera places some Priorities: most important to her is the punch, then the kick, and least important is her defensive block; therefore, she totals her net-penalty for the turn (-4 x 3 actions = -12). She distributes -6 to her defensive block, -2 to her punch, and applies the remaining -4 to her kick.

A character may not distribute such a high penalty to an action that it exceeds his Proficiency in that action. For instance, suppose that Napier has an Iron Heel (a martial art) Proficiency of 9 (Iron Heel 7 +2 Dexterity bonus). He can reallocate no more than a -9 penalty (making the action “blind”) from multiple actions to a single action involving his Iron Heel skill. Any penalty beyond that would bring his Proficiency below 0 (meaning that he’d be diverting ability which he doesn’t have toward his other actions). Additionally, a character may not use Priorities to negate any action’s penalty completely – all actions that turn suffer a minimum of -1 per extra action (-1 for 2 actions, -2 for 3 actions, -3 for 4 actions, etc). Desperate Action penalties cannot be reallocated.

Complementary Skills

Sometimes, characters possess knowledge or experience in certain skills that increases their potential Proficiency in other fields. For instance, a character’s familiarity with a specific city may increase her chances of conducting an investigation there – she knows where to go to ask questions, how to speak the lingo of the locals to get answers, and can use what she knows about the town’s happenings to piece together her own conclusions; a character who has trained in acrobatics may be better at dodging attacks – he knows how to flip out of harm’s way quickly, how to land on his feet when thrown, and how to keep his sense of orientation when airborne or falling; a character’s keen talent for observing her surroundings could increase her chances of finding concealment; and so on. These advantages are referred to as Complementary Skills. There are three different ways in which these skills can be used to benefit a character’s actions, depending on the type of situation:

1. The Complementary Skills a character possesses can negate situational penalties for an action by some degree, depending on the GM’s discretion. This system is used when a character’s experience or knowledge may indirectly benefit his chances of success in a given task, due to the familiarity of the situation or the application of similar experiences. For example, experience with playing virtual reality flight simulators could potentially increase an inexperienced pilot’s chances of piloting an aircraft – though not being anywhere near as effective as real experience with aircraft, the conscious and unconscious skills developed in the VR simulators indirectly benefits the character. An expert at solving puzzles who attempts to crack an encryption code, or a xenopologist who attempts to fit into the culture of an entirely new alien race, are also examples of this type of phenomenon. Sometimes the experience a character has in one field can negatively affect other skills he possesses, due to biases he has accumulated or conflicting lessons between his two fields. For instance, whereas a character learning how to program a computer for the first time has none of the advantages of an experienced technician, another character with 20+ years of experience with one type of programming code may find working with a totally new one extremely taxing – he has to unlearn what he has learned in order to progress unhindered.

2. The Complementary Skills a character possesses may directly increase her Proficiency in a given action by some factor (either by +1 per each point the character has in the skill, or by a fraction of the skill’s rating, depending on the skill’s relevancy to the action – GM’s discretion). For example, a character using Lore (Gwynneth Beasts) 6 to boost his chances on his Tracking roll during a hunt might transfer his points in the Lore directly to his Tracking skill – giving him a +6 modifier to his Proficiency. Or, the GM might rule that the character’s Lore is only partially relevant to this hunt, and instead grant half or a third of the skill’s rating as Complementary – yielding a +3 or +2 bonus to the character’s Tracking Proficiency. Alternatively, the GM could rule that there’s a limit to how helpful beast lore can be toward Tracking (knowledge of one’s prey isn’t everything – a tracker must still find a trail), and allow no more than a +2 bonus, regardless of the character’s total Lore rating. Or the GM might even assign a flat bonus of some amount just for having knowledge of the prey at all (i.e. knowing how to recognize the creature’s tracks might be the only thing that really matters – regardless of whether the character’s Lore is advanced or merely rudimentary). This type of system should be used when a character is incorporating her skill in other fields in order to improve her chances of success in a single action. When incorporating Natural Skills as Complementary Skills, only ratings above 3 become factors, rather than utilizing the Natural Skill's entire rating (i.e. Awareness 7 would be treated as Awareness 4 when used as a Complementary Skill).

3. The Complementary Skills a character possesses can be rolled as separate actions to boost the chances of his primary action. For instance, a character could attempt to use her talent in Charm to boost her chances of getting information out of a contact with her Inquiry skill; after rolling for Charm, she’d add the Success Rating to her Inquiry Proficiency and make an Inquiry roll. This type of system should be used when a character is actively performing his Complementary Skills apart from his primary action to gain specific beneficial influences toward that action.

Accents

Characters have the ability to gain more control over their actions through utilizing their willpower for a desired effect – whether that effect is a forcefully added effort or a carefully focused precision. These conscious influences over actions are referred to as Accents. There are two types of Accents: Force Accents (representing full-blown, aggressive actions) and Control Accents (representing calmly timed and calculated actions). Force Accents promise greater power but reduced accuracy, while Control Accents provide the reverse.

When Accenting a die roll, a player first announces how much she wishes to Accent the action, and in what way (Force or Control). The maximum value for which a player may Accent an action is equal to his Passion or Calm rating (Passion for Force, Calm for Control). After the Accent value has been set, the roll is made and the Accent is applied to the result in the direction of the Goal Number. Both Force and Control Accents boost the player’s roll toward the Goal. The difference is Control Accents stop upon reaching the Goal, making them more reliable. Force Accents can overshoot the Goal, making them more inaccurate. However, each point a player Control Accents a roll reduces her Success Rating by 1 (down to a minimum of 1) – ensuring greater chances of success, but also less effectiveness when she succeeds. The character is holding back, restraining herself from the kind of force that could potentially throw off her precision. Force Accents do not impose this penalty and can yield particularly effective results when successful. For example:

Tristan is in a duel against a well-armed adversary. He attempts a slash at his opponent and the GM declares a Goal Number of 17. Tristan’s player chooses to Force Accent his roll by 6 (the maximum allowed by his Passion, which is 6). He rolls a 9, which gets adjusted to 15 (his Accent moves the die result 6 spaces toward the Goal Number). He then applies his Fencing Proficiency (7), which yields a Success Rating of 6 (7 minus 2 to reach the Goal Number from 15 to 17, plus 1 base Success for reaching the Goal; 7 – 2 + 1 = 6). If his Accent had been one of Control instead of Force, he would have scored a Success Rating of 1 (Success 6 minus 1 per level of Accent; 6 – 6 = 0; minimum Success is 1). If Tristan’s player had rolled a 16 instead of a 9, his Force Accent of 6 would have adjusted his roll past the Goal Number to 22, resulting in a failure. The extra power he put into his attack would have thrown off his accuracy.

Accents represent utilizing willpower to push the body, mind, or spirit beyond its ordinary capacity to accomplish extraordinary feats; thus, every time a character Accents his or her actions, a point of temporary Wyrd is depleted. When all temporary Wyrd is gone, the character is mentally and emotionally exhausted, and no longer capable of the energy required to Accent her actions. The character must rest for a full eight hours or meditate in order to regain his internal strength. Otherwise, each Wyrd point is regained at a rate equivalent to the character’s Wyrd rating divided by 8 hours (rounded down), for each full hour of rest; thus, a character with 3 Wyrd regains each point at a rate of 3/8 per hour – 1 pt every 3 hours + 1 pt after 8 hours; a character with 4 Wyrd regains 1 pt every 2 hours; a character with 5 Wyrd regains 1 pt every 2 hours + 1 pt after 8 hours; and so on.

Inciting Wyrd

Just as characters have the ability to boost their actions through Accents, they also have the ability to summon the full power of their will for extended periods: a sword-wielding barbarian utters a solemn prayer to his god as he prepares to face the charging onslaught; a determined pilot concentrates on the memory of her lost comrade as she charges into the aerial battle ahead; a lone Brother Battle monk meditates upon his training before venturing into the evil temple’s depths; etc. This process is referred to as Inciting Wyrd, and it demands both time and tremendous energy to induce. In order for a character to incite her Wyrd, she must focus for a number of turns equal to the levels of temporary Wyrd she chooses to expend. The character can do nothing else during this time, or she will lose the benefit of her concentration. Likewise, if some exterior influence interrupts her focus, all her invested energy will be lost. Once the character has summoned his Wyrd, he must succeed on a Wyrd roll (plus Meditation, if the character possesses that skill) versus a Goal Number and Difficulty Margin assigned by the GM to the overall goal the character wishes to accomplish. If the character fails this roll, it means that her goal is too overwhelming to gain a steady resolve in aiding her endeavors – and she is forced to rely on her skills and luck instead. If the character succeeds in the roll, he gains a positive modifier equal to the Wyrd he expended to any actions he takes related to his overall goal. His Success Rating on the Wyrd roll determines the relative duration of this enhancement, up to a maximum of one Span, or until the character’s goal is accomplished or failed – whichever comes first.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:47, Mon 02 July 2012.
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