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Grey Coconut Fluff
96960c
In the thread a suggestion came up for which the following could be useful:
I probably should have explained this way earlier. But I thought that numbers or stats, which become too dominant, would alienate readers.
Just to remember:
Levintus:
ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: average
Dexterity: average
Constitution: average
Perception: good
Willpower: average
Intelligence: average
Charisma: average
SKILLS:
Movement: basic
Melee: basic
Shooting: basic
Psychic: none
Machinery: basic
Vehicles: advanced
Leadership: excellent
The system is meant to be used with a D20. It was working in the background all the time, but except for once I kept it hidden. I didn’t want to give the impression that a problem could be solved only by rolling dice.
A person’s attributes will probably never change during the quest. They are used for certain rolls which don’t need a skill and also for competing with other characters.
For example, if one person is stronger than another person by one level, he will get a +1 modifier in melee combat.
The attribute range of normal humans is “Very Bad”, “Bad”, “Average”, “Good” and “Very Good” (for lack of better terms).
Example: “Very good Strength” and “Very Bad Strength” is like comparing an adult heavy-weight boxer and a twelve year old child (roughly).
Special cases, for example servitors, may exceed “Very Good Strength”, but they are... well, special. Same thing for aliens, mutants and whatnot...
Skill levels range from “None” to “Excellent” and are subdivided into three sublevels (except None) which are simply called e.g. “Good +1” and “Good -1”.
(Skill Level: Number needed for success)
None: not allowed to use
Terrible: 18+
Poor: 15+
Basic: 12+
Good: 9+
Advanced: 6+
Excellent: 3+
The best skill level, Excellent +1, needs a 2+ to succeed, while the worst skill level, Very Poor -1, needs a 19+ to succeed.
Thus, a 1 always fails, a 20 always succeeds when using a skill (without taking situational modifiers into the equation).
If the rolled number exceeds the needed number by 10, it is a critical success. Modifiers always count towards that limit, except if it was stated they specifically don’t.
If the rolled number is lower by 10 than the needed number, it is a critical failure. Again, modifiers always count towards that limit, except if it was stated they specifically don’t.
An example for probable use of the system in the quest:
A vital machine has broken down.
Option A: Look for a Techpriest.
Option B: Levintus attempts to repair the machine himself.
With his BASIC MACHINERY SKILL, he would need to roll 12+.
But the D20 shows a 2.
The rolled number is by 10 lower than the needed one.
Consequence: The repair process has failed and the machine was additionally damaged. Time to look for another solution.
There are a bit more skills than the ones above, but one would have to acquire them first...
Take note I don’t have health points or something similar. Being hit by a bullet means being hit by a bullet, so have faith in your flak jacket (depending on the armour and the weapon (and the person’s constitution) the “graveness” of a wound will be determined).
About Leadership (because it was asked):
Leadership is needed for sophisticated combat manoeuvres and making allied combatants obey one’s orders. It can also improve morale and combat stats of subordinates. Leadership Skill is used for grand-scale engagements; situations like the attack on the station are not affected. (As a rule-of-thumb, as long as the suggestions are able to control every single person involved in combat, Leadership is not active. Giving more indirect suggestions (like “Have 1st platoon go north and engage any enemies” would be affected by the Leadership Skill of the leader).
Leadership penalty:
Team: -0
Squad: -1
Platoon: -2
Company: -3
Battalion: -4
Regiment: -5
Brigade: -6
Division: -7
The bigger the group, the bigger the penalty.
Just in case somebody is interested in how I solved former situations in the quest:
Lying to Lulby got a -4 penalty, -1 for lying to an ally and -3 for lying to somebody who knows Levintus for some time and is more likely to know if Levintus is honest or not.
“Scaring away” the Navy Lieutenant was a successful charisma roll with a +2 bonus given by superior rank (although Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy chains of command are usually strictly separated).
Persuading the priest to help was a Charisma roll, which got a bonus based on what the suggestions wanted Levintus to say.
Unfortunately, I can’t remember the exact numbers that were rolled.
For shooting the first man entering the Chapel Levintus got a +5 for surprising him, a +2 for point-blank range and a +1 for the laspistol being a highly familiar weapon, resulting in the normal 12+ becoming a 4+ needed to hit.
Needless to say it was a CRITICAL SUCCESS, which I translated as a headshot.
Same things apply for the psyker, except the +2 point-blank range was replaced by a +1 low distance modifier.
For the next man, who got hit in the shoulder, Levintus lost the +5 surprise effect. Still a hit.
Same for the woman.
The last man was too far away for the +1 low distance modifier. But it wouldn’t have changed anything, it was a 5 or something like that.
Please don’t think I’m not aware of the system’s flaws and maybe you’ll notice some ideas from other systems I “borrowed”. But until now, it worked and I liked it.
I am unsure how “visible” I should make the system in the quest. Should I say how the odds are with exact numbers or should I keep it vague, like “chances for this or that seem to be rather low” ?
Finally, I want to say, I won’t “cheat”: If a roll goes awry, the Colonel will feel the consequences. I think it’s more fun that way.
Now I would usually say that comments and critique are always welcome, but every time a quest author seems to do that in /questdis/, any readers seem to vanish like mice in their holes.
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