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Post by madwill on Feb 8, 2013 17:56:53 GMT -5
hello,
i thought i would start a thread to list various house rules we use.
my first one was to tweak the character generation a bit. taking a que from gurps 4th ed. i doubled the cost of dx and iq over 10 and increased the points total to 12 points. this helps with min/maxing dex and iq which basically are free skill points.
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Post by sirgawain on Feb 8, 2013 19:11:57 GMT -5
Hello Madwill,
I have a question: Do you feel characters with high Dex/IQ have an unfair advantage on skill use? If a character doesn't have training in a skill and tries to use that skill, they have to add a die to the test to see if they pass it. Just wondering.
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Post by madwill on Feb 8, 2013 19:55:30 GMT -5
indeed i do. a dx 13 iq 13 character has around a 50% chance on any skill he doesn't know on 4D6, and with the skills he does know just 1 skill point gives the character a 14, which on the 3D6 bell curve is around 75%. i want the focus to be more on developing skills than min/maxing certain stats.
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Post by Chris Rice on Feb 8, 2013 20:11:17 GMT -5
That's very interesting. I'd never thought of things quite that way.
However, I think I'd simply rule that if you don't have the skill you can't use it - no matter what your DX/IQ.
I don't see why, for example, you should know anything about Alchemy without training, even if your IQ is 13+.
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Post by madwill on Feb 8, 2013 20:34:27 GMT -5
i wouldn't say every skill, though. i'd seperate them between default (the ones you can use with 4D6 as anyone can pick up a weapon and swing it) and trained, which requires at least 1 point to attempt the skill. like your example of alchemy.
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Post by chrisrice on Feb 8, 2013 20:43:46 GMT -5
Don't get me wrong, I'd let anyone try anything. But there's no way I'd just let them roll 4d6 to do as well as a skilled character.
Sure, any idiot can swing a sword, but they're probably as likely to hurt themselves or a friend as an opponent.
Conan want to make a potion? Sure, why not. Now which of those pretty little bottles are you going to mix. Those two? OK.
Boom!!!
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Post by chrisrice on Feb 8, 2013 21:00:31 GMT -5
Still, ignoring my facetious comment above you have a point about the rules as written. There is perhaps insufficient guidance for an inexperienced GM to interpret non-skilled attempts at a task.
Rule book p16 states, "A Hero may attempt to use any skill, but if they have not learned it, they must add at least 1 die to test the use of that skill."
So it's open ended how difficult to make the attempt.
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Post by sirgawain on Feb 9, 2013 8:22:40 GMT -5
@ Madwill:
Thanks for the reply. I'm surprised nobody hasn't changed a few skills to require St instead of DEX/IQ.
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Post by sirgawain on Feb 9, 2013 8:31:39 GMT -5
My 'one rule to rule them all':
All checks made at 3/X, use a d20. All checks requiring an increase or decrease of dice, roll d20 + or - a d6.
Which leads to: All rolled 1's are double damage, all rolled 2's are maximum damage, all rolled 20's are a critical fumble.
That is all. Move along.
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Post by madwill on Feb 9, 2013 8:34:44 GMT -5
actually, i was thinking about using 2D10 myself. it has a very smooth bell curve, more of an arc, really.
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Post by sirgawain on Feb 9, 2013 8:43:54 GMT -5
Disclaimer: I love statistics.
I was going for no bell curve. 5% chance across to get a certain number and easy to determine base chance. 2d10 could work...5% increase to 10% at the middle...Would at least flatten that bell just like you typed.
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Post by chrisrice on Feb 9, 2013 9:06:25 GMT -5
I'd thought about a few "skills" that are ST based.
TFT had the "warrior/veteran" talent which allowed a character to ignore 1 or 2 points of damage.
It could be done differently in HOW as a 3/ST check to "shrug off" a blow that would otherwise cause damage. For every point of damage to be taken (after armour) apply a negative modifier to the check. So if a warrior is due to take 3 points of damage he rolls 3/ST-3 to see if he can shrug off the blow. This makes it harder to withstand heavier blows.
I'd call it something like "Toughness", and allow only one check per combat encounter.
Just an idea at present.
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Post by chrisrice on Feb 9, 2013 9:11:35 GMT -5
Another ST skill, "Strongman".
"The character is skilled at feats of strength and leverage such as bending bars, breaking chains and carrying heavy objects."
When attempting one of these superhuman tasks, the roll will be at least 4/ST and for extreme feats 5/ST or even more to accomplish.
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Post by geordieracer on Feb 9, 2013 15:33:51 GMT -5
I like the Toughness skill, but I dunno about Strongman. A ST18 Hero may not be able to bend steel bars but he'd do pretty well with iron bars, without having a skill in it.
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Post by madwill on Feb 9, 2013 17:46:03 GMT -5
in regards to str/en skills i think it's just a matter of the game master applying the applicable stat to the skill. like athletics. anything that would require sheer muscle power, such as lifting, use str+athletics skill. or, with running make an en + skill roll to avoid fatigue for long distances etc.
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