The Probability Arc lite system

[celtois]

Alright so I'm new around here, and I like most of you have an idea of a RPG system that I think is wonderful.
Thus I am posting it here to get feedback both positive and negative to see what's wrong with it, so positive and negative comments are all welcome.

Probability Arc System

So the basis of this system is the probability arc created by the rolling of 3d6.

All actions in this system are determined using these dice.

The actions are then split up by difficulty. When a player attempts an action, the GM will assign it a difficulty based on how hard the action is to accomplish. The action then is moved up or down tiers based on the player or their opponents strengths or weaknesses

Action Tiers:

Tier: Description: Dice roll required
-1: Impossible without very favorable circumstances.
0: Impossible without some favorable circumstances.
1: Extremely challenging actions (3, 18)
2: Very challenging actions (4, 17)
3: Quite challenging actions (5, 16)
4: Somewhat challenging actions (6, 15)
5: Somewhat easy actions (7, 14)
6: Quite easy actions (8, 13)
7: Very easy actions (9, 12)
8: Extremely easy actions (10, 11)
9: Automatic success unless there are unfavorable circumstances
10: Automatic success unless there are very unfavorable circumstances

Interpreting the dice:

If the roll is in the same tier as that the action was assigned, the action is a complete success you manage to do what you intended to do
if the roll is one tier away from that of the action, the action succeeds as if you had attempted an action that was one tier easier (a lesser result)
if the roll is two tiers away from that of the action, the action succeeds as if you had attempted an action that was two tiers easier (a much lesser result)
if the roll is three tiers away from that of the action, the action fails however you suffer no consequences
if the roll is four tiers away from that of the action the action fails and you suffer a minor consequence
if the roll is five tiers away from that of the action, then the action fails and you suffer a fairly minor consequence
if the roll is six tiers away from that of the action, the action fails and you suffer an average consequence
if the roll is seven tiers away from that of the action, the action fails and you suffer a major consequence
if the roll is eight tiers away from that of the action, the action fails and you suffer a drastic consequence

Favourable circumstances, a strength on the rollers side or a weakness on the targets side make the action one tier easier
Unfavourable circumstances, a weakness on the rollers side or a strength on the targets make the actions one tier harder


Now that you know how actions are resolved in the probability arc system you need to know how to make a character.

Each character has 14 key traits, 12 of which are strengths or weaknesses

Essential statistics.
(Assign 5 points among these two scores min of 1 per stat)
Vitality(The number of wounds you can take before you are considered to have taken a lethal wound):
Dodge(how difficult you are to hit, each point here modifies the tier required to hit you by -1):

Strengths and Weaknesses
(The player may select 6 of these traits to be his strengths and 6 to be his weaknesses  in higher power or lower power campaigns the GM may wish to changes these numbers to 8 and 4 or 4 and You may only pick one word per row
(Weakness) (Strength)
Weak | Strong
Clumsy | Graceful
Frail | Hardy
Dumb | Smart
Greedy | Generous
Lusty | Chaste
Proud | Humble
Fearful | Fearless
Angry | Calm
Gluttonous | Moderated
Despairing | Hopeful
Lazy | Lively

Now that you have your character you're ready to face the world.

Combat: When an attack hits it's target it wounds them, which gives them a -1 penalty to their dodge score till they are healed.
Fatal wounds, when an opponent has taken a number of wounds equal to their vitality score they are considered to have received a fatal wound and will die if left untreated

Magic system: Rune/Language is magic. All spells are cast by rolling against the action tier of the spell determined by how much it has to change in the world to accomplish it's goal.

Social interaction is meant to be the heart of this game, with RPing at it's core the player will decide what they are trying to convince a person of if and a difficulty tier will be assigned based on what they are trying to accomplish. From there the player makes arguments for their reasoning, with each argument that uses the targets weakness or strength making the tier increase and each that uses the opposite of the targets weakness or strength making the tier decrease. With some exceptions, attempting to intimidate a strong person is harder then intimidating a weak person and so forth.

This is a rough outline of the system and I am well aware there are many holes, however I endeavor to allow this system to grow and come into it's own with your criticisms so please speak your minds.

[Luminous]

Seems awfully complex and narrow.  There isn't any middle ground for the traits.  You're either weak or strong, not average.  I can see a lot of players not liking those choices they have to make.

[celtois]

I'm rather confused as to how the system is complex, I had figured it was a fairly uncomplicated system. Please enlighten me.

Yes it is rather narrow and is intended to be that way, the traits are supposed to be rather one dimensional, to encourage characters more to the extremes.. though perhaps including making it so the player instead has 4 average traits 4 weaknesses and 4 strengths would work better and emphasize the strengths and weaknesses more. Something to ponder

Also if any of the wording has you confused please don't hesitate to ask, I'll do my best to clarify.

[Locke]

well something i see that could be a problem is the consequence resolutions.  You would either have to have the GM make this up or have a chart of what it could be based on the degree of failure.  How does skill play in?  Can the player adjust the roll up or down based on skill?

[Silverwave]

Too complex and "table dependent" (you can't possibly memorize possible results).

[Locke]

well one thing that confuses me is why don;t people try backing into the system first.  People have ideas, which is fine, but seem to understand how to practically employ them.  For example, you could get with a friend or two and do a social interaction.  Just makeup the rules as you go; play with no rules.  Figure out what what the rules should be.

The two major things to look out for is:
- a character having more intelligence than the player.
- a player having more intelligence than the character.

In the first case, the GM can determine that the character knows or has the ability to do or say something that the player does not.
In the second case the GM has to determine how much the character can do.  This is harder to police for the GM and easier to exploit by the player.  Efforts must taken to determine the extent the character is able to follow the player's command.

Look at my system in sig, you might see something in the Flaw I have come up with that allow a GM some latitude.  I would use a similar system but expand on it.  Give each character like 3 emotional traits.  Maybe one strong one and two subversive ones.  Like:  Pride, Distrustful, and Know-it-all

Pride is the major:  The GM can automatically instill the character to not back down in situations that maybe they should.  If forced to back down they take a penalty of xx to xx because of disappointment.
Distrustful:  The character is generally distrustful of people and situations without extensive knowledge or proven trust.  The GM can force the character to leave a situation where the character doesn't have intimate knowledge.
Know-it-all:  The character thinks he knows everything, the GM could cause a critical failure when the character attempts to roll from something they probably don't know.


just some ideas...  and is simple without having to refer to charts.

[Locke]

sorry the above post was meant for another thread.  can a mod delete it please?