Here's a(nother) resolution mechanic

[mahoux]

Alright.  Just going to throw this by people.  I'm thinking of using this for Future Perfect.  So look at it and give me some feedback, ie. anything that seems odd or bad, or particularly good about it, or if it is used in another game.

This system gives a little more oomph to skills, not just adding dice to the mix.

You start with your basic attributes: strength, agility/dexterity, brains, will, etc.  Buy levels from one to five in each attribute.  Done.

Next you buy skills.  I haven't got a formula for buying skills yet, but I will.  Skills are placed under the attribute most closely related to the skill– a la Deadlands.  Some skills may be lifting for strength, gymnastics for agility, high pain threshold for will (yes that isn't technically a skill).  Skills are purchased up to level five.

When a task resolution is called for, the GM sets a difficulty of 2 through 11.  Two is pathetically easy, while eleven in nigh impossible.  One is no brainer and twelve is impossible.  Here is where the arbitrary nature of the target number rests with the GM, pluses and minuses on this.  The player rolls his/her dice –d6s equal to the attribute– and adds a related skill (if any) to the highest die.  If the roll equals or surpasses the target number, then the task was completed successfully.  Less than the target, the character failed.

I also intend to have a luck mechanic for normal characters and a psi power mechanic for telepaths, telekinetics and precogs.  The luck mechanic would be available in limited starting quantities and extra would be given through the course of gameplay.

So there it is, vaguely.  Any observations?

Aaron Houx

[mahoux]

I mentioned the luck mechanic in the first post, so here is the lowdown on it.  If a player wishes to, he/she can spend a point of the luck or psi power to add to the total.  I'm thinking of forcing the point to be spent before the roll.  So the luck is rolled on a d6, and half of that roll (rounded up) is added to the total.

I definitely want the luck or psi power rolls to be narrated by the players.

[Mike Holmes]

This means that if you do happen to have a five in a skill, that getting an eleven (night impossible) is pretty easy. Worst chance is 1:6. Armed with a five stat, you have about a 60% chance to succeed. Reduce your skill by one, and you'll never accomplish this particular level.

Is the limited range of possible accomplishment something you're shooting for?

Mike

[mahoux]

Mike Holmes wrote;

Is the limited range of possible accomplishment something you're shooting for?

In a sense, yes.  Not all target numbers are going to be eleven, and six is the average with the most possible combinations.  Really difficult tasks would fall into the upper range, ie. shooting someone who has good cover.  Then perhaps a player might spend luck or a psi point to get an edge.  "I read his thoughts and wait for him to step out to shoot, then I fire."  Roll and check the target number.  I just want to eliminate the "easy success" variable and make the skills more meaningful.

I'm also not looking to keep players from taking chances.  That's why I'm throwing in the luck mechanic to help boost numbers.  What would be a best scenario seven can now boost iself to a possible ten.

Aaron Houx
Blindside Press

[Mike Holmes]

Hmm. Luck and Psionics add straight? Not to the number of dice?

Given your example, a player can add more than one. That means that they will be able to make certain tasks certain to win (which is already the case with skill). Again, is that something you're OK with? What about baddies? Do they get these points? Are there limits on GM use? Or can a powerful baddie just off a PC if he gets the drop on them?

Mike

[mahoux]

Hmm. Luck and Psionics add straight? Not to the number of dice?

Right.  Every point of luck or psi spent allows one die roll.  The total, halved and rounded up, is added to the total.

Given your example, a player can add more than one. That means that they will be able to make certain tasks certain to win (which is already the case with skill)

Yes, a player could theoretically spend more than one point.  However, I intend to keep luck and psi low (no more than two or three points at a time, so people can't just rely on luck all the time).

What about baddies? Do they get these points? Are there limits on GM use? Or can a powerful baddie just off a PC if he gets the drop on them?

You know, I'm not quite sure yet.  I am leaning toward the baddies having this potential as well.  I liked the mechanics in Deadlands that gave the GM fate chips to use when the players spent their chips.  I will probably limit GM use of this feature, just to give the players an edge.

I'll go ahead and drop an example right now for those who don't want to keep referring back up to the top.  

Agent X, who has no psi powers, is engaged in a firefight with a suspect whose actions will cause a threat to national security in a week.  The suspect has good cover and is firing back at Agent X.  The player wants to try and use a little luck to hit him.  The GM has set the target number at nine, since the suspect has cover and a weapon.  Agent X has four dice in dexterity and three points in shooting.  Her max result would be nine, enough to hit, but she wants to make sure.  She spends one of her two points of luck and rolls a 4.  This gives her 2 to add to the result.  She rolls her dexterity 4d6.  Her highest die is 5.  Added to her three in shooting, that is an eight.  Not enough, but with her 2 points from luck, it is a success.

She narrates her success as "the suspect moves out to take a shot, and I am already poised for my shot.  When I see him, I fire and hit him."

So there it is.  More to come later.

Aaron Houx
Blindside Press

[M. J. Young]

Agent X, who has no psi powers, is engaged in a firefight with a suspect whose actions will cause a threat to national security in a week.  The suspect has good cover and is firing back at Agent X.  The player wants to try and use a little luck to hit him.  The GM has set the target number at nine, since the suspect has cover and a weapon.  Agent X has four dice in dexterity and three points in shooting.  Her max result would be nine, enough to hit, but she wants to make sure.  She spends one of her two points of luck and rolls a 4.  This gives her 2 to add to the result.  She rolls her dexterity 4d6.  Her highest die is 5.  Added to her three in shooting, that is an eight.  Not enough, but with her 2 points from luck, it is a success.

Up to this point, I'd been laboring under the assumption that whenever you said "luck or psi" you meant one of these things:
--that some genres would use psi and others luck
--that you hadn't decided whether it would be luck or psi.

This example suggests that what you  mean is that luck and psi are both in the game. This raises a lot of other issues.

--Does a character who has psi not have luck?
--Does a character split points between luck and psi?
--Is there a price to having psi?

What I'm trying to get to here is this: if luck automatically does what psi does for any character who does not have psi, why would anyone take psi? But if psi increases the pool of points and you still have luck, why would anyone not take psi?

--M. J. Young

[ADGBoss]

One thing I might suggest to cut down on math and die rolling is this:

Either reduce the dice for Luck/Psi down to 1d3 and NOT half the result OR simmply Have each point of Luck/Psi be worth a set amount.

One example

1 point of Luck = a +2 for Skill Resolution and Death Avoidance only
1 Point of Psi = a +1 for Skill Resluton but can also be used for Narrative hints from the GM, and extra bump to damage or for spying, narrative situations, Initiative etc. SO Psi is less powerful then Luck but more flexible.

SMH
ADGBoss

[Mike Holmes]

Either reduce the dice for Luck/Psi down to 1d3 and NOT half the result OR simmply Have each point of Luck/Psi be worth a set amount.

I think he is using d3. He's just describing how to use a d6 to get a d3 result. Or rather, I think he's saying that you can skip the step of calculating each die separately.

So for 3d3, instead of:

1. calculate first die by halving and rounding up
2. calcualte second die by halving and rounding up
3. calculate third die by halving and rounding up
4. add total

do:

1. total dice
2. calculate result by halving and rounding up

Same result, less handling time.

I've seen actual d3's but they're rare. Just d6's labeled 1-3 twice.

Or maybe I'm misunderstanding how it works. :-)

Mike

[mahoux]

MJ Young-
Indeed Luck and Psi are two distinct entities.  And I am planning on characters having one or the other, depending on whether or not they play a "normal" character or one endowed with some sort of psychic ability.  If you have psychic ability, your "x-factor" would be Psi and if not your "x-factor" would be luck.

Originally, when I posted this mechanic, I was trying to operate it independently of my game, but it seems it is tied to the game a bit more than I thought.

Basically, the game is kind of a cross between Time Cop, Minority Report and the government.  Players are in an organization that operates as a CIA across time, protecting "national security" by using time and precogs to apprehend those considered a "threat."  Premise speaking, what would you be willing to do to protect your country, and would altering time be worth the cost?  Sort of a "because we CAN change the future, SHOULD we?"

Anyway, characters can be either "normal" people with no psychic powers or people with some kind of paranormal power- telekinetics, telepaths or precogs.  So there is where Luck and Psi come in.  Psychic powers also have other benefits, so taking the abilities would not be detrimental to the players.

The distinction of the two is essentially there to provide for narration purposes within the game.

Aaron Houx

[Bailywolf]

Mahoux, did you see this old thread on precognition?

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2800&start=0

Fang Langford and I debated how to handle precog mechanicaly, and its material I myself am considering tapping for a Precog/Psi based minigame.  

As for the Luck/Psi point issue.  Why not base the return on these points on character traits and metatraits?  I spend a point of Psi to read my enemy's mind in combat, instead of rolling a die to determine my bouns, why not just let me add my Telepathy skill to my Martial Arts skill check?  This will allow you to keep the actual number of Psi points low while increasing their value for powerful or experienced characters.

Luck is a tougher nut to crack since there are no luck skills... perhaps with a personality trait system or something... you spend a point of Luck and get a bouns equal to your level in the most aplicable personality trait... but the connection between personality and luck is nill.  For a more dramatic, metagamey thing, things like styles or schticks could be used (Daring; Hard to Kill; Lucky in Love ect).  If you have an aplicable one, and spend a point of Luck, you can take a bonus based on an Attribute (or whatnot).

[Le Joueur]

Mahoux, did you see this old thread on precognition?

Precog

Fang Langford and I debated how to handle precog mechanicaly, and its material I myself am considering tapping for a Precog/Psi based minigame.

After that dicussion, I did a lot of thinking about our Genre Expectations Techinque and how you could use them to create predestination, especially how that related to meta-plots and just 'how stories go.'  The result was a serious Mechanix addition and a lot of clarity with what turns out to be the centerpiece of the whole system.

How does this relate?  The 'luck' power in Scattershot is an Advantage that can be used at any time to roll Experience Dice into any other roll, based on frequency and quantity limits set down in the luck write-up.

Is that any help?

Fang Langford

[mahoux]

Bailywolf and Fang-
Thanks for the threads.  I remember reading the Precog thread a while back, and I am working on the mechanics for that aspect.  Telepathy and telekinesis are a lot easier, but precog can kick a GM's butt.  

I remember a D&D game where I played a spellcaster from a Divination school.  I think it kind of pissed the GM off having me do my voodoo as a wild card.

Right now, I am fleshing out my mechanics, as I have developed a backstory.  I am leaning towards a Narrativist game, so I want to leave a lot in the hands of the GM and players as far as any metaplots, So I don't intend to do the full-blown "story through time" that games like TimeMaster and Continuum did.  Plus this game is going to be future only time travel, since there is now way to "stay out of history's way" if you presuppose a single timeline, rather than variations of a timeline according to decisions and events.

Aaron Houx