Success Effect System

[NephandicOne]

OK i have made a die pool system that tends to allow the highly skilled to succeed more then the other poor smucks.
In combat I have the system designed in such a way that the player may spend successes to accomplish things about and beyond just "yes you hit him"
For example a Basic offensive contact(a hit) takes 1 success (above any Defensive Success/Talents). Now to pull off special manuevers such a "Chi Disruption" punch it requires 2 Successes to make the technique work(plus a Mystical energy point). Groin Rip requires 2 Success and each has special modifiers for the remainder of combat.

It works well at giving players the option of quick and simple combat and more detailed and quick combat for the more imaginative.

Now I think that if I can come up with a good list of "things" to apply this style to the regular skill system. But this is a where I am running into trouble... I need ideas for what can be applied to most types of skill, I know that craft skills will be easy(+1 Accuracy, Damage, etc) , but I'more interested in Social skills.

[NephandicOne]

Ok so no one is able to give any type of suggestions?

[Drew Stevens]

Well, I'll try. :)

Firstus, I'd recommend you check out Exalted- your 'extra stuff' (beyond simple hit/no hit) sounds a great deal like Exalted Charms- and that'll give you some fodder for Stuff outside of combat.

Secondus, depending on how crunchy you want to make this system, you could just use a Donjon-like system of each success = 1 fact, but extend that into direct combat effects, too... though it'll need to get restricted somewhat, somehow...

Thirdus, there's not really much else where to comment on :)

[Walt Freitag]

The difficulty seems to be in finding success improvements that apply to "most types of skill." If you want to have a shopping list of better forms of success that can be purchased for Success points, you might need a specific list for each skill or for each group of skills, just like you already have for Combat skills. After all, you wouldn't expect "groin rip" to be useful when using, say, an understanding language skill. The combat success enhancements don't apply to non-combat skills. So why would a success enhancement for understanding language also apply to, say, healing? If you're trying to set up two lists, one for "combat" and one for "everything else," then you're giving the "everything else" short shrift (and also saying a lot about how much more important combat is than any other type of task in your game).

Once you zoom in on a specific skill or skill group, it's pretty easy to come up with specific success improvements for it. For instance:

Healing (surgical treatment of trauma): eliminate any chance of infection; reduce effect of poison in the wound; speedier return to ambulatory condition; speedier long-term recovery; scar prevention; stem blood loss; restore seemingly lost function (e.g. restore the use of a severed limb or the sight of a badly damaged eye); heal old or chronic wound; preserve life in a comatose or otherwise too-far-gone-to-heal patient; arrest internal bleeding; save both mother and baby

Reading foreign language: clarify ambiguous words or phrases; identify the author, geographical region, or time period of the writing from the style; read unfamiliar dialect or script form; extrapolate missing fragments; roughly translate related but unknown language

If you don't want separate lists for separate skills, then your options include the "player narrates one fact for each success" system that Drew mentioned from Donjon, or the on-the-fly off-the-cuff description of the result based on varying success degrees ("marginal" to "spectacular") seen in e.g. Storyteller.

Or, you can create a very general but probably very short list of success-improvements that could be applied to almost any use of any skill, which might be something like:

- do it faster
- results last longer than normal (if results normally have a duration)
- do it silently (if it's normally noisy)
- do it using less raw materials (if raw materials are normally required)
- results have increased effect (if the effect is in any way quantifiable, such as increasing the discount resulting from successful bargaining)
- do it undetectably (no one can tell who's doing it or who did it, once it's done)

But if you choose any of these options, you should consider making the successes in combat work the same way.

If you can tell us more about your system so far and what you want it to accomplish in play, we might be able to be more helpful.

By the way, welcome to the Forge!

- Walt

[NephandicOne]

Here is the Skills Section I have so far.

Skills
Skills are abilities learned through experience and instinct, the higher the Rank the more likely you are to succeed.
Skills are broken down into rankings that help identify the skill's competency and usability:
1: Novice      
2: Practiced    
3: Competent   
4: Expert      
5: Master      
6: Legendary   

Dexterity Skills

Archery- The use of a bow and arrow as well as crossbow.

Athletics- Whether its running, jumping, or virtually any physical activity this skill measures the characters ability to excel at the rougher sports as well as mere survival.

Brawl- The human body is a weapon to those that know how to use it, but do you throw a punch like a 9 year old or hit like a freight truck? This is the skill to determine that, it's both a gauge of how often you land a hit but also how well you hit.

Craft Skill (Be Specific) - Woodworking, electronics, mechanics or any other professional trade practiced in world can fall under a craft skill. When choosing what the character knows keep in mind the daily life of the character what they would be able to do.

Firearms (Be Specific) Archaic Hand Gun Submachine Gun (SMG) Rifles Assault-Rifles Shotguns Heavy Weapons Exotics - The ability to wield and maintain a firearm. Those highly skilled are able to keep their weapons in working order while the less skilled are more prone to mishap and damage. Also the skill encompasses the ability to aim and hit targets.

Forgery - the ability to make something that looks exactly like another. This can be thought of as an Expression sub-skill, but is often paired with other 'hi-tech' skills and knowledges to provide the proper background.


Legerdemain- (pick pocket) - Stealing, plain and simple, but not all that simple. This is a catch all skill governing the ability to move objects from one place to another without being observed. Usually this is small and easily concealed objects, but larger objects can be lifted though understandably more difficult.

Martial Arts(Offensive / Defensive)- Similar to the Brawl and melee skills in most respects, Martial Arts is a fighting style that allows for two modes of use as well as special combat maneuvers that brawlers never learn to master. Martial Artists are also apt at using weapons in special techniques.


Melee (Be specific) Axes/Picks Blades- small Blades- Large Blunt Flexible- i.e. whips Staff - You have received training in armed combat, either through street experience or formal education you know how to use a weapon. This is a practical application of knowing how to hurt others not the fancy moves of Martial Artists.

Pick Locks - locks are there to keep the honest out, nothing more. You know how to by-pass security, You can see the emotional undercurrents in others

Pilot Skill (Be Specific) - you know how to drive a car, pilot a plane, or ride a horse. Each is distinct skill.

Stealth - Silence is golden; sometimes it's worth your own weight in it if you can stay still enough and quite enough to live through an encounter. You know how to move and better when not to budge, through practice and raw ability you can slip past observers, move through shadows, and even hide from others.

Discipline Skills

Alertness - This is a measure of your ability to single out things in their environment and disconcert if they are out of place. You are rarely taken by surprise.

Computer - Ranges from basic usage to advanced software design and programming techniques (to design the physical computer would require Science: Electrical Engineering and Crafts: electronics).

Craft Knowledge - Your craft is not only the physical actions that bring something into being it is also the ability to fix, modify, and repair. Craft Knowledge needs to have a specialization when chosen and provides insight into the theories behind the Craft Skill.

Finance - From accounting and taxes to the ability to follow economic trends and commerce functions, you know to make money work for you.

Investigation - the ability to piece together clue to find a resolution, the Investigation skill is used after an Alertness task has revealed something in the area or if the character undergoes purposeful research.

Languages + Lit (Be Specific)- in the known human reaches there are thousands of languages and written systems to convey language, this is not an understatement in any way. Throughout History there have been many ways to tell other what is happening, this skill reflects the ability to express your self in a language not native to the character. Each instance where this skill is taken it will reflect on one individual language sub-type. Once that Language has been mastered (level 5) then other languages in the same family (as chosen by the G.M.) can be learned at 1/2 or even 1/4 the cost as the main.

Law - the ultimate science of the human social condition. You know the ins and outs of the judicial system, the very ticking of the clockwork giant. More to the point of knowing it you understand it and why it works.

Lore (Be Specific)- from the legends of old to the urban myths of today, this skill represents accumulated knowledge and ability to draws lines to current events which may be related to them. Divided into sub groupings and specific genres; vampires, werewolves, street myths.

Occult - the dark and eldritch mysteries, the lair of arcane rites and happenings of creatures beyond normal thought. While this seems to encompass the Lore skill it is not as highly specialized and is often times incorrect in the details that known to be facts. The basis of magic are also found in this, will not the actual ability to cast magic it is a measure of understanding it.

Medical - from first aid to surgeon, the understanding of modern medicine and the techniques used to heal the sick.

Scientific Knowledge (Be Specific) Weather its Astronomy, Anatomy, Botany, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics, Metallurgy or Zoology it is referenced as Science, though each is a separate skill and must be taken a number of times for certain professions.

Survival (Be Specific)- there are many types of wilderness left in the world, desert, mountain, tundra, or swamp and you know how to live of at least one them well enough to get by. This skill also represents an ability to hunt, track, gather food, and how build/take shelter in the chosen environment.


Empathy Skills

Appeal/Seduction - Sex, sex, or just sexy. You know the way draw attention to yourself and your body. While this is not to say you have any moral deficiency you just under stand how people look at each other and why. If so inclined you could use that to your own advantage.

Animal Ken - you possess an affinity for animals. You understand animal psychology, either through experience or innate ability, this skill shows the level of connection that the character is able to attain with an animal. Used in both training domesticated animals and understanding wild or feral animals.

Artistic Expression - Creativity and the ability to let others know what is meant in that creativity. When choosing Artistic Expression you should chose an area of specialty: Prose, Poetry, Painting, or Sculpture.

Command/Diplomacy - You speak with an air of power and your words motivate other. While you know what to say to motivate others you also know what not to say and when to say something without saying it.


Charm/Manipulation - Everyone has buttons that set them off, you know how find them and push. Better yet you know how to push and deflect people to your own ends.

Disguise/Style - you know how to dress, whether to make yourself to look better or even like someone else. The higher the skill the more different you can make yourself look.

Etiquette - Manners, social insight, or proper eat habits for the situation. A special skill that most people have, at least in a limited way. Each character has enough Etiquette not to get kicked out of their favorite pub or restaurant, but it does not mean they know enough not to piss someone there off. The does and do nots of the social sphere.  

Enigmas - understanding Riddles and puzzles are under the purview of this skill, but so is uncommon wisdom and adages that hold greater understanding of the world around the character.

Intimidation - Veiled threats and out right physical force, you know the best way to make others fear you.

Meditation - The ability to relax under stress and claim inner tranquility, even if it is brief. The beginning levels of this skill allow you to reflect upon an event or subject and possible gain some insight about it, but with practice and advancement this skills akin ESP.

Perform - You have the ability to act, either on the stage or in your daily life. Some would argue that this is an expanded Artistic Expression, but those that Perform know that Art imitates life, you create new Truths and give scope to Presence

Politics - the subtle dance of bureaucratic red tape and backstabs are the preview of Politics. You now the maneuvers that get you into power and the Face to show the masses.

Subterfuge - You lie! but do you lie well enough? Deception is a skill like and it can be used to hide, distort, or even lure out the truth. Subterfuge is use primarily to lie or confuse other but those gifted in lying are often the same people that can not be lied to.

Streetwise - The Streets are alive, and you know how and where to take a pulse. You know the streets and its secrets ways, you are able to survive in them and under them, and you know where to go to get what you need. Weather they like you enough to spit on you is another question.

The proceeding list of skills is a limited one, there are many other skills in the world that could be mentioned, this list is one of broad topics and general use. Do not let it limit game play or stunt character development. If a character should have a special skill in an area that better defines him/her then create one, also while in a gaming session if a character encounters something that would require a new skill, look to see if two previous skills would fill the void. for example if the character is trying to trail someone through a busy street, then Streetwise and Survival or Streetwise and Stealth may be looked to as surrogate skills to fit the situation, just use an average or the better of the two depending on the feel and flavor of your game.






Task Resolution
Task- n. a difficult or tedious undertaking
The Task Resolution System is designed so that the only time a player would be needed to roll is when there is enough stress or outside influence to contribute to the characters failure. What does that mean? It simply means that a Character is able to do his current skill level in a given task 99% of time correctly so long as he is not under some stressful influence. What type of influence is stressful is a matter of debate, we will leave this largely to the Guides discretion, but commonly any life or death situations or conflict between characters qualifies as stressful. A Tasks' success or failure is generally determined by choosing the most relevant Attribute and Skill. The Chosen Attribute will generate a die pool; this will be the number of 10-sided dice needed to be used in the roll. After choosing the Attribute the Guide will choose which Skill is most appropriate to the Task at hand, this paired to the Skill's Aptitude will determine the Threshold Rating. When the dice are rolled each die that is equal to or lower then the Threshold is considered a Success. The more successes that a roll generates the more likely the character is Succeed over the situation. Any roll of a 10 will generate a Fail, each Fail may be canceled out by a success. If the Fail is not canceled it can be used by the opponent as a success or by the Guide to judge flaws in the final resolution of the Task. If there are more Fails then Successes the Task was a Blunder. Blunders are catastrophic failures that usually result in hamr to the charatcer. The more fails that are left to make the Blunder, the bigger the Blunder.
It should be noted that truly insightful Role-playing should be rewarded with success and the Attributes and Skill Ranks be damned, the only time this is not true is when it involves opposed actions from two or more Player Characters and it is more a matter of fairness to allow the Attributes/Skills to help decide the outcome of the situation.