roll lowest sweet chariot

[signoftheserpent]

From a review for a boardgame the name of which escapes me now on rpg.net comes this idea which strikes me as very simple and very effective. Ilike simple idaas. Basically it's roll lower to succeed.

When competing against other characters (ie opposed rolls), both roll and the lowst result wins with the difference used to judge effect. A range of dice can be used, d4-d12,as the incremements are equal. I don't see any problems there. The better the skill level, the lower the die type.

For regular tests, roll against a difficulty and try to get lower in order to succeed (or equal). Difference can be used for effect. Automatic successes might occur when the die type is lower than the difficulty.

What are the potential pitfalls of such a system?

[Christopher Weeks]

The thing that strikes me right off as a bit funny -- though certainly defensible, is that two equally skilled characters facing one another have a greater chance for smashing success/failure when they are unskilled than highly skilled.  Is that a good thing?

Also, consider: Why is multiple die types favorable to you compared to multiple dice?  Why does low win instead of high?  How is the difference turned into effect?

Chris

[signoftheserpent]

>The thing that strikes me right off as a bit funny -- though certainly defensible, is that two equally skilled characters facing one another have a greater chance for smashing success/failure when they are unskilled than highly skilled.  Is that a good thing?

2 equal characters will roll the same die and have the same chance.

>Also, consider: Why is multiple die types favorable to you compared to multiple dice?  

one die is easier to roll and calculate than multiples.

>Why does low win instead of high?  

why not?

>How is the difference turned into effect?

the gm judges an effect based on the degree of difference. eg; roll x lower than the difficulty to attack and add x to the damage.

[Mike Holmes]

>The thing that strikes me right off as a bit funny -- though certainly defensible, is that two equally skilled characters facing one another have a greater chance for smashing success/failure when they are unskilled than highly skilled.  Is that a good thing?

2 equal characters will roll the same die and have the same chance.

What he's saying is that if you have two guys with d4s, that they can at most have a difference of 3. Whereas if you have two guys with d12s, then the difference can be as much as 11. And he's not saying it's bad, he's saying it's an interesting effect. Is it an effect you want?

Note that this is the system used in The Window.

Mike

[signoftheserpent]

As I said, it wasn't an original idea to begin with.

[SarimRune]

From a review for a boardgame the name of which escapes me now on rpg.net comes this idea which strikes me as very simple and very effective. Ilike simple idaas. Basically it's roll lower to succeed.

When competing against other characters (ie opposed rolls), both roll and the lowst result wins with the difference used to judge effect. A range of dice can be used, d4-d12,as the incremements are equal. I don't see any problems there. The better the skill level, the lower the die type.

For regular tests, roll against a difficulty and try to get lower in order to succeed (or equal). Difference can be used for effect. Automatic successes might occur when the die type is lower than the difficulty.

What are the potential pitfalls of such a system?

  If I might, I think I know what system your talking about.  The boardgame is called Battlebowl and I quite like it (although it's a little simple).  

  The mechanics are actually quite neat.  Each figure is given a die type, from d20 to a d6.  You roll the same die for combat or running.  But in running, you want to roll high (you move a number of spaces equal to what you roll).  When in combat the lowest roll wins.  
  Therefore, your speedy guys get a d20.  Great at running, poor at hitting.  Your big thugs get a d6.  Very slow but they have great odds for hitting.  
  I find it interesting that nobody is completely screwed.  A fast figure can still roll a 1 on the d20 and tie or best a big thug.  A bit abstract perhaps.

  I think there is a lot of merit in this mechanic, although to lower the wild chances possible, you could give a figure multiple dice to roll, perhaps to represent skill.  Raw talent (core stats) might give the die type while skill (gun combat, running, etc) would give the number of dice you roll (picking the best one).  

Just my $0.02.

[Christopher Weeks]

SotS,

I feel like we're failing to engage.  What kind of commentary were you seeking?

Chris

[Andrew Martin]

When I get around to it (v. busy at work), I'll be using a similar system in my S combat system for Fudge. The higher the character's skill or attribute, the smaller the die used. For example, Legendary skill is D4 and Fair skill is D10 (one of the advantages of using magic names for skill levels is being able to replace mechanics to suit different settings...). The player whose dice rolled "lowest" wins. To get around the unintuitive effect of lower rolls being better, I'm going to use the number result on the dice as place markers as in a race. So 1 is first, 2 is second, 3 is third and so on. So if two players in a conflict roll 3 and 6 on their dice, the first roll/PC gets third place and the second roll/PC gets sixth place. For each place less than first place, the players alternately have to narrate a tiny flaw or defect in their character's attacks and defences, which the highest placing player/PC in the conflict can take advantage of in winning the conflict. This system then allows PC observers to the conflict roll their skill in an effort to gain further information about the duel participants, which I feel is a necessary part to help better reflect character actions in Usagi Yojimbo, a furry samurai comic series.

[Mike Holmes]

As I said, it wasn't an original idea to begin with.

And I made no commentary on that. I was making an informational reference. If you're interested in this die system you might be interested in other stuff from the Window. Or not. Thought I'd mention it in case.

Mike