I have a 'nifty' mechanic for detailed resolution and I wondered if it was good enough to replace the core resolution mechanic with. I ask because I was prodded into thinking that I needed a nifty new mechanic to catch people's attention, and after seeing FATE's character generation mechanic (which I seem to have invented seperately) I think that this detailed mechanic could do the job.

A bit on my game first:

Traits are rated 1-3. However, zero is considered the default that all characters have, and it is possible to have 'bad' Traits like 'Hard of Hearing 2.' There is also a Scale mechanic that resembles FuDGE's Scale mechanic strongly. Wild Points, which vary by how 'cinematic' a setting is, resemeble FATE points -- they can be spent to modify actions, as well as give new Traits and modify those Trait permanently. However, if Wild Points are spent on things other than modifying actions, they do not recover -- normally Wild Points recover at the end of every Scene. (By 'cinematic' I mean that the crazier a setting is, the more Wild Points PCs start with, and the more Wild Points they can spend at one time.) The only ways to recover Wild Points spent on things other than modifying actions are to do things specific to the setting, or by the GM's discretion.

Ok, here's the basic mechanic:

1) have the player describe the action he wishes his PC to take
3) take the HIGHEST relevant Trait of the PC
4) apply HIGHEST or LOWEST modifiers to that Trait (i.e., the one with the highest absolute—value) – a +3 equals +1 Scale; a -3 equals a -1 Scale
5) subtract the HIGHEST opposing Trait
6) determine the degree of success -- 0 or less is a failure, 1 is a minor success, 2 is a major success, 3 or higher is a complete succes.
7) the player may now spend Wild Points to raise the degree of success, providing a) he does not go over the maximum amount of Wild Points that can be spent, as limited by the setting, and that b) he has enough Wild Points to spend to raise the degree of success as high as he wishes. Again, a +3 equals a +1 Scale.
8) have the GM describe the results according to the degree of success

Here's the detailed mechanic. It seems to me that it could replace large swathes of the basic mechanic. It goes like this:

The 5-Step Resolution Mechanic
This mechanic is composed (naturally) of five steps. At any time, a character may move further down the line until he reaches Step 5. At that time, he must pause for one round before being able to go back to Step 1. Once he reaches Step 1, he may then move down the line to any Step from 1 to 5.

The same is true for any character currently 'engaging' the character somehow, i.e., the opponent, whether it be in combat or conversation. If the character's opponent moves to step 4, the character must either 1) move to Step 4 as well or 2) disengage somehow.

The Steps are:
1. Prepare: In this Step, the character prepares for action. Depending on what preparations he takes, the GM may award him anywhere from a -2 to a +2 modifier to all future Steps. Remember, however, that the character must have the necessary time to prepare. Common sense should prevail.

2. Beginning: In this Step, the character begins action. All actions carry a risk of 1. By this I mean that if the character succeeds at his action, his action will have a 1-point effect, or Minor Success, such as a glancing blow. If the character's enemy succeeds, the character will suffer a 1-point effect, or Minor Success.

3. Middle: In this Step, the character 'tries out' his opponent. All actions carry a risk of 2. This means that if the character succeeds, his action will have a 2-point effect, or Major Success, such as a wound. If the character's enemy succeeds, the character will suffer a 2-point effect, or Major Success, again, such as a wound.

4. Ending: In this Step, the character tries to finish the enagagement with his opponent. All actions carry a risk of 3. This means that if the character success, his action will have a 3-point effect, or Total Success, such as a fatal blow or knockout. If the character's enemy succeeds, the character will suffer a 3-point effect, such as a fatal blow or knockout.

5. Recover: In this Step, the character tries to recover from the strain of engagement. Just how fast and effectively this occurs is determined by the character's Traits, the nature of the engagement, and how much time the character has to recover. For example, a character with the Trait: Regeneration is going to heal wounds much faster than a normal character. Similarly, characters will recover much faster from a verbal engagement than from physical combat. Finally, a character who has one winter to recover from battle is going to fare much better than one who has only one week.

It is important to note that while recovering, the character cannot actively defend himself, giving a -2 to normal attempts at defense. He must wait one round before he can engange again.

Oh. Forgot to post how you 'disengage.'

'Disengagement' varies by enagement. A character may be able to simply walk away from a chess game, or cite a sick relative to get out of a conversation, but in combat he must often run away, or get a friend to help.

Depending on the nature of the 'disengagement,' the GM may give the character a 0 to -3 penalty to defense each 'disenagement.'

--Palaskar

I like the system you have it is definitely interesting. One thing I would like to bring up is the have to rest after each engagement. Not being able defend yourself or having to wait to do something else does not make much sense to me. Could you please explain it better to me. How long are your engagement's? If they are the normal 3-5 seconds why would you need to rest? Just a thought.

Engagements are much longer than 3-5 seconds on average. The whole process of engagement is equal to a normal combat or other form of resolution. So for, say, a game of chess, you have 1) Set up the pieces (Prepare) 2) Opening moves (Beginning) 3) Mid-game (Middle) 4) End-game (Ending) 5) Put away the pieces/Get all your own pieces you have lost before setting up a new game (Recover).

If you 'disengage,' it's like leaving the game in the middle of play, or exposing your back for an attack of opportunity in AD&D.

Does this help?