This thread at the Goblinoid Games Forum got me to thinking about the whole skill thing again. Irda Ranger posted a reply about making a distinction between more mundane tasks and “heroic stunts,” which I think helped me clarify where I wanted to go with the whole thing.
So, how does this sound? For mundane tasks, the usual 1 or 2 on a d6, or d8 if applicable. For attempts at Awesome, Heroic Stuff, a 5% chance per level, +10% for each relevant ability score bonus.
Sounds interesting. Would there be a blanket "% chance success" for such feats, or would their be a variable chance assigned by the DM for each situation?
ReplyDeleteI think it sounds great. However, I use the ST mechanic because it allows for level progression.
ReplyDeleteLevel based at 5% per level, plus the bonus for ability scores. So, a third level character would have a 15% of success, + 10% if he had a +1 bonus in the relevant ability score. I think a max of 90%, so that even at very high levels, there'll be a chance of failure.
ReplyDeleteI tweaked the post to make it a little clearer, as I realized that a word disappeared on me. :)
ReplyDeleteOne beef I have with OS games is that there is the trend to always think up a new mechanic instead of linking abilities to pre-existing attributes. Why not make skills percentile rolls based on multiples of attributes? Move Silently would be based on Dex, Reading & Writing on Int, etc etc. Characters would get one growth point per level to buy a new skill or level up in an old one. A character with a Str of 18 and Int of 3 would buy up skills like Wrestling or Climbing, which would increase 18% per point spent, and avoid Literacy and Lore as they would waste precious growth points. This would reflect the attributes more in actual ability, and put more flesh on the bones of attribute rolls and encourage roleplaying. Or is that too new school? Seems elegant to me.
ReplyDelete@james- sorry, I somehow missed the level progression stuff on my first read.
ReplyDelete@Aos - A left a word out and had to re-edit. My fault. :)
ReplyDeleteOr just 3d6 roll under stat if you're the right class, 4d6 roll under if you're the wrong class. Take -1 to the roll result per level.
ReplyDeleteThis does amplify the importance of stats for games that don't use them for much (like 0E D&D) and doesn't work well for games with inflated number sizes (3E D&D).