Sometimes by randomly reading different systems the same day I realize mechanics from different games can work really well together. Today was the case with MM's risk dice and ICRPG's effect mechanic.
The idea of the "effect mechanic" is that you treat any task as having "hit points" and any action as doing "effect", the equivalent of damage. You're trying to scale up a cliff and succeed on your climbing roll? Good job, but you're poorly equipped. Roll 1d4 effect to see how high you get this turn, you'll have to try again next round until you beat the cliff's 5 "hit points".
Now, imagine we give any tool in MM a dR corresponding to its quality. Whenever you use the tool, you roll the dR both for effect and to see if the tool is damaged. A dR10 rope doesn't give advantage to dR10 people, instead it allows anyone using it to roll dR10 effort when climbing. It unifies the meaning of the dR for all tools.
I'll definitely start using effect in OSR games. It works nicely for time management too: roll for random encounters every other round to give players a motivation to climb faster :)
It's an interesting idea. I'm concerned that the system doesn't take into account the characters' abilities. In your rope example, Gonzales the sticky snail should fate better than No-arms the stone dwarf...
ReplyDeleteMaybe give advantage to the roll when someone using the tool has a useful trait?
Eric Nieudan In my mind this is a way to distinguish between abilities and equipment:
ReplyDelete- Abilities influence how likely you are to succeed to your check. You're more likely to succeed to your climbing check if you have a high STR. The "Sticky Snail" trait gives you advantage, etc.
- Equipment influences how effective your actions are when you succeed at your checks. You'll break the door faster if you use an axe than if you headbutt it each turn.
It solves the "issue" of having two sources that give you advantage: in the raw rules, what if you're a sticky snail with a rope?
Got me there! =)
ReplyDeleteSo, if I was to sum up your procedure:
- I check the relevant stat, with advantage if I have a trait.
- If failed, I get to try again.
- If successful, I roll the tool's dR vs the task's effect "hit points".
- I keep trying until the effect HP are depleted.
What happens if I roll a 1 or a 20 on the stat check?
Now I want to play Exquisite RPG Corpse.
ReplyDeleteEric Nieudan Yes, that's pretty much my thought. If you fail, maybe you get to try again, but at some cost (at the very least, the cost can be time, meaning rolls for food and random encounters come more often). If successful, roll the tool's dR for effect, and decrease the "hit points" by that amount.
ReplyDeleteAs for crits... A 1 could easily be double effect, something similar to damage. A 20 would depend on the situation I guess. You're immediately spotted, your tool breaks, you spend hours on the task, etc.
It's really an analogy with combat all along.