Nothing ventured, nothing gained

A new look at skills and skill-checks

Sometimes when using skills in an RPG there are a few things that can happen. For instance, there is the "if I fail, the scenario ends"-variant. The GUMSHOE-system is a response to this problem. Basically it's where you have a skill-check that decides if you find the clue/ pass the gate/ avoid the death-trap. If you fail that check, there is no clue for you to be found.. or you can't ever pick the lock.. or bluff the guard or whatever. In a way that's also a sign of bad scenario design, but nevertheless it's still a problem.

Another version of this is the "I try until I succeed"-version. That is where you try to use your skill until you succeed in a certain task. This makes the skill check rather pointless, since sooner or later you will succeed.

So, in the first version, you risk stopping the scenario altogether, and in the second, the test becomes an excersice in rolling until a certain number shows. Now, these issues have been addressed before with things like adding a time-limit in the scenario, avoid "dead-end" skill checks etc.

I will here present a couple of other ways to use skill checks, that I hope will make it a little more exciting.

Success, but with a price

As long as you are reasonably trained in a skill, you will always succeed with it (within reason). You will always pick the lock, bluff the guard, find the trap etc.
In spite of this, you still roll the dice to see if you make the check or not. If you make the check, nothing happens. However, if you fail the check the following happens:

You still manage to pull off whatever you tried. There will however be some negative and significant drawback. Yes, you picked the locks, but you broke your picks so that they are stuck in the lock. You loose your tools and someone will discover this very soon.

The guard bought your bluff, but he will talk to his mate rather soon, and the mate isn't as stupid, and raises a bigger alarm than the first guard would (since you are now intruding).

You discover the trap, however, you discover it by standing on it. If you move an inch, you will trigger it. Someone else will have to try to disarm it.

When you search through the library, you find the information you need. However, someone else notices that you are there, and the word spreads to your enemies.

These are just a few examples how a failed skill check doesn't make the module come to a grinding halt, but still adds some excitement and story.

I want more

Start with the same premise as above: All skill uses will result in some small advantage for the players/ characters. A search through the library will give some rudimantary clues. Bluffing the guard will get you inside the door etc. Basically, the skill use will give you the absolute minimal advantage.

The player can then choose to make a skill roll. If the roll succeeds, there is some additional advantage. Like more precis info on how to defeat the monster, the bluffed guard will also tell his colleagues not to pester you etc. However, if the roll is failed, something bad.. really bad.. will happen. The guard will call his mates at once.. the trap sets of and since you are looking close at the wall, it will hit you for damage and you are blinded etc.

Summary

This was two suggestion on how to add a little more excitement and drama around skill checks. I havn't been able to try them out myself, but I hope to do so in the near future.

DnD4 - Quick and dirty class-less solution

The DnD-classes are made to fit different roles within a combat. As such they do a good job. However, some genres don't lend themselves to hard and fast classes.

Here comes my humble suggestion on how to make DnD a bit less classy. The following factors are decided by class

• Hit Points and Healing surges
  
• Armor and Weapon profficiencies
• Bonus to defence
• Trained skills
• Class Features
• Powers and Utilities

I don't have suggestions to all of these, but I'll give you the ones I have

Hit Points
Hit Points = 2 x CON-Score. This seems about right for most classes. The Fighter, for instance, has hit points 15+CON. 15 also seems about right for a fighter to have as CON, so the hitpoints would be about 2xCON anyway.

Hit Points / Level
Most classes has 5 HP/ Level. The more fightery classes has 6/ Level, but to make things easy, go with 5

Healing Surges/ Day
6 + 2 x CON-modifier. Quickly eyeballing it from the other classes and following the same reasoning as for Hit Points.

Defences
It seems all the classes has +2 in defences to divide as they want

Class Features and Profficiencies
Don't know about these for the moment

Powers
I don't know how well this one works, and this is also the hardest one to balance. All characters have 2 at-will, 1 encounter and 1 daily power. These can be picked from any class. To put it another way around: Build a list of powers where you gather all the powers sorted according to level and "type" (at-will, encounter, daily or utility). The players can then choose from this list and don't have to care about classes at all.

Skills
This is a tough one as well. It seems most classes has 4-5 trained skills. Maybe you can start with 5 skills, or trade one skill for having more profficiencies.

That's my suggestions so far. I'll gladly accept feedback on this.

Discovering the Force - Star Wars Saga

This is an excerpt from when my Bothan Explorer Bieter Ke'frey discovers that he has an affinity for the force. In game terms he reached a new lvl and got himself the Force Sensitive-feat for that level.
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Bieter sat down on a wicker chair in the outskirts of the village square. The celebration had died of a little, it was late.. well, actually it was almost early again. His head throbbed a little, probably from the strange local wine they had been drinking all night.

A few people were still up dancing around the big bonfire in the middle of the square, others were sitting in the shadows talking or just enjoying the night.

Bieter looked at the cup in his hand as if waiting for it to speak, to give him answers. It didn't. In a way he wanted to fill it up again so that the wine could at least give him some rest for the remainder of the night. That wasn't the right way though, he knew he had to discover this on his own.

He stood up and walked over to the small shrine in the village. He couldn't understand the writing or the pictures there, although he guessed they where part of their local mythology and traditions. Normally, he would take pictures of them or at least try to sketch down what he saw. He would take notes and cross-reference with databases on his small datapad. Not this time. He sat down in front of the altar and just tried to experience.

He was a bothan, and therefore, he valued information, knowledge and hard facts. What he was looking for now was something different, something that may actually be weakened by hard facts. He just had to feel.. to sense and be a part of.

There it was... he wasn't sure exactly what it was.. but some kind of sensation. He felt sad, people been mourned for at this place. He felt happy, people had celebrated joyful occasions here.

He felt!

Within the silence of the shrine, that nagging feeling he had been carrying the last day or two grew stronger. He had felt it for the first time many years ago, the first time he entered the ruins of an old jedi temple. A feeling of connection. After that, he hadn't felt it again for many years.. not until he was chasing that stormtrooper. When focusing on the hunt, on the task, his senses had become sharper, his movements more intuitive and fluid.

Only thing was, this time the feeling didn't go away. It stayed with him, vague, weak and easily overwhelmed by the other things around him. Now, with all distractions gone, he felt it grow stronger. He couldn't explain it better than it beeing a feeling of connection. He was connected to all things.

A few minutes later he stood at the edge of the forrest. He had to know if this was for real. After some hesitation he started to run into the woods. Extending his senses, he started to feel the trees and the bushes around him. Finally he closed his eyes as he continued running. He didn't need to see anymore, he knew where to put his feet, he knew where to turn to not run into any trees. He smiled as he realised that this was true, that the mysterious thing he had been studying this whole time was there, was in him, guiding and helping him.

Some time later he woke up again, with a black eye proving that while the Force may be in him, it was still a fickle helper. Somehow he had missed that big old rock potrouding from the ground and it had sent him flying a few meters through the air before hitting the ground again. Well, well, it was better than nothing.

One final test left. He went back into the village and sought out Dreyne. He had something important to ask... and he had to do it in a special way.

20 meters away he saw Drayne. In his mind he spoke
- Dreyne, I need to ask you... are we gods?

Although no sound was heard, no voice was used, Dreyne looked up in his direction.