tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post1442255236890454811..comments2023-05-27T11:14:02.426-04:00Comments on Some Space to Think: Transparent OutcomesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-7368739501331110662010-09-30T21:10:14.288-04:002010-09-30T21:10:14.288-04:00I'm starting to toy with the degrees of succes...I'm starting to toy with the degrees of success thing myself, and it seems to fit like a glove to systems using variations of the Otherlind kind.<br /><br />I particularly like the scale presented in the new Dr. Who game in which an exceptional success/failure is read as "Yes/No, and..." and partial success/failure is read as "Yes/No, but..."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-52310490227780060512010-09-30T21:09:10.557-04:002010-09-30T21:09:10.557-04:00I'm starting to toy with the degrees of succes...I'm starting to toy with the degrees of success thing myself, and it seems to fit like a glove to systems using variations of the Otherlind kind.<br /><br />I particularly like the scale presented in the new Dr. Who game in which an exceptional success/failure is read as "Yes/No, and..." and partial success/failure is read as "Yes/No, but..."<br /><br />- TheRoleplayerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-73653403349862965832010-09-30T14:45:02.273-04:002010-09-30T14:45:02.273-04:00It took me a while to crawl back with the way-back...It took me a while to crawl back with the way-back machine, but I found a couple of posts where I did some thinking about this. The first is more interesting than the second, which is more of a rant. :)<br /><br />http://codrus.livejournal.com/150300.html<br />http://codrus.livejournal.com/230812.html<br /><br />The TL;DR version is that I strongly prefer more transparency at the table. Players should have a reasonable opportunity to know how tough a task is going to be. This becomes even more important when the player has expendable resources they can use to improve their chances of success.<br /><br />(Put another way: if the system has a fate point mechanic that wasn't tied to the success check, it would be less important that the player know exactly how tough the task was. In other words, if spending a fate point turned any failure into a minimal success, is it really important that the player know the exact die roll they need to succeed?<br /><br />I'm reasonably certain I hit this in another post that I couldn't find, but two other ideas I've generally applied to tweak this:<br /><br />1. Transparency applies to numbers for a player's MINIMUM SUCCESS, but not necessarily for an extraordinary success. In other words, if a Mediocre success gives them some information, and a Great success gives them a lot more, I may not specifically reveal anything about a Great success.<br /><br />2. Sometimes it is okay to lie to the player. They may have misread the situation. The bridge looked like it might be tough to get across, but halfway across the bridge, the supports that the villain sawed through finally give way.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11205728554265781888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-87809642367171196122010-09-30T12:40:20.691-04:002010-09-30T12:40:20.691-04:00This is also why Cortex throws some people, becaus...This is also why Cortex throws some people, because it's a statistical maze. Not everybody likes dice pool games, and a dice pool game with different sized dice AND opposing dice rolls AND other things... instant headache for a statistician. <br /><br />But then again, those are the kinds of games I love. :)Cam_Bankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16162534181760938499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-88895632126770997242010-09-30T11:42:52.045-04:002010-09-30T11:42:52.045-04:00I think this is one of the reasons why the Basic R...I think this is one of the reasons why the Basic Role-Playing system worked so well. Because your roll to succeed was based effectively on the ability of the character, not that of the opponent. Simple gratification, you roll the dice and know whether the action succeeded or failed.<br /><br />Of course, the action can still be blocked or parried or dodged (in the case of combat) or equalled (in the case of a contest), preventing victory from being achieved, leading to long drawn-out contests when both contestant/combatants are either unskilled and flailing around madly, or highly skilled and deftly turning aside each other's blows.<br /><br />But as soon as the dice hit the table, you knew that <i>you</i> had achieved something.Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.com