What Good Timing!

http://www.campaignmastery.com/blog/how-hard-can-it-be/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+CampaignMastery+(Campaign+Mastery)

Yowza!  Nice to read a much more comprehensive and well-thought out post on the structure of skills and skill tests than I had.

This mostly addresses the issue I have of slipperier slime at higher levels.  The conclusion that Mike makes is that slime is indeed slipperier, but not necessarily for higher level characters, but in fact for 2 different characters.

So my mutant skink with PP 30 and athletics and acrobatics will find the slime less slippery than your mutant buffalo with hooves and enormous size?  Not a bad solution, but it makes me do a lot of math on the fly, since I pretty much have to calculate where on the difficulty curve I want the roll to be for each roll.  But on the other hand, I could just use the number of ranks/bonus points that a character has in a skill as a general guide to how good they are at it, and use that to determine what their difficulty is as a flat d20 roll.

Actually, I like that, let's run with it.

And speaking of running with it, let's steal some more - this time from Vampire 2nd Edition.

I always liked how you combined 2 things, attributes and skills, to determine how good the character was at a given task.  So I will be asking characters for 2 numbers, attribute bonus and skill score, adding them together and using that number to determine how good the character is at the skill in question.  Based on that, I will determine what the player needs to roll on the d20 to succeed at the task.  Potentially the overall difficulty would also be modified by people helping and other factors (like, is somebody shooting at you).

Let's try an example and see if it works in concept.

Slinky the aforementioned Mutant Skink has a score of 4 in athletics (3 starting plus 1 bought with skills) and a modifier of +6 for PP, giving him a total of 10.  10 I would rank as pretty fracking great at a given skill, so to run across the slimy slime, he needs to roll a 7 or higher, giving him about a 70% chance of success.

Herbi the Buffalo, though - he has an athletics score of 4 as well (starting 3 plus 1 bought with skills), but only has a PP of 16, for a +1 modifer, plus he has a -2 because he has hooves.  Total score 3.  Which I would rank as intensely mediocre, but not pitiful, so he needs a 15 or better to run across the slimy slime.  About a 20% chance of success.

I think I like the basic idea.  It means that characters who are exceptional can have a reasonable chance of success at something even if they have no specialized skills in that regard, and characters who have such skills AND exceptional attributes have a very good chance of success at something, which is as it should be.

But this means that I have to rebuild the TMNT character sheet.  Which I was pretty much going to do anyways.

Skills in TMNT

OK.  I've decided I want to run a TMNT game.  But there are a few things about the Palladium system that I'm not in love with, and one of them is the whole % skill business.  I like a skill-based game, mind you.  I've kicked around with non class-based systems, and I tend to like them, but there are some issues with them.

The biggest ones, to my mind, are avoiding dead ends or useless skills, and maintaining a reasonable difficulty curve while leveling.

By the first I mean, there should be no useless skills.  And by the second I mean, you shouldn't have to have slipperier slime at higher levels.  You should just be better at dealing with slime.  But not so good that you never slip on slime - it's still more hazardous than dry floor.

I have also decided that I will make no major effort to address these potential issues of a skill-based system while reworking TMNT/Palladium.

Sooooo... how to deal with skills, if I'm not going to use a %-based system.  I want to use the existing body of TMNT skills, it represents a significant resource, and one that I'm not willing to throw out.  My inclination is to go with a difficulty-based d20 system. TMNT uses d20 rules already, so we're not that far off, and d20 is easy to convert into percentile chances, so it should be relatively easy to convert from a % system to a d20-based system.

I also want to rework the skill bonus structure, and the leveling structure to streamline things and hopefully build a reasonable difficulty curve.  I'd thought of using a "Target 20" idea for the rolling system, but I'm not sure it gives me enough flex on the math.  I'll be making a lot of decisions on the fly during the game, so I want a system that gives me lots of options.  I can do % chance converted to d20 in my head, and d20 is simpler for players.

My first thought on converting the TMNT skills to a base d20 system is to take the starting % chance on the skill, divide by 10 and round up.  That's the starting bonus for the skill.  Add a stat-based modifier and a dice roll and you should have a workable system...

But.  Doing that actually makes success in the skills much harder.  If you assume that 20 is the base difficulty, then each +1 on a roll represents a base 5% chance to succeed.  So taking a base 30% skill, making it a +3 modifier means that the player has to roll, theoretically, a 17 to succeed.  Which is really only a 15% chance of success.  Setting a base difficulty of 15 means that a +3 bonus represents a 40% chance of success.  A little closer to the starting point.  But it makes the math on the conversion harder.

Setting the base difficulty for most tasks at 15 works for me, the more that I think about it.  I expect characters at first level to have modifiers on most skills of between 2 (low) and 10 (high and/or exceptional stats).  I'm not sure yet if I want to have penalties on the roll, or higher difficulties for difficult tasks/conditions. Bears more thinking.  And I need to consider how I'm dealing with leveling.

On to TMNT

I'm trying to start a new IRL game, as my online game kinda fizzled, largely due to the fact that I have a 1-year old and not enough time to do all the things I want. And I'm lazy and hate network engineering, which is what I have to do to get Maptools running. So on to something different!

I want to try a TMNT After the Bomb sandbox. Inspired by the redoubtable Zak S. Who is purely the best gaming blogger working right now, in my opinion. I am always challenged and interested by his material. And always inspired as well, which is the important part.

So, TMNT... but. but, but, but. The Palladium system kinda blows. So I'm going to take a page from Mr Zak and beat on the rules a bit, and see if I can come up with something better.

First things first. Steal from Zak.

SCD. Out the Window. Just HP from here on out.

Stats - I like 4d6 drop the lowest. Stick with the extra d6 for 16 and over, and roll once more if you get a 6.

All stats will be capped at 30.

Initial skills - I like the roll d12 idea. I'm also going to allow players to have 2 wps, which can also include hand to hand skills. I'll also allow a bonus number of skills based on the character's IQ.

I'm going to keep the whole Bi0-E/Mutation system unchanged from the 2nd Edition of After the Bomb - it's the part of the system I like the most.

Next time - dealing with combat and leveling.

4e Sandboxing

I've been reading a fair bit about the railroad-sandbox dichotomy lately. Like most things on the internet, both sides of the argument are exaggerating to make their point. There is no reason that a sandbox can't have a plot, and no reason that a railroad can't have organically-growing spits and turnings.

I've also been reading a lot about the whole balanced encounter "problem". Of course, there is no problem, just exaggeration in order to argue against or denigrate other people. It's purely ridiculous for any DM to assert that they don't balance things somewhat. They don't ring the town with dragons, and they provide a mix of creature levels throughout the game environment. So they balance things, if not on an encounter-by-encounter basis.

Personally, I like the idea of being able to "balance" encounters, because it helps me fulfil my basic goal as a DM, which is to ensure that everyone has a good time. This is a role-playing GAME after all. I play sports for competition, I rescue people from car accidents to fulfil my community duties, and I play games for fun.

Having the ability to balance encounters doesn't mean that each encounter will be "balanced" - that's another exaggeration, spread by people who want to argue that their style is better. What it means is that I get some surety about the actual difficulty level of the encounter. Fine-edged control, rather than the semi-blunt spray and pray methods of many previous RPG's that I have played.

I, rather than luck, decide how tough I want a given encounter to be. This also lets me put in the appropriate "watch the fuck out" warnings in place. Again, something that sandbox purists may say isn't something they do, but which I consider essential for ensuring that I'm not that asshole DM that nobody will play with.

This section of the blog is going to be largely a design journal for my ongoing on-line campaign. We're running the game using Maptools and Skype, with Doodle for scheduling and MSN for private messaging. I'll be talking about encounter design, sandboxing, developing plot lines and working with online tools.

If anyone would like to read session summaries and more information about the actual campaign, go to http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/aemere.

My Gaming Style

I've been seeing this set of gaming style parameters around teh intertubes, so I thought it would be an interesting exercise. I can tell you for sure that my thoughts on this have clarified considerably since the advent of 4e, for better or for worse.

Comprehensive Rules (1) vs. Minimalist Rules (10):

I guess I'm more of a Comprehensive Rules guy, but with the caveat that the rules must not drastically impede play. As far as I'm concerned, there is a critical mass for rules - too many, and the game sucks - too few, and it's just constant arguing and house-rules. I like the line that 4e draws. Rules are for combat, where they matter. Everything else can be role-played, and should be, in fact. So put me in at about a 3 - comprehensive rules, but not for everything.

High Power Fantasy (1) vs. Low Power Fantasy (10):

This is a hard one for me. I love low-power, gritty fantasy books, like the Black Company. But I like to play stories about capital - h Heroes. Heroes games definitely call for high-power settings. Ultimately, I like the players to think of themselves as Heroes, and to create situations that really call for Heroes, so I guess I'm about a 4. High-power, with low-power inclinations.

Narrative Mechanics (1) vs. Simulation Mechanics (10): I don't think this is a valuable distinction. If I had to decide, I'd say that I like creating realistic stories - but that simulation does not appeal to me at all. A solid 3, maybe.

Strategic Chargen (1) vs. Simple Chargen (10): Simple Chargen is for people who don't like to think too much, and doesn't aid role-playing in any way. Cookie-cutter characters... yaay! I like to have a lot of options, and to have as many of those options as possible be viable, valuable and useful. Of course, in many systems, lots of the mechanics and options are blind alleys - they appear interesting, but aren't really worthwhile when you are actually playing (I'm looking at you, craft). So I'd say I'm a 3 - I like it strategic, but it has to be worthwhile choices.

Tactical Encounter (1) vs. Strategic Adventure (10): This is another worthless distinction. An encounter can be tactical within the sandbox structure. Tactical to me means "interesting features or structure", and I try to ensure there are a lot of those - but I never build with the exact party in mind - better to build something interesting and see how the party deals with it. Strategic, I guess, means a lot of boring shittly little encounters that use up healing potions. Did enough of those playing Final Fantasy. I'll put myself down as a 3.

Combat Balance (1) vs. Adventure Balance (10): Because you can't have balanced combat mechanics unless you unbalance the rest of the game right? Balderdash. I can balance my adventures just fine and still have mechanically balanced combat thanks. I'll take stupid distinction for 5, Alex.

Balanced Encounters (1) vs. Balanced Adventures (10): Holy god, these categories annoy me. The DM decides what populates the world. All encounters come from him. If he decides there is a lv 20 dragon in the woods when the party is lv 2, there is. We had a name for that GM. It was Asshole. Balanced encounters mean that you can control what you throw at the party with a reasonable degree of certainty. Balanced adventures means that you create an environment where the characters can (hopefully) choose things that will challenge then without massacring them. But then you get to laugh and say "You have chosen -- poorly" when they attack the really tough troll under the bridge. So once again, I'll take a 3. I balance encounters, but give them Adventure options that will make encounters easier or harder, based on their choices.

Wargame Combat (1) vs. Abstracted Combat (10): Wargame, put me down as a 2. I started with abstract combat, got into arguments, got confused, got a blackboard and never, ever went back.

GM as Player (1) vs. GM as Referee (10): I like to PLAY role-playing games. Impartial referee, I am not. My role is to have fun, and make sure everyone else has fun too - you do that by playing.

Fantastic Characters (1) vs. Common Characters (10): If I wanted to play a choleric beggar scrounging for pennies in the slums of a city, I would say that I like common characters. But I already said I like Heroes, soooo, 2.

Established Setting (1) vs. DIY Setting (10): I used to love me some Forgotten Realms. Bought all the splats, read all the books. Darkwalker-cover Grey Box, too, not your fancy 3e realms. But I'm totally a DIY-guy now. I like to create, write and draw maps - so it's the perfect outlet.

Resource Optimization (1) vs. Creative Problem Solving (10): I think the challenge of the game should come from overcoming obstacles with skill, flair and a dash of magic. Not counting tent pegs or rationing your dried fruit. Holy Shit, do people actually do that for fun? Who, accountants? Logistics officers? I'll take a solid 8 on this - I do still like to make sure that you actually brought a tent.

Sooo, that's me - pretty low numbers across the board. Of course, I think that a lot of these categories are not valuable distinctions - you can run a game perfectly well without worrying about them, and many people do.

Incorporating High Level NPC's

When I started this blog, I wanted to talk about two of my favorite things (but not brown paper packages, tied up with strings).  Those things are RPG's and fantasy novels.  Fantasy novels are great mind-fodder for any RPG player or GM.  They often have wonderful characters, settings, antagonists and ideas for you to crib, incorporate, rework or generally just assimilate into your games.

One series that I'm particularly fond of is the Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erikson.  The amazing scope, breadth of history, compelling characters and epic plots of the books really have to be read to be believed, but I think it's safe to say that, other than the Wheel of Time, another sort of series altogether, the Malazan Book of the Fallen is the most ambitious fantasy series ever written.  Lord of the Rings was ground-breaking and fantastic, but Erikson is a much more sophisticated writer.

One of the things that I like the most is the way that the books incorporate characters of various different power levels.  From the demigod-like ascendants, all the way down to the frequently deranged swamp-dwelling High Marshals of the Mott Irregulars (they are ALL High Marshals in the Mott Irregulars), pretty much every level of combat prowess or arcane power is represented.

I think that any DM who would like to work high-level NPC's into their game can learn a lot from Erikson's books.  In many cases, these high-level characters are powerful forces whose actions effect the less-powerful like natural disasters or forces of nature.  When titans clash, the wise get the heck out of Dodge.  

High-level NPC's don't just have to be mentors, rulers or antagonists.  They can also be inscrutable wanderers who occasionally devastate a continent for reasons only they know.  Or warring heroes whose battle destroy towns or countries.  It's possible to set all kinds of adventures around these kind of events.  Rescues, attacks that take advantage of the overall chaos, or even serving and supporting one of these powers, with or without their knowledge.  

So if you want some inspiration on creating a world where level 30 characters exist, then give the Malazan Books of the Fallen a read, and tell Kharsa Orlong I said hi.  From a fair distance.

Psychology and "Enchantment"

I think that saying modern games lack "enchantment" is nonsense.  Trying to compare a game that you look at with educated, experienced eyes, after 20 years of role-playing with the game picked up when you were ten is not worthwile, because you are a totally different person than you were.

When we started playing, we played the rules as we understood them. We messed with them, sure, but that's it, at first. We were enchanted with it because it was new and cool and we were in control of it.  We felt that feeling of enchantment, but it didn't have much of anything to do with the system, it had more to do with who you were.

In the book "Happiness" the author writes about how human being anticipate and remember. We expect things to be better than they are. And we remember them as being better than they were. That's how our brains work. Which brings me to the bad news:

The bad news is - you cannot get that feeling back. Not ever. Blaming systems because they don't evoke the same feeling of enchantment you felt is like blaming your wife of 20 years because you don't feel that same rush of passion you felt when you first met. I've sat in recently with teenagers who are just starting RPG's, playing D&D. And guess what - they are enchanted - just like we were with 1e or red box or whatever.  

Blaming systems or designers is ridiculous. Blame yourself - blame your memory, blame all the years you played and all the different games. Time makes enchantment go away, time and experience. Play 1e or OSRIC or whatever makes you happy, but be aware of why it does - because of the connection it makes you feel with that old feeling of enchantment. Now if only those darn kids would stop changing things...