Attributes and Skills

Here are some ways that the Attributes relate with Skills. Remember that to perform a skill the player rolls two dice and multiplies them together. The first dice is the actual Skill dice and represents the Experience the character has in that skill. The second dice is the character's innate ability to adapt to new situations. This is represented by one of the nine attributes. Here is a list that shows someways these attributes are used.

Aptitude: This attribute governs skills that deal with observations and making assessments. Since this attribute show the measure at which the character is able to discover errors and see solutions to these errors, it makes sense that this attribute determines how quickly and easily all other skills advance through the mastery levels. Aptitude also limits a character's maximum level at which he/she advance a skill without the mentorship of a teacher or coach (self-taught). The maximum level is equal to HALF of the character's Aptitude. This means a Character with the Aptitude of 8 could self-teach himself a skill (with the right practice of course and in the right setting) to a D4 (Novice level). An Aptitude of 12 could self-learn a skill up to a D6 (Trained level). Beyond these levels, the character would need to seek out a teacher with the desired skill level and high enough Influence attribute.

Influence: This attribute governs skill that deal with verbal and non-verbal communication.

Initiative: This attribute does not govern any particular skill sets. Yet, it still has an effect on ALL skills where a time limit or deadline puts pressure on the success of that skill. In these cases, an Initiative roll would need to be made. If unsuccessful, penalties would be added to the difficulty of the skill roll (difficulty increases).

Strength: Strength plays a major part in many physical based skills. This is the primary attribute that governs the distance and power behind throwing skills. This attribute determines how high and far the character can jump, how quick he/she can climb and run (movement). Over-burdened characters suffer penalties in combat and other physical skills. If over-burdened too long, the character will succumb to fatigue, placing a penalty on ALL skill rolls.

Coordination: This attribute governs most physical skills and skills requiring hand-eye coordination/dexterity. This includes most mechanical and electrical skills, although this is in combination with Aptitude. Coordination, Aptitude and Perseverance all contribute to the base Combat skill.

Endurance: This attribute does not govern most skills. Rather, it determines how long a skill can be performed and how much the body can withstand before succumbing to fatigue. Remember, fatigue penalizes all skill rolls.

Command: This attribute governs survival skills and skills requiring a mastery of the body (i.e. contortion, escape artist, etc.)

Perseverance: This attribute is used in combination with Aptitude and Coordination to calculate base Combat skill. It is also used in skills that resist persuasion. When a character becomes fatigued, the player must continually roll Perseverance to see if there is a penalty applied to any skill. Perseverance is also used in skill advancement. Once a character has found a teacher of the right skill level and right Influence level, the student must roll a successful Perseverance in order for that skill to be learned. Else, the student will give up before the training is complete!

Power: This attribute does not govern any skill in particular, but may change the outcome of an unsuccessful roll or even a successful roll by the use of game points. Power determines the amount of game points and if they can be used.

Changes to our flawless(?) Attributes

I have found that the Soul attributes are very under-represented. It is my belief that all attributes should carry with them about the same weight. That way one attribute is not preferred over another, based solely on the fact that it is USED more than the others (i.e. Physical Prowess, hint, hint---it was not just used more than other attributes, we ABUSED it). Hence the reason I wanted to take closer look at our Soul attributes.

Soul represents more than just the supernatural. It is a representation of the character's inner self. A self that truly governs all areas of self (Mental, Physical and Spiritual). Furthermore, a player should be able to use the character's Soul attributes in EVERY game, not just games or campaigns that have supernatural events or actions. In trying to adhere to these two concepts, I have constructed three new Soul attributes (replacing our old ones).

They are as follows: Command, Power, and Perseverance. Each of these names are pulled right out of scriptures, since that was the original idea of these attributes. In this post, I will suggest some ideas I have of how to use these. I would like you guys to add some more uses.

Let us start with Power. The universe is full of strange energies and sources of power both supernatural and natural. The character's Power attribute is a measurement of how much of those powers the character can gain access to. Think of an analogy of an electrical device or circuit. Power would be the voltage that passes through the wire.

Where supernatural abilities do not apply to a certain campaign, Power can measure how often a character might heal. It can also measure how often or how many character points a player might earn for completing a certain task. A GM might allow a player to roll a Power roll to save them from catastrophe, like a collapsing wall that the character could not get out from under. This is the ability to tap into Divine Intervention and Providence. Some might call this Luck when it is not united with a high Command attribute.

Let us look closer at Command. Command is the ability to alter or manipulate the world around you. Do not confuse this attribute with Influence; Influence is the ability to persuade others to your way of thinking or to rally others to your cause. Influence is governed by prestige and logic. Command directs or allows control of the natural and supernatural energies and powers. Thinking back to the electrical analogy, Command is the ability to direct where the voltage goes. It determines which direction is the flow of current and to what circuits are powered.

Command can be used to direct the outcome of a character point. We know that character points can be used to better the outcome of the campaign. Yet, it does not have to be the best outcome for ALL the party. The GM can throw in IRONY. Command can be used to reduce this, so that he/she determines what might occur. Example: A player attempts to shot a fleeing orc with a last minute arrow. This orc is carrying the item needed to win the game. The player rolls to hit and misses! He uses a character point to hit the orc. The game master has the player roll a feat of Command. If the Command is successful, the player choose the outcome (with certain limits of course). He might choose a gust of wind (which he had been praying for) to suddenly extend the flight of his arrow hitting the orc with an instant kill. If the Command roll fails, the GM decides the outcome. Maybe the orc still flees, but drops the item in an attempt to dodge the arrow. This still benefits the party, but is not optimal for that player.

Command is also used with controlling super powers and abilities when these are included in a game.

Last, Perseverance. This attributes is a measurement of the amount of energy and power the character can ACTUALLY handle at a given moment. It is also a measurement of time a character can withstand the maximum energy (any energy). This includes both kinetic and metaphysical energy. Both inflowing energy or outgoing energy. In the analogy electricity, this is best represented by the resistance of the wiring (I think this is correct). It measure the amount of electrical load a circuit can take before short circuiting or blowing a fuse.

Perseverance is much like the Palladium attribute M.E., but has some elements of P.E. as well. It would be the base for the secondary attribute I.S.P. (inner strength points). A "save vs." feat would be handled by Perseverance in most cases. It reflect the mind over matter, which is really based more on belief (Soul) than that of the mind. It is a measurement of hope and belief in a particular power.

The last attribute that I wanted to update is Intelligence. I have never liked an attribute that actually represents the player. Intelligence is one of those attributes. It says that a smart player can play an intellectually dumb character, and vice versa. This is absurd. The player is the logical and rational mind of the character. Attributes should represent the way that the player is able to relate to the imaginary world of the GM through his character. The character is the player's avatar, if you will. Therefore, the use of an Intelligence attribute is useless. BUT, the true attribute that we have been using doesn't really correlate to intelligence of the player, in the case of I.Q. of the Palladium. It is different. In fact, the problem is not the attribute, but rather a misnomer of the attribute. I believe we should call this attribute Aptitude, rather than Intelligence. Aptitude measures the ability to adapt to new situations and changes. It is the ability to learn things well and learn it the first time. It is also the ability to see and recognize changes in ones environment or a system; and be able to come up with a solution (okay that last part will be left up to the player). When the player performs an Aptitude roll, he or she is trying to gain deeper access into the details of what is going on. Now this does not work when interrogating an NPC for information, that would be handled by the Influence attribute. But, Aptitude could pick up on nonverbal ques that the NPC might be displaying (i.e. "You notice a slight tilt of his neck to the right" or "He suddenly displays a slight show of disgust in his lips.") Interpreting this information would either require another successful roll of Aptitude or the reasoning powers of the player. Aptitude also aids in the die that represents a characters natural combat ability along with Coordination attribute.

After our last Campaign, I became very interested in the use of dice as multipliers (i.e. D6 X D8) rather than additives (i.e. D6 + D8). I wanted to submit the idea of using multipliers for the use of skills in the game. To the right I have a multiplication chart that has been broken down into 6 categories based on difficulty level (i.e. Easy, Average, Extreme, Incredible, Near Impossible, and Impossible). This chart serves a tool for the Game Master to apply a difficulty rating to a task or feat. All skills/feats are accomplished by rolling two dice. Each represent two attributes or factors that control the skill or feat. For example, let us look at using the skill of picking locks. The two factors that control picking a lock are the attribute "Control" and the amount of learning put into the skill (i.e. Skill Level). Both of these factors are turned into a die. Let's assume that the character has a 6 on control (D6) and a Picking Locks skill level of Expert (D10). So, when this character wish to perform a feat of Picking a lock he must roll a D6 and D10 and multiply them together. Referring to the chart, you might notice that he has a fairly good chance of succeeding if it is an Extremely Difficult lock (possibly against a tough combination lock); and actually has a slim chance of picking an Incredibly Difficult lock (possibly a lock that has fail-safe mechanisms that render the lock frozen if tampered). So gameplay might proceed as follows: Hank, an Expert Thief with a Control attribute of 6, needs to crack the lock on a common combination lock safe that the characters have found hidden behind a family portrait. Inside he knows there are important documents that will provide evidence of the party's innocence in a framed murder. He decides to crack the safe (normally an Average difficulty rating of about 20%, meaning that an Expert would only fail 20% of the time), BUT a klutzy member of the party trips an alarm! The Game Master declares that the lock must be picked in the next 20 seconds in order to give the players enough time to get away without getting caught. This added stress takes it from an Average Difficulty rating to an Extremely difficult rating of 45%! That gives Hank only a 8 out of 60 chance of success...rather than the previous 26 out of 60. Hank's player rolls a 5 and a 10, success! The safe opens in just the nick of time. Documents are in hand and the party flees the scene before any security can apprehend them.

Here is a list of the Fifteen combination of multipliers and how they compete against the levels of difficulty:
D4 x D4: Moderate success with low Average tasks and feats (~19% success rating)
D4 x D6: Performs Average tasks at a Fair level (38%); but cannot perform Extreme tasks/feats
D4 x D8: Fair level against Average feats; a Slim chance (~3%) of success with low Extreme feats
D6 x D6: High level of Difficulty with Extreme feats (~8%); Performs Average feats with ease
D4 x D10: Moderate to High level of difficulty with Extreme feats/tasks (10%)
D6 x D8: Moderate level of difficulty with Extreme feats/tasks (~17%)
D4 x D12: (Same as above, roughly = to D6 x D8)
D6 x D10: Fairly successful with Extreme feats (~25%); Slim success with Incredible feats (~5%)
D8 x D8: (Same as above, roughly = to D6 x D10)
D6 x D12: Moderate to High difficultly with Incredible feats (~10%); Very Slim success with Near Impossible feats (1%)
D8 x D10: Moderate difficulty with most Incredible feats (~13%); Slim success with Near Impossible feats (4%)
D8 x D12: High level of difficulty with Near Impossible feats and tasks (~8%)
D10 x D10: Moderate to High level of difficulty with Near Impossible feats (~10%); VERY slim chance with Impossible feats (1%)
D10 x D12: Moderate difficulty with Near Impossible feats (~16%); Slim chance with Impossible feats (~3%)
D12 x D12: Fairly successful with Near Impossible feats, while High degree of difficulty with Impossible feats (~8%)!

NOTE: If a player rolls the exact difficulty rating, it is still successful. But, is still subject to interpretation of the GM. For example, if Hank in the above example rolled a 9 and a 5, he still would succeed at cracking the safe. BUT, the GM might say that one of his tools broke in the haste or was left behind.
Also, if a certain feat can only be applied to ONE factor, such as a feat of Strength (i.e. lifting a car off your team mate) that factor is used for both dice. So a Strength of 6 would yield a roll of D6 x D6.
A roll of a 1 is ALWAYS a failure, obviously. The GM can interpret the results of a roll of a 1 (possible applying a save versus Luck)

Summary of the New System

The following is a summary of agreed proposals:

> INITIATIVE
> GREEN ROUND
> RED ROUND
> COMBAT
> SHOOTING

Click on comments to read full details:

Continued Conundrums

This section is reserved for foreseen problems and possible solutions. Comments must reflect Ron's revised combat system.

Initiative

This section is regarding the tools related to Initiative either in combat-oriented initiative or non-combat initiative rolls.

The Five Levels

We have got pretty attached to the Five-Level system that Ron created a few years back. But, I believe it needs a simple revision that will actually make it easier to formulate different gaminig tools. The original levels were categorized as Novice (lvl 1), Trained (lvl 2), Skilled (lvl 3), Expert (lvl 4), and Master (lvl 5). This seems simple when we keep it at this level, but I have always had a problem with the way we convert each level to a die (i.e. 1=d4, 2=d6, 3=d8, etc.) I propose that we add a level beneath Novice (possibly Inept or Unskilled). This new category becomes level 1, thus increasing the previous levels by one (Novice = lvl 2; Trained = lvl 3; etc.) What this does is allow for easier conversions that can be taught more easily to newbies to RPG. A dice conversion is simply twice the level (lvl 3 = d6, lvl 6 = d12, etc.)

Level three would still be the average skill level, but now it will be Trained and be represented by a d6. This allows for more improvements during gameplay. The d4 represents a skill or attribute that is slightly below average. The new category is represented by a d2 (odd or even); this skill level is definitely below average, almost impaired.

I am willing to bet that if we start to use these conversions we will find less complexities and will begin to come to more agreements.

Burst Attacks

Here are some logistical rule regarding attacks where more than one projectile is fired at a fast rate:
1.)The rate of fire (the # of bullets a gun can shoot per second) is not the only thing that affects the effectiveness of a semi- to fully-automatic weapon. In reality, what is important is the concentration of bullets in a given area. Rate of fire plays a part in increasing the concentration, but if that rate of fire was trying to cover an area too large then the concentration of fire will decrease.
2.)The Concentration of fire affects two things. First, it determines the likelihood that a target will be hit by the barrage of fire. Second, it plays a part in determining how many times that target is hit. A high Concentration means that it is more likely a target within the area of fire will be hit and that each target will be hit multiple times.
3.)One proposed way to determine Concentration of fire is to take the rate of fire and SUBTRACT the area the shooter is trying to cover. This could be either right to left, up and down, or both. Every 2 ft equals one unit of area. [Example: Gunman #1 is trying to shoot four opponents with a tommy gun; there is a space of four feet between the center of every opponent (for a total distance of about 12 feet, or 6 units); the rate of fire of the tommy gun is 10 bullets/second; this means the the total concentration of fire is 4 (10 MINUS 6). This means that all of the opponents need to roll above a four to not be hit.]
4.)To determine the number of hits on a target, divided the concentration of fire by the defense roll/dodge of the hit target, always rounding down. In other words using the example above, let's say that each of the four opponents roll the following: 4, 3, 2, and 1. Remember that the defense roll needs to be better than the concentration, so the four still gets hit one time. The three also is hit one time (4÷3=1, when rounded down). The two gets hit with two bullets (4÷2=2). And the one gets hit with FOUR bullets (4÷1=4) ¡OUCH! (NOTE: The rate of fire should also determine how often the targets should roll defense per melee round)
5.)The length of time a target remains in the concentration or field of fire also plays a part with the likelihood of being hit multiple times. Some hits might cause a character to freeze do to pain or surprise. This causes them to be trapped in the line of fire! Conversely, if a target is on the edge of the area of fire they can more easily leave, thus spending less time in the concentration.
6.)A shooter can only change the area of fire at the beginning of the round. In other words, a burst attack will take up the entire round. If firing ceases before the end of the melee round then the concentration would also be reduced proportionally (Half of the melee round equals half of the concentration, etc.)
7.)Direction of Movement of a target can change the concentration for that individual target. Remember that the concentration of bullets coming out of a sweeping machine gun theoretically form a triangle, where the point of the triangle is at the barrel of the gun. The concentration is highest at that point. The concentration begins to trail off as a target moves away from the point of fire. So, if a target moves away from the shooter there should be a bonus given. While moving directly towards the shooter (while still in the area of fire) should have some penalty.

Combat with a Long-Ranged Weapon

Kregg said...

Anyway, Projectile Combat would be very similar; but first, you must ask yourself "What are the factors when you shoot/throw an object at an opponent?" Distance, Size, Movement, & Cover, right? The Attacker would still roll an Attribute Die & a Skill Die and add the shooting-distance-bonus (shotgun = +1, pistol = +2, rifle = +3, sniper rifle = +4, long-range artillery = +5, etc.). The Attacker must roll above the Distance, Movement, and Cover (AR); Defender will simply roll his Attribute Die to dodge, and add/subtract his Size bonus/penalty (depending on how big/small the Defender is). Here's what a Projectile Combat scenario would look like:
Conrad the Crossbowman's Attribute Die is a D6, his Crossbow Skill is D10, and his weapon's distance bonus is +2. His target is Ronny the Rogue--size level 7 (5 = an average 6' man, so he's a pretty BIG man) , running out in the open, wearing 30% armor (AR = +3). His Size gives him a -2 to dodge (2 above the average level of 5), but his AR gives him a +3. So, Conrad measures out the distance: 40 yards; plus, Ronny is running at a movement level of 3. Conrad must therefore roll above 7 (4 [40 yards] + 3 = 7), rolling his 2 dice (the Attribute Die & the Crossbow Skill Die). Ronny rolls his dodge with his Attribute Die (1 die), -2 (size level), & +3 AR (30% Armor Cover). [By the way, 100% Armor Cover would be +10 AR--"armor rating"; a roll above the AR means that the projectile hit the wearer somewhere where it didn't cover the wearer; a roll above the dodge, but below the AR means that it only hit the Armor, hence damaging the armor---any damage inflicted above the armor's penetration factor (PF) will go right through the armor and hurt the wearer; a roll below the dodge roll means that the projectile totally missed, doing no damage to both the armor and the wearer.]

Fortuity in Combat

Okay, Kregg brought up a good theory. Good Fortune should produce better combat rolls or outcomes, right? Kregg proposed to have it included in an Attribute Die (a combat die that includes Initiative, Coordination and Fortuity). Is this the only way to use the tool called Fortuity in combat? What other ideas can we come up with?

Damage in the Five-Point System

We have stated many times before that War Combat and Hero (or RPG) Combat have different rules but use similar tools. After considering this a bit, I came to the conclusion that War Combat is not concerned with moments in particular battles (i.e. Hakila the dwarf swings his halberd down on the goblins shoulder and give a hard pull, catching the fiend off balance; with a leaping twisting axe-kick, Hakila knocks the goblin to his knees; Hakila recovers, swinging the halberd in a fluid motion into the goblins exposed back; etc.) NO!! War is about outcomes! So, damage should be done a bit differently in Wartime as opposed to RPG-time. Here is a proposed Five-Point Damage system:

1. Unphased: The victim receives no obvious or immediate effects from the amount of damage. (1 point of Damage)*
   
2. Stunned: The victim is unable to move or attack for one turn due to the immediate effects of pain caused by the amount of damage. (2 points of Damage)*
   
3. Injured: The victim is Stunned and receives minus one (-1) to all combat actions until wounds are mended. (3 points of Damage)*
   
4. Bleeding: The victim's wounds are open and issuing blood; victim will faint from loss of blood in the X amount of turns equal to victim's Endurance attribute. Victim experiences effects of immediate pain (Stunned) and receives minus two (-2) to all combat actions. (4 points of Damage)*
   
5. Destroyed: Victim succumbs completely to the effects of his wound(s) falling to the ground incapacitated. (5 points of Damage)*
   

*Obviously this system is only for living units (i.e. Humans). Also, not every unit will have the capacity to be damaged five times. Weaker units will simply be Destroyed on the first hit. Others might be Injured with the first hit. Which damage effect a unit will receive on the first hit will depend on two factors. First, the Endurance (Toughness) of the unit. Second, the amount of damage received. Damage will typically be one through five, but can be more for more powerful weapons.

Combat Flow Chart: Fencing

Ron asked me to make a flow chart that mapped out what happens in a Fencing match. After attempting to make a flow chart I came to some basic conclusions. Here is the basic flow of action first:

1. Opponents face off
2. One opponent (Combatant A) will advance with an attack (usually a lunge or an advanced lunge)
3. The other opponent (Combatant B) has to defend. [This is a formality in official Fencing. This rule tries to represent a real combat scenario where the weapons are deadly. In a real fight, combatant B most likely will be stabbed if he tries to counter immediately with an opposing attack without any type of defense.] His defense usually consists of two simultaneous actions; first, he steps back to increase the distance and provide more reaction time; second, he uses his own sword to parry.
4. If the parry is successful, then Combatant B is now in a position to attack, which is called the reposte (basically a counterattack). An unsuccessful parry does not necessarily mean the attack was successful (the step back could have been enough to evade the attack). If the parry in fact is unsuccessful, Combatant A still has the opportunity to pursue attacking.

Conclusions:

1. When battling with real weapons, where one hit can potentially kill you, simultaneous attacks do not happen!!! (This is a big knock to the Simultaneous-Bridge Theory) A fist-fight or wrestling/grappling would be a better model for the aforementioned theory, because a single hit does not kill (typically).
2. The attacker has the potential to attack repeatedly if not correctly parried. This means that the parry is more than just blocking or deflecting an attack. A parry is a way to gain the advantage. Basically, it is keeping your sword/foil in the inside or on top of the opponent's sword.