Now Sword and Backpack (S&B) is inspiring, but it's barely a system, more like the description of what would happen in play: you describe situations, propose actions, roll dice to decide. But the thought occurs that if you could table just the rough chances of success and failure, and use them consistently, you would have the basis of an RPG. Although most games use tables and extensive modifiers, what we are usually looking for are probabilities that 'feel right' and provide a satisfying balance of success and failure that's true to the circumstances.
So here's the rough chances table:
Chances
|
Roll
|
Consequences
|
Very Low
|
17+
|
Exceptional (Critical Hit)
|
Low
|
14+
|
Enhanced
|
Close
|
11+
|
Medium
|
High
|
7+
|
Light
|
Very High
|
4+
|
Slight
|
Exceptionally High
|
1+
|
Negligible (scratch)
|
Using the rough chances table:
- In free-form roleplaying, like And Play or S&B, you weight up the options, pick a chance, and there on the row is your roll for success (d20, of course). Add a few points to make things harder, or deduct a few to make things easier.
- In XD20, where the lower a STAT the better, the table tells you roughly what the chances are by looking at the Roll column. So if a character has a STAT of 8, chances are good. Want to make the chances better or worse? Select another row and estimate the STAT or modifier from there (so if your STAT 8 character fights a STAT 9 orc, it seems the chances are close; go for a roll of 11 or 12).
- And, if you roll for effect (higher being better) then use the Consequences column. You can even use this to judge damage.
The new system, based on the rough chances table, is coming soon... -ish. Still tinkering with it.
