Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I've got a thought I want to discuss. I haven't thought this all the way through, but I wanted to throw it out on the stoop to see if the cat would lick it up.
I've been thinking a bit about the multi-dice T5 task system and the things I don't like about it.
What if...
What if the Ref always threw about half the dice of a task?
If difficulty is 1D or 2D, the player throws this. The task is considered simple enough that the player gets perfect knowledge about the outcome of his character's tasks.
But....at 3D and 4D, the Ref throws 1D or 2D behind the screen, never to be seen by the player.
So...the player knows the target and knows the result of the first two dice.
As the task gets harder, so does information and feedback about the task.
If it's a 3D task, the player throws 2D and the Ref 1D in secret.
If it's a 4D task, the player throws 2D and the Ref throws 2D.
If it's a 5D task, player 3D, Ref 2D.
If it's a 6D task, player 3D, Ref 3D.
And so on.
What I like about this is that it cancels out one of the things I hate about the system--that the player instantly knows if he passes for fails. In my games, I like the player finding out the situation not by looking at dice but by visualizing the drama and action through my descriptions.
In d20 games, I hardly ever tell players their target number. In D&D games (or in my Conan game), players don't know the exact AC of monsters or their enemy combatants. The can guess, based on what they see (type of armor) or by prior experience (I remember this monster has AC 16), but I'm OK with that.
There's so much drama in the game when the players roll dice but don't know the outcome. They're hanging on my every word to see what happens.
I find games much more fun that way.
With what I suggest above, the multi-dice system seems less like a multi-dice system (although I haven't changed the task system mechanics at all--just who is rolling what dice). Ref's are given that element of drama back in the game. And, I'm thinking that the Ref can use his roll for multiple functions. Automatically, almost every dice throw is "Uncertain". If the Ref is rolling, he can use the roll, or part of it, for Flux, if he needs it (Hit Location during combat). And the Ref will probably roll at least 2D more times than not because the TiH rule pops up a lot in the game.
What do you guys think about this?
Would this method make you like the system more? (No,it's still not higher is better....but, it does seem like a better way to run the task system.)
People who like the T5 system, does this idea intrigue you?
Is the idea worth anything?
EDIT: My idea is that the player will never know the outcome of the Ref dice. He'll just know his target and the two or three dice that he throws. The Ref will just tell him about the pass or fail (better yet, describe how the pass or fails occurs).
I've been thinking a bit about the multi-dice T5 task system and the things I don't like about it.
What if...
What if the Ref always threw about half the dice of a task?
If difficulty is 1D or 2D, the player throws this. The task is considered simple enough that the player gets perfect knowledge about the outcome of his character's tasks.
But....at 3D and 4D, the Ref throws 1D or 2D behind the screen, never to be seen by the player.
So...the player knows the target and knows the result of the first two dice.
As the task gets harder, so does information and feedback about the task.
If it's a 3D task, the player throws 2D and the Ref 1D in secret.
If it's a 4D task, the player throws 2D and the Ref throws 2D.
If it's a 5D task, player 3D, Ref 2D.
If it's a 6D task, player 3D, Ref 3D.
And so on.
What I like about this is that it cancels out one of the things I hate about the system--that the player instantly knows if he passes for fails. In my games, I like the player finding out the situation not by looking at dice but by visualizing the drama and action through my descriptions.
In d20 games, I hardly ever tell players their target number. In D&D games (or in my Conan game), players don't know the exact AC of monsters or their enemy combatants. The can guess, based on what they see (type of armor) or by prior experience (I remember this monster has AC 16), but I'm OK with that.
There's so much drama in the game when the players roll dice but don't know the outcome. They're hanging on my every word to see what happens.
I find games much more fun that way.
With what I suggest above, the multi-dice system seems less like a multi-dice system (although I haven't changed the task system mechanics at all--just who is rolling what dice). Ref's are given that element of drama back in the game. And, I'm thinking that the Ref can use his roll for multiple functions. Automatically, almost every dice throw is "Uncertain". If the Ref is rolling, he can use the roll, or part of it, for Flux, if he needs it (Hit Location during combat). And the Ref will probably roll at least 2D more times than not because the TiH rule pops up a lot in the game.
What do you guys think about this?
Would this method make you like the system more? (No,it's still not higher is better....but, it does seem like a better way to run the task system.)
People who like the T5 system, does this idea intrigue you?
Is the idea worth anything?
EDIT: My idea is that the player will never know the outcome of the Ref dice. He'll just know his target and the two or three dice that he throws. The Ref will just tell him about the pass or fail (better yet, describe how the pass or fails occurs).