tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055805266991720601.post991908835424718422..comments2024-01-18T08:49:58.743-06:00Comments on Giant Battling Robots: Granular Skill Checks, and InterpolationDan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055805266991720601.post-70310675869267599482011-02-23T02:16:29.159-06:002011-02-23T02:16:29.159-06:00I like how smooth that curve looks. And once you h...I like how smooth that curve looks. And once you have those gradations in skill, it's not hard to slice difficulty modifiers equally fine. (Of course, half the reason to switch to another die is if you *want* to change the curve; for example, I remember MegaMek players complaining that extreme die rolls happen too often.)<br /><br />Interpolation does make skill improvement slower and more expensive, but that was only half the complaint - adding steps between the bottom 5 skill levels does nothing to make the top 5 skill levels more useful. Well, I suppose that interpolating half-steps would let you compensate by setting your BT skill to half of your RPG skill, but I think your intent was to avoid extra modifications.<br /><br />And I'm surprised how rarely these discussions acknowledge it, but there's another approach to all this: encourage players to spend XP for momentary bonuses. More "experienced" characters enjoy many small improvements, and everybody's permanent skills advance more slowly. (You just have to price it right.) <br /><br />Players are always shocked to read "elite" characters (in the oldest scenario books, usually) rated with 4g/5p skill - I bet they're so low because the first edition RPG assumed they'd be using their XP (like "Edge" in modern parlance) to get out of tight scrapes.skiltaohttp://skiltao.xanga.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055805266991720601.post-42785136923990210862010-12-13T12:53:16.626-06:002010-12-13T12:53:16.626-06:00I don't play the RPG either, but our local gro...I don't play the RPG either, but our local group often play extended continuing campaigns* where pilots might have the chance to improve. I might try to talk the guys into trying this. <br /><br />* currently the Sword and Dragon scenarios.Dan Eastwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3055805266991720601.post-72335234443698502552010-12-13T11:07:43.051-06:002010-12-13T11:07:43.051-06:00Nice.
Not that I play the RPG, but it seems like a...Nice.<br />Not that I play the RPG, but it seems like a really simple way to add in-between skill levels.Saxywolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14070914502490471655noreply@blogger.com