>From: "Darren Hill" <rpglists_at_...>
>I agree with not statting out characters, but that's why I need a sense of
>what skill ranges I can expect at different levels, what kind of scores
>are likely after augmentation in different situations if you start with
>_this_ level compared to _that_ level.
Not sure what you're getting at here? I see two possibilities. Either you're talking about percentage outcomes, or your talking about in-game appropriateness. Or both, maybe.
In the first case, if you're worried about how likely the characters are to win given a certain difference in ability levels, the first thing I'd do is not worry about it. Go with your gut. I mean, you know instinctively that when two characters are matched that they have even odds to win, right? And you know that the one that's higher than the other has a better chance to win, right? I postulate that right there, that's all you need to know.
But the book does a bit better, there's a sidebar that tells you what the odds are like when there are X masteries difference. That's easily memorized, and good for reference, if you feel you need that level.
And, lastly, if you want to know the exact percentages, use the spreadsheet that I put in the files section a long time back. For any two abilities, gives you the precise breakdown of possible outcomes. For those that really, really have to know.
Second, if what you're talking about is the "in-game" scale, I've said one should know that well in the last post. As I've said, there's a chart in the book, and one should keep a version handy. I made up my own version, and have it at the bottom of the following page for reference: http://random.average-bear.com/Heroquest/WhatSkillRatingsMean
I'm not saying at all that I think that resistances should be set completely arbitrarily, or without regard to scale or anything. Merely that I think that the narrator should make them up on the fly. Which, when you have these two tools, becomes remarkably easy.
Now, do augments complicate this? Well, only if you let them. Just don't augment for anyone but well written up NPCs. Your recurring arch-villains and the like. In any case, once the character is set, there's no longer any need for estimation.
>I know if I was playing in a game like this, I'd soon give up on trying to
>find all the augments I need (for the first round anyway! ;)), and would
>settle for frittering away FP just to expand the skill list, rather than
>increase ratings. It would rob me of some of the enjoyment of play. I know
>not all players are like me.
I'd say that all players are not like you. Well at least all of the ones that I've played with so far. Actually from what I've seen of you playing in a world like this (the FATE game was always like this), I think you'd play just like everyone else. But I can't say for sure without seeing you in play. It's just that I think that players often feel that these tools will have effects on play that they just never do. My game looks pretty sane to the typical observer, I think. Hell, compared to Chris, I'm a dyed in the wool simmie. I'm sure that he's simply advocate the most radical of my methods, or even more radical methods. :-)
Mike
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