Level of Success and Target Numbers

From: gpili_at_...
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 18:33:01 +0000


While I was at Gloranthacon this past wekend (an excellent time all around!) I got into a conversation about how levels of success and target numbers work.

Given: two characters, one with a skill of 17 and the other with a skill of 2. Were the first character to roll a 15 (success), and the 2nd character to roll a 2 (success) under the current Hero Wars rules, the 2nd character would always win the contest, even though that character's skill level is considerably lower than the first. Granted, he would fail more often that not, but in the event of a success, the 2nd character would always win unless the first rolled a 2 or 1.

One proposal was that in the event of an equal level of success, instead of the "lower roll wins," that "the character with the higher skill wins."

Another was that "the roll closest to the target number wins." I haven't looked at Pendragon recently, but another friend of mine not at the con suggested that those rules work this way.

My question is, has this rule changed at all with HeroQuest, and -- whether it has or not, what is the reasoning behind the mechanic?

Thanks all --
Gil

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