How you pick the number can be done in a couple of ways:
In the first option pick a number based on the ability score and bump it up or down according to taste. I used to do this a lot, but I don't much these days. It reduces the focus on the characters.
In the second option there aren't any absolutes, think of how impressive it'd be if you were told this had happened. Is it a heroic feat? 10W4. Something that an ordinary person could do if pushed to the limit? 10W2 Completely mundane? Sod it, don't roll. Anything else grab a number and interpolate all you want.
This is a damned site easier than gribbling in the rules for a table, multiplying (or adding, depending on arithmetical perversion) by factors for the terrain type, whether it's dark or not and what the weather's like.
So how big's the giant? Orlanth knows, he was a big bastard, twice the size of that tree!
How wide's the chasm? It was huge, no ordinary man could have cleared it but Hrolf did!
When I look out of the window I see a copse of trees. How tall are they? Not a clue, pretty big. What's their large then? It's 10W2 'cause I'd be fairly impressed to see someone get to the top - they sway like buggery in the wind. If I saw a child up one I'd be pooing myself for their safety.
Hang on I can hear people say, you're including the wind in that? Yep, they wouldn't be as impressive in a dead air. You can call it 5W2 with +5 augment for 10W2 blustery if you want. It's all a value judgement you have to make in the context of the game. No amount of tables is going to give you the same experience.
(Next bit is more to Ian)
Maybe one way of bridging the gap would be to have a set of FUDGE like descriptions and their equivlalent ability scores? That way the task based communities could see that a "legendary" difficulty was 10W6 or whatever and a mediocre one was 14. I leave the exact ratings to them that worry about these things.
Cheers,
Ash
>
> --- Tim Ellis <tim_at_...> wrote:
>
> > --- In HeroQuest-rules_at_yahoogroups.com, Jane
> > Williams
> > <janewilliams20_at_...> wrote:
> > >
> > > > And, I can run just as fast with Run like a
> > Gazelle
> > > > 17 as Running like the Wind 17.
> > >
> > > Sure, but how fast is that? The fort is ten
> miles
> > > away: how long will it take you to get there? Is
> > > reaching it before dark (having just had lunch)
> an
> > > easy stroll, or likely to have you collapsing as
> > you
> > > deliver your message?
> > >
> >
> > Well, IIRC 10 miles is about 2.5 - 3 hours walk,
> so
> > it will depend
> > on when you start and when night falls...
> >
> > ...But if you want to make it a contest then all
> you
> > need to know is
> > "Complete Success" means you can take High Tea
> with
> > the garrison
> > commander, "Complete Failure" means you are still
> > only halfway there
> > when night falls, and in between is everythign
> from
> > making it
> > comfortably, collapsing across the threshold, and
> > banging against
> > the locked doors, pleading to be let in...
>
> Sure. Completely agree. Now, what's the resistance
> for
> that contest? 17, same as your ability? 14, because
> it's easy? 5W, because a 17 in running is lousy, so
> we
> don't want your chance of success to be too high?
> How
> are you going to pick that number?
>
> > > If you meet a new strange beast, and the
> scenario
> > > tells you it's got Large 12, is that the size of
> a
> > > sheep, a horse, an elephant? We visualise things
> > in
> > > feet, pounds, and mph, not in abstract ratings.
> >
> > Why would you describe it as "Large 12"?
>
> That's exactly what Anaxial's does!
>
>
> > But
> > what when you want to increase your "Large" or
> your
> > "Run Like the
> > Wind" and cross referencing it back to the table
> > gives silly results.
>
> Then you got the table wrong. And I know all too
> much
> about increasing my "large " :(
>
> > *Maybe as well, more advice on setting resistances
> > rather than just
> > a page of sample resistances....
>
> That would be good. But the sample resistances are a
> good start.
>
>
>
>
>
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