Babbling at the Counter #06 –
Pen and Paper
How many points did I have
again?
For today, I promised to
tackle the topic of Logistics. This time I'll divide the analysis into two
broad categories: Character Customization and Rolling the Dice. Shall we begin?
Character Customization:
Sometimes, it's not about how
the game handles conflict. Some people need to invest themselves on their
characters, so they feel them more alive. A "complex" system in term
of Values (as described last week) can create that feeling. A character can be
strong and resilient, but slow. Or strong and fast while fragile. Or even fast,
resilient and weak (that strikes me as a bad build, but they must have their
reasons). So, even if a Warrior, a Knight and a Thief are all melee classes
that deal damage based on their “Combat Prowess” (see last week’s examples),
you expect this Value to be different, even if only because they have a
different Speed Value (in our example we said Combat Prowess equals [Body +
Speed]).
The point is, if all you do
is assign points to "Soldier", sometimes it gets hard to see if you
are supposed to be fast or strong or both. And it gets worse if you compare it
to another character. Taking Risus (again, http://warehouseoftrinkets.blogspot.com.ar/2013/08/risus-anything-rpg.html)
as the example, we can take a "Commando 4" vs. a "Mercenary
4". Outside of combat, it's pretty obvious how each one is different: For
example, when calling their contacts, one would call people on the military or
government, while the other might call soldiers of fortune and black market merchants.
But in combat, how are they
different? It's implied they both can fight hand to hand or with firearms. They
might be even supposed to know how to lead a team on the field. Is there really
a difference between my “Commando” and your “Mercenary”?
The answer is both yes and
no.
No, because there is no
mechanical difference between them, so we both take four d6 for our rolls, and
we have the same chance of success or failure.
On the other hand, yes, they
a very different. Wasn’t my Commando specialized in jungle combat? In my story
says he is, so, instead of punching you in the back of the head as a surprise
attack, I’ll hide under this table and grab you from the feet, like I did
hidden in tree roots back in the day. Mechanically speaking, as far as Risus is
concerned, it’s the same to punch you or grab you. If I win the opposed
contest, I’ll damage you. If I don’t I get damaged. But doesn’t the second one
feel better? In terms of narrative, it’s at least more personal for the
character.
So, what happens when you’d
rather have a numerical bonus instead of feeling warn and fuzzy inside (good
narrative feels nice)? Well, some games have specializations, so you get a
bonus if you include some kind of concept on your action. Instead of “Commando 4”, it would be “Commando 4
(Jungle Combat)”. As my action ties to my specialty, I could get a bonus.
That’s an optional rule that
can be implemented in almost any game, if needed be.
Rolling the Dice:
Ok, now you have the
character you want and each action she does feels right, unique and according
to concept. Then you try to tackle a guard only to discover that it requires a
roll of 4d6, 2d8, 1d12 and 1d3. Every result over half the dice value adds a
success to your attempt, and every 1 subtracts a success. Except for the d12,
that one can add but not subtract.
Following me so far? Even
though this is an extreme example, I hope the idea is clear enough. It’s really
hard to play when it’s hard to remember how to do things, from the players’
point of view.
Every one of you must have
seen something like this. You are deep in battle, the enemy commander is
escaping and only the fighter can stop her. But he only has a sword and she is
too far away for a melee attack! Maybe he could throw to try and incapacitate
her. So… how where the rules when you throw a melee weapon? How many of my
abilities apply to a ranged attack with a sword? Which Value should I use, Body
or Speed? How much damage does a thrown long sword do?
See? It took us right out of
the story and into a rulebook. And let me ask you: how often should that
happen? Never, most of you must say.
Even though the player had
memorized and written down every aspect of his combat style, he just didn’t
thought he might need to make a ranged attack with his sword. He had a bow and
everything, but in this singular and unique situation he didn’t had time to
reach for it.
The story shouldn’t suffer
just because a weird situation (rules wise) happened. Unless the aim of the
game is tactical combat, where everyone has to constantly check their position
and every possible action they can try, the rules shouldn’t be constantly
checked.
Well, I’ve really gone
overboard with the word count today, haven’t I? Hope you all found this
interesting, or at least useful. See you next week.
- The Storeman
