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Simple Task System

Originally posted by kaladorn:
Hmmm, I thought take 10 was there to just give you an average result *without a roll*. In that respect, you can still use it in a 2d6 game. Besides, the bell isn't that steep on 2d6.
That's my impression as well. Take 10 and 20 allows you to concentrate more on a task and allows you to do as good a job as you can with it. Or half as well as you can in the case of Take 10. I quite like it as a mechanic instead of getting players to roll lots of skill checks.
 
Originally posted by kaladorn:
Hmmm, I thought take 10 was there to just give you an average result *without a roll*. In that respect, you can still use it in a 2d6 game. Besides, the bell isn't that steep on 2d6.
That's my impression as well. Take 10 and 20 allows you to concentrate more on a task and allows you to do as good a job as you can with it. Or half as well as you can in the case of Take 10. I quite like it as a mechanic instead of getting players to roll lots of skill checks.
 
Minimum roll on 2d is a 2?

So if you take 5 you succeed ar average rolls (if the task number is 7+).

If your average task target is 8+ then take 6.

For difficult tasks, target 11+ or 12+, you'd need to take 9 or 10.
 
Minimum roll on 2d is a 2?

So if you take 5 you succeed ar average rolls (if the task number is 7+).

If your average task target is 8+ then take 6.

For difficult tasks, target 11+ or 12+, you'd need to take 9 or 10.
 
With stats giving an average of 0 and skills giving 1 (for typical case), a take 6 would let you succeed on a task target of 7.

Remember though, that take 10 and take 20 in D&D are very different to one another. Take 10 is 'I am not trying too hard, but I'm good enough to just do this' - You take 50% of the normal result (which in our case might be 7) and you add your stat mods, and voila, you can do most DC10 or DC15 tasks if you have decent mods. So a Take 5 or 6 would be about right equivalently. Cannot be done in 'risky' situations. (I think if a task result is hazardous, or perhaps even uncertain, in MT terms, it should not be allowed).

Take 20, OTOH, is 'I repeat this task, failing it each time, until I succeed'. For crafting, this means you burn a lot of resources and time to get to where you need to be, but it is the 'slow approach wins the race...". Take 10 or 12 might be the same - I've got a difficult task, but all the time in the world and it doesn't matter if I fail a lot along the way. (For instance, I need to crack some difficult 15 crypto... so I spend a month doing it with a computer, take 10, add my mods, and I have a good chance of doing it).
 
With stats giving an average of 0 and skills giving 1 (for typical case), a take 6 would let you succeed on a task target of 7.

Remember though, that take 10 and take 20 in D&D are very different to one another. Take 10 is 'I am not trying too hard, but I'm good enough to just do this' - You take 50% of the normal result (which in our case might be 7) and you add your stat mods, and voila, you can do most DC10 or DC15 tasks if you have decent mods. So a Take 5 or 6 would be about right equivalently. Cannot be done in 'risky' situations. (I think if a task result is hazardous, or perhaps even uncertain, in MT terms, it should not be allowed).

Take 20, OTOH, is 'I repeat this task, failing it each time, until I succeed'. For crafting, this means you burn a lot of resources and time to get to where you need to be, but it is the 'slow approach wins the race...". Take 10 or 12 might be the same - I've got a difficult task, but all the time in the world and it doesn't matter if I fail a lot along the way. (For instance, I need to crack some difficult 15 crypto... so I spend a month doing it with a computer, take 10, add my mods, and I have a good chance of doing it).
 
Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Minimum roll on 2d is a 2?

So if you take 5 you succeed ar average rolls (if the task number is 7+).

If your average task target is 8+ then take 6.

For difficult tasks, target 11+ or 12+, you'd need to take 9 or 10.
With the Take 10/20 rule it's assumed those are the numbers you've rolled, so you shouldn't be taking 2 from the task number.

Take 10/20 also match DCs, so depending on what DCs you're using in CT you could use Take x to match those numbers - in my case Take 6/12, although Kaladon's 4, 7, 10, 13 has got me thinking.

One other thing with the Take x rule is that you need a skill of at least 1 to be able to use the option.
 
Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Minimum roll on 2d is a 2?

So if you take 5 you succeed ar average rolls (if the task number is 7+).

If your average task target is 8+ then take 6.

For difficult tasks, target 11+ or 12+, you'd need to take 9 or 10.
With the Take 10/20 rule it's assumed those are the numbers you've rolled, so you shouldn't be taking 2 from the task number.

Take 10/20 also match DCs, so depending on what DCs you're using in CT you could use Take x to match those numbers - in my case Take 6/12, although Kaladon's 4, 7, 10, 13 has got me thinking.

One other thing with the Take x rule is that you need a skill of at least 1 to be able to use the option.
 
That's a good caveat. Or JoT skill to allow you to Take X even if you don't have the skill.

Take 10: Usually used to hit DC 10 (really easy) tasks right off. DC15 can be reached with the types of mods a first to third level character can obtain. (you need +5, stats can give 0-4 normally, you can have skill level +3 ranks in a skill, so at first level, I think you have up to +4 from skill itself)

Take 20 can be used in a somewhat similar sense to accomplish harder (usually long term) tasks that have DCs of 20-30. My 5th level AD&D Rogue has a +10 on Search, so I could Take 20 and hit a DC30, if I had the time and there were no risks.

So, to Travelerize this: Typical skills will be 1 for a low level PC (short term-er) to 3 or 4 (long term specialization). Typical stats will provide 0-2.

So, Take 6 would mean that with 0 stat +1 skill, you'd reach a 7+ roll. With a 2 skill and a +2 stat, you'd reach a 10+ roll. Tough, but not impossible. Also feasible with a 3-4 skill and 0-1 stat. Take 12 has a somewhat similar logic, but to higher difficulties.

So, we have:
1. An idea for a more granular skill system (be it by twos or threes)
2. An idea for stats to give bonuses for every 3 points with 6-7-8 giving no bonuses. Lower gives negatives, higher positives.
3. An idea for a Take N (ie just assume an average roll) and a Take M (fail, fail, fail unto you finally succeed). You can't Take N or M unless you have 1 skill level or JoT.

All that remains is some detail work on what M and N are and if having skill levels by twos or threes is better.
 
That's a good caveat. Or JoT skill to allow you to Take X even if you don't have the skill.

Take 10: Usually used to hit DC 10 (really easy) tasks right off. DC15 can be reached with the types of mods a first to third level character can obtain. (you need +5, stats can give 0-4 normally, you can have skill level +3 ranks in a skill, so at first level, I think you have up to +4 from skill itself)

Take 20 can be used in a somewhat similar sense to accomplish harder (usually long term) tasks that have DCs of 20-30. My 5th level AD&D Rogue has a +10 on Search, so I could Take 20 and hit a DC30, if I had the time and there were no risks.

So, to Travelerize this: Typical skills will be 1 for a low level PC (short term-er) to 3 or 4 (long term specialization). Typical stats will provide 0-2.

So, Take 6 would mean that with 0 stat +1 skill, you'd reach a 7+ roll. With a 2 skill and a +2 stat, you'd reach a 10+ roll. Tough, but not impossible. Also feasible with a 3-4 skill and 0-1 stat. Take 12 has a somewhat similar logic, but to higher difficulties.

So, we have:
1. An idea for a more granular skill system (be it by twos or threes)
2. An idea for stats to give bonuses for every 3 points with 6-7-8 giving no bonuses. Lower gives negatives, higher positives.
3. An idea for a Take N (ie just assume an average roll) and a Take M (fail, fail, fail unto you finally succeed). You can't Take N or M unless you have 1 skill level or JoT.

All that remains is some detail work on what M and N are and if having skill levels by twos or threes is better.
 
Role/Spacemaster had a table that listed the conversion from d100 to 2d6, and also listed the bonuses they used (after conversion). I will try to look it up, and see what distribution they used for stat bonuses.

I would probably say that JoT would not allow you to "Take #". The point of JoT is that you may know what you're doing. Having the actual skill necessary is actually knowing what you're doing. My .02Cr.
 
Role/Spacemaster had a table that listed the conversion from d100 to 2d6, and also listed the bonuses they used (after conversion). I will try to look it up, and see what distribution they used for stat bonuses.

I would probably say that JoT would not allow you to "Take #". The point of JoT is that you may know what you're doing. Having the actual skill necessary is actually knowing what you're doing. My .02Cr.
 
Depends which set of the JoT rules you are using I guess as to what it does.


But I can see your logic, and thinking about it again, as long as you can use JoT as the skill to attempt the task, or something like that, then having it not let you Take # is sensible.
 
Depends which set of the JoT rules you are using I guess as to what it does.


But I can see your logic, and thinking about it again, as long as you can use JoT as the skill to attempt the task, or something like that, then having it not let you Take # is sensible.
 
Originally posted by kaladorn:
All that remains is some detail work on what M and N are and if having skill levels by twos or threes is better.
If we start with 6+ being an everyday DC, then we can make N=6 and M=12 as they would work with both 2-step (6, 8, 10, 12) and 3-step (6, 9, 12)systems.

As far as the steps themselves go I must admit to preferring 2-step only because of starting with CT/Striker. I can't think of any reason not to use 3-step. Bromgrev's suggestion is looking more and more attractive - I feel sold on 6, 9, 12


Thinking more about Kaledorn's degrees of success/failure, I think that the steps there should match the chosen task steps. That way you've made the next level of success (or indeed failure!)
 
Originally posted by kaladorn:
All that remains is some detail work on what M and N are and if having skill levels by twos or threes is better.
If we start with 6+ being an everyday DC, then we can make N=6 and M=12 as they would work with both 2-step (6, 8, 10, 12) and 3-step (6, 9, 12)systems.

As far as the steps themselves go I must admit to preferring 2-step only because of starting with CT/Striker. I can't think of any reason not to use 3-step. Bromgrev's suggestion is looking more and more attractive - I feel sold on 6, 9, 12


Thinking more about Kaledorn's degrees of success/failure, I think that the steps there should match the chosen task steps. That way you've made the next level of success (or indeed failure!)
 
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