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Old 08-09-2018, 08:36 AM   #11
flankspeed
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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Originally Posted by zot View Post
.... Since I was already asking, I thought I'd suggest using three of the dice you roll for autos / criticals, since ITL doesn't cover it anyway. I couldn't resist throwing my $0.02 in. Of course I hadn't thought about rolling fewer dice. Glad you contributed that.
Two heads are better than one, and team work mostly helps, at least until a contradictory maxim kicks in and too many cooks spoil the broth, haha.

I added the following note so it would be explicit that there are options instead of using colored dice, such as differently sized dice or merely segregating the dice so you could read them separately. I didn't want this method to imply anyone HAD to buy more dice, even though six-sided dice are easy to come by.

NOTE: Of course, different sized dice could be used instead of differently colored ones. Also, you don't really need colored or sized dice if you can merely be sure to segregate the dice so on a 2d roll you have two dice you can read separately among the three dice, or on a roll of 4d or more you have three dice you can read separately among the four or more dice.
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Old 08-09-2018, 08:45 AM   #12
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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Originally Posted by zot View Post
ITL doesn't actually say what counts for double or triple damage on more than 3 dice, ...
Hi Zot,
you are thinking of the table in the first column of page 38 in ItL. However the complete table with the double and triple (and dropped and broken weapons), is on the Metagaming GM shield.

So the information is in the old TFT, just not in ItL.

Warm regards, Rick.
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Old 08-09-2018, 08:50 AM   #13
flankspeed
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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Originally Posted by Rick_Smith View Post
Hi Zot,
you are thinking of the table in the first column of page 38 in ItL. However the complete table with the double and triple (and dropped and broken weapons), is on the Metagaming GM shield.

So the information is in the old TFT, just not in ItL.

Warm regards, Rick.
Your GM Screen must be different than mine, since mine only shows automatic successes and failures but NOT the critical results for damage or drops/breaks.

I still like how the colored dice method takes care of the 2d roll for success, which, in my versions of books and screens, does not have critical results, only success/failure on 2 or 12.
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:00 AM   #14
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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Originally Posted by flankspeed View Post
Your GM Screen must be different than mine, since mine only shows automatic successes and failures but NOT the critical results for damage or drops/breaks. ...
Hi Flankspeed.
When I read your post above, I dug out my GM screen from the bottom of the box, and checked. You are right! The info was in the TFT Codex which I copied in pen onto my GM screen. How could I not remember that those numbers were hand written???

Amazing what you can forget in 20 years! Actually, it is weirder, I memorized that table, and then my memory edited the GM Screen to fit.

Anyway, sorry for the confusion. You are totally right.

Warm regards, Rick.
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:02 AM   #15
RobW
 
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Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

An important point is that ITL RAW do not allow triple damage on defending figures, and reduce the overall chance of critical successes from about 5% to less than .5%. That is, ITL RAW create a significant advantage to the defend option that would be lost with this new "distinct dice" rule.

THerefore, the question for the new edition is whether or not Defending should have the effects it has in ITL RAW, or should odds of critical success stay about constant regardless of the number of dice rolled.

I prefer that critical successes are still reasonably possible (ie not ITL RAW). And in that case, the "distinctive dice" rule has a lot of advantages to a lookup table.
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:11 AM   #16
flankspeed
 
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Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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Originally Posted by Rick_Smith View Post
Hi Flankspeed.
When I read your post above, I dug out my GM screen from the bottom of the box, and checked. You are right! The info was in the TFT Codex which I copied in pen onto my GM screen. How could I not remember that those numbers were hand written???....
No problem, Rick! I'm glad you looked, since you had me worried that I missed out on buying the updated screen you seemed to have, haha. Now at least I know I'm not missing such an improved screen from my collection.
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:17 AM   #17
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Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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.... I prefer that critical successes are still reasonably possible (ie not ITL RAW). And in that case, the "distinctive dice" rule has a lot of advantages to a lookup table.
I will have to brush up on the ITL rules-as-written regarding Defending figures. I think we are in agreement though that the small chance of special results is desirable to maintain.

So long as players can't roll over and over again an infinite number of times to exploit special results, then I think they should be allowed the extraordinarily lucky or unlucky roll. Lucky or unlucky rolls always lead to such memorable events in game!
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:36 AM   #18
Rick_Smith
 
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Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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... So long as players can't roll over and over again an infinite number of times to exploit special results, then I think they should be allowed the extraordinarily lucky or unlucky roll. Lucky or unlucky rolls always lead to such memorable events in game!
Hi Flankspeed, everyone.
I had a friend Torrey who had a very long running elven wizard in my campaign. This was a power house character, around 50 attributes at the time of this story.

Anyway he was climbing up this narrow canyon with a raging river of icy cold snow melt below him. The walls of the canyon were slippery with slime and algae. But his DX was fine, it was just a couple of rolls, off he goes.

And he rolls an auto miss on a 3vsDX.

He falls, smacks hard off the cliff and hits the water. He tries 3 times to make swimming rolls. But he is a wizard, with no Swimming skill, and he blows a roll. I slam him into a rock, damage and he is stunned for that turn and the next. He blows another roll, then another one. More damage and swallowed water. The cold is numbing him. He has something like an 8 adjusted DX, from the cold, heavy equipment, and permanent negatives. His friends are helpless, 300 meters up stream.

I say sadly, "You have to make a 5vsDX or you drown, sorry." This is a final statement, with 4 other wide eyed players looking on. This is IT. Their super mage is about to die.

Torrey rolls the 5 dice and gets a natural 5.

I stare at that result. I stammer, "You, ah, get swept to the bottom of a whirlpool, and get your feet firmly planted on the ground. You push off and get to the shore."

(This seemed inadequate.)

"You.. grab onto the shore, there is a rock there and you haul yourself out. You are safe."

(This still seemed inadequate.)

"You, ah, get Swimming talent for free. Write it down on your sheet. Memory cost is zero."

***

I was perhaps too generous giving him Swimming for free, but to be fair, I don't remember him ever using it again. (Land based campaign.)

But we REMEMBERED him avoiding certain death with an amazing roll. Events like this brings a charm and spontaneity to the campaign which you don't see in diceless RPG's.

Warm regards, Rick.

Last edited by Rick_Smith; 08-09-2018 at 09:46 AM. Reason: fixed spelling error.
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:45 AM   #19
flankspeed
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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.... we REMEMBERED him avoiding certain death with an amazing roll. Events like this brings a charm and spontaneity to the campaign which you don't see in iceless RPG's....
That was a truly memorable story. Thank you for sharing!

And the typo "... in iceless RPG's...." is just as memorably appropriate, haha. Both diceless and iceless RPGs can't compare to the Truly Fun Times of TFT!

Just friendly teasing is all! :)
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:56 AM   #20
Rick_Smith
 
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Default Re: Critical success / failure on more than 3 dice

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Originally Posted by flankspeed View Post
That was a truly memorable story. Thank you for sharing!

And the typo "... in iceless RPG's...." is just as memorably appropriate, haha. Both diceless and iceless RPGs can't compare to the Truly Fun Times of TFT!

Just friendly teasing is all! :)
No offense taken, and the water WAS icy. Darn auto-correct. I fixed the spelling error tho. :-D Rick.
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