Research and knowledge

zot · 07-09-2018, 02:46 AM

I made a simple system for research and knowledge for a game I'm running in another system that I think would work very well in TFT and it would give players another solid reason to round out their characters with non-combat talents (I count at least 10 skills in my skill list that could work for this) because they would actually do something in the game (social conflicts being a significant additional reason for choosing non-combat talents). Without rules, research is completely subjective and there's not much reason for a player to spend points on the talents that might help with it. The rules should work for any type of research such as

library research
searching a house for clues
interviewing people on the street
checking with contacts in your guild
navigating a bureaucracy
torturing a prisoner for information
...

Here's an example of interrogation as a form of research.

Bob: I want to interrogate the goblin to find out everything I can about their motives
GM: OK, you have Interrogation and you're way stronger than the goblin but she's very wily, it may not be as easy as you think. Roll vs IQ at +3, however many dice you want
Bob: (rolls 4 dice and gets a 15) Just made it with a 15
GM: (rolls 3 dice and gets a 12) You find out that "they are raiding the town for revenge" and you get one clarifying question
Bob: (consults with other players) Revenge for what?
GM: The townsfolk killed their children in their campsite two weeks ago

The roll represents all of that research activity -- in the example it represents the entire interrogation, so there are no additional rolls. In the example, I'm using Dark City's simple opposed roll rules discussed here.

If a player succeeds in their roll, the GM gives them a phrase describing the results of their research. If the roll succeeded well, the player can ask one or more clarifying questions. The GM helpfully answers each clarifying question with up to 5 words with these qualifications:

articles ("a", "an", "the") don't count as words
adjectives (like "big") and modifiers (like "their") don't count as words
names (like "Big Ben") or dates (like "two weeks ago") count as single words

So the GM answered the example question with the words "townsfolk", "killed", "children", "campsite", and "two-weeks-ago" and then sprinkled in some modifiers and articles to convert it to English. Instead of "their", the GM could have used, "the goblins'" as a modifier.

Knowledge works similarly except that the player gets to declare the phrase and potentially ask and answer some clarifying questions that represent the depth of their knowledge on the topic (at least that they can remember at the time). This is, of course, subject to GM approval. Example:

Angela: We're low on supplies but we're in a labyrinth that's been dug out and my character is a miner. Can I make some observations about the environment?
GM: OK, it's definitely a familiar environment for you, mining will give you +3 IQ. Roll however many dice you want...
Angela: (rolls 3/IQ and gets 13) Ooh, should have rolled another die...
GM: (decided to set a target number of 10 instead of rolling) You still rolled well enough to get one clarification. What's your declaration?
Angela: My declaration is, "The creatures here live off the environment so we should be able to as well"
GM: Clarifying question?
Angela: "Based on observations, where should the nearest drinkable water be?", answer: "this level"
GM: OK, that's a reasonable clarification and you're down two levels. Your character feels almost certain that a drinkable water supply is on this level...

The knowledge rules let the players use talents to spotlight their characters a little bit and also to flesh out the world in a tiny way (all subject to GM approval).

07-09-2018, 02:46 AM	#1
zot Join Date: May 2018	Research and knowledge I made a simple system for research and knowledge for a game I'm running in another system that I think would work very well in TFT and it would give players another solid reason to round out their characters with non-combat talents (I count at least 10 skills in my skill list that could work for this) because they would actually do something in the game (social conflicts being a significant additional reason for choosing non-combat talents). Without rules, research is completely subjective and there's not much reason for a player to spend points on the talents that might help with it. The rules should work for any type of research such as library research searching a house for clues interviewing people on the street checking with contacts in your guild navigating a bureaucracy torturing a prisoner for information ... Here's an example of interrogation as a form of research. Bob: I want to interrogate the goblin to find out everything I can about their motives GM: OK, you have Interrogation and you're way stronger than the goblin but she's very wily, it may not be as easy as you think. Roll vs IQ at +3, however many dice you want Bob: (rolls 4 dice and gets a 15) Just made it with a 15 GM: (rolls 3 dice and gets a 12) You find out that "they are raiding the town for revenge" and you get one clarifying question Bob: (consults with other players) Revenge for what? GM: The townsfolk killed their children in their campsite two weeks ago The roll represents all of that research activity -- in the example it represents the entire interrogation, so there are no additional rolls. In the example, I'm using Dark City's simple opposed roll rules discussed here. If a player succeeds in their roll, the GM gives them a phrase describing the results of their research. If the roll succeeded well, the player can ask one or more clarifying questions. The GM helpfully answers each clarifying question with up to 5 words with these qualifications: articles ("a", "an", "the") don't count as words adjectives (like "big") and modifiers (like "their") don't count as words names (like "Big Ben") or dates (like "two weeks ago") count as single words So the GM answered the example question with the words "townsfolk", "killed", "children", "campsite", and "two-weeks-ago" and then sprinkled in some modifiers and articles to convert it to English. Instead of "their", the GM could have used, "the goblins'" as a modifier. Knowledge works similarly except that the player gets to declare the phrase and potentially ask and answer some clarifying questions that represent the depth of their knowledge on the topic (at least that they can remember at the time). This is, of course, subject to GM approval. Example: Angela: We're low on supplies but we're in a labyrinth that's been dug out and my character is a miner. Can I make some observations about the environment? GM: OK, it's definitely a familiar environment for you, mining will give you +3 IQ. Roll however many dice you want... Angela: (rolls 3/IQ and gets 13) Ooh, should have rolled another die... GM: (decided to set a target number of 10 instead of rolling) You still rolled well enough to get one clarification. What's your declaration? Angela: My declaration is, "The creatures here live off the environment so we should be able to as well" GM: Clarifying question? Angela: "Based on observations, where should the nearest drinkable water be?", answer: "this level" GM: OK, that's a reasonable clarification and you're down two levels. Your character feels almost certain that a drinkable water supply is on this level... The knowledge rules let the players use talents to spotlight their characters a little bit and also to flesh out the world in a tiny way (all subject to GM approval).