Aligning duration of Afflictions and Side Effects

Kallatari · 05-14-2017, 09:47 AM

I’ve been trying to work out rules to align the durations of Afflictions and the Side Effect modifier, and decided to share what I came up with.

Afflictions, with the exception of the Stunning effect, have a duration equal to minutes times the margin of failure on the subject’s HT roll. Assuming that the vast majority of people have a HT ranging from 8 to 12, this means that Afflictions will typically, on average, last 1 or 2 minutes... although there can be significantly greater outliers. The Fixed Duration special enhancement (from Psionic Powers) suggests using 3 minutes as a standard, as it’s a +0% enhancement. For simplicity, we’ll use that value as our baseline for comparison.

Side Effects, on the other hand, have a duration of (20 – HT) minutes. The margin of failure is irrelevant in this case. This means that the vast majority of people will be affected for somewhere between 8 to 12 minutes.

What I want to do is find out a fair price to make Side Effects have a duration based on the margin of failure, and likewise, a fair price to have Afflictions have a duration base on (20 – HT).

The existing rules already have examples of both. The Electrostunner (High-Tech and Ultra-Tech) are clearly marked as Afflictions, with the same modifiers to the HT roll from DR as an Affliction would have (often with Armor Divisor 0.5), yet their duration is (20 – HT). Conversely, in Dungeon Fantasy, there’s frost damage that causes paralysis as a Side Effect (the same penalty based on the damage suffered as for Side Effects), but the duration is based on the margin of failure with Reduced Duration thrown in to convert minutes to seconds... (well, actually, it works like a stun with a roll each turn to recover, but for this debate, let's assume its duration in seconds).

So, what’s a fair way to price them?

The first thing to note is that, assuming average typical targets, the difference in duration is about a factor of x3. This works out nicely with existing modifiers. Extended Duration (x3) is worth +20%. Reduced Duration (x1/3) is worth -10%.

I tried a bunch of different combinations and math to apply these effects as separate modifiers, or incorporating those values into the cost, but they wound up making clunky builds. In the end, I decided on a cost neutral effect and worked from there. So, I made a couple tweaks to the two modifiers, which I think make a nice solution:

Fixed Duration (for Affliction): Instead of basing on the duration on the margin of failure, you have the option of basing the duration on either a margin of 3, or on the subject’s (20 – HT)/3, rounding down. You must decide which to apply when purchasing this modifier. +0%

Side Effect: When purchasing Side Effects, you can decide to have either a duration of subject’s (20 – HT), or a duration of (margin of failure x 3). You must decide which applies when you purchase this modifier. Base of +50% plus the value of affliction effect caused by the Side Effect.

From there, it’s just a matter of adding the appropriate levels of Extended Duration or Reduced Duration to the trait to make the durations match.

As a side note, with Based on Different Attribute, this change both the attribute you roll against, as well as the attribute on which a fixed duration is based (e.g., Based on DX means you would roll against DX to resist, and the fixed duration would be (20 – DX))

So, does this seem balanced?

The one thing that leaves me a bit unsure is the penalty applied to Side Effect resistance rolls that's based on the damage received. For example, 20 damage would result in -10 to resist, and if the duration of the Side Effect is margin based, well, you've just increased it by 30 minutes, which greatly exceeds the initial concept of (20 - HT). But, then again, as a GM, I think I'd be more worried about the 20 damage which can be potentially fatal to may players... and those with a low damaging attack won't have any real benefit.
Plus, once you're out of commission for 10 minutes, is 30 minutes that much more significant?

Should I maybe reduce the duration to margin minutes and call it even because of the increased penalty based on damage? If so, how does that balance with the fact that of balancing Fixed Duration of 3 minutes versus the average 10 minutes for Side Effect?

05-14-2017, 09:47 AM	#1
Kallatari Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada	Aligning duration of Afflictions and Side Effects I’ve been trying to work out rules to align the durations of Afflictions and the Side Effect modifier, and decided to share what I came up with. Afflictions, with the exception of the Stunning effect, have a duration equal to minutes times the margin of failure on the subject’s HT roll. Assuming that the vast majority of people have a HT ranging from 8 to 12, this means that Afflictions will typically, on average, last 1 or 2 minutes... although there can be significantly greater outliers. The Fixed Duration special enhancement (from Psionic Powers) suggests using 3 minutes as a standard, as it’s a +0% enhancement. For simplicity, we’ll use that value as our baseline for comparison. Side Effects, on the other hand, have a duration of (20 – HT) minutes. The margin of failure is irrelevant in this case. This means that the vast majority of people will be affected for somewhere between 8 to 12 minutes. What I want to do is find out a fair price to make Side Effects have a duration based on the margin of failure, and likewise, a fair price to have Afflictions have a duration base on (20 – HT). The existing rules already have examples of both. The Electrostunner (High-Tech and Ultra-Tech) are clearly marked as Afflictions, with the same modifiers to the HT roll from DR as an Affliction would have (often with Armor Divisor 0.5), yet their duration is (20 – HT). Conversely, in Dungeon Fantasy, there’s frost damage that causes paralysis as a Side Effect (the same penalty based on the damage suffered as for Side Effects), but the duration is based on the margin of failure with Reduced Duration thrown in to convert minutes to seconds... (well, actually, it works like a stun with a roll each turn to recover, but for this debate, let's assume its duration in seconds). So, what’s a fair way to price them? The first thing to note is that, assuming average typical targets, the difference in duration is about a factor of x3. This works out nicely with existing modifiers. Extended Duration (x3) is worth +20%. Reduced Duration (x1/3) is worth -10%. I tried a bunch of different combinations and math to apply these effects as separate modifiers, or incorporating those values into the cost, but they wound up making clunky builds. In the end, I decided on a cost neutral effect and worked from there. So, I made a couple tweaks to the two modifiers, which I think make a nice solution: Fixed Duration (for Affliction): Instead of basing on the duration on the margin of failure, you have the option of basing the duration on either a margin of 3, or on the subject’s (20 – HT)/3, rounding down. You must decide which to apply when purchasing this modifier. +0% Side Effect: When purchasing Side Effects, you can decide to have either a duration of subject’s (20 – HT), or a duration of (margin of failure x 3). You must decide which applies when you purchase this modifier. Base of +50% plus the value of affliction effect caused by the Side Effect. From there, it’s just a matter of adding the appropriate levels of Extended Duration or Reduced Duration to the trait to make the durations match. As a side note, with Based on Different Attribute, this change both the attribute you roll against, as well as the attribute on which a fixed duration is based (e.g., Based on DX means you would roll against DX to resist, and the fixed duration would be (20 – DX)) So, does this seem balanced? The one thing that leaves me a bit unsure is the penalty applied to Side Effect resistance rolls that's based on the damage received. For example, 20 damage would result in -10 to resist, and if the duration of the Side Effect is margin based, well, you've just increased it by 30 minutes, which greatly exceeds the initial concept of (20 - HT). But, then again, as a GM, I think I'd be more worried about the 20 damage which can be potentially fatal to may players... and those with a low damaging attack won't have any real benefit. Plus, once you're out of commission for 10 minutes, is 30 minutes that much more significant? Should I maybe reduce the duration to margin minutes and call it even because of the increased penalty based on damage? If so, how does that balance with the fact that of balancing Fixed Duration of 3 minutes versus the average 10 minutes for Side Effect?