Quote:
Originally Posted by Gigermann
Interesting, but not really the point :)
|
I thought it rather was the point: you defeat an "Impossible" situation by using complimentary skills to
change the situation. Otherwise, trying to sell sand to a random Saudi billionaire isn't going to go anywhere, and I think calling it "Impossible" is fair.
It's just like "I jump to the moon!" is something that you can flat out tell players "You fail" on. But, "I build a sealed life support mech suit with rocket boots so I can "jump" to the moon, like Space Iron Man!" or "I brew up a colossal vat of Potions of the Grasshopper and
bathe in it, then I jump to the moon!" or whatever - you're changing the situation from a ridiculous, impossible one to a possible, if hard, one. It involves preparation and work and successful application of other skills or advantages.
How do you talk the headsman into not beheading you? You need to know who he is, and know things about him. Then you can talk
to him rather than
at him.
Unless the idea is that the player has Mind Control levels of Fast Talk.
I frankly don't think -10 is the "cap" for "impossible-ness", particularly in a game where characters might actually have Transcendent appearance, Charisma 5, Smooth Talker 4, and a net Fast Talk skill of 35.
-10 is
an arbitrary number; it works just as well as -50 in lower skill level games. If skill levels are in the 10-12 range, it's immaterial if the penalty is -10 or -50, and -10 is a nice number. But there are things which really
are different kinds of impossible, and cranking the penalty up from -10 is relevant in games with higher skill levels floating around.