3e-style Psionics using 4e-style tools

dataweaver · 08-25-2014, 02:06 AM

Note that +1 to skill does not equate to +1 margin of success, unless you’ve pretty much maxed out the skill: the average margin of success at skill level 10 (assuming success) is 23/12; the average margin of success at skill level 11 (again, assuming a success) is 28/12. So buying a +1 to your skill at that level gives you slightly less than a half-point (5/12, to be exact) increase in your margin of success, assuming you succeed. As your skill gets higher and success gets more likely, this rate increases, until it approaches one; but it never quite gets there.

But you raise a good point: unless I jimmy the system so that margin of success has less of an impact than Potency does, I probably shouldn’t price Potency any higher than an equivalent Talent would cost. So 5, 10, or 15 points per level of Potency. Keeping it from getting out of hand is a function of setting up the progressions of the Parameters as something reasonable.

Note also that I haven’t said anything about what the FP costs are. That’s because there may not be any: I’m debating the possibility that FP costs come from incorporating “Costs FP” into the Power Modifier. Likewise, incorporating Requires Preparation into the Power Modifier might result in lengthy rituals a la Path Magic instead of the “concentrate for a second or two” model that one expects from Magic and 3e Psionics. And so on. That said, this is still very much in the brainstorming stage.

And then there’s the possibility of applying the Extra Effort rules to Potency to exceed its usual limits…

08-25-2014, 02:06 AM	#4
dataweaver Join Date: Aug 2004	Re: 3e-style Psionics using 4e-style tools Note that +1 to skill does not equate to +1 margin of success, unless you’ve pretty much maxed out the skill: the average margin of success at skill level 10 (assuming success) is 23/12; the average margin of success at skill level 11 (again, assuming a success) is 28/12. So buying a +1 to your skill at that level gives you slightly less than a half-point (5/12, to be exact) increase in your margin of success, assuming you succeed. As your skill gets higher and success gets more likely, this rate increases, until it approaches one; but it never quite gets there. But you raise a good point: unless I jimmy the system so that margin of success has less of an impact than Potency does, I probably shouldn’t price Potency any higher than an equivalent Talent would cost. So 5, 10, or 15 points per level of Potency. Keeping it from getting out of hand is a function of setting up the progressions of the Parameters as something reasonable. Note also that I haven’t said anything about what the FP costs are. That’s because there may not be any: I’m debating the possibility that FP costs come from incorporating “Costs FP” into the Power Modifier. Likewise, incorporating Requires Preparation into the Power Modifier might result in lengthy rituals a la Path Magic instead of the “concentrate for a second or two” model that one expects from Magic and 3e Psionics. And so on. That said, this is still very much in the brainstorming stage. And then there’s the possibility of applying the Extra Effort rules to Potency to exceed its usual limits… __________________ Point balance is a myth.[1][2][3][4]