BAI - Basic Abstract Incompetence

awarnock · 09-09-2018, 09:38 PM

I did a blog post this evening on a thought I had while rereading Action 2: Exploits for a setting/campaign building project that I'm working on. If you want the full idea, you can read the post here on my blog.

In a nutshell, it's the opposite of the BAD rating. It's an abstraction of how incompetent the group the PCs are going up against are, and is definitely not suited for a serious campaign or adventure. If you need a humorous breather, or are planning a campaign that's meant to be funny, then you have a way to abstract the bonuses PCs get from the incompetence of those running and manning the location. I called it the BAI (Basic Abstract Incompetence) rating because "Negative" BAD was kinda dumb and BAI is a stealthy little pun if you know what a Bye Week is. BAI can be used alone like BAD, but can also be used in conjunction with BAD to really highlight a change in who the PCs are against.

I'm thinking about refining this into a more thought out and full fledged mechanic, but I wanted to know what y'all thought of it and see how it worked out in any games you used it in.

ericthered · 09-10-2018, 06:57 AM

This is a nice idea.

When I tried playing around with The Collaborative Gamer's solo adventure system I found that the lone hero often struggled to have high enough skills to handle any BAD at all. Letting BAD go negative sounds like a good tweak.

~~evileeyore~~ · 09-10-2018, 01:54 PM

I've done this for years. I just call it 'When B.A.D. gets Good' in my houserules.

As a rule I only let BAD fall negative when the PCs have really turned the tide, found and are using the proper bane's and weaknesses of the enemy, have some sort of over-whelming advantage on their side (like an Elemental of Luck, an angel, etc), etc.

Occasionally I design an adventure in such a manner as there are more "BAD Relief*" methods than there is BAD and this can also happen as a result of them successfully initiating all the BAD relied methods.

It can mean the PCs just waltz through an adventure's end... so use with care. But over all, it's no more 'unbalancing' than BAD is.

* Sometimes I put in situations where 'BAD gets Worse' if the PCs don't stop something, and sometimes instead it's a way for them to get an edge back, to reduce how BAD things are without any possibility of it getting worse. That a Bad Relief situation. Usually there's a time limit, there are only so many things to do in a day after all, and by running off to do this, something else has to be left undone.

awarnock · 09-10-2018, 08:05 PM

@ericthered: It was interesting they they never discussed having BAD go past 0. Try it out and let me know how it works for you.

@evileeyore: That's a pretty interesting tweak as well. I'll have to play around with it during the next iteration of a setting I'm working on.

09-09-2018, 09:38 PM	#1
awarnock Join Date: Oct 2014	BAI - Basic Abstract Incompetence I did a blog post this evening on a thought I had while rereading Action 2: Exploits for a setting/campaign building project that I'm working on. If you want the full idea, you can read the post here on my blog. In a nutshell, it's the opposite of the BAD rating. It's an abstraction of how incompetent the group the PCs are going up against are, and is definitely not suited for a serious campaign or adventure. If you need a humorous breather, or are planning a campaign that's meant to be funny, then you have a way to abstract the bonuses PCs get from the incompetence of those running and manning the location. I called it the BAI (Basic Abstract Incompetence) rating because "Negative" BAD was kinda dumb and BAI is a stealthy little pun if you know what a Bye Week is. BAI can be used alone like BAD, but can also be used in conjunction with BAD to really highlight a change in who the PCs are against. I'm thinking about refining this into a more thought out and full fledged mechanic, but I wanted to know what y'all thought of it and see how it worked out in any games you used it in.

09-10-2018, 06:57 AM	#2
ericthered Hero of Democracy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: far from the ocean	Re: BAI - Basic Abstract Incompetence This is a nice idea. When I tried playing around with The Collaborative Gamer's solo adventure system I found that the lone hero often struggled to have high enough skills to handle any BAD at all. Letting BAD go negative sounds like a good tweak. __________________ Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!

09-10-2018, 01:54 PM	#3
~~evileeyore~~ Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: 100 hurricane swamp	Re: BAI - Basic Abstract Incompetence I've done this for years. I just call it 'When B.A.D. gets Good' in my houserules. As a rule I only let BAD fall negative when the PCs have really turned the tide, found and are using the proper bane's and weaknesses of the enemy, have some sort of over-whelming advantage on their side (like an Elemental of Luck, an angel, etc), etc. Occasionally I design an adventure in such a manner as there are more "BAD Relief" methods than there is BAD and this can also happen as a result of them successfully initiating all the BAD relied methods. It can mean the PCs just waltz through an adventure's end... so use with care. But over all, it's no more 'unbalancing' than BAD is. Sometimes I put in situations where 'BAD gets Worse' if the PCs don't stop something, and sometimes instead it's a way for them to get an edge back, to reduce how BAD things are without any possibility of it getting worse. That a Bad Relief situation. Usually there's a time limit, there are only so many things to do in a day after all, and by running off to do this, something else has to be left undone.

09-10-2018, 08:05 PM	#4
awarnock Join Date: Oct 2014	Re: BAI - Basic Abstract Incompetence @ericthered: It was interesting they they never discussed having BAD go past 0. Try it out and let me know how it works for you. @evileeyore: That's a pretty interesting tweak as well. I'll have to play around with it during the next iteration of a setting I'm working on.