[Star Wars] Technical Solutions for Long Fights - 'Rechargeable' Buying Success

[Genesis]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Doesn't matter really. If it involves a roll, it can be failed. If it can be failed, it can be turned into a success if the campaign rules allow by using either CPs, Luck, Destiny Points, or the Virtual Destiny Points provided by having a certain number of CP invested in appropriate skills.

If you don't see the idea as interesting, I'm not pushing it onto you. IMO Technical Solutions are not meant to be a One True Way, but rather as worked* examples of achieving certain phenomena using GURPS rules.

* == Or half-worked, in this case. :(

No worries - I'm just trying to provide an alternative that can achieve similar dramatic effects without the invention of new mechanics. A massively-enhanced defense at substantial energy cost means that a Jedi really doesn't have to worry about things until he's out of energy, or chooses not to use the defense (of course). I'm OK with other main characters (mostly Jedi, or people with Luck or whatever metric you want) critting for a surprise death.

I actually really like the spending CP cinematic options like converting failures and flesh wounds and all that - I think they're great for lots of genres, including (possibly) star wars-style games. The trouble I see with them, though, is that CP are a dramatic reward - the number of options you have (whether in buying new skills or in buying successes) is determined by the story on a layer above the heads of the characters (on the players' level, if you will). What you seem to describe is something determined by physical fitness or strength in the force or some aspect of the characters - not a meta-aspect of the game itself. So I'm trying to provide a solution rooted in something the character already has: FP or an ER. Of course, if you want to invent new mechanics that mimic story-level rewards on the character level that's fine too - it's not the only option, though.

[gjc8]

Originally Posted by Genesis

The trouble I see with them, though, is that CP are a dramatic reward - the number of options you have (whether in buying new skills or in buying successes) is determined by the story on a layer above the heads of the characters (on the players' level, if you will).

Except that Destiny isn't really a meta-game concept, especially in universes like Star Wars that have in-universe prophecies and where a mystical and far-reaching but undeniably real Force exists.

[Stupid Jedi]

Wouldn't the "flesh-wounds" optional cinematic rule also be used to explain these extra long fights? Turning a hit with a lightsaber into a 1 HP wound seems like a fair trade. The 1 HP wound could be explained any number of ways, and using the "Second Wind" optional rule can even turn this HP damage into FP loss. The only problem is working out a mechanism for "buying success." In my campaigns, I do let my players go into point debt. They acquire the Unluckiness disadvantage until they've repaid their debt.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Stupid Jedi

Wouldn't the "flesh-wounds" optional cinematic rule also be used to explain these extra long fights? Turning a hit with a lightsaber into a 1 HP wound seems like a fair trade. The 1 HP wound could be explained any number of ways, and using the "Second Wind" optional rule can even turn this HP damage into FP loss. The only problem is working out a mechanism for "buying success." In my campaigns, I do let my players go into point debt. They acquire the Unluckiness disadvantage until they've repaid their debt.

While I didn't spell it out explicitly, I did assume that when affecting the outcome of an attack, a player may declare a Glancing Hit instead of declaring a successful Active Defense. On one hand, this means that critical headshots (or whatever other massive-damage crits that are appropriate) can be avoided with a single CP/VDP. On the other, reducing damage to 1 HP does nothing against sweeps, grapples, pushes off the ledge etc., so the less boring / more dramatic attacks are not as easily ignored.

As for point debt - don't you like my Dark Side Temptation idea?

Edit: OP edited, now the three worked examples are in the OP, including some bits on Dark Side Temptation, and a guideline-idea about choosing the number of CPs in skill required per VDP.

[Stupid Jedi]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

As for point debt - don't you like my Dark Side Temptation idea?

Edit: OP edited, now the three worked examples are in the OP, including some bits on Dark Side Temptation, and a guideline-idea about choosing the number of CPs in skill required per VDP.

I do like your Darkside Temptation idea. Very genre appropriate!

[vicky_molokh]

After passing the awesome tutorial to Exalted, re-reading GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys, and considering how the latter can be used to emulate the feel of the former, I looked over this technical solution thread, and got thinking:

I didn't consider too deeply the balance and dynamics that are produced by such a ruleset. Here are some relevant bits:

While Flesh Wounds reduce damage to 1, but doesn't prevent crippling or dismemberment. Thus, it isn't exactly an option except for torso hits.

Trading FP for HP is generally not too useful on its own.

TV Action Violence - spending FP to auto-succeed on a defence (and Do Nothing next turn) is cool, but doesn't work against criticals.

Buying Success seems to go both ways. For one, if you take huge penalties and make a regular failure and buying a success for 1 point almost forces the opponent to use a special defence. However, turning a failed high-reward (e.g. brain) attack into a critical success is an extremely threatening action. It's a whopping 3 points, but it negates the right to use a defence. Thus, it has to result in a bidding war, lest the target gets hit with an extremely scary (high-damage and/or crippling) attack.
Assuming that we have more defence-boosting skills than offence-boosting ones (for virtual destiny points, that is), things aren't as bleak for the defending side.

Buying Effect (maximising/minimising damage on 2 dice per point spent) seems like a last-ditch effort that probably just isn't worth it.

Thoughts?