Douglas Cole's "By Default" and Wildcard Skills

[nerdvana]

I'm going to start off by saying I really like Douglas Cole's "By Default" from Pyramid #3/65. However, neither it or Power-Ups #7: Wildcard Skills (which in the case of the latter makes perfect sense) address how to apply them to each other.

So, the solution I was thinking of is make Wildcard Skills be bought up from ½Attribute+5 for 12 points and just tweak the costs from Power-Ups #7 based on that data point.

Does anyone see a hole in this idea?

[vicky_molokh]

Whoa, somehow I misremembered how By Default works. I really liked it for actual defaults, but somehow subconsciously rejected the idea of changing the way non-default skill levels and costs work.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

I'm going to start off by saying I really like Douglas Cole's "By Default" from Pyramid #3/65. However, neither it or Power-Ups #7: Wildcard Skills (which in the case of the latter makes perfect sense) address how to apply them to each other.

WC7 would never have referenced a basically edition-level optional rule presented in Pyramid. It was, I'll admit, an oversight of my article, born of the fact that it's been sitting on my computer for something like ten years, since Third Edition.

So, the solution I was thinking of is make Wildcard Skills be bought up from ½Attribute+5 for 12 points and just tweak the costs from Power-Ups #7 based on that data point.

Does anyone see a hole in this idea?

I'd make wildcards triple-cost Very Hard skills, buying htem up from 1/2Attribute-1, no default.

This will still make them cheaper relative to full DX or IQ, but will also continue the massive tilting of point expenditures to skills over attributes, which is a side-effect, desired or not, of the By Default switch.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

WC7 would never have referenced a basically edition-level optional rule presented in Pyramid. It was, I'll admit, an oversight of my article, born of the fact that it's been sitting on my computer for something like ten years, since Third Edition.

Right, that was basically why I said it made sense your article wasn't mentioned in PU#7 :)

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

I'd make wildcards triple-cost Very Hard skills, buying htem up from 1/2Attribute-1, no default.

This will still make them cheaper relative to full DX or IQ, but will also continue the massive tilting of point expenditures to skills over attributes, which is a side-effect, desired or not, of the By Default switch.

Interesting because in every other way your "By Default" leaves the skills (for an average character) the same but by putting a -1 on there you reduce the skill level from a Wildcard Skill in the RAW.... (in the RAW a DX 10 character with 12 points in Sword! has that at 10... in your example above they would have it at 9 where as my original idea/suggestion would leave it at 10)

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Right, that was basically why I said it made sense your article wasn't mentioned in PU#7 :)



Interesting because in every other way your "By Default" leaves the skills (for an average character) the same but by putting a -1 on there you reduce the skill level from a Wildcard Skill in the RAW.... (in the RAW a DX 10 character with 12 points in Sword! has that at 10... in your example above they would have it at 9 where as my original idea/suggestion would leave it at 10)

A quick look, though, at Wildcards says 12 points in a Wildcard skill gives DX-1 (PU7, p. 4). Am I missing something? It takes 24 points to get to DX.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

A quick look, though, at Wildcards says 12 points in a Wildcard skill gives DX-1 (PU7, p. 4). Am I missing something? It takes 24 points to get to DX.

No. It's probably me. Read it once. Need to reread obviously

[nerdvana]

Now that dinner is done and I've had a chance to look at it again I see my mind transposed info... yeah, it would be half minus 1. Thanks Douglas. :)