That should read levels in the subject line. Too bad I type faster than
I proofread.
The way I run it is as follows:
+0 = basic level of training (it takes only two months to learn certain
skills at +0). You can handle basic tasks without screwing up, most of the
time, and more advanced tasks with difficulty, but with less trouble than
someone non-skilled.
+1 = basic level, and then some. Normal, but above average.
+2 = basic expert level. A professional. Someone who could do this for
a living and probably never do anything that would get them fired, or killed.
+3 = above average expert. A whiz kid. Really good. (For most skills,
you cannot screw up unless you roll snake eyes twice in a row; basic success
is 5+ or about 85% of the time for anything that might be more than routine,
with the exception of particularly difficult tasks, like head shots.)
+4 = outlandishly good.
+5 = like +4, but more so. In general, skill levels above +5 have
"diminishing returns effects" since they are usually automatic successes,
or the roll is so hard that you need something insane like +19 to succeed
anyway. (It is possible to get skill levels that high in my game, but
usually, if you try, "something terrible happens to you." Of course, I
warn my players in advance that if they take advantage of loopholes in
my game system, I will simply respond by sending NPCs after them who are
just as good--I won't even have to cheat, all I have to do is make them
face off against someone who is their equal or better. They understand,
and keep their characters realistic.
Of course, if someone wants one or two skills to be a "comsuming passion"
and get a +10 in it, I don't mind, because it does not unbalance the game
when it is only one or two skills. My friend Tim runs a character with
Class II (Rifle) at +11, and since he is using a custom-built, smart system
w. biocontrol interface laser rifle, and augmenting his own knowledge of
rifle skill with a memory-recording skill chip, he ends up with a +15 or
+16 (I can't remember which). Of course, he skill has to roll for
initiate in any gunfight, and his Dex. is only about a 9. He can hit
anything he shoots at...hold on, I just read what I typed, let me correct
what I said..."he still has to roll for initiative" (sorry kids, it's
late)...but he knows that every gunfight involves an initiative roll,
and if someone gets the draw on him, he's dead. The result: he plays his
character smart and never shoots unless he has to, and then he makes sure
he gets the drop on his opponents!
Take care all.
Mark
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