[ Added GENIE to subjec tline so Carl can forward to GEnie - James ]
LESTER.SMITH writes :
>I'd like to take a minute to talk a bit about the D20 task system we're
>planning for the Traveller revision.
>
>First, the skill or attribute level you have is your target number for an
>Average task. Easy is vs. twice that number; Very Easy versus four times the
>number. Difficult is vs. half the number; Very Difficult vs. one-fourth. For
>instance, a character with a skill level of 8 would be rolling for the
>following numbers or less:
> Very Easy: 32
> Easy: 16
> Average: 8
> Difficult: 4
> Very Difficult: 2
Are these numbers supposed to be roled with a d20 ? Then very high skill
levels are going to be needed. What about attributes - do they add to the
number ?
>If you don't have any skill at all, you roll percentile dice vs. your
>controlling attribute. For instance, an Easy test of Observation, for a
>character with no Observation skill but an Intelligence (Observation's
>controlling attribute) of 14 would be 28% (percentile roll vs twice the
>attribute level).
28% chance without any skill for an easy task. That is better chance than
skill level 2 - almost skill level 3. If these numbers for some reason are
to be rolled with a d10 (maybe he forgot to convert from T2000) then it is
still better than skill level 1.
>Now, some people have been arguing that a character with skill level 1 in
>Traveller has roughly a 50% chance of succeeding at an Average task, while a
>character with a skill level of 1 in T2K2, for instance has only a 10% chance.
>That's very true. But given the change in task philosophy, a character from MT
>trying for an Average task with a skill level 1 would, when converted to the
>new system, be making a Very Easy task roll with a skill level of 2--a 40%
>chance of success. Couple this with the fact that new system characters tend
>to consolidate their skill points, rather than dispersing them quite as much,
>and that reasonable tests can be made vs the related attribute, and I think
>you'll find the new system works very nicely. It certainly won't leave a
>universe full of bumbling fools, as might have been suspected.
Does he mean that :
Very Easy ~ Routine
Easy ~ Difficult
Average ~ Formidable
Difficult ~ Impossible
This would give very roughly the same chances - but it is a very strange
naming they have given the new task levels.
>As I've said before, I realize that the new system FEELS different from the
>2D6 one. And that's a valid point. But the 2D6 system has some problems of
>its own. My own complaints about it have always been that tough tasks price
>low skill levels right out of the market, and that doesn't feel right to me
>to have no chance at all if a character has at least a modicum of skill. For
>instance, a MT character with a skill level of 2 has no chance of succeeding
>with with a Difficult task. But the equivalent character in the new system
^^^^^^^^^
I guess he means Formidable
>would have a skill level of 4, needing a 2 or less for a Difficult task and a
>1 or less for a Very Difficult task.
>
>Also, the 2D6 bell curve has always bothered me. (I realize I'm treading upon
>sacred ground here, for some, but it's the truth.) A +1 modifier does not
>mean the same jump for a character with skill 10 as for one with skill 6, for
>instance. In the new system, a +1 is a +1 is a +1.
Yes a +1 is a +1 one with the new system. Still some times a +1 cuts your
chance of failure to half. The 2d6 system is also an unfair, but at least
it does look like a probability bell curve. Bell curves are good enough
for The Real World (TM), but not for GDW ? :->
>Those are my comments for the moment. Any questions or comments? I'd be happy
>to respond.
>
>Sincerly,
>
> Les
I have read the task system in DC and now these suggestions for the new
traveller revision. I am afraid they are changing the best skill resolution
system on the market to something very inferior.
I am also afraid that everybody who matters on GDW already have made up
their mind on this subject.
Sven
PS Rob, please pass this to Genie
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Sven Munther [email removed]
NCR Corporation [email removed]
Systems Engineering-Copenhagen ...!mcsun!dkuug!ncrsecp!sm