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Anyone check out Radiance RPG yet?
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<blockquote data-quote="AncientSpirits" data-source="post: 6063590" data-attributes="member: 55778"><p>That sounds really cool. Yes, I can see the benefits of this mechanic, especially against auto-success for higher level PCs. </p><p> </p><p></p><p></p><p>That was a deliberate design choice, and it works in practice when the full consequences of the game world come into play. I'll explain...</p><p></p><p>In terms of motivation, I was irritated by 3.5's disconnect between flavor and crunch on skill boosts. E.g. "After years training in the mountains, you have amazing physical prowess. Add +2 bonus to Climb and Jump checks." Ugh. Fake and a poor benefit for a feat. Similarly, NPC experts tended to be okay but sort of lack luster in their own professions. </p><p></p><p>I went in a new direction: Skills matter. In part, I wanted to capture some of the flavor of d20 Modern, which presents a mundane world where PCs rely on skills a lot more. I feel that's more in line with the Radiance setting. That barbarian is, in practice, a lot more athletic than his wizard counterpart. </p><p></p><p>On page 102, Table 5-1, the skill check results go higher than the usual d20 game. So that's one thing to keep in mind.</p><p></p><p>Also, some max designs aren't actually possible. For example, abilities with the same name--such as Skill Focus--don't stack. Some players "don't notice" or "forget" about those limits. It behooves the GM to check PC skill bonuses that look suspicious. </p><p></p><p>While a PC can boost skills pretty high early in his career, he is likely plateauing early. So if he has +20 at 2nd level, he may be "stuck" with that for the next 10 levels, though frankly that's a nice place to be stuck. And he lost out on other abilities to get that early.</p><p></p><p>With a few exceptions, the fact that one PC is amazing is of little consolation to the party as a whole. So the barbarian has no problem jumping that chasm. That doesn't help the other PCs much except to stimulate more problem solving (like setting up a rope for everyone else to get over the chasm the hard way).</p><p></p><p>Townies (at only 2nd level) and alders (at 6th level) tend to quite good at their professions, skill-wise. Smart PCs really want to visit these folks and pay for their services or recruit them as followers!</p><p></p><p>To sum up these points, here's how I use skill checks in an adventure:</p><p></p><p>1) Set *important* skill DCs in a standardized way: 15 + 1.5 * level. </p><p></p><p>2) Assume at least 1 PC in the party can make this roll most of the time.</p><p></p><p>3) The PCs really should have townies as hirelings or followings, like in 1st Edition. If the PCs bother to think ahead even a little, they'll have an idea of the challenges they face and hire someone who can do whatever they can't. Naturally, they have a vested interest to keep such NPCs alive! </p><p></p><p>So I *assume* at least one PC can make great checks in each skill, and if none can, they hire someone. </p><p></p><p>-----------------</p><p></p><p>I'd be very interested in a translation of Radiance skill checks into 5E checks. Maybe like this:</p><p></p><p>Idea: A +1 to +2 bonus translates to +1d4; otherwise, every +3 bonus in Radiance translates to a +1d6 bonus (round down, max +5d6). </p><p></p><p>The point of the 5d6 cap is to discourage over-inventment in skills, which is really counter-productiv to an effective character build. Thoughts?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AncientSpirits, post: 6063590, member: 55778"] That sounds really cool. Yes, I can see the benefits of this mechanic, especially against auto-success for higher level PCs. That was a deliberate design choice, and it works in practice when the full consequences of the game world come into play. I'll explain... In terms of motivation, I was irritated by 3.5's disconnect between flavor and crunch on skill boosts. E.g. "After years training in the mountains, you have amazing physical prowess. Add +2 bonus to Climb and Jump checks." Ugh. Fake and a poor benefit for a feat. Similarly, NPC experts tended to be okay but sort of lack luster in their own professions. I went in a new direction: Skills matter. In part, I wanted to capture some of the flavor of d20 Modern, which presents a mundane world where PCs rely on skills a lot more. I feel that's more in line with the Radiance setting. That barbarian is, in practice, a lot more athletic than his wizard counterpart. On page 102, Table 5-1, the skill check results go higher than the usual d20 game. So that's one thing to keep in mind. Also, some max designs aren't actually possible. For example, abilities with the same name--such as Skill Focus--don't stack. Some players "don't notice" or "forget" about those limits. It behooves the GM to check PC skill bonuses that look suspicious. While a PC can boost skills pretty high early in his career, he is likely plateauing early. So if he has +20 at 2nd level, he may be "stuck" with that for the next 10 levels, though frankly that's a nice place to be stuck. And he lost out on other abilities to get that early. With a few exceptions, the fact that one PC is amazing is of little consolation to the party as a whole. So the barbarian has no problem jumping that chasm. That doesn't help the other PCs much except to stimulate more problem solving (like setting up a rope for everyone else to get over the chasm the hard way). Townies (at only 2nd level) and alders (at 6th level) tend to quite good at their professions, skill-wise. Smart PCs really want to visit these folks and pay for their services or recruit them as followers! To sum up these points, here's how I use skill checks in an adventure: 1) Set *important* skill DCs in a standardized way: 15 + 1.5 * level. 2) Assume at least 1 PC in the party can make this roll most of the time. 3) The PCs really should have townies as hirelings or followings, like in 1st Edition. If the PCs bother to think ahead even a little, they'll have an idea of the challenges they face and hire someone who can do whatever they can't. Naturally, they have a vested interest to keep such NPCs alive! So I *assume* at least one PC can make great checks in each skill, and if none can, they hire someone. ----------------- I'd be very interested in a translation of Radiance skill checks into 5E checks. Maybe like this: Idea: A +1 to +2 bonus translates to +1d4; otherwise, every +3 bonus in Radiance translates to a +1d6 bonus (round down, max +5d6). The point of the 5d6 cap is to discourage over-inventment in skills, which is really counter-productiv to an effective character build. Thoughts? [/QUOTE]
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