Binary Success vs Multiple Levels of Success


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I'm a big fan of the dice pool mechanic in The One Ring.

For the uninitiated:
  • You roll a d12, which is numbered 1-10 plus "Gandalf" and "Sauron" runes
  • You also roll as many d6s (0-6) as your skill level.
  • You total the dice to compare to the target number, although a Gandalf is auto-success
  • Each 6 rolled on the d6's counts as an extra success, which means different things depending on the context (extra damage in combat, allows a companion to succeed on a group roll, etc.)
Hmm, less multiple levels of success and more multiple chances at success. Is this how Gensys by FFG (Star Wars) works?
 


Hmm, less multiple levels of success and more multiple chances at success. Is this how Gensys by FFG (Star Wars) works?
Not quite, but there are similarities. Both are essentially pass-fail systems with additional levels of success and complications added on to them, but The One Ring is much easier to adjudicate.

The One Ring’ system one of my favourite systems of all times; I’ve reused it for three other settings and it’s immensely versatile.
 





Hmm, less multiple levels of success and more multiple chances at success. Is this how Gensys by FFG (Star Wars) works?
Not quite. Genesys uses six different dice types, three "good" and three "bad". The good dice have various combinations of successes and advantages (with one of them having a Triumph, which is basically a supersuccess), and the bad dice have various combinations of failures and threats (with one having a Despair, which is a superfailure). Successes and failures cancel each other out, and if you have one or more leftover successes you have succeeded at the actual task. Advantages and threats also cancel each other out, with leftover advantages creating good side effects and leftover threats bad.

Triumphs and Despairs are both successes/failures in their own right, but also create particularly strong good/bad side effects. The success/failure bit can be cancelled by other symbols, but not the side effect (so if you roll Triumph, Success, 3 Failures, and a Threat, you will fail because the successes were cancelled by failures, you'll have a small bad side effect from the uncancelled Threat, but a major good side effect from the Triumph even if it was cancelled).
 

Hmm, less multiple levels of success and more multiple chances at success. Is this how Gensys by FFG (Star Wars) works?

No....other than autosuccess on gandalf (which is sort of like rolling a 20?) the sum of the dice pool still has to be equal to or greater than your target number. But IF you reach that total, then any rolled 6's indicate extra success.
 

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