Concept: Score Powers

[Frostmarrow]

Back in the old days of 2nd Ed Dark Sun I remember some weapon abilities were triggered by rolling a "power score". The power score was defined as the first number that would count as a hit. I always thought that was pretty neat and I still don't know why it has been cut from d20-canon.

What if there were powers to be picked that all occupied a single score on the d20? Weak powers occupies the top slots on the die and stronger powers are found on the low end of the spectrum. If you roll the power score and hit your target you trigger an extra effect. Since there are twenty possible results there is design space for twenty powers per character. Also, since you rarely hit with a low roll powers on the low end of the die becomes increasingly rare.

I was thinking that Trip for instance is pretty powerful and could be found at the 9 slot. Which means that when you roll a hit with a 9 you could apply a prone effect on your target. You should also be allowed to opt not to apply an effect and do basic damage instead.

It could be possible to adjust the score up and down to some extent depending on some other in game factor, such as a feat or magical quality. Some powers could for example work as one point lower or higher to give the players som control.

Class specific powers could be set up so that they occupy the same score so that no one character can do it all.

Example:

14: Shield Punch. Slap your target for less damage and daze it.
13: Footwork. Count this roll as 14 and move 5', or count this as 12.
12: Cleave. Deal damage and make an extra attack if you drop your opponent.

Thoughts? Caveats?

 

[delericho]

The Power Score notion was superseded by 3e's rule that a nat-20 was a critical threat. The effect was the same, but there was less math involved.

However, the idea you put forward here is certainly an interesting one, and has some merit. The one big weakness I can see with it is that you would need to look up a table with each successful attack, as it's not feasible to expect people to have all 20 effects memorised! (Plus, of course, it wouldn't just be 20 effects - there would be separate tables for slashing, piercing and bludgeoning weapons, for spells of each energy type, and so on.)

I don't consider table look-ups to be an inherently bad thing, but they do seem to have fallen very badly out of fashion. Also, I do think that a system that required a lookup with every hit would probably be too much work, for me at least. YMMV, of course.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Complicated is my first thought.

It could be good, but the problem I have with the idea is it is effectively a 5% chance of it happening, with no mods on the dice, or with huge mods on the dice.

The problem is how to set things up. If cone, the better effects should be on lower numbers to portray how much harder it is to hit with those lower numbers. For example if a 19 is a nice effect, even 1st level characters could get it when they hit a much high er level opponent. However, if a 2 was a great add-on, only the best characters fighting something their level or below could possibly trigger it.

I have no idea how the original system worked.

 

[Frostmarrow]

The Power Score notion was superseded by 3e's rule that a nat-20 was a critical threat. The effect was the same, but there was less math involved.

However, the idea you put forward here is certainly an interesting one, and has some merit. The one big weakness I can see with it is that you would need to look up a table with each successful attack, as it's not feasible to expect people to have all 20 effects memorised! (Plus, of course, it wouldn't just be 20 effects - there would be separate tables for slashing, piercing and bludgeoning weapons, for spells of each energy type, and so on.)

I don't consider table look-ups to be an inherently bad thing, but they do seem to have fallen very badly out of fashion. Also, I do think that a system that required a lookup with every hit would probably be too much work, for me at least. YMMV, of course.

There is no way getting around the need for a table look-up, I admit. The problem is somewhat mitigated by the fact that most characters (low level ones) wouldn't have all slots filled. Also, looking up a score on an often used table is probably quicker than rummaging through a deck of power cards.

The design instructions would have to point out that effects shouldn't be tied to what kind of pointy end you use but rather focus on catch-all effects. I think this is SOP in D&D already.

Thinking further I think weapons should reserve the scores 19 and 20. Maybe offhand effects could be anchored at 14 and 6 (whatever). Killshot number 1 could become a staple. Feats and class abilities should also have a fair amount of scores reserved.

With clever design of switch feats (such as 13 in the example above) making a character might just be feast for min/maxers and game mechanics alike.

I'm certainly not married to this idea but I thought I should let it run its' course.

 

[Frostmarrow]

Complicated is my first thought.

It could be good, but the problem I have with the idea is it is effectively a 5% chance of it happening, with no mods on the dice, or with huge mods on the dice.

The problem is how to set things up. If cone, the better effects should be on lower numbers to portray how much harder it is to hit with those lower numbers. For example if a 19 is a nice effect, even 1st level characters could get it when they hit a much high er level opponent. However, if a 2 was a great add-on, only the best characters fighting something their level or below could possibly trigger it.

I have no idea how the original system worked.

It's true that it is just a 5% chance that a certain power will come into play regardless of what your bonus is. A higher level character will have more switch feats (see above) though. Lodging Footwork into 13 makes the Shield Punch available 10% of the time. Inventive design can make switch feats do all sorts of chain/combo stuff!

Spoiler

4: Bladestorm. Apply the effects of 20, 19 and 13 in order.

The fact that 19s hit more often than 2s is a feature. It allows for powers of different effectiveness. One interesting side-effect is that powers won't need a prerequisite entry. If you have no chance of hitting with a 6 then taking a number 6 power is a bad idea.

It is important to only allow for one such list of effects per character. Having one for every weapon would be madness. So if you buy a shield power then you should make sure to carry a shield or the rolls of 14 (see example above) are wasted and will do basic damage instead. Players are used to this from selecting feats.

Speaking of which. Offhand effects could include offhand attacks, blocks and parries, and grabs provided you have a free hand. The player needn't worry that offhand effects are set at 13. It's just a design and development constraint.