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<blockquote data-quote="jester47" data-source="post: 2802754" data-attributes="member: 2238">Just got done looking over the skill mechanic for Burning Wheel.&nbsp; One of the big points that I see in the marketing lit for BW is the idea that difficulty numbers are determined by the player and not the GM. This is a bunch of baloney.&nbsp; Here's why:A die pool with x number of dice that need to get over y target number to register against a z obstacle number breaks down to the mechanics of 1 die vs difficulty number mechanic. 3 dice that need to roll over a 3 have a graded % chance of getting a certain number of successes.&nbsp; When you compare successes against a number set by the GM, you are in essence reverting back to a die roll vs an arbitararily set challenge number.&nbsp; The fact that the system contains the &quot;obstacle&quot; number just puts it back in the same place as d20.The lesson is that in any RPG at some point someone is going to have to make a decision about how hard a task is to acomplish.However I will admit that the player has MORE control over how successful he is.&nbsp; But that seems to be covered just as well with skill points.&nbsp; I prefer the statistical simplicity of the d20.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="jester47, post: 2802754, member: 2238"] Just got done looking over the skill mechanic for Burning Wheel. One of the big points that I see in the marketing lit for BW is the idea that difficulty numbers are determined by the player and not the GM. This is a bunch of baloney. Here's why: A die pool with x number of dice that need to get over y target number to register against a z obstacle number breaks down to the mechanics of 1 die vs difficulty number mechanic. 3 dice that need to roll over a 3 have a graded % chance of getting a certain number of successes. When you compare successes against a number set by the GM, you are in essence reverting back to a die roll vs an arbitararily set challenge number. The fact that the system contains the "obstacle" number just puts it back in the same place as d20. The lesson is that in any RPG at some point someone is going to have to make a decision about how hard a task is to acomplish. However I will admit that the player has MORE control over how successful he is. But that seems to be covered just as well with skill points. I prefer the statistical simplicity of the d20. [/QUOTE]

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