So you must roll under your ability score + skill three times for the three different abilities and skills as applied. Am I getting this right?
Forked Thread: Das Schwarze Auge [The Dark Eye], your experiences?
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So you must roll under your ability score + skill three times for the three different abilities and skills as applied. Am I getting this right?
DandD
First Post
No, only ability score. Your skill points only determine the total of points that you might roll over your ability score.
If you needed to roll a climb check, and your stats for climbing were 13, 14, 10 (because it would be strenght, dexterity and let's say constitution), you'd need to roll separately under each ability score. If you have 6 ranks in climbing, only 6 points difference over the needed roll for all three rolls together are allowed.
So if you rolled 15, 12, 9, you would have failed the first check by 2 points, leaving you only 4 points from your climb ranks, but succeded both other checks, so you climbed up.
But if you rolled 2, 16, 18, you might have succeded the first roll, but the two following would be failed by 2 and 8 points, making it that you fall down on the ground because the difference is a total of 10 points, and only 6 from your climb ranks are allowed.
Not that complicated, but still tedious, just by virtue of having to roll three times for one single check.
An example:
Lets say your character wants to jump over a chasm or something.
The abilities which are associated with jump are Strength, Strength and Dexterity (totally making this up).
Lets say the character has 14 Strength and 12 Dexterity. He also has 4 skill points in Jump.
He rolls 3 times
13
18
9
13 is lower than 14 (Strength) passed
18 is higher than 14 (Strength), but he can subtract up to 4 points from his roll because of his skill points. And as 18-4 = 14 he passes. But he used up his skill points and can't subtract them from the third roll anymore.
The last roll is 9 so he also passes this one. That means that the character jumps successfully.
Sometimes the DM can also say "You need X leftover skill points to succeed"
Oni
First Post
Ugh, that mechanic sounds awful.
It isn't as bad as it sounds. You just need three dice of different colours and it goes rather fast.
The nice thing is that ability scores and skill training are not lumped together into one big score, but instead do different things. That way a natural aptitude has a different effect then year long training.
The nice thing is that ability scores and skill training are not lumped together into one big score, but instead do different things. That way a natural aptitude has a different effect then year long training.
I do not need this. No, seriously abilities and skills are abstract strutures anyway.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
Pah, if you don't care about realismn, why don't you just play Diablo instead of a pen and paper roleplaying game? [/channel_worst_caricature_of_TDE_players]
Of course, the system could be easily simplified. Use the average of these value (a calculation you have to make for each skill, but only once!), or just add the numbers and find a d60 or something.
. But they don't, probably because that's not how it was always done, or because it would require just too much suspension of disbelief or what-you-have...Pah, if you don't care about realismn, why don't you just play Diablo instead of a pen and paper roleplaying game? [/channel_worst_caricature_of_TDE_players]
Of course, the system could be easily simplified. Use the average of these value (a calculation you have to make for each skill, but only once!), or just add the numbers and find a d60 or something.
What I was trying to say is that each system already requires suspension of disbelief. In this case it is better to build on the simplest mechanic you can for each choice effect you want to have in your game.
I don't have much to add except about the magic system:
Compared to what spellcasters can do in D&D, spellcasters in DSA/TDE are weak-sauce.
The majority of spells take a long time to cast, have a very short range and come with a high cost (measured in Astral Points). There aren't many spells that are useful in combat and because of the limited ways to regain Astral Points, they should be used with care. If using a skill will do, you're often better off using it instead of casting a spell.
Interestingly there are certain spells, especially summoning spells that can be quite powerful if you choose to specialize in their use. The summoning ritual is a lengthy affair, though, and you have to define the services you expect from the summoned entity beforehand. Naturally, there's also a chance of failure.
There are also a couple of rituals that allow you to ignore some of the common restrictions of spells (e.g. the limited range).
Magic items are also quite rare. Lots of different herbs and potions make up the bulk of your common 'magical' equipment.
All in all this results in a low-magic setting that is often quite close to real-world medieval regions. It also prevents spellcasters from overshadowing other classes, in fact it's almost the other way around:
It's relatively easy to twink out a melee character and even easier to create an archer-style character that is pretty much broken (being able to target weak spots with a good chance of success can turn what would have been a difficult encounter into a cakewalk).
As others have mentioned creating characters is incredibly complex (at least when using the advanced rules) but once you've passed that hurdle, it's quite easy to enjoy the game. It's a very forgiving system, the heroes are pretty much expected to win every time, character death is extremely rare. So there's lots of room to concentrate on roleplaying and storytelling without having to worry about much.
It's definitely not my system of choice but I sometimes like it as a contrast to grittier, more tactical games like D&D or Runequest.
Compared to what spellcasters can do in D&D, spellcasters in DSA/TDE are weak-sauce.
The majority of spells take a long time to cast, have a very short range and come with a high cost (measured in Astral Points). There aren't many spells that are useful in combat and because of the limited ways to regain Astral Points, they should be used with care. If using a skill will do, you're often better off using it instead of casting a spell.
Interestingly there are certain spells, especially summoning spells that can be quite powerful if you choose to specialize in their use. The summoning ritual is a lengthy affair, though, and you have to define the services you expect from the summoned entity beforehand. Naturally, there's also a chance of failure.
There are also a couple of rituals that allow you to ignore some of the common restrictions of spells (e.g. the limited range).
Magic items are also quite rare. Lots of different herbs and potions make up the bulk of your common 'magical' equipment.
All in all this results in a low-magic setting that is often quite close to real-world medieval regions. It also prevents spellcasters from overshadowing other classes, in fact it's almost the other way around:
It's relatively easy to twink out a melee character and even easier to create an archer-style character that is pretty much broken (being able to target weak spots with a good chance of success can turn what would have been a difficult encounter into a cakewalk).
As others have mentioned creating characters is incredibly complex (at least when using the advanced rules) but once you've passed that hurdle, it's quite easy to enjoy the game. It's a very forgiving system, the heroes are pretty much expected to win every time, character death is extremely rare. So there's lots of room to concentrate on roleplaying and storytelling without having to worry about much.
It's definitely not my system of choice but I sometimes like it as a contrast to grittier, more tactical games like D&D or Runequest.
