Wil
First Post
I'm posting this to get some more eyes on it - people familiar with SilCore will probably have more to say, but I'm interested in any input. For anyone who is unsure, this represents a house rule in the way that the Complexity mechanic works.
First, a mechanical definition of my "new" Complexity: the character’s Complexity rating in a skill is a measure of how much a character can adjust to conditions that modify the number of dice rolled – i.e., Skill Applications. It applies to any situation where the number of dice rolled is modified, excluding Emergency Dice.
For our purposes, Complexity defaults to 0 and has no theoretical limit to how high it can be purchased (but in theory, most characters will not have Complexity higher than 3). The difference between the character’s Complexity and the Complexity of the task is added to the character’s skill level and thus affects the number of dice rolled. The GM does not normally set the Complexity of a task; it is solely the province of the player to decide how many dice he or she wishes to sacrifice. In some cases, particularly static tests, the GM may impose a Complexity for the task using existing guidelines (remembering to adjust the Complexity levels from SilCore down by 1). Equipment can influence the complexity of a task. For example, a particularly difficult to use piece of equipment might have a Complexity rating of 2. A character with Complexity 2 in the appropriate skill would use it with no penalty, while one with Complexity 0 would suffer a 2 die reduction. An extremely helpful piece of equipment might be Complexity -2, which means it reduces the Complexity of any task using it by 2.
Opposed tasks are always Complexity 0, even if there are differences between the complexity levels of the opponents. They do not depend on the opposed skills being the same skill. Complexity in opposed tasks only comes into play when one party chooses, and Complexity is implemented in the same way as Deception Attacks. One party chooses to lower the number of dice they roll in exchange for the opposition’s die pool being reduced an equal amount. There can be a bidding process where the opposition increases the Complexity of the task, until either side chooses to stop bidding, one or the other has been reduced to rolling unskilled, and/or both have hit their Complexity limit.
The Complexity limit is the most important thing to remember because it applies to any other Skill Applications being applied as well – a character with Complexity 3 can “absorb” 2 dice in reductions as a result of an opposed task's Complexity and still be able to sacrifice one die for their own Skill Application.
Here is an example:
The interplay between Complexity and Skill becomes much more subtle at high skill levels, where characters have a greater cushion in the amount of dice they can potentially sacrifice. A character with a high skill level and high Complexity (say 10/10) against an opponent with Complexity 5/5 is at a serious advantage – should the lower skilled opponent execute a Complexity 5 deception attack, the higher skilled character can absorb that, sacrifice 5 dice to counteract environmental or other penalties and still roll 5 dice compared to the other’s unskilled roll.
What I would like to know is...can anyone foresee any issues with this? Any questions, ambiguity, anything? This is likely to be my "default" house rule for replacing Complexity. If anyone uses it in play I'd also love to know how it turns out.
First, a mechanical definition of my "new" Complexity: the character’s Complexity rating in a skill is a measure of how much a character can adjust to conditions that modify the number of dice rolled – i.e., Skill Applications. It applies to any situation where the number of dice rolled is modified, excluding Emergency Dice.
For our purposes, Complexity defaults to 0 and has no theoretical limit to how high it can be purchased (but in theory, most characters will not have Complexity higher than 3). The difference between the character’s Complexity and the Complexity of the task is added to the character’s skill level and thus affects the number of dice rolled. The GM does not normally set the Complexity of a task; it is solely the province of the player to decide how many dice he or she wishes to sacrifice. In some cases, particularly static tests, the GM may impose a Complexity for the task using existing guidelines (remembering to adjust the Complexity levels from SilCore down by 1). Equipment can influence the complexity of a task. For example, a particularly difficult to use piece of equipment might have a Complexity rating of 2. A character with Complexity 2 in the appropriate skill would use it with no penalty, while one with Complexity 0 would suffer a 2 die reduction. An extremely helpful piece of equipment might be Complexity -2, which means it reduces the Complexity of any task using it by 2.
Opposed tasks are always Complexity 0, even if there are differences between the complexity levels of the opponents. They do not depend on the opposed skills being the same skill. Complexity in opposed tasks only comes into play when one party chooses, and Complexity is implemented in the same way as Deception Attacks. One party chooses to lower the number of dice they roll in exchange for the opposition’s die pool being reduced an equal amount. There can be a bidding process where the opposition increases the Complexity of the task, until either side chooses to stop bidding, one or the other has been reduced to rolling unskilled, and/or both have hit their Complexity limit.
The Complexity limit is the most important thing to remember because it applies to any other Skill Applications being applied as well – a character with Complexity 3 can “absorb” 2 dice in reductions as a result of an opposed task's Complexity and still be able to sacrifice one die for their own Skill Application.
Here is an example:
Max is jumped in an alley by a ruffian. Both are armed with swords. Max has AGI +1, Melee 3/2 and Defense 2/4, the thief has AGI 0, Melee 2/2 and Defense 3/0. The alley is poorly lit and both of them suffer a -1 to their rolls. The thief feints, choosing to sacrifice 1 die in a deception attack as well as 1 die to counteract the lighting penalty. The thief will now roll 1 die with no penalties. Max could parry with his Melee skill and not suffer any penalty (since his Complexity is 2), but instead he chooses to Dodge. Max has 3 dice he could choose to sacrifice (Complexity 4 minus the 1 die the thief forced him to take). He sacrifices 1 to counteract the lighting penalty, and then bids the thief’s Complexity up 1 die. Now he is rolling 1 die with no penalties, but has forced the thief to roll unskilled. The thief, already having sacrificed two dice, has no way to compensate for Max turning the tables on him.
During Max’s turn, he knows he has a defensive advantage as well as higher Agility, so he trades 1 die from his Melee Complexity to compensate for the poor lighting as well as increasing the Complexity of his attack by 1 die. At this point, Max is rolling 2 dice with no penalties. The thief plays it safe and parries with Melee, absorbing the one die penalty. He would roll 2 dice with a -1 penalty.
During Max’s turn, he knows he has a defensive advantage as well as higher Agility, so he trades 1 die from his Melee Complexity to compensate for the poor lighting as well as increasing the Complexity of his attack by 1 die. At this point, Max is rolling 2 dice with no penalties. The thief plays it safe and parries with Melee, absorbing the one die penalty. He would roll 2 dice with a -1 penalty.
The interplay between Complexity and Skill becomes much more subtle at high skill levels, where characters have a greater cushion in the amount of dice they can potentially sacrifice. A character with a high skill level and high Complexity (say 10/10) against an opponent with Complexity 5/5 is at a serious advantage – should the lower skilled opponent execute a Complexity 5 deception attack, the higher skilled character can absorb that, sacrifice 5 dice to counteract environmental or other penalties and still roll 5 dice compared to the other’s unskilled roll.
What I would like to know is...can anyone foresee any issues with this? Any questions, ambiguity, anything? This is likely to be my "default" house rule for replacing Complexity. If anyone uses it in play I'd also love to know how it turns out.
