https://wiki.rpg.net/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=SerpLordRPGnet - User contributions [en]2026-05-15T04:33:29ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.43.0https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Resilience&diff=191289Resilience2011-09-18T14:39:20Z<p>SerpLord: /* Community Development */</p>
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<div>[[File:Resilience.png]]<br />
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Resilience is a post-apocalyptic roleplaying game where the action revolves around a community adapting to a changing world. Players take on the role of community members who face both personal danger and ongoing threats to their way of life. Beyond mere survival, communities can become more sustainable as they adapt to these challenges.<br />
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Resilience requires a game master (GM) and several players. This game can be easy to GM because it does not require a lot of preparation. Players can help design the community and the events that threaten the community are selected randomly.<br />
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==Create Your Characters==<br />
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Each player creates a player-character (PC) using the [[Scratch]] Role-Playing System. Each PC has 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. Consider playing a character based on yourself. Each PC is a member of the same community, but each PC should have a different career so that their interests sometimes conflict with each other.<br />
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TODO: career format<br />
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*career name<br />
*description? optional?<br />
*combat role (attack, defense, support, strategy)? optional?<br />
*required abilities<br />
**attack abilities (fighting, wrestling, knockout, shooting or blasting)<br />
**defense abilities (toughness, quickness, acrobatics)<br />
**support abilities (healing, command, craftsmanship)<br />
**usually one of each type (attack, defense support), but sometimes 0 or 2<br />
**sometimes multiple choice (fighting or wrestling, command or craftsmanship)<br />
**only 1 level of each ability is required by any career<br />
**description? optional?<br />
*community project(s)?<br />
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TODO: list of careers<br />
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*farmer<br />
*business owner<br />
*landlord<br />
*doctor<br />
*parent<br />
*soldier<br />
*engineer<br />
*teacher<br />
*builder<br />
*sheriff<br />
*wealthy investor<br />
*mechanic<br />
*entertainer<br />
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==Create Your Community==<br />
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The success of a resilient community can be measured by how well it maintains the three pillars of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability sustainability] ("the three E's") as the future unfolds: a prosperous '''E'''conomy, healthy '''E'''nvironment, and social '''E'''quity. Each of these is represented as a defense number. Attacks that threaten the economic, environmental or social health of your community must roll equal to or greater than that number to succeed.<br />
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The players have 30 points to divide between the community's economy, environment and equity. All of the defenses must be at least 5, and none can be more than 15. An average, well-balanced community has 10 economy, 10 environment, and 10 equity.<br />
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Consider modeling your the community after the real place where the players live. <br />
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If you have time, let players propose and discuss what the community's defenses should be. This can be an opportunity for the players to view the community from the perspective of their PC persona and his or her career. If you are in a hurry, the GM should decide what the three defenses should be, or just start with the average 10 for each defense.<br />
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===Economy===<br />
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A community with a prosperous economy is flexible, connected and launches projects quickly. This is your community's defense against emergencies, breakdowns, sabotage and bankruptcy.<br />
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===Environment===<br />
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A community with a healthy environment can provide for itself while guaranteeing the same advantages to future generations. This is your community's defense against attrition, biological hazards and sieges.<br />
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===Equity===<br />
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A community with social equity enjoys fairness and respect between community members of all classes. This is your community's defense against demoralization, propaganda and psy-ops.<br />
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===Example Communities===<br />
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New Manchester<br />
:15 economy: factories<br />
:5 environment: pollution<br />
:10 equity: uncomfortable tension between unions and management<br />
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Happy Bunny Commune<br />
:3 economy: struggling to stay afloat<br />
:20 environment: perfect harmony with the Earth<br />
:7 equity: constant bickering between vegans and vegetarians<br />
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==Events==<br />
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Randomly select an event which challenges your community this year. Events can affect everything else that happens during the year. They can also have permanent effects on a community.<br />
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TODO: event format<br />
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*permanent effects (economy, environment, equity damage)<br />
*temporary effects (combat, ability and project modifiers)<br />
*story, roleplaying and description<br />
*decision trees<br />
*GM rolls against the community's defenses<br />
*PC rolls against the event<br />
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TODO: list of events<br />
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==Encounters==<br />
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During the event or it's aftermath, the PCs participate in an encounter which can involve action and combat. The outcome of the encounter will have a bigger effect on the individual PCs than their community.<br />
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TODO: encounter format<br />
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TODO: list of encounters<br />
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==Character Development==<br />
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PCs who survive the encounter have an opportunity to improve themselves with greater status, resources, experience and training if the encounter has a favorable outcome. Players who lost their PCs can now replace them with new PCs.<br />
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TODO: character development options<br />
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==Community Development==<br />
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After the encounter and character development, the community responds to the event confronting them this year. Using their PCs as personas, the players decide how the community responds.<br />
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Players take turns talking. Players should not talk unless it is their turn. If players ask other players questions, the answers to those questions should wait until the other players turns.<br />
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===Projects===<br />
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After each player has had at least 1 turn to talk, any player can start a project on his turn. After a player starts a project, every player must do a project on his turn until all of the players have finished their projects.<br />
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*If there is only one player, he does four large projects.<br />
*If there are two players, each player does two large projects.<br />
*If there are three players, each player does two small projects.<br />
*If there are four players, each player does one large project.<br />
*If there are five players, each player does one medium project.<br />
*If there are six or seven players, each player does one small project<br />
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Each project can develop or sacrifice levels of economy, environment or equity. A project cannot develop and sacrifice the same defense. If a project develops the community's economy, it cannot also sacrifice the community's economy. If a project sacrifices the communities equity it cannot also develop the community's equity. Each project must develop at least 1 level of a defense. Projects do not have to sacrifice any defense. Projects cannot sacrifice more levels of any defense than the current value of that defense.<br />
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*Large projects can develop up to 5 total levels of defense.<br />
*Medium projects can develop up to 4 total levels of defense.<br />
*Small projects can develop up to 3 total levels of defense.<br />
*Projects cannot sacrifice more total levels than they develop.<br />
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The difficulty of a project is 7 + 2 &times; the number of levels developed - 5 &times; the number of levels sacrificed. When a project succeeds the development levels are added to the defenses developed and the sacrifice levels are subtracted from the defenses sacrificed. When a project fails, the sacrifice levels are subtracted from the defenses sacrificed but no defense levels are gained.<br />
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TODO: project ideas - post-apocalyptic industrialization, DIY, low tech, old tech, human power, steam power, aerial rope transport...<br />
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===Evaluation===<br />
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If the players worked together and developed creative projects that could work, the GM gives their community 2 bonus levels of one defense or 1 bonus level of two defenses. If the players did not communicate well or had trouble coming up with good projects, the GM gives their community 1 bonus level of one defense.<br />
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The GM should assign the bonus levels to the defense that reflects the players behavior and the design of their project. If the players demonstrate a lot of concern for their community's environment, give them a bonus to their environment defense. If the projects are all designed to make money, give them a bonus to the community's economy. If the players work well together and show concern for the people of their community, give them an equity bonus.<br />
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===Community Development Example===<br />
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Adam, Brian, Cynthia and David take turns discussing their community's needs. On Adam's second turn, Adam discusses some concerns that Brian brought up on his turn. On Brian's second turn, Brian says that he is still trying to think of a good project. <br />
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On Cynthia's second turn she decides to cut down all the trees on her property. This will provide her with clear fields of fire if raiders attack, and she can sell the wood, benefiting the community's economy. Four players can do large projects that develop and sacrifice up to 5 levels of defense, so Cynthia sacrifices 4 levels of environment to develop 5 levels of economy. The difficulty of this project is -3 (7 + 2 &times; 5 developed - 5 &times; 4 sacrificed.) Cynthia cannot roll less than 1, so the project is automatically successful. The community gains 5 levels of economy and loses 4 levels of environment.<br />
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Now that one of the players has started a project, each player must do a project on their turn until each player has finished their projects.<br />
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On David's second turn he decides to plant some trees to protect the town from the erosion and flooding that will surely result from Cynthia's clear-cutting. David decides to rely on volunteer labor so he does not need to sacrifice any economy or equity. He plans to develop 5 levels of environment. The difficulty is 17 (7 + 2 &times; 5 developed - 5 &times; 0 sacrificed.) David rolls 14, which is not enough. "I guess no one wants to help me plant trees." The community does not lose anything because nothing was sacrificed, but the community does not gain anything because the project was not successful.<br />
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On Adam's third turn, he decides to salvage David's tree-planting project by selling rights to eventually harvest the trees to wealthy investors, sacrificing 1 level of equity to develop 2 levels of environment and 1 level of economy. The difficulty is 8 (7 + 2 &times; 3 developed - 5 &times; 1 sacrificed.) Adam rolls 8, which is just barely enough to succeed. The community loses 1 level of equity and gains 1 level of economy and 2 levels of environment.<br />
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Brian decides the town lacks community spirit because everyone is unemployed and rich "fat cats" are sitting on the community's wealth. On his third turn, Brian takes over an abandoned factory and runs it as a worker cooperative with other people who used to work at the factory. To make sure the business is successful the workers contribute all of their personal savings and equipment to the new business. He sacrifices 1 level of environment and 2 levels of economy to develop 4 levels of equity. The difficulty is 0 (7 + 2 &times; 4 developed - 5 &times; 3 sacrificed.) Brian cannot roll less than 1, so the factory takeover is successful. The community loses 2 economy and 1 environment and gains 4 equity.<br />
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After Brian's third turn, every player has completed their projects. The GM likes the way the players worked together to limit the environmental impact of Cynthia's project and used the resulting economic recovery to re-open the factory, so he awards the community 1 level of equity and 1 level of environment.<br />
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==Success==<br />
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Choose a new event and a new encounter for each year, followed by the year's character development and community projects. The game is finished when time runs out, the community reaches a sustainability goal (at least 15 economy, 15 environment and 15 equity?) or the community fails (hitting 0 economy, environment or equity?)</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=184171Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-22T17:06:09Z<p>SerpLord: /* Support Abilities */</p>
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<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
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Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
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8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
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2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
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Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
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===Rolls===<br />
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Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
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Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
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Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
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===Turns===<br />
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Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
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''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
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''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
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''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
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===Hit Points===<br />
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Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
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For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
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Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
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===Defenses===<br />
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'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
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'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
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'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
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Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
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A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
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These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
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{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
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===Basic Actions===<br />
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Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
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'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
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'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
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'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
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'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
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'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
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'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
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'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
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'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which a character can use before performing any other actions on his turn. A character can only take cover if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. While the character is in cover, his agility is increased by 2, but he subtracts 2 from all of his rolls. The character can remain in cover as long as he wants and leave cover whenever he wants, but he cannot evade, use close range attacks, distract, surprise or intimidate from cover.<br />
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===Abilities===<br />
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Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
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Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
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Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
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Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
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===Toughness===<br />
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'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness.<br />
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===Attack Abilities===<br />
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'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. <br />
Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance.<br />
Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. <br />
If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
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'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. <br />
Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire.<br />
The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. <br />
A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. <br />
Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. <br />
Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
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'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. <br />
If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
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'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. <br />
If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts.<br />
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'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. <br />
Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. <br />
Wrestling holds could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques.<br />
Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
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===Stalking Abilities===<br />
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'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. <br />
Stealth could represent camouflage, moving silently, hiding in shadows or slinking close to the ground.<br />
Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
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'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. <br />
Detection could represent alertness, perception, keen senses or tracking skills.<br />
Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
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''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
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===Movement Abilities===<br />
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A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
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'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
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'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
Quickness could represent combat footwork, sprinting speed, or being able to keep moving without getting exhausted.<br />
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'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
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'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions.<br />
Command could represent charisma to attract followers, rank that provides you with underlings, or teaching ability and students.<br />
The total CP of these minions is no greater than the character's command ability level, and they cannot have command ability. <br />
A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=184170Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-22T17:03:02Z<p>SerpLord: /* Movement Abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which a character can use before performing any other actions on his turn. A character can only take cover if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. While the character is in cover, his agility is increased by 2, but he subtracts 2 from all of his rolls. The character can remain in cover as long as he wants and leave cover whenever he wants, but he cannot evade, use close range attacks, distract, surprise or intimidate from cover.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. <br />
Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance.<br />
Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. <br />
If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. <br />
Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire.<br />
The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. <br />
A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. <br />
Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. <br />
Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. <br />
If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. <br />
If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. <br />
Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. <br />
Wrestling holds could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques.<br />
Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. <br />
Stealth could represent camouflage, moving silently, hiding in shadows or slinking close to the ground.<br />
Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. <br />
Detection could represent alertness, perception, keen senses or tracking skills.<br />
Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
Quickness could represent combat footwork, sprinting speed, or being able to keep moving without getting exhausted.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=184169Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-22T17:01:31Z<p>SerpLord: /* Stalking Abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
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'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
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'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
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'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
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'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
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'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
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'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which a character can use before performing any other actions on his turn. A character can only take cover if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. While the character is in cover, his agility is increased by 2, but he subtracts 2 from all of his rolls. The character can remain in cover as long as he wants and leave cover whenever he wants, but he cannot evade, use close range attacks, distract, surprise or intimidate from cover.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
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Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
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Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
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===Toughness===<br />
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'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness.<br />
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===Attack Abilities===<br />
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'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. <br />
Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance.<br />
Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. <br />
If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. <br />
Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire.<br />
The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. <br />
A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. <br />
Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. <br />
Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. <br />
If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. <br />
If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. <br />
Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. <br />
Wrestling holds could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques.<br />
Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
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===Stalking Abilities===<br />
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'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. <br />
Stealth could represent camouflage, moving silently, hiding in shadows or slinking close to the ground.<br />
Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
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'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. <br />
Detection could represent alertness, perception, keen senses or tracking skills.<br />
Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
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===Movement Abilities===<br />
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A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
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'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
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'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
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'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
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Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
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<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
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''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
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===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=184168Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-22T16:36:29Z<p>SerpLord: /* Attack Abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
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''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
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===Defenses===<br />
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'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
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'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
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'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
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'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
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'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
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'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
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'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which a character can use before performing any other actions on his turn. A character can only take cover if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. While the character is in cover, his agility is increased by 2, but he subtracts 2 from all of his rolls. The character can remain in cover as long as he wants and leave cover whenever he wants, but he cannot evade, use close range attacks, distract, surprise or intimidate from cover.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
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Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
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Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
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===Toughness===<br />
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'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness.<br />
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===Attack Abilities===<br />
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'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. <br />
Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance.<br />
Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. <br />
If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. <br />
Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire.<br />
The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. <br />
A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. <br />
Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. <br />
Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. <br />
If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. <br />
If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts.<br />
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'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. <br />
Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. <br />
Wrestling holds could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques.<br />
Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
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===Stalking Abilities===<br />
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'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
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'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
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''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
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===Movement Abilities===<br />
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A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
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'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
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'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
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'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
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'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
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'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
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1 detection: street smart<br />
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4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
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3 toughness<br />
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Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
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2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
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Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
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''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
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===Combat Example===<br />
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Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
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4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
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2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
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3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
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3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
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1 healing: medic training<br />
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2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
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1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
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4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=184167Talk:Scratch2011-06-22T16:27:07Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
:This explains what craftsmanship does, but not what it could be.<br />
<br />
There is an example of a specific character with command ability but no list of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
<br />
:: I agree that abilities should be described better in the Scratch RPS.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:33, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions only heal one health-state between encounters? So if a minion was incapacitated, he only has 1 HP at the beginning of the next encounter. If he was injured, he is only bare-healthy, and he only has full HP if he was still healthy at the end of his last encounter.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:26, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I like this. By healing about 1/3 as fast as PCs, the minions are just about balanced. It has some interesting side effects to think about (some may be good. some may be not so good.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
:::*The effect is stronger for tougher minions (you need 3 HP to have all 4 health states)<br />
:::*This gives players an incentive to have two weak minions instead of one tough one.<br />
:::*players still have a strong incentive to build command up to about level 6.<br />
<br />
:::IMHO those ''are'' basically good side-effects. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:35, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:Is this still a problem when considering the following? level 3 toughness is like having level 0 in anything else, it's sort of the bare-minimum for a PC-quality character. Level 1 or 2 toughness is like having a negetive ability level in anything else. So ability level 9 toughness is just like having ability level 6 in any other ability. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:21, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, each single-digit toughness level is worth more than any level of another ability other than level 1 and command ability. This is more extreme in the case of low levels like 3 toughness and barely significant in the case of 9 toughness. The critical area however is levels 4 through 8. This means in TDW there is no way to strategically justify a character with less than 6 toughness. (If you have 6 toughness and 6 command you will still have 3 CP for any other abilities you might want.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I like this rule, but this is no small change in the game balance of TDW since the NPCs don't have to worry about healing between turns. What if we had a resting rule in TDW that said if you intentionally skip a turn you can automatically heal to full HP if you don't succeed on your healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:35, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I like damage-taken as a difficulty to healing, but not toughness or stamina. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 19:10, 13 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
Note: the three main scratch projects right now (TDW, HoW, Squawk 2nd Ed.) are fantasy/sci-fi with lots of explanations for "unrealistic healing." IMHO this rule may be decided on in the not-near future.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:31, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
== healing once ==<br />
<br />
It seems that the two simplest options are to allow unlimited healing, or to allow healing only once per encounter. Which should be the default Scratch rule? Unlimited healing is currently in place. We could conceivably have one of the following healing once per encounter rules:<br />
<br />
*Characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restores the character to healthy (stamina +1) regardless of weather they are injured or incapacitated.<br />
*Like the last one above, but instead the character is always restored to full hit points. This would do the most to make up for only being healed once per round, and is much cooler than having to count how many times your character has been healed.<br />
*Healing could only be used on injured characters to make them healthy. I like this option, because IMHO recapitalization someone is beyond the scope of any encounter, as is restoring them to full hit points. This may be too extreme of an adjustment and adversely influence game balance.<br />
<br />
IMHO all of these once-per-encounter healing rules are better than what we have now, and also IMHO I can live with what we have now. So if we decide to have unlimited healing as default, simply delete this "healing once" section and we'll be done with this topic.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:23, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=184166Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-22T16:21:35Z<p>SerpLord: /* Toughness */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which a character can use before performing any other actions on his turn. A character can only take cover if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. While the character is in cover, his agility is increased by 2, but he subtracts 2 from all of his rolls. The character can remain in cover as long as he wants and leave cover whenever he wants, but he cannot evade, use close range attacks, distract, surprise or intimidate from cover.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Grid&diff=184164Scratch:Grid2011-06-22T16:15:04Z<p>SerpLord: /* Movement */</p>
<hr />
<div>Use the Grid variation of the Scratch RPS if you are using miniatures or tokens to represent characters on a hex map or square grid like a dungeon map or chessboard. This variation is not designed for combat between vehicles.<br />
<br />
===Movement===<br />
<br />
Spaces usually represent an area about 2 meters wide. Each character has 4 spaces of movement when he is healthy and 2 spaces of movement when he is injured. It takes 2 spaces of movement to move 1 space over rough terrain or in water. Rough terrain includes climbing, jumping, swinging, and tightrope walking. <br />
<br />
*Every 2 levels of quickness gives a character 1 extra space of ground movement. This space cannot be used to move over rough terrain or in water.<br />
*Every 2 levels of flying gives a character 1 extra space of air movement. This space cannot be used to move in tight places where you cannot fly.<br />
*Every level of acrobatics gives a character 1 extra space of rough terrain movement, but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space over rough terrain. This space cannot be used to move over level ground or in water.<br />
*Every level of swimming gives a character 1 extra space of water movement, but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space in water. This space cannot be used to move over ground or rough terrain.<br />
<br />
Each character can move on his turn if he is not incapacitated or immobilized. the character can move before or after performing an action, but only once per turn. He can move into any of the spaces around his current space if that space is not blocked by a wall, obstacle or enemy. A character can move through spaces occupied by allies if he does not stop on that space. When a character moves into a space next to an enemy, the character cannot do any more moving during that turn.<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-grid-zone-of-control.png|center]]<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
<br />
To use healing ability, a character must be in a space next to the character he is healing or reviving.<br />
<br />
Close range attacks (basic attacks, holds or knockout attacks) can hit a target in any of the spaces next to the attacker's space. A successful hold immobilizes the target until the end of the target's next turn and allows the attacker to swap places with the enemy or move the enemy 1 space in any direction that is not blocked by a character, wall or other obstacle.<br />
<br />
Long range attacks (throw object, shooting or blasting) can hit targets further away as long as the line-of-sight between the attacker and target is not blocked by walls, obstacles or enemies. A character can shoot through spaces occupied by his allies without hitting them. Blasting targets an occupied or empty space, attacking every character (including allies) within one space of that target (a maximum of 9 characters on a square grid or 7 characters on a hex grid.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-grid-line-of-sight.png|center]]<br />
<br />
===Interrupting Attacks===<br />
<br />
An interrupting attack is a close range attack a character can do immediately when an opponent within 1 space exposes himself to the attack. A character exposes himself to an interrupting attack when he moves more than 1 space, evades or attacks an enemy more than 1 space away from himself.<br />
<br />
Make a fighting, wrestling or knockout roll against the enemy's agility. If the attack succeeds, it causes no damage, but it prevents the target from completing the movement or action which exposed him to interrupting attacks. A successful interrupting attack also ends the target’s turn, removes the target's evade bonus if the target is evading, and prevents the target from escaping on his next turn.<br />
<br />
Characters who are injured, incapacitated or unable to perform actions cannot do an interrupting attack. A character who is delayed by a wrestling attack cannot perform actions, so he cannot perform interrupting attacks.<br />
<br />
A character may only attempt one interrupting attack during each turn of each target who exposes himself to interrupting attacks, even if a target exposes himself to interrupting attacks several times on the same turn.<br />
<br />
===Escaping===<br />
<br />
To escape, a character must move into a special exit space or off the edge of the map. Characters trying to escape should start their turn with an evade action before moving, instead of moving first and then evading. This way they receive the extra bonus to agility from evading. This extra defense can help the escaping character avoid interrupting attacks.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Grid&diff=184163Scratch:Grid2011-06-22T16:12:59Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>Use the Grid variation of the Scratch RPS if you are using miniatures or tokens to represent characters on a hex map or square grid like a dungeon map or chessboard. This variation is not designed for combat between vehicles.<br />
<br />
===Movement===<br />
<br />
Spaces usually represent an area about 2 meters wide. Each character has 4 spaces of movement when he is healthy and 2 spaces of movement when he is injured. It takes 2 spaces of movement to move 1 space over rough terrain or in water. Rough terrain includes climbing, jumping, swinging, and tightrope walking. <br />
<br />
*Every 2 levels of quickness gives you 1 extra space of ground movement. This space cannot be used to move over rough terrain or in water.<br />
*Every 2 levels of flying gives you 1 extra space of air movement. This space cannot be used to move in tight places where you cannot fly.<br />
*Every level of acrobatics gives you 1 extra space of rough terrain movement, but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space over rough terrain. This space cannot be used to move over level ground or in water.<br />
*Every level of swimming gives you 1 extra space of water movement, but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space in water. This space cannot be used to move over ground or rough terrain.<br />
<br />
Each character can move on his turn if he is not incapacitated or immobilized. the character can move before or after performing an action, but only once per turn. He can move into any of the spaces around his current space if that space is not blocked by a wall, obstacle or enemy. A character can move through spaces occupied by allies if he does not stop on that space. When a character moves into a space next to an enemy, the character cannot do any more moving during that turn.<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-grid-zone-of-control.png|center]]<br />
<br />
===Actions===<br />
<br />
To use healing ability, a character must be in a space next to the character he is healing or reviving.<br />
<br />
Close range attacks (basic attacks, holds or knockout attacks) can hit a target in any of the spaces next to the attacker's space. A successful hold immobilizes the target until the end of the target's next turn and allows the attacker to swap places with the enemy or move the enemy 1 space in any direction that is not blocked by a character, wall or other obstacle.<br />
<br />
Long range attacks (throw object, shooting or blasting) can hit targets further away as long as the line-of-sight between the attacker and target is not blocked by walls, obstacles or enemies. A character can shoot through spaces occupied by his allies without hitting them. Blasting targets an occupied or empty space, attacking every character (including allies) within one space of that target (a maximum of 9 characters on a square grid or 7 characters on a hex grid.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-grid-line-of-sight.png|center]]<br />
<br />
===Interrupting Attacks===<br />
<br />
An interrupting attack is a close range attack a character can do immediately when an opponent within 1 space exposes himself to the attack. A character exposes himself to an interrupting attack when he moves more than 1 space, evades or attacks an enemy more than 1 space away from himself.<br />
<br />
Make a fighting, wrestling or knockout roll against the enemy's agility. If the attack succeeds, it causes no damage, but it prevents the target from completing the movement or action which exposed him to interrupting attacks. A successful interrupting attack also ends the target’s turn, removes the target's evade bonus if the target is evading, and prevents the target from escaping on his next turn.<br />
<br />
Characters who are injured, incapacitated or unable to perform actions cannot do an interrupting attack. A character who is delayed by a wrestling attack cannot perform actions, so he cannot perform interrupting attacks.<br />
<br />
A character may only attempt one interrupting attack during each turn of each target who exposes himself to interrupting attacks, even if a target exposes himself to interrupting attacks several times on the same turn.<br />
<br />
===Escaping===<br />
<br />
To escape, a character must move into a special exit space or off the edge of the map. Characters trying to escape should start their turn with an evade action before moving, instead of moving first and then evading. This way they receive the extra bonus to agility from evading. This extra defense can help the escaping character avoid interrupting attacks.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch&diff=184162Scratch2011-06-22T16:04:02Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch Role-Playing System (Scratch RPS) is a simple set of RPG rules used in the [http://gameartsguild.com/squawk Squawk Role-Playing Game] and [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Ancient_And_Deadly Ancient & Deadly]. Scratch uses twenty-sided dice and traditional roll-and-add-bonus game mechanics. Stats for Scratch characters can be as simple as a few abilities and ability levels which are added to rolls when those abilities are used.<br />
<br />
The Scratch RPS has a few basic rules and many optional rules that may be used depending on whether they are required or desired:<br />
<br />
===[[Scratch:Basic Rules|Basic Rules]]===<br />
<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Rolls|Rolls]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Turns|Turns]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Hit Points|Hit Points]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Defenses|Defenses]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Basic Actions|Basic Actions]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Abilities|Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Toughness|Toughness]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Attack Abilities|Attack Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Stalking Abilities|Stalking Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Movement Abilities|Movement Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Support Abilities|Support Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Combat Example|Combat Example]]<br />
<br />
===Optional Rules===<br />
<br />
*[[Scratch:Vehicles|Vehicles]] - rules for big machines you can ride<br />
*[[Scratch:Grid|Grid]] - play on hexes and squares<br />
*[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Example Characters|Example Characters]]<br />
<br />
===Experimental Rules===<br />
<br />
Ready for Testing:<br />
*[[Scratch:Jumping, Climbing and Falling|Jumping, Climbing and Falling]] - falling damage and how to avoid it<br />
*[[Scratch:Pace|Pace]] - how long do turns take, and how much time passes between turns?<br />
*[[Scratch:Random Damage|Random Damage]] - use d4, d6, d8, d10 and d12 to roll damage<br />
Work in Progress:<br />
*[[Scratch:Skills Index|Skills]] - extra features for your character's abilities<br />
*[[Scratch:Races|Races]] - choose a race with features and a CP cost<br />
<br />
===Supplements===<br />
<br />
*[[Scratch:Summary|basic rules summary]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|character sheet (front - regular character)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-back.png|character sheet (back - command ability minions)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|initiative cards]]</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=184161Talk:Scratch2011-06-22T15:55:53Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>==grid movement penalty for being injured?==<br />
<br />
Injuring someone should help you hunt them down easier, so there should be a movement penalty for being injured, like 2 spaces for anyone who is injured.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:09, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:A 2 space penalty would make it impossible to move over rough terrain without acrobatics or flying ability. A 1 space penalty would not. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]]<br />
<br />
::1 space would be good for me, since even one space is significant with the grid rules. I feel strongly that injured status should have grid movement impaired by (at least) one space. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:18, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==grid movement over mixed terrain==<br />
<br />
The grid rules currently state:<br />
<br />
*how far you can fly<br />
*how far you can move over flat ground<br />
*how far you can move over a combination of flat ground and rough terrain<br />
*how far you can swim<br />
<br />
They do not state how far you can move through some combinations of terrain types, including a very important one: mixed ground and water.<br />
<br />
===Option A: one ability at a time===<br />
<br />
This is similar to the current grid rules, with some significant differences (acrobatics movement is slightly faster, swimming movement lets you move over rough terrain and flat ground.)<br />
<br />
*You can move 4 spaces over ground<br />
*or you can move 2 spaces over ground and rough terrain<br />
*or you can use quickness ability to move 4 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of quickness over ground<br />
*or you can use acrobatics ability to move 3 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of acrobatics over ground and rough terrain<br />
*or you can use flying ability to move 4 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of flying in the air<br />
*or you can use swimming ability to move 2 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of swimming in water, over ground and over rough terrain.<br />
<br />
===Option B: combine abilities===<br />
<br />
This is simpler, though it does have the weird side effect that characters who have a combination of different movement abilities can move faster over an obstacle course of mixed terrain types than a single terrain type.<br />
<br />
*Everyone has at least 4 spaces of movement.<br />
*It takes 2 spaces of movement to move 1 space over rough terrain or in water.<br />
*Every 2 levels of quickness gives you 1 extra space of ground movement. (This space cannot be used to move over rough terrain or in water.)<br />
*Every 2 levels of flying gives you 1 extra space of air movement. (This space cannot be used to move in tight places where you cannot fly.)<br />
*Every level of acrobatics gives you 1 extra space of rough terrain movement (but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space over rough terrain.)<br />
*Every level of swimming gives you 1 extra space of water movement (but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space in water.)<br />
<br />
:I strongly prefer Option B for two reasons: 1 to me it seems to reward characters for having a variety of abilities (a rare trait for a rule in Scratch,) and 2 it's simplicity is significant, I could see using option B, but option A I would be tempted to ignore. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:27, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
:This explains what craftsmanship does, but not what it could be.<br />
<br />
There is an example of a specific character with command ability but no list of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
<br />
:: I agree that abilities should be described better in the Scratch RPS.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:33, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions only heal one health-state between encounters? So if a minion was incapacitated, he only has 1 HP at the beginning of the next encounter. If he was injured, he is only bare-healthy, and he only has full HP if he was still healthy at the end of his last encounter.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:26, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I like this. By healing about 1/3 as fast as PCs, the minions are just about balanced. It has some interesting side effects to think about (some may be good. some may be not so good.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
:::*The effect is stronger for tougher minions (you need 3 HP to have all 4 health states)<br />
:::*This gives players an incentive to have two weak minions instead of one tough one.<br />
:::*players still have a strong incentive to build command up to about level 6.<br />
<br />
:::IMHO those ''are'' basically good side-effects. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:35, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:Is this still a problem when considering the following? level 3 toughness is like having level 0 in anything else, it's sort of the bare-minimum for a PC-quality character. Level 1 or 2 toughness is like having a negetive ability level in anything else. So ability level 9 toughness is just like having ability level 6 in any other ability. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:21, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, each single-digit toughness level is worth more than any level of another ability other than level 1 and command ability. This is more extreme in the case of low levels like 3 toughness and barely significant in the case of 9 toughness. The critical area however is levels 4 through 8. This means in TDW there is no way to strategically justify a character with less than 6 toughness. (If you have 6 toughness and 6 command you will still have 3 CP for any other abilities you might want.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I like this rule, but this is no small change in the game balance of TDW since the NPCs don't have to worry about healing between turns. What if we had a resting rule in TDW that said if you intentionally skip a turn you can automatically heal to full HP if you don't succeed on your healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:35, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I like damage-taken as a difficulty to healing, but not toughness or stamina. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 19:10, 13 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
Note: the three main scratch projects right now (TDW, HoW, Squawk 2nd Ed.) are fantasy/sci-fi with lots of explanations for "unrealistic healing." IMHO this rule may be decided on in the not-near future.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:31, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
== healing once ==<br />
<br />
It seems that the two simplest options are to allow unlimited healing, or to allow healing only once per encounter. Which should be the default Scratch rule? Unlimited healing is currently in place. We could conceivably have one of the following healing once per encounter rules:<br />
<br />
*Characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restores the character to healthy (stamina +1) regardless of weather they are injured or incapacitated.<br />
*Like the last one above, but instead the character is always restored to full hit points. This would do the most to make up for only being healed once per round, and is much cooler than having to count how many times your character has been healed.<br />
*Healing could only be used on injured characters to make them healthy. I like this option, because IMHO recapitalization someone is beyond the scope of any encounter, as is restoring them to full hit points. This may be too extreme of an adjustment and adversely influence game balance.<br />
<br />
IMHO all of these once-per-encounter healing rules are better than what we have now, and also IMHO I can live with what we have now. So if we decide to have unlimited healing as default, simply delete this "healing once" section and we'll be done with this topic.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:23, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=184159Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-22T15:41:49Z<p>SerpLord: /* Basic Actions */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which a character can use before performing any other actions on his turn. A character can only take cover if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. While the character is in cover, his agility is increased by 2, but he subtracts 2 from all of his rolls. The character can remain in cover as long as he wants and leave cover whenever he wants, but he cannot evade, use close range attacks, distract, surprise or intimidate from cover.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=184158Talk:Scratch2011-06-22T15:32:22Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
Does it make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
*Answer 1: no, you cannot using healing while you are in cover.<br />
**pro: wounded allies may not have cover, and dragging them to cover might be slow and dangerous.<br />
**con: wounded allies may have cover, and you may not need to expose yourself to treat them.<br />
*Answer 2: the -2 to ranged attacks should apply to healing rolls as well.<br />
**pro: healing techniques are not optimized for combat<br />
**con: you can take cover while you heal an ally who did not take cover (drag them to a place where you can safely treat them?)<br />
<br />
Answer 1 seems like a slightly simpler rule, but it has a bigger narrative hole, so I think Answer 2 is better. --[[SerpLord]] 21:01, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
:I like 2 because it seems to fit in better with the rest of the system (see Notes below.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 19:07, 13 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Notes:<br />
*being held or distracted while you are in cover does not make you leave cover.<br />
*panicked characters do not instantaneously leave cover, but they do leave cover when they evade.<br />
<br />
==grid movement penalty for being injured?==<br />
<br />
Injuring someone should help you hunt them down easier, so there should be a movement penalty for being injured, like 2 spaces for anyone who is injured.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:09, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:A 2 space penalty would make it impossible to move over rough terrain without acrobatics or flying ability. A 1 space penalty would not. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]]<br />
<br />
::1 space would be good for me, since even one space is significant with the grid rules. I feel strongly that injured status should have grid movement impaired by (at least) one space. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:18, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==grid movement over mixed terrain==<br />
<br />
The grid rules currently state:<br />
<br />
*how far you can fly<br />
*how far you can move over flat ground<br />
*how far you can move over a combination of flat ground and rough terrain<br />
*how far you can swim<br />
<br />
They do not state how far you can move through some combinations of terrain types, including a very important one: mixed ground and water.<br />
<br />
===Option A: one ability at a time===<br />
<br />
This is similar to the current grid rules, with some significant differences (acrobatics movement is slightly faster, swimming movement lets you move over rough terrain and flat ground.)<br />
<br />
*You can move 4 spaces over ground<br />
*or you can move 2 spaces over ground and rough terrain<br />
*or you can use quickness ability to move 4 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of quickness over ground<br />
*or you can use acrobatics ability to move 3 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of acrobatics over ground and rough terrain<br />
*or you can use flying ability to move 4 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of flying in the air<br />
*or you can use swimming ability to move 2 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of swimming in water, over ground and over rough terrain.<br />
<br />
===Option B: combine abilities===<br />
<br />
This is simpler, though it does have the weird side effect that characters who have a combination of different movement abilities can move faster over an obstacle course of mixed terrain types than a single terrain type.<br />
<br />
*Everyone has at least 4 spaces of movement.<br />
*It takes 2 spaces of movement to move 1 space over rough terrain or in water.<br />
*Every 2 levels of quickness gives you 1 extra space of ground movement. (This space cannot be used to move over rough terrain or in water.)<br />
*Every 2 levels of flying gives you 1 extra space of air movement. (This space cannot be used to move in tight places where you cannot fly.)<br />
*Every level of acrobatics gives you 1 extra space of rough terrain movement (but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space over rough terrain.)<br />
*Every level of swimming gives you 1 extra space of water movement (but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space in water.)<br />
<br />
:I strongly prefer Option B for two reasons: 1 to me it seems to reward characters for having a variety of abilities (a rare trait for a rule in Scratch,) and 2 it's simplicity is significant, I could see using option B, but option A I would be tempted to ignore. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:27, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
:This explains what craftsmanship does, but not what it could be.<br />
<br />
There is an example of a specific character with command ability but no list of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
<br />
:: I agree that abilities should be described better in the Scratch RPS.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:33, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions only heal one health-state between encounters? So if a minion was incapacitated, he only has 1 HP at the beginning of the next encounter. If he was injured, he is only bare-healthy, and he only has full HP if he was still healthy at the end of his last encounter.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:26, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I like this. By healing about 1/3 as fast as PCs, the minions are just about balanced. It has some interesting side effects to think about (some may be good. some may be not so good.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
:::*The effect is stronger for tougher minions (you need 3 HP to have all 4 health states)<br />
:::*This gives players an incentive to have two weak minions instead of one tough one.<br />
:::*players still have a strong incentive to build command up to about level 6.<br />
<br />
:::IMHO those ''are'' basically good side-effects. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:35, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:Is this still a problem when considering the following? level 3 toughness is like having level 0 in anything else, it's sort of the bare-minimum for a PC-quality character. Level 1 or 2 toughness is like having a negetive ability level in anything else. So ability level 9 toughness is just like having ability level 6 in any other ability. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:21, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, each single-digit toughness level is worth more than any level of another ability other than level 1 and command ability. This is more extreme in the case of low levels like 3 toughness and barely significant in the case of 9 toughness. The critical area however is levels 4 through 8. This means in TDW there is no way to strategically justify a character with less than 6 toughness. (If you have 6 toughness and 6 command you will still have 3 CP for any other abilities you might want.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I like this rule, but this is no small change in the game balance of TDW since the NPCs don't have to worry about healing between turns. What if we had a resting rule in TDW that said if you intentionally skip a turn you can automatically heal to full HP if you don't succeed on your healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 08:35, 10 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I like damage-taken as a difficulty to healing, but not toughness or stamina. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 19:10, 13 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
Note: the three main scratch projects right now (TDW, HoW, Squawk 2nd Ed.) are fantasy/sci-fi with lots of explanations for "unrealistic healing." IMHO this rule may be decided on in the not-near future.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:31, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
== healing once ==<br />
<br />
It seems that the two simplest options are to allow unlimited healing, or to allow healing only once per encounter. Which should be the default Scratch rule? Unlimited healing is currently in place. We could conceivably have one of the following healing once per encounter rules:<br />
<br />
*Characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restores the character to healthy (stamina +1) regardless of weather they are injured or incapacitated.<br />
*Like the last one above, but instead the character is always restored to full hit points. This would do the most to make up for only being healed once per round, and is much cooler than having to count how many times your character has been healed.<br />
*Healing could only be used on injured characters to make them healthy. I like this option, because IMHO recapitalization someone is beyond the scope of any encounter, as is restoring them to full hit points. This may be too extreme of an adjustment and adversely influence game balance.<br />
<br />
IMHO all of these once-per-encounter healing rules are better than what we have now, and also IMHO I can live with what we have now. So if we decide to have unlimited healing as default, simply delete this "healing once" section and we'll be done with this topic.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 14:23, 20 June 2011 (PDT)<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Pace&diff=184156Scratch:Pace2011-06-22T15:10:34Z<p>SerpLord: Created page with "A turn lasts a few seconds, but up to a minute of time can pass between two character's turns. The maximum time that can pass between turns is 120 seconds divided by the number o..."</p>
<hr />
<div>A turn lasts a few seconds, but up to a minute of time can pass between two character's turns.<br />
The maximum time that can pass between turns is 120 seconds divided by the number of characters.<br />
The time between turns also depends on the pace of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Frantic''' encounters last a few minutes with no time between turns. Frantic encounters include ambushes in tight spaces and arguments that break into fights. Characters in frantic encounters are usually too desperate or confused to conserve energy and maneuver carefully.<br />
<br />
'''Normal''' encounters last five to ten minutes with up to 30 seconds divided by the number of characters between turns. Normal encounters are quick, intense fights where the action is limited to a small area.<br />
<br />
'''Chase''' encounters last about 15 minutes with up to 60 seconds divided by the number of characters between turns. Chase encounters can take place in sprawling settings where characters spend more time running around than fighting. Chase encounters can also be sport fights where competitors pace themselves more conservatively than they might when fighting for their lives.<br />
<br />
'''Hunt''' encounters last about 30 minutes with up to 120 seconds divided by the number of characters between turns. Hunt encounters take place in large settings with lots of cover and places to hide, like a forest, mansion or factory.<br />
<br />
The following table shows the number of seconds which can pass between turns, depending on the pace of the encounter and the number of characters.<br />
<br />
{| align="center" style="text-align:center"<br />
!characters!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!12<br />
|-<br />
|frantic (4 min)||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0<br />
|-<br />
|normal (8 min)||15||10||8||6||5||4||4||3||3||3||3<br />
|-<br />
|chase (15 min)||30||20||15||12||10||9||8||7||6||6||5<br />
|-<br />
|hunt (30 min)||60||40||30||24||20||17||15||13||12||11||10<br />
|}</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182837Talk:Scratch2011-06-10T05:49:52Z<p>SerpLord: /* grid movement over mixed terrain */</p>
<hr />
<div>==how much time passes between turns?==<br />
<br />
You can look at Scratch as a simulation where the time between each turn of the same character is exactly 2, 6, 15 or 60 seconds, but being more specific in a simulation forces you to sacrifice some realism and simplicity. (Realism is not the same as detail. Realism says people can fight all day or get knocked out by the first punch. Detail says it is important to count the punches per minute.)<br />
<br />
On the other hand you can look at it as a story-in-the-round where each turn is like a paragraph in a story or camera shot in a movie. No real time passes between paragraphs or shots, but some amount of fictional time passes which can stretch or compress depending on the pace of the narrative.<br />
<br />
Either approach could be fun by itself, but I see Scratch as a little-of-both system as opposed to a lots-of-story, lots-of-rules or lots-of-both. Assuming we want to steer a middle path between story and rules, how should we think about the frequency of turns in Scratch, and what - if anything - should the rules say about it?<br />
<br />
===Option A: no pace rule===<br />
<br />
The actions and abilities in the Scratch system already imply a way of thinking about time. Actions you can perform on your turn can be represented by a 2 to 10 second long continuous camera shot. Encounters should last between 5 and 30 minutes and have about 4 turns per character. With this option we let this knowledge inform the game design without including it as a rule.<br />
<br />
===Option B: pace as a narrative===<br />
<br />
A turn lasts a few seconds, but up to a minute of time can pass between two character's turns. The amount of time that passes between turns depends on the number of characters and the pace of the encounter. In a frantic melee there may be no time between turns.<br />
<br />
===Option C: pace as a mechanic===<br />
<br />
A turn lasts a few seconds, but up to a minute of time can pass between two character's turns.<br />
The maximum time that can pass between turns is 120 seconds divided by the number of characters.<br />
The time between turns also depends on the pace of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Frantic''' encounters last a few minutes with no time between turns. Frantic encounters include ambushes in tight spaces and arguments that break into fights. Characters in frantic encounters are usually too desperate or confused to conserve energy and maneuver carefully.<br />
<br />
'''Normal''' encounters last five to ten minutes with up to 30 seconds divided by the number of characters between turns. Normal encounters are quick, intense fights where the action is limited to a small area.<br />
<br />
'''Chase''' encounters last about 15 minutes with up to 60 seconds divided by the number of characters between turns. Chase encounters can take place in sprawling settings where characters spend more time running around than fighting. Chase encounters can also be sport fights where competitors pace themselves more conservatively than they might when fighting for their lives.<br />
<br />
'''Hunt''' encounters last about 30 minutes with up to 120 seconds divided by the number of characters between turns. Hunt encounters take place in large settings with lots of cover and places to hide, like a forest, mansion or factory.<br />
<br />
The following table shows the number of seconds which can pass between turns, depending on the pace of the encounter and the number of characters.<br />
<br />
{| align="center" style="text-align:center"<br />
!characters!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!12<br />
|-<br />
|frantic (4 min)||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0<br />
|-<br />
|normal (8 min)||15||10||8||6||5||4||4||3||3||3||3<br />
|-<br />
|chase (15 min)||30||20||15||12||10||9||8||7||6||6||5<br />
|-<br />
|hunt (30 min)||60||40||30||24||20||17||15||13||12||11||10<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== simplified healing ==<br />
<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
Does it make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
*Answer 1: no, you cannot using healing while you are in cover.<br />
**pro: wounded allies may not have cover, and dragging them to cover might be slow and dangerous.<br />
**con: wounded allies may have cover, and you may not need to expose yourself to treat them.<br />
*Answer 2: the -2 to ranged attacks should apply to healing rolls as well.<br />
**pro: healing techniques are not optimized for combat<br />
**con: you can take cover while you heal an ally who did not take cover (drag them to a place where you can safely treat them?)<br />
<br />
Answer 1 seems like a slightly simpler rule, but it has a bigger narrative hole, so I think Answer 2 is better. --[[SerpLord]] 21:01, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Notes:<br />
*being held or distracted while you are in cover does not make you leave cover.<br />
*panicked characters do not instantaneously leave cover, but they do leave cover when they evade.<br />
<br />
==grid movement penalty for being injured?==<br />
<br />
Injuring someone should help you hunt them down easier, so there should be a movement penalty for being injured, like 2 spaces for anyone who is injured.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:09, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:A 2 space penalty would make it impossible to move over rough terrain without acrobatics or flying ability. A 1 space penalty would not. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]]<br />
<br />
==grid movement over mixed terrain==<br />
<br />
The grid rules currently state:<br />
<br />
*how far you can fly<br />
*how far you can move over flat ground<br />
*how far you can move over a combination of flat ground and rough terrain<br />
*how far you can swim<br />
<br />
They do not state how far you can move through some combinations of terrain types, including a very important one: mixed ground and water.<br />
<br />
===Option A: one ability at a time===<br />
<br />
This is similar to the current grid rules, with some significant differences (acrobatics movement is slightly faster, swimming movement lets you move over rough terrain and flat ground.)<br />
<br />
*You can move 4 spaces over ground<br />
*or you can move 2 spaces over ground and rough terrain<br />
*or you can use quickness ability to move 4 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of quickness over ground<br />
*or you can use acrobatics ability to move 3 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of acrobatics over ground and rough terrain<br />
*or you can use flying ability to move 4 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of flying in the air<br />
*or you can use swimming ability to move 2 spaces + 1 space / 2 levels of swimming in water, over ground and over rough terrain.<br />
<br />
===Option B: combine abilities===<br />
<br />
This is simpler, though it does have the weird side effect that characters who have a combination of different movement abilities can move faster over an obstacle course of mixed terrain types than a single terrain type.<br />
<br />
*Everyone has at least 4 spaces of movement.<br />
*It takes 2 spaces of movement to move 1 space over rough terrain or in water.<br />
*Every 2 levels of quickness gives you 1 extra space of ground movement. (This space cannot be used to move over rough terrain or in water.)<br />
*Every 2 levels of flying gives you 1 extra space of air movement. (This space cannot be used to move in tight places where you cannot fly.)<br />
*Every level of acrobatics gives you 1 extra space of rough terrain movement (but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space over rough terrain.)<br />
*Every level of swimming gives you 1 extra space of water movement (but it still takes 2 of these spaces to move 1 space in water.)<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
:This explains what craftsmanship does, but not what it could be.<br />
<br />
There is an example of a specific character with command ability but no list of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions only heal one health-state between encounters? So if a minion was incapacitated, he only has 1 HP at the beginning of the next encounter. If he was injured, he is only bare-healthy, and he only has full HP if he was still healthy at the end of his last encounter.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:26, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I like this. By healing about 1/3 as fast as PCs, the minions are just about balanced. It has some interesting side effects to think about (some may be good. some may be not so good.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
:::*The effect is stronger for tougher minions (you need 3 HP to have all 4 health states)<br />
:::*This gives players an incentive to have two weak minions instead of one tough one.<br />
:::*players still have a strong incentive to build command up to about level 6.<br />
<br />
:::IMHO those ARE basically good side-effects. --BFGalbraith<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:Is this still a problem when considering the following? level 3 toughness is like having level 0 in anything else, it's sort of the bare-minimum for a PC-quality character. Level 1 or 2 toughness is like having a negetive ability level in anything else. So ability level 9 toughness is just like having ability level 6 in any other ability. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:21, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, each single-digit toughness level is worth more than any level of another ability other than level 1 and command ability. This is more extreme in the case of low levels like 3 toughness and barely significant in the case of 9 toughness. The critical area however is levels 4 through 8. This means in TDW there is no way to strategically justify a character with less than 6 toughness. (If you have 6 toughness and 6 command you will still have 3 CP for any other abilities you might want.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182723Talk:Scratch2011-06-08T22:28:18Z<p>SerpLord: /* balance between abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>==how much time passes between turns?==<br />
There are basically two very different ways of looking at time in turn-based combat. On the one hand you can look at it as a simulation where the time between each turn of the same character is exactly 2, 6, 15 or 60 seconds. Other characters' turns are more-or-less evenly spaced between your turns, but there is some narrative flexibility to treat certain actions as more tightly coordinated or simultaneous.<br />
<br />
:Being more specific in a simulation forces you to sacrifice some realism and simplicity. Combat usually has a similar number of turns regardless of whether the game says those turns last a second or an hour. This is partly for simplicity, and partly realistic. In real life people can fight all day or get knocked out by the first punch.<br />
<br />
On the other hand you can look at it as a story-in-the-round where each turn is regarded as a different paragraph in a story or camera shot in a movie. No real time passes between paragraphs or when the camera cuts from one scene to the next, or one player's turn ends and the next player's turn begins. But a variable amount of story/movie/game time passes that can stretch or compress depending on the situation. When you are jumped in a dark alley, the time between turns is infinitesimally small. In a boxing ring the fighters pace themselves, maneuver and size each other up. In foot chase characters may run for a long time between moments when the characters are close enough to fire at or tackle one another.<br />
<br />
:Playing an encounter usually takes more real-life time than the fictional duration of the encounter, and if the time between turns is compressed (jumped in a dark alley) the action is basically being described in super slow motion. Each player's turn takes 30-60 seconds in Scratch, which is a very fast system. When there 5 players, that means 5 minutes of real time pass between the beginning of your turns.<br />
<br />
Either approach could be fun by itself, even taken to an extreme, but both extremes are more challenging to play and appeal to a smaller set of players. I see Scratch as a little-of-both system as opposed to a lots-of-story, lots-of-rules or lots-of-both.<br />
<br />
Assuming we want to steer a middle path between story and rules, and we don't want to have a highly detailed simulation or a make-it-up-as-you-go narrative flexibility, how should we think about the frequency of turns in Scratch, and what - if anything - should the rules say about it?<br />
<br />
:The actions and abilities in the Scratch system already imply a way of thinking about time. For example we have moves like "hold" and "shoot" but not moves like, "step", "feint" or "draw weapon". Characters turns definitely take place on a scale that could be represented by a continuous shot of 2 to 10 seconds of action. We also know that encounters tend to give each character about 4 turns, and they describe events that realistically should last between 5 and 30 minutes.<br />
<br />
:So the average frequency of turns should be 1 to 8 minutes, and the average duration of turns should be 2 to 10 seconds. If we have 6 players taking 10 second turns back-to-back in a fast-paced 5 minute encounter, then the action is like a single continuous shoot. Exciting but perhaps unrealistically so. If you only have 2 players taking 2 second turns over a 30 minute period, then the frequency of turns is 2 minutes, and there's an average spacing of 58 seconds between each character's turn.<br />
<br />
:So in simpler terms: "a turn lasts a few seconds, but up to a minute of time can pass between two character's turns. The amount of time that passes between turns depends on the number of characters and the pace of the encounter. In a frantic melee there may be no time between turns."<br />
<br />
::I don't think we need to make that a rule, but we could. We could also make it an optional rule. Or like the strength and carrying rule, we can make it a standard rule that is described so that you know you can safely ignore it.<br />
<br />
:The maximum time that can pass between turns is 120 seconds divided by the number of characters. The following table shows the number of seconds which can pass between turns, depending on the pace of the encounter (frantic, normal, chase and hunt) and the number of characters.<br />
<br />
{| align="center" style="text-align:center"<br />
!characters!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!12<br />
|-<br />
|frantic (4 min)||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0<br />
|-<br />
|normal (8 min)||15||10||8||6||5||4||4||3||3||3||3<br />
|-<br />
|chase (15 min)||30||20||15||12||10||9||8||7||6||6||5<br />
|-<br />
|hunt (30 min)||60||40||30||24||20||17||15||13||12||11||10<br />
|}<br />
<br />
::I don't think we need to make that a rule, but we could.<br />
<br />
== simplified healing ==<br />
<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
Does it make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
*Answer 1: no, you cannot using healing while you are in cover.<br />
**pro: wounded allies may not have cover, and dragging them to cover might be slow and dangerous.<br />
**con: wounded allies may have cover, and you may not need to expose yourself to treat them.<br />
*Answer 2: the -2 to ranged attacks should apply to healing rolls as well.<br />
**pro: healing techniques are not optimized for combat<br />
**con: you can take cover while you heal an ally who did not take cover (drag them to a place where you can safely treat them?)<br />
<br />
Answer 1 seems like a slightly simpler rule, but it has a bigger narrative hole, so I think Answer 2 is better. --[[SerpLord]] 21:01, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Notes:<br />
*being held or distracted while you are in cover does not make you leave cover.<br />
*panicked characters do not instantaneously leave cover, but they do leave cover when they evade.<br />
<br />
==grid movement penalty for being injured?==<br />
<br />
Is there a movement penalty for being injured? If not, there should be, even if it is something simple like -2 spaces for anyone who is injured.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:09, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:There is not, and I am not sure there should be. Do we want to make it harder to escape when you are injured (which is often when you most need to escape)? --[[SerpLord]] 21:46, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
:This explains what craftsmanship does, but not what it could be.<br />
<br />
There is an example of a specific character with command ability but no list of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions only heal one health-state between encounters? So if a minion was incapacitated, he only has 1 HP at the beginning of the next encounter. If he was injured, he is only bare-healthy, and he only has full HP if he was still healthy at the end of his last encounter.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:26, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::I like this. By healing about 1/3 as fast as PCs, the minions are just about balanced. It has some interesting side effects to think about (some may be good. some may be not so good.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
:::*The effect is stronger for tougher minions (you need 3 HP to have all 4 health states)<br />
:::*This gives players an incentive to have two weak minions instead of one tough one.<br />
:::*players still have a strong incentive to build command up to about level 6.<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:Is this still a problem when considering the following? level 3 toughness is like having level 0 in anything else, it's sort of the bare-minimum for a PC-quality character. Level 1 or 2 toughness is like having a negetive ability level in anything else. So ability level 9 toughness is just like having ability level 6 in any other ability. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:21, 5 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Yes, each single-digit toughness level is worth more than any level of another ability other than level 1 and command ability. This is more extreme in the case of low levels like 3 toughness and barely significant in the case of 9 toughness. The critical area however is levels 4 through 8. This means in TDW there is no way to strategically justify a character with less than 6 toughness. (If you have 6 toughness and 6 command you will still have 3 CP for any other abilities you might want.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:28, 8 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=182676Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-08T16:13:44Z<p>SerpLord: /* Defenses */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a long range attack. A character can only use this action if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. The attacker subtracts 2 from his long range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is increased by 2 until the beginning of his next turn.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=182675Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-08T16:13:17Z<p>SerpLord: /* Defenses */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his agility is 10. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his intelligence is 10. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 10 plus the character's wrestling or swimming ability, whichever is greater. If the character does not have one of those abilities, his strength is 7 plus his toughness. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a long range attack. A character can only use this action if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. The attacker subtracts 2 from his long range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is increased by 2 until the beginning of his next turn.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182347Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T14:05:28Z<p>SerpLord: /* describing abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
:This explains what craftsmanship does, but not what it could be.<br />
<br />
There is an example of a specific character with command ability but no list of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182346Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T14:04:11Z<p>SerpLord: /* describing abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
:This explains what craftsmanship does, but not what it could be.<br />
<br />
There is an example of command ability but no explanation of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182345Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T14:02:36Z<p>SerpLord: /* describing abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain where they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
There is an example of command ability but no explanation of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182344Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T14:02:05Z<p>SerpLord: /* describing abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
The things an ability "could represent" should be text a person making a character could copy or easily paraphrase as a description of his own character's abilities if he cannot think of anything better. For example if we say "fighting could represent prowess with swords or natural weapons." Then a player could use "swords" or "natural weapons" as the description of his fighting ability, and now his character is much more fleshed out.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords, other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain how they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
There is an example of command ability but no explanation of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182343Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T13:55:41Z<p>SerpLord: /* describing abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords and other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain how they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
There is an example of command ability but no explanation of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182342Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T13:54:58Z<p>SerpLord: /* describing abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor might give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords and other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but now what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain how they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
There is an example of command ability but no explanation of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182341Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T13:52:12Z<p>SerpLord: /* describing abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor could give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
:"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
<br />
:"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
<br />
:"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords and other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but now what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain how they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
There is an example of command ability but no explanation of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182340Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T13:51:41Z<p>SerpLord: /* grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==describing abilities==<br />
<br />
Scratch abilities are less specific than the skills in some games and more specific than the basic attributes of characters in other games. People making characters are expected to give their abilities a more specific description, but this is difficult for some players. We should provide examples that players can follow when describing each of their abilities, using "could represent" language.<br />
<br />
"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters."<br />
<br />
:This provides examples of characters with toughness, but glosses over how a specific character would describe his toughness. We need both description and scale examples, and we should be very clear about it. <br />
<br />
:"Toughness ability level is a character's maximum hit points. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters. An average person without armor has 3 toughness. Less toughness could represent fragility or lack of determination. A child or elderly person might have only 2 toughness. More toughness could represent armor, endurance or size. A big person without armor or conditioning might have 4 toughness. The average horse could have 6 toughness, and the average elephant might have 10 toughness. Training and experience could give a character 1 or 2 more levels of toughness, and heavy armor could give a character 2 more levels of toughness, so a big, heavily armored veteran warrior could have 8 toughness."<br />
<br />
Attack abilities currently have no examples of what they could represent.<br />
<br />
*"Shooting could represent guns, bows, throwing spears or powers that damage an enemy from a distance."<br />
*"Blasting could represent explosive or spraying attacks like grenades, a submachine gun or breathing fire."<br />
*"Knockout could represent a powerful bludgeoning weapon, deadly assassination techniques, fast-acting venom or a very large character simply crushing his enemies."<br />
:"Fighting could represent prowess with swords and other close range weapons, natural weapons or powerful striking martial arts."<br />
:"Wrestling could represent chokes, locks and throws or a mixture of grappling and striking techniques."<br />
<br />
Stalking abilities explain what they do, but now what they could represent.<br />
<br />
Movement abilities explain how they can be used, but not what they could represent.<br />
<br />
There are no examples of what healing ability could represent.<br />
<br />
"Craftsmanship is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment."<br />
<br />
There is an example of command ability but no explanation of what it could represent.<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182338Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T12:49:48Z<p>SerpLord: /* balance between abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Toughness is worth more than other abilities at most single-digit levels. Instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Summary&diff=182337Scratch:Summary2011-06-05T12:46:07Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Stats'''<br />
*''Attack abilities:'' blasting, shooting, knockout, fighting, wrestling.<br />
*''Movement abilities:'' acrobatics, quickness, flying, swimming.<br />
*''Other abilities:'' toughness, stealth, detection, command, craftsmanship, healing.<br />
*''HP:'' toughness ability level is your maximum hit points.<br />
*''Stamina:'' half of you toughness, rounded down.<br />
*''Agility:'' 10 + stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying.<br />
*''Intelligence:'' 10 + detection, command, healing or craftsmanship.<br />
*''Strength:'' 7 + toughness, 10 + wrestling or 10 + swimming.<br />
*''Initiative:'' 1d20 + 2 &times; best stealth + 10 &times; best detection. (Highest goes first.)<br />
<br />
'''Effects'''<br />
*''Healthy:'' your HP is greater than your ''stamina''.<br />
*''Injured:'' your HP is less than or equal to your ''stamina''.<br />
*''Incapacitated:'' your HP is 0. (HP cannot be less than 0.)<br />
*''Panicked:'' you must ''evade'' or ''escape''. (You cannot attack or heal.)<br />
*''Delayed:'' you cannot move or perform actions.<br />
*''Automatic success:'' roll 20 before adding modifiers, +1 damage.<br />
<br />
'''Basic Actions'''<br />
*''Basic attack:'' close range, fighting, wrestling or knockout vs. ''agility'', 1 damage.<br />
*''Throw object:'' long range, roll vs. ''agility'', 1 damage.<br />
*''Hold:'' close range, wrestling, detection, or movement ability vs. ''strength'', target delayed until end of his next turn, loses evade bonus.<br />
*''Distract:'' unrepeatable, close range, movement ability vs. ''intelligence'', target delayed until end of his next turn.<br />
*''Evade:'' add movement ability to ''agility'' and ''strength'' until your next turn.<br />
*''Escape:'' leave combat if you evaded on your last turn.<br />
*''Engage:'' bonus action before close range attack, +2 to that attack, -2 agility until the beginning of your next turn.<br />
*''Take cover:'' bonus action before long range attack, -2 to that attack, +2 agility until the beginning of your next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Using Abilities'''<br />
*''Shooting:'' long range, shooting vs. ''agility'', 2 damage (5 if automatically successful), delay yourself if you are injured.<br />
*''Blasting:'' long range, 3 separate targets, blasting vs. ''agility'', 1 damage, delay yourself if you are injured.<br />
*''Knockout:'' close range, knockout vs. ''agility'', 2 damage (4 if healthy), delay yourself.<br />
*''Fighting:'' two basic attacks using fighting ability as a single action if you are healthy.<br />
*''Wrestling:'' hold using wrestling does 1 damage if you are healthy and not delayed. If you are healthy and delayed, hold anyone who has held you since your last turn.<br />
*''Surprise:'' unrepeatable, long range, stealth or detection vs. ''intelligence'', target panicked until the end of his next turn.<br />
*''Swimming:'' bonus to agility and close range attack rolls in water.<br />
*''Healing:'' healing vs. 10, increase injured ally's HP to stamina + 1, or give incapacitated ally 1 HP.<br />
*''Craftsmanship:'' +1 bonuses to abilities you and your allies already have.<br />
*''Command:'' 1 or 2 minions whose total CP is your command level. Minions cannot be healed.<br />
*''Intimidate:'' unrepeatable, long range, command vs. ''intelligence'' or ''strength'', whichever is greater, target panicked until the end of his next turn.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182336Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T12:43:14Z<p>SerpLord: /* grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we use "immobilized" as a technical term to mean you cannot move grid spaces?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182335Talk:Scratch2011-06-05T12:40:36Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=182334Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-05T12:39:42Z<p>SerpLord: /* Attack Abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 7 plus the character's toughness, 10 plus the character's wrestling ability or 10 plus the character's swimming ability, whichever is greater. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a long range attack. A character can only use this action if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. The attacker subtracts 2 from his long range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is increased by 2 until the beginning of his next turn.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy and not delayed. Normally delayed characters cannot perform actions, but when a character with wrestling ability is healthy and delayed, he can use wrestling to hold a character who has successfully held him since his last turn. This hold while delayed causes no damage.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=182333Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-05T12:36:11Z<p>SerpLord: /* Stalking Abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 7 plus the character's toughness, 10 plus the character's wrestling ability or 10 plus the character's swimming ability, whichever is greater. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a long range attack. A character can only use this action if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. The attacker subtracts 2 from his long range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is increased by 2 until the beginning of his next turn.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the highest stealth ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 3 levels of stealth and another character with 1 level of stealth, add 6 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the highest detection ability level of any character in an initiative group to that group's initiative roll. If an initiative group has a character with 5 levels of detection and another character with 3 levels of detection, add 50 to the group's initiative roll.<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=182332Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-05T12:27:02Z<p>SerpLord: /* Turns */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. This group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 7 plus the character's toughness, 10 plus the character's wrestling ability or 10 plus the character's swimming ability, whichever is greater. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a long range attack. A character can only use this action if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. The attacker subtracts 2 from his long range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is increased by 2 until the beginning of his next turn.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the character's stealth ability to initiative rolls. If a character has 3 levels of stealth ability and rolls 17 with his initiative die, then his initiative is 23 (17 plus 6.)<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the character's detection ability to initiative rolls. If a character has 5 levels of detection ability and rolls 8 with his initiative die, then his initiative is 58 (8 plus 50.)<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Basic_Rules&diff=182331Scratch:Basic Rules2011-06-05T12:24:55Z<p>SerpLord: /* Turns */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch RPS provides simple rules for role-playing games (RPGs.) In an RPG, each player takes on the role of a character in a story or simulation. People play RPGs to have fun and socialize, but they can also be a fun way to practice basic math and problem-solving skills. A Scratch RPS character looks something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Zimzambamalam (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): a master of magic<br />
<br />
8 shooting: destroys enemies with bolts of lightning from his fingertips<br />
<br />
2 toughness: relies on the awesome power of his magic alone<br />
<br />
<br />
Each character has some abilities, and each of those abilities has a level. If a character does not have at least one level of an ability, the character does not have that ability and cannot use that ability.<br />
<br />
===Rolls===<br />
<br />
Some actions, like a character attacking another character, have a chance of success and a chance of failure. To determine whether the action succeeds, roll a twenty-sided die. (If you do not have a twenty-sided die, see "[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]" below.) Modifiers, such as ability levels, are then added to certain types of rolls. If the total is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the action, then the action succeeds. If the die roll is 20 before adding an ability level or other modifiers, then the action is ''automatically successful''. If the die roll is not 20 and the total is less than the difficulty, the action fails.<br />
<br />
Rolls may allow a character to use specific ability levels as a modifier. "Make a command roll (difficulty 25)" or "beat a command roll of 25" means a player can roll a twenty-sided die. If he has at least one level of command ability, then he can add his command ability level to the roll. The character is only successful if the total is equal to or greater than 25, or the player rolls a 20 before adding his character's command ability. As another example, suppose a character with 3 levels of craftsmanship ability has to make a craftsmanship roll of 15. He rolls 12, and 12 plus 3 is equal to the difficulty 15, so he is barely successful.<br />
<br />
Some rolls require specific abilities. "Make a healing roll (difficulty 11, requires healing ability)" or "Make a healing roll of 11 (requires healing)" means a character can only attempt the action if they have at least one level of healing ability. If they do have at least one level of healing ability, they can add their healing ability to a twenty-sided die roll, and the action is successful if the roll is 11 or greater.<br />
<br />
===Turns===<br />
<br />
Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls.<br />
<br />
Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
''Regular actions'' require a character's full attention, so characters can only perform one regular action per turn. Most actions are regular actions.<br />
<br />
''Bonus actions'' do not require a character's full attention, so characters can perform one bonus action in addition to their regular action each turn. Bonus actions include opening a door, pushing a button or handing an item to another character.<br />
<br />
''Unrepeatable'' actions can only be used once per encounter. For example suppose that a sherriff and an outlaw are stalking each other. Both characters can use the unrepeatable surprise action. Both characters can surprise each other, but the sheriff can only surprise the outlaw one time and the outlaw can only surprise the sheriff one time.<br />
<br />
===Hit Points===<br />
<br />
Characters have ''hit points'' which determine whether they are ''healthy'', ''injured'' or ''incapacitated''. A character's ''toughness'' ability level is his maximum hit points. ''Stamina'' is half of a character's toughness, rounded down. A healthy character has more hit points than his stamina. An injured character has at least one hit point but no more hit points than his stamina. Characters can never have less than zero hit points. A character with zero hit points is incapacitated and cannot perform actions.<br />
<br />
For example, if a character has 7 toughness, his stamina would be 3, so he would be healthy when his hit points are 4, 5, 6 or 7, injured when his hit points 1, 2 or 3, and incapacitated when his hit points are 0.<br />
<br />
Some attacks cause damage when they are successful. Each point of damage reduces the target's hit points by 1. When an attack that causes damage is automatically successful, it causes 1 extra point of damage. An attack that normally causes 3 damage will do 4 damage when it is automatically successful. An attack that delays an opponent without causing damage still does no damage when it is automatically successful.<br />
<br />
===Defenses===<br />
<br />
'''Agility''' is 10 plus the character's stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying ability level, whichever is greater. Agility is the difficulty of ''normal'' attacks which should be physically avoided or blocked. If a character has 2 levels of acrobatics and 3 levels of quickness, then his agility is 13. If he is targeted by a normal attack and the attacker's roll is 13 or more, then attack is successful. (If the roll is 12 or less the attack fails fails.)<br />
<br />
'''Intelligence''' is 10 plus the character's detection, command, healing or craftsmanship ability level, whichever is greater. Intelligence is the difficulty of actions like deception, persuasion, intimidation, mind reading and mind control. These are called ''psychic'' attacks regardless of whether their power is psychological or supernatural. <br />
<br />
'''Strength''' is 7 plus the character's toughness, 10 plus the character's wrestling ability or 10 plus the character's swimming ability, whichever is greater. This is the difficulty of ''force'' attacks that should be resisted physically, but not by moving out of the way or parrying the attack.<br />
<br />
Strength can be used to estimate how much weight a character can carry or lift.<br />
<br />
A character can carry a heavy pack all day if the pack does not weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) for every point of the character’s strength. A character can carry a heavier weight for a few minutes if it does not weigh more than 5 kg (11 lbs) for every strength point. A character can lift a very heavy object without carrying it around if the object does not weigh more than 10 kg (22 lbs) for every strength point. A character can also drag any weight he can lift a short distance.<br />
<br />
These are not firm limits. A character may be able to pack, carry, or lift more weight if he travels a shorter distance, stops to rest frequently, or pushes himself to the limit (which might require an ability or non-ability roll, and could result in injury.)<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center"<br />
!&nbsp;strength&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;pack long distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;carry short distance&nbsp;<br />
!&nbsp;lift in one place&nbsp;<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|20 kg (44 lbs)<br />
|50 kg (110 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|22 kg (48 lbs)<br />
|55 kg (120 lbs)<br />
|110 kg (240 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|24 kg (53 lbs)<br />
|60 kg (130 lbs)<br />
|120 kg (260 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|26 kg (57 lbs)<br />
|65 kg (145 lbs)<br />
|130 kg (290 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|28 kg (62 lbs)<br />
|70 kg (155 lbs)<br />
|140 kg (310 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|30 kg (66 lbs)<br />
|75 kg (165 lbs)<br />
|150 kg (330 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|32 kg (70 lbs)<br />
|80 kg (175 lbs)<br />
|160 kg (350 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|34 kg (75 lbs)<br />
|85 kg (185 lbs)<br />
|170 kg (370 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|36 kg (79 lbs)<br />
|90 kg (200 lbs)<br />
|180 kg (400 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|38 kg (84 lbs)<br />
|95 kg (210 lbs)<br />
|190 kg (420 lbs)<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|40 kg (88 lbs)<br />
|100 kg (220 lbs)<br />
|200 kg (440 lbs)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Basic Actions===<br />
<br />
Every character can do these basic actions or do nothing when it is their turn.<br />
<br />
'''Basic attack''' is a close range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. Basic attacks are usually weapon strikes or unarmed strikes.<br />
<br />
'''Throw object''' is a long range normal attack. Make a roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 1 damage. A character can only use this attack if a dangerous throwable object like a rock or chair is available.<br />
<br />
'''Hold''' is a close range force attack. Make a roll against the target's strength. If the hold is successful, it delays the target until the end of the target's next turn. A successful hold also stops the target from evading.<br />
<br />
'''Distract''' is an unrepeatable close range psychic attack. Make a roll against the target's intelligence. If the distraction is successful, the target is delayed until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Evade''' is a regular action which allows the evading character to add a movement ability level to his agility and strength until his next turn or until he is held, whichever comes first. A character without one of those abilities can also evade, but his agility and strength do not change.<br />
<br />
'''Escape''' is a regular action which allows a character to leave an encounter. A character can escape if he evaded on his last turn. The character cannot perform actions or be attacked for the rest of the encounter.<br />
<br />
'''Engage''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a close range attack. The attacker adds 2 to his close range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is reduced by 2 until the beginning of his next turn. Lowering the attacker's agility may encourage enemies to target the attacker instead of his allies.<br />
<br />
'''Take cover''' is a bonus action which an attacker can use before a long range attack. A character can only use this action if there is some kind of cover, like a hill, a wall or a large box to hide behind. The attacker subtracts 2 from his long range attack rolls until the end of his current turn, but the attacker's agility is increased by 2 until the beginning of his next turn.<br />
<br />
===Abilities===<br />
<br />
Characters typically have between three and six abilities. All characters have toughness, most have at least one attack ability, and many have a defensive ability.<br />
<br />
Characters may be created by distributing ''character points'' (CP) between 1 or more abilities. Each CP gives the character one ''ability level'' of that ability. No ability can receive more levels than a certain ''maximum level''. The characters in the combat example which follows the list of abilities below were created with 10 CP and a maximum level of 4. These are good limits for making characters that are like average people. Chokestar was created by distributing 2 CP to piloting ability, 2 CP to toughness ability, 3 CP to wrestling ability and 3 CP to stalking ability, for a total of 10 ability levels, and no more than 4 levels of any single ability.<br />
<br />
Maximum level limit requires a character to divide his ability levels between a variety of abilities instead of putting all of his levels into a single ability. For example, in a game where characters are slightly more powerful than the average person, they might start with 12 CP and a maximum level limit of 5. Characters in this game would have to divide their CP between at least three abilities.<br />
<br />
Appropriate abilities, CP and maximum levels for new characters depend on the setting and type of character being created. Scratch RPS abilities can be loosely interpreted or adapted to a wide variety of settings and types of characters. For example, shooting could be used with guns, bows, other ranged weapons or magic powers. See [[Scratch:Example Characters]] for more examples.<br />
<br />
===Toughness===<br />
<br />
'''Toughness''' ability level is a character's maximum hit points, and represents armor, size or other damage-resisting traits. Characters who are big, physically fit, armored or highly motivated usually have 4 or more toughness. A cop who stays in shape and wears light body armor would have at least 4 toughness while a large, highly trained, veteran medieval warrior in heavy body armor could have 8 toughness. A child or elderly person may have only 2 toughness. The average horse might have 6 toughness. A war elephant with light body armor would have at least 10 toughness. Some characters might have only 1 toughness because they are particularly fragile or because they are unmotivated and give up as soon as they are injured. Characters without toughness may not perform actions during encounters.<br />
<br />
===Attack Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Shooting''' is used to perform a powerful long range normal attack against one character. Make a shooting roll against the target's agility. If the attack is successful, it causes 2 damage. If the attack is automatically successful it causes 5 damage instead of 3 damage.<br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Blasting''' is used to attack multiple opponents simultaneously. The blasting attack is a long range normal attack which targets up to three separate enemies. A character cannot target a single target more than once with the same blasting attack. Make a blasting roll against the agility of each target. Each target successfully attacked receives 1 damage. <br />
When an injured character uses this attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Knockout''' is used to perform an extremely devastating knockout attack.<br />
This is a close range normal attack against a single target.<br />
If the attacker is healthy, the attack causes 4 damage. If the attacker is injured, it causes 2 damage.<br />
When a character does a knockout attack he delays himself until the end of his next turn.<br />
Knockout ability level can also be added to basic attack rolls if no other abilities have been added to them.<br />
<br />
'''Fighting''' ability level can be used to make basic attack rolls. If the attacker is healthy he can do two basic attacks as a single action, using his fighting ability level for both rolls.<br />
<br />
'''Wrestling''' ability level can be added to make basic attack and hold rolls. Holds using wrestling ability cause 1 damage when the attacker is healthy.<br />
<br />
===Stalking Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Stealth''' helps a character go first in combat by sneaking around. Add 2 times the character's stealth ability to initiative rolls. If a character has 3 levels of stealth ability and rolls 17 with his initiative die, then his initiative is 23 (17 plus 6.)<br />
<br />
'''Detection''' helps a character go first in combat by detecting enemies who are sneaking around. Add 10 times the character's detection ability to initiative rolls. If a character has 5 levels of detection ability and rolls 8 with his initiative die, then his initiative is 58 (8 plus 50.)<br />
A character can use this ability to make hold rolls.<br />
<br />
''Surprise'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires stealth or detection ability. Make a stealth or detection roll versus the target's intelligence. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Movement Abilities===<br />
<br />
A character can use movement abilities to ''evade'' or make ''distract'' and ''hold'' rolls, but only when the character is in the right type of terrain.<br />
<br />
'''Acrobatics''' is used to get up, across, or over three-dimensional structures and obstacles like ropes, nets, ledges, ladders, fences, trees and cliffs.<br />
<br />
'''Quickness''' is used for movement on relatively level ground.<br />
<br />
'''Flying''' is used to move through the air when there is room to fly. (There is usually room to fly outdoors but not indoors.) A character with no flying ability cannot fly, and cannot get flying ability without a good explanation for why he can fly now when he could not fly before.<br />
When a flying character evades or uses a long range attack, he cannot be attacked with a close range attack until his next turn, unless the attacker can also fly.<br />
<br />
'''Swimming''' is used to move in water. A character without this ability does not know how to swim. Most land-dwelling species can only develop one or two levels of swimming ability without special equipment.<br />
When a character is in water, add his swimming ability to his agility and close range attack rolls in addition to the ability levels normally added to agility and attack rolls.<br />
In deep water, characters who use swimming ability to evade cannot be attacked with long range attacks or characters who do not have swimming ability.<br />
<br />
===Support Abilities===<br />
<br />
'''Healing''' allows a character to try to revive incapacitated characters and heal injured characters. A character cannot heal himself with this ability. The difficulty of reviving an incapacitated character is 10. The difficulty of healing an injured character is 10. After being successfully revived a character is still injured, and has only one hit point. After being successfully healed a character is barely healthy, with 1 hit point more than half of his maximum hit points (rounded down.)<br />
<br />
'''Craftsmanship''' is an ability which allows a character to maintain and improve his allies' equipment. For each level of this ability, a character can give a traveling companion a temporary +1 bonus to an ability which is already at least level 1. He cannot give a second temporary bonus to an ability which has a temporary bonus from himself or someone else. The bonus lasts until he removes it or they are no longer traveling companions. He cannot remove or add bonuses during an encounter. He must make a success roll to add a temporary bonus in a hurry (usually difficulty 10.) If the roll fails he cannot use that temporary bonus until he is no longer in a hurry.<br />
<br />
'''Command''' is an ability that provides a character with one or two minions whose total ability level is no greater than the character's command ability level. These followers cannot have command ability. A character 4 command could have 1 minion with 4 total ability levels, 2 minions with 2 total ability levels each, or a minion with 1 toughness and another minion with 3 total ability levels. For example:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Boss (10 agility, 11 intelligence, 11 strength, 1 stamina): an enforcer in a white suit<br />
<br />
2 shooting: submachine gun<br />
<br />
1 detection: street smart<br />
<br />
4 command: accompanied by two thugs.<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Thugs (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 10 strength, 1 stamina): concealing blunt weapons under their long overcoats<br />
<br />
2 toughness: big, but not powerfully motivated.<br />
<br />
<br />
Minions can continue fighting even after their leader has escaped or been incapacitated. Minions cannot be healed by using healing ability during an encounter.<br />
<br />
''Intimidate'' is an unrepeatable long range psychic attack that requires command ability. Make a command roll versus the target's intelligence or strength, whichever is greater. If the attack is successful, the target is panicked until the end of his next turn. Panicked characters must evade or escape. They cannot attack or heal.<br />
<br />
===Combat Example===<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 (10 agility, 10 intelligence, 14 strength, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage<br />
<br />
4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.<br />
<br />
4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense<br />
<br />
6 toughness: armored cybernetic body<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar (13 agility, 10 intelligence, 12 strength, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise<br />
<br />
2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun<br />
<br />
3 stealth: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties<br />
<br />
3 toughness<br />
<br />
<br />
Flipfire (11 agility, 11 intelligence, 12 strength, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary<br />
<br />
2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle<br />
<br />
1 healing: medic training<br />
<br />
2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style<br />
<br />
1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them<br />
<br />
4 toughness: light body armor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Chokestar and Flipfire have just stormed onto Breakhelm X-19's ship in an attempt to capture him.<br />
Each character has hit points equal to his or her toughness.<br />
<br />
A twenty-sided die is rolled for each character to determine their initiative order. Chokestar's initiative roll is 13, but his 3 levels of stalking ability add 6 to that roll for a total of 19. Flipfire rolls 17 and Breakhelm X-19 rolls 14. So Chokestar goes first, followed by Flipfire and then Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Chokestar can do two attacks with his wrestling ability: a damaging basic attack and a delaying hold. For his hold he attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a stun gun. A twenty-sided die roll is added to Chokestar's wrestling ability, for a total of 13, which is barely not enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's 14 strength. Chokestar's basic attack is a combo of martial-arts strikes. A die roll is added to his wrestling for a total of 10, which is barely equal to Breakhelm X-19's agility, so Breakhelm X-19's hit points are lowered from 6 to 5.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes a shot at Breakhelm X-19 with her rifle. A die is added to her shooting for a total of 9, which is not high enough to reach Breakhelm X-19's agility, so her bullets fail to penetrate his armor.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19's retractable blades come out, and he slices away at Chokestar. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability for a total of 18, which damages but does not yet injure Chokestar by lowering his hit points from 3 to 2, still above Chokestar's 1 stamina. Breakhelm X-19 can do a second fighting attack, so he tries to finish injuring Chokestar while he can. A die roll is added to Breakhelm X-19's fighting ability, for a total of 14, so Chokestar is now injured because his hit points are equal to his stamina.<br />
<br />
Chokestar tries to grapple (hold) Breakhelm X-19. A die roll added to Chokestar's wrestling ability comes to a 7, which fails to get past Breakhealm X-19's agility.<br />
<br />
Flipfire leaps to Chokestar's aid, injecting him with adrenaline. Flipfire's healing ability is added to a die roll for a total of 14, which is equal to or greater than the 10 difficulty of healing a character from injured to healthy. This restores Chokestar to 2 hit points, so he is health rather than injured.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 takes careful aim at Flipfire and fires. A die roll is added to his shooting ability for a total of 10, which only grazes Flipfire causing her no damage because it does not quite reach her 11 agility.<br />
<br />
Chokestar again tries to stun Breakhelm X-19. Chokestar's wrestling ability plus a die roll comes to 15, reaching and surpassing Breakhelm X-19's strength, so Breakhelm X-19 is delayed until the end of his next turn as he shakes off being stunned. Chokestar gets a second damaging attack from his wrestling because he is healthy, but a die roll plus his wrestling ability only comes to a 9, so Chokestar fails to also damage Breakhealm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll comes to 19, lowering Breakhelm X-19's hit points to 3, and injuring him because his remaining hit points are not greater than his 3 stamina.<br />
<br />
Breakhelm X-19 does nothing on his turn because he has been delayed by a hit from Chokestar's stun gun.<br />
<br />
Chokestar attacks Breakhelm X-19 with a damaging strike. Chokestar's wrestling ability is added to a die roll for a total of 16, which is equal to or greater than Breakhelm X-19's agility, lowering his hit points to 2. Chokestar tries to follow up with another stun gun attack, but his wrestling ability plus a die roll only come to 11, failing to delay Breakhelm X-19.<br />
<br />
Flipfire takes another shot at Breakhelm X-19. Her shooting ability plus a die roll reaches or exceeds Breakhelm X-19's agility, his hit points are lowered to 0 and he is incapacitated. The bounty hunters are victorious.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch:Summary&diff=182192Scratch:Summary2011-06-04T07:02:20Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Stats'''<br />
*''Attack abilities:'' blasting, shooting, knockout, fighting, wrestling.<br />
*''Movement abilities:'' acrobatics, quickness, flying, swimming.<br />
*''Other abilities:'' toughness, stealth, detection, command, craftsmanship, healing.<br />
*''HP:'' toughness ability level is your maximum hit points.<br />
*''Stamina:'' half of you toughness, rounded down.<br />
*''Agility:'' 10 + stealth, acrobatics, quickness or flying.<br />
*''Intelligence:'' 10 + detection, command, healing or craftsmanship.<br />
*''Strength:'' 7 + toughness, 10 + wrestling or 10 + swimming.<br />
*''Initiative:'' 1d20 + 2 &times; stealth + 10 &times; detection. (Highest goes first.)<br />
<br />
'''Effects'''<br />
*''Healthy:'' your HP is greater than your ''stamina''.<br />
*''Injured:'' your HP is less than or equal to your ''stamina''.<br />
*''Incapacitated:'' your HP is 0. (HP cannot be less than 0.)<br />
*''Panicked:'' you must ''evade'' or ''escape''. (You cannot attack or heal.)<br />
*''Delayed:'' you cannot move or perform actions.<br />
*''Automatic success:'' roll 20 before adding modifiers, +1 damage.<br />
<br />
'''Basic Actions'''<br />
*''Basic attack:'' close range, fighting, wrestling or knockout vs. ''agility'', 1 damage.<br />
*''Throw object:'' long range, roll vs. ''agility'', 1 damage.<br />
*''Hold:'' close range, wrestling, detection, or movement ability vs. ''strength'', target delayed until end of his next turn, loses evade bonus.<br />
*''Distract:'' unrepeatable, close range, movement ability vs. ''intelligence'', target delayed until end of his next turn.<br />
*''Evade:'' add movement ability to ''agility'' and ''strength'' until your next turn.<br />
*''Escape:'' leave combat if you evaded on your last turn.<br />
*''Engage:'' bonus action before close range attack, +2 to that attack, -2 agility until the beginning of your next turn.<br />
*''Take cover:'' bonus action before long range attack, -2 to that attack, +2 agility until the beginning of your next turn.<br />
<br />
'''Using Abilities'''<br />
*''Shooting:'' long range, shooting vs. ''agility'', 2 damage (5 if automatically successful), delay yourself if you are injured.<br />
*''Blasting:'' long range, 3 separate targets, blasting vs. ''agility'', 1 damage, delay yourself if you are injured.<br />
*''Knockout:'' close range, knockout vs. ''agility'', 2 damage (4 if healthy), delay yourself.<br />
*''Fighting:'' two basic attacks using fighting ability as a single action if you are healthy.<br />
*''Wrestling:'' hold using wrestling does 1 damage if you are healthy.<br />
*''Surprise:'' unrepeatable, long range, stealth or detection vs. ''intelligence'', target panicked until the end of his next turn.<br />
*''Swimming:'' bonus to agility and close range attack rolls in water.<br />
*''Healing:'' healing vs. 10, increase injured ally's HP to stamina + 1, or give incapacitated ally 1 HP.<br />
*''Craftsmanship:'' +1 bonuses to abilities you and your allies already have.<br />
*''Command:'' 1 or 2 minions whose total CP is your command level. Minions cannot be healed.<br />
*''Intimidate:'' unrepeatable, long range, command vs. ''intelligence'' or ''strength'', whichever is greater, target panicked until the end of his next turn.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182191Talk:Scratch2011-06-04T07:01:08Z<p>SerpLord: /* altered states */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll? Consider three situations (A) a PC with 2 minions, (B) a group of identical NPCs and (C) a group with two kinds of NPCs. Situation C can happen in TDW when a team of 3 fights a boss controlled by a team of 2. Situation C will not happen in Squawk if we give each type of enemy it's own initiative group.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL I: add all of the initiative bonuses together<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to implement, because the description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
:Unfortunately this seems counter-intuitively biased to give large groups of characters a high initiative bonus. It is especially bad in situations B and C (identical NPCs or different NPCs.)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL II: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:This makes the most sense because group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) It is particularly simple and intuitive in situation B (identical NPCs), which is common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work than proposal I, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. However this is actually less math because you only have to multiply out the stealth and detection bonuses for characters with the lowest stealth and highest detection.<br />
<br />
:"Lowest stealth" doesn't make any sense to me narratively, unless you mean "0" when you mean "lowest," but remember 0 = no ability, so no one actually has level 0 of any ability, because level 0 does not exist.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL III: highest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:Same work as proposal II without the "no 0" problem of "lowest stealth." Narratively it is less intuitive to use the best stealth bonus of a group, but your stealthiest scouts might move ahead of your noisier characters to flush out enemies before they hear the noisy ones.<br />
<br />
:This one is currently my favorite. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL IV: each character rolls for initiative, and the group's initiative is the highest roll of any character in the group.<br />
<br />
:lots of rolling and adding. Statistical stuff happens when you choose the best of several die rolls. See Proposal III, which would have a similar result with less rolling and adding.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch&diff=182190Scratch2011-06-04T06:57:31Z<p>SerpLord: /* Supplements */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch Role-Playing System (Scratch RPS) is a simple set of RPG rules used in the [http://gameartsguild.com/squawk Squawk Role-Playing Game] and [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Ancient_And_Deadly Ancient & Deadly]. Scratch uses twenty-sided dice and traditional roll-and-add-bonus game mechanics. Stats for Scratch characters can be as simple as a few abilities and ability levels which are added to rolls when those abilities are used.<br />
<br />
The Scratch RPS has a few basic rules and many optional rules that may be used depending on whether they are required or desired:<br />
<br />
===[[Scratch:Basic Rules|Basic Rules]]===<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Rolls|Rolls]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Turns|Turns]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Attacks|Attacks]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Basic Actions|Basic Actions]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Abilities|Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Toughness|Toughness]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Attack Abilities|Attack Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Defense and Movement Abilities|Defense and Movement Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Support Abilities|Support Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Combat Example|Combat Example]]<br />
<br />
===Optional Rules===<br />
*[[Scratch:Vehicles|Vehicles]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Grid|Grid]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Example Characters|Example Characters]]<br />
<br />
===Experimental Rules===<br />
*[[Scratch:Random Damage|Random Damage]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Skills Index|Skills]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Races|Races]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Jumping, Climbing and Falling|Jumping, Climbing and Falling]]<br />
<br />
===Supplements===<br />
*[[Scratch:Summary|basic rules summary]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|character sheet (front - regular character)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-back.png|character sheet (back - command ability minions)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|initiative cards]]</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch&diff=182189Scratch2011-06-04T06:57:18Z<p>SerpLord: /* Supplements */</p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch Role-Playing System (Scratch RPS) is a simple set of RPG rules used in the [http://gameartsguild.com/squawk Squawk Role-Playing Game] and [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Ancient_And_Deadly Ancient & Deadly]. Scratch uses twenty-sided dice and traditional roll-and-add-bonus game mechanics. Stats for Scratch characters can be as simple as a few abilities and ability levels which are added to rolls when those abilities are used.<br />
<br />
The Scratch RPS has a few basic rules and many optional rules that may be used depending on whether they are required or desired:<br />
<br />
===[[Scratch:Basic Rules|Basic Rules]]===<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Rolls|Rolls]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Turns|Turns]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Attacks|Attacks]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Basic Actions|Basic Actions]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Abilities|Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Toughness|Toughness]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Attack Abilities|Attack Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Defense and Movement Abilities|Defense and Movement Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Support Abilities|Support Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Combat Example|Combat Example]]<br />
<br />
===Optional Rules===<br />
*[[Scratch:Vehicles|Vehicles]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Grid|Grid]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Example Characters|Example Characters]]<br />
<br />
===Experimental Rules===<br />
*[[Scratch:Random Damage|Random Damage]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Skills Index|Skills]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Races|Races]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Jumping, Climbing and Falling|Jumping, Climbing and Falling]]<br />
<br />
===Supplements===<br />
*[[Scratch:Summary|rules summary]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|character sheet (front - regular character)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-back.png|character sheet (back - command ability minions)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|initiative cards]]</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Scratch&diff=182188Scratch2011-06-04T06:56:57Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>The Scratch Role-Playing System (Scratch RPS) is a simple set of RPG rules used in the [http://gameartsguild.com/squawk Squawk Role-Playing Game] and [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Ancient_And_Deadly Ancient & Deadly]. Scratch uses twenty-sided dice and traditional roll-and-add-bonus game mechanics. Stats for Scratch characters can be as simple as a few abilities and ability levels which are added to rolls when those abilities are used.<br />
<br />
The Scratch RPS has a few basic rules and many optional rules that may be used depending on whether they are required or desired:<br />
<br />
===[[Scratch:Basic Rules|Basic Rules]]===<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Rolls|Rolls]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Turns|Turns]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Attacks|Attacks]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Basic Actions|Basic Actions]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Abilities|Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Toughness|Toughness]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Attack Abilities|Attack Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Defense and Movement Abilities|Defense and Movement Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Support Abilities|Support Abilities]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Basic Rules#Combat Example|Combat Example]]<br />
<br />
===Optional Rules===<br />
*[[Scratch:Vehicles|Vehicles]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Grid|Grid]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives|Twenty-Sided Die Alternatives]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Example Characters|Example Characters]]<br />
<br />
===Experimental Rules===<br />
*[[Scratch:Random Damage|Random Damage]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Skills Index|Skills]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Races|Races]]<br />
*[[Scratch:Jumping, Climbing and Falling|Jumping, Climbing and Falling]]<br />
<br />
===Supplements===<br />
*[[Scratch:Summary|one page summary]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|character sheet (front - regular character)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-character-sheet-back.png|character sheet (back - command ability minions)]]<br />
*[[:File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|initiative cards]]</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182179Talk:Scratch2011-06-04T04:39:20Z<p>SerpLord: /* command levels are too valuable */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the character sheet to remind players of states they may need to keep track of whether they are delayed or panicked, whether they have -2 defense from the engage action or +2 defense from the take cover action, and perhaps their initiative.<br />
<br />
:The other option would be two boxes each labeled (outside of the checkbox) "yes" and "no." However, this character sheet below with just the one checkbox each is great, best character sheet we have so far, and doesn't seem to need separate checkboxes for yes and no.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 21:56, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll? Consider three situations (A) a PC with 2 minions, (B) a group of identical NPCs and (C) a group with two kinds of NPCs. Situation C can happen in TDW when a team of 3 fights a boss controlled by a team of 2. Situation C will not happen in Squawk if we give each type of enemy it's own initiative group.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL I: add all of the initiative bonuses together<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to implement, because the description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
:Unfortunately this seems counter-intuitively biased to give large groups of characters a high initiative bonus. It is especially bad in situations B and C (identical NPCs or different NPCs.)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL II: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:This makes the most sense because group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) It is particularly simple and intuitive in situation B (identical NPCs), which is common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work than proposal I, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. However this is actually less math because you only have to multiply out the stealth and detection bonuses for characters with the lowest stealth and highest detection.<br />
<br />
:"Lowest stealth" doesn't make any sense to me narratively, unless you mean "0" when you mean "lowest," but remember 0 = no ability, so no one actually has level 0 of any ability, because level 0 does not exist.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL III: highest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:Same work as proposal II without the "no 0" problem of "lowest stealth." Narratively it is less intuitive to use the best stealth bonus of a group, but your stealthiest scouts might move ahead of your noisier characters to flush out enemies before they hear the noisy ones.<br />
<br />
:This one is currently my favorite. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL IV: each character rolls for initiative, and the group's initiative is the highest roll of any character in the group.<br />
<br />
:lots of rolling and adding. Statistical stuff happens when you choose the best of several die rolls. See Proposal III, which would have a similar result with less rolling and adding.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That would make command ability depend on healing ability, and it's not consistent with the idea that you might recruit minions or create them with something other than healing ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182178Talk:Scratch2011-06-04T04:37:25Z<p>SerpLord: /* balance between abilities */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the character sheet to remind players of states they may need to keep track of whether they are delayed or panicked, whether they have -2 defense from the engage action or +2 defense from the take cover action, and perhaps their initiative.<br />
<br />
:The other option would be two boxes each labeled (outside of the checkbox) "yes" and "no." However, this character sheet below with just the one checkbox each is great, best character sheet we have so far, and doesn't seem to need separate checkboxes for yes and no.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 21:56, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll? Consider three situations (A) a PC with 2 minions, (B) a group of identical NPCs and (C) a group with two kinds of NPCs. Situation C can happen in TDW when a team of 3 fights a boss controlled by a team of 2. Situation C will not happen in Squawk if we give each type of enemy it's own initiative group.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL I: add all of the initiative bonuses together<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to implement, because the description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
:Unfortunately this seems counter-intuitively biased to give large groups of characters a high initiative bonus. It is especially bad in situations B and C (identical NPCs or different NPCs.)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL II: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:This makes the most sense because group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) It is particularly simple and intuitive in situation B (identical NPCs), which is common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work than proposal I, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. However this is actually less math because you only have to multiply out the stealth and detection bonuses for characters with the lowest stealth and highest detection.<br />
<br />
:"Lowest stealth" doesn't make any sense to me narratively, unless you mean "0" when you mean "lowest," but remember 0 = no ability, so no one actually has level 0 of any ability, because level 0 does not exist.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL III: highest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:Same work as proposal II without the "no 0" problem of "lowest stealth." Narratively it is less intuitive to use the best stealth bonus of a group, but your stealthiest scouts might move ahead of your noisier characters to flush out enemies before they hear the noisy ones.<br />
<br />
:This one is currently my favorite. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL IV: each character rolls for initiative, and the group's initiative is the highest roll of any character in the group.<br />
<br />
:lots of rolling and adding. Statistical stuff happens when you choose the best of several die rolls. See Proposal III, which would have a similar result with less rolling and adding.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
Command ability is worth about 3 times as much as other abilities against enemies with 11 defense, about twice as much as other abilities against enemies with 16 defense, and about the same as other abilities against enemies with 20 defense.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::Yeah that would reign it in a lot. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 04:37, 4 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182163Talk:Scratch2011-06-03T23:17:50Z<p>SerpLord: /* initiative bonuses */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the character sheet to remind players of states they may need to keep track of whether they are delayed or panicked, whether they have -2 defense from the engage action or +2 defense from the take cover action, and perhaps their initiative.<br />
<br />
:The other option would be two boxes each labeled (outside of the checkbox) "yes" and "no." However, this character sheet below with just the one checkbox each is great, best character sheet we have so far, and doesn't seem to need separate checkboxes for yes and no.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 21:56, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll? Consider three situations (A) a PC with 2 minions, (B) a group of identical NPCs and (C) a group with two kinds of NPCs. Situation C can happen in TDW when a team of 3 fights a boss controlled by a team of 2. Situation C will not happen in Squawk if we give each type of enemy it's own initiative group.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL I: add all of the initiative bonuses together<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to implement, because the description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll.<br />
<br />
:Unfortunately this seems counter-intuitively biased to give large groups of characters a high initiative bonus. It is especially bad in situations B and C (identical NPCs or different NPCs.)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL II: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:This makes the most sense because group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) It is particularly simple and intuitive in situation B (identical NPCs), which is common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work than proposal I, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. However this is actually less math because you only have to multiply out the stealth and detection bonuses for characters with the lowest stealth and highest detection.<br />
<br />
:"Lowest stealth" doesn't make any sense to me narratively, unless you mean "0" when you mean "lowest," but remember 0 = no ability, so no one actually has level 0 of any ability, because level 0 does not exist.<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL III: highest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus<br />
<br />
:Same work as proposal II without the "no 0" problem of "lowest stealth." Narratively it is less intuitive to use the best stealth bonus of a group, but your stealthiest scouts might move ahead of your noisier characters to flush out enemies before they hear the noisy ones.<br />
<br />
:This one is currently my favorite. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL IV: each character rolls for initiative, and the group's initiative is the highest roll of any character in the group.<br />
<br />
:lots of rolling and adding. Statistical stuff happens when you choose the best of several die rolls. See Proposal III, which would have a similar result with less rolling and adding.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182162Talk:Scratch2011-06-03T22:48:08Z<p>SerpLord: /* holding the person who is holding you */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the character sheet to remind players of states they may need to keep track of whether they are delayed or panicked, whether they have -2 defense from the engage action or +2 defense from the take cover action, and perhaps their initiative.<br />
<br />
:The other option would be two boxes each labeled (outside of the checkbox) "yes" and "no." However, this character sheet below with just the one checkbox each is great, best character sheet we have so far, and doesn't seem to need separate checkboxes for yes and no.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 21:56, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #4: each character rolls for initiative, and the group's initiative is the highest roll of any character in the group.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::"Lowest stealth" doesn't make any sense to me narratively, unless you mean "0" when you mean "lowest," but remember 0 = no ability, so no one actually has level 0 of any ability, because level 0 does not exist. What about "highest stealth bonus and highest detection bonus in the group"? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I meant something more like propositon 4 above. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182161Talk:Scratch2011-06-03T22:46:29Z<p>SerpLord: /* taking cover while reloading */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the character sheet to remind players of states they may need to keep track of whether they are delayed or panicked, whether they have -2 defense from the engage action or +2 defense from the take cover action, and perhaps their initiative.<br />
<br />
:The other option would be two boxes each labeled (outside of the checkbox) "yes" and "no." However, this character sheet below with just the one checkbox each is great, best character sheet we have so far, and doesn't seem to need separate checkboxes for yes and no.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 21:56, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #4: each character rolls for initiative, and the group's initiative is the highest roll of any character in the group.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::"Lowest stealth" doesn't make any sense to me narratively, unless you mean "0" when you mean "lowest," but remember 0 = no ability, so no one actually has level 0 of any ability, because level 0 does not exist. What about "highest stealth bonus and highest detection bonus in the group"? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I meant something more like propositon 4 above. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
Add "A character who is delayed can try to hold the enemy who held him." to the end of the hold action in the Basic Actions section.<br />
<br />
The big risk of getting someone in a hold in real-life is that they can also grab you, immobilizing you as well, even if they have an inferior hold.<br />
<br />
Now that wrestling holds do damage, this would allow a delayed character to do damage. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: But this is a rule outside of the wrestling rules, and is not referring to the "healthy wrestling attack." It sounds like we are going to have to make a distinction between the HWA and other holds. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::We already make that distinction when we say the hold does 1 damage ''when you are healthy''. We could add ''and not delayed.'' (The location of rules has little significance to players. Players use the rules as they interpret them, not the way we intended.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: Yes, let's add "and not delayed." Perfect. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:09, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Should you be able to do this whenever you are delayed or only when you are delayed by a hold?<br />
<br />
:You should always be able to attempt a hold on someone holding you, even when delayed (but being delayed should not give you some kind of special opportunity to hold, when you are not being held.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This wouldn't just immobilize the attacker, it would delay them. Holding someone practically guarantees they will try to hold you back, since they can't do anything else. This means there is a chance (the target's wrestling, detection or movement ability vs. your strength) that you will be delayed whenever you successfully hold someone. Is it still worth the risk? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Which abilities can you use to hold someone who is holding you? Normally you can use wrestling, detection or movement abilities to hold someone (if the terrain allows you to use the movement ability for hold, distract and evade.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:32, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's a proposal that (I think) addresses all of the concerns above: <br />
<br />
:If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
:*it does not do damage<br />
:*it is fairly easy to explain<br />
:*you can do it whenever you are delayed<br />
:*it only uses wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires the delayed character to be healthy<br />
<br />
:The downside of this proposal is that characters who are injured or do not have wrestling ability are still unable to do anything when they are held.<br />
<br />
:: I love this proposal and think we should use it. I find the "downside" to be more like an extra bonus feature. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:09, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can use healing ability, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
:There is no penalty for using healing ability when you take cover, so it is always better to take cover when you use healing. Does it even make sense to take cover when you are healing an ally?<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182160Talk:Scratch2011-06-03T22:45:03Z<p>SerpLord: /* taking cover while reloading */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the character sheet to remind players of states they may need to keep track of whether they are delayed or panicked, whether they have -2 defense from the engage action or +2 defense from the take cover action, and perhaps their initiative.<br />
<br />
:The other option would be two boxes each labeled (outside of the checkbox) "yes" and "no." However, this character sheet below with just the one checkbox each is great, best character sheet we have so far, and doesn't seem to need separate checkboxes for yes and no.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 21:56, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #4: each character rolls for initiative, and the group's initiative is the highest roll of any character in the group.--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::"Lowest stealth" doesn't make any sense to me narratively, unless you mean "0" when you mean "lowest," but remember 0 = no ability, so no one actually has level 0 of any ability, because level 0 does not exist. What about "highest stealth bonus and highest detection bonus in the group"? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::I meant something more like propositon 4 above. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:05, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
Add "A character who is delayed can try to hold the enemy who held him." to the end of the hold action in the Basic Actions section.<br />
<br />
The big risk of getting someone in a hold in real-life is that they can also grab you, immobilizing you as well, even if they have an inferior hold.<br />
<br />
Now that wrestling holds do damage, this would allow a delayed character to do damage. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: But this is a rule outside of the wrestling rules, and is not referring to the "healthy wrestling attack." It sounds like we are going to have to make a distinction between the HWA and other holds. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::We already make that distinction when we say the hold does 1 damage ''when you are healthy''. We could add ''and not delayed.'' (The location of rules has little significance to players. Players use the rules as they interpret them, not the way we intended.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: Yes, let's add "and not delayed." Perfect. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:09, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Should you be able to do this whenever you are delayed or only when you are delayed by a hold?<br />
<br />
:You should always be able to attempt a hold on someone holding you, even when delayed (but being delayed should not give you some kind of special opportunity to hold, when you are not being held.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This wouldn't just immobilize the attacker, it would delay them. Holding someone practically guarantees they will try to hold you back, since they can't do anything else. This means there is a chance (the target's wrestling, detection or movement ability vs. your strength) that you will be delayed whenever you successfully hold someone. Is it still worth the risk? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Which abilities can you use to hold someone who is holding you? Normally you can use wrestling, detection or movement abilities to hold someone (if the terrain allows you to use the movement ability for hold, distract and evade.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:32, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's a proposal that (I think) addresses all of the concerns above: <br />
<br />
:If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
:*it does not do damage<br />
:*it is fairly easy to explain<br />
:*you can do it whenever you are delayed<br />
:*it only uses wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires the delayed character to be healthy<br />
<br />
:The downside of this proposal is that characters who are injured or do not have wrestling ability are still unable to do anything when they are held.<br />
<br />
:: I love this proposal and think we should use it. I find the "downside" to be more like an extra bonus feature. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:09, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
The bonus and penalty from take cover should last as long as you want, but while you are in cover, you cannot do a close range attack, evade, intimidate or surprise.<br />
<br />
You can heal, do long range attacks (with the -2 penalty) or choose to do nothing while you take cover.<br />
<br />
What if you are held while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
What if you are panicked while you are in cover?<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::What if minions CAN be healed, but only between battles, and only with successful healing rolls? --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 22:16, 3 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182134Talk:Scratch2011-06-03T16:10:08Z<p>SerpLord: </p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the character sheet to remind players of states they may need to keep track of whether they are delayed or panicked, whether they have -2 defense from the engage action or +2 defense from the take cover action, and perhaps their initiative.<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
Add "A character who is delayed can try to hold the enemy who held him." to the end of the hold action in the Basic Actions section.<br />
<br />
The big risk of getting someone in a hold in real-life is that they can also grab you, immobilizing you as well, even if they have an inferior hold.<br />
<br />
Now that wrestling holds do damage, this would allow a delayed character to do damage. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: But this is a rule outside of the wrestling rules, and is not referring to the "healthy wrestling attack." It sounds like we are going to have to make a distinction between the HWA and other holds. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::We already make that distinction when we say the hold does 1 damage ''when you are healthy''. We could add ''and not delayed.'' (The location of rules has little significance to players. Players use the rules as they interpret them, not the way we intended.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Should you be able to do this whenever you are delayed or only when you are delayed by a hold?<br />
<br />
:You should always be able to attempt a hold on someone holding you, even when delayed (but being delayed should not give you some kind of special opportunity to hold, when you are not being held.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This wouldn't just immobilize the attacker, it would delay them. Holding someone practically guarantees they will try to hold you back, since they can't do anything else. This means there is a chance (the target's wrestling, detection or movement ability vs. your strength) that you will be delayed whenever you successfully hold someone. Is it still worth the risk? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Which abilities can you use to hold someone who is holding you? Normally you can use wrestling, detection or movement abilities to hold someone (if the terrain allows you to use the movement ability for hold, distract and evade.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:32, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's a proposal that (I think) addresses all of the concerns above: <br />
<br />
:If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
:*it does not do damage<br />
:*it is fairly easy to explain<br />
:*you can do it whenever you are delayed<br />
:*it only uses wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires the delayed character to be healthy<br />
<br />
:The downside of this proposal is that characters who are injured or do not have wrestling ability are still unable to do anything when they are held.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
It makes sense for someone to be using the same cover they had before, even if their projectile weapon has a lot of kick or takes a while to reload. So should you be able to take cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack, or should you only be able to STAY in cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack?<br />
<br />
:You should be able to take cover when you do the attack, and you stay in the cover until your next attack. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 00:01, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::You can also evade, heal or do nothing between attacks. Currently take cover is described as something you do before a long range attack. Can you take cover and evade, take cover and heal, take cover and do nothing? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 15:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That sounds perfect to me. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:03, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::It might be easier to say what you CANNOT do when you take cover (close range attack) than list all of the things that you CAN do (long range attack, evade heal.) In other words you can stay in cover as long as you want, but you have -2 to long range attacks and you cannot do close range attacks from cover. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::If you can take cover when you evade, people should do that whenever there is cover. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::What about intimidate and surprise? Currently you can do these when you take cover because they are long range attacks. Does that make sense? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.)<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182095Talk:Scratch2011-06-02T23:54:29Z<p>SerpLord: /* holding the person who is holding you */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the [http://gameartsguild.com/dwpc/blank.html character sheet] to remind players of states they may need to keep track of:<br />
<br />
* delayed<br />
* panicked<br />
* engage-d (-2 defense) <br />
* take cover-ed (+2 defense)<br />
* initiative<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
Add "A character who is delayed can try to hold the enemy who held him." to the end of the hold action in the Basic Actions section.<br />
<br />
The big risk of getting someone in a hold in real-life is that they can also grab you, immobilizing you as well, even if they have an inferior hold.<br />
<br />
Now that wrestling holds do damage, this would allow a delayed character to do damage. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: But this is a rule outside of the wrestling rules, and is not referring to the "healthy wrestling attack." It sounds like we are going to have to make a distinction between the HWA and other holds. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::We already make that distinction when we say the hold does 1 damage ''when you are healthy''. We could add ''and not delayed.'' (The location of rules has little significance to players. Players use the rules as they interpret them, not the way we intended.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Should you be able to do this whenever you are delayed or only when you are delayed by a hold?<br />
<br />
:You should always be able to attempt a hold on someone holding you, even when delayed (but being delayed should not give you some kind of special opportunity to hold, when you are not being held.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This wouldn't just immobilize the attacker, it would delay them. Holding someone practically guarantees they will try to hold you back, since they can't do anything else. This means there is a chance (the target's wrestling, detection or movement ability vs. your strength) that you will be delayed whenever you successfully hold someone. Is it still worth the risk? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Which abilities can you use to hold someone who is holding you? Normally you can use wrestling, detection or movement abilities to hold someone (if the terrain allows you to use the movement ability for hold, distract and evade.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:32, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's a proposal that (I think) addresses all of the concerns above: <br />
<br />
:If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
:*it does not do damage<br />
:*it is fairly easy to explain<br />
:*you can do it whenever you are delayed<br />
:*it only uses wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires wrestling ability<br />
:*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires the delayed character to be healthy<br />
<br />
:The downside of this proposal is that characters who are injured or do not have wrestling ability are still unable to do anything when they are held.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
It makes sense for someone to be using the same cover they had before, even if their projectile weapon has a lot of kick or takes a while to reload. So should you be able to take cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack, or should you only be able to STAY in cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack?<br />
<br />
:You should be able to take cover when you do the attack, and you stay in the cover until your next attack. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 00:01, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::You can also evade, heal or do nothing between attacks. Currently take cover is described as something you do before a long range attack. Can you take cover and evade, take cover and heal, take cover and do nothing? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 15:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That sounds perfect to me. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:03, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::It might be easier to say what you CANNOT do when you take cover (close range attack) than list all of the things that you CAN do (long range attack, evade heal.) In other words you can stay in cover as long as you want, but you have -2 to long range attacks and you cannot do close range attacks from cover. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::If you can take cover when you evade, people should do that whenever there is cover. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::What about intimidate and surprise? Currently you can do these when you take cover because they are long range attacks. Does that make sense? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182092Talk:Scratch2011-06-02T23:17:13Z<p>SerpLord: /* taking cover while reloading */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the [http://gameartsguild.com/dwpc/blank.html character sheet] to remind players of states they may need to keep track of:<br />
<br />
* delayed<br />
* panicked<br />
* engage-d (-2 defense) <br />
* take cover-ed (+2 defense)<br />
* initiative<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
Add "A character who is delayed can try to hold the enemy who held him." to the end of the hold action in the Basic Actions section.<br />
<br />
The big risk of getting someone in a hold in real-life is that they can also grab you, immobilizing you as well, even if they have an inferior hold.<br />
<br />
Now that wrestling holds do damage, this would allow a delayed character to do damage. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: But this is a rule outside of the wrestling rules, and is not referring to the "healthy wrestling attack." It sounds like we are going to have to make a distinction between the HWA and other holds. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::We already make that distinction when we say the hold does 1 damage ''when you are healthy''. We could add ''and not delayed.'' (The location of rules has little significance to players. Players use the rules as they interpret them, not the way we intended.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Should you be able to do this whenever you are delayed or only when you are delayed by a hold?<br />
<br />
:You should always be able to attempt a hold on someone holding you, even when delayed (but being delayed should not give you some kind of special opportunity to hold, when you are not being held.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This wouldn't just immobilize the attacker, it would delay them. Holding someone practically guarantees they will try to hold you back, since they can't do anything else. This means there is a chance (the target's wrestling, detection or movement ability vs. your strength) that you will be delayed whenever you successfully hold someone. Is it still worth the risk? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Which abilities can you use to hold someone who is holding you? Normally you can use wrestling, detection or movement abilities to hold someone (if the terrain allows you to use the movement ability for hold, distract and evade.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:32, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's a proposal that (I think) addresses all of the concerns above: If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
*it does not do damage<br />
*it is fairly easy to explain<br />
*you can do it whenever you are delayed<br />
*it only uses wrestling ability<br />
*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires wrestling ability<br />
*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires the delayed character to be healthy<br />
<br />
The downside of this proposal is that characters who are injured or do not have wrestling ability are still unable to do anything when they are held.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
It makes sense for someone to be using the same cover they had before, even if their projectile weapon has a lot of kick or takes a while to reload. So should you be able to take cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack, or should you only be able to STAY in cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack?<br />
<br />
:You should be able to take cover when you do the attack, and you stay in the cover until your next attack. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 00:01, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::You can also evade, heal or do nothing between attacks. Currently take cover is described as something you do before a long range attack. Can you take cover and evade, take cover and heal, take cover and do nothing? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 15:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That sounds perfect to me. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:03, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::It might be easier to say what you CANNOT do when you take cover (close range attack) than list all of the things that you CAN do (long range attack, evade heal.) In other words you can stay in cover as long as you want, but you have -2 to long range attacks and you cannot do close range attacks from cover. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::If you can take cover when you evade, people should do that whenever there is cover. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::::What about intimidate and surprise? Currently you can do these when you take cover because they are long range attacks. Does that make sense? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 23:17, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182091Talk:Scratch2011-06-02T23:06:08Z<p>SerpLord: /* holding the person who is holding you */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the [http://gameartsguild.com/dwpc/blank.html character sheet] to remind players of states they may need to keep track of:<br />
<br />
* delayed<br />
* panicked<br />
* engage-d (-2 defense) <br />
* take cover-ed (+2 defense)<br />
* initiative<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
Add "A character who is delayed can try to hold the enemy who held him." to the end of the hold action in the Basic Actions section.<br />
<br />
The big risk of getting someone in a hold in real-life is that they can also grab you, immobilizing you as well, even if they have an inferior hold.<br />
<br />
Now that wrestling holds do damage, this would allow a delayed character to do damage. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: But this is a rule outside of the wrestling rules, and is not referring to the "healthy wrestling attack." It sounds like we are going to have to make a distinction between the HWA and other holds. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::We already make that distinction when we say the hold does 1 damage ''when you are healthy''. We could add ''and not delayed.'' (The location of rules has little significance to players. Players use the rules as they interpret them, not the way we intended.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Should you be able to do this whenever you are delayed or only when you are delayed by a hold?<br />
<br />
:You should always be able to attempt a hold on someone holding you, even when delayed (but being delayed should not give you some kind of special opportunity to hold, when you are not being held.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This wouldn't just immobilize the attacker, it would delay them. Holding someone practically guarantees they will try to hold you back, since they can't do anything else. This means there is a chance (the target's wrestling, detection or movement ability vs. your strength) that you will be delayed whenever you successfully hold someone. Is it still worth the risk? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Which abilities can you use to hold someone who is holding you? Normally you can use wrestling, detection or movement abilities to hold someone (if the terrain allows you to use the movement ability for hold, distract and evade.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:32, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's a proposal that (I think) addresses all of the concerns above: If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
*it does not do damage<br />
*it is fairly easy to explain<br />
*you can do it whenever you are delayed<br />
*it only uses wrestling ability<br />
*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires wrestling ability<br />
*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires the delayed character to be healthy<br />
<br />
The downside of this proposal is that characters who are injured or do not have wrestling ability are still unable to do anything when they are held.<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
It makes sense for someone to be using the same cover they had before, even if their projectile weapon has a lot of kick or takes a while to reload. So should you be able to take cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack, or should you only be able to STAY in cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack?<br />
<br />
:You should be able to take cover when you do the attack, and you stay in the cover until your next attack. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 00:01, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::You can also evade, heal or do nothing between attacks. Currently take cover is described as something you do before a long range attack. Can you take cover and evade, take cover and heal, take cover and do nothing? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 15:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That sounds perfect to me. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:03, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLordhttps://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Scratch&diff=182090Talk:Scratch2011-06-02T23:04:56Z<p>SerpLord: /* holding the person who is holding you */</p>
<hr />
<div>== simplified healing ==<br />
What if we simplified the healing rule so that characters can only be healed once per encounter, but healing always restored the character to healthy (stamina +1)? (I realize that there currently is no limit on healing, but a more complex healing limit than what I have proposed here is may soon be incoming.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 18:04, 31 May 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==altered states==<br />
<br />
Players have suggested using a coin to keep track of whether you are delayed.<br />
<br />
We could put checkboxes on the [http://gameartsguild.com/dwpc/blank.html character sheet] to remind players of states they may need to keep track of:<br />
<br />
* delayed<br />
* panicked<br />
* engage-d (-2 defense) <br />
* take cover-ed (+2 defense)<br />
* initiative<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-character-sheet-front.png|600px]]<br />
<br />
Initiative cards are another useful tool for keeping track of the order of characters turns (3x5 cards folded in half, with character names and initiative arranged in order of initiative.) State flags can be attached to initiative cards (i.e. stick a small post-it or sticky colored dot on the card to indicated delayed.)<br />
<br />
[[File:Scratch-initiative-cards.png|800px]]<br />
<br />
==shared initiative==<br />
<br />
In [[The Dark Woods]] and some other games, all characters controlled by the same player should have the same initiative. But in GM-ed games like Squawk, the GM will sometimes control groups of enemies that should have different initiative.<br />
<br />
===initiative groups===<br />
<br />
We should implement this by saying that each player has an ''initiative group'' and the characters the player controls are in his initiative group. This makes it easy for us to add multiple initiative groups for GMs in optional rules. For example:<br />
<br />
:Each person controlling characters has an ''initiative group''. The initiative group contains the characters that person controls. <br />
<br />
:Initiative groups take ''turns'' during ''encounters''. At the beginning of each encounter, roll a twenty-sided die for each initiative group to determine the order of their turns. This is the group's ''initiative'' roll. Groups take turns in order from the highest initiative to the lowest. If two groups have the same initiative, break the tie by rolling another die for both groups until one of them rolls higher. That group goes before the other.<br />
<br />
:Each character has a turn during each turn of their initiative group. The player controlling the group chooses the order of the turns of the characters in the group.<br />
<br />
The above is good group terminology & rules. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===initiative bonuses===<br />
<br />
How should individual stealth and detection levels affect an initiative group's initiative roll?<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #1: lowest stealth bonus + highest detection bonus.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 44.)<br />
<br />
:This is a little bit more work to describe because than prop #2, because we have to say that each bonus only applies if it is the lowest, or highest bonus from other characters with the same ability. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #2: sum of all initiative bonuses.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 2 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 4 x 10 = 50.)<br />
<br />
:This is the easiest one to describe. The description of each ability currently says it adds a bonus to the character's initiative roll. We would simply change this to say it adds a bonus to their initiative group's initiative roll. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IMHO this is a far more simple question that suggested above. Group initiative is based either on your weakest link (because his clumbsiness gives away group location,) or it is based on your most proficient member (because he's your most effective scout.) --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Prop #1 is the closest rule to the weakest link or most effective scout phenomena you are describing. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
PROPOSAL #3: the highest initiative bonus of any character in the group.<br />
(example: in a group of three characters, one has 2 stealth, one has 3 stealth, and one has 4 detection, so the bonus would be 40.)<br />
<br />
:This is even trickier to describe than prop #1 because you have to create a new value called initiative bonus for each character (Currently each ability adds directly to the initiative roll.) Then you have to compare each character's initiative bonus to choose the best one. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Balance issues with stealth and detection become more sensitive when the formula ignores all but the highest bonus of any character in a group.<br />
<br />
::I don't think balance between initiative abilities justifies the complexity of the other group initiative rule proposals, nor do I think that complexity will adequately address those issues anyways. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 16:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::See my assessment of the complexity above. Excessive complexity and imbalance are both unacceptable. (If we have to sacrifice some balance for simplicity, we do have the option of adjusting the bonus multipliers - but I don't see that helping at the moment.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 20:54, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
SITUATION #1: A player controlling one PC and 1 or 2 minions. The player designs the minions.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, the player will need to give both his minions stealth if he wants to use his own stealth bonus to initiative, and he can only use the best detection bonus in his group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the player can distribute his abilities any way he wants without worrying about the way initiative is combined.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, the player can only use the best initiative bonus in his group.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #2: A player or GM controlling two or more identical NPCs. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, and even the game designer is limited because the NPCs must be identical.<br />
<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would just use the bonuses of one of the NPCs.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, the initiative bonus of the group would be the group size multiplied by the individual initiative bonus.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would just use the best bonus of one of the NPCs.<br />
<br />
SITUATION #3: A player or GM controlling two or more NPCs of different types. The player/GM does not design the NPCs, but the game designer can give each type of NPC any abilities he wants.<br />
<br />
*This can happen in TDW when a bigger team fights a boss controlled by a smaller team.<br />
*It will not happen in Squawk if we give each enemy type it's own initiative group.<br />
*If we choose proposal #1, we would use the stealth or detection bonus of either enemy, depending on which is worse or better.<br />
*If we choose proposal #2, we would combine the stealth and detection bonus of the two enemies.<br />
*If we choose proposal #3, we would use the highest initiative bonus from either type of NPC.<br />
<br />
Prop #2 is the simplest rule, but in situations #2 and #3 it seems counter-intuitively biased toward larger groups. <br />
<br />
Prop #3 seems simple to calculate, until you realize that you have to multiply all of the detection and stealth levels before you know which one is biggest. It's also the most complicated rule. In situation #2, this proposal would aggravate any stealth vs. detection balance issues that might exist. The complexity of prop #3 is an interesting paradox, because it is strategically simple. But simple strategy does not always translate to simple rules or less math.<br />
<br />
Prop #1 requires the least calculation (choose worst stealth and best detection before multiplying) it has medium complexity and it does it intuitively favors small group stealth and large group detection. Prop #1 is particularly simple and intuitive in situation #2, which will be common in both TDW and Squawk.<br />
<br />
==holding the person who is holding you==<br />
<br />
Add "A character who is delayed can try to hold the enemy who held him." to the end of the hold action in the Basic Actions section.<br />
<br />
The big risk of getting someone in a hold in real-life is that they can also grab you, immobilizing you as well, even if they have an inferior hold.<br />
<br />
Now that wrestling holds do damage, this would allow a delayed character to do damage. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: But this is a rule outside of the wrestling rules, and is not referring to the "healthy wrestling attack." It sounds like we are going to have to make a distinction between the HWA and other holds. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::We already make that distinction when we say the hold does 1 damage ''when you are healthy''. We could add ''and not delayed.'' (The location of rules has little significance to players. Players use the rules as they interpret them, not the way we intended.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:26, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Should you be able to do this whenever you are delayed or only when you are delayed by a hold?<br />
<br />
:You should always be able to attempt a hold on someone holding you, even when delayed (but being delayed should not give you some kind of special opportunity to hold, when you are not being held.)--[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This wouldn't just immobilize the attacker, it would delay them. Holding someone practically guarantees they will try to hold you back, since they can't do anything else. This means there is a chance (the target's wrestling, detection or movement ability vs. your strength) that you will be delayed whenever you successfully hold someone. Is it still worth the risk? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 14:59, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Which abilities can you use to hold someone who is holding you? Normally you can use wrestling, detection or movement abilities to hold someone (if the terrain allows you to use the movement ability for hold, distract and evade.) --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 17:32, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's a proposal that (I think) addresses all of the concerns above: If you have wrestling ability and you are both healthy and delayed, you can use wrestling to hold one character who successfully held you since your last turn. This hold does no damage.<br />
<br />
*it does not do damage<br />
*it is fairly easy to explain<br />
*you can do it whenever you are delayed<br />
*it only uses wrestling ability<br />
*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires wrestling ability<br />
*the risk to the attacker is limited because it requires the delayed character to be healthy<br />
<br />
==taking cover while reloading==<br />
<br />
It makes sense for someone to be using the same cover they had before, even if their projectile weapon has a lot of kick or takes a while to reload. So should you be able to take cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack, or should you only be able to STAY in cover when you are delayed by your own shooting or blasting attack?<br />
<br />
:You should be able to take cover when you do the attack, and you stay in the cover until your next attack. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 00:01, 1 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::You can also evade, heal or do nothing between attacks. Currently take cover is described as something you do before a long range attack. Can you take cover and evade, take cover and heal, take cover and do nothing? --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 15:02, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:::That sounds perfect to me. --[[User:BFGalbraith|BFGalbraith]] 17:03, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==grid movement when you are delayed by your own moves==<br />
<br />
*Being delayed by your own knockout, shooting or blasting shouldn't keep you from moving.<br />
*Getting delayed by a hold action should keep you from moving.<br />
*Should being delayed by a distract action keep you from moving?<br />
*Should we distinguish delayed vs. delayed + immobilized with technical terms?<br />
<br />
==balance between abilities==<br />
<br />
Most of our ability levels are well-balanced. Increasing stalking ability, movement ability, craftsmanship or healing from level 1 to level 2 is worth about the same increasing an attack ability from level 1 to level 2. (Swimming levels might be a little underpowered.<br />
<br />
===command levels are too valuable===<br />
<br />
At command level 10 you can have two 5 CP minions with 1 attack ability level and 4 toughness. These are probably the optimum attack-oriented minions, or close to it. They have above-average, normal-for-PCs toughness. They let you attack three times as often, tripling your success rate. This might be worth as much as 20 attack ability levels, which is about twice what it should be. (This is probably an over-estimation, because command ability minions cannot be healed and they can be injured more easily than a powerful PC.)<br />
<br />
:We could reign in command by thinking beyond the individual encounter. Perhaps healing and replacing command ability minions is more difficult than healing and replacing PCs between encounters. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===toughness is too valuable at medium levels===<br />
<br />
Characters with 1 level of attack ability have a strong incentive to increase their toughness up to level 7, 8 or 9 before they develop any other abilities. This means that instead of a more or less even distribution of a characters with 5 to 10 toughness at the end of the game, optimizing players will ALL have 9 toughness at the end of the game, and very low levels of other abilities that don't pay off as much per level.<br />
<br />
:We could reign in toughness by thinking beyond the individual encounter. For example suppose sorcerers in TDW automatically heal up to stamina + 1 between encounters. Then they can make a detection, craftsmanship or healing roll to regenerate themselves to full HP. (Note: toughness was not in that list.) If we want to be even more brutal, we can have the difficulty depend on your toughness, stamina or the amount of damage you have taken. --[[User:SerpLord|SerpLord]] 22:55, 2 June 2011 (UTC)<br />
<br />
===level 1 abilities have very different values===<br />
<br />
Having at least 1 level of certain abilities adds extra value.<br />
<br />
*(~5 levels) your first attack ability doubles attack power when healthy<br />
*(~5 levels) healing potentially heals several points of damage<br />
*(~5 levels) non-flying characters can't hit flying characters with close range attacks when they evade or use a long range attack<br />
*(~1 level) craftsmanship versatility<br />
*(~1 level) your first stalking ability (surprise action)<br />
*(~&frac12; level) command ability intimidate action<br />
*(~&frac12; level) non-swimmers and long-range attacks can't hit character who use swimming to evade<br />
*(0 levels) other movement aiblities<br />
<br />
==more realistic healing options==<br />
<br />
<br />
games without healing ability (dinosaurs and prehistoric animals)<br />
<br />
hardcore<br />
<br />
*HP never goes up during combat<br />
**damage always represents injuries that take a long time to heal.<br />
**It never represents physical or psychic pain, suffocation or stunning effects that people can recover from during combat. (This could make the rule incompatible with some settings or other optional rules like skills.)<br />
*healing still used in combat with death rules?<br />
**does first aid remove the healer from combat?<br />
***NO, either you can use healing as a combat action or you don't use healing until hostilities stop. This is all about how you interpret the duration of combat.<br />
****If you insist on a very quick flow of combat without pauses for maneuvering and orientation (combat takes seconds), then there is not time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies, and it is not necessary or even appropriate to treat injured allies during combat.<br />
****If combat turns are more like camera shots in an action movie and clashes in a real fight, which are interrupted by pauses and maneuvers that vary in duration (combat takes minutes), there is time in a battle to treat multiple injured allies or treat an ally and then return fire at an enemy.<br />
<br />
milder<br />
<br />
*you can only be healed from being incapacitated once per battle. We could give this state a name, like convalescent or wounded.<br />
*we could also limit each healer to healing one character form injured to healthy once per battle.<br />
<br />
healing between battles<br />
<br />
*everybody heals to stamina + 1 between battles (balance and stability - game designers know you will have most of your HP when you enter a battle.)<br />
*make toughness roll to heal yourself to full HP<br />
*make healing roll for each ally to heal them to full HP<br />
<br />
healing skills<br />
<br />
*special healing skills might be able to heal you when normal healing actions cannot.<br />
*special toughness skills might allow you to be healed more often.<br />
*toughness skills that help you be healed?<br />
<br />
==optional death rules==<br />
<br />
realistic or brutal games like [[Resilience]] might have death rules that add dramatic tension and character expendability.</div>SerpLord