[Rq-rules] Specials and Criticals

[Lance Dyas]

Bruce Mason wrote:
>
>
> On 03/03/07, *alan richards* <alanjrichards at googlemail.com 
> <mailto:alanjrichards at googlemail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Alternity has Average/Good/Oustanding successes in the same way as
>     dear old RQ has Success/Special/Critical however in Alternity
>
>     Good (Special) = 1/2 of skill
>     Outstanding (Critical) = 1/4 of skill
>
>     Thus Specials and Criticals happen much more often.
>
>     I really liked this and will be having a stab at using the next
>     time I run RQ
>
>
> See, I think this is bad game design because it means that a 
> "non-standard" result happens with every other roll. This means that 
> you, essentially, have two different types of success. The beauty of 
> 1/5 as a special result is that, as it says, it is marked enough to 
> feel special. If your special result is 1/2 of skill you might as well 
> say that if you succeed and roll an odd then you get a different type 
> of success than you would with an even.
>
> That said, I personally, have been playing with specials and criticals 
> folded into 1/10 chance - as MRQ has done.  Still, different strokes 
> for different folks.
>
> Bruce
In some games I have seen things get real mechanical sounding until you 
hit specials and criticals... perhaps.. adding more descriptive "normal" 
action could be what is desired. Having more choices that describe how 
the actions are performed might accomplish more of what is desired 
without impacting the specialness of those specials.