Last time I started to focus on action resolution by considering initiative (just to drop it altogether). Today I’ll continue to peep into it by considering the Performance stage. This stage models the behavior of the character and is there to define whether he fails or succeeds in behaving the way he wants, and by how much if there are levels of success.
Performance in Rough Quests is based on a performance score. This score is the simple addition of an attribute plus an ability where ability is the sum of an experience field and a skill (characteristics will underscore the next phase in action resolution, result determination). This basic performance score may be further subject to situational and other modifiers.
I said that the performance score adds the factors that affect performance but what does this exactly mean? Of course, the fact that both add together means that I will not follow in the path of systems like plain BRP (as found in Call of Cthullu) where there is no link between the two sets of stats. On the other hand, there are several different ways to tie attributes to abilities. Let’s look at some alternatives:
Attributes plus acquired abilities plus di(c)e vs. resistance; roll above, used in games like d20, CODA, Agone, Ars Magica. The core idea is that one rolls a die and adds the value of the relevant attribute(s), abilities and other mods. Furthermore, there’s a set one-to-one definition of the possible combinations between the attributes and the abilities. In a sense it’s the simplest way to combine stats. The devil – from my point of view, of course - is in the way it handles the randomizer but that’s an issue for a future column.
Attributes plus acquired abilities vs. di(c)e roll; roll under, for instance Tri-Stat dX, Hero, GURPS. Notice that while in Tri-Stat the relation between attributes and skills is free, in GURPS there’s a one-to-one link.
Skills modified by Attributes plus di(c)e vs. resistance; roll above, found in games such as Heromaster, HARP. Not that different from die plus traits plus mods above, it has the same problems I will mention when I discuss RuneQuest. Not an option I would consider.
Skills modifed by Attributes vs. di(c)e roll; roll under, as in RuneQuest. Acquired abilities interact with attributes in two ways: First, the total ability is based on the skill modified by a skill category modifier derived from a combination of attributes. Second, skill increases are also influenced by the said category modifier. Overall this is a functional tie-up between skills and attributes, yet it is not to my taste because I would rather have attributes with a larger influence on actions - say, if I want to ride a car my Addroitness should play a larger role than just providing a small mod to my skill. Second, skill category modifiers hardwire too much how attributes influence skills. Let me give you an example, the Jump skill. It is subject to the Agility modifier that is based on Dexterity, Strengh and Size. So far so good, but what if instead of actually jumping you want to teach jumping? Or if you want to write a treatise about jumping? Or if you get into a discussion on jumping? It makes sense to have you using your Jump skill for these purposes but in all these cases you are not actually jumping so it seems meaningless to apply the Agility modifier to those actions. It would make more sense to tie it to other modifiers that are based on other attributes (Cha in the case of teaching or discussing Jump, Int in the case of writing a treatise on Jump).
Attributes plus acquired abilities correspond to dice pool; count successes. Storytell*, Ironclaw. Attributes and acquired abilities are added to compose a dice-pool. I like this since it means that action is influenced by both attributes and acquired abilities in an equal footing. Furthermore it is very simple to compute the dice-pool. On the other hand, the size of dice-pools can become unmanageable (think Exalted) and I’m not fond of counting successes.
Attributes added to value rolled with the skill’s dice pool. Silhouette Core. I like a lot the basic iteration of a dice-pool found in Silhouette but I’m not that fond of combining it with additive attribute modifiers.
The core issues
The examples provided point to some possibilities in terms of combination of attributes and skills:
Limited combination vs. free combination. Should acquired abilities be assigned to particular attributes, or should there be complete freedom to combine both? I already inted at my answer: I’m all for the free combination between attributes and acquired abilities. The exact match should depend on what the character is trying to achieve, not on an arbitrary definition in the rulesbook.
Combination by addition vs. combination by modification. I also pointed to what I think about this alternative: I prefer straight addition since it is simpler to compute. Besides, it becomes a requirement when we consider the point made in the previous paragraph. An issue I’ve seen raised about this alternative is the fact that it gives too much weight to attributes. Yes, that’s true but remember that in Rough Quests acquired ability is composed of two components so attributes will weight no more than one third in the computation of the final ability. Besides, Rough Quests is a pre-modern fantasy system so it corresponds to a kind of settings where advanced technical skills are not common.
Rough Quests action resolution rules will work on the assumption of a balanced combination of an attribute and an acquired ability where the exact combination will be determined by the nature of the action the character wants to perform. There’s a last point to define: How is the ability value goint to be combined with a randomizer? That’s the topic for next column.
