One more experimental idea

This one I’m really not sure of. It messes with the stress economy and the attribute balance but it makes some sense. I’d like to test it out and see if it makes game play better.

If a player spends an extra action (from their initiative roll) on a roll, they get a automatic success.

This does a few good things.

  • It could speed up a round by getting players to spend actions on important tasks that they’d be re-trying anyway.
  • It would simulate someone taking some time to do make sure they did it right, like aiming a shot instead of pray and spray.
  • It would help Tarnoc whom the dice hate (if he can manage to make a Ref roll).

It could also do some bad things.

  • It would make Ref the most important attribute. It may already be, but it would make it so that any task could get a success by just spending an action on it.
  • It makes taking stress less desirable. You have another method to fix a roll, one that doesn’t have an ongoing cost.

Like I said, really not sure of this, but I do want to play with it. It could be that something similar could give the desired effect, but not have the downsides. For example, could I simulate multiple rolls an the improved chances in just one roll? An “aimed shot” used to give you +15 to hit but cost two actions in second edition. This would be similar, tipping the success rate while reducing rolls.

Another option might be taking a pause. Spending an action to almost have a micro rest that would reduce a stress point. Weirdly that sounds both not useful enough and too powerful an effect at the same time. Maybe that should be tested too.

There’s a few questionable ideas that might need the dents knocked out of them.

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