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Margins of Success
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TOPIC: Margins of Success

Margins of Success 8 months ago #694

  • Anatosuchus
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Slightly odd question here. For those who have played EABA a lot, what kinds of margins of success you routinely find on your to-hit rolls (during typical play) for:
*Melee strikes
*Bows and the like
*Firearms

Why? I'm fiddling with some houserules which add the things I like to EABA so I can stop trying to build my own system from the ground up. One of those things is that margins of success affect the quality of a hit. I have some ideas but I've only had limited tinkering with EABA to get a feel.

If folks mostly only succeed by one or two points, it's going to be tough. If a range of 1-5 or more is routine then it will be easier to build in my mechanic.

Thanks!

Matt.
Can't... stop... designing...

Re: Margins of Success 8 months ago #697

  • Sande
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In our games I've noticed that ranged combat difficulties get pretty high relatively often, meaning the margins remain a bit small. Close-range shooting puts that higher than 5 easily enough.

I've been considering margins of success myself, but I haven't managed to come up a satisfying method to get the "quality" aspect right.
Redesigning character sheets since 1996.
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Re: Margins of Success 8 months ago #698

  • Anatosuchus
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To add the quality factor does require some significant tweaks it must be said. My current system (NOT compatible with EABA) which I intend to modify to fit in goes along the lines of...

Strikes have a damage rating (DR) which is the sum of the user's STR and any modifier for the weapon type an the like. Targets have a resilience level (RL) which is based on their size. I'm not getting into armour at this point!

Each hit may do damage within a 16 point "window" - your basic 3-18 roll, where 3 is the minimum damage applicable (a scratch) and 18 is the maximum damage you can do with the strike (probably severing/destruction of an extremity depending on hit location and damage type). There are a few levels of 'overkill' too for when big weapons hit smaller targets (see below).

When you hit you roll a standard EABA keep-three pool of dice, the size of your to-hit margin. Higher quality hits push the effect up the scale as for skill rolls. You then add your DR and subtract the target's RL. This means when you shoot Godzilla (Size 60) with a rifle (DR 7) it will always pull the damage off the bottom of the scale to no damage. Shoot a Size 7 person with the same rifle and the 'average' damage ends up being in the middle of the scale. Hit a size 7 human with a bigger gun, say DR 12, and you are much more likely to do crippling or 'overkill' level damage even with a 2-point margin.

I also use impairment levels, which are mapped from the 3-18 roll but could be mapped onto EABA damage tracks. The thing is that this type of damage is normalised before calculation, so you don't need ever-escalating numbers of dice for bigger creatures.

It's probably easier to explain with a chart...
Can't... stop... designing...
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