RE: Eskero: The pen and paper RPG system
03-17-2013, 04:29 AM
On Power and The Mechanics of Die Value:
Two disclaimers before I begin:
This is going to get maths-y and probably a bit stream-of-consciousness as well, so those wary of hard numbers best steer clear.
and
I am basically pulling all this out my ass - howevermuch exposure to RPGs I may have had, I have no practical tabletop experience and cannot say how workable any of the ideas to follow are.
That out of the way, let's get to it. The following continues with my logic from my last post so: if you've not read that I suggest you do that first, and: if the ideas it expounds that relate to this post have been invalidated, feel free to ignore the following.
An aspect's "dice pool" (hereon just "pool" - nts: think of snappy word for this too maybe) is directly defined by two Vitals: Soul and Power. Soul is fairly straightforward; it determines the maximum number of individual die one may have in their die pool at any given time.
Power, as I conceive it, is a bit more complex. It affects individual die values, but it affects them as they relate to each other. Not all dice in a pool have equal value, see; rather, they cover a range of values with an average value that of Power (or some Power-based value).
Maths Begin.
Note: the following example contains numbers for purely exemplary purposes, and does not take into account anything involving whether or not those numbers are appropriate or realistic.
First, let's talk about D-value. This is a thing I have literally just made up to make talking about Power-as-average easier.
D-value hierarchy is based upon the order of the six "base" dice that I have arbitrarily decided to use: D2, D4, D6, D8, D10, and D12. I say "arbitrarily," but you may notice they're consecutive multiples of 2. These might include a seventh die "D0" for flat values, but for the time being f dat noiz. D-Value is calculated by
(DieMax / 2) + Mod OR (DieMax + Mod) / 2
wherein DieMax is the maximum value for a given die and Mod is a value modifier that effectively makes a die into a larger die with a smaller minimum. A D4+2 is a "better" D6, as I see it, since it rolls 3, 4, 5 and 6, but not 1 or 2. Which formula you use depends on whether or not you want D-Value based off the maximum value a die can roll (the latter formula) or the average of the possible rolls (the former).
In the first example, D4+2 has the same D-value as a D8, based on the mean of the values the die can roll. (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8)/8 = (3+4+5+6)/4 = 4.5 which, rounded down, is 4. "(DieMax / 2) + Mod" is just easier to calculate looking at "D4+2".
In the second example, D4+2 has the same D-value as a D6, based on the highest value the die can roll. (4+2)/2 = 6/2 = 3.
So what does all that have to do with Power? Power, as I conceive it, acts as the mean value of the D-values of the dice in one's pool.
Say an Aspect has 6 Soul and 6 Power. This could mean they could have a set of dice with D-values (6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6), or (4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8), or (5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7), and so forth.
Maths End.
With such a system in mind, I'm not actually sure which D-value formula works, or if either of them work at all; but such is the idea: a set of dice of varied value centered around a single average value.
The idea behind the varied dice is that it adds another layer of strategy to dice-consumption: do you use your higher-minimum dice for guaranteed decent damage at the risk of taking more damage during your defense phase? or do you save your more reliable dice for healing, or defense, or movement, at the risk of dealing less damage with your attacks?
If that idea of variable dice is itself is untenable or of well-intended-paving, then, well, it was at least a neat thought exercise.
Two disclaimers before I begin:
This is going to get maths-y and probably a bit stream-of-consciousness as well, so those wary of hard numbers best steer clear.
and
I am basically pulling all this out my ass - howevermuch exposure to RPGs I may have had, I have no practical tabletop experience and cannot say how workable any of the ideas to follow are.
That out of the way, let's get to it. The following continues with my logic from my last post so: if you've not read that I suggest you do that first, and: if the ideas it expounds that relate to this post have been invalidated, feel free to ignore the following.
An aspect's "dice pool" (hereon just "pool" - nts: think of snappy word for this too maybe) is directly defined by two Vitals: Soul and Power. Soul is fairly straightforward; it determines the maximum number of individual die one may have in their die pool at any given time.
Power, as I conceive it, is a bit more complex. It affects individual die values, but it affects them as they relate to each other. Not all dice in a pool have equal value, see; rather, they cover a range of values with an average value that of Power (or some Power-based value).
Maths Begin.
Note: the following example contains numbers for purely exemplary purposes, and does not take into account anything involving whether or not those numbers are appropriate or realistic.
First, let's talk about D-value. This is a thing I have literally just made up to make talking about Power-as-average easier.
D-value hierarchy is based upon the order of the six "base" dice that I have arbitrarily decided to use: D2, D4, D6, D8, D10, and D12. I say "arbitrarily," but you may notice they're consecutive multiples of 2. These might include a seventh die "D0" for flat values, but for the time being f dat noiz. D-Value is calculated by
(DieMax / 2) + Mod OR (DieMax + Mod) / 2
wherein DieMax is the maximum value for a given die and Mod is a value modifier that effectively makes a die into a larger die with a smaller minimum. A D4+2 is a "better" D6, as I see it, since it rolls 3, 4, 5 and 6, but not 1 or 2. Which formula you use depends on whether or not you want D-Value based off the maximum value a die can roll (the latter formula) or the average of the possible rolls (the former).
In the first example, D4+2 has the same D-value as a D8, based on the mean of the values the die can roll. (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8)/8 = (3+4+5+6)/4 = 4.5 which, rounded down, is 4. "(DieMax / 2) + Mod" is just easier to calculate looking at "D4+2".
In the second example, D4+2 has the same D-value as a D6, based on the highest value the die can roll. (4+2)/2 = 6/2 = 3.
So what does all that have to do with Power? Power, as I conceive it, acts as the mean value of the D-values of the dice in one's pool.
Say an Aspect has 6 Soul and 6 Power. This could mean they could have a set of dice with D-values (6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6), or (4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8), or (5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7), and so forth.
Maths End.
With such a system in mind, I'm not actually sure which D-value formula works, or if either of them work at all; but such is the idea: a set of dice of varied value centered around a single average value.
The idea behind the varied dice is that it adds another layer of strategy to dice-consumption: do you use your higher-minimum dice for guaranteed decent damage at the risk of taking more damage during your defense phase? or do you save your more reliable dice for healing, or defense, or movement, at the risk of dealing less damage with your attacks?
If that idea of variable dice is itself is untenable or of well-intended-paving, then, well, it was at least a neat thought exercise.