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How To Deal With Temperamental Ships
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I prefer basing the Difficulty increase on how well the Tech rolled to install or modify whatever part. This would allow a really good skill roll to make the mod/install with little or no penalty. For instance, using your modifier as a base, if the Tech beat the Difficulty on his Repair roll by 10-20 points, the penalty would drop to +2, or +1 on 20-30, etc.
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Raven Redstar
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I might drop the amount a roll needs to beat by, but I don't see why that wouldn't be feasible. I typically use a 16 scale so it falls in line with killed damage. Your techie can realistically say "Killed it!"
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Dredwulf60
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
I don't really see the problem with a few extra rolls once the game session is over.
    Roll #1 = Determine whether or not something breaks down.

    Roll #2 = Determine what broke down.

    Roll #3 = Determine how bad it broke down.

    Roll #4 (Optional) = Determine whether it is broken down at the beginning of the next session or if it breaks mid-game.
That's pretty straightforward, especially for something that's hinted at in the write-ups of quite a few ships, but never really made a part of the game apart from the GM handwave.


True, as part of a wrap up, I can see it. My group has a few book-keeping tasks at the end of each session.

But then you don't get the mid-action thrill of something going wrong at the worst time. Unless you break your game session right in the midst of the action cliff-hanger style...on the off chance that the post-game roll *might* prompt a break down.

Like escaping Hoth and the Falcon's hyperdrive fails to operate. If this was an event that happened in your game, what led up to it?
Like:

-The time on Hoth that Han and Chewie were doing maintenance on the Falcon was between two gaming sessions. They got a poor roll, so the GM records that something went wrong; he secretly records that the hyperdrive is malfunctioning for next session?
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Director of Engineering


Joined: 05 Apr 2010
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

See Roll#4. Once the GM establishes that there is a breakdown, he rolls to see how it fits into the narrative; are the PCs dealing with it when the next gaming sessions starts (either working on it or looking for a safe place to land so they can work on it), or is it lying in wait for the first time the pilot gets a 1 on his Wild Dice?

I addressed something like this when I came up with Endurance Dice conversion of Consumables, with the goal of making it easier for the GM to insert the ship getting low on fuel into his story. I had tried to work system breakdowns into that rule as well, but it fell apart.
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Dredwulf60
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
See Roll#4. Once the GM establishes that there is a breakdown, he rolls to see how it fits into the narrative; are the PCs dealing with it when the next gaming sessions starts (either working on it or looking for a safe place to land so they can work on it), or is it lying in wait for the first time the pilot gets a 1 on his Wild Dice?

I addressed something like this when I came up with Endurance Dice conversion of Consumables, with the goal of making it easier for the GM to insert the ship getting low on fuel into his story. I had tried to work system breakdowns into that rule as well, but it fell apart.


I see.

So you still potentially have the outcome linked to the Wild '1'.

But do your PCs know the results of their maintenance roll, or is it done in secret.
ie if they roll poorly on the maintenance, do they live with the dread of rolling a '1' and wondering if this will be 'IT'?
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Director of Engineering


Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16163
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dredwulf60 wrote:
So you still potentially have the outcome linked to the Wild '1'.

It's a possibility. There are other options, as well, such as having the malfunction kick in the first time the character tries to use whatever ship system the GM rolled up on the Mishap Charts.

Quote:
But do your PCs know the results of their maintenance roll, or is it done in secret.
ie if they roll poorly on the maintenance, do they live with the dread of rolling a '1' and wondering if this will be 'IT'?

They know the result of their roll, and that's it. It's the same way you don't know exactly how your car is going to break down until it happens, but regular care and maintenance can reduce the odds of it happening.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Director of Engineering


Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16163
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.

PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 11:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another possibility would be, rather than having the character roll against a set Difficulty, the ship has a Dice value instead, so the character would make an opposed roll against the ship's Maintenance Value. This would add another degree of uncertainty because the PC would know how well they rolled, but wouldn't know what the GM rolled for the ship. Maybe if the PC fails the roll by a certain amount or less, they can add in a little warning, "you're a little concerned about the lateral controls. They check out fine on diagnostics, but there's an intermittent flutter in hard maneuvers."
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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