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[Draignean]

It's been five days since I came back, so it's still two more until I officially clear the waitlist and kick Ahra. Serious and Powder, however, should both start casting their votes for the first person to be brought into the game.
Inductions are going to be done one at a time so the voting can evolve. I'm starting early because I expect the picking to last a day or two, considering the number of spots I need to fill.

Meanwhile, after much deliberation and careful polling of the player base (I asked Serious), I've decided to stop using the averaged 2d6 method that has served since the beginning. It compounds bonuses too far and it scares people off of focused forms of the basic psionic abilities. Instead of the d6, we're now moving up to the only die that's really appropriate for this game; a d22.   
(Bonus rolls are still made on a d6, so skills and stats function as before)

Demi-turns meant to move things all the way into the next section will start coming out after I finish Yule's. For now they're only going to be for the two old hands, but I'll get the inductees in as soon as I can.

[Zako]

A d22 for dice rolls in this game... That's fitting. How exactly would we know what results we get for a dice roll exactly? 1 is epic fail and 22 is epic success? What are the dividing ranges for the levels of success?

[Powder Miner]

Er... if we're using a D22 are bonuses going to be increased? Because +1s and +2s don't mean much when using a d20 or higher.

[Draignean]

Er... if we're using a D22 are bonuses going to be increased? Because +1s and +2s don't mean much when using a d20 or higher.

In a way, but bonus dilution was part of the point of going to a d22.

The way everything is set up in this game, it's pretty damn easy to get a +2 to something. Now, under my rules, a 1 would flunk you out regardless, but every other face of the d6 was played straight. Think about that. With a +2, the only way of failing a basic roll is to roll a 1. That's it. In combat it means that you have to be within a +1 or 2 of your opponent's bonuses to have a snowball's chance of beating them.  Out of combat it means that I have to throw up arbitrary penalties, weird difficulties, or compound rolls to keep the party from auto-succeeding at every locked door check, every search attempt, every intimidation of a cagey NPC, and every try to decrypt a cipher.

With a d6 I could; A. Stop giving out bonuses and find a way to downplay existing stats, skills and equipment; B. build up crazy levels of bonuses and difficulties that would have gotten ridiculous at later stages; or C. hold everything static and never make anything more or less challenging than it is now.

Obviously I chose option ~, change the dice type. Under the d22 I can continue to let you aggregate skills, speed up training (fewer annoying fractional skills), and let difficulties plateau naturally. I suppose I wasn't entirely truthful in my first sentence, skill dilution isn't part of the point, it IS the point of going to a d22.

A d22 for dice rolls in this game... That's fitting. How exactly would we know what results we get for a dice roll exactly? 1 is epic fail and 22 is epic success? What are the dividing ranges for the levels of success?

See original post, Rules spoiler.


 

[Powder Miner]

Yeah, I realize that, but skill dilution from D6 to D22 is rather a lot, especially when suddenly being applied to a system built around D6s- all of those fractional chances for +1s are absolutely pointless now, because even if you do get the +1, who cares?
Let me put it this way: The matriarch had an absolutely brutal +4 psychic roll that established her as being boss.
This way, it would be very easy to laugh that off.
Even skills with the level of the matriarch don't mean much, and if you have normal skills it really doesn't mean a thing at all.
I had this all typed up, but what I meant is are the skills going to be scaled to the dice at least somewhat?
...Because, I wanted to know, how does one adjust skills to a D22?

[Draignean]

Yeah, I realize that, but skill dilution from D6 to D22 is rather a lot, especially when suddenly being applied to a system built around D6s- all of those fractional chances for +1s are absolutely pointless now, because even if you do get the +1, who cares?

True enough, all bonuses have been effectively divided by 3.6, but I don't think this is as bad as you think. One, I'm still rolling a d6 for bonuses, not a d22 (22 skill points for a +1 is ridiculous). Two, the changes given by +1 are surprisingly dramatic, as most people who have played a game on a d20 will tell you.  Consider the example in the OP. A +1 there effectively cuts your chance to SERIOUSLY screw things up by 33%. A +2 brings the chance to accidentally lay waste down to the bare minimum.  Yes, the dilution is extreme, but it is not without reason. I expect you to grow, and that can't happen when I have to force stops into place to keep the game form breaking. Third, as I mentioned earlier, it is possible for me to actually reward you guys more on this system. That's in skills, situational bonuses, everything.

Just as an example of the difference even a +1 makes, take a series of hypothetical melee attacks.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Attacker has the plus 1.
Attack: 8 ; 4 ; 15 ; 14 ; 14
Defend: 3 ; 14 ; 4 ; 1 ; 2 (1 block)

Attack: 4 ; 20 ; 14 ; 20 ; 12
Defend: 11 ; 4 ; 1 ; 7 ; 19 (1 block)

Attack: 11 ; 18 ; 1 ; 18 ; 3
Defend: 7 ; 9 ; 4 ; 10 ; 7 (2 blocks)

Attack: 18 ; 16 ; 1 ; 15 ; 13
Defend: 15 ; 17 ; 7 ; 7 ; 17 (2 blocks)

Attack: 3 ; 21 ; 15 ; 18 ; 10
Defend: 13 ; 9 ; 14 ; 14 ; 13 (2 blocks)

Attack: 1 ; 7 ; 15 ; 10 ; 7
Defend: 8 ; 19 ; 17 ; 6 ; 2 (4 blocks)

Once, in six sequences of five, did the defender do better than 50%. Once.  Just to bring it home, let's try the Matriarch.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Attacker has the +4
Attack: 17 ; 16 ; 17 ; 23 ; 19
Defend:  16 ; 7 ; 9 ; 14 ; 16 (No blocks)

Attack: 14 ; 8 ; 12 ; 14 ; 17
Defend:  1 ; 12 ; 3 ; 7 ; 14 (1 block)


Attack: 19 ; 8 ; 12 ; 17 ; 10
Defend: 17 ; 2 ; 6 ; 12 ; 12 (1 block)


Attack: 16 ; 8 ; 13 ; 14 ; 9
Defend: 3 ; 7 ; 1 ; 5 ; 1 (no blocks)


Attack: 12 ; 21 ; 12 ; 17 ; 14
Defend: 10 ; 7 ; 13 ; 15 ; 13 (1 block)


Attack: 12 ; 22 ; 7 ; 23 ; 6
Defend: 8 ; 5 ; 19 ; 10 ; 19 (2 blocks)

In thirty attacks, she misses a grand total of five times.  Her opponent's block rate rises above 25% for a grand total of one round, and she would have been able to roll for a number of critical hits depending on which psychic attack she was using. 5 times in 30 she misses. Do the math, that's 1 in 6. In the new system, Matriarch Cassandra has exactly the same chance of missing as she would have of rolling a 1 in the old system. Which, honestly, was the only way she was going to ever miss under the old system.

I really, really like the fact that you're trying to keep an eye on this, but I have run some numbers. I wouldn't try this if I didn't think it had a shot at making things better. Anything else I can clear up?

By the by. I need a PM from you about candidates. Possibilities are from Tiruin, Xantalos, Kisame12794, Zako, or Harry Baldman.

EDIT: You durn ninja editor!!
Your literary assassin abilities aside, I'm pretty sure I addressed most of that in the above. If I didn't then you can knock me around a little and demand your money back.

 

[Powder Miner]

OK, I might be biased on the D20 point because my DnD build involved getting a +8 Fortitude saving roll and a +5 modifier to Constitution
As for the candidates... hmm, I really don't know who to choose...

[Zako]

How about someone who can talk to people somewhat decently, since you guys have such a great track record of failing to do that well.

More seriously, think about who just sounds like a more interesting character to play with or who could provide things that the group currently lacks. It's up to you really.

[Powder Miner]

Made myself a James avatar; it is not the best, but it's the best to my abilities.

[SeriousConcentrate]

It's pretty good; looks a lot like an FE version of the James I did you a long time ago. ^^^

Of course that means I'll have to make a Dom later... and I did so many different pixel version of her I'm not sure which one to base it from... >.>

I guess the original. I'll have to look at them again.

Now I haz a Dom!

[Powder Miner]

Nice, I see you found a nice shirt for Dom, I gave up and just went for a head shot for James

[SeriousConcentrate]

It was hard to find one that looked good. It was also hard to remember that Dom is supposed to be a small woman. XD Her tough attitude, anger issues (which are largely nonexistent now >.>), freakish physical strength, and psionic powers make it easy to forget she's somewhere between 5'0-5'4 and 100-130 pounds. I forget the exact numbers I gave her a while back but I remember she's not very big.

[Taricus]

On the contrary SC, she's just happens to be a dwarf rather than a human. Being tall would jus be a handicap

[SeriousConcentrate]

...How is she a dwarf? And what kind of dwarf do you mean? Real 'dwarf' (because she ain't), fantasy-style/LOTR dwarf (because she ain't), or DF Dwarf (because she ain't)?

[Taricus]

She isn't any of those three only due to the psionics though