CheeseshireCat on 31/1/2008 at 06:39
I use K other than 2 mainly for three kinds of situations:
1) When I prefer to have a smoother rank-to-probability transition, where total rank of zero would still give 1/2, but to reach 1/3, you'd need not just rank difference of 1, but, say, 5.
2) Specific usages -- the system is used for other applications, too, and k=2 is not too suited for, say, modern tactical combat, where it is easier to directly use measurement units as ranks -- sometimes, it is, say, warships and miles.
2a) When different measurement units are used (in the above example, if I were using kilometers, I'd use a different k than for miles)
And another plus of this system. It is reversible. I.e., you do NOT need to make a lot of rolls to determine, say, what ring of a target did you hit when shooting. It is just the smallest the result would be enough for.
As for making a table... Nope, it doesn't really work *that* way, it works the reverse :) It is just that having values close to 1/N helps in cases where you're playing on the move while hiking -- when using calculator is not too easy, but a simple die would do :) And it is pretty often that ranks go beyond the modulo 3, where it doesn't follow the 1/N any longer...
Now, for an example.
Simple example. You're trying to sneak behind Benny the Drunk. Your sneak skill is 5 -- +5 to total rank. Wooden plank floor gives you a -2 due to its noisiness (someone please give a bump on the head to the person who decided that tile and marble floors are louder than wooden... my experience tells otherwise). Benny is barely standing, much less paying attention, giving you another +5. Total rank +8, with k=2 that would give you a prob of atan(7/2)/Pi+1/2 = 92.2%...
Note that I used larger numbers than you did, because, from your example, rank 4 is only 85%, which is quite low for a good sneaker vs a total drunk ;) If you're into small values, you'd better use k somewhere around 0.5, but then you might have to use fractional ranks a lot, or opt for very few "levels" of everything...
Or, in other words, the drawback of this system is that it doesn't like mall numbers too much.
More (or very ;)) complex example. Your move silently skill is 16 (the *other* system I use has them range from 0 to 18). Your Movement/Agility stat is 15, Precision/Balance is 19 (these *can* exceed 18), but it is not THAT important for stealth so we halve it, and Vitality/Luck is 10 versus Benny's listening skill of 5, Reaction/Perception stat of 12, being dead drunk for -10 (+10 for you), and Vitality/Luck of 22 (come on, Benny needs THAT ;)) Since luck is less of a factor, too, we halve it, either.
You are hampered by wearing hard boots (let's say you have to get some places where soft ones won't give you enough protection) for -5, a (soft) armor suit with pockets and lots of stuff restricting your movement for -3, and bulky (-3) weapons and a sack of loot weighing sixteen units total against your Might/Strength of 14 (carrying less than you *easily* can won't hamper you, but won't give you a bonus, either, so if you were carrying less than your STR, neither would count). You also had to crawl through a sewer en route here, giving you a nice stench for -4 (let's say some of it already worn off).
Benny is dead drunk, but it was already mentioned, has no reason to be alert at all, and wears a helmet making the buzzing in his ears that much louder and everything else that much softer, for another +6 to you.
That comes together to: (16+15+19/2+10/2-5-3-3-16+14-4) - (5+12-10+22/2-6) = 16.5, giving over 96% chance of him not even hearing you sneak by. Pretty nice, but then what did you expect dealing with Benny?.. If it was a decent guard, he'd likely be more alert (say, +1 to +3), not drunk (forget that -10), but likely less lucky on average (say, 14 -- to 4 less ranks compared to Benny), giving you only about rank 8.5 (92%). If he also wasn't wearing a helmet, it would be only rank 2.5, for mere 78.5% of him not noticing you sneak around. Of course, if he notices, he still has to pay attention and to actually spot you, but that's another story...
Granted, it seldom gets THAT detailed, but it can if need be :)
PS: is there a way to turn off using graphical smileys instead of text here? First, I prefer text, second, it lets only 8 of them per message...
