Taking 21+.

[geeman]

I`ve been fiddling around a lot with the 3e skill system recently (so much
so that some folks might not think it really is the 3e skill system
anymore) and I`m thinking of including a special "Take 21+" rule, described
below.

I bring this up on birthright-l for three reasons. First, it was inspired
by some comments having to do with the Research skill I proposed a while
back, so it`s at least tangentially related. Second, I`m curious what the
folks on this list think of the rule in general and what it`s overall
effects might be. Third, a domain action could represent either a massive,
aided (by vassals, employees, etc.) skill check and/or tens or hundreds of
individual skill checks related to a common purpose performed over the
period of an action round. I`m suspecting that a rule like this will bleed
into the realm level of play through domain actions.

Comments welcome.

Gary

Taking 21+
Taking 21+ means you are dedicating even greater time and effort to the
skill check, [than "taking 20"] meticulously checking every detail and
making sure everything is done to the best of your ability. You decide
what number you would like to use in place of the die roll and add that
number to the total of your ranks, modifiers and bonuses for the skill
check. Each digit above 20 takes an amount of time equal to the amount of
time taking 20 on the skill check would normally take times a multiplier
based on the target number for the skill check per the table below:

Target Uninterrupted Interrupted
Number Check Check
21-25 x1 x2
26-30 x5 x10
31-40 x10 x15
41-50 x20 x30

Each digit over 20 takes an additional amount of time per the table
above. For example, you want to take 20 on a skill check that normally
takes 1 round. Taking 20 on such a skill check takes 20 rounds. Taking 21
on that skill check will take another 20 rounds, for a total of 40
rounds. If you take 25 on the skill check you add 20 rounds for each digit
over twenty. Since taking 25 is 5 digits over 20 you add 100 rounds (5
digits x 20 rounds) to the original 20 rounds for taking 20 giving a total
of 120 rounds, or 12 minutes.
Increasing the target number for the skill check costs more time per the
table above. For target numbers from 26-30, for example, it takes x5 the
typical time for taking 20 for each digit. The time multiplier increases
as the target number increases. If you take 38 on a skill check that
normally takes 1 round to perform you would at 20 rounds (for taking 20) +
100 rounds (the 5 digits over 20 at x1) + 500 rounds (5 digits over 25 at
x5) + 1,600 rounds (8 digits over 30 at x10) for a total of 2,220 rounds.
Actions that are less than full round actions take 1 round for the
purpose of taking 21+.
Normally, you may not be interrupted when performing a skill check. In
certain cases, such as a prolonged Research skill check, the DM may allow
the period of the skill check to be broken up over an extended period of
time. When taking 21+ on an interrupted skill check use the time
multiplier in the interrupted column of the table above.
When making skill checks that take more than eight hours, assume that
each eight-hour period represents a day of work on the skill check, with
breaks, lost time, etc. A skill check that requires 20 hours to will take
two and one half "working" days to complete.

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[Birthright-L]

On Tue, 14 May 2002, Gary wrote:

> I`m thinking of including a special "Take 21+" rule, described below.

Interesting, and possibly useful for some situations. Be sure to
remember, however, that no matter how much time is spent on a task, it is
impossible to achieve some results without sufficient skill + talent
(which is what the usual skill modifier represents). The cliche about
monkeys, typewriters and Shakespeare is not actually opposed to this, as
the "eventually" in "one monkey randomly pressing keys will eventually
write _Hamlet_" works out to "in a time immensely longer than the current
age of the universe". Similarly, no number of attempts, nor even any
amount of skill, will allow me to hit an archery target that is simply too
far away for my bow to send an arrow.

You also have the problem that skill may (indeed, should) not necessarily
stay constant through so prolonged an effort -- if you spend thousands of
times the normal duration of the task, even a failed attempt may well
merit the award of an extra skill point based simply on those things that
would naturally be learned through so much practice.


Ryan Caveney

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[kgauck]

A 21+ is probabaly not the way to go. Ryan Caveney offered some points
which would limit a useful Take 21+. What is probably a better way to go,
is decent rules for cooperative action. Gary mentioned Realm Actions
specifically, and I assume we could also talk about Research (a skill in
Rogukgan) Actions. What I would introduce as the key factor is cooperative
group effort. Let`s go ahead and add the Build Action to consideration
here.

You may recall that I posted a spell track for Sera. Part of what I was
thinking of goes to the same situation. You have a castle under siege (lets
call it Cariele Castle) and their are large numbers of people cooperating to
repair damage to the castle, tend to the injured, manage supplies, and so
forth.

I could see the Research, Build, and maybe even Diplomacy and other actions
which reflect a leader`s skill check modified by the number and ability of
helpers.

Kenneth Gauck
kgauck@mchsi.com

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