[UA] Skill levels (was New GM solicits opinions on skill)

[Myles Corcoran]

J.F.Scott at bton.ac.uk wrote:
J.F. Scott wrote 

> When we ran UA a couple of months ago (which went very well, and involved
> one character missing a whole combat raging around him because there was
> this _really_ cute girl he was *ahem* getting to know better .... his TNI
> team mates weren't too impressed) 15% skills were actually annoying.  I 
> play dice light anyway, so I wasn't calling for skill rolls all that 
> often, but when I was, people weren't making their notice rolls very often.

	Agreed. 15% skills are more annoying than they're worth. I too 
like to run games dice-light, but this can aggravate the lottery-like 
nature of low skill levels. If you only drag out the dice for the 
occasional important roll, luck plays a more important part than if you're 
rolling all the time and a more predictable distribution appearing over the
run of rolls. 
	I like the idea of taking the average of three rolls, say, and 
describing them as the setup, the execution and the aftermath. Something 
like the gestalt combat system ideas in Over the Edge. This has the effect 
of speeding up those combats you don't want to spend too much time on (not 
all combats obviously in a game of furious action) and helps to smooth out 
the distribution of results for the lower rated skills.

ObSeasonalUA. Who's benefitting from the huge effort the collective 
unconscious is pouring into getting uptight for Christmas? Is it a 
plutomantic plot to link ancient gift-giving rituals with the pulse of 
the world economy, or just cliomancers from Bethlehem raking it in from 
the extra mystic oomph at this time of year? Or, I hope, something more 
sinister?

	Myles

--
Myles Corcoran | Alcatel Ireland Ltd. Bandon, Cork  | 023 20469 (work) |
myles.corcoran at ck.cit.alcatel.fr | 021 503904 (home)| 023 41542 (fax)  |
'I don't want to have to kill Santa Claus' -Gloranthan weaponthane when 
faced with a sleepy Valind, cruel god of Winter.

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