[UA] "Take 20!" (was Dicey Incompetence)

[Kevin Elmore]

> 
> Hm... I wonder if a failure roll might not act as a very
> rough gauge for how long it would take to perform a
> non-combat action?  Let's see here... one minute per
> percentage?  So if I try my "Computer Hack" skill at 30%
> and succeed, I get in the system fairly quickly.  If I
> roll a 45, it's going to take me 45 minutes to get in?

Oh please nothing that specific.  Part of the joy of
Unknown Armies is the simplicity of the rules.  That would
just be a nasty nightmare.  And one thing we don't want is
for UA to be compared to, say, Rolemaster.  Not to say that
RM is a bad game, but you have to admit that its reputation
is pretty bad--like Champions--for being a game more
dedicated to numbers than story.

If you have to make a comment on it (and a comment would be
handy as I didn't even think of rolling to determine how
long it takes you as opposed to a success/failure roll),
I'd suggest something loose.  Something like:

At times, a character will be in a situation where he will
succeed given enough time with infrequent interruptions. 
Such circumstances may be:  Kicking in a sturdy door,
hacking into an unprotected computer, or finding a public
record in a library.  In most cases, the GM can rule that
the task succeeds.  For the sake of randomness, the GM can
have the player roll.  The player's result determines how
long the task takes.

The lower the roll, the better.  The GM should visualize
key numbers before the dice are rolled.  For example,
someone with a 45% computer skill may hack into the system
in 3 minutes on a 20 or less, 10 minutes on a 45 or less,
45 minutes on a 70 or less, and 2 hours on all other rolls.
 Someone with a 85% skill may have similar results at 35,
85, 95, and 00.

In these circumstances, the GM may rule that even a BOHICA
is not a failure, if the task is incredibly easy or does
not have any real penalties for failure.  To maintain the
element of chance, the GM might penalize the player for a
BOHICA.  The character may pull a muscle kicking the door
for 5 minutes, a freak short might fry the computer a
character wanted to hack into, or the records in the
library have been misplaced and are impossible to find.


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So, I subscribe to the KISS principle, which means "Keep It
Simple, Stupid."  In this case, it means, "Keep It Simple,
Stolze."

Kevin



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Beavis & Butthead do not cause fires; stupid people do.  Role-playing games do not cause mass cultish suicides; stupid people do.  Homosexuality does not lead to societal and moral decay; stupid people do.  God does not condemn or place false blame on these things; stupid people do.
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