[UA] Unknown Skills

[John Tynes]

> >From: "uneasy at magnaspeed.net" <uneasy at magnaspeed.net>
> >I've heard the normal arguments.  Players aren't expect to roll as much as
> >other games.  etc. etc.  In a way I see that point.  Like when they have a
> >certain level of lock picking skills, I let them break into a window
> >without rolling.  That's ok.  But when a fight breaks out, everyone MUST
> >roll.  So in a way, the game is skewed to favor people who took fighting
> >skills.  I prefer an honest game.  I would have added 50 to everyone's
> >skill points so everyone could just roll and be done with it.

Everyone must roll when the situation is critical. If the lockpick guy is trying to get a door open before the wandering security guard comes back, he has to make a straight skill roll. If he gets the door open and an alarm goes off so that the computer hacker only has thirty seconds to get the data off the system inside, he has to make a straight skill roll for his computer use. If someone has been hit by a car and is near death, the doctor needs a straight skill roll to stabilize the victim.

It's easy to think of combat as being the thing you have to roll for, because combat is defined to a much greater degree in RPGs than other activities. But that's not the idea. The idea is that anytime it really matters, anytime the pressure is on, you have to roll everything.

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