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Last time I talked about then new structures I'm grafting onto the LotFP chassis. This time I'll talk about how I tweak the chassis to make it more suitable for a game set in modern times.
Skills
One of the largest differences between functioning in a modern society today as compared with living in a medieval one is the distribution of knowledge. Thinking about the usual conception of RPG skills, this means that characters will have a lot more, and since the world today is a great deal more technical, this would normally require a great many more skill categories.
From my experience with modern RPG literature, solutions to this typically come in two ways: the first is to create an incredibly expansive skill list (like GURPS or Shadowrun) that endeavors to cover every single possible skill that could be learned, and then give people a point buy to cap how much they are able to know.
The second is to have each player choose a profession from which their character hails, and then let the players draw from what those professions entail for their skills.
There are sizeable problems with each strategy. The first lies in its complexity and, paradoxically, in that there will always be situations that lie between the cracks in its rules. There is no way to actually delineate every possible skillset without using vague skill categories that run against the specialization ideology of the approach, and the complexity of the attempt makes it all but impervious to new players (bringing us into the unpleasantness of 'system mastery'). The second is that, well, some professions are better-suited to adventuring than others. And some people's skillsets lie far outside of their jobs - I am a student, but I've also been practicing martial arts for many years, and I've been an actor for many years, and I am a circus performer and a teacher, and so on. Calling me by any one of those labels ignores the rest of my skillset, and then giving me the option of taking many jobs for a short period of time now introduces the complication of how long one has been practicing a given profession, and so on.
My answer, and we'll see how it works, is to combine the two approaches, somewhat. I have a list of professions that is not complete but is extensive. Players will roll on the list and find a job. They will then have some number of unrelated skills - Specialists have 4 (as per the LotFP rules), everyone else will have 2, modified by their Intelligence modifier. These skills can be anything the player can concoct.
The way I run skills in LotFP is they contribute to the attribute-test mechanic - if someone is trained in tracking, then when they are tracking something, they make a Wisdom test and treat their Wisdom as 1 higher than normal. Say the character is a Specialist and levels up. If they spend one of their skill points on tracking, then whenever they are tracking, they count their Wisdom as 2 higher than usual. Skills cannot increase a character's ability scores above 19. One last comment is that many tasks require some amount of training to accomplish them - lockpicking, for example. Without an appropriate skill, characters cannot attempt such a task.
Combat Skills
The last sizeable change is in reconceiving combat as an application of skill use. In modern times, people are not trained to fight, but are trained to fight in different fighting styles - the skillset one uses for a sword is different than the one used for a pistol. So I break out several different fighting style categories, based upon what weapons are generally available and similarity of use.
Wrestling
- grappling and unarmed
Bludgeons
Knives
- knives and contact Tasers
Thrown
Objects - knives, darts, grenades, etc.
Specialty
- pick any specific weapon
Pistols (and stun guns), which deal 2d4 damage
Rifles, which deal 2d6 damage
Sniper
rifles, which deal 2d10 damage
Automatic
Weapons, which deal 2d4 damage but attack areas, not individuals (AC 12 always), forcing those in the attacked area to save v. Breath Weapon for half damage.
Everyone begins with a +1 to attack rolls, like usual. But Fighters start out with 2 different combat skills, and gain 2 more each level (with the obvious limitation that no combat skill's level can exceed their own).
Armor
The last tweak I make is with regards to armor - Ranged AC becomes Ballistic AC, which is only increased by Kevlar or similar equipment.
That's it for now. After the trial session this weekend, I will talk about the particular world functions and discuss how they were used.
Regarding automatic wrappings and ballistic armor:
ReplyDeleteAssault weapons are more of an AoE attack with everyone in the space having an effective AC of 12. Is this assuming that the target is on open ground? Does ballistic armor or ac have an effect this? Just hoping for some clarification as the way it's worded makes it sound like no matter your cover or what you're wearing, you will have an AC of 12.
Also, with regards to ballistic armor, would it perhaps make more sense to have kevlar and the like have more of a limited use DR effect while possibly lowering AC as a tradeoff? I'll admit my knowledge on the subject is limited, but I thought most body armor was more or less useless after taking a shot or two. That and the greater the defensive capabilities (DR), the more bulky and cumbersome armor would likely be, thus lowering AC (provided we look at AC as the likelihood of hitting something)
An assault weapon spews forth a spray of bullets. If the shooter is competent (hence the attack roll), some amount of stray fire is going to hit you. Now cover would absolutely mitigate this. You are right that ballistic armor should also have some effect, probably increasing the target value for the attack roll.
ReplyDeleteBody armor comes in a variety of levels of protection: lower end armor is useless after a shot or two, while high-end armor is actually impervious to many different kinds of attacks. Body armor can be typed as either pistol-resistant or rifle-resistant, rendering them (usually) immune to shots fired from that kind of weapon. However, this only applies to the area covered by the body armor (usually just the torso and upper arms), so the rest of the body can still be injured by bullet fire.
Armor class, as I see it, is the difficulty of landing an effective attack. Plate mail is heavy but doesn't actually compromise speed or dexterity - there are ample videos of performers wearing plate mail and still performing acrobatic feats. But plate mail nullifies the damage from many attacks, which is why it contributes such a high armor class. From this perspective (and given the high damage potential of all firearms) I think that a bonus to ballistic AC, rather than a damage reduction value, is most appropriate for ballistic armor.
Thank you for prompting more research into body armor - I need to type out pistol-resistant from rifle-resistant armors in my price table.