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Author Topic: Part IV: Sorting the Nuts and Bolts (Read 596 times)
*Le Joueur <http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=73>*
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<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1096.msg10267#msg10267>
*Part IV: Sorting the Nuts and Bolts
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1096.msg10267#msg10267>*
« * on:* December 28, 2001, 04:03:00 PM »
------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 28th, 2001 -
At the behest of my friends here on the Forge, I will present
Scattershot at the point I have it. Even though this is a
work-in-progress and much of the terminology is in a state of flux, I am
not trying to present a diary of the progress. Expect the lead
component of this thread to undergo changes as Scattershot does. This
edition was originally put together very early on Friday, December 28th,
2001. This series of articles will detail strictly the mechanics of
Scattershot, articles relating to the techniques of 'how to play' will
have to wait until I have more of them centralized and organized. The
third major component of the game, the setting and genre material is
will be addressed once I get a new batch of playtesters.
As promised /now/ we begin to describe the actual nuts and bolts of
Scattershot's mechanics. Everything in Scattershot's mechanics revolves
around resolution of actions that participants have their characters
perform. In fact all other mechanics have been positioned so as to be
simply another presentation of the resolution mechanic. In order to
adequately explain all that goes into Scattershot's resolution process,
first I need to lay out a number of descriptors.
All things performed within Scattershot's resolution mechanic are
described by Ratings. Mostly numeric, these Ratings are the most
important part of this mechanic. There are many qualities and
classifications involved in these Ratings and without describing what
they are, a user might become confused what they are being asked to do.
First of all, all Ratings in Scattershot break down into three different
/Types/.
Invoked
When the character performs an act or has one performed on them
(at either Specific
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>
or Mechanical
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>
play 'densities') a Rating is used to determine the
result.[/list:u]Magnitude
The Rating is used to determine how much of something can be
or is affected. In a fashion likened to Mayfair's DC
Heroes, Scattershot has a chart of 'amounts' that can be
affected (we have named this either the Universal
Equivalency or Universal Effect Chart - also known as the UE
or 'Huey' Chart). Lifting capability qualifies as one of
these.[/list:u]Resource
These Ratings are something that 'gets used up' during
play, either spent or reduced by circumstance.
Old-fashioned hit points are one example, but so are
Hero Games' Endurance Batteries.[/list:u]Next we
separate Ratings based on their /Application/.
Instantaneous
Any conscious action by a player results in this
kind of Application /for/ the character.
Examples would be things like sight-based
Observations, Fencing, Pottery, or any type of
Detection ability.[/list:u]Reactive
When some other party attempts an act
/upon/ a character or that might involve
them (whether they know it or not), this
is the type of Application used. Examples
include forms of sensation or magical
resistence.[/list:u]Residual
There are two kinds of Residual
Applications, on-the-spot and
preemptive. A preemptive Residual
Application happens when something
that is resolved has 'lingering'
effects. This might be how hard a
code is to break (which is created
when the code is invented); it could
also be how good a work of art is.
When an on-the-spot Residual
Application is required, it is
created right then, but treated as
though it had been continuously in
effect prior to when it was needed.
This could be a 'how well did I do
at the ball' savoir-faire result or
how well something was jury-rigged.
(Residual Applications form a
cornerstone to how the Scattershot
mechanic is used, but I'll get to
that later.)[/list:u]The next topic
is the /Kinds/ of Ratings there are
in Scattershot. I'll take them out
of order to make their structure and
relationships clearer.
Preternatural or Supernatural Abilities
This includes all manner of
superpowers and magical
effects. If you are doing it
with something other than your
hands or physical tools, it's
probably one of these. Every
use of a Rating in Scattershot
actually involves two Ratings
(but in some they can be
somewhat hidden). The first
is some measure or limit on
how much can be affected.
This 'quantity' (this is in
quotes because sometimes the
'quantity' can be a distance
or a philosophical property or
otherwise) is indexed on the
UE Chart often using a
Statistic (more on these
later) for both superpowers
and magic (and most of the
rest of these abilities too).
The second Rating is the
number that the dice are
actually used with. This is a
Rating of efficacy that the
character can perform the
appropriate action with. When
the dice are compared to this
Rating, the /quality/ of the
success (or failure) is
determined. That's the basic
structure of all Scattershot's
resolutions. Know the amount
affected, randomly check
against the character's
efficacy, and determine the
result.
In the case of a superhero,
except in special
circumstances, all their
powers will be based on a
single Statistic, likewise
with a mage or psychic. When
these kinds of abilities are
Reactive they include things
like 'active' defenses. In
Residual Application these are
things like force fields,
memory wipes, illusions and
the like.[/list:u]Skills
These include primarily
things a character has
learned or is talented
with. Things that can
be done in the 'mundane'
fashion are considered
skills. The major thing
that separates skills
from the above abilities
is that skills use
static limits of what
can be affected. For
example, a psychic might
be able to lift a car
with telekinesis only
when something boosts
their power level, but
an auto mechanic is able
to repair a single car
in about 3 hours.
Modifiers alter this,
but not the same way as
a magician is slave to
the amount of
'available' magic. Each
skill lists its base
parameters (and all of
them happen to be based
on 5 templates that are
offered later to create
additional material).
(An example of a Skill
used Reactively would be
a counterfieter
recognizing a forgery
that, itself, is a
Residual Application of
the skill used of the
original
forger.)[/list:u]Statistics
There are 6 Stats
in Scattershot
Strength, Agility,
Hit Points,
Reaction,
Observation, and
Power
(surprisingly it
/can/ be
pronounced;
SAHROP). Stats
are Ratings that
are
'self-referent,'
this means that
when a roll is
needed, the amount
effected is also
indexed with the
same Stat.
Strength and
Power are
primarily
Magnitudes.
Agility,
Reaction, and
Observation are
usually Invoked.
This leaves Hit
Points (and in
some genres,
Power) as mostly
Resources. (Power
is used as a
Reactive, Invoked
ability when
preternatural
characters act
upon 'natural'
characters. A
high Agility can
afford a small
Residual bonus on
skills listing its
effect.) I can go
into the unusual
interpretations of
these seemingly
classic Stats if
requested, but I
will leave that
until
later.[/list:u]Advantages
(and Disadvantages)
These are
the only
Ratings that
do not occur
as numerical
(especially
in the Basic
mechanics
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>).
Their
primary use
is in
General Play
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>,
but they
function as
Residual
Applications
when used in
either
Specific or
Mechanical
play
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>.
Since they
rarely
benefit any
other roll
more than 1
point, the
horrors of
'currency
issues'¹
never
arise.[/list:u]Like
Advantages
and
Disadvantages,
bonuses and
penalties
are treated
as Residual
Ratings.
This
becomes very
important in
certain
situations
in
Scattershot
and as far
as I know
may be an
original way
of looking
how these work.
There are a
few other
variations
worthy of
note in
Scattershot.
The
Durations of
ability
usage are
also very
important in
deciding how
an ability
affects
play. There
are three
Durations
noted in
Scattershot.
Immediate
These
are
acts
that
only
take a
single
action
by a
character,
like
firing
an
arrow
at a
target.[/list:u]Involved
These
activities
take
more
than
one
time
unit
in
Scattershot,
in
Mechanical
play
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>,
the
exact
amount
of
time
can
be
very
important.
Sometimes
Involved
actions
are
considered
a
series
of
sequencial
actions,
such
as
taking
part
in
an
archery
tournament
(which
is
a
different
skill
than
normal
archery)
or
tracking
wild
game.
This
awareness
of
Duration
is
directly
linked
to
one
of
Scattershot
combat's
more
interesting
features
(but
I'll
save
that
for
later).[/list:u]Scenic
(I
really
need
a
different
word
here)
These
activities
basically
take
an
entire
scene
unto
themselves
to
play
out.
Only
on
rare
occasion
will
a
Scenic
Duration
skill
usage
be
'played
out.'
They
are
usually
handled
during
naturally
occuring
breaks
in
play,
like
'between'
scenes.
A
couple
of
examples
include
hunting
and
foraging.
Usage
of
a
Scenic
Duration
ability
usually
only
occurs
during
General
play
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>.[/list:u]One
of
the
special
mechanics
in
Scattershot
involves
using
a
skill
(or
other
ability)
at
a
Duration
they
are
not
associated
with.
Using
'strategy'
(managing
a
whole
battle)
in
place
of
'tactics'
(taking
advantage
of
the
situations
of
a
fight)
is
one
example,
another
would
be
using
to
'charm'
in
a
scene
in
place
of
'savoir-faire.'
(This
'defaulting'
is
actually
based
on
how
Scattershot
handles
the
bonuses
and
penalties
for
taking
more
or
less
time
to
do
something.)
Another
variation
noted
in
Scattershot
is
the
value
of
the
Scope
of
what
is
being
resolved.
This
not
only
includes
things
involved
with
concepts
like
the
Scope
of
a
subject
being
affected,
but
also
the
scope
of
those
performing
the
act.
Individual
Most
activities
are
resolved
on
this
level.
One
individual
acts
upon
another
or
a
small
group
(what
they
act
upon
is
alternatively
limited
by
the
UE
Chart).
This
works
on
every
'density'
of
play
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>
quite
easily.[/list:u]Squad
(another
term
that
needs
a
changing)
This
scope
is
especially
relevant
when
addressing
the
components
of
a
scene
individually
would
take
altogether
too
long,
destroying
'flow
of
play.'
One
of
the
techniques
of
Scattershot
combat
involves
shifting
up
to
this
level
under
certain
circumstances.[/list:u]Mob
(and
so
on)
Other
Scopes
obviously
exist,
but
are
almost
always
handled
in
General
play
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>
(though
sometimes
it
can
creep
down
to
Specific
play
<http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1087&forum=2&0>)
and
Scenic
Duration
(wars
can
be
handled
this
way).[/list:u]When
you
take
the
Types
and
Applications
of
a
Rating
into
account,
the
Kind,
Duration,
and
Scope
of
how
it
works,
you
begin
to
see
how
Scattershot
makes
use
of
the
Ratings
involved
Next
time,
peeling
away
the
layers
of
the
mechanics.
Fang
Langford
Logged
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fang Langford is formerly the creator of the Scattershot Role-Playing
Game System. This project has been permanently suspended. If you have
any questions regarding the implementation of it or anything else, he
can be reached at ripjack@mad.scientist.com
<mailto:ripjack@mad.scientist.com>
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