I'm okay with this set-up, though I'd be okay with sucky PCs as well. The problem is in the execution. Rolling an 01-25 for any stat nets you a whopping +25 bonus, turning the roll into a 26 through 50. But rolling a 26-50 gets you a +15. So someone who rolled a 26 ends up with the result of a 41, while someone who rolled lower can end up with a 42 or higher. That's arbitrary, unfair and dumb. And I hate having extra unnecessary steps in chargen. It makes me feel bad when I slaughter the PCs. The solution is to sit down and write separate charts for the PC-types only.
SPEED
01-10 Above Average +2
11-35 Quick +4
36-55 Very Quick +6
56-75 Fast +9
76-85 Very Fast +12
86-95 Lightning +15
96 Greased Lightning +18
97 Greased Lightning +19
98 Greased Lightning +20
99 Greased Lightning +21
00 Greased Lightning +22
ACCURACY (roll one for GUNS and once for THROWING)
01-10 Average +0
11-35 Above Average +2
36-55 Fair +5
56-65 Good +7
66-80 Very Good +10
81-95 Excellent +15
96-98 Crack Shot +18
99-00 Deadeye +20
STRENGTH
01-15 Average 13
16-45 Above Average 14
46-65 Sturdy 15
66-78 Hardy 16
79-85 Strong 17
86-95 Very Strong 18
96-98 Powerful 19
99-00 Mighty 20
BRAVERY
01-10 Average +0 +0
11-55 Above Average +1 +3
56-75 Brave +2 +6
76-85 Very Brave +3 +10
86-98 Fearless +4 +15
99-00 Foolhardy +5 +15
EXPERIENCE
01-10 No Experience -10
11-40 One Gunfight -5
41-60 Two Gunfights -5
61-75 Three Gunfights +0
76-85 Four Gunfights +0
86-91 Five Gunfights +2
92-95 Six Gunfights +2
96 Seven Gunfights +6
97 Eight Gunfights +6
98 Nine Gunfights +8
99 Ten Gunfights +8
00 You Done Lost Track +10
As you can see, the stat mods in Boot Hill can jump around. Apparently surviving that seventh gunfight is a big deal, but the difference between Fearless and Foolhardy is minimal. I'm tempted to smooth them out a bit with some intermediary results but that would produce some egregiously long charts. I like giving players brief chargen handouts, not vast sheafs of overwrought charts. I keep the overwrought charts behind the screen.
Being the lazy sort, instead of working up new charts for the PCs, I would just let them flip the one's and ten's dice during character creation so as to give them higher rolls (i.e. if you rolled a 35 on Strength or whatever, it now becomes a 53). That said, I don't have the original charts accessible at the moment, so I'm not certain how much of a difference that would make.
ReplyDeleteNot bad...this was once a pet peeve of mine as well, but I learned to just accept it. While your charts are good for PCs, it has the side-effect that now you have TWO different set-ups for chargen...one for PCs and one for NPCs. I think the original method (arbitrary weirdness aside) was more efficient.
ReplyDeleteStill...nice work.
: )
I think the method of adding a set amount for low rolls was standard practice at TSR at a particular point. It was in Gangbusters and the free game Crimefighters.
ReplyDeleteI think the method of adding a set amount for low rolls was standard practice at TSR at a particular point. It was in Gangbusters and the free game Crimefighters.
ReplyDeleteI believe it was also used in 1st ed Top Secret, although I may be wrong.
And Star Frontiers.
ReplyDelete