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basic_systems [2014/03/15 20:23] storyteller [Success and Failure] |
basic_systems [2014/03/15 20:28] storyteller [Botches] |
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Whenever one of the dice comes up as a 1, it cancels out a success. Take the die showing 1 and one of the dice showing a success and set them aside. In this manner, an otherwise successful action may be reduced to failure. | Whenever one of the dice comes up as a 1, it cancels out a success. Take the die showing 1 and one of the dice showing a success and set them aside. In this manner, an otherwise successful action may be reduced to failure. | ||
===== Botches ===== | ===== Botches ===== | ||
- | Normally if none of your dice roll a 7 or higher, your character simply fails. If any dice on such a failed roll come up 1s, you've botched. A botch is an unfortunate result; not only does your character fail the action, but she does so rather significantly. However, as long as you roll at least one success, any 1s are ignored. | + | Bad luck can ruin anything. One more basic of a roll is a “botch.” Whenever one of the dice comes up as a 1, it cancels out a success. Completely. Take the die showing 1 and one of the dice showing a success and set them aside. In this manner, an otherwise successful action may be reduced to failure. |
- | The specific circumstances of a botch are up to the Storyteller, but they should affect the character adversely and should relate to the action being attempted. A botch's severity depends on the total number of 1s rolled; the more botches you roll, the worse the disaster. While a single botch may result in only temporary distress, a major botch should result in a spectacular problem. | + | Occasionally, truly bad fortune strikes. If none of your dice comes up a success, **and** one or more dice are dice showing 1, the roll is a botch. If you score at least one success, even if that success is canceled out and additional 1s remain, it’s just a simple failure. |
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+ | A botch is much worse than a normal failure — it’s dramatic misfortune. | ||
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+ | The specific circumstances of a botch are up to the Storyteller, but they should affect the character adversely and should relate to the action being attempted. The Storyteller decides exactly what goes wrong; a botch may produce a minor inconvenience or might result in wholesale catastrophe. A botch's severity depends on the total number of 1s rolled; the more botches you roll, the worse the disaster. While a single botch may result in only temporary distress, a major botch should result in a spectacular problem. | ||
|**Total Botches Rolled**|**Degree of Botch**| | |**Total Botches Rolled**|**Degree of Botch**| | ||
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|Five|Catastrophic| | |Five|Catastrophic| | ||
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+ | Botching is a place where some creativity on the part of the Storyteller goes a long way. There’s nothing wrong with having a botch signify a dropped gun or stalling out a car in a chase, but a botch might also be an odd fluke that happens at an incongruous time or a butterfly effect that may haunt the chronicle at a later point. Botches should create a new dramatic twist to the scene in which they occur. They don’t have to be reliable pratfalls. | ||
==== Botch Cancellation ==== | ==== Botch Cancellation ==== | ||
If you have a 5 or 6 in the Ability you are rolling with, you may subtract 1 or 2 of the results dice from a botch respectively. It only applies to cancel 1's where you would otherwise botch. This reflects two things. One, your mastery of the Ability reduces the chance of a botch. Two, there is a probability anomally where rolling large numbers of dice in a pool (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 in this case) disproportionately increases your chance of a botch compared to dice pools of 1 to 6 dice. | If you have a 5 or 6 in the Ability you are rolling with, you may subtract 1 or 2 of the results dice from a botch respectively. It only applies to cancel 1's where you would otherwise botch. This reflects two things. One, your mastery of the Ability reduces the chance of a botch. Two, there is a probability anomally where rolling large numbers of dice in a pool (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 in this case) disproportionately increases your chance of a botch compared to dice pools of 1 to 6 dice. |