This question comes from a recent conversation with my friend Stephen about TRPGs with simple, binary 'Pass/Fail' systems versus those that allow for 'Yes and...', 'No but...', and/or other possible outcomes. It wasn't so much a question he asked as much as one we both asked each other.
You might remember Stephen as the Storyteller, or Storyteller Smurf, of our 'The Smurfs and The Palace of The Silver Princess' mini-campaign/adventure, as well as the one-shot 'The Smurfs and The Bluebird of Happiness'.
Question #12 amounts to...
How do you feel about the increasing use of 'Failing Forward' or 'Success at a Cost' mechanics?
I've never liked the Pass/Fail die mechanic. Sure, there was a time when that's all there was but one of the earliest houserules I can recall making was related to the idea of degrees of success and failure.
It was in 1982 or 83 when I started adding a little more to the results of the percentile Skill Rolls of FASA's Star Trek RPG. If a PC had a 54% chance of determining what that strange signal was that the ship just detected and she rolled a 57, I would her a little something.
57 is damn close to 54 considering the 1-100 range of possible outcomes. As such, I [as GM] would say she failed to figure out what the signal was all about but it's seems to be coming from the fourth planet in the Star system.
If you needed a 54 and got a 94, I would say you not only know it's short and repeating like an SOS but the signal seems to be getting weaker! If an 01 is a Critical Success and a 100 is a Critical Failure, then an 02 or a 99 has gotta mean something! Right?
Another thing I did in some games with traditional binary results was give the rolls a little garnish depending on how the player approached the situation. If the Fighter says, "I swing my sword", and misses on the To-Hit Roll, then all that happens is he misses.
On the other hand, If he describes the twist he does to strike his enemy and misses, well, I might have the NPC unnerved (-1 to its next attack on the PC) or the PC landed in an advantageous position at least.
I still do stuff like this from time to time, happy to embellish the PC's action if the Player put in the effort to make an entertaining moment. I will also add a +1 (or the equivalent) to a PC's chance of Success if the action as described by the player was particularly well thought out or clever. Perhaps throw in a +1 to damage if they figured out an effective way to trap their opponent or gain some other tactical advantage.
Sorry, I'm getting a bit off topic. The point of all this is I want the players' ideas to have impact on the rolls they make. I want to see creativity and variation what happens as a result of that choice. Sometimes a roll is just a roll but I think its awesome to have the possibility of 'it's a failure but something positive happened' or 'you succeeded but something went wrong'.
I really like the idea of a player saying, "I manage to grab the rope around the crate before the crate falls off the deck of the ship BUT just barely and Great Scott! is this thing heavy! A little help over here?!".
I remember a conversation years ago at GenCon with Bill Smith, then line editor for West End Games' Star Wars D6. He explained the 'Drama Die' or 'Force Die' as we always called it as follows:
You have to jump a chasm. It's Difficulty Number is 15. You need a 15 or better to clear it.
You fail and roll a 1 on the Force Die.
You fall and hit a few outcroppings on the way down.
You fail and the Force Die is nothing special.
You fall.
You fail but get a 6 on the Force Die.
You fall but land on an outcropping not far below. You're hurt but alive.
You succeed with a 1 on the Force Die.
You are barely holding on to the opposite side ledge by the tips of your fingers.
You succeed and the Force Die is nothing special.
You land safely on the other side.
You succeed with a 6 on the Force Die.
You leap high and land solid. You are able to turn quickly and help up your friend hanging by their fingertips.
Succeed with Cost.
Fail with Promise.
Make things interesting.
AD
Barking Alien
Yeah, I know I went a little ranty here but this is a big thing to me. I really prefer non-binary Action Resolution mechanics.
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