Larp:Proposals/Dice Conversion

This is a proposal for a change to the Dark Skylines House Rules. It may not be approved for play, or may be in testing. Please check with a member of the Narrator Team if you are unsure.

A proposal for modified combat rules.

Substituted Dice Rolling

Any time a player would make a challenge or test using Rock, Paper, Scissors, they instead roll a single 10-sided die and add the appropriate pool and bonuses to the total. The target number is either the target's defense pool for the challenge plus another die roll, or a target number determined by a Narrator.

If total is tied, higher skill dots wins; if that is tied, the defender is successful.

The minimum/maximum Wildcard Bonus is -5/+5 (always has been). Other, non-wildcard bonuses work as normal.

Retesting

When a player spends a Willpower or otherwise causes a retest, all involved players retest by rerolling. All limits to retests still apply.

Exceptional Successes and Fumbles

A character who rolls a 1 on a test fails, regardless of whether they would normally succeed in such a challenge. In a Contested challenge (see below), this means the other party succeeds, unless they also roll a 1, in which case both parties fail and may rightfully be the subject of ridicule.

If both parties roll a 10, both parties succeed (this may require a narrator to handle the effects).

An attacker who succeeds on a challenge and their roll is at or above an exceptional target number (commonly called a "threat range") is considered exceptional. The default target number is 10. A character does not have to have a larger pool than their target to exceptionally succeed. An increase to threat range reduces the exceptional target number by 1 (for example, a +1 to threat range changes the exceptional target number to 9). The exceptional target number cannot be lower than 8 under normal circumstances.

• For simple tests, the threat range is determined by the dots in the appropriate skill: If the user has 3 or more dots, they receive a +1 to threat range; at 5 dots, it increases to +2.

Physical Pool threat range

• Effects that give +5 or more to offensive Exceptional comparisons on physical challenges instead increase the threat range by 1. (Examples: Potence 3, Celerity 2, the Deadly quality for a weapon.
• Effects that give +4 or less to offensive or defensive Exceptional comparisons on physical challenges instead give a +x Wild Card Bonus to the offensive or defensive pool. (Example: Hardcore fleeting status)
• The quality "Brutal" now increases a weapon's damage by 1.

Mental and Social pool threat range

• The threat range is determined by the number of dots possessed by the user in the Discipline/Arcanos/etc.: If the user has 3 or more dots, they receive a +1 to threat range; at 5 dots, it increases to +2.
• For Gifts and Changeling Arts, the threat range is determined by the user's dots in the Gift Level ladder (WtA, Pg 209). All gifts in a ladder of 3 get a +1 bonus to threat range; all gifts in a ladder of 5 get +2.

Stock NPCs

Stock NPCs follow this same scale based on their Stock NPC dots: Stock NPCs of 3 or more dots have a threat range of +1 at 3 dots, and +2 at 5 or more dots.

Chance rolls

If the target difficulty is greater than the character's total pool, they still have a chance to succeed. In this case, they roll "chance" d10, and succeed (with a normal success) if they roll a 10.

Contested challenges

Characters can choose to convert an opposed challenge into a Contested challenge, where the defending character responds to the initiator with their own action (attack vs attack).

• All players involved in the opposed challenge must agree to convert it into a contested challenge.
• In order to respond with a contested action, a character must be able to take an action that round (i.e., have the appropriate Celerity or equivalent, and have not already taken their action during that round).
• The defender's action in response is pushed up in initiative, and the defender's attack does not count toward the total number of attackers against the initiator.
• The contested action by the defender does consume the action of the defending character. (Choose your targets wisely!)

Called Shots

When attacking, a character may choose to double down on their attack, risking additional chance of failure in return for additional effects or damage. If a character declares a called shot and succeeds with an Exceptional success, they succeed in the called shot. However, if a character declares a called shot and does not exceptionally succeed, they do no damage even if they succeed normally.

When attacking, a player should declare their use of Called Shot in the description of their action, e.g. "I attempt to shoot you in the head: called shot" or "I attempt a called shot to sever your limb". A called shot must be declared before the initial roll.

A power or merit that grants automatic Exceptional Successes, such as Bull's Eye or Breaking Point, does not grant an automatic Called Shot—the roll must still be within the attacker's threat range for the called shot to succeed.

Effects of a Called Shot

• A successful called shot to the head inflicts aggravated damage and automatically kills mortal stock NPCs with a rating of 3 or lower. A weapon that already deals aggravated damage deals an additional point of damage.
• A successful called shot to a limb may cause the victim to drop their weapon, reduce their movement speed, or other effects at Narrator discretion.
• A successful called shot to the heart with a weapon with the Staking quality kills mortal stock NPCs with a rating of 3 or lower. It will also successfully stake the vampire regardless of their current health levels (as long as that vampire is otherwise capable of being staked). A called shot may also sever a limb. Such effects may only happen if:
  • it is a melee weapon and the attacker has at least Potence 4 or is a shifter in Crinos form, OR
  • the weapon also has the Brutal, Impaling (for staking), or Deadly (for severing) qualities AND
    • it is a melee weapon and the attacker has at least Potence 2 or is a shifter in Glabro form;
    • it is a ranged weapon, the target is within 10 steps, and the attacker has at least Celerity 2 or any number of active powers that grant additional actions.