🚀 go-pugleaf

On the subject of skills: you can spend an awful lot of time trying
to develop a game mechanic which gives statistically valid or subjectively
realistic results, and the system becomes the object, rather than the
play.  Even if the players don't simply manipulate the system rather
than play, the hidden consequences of the chosen system start to dominate.
That is, certain tasks or ways of accomplishing tasks, may be inordinately
favored or disfavored because of the game mechanisms, and the players and
the referee will gravitate or avoid these.  This can grossly distort the
game, especially if it is campaign game of any duration.

So really, what can you actually say about the skill of a character.
Using a medieval society as a base, I came up with the following
divisions, ranging essentially from 0 to 6.

	e	exposure: the character knows the skill exists and
		has seen others practice it.
	0	The character has had, but failed their training at
		the skill.  They know (or think they know more)
		about the skill than the average layperson, but would
		not be accepted as an apprentice in that field.
	I	The has had the training to be an apprentice and is
		competent.
	II	Same, but as Journeyman.
	III	The Character is a Master at the skill.  They are
		a competent judge of other people's skill, and can
		train others.
	IV	The Character's skill is reknown among Masters.
	V	Heroic: The character's skill is fantastic: at the limit
		of mortal ability.
	VI	Godlike: The character's skill is absurd or impossible.

This fits well with the 2d6 system discussed previously.  These levels are
not numbers to be fed into a formula or table anywhere, but distinctions.

For further discintion and refinement of characters, requisites can be
employed.  A requisite is an approximate ranking of some general or specific
trait or ability.  In order to keep some resemblence to most games, where
normal human requisites are around 10, and range from 3 to 18, I interpret
requisites as follows:

	11-K	Likely to be among the lowest ranked (worst) among
		2^K random individuals
	10+K	Likely to be among the highest ranked (best) among
		2^K random individuals

This exploits the approximation 2^8 = 256 ~ 216 = 6^3, and imposes a
simple log scale on a 3d6 requisite system.  Any additional requisites
can be added as needed, or ignored (e.g. Mana for for non-Mages or
Blacksmith Ability for non-Blacksmiths).

Of course, in order for this to be meaningful, you have to have a
population in mind, and have to make assumptions about your population.
This takes some work, but world building does.

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Anton Dovydaitis
Ishi Press International