Contested Rolls in BRP0?

[RosenMcStern]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

From what you say, both real battles and stylised duels would be best portrayed by normal rolls (non-opposed), with a special ability for more highly skilled combatants (such as the over 100% reduce-the-opponent's-skill effect).

Sigh! This is really turning into a religious dispute.

Most battles take place between opponents in the 80%-90% skill range. Using non-opposed rolls, two combatants with 95% skill take some ten melee rounds to resolve a combat - no, to hit once, since you are not guaranteed to win a fight after the first hit. The "over 100%" rule only applies to limited cases, as most characters never exceed 100%. In a real situation the difference in skill between two opponents always matters, be it a tackle in a soccer match or a duel to the death, while with yor suggestion skill difference only matters when
skill goes above 100%.

Opposed rolls just add game-mechanic confusion, not realism.

No, it doesn't. It is in systems like HeroQuest where all rolls are opposed versus a "Standard difficulty" that things can get messy. In BRP a roll is opposed only if someone is actively tryng to counter what you are attempting to do. Like landing a blow upon one of his most beloved organs

[frogspawner]

Originally Posted by RosenMcStern

Most battles take place between opponents in the 80%-90% skill range.

Cobblers, as usual, Rosie.

PS: I bet you can't resist having the last word...

[soltakss]

Last words aside, I'm intrigued by parrying a brontostaurus's stomp.

On the face of it, this is clearly silly - a brontosaurus is like the Mother of Monsters in RQ and it's stomp is an area effect in that it can affect more than one person and an area effect can't be parried (can it?)

But, imagine a brontosaurus stomping on hercules (What? There weren't brontosauruses in Hercules' time? Thet never bothered the writers of the TV series) he is quite capable of grabbing the foot, holding it in the air and then moving it aside. After all, he once took Atlas's place and held the sky up so a little iddy-biddy brontosaurus shouldn't be a problem.

So, excluding magic (Great Parry - ha!), Heroes (Hercules), Gods (Thor is pretty strong) and special abilities, you shouldn't be able to parry a brontosaurus's stomp, but you could dodge out of the way or set a spear for it to stomp on and hope that it's leg gets disabled before it hits you.

Of course, hard PCs would take the damage, then pull themselves out of the hole they have just been stomped into, get back up and give the brontosaurus a good kicking.

[RosenMcStern]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

Cobblers, as usual, Rosie.

Pardon me, but I have GMed enough RQ/BRP/CoC/whatever to have a clear idea about what skill most fighting-enabled characters tend to have. Excluding Soltakss' campaigns perhaps.

PS: I bet you can't resist having the last word...

Being a BRP forum, I think trolling is allowed here. Maybe it is just a matter of calling it "uzing" instead.

As for resisting or not, the point is that when you come out with statements like "Opposed rolls create confusion and not realism", or someone writes "The Opposed Roll Taint" - can't remember if it was you - it reminds me of religion rather than a creative and intelligent way of having fun, and so I feel that you deserve a polite, but firm, reply.

I am not a great fan of the "vox populi" principle, but please note that most people who write for, or simply play, BRP or MRQ or HQ or whatever tend to use or prefer a somewhat-opposed roll system. Of course I am the first to be suspicious of opposed rolls when using a matrix [it was ME who ran a poll to know what exactly people thought about it on The Other Forum, remember?]. Of course nobody forces you to give up your opinion. If you do not like opposed rolls, just play RuneQuest 2 or 3. They are still great games, and there are still copies available on eBay.

[frogspawner]

Originally Posted by soltakss

On the face of it, this is clearly silly - a brontosaurus is like the Mother of Monsters in RQ and it's stomp is an area effect in that it can affect more than one person and an area effect can't be parried (can it?)

Perhaps a Bronto Stomp could be interpreted as a "Sweep" attack, just in a different direction from normal. BRP0 would then say parrying it was possible, if a STRvDamage roll was made, which, if successful, would stop the blow and save any further (shorter?) people in the area. Seems about right to me...

[soltakss]

That makes sense and allows for the Herculean Grapple as well.

So, now we've worked out that a Brontosaurus's stomp can be parried, what other off-topic questions can we answer?

[Bandersnatch]

All skill rolls are percentiles made with a d100.

A skill success is a roll ≥ your skill.

A skill failure is a roll < your skill.

Too, there are “Special” & “Critical” rolls.

A Special roll is any percentage, evenly divisible by 10, except 100%.
A Special success is any Special roll that is ≥ your skill.
A Special failure is any Special roll that is < your skill.

A Critical roll is any percentage that is “Doubles”. This includes every percentage evenly divisible by 11, & 100%. E.g. “00”/zero zero.
A Critical success is any double that is ≥ your skill.
A Critical failure is any double that is < your skill.

In comparing rolls (typically skill vs skill), from the top down, this type of roll beats the types of rolls below it.

Critical Success
Special Success
Success
Failure
Special Failure
Critical Failure

If, for example, two people get Critical Successes, the higher of the two numbers wins. If those two rolls are the same number, then the person with the higher skill wins.
If, during game play, you succeed with a skill, ask the Keeper if it deserves “a check”. If the Keeper determines that it does, make a light check-mark  in the box provided next to the skill in question. If the roll was a Special success, put a light “s” in the box, and if the roll was a Critical success, put a light “c” in the appropriate box.
(Erase any checks after the monthly skill improvement rolls.)

Approximately once a real life month, characters will have an opportunity to improve the skill(s) they have checks by.
(Or that they are training in. We’ll deal with these later.)
To succeed, they must roll a d100, and add the appropriate Skill Category Modifier; the total must be < their current skill, or 101+%.
Special checks get to roll twice to improve the skill.
Critical checks get to roll thrice to improve the skill.
You can only improve a skill once a month, regardless of the number of times you’re allowed to try.
Improvement Reward Summary
Method________Normal check_____Special check_____Critical check_____Time Required between checks
Experience¹____d12-2%__________d10%____________d8+2%__________Approxi mately 1 real life month.
Training_______d12-2%__________d10%____________d8+2%__________Hours equal to skill%. (min. of 1 hr.)
Research______d12-2%__________d10%____________d8+2%__________Hours equal to skill%. (min. of 1 hr.)
POW gain³_____d3-1_____________d3______________d3+1____________Appr oximately 1 real life month after a successful POW vs ≤ POW attack.
Characteristic²_d3-1_____________d3_______________d3+1___________Curr ent Characteristic x 25 game hours.

¹ Must have successful experience increase roll.
² May increase by training or research.
³ Special rules - refer to Call of C’thulhu book.

Adieu, Adéesse, & Blest be,
-Bander

[frogspawner]

That's rather like the Harn system, isn't it? Can't say I'm keen.

Originally Posted by Bandersnatch

If, for example, two people get Critical Successes, the higher of the two numbers wins.

Nah, don't like that - you were trying to roll low!

If those two rolls are the same number, then the person with the higher skill wins.

Yeah, like that - much better!

...the total must be < their current skill, or 101+%.

I presume that should read roll ">" skill for increase rolls. But then, since everything else is rather non-standard, maybe not...