Speed

[Christopher R Taylor]

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I just went with the method described.  There's no limit mentioned. 

 

I must have just been thinking of my own variant, which takes care of this problem:

 

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In this approach, you *have* to be able to act more than your SPD during a turn *at times* because you may well act fewer times in some turns.

 

By having the phases come up at the end of the turn whether you rolled well enough or not; basically its like everyone held and then goes over and over at the end of the turn. 

 

For example, Johnny 7 Speed rolls badly and only moves once in the first 6 segments.  Because he has 6 more phases in a turn, he gets them all in a row one after another in the next 6 segments.  Or Milly 3 speed rolls terrible and only moves once in 10 segments, she gets to move on 11 and 12, to make up her 3 speed in that turn.

 

On the other hand, if Milly rolled really well and went on 2,3, and 5, she's done for the turn.

 

Its a bit awkward, but much better than losing phases because the dice won't cooperate -- or going more often than you should because you're lucky.

 

The purpose of this method as I understand it is to randomize and mix things up, not negate the speed a character purchased entirely in favor of dice.

[unclevlad]

OK but in your method, it's possible that someone's going to be frozen out for MANY phases.  Take SPD 4.  I will hit my limit of 4 actions within 6 phases (+ indicates I get to act)
++++ (1/81)

+++--+ (and ++--++, +--+++, --++++ same)  (1/27 for 3 successes using base target;  8/12 * 7/12 * 1/2 for fail, fail, success.  56 / 7776 * 4 == 224/7776 --> 7 / 243)

+++-+ (and ++-++, +-+++, -++++ same)  (1/27 for 3 base, 8/12 * 5/12 for fail, success, *4 again for the diff patterns...160 / 3888  --> 5 / 243)

++-+-+ (and +-++-+, +-+-++, -+++-+, -++-++, -+-+++) (1/9 for 2 base;  fail/success is still 40/144 --> 5/18.  So 1/9 * 5/18 * 5/18 * 6 patterns...150/2916 --> 25/486)

 

So 7 + 5 is 12, 12/243 --> 4/81.  So we've got 5 / 81 --> 30 / 486, + 25 

 

55 out of 486.  If I may, 54/486 is 1/9.

 

So it WILL happen.  Somewhat regularly.

 

And if I got to 7 phases...sitting idle for 5 straight...that would be much more common.  All the complete in 6, and throwing in another fail roll makes the enumeration too much of a pain.  Note that straight combinatorics doesn't work, because the success/fail probabilities vary depending on previous rolls.  But I'd bet...something around 1 in 3.

[Christopher R Taylor]

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it's possible that someone's going to be frozen out for MANY phases.

 

That is one of the drawbacks; you will sometimes (often?) face a situation in which you spend all those segments you normally do not move on (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 for speed 4 as an example) in longer streaks than evenly stretched through the phase (say, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11).  You still have the same number of phases in a turn, and segments which you cannot yet act upon, just in a different and more random sequence.

 

That's one of the reasons I didn't end up ever using the idea.  That and as MrAgdesh said, extra book keeping.  Its a way of scrambling up the speed chart to feel more random and chaotic, but I wouldn't call it a better way.

[unclevlad]

Yah.

 

I could maybe buy just rolling the d12, with the accelerator feature.  That's randomizing, and in itself, not adding too much bookkeeping, if you can trust the players to not cheat.  (Altho let's be honest, there could still be bookkeeping because forgetting is understandable.)

 

It might feel like higher SPD is overpriced, but an indirect point here is that double-digit SPD could arguably be *under* priced, if it really makes things THAT hard.  But it's also plausible that it's not the SPD per se but the rigid nature of the SPD chart, which randomizing would avoid.

 

Here's another randomization thought.  Simply roll a d12.  If your SPD says you'd act on that phase?  You act.  Granted, this still leaves the hole that a bad set of rolls can leave you on the sidelines for an uncomfortable period.  It's faster, in that there's only 1 roll.  It doesn't create the "effective SPD" problem.  With a 4 SPD, you'd sit for 5 straight phases...occasionally, about 1 in 7.  (2/3 chance you wouldn't act.)  Could be crazy too, tho...back to back 12's!

[Hugh Neilson]

Another approach for varying the SPD chart that I found interesting was using playing cards.  One suit = 1 turn.  Each draw is a segment, 1 - 10 representing their segment, J = 11, Q = 12 and K = PS 12.

 

If you want even more variability, use more than one suit - a full deck carries the potential for the same phase (or PS12) coming up back to back, or being delayed a long time, but everyone gets their full SPD over the course of the deck.