resolving a tie

[Foxx!]

Heroes!

 

There are times when you do a roll vs roll: STR vs. STR, skill vs. skill, etc. I want to write up a reference for resolving ties. So far I can find the following notes in 5ER:

 

1: Skill vs Skill, the second person wins the tie. “…the second character must succeed by the same or a greater margin.” (p.44)

 

2: Grab/Escape STR vs STR, the person Grabbing wins the tie. “…if the Grabber’s total is higher or the rolls tie, the victim remains Grabbed.” (p.387)

 

3: Held Action DEX vs DEX, the actions go off simultaneously. “…if both characters make the roll by the same amount, the Actions go off simultaneously.” (p.360)

3a: “…a Held defensive Action always takes place before an attack.” (p.360)

 

4: Disarm STR vs STR, the Disarming person wins the tie. “If the attacker’s BODY total is higher or the rolls tie, the Disarm succeeds…” (p.386)

 

5: Grab Weapon STR vs STR, the person Grabbing wins the tie. “…use normal Grab rules to see if the attacker succeeds.” (p.388)

 

I think #1 includes any use of a Skill: Concealment vs PER roll, Trading vs INT, Seduction vs EGO, etc.

 

Please post any help or comments. Are there any situations I forgot?

 

Cheers!

[Lord Liaden]

Re: resolving a tie

 

Slight misinterpretation of the Skill vs. Skill scenario, based on the wording that you quoted - there aren't any ties possible there. Assuming the first person in the contest makes his Skill Roll, every point that he exceeds his target number by translates to a -1 penalty to the roll of the second person opposing the first. In a way it is true that the second person has to "succeed by the same or greater margin as the first," but practically speaking he simply either makes or fails his modified Skill Roll.

[Foxx!]

Re: resolving a tie

 

Slight misinterpretation of the Skill vs. Skill scenario' date=' based on the wording that you quoted - there aren't any ties possible there. Assuming the first person in the contest makes his Skill Roll, every point that he exceeds his target number by translates to a -1 penalty to the roll of the second person opposing the first. In a way it is true that the second person has to "succeed by the same or greater margin as the first," but practically speaking he simply either makes or fails his modified Skill Roll.[/quote']

Lord Liaden!

 

Thank you. That's one less thing to think about.

 

Cheers!

[Foxx!]

Re: resolving a tie

 

Heroes!

 

I forgot to add this one.

 

6: Escaping Covered DEX vs DEX, the Covering character wins the tie.

 

http://herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40141

 

Cheers!

[Mr. Negative]

Re: resolving a tie

 

This, of course, isn't official, but I think that it would be a cool idea if, in all cases where the stats involved in a tie derive from a characteristic, if the person with the higher characteristic would win by 1. Thus, even though characteristics are divided by 3 or 5 for most purposes, those people who spend more than the "break-even" point on a characteristic would see some benefit.

[Sean Waters]

Re: resolving a tie

 

The STR v STR rolls are not 3d6 (unless you have 15 STR) - they arer 1d6 per 5 strength, counting BODY.

 

Personally I can't think of a situation in which I use a 3d6 strength roll, unless it is a characteristic base for a skill, and I don't think any of the skills use strength as a base.

 

I think the general rule is that you can only tie on opposed rolls, and getting the same score is only a tie if both parties are trying to do the same thing: if one is trying to so something TO another, they HAVE to beat the roll to succeed. The only time this comes up with any regularity is DEX v DEX rolls when initiative is tied, or the occasional performance type skill contest.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: resolving a tie

 

This' date=' of course, isn't official, but I think that it would be a cool idea if, in all cases where the stats involved in a tie derive from a characteristic, if the person with the higher characteristic would win by 1. Thus, even though characteristics are divided by 3 or 5 for most purposes, those people who spend more than the "break-even" point on a characteristic would see some benefit.[/quote']

 

IIRC Dark Champions provides an option like this for when two people with the same DEX and SPD roll vs. DEX to act first in a Phase, and it comes up a tie; the tiebreaker goes to the person with the higher Intelligence score. That makes sense given the in-game explanation of INT as a measure of mental processing speed.

 

This was a common house rule before it was given official sanction.

[Foxx!]

Re: resolving a tie

 

The STR v STR rolls are not 3d6 (unless you have 15 STR) - they arer 1d6 per 5 strength, counting BODY.

 

Personally I can't think of a situation in which I use a 3d6 strength roll, unless it is a characteristic base for a skill, and I don't think any of the skills use strength as a base.

 

I think the general rule is that you can only tie on opposed rolls, and getting the same score is only a tie if both parties are trying to do the same thing: if one is trying to so something TO another, they HAVE to beat the roll to succeed. The only time this comes up with any regularity is DEX v DEX rolls when initiative is tied, or the occasional performance type skill contest.

Sean Waters!

 

Thank you. I corrected the 3d thing above. Most of them are 3d rolls so I carelessly overlooked that.

 

Also, I like the way you state it as doing something TO another, and the target has to beat the roll. That's one easy to remember rule, and it fits all the situations. In the cases of Grab, Disarm, and Cover, the ties all go to the person performing the manoeuvre.

 

 

This' date=' of course, isn't official, but I think that it would be a cool idea if, in all cases where the stats involved in a tie derive from a characteristic, if the person with the higher characteristic would win by 1. Thus, even though characteristics are divided by 3 or 5 for most purposes, those people who spend more than the "break-even" point on a characteristic would see some benefit.[/quote']

Mr. Negative!

 

Thank you. I like hearing interesting ways of resolving ties. When a Grab Weapon roll ties, I like to leave it as a tie because it's more dramatic.

 

Cheers!