Did you ever try to make "the Best" at some skill?

[Blue]

Originally posted by phydaux

Who needs to be the best when 14 or less succeded 90% of the time?

Skill modifiers.

 

I could have a 14- programming skill and try to hack into the pentagon. But they've had a guy with 14- and thousands of hours of time to set up defenses, so I might be suffering from... say a -8 penalty. Suddenly 6- aint looking so good.

 

Now my hacker with the 21- is going to go through their system like a hot knife through butter, as befits her legend.

[Gary Ciaramella]

I see that a lot of you have played characters with simply astounding levels of skill, everywhere from 21- to 50- or more... but what level of a skill IS "the Best"? Playing in a standard level game as put forth in Fred, in all of your opinions, what would be a good rule of thumb as far as what skill role would make someone the best at something? How large of a negative modifier COULD there be that would require a 50-?

[Chuckg]

-35?

 

And yes, it's possible to have that big a modifier -- check out the 'Galactic Computernet' rules from Star HERO or Terran Empire.

[Blue]

Originally posted by Gary Ciaramella

I see that a lot of you have played characters with simply astounding levels of skill, everywhere from 21- to 50- or more... but what level of a skill IS "the Best"? Playing in a standard level game as put forth in Fred, in all of your opinions, what would be a good rule of thumb as far as what skill role would make someone the best at something? How large of a negative modifier COULD there be that would require a 50-?

Oh, I hope I never run a campaign long enough to require a 50- roll

 

In my campaign, if you are above a 13- you are exceptionl. 16- makes you a published, sought after expert in a field. 18- and you are in rare company with maybe one or two other people. And, as mentioned, only one character has a skill above 18- in anything, at least to date.

 

It's important to note that some feats SHOULD be impossible. Superman should not be able to push the Earth 6 inches to the left. There should be situations where modifiers are so high that even the best can only achieve it on the legendary roll of three 1's.

[Bartman]

Originally posted by Gary Ciaramella

I see that a lot of you have played characters with simply astounding levels of skill, everywhere from 21- to 50- or more... but what level of a skill IS "the Best"? Playing in a standard level game as put forth in Fred, in all of your opinions, what would be a good rule of thumb as far as what skill role would make someone the best at something? How large of a negative modifier COULD there be that would require a 50-?

 

If it is 'realistic' campaign a low 20s skill roll will allow the character to accomplish all but the most audacious and rediculous feats. This is likely the max anyone in the real world could achieve.

In a 'cinematic' campaign a mid to high 20s roll would allow the character to regularly accomplish normally impossible feats. A -10 is the standard minus for 'impossible' skill uses, like using breakfall to survive falling off a 50 story building, or McGuyvering a 4d6 flamethrower out of a random assortment of garden tools.

In a 'fantastic' campaign where the characters achieve the impossible on a regular basis the sky's the limit.

 

Just decide what kind of campaign you are in. If no one spends more than a couple of extra points on any one skill, a roll in the 20s will leave you as the best. If everyone routinely spends lots on individual skills, a roll in the 30s would likely be required.

[Chris Goodwin]

I came up with a Perk called Best in the West. To quote:

 

Best in the West (Perk):

 

You're the best at something. You're the fastest, you're the strongest, you're the smartest, you're the most powerful, whatever it is you're Best at, you're the best there is at it; literally, no one has more points spent in that area than you. Pick one "schtick" to be the best at. You'd better have spent a lot of points on it, whatever it is.

 

In general, it costs 10 points to be Best in the West at something; this generally means you're the best in your country, or the best on your planet. To be the best in your solar system (assuming it's inhabited, at least as much population as Earth) costs 15 points; to be the best in this spiral arm costs 20 points; to be the best in this galactic quadrant costs 25 points; to be the best in the galaxy costs 30 points. It's possible to be second best, for 1 point less, or third best, for 2 points less, etc. There are as many best as the place, so there are two Second Best in the West, three Third Best, etc. Obviously, there's only one Best in any given place.

 

This Perk opens you up to take Disadvantages like Reputation: Best in the West, Hunted: Young Turks who want to Take You Out, Psych Lim: Gunslinger Mentality, and the like.

 

You might be able to exceed normal campaign limits and/or Normal Characteristic Maxima in one ability if you have this Perk; check with the GM.

[lemming]

I'm not much for "Best" character types, but maybe it's because I had a player inflict one on me. I say inflict because he was just annoying (the player and character).

I have no problem with high levels of skills or PCs actually having the highest roll, etc... I guess I never really play it up much.

 

Though in zornwil's game there was a "smartest" competition. I think they backed off from INT > 100.

I think zornwil handles these things pretty well.

 

Though doing the mental review of past characters:

Rex Deadlands character who had a rep of being one of the top ten gunfighters.

Scales In the top ranks of STR.

Ice Pirate Best at annoying other players, but flying under the GMs radar. Actually incredibly good at breaking & entering and related skills...

Spectrum Rapidly becoming an expert in Spirits & other types of alchohol.

Cheryl McKay Probably one of the top people in the field of demolitions in the 2020 world. (Homebrew 2020 world, developed in 1987 iirc)

[zornwil]

As lemming pointed out, I have some extreme INT-based skills players in my game, in the 30s for rolls, I think high 30s in a few cases. Other than this oddity, I've had lots of 20s ranges and some 30s in my games. If you're a mage or a gadgeteer, you generally want your skills rolls for those areas in the 30s in my games if you're a "master" of the field, both to switch things out in combat and for skill-vs-skill rolls. Most other skills you can be among the best in the mid-20s. Of course we're talking high-powered heroes here. I've also run campaigns where 21- was pretty much the max.

 

But I've never made or tried to help some make explicitly "the best" at something.

[Tech]

Originally posted by phydaux

Who needs to be the best when 14 or less succeded 90% of the time?

 

You obviously haven't been in some of the games I've run where the players run into strings of abysmal dice rolls.

 

Me-GM: Make your roll.

Player 1: I've get a +1 to my roll so I've got 15-. I roll a 16.

Me-GM: (shakes head)

[Wolf]

there is no best

 

If we were talking real world, no there is no "the best" however there are so many different factors in the real world that you just never know. Ex: The Army Special Forces Detatchment Delta (Delta Force) are known, not rumered, but known as never missing a shot in urban combat. They just trains so much that they always hit, it sounds unbeleivable but it's true. Now I have had friends who work as Oposing forces to delta, in training, and they have lived to mess with delta, again in simulations, and they have done this by hiding, sneaking and being smart, one of my friends even came up behind a team and shot two before they could turn around and light him up (however the two he shot were allowed to "live on") So yes the whole group are "the best" shots, however they still got taken down- simple but real world "the best" and they didn't get it done.

Now here we are talking about not only RPG's but Hero, not only Hero but Champions, and comics are loaded with the best. Marvel and DC have tonns of "the best" and so I think that it's possable in champions, even genre nessasary. Heck throughout the late 90's Wolverine's saying was, "I'm the best there is at what I do."

I also agree, what totalls represent "the best" depend on what types of negatives there are in the world being run. And of course depending on the GM.

That's my 2 pennies

-Wolf