Using Mini-Six static defenses in my game

[ebertran]

I'm starting a new campaign and going with a modified version of Mini-Six's static damage. I see the change as when D&D went from THACO to attack bonuses.....

Dodge Defense: Dodge x 3 + pips + cover (situational).

So a Stormtrooper would have a Dodge Defense of 13 (4d+1 Dodge + cover).
The distances would then modify my blaster shot to hit the stormtrooper (or anyone else) like this:

Point Blank/ Hand-to-Hand +10,
Short Range +5
Medium Range -5
Long Range -10

So if I have a 4d+2 in blaster, and I’m attacking a Stormtrooper at short range who has 1/4 coverage, it may go like this:

Roll my attack and get a 16. I’d add a +5 because of the range, for a total hit of 21. Great! His regular defense is a 13, and his 1/4 cover (+1D (or an average of 3-4, not sure yet) to his defense) modified it to a 17. I still hit...

At Medium range I would have totally missed with an 11. It would have taken me a Character Point or two to hit the trooper. Then to determine damage, a static Soak Defense.

Soak: Strength x 3 + pip + armor

So our stormtrooper (2d STR) has a Soak of 8 vs. blasters and 10 vs. physical damage (their armor grants a 1d vs. physical damage, so I’m taking the avg. and rounding up).

If my 4d damage blaster pistol hits him for an average of 14, I beat his soak by 6, meaning I’ve now left him Wounded. If he wanted to spend a Character Point to add to his soak, he could–a CP would let you add a 1d to Soak.

If a character wants to do a full defense (full dodge) it adds a +10 to their defense.

Is it perfect? Probably not. But neither was d6 as written. It’s still super fun though.

[CRMcNeill]

I was looking at this recently, and found myself wondering if it might be more appropriate to use x4 instead of x3, seeing as how the odds on results for multiple D come out to an average result of 3.5 per D.

An alternate version of this would be to continue to use the x3 multiplier, plus pips, but add an additional +1D rolled at the beginning of combat to add a little random flavor to the Static Defense values.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Naaman]

Or, for the less math savvy, you could multiply by 7 and then divide by 2 for a more consistent average.

But, since the pip system is based on 3 being the "average" roll, multiplying by 3 is also a good choice.

One thing I don't like is that there is no "standard" range. Short range applies a +5 on the roll, while medium imposes a -5. So at no time is the shooter ever actually using his "base skill" to attack.

I would think that medium range should be a +0 modifier. I'm fine with keeping long a -10.

[CRMcNeill]

Ultimately, it boils down to whether you think the 1D=3.5 average result should be rounded down to 3 or up to 4. Rounding it up to 4 would represent slightly above-average dice results, thus making targets somewhat more difficult to hit, while down to 3 shades the results slightly in the other direction. YMMV.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Bren]

[Naaman]

If it were my game, I'd round down, and apply use this rule for all mooks.

For villains, I'd roll. PCs would have the option of rolling or not, BUT, with this rule, all reaction skills would always be free actions whether rolled or not.

(Or, you could rule that a character opting to use static defense must round down, but does not incur a MAP).

[MrNexx]

[Bren]

Good point. If you ignore the 1's taking away the highest die and the 1, then the average is for the wild die is 4.2. I haven't quite worked out what effect the 1 has on the dice total.

[Naaman]

With this system, are we taking MAPs into account? In other words, are reactions skills now "free actions" all the time?

[evilnerf]

I ran one game using (Defensive stat)x3 for the static defense value and it was too low. In my next game I switched to x4. That has been working reasonably well. The players usually still hit unless they start multi actioning like crazy.
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His eyes are shifty. That's how you know the nerf did it.