Taking A Four

[CRMcNeill]

D20 has a rule called "taking a 10", where rather than rolling a D20 to make a skill check, the player simply accepts a median result (a 10 on a D20) where the task takes twice as long. D6 already has its own rule where doubling the time taken adds a +1D, but has anyone ever tried a D6 variant of the D20 rule?
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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]

I would make it a "take 3" in this case. In line with the d20 version (which, if I remember correctly does not tale twice as long, but can only be used when there is "no consequence" for failure), it rounds the leftover .5 down to 10, rather than up to 11 (the average roll on a d20 is 10.5, not 10).

In d6, the law of averages is much more in effect, and rounding up would make a much bigger difference. So the "tradeoff" would be accepting a slightly lower than average roll in order to (in some cases) nearly guarantee success, and in other cases, merely speed up game play.

A variation could be taking 3 (or 4, if you prefer) on all but the wild die, however this might defeat the purpose for some situations. I guess it depends on how important the wild die is to a particular gaming group.
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SpecForce Combat Elements
All About Lightsabers: Designing, Building, and Fighting

[garhkal]

[Antilles]

Interesting rule.

But I don't understand what do you refer to when you say "no consequence for failing the roll". Could you give an example for that case?

Thank you!

[Naaman]

Here is a sort of "inverse" example:

I had a GM who wanted a roll for EVERYTHING.

Me: "I get in the cockpit of my X-Wing."
GM: "Roll climbing!"

For a more appropriate example:
Making a skill check to activate a force power... say, detect life. If you fail the roll, nothing changes.

Or making a sensors check to find out where the largest city is on a planet. If you fail, nothing changes.

Making a (passive) search check to determine what you take in about your immediate surroundings. Failure would mean you gain no information (i.e. nothing changes).

In effect, if failing the roll would or could cause a problem, you have to roll....


HOWEVER...
I think I was wrong above. I believe that the "taking 20" is the one where there must be no consequence for failure (and taling 20 takes 20 times longer than rolling the skill: essentially, the "take 20" means your character keeps trying until they "roll" a 20 and thus achieve their best possible result).

With taking 10, the only reason you can't is if stress or distractions are affecting you.
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SpecForce Combat Elements
All About Lightsabers: Designing, Building, and Fighting

[Whill]

[MrNexx]

Taking 10 and Taking 20. "Taking 10" is "It's so easy I can't really screw it up"; "Taking 20" is "It doesn't matter if I screw it up or how long I take, so let's be perfect." Note that Taking 20 can apply to creation type abilities, but it also includes "Spending 20 times the usual amount" if you have resource costs.

The idea of "taking a 4" is "This is something that I am so skilled I would not reasonably screw it up, so let's just ignore the roll." Did Han Solo have to roll to LAND at Mos Eisley? Probably not... there's no reason he would have conceivably screwed up something that simple. Did he have to roll to take off? While under fire, and keeping a watch out for the newly-arrived-and-angry-at-him Imperials? That I'd say is more likely.

I'd go with taking a 3 for mathematical reasons, especially as a 3 represents the next step up in pips... it's 1, 2, die. I'd leave out the wild die, as well, or make it "If you will beat the DC by 3" (i.e. can do it by not rolling the wild die, as it were).

I'm not sure what I would do for a "Taking 20" equivalent in D6. I think a lot of that is factored in with difficulty reductions for taking your time, but D6's default black/white success makes perfection a lot harder.
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[garhkal]

[Antilles]

[CRMcNeill]

The suggestions of taking a three instead of a four make sense. Since the median on a D6 is 3.5, it could be rounded up or down, which didn't matter a great deal if just for the sake of starting a discussion.
_________________
"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

[Whill]

[garhkal]

[Antilles]

It makes sense.

The "take four (three)" rule will earn me a couple of dice rolls.