Target Numbers and the Single Slayer

This past weekend's Slaying Solomon premier was snowed out in the storm of the century (I can say that because 1996 was so last century). Still, I have been thinking more about using Risus as a tool to help run Buffy: The Vampire Slayer RPG. Specifically, I have thinking about magic.

Now, Buffy actually comes with a really simple magic system. In a nutshell, magic spells are rated on a scale of 1-6+. There are a few handy charts that translate what types of effects are appropriate for a given power level. The Magic Box supplement expands these tables and there are a small handful of modifiers based on tweaking out the spell definition.

I haven't found too much need to simplify that.

However, there have been times when the flow of the game is such that I don't want to break stride to consult the Buffy tables to define a new spell. In some cases, I can wing it by comparing the new spell to an old standard (we make heavy use of a Power Level 3 seeker spell). In other cases, I use Risus.

The Risus Companion describes a pretty nifty magic system in the section called "Target Numbers and the Single Showoff". This system is so simple and elegant that I borrowed it wholesale for Silverlode and Dragonspire. The gist is that the difficulty of casting a spell is tied to the dramatic impact of the spell and how generous it is to other players (easy) and how much it steals their limelight (hard). I use this system so much that I've internalized the chart and can mentally translate the Target Numbers to other systems. In the case of BtVS:RPG, I translate them as follows:

Simple (TN5)	Power Level 1: Any effect up to and including that which helps the party achieve something as a whole, or that acts as a tool to facilitate another activity.
Ordinary (TN10)	Power Level 2: A standard effect that is meant to overcome a single obstacle that faces the character, or handle the character's share of an obstacle that faces the party.
Complex (TN15)	Power Level 3: The effect would hog the scene a bit.
Difficult (TN20)	Power Level 4: The effect would entirely upstage the other players, turning the other characters into bystanders for the rest of the scene and then some.
Dangerous (TN25)	Power Level 5: The effect would shortcut (or instantly rewrite) the whole scenario.
Impossible (TN30)	Power Level 6: The effect would utterly wreck the campaign world or campaign plot line.

I should add that it is easier for a Buffy character to succeed at a Power Level 5 or Power Level 6 spell than it is for a Risus character to succeed at a Dangerous or Impossible spell. Therefore, I'd almost certainly adjust the Power Level upwards, make spell component prohibitive, and introduce severe consequences for failure. 

Finally, I should say that I do like the Buffy system when I actually have the small amount of extra time needed to define spell effects. I would love to go the other way and use the Buffy system in certain Risus games. That will have to be another post for another day.

Buffy On The Brain

My Game Master Brain is currently focused on writing the Slaying Solomon season (six) premier. We use Eden's BtVS:RPG, so not a lot of Risus relevance here... except...

I should mention that even when running something as simple as the Unisystem, Risus can be a handy GM tool. I've discussed this at length for D20, but it also applies to Buffy. A fully-functional Risus character can be described in just a few short words. This beats even the extreme shorthand that Eden proposed for their NPCs in BtVS:RPG. I don't always use Risus in this way, but occasionally it does come up. I guess it's because I naturally think in terms of the Risus-scale. For Buffy, I still need to keep tabs in the book (even after years and years of running it... go figure).

So how would I use a Risus character in Buffy? Let's take an hypothetical example:

Ada Godfrey: The Coolest Watcher You Ever Met (4), Coffee Shop Concert Promoter (3)

In game, this is all that I typically need. If I need to make a roll for Ada, I can easily translate the Risus dice to an attribute or skill. Assuming a perfectly applicable cliche, the total bonus to the skill roll* is equal to double the cliche dice. Tangentially-related cliches get knocked down 1 or more dice before conversion, while cliches that actually call out or strongly imply noteworthy attributes get small bump instead.

Thus, if Ada had to make a double Will roll, I'd translate that to a +10 on the fly (2x4 + 2 because strong mental attributes are strongly implied). A research roll would be similar (not counting for occult library bonuses). For shooting a crossbow, she gets a straight 8 (double her cliche dice).

The advantage to this system is that it goes beyond the Muscle/Combat/Knowledge of the BtVS:RPG shorthand. You can use it like a Risus cliche to make rolls to book a new rock band at her coffee shop (2xConcert Promoter=+6) or to charm an impressionable young student with her coolness (2xWatcher=+8).

There are a few more stats that come up if the NPC gets into combat. For Life Points, I use 10 times the most appropriate cliche (+/-10 as needed). The number of Actions and Initiative are figured by converting the most appropriate cliche directly to Dexterity. For Ada, that means I'd probably give her 40 Life Points and base her Initiative and number of Actions on a DEX of 4. If she were less physically competent, I'd use 30 LP and a DEX of 3 instead.

* Game Master in Buffy are encouraged to not even bother rolling for minor NPCs. An average roll of 6 is assumed. The above formula does not add this number because I often like to roll for my NPCs.

Beating the Risus Death Spiral

The Risus Death Spiral is the colloquial term for the phenomena of straight-up cliche vs. cliche fights going down hill rapidly for the loser of the first round. It comes from the fact that (according to the standard rules), even a one die difference in cliches is severe and a two-dice difference is crushing. Losing the first round means you are on your way down unless you already had some kind of advantage.

So if this Death Spiral exists, why does Risus remain such a kick-ass game? Simply because the Death Spiral is relatively easy to beat. GMs and players have various tools in their arsenal to keep combat fun and exciting:

Switching Cliches: For players, this is the obvious choice. Either switch to an Inappropriate Cliche or another type of cliche that is appropriate for this type of combat. When building characters, it usually a good idea to keep this in mind. It's good to have a backup cliche. Of course, If you are fighting a Scary Monster (4) and your backup is only Know-It-All Martial Arts Instructor (3), well it still doesn't leave you in a good place. That's where Pumping comes in. Pumping cliches to stay in a fight is typically a losing proposition... unless you are pumping your secondary cliches.

For the GM, all this applies as well. It's all well-and-good to have a Scary Monster (4) fighting your party. But even ignoring teams, it still won't be much of a fight if the monster loses the first round. That's where secondary cliches can be useful for monsters. Obviously, not all monsters should have secondary cliches. But definitely consider their use for foes that are supposed to put up a good fight.

Lucky Shots: Lucky Shots are an optional rule from the Risus Companion (which I am obligated to say is not required to enjoy Risus). Put simply, this option allows the character to trade dice during character creation for a certain number of bonus-dice that can only be used once per session. They can't be used to absorb damage like cliches, but used defensively, they can be a great way to keep you in a fight even after you have started taking damage.

Deadly Combat: Another option from the Companion, this one changes the basic combat mechanic from comparing the highest total roll to comparing the highest single roll. Using this option greatly softens the difference between cliche levels and keep combat exciting longer.

Dynamic Combats: This tip is for Game Masters. Instead of loading up every foe with secondary or even tertiary cliches, why not simply call for reinforcements? The players characters might have that Cranky Fire Breathing Dragon (6) on the ropes but that doesn't mean that Hordes of Kobold Minions (5) can't show up turn the tables on the pesky heroes.

Similarly, there is always magic. Seriously. Magic and healing is a way for player characters (and non-player characters as well) to regain advantage even after a they have entered the Death Spiral. A Guilt-Ridden Sorcerer [3] can always summon a demonic grunt squad while a Lily-white Cleric Of All That Is Good (3) can heal and buff battered characters back into the fight.

Target Numbers in Mythic Risus

When a character attempts something challenging in Risus that isn't a contest or combat, a GM usually assigns a Target Number to the task that depends on the applicability of the cliche being used.

So what happens when there is no GM?

When playing Risus with the Mythic Game Master Emulator, this situation occurs frequently. Indeed, it comes up in the latest scene that I posted from The Moon Goddess is a Harsh Mistress. As a GM, Mythic is constrained in the type of answers that it can give to questions. It doesn't do numbers well. You cannot ask Mythic what a TN should be for a given task. What you can do, however, is turn things around and roll against the most appropriate-seeming cliche first. Then, you ask Mythic if your result was enough to succeed. You use logic and your best judgment to roughly gauge the odds of this. Then, based on a roll to answer that Yes/No question, you will find out if you succeed or fail. Mythic can even tell you if you succeed or fail in a spectacular fashion.

The example from Scene 3:

Q: Katja rolls 6 on her Aristocrat cliche, is it enough to pose as the spirit of the woman's mother (in other words, are the guards spooked) [50/50]? Yes.

In this case, I assumed the Target Number was likely between 5 and 10 and that there was a roughly 50/50 chance that Katja would have succeeded.

D20 Grunt Squads

As a GM, one of my favorite tools when running Risus is the Grunt Squad. It is, hands down, simply the best mechanic for handling hoards of nameless mooks. The idea is simple... treat the entire group of mooks as a single character (albeit one that can be in more than place at a time). Everything else is handled through description.

I have been wondering, as of late, if the concept could be ported to other systems, specifically the omnipresent D20. One of the major flaws of the D20 system is that combat is excessively tactical and takes far, far too long. Want your party of heroes to wade into a battle against hundreds of goblin spearmen? Using a battle mat and the rules as written, this would take hours and would probably result in some inconvenient player character deaths. But could those hundred of goblins be represented as a single monster? Here's how I might handle it...

First off, I'd most likely dispense with a battle mat in this situation. Cinematic combat against hundred of opponents is going to be primarily narrative and the rules for Attacks of Opportunity won't make any sense when a the "Goblin Hoard" grunt squad occupies hundreds of squares.

Next, I'd communicate to the players that the goblins that they are facing are a Grunt Squad and that they should assume their characters are attacking more than one character in a given action (even if the character is not usually capable of making multiple attacks in a round).

The "Goblin Hoard" would look like a suped-up version of an ordinary goblin, built to whatever CR the GM feels is appropriate. The Hoard's hit point are divided among the actual number of goblins for descriptive purposes only. The Hoard is only destroyed when the Hoard's hit points are reduced to zero. But when a character does 10 points of damage, it's fun to describe how many goblins he just killed.

The "Goblin Hoard" would get to attack each character that is threatened by at least one goblins. The number of attacks would be the minimum of the number of goblins that threaten that character and the Hoard's number of attacks per round. This is to make things exciting for the characters, and it ensures that the characters share the risk equally.

On Healing

After a combat in Risus, I generally allow each wounded character to roll against the cliché that lost dice (at its current value). Each multiple of 5 means that the character recovers one die in that cliché (up to the number of dice lost in this particular combat). This is a sort-of "flesh-wound" check, to see how much of the damage suffered is minor enough to be ignored for the rest of the game. It's not fun if the characters are so wounded that they have to return to a safe area every time they get a little banged up in a fight. A "flesh-wound" check keeps things moving nicely.

That being said, a "flesh-wound" check won't cover all injuries. Characters with lasting injuries will need to employ other methods to get back up to full strength. These methods depend on the nature of the injury. A Potion of Healing may take care of a physical injury, whereas a good mechanic will be needed to fix damage to a character's vehicle. A poor character who has suffered a loss of confidence may be able to regain it through meditation, or perhaps after a resounding success in another challenge. This is where "healer" characters really shine.

A GM's Friend

Things have been slow on the Risus Monkey for the last few days. The reason is that I've been trying to think about how I might run Dragonspire for another group using (gasp!) Dungeons & Dragons. While I like Playing D&D, I find that actually running something using it to be incredibly cumbersome. Not only is the combat system overly complicated (and too tactical for optimal cinematic play), but quick character generation is just not possible without throwing out fidelity to the rules.

That's why I always return to Risus. Even while running games using other systems, I find that if I do my preparations as if I were using Risus, I don't feel quite so overwhelmed. Converting characters from Risus is a snap, which is great because my usual style of preparation is to create a bazillion NPCs so that they can drive the story. I could never do this in D&D or GURPS (strike that... I used to do it in GURPS, but I can't imagine doing it now).

One of the things that I've been meaning to do on this site is to post tips for converting between Risus and other systems. Finding time to do it has been a challenge, but I hope to get to it soon.