Person vs. the Environment

[AresLunthar]

So, one element that I really want to develop for my own Novus game is the Person vs. the Environment element of a plot.  In my latest Novus Mini I am plotting out a tracking situation and wondering: WWND (What Would Novus Do?)?  So, I refer to the Stategic Movement table on pg. 90 and assume that a PC can only move at a careful walk while tracking.....but, how frequently does the Tracking roll happen?  And, what is the modifier for tracking in the different types of Terrains.  My nerd brain is racing with ideas.  What do your think?

[imported_Rasyr]

Sounds interesting.

As for the frequency of the Tracking roll -- I would base it on a number of factors.

How careful is the subject of the tracking being? How obvious are the tracks? Are there any streams or rivers that they are crossing? Any roads or other hard, solid surfaces?

Basically, I would base it upon terrain. if the subject of the tracking crosses a stream, can you pick up the tracks on the other side? Did the ground get harder (and thus less likely to allow for easy tracking)?

Not based on Time, but on how the difficulty changes (i.e. every time it gets harder to follow the tracks or there is an interruption of them).

[AresLunthar]

Maybe there should be a static TN based on Terrain and a modifier based on the Stealth Roll (if any).  For Travel purposes Terrain would include changes in footing, fording small rivers etc.  I think for the sake of simplicity we can make the same assumption for Tracking.  Pg. 86 has Tracking (soft Ground) as TN 18.  Would this be Average Terrain?

[AresLunthar]

I'm also curious about an extended travel system.  But, maybe, I'm poking around the edges of an extended action system that could be used to simulate things like climbing, travel, sailing, or tracking.  In RM I would assign a difficulty and use a cumulative % total.  Each roll would be a % accumulated over a specific time frame.  I recall Novus having a similar resolution system somewhere.  Libram #?

Anyway.  The Lord of the Rings game published for D&D 5E has a splendid travel system accounting for travel through dangerous areas.  That might be a fun supplement to develop for Novus.

[imported_Rasyr]

I'll have to see if I can find it to take a look at it.


Do you mean the "Adventures of Middle Earth" book?

[AresLunthar]

Yes- that's the one.  Excellent vision of Middle Earth IMO. Libram #6 has alternative resolutions.  I found it in the wee hours of the morning.

[imported_Rasyr]

Cool!

[AresLunthar]

I think if we set a TN based on Terrain it could serve the purpose of all the types of rolls I was mentioning.  Using the alternative resolutions % system would allow you to do something like this:

A call for help has gone out from the citizens of a small village in the hills.  The PCs are making haste to get there ASAP.  The village is about 10 Miles away.  The team sets a pace of Forced March and the Terrain is Rough Ground and the base TN is TN 20.  The group makes an Athletics vs. TN 20 test using the lowest result as their pace for the first 4 hour increment of travel.  The Roll is a 19: meaning the party has traveled 90% of 7 miles or 6.3 miles.  After a short rest (1/2 hour) they make the next roll.  This time they roll a 23.  So, they travel 110% of 7.7 miles over a 4 hour time increment.  However, because they only have 3.7 miles before they reach the village we can estimate that they reach their destination in approximately 6.5 Hours (4+.5+2).

I wonder if it might be easier to re-imagine the Movement by Terrain Chart as a MPH calculation?

[imported_Rasyr]

Actually, that 19 would be 95%, not 90. And the second roll would be 115%.

So that would be 6.65 traveled in the first 4 hours. Then the half hour of rest. The travel up to 8.05 miles in the second half. But since they only had 3.35 miles to go, it would have only taken them about an hour and half. So a total travel time of (4+0.5+1.5) equals 6 hours total.

Remember for a range of 20, each number would equate to a 5% increment.

[imported_Rasyr]

If we did it as MPH, the table would look like this:

Movement Type	Roadway	Average Ground*	Rough Ground*	Mountainous*
Sneaking	1.25	1	0.5	0.25
Careful Walk	2	1.75	0.75	0.5
Normal Walk	2.25	2.25	1.25	0.75
Forced March	3.5	3	1.75	1
Slow Ride (mount)	3	2.75	1.25	0.5
Fast Ride (mount)	5	4	2.25	----
Slow Ride (vehicle)	2.75	2.25	1	0.5
Fast Ride (vehicle)	3.75	3	2	----

* = Reduce Distance by 1/2 for Lightly Forested and  by 1/3 for Heavily Forested

[kenbert]

I'm also curious about an extended travel system.  But, maybe, I'm poking around the edges of an extended action system that could be used to simulate things like climbing, travel, sailing, or tracking.  In RM I would assign a difficulty and use a cumulative % total.  Each roll would be a % accumulated over a specific time frame.  I recall Novus having a similar resolution system somewhere. 

LN#6.  I happen to think that a cumulative % total works really well for relatively short tasks.

 For longer tasks perhaps a system that requires multiple successes could work.  A failure doesn't necessarily indicate that you have failed the task but it could imply that you take longer.  A snag or boon could push you closer or further away from completing the task e.g. a snag could negate 2 successes.  Perhaps the task needs to be completed in a certain number of rolls.  If you haven't gathered the required number of successes with the number of allowed rolls then you fail the task.  For example a task that requires 3 successes in 5 rolls would indicate a complete failure if after 5 rolls only 2 successes were gathered.   I think that Pathfinder has a system like this.

[AresLunthar]

D&D 4E had a cumulative success roll mechanic that was fun.  I think it was something along the lines of PCs pooling applicable skill rolls and needing 3 of 5 or 5 of 7 etc. vs. a base TN to succeed.  Players could choose any of a short list of applicable skills but only roll each once?  It's been a while.

I like the MPH table better.  As a GM I can whimsically say "Yah, it's an hour west"  or "It's 3 Miles south" and quickly figure travel time.  I wonder if we could further expand that table to include the skills use: Tracking, Stealth etc?

[imported_Rasyr]

Stealth = Sneaking
Tracking = Careful Walk

[AresLunthar]

Perfect - I'll copy that table directly into my GMing Book WIP

[AresLunthar]

I'm poking away at a GMing book today in between shoveling snow.  If I were to create a "travel roll" I think Athletics makes the most sense.  It's CON based and (I believe) all Backgrounds have at least 1 rank in it.  Thoughts?