Running Novus Changes

[imported_Rasyr]

This is what that would look like once done


Balance - Presuming a surface from 7 to 12 inches wide, you would use the Acrobatics skill for this. If the character has no ranks in that skill, then they could use the Reflexes stat along with a Major Complication. If the surface in between 2 and 6 inches, you would add a Minor Complication to the TN. If the surface is less than 2 inches wide, we would increase this to a Major Complication. If the surface were unstable, such as a tightrope, that would add another Major Complication on top of things.

Bluffing - This is where you would use the Influence skill to convince somebody of something. If easily believable, this would add a Minor Advantage to the TN. If it is not so easy to believe, that would be a Minor Complication, something Hard to believe would be a Major complication, while something almost impossible to believe might be worth 2 Major Complications or more.  If trying to get a character to do something that they would do under normal circumstances, then that would have no Advantages or Complications. If it is something that they would be unlikely to do, that would likely be a Minor Complication while something that they would be very unlikely to do would be a Major Complication and something that they would never do might be worth 2 or even 3 Major Complications, depending on what the desired task was. As mentioned in the skill description, the target gets a Will Save, with the TN for that increasing by 1 for every 2 points above the final TN that the roll is.

Climbing - This task can be performed with either the Acrobatic or the Athletics skills. The basic TN allows for climbing a knotted rope, or bracing against a wall as you climb. It also includes ship rigging or a wall with many ledges to use. A typical dungeon wall with few handholds would be a Major Complication, while trying to climb a rough rock or a brick wall would have 2 Major Complications stacked onto the TN.

[AresLunthar]

It's nice to have my crazy confirmed.  LOL.  In the beta version you could even have a small table that lists 5 or 6 common Minor Complications and 5 or 6 MAJOR Complications.  Then release a GMing Libram later with the complications/advantages for each skill listed.

[imported_Rasyr]

It's nice to have my crazy confirmed.  LOL.  In the beta version you could even have a small table that lists 5 or 6 common Minor Complications and 5 or 6 MAJOR Complications.  Then release a GMing Libram later with the complications/advantages for each skill listed.

Remember, the Beta release is the same as the Novus 2.0 core rules, so it has to be completely and fully playable.

Thus, I am converting those 2 tables into guidelines about Complications/Advantages.

However, having said that, I can definitely see a much more massive volume of text in going through each skill and detailing the various Complications and Advantages that I can come up with.

The real trick for agreeing with your crazy was to rewrite some of the resolution methods to better fit that crazy, which actually turned out to be relatively easy to do. The Opposed rolls was the most difficult to convert, and the Percentage definitely needed more clarification. And the Bonus rolls fit perfectly with the Advantage/Complication guidelines.

Side Note: I used to use something similar with RM way back. I would take the basic success and then add and subtract modifiers on the fly to get the total of what the player had to roll over.

[AresLunthar]

Me too.  I think we do it instinctively because we have done it for so long.  But, with 5E using a re-roll mechanic for Advantage/Disadvantage it makes it somewhat necessary to show GMs how to build a challenge rating.  Actually, what I was thinking of doing was including a little GM table with Novus Mini's that has the 5 basic building blocks (TN, Minor/Major Advantage, Minor/Major Complication).  Or maybe just adding it to the text sometimes.  Novus Mini #5 has examples of using Minor Complications to add difficulty to base TNs in it.  I liked that because it also adds to the GMs tool box for storytelling (it gives them something to use to describe the environment).  I'm going to GM that in a couple weeks for a level 2 PC so it should be a good test.

[imported_Rasyr]

Oh... working through that table, and taking a closer look at traps

Currently a trap is listed as such (Search TN being first,Disarm being second:

Arrow Trap: TN 25/TN 30; +15 Arrow/Bolt (6); Triggering the trap fires an arrow or crossbow bolt at the target.

But with the Complications we could instead list it as such:

Arrow Trap: S1/D1.1; +15 Arrow/Bolt (6); Triggering the trap fires an arrow or crossbow bolt at the target.

And thus, the number equals the number of Major Complications (with the number after the decimal (.1) being a Minor Complication). Not having the right skill, as always, increases it by a Major Complication.

Thus it would be
Trap Name: S(Major)[.][Minor]/D(Major)[.][Minor]; (Attack Bonus) Attack Type (Base Damage)

(bits in brackets [] are optional).

Thus the actual stat block for a trap is:
Arrow Trap: S1/D1.1; +15 Arrow/Bolt (6)

And for the GM, that means you need a TN20 to Search for the trap (TN25 to notice it without searching for it), and a TN 23 (15 + Major [5] + Minor[3]) to Disarm it using Gimmickry.

[AresLunthar]

Hmmm.  I think I'd rather have the TNs right in the text while I am GMing.  Traps are interesting.  They are a perfect example of how you can adjust TNs to the level of your PCs.  In fact it might be interesting to develop a recommended TN matrix based on total bonus vs. TN.  D6 systems do that sometimes and it's really helpful for GMs and players to gauge how good a character actually is.  It would be a useful tool......I feel a brainstorm coming on.....

Something like

Bonus  TN15    TN18   TN20
+5            65%      45%  10% 
+4            55%     35%    8%

These #s are not accurate- I just wrote them in to demonstrate

[AresLunthar]

So, I am curious.  I for one think it would be worth while to create some sort of conversion document to allow Novus to be used easily with some of the online resources available for D&D.  I sort of began converting for my own purposes: Novus Mini #3 was a straight conversion of an online dungeon.  While we're in the process of re-balancing Running Novus I wonder if it makes sense to take this into consideration too.  I mean the goal is to make at least a little money right?  Which means that we're going to have to convert a few D&Ders at some time....LOL

Off hand I can say that I would be able to create a quick reference table that could assign Novus TNs to D&D CRs.  So, CR1 might be TN15 etc.

Any thoughts on this?

[imported_Rasyr]

That sounds like a nifty idea. I am not well enough versed to make such a table myself, but if you want to, more power to you.

 

[AresLunthar]

I flipped through my Dungeon Masters Guide.  It uses the same base TNs as Novus 1.0.  TNs 10/15/20 as Easy/Moderate/Hard.  I'll give this some more thought....

[AresLunthar]

OK, I put together a draft of a Skill Bonus vs. TN table to use as a GM aid.  Have a look

[AresLunthar]

Silly question really.  I assume Novus is scaled to have a hex or square on a map represent 10 feet.  Is this correct?

[imported_Rasyr]

5' or 10' works best for scales

[AresLunthar]

I used a 5'/square scaling last session.  We were using some pre-fab dungeon tiles with furniture etc. so, that scaling seemed to be more appropriate.  But, I think for my maps I'll use a 10'/square. 

[imported_Rasyr]

That one section in the Running Novus chapter where I discuss making special lists for Clerics, now has examples (2 in the beta, 3 in the playtest). I have also added an extra spell to both the Monk and Paladin, to bring them up to the same number as the other Hybrids.