[Torg] More shtuff: skill Knacks

[Benjamin Grant]

In our game we have something called Merits and Flaws.  In order to explain
skill Knacks, I first  have to explain Merits

Merits represent a basic quality or ability that is not as detailed as a
skill or power, and come in three levels: Minor, Major, and Superior.  One
example of a Merit is Cad Calloway's Level 3 Merit named Rockstar.  As a
Superior Merit, it gives him fame, money, and the other rewards of being a
world famous successful rock'n'roll musician. Merits can also be
supernatural sources of ability.  Blake's character got rewarded with the
Power of Night Merit from the Queen of Night herself.  As a power, Merit
based abilities, while stunningly powerful (especially Major and Superior
ones), usually have a high cost, such as the expenditure of a possibility
per use or per scene.

Merits can also be a personal code of ethics, such as Jack's Heroic Merit.
Not only did this enable Jack to stick to his guns without willpower rolls
in many circumstances, it made it obvious to many - and to the universe as a
whole, that he was committed to his path.  It also made it easier for him to
see among his choices which were more heroic and which were less so - and
which were downright unheroic.

It has come up on the list that it would be beneficial to have a mechanic to
represent when someone has a particular Knack for a skill.  Such a Knack
would make someone with a low underlying stat more effective, and someone
with a decent underlying stat could become even better.  This is what I came
up with:

Knacks are a kind of Merit that can be purchased.  The costing is exactly
the same as any other Merit:  the first level costs 5 possibilities to
acquire (and a darn good story reason why or how), the second level costs 10
more possibilities, and the third and final level costs 15 more
possibilities.  Starting out with a Merit as a starting character normally
costs 1 attribute point (from your starting total of 66) for a level 1
Merit, 2 attribute points for a level 2 Merit, and 3 attribute points for a
level 3 Merit.

Here's what you get:

For a level 1 Knack Merit in a skill, which costs 5 possibilities, you get
two things:
-a discount on the purchasing the first add of the skill, if you don't
already have it.  The cost is halved, rounded down.  So if it normally costs
you 5 possibilities to get the first add, but you have at least a level 1
Knack Merit in that skill, it only costs 2.
-A +3 to your rolled Bonus Number, up to a max rolled Bonus Number of 0.  So
if your rolled BN is -8, it become -5.  If you rolled a -2 BN, it does not
become +1, but does become 0.  If your rolled BN is 0 or more, it has no
effect, and you simply use the actual rolled Bonus Number.

For a level 2 Knack Merit in a skill, which costs 10 more possibilities for
a total of 15, you get two additional things:
-protection from any botches (in our game, whenever you roll a 1, you
immediately roll again to check for a botch, 1-5 on the second roll = botch,
etc)
-A +6 to your rolled Bonus Number, up to a max rolled Bonus Number of +2,
unless you naturally rolled higher.

For a level 3 Knack Merit in a skill, which costs 15 more possibilities for
a total of 30, you get one more, very nice option:
-Every time you roll for the skill, you get an additional roll as if you
spent a possibility.  This does not count toward any limit, meaning you can
still spend your own possibilities and cards as normal.

Make sense?	

-Benn Grant
eFix Computer Consulting
benn at 4eFix.com
603.283.6601