[Torg] Question: +3 or reroll?

[Benjamin Grant]

In my game, we do not use the drama deck.  In its place the characters
receive 3 Hero Points (HP) at the start of each session, and any unused HP
at the end of the session is lost.  The HP can be spent for any card effect
except Escape, Monologue, Drama, Subplots, and card effects that manipulate
cards like Master Plan, Leadership, or Rally.

 

(One further note: we also use the Glass Jawed Ninja fix of adding a
person's offensive or defensive skill adds to their effect or resistance
values, as outlined here:

http://darleyconsulting.com/games/stormknights/gameplay/skillcombat.html )

 

This means, for example, that if a player wants to perform an Unarmed Combat
(he has the skill at +3 and a Dex of 12), and knows he is up against a very
skilled opponent, he knows he needs as high a result as possible.  Let's say
he rolls a 9, spends a possibility, and rolls a 17 - a total of 26 or a +9
Bonus Number(BN).  But what if the character wants more?  He has two
choices: spend a HP for a Reroll or spend an HP for an Adrenaline.

 

If he spend the HP for the reroll, he has ten chances to roll a +10 to his
Die Roll (since a roll of less than 10 is treated as ten when rerolling) and
ten chances to roll from an 11 to a 20.  That means that his average roll is
a +12.75, not counting the chance of getting another natural reroll through
a natural 10 or 20, which would raise that average somewhat.  If the player
already has a 26, adding +12.75 to that makes 38.75, for an bonus number of
+11 on average.  This means that a reroll spent when one is already at a die
roll of 21 or better only yields a +2 or +3, depending on how the chance for
natural rerolls improve the base chances and skew the average upward.  In
conclusion, his Dex of 12, his UAC of +3, and his +11 or +12 BN yield a
total of 26 or 27.

 

On the other hand, one can forgo the reroll and instead spend the HP for an
Adrenaline, which gives a +3 to a Dexterity related skill, such as Unarmed
Combat.  This means that his +3 UAC is now at +6 for this attempt.  He still
rolls an initial 9, spends a possibility and rolls a 17, for a 26 Die Roll,
which is a +9 BN.  +12 Dex plus +6 UAC plus +9 BN = 27.

 

Given that both choices yield very similar results, what's the difference?
Well, the reroll choice will be somewhat more random, but not as much as you
might think, since you can do no worse than a 10 added to your die roll,
which at the higher level of the BN chart yield a minimum of a +2.  No, the
downside is protected, but you can potentially luck out and roll much better
- even Glory territory!

 

So why would you choose to use your HP for an Adrenaline?

 

I am thinking, given the above conditions, you wouldn't.

 

This is why I am considering upping the value of the Adrenaline bonus from
+3 to +4.  This would I think make the choice of spending HP for Adrenalines
(and the like) more competitive with the choice of spending HP for rerolls
via the Hero card effect.

 

What are your thoughts, people?

 

-Benn Grant

eFix Computer Consulting

 <mailto:benn at 4eFix.com> benn at 4eFix.com

603.283.6601

 

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