What exactly is an "normal" skill test?

[vivsavage]

The majority of RQ characters will have skill ratings below 50% when they start out. Heck, Joe Average Farmer would probably have an Athletics skill of only 30-35%. My question is, given these scores, what constitutes a "normal" skill test (eg, no modifiers to the roll)? In my way of thinking, normal would infer a basic 50/50 chance, but clearly that isn't the case in RQ. Given his 35% athletics skill, Joe Average Farmer is going to fail on 65% of his climbing/jumping/swimming attempts.

So what is a normal skill test? One that most people would fail at? What does it mean when a PC has a skill rating of 35% ? Is he average? Below average? If most starting PCs are going to fail at virtually every test the make, does that mean even normal tests are considered highly difficult for them?

I'm just looking for some perspective here. As a GM, I find the low scores a bit perplexing where a "normal" test is concerned. What are your thoughts?

 

[B_Steele]

For rudimentary tests like ploughing or hammering out shoe-nails, grant a bonus to their skill of like + 30% or more.

Or, if they have a sufficient amount in that skill, do not require the test at all.

It is up to the GM to make situations like this fair and reasonable.

Cheers,
Bry

 

[GbajiTheDeceiver]

But don't forget that in the majority of cases the person can try again. Even with what seems a low score, there will eventually be a success.

I would use skill rolls for situations where you must succeed now (or in a definite time frame) or Bad Things will happen.

Joe Average Farmer may have a 65% chance of failing that first Climbing roll, but that's only really important if he is scurrying up a tree to get away from a bear. If he's climbing that tree to pick an apple, he has a 35% chance of making it with one attempt, a 58% chance with 2 attempts, 73% with 3 attempts, and so on (my maths may be bad here, but it illustrates the point).

That makes a score of 20 to 40 seem pretty damn reasonable for your typical Joe Average day-to-day stuff. You may not get it right first time, but with due care and attention to what you're doing, with an indefinite amount of time to attempt it in, and with minimal risk involved, you'll get there.

Maybe taking some ideas from the Ceremony ritual would be a good house rule for skill usage here?

 

[Halfbat]

GbajiTheDeceiver's approach is how I play it, too.

It's also worth remembering that if you're not hurried you can often delay and take a bit more care. When Joe Farmer climbs his apple tree he can probably take a long time to do so, and take a significant time bonus.

 

[Deleriad]

The majority of RQ characters will have skill ratings below 50% when they start out. Heck, Joe Average Farmer would probably have an Athletics skill of only 30-35%. My question is, given these scores, what constitutes a "normal" skill test (eg, no modifiers to the roll)? In my way of thinking, normal would infer a basic 50/50 chance, but clearly that isn't the case in RQ.

A normal test doesn't mean one where you have a 50/50 chance of success but one where there are no modifiers.
Generally you only need to roll a test if a character doesn't have enough time to ensure that they'll succeed and there's enough at stake that the character can't recover from a failure.
For example, an apprentice with the skill of craft (pottery) at 40% decides to make a pot for his mother's birthday. If it starts going wrong he can simply remake it and if he has time he can take long enough to almost ensure success. Later on he has to make a pot as a test. He has one chance to make it and he is being watched by an examiner. He must make a normal skill test with no modifiers. Failure will result in a badly made pot.

Example 2. An archer has 5 seconds to make two shots at a target - an apple on platform. The target is at medium range and the requirement to make shots prevents the archer from taking long enough to get an aiming bonus. No modifiers either way so this works out as 2 normal tests.

The key is that a person needs to make a skill test only in pressure situations and a normal test (as opposed to easy, difficult and so on) is one with no unusual modifiers. An apprentice (i.e. around 40% in a skill) can still fail a very easy test (+40%) unless they find some other help while a master could perform a very easy test in half the time required (+40 for very easy, -40% for taking less time) nearly every time.

Bruce

 

[Utgardloki]

My strategy is to ask "Who should be expected to succeed at this task."

I've decided to go to a multiplier modifier rather than an addition modifier for easy/difficult tasks, although addition modifiers apply afterward. So an Easy task would be at double chances, a Very Easy task at three time chances, Difficult at half chance, Very Difficult at one third chance, etc.

(I think I'll ask the players to each bring a reliable calculator to the session.)

So a normal skill check is one that a normal person could succeed or fail in, like swinging a sword (or perhaps climbing a tree right now to get away from the bear in a single combat action). A skill check that a professional could almost always succeed at, such as using a piece of professional equipment, would be Easy (double chance), assuming that most professionals have at least 50% skill in skills needed for their profession. A skill that most people should succeed at if they've had training (such as driving across the country without an incident) would be Very Easy, at triple chances.

I should probably define terms for five times, ten times, one fifth, and one tenth chances.

This also provides a guideline for how many skill points a character should have. NPCs should have at least 50% in skills needed for their profession. In Modern Runequest, I've considered that High School graduates in the U.S. (most of whom can be assumed to have passed a Driver's Education course) have +10% skill in Drive Automobile, which added to the default of 10 + POW means the average High School Graduate can be expected to drive across the country without an incident.

The last case shows that there should be some GM interpretation here. Given the probabilities, perhaps it's reasonable to have PCs with less than 33% in Driving make a Very Easy roll to avoid an incident. If an incident occurs, then a normal roll would be indicated to avoid an accident.

Another rule I've adopted is that for an Easy or Very Easy task, if your effective chance is above 100% you don't have to roll. Normal and Difficult tasks have a minimum chance of failure.

(One option might be to have Normal tasks have 1% chance of failure, Difficult tasks have 2% chance of failure, more difficult tasks have 3%, 5%, or 10% chance of failure, based on the divisor used.)

To answer the original question:

A "normal" task is one that normal professionals have a good chance of failing.

An "easy" task is one that normal professionals have almost no chance of failing, but laymen would have a good chance of failing. (+50% modifier, if you prefer addition to multiplication)

A "very easy" task is one that most people with training could be expected to accomplish without failure. (+70% modifier, if you prefer addition to multiplication)

An "extremely easy" task is one that almost anybody with the most rudimentary training would be expected to succeed (five times chance, or +80% modifier if you prefer addition to multiplication)

A "difficult" task is one that would have a significant chance of failure, even the leading experts in the world (half chance, or -50% if you prefer subtraction to division)

A "very difficult" task is one that even the best experts in the world would have a significant chance of failure (one third chance, or -70%)

An "extremely difficult" task would be one where the best in the world have a significance chance of failure (one fifth chance, or -80%)

A "critically difficult" task would be one that requires a critical success to succeed, otherwise it fails.

PCs and NPCs should have at least 50% in skills that are essential to their profession, and at least 30% in skills that they consider important to their characters (talented amateurs, etc).

I hope this helps.

 

[weasel_fierce]

A normal roll is when something is challenging, important, and potentially dangerous.