Author Topic: Playing level-less and resistance rolls  (Read 1616 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Aspire2Hope

  • Initiate
  • *
  • Posts: 109
  • OIC Points +0/-0
    • Rediscovering the Joys of MERP
Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« on: January 19, 2020, 09:53:26 AM »
The is mainly a question for Peter R but anyone else can weigh in. When playing without levels for character development how do you handle resistance rolls? The advice on the effects per level work well and I think I can hack in my divinity/devotion roll system for answers to prayer in a similar way with a theology skill. What I haven't come to a conclusion is how to scale the effects of spells, poisons and diseases.

My initial thoughts are to make it a 50:50 roll (same level opposed) with modifiers for the PP development (virulance/potency) and any talents/skills on the defender's side.

Any other ideas?

Offline Peter R

  • Navigator
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,850
  • OIC Points +480/-480
    • Rolemaster Blog
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2020, 07:56:02 AM »
I treat everyone as 1st level for resistance roll purposes.

I never really understood how or why you became increasingly immune to poisons and diseases just by killing monsters.

50:50 roll is the same, +/- stat modifiers should work.
Rolemasterblog http://www.rolemasterblog.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/RolemasterBlog
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rolemasterblog/

Spectre771 A couple of weeks ago, I disemboweled one of my PCs with a...

Offline Spectre771

  • Revered Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,384
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2020, 08:54:29 AM »

I never really understood how or why you became increasingly immune to poisons and diseases just by killing monsters.


It's very simple actually.  The adrenaline rush the PC gets from having faced death and come out victorious yet again, boosts the immune system and the endorphins boost the endocrine system.  Not to mention, the sanitation and hygiene regimens of that time period were pretty poor and allowed more bacteria into the host thus boosting the immune system further.  If the PC can live off of un-refrigerated meat, non-sanitized cooking halls, incompletely cooked meats for several levels of PC development, the result is a super-human, super healthy, poison resistant PC! 

It's very obvious science.  It's in all the medical journals of that time.
If discretion is the better valor and
cowardice the better part of judgment,
let's all be heroes and run away!

Offline Ecthelion

  • ICE Forum Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,497
  • OIC Points +0/-0
    • Character Gallery
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2020, 09:23:38 AM »
Any other ideas?
The HARP system has the approach to introduce resistance skills for getting better at resisting spells, poison etc. If going level-less but using skills I'd probably go that route.

Offline Peter R

  • Navigator
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,850
  • OIC Points +480/-480
    • Rolemaster Blog
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2020, 09:48:54 AM »
Yes, I could see that work. You could even specialise them into specific poisons if you wanted to go down the route of taking a little bit of the poison every day to build up an immunity.
Rolemasterblog http://www.rolemasterblog.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/RolemasterBlog
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rolemasterblog/

Spectre771 A couple of weeks ago, I disemboweled one of my PCs with a...

Offline B Hanson

  • Senior Adept
  • **
  • Posts: 655
  • OIC Points +0/-0
    • Rolemasterblog
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2020, 10:30:26 AM »
I wanted to keep the 100+ for success mechanism, so for levelless rr’s Im using the actual “stats as bonus” with difficulty modifiers/attack level.

For example, a player with a 75 constitution ingests a 25th lvl poison. They need to roll over a 50 to resist.

www.RolemasterBlog.com
Other stuff I've written: https://tinyurl.com/yxrjjmzg
Files Uploaded: https://tinyurl.com/y47cfcrc

Offline Aspire2Hope

  • Initiate
  • *
  • Posts: 109
  • OIC Points +0/-0
    • Rediscovering the Joys of MERP
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2020, 02:53:02 PM »
Any other ideas?
The HARP system has the approach to introduce resistance skills for getting better at resisting spells, poison etc. If going level-less but using skills I'd probably go that route.
That is sort of what I was thinking Ecthelion that for certain specific poisons/drugs/spells you could build resistance through "skill" training. It takes time to increase resistance to drugs/poisons and I guess some arcane knowledge to resist the effects of specific spells or schools of magic. Of course, that could also apply to immunity to disease. A bit like exposing children to Chicken Pox but I think the effects would be limited so a note rather than a formal skill for disease resistance.

Offline intothatdarkness

  • Navigator
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,879
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2020, 12:05:30 PM »

I never really understood how or why you became increasingly immune to poisons and diseases just by killing monsters.


It's very simple actually.  The adrenaline rush the PC gets from having faced death and come out victorious yet again, boosts the immune system and the endorphins boost the endocrine system.  Not to mention, the sanitation and hygiene regimens of that time period were pretty poor and allowed more bacteria into the host thus boosting the immune system further.  If the PC can live off of un-refrigerated meat, non-sanitized cooking halls, incompletely cooked meats for several levels of PC development, the result is a super-human, super healthy, poison resistant PC! 

It's very obvious science.  It's in all the medical journals of that time.

Funny answer aside, I always viewed it as something of a simplified mechanism to deal with how people develop greater resistance to disease as they age and are exposed to it. Poison's a bit trickier, but again you could use the same rationale with it. Honestly, I never cared that much. Killing characters is easy enough, so it didn't bother me that they had something working in their favor that didn't need to be developed as a skill. I also didn't see the need to add yet another skill to a system many consider bloated to begin with.
Darn that salt pork!

Offline yammahoper

  • Sage
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,858
  • OIC Points +0/-0
  • Nothing to see here, move along.
Re: Playing level-less and resistance rolls
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2020, 10:53:22 AM »
I did level 0 for all rr's but eventually settled on resistance level is equal to relevant stat mod. So a +8 In mod equals a level 8 resistance versus channeling. Attack levels are equal to ranks in skill/spell list. If Spirit Mastery is known to 9th level that all casting and attacks are calculated as a level 9 attack.

This works with all skills. An attempt to disarm for is figured with attack level equaling skill ranks in disarm foe and resisted versus foes ranks in weapon. Stat mod x3 for both attack penalty and resistance bonus, which can vary but are usually St (a Brownie using disarm with a skill bomus of 80 and 13 ranks in the skill would use Ag to attempt disarm but resist with St...ymmv).

Resistance levels are fairly static, but I do have rare and hard to find Resistance skills, one for each realm of magic and another for poison. More common are charms providing a level bonus or modifier to resist. Certain helmets for example have a unique enchanted metal that provides a level bonus versus mental attacks. Certain creatures to have innate resistances. Demons in my game are highly resistant to essence, resist essence at level with a bonus equal to typex10.



I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die.