Author Topic: How to handle climb maneuvers  (Read 578 times)

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Offline alloowishus

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How to handle climb maneuvers
« on: October 29, 2023, 03:46:14 PM »
Just wondering how most GMs handle climbing mms. A difficulty is assigned and they get a percentage. What does this percentage represent? Does it represent the chance of falling or the percentage of the climb completed?

Offline EltonJ

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Re: How to handle climb maneuvers
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2023, 05:16:14 PM »
Just wondering how most GMs handle climbing mms. A difficulty is assigned and they get a percentage. What does this percentage represent? Does it represent the chance of falling or the percentage of the climb completed?

For me, it's the chance of the climb completed.

Offline Hurin

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Re: How to handle climb maneuvers
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2023, 08:34:47 PM »
If it is a percentage manuever -- meaning there is no reasonable chance of failure, and the roll just determines how quickly a character will perform the manuever -- then yes, the percentage is the amount of the task completed.

If on the other hand the maneuver is an 'absolute' maneuver, meaning it has to be pass or fail, then the percentage chance is the chance of success (roll another open ended d100 for that).
'Last of all, Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed'. --J.R.R. Tolkien

'Every party needs at least one insane person.'  --Aspen of the Jade Isle

Offline rsarres

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Re: How to handle climb maneuvers
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2023, 07:47:33 PM »
I attribute different difficulties of a climb maneuver based on speed and the material and state of the wall itself.
For exame: a rock wall with many places to hang on and put your feet may be an light maneuver at 3 feet per round. The player may try to climb faster, each additional 3 feet per round increases the difficulty by one step.
Example:
6 ft/rnd= medium maneuver
9ft/rnd= hard maneuver

If it is raining and the wall is wet, all the difficulty increase by one step.

Is it is dark and the pc does not have night vision, increased difficulty.

A successful maneuver result in the percentage climbed successfully. For example: a result of 50 means the player climbed 50% of the intended rate. If it was 6ft/rnd, he only climbed 3ft.

The player only falls if the resulting maneuver explicitly results in a fall.

Offline Majyk

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Re: How to handle climb maneuvers
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2024, 10:57:57 AM »
Lots of ways to play with MM table results:

Whatever # appears is the % amount of the Movement Rate one achieves.
These delays for less than 100% results means adding another attempt to complete whatever maneuver is being tried for. 
For more fun, add a d10/x rounds before another attempt can be rolled for…

In combat situations, awesome tension gets inserted into your game as “…the slimy, slithering, monstrosity shambles ever closer to the Party - acidic-ally pitting the ancient Dwarven spiral staircase as your Rogue feverishly continues to pick the stubborn lock that he assured you was a simple one to bypass!”

For more difficulty, every % number listed must be rolled under to get that much success, otherwise the result listed is halved/quartered/tenthed.
This makes having enough development points invested in a skill worth much more vs those builds that merely take a single skill rank and be done with it.

Finally, don’t allow any % movement/success at all.
“Nope, no 100% yet…”. 
These moments are for tiring actions like moving the heavy granite tomb lid/stone door.  Three strikes and you’re too tired to try again until a rest, whether a full camp one or a mere hour or two having a sit.

Lots of ways to make things more memorable than, “keep trying until you’re done.”  Result differences of 50-100+ rolling over said %s can mean Fumbles or deadly rolls on the Fall/Crush or other crit tables if not just outright scaling up the next column for Failures.

“Sorry, you’re getting frustrated by this task.  Next attempt is going from Medium to Hard…then Very Hard, etc. until x happens.”