Topic: Mechanics behind stat rolls

[Fidoric]

hi everybody.
I was wondering why when making contested stat rolls, only twice the stat bonus is used. I find it too small a modifier as the difference between an average man (let's say +0 strength) and a very (extremely ?) strong one (+12 strength) is not that significant.
With those features, using 2* stat bonus added to 1d100 :
- the medium man rolls 51. That's his total strength roll.
- the muscleman then looks at the RR column and discovers he need to reach 85 his opponent.
- with his +24 bonus, he need to roll at least 60 on 1d100.
That leaves the strongest man with less than 1/2 chance to beat his much less strong opponent, if I understand correctly.

So :
1. Sorry if this question has already been adressed,
2. I hope I've understood the rules correctly,
3. If yes, the has anybody already used an alternative using for example 5* or 10* stat bonus to stress the difference,
4. May anyone (Razyr ?) explain to me the logic behind this choice which was certainly not left to chance ? I can imagine it was done so to reflect the fact that skills use the sum of 2 stats, and it allows for example to roll a skill vs a stat ?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

1) My name is spelled Rasyr, not razyr. 

2) The resolution method you are describing is for Skill vs Skill (with it being NOT the same skill), not Stat vs. Stat. The RR resolution was used for Skill vs Skill to allow for some small chance of success when there are vast differences in the skill levels involved. There is no Stat vs Stat method detailed in HARP.

3) If you wanted to do something Stat vs. Stat, then I suggest you read the section on Stat-based Maneuvers on page 67. In that paragraph, a Stat-based maneuver is all-or-nothing maneuver, so you could just have Stat vs. Stat be straight rolls, higher one wins.

4) If you think that d100 + (2 x Stat bonus) produces too wide a variance, then change it. 2d10 produces a much smaller range, making the stat bonuses much much more important.

[Fidoric]

Thanks for your quick answer Rasyr. I humbly apologize for the wrong spelling of your name  .
I did not realized the maneuver table wasn't for everything, and I tend to use it that way. So there is no contested rolls for stats. I understand that.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

I did not realized the maneuver table wasn't for everything, and I tend to use it that way. So there is no contested rolls for stats. I understand that.

You still can, just don't use the RR column for Stat vs Stat.  Personally, I would use the Percentage column for Stat vs Stat. The result being how much of the maneuver accomplished or how close to winning each is (with a total result of 100+ equaling success).

So, in your example....

Character A (St bonus of 0) rolls a 51 and gets a result of 50 (this is if it is a Medium contest of strength, some things might be harder or easier).

Character B rolls a 44, and with 2 x 12 added to it, he has a total of 68, which gives a result of 60.

A = 50; B = 60 -- whoever gets to 100 first wins

As I stated before, the RR method was selected for skills because there could be a huge disparity between the skill bonuses. There isn't such a huge disparity between stat bonuses, so you shouldn't need to use the RR column for Stat vs. Stat.

[Fidoric]

I reached exactly that conclusion this morning. Using the percentage column is IMO the best way to simulate stat contests without changing the way dice are rolled. I will go n that way. Thanks once again.