Possible Resolution Mechanic

So, every RPG needs a resolution mechanic. Here's one I thought of earlier.


One of my design goals is to have every attribute point count. There are several ways to do this but one is to have a "standard" attribute array-- 10 being the human average, 20 being inhuman or close to it.

The resolution mechanic is a roll of d100 to defeat a target number. Let's say the standard target number is 50, to represent a base 50% chance of success. Rolling under is a success, and over is a failure. Alternatively you could roll over for a success and under for a failure; in that case the target number is the chance of failure, rather than the chance of success.

Rolling over the number goes along with the current gaming thinking that higher = better. A higher difficulty number is harder, a higher positive bonus is better, etc. However, using a d100 resolution mechanic allows you the possibility to think of the target number as your "chance of success."

I'm going to adopt that thinking in introducing my mechanic. So, again, let's say that a target number of 50 is a 50% chance of success. The lower the target number, the HARDER the task, and conversely, the higher the target number, the easier the task. Usually this is counter-intuitive but it's easy for people to understand percentages and "chance of success" so that doesn't apply in this case.

Also, you could introduce bonuses and penalties that remain intuitive in this system; the trick is to apply them to the target number, NOT your roll. For instance, a +2 bonus raises a target number of 50 to 52, increasing your chance of success by 2%.

So really, that is the base system, and it gives you an easy way to determine your chance of success. In a d20 system the chances of success and failure are usually abstract in most players minds (for the math-inclined this is less so, of course). In this system it allows you to see your chance of success right away which can aid your decision making. I think this might make it more fun for the player, as it gives them a better feeling of control.

Now with a d% resolution mechanic it's easy to make every attribute point count without making it absurd. Personally I think I'd make every point above 10 add +2 for rolls regarding that attribute, and -2 per point below 10.

Alternatively, as I stated earlier, you could make the target number a number to roll OVER. The higher the number, the harder the task, the lower the number, the easier the task. Bonuses and penalties would then be applied to the player's ROLL, not the target number. This has the advantage of "rolling high" being a good thing rather than a bad thing, but the disadvantage of not clearly knowing your chance of success. The math works out the same, however.

Consider a player trying to beat a target number of 70 with a +25 bonus to his roll. Sure, for the math-inclined, that's a 55% chance of success. But that's not see easy to tell at a glance when you have to make decisions based on your chance of success. And if you try to calculate your chance of success, that's just more time calculating and not playing the game.

A better way to do it would be like this.. a target of 70 in that system is a 30% success rate. So, use 30 as the target. +25 bonus? Add that to the target number: voila, 55.