Return to ToC
Nothing I could write would actually give you clear view of the Fate Chart (found on page 26 of Mythic RPG for a better image) so lets just start with an image (used with authors permission. Thanks Tana!)
The heart of the Mythic RPG is this chart. Essentially Mythic, through the Fate Chart, gives binary answers of Yes or No, some times with the added description of Exceptional. Learning to read and use this chart, along with the use of descriptive word pairs as prompts, is all you need to play any gaming situation you can imagine.
Before we dive into how to use the chart, lets examine its various part. You will see up the center a grey column and across the center a grey row. Both of these have "Average" Marked at one end. Where they join in the middle of the chart it reads 50 with a small 10 to the left and a small 91 to the right. The bottom row represents the characters aptitude at whatever it is they are doing (which corresponds to the trait tags purchased for Mr. Quin in the last article). Here the aptitude is Average. Along the left hand side it says Acting Ranks. This indicates the strength (or weakness) of the object, character or force you are pitted against. It also reads Average. If you look at the right hand side you see a series of descriptive words representing your odds of success (or failure) of a task. In this row it reads 50/50. Knowing your characters aptitude, the strength of opposition or the odds of success are al the details you need to know to play Mythic. These are all generated logically from the current context of the scene or character/object/force involved.
What do the numbers in the cell mean? The larger number is your basic chance of the answer to the question being either a success if you are facing opposition (left hand side) or the chance that the answer to the question you are asking is Yes (right hand side). If you are of average skill and are facing an average challenge you will succeed 50% of the time. If you are seeking an answer and the odds are 50/50 you will get a Yes 50 % of the time.
The smaller number to the left in the cell (10 in this case) is your chance of an Exceptional Success or Exceptional Yes. Should you roll 10% or less you have a larger effect than a simple Yes answer would provide. (Example, in combat you may not only cause damage but get a rider, like knocking your foe prone).
If you roll over 50% (the large central number) you have either failed at the task (and then will determine logically the outcome of failure based on the context of the moment) or if it is a of Yes or No, the outcome will be a No answer. (Is the door locked? rolls 64 on percentile dice; No the door isn't locked.)
The small number on the right hand side (in this case 91 or any higher number) indicates an Exceptional Failure or an Extreme No. Whether it is an Extreme Failure or an Extreme No, the outcome will once again be dictated as the most logical for the given context. Going back to combat as an ever useful example, an Extreme Failure could mean that you didn't just miss your opponent but also your gun is jammed and you need to spend around clearing the chamber, before it can be used again. On a Yes/No question an Extreme No, on the question "is the door locked?" may indicate that the door doesn't even have a lock. (Hope that werewolf doesn't know how doorknobs work).
The last part of the chart is a series of small numbers along the bottom ranging from 9 on the left to 1 on the right. These represent the current Chaos Factor. Chaos Factor will get discussed in more detail later, just know for now that it is a measure of how chaotic events change the odds of an outcome. The higher the number, the more gonzo the world can get.
In the next installment we will follow a day in the life of Mr. Quin and see Odds Questions and Resisted Questions in action.
Link to 3b: The Fate Chart in action
No comments:
Post a Comment