rmagruder
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Joined: Sat 14 Jan 2023, 05:40

Skill TN questions

Wed 25 Jan 2023, 13:54

I think I saw this mentioned in a review of TOR some time ago, but wanted to read the rules carefully myself. Supposing I have a Strength TN of 14, and I want to break down a door. I would roll a strength TN against it....14. Let's say that door was a simple wooden door that wasn't too sturdy. Now let's say I run up against a very sturdy wood door, clearly thicker, stronger, tougher, than the last door. My TN to break it is still.....14. Does the LM just add and remove d6's to 'increase/decrease' difficulty? It doesn't look like this kind of 'DC' mechanic is really endorsed in the game. And the adjustments to the number of d6's appear to be more about whether the person is weary, ill-favored, etc as opposed to the actual intrinsic difficulty of the task.

So? Just wing it and add / remove d6 to 'tweak' difficulty? Or stick with TN 14 for everything and hope it works out?
 
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Harlath
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Re: Skill TN questions

Wed 25 Jan 2023, 23:22

P21 talks about penalty success dice. Similar later in councils with 1D penalties based on attitudes, and later in the loremaster section where it notes distinctive features can apply bonuses/penalties. Also gives some combat examples where circumstances can apply bonuses/penalties.

For a flimsy/normal door, don’t require a skill check, as the book recommends.

For a tough door, a standard check or one with -1D.

Or to make things tougher, you can make them skill endeavours, requiring x successes in y rolls.

Hope this helps!
 
rmagruder
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Re: Skill TN questions

Thu 26 Jan 2023, 03:12

It does help! I remember seeing some of the things you mentioned, but didn't apply them in a general sense.

Certainly the idea of NOT rolling had not occurred to me. If the idea is ....if it's not THAT difficult, don't roll for it. Quite a change from D&D.
 
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Harlath
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Re: Skill TN questions

Thu 26 Jan 2023, 10:07

Glad to help! :)

P16 of the rulebook has some really good advice on "When to Roll".

Plus PCs will succeed at important things if they're only rolling for the things the rulebook suggest, as they'll be able to focus their Hope on these key rolls. Ideally while Inspired, as distinctive features can Inspire skill rolls. And there are other ways (e.g. virtues) to get Inspiration on things like attacks, protection rolls, Shadow tests.
 
rmagruder
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Re: Skill TN questions

Thu 26 Jan 2023, 14:35

It definitely feels like they make rolling, especially for new characters, VERY challenging so it makes sense that there's a lot less rolling going on than the roll-fest that is DnD 5e. But then that means more narrative, which is a good thing for a Tolkien-oriented RPG.
 
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Harlath
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Re: Skill TN questions

Thu 26 Jan 2023, 19:13

I was concerned TOR 2e would be a bit too difficult, but I've found that the combination of:

- Favoured Skills
- Useful items
- Hope (particularly when inspired for +2d)
- Support for 1d (or 2d due to Fellowship Focus)

Makes a big difference. I encourage people to spend Hope by using tokens for Fellowship points and reminding them that that Fellowship refreshes each session plus you get your Heart worth of Hope back per session too.

So over a 2 session adventure a character with even just 4 Heart can make 3 rolls with +2d before they start to run their Hope down.

Plus you get all of your Hope back at Yule.

Spend, spend, spend.

If after all that things are still too tough, you can always make the TNs 18-attribute instead of 20-attribute, as the rulebook suggests.
 
rmagruder
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Re: Skill TN questions

Fri 27 Jan 2023, 04:18

Yup, all excellent suggestions. I'm trying to get my almost 9 year old son into it, and he likes it, but he's sample D&D and loves combat with figures because, ya know, action. I'll have to see what I can do to make sure he sees enough in the TOR starter set to keep him hooked. I don't mind if he wants to play both systems, but my bias is for bringing him along in Middle Earth, and we just finished watching all the Hobbit movies tonight :)
 
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Harlath
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Re: Skill TN questions

Fri 27 Jan 2023, 13:19

Miniatures can be a useful prop to show who is engaged with one, and what stance each PC is in.

Similarly, battle maps or illustrations can spark tactical ideas, engagement limits, "other combat tasks" or complications/advantage (potentially unlocked via Battle rolls).

Plus they can be eye catching hooks and some players find the visual element helpful.

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