Sat 03 Dec 2022, 20:56
Advancement rolls
First off: I love them. Yes, they are sometimes unfair, they are random, and, most of all, anachronistic to the point-buy-standard. But they give me exactly the old-school vibe that I expected. (I started with Das Schwarze Auge back in the 1990s and rolls for skill advancement was the thing up to the 3rd edition, including). The beta system for experience is simple and straightforward, I like that.
I would just change one thing and replace the d20 with 3d6. The bell curve is nicer for skills with a low rating, while the flat probability of the d20 can be frustrating sometimes. (Though I love it for regular checks.)
E.g. you have an advancement mark for a weak skill with level 6. You need to roll 7 or higher to increase the skill level by one. The chance with d20 is 70% (not bad, but we know how unreliable a d20 can be), with 3d6 it’s nearly 91%. This makes it much more enjoyable to spend advancement on low-level skills.
On the other hand, it’s much harder to increase high-level skills, which I find reasonable. E.g. increasing a skill from 15 to 16 has a chance of nearly 5% (3d6) vs. 25% (d20). And from 17 to 18 it’s 0,46% (3d6) vs. 15% (d20).
Long story short, replacing the d20 in advancement rolls with 3d6 favours the advancement of low-level skills and softens the randomness of the process.