SPD, END, and Time Chart Penalties

[Zane_Marlowe]

Hi Steve, thanks for taking your time to do these, it's really valuable.

 

Okay, suppose we have two Speedsters, each with 3 skill levels vs. time chart penalties for non-combat skills (30 Active Points), so they can accomplish skills one step more quickly on the chart without penalty. This power is purchased with an END limitation so that it costs 3 pts of END per phase.

 

Now suppose that the two Speedsters have different SPD characteristics. Speedster A has 6 SPD, but Speedster B has only 4. Each round, A will spend 18 END, but B will spend only 12. As A and B race to accomplish a task that normally takes 6 hours in only 1, A drops from exhaustion as he runs out of END, but B completes the task normally because he doesn't require as much END to do the same work.

 

This seems like a strange result for the character who would otherwise have an advantage from his increased SPD. The problem seems to be that the effort of skill use (A's extra 6 END per round) can vary without changing the time to complete the task. Are there rules to account for this, or can you suggest a possible rule?

[Steve Long]

Re: SPD, END, and Time Chart Penalties

 

I don't consider that a strange result at all. A is doing more, so it's logical he'd tire out more quickly. He also accomplishes 50% more toward completing his task in the same amount of time than B does.

 

The problem here, it seems to me, is that you're establishing a flat time to complete the task -- 1 Hour, regardless of any other consideration. A more "realistic" way to approach it, that I suspect would address the problem you're having here, is to measure how long the task takes in Phases of effort. Suppose a task takes a normal, SPD 2, person 6 Hours of total effort. That's 10 Phases of effort per minute for 360 minutes, or 3,600 Phases' work. Someone trying to do it in an hour would need to compress 3,600 Phases of effort into the 3,600 seconds in an hour -- in other words, he'd need SPD 12.

 

A quick-and-dirty way to handle that instead of using the standard Time Chart penalties is to look at the difference between the SPD required and the SPD the character actually has — subtract the latter from the former to get a Skill Roll penalty. Thus, a SPD 6 character could do this if he succeeds with his Skill Roll at a (12 - 6 =) -6 penalty. That may be way too simplistic for some campaigns, and/or make it too easy for characters to accomplish things quickly, but it will eliminate the concern you’re having I think.

 

If nothing else I suppose this'll make a good paragraph for APG3, if we ever do an APG3.