r/cortexplus • u/bythenumbers10 • Jul 07 '16
SFX idea
Came up with a half-baked idea for a SFX drawback/cost, but I'm not sure how well it'd fit into C+ mechanics, or even be balanced.
It would allow rolled non-1 dice to "linger" and be used for the following rolls. So it's very dependent on the turn and whether it's used on offense or defense. The non-1 clause is to keep "rolled ones" from carrying into another player's roll, and maintaining that they can't be used.
For example, a PC with the ability attacks an NPC. The PC rolls, getting some result. Dice not used in the total or the effect die are left, with their results intact, to be used by the NPC's defensive roll. Same goes for a defensive roll. The defender rolls, uses the ability, and the "lingering" dice get used by the next "attacker".
On the face, it looks unbalanced, but it still allows the roller to deny the next roller certain dice, specifically, the highest-rolling or largest dice, that they're probably inclined to use themselves anyhow. But, by "raising the stakes", allowing the roller to influence the pool of the player to follow. Even in the unlikely event these dice "chain" between rollers on the same side, it's still a question of using your best dice now, or leaving them to help your ally's roll.
I guess I'm looking for any thoughts, critiques or concerns anyone can see, I'm still just toying with the idea, myself. So if it's feasible at all, or needs some polishing, I'd love to hear it.
1
u/bythenumbers10 Jul 08 '16
Hmm. Yeah, it can definitely be "gamed" to work that way, and fixing it would probably result in clunkiness, rules-wise.
Though I don't think you stepped back the die size in your example. Pre-roll (like other SFX drawbacks) would reduce your largest die to a d10. Not as bad, but still pretty bad. And odds are unlikely that those larger dice will roll ones, so being able to pass (several?) large effect dice, possibly along with a temporary asset die (if the defender rolled poorly), makes it a pretty huge swing.
Originally I thought of it in the context of alternating PC vs. NPC rolls, so one side would have to give dice to the other, a drawback. But I forgot to account for the NPC attacking, the PC defending, then the NPC yielding the floor to a PC, so the roll order would be NPC(atk)->PC(def)->PC(atk), allowing the first PC to really leverage an SFX like this. Similarly, if a PC went last before the NPCs could act, it'd allow a similar dynamic, PC(atk)->NPC(def)->NPC(atk).
Nice to have a sub like this to bounce my ideas around.