New Concept: The Idea Roll

[Arnold Rimmer]

This is something I stole from another system, and it seems to work pretty well. Every so often, I need the PC's to find a way to accomplish something that my players just aren't thinking of. Often, though, it IS something their characters would know, they're just not enough of a trekkie.

Here's what I do: Set a TN, depending on the complexity of the idea. The more complex the idea, the higher the TN. Have whichever character(s) most likely to hark upon the idea roll 2d6, adding their INT modifier. If they meet or beat the TN; tell them what it is they figure out. If they come close; maybe give them a hint that would lead them down the right path. Falling too far below the TN, and they remain clueless.

Comments or Questions?

[Rayaru]

I like to see them run around like headless chickens.... but maybe that's just my evil GM blood taking control again.

If it stops being fun, I just do the following:
"Everyone make an int check. Anyone who rolled above a ONE sees the BIG FREAKING DOOR right ahead of you."

[Sho-sa Kurita]

Would that be an "inspiration check" by any chance?

[Ergi]

I can't remember when I started to let my players make that kind of INT checks but I always use it give the players important information or to point them into the right direction. I don't think, however, that I stole the idea for that from any system I know. It just made a lot of sense to me.

[Cut]

I tend to have a constant NPC along with the group, that can take either the blame or speak up if all other options seem to be exhausted.

[Arnold Rimmer]

I <i>think</i> I stole it from the Idea Roll of the old RuneQuest system.

[Balok]

A system called TORG supplemented play with a series of cards. You could play these cards from your hand to obtain certain temporary modifiers. In general, it worked well, but there were a few weak spots...

One such card was the "Idea Card". If you played this card, the GM was supposed to give you an idea how to proceed. The problem was, they were too common, and unless the GM took the time to prepare "ideas" in advance, they had enormous potential to short circuit an adventure. Also, what's a "good idea" can vary; I remember at least one instance where the GM told us what we thought we should do, and we all ended up dying from it. Following that, we started mocking the cards as "Bad Idea" cards.

I'd make the following modification: I'd tell the players something like "You seem to be stumped. For 100 experience I'll give you a hint."

If someone agreed to the fee, I'd give them what I felt was the best hint. The idea is, shortcuts around the adventure should have a price. If I noticed they needed *a lot* of hints, maybe it would be time to reduce the complexity of my adventure. The author, after all, has a "divine perspective" that can prevent a good apprehension of how difficult a problem might be to solve.