{"id":27851,"date":"2020-04-07T00:01:34","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T14:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.campaignmastery.com\/blog\/?p=27851"},"modified":"2020-04-07T00:01:35","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T14:01:35","slug":"the-sixes-system-4-doing-things-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.campaignmastery.com\/blog\/the-sixes-system-4-doing-things-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sixes System Pt 4: Doing Things 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
This entry is part 5 of 9 in the series The Sixes System<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Image by Reimund Bertrams<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>
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0. Fundamentals (repeated for all posts:)<\/h3>\n

— The Sixes System has been used in my Dr Who campaign since September 2014, and has just come to a successful conclusion.<\/p>\n

— Characters are constructed using a point-buy methodology with NPCs generatable using die rolls for speed.<\/p>\n

— Success or Failure on tasks is determined by adding dice to a pool based on ability and circumstances which are then rolled against a target number determined by the GM.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

6. Setting Targets<\/h3>\n

It wasn’t until I started laying out the tables that will be found a little later in this article that I realized just how much this section was the heart of the entire game system. Everything to date feeds into this section, one way or another. All of section 5 (‘Doing Things, Part 1’<\/a>) can be viewed as an interface between the rest of the game system and this section, which underpins everything. Accordingly, this is the material that it is most important for the GM to master.<\/p>\n

\nThe good news for GMs is that even if you never use the Sixes System for one of your games, mastering the content in this section will still be beneficial, because at the end of it, you will understand dice and die rolls more clearly than you did before. Unless you’re some kind of expert already, of course!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Setting a target would be really tricky without a simple process to follow that takes all the complexity and submerges it someplace where it won’t bother anyone. I’ll explain why, and discuss the difficulties involved, a little later. For now, let’s detail that process. There are six simple steps:
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  1. Difficulty Factor<\/li>\n
  2. Eligible Dice<\/li>\n
  3. Target Average<\/li>\n
  4. Base Target<\/li>\n
  5. Number Of Sixes<\/li>\n
  6. Amended Target<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    Alien Image by 024-657-834<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

    6.1 Difficulty Factor<\/h5>\n

    Circumstances are generally either for or against the character doing what he has described; it’s very rare for all the factors involved to cancel out, leaving a base roll.<\/p>\n

    If the circumstances make life easier for the character, they are described by a negative Difficulty Factor; if they make life more difficult, they are described by a positive Difficulty Factor.<\/p>\n

    Difficulty Factors are either “0” (i.e. nothing noteworthy), “1” (slight), “2” (significantly beneficial\/adverse), or “3” (extremely beneficial\/adverse).<\/p>\n

    In the most extreme of circumstances, the GM might contemplate a “4” but this is NOT recommended.<\/p>\n

    If the character is especially skilled or competent, these numbers (except 0, of course) may be increased by 1 or even 2.<\/p>\n

    6.2 Eligible Dice<\/h5>\n

    Adding 1\/2 the value of Stat that the character is using to the value of the Purpose with which he is using the Stat and subtracting the Difficulty Factor gives the number of Eligible Dice.<\/p>\n

    Note that this is not the full count of the die pool available to the character when the action is attempted, a fact that will become significant later in the process.<\/p>\n

    6.3 Target Average<\/h5>\n

    The third step is to select an appropriate target average, based on the difficulty of the task under typical circumstances (remember that the specific circumstances involved in this specific attempt have already been taken into account).<\/p>\n

    The average for any d6 is 3.5, or 7\/2, so that’s the base line. It takes an astonishingly small deviation from that average to significantly alter the likelihood of success. There is perpetually a knife-edge between “too easy” and “too hard”, a fact that has greatly influenced the system design. Quite literally, a range of \u00b11 normally covers the full gamut from 95% chance of success to 95% chance of failure – or more.<\/p>\n

    There are tables later in the rules to assist you in selecting an appropriate Target Average. But there’s a simpler way, and it’s this that I use when playing the system.<\/p>\n