Pace And Other Systemsâ¦.. - Evil Hat Productions

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3: Characters in ActionYou’re Good At What You DoIts an important thing to remember. Your characteris good at what he does. What he doesis indicated by his descriptors. So it would followthat, all things being equal, if your characteris doing something covered by a descriptor, heshould succeed, right?In <strong>Pace</strong>, he does.Heres how it works. Your character is calledupon to do something, or you say you want to trysomething and the GM gives you the go-ahead.You pick a descriptor, and explain how it applies.If that makes sense to the folks involved (usuallyyou and the GM), then its what we call theactive descriptor for the moment.<strong>And</strong> then, you succeed using your active descriptor.Its a pretty basic success, and is basically a1 in terms of giving it a number (one success).You can increase that number, and thus the degreeto which you succeed, by up to the rating ofyour descriptor (if you have a 3 rating, you canincrease your success by 3 to a total of 4). Thiscosts you one pip per point (well talk moreabout pips later on).Example: Basic Success MechanicsRoderigo, our Dashing[3] Duellist[4], is ona balcony and fighting for his life. Hes outnumbered,and decides it is time to make anescape. He says he wants to leap over the balconyand land on the awning of a shop below,and that this is the sort of thing a Dashing fellowlike himself would do. The GM agrees.PACE5Roderigo wants his landing to go as smoothlyas possible, so he decides to spend somepips on his success. Hes already got a basicsuccess of 1, since his descriptor of Dashingapplies. He can spend up to three pips to takethat up to a 4, which is his limit since thats hisDashing rating. He spends the two, and executesthe maneuver with a Dashing display ofdynamic derring-do.If no descriptor applies, then the character fails(a zero). This can still be bought up to a success,however, but it cannot be bought up any higherthan the lowest rated descriptor your characterhas.Example: No Descriptor AppliesRoderigos companion, Emile, has sprainedher ankle during an ill-advised attempt to duplicateRoderigos awning acrobatics. Roderigowants to set Emiles ankle so she doesnt makeit worse, and so they can keep on the move.He tries to make the case that as a Duellist heknows some first aid, but the GM isnt buying it.No descriptor applies, so at the get-go,Roderigo fails. He still has a few pips he canspend, however, but can only spare one for thistask. He buys his zero up to a one for a basicsuccess, and binds Emiles ankle enough for herto stand, but not enough for her to walk all thatquickly.What a Success MeansDegrees of success should be handled fluidly andquickly. As such, I am not providing a table thattells you what each level of success translates to.Suffice it to say, a single success (a 1) is justa basic, no-frills success. Each step beyond thatadds a bit more flair. Around 2 or 3 youre lookingat someone whos expert. Beyond that, youregetting into the realm of heroic action.Example: Awning AcrobaticsLets go back to the moment of Roderigos leapfor his life.If Roderigo had left things at a 1, hed haveleapt and landed on the awning, but withoutmuch grace, and hed have to spend some timerecovering and getting down off of the awning,and so on.
PACETaking it up to a 3, hes more liable to land aftera perfect somersault, and be able to dismountwithout much difficulty thereafter.Since hes gone that extra distance, to a 4, orif hed been able to take his successes evenhigher, he can land as described, then bounceoff the awning and down onto his feet on theground without so much as a mussed hair on hiswell-coiffed head.Character Against CharacterInevitably, you will have two characters competingdirectly against one another maybe theyrefencing, or in a race, or trying to track the samequarry. This is referred to as a contest, andboth sides are able to spend pips on their actions.In a contest, it is good and proper to compare thesuccess each character has bought, and declarethe one who has a greater success to be the winner.Naturally, if neither character has spent any pips,its going to be a tie, so deadlocks and draws willhappen. Then again, if neither is spending pips,neither character is really trying to beat the otherguy, at least not yet.Generally, it is up to the person with the higherrating to declare how many pips theyre investingfirst. But, if people can do it quickly and without6slowing down the pace of the game, a back-andforthexpenditure of one or more pips at a time (upto each characters maximum total) can heightenthe sense of tension about a contest. In such acase, the current loser can always call the conteston his turn, after spending pips (but he must stillbe the loser to do so).Example: Roderigo vs. DracoRoderigo is facing Draco in a duel. Roderigosusing his Duellist[4] descriptor, and Dracosplaying it Vicious[3]. Roderigo starts out by testinghis opponent, declaring he will invest threepips, giving him a total success of 4.This is Dracos maximum, and he knows it. Hecould take it to 4 as well, and force Roderigoto spend a final one, or he could save himself(and, unfortunately, Roderigo) a couple pipsand spend 2 and then call the contest at 4 vs 3.Still, its possible Roderigo wont want to spendthat final pip. A draw would certainly be favorableto a loss, even a minor one, so Dracodecides to gamble with it, and spends threepips to take his success up to its maximum of 4(1 + Vicious [3]).Roderigo really wants to teach Draco a lessonhere, though, so he responds by spending afinal pip, getting a 5 vs Dracos 4. Both contestantsare at their maximum, so the contest iscalled and resolved on this result.
Page 2 and 3: ContentsPACE1: Introduction .......
Page 4 and 5: 2: Creating CharactersChoosing Desc
Page 8 and 9: Contests should not be taken lightl
Page 10 and 11: 4: PipsPhysical RepresentationEvery
Page 12 and 13: Negative descriptors default to pro
Page 14 and 15: The Ebb and Flow of PipsPACEDeficit
Page 16 and 17: PACEThen the final category are tho
Page 18 and 19: Say youve set up a final showdown a

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Pace And Other Systemsâ¦.. - Evil Hat Productions