Difficulty

Difficulty #

Aspiring Legends is designed to maintain a balance between challenge and fun, providing a rich narrative experience. For skill checks and confirmation rolls, the base difficulty is set by the Target and Difficulty Rating (DR), but the GM and situational elements offer modifications. The goal of the GM is to provide players with around a 50-60% chance of achieving at least a Mixed Success in general, but to modify the difficulty to keep things interesting.

Setting Difficulty #

The GM plays a crucial role in setting the difficulty for skill checks and confirmation rolls. Here are a few guidelines to aid in that process:

  • Consider the situation: The circumstances surrounding the action play a key role in deciding the difficulty. Is the character attempting a feat they’ve done multiple times before? Are they doing it under stress or in a dangerous environment? Answering such questions helps set an appropriate difficulty level.
  • Adjust on the fly: The dynamic nature of RPGs requires the GM to be adaptable. After a Mixed Success or Success, the GM can adjust the difficulty according to the evolving situation, ensuring an engaging and fun experience for the players.
  • Keep the balance: The majority of standard enemies in Aspiring Legends have a single health point, given the effort required to deal damage. It’s essential for the GM to strike a balance, ensuring that the game is challenging but not overwhelming.
  • Riase the challenge when it makes sense: Sometimes the players should have a very low chance of beating a monter or sneaking past the royal guard. In those cases, feel free to raise the Target or DR, but keep in mind that you need to let the players know their targets before they decide if they are going to roll for it.

Skill Check Target #

Setting the Target for a skill check is a vital aspect of difficulty in Aspiring Legends. The Target is the number of successful dice rolls a player needs to perform a certain action. The GM should consider the task’s complexity, the character’s abilities, and the situation when setting the Target.

Here are some general guidelines for setting the Target:

  • Easy Task (Target of 1): This represents a basic challenge that a character should be able to overcome with a modest degree of skill or effort. These are tasks that lie well within the character’s area of expertise or are otherwise favorable.
  • Moderate Task (Target equals ~25% of dice being rolled): This denotes a task that is more demanding, requiring a significant amount of skill or effort. It’s something that will challenge the character but is still within their capability.
  • Difficult Task (Target equals ~50% of dice being rolled): This represents a task of considerable difficulty, demanding a high level of skill or an exceptional bit of luck. These are actions that push the character to the limit of their abilities.
  • Nearly Impossible Task (Target equals to the number of dice being rolled): These are tasks of such extreme difficulty that they demand absolute perfection. Such feats are rare and should be suitably dramatic and impactful within the context of the story.

Remember, the GM has the freedom to adjust these guidelines based on the situation, the characters involved, and the desired level of challenge.

Difficulty Rating (DR) #

The Difficulty Rating (DR) symbolizes the level of resistance an entity has to incoming effects. DR defines the threshold that must be met or exceeded in a confirmation roll for an attack to be effective. In general, most run-of-the-mill enemies have a DR of 1, given the significant exertion required to land a successful attack.

Here are a few illustrative examples:

  • Goblin: A diminutive, defenseless goblin likely boasts a DR of 1. It lacks durability, and the vast majority of assaults prove impactful. The GM could even go as far as giving the players 1 or more Lucky Dice to show that their attacks are extra effective against this creature.
  • Armored Paladin: A well shielded Paladin could still have a DR of 1, but the players would need to be more creative to find a way to hurt it. Ineffective attacks would be rolled with Unlucky Dice.
  • Dragon: A formidable adversary such as a dragon encapsulates the upper end of the DR spectrum, commanding a DR greater than 1. As a broad guideline, the DR for such intimidating foes should approximate half the quantity of dice players would typically roll for a confirmation check.

In the design of encounters and challenges, the interplay between the DR and the Target number forms the backbone of the difficulty level. Given that damage is only inflicted if players succeed in their confirmation roll, a slew of attacks may fall short of delivering the finishing blow even if the creature only has 1 HP. This dynamic establishes a suspenseful, high-stakes combat atmosphere, culminating in exhilarating victories where players triumph through collaboration and strategy.