Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age - Class Abilities in O.G.R.E.S.

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 Previous blogs in this series:

Class Abilities - Powered by O.G.R.E.S.

In previous blogs we've looked behind the curtain at what the O.G.R.E.S. system brings to the table for your fantasy game, whether it is a retroclone or something different, and how features such as Divine Touchstones, nonhuman Species and cultural backgrounds, and Tiered Attributes work in the game. The most recent blog with Tiered Attributes took a look at the ability check mechanic, which functions by rolling a d20, adding applicable bonuses and trying to get a 20 or better. 

This blog will look at how class abilities work in the O.G.R.E.S. system. For those who are familiar with old-school gaming, it should look quite familiar, though with a few twists to better codify and unify the mechanic across the board. For those who are new, we'll also look at why we chose a separate mechanic for the class abilities rather than sticking with the d20 check. 

Art by Nicole Cardiff. Used under license.

Class Ability Mechanic

The class ability mechanic in the O.G.R.E.S. system is quite simple - a straight percentile roll attempting to get equal to or less than your score. Thus, if you have a 50% chance to accomplish something, you roll percentile dice, and a 0 to 50 succeeds. In many cases, the base percentile chance is adjusted up or down, usually in 5- to 10-point increments, based on the difficulty of the task. From behind the screen, the GM can set a level of difficulty, multiply that by 5, and apply the result to the base chance of success. 

The GM may decide, for example, that a Warrior attempting to track a quarry through the wilderness sees their chance modified by the difference between the Warrior's level and their opponent's. If the Warror, then, is level 5, and the opponent level 8, there is a 3-level difference. Multiplying these 3 levels by 5 results in 15, so the Warrior's Tracking ability is reduced by 15% for this check. 

On the other hand, if the Warrior is higher level than their opponent, their chance may increase by a like amount - a 5th-level Warrior tracking a 2nd-level quarry would improve their Tracking chance by 15%. As with Difficulty Bonuses in attribute checks, the GM may or may not choose to tell the player what the difficulty is; they may merely say, "you succeeded," or "you failed." 

This does not mean, for example, that you cannot try something that is not a class ability. Consider a Renegade attempting to sneak up on a target. Other characters in the party may also attempt this. The Renegade rolls their stealth ability. Other characters make an Agility check. 

The difference is that if the Renegade fails their stealth ability, they can still attempt an Agility check. They essentially get two shots at it. In addition, the Renegade, if they succeed, is assumed to be absolutely silent and undetectable. Other characters may still have to beat an enemy's Wits save, or suffer a "rule of 2" check even if they succeed. 

Artwork by Aaron Lee. Used under license.

Spellcasting in O.G.R.E.S.

The class ability mechanic in O.G.R.E.S. even applies to casting spells. O.G.R.E.S., unlike many old-school games, does not use a so-called "Vancian" or "Fire and Forget" magic system. Rather, the caster has a base spellcasting percentage which like all class abilities improves as the character goes up in level. This percentage is then modified downward by 5% per level of the spell they are casting. A first-level spell, then, reduces casting by 5%. A fifth-level spell reduces casting by 25%. 

So long as you do not fail a casting roll, you can continue to cast spells all day long. If you do fail a casting roll, your spell backfires in some way, requiring a check on a spell backfire table to see how badly it blows up in your face. You may lose access to the spell until the next day. You may have no ill effects except a spell failure. You could summon a horrific demon from the depths of the Underworld that instantly attacks you. It all depends on the power of the spell you were trying to cast, and your result on the table. 

The rationale for applying the class ability mechanic to spellcasting is to keep it unified with the rest of the class abilities. In old-school versions of games, the mechanics used in O.G.R.E.S. are all baked into the system - rangers of old used percentile dice to track. Thieves of old used percentile dice for their stealth abilites. The same goes for their comparable classes in Wasted Lands. Spellcasters, however, always and inexplicably used a completely different mechanic for casting spells, and stand alone for that. We took the opportunity to unify magic users, psychics, and the like so that their abilities function the same as any other class'. 

Why Two Mechanics?

We live in a world of game design where unified mechanics rule common wisdom. There is nothing wrong with unified mechanics, and indeed, Wasted Lands offers guidelines to convert the entire game to whichever type of unified resolution system you like - d20, percentile, or even dice pool - all without changing the stats. We also include the return of the O.R.C.S. system that powered Spellcraft & Swordplay if you prefer that approach. So you do have the way to truly make the game your own. 

The idea behind using more than one resolution mechanic is that there is an elegance to the mechanics both fading into the background while you play, while at the same time giving you an instant insight into what is going on at any given time. Consider the all-too-common scenario of the players paying half-attention at the table when the GM tells one player to make a roll for something. 

Suddenly the entire table comes to life with everyone asking, "What's she doing? Can I make a roll, too?" 

In this case, if the roll the player makes is percentile-based, the other players immediately know that it's class-ability-related, so they have a better chance of succeeding than anyone else. It lets you know when a character is digging into the area of expertise where they shine. 

Skills in O.G.R.E.S.

By default, the O.G.R.E.S. system seeks to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible, so skills are not an essential part of the system. They are, however, included as an optional subsystem that allows you to give characters a bit more definition regarding what they can do and what their knowledge is outside of their character class. Skills, essentially, work like any other class ability, which means they use percentile checks, modified up or down in 5% or 10% increments based on the difficulty of the task at hand. 

That's all for today! Stay tuned for more behind the curtain looks at O.G.R.E.S. as we go on, and be sure to hit up the Kickstarter and sign up to be notified when we go live!

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