Game Designer’s Notes

Game Designer’s Notes

Adding Character Skills

During the creation of a player character or NPC in the game Planet Archipelago, there is the selection of skills, also referred to as character skills. These represent the occupational skills that a character would have developed up to that point in their life. A young character will have lower skill levels and fewer “learned” skills. They need not have all of the skills allowed by their intelligence level. The skills they do have may have been learned from their parents, a tutor, or as an apprentice with an older skilled individual. The game-master should decide if some skills are not available on the island that the new Player character is from, and those skills would not be allowed. If an older character is being created, then they may have more of their total possible skills learned, and in addition they will have greater experience and practice in the use of those skills, as opposed to a youth. Once the game has begun and the player character is engaged in the adventure, then any “new” skills they want to add will be with the permission of the game-master, not the player controlling the character.

 As a guide to the game-masters the following is recommended. No player should be allowed to suddenly decide that a skill they need in the current situation was, in fact, learned years ago. Part of the plus of the game is teamwork. No player character can have all of the skills that might be needed, so having different player characters with different skills who must work together as a team is not only realistic but also a very practical reality. If a player wants their character to learn a new skill, they may only do so from another player character or NPC who has that skill. No player character or NPC may teach a skill to a level equal to or higher than their own level in that skill. So, for example, if the player character wants to learn to throw a harpoon, they can only learn the skill from a player character or NPC who has harpoon or spear-throwing at a skill level of +2 or higher. How long should it take the player character to learn a new skill? The game-master must decide that.  My rule as a Game-master is the time will depend on the actions of the player’s character. If they say they are going to go ashore for a week and practice spear-throwing on the beach for 8 hours every day, then at the end of that week in game time you could have a spear throwing +1 skill and a very sore arm on the player character. If the player character simply  buys a spear and they have the odd practice or instruction mingled into the ongoing adventure, it may take a couple of months of time in the game before I, as game-master, say “yes,” you now have a spear-throwing skill +1.

Remember a character may try to do something they have no skill at in which case they will need to roll under just their intelligence or dexterity with whatever penalty the game-master may decide should apply. Anyone can pick up a bow and try to fire an arrow. The arrow may only land a few feet in front of them with no risk to the target, but they can try.

Game-Master Notes-Creature Hit Points:
I was recently asked what type of hit points the characters in Planet Archipelago have. On planet Archipelago, only the non-scient creatures are killed by reducing their hit points. An insect may have only 3-5 hit points, and some larger creatures may have hundreds. One significant difference is that to reduce the hit points, only hitting the creature’s vital body parts will reduce its hit points. For example, an archipelago octopus, so named because it resembles the octopus on Earth, has hit points equal to three times the length of the creature from head to tip of its longest twelve arms. So, a midsized 25-foot-long octopus will have 75 hit points. However, only blows to its head or body will count towards killing it by reducing its hit points. There are no vital organs in its twelve arms, so cutting the arms off may cause it to flee and find an underwater cave to regenerate new arms, but only attacks on its head or body will count to reduce its hit points and “Kill” the creature. If the player characters are intent on killing the creature, they may have to leave the relative safety of their ship’s deck and go underwater to attack the creature’s head.

Game-Master Notes-Saving Rolls:

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked if Planet Archipelago had saving rolls like D&D, to keep a player character alive. The answer is no and yes. No, there are no rolls called a saving roll to be made with the dice. For example, your player characters are on board a ship at sea, and the craft is rammed by a parrot-shark. A creature that rams ships in the hopes that something good to eat will fall into the water. The player characters on board will need to make a dexterity roll to avoid losing their balance and falling from the impact on the ship. If they fail this roll, they may then make a second dexterity roll to grab onto the ship’s rail, rigging, or a rope to keep from falling overboard into the sea. If they fail this roll, they have fallen overboard. Any or all of the other player characters on board may make a dexterity roll to throw them a line. A rope to catch and be pulled back on board. If these other player characters fail, they have not thrown the rope close enough for the player character in the water to reach. If they pass the roll, the player character must make a dexterity roll to catch the rope so that they can be pulled back on board. If they also fail this roll, the parrot shark will have had time to circle around and eat them, often in one bite. The unlucky player character, having failed multiple dexterity rolls, is now fish food. There is no “saving roll” in the game for that, but there is often a chance to do something to save your character’s life at the last moment.

Game-master Combat Damage:

Since Planet Archipelago player characters do not use hit points like creatures do, how is combat damage calculated?  In the Planet Archipelago game rules, the same D20 die roll to determine a hit on a target also determines the hit location. This means the roll can range from a total miss to a half damage hit that slides and ricochets off the armor to a full damage hit in the location of choice. The greater the weapon skill, the higher the chance of rolling a location of choice in making a hit. For example, you are targeting a human fighter who is wearing an iron archer’s helmet, a hip-length maille burnie, and over this a hardened leather breastplate. His legs have soft leather covering them, and his boots are soft leather over the leather pants, doubling the protection for the lower legs. He also has a wooden shield with iron reinforcements. You want to use your longbow to hit this fighter before he is close enough to engage you. You have a dexterity level of 9 and an archery skill of +6. This means when you combine the 9 and 6, you have 15, the number you must roll below to hit this target. Using the D20. On your first shot, you roll a 16 and miss the target. The second shot, you roll a 14, one under, this is half damage to the torso. The hardened leather and maille have a thrust value of 25. Your long bow’s half damage thrust is 10, so the shot hits the target but ricochets off, not injuring your target. Your third shot rolls a 7, meaning you are 8 under and hit him full damage in the leg. Your bow does 20 points of thrust, and his leg armor is 2-4 points, depending on the upper or lower leg, so your shot will do 16-18 points of damage. Enough in either case to have the arrow sticking out of the far side of the leg. With this much damage to the leg, he is unable to stand, he takes a -4 reduction in his strength, and you have sliced the popliteal or femoral artery in the leg. He is alive but unable to fight. He will bleed to death in about 6 game turns if he does not receive medical treatment to stop the bleeding. If he does, he may live to fight again. A couple of months from now, in the game. Had you rolled a 5 or less on the D20, you would be able to place the arrow in the location of your choice. Such as the face where he has no armor. If this had been the case with the arrow in his brain, he would be dead before he hit the ground. He would be one NPC that would not fight you again.