Mutant Epoch has a few rules regarding combat, ability, and skill checks that threw me off balance when I read them. I assumed this was a standard 1d100 game, attributes are directly rolled against with a +10 per skill level modifier, a normal -80 to +80 difficulty modifier, and all that.
The game is nothing like your average 1d100 game.
First up, I could never find Strike Value in the game, and I thought the statement:
Most humans have a base value of 01-50.
This meant (to my confused brain) that the value was somehow calculated, resulting in a number between 1 and 50. How do I calculate it, then? This value is listed on the Rank Advancement Table (Table TME-1-21, page 34) and in the Strike Value column. A value of 01-50 indicates that any roll of 1 to 50 hits, modified by skill, ability, and other factors.
It isn't, a value of 01-50 means a 50% to-hit base. It is that simple.
Next up, skills. Skills are not ability plus 10 per level as a base chance of success. Many skills have custom rules, derived scores, and tables that are rolled on the Hazard Checks chart (Table TME-3-1, page 118). Difficulties are rated on a letter value, from A to M, with A being the easiest difficulty.
Skill levels never give a bonus to succeed, such as a +10 modifier.
Skill levels only lower the rated difficulty. If a padlock is a C to pick and an E to smash off, that is the padlock's rated difficulty. The skill Pick Lock, for every level, reduces the difficulty. To smash off, that is just a STR roll on the hazard chart versus an E. Do you have special tools, such as a sledgehammer or a pry bar, that could help? Lower the difficulty by one or two levels. Are you under stress, facing challenging circumstances, working under a tight deadline, or operating in the dark? Don't apply a negative modifier after the fact; let the chart do the work and raise difficulty by one or more levels.
Setting a difficulty letter protects you as the referee. You won't be accused of "massaging the difficulty" artificially, as in Star Frontiers or Basic Roleplaying, if players have a 90% chance to open a lock. You, as the referee, want a little more drama in the roll and slap a -20% modifier on it to make it spicy and give them a chance to fail. This occurs frequently in percentage systems.
Nope, that lock was a C difficulty 900 years ago; it remains a C today, and it will continue to be a C in the future before the latch rusts and the lock falls off the door. Are you working under challenging circumstances? Okay, now it is a D.
The referee's job is made incredibly easy by this.
This is also supported many times in the Quick Start Rules' adventure, which supports difficulty A through E, and the A-E range becomes our "beginning adventurer" difficulty range:
Whoever is operating the rudder must make a perception-based type B hazard check.
...who must make a type B agility-based hazard check to side-step the block...
...anyone bitten by this dog must make a type C endurance-based hazard check or succumb to paralysis...
Perception, resistance rolls, and ability checks? They are all rated on the A through M scale and rolled on the chart, with no exceptions when utilizing a characteristic for a roll. If something is a flat chance, such as "the guard has a 10% chance of being in this room," then it is indeed 10%. If it has anything to do with a skill or ability score? Use the chart.
You are not rolling against your scores or modifying the d100 roll based on arbitrary difficulty. The referee says, "Give me a B strength check," and you roll on the chart. If a skill could apply to the situation, or something makes the check more challenging, lower or raise the letter; do not modify the roll. Do you have excellent lockpicks that lower the difficulty by one level? Fine, knock difficulty down one.
I am not poring over a skill difficulty chart and going, average +0%, in low light -10%, under stress -10%, wounded -20%, double the time taken +20%, and so on.
Does a character with the Pick Locks skill have a terrible Accuracy score? The chance will be lower, but the difficulty is still the same. However, as the referee, you have an easy job since you are simply rating tasks, barriers, actions, and outcomes on a difficulty level from A to M, and the charts in each skill give a lot of guidance and suggestions on how to set this.
In 99% of gameplay, a referee can set a difficulty level and lower it by one for every skill level a character can apply to the task, while raising it for negative factors.
The game really is that simple.
What I like about it is that the challenge ratings exist not only within the characters but also in the world. That D strength check to force open the grate is D for anyone in the world. In a game like Basic Roleplaying, characters with a 90% skill level can walk around, and it's assumed that they can handle 90% of the problems in the world. Yes, you can simply assign that sewer grate a "tough" rating and apply a -40% modifier for everyone, but there is a more elegant and straightforward solution: rating the rate a D and moving on.
I no longer care about the 20% or 90% skill level characters and what modifier to put on the task. I am not massaging the numbers to make it easier or harder. The sewer grate is a D.
The character's ability scores, skill level, and chart will determine the rest.
It is a "D."
The only time you manually adjust a number up or down, such as in a percentage-based game, is with Strike Value, which is based on special combat modifiers and the target's defensive value. Running combat and calculating SV is the only time you need to do math, and 90% of the dice rolls will result in an easy SV minus DV. The DVs in the sample adventure are typically kept on the 5s or 10s, so the math is trivially simple.
One might think that Mutant Epoch is an incredibly complex game, but it isn't.
However, there are only two core systems to understand. The 1d100 SV versus DV combat system and the A-M difficulty versus ability score system. Damage and injury are like any other game, as damage reduces endurance. Armor reduces the chance of being hit. The game is no more complicated than B/X D&D, just using a 1d100 instead of a 1d20.
The only complexity lies in random character generation, but the charts are designed to provide a unique, unpredictable, and enjoyable experience each time. Some character types use more rules, such as mutations and special abilities, making them suitable for more advanced players. The game is aware of this and weights the charts according to different player experience levels.
If you want a straightforward character, play a generic human to learn the rules.
When you start wanting more depth, play a mutant, cyborg, or characters with a bit more rule complexity. And character types exist beyond those with even more depth. Any ARPG player knows that certain character types require a deeper understanding of special rules and play styles, while others are simpler to play.
Even AI chatbots, when I asked them how the game plays, outright lied to me, saying "attribute plus ten per skill level" as the default skill and characteristic check method. I had to challenge the AI on it, and it groveled and acted confused when I did. When I confronted the AI with the actual rule and the actual page, it backpedaled and apologized.
This is the danger of AI.
The system is so enthusiastic and positive when selling an outright lie or fabrication that you take it as the truth. Companies want to "sell" their system as an "information authority" when all they are selling is a repackaged search engine that relies on munged data, rather than someone sitting there with a book in hand, pointing to what was written on a page. And the system will "sell" you so hard on a wrong answer, using positive wording and "hey, buddy" language, that you won't question the result. Additionally, if you pay for the service, there is even less likelihood that you will question it.
The AI was so optimistic and excited that it could provide me with the wrong answer.
It almost convinced me this was the way the game was played.
To many, 1d100 + 10/skill level will be the way they play this game.
And they will be wrong.
But they won't care.
Because "AI is always right."
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