From:	DisnyShamn <DisnyShamn@***.COM>
Subject:	Re: Pool Use (was; Summer Time)
Date:	Sat, 23 May 1998 10:53:37 EDT

From David:

> I think I know why dice pools exist.
> An effect of dice pools (whether intentional or not) is that they add
> a level of unpredictability to combat and require the players to plan
> their moves.
[snippage]
> Anyway, that's what dice pools represent to me: a level of
> unpredictability that requires planning when it comes to combat.

True in part, but the very nature of dice provides unpredictability. What it
looks more like to me is a "patch" of sorts (though anything that's so
thoroughly ingrained throughout 2, soon 3 editions cannot really be called a
patch, I suppose...), a way of working in things that don't figure into
mechanics otherwise but should.

Here's MY view on each type of "pool":

Combat: your innate combat-value, independent of actuall know-how; an amalgam
of your reaction time (Int & Qui), good sense (Int) and plain determination to
win (Wil). (The last being the least quantifiable).

Control Pool: Like combat, 'cept it's through a machine and therefore less
personal, so your determination isn't as important.

Magic: Without which. what the hell else is Sorcery skill good for, 'cept
fighting spirits? Seems to me a person with a decent Sorcery skill should get
SOME magical benefit. So it's not concentration, it's just your magical
superiority.

Karma Pool: We all know this one has nothing to do with concentration, or
skill, or ought like that. Your credit account with the universe.

Along these lines, I've created the Psi Pool for my space opera "ShadowZone"
campaign, equals (Will + Int) / 3). Represents your general mental prowess.
Tada.

There is the element of unpredictability, too; but this isn't really to
beequated with randomness, more with strategy. The combat, pool, for example,
provides (and does a better-than-usual job of, I think) the option of
"aggressive" and "defensive" attack modes found in other RPG systems;
Except
you have as many options as you have combat pool dice.

Me, I generally prefer to use pools for NPCs rather than threat dice. It's not
really THAT much more paperwork for me. I use threat dice only when using a
higher-level version of an archetype, instead of skills and attributes and
whatnot.

Then again, little do my players know, they're really plauying a diceless
game, I just allow them the *illusion* of control! :)

- Disney Shaman

- Disney Shaman