Exploring the Savage World of Keltica

Game Master ZenFox42

*Connor pets WindDancer* "Good Kitty."

Heh - just to be clear, WindDancer isn't here yet...

WD, will get back to you on chokehold, but real-life choking takes *minutes*...

Hah, good point! Totally out of normal melee timescale; makes sense it wouldn't be addressed.

You don't need to do anything with the "tail choke," it's just a fluffed standard attack, same odds, same damage, and never intended it to be an actual choking action (as mentioned, she doesn't have the strength for that, I'm sure). So, we're good except for whatever you need to decide on the poison.

And:

*Connor pets WindDancer* "Good Kitty."

Just so everyone knows, there may be 1 or 2 other PC's joining in the next week or so. They are long-time FRP'ing (as players and DM's) friends of WindDancer's and mine, but new to SW and PbP. We used to actually play face-to-face many years ago, but more recently our group used to play "live" over the Internet (using programs called d20Pro and Mumble), but we had to stop a while ago due to connection problems. I'll work them in once they get PC's ready.

I'm one of the players mentioned here. I am still learning the system and still working on the character concept, but here's what I'm thinking about. My first idea was an older scientist, with some interest in Weird Science. But seems like there's plenty of testosterone already, so I'm thinking of a younger female human, also interested in science (Weird and otherwise).

I'm disappointed that the world has long-term equality of the sexes. I'm against sexism in the real world, but in a fictional world, it is more interesting when there is some oppression and bigotry. But whatever, I'm thinking my female human will be in her mid 20s, leaving the "Old World" for the new not so much by choice but by necessity. She will be the sort who does not suffer fools gladly--in fact, sees a fool and his money as a prime opportunity for action. She will use Weird Science in her scams and cons.

Looking forward to joining the action. I'll probably be ready with a rough draft of a charcter in a day or so, with the edges smoothed off by the end of the week.

But seems like there's plenty of testosterone already, so I'm thinking of a younger female human, also interested in science (Weird and otherwise).

She will be the sort who does not suffer fools gladly--in fact, sees a fool and his money as a prime opportunity for action. She will use Weird Science in her scams and cons.

Oh we will get on famously. Let's go cause trouble.

And welcome!

Having shared some adventures with one of Connor's alter-egos and knowing
Clebsch73's role-play/scheming abilities as I do, I tremble in fear.

But it'll be nice to not be the only girl... erm... "female" in the group.

I've posted the basic stats with the character profile. I get only 1 power for use with weird science. I'm still debating what to take. Let me mention some possibilities and let me know if you think any particularly useful or not useful. The main criterion for inclusion is that it also has to be something that could be useful in perpetrating a money-making scam or con.

Boost/Lower Trait: Whether I take this or not depends partly on whether the trait it modifies and whether it increases or decreases the trait can be selected differently each time it is used. If so, this has some appeal both because it would be useful in a wide range of situations, not just combat, and it could be used in a scam by making someone feel smarter or stronger or whatever right after they quaff an elixir or pop a pill. Tell them it can't be used again for 24 hours and sell them a bottle for the low one-time only price of ...

Confusion: Low power but potentially useful in combat and in social situations. Could be used in a scam to confuse the mark and convince him the product is worthwhile through fast talk.

Elemental Manipulation: could be used in séances to generate special effects. Not sure how useful in a game, however, but versatile and good for distractions perhaps.

Healing: Obvious scam possibilities if coupled with a miracle drug or elixir. Someone else already is taking healing as a power, however, but maybe more than one would be important insurance.

Mind Reading: Useful in scams involving séances and to find out information useful in blackmail or other scams. Also good way to gather intelligence in a game. Also duplicates another players power, however, so maybe not.

Succor: This struck me as potentially good for a 1 power player. It's low power so presumably can be used many times and from what I'm sensing, being able to get rid of the shaken condition may be highly desirable. Could be used in a scam by making someone think a pill or drink caused the loss of fatigue etc.

ZenFox: Look over the stats on Arabella's profile and let me know if anything is amiss. I have yet to determine the power/trappings for the weird science but see my ideas in the post above and let me know anything that might help me decide.

For one of my 1 point hindrances, I put either Enemy or Wanted. I figure a con artist on the lamb is likely to have problems with either the law or individuals who want their money back. Even if it's unlikely anyone would connect her to crimes committed in the Old World all the way in the New World, but she's likely to make new enemies if she uses her scams to make money, which she'll likely need to do, as she spent all of her starting money but 1 unit. But if both of these seem insufficiently detrimental, let me know and I'll select something else.

If anyone has seen episodes of the TV show "Leverage", this character is partly inspired by the cast of that show, who perform cons on bad people to help good people. Arabella's not that altruistic, but she has a heart of gold and doesn't want to take money from orphans, just from the rich and gullible.

Arabella -

I've posted your question about a good first Power over on the SW home boards as well. Please don't make any decisions for a day or two until I get some feedback from them...

Your PC looks good. OMG, a Charisma of 4 in an all-male group? Have fun with that... :)

Wanted is fine, I expect you'll soon be wanted on this continent too...

I noticed that you said you stowed away. I gave everyone a ticket (not out of the $500 for gear), so you can have that too, if you wish (and maybe that's why you're broke). But if you want to be a stowaway that's fine, there'll just be several rolls to see if you get caught. This isn't a modern-day cruise ship the size of a sky-rise. :)

Arabella - to answer a question in your musings, Boost/Lower Trait CAN affect any Attribute OR Skill at time of casting, so it's very versatile.

BTW, I like your riff on using "chemistry" more than "physics" - it seems more appropriate for this tech level. You're a snake-oil salesman! :)

Stowaway or ticketed passenger makes no difference, so long as she can get on the ship without identifying herself or leaving any obvious trail. If there are rolls to be made to determine how well she hid her whereabouts, her destination, and her identity let me know. If she had to give her name, she'd use an alias and whatever persuasion she could to encourage anyone she had to interact with keep her identity a secret.

I kind of like the stowaway idea just because it seems more desperate, but maybe she had just enough money to get a ticket or maybe she conned someone out of a ticket. I wouldn't want her to get into trouble right off the bat before getting to know the passengers, but that's your call.

In any case, she'll keep her face hidden and will not interact with anyone for much of the trip, fearing someone on board migth recognize her.

Better living through chemistry could be her weird science hook. My notion is that she and her buddies used their weird science gizmos to con people out of money but those uses of the science would not necessarily be the only focus of the group. They might also have developed weapons or armor, but those they would not have demonstrated in public or made known to investors, since they would not want anyone with money and power trying to coopt their discoveries for warfare. Think of them as the hippies of their day, distrusting authority and tending toward believing conspiracy theories.

In any case, she got away with only one gizmo and will have to recreate the others she knows about as she gets resources (XP). If the Boost/Lower trait power does what you describe, I'm partial to that. It could have boosted her own traits when she needed to to make her getaway and would have a lot of uses both to bolster traits in the group and to lower traits of enemies.

I have no idea yet what kind of trappings will go with the device. It will have to unobtrusive so as not to call attention to itself during cons. In keeping with weird science, it'll need to be rooted in some physical interaction between the physical world and the body/mind/spirit of the target. The Chinese concept of Chi will probably be involved and maybe the Hindu concept of chakras. I might have a set of Steampunky goggles she can wear that allow her to direct the energy from the source out to the target with her eyes.

I'd be interested to know if there are rules that provide some advantage to the power if the method of delivery is chancey, kind of like Pathfinder which makes it harder to resist effects that are delivered with a touch or ranged touch attack. I'll be reading through the rule book as the week goes by, but if anyone knows of anything along these lines, give me a page number.

I just changed Arabella's traits--lowered agility to d4 and raised spirit to d8. I noticed a d8 spirit is a prereq of the Charismatic edge. So she is neither especialy strong or quick, getting by on her smarts and spirit traits, with an assist from the vigor that comes with youth.

Arabella - from the SW forum (so far), from someone who knows the system very well [my comments are in brackets] :

Boost/Lower Trait:
Choose the trait when activating the power. [Targets get a "save" on a Lower]

Confusion:
Very effective power, in my observation. [Targets get a "save", but at a significant penalty]

Elemental Manipulation:
Limited but sometimes useful. When it comes up (rarely) everyone is very glad that someone has it.

Healing:
Can never have too many healers. After all, one of them might be Incapacitated.

Mind Reading:
Good but opposed [target gets a "save"]. Also, what would his Mind Reading device look like?

Succor:
Good power, especially if the GM is enforcing the rules that cause Fatigue (heat / cold, thirst, hunger, sleep deprivation, bumps and bruises, diseases, some drugs, etc.). The in-combat ability to remove Shaken and stabilize the dying gives it a "Cure Minor Wounds" vibe.

Disguise: excellent for a confidence scam.

Parry is equal to 2 plus half your character’s Fighting (2 if a character does not have Fighting), plus any bonuses for shields or certain weapons. This is the Target Number (TN) to hit your hero in hand-to-hand combat.

For stats such as d12+1, add half the fixed modifier, rounded down. For instance, a Fighting skill of d12+1 grants a Parry of 8 (2+half of d12), whereas a d12+2 gives a Parry of 9 (2+half of d12+2).

Can someone explain this? It makes no sense to me. I get the first example for the fighting skill of d12+1 (assuming +1/2 is rounded down to 0), but not the parry example. Shouldn't it read "whereas a d12+2 gives a Parry of 9 (2+half of d12+1)", the +1 being half of +2?

Also, is there a default rule about how to round when dividing a number? Does 3/2 always round to 1?

Original line [I added the brackets] :

"whereas a d12+2 gives a Parry of 9 (2+half of [d12+2])"

Parsing is everything! :)

I found ONE post in the *entire* SW official rules forum where one of the system admins says that you round down. Nothing in the manual.

Regarding ticket/stowaway : it's pretty much a cash society, so no names are taken when you buy a ticket. No, scratch that, a name is taken (for safety, security, and such), but you don't have to present any "ID" to prove it.

Just let me know which you want to do, and I'll take it from there.

Everyone, please introduce yourselves in Gameplay as soon as youu can!

See there for more info...

Will get a post up this afternoon / evening.

Arabella - more opinions from the SW forum :

I like Boost/Lower Trait - it's a very flexible power. However, the weird scientist's trappings may limit it enough to make others a better choice...or it may not. Is he building a Clockwork Excoskeleton which only affect the wearer or something more like a Bio-neurological Parasite which has the potential of affecting anyone it comes in contact with for good or ill. Either is possible, my point is simply that weird scientists are typically even more bound by trappings than other arcanes. As long as the trappings allow it, this is the most flexible power and my choice unless combat is the primary goal.

Given the character's goal of running scams, Mind Reading would be my second choice (or first if trappings limit B/LT). However it has to be applied carefully in scams since the victim is aware of the intrusion unless you get a raise.

Succor is good if you're going up against hazards or exhaustion causing opponents on a semi-regular basis. Otherwise it simply won't see much use outside of the scams. Healing would be a better choice, it will see more use even if there's another healer in the group.

Elemental Manipulation depends almost entirely on player creativity and group willingness to buy in. A creative player may get a lot of mileage out of it while someone else can't consistently apply it. One question to ask is, will you allow the player to use his casting skill for Tricks when using this power? It's implied but not specifically stated in the text.

Those do cover the more flexible of the non-combat Novice powers. Though powers like Burrow and Confusion are worth a look. They're a bit harder to fit into a scam but useful in and out of combat.

And from another :

If you're looking to commit white collar crimes, then you want to play support to the Face. Anything that boosts their Persuasion or Smarts tricks is invaluable.

And another :
Confusion : I've had DM's nerf the combat aspect slightly, only 3 instead of 5 targets, so they can have a non-combat aspect to it that acts like a Jedi mind trick (casting skill vs target smarts at a -2 for 3pp and only 1 target). Once the caster leaves line of sight they get a notice roll at -2 to realize they've been duped.

It made for both good infiltration scenes and chases.

Ack, I'm visiting family and lost track of posting in here...

I'm probably going to upgrade one or two pistols to double-barrels, I'll have that sorted out in a bit. And I'll post into gameplay.

Azander will be interesting, because he's wealthy enough that Alexander might interact with him, but he certainly doesn't act too upper-class...

Good ideas from the other posters, so thanks for gathering that for me. I'm still not sure between boost/lower and confusion, but either seems a good power for getting on with the game. She will use something with crystals on it located on her neck or forehead that will act as a kind of lense to focus internal power (chi) and direct it to different chakras in herself or others. I'm thinking the effect would be subtle, with a faint glowing point of light darting out from her head or neck that then delivers the effect. A notice roll might give the target a sense of something being up, but distactions and such could minimize the chance of that, if it matters.

Give some thought to whether a target would automatically know he/she was affected (by boost/lower) versus have some possibility of making the effect seem just a natural thing, like if agility were lowered the person might just think he spazzed out or if smarts were lowered, he might just think it a momentary difficulty with memory. Perhaps if the success also has a boost, the effect would be mistaken for something mundane. Confusion I would perhaps use if it worked as someone suggested, the person not realizing something odd was done to them until the effect passed.

I think Arabella will be on board as a ticketed passenger, using the pseudonym of Emma Watson. I'm picturing the character as someone who could easily be played in a movie by the actress of the same name, so that can be a reminder of that during the voyage at least. She'll go back to her normal name if/when it seems safe to do so.

I just noticed your discussion of the Boost/Lower power in a post above about it applying to both skills and attributes, so I'm pretty sure that's what I want to go with. I'll flesh it out a bit more, but for now, let's say that Arabella's focus of weird science is the tranformation of biologic energy through an intermediary crystaline vibrational amplifier. She takes various crystals, such as quartz or tourmaline and hones them into the components of the vibrational amplifier. She sets these in a pair of Steampunk goggles. The goggles are just a holder for the crystal that keeps it near either the forehead or the throat (Chakra's don't ya know). She focuses some of her power and directs it through the crystal while visualizing the effect she desires and then visualizing the target. A small, dim spot of light zips from the crystal to the target, entering at the appropriate chakra for the effect.

I'll come up with my own names for chakras and some other technological babble about how it works.

The goggles are currently the fashion in upper class circles, with women having elaborate bejeweled versions made to wear when they go on any of the new-fangled conveyances, but they've become common accessories even when they are not needed for any practical purpose. So her wearing a set will not immediately cause someone to think she's doing anything weird. When not on the eyes, they will usually be perched on the forehead or around the neck like a necklace.

Arabella's will be functional as protection from dust with a flip-down tinted lenses for bright sunlight.

... I was hoping everyone would just post how you would present yourselves to others in conversations with them.... WindRider is waiting, after all...

I was going to wait until the ship got closer to port, but I'll start nudging WindDancer towards her intro now, so she won't unduly delay things.

Shoutout to Ray, whose bad rolls gave me an excuse for an infinitely more fun introduction than I was planning. :P

Always happy to help.

Is there a standard prodcedure for dealing with Aces? I got an ace on my first wild science roll, so I should have added another roll (although in this context I don't think it would have resulted in anything more). If you preview the dice roll and see you got an ace, you can then add another dice roll. But it appears Marko did something different.

Is there a way to program the dice tags so that the dice roller adds another die if the first die is maximum?

Rules interpretation question regarding the Boost/Lower power:

This power allows a character to increase any of a target’s Traits by one die type for a standard success, or by two with a raise.... The power can also be used to lower an opponent’s Trait. This is an opposed roll against the victim’s Spirit. Success lowers any Trait of the caster’s choice one step, a raise lowers it two steps.

This sounds to me like the maximum shift is two dice. But it might imply more shifts with more raises. Just to sure, if one got 2 raises, would a trait shift 2 dice or 3?

Arabella -

First off, your pseudonym on-ship *MUST* be Emma Peel. :) Are you aware of the "inside joke" to that name?

BTW, your Charisma is also added to the Streetwise skill, which is probably something she'd have anyway. If you don't want to re-juggle your skills now, Streetwise would be a good pick on your first advancement. But you can also get another Power (device) then too...decisions, decisions!

Mind Reading lets you get away with not being noticed on a Raise, so let's do that for your contraption, too. Without a Raise the person affected knows this isn't normal, and on a successful Notice will see you staring at them intently.

I like the idea of crystals, so your Action to activate the Power is to grab the right crystal and insert it into the goggles. On a 1 you grab the wrong crystal, and on a critical failure ("snake eyes") you drop the crystal and have to find it before someone steps on it.

Regarding rolling dice, I don't even know if the dice tags can be "programmed" - are you saying you know that they can be somehow? As far as I know, you have to Preview everything and then re-edit accordingly.

Everyone has their own method, but I settled into this. Let's say you want to make a Notice roll at -2, and your Notice is a d8. In all of the following I'm using curly braces instead of brackets so you can see what I type into the dialog box.

{dice=Notice & Wild}d8; d6{/dice}

Then I preview and see what values I got. If *either* of the two rolls is the max die value, then I do another line. Let's say the d6 was a 6 :

{dice=Explode}d6{/dice}

Repeat that until the die roll is not the max, then I mentally add the relevant values together, type that on the last dice line and include any bonuses at the end. Then I type whether it's a success and how many Raises I got.

Regarding Boost/Lower Trait : yes, max of 2 die types no matter how many Raises. If the rules say "with A raise" they usually mean "with any number of raises". Otherwise they explicitly say "per raise" or "with each raise" or somesuch.

Marko, how did you do your dice rolls? Did you just edit the roll to do a second d6 once you saw the first one?

WindDANCER, yes it's a good thing to head out now. And I'm apparently going senile AND getting crotchety in my old age (mostly thanks to you for the latter :), so live with it! I'll be glad in the future if I can get either part of your name correct. :)

I was going to describe Arabella, ooc, as Emma Watson meets Emma Peel. I imagine the character looks something like Ms Watson but has much of the style and attitude of Ms Peel (at a younger age).

Edit: I would like her to have streetwise but don't want to give up or lower anything right now to get it. It's probably more natural that she adds it based on experience in the New World. She probably doesn't really know that much about lower class types, since her weird science buddies were mostly upper class and they would only work scams on people with money. So right now, it's probably appropriate to use the default and rely on her Charisma to help out.

As I understand it, using a skill untrained is normally a d4-2. So for her it would work out to d4+2? That seems about right. What she doesn't know from experience she can make up for with charm, get somebody with more Streetwise than her to give her some help, perhaps.

As for the crystals, I'm OK with having to insert the crystal to ready the device, but once in place, it does not need to be touched to activate, so I think of it as something like readying a weapon. You don't have to use it when it's ready nor do you have to re-ready it after each use.

I would suggest that if she already has the crystal in place and she gets snake eyes, it means the crystal is out of alignment or the amplifier settings are off, requiring some kind of repair roll (similar in difficulty to what you had in mind if she dropped the crystal and had to locate it on the ground).

Yep, Streewise for you would be d4+2, which is still a 96% success rate (without any situational penalties)! A +4 bonus in SW is AMAZING! Man-made magic items don't go above +3 for that reason, and even a +2 *doubles* your chances of success.

Just to be clear, I thought you were talking about having multiple crystals, one for each Trait to be boosted or lowered. So you'd have to change crystals every time you want to change the Power's effect. But if you end up casting the same effect twice in a row, then what you suggested for a critical failure sounds good. Hmm...but on the other hand if you do already have the proper crystal in place, that wouldn't require an Action...have to think about that.

And a sanity check - on your Boost Notice you said it lasted for 30 second, but Boost/Lower Trait lasts for 3 rounds (18 seconds) unless you maintain it at 1 PP per round after that?

Marko, how did you do your dice rolls? Did you just edit the roll to do a second d6 once you saw the first one?

I roll each die one by one. For example, let's say I roll a notice, which is a d6. I roll that solo. If it explodes, I add "ace" to the Dice description and change the die to "2d6". The dice roller keeps the order.

This takes a bit of time, but has the benefit of being easy to read.

-Posted with Wayfinder

While we're talking dice here, for every roll please everyone list your final total, and indicate whether your total is a Success or Failure, and if the former how many Raises you got. Like :

Total = 13 is a Success with 2 Raises

Thanks!

So Arabella - to do it Marko's way you *have* to roll the "main" die first (by itself), then change it to 2 dice it if it Aces. Then roll the d6 second, and change it to 2d6 if it Aces.
Don't know as there's a "best" way to handle the exploding in Paizo's board.

Anyone new to SW, please note :
1. Any flat bonuses or penalties apply to both the Trait die AND the d6 (Wild die). But don't additionally apply those modifiers to the explosions.
2. You need to always follow thru on every explosion, until you stop rolling the max value. And if both dice explode on the first roll, do both!

This is just an experiment to check on something:

test: 3d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 2, 4) + 2 = 11

I just wanted to confirm that doing what Marko said will remember and preserve the individual die rolls and preserve the order. It does.

Here's where the newbie gets lost. What makes an ace and a wild card, again?

@ZenFox42 re:Crystals and abilities and such
I can do that (different crystals for different boosts), but considering there are some dozen or so skills, that would require a lot of crystals. Perhaps we can compromise and say that each attribute has a different crystal, with skill boosts using the same crystal as the attribute to which the skill is linked, but with a setting change (dials and gears on the top of the goggles). Some of the manipulation of the device relies on proper mental processing, so I would think a person without any skill at Weird Science could not use the device.

I will make a note of which crystal is normally in the goggles prior to the need to use it. If I forget, I'll do a random choice. She generally will keep a crystal in place partly so people will think it is just for decoration and so it will be potentially ready at a moment's notice.

As for the duration, you're right. I made a mental miscalculation and thought there were six rounds per minute instead of six seconds per round.

Here's where the newbie gets lost. What makes an ace and a wild card, again?

A Wild Card is a character that can add a Wild Die to their rolls. This includes generally PCs and some of the tougher NPCs and Monsters.

An Ace is when a die rolls its highest result and explodes. You roll a d6 and the result is 6. So you roll that d6 again and add the results. Dice can even Ace more than once. You just keep going until you don't roll the highest value on the die and add them all up.

-Posted with Wayfinder

I see. Thanks, Marko!

Arabella - that sounds great, one crystal per Attribute! And replacing crystals and/or fiddling with dials is your Action.

WindDANCER... I'm apparently going senile AND getting crotchety in my old age (mostly thanks to you for the latter :), so live with it!

But I reserve the right to grouse about it regardless. You're not the only curmudgeon here, you know. ;op

Making magic items

If anyone with a Magic/Miracle/Psionic Arcane Background wants to make potions of their own Powers for themselves or others to use, there's an Alchemy Edge (Novice Rank). "Potions" include : stuff you drink, "oils" you put on weapons/armor/whatever, and "bombs" that you throw or drop (like for explosions or clouds of smoke, etc.). It costs $40 per Power Point of the effect you want to potion-ize (including any extra PP for extended durations). Note that you can't make money making potions and selling them (due to the way the rules inherently work).

Drawing on some earlier SW rules, there's also Edges that can be used at higher Ranks to make the other traditional items :

Enchant – creates items that provide a Power that anyone can use; can be charges of instantaneous effects (fireballs) or charges of temporary effects (boosts, etc.); the charges renew themselves slowly; taking this Edge creates ONE such item.

Improved Enchant – creates items with permanent Power effects or an infinite number of charges that anyone can use; taking this Edge creates ONE such item AND permanently drains some of your Power Points (which can be recovered by another Edge or two).

Arcane Artificer - each use of this Edge adds a permanent +1 to Attack (Fighting/Shooting), Parry, Damage, or Toughness to an item, up to +2 total.

Improved Arcane Artificer - each use of this Edge adds a permanent Edge to an item that affects the user.

Seeing as making these costs you a precious Edge, you're not likely to be making items for sale, but for your own use. That also explains the relative scarcity of magic items, and if you find one that means it was probably taken from its creator's cold, dead hand...

Still focused on the spectacle before him,...

Arr, arr, arr. ;)

Had to be done. Glad somebody caught it!

While we're talking about power, a few questions on some aspects of Weird Science.

I assume leaving out weird science from the list of edges that can create "magic" items was intentional, since weird science specifically requires making of items and they have to pay for each with an edge or power purchase. So Arabella will not be making items that give boosts to strength or anything like that.

If a gadgeteer uses a device and rolls a 1 on the skill die used to activate the gizmo, it has malfunctioned in some way and does not work. Draw a card and consult the Malfunction Table.

First, I'm assuming the term gadgeteer is just a general way of designating someone with weird science gizmos, not that the person has the gadgeteer edge.

When it says, "rolls a 1 on the skill die used to activate the gizmo" does that mean snake-eyes or just the skill die part of the skill + wild dice rolls?

Just so you know, Arabella's device (Bioenergic Omnifunctional Operational Synergistic Transponder) recharges when near any living thing, drawing on energies that flow from living things. Others can try to use it, but they have to attempt control using the weird science skill or d4-2 if they don't have the skill.

That raises another questions about snake-eyes: suppose someone is using a default skill (d4-2) for using a skill one does not have a die in, and the d4 roll is a 2 or 3 and the wild die is a 1 2 or 3. Would that qualify as snake-eyes, since the result is 1 or lower on both dice? Or would snake-eyes only occur when the dice rolls themselves are both 1, regardless of the bonus or penalty?

Yes about *potions*, but not necessarily about the other items. Will have to think about that...

Yes about "gadgeteer". I haven't looked at the Malfunction Table yet.

"1 on the skill die" means only the d4/6/8/10/12 die that represents your skill comes up a 1, as opposed to the d6 Wild Die. SW uses that concept a lot.

"BOOST" - cute!

A critical fumble (snake eyes) is when both dice come up "natural 1's" to borrow a phrase from That Other System.

DiceBot's really firing on all cylinders lately. How apropos that Connor would be the first (only?) one to spot WindDancer!

Connor, on the wild die stuff if it helps any: You know how in Pathfinder you can acquire a Feat that gives you a second roll on a specific skill or whatever? Try thinking of SW as giving you that for essentially every roll, with no use limit per day, and without having to "buy" it during character generation.

Like the GM said, the wild roll is simply your "re-roll and take the better of the two" in action.

Then on top of that, there's the "exploding dice" -- if you "critical (threat)" a roll by getting the highest number, you get to roll again and sum in the second roll's value. And if that roll "criticals," then lather-rinse-repeat!

The final bonus (that's being talked about at the moment) is getting a Raise for every multiple of 4 above what you need to succeed. Sometimes that gets you nothing, sometimes you get a nice gift for the first Raise only, sometimes for more than one.

I think you'll find it's pretty straightforward once you get your head wrapped around it.

Jeebus, I took a day off because I was sick... You scamps have been busy. I will get to reading.

Thanks guys, the Wild dice thing makes more sense to me now. :)

I'm away on a camping trip. Next post sometime on Sunday. Enjoy.