| APAGear II Archives | Volume 4, Number 2 | March, 2002 |
It seems that a lot of discussion in the various mailing lists on play balance and comparative advantages of various systems concentrates on die rolls and statistics despite all the talk of role playing. Unfortunately there is also a dearth of mathematical skills with few of the debaters so a helpful chart has been put here to help players in their discussion. Furthermore, this chart also helps GM to judge relative difficulty of various tasks in Heavy Gear (and other Silhouette system using games) to balance game between challenging and too difficult (or possibly childishly easy).
| Skill Level | F | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total |
| 1D | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 2D | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 1 | - | - | - | 36 |
| 3D | 1 | 7 | 19 | 37 | 61 | 75 | 15 | 1 | - | - | 216 |
| 4D | 1 | 15 | 65 | 175 | 369 | 500 | 150 | 20 | 1 | - | 1296 |
| 5D | 1 | 31 | 211 | 781 | 2101 | 3125 | 1250 | 250 | 25 | 1 | 7776 |
| Skill Level | F | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total |
| 1D | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 2D | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | - | - | - | - | 36 |
| 3D | 1 | 7 | 19 | 37 | 61 | 91 | - | - | - | - | 216 |
| 4D | 1 | 15 | 65 | 175 | 369 | 671 | - | - | - | - | 1296 |
| 5D | 1 | 31 | 211 | 781 | 2101 | 4651 | - | - | - | - | 7776 |
| Method | F | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Total |
| A | 1 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 36 |
| B | 10 | - | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 36 |
Note: The Two methods are based on different assumption of use of die roll 1. Usually rolling two dice and getting one on both dice equals fumble (Method A). This makes Not Skilled Skill tests difficult compared to use of skill (as it should be). The alternative method B assumes that worse result is picked up and one is always treated as a fumble (ouch!). This method makes Not Skilled Skill tests very challenging. Method B should be considered as alternative in gritty settings where mistakes are paid dearly.
| Style | F | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Total |
| Adventurous | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 36 |
| Gritty | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | - | 36 |
Example 1: What is a chance of getting result 6 with Skill level 2 in Gritty setting? Answer: 11/36 or 30.56 %
Example 2: What is the chance of getting at least 7 with Skill level 5 in Adventurous setting? Answer: (1250+250+25+1)/7776 or 19.62 %
Example 3: What is the chance of getting 4 or 5 on attribute test in Adventurous setting? Answer: (7+9)/36 or 44.44 %
| APAGear II Archives | Volume 4, Number 2 | March, 2002 |
Heavy Gear is © 2001, Dream Pod 9, Inc. All rights reserved. APAGear is not affiliated with Dream Pod 9 in any way. Submitted material remains the property of the creator.