I haven't been working very much on Genship Exiles since starting this freelancing; I want to give it my (mostly) undivided attention. However, I had a thought about how to distinguish Genship Exiles somewhat while maintaining the curve I discussed previously and still having a game that has narrative purpose.
I want Genship Exiles to have a three-step success curve, going 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12, with dice going from d8 to d12. This way it's a little simpler to remember and I have a marginally more complex mechanic than in the basic Resistance toolbox.
However, the probability curve for Resistance is really generous, so unless there's a negative Difficulty modifier you wind up with issues.
The solution to this is to implement a bidding system.
Each time a character attempts an action, they "bid" on it. The bidding cost of an action is tied to difficulty, but is a separate value (e.g. a task can be Difficulty 0 Bid 2 or Difficulty 2 Bid 1). A result of 1-4 doubles the Bid cost, 5-8 maintains it, and 9-12 removes it.
This bidding pool is used to spotlight characters and maintain balance, but it might also be used to activate some special abilities and bonds.
I'm not yet sure if I want one universal pool, a Cipher-system style set of pools, or maybe even a common pool and a special pool for each character. I kind of like the idea of giving each character a general pool and a special pool: you're a Captain, for instance, so you get a pool for Captainy things.
I also like the idea of separating mastery and knacks, and making knacks reduce bid cost. There are a lot of things I think you can do with adding this little element to the mechanics.
Thoughts? Ideas?