Dev Ramblings (Skill Checks)

Hello there!

This is a brief Dev Ramblings doing over Skill Checks. The reason it is brief is because a very important new part of Skill Checks is still being worked on, but that deserves it’s own Ramblings. So, for now, let’s go over how the new skill system works.

Skill Checks have been something I’ve messed with on and off since they first released in the early days of LaaB. I’ve never been too happy with them, trying to find a balance between randomness and skill level. We’ve taken inspiration from D&D and Sims, however, have never been fully happy with it. This new system should makes things much easier and more dynamic.

So, let’s start with Skills themselves. Every skill now has ranks instead of levels. This will be explained more in the upcoming Ramblings, but the basics is that instead of gaining XP to level up your skill from 1 to 10, you instead can upgrade the skill to fit your playstyle. Once again, this will be explained later, but for now just know that Skill Ranks are basically Skill Levels for the purpose Skill Checks.

When a Skill Check is called, the game will look at a number of features to determine how likely your boy is to pass. Firstly, it looks at Skill Bonuses, which come from Skill Ranks, then Ability Bonuses. Abilities are like Strength, Smarts, Charm, etc. These are set during character creation. Each Skill has an Ability attached to it. Athletics gains a bonus from Strength, Swimming from Endurance, Math from Smarts.

These bonuses work based on how many point you have in that Ability. Abilities over 5 grant you bonuses per level while Abilities under 5 grant Debuffs. A boy with low Smarts will have trouble in Math Class but a boy with high Strength will find climbing ropes easier. A high Ability Score can negate a low skill rank and the inverse is also true.

Next up is Moods, if you recall certain moods will give a bonus to certain skills. Being Hyper will grant a bonus to Physical Skills that use Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance. Being Bored will grant a debug to Mental Skills that use Smarts, as examples. These bonuses vary, but amount to having an extra point or two in Ability Scores, so they are useful to keep in mind! There are a few other bonuses that we’ll talk about in a future ramblings, but that is the gist of it.

Lastly, if your boy has a Positive or Negative Mood, you can get Advantage or Disadvantage on your Skill Check. For those familiar with D&D, it works the same. The random roll is rolled twice. With advantage, you get the higher, with disadvantage, you get the lower. Overall, this makes your mood VERY important when it comes to Skill Checks.

But, I hear you asking, what about Lewd Skill such as Naturism and Exhabitionism? Well, those aren’t normal skills anymore. Those will be using their own system we will explain later, but it will allow for much more control over which direction you take those kinky skills in. Look forward to that info coming soon!