Today, most of the popular Tabetop RPGs use the D20 system. It's fast, it's fun, it's sweet. But what really got me going years ago was the inability or the freedom, may I say, to perform what I want to accomplish with my character within the boundaries of the rules. Why can't I dodge if I am targeted? Why can't I block? Why can't I have an option and just wait for the result or effect to happen?
By now, improvements to the rules (I honestly am unaware of current developments on other RPGs out there) would probably be in place to address my concerns to varying degrees. But these were my primary concerns when I was creating the dice system for AEIOUS. I needed freedom to express myself in role playing whether that is in combat or non-combative situations. So I looked for other options that can fit my need and it eventually led me to the percentile.
Measuring things on a scale of 1 to 100 seems fit with the notion I have grown up with. Like with the school's grading system where the higher the score the better, a target or measure of 100 seems to set a bar, a measuring stick so to speak. Maybe it's complicated in some ways but it generally covers a large enough scale to define success, at least in my opinion. So I gave it a look.
WHAT IS A PERCENTILE DICE SYSTEM
A percentile dice roll will generate a number between 01 and 100 (00). There are dice available out there with 100 sides (rare) but the most common way of rolling for a percentile is by using 2 ten-sided dice (D10) usually of different colors. Using one die (e.g. blue) as the ones digit and one die (e.g red) as the tens digit, both D10 dice are rolled where the result is read as a two digit number with the aforementioned results.
Some percentile dice are marked to identify the "tens" die, (using 10, 20, 30 etc.) as shown in the picture below. But any two 10-sided dice can be used if the 10's die is identified (by color mostly) before rolling.
So I now have a measuring tool for success or failure in a role playing attempt. The next step is in integrating that tool into what we want to express in the rules on the fantasy world.
In the AEIOUS system, a dice result or check roll is a number between 01 and 100 which represents that character's chance of success. A check roll value of 30 suggests that a character has around a 30% success rate when attempting an action. A check roll of any value equal to or less than 30 is considered a success then. In effect, the lower the dice roll, the better. In connection to that, the higher the character's capacity or efficiency, the better his or her chances become. And since we are in the business of improving our characters by increasing their levels, the percentile system was married into it seamlessly.
Leveling or improving your character in AEIOUS is simply gaining (purchasing) more points to increase the defined level. But it is not a singular level that encompasses your character as a whole (e.g. a level 10 Hero). Your character is the sum of the parts (i.e. power levels, attribute levels, skill levels, fighting levels, and other factors) all connected in determining the needed check roll for any given situation or challenge. It's not simple, but it gives importance to the small things. It's daunting at first, but once you get the feel of it, your options increase exponentially in designing a character that is unique, bad ass, and competitive enough regardless if people around you tells you otherwise. It simply means any AEIOUS character is not measured by one level label, but by the powers, abilities, and techniques s/he has incorporated in his or her arsenal and the way s/he uses it.
In other words, anybody can beat anybody with the right combination of powers, skills, choices, planning, design, and leveling. It gives you the freedom to become who you want to be and to face the wide, wild world on your own terms.
Your chance for success?
It's in your own hands.
Supported by your design creativity and imagination.
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