Nothing annoys me more than game designers hammering words into their game. You know. The guys who use “Viritlity” instead of Strength. Who use “Adroitness” instead of “Dexterity.”
It ain’t Verdure, it’s Strength. It ain’t Circumspection, it’s Wisdom. It ain’t Luminosity, it’s Intelligence.
Now, I took some liberties with 7th Sea, but I felt “Brawn,” “Wits,” and “Panache” were pretty good fits for a swashbuckling world. You read ’em, you know exactly what they are.
Nobody knows what “verdure” is except that asshole over there masturbating with his thesaurus.
Meanwhile, I’m over here with Houses of the Blooded trying to find a different word for “success.” Trying to find a different word while I stay away from the crazy man in the corner.
See, in Houses, you don’t ever “succeed” at a roll. Well, I mean, if you roll 10 or higher, you “succeed.” You succeed in that you get to say whether your character succeeded or not. If you “fail,” (roll nine or less) the GM says whether your character succeeds or fails.
So, calling this “success” and “failure” is not only wrong, it’s misleading. I needed a new term for it.
Going through my edits for the Risks chapter, I came across a word that fit exactly what I needed. Now, the Risks chapter says this:
“If the sum of your roll is equal to or greater than ten, you have Privilege. You determine if your character succeeds or fails.
If the sum of your roll is less than ten, the GM has Privilege. He determines if your character succeeds or fails.”
I love it when a plan comes together.