AMPs in Rapture [A Quick Note]
Some folks have commented on the oddity that is the AMPS mechanic within Rapture. I originally arrived at the idea after playing a homebrew game, something called Landing Days, 2100 C.E., where a player spent multiple rolls trying to whittle down the health of an enemy encounter. What I hadn’t expected was this would spark a new conceptual framework for overcoming, defeating, or destroying (killing) obstacles placed in front of the player in Rapture.
Before I go into AMPS, I want to explore how the Core Resolution System came about, as it currently sits within the Big Red Ugly.
When I originally developed Rapture, the Core Resolution System was largely still Breathless in a nutshell—it really wasn’t all the different. With a lot of back and forth, I began developing something less combat-centric. The Core Resolution System was initially inspired by two sources: Runehammer’s Index Card RPG and Professor Dungeon Master’s lament for things taking too long in combat, and, especially in the resolution of combat and other such things.
Runehammer’s Index Card RPG offers three kinds of actions: Ones that require a stat check with a d20, which are compared against a pre-established target number, those that are automatic successes, and those requiring a bit more effort being applied over time.
This sparked the idea of developing Challenges, Contests, Checks, Combat, and Tasks, as seen in Rapture. These allowed for varied encounters, mixing in combat and non-combat actions, without making a game slow to a crawl.
The cornerstone of any Challenge, Contest, Check, Combat, and Task is the locale, which serves as a big conceptual bucket for what is termed an Action Ratings pool. This pool is then divvied up among different encounters, which might be booby traps, zombies, bandits, and more. The Action Ratings (AR) assigned to everything above allow for much smaller stat blocks, easier prep, and, ultimately, easier lifting for the referee—new, veteran, in-between.
The greatest bonus for starting with the big bucket of locale is that exploratory actions, and other opportunities, are kept in focus, along with plenty of quick action, slower actions, and new material.
This then led to another chokepoint: How do we eliminate encounters without spending a dozen dice rolls to do the job? Why not make damage or effort, or whatever you want to call it, static, deadly, and rewarding?
You might be asking, “Isn’t rolling for damage rewarding enough?” Sure. But what if you keep rolling low? What if the dice just aren’t in your favor? This becomes disheartening, especially if you’re playing that orc-smiting paladin, who has spent years honing their swordcraft and buying higher-quality weapons.
This is where AMPS, Ranks, and Knock come into the picture.
Every roll in Rapture starts with an attribute. So, your paladin might be using BODY, with a die rating of d8, at a power of B+1, meaning they roll two (2) d8s and keep the highest result. If successful, they apply their skill ranks (say thirty), and multiply these ranks by an AMP, which is dependent on the equipment being used. Maybe they are using an x1/x2 AMP sword? The x2 AMP comes into effect with a success on the attribute roll. Thus the knock (or damage) dealt is a 60.
Unlike 5e, the AMPs, among other things, cut down the time to defeat enemies and overcome other obstacles. No need to go fifty minutes with dozens of dice rolls. This rewards higher (successful) dice rolls, and it makes it quite fun. Imagine this paladin, like a grittier Aragorn, chopping through hordes of orcs and goblins. Now, you’ve got some exciting possibilities.