Skill Improvement with Characteristic-Improving Items/Powers

[Myrmidont]

Can someone clarify how to handle this situation:

A character (DEX 15) possesses an Item (a crown or circlet) with a power (Super Characteristic: DEX +5). They have 10 ranks in Dodge skill.
The Base Chance for Dodge is DEX x 2. Without the item, their total Dodge skill is 40%. With it, it is 50%.
When they roll to improve their Dodge skill, will this character be attempting to roll over 40%, or 50%? 

Does the same principle also apply to the character if they had the superpower Super Characteristic, which is "always on"?
'Super Skill' says the bonus 20% is not figured into the Improvement roll, which leads me to think Super Characteristic should be the same way. 

Does the same principle apply to Characteristic Training?
For example, a character with STR 15 and a Super Characteristic: STR +5 belt, do they calculate Characteristic Training Time on STR 15 or STR 20?
What if they have the power Super Characteristic STR +5 instead of an item? 

[Atgxtg]

1 hour ago, Myrmidont said:

Can someone clarify how to handle this situation:

A character (DEX 15) possesses an Item (a crown or circlet) with a power (Super Characteristic: DEX +5). They have 10 ranks in Dodge skill.
The Base Chance for Dodge is DEX x 2. Without the item, their total Dodge skill is 40%. With it, it is 50%.
When they roll to improve their Dodge skill, will this character be attempting to roll over 40%, or 50%? 

It depends on how often they wear the crown. If they wear it most of the time, then roll against the 50% skill that they usually have. If they usually don't wear the crown then roll against the 40%. 

1 hour ago, Myrmidont said:

Does the same principle also apply to the character if they had the superpower Super Characteristic, which is "always on"?

 

Yes. Generally speaking it doesn't matter how they get the higher skill, just that they have it and it (mostly) permanent.

1 hour ago, Myrmidont said:

'Super Skill' says the bonus 20% is not figured into the Improvement roll, which leads me to think Super Characteristic should be the same way. 

It's not quite what you think.

First off  Super Characteristic doesn't actually raise any skills skill, it raises a characteristic. It's the higher characters than increases the skill. Hence the Crown increases DEX and it's the higher DEX that improves Dodge (and possibly other skill if you use category modifiers)

Secondly for Super Skill  they mean that you don't add 20% to your improvement rolls for that skill. Basically Super Skill just means you have an unsusally high skill score. Otherwise it's a normal skill. 

For example, If a character had Fist 50% and Super Skill (Fist) +20%, they would have Fist 70% and roll against 70% to improve. What they wouldn't do is add the +20% skill bonus to the improvement roll to see if they roll over 70.

1 hour ago, Myrmidont said:

Does the same principle apply to Characteristic Training?
For example, a character with STR 15 and a Super Characteristic: STR +5 belt, do they calculate Characteristic Training Time on STR 15 or STR 20?
What if they have the power Super Characteristic STR +5 instead of an item? 

It depends on if they wear the belt while training. From a rules standpoint they could do it either way, but for  improvement purposes they are better off training without the belt so they can increase their natural STR (15) and then put of their belt (+5 STR) when they go on an adventure. But if they were permanently at STR 20 they'd have no choice.

For example, say Tony Stark has STR 10 normally and STR 100 in his Iron Man armor. Now, if he wants to work out to increase his STR of 10, it will take him 250 hours (10x25) for an increase roll of 1D3-2. Assuming an average roll his STR would increase to 11 and his strength in his armor would increase to 101. Now if the did the training in his armor then everything would be the same except then it would take him ten times as long, or  20000 hours (100*25) of training time to get the improvment roll.  Probably because the armor is doing most of the lifting. Stark would also be limited in his max STR based on his CON and SIZ to within human limits, but that can be waived by the GM for epic or superhuman level games.

Conversely, Peter Parker, might have a Strength of, say 68, both in or out of his Spider-Man costume and it would take him 1700 hours (68x25) of training to get an improvement roll. 

 

BTW, This is kind of why in the comics you rarely see characters with super characteristics improve them very much, while heroes with more normal characteristics train them up. By the time Spider-Man raises his Strength score to 70, Daredevil can  probably max out his own Strength and have time left over to work on something else. 

[Myrmidont]

2 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

It depends on how often they wear the crown.

Is this actually a rule, or is it your personal ruling?