Generating Applause

 Just spitballing a new idea for generating Applause.

So, we have a finite pool of Applause to draw from. Together with Heckles, collectively, these are known as the Audience. So, you want to draw as much Applause as possible, so the GM can't generate Heckles.

We have a dice pool system, where players can intentionally choose which dice to keep, and which to discard. But why do it that way?

Well, if we're basing this on a sitcom, or even just acting in a more general sense, it's because our actors are trying to cultivate a particular performance. They're showing us what they want to show us, to make us feel a certain way. So they're maximising the parts of their performance that will generate the most Applause, and they're minimising the parts that will generate the most Heckles.

So, what if Applause was generated by exactly reaching the target number?

Say, you have a Motivation of 15. You roll 5d8, because you decide to use five Talents, and you get a 1, a 2, a 6, a 3, and another 6, totalling 18.

But your Technique is only 3, so you discard the 1 and the 2, and now you have exactly 15. You succeed! And you do it at precisely the right number, and you generate 1 Applause for your trouble.

Now, the next time you roll 5d8, you get 4, 2, 5, 5, 2, equalling 18. And you have a 1 as well, because of your Applause, giving you 19. Subtract the two unwanted dice, and you have 4, 5, 5 (14), plus 1, for 15. Another Applause! So, spending Applause makes it easier for you to get Applause in the future, creating a sort of forward momentum.

Critical Critical Successes

But what if you get, for example, 37? A 7, 8, 7, 8, 7. A phenomenally good roll! That should be rewarded, shouldn't it? And let's say you have a Technique of 4 now, because you've levelled up at some point. Depending on how I decide levelling up should work.

Let's keep the 7, 8, 7, 8, and you decide to keep your Applause for later. You don't really need to spend it, as you got a 30!

That's exactly double your Motivation, so let's double the Applause, granting you 2 Applause!

Though next-to-impossible to reach, let's say if you double or triple your Motivation, you apply that multiplier to your Applause. Instead of a critical success, it's a critical critical success or a critical critical critical!

If your Motivation is low, say a 2, that's actually very easy to accomplish. If we cap it at a triple critical, then a 30 still only generates 3 Applause, and it incentivises players to not push their Motivations too low. A metagamer might crunch the numbers and decide a 10, being one-third of 30, is the ideal Motivation score, as you can easily enough double that and can triple it with some luck, but once you get below that you start experiencing diminishing returns.