Top-Level Skills and Penalties

[Hotrod]

Sorry if this topic is a redux, but I can't seem to find a good answer on this.

You have a Level 12 Juicer with the prowl skill using Juicer Assassin Body Armor. The base prowl skill is 25% +5% per level of experience. He gets +15% to prowl as an O.C.C. bonus, and he gets another 5% from having Acrobatics. At Level 12, this tallies up to 100%. His armor makes him -5% to prowl.

What must he roll at or under to pass his prowl skill check? Should he get 100-5=95%? 98-5=93%?

In other words, can a Juicer ever get so good at prowling that he can prowl in armor with no effective penalty? Can or should this also apply to all skills?

[Tiree]

There are several instances where skills can go above 100. There are skills that give you bonuses to tackle penalties.

With that, I go with any skill can go over 100, but it effectively has a 98% chance of success no matter what. Anything over 98% is used to tackle penalties. So if you had 130% in a skill, you roll 1d100 and 98 or less your going to pass. But that 99 and 100 you will fail. If you had 130% in a skill and a 30% penalty, you would have an effective skill of 100%, but still it's 98 or less for a success.

I hope that makes sense.

[Shawn Merrow]

I would go with 95% myself.

[eliakon]

Officially by the rules your skills cap out at 98% unless you have a special ability that lets you go over this (this is one of the reasons that those classes that have this ability are special, and get this ability called out). Thus RAW his roll would be a 93.
However a very common house rule is to let skills keep on increasing and let the additional points be used to offset penalties. In that case his roll would be a 98.

[Fermat]

I go with 93%. There are some specific categories from HU that have skills that go beyond 98% (Hardware and Natural Genius) and the Extraordinary IQ minor power lets one go beyond on a specific pair of skills. Everyone else is stuck at 98% as their max. That's RAW and is consistent throughout the Megaverse, AFAIK.

Personally, I have a few options to allow Physical Training to go above 98% for some of the physical skills like prowl, but that's a personal house rule.

[ShadowLogan]

Unless otherwise specifically indicated I treat Skills at topping off at 98%, since even skills that go over 100% when doing checks have to obey that limit as "failure is always an option". Off hand I don't think Prowl is one of those skills with an exception, and I don't recall the Juicer creating an exception for the skill either. So it would be 98% Skill -5% Penalty = 93%.

[Glistam]

By the rules, unless the character has an ability that lets this skill increase past the 98% cap, they would have a 93% to Prowl.

[The Dark Elf]

By the rules, unless the character has an ability that lets this skill increase past the 98% cap, they would have a 93% to Prowl.

This imho

[Axelmania]

Skills only go past 98 in pre-2nd Palladium or if you're a Hardware/Sleuth from Heroes Unlimited 2nd Edition or a Natural/Genius from Powers Unlimited 2.

[Killer Cyborg]

Officially by the rules your skills cap out at 98% unless you have a special ability that lets you go over this (this is one of the reasons that those classes that have this ability are special, and get this ability called out). Thus RAW his roll would be a 93.
However a very common house rule is to let skills keep on increasing and let the additional points be used to offset penalties. In that case his roll would be a 98.

^^^This is the correct answer.

[say652]

House rule.

For skills.
Total all levels and bonuses, then subtract penalties.

Skills over 100% are possible in heroes unlimited but since Rifts its a different animal all together, I say run it.