Just to throw the obvious into this discussion, I saw somewhere in another thread this phrase "Roll Per+Finesse, vs EF 12 - Craft." I think Peregrine may have said it to somebody. It was late and I was using the forum as bedtime reading.
Maybe we're overthinking this? What about simply subtracting up to all relevant Prof and Craft skills from the EF? (I suggest all Relevant ones because I think that skills are underutilitized in the system relative to cost. I would also be fine with up to one Prof and one Craft skill.)
Exemply Gratia:
- Viscaria wants to create a magnificent tower, with much details and particularities. She has Int +3, Dex -1, Per 0, Finesse (Rego*) 4, Prof: Architect 3, Craft: Stone 2
- Due to the complexity, the task is Hard: base EF is 12, +3 for Rego = 15. This would take a year, for a final EF of 21 + 9 = 30
- Her knowledge of mundane craftsmanship and structural engineering her. EF 15 - Prof:A 3 - Craft:Stone 2 = 10 to do a year's worth of work in a year.
- She must roll to avoid the +3 penalty for not including intermediate materials, as before.
- She wishes to go faster than that, and could attempt to do a year's worth of work in a season at EF 13, or a month (EF16), or even in a day (EF19).
As we've appointed system design to you, and I'm just adding input, then I'm fine with messes being easier than starting from scratch, even if it does go against my mundane experience.
Fixer, could you react to my suggested complexities and mundane-required-times in the OOC Tribunal Field thread?