Ironclaw in play

[Tetsubo 57]

I am currently reading the Ironclaw game. I'm up to the magic chapter. The rules seem very fluid and dynamic and... complex. Lots of dice rolling, lots of comparing one set of dice rolls to another set of dice rolls. The GM will be rolling a lot of dice per encounter. I think that it might be overwhelming for a GM. Though the game does give a lot of love to the D12.

How is the game in play? Is it actually as complex as I seem to think it is?

I freely admit I like a static target number like the D20 system uses. It just seems faster and more streamlined to me. Am I off here? Is Ironclaw's system really good in ways that I am not seeing? TIA.

[erikun]

I have the JadeClaw book myself, and while I haven't given it a play, it seems as easy to handle as most other dice pool systems. You have a handful of dice, you roll them, you compare them to the target number or opposing roll. The character sheets are well laid out and make it easy to see what dice a skill has.

Perhaps the most awkward parts would be remembering what to do with extra dice (any extra dice left unopposed are successed) and dealing with bonuses/penalities. Especially penalities. You might want to look for or create your own solution for those two.

[Tetsubo 57]

I have the JadeClaw book myself, and while I haven't given it a play, it seems as easy to handle as most other dice pool systems. You have a handful of dice, you roll them, you compare them to the target number or opposing roll. The character sheets are well laid out and make it easy to see what dice a skill has.

Perhaps the most awkward parts would be remembering what to do with extra dice (any extra dice left unopposed are successed) and dealing with bonuses/penalities. Especially penalities. You might want to look for or create your own solution for those two.

When I think 'dice pool' I think, 'role a bunch of dice and count the number if successes'. Ironclaw wants to compare individual dice results. That seems really... fiddly to me. Plus the bonus and penalty mechanism is a slightly different mechanic. It just seems really finicky to me.

*shrug* Maybe I am just not meant to be into dice pool games. Even though I have used them in the past. Heck, I came up with my own once before I ever even heard of the mechanic.

But thanks.