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Chugosh
2013-03-25, 03:53 PM
Not sure where to put these thoughts, but this seems like the likeliest spot, so here we go.

RPG Vaporlock! So much nifty and no time and no group to play with!
Going over a recent try at FATE, I found I did not like it at all. The aspects, a part I thought I would love, turned out to be out of my league. I don't think that one is for me.

So I'm looking at one of the inspirations for FATE, the game system Fudge. Looks cool, uses the same dice I bought 20 of and has a lot of flexibility. As written it has some cool points to it, but I think I like the other dice systems better. what is essentially 4d3, so a high bell curve with a nine point spread from -4 to +4 compared to 2d10 or even d20.

I do like the flatter curve better, I must say. Critical hits are nifty, and you can have more with a flat single die roll. I'm thinking of going with a d12, just because dodecahedrons are nice. I also like the idea of tokens to buy your way out of bad rolls when you have to. I got hooked on those with savage worlds, and now I can hardly play without them. So I'll have to write those into my game. I think I like best how it works for Red Box Hack, where each one is worth either a +2 to hit or a +1 to damage, and you can use as many as you have, and you have special moves to gain them (showing off) or get them for your friends (lend a hand). You have your whole bard thing right there! Gives the cheerleader character something to really effect the fight, see!

So I could go play something, or I can write something my self.

And here is the other thing. I'm a fan. I am a wooly lamb that follows the flock! I like the idea of a completely original setting and so forth, but what I actually like is to have my game be in a setting I recognize and already know something of. I'm just starting to get out of this, but I mean for years I blew off Farscape because it was different from Star Trek! How silly, right! Strangely enough I had no problem with Babylon 5, but that is another story.

The go to setting for me would seem to be the pseudomedieval fantasy land, even though I've had a lot of fun with many other settings. In fact, if you take standard fantasy, plop it down in a busy near future city and add heavy full automatic weapons, you get that much more fun, so long as you can wink an eye at the misery of the general public. Then again, I suppose dragon gnawed peasants really don't have it any better, but they have no TV, so....

Well, mechanically I would go for simplicity in any case, and add in the tokens and maybe borrow a setting. But it may be that I just rant on all my various forums instead.

SowZ
2013-03-26, 12:42 PM
Keep in mind that a d12 based game may be a little less marketable/picked up by people since d12s aren't sold individually as often and people own fewer of them. Most games are d6, d10, or d20.

Chugosh
2013-03-26, 03:09 PM
Like I'd ever get it to the point of selling it to other people!
Thanks for that, sir. Bless you.

No I don't expect this to make it to my own game group, let alone the general public, and if it ever did, I can put a bonus d12 in as one of the kickstarter rewards. And there are a few places to get d12s, even if you have to get them a dozen at a time.

SowZ
2013-03-26, 10:30 PM
Cool cool. So, one of the first things you're going to want and decide is how rules-lite versus rules-heavy. Is it more simulationist or more ease of play?

Another big decision is a soley skill based system or a stat based system, (or something else entirely.) A soley skill based system would have, say, twelve to twenty different fairly general skills. There are no stats. You decide how to build your characters strengths and weaknesses and don't need overarching stats to do it.

The advantage to this is that it is simpler, for one. Secondly, it is easier to build a concept that is atypical. It is easier to make someone who is frail physically and horrible at most physical tasks but still manages to be an expert pilot and archer in a system where you choose skills free of stat constraints.

The disadvantage is that things that are usually derived statistics, (carry weight, hit points, etc.) are harder to deal with.

A stat based system is something like D&D, where how good you are at certain things is determined by over arching stats like Strength, Intelligence, Etc. Advantages? You may think it is more realistic, people are used to it, and you can get a wider array of derived statistics with more ease. Disadvantage is it can shoehorn certain concepts into secondary, unwanted roles and it is more complicated. Stat systems almost always use skills as a way to super specialize.

Another thing is to determine if you want certain statistics to scale with power level, (like hit points, an attack bonus, etc.) or if you want things to only improve when you invest character building resources into them.

IMO, games that are low on simulationism benefit from a statless system. Games that are more simulationist might want stats. Further, more story centric games, (like, say, most WoD games,) probably prefer a game without automatically scaling numbers. So, HP would only increase if you spent build points on it. (In a system where you spend XP as opposed to levels.)

Games that are more combat heavy probably benefit from scaling hit points and attack bonus. Otherwise, people will kind of be forced to invest in the durability/offense stats, which hurts freedom of building.

Chugosh
2013-03-27, 10:05 AM
Thanks! Some very good advice, there.

My instinct is to go for a light as possible game build. I like the idea of skills alone with a level default for most things. I thought that was a strength in Fate, though my experience did not go so well when actually getting to try the game on a couple weeks ago. I even like the way they work a skill pyramid, where you have very few skills at high levels and more at lower levels.