Yora
2013-06-27, 11:30 AM
These days I tend to use Pathfinder and SWSE for almost all games I run, but other games that have a big place in my heart are AD&D, Dragon Age, and Mouse Guard.
Now I am not going to use the S-word and the N-word, but I think the main flaw of the d20 system is that it tries to cover too many things with all the skills, and feats, and named modifiers, and a combat grid, and weapon traits (in PF), and armor check penalty, and so on and on and on. While personally, I am actually a huge fan of keeping the hands of the dice for as long as possible.
Now for a number of reasons, I still want to run my campaigns in Pathfinder and also want to avoid creating alternative mechanics to resolve certain situations as much as possible. But I also would like to give the game a stronger "feel" like the more rules-light systems.
Now the purpose of this thread is to collect methods that make any d20 game (3.5e, PF, SWSE, Conan, WoT, GoT, ...) less reliant on dice rolling and allow players and GMs to deal with things on the fly without having to consult specific rules.
This isn't going to be a one size fits all "Variant System" like E6 for example, but rather a collection of ideas from which every GM can pick whichever ones he likes. Asking questions about other peoples ideas and making suggestions to improve them is very much welcome, but if you think something should be done in a different way, just enter it as a new idea, even if it covers bascially the same thing someone else already refered to.
Keep the Game to Low-/Mid-Level: Even fans of high- and epic-level play will readily admit that the game becomes a very different beast once you pass the 10th or 12th level mark. By playing in a setting in which the most highly advanced NPCs are just 11th or 12th level, lots of issues never start to show up at all.
Consider E6/E8/E10: If you want to cap the maximum level but expect the campaign to run considerably longer than it will take the player characters to reach that level, E6 (and it's higher level variants) is one solution to continue advancing the characters without increasing in levels.
Ability Checks: Almost every single roll in a d20 game is actually an ability check, that has some modifiers to it that represent favorable or unfavorable conditions. An attack roll is a Strength check to which you add your martial training in form of your BAB, a Skill check is an ability check for which you gain a bonus equal to your Skill rank, a Will save is a Wisdom check to which you add your mental training in form of the base will save bonus, and even your Armor Class is a Dexterity check on which you always take 10 and add a bonus from your armor.
Virtually everything that is not covered by a specific rule can be resolved by an ability check. Roll a d20 and add the most appropriate ability modifier. If a player has a creative idea and you don't know what rules to use for it, asign a DC and have him make an ability check.
The DM's Best Friend: I think this was a sidebar in the 3.5e Dungeon Master's Guide. This neat little tool is nothing but a +2/+4 bonus or a -2/-4 penalty to any given roll. This bonus represents favorable or unfavorable conditions for the player character. If a fight takes place on a very dusty street or inside a flour mill and dust or flour gets thrown up into the air, you don't have to consult the books to find the effects for such a situation. Simply make it a -2 or -4 penalty to all attack rolls by everyone in the area.
Let the Players describe an Anction, then roll the Dice: As my favorite saying in regards to RPGs goes "When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail". Having a rule for everything brings the real danger that players slip into a mentality of solving everything with the rules. You usually don't want to hear "I check for traps. I got a 23". Instead give a +2 or even +4 bonus to players who attempt to describe what the character is actually doing, using the description of the environment he got from you. You can't do it on every roll, but when you describe a small chest on a pedestal and the player says he is checking if there are any tiny holes or moving parts in the pedastal before touching the chest, he should get a small bonus to his Search check. Even if the actual trap on the pedestal is something entirely different that doesn't exactly fall under what the player described.
Talking before Rolling: This is basically an elaboration on the previous point, but deserves a separate mention. Since not all players are equally good at being eloquent and persuasive, but this should not keep them from playing a character who is, there are the Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Bluff skills. But again, it's a bit poor when it just goes "I roll Diplomacy to ask the king for free horses". Instead have the players either make their speech, or just summarize the arguments they want to present. And based on how well you think their arguments or lies are, you again provide a +2/+4 bonus or penalty to the skill check they make after that.
Auto Success on DC 10 class skills: Taking 10 speeds the game up, but I think it can be made even easier. With taking 10, you still have to ask the player to look up his skill modifier and tell you what number he got, and compare that to the DC. The skill systems of other games often assume that there are lots of things that simply don't need a roll at all. It es expected than anyone even remotely competent will succeed every time. DC 10 is a good threshold and having the skill as a class skill is a good quick determination of who is considered reasonably competent.
Don't roll dice, when it really doesn't matter. Going strictly by the rules, you could roll Climb checks to track how much progress a character makes every round while climbing a tree, and how much he is at disadvantage because of armor, and so on. If you are somewhere in the wilderness and a rogue player says that he wants to set down his backpack and climb a tall tree, skip the five or six skill checks to see if it takes him five, six, seven, or eight rounds to do so. It's so trivial and the outcome almost certain, it's not worth the effort.
No Magic Item Shops: I had this happen only a few times, but even then the whole game completely stopped for at least half an hour when the PCs got into town and everyone was pouring over the books, not knowing what they should buy. It might not work for every group and campaign, but sometimes you can simply say that there are no items for sale in stores and all items there are are found in treasures or have to be custom ordered.
Use fewer books: Some people love having a bazilion splatbooks, other simply hate the rules creep. If you play a game in which dice rolling and therefore character builds are not that important, it is often quite sufficient to just play with the basic rulebook and ignore everything else. It's almost always a completely serviceable game.
All that said, you also have to be on the same page with all the players about what type of game you are going to play. If someone just really want's to play a CoDzilla, all this won't help in any way. The players have to be on board to make a "less rules heavy" game work.
Now I am not going to use the S-word and the N-word, but I think the main flaw of the d20 system is that it tries to cover too many things with all the skills, and feats, and named modifiers, and a combat grid, and weapon traits (in PF), and armor check penalty, and so on and on and on. While personally, I am actually a huge fan of keeping the hands of the dice for as long as possible.
Now for a number of reasons, I still want to run my campaigns in Pathfinder and also want to avoid creating alternative mechanics to resolve certain situations as much as possible. But I also would like to give the game a stronger "feel" like the more rules-light systems.
Now the purpose of this thread is to collect methods that make any d20 game (3.5e, PF, SWSE, Conan, WoT, GoT, ...) less reliant on dice rolling and allow players and GMs to deal with things on the fly without having to consult specific rules.
This isn't going to be a one size fits all "Variant System" like E6 for example, but rather a collection of ideas from which every GM can pick whichever ones he likes. Asking questions about other peoples ideas and making suggestions to improve them is very much welcome, but if you think something should be done in a different way, just enter it as a new idea, even if it covers bascially the same thing someone else already refered to.
Keep the Game to Low-/Mid-Level: Even fans of high- and epic-level play will readily admit that the game becomes a very different beast once you pass the 10th or 12th level mark. By playing in a setting in which the most highly advanced NPCs are just 11th or 12th level, lots of issues never start to show up at all.
Consider E6/E8/E10: If you want to cap the maximum level but expect the campaign to run considerably longer than it will take the player characters to reach that level, E6 (and it's higher level variants) is one solution to continue advancing the characters without increasing in levels.
Ability Checks: Almost every single roll in a d20 game is actually an ability check, that has some modifiers to it that represent favorable or unfavorable conditions. An attack roll is a Strength check to which you add your martial training in form of your BAB, a Skill check is an ability check for which you gain a bonus equal to your Skill rank, a Will save is a Wisdom check to which you add your mental training in form of the base will save bonus, and even your Armor Class is a Dexterity check on which you always take 10 and add a bonus from your armor.
Virtually everything that is not covered by a specific rule can be resolved by an ability check. Roll a d20 and add the most appropriate ability modifier. If a player has a creative idea and you don't know what rules to use for it, asign a DC and have him make an ability check.
The DM's Best Friend: I think this was a sidebar in the 3.5e Dungeon Master's Guide. This neat little tool is nothing but a +2/+4 bonus or a -2/-4 penalty to any given roll. This bonus represents favorable or unfavorable conditions for the player character. If a fight takes place on a very dusty street or inside a flour mill and dust or flour gets thrown up into the air, you don't have to consult the books to find the effects for such a situation. Simply make it a -2 or -4 penalty to all attack rolls by everyone in the area.
Let the Players describe an Anction, then roll the Dice: As my favorite saying in regards to RPGs goes "When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail". Having a rule for everything brings the real danger that players slip into a mentality of solving everything with the rules. You usually don't want to hear "I check for traps. I got a 23". Instead give a +2 or even +4 bonus to players who attempt to describe what the character is actually doing, using the description of the environment he got from you. You can't do it on every roll, but when you describe a small chest on a pedestal and the player says he is checking if there are any tiny holes or moving parts in the pedastal before touching the chest, he should get a small bonus to his Search check. Even if the actual trap on the pedestal is something entirely different that doesn't exactly fall under what the player described.
Talking before Rolling: This is basically an elaboration on the previous point, but deserves a separate mention. Since not all players are equally good at being eloquent and persuasive, but this should not keep them from playing a character who is, there are the Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Bluff skills. But again, it's a bit poor when it just goes "I roll Diplomacy to ask the king for free horses". Instead have the players either make their speech, or just summarize the arguments they want to present. And based on how well you think their arguments or lies are, you again provide a +2/+4 bonus or penalty to the skill check they make after that.
Auto Success on DC 10 class skills: Taking 10 speeds the game up, but I think it can be made even easier. With taking 10, you still have to ask the player to look up his skill modifier and tell you what number he got, and compare that to the DC. The skill systems of other games often assume that there are lots of things that simply don't need a roll at all. It es expected than anyone even remotely competent will succeed every time. DC 10 is a good threshold and having the skill as a class skill is a good quick determination of who is considered reasonably competent.
Don't roll dice, when it really doesn't matter. Going strictly by the rules, you could roll Climb checks to track how much progress a character makes every round while climbing a tree, and how much he is at disadvantage because of armor, and so on. If you are somewhere in the wilderness and a rogue player says that he wants to set down his backpack and climb a tall tree, skip the five or six skill checks to see if it takes him five, six, seven, or eight rounds to do so. It's so trivial and the outcome almost certain, it's not worth the effort.
No Magic Item Shops: I had this happen only a few times, but even then the whole game completely stopped for at least half an hour when the PCs got into town and everyone was pouring over the books, not knowing what they should buy. It might not work for every group and campaign, but sometimes you can simply say that there are no items for sale in stores and all items there are are found in treasures or have to be custom ordered.
Use fewer books: Some people love having a bazilion splatbooks, other simply hate the rules creep. If you play a game in which dice rolling and therefore character builds are not that important, it is often quite sufficient to just play with the basic rulebook and ignore everything else. It's almost always a completely serviceable game.
All that said, you also have to be on the same page with all the players about what type of game you are going to play. If someone just really want's to play a CoDzilla, all this won't help in any way. The players have to be on board to make a "less rules heavy" game work.