PDA

View Full Version : Scifi Dice Pool Gamey Thing



zeratulcraft
2013-08-11, 05:49 AM
So rather than simply BUY Doom 3, I figured I would design a game that could handle that type of adventure. I love Dice Pools, never get to play with them because everyone else loves DND, but I want me some Dice Pools.

The style is meant to be games like Doom 3, FEAR, DX:HR (less so). Movies that I watched before making would be Ghosts of Mars, Red Planet, Mission to Mars. I read some awesome horror threads over on /tg/ and it really got my mind moving.

I kinda nicked a bunch from NWoD because it's also a system I want to play, but I cut out some of the things that don't fit the themes of sci fi horror. I probably did a silly in doing this, as it likely constricted my mind to WoD'isms.

Is there an already existing system that does sci fi horror with dice pools well?

Anyway, I have yet to settle on char gen formats, so for now it is just the system:


Dice pool system (d6 or d10)

Combat:
- Characters declare actions in order of lowest Speed to highest
- Actions then resolve in order of highest Speed to lowest

Melee Combat:
- Something + Appropriate Weapon Skill dice pool, opposed by Dodge dice pool of the opponent
- Each success is one lot of damage (say a knife does 2 damage, 3 successes is 6 damage, because you hit 3 times)
- The attacker may attack more times than their skill would allow, for each additional dice rolled, they take a -1 to the result of each die, so if they rolled 2 additional dice, all their dice would be at -2
- Each Dodge attempt by the defender this round confers a -1 pool penalty to the Defender

Ranged Combat:
- Something + Appropriate Weapon Skill dice pool, opposed by Dodge dice pool of the opponent
- Each success is one lot of damage
- If the ranged weapon is an ammo based weapon, each dice rolled in the attackers pool is one unit of ammunition
- The attacker may fire more times than their skill would allow, for each additional dice rolled, they take a -1 to the result of each die, so if they rolled 2 additional dice, all their dice would be at -2
- Each Dodge attempt by the defender this round confers a -1 pool penalty to the Defender

Special Combat Actions:
Suppressing Fire
- Force opponents to stay in cover, lest they take damage from merely standing
- If an opponent subject to suppressing fire chooses to move into it or stand up into it, they take damage appropriate to the weapon multiplied by the result of one rolled dice as random amounts of bullets find them, if the dice rolled is higher than the number of bullets left in the attackers weapon, they instead multiply by that number
- The attackers weapon empties of bullets at the end of the round

Take Cover
- Duck behind something, unless a weapon can pierce cover, or an opponent has line of sight on you from flanking you, you are unable to be attacked, you will probably be suppressed, however

Pop Out of Cover
- Not an entire action on its own, this is usually paired with "and take a shot" or "move to new cover"
- Roll Agility/Dex + Wits/Perception dice pool, the number of successes is the speed stat at which your next action takes effect, if this roll is higher than the Speed of your current action, it takes effect now instead.

Stats:
Physical: Strength, Agility, Stamina
Mental: Intelligence, Perception, Wisdom
Social: Appearance, Charisma, Manipulation

Skills:
Physical:
Athletics
Brawl
Drive
Larceny
Stealth

Weapons:
Archaic Weapons
Assault Weapons
Heavy Weapons
Pistols

Mental:
Science
Computers
Mysteries
Medicine

Social:
Empathy
Expression
Intimidation
Persuasion

---

This all making sense?

erikun
2013-08-11, 07:08 AM
If you're not familiar with the system, then you probably shouldn't be making radical changes to core parts of it. You don't know what works and what doesn't, and don't have a very good way to judge.

Genius: The Transgression (http://transgression.wikia.com/wiki/Genius:_The_Transgression_Wiki) if a free fanmade WoD game has a psudo-science bend to it. Between that and the Armory/Advance Armory books, you should be able to put together a good collection of weapons and possibly a few powers, depending on what you're looking for.

I can't really say that I'd recommend any of these changes. I don't see how any fit the game you have in mind. The exploding d10 dice (the WoD default) have an even 1/3 chance of success per die, giving you a nice and simple probability chance. Combat is already Something + Weapon (specifically Strength + Weapon/Brawl for close combat, and Dexterity + Firearms/Athletics for ranged) and Defense is already a value that takes a -1 to the dice pool for each additional attacker in a round.

zeratulcraft
2013-08-11, 07:50 AM
If you're not familiar with the system, then you probably shouldn't be making radical changes to core parts of it. You don't know what works and what doesn't, and don't have a very good way to judge.

Not that I'm unfamiliar, I read the books lots, I just can't get anyone *else* to read them.


Genius: The Transgression (http://transgression.wikia.com/wiki/Genius:_The_Transgression_Wiki) if a free fanmade WoD game has a psudo-science bend to it. Between that and the Armory/Advance Armory books, you should be able to put together a good collection of weapons and possibly a few powers, depending on what you're looking for.

Huh, didn't know that was Fanmade, might have to look into that, though the feel I want is the players play the squad deployed when things go bad, kind of after the mad science has occurred. Marine in Doom 3, FEAR Squad, the Unit in Ghosts on Mars, that sort of deal. So they may have a scientist, but not everyone is a Scientist.


I can't really say that I'd recommend any of these changes. I don't see how any fit the game you have in mind. The exploding d10 dice (the WoD default) have an even 1/3 chance of success per die, giving you a nice and simple probability chance. Combat is already Something + Weapon (specifically Strength + Weapon/Brawl for close combat, and Dexterity + Firearms/Athletics for ranged) and Defense is already a value that takes a -1 to the dice pool for each additional attacker in a round.

I figured dropping Politics and Socialize and the like, handling those in freer ways may divert gaming more towards other skills. Still figuring Sanity and the like, not really sure what I'm wanting off other people looking at my work thus far, heh.

Yeah that was for my notes, when compiled it's gotta go in the rules.