Rules-light system? [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

theonesin

2013-12-07, 09:09 PM

Djinn_in_Tonic

2013-12-08, 02:11 AM

Wushu is a fast, easy, and cinematic game engine. Not a bad choice.

Old School Hack is a minimalist D&D aimed at recreating the feel of dungeon-crashing in AD&D with modern rules-light mechanics. It's a great little d20 hack.

Dread requires only a Jenga tower, and is a great game system for 1-shot horror games as a diversion from your normal gaming experience. Doesn't really stand up to a campaign though.

Gamma World is a D&D 4e derivative that's hilarious and fast. If you don't like 4e you might still like Gamma World: it has some great additions that make it an absolute blast to play (and I'm no 4e fan).

FATE and/or FATE Accelerated are my #1 recommendations. A brilliantly conceived game engine with story & character-centric mechanics, a rules-light framework, and methods of actually pulling player input into plot-building and game flow, FATE is, quite simply, one of the best RPGs I've ever had the pleasure to play.

Scow2

2013-12-08, 02:16 AM

Savage Worlds isn't quite rules-light (Or at least not as rules-light as it tried to be), but it's pretty sleek and easy to run, and very easy to DM for. Ironclaw likewise is easy to DM for, but is much rules-heavier, especially for players... at least in terms of options.

Sidmen

2013-12-08, 04:39 AM

My go-to for a lighter system is New World of Darkness.

Its resolution mechanic is more-or-less just roll a handful of dice - determined by your skills, gear, and the environment - then count the number of dice that score above 7. If you get ANY, you succeed.

Of course... The rulebook does ramble on and on about it. I've cleaned up what the book actually says and its combat chapter can be shrunk to about 6 pages.

Most people don't consider it rules light, but its certainly rules medium if you consider D&D to be rules heavy.

MonochromeTiger

2013-12-08, 04:47 AM

might I suggest dungeonworld? as far as I remember it's extremely rules light simply providing enough framework for taking actions and actively has a rule of "story over mechanics" that causes a group to be able to keep throwing random thoughts at the wall until one sticks.

Yora

2013-12-08, 04:57 AM

I am currently quite taken with Castles & Crusades.

I wouldn't call it a minimalist game, but compared to most games I've read and played, it has only perhaps 25% of the amount of rules. And it's much easier to get your head around the math than with most OSR games.

Grinner

2013-12-08, 06:41 AM

Microlite20. It's D&D 3.5 simplified and at a fraction of the page count.

Games like Dread and FATE...well, I just don't know. They're very clever, but they function so differently from the "archetypal" RPG. They might be a little difficult to pick up...

Zavoniki

2013-12-08, 07:59 AM

Cortex. I would be surprised if it took more than 15 minutes for everyone to grasp the rules and making characters is fast and easy.

Brookshw

2013-12-08, 08:35 AM

Tri-stat is exceedingly simple yet versatile. Does require a fair bit of discussion to get going and have a cohesive idea of what the game will be.

A_Man

2013-12-08, 11:24 AM

Bountyheadbebop RPG is rather light on the rules, though is highly usable for players who want to roleplay with rules.

Rhynn

2013-12-08, 02:49 PM

ACKS and pretty much all of the D&D OSR retroclones in my sig (except Dungeon Crawl Classics, which is more like moderately heavy).

erikun

2013-12-08, 04:18 PM

HeroQuest RPG and Fate are my two top recommendations. Fate especially, as the newest system can be found online at their website (http://www.faterpg.com/) with either the standard rules or the (different) Accelerated Edition.

Doorhandle

2013-12-08, 04:24 PM

Old school hack: the entire rulebook is like, 36 pages, most of it waffling.

Also, it's free! (http://www.oldschoolhack.net/)

Airk

2013-12-08, 04:42 PM

Just a real quick question, but does anyone know some good systems that are easy to pick up and low on rules? My group is just looking for something new to play, but we want something that won't require learning a ton of new rules.

Thanks.

What kind of games do you like and what have you played before? I don't want to recommend, some sort of crazy narrative story game if you just want to play D&D with less rules.

Grod_The_Giant

2013-12-08, 11:09 PM

If you don't mind homebrew, STaRS (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281582) has worked pretty well in all playtests... (/shamelessselfpromotion)

tensai_oni

2013-12-09, 12:08 AM

Time to join the choir that sings of FATE.

CarpeGuitarrem

2013-12-09, 12:42 AM

Dread requires only a Jenga tower, and is a great game system for 1-shot horror games as a diversion from your normal gaming experience. Doesn't really stand up to a campaign though.
Actually, from what I've heard, you only tend to see maybe one death in a session. The game's more designed to keep you on edge without actually having a high kill rate. After you finish one session, you can give them another session and attach a few more questions to their questionnaires, and you'll be good. If anyone died, you can have them make a new character, which isn't too effort-intensive and can be done in 10 minutes.

Beyond some of the typicals (I definitely recommend Dungeon World and its monster-hunting cousin Monster of the Week), I'll also second New World of Darkness as a fantastic generic game. No, really--the core engine is dead simple, even elegant. Just be ready to eyeball the stats of creatures or the difficulty penalties for specific tasks.

Afgncaap5

2013-12-09, 06:09 PM

Look into the Xd20 roleplaying system. It's in the book "Xtreme Dungeon Mastery". It's a very simple system. (The entire section on leveling up your character is a description of erasing the number in the "level" section of your character sheet and writing in a number that is exactly one number higher than the number you just erased.) I've never played it myself, and it was described in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, but it really did seem like a viable system. Albeit one that assumes the GM (and the players, to an extent) are playing on a sort of honor system.

Knaight

2013-12-09, 11:17 PM

Fudge is a lot like Fate, except more traditional (it's the system that Fate built itself off of), so you might want to look into that. There's also Warrior, Rogue, and Mage, as a minimalist game largely designed for D&D style play.

Socratov

2013-12-11, 08:10 AM

I am suproised nobody suggested Anima Prime RPG yet. It's rules light, cares more about concept and storytelling then contstruct and on top of that, the no pictures version is free (http://www.animaprimerpg.com) (you can buy the same rulebook with pretty pictures as a way of supporting the system)

kyoryu

2013-12-11, 07:02 PM

Count me as another Fate vote.

Even though Core has a hefty page count, the vast majority of it is just explanations and examples. The core of the game can be explained in about five minutes, and could fit in a pamphlet.

Kid Jake

2013-12-11, 07:18 PM

FabulousFizban

2013-12-11, 07:34 PM

I second GAMMAWORLD

DontEatRawHagis

2013-12-11, 11:35 PM

Paranoia.

Yes I went there.

Scow2

2013-12-12, 02:22 AM

Paranoia.

Yes I went there.Just because you are not authorized to know the rules doesn't mean they're not there.

CombatOwl

2013-12-12, 05:30 PM

Another vote for Fate Accelerated Edition. It's a genuine rules-light system, unlike Fate Core (which is as rules-heavy as you want it to be).

InQbait

2013-12-12, 08:29 PM

How about trying to make your own homebrew system built from the ground up?
That's what I do.
It may not be an option for everyone, and requires a lot of time, effort, and thought, but it can be very rewarding if you know what you're doing.
A great way to express your creativity (if you have any) :smallbiggrin:

CombatOwl

2013-12-12, 10:46 PM

InQbait

2013-12-13, 07:35 AM

I tried FATE before. I didn't like it.
But, I'd be willing to give it another try if someone GMed it for me.

Lorsa

2013-12-13, 08:38 AM

Cortex. I would be surprised if it took more than 15 minutes for everyone to grasp the rules and making characters is fast and easy.

You'd be surprised though how difficult it can be for some players to figure out what -2 skill means, and that -2+4-3= -1 and that it means your d8 is now a d6 or whatever. Keeping track of many different types of dice is apparently rather difficult for some.

CarpeGuitarrem

2013-12-13, 10:38 AM

Mythender (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/110779/Mythender-Roleplaying-Game) is light on rules, completely ridiculous and free. When you decide to punch Poseidon in the face you don't bother rolling to see if you can; you roll to see how badass your SubSonic-Triple-Lindy-Dragon-Punch is and how many miles worth of his precious ocean is rendered uninhabitable due to residual blunt force trauma.

Not for everyone, but it's definitely a helluva ride.
Well, it's thoroughly awesome, but the game is actually pretty mechanically-involved. It doesn't have detailed rules, but it has a lot of easy-to-understand rules mechanisms that work together. Instead of using different subsystems to cover different types of actions, you have a few core systems that work in unison, not unlike how more complex boardgames work.

Airk

2013-12-13, 10:40 AM

You'd be surprised though how difficult it can be for some players to figure out what -2 skill means, and that -2+4-3= -1 and that it means your d8 is now a d6 or whatever. Keeping track of many different types of dice is apparently rather difficult for some.

Actually, what I've discovered in some messing around is that people are fundamentally bad at doing math in their heads. Everyone can do one number plus or minus another, but as soon as you involve a third number (or the numbers go out of the single digits) lots of people start to struggle. Not in the sense of "they get it wrong", just in the sense of "it starts to noticably bog down play."

Multiple dice types are also not recommended for light rules.

Scow2

2013-12-13, 12:14 PM

Actually, what I've discovered in some messing around is that people are fundamentally bad at doing math in their heads. Everyone can do one number plus or minus another, but as soon as you involve a third number (or the numbers go out of the single digits) lots of people start to struggle. Not in the sense of "they get it wrong", just in the sense of "it starts to noticably bog down play."

Multiple dice types are also not recommended for light rules.

Ehh... Savage worlds handles multiple dice types well, as does Ironclaw's core mechanic.

Airk

2013-12-13, 01:15 PM

Ehh... Savage worlds handles multiple dice types well, as does Ironclaw's core mechanic.

And you've already described Savage Worlds as "not as rules light as it tries to be" so I think my assertion stands. ;)

Scow2

2013-12-13, 09:17 PM

And you've already described Savage Worlds as "not as rules light as it tries to be" so I think my assertion stands. ;)
Savage Worlds is very Rules-light in terms of how it runs and plays. Neither system's complexity comes from the resolution mechanic - instead, it's in the granularity and definition of the player options. Same with Ironclaw.

The rest of the time, it's "Grab the die you think is most appropriate, and roll against 4" d4-2 being "Horrible," d4 being "poor", d6 being "Mediocre", d8 being "Good" d10 being "Great", and d12 being "Excellent".

They both run extremely quickly and have very little prep time.

FATE is the lightest system available, but it is plagued by the problem of "What's the point?", mechanically.

Airk

2013-12-15, 12:50 AM

FATE is the lightest system available, but it is plagued by the problem of "What's the point?", mechanically.

If you think FATE is the lightest ssytem available, you're not familiar with real Rules Light games.

Consider, for example, Lasers and Feelings. (http://onesevendesign.com/lasers_and_feelings_rpg.pdf).

What do you mean by a mechanical problem of "what's the point"?

Grod_The_Giant

2013-12-15, 01:11 AM

I'd put FATE (at least the version I'm familiar with, from the Dresden Files game) and Savage Worlds at about the same level of complexity. Savage Worlds is a bit grittier in terms of "looking things up in a book," but it's pretty simple in play. FATE has fewer mechanical quirks, but requires a significant conceptual shift in terms of how you play.

Socratov

2013-12-19, 05:22 AM

I see there is no love here for Anima Prime RPG... The system is so light you can make a character within 5 minutes, it will be what you want (not what the mechanics tell you it is) and you only need a handful of d6's to play. It literally runs on the rule of cool it's even mentioned that the rule of cool is important). It's about as rules light as they come.

CombatOwl

2013-12-19, 06:44 AM

I'd put FATE (at least the version I'm familiar with, from the Dresden Files game)

Fate Accelerated Edition is a genuinely rules-light game. Fate Core, Strands of Fate, Dresden Files, and other related games... eh, not so much. They're actually kind of involved, even if the basic mechanic isn't that complicated. There's a reason the Fate Core book isn't ten pages long, and why there was a reasonable need for a System Toolkit book in addition to that.

FAE, though, is a rules-light game.

and Savage Worlds at about the same level of complexity. Savage Worlds is a bit grittier in terms of "looking things up in a book," but it's pretty simple in play.

Savage Worlds has a lot of book lookup required, and is certainly not what I would characterize as rules light. It's got a lot of situational exceptions to rules, circumstantial things that some people can do but not others, hell it even has blast, line, and cone templates in the damned core book. It gets worse if you actually run something in Savage Worlds, because a lot of the actual rules are shuffled off to the setting books (like the card-based casting in Deadlands, or the rules on freezing to death in Hellfrost).

It's not by any means a rules-light game, just densely written (because the core book has absolutely nothing about settings).

kyoryu

2013-12-19, 03:13 PM

What do you mean by a mechanical problem of "what's the point"?

Ditto.

Fate Accelerated Edition is a genuinely rules-light game. Fate Core, Strands of Fate, Dresden Files, and other related games... eh, not so much. They're actually kind of involved, even if the basic mechanic isn't that complicated. There's a reason the Fate Core book isn't ten pages long, and why there was a reasonable need for a System Toolkit book in addition to that.

FAE, though, is a rules-light game.

I don't find Fate Core and FAE to be that significantly different, personally. Skills vs. Approaches, single stress track... that's the majority of it. The majority of the page count difference in Core vs FAE is explanation, examples, etc.

The Toolkit isn't really needed for Core, it's perfectly playable as is. The Toolkit is a guide for *hacking* Fate, so I don't see that as being any kind of comment on the system itself.

I'll agree with that on Dresden, and especially Strands, though.