Creating a new RP system [Part 4: The Randomizer]

[drawingfreak]

While we are still discussing the story, let us vote on what we will be using to determine our odds.


Dice (if chosen, types and amounts will be determined later)
Cards
Spinner
Paper, Scissors, Rock
Evens, Odds
None
Other...explain

[Dairun Cates]

While we are still discussing the story, let us vote on what we will be using to determine our odds.


Dice (if chosen, types and amounts will be determined later)
Cards
Spinner
Paper, Scissors, Rock
Evens, Odds
None
Other...explain

I think d6's really are the way to go here. However, I have seen some decent systems done with cards. So, I wouldn't mind working in that. Still, I prefer the dice. The other ones are either a bit unwieldy or can just get a bit iffy after a while. Also, I've never really seen a system without randomization that I was satisfied with.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Also, I've never really seen a system without randomization that I was satisfied with.
Very true. Without randomisation it is generally too easy to predict the course of your actions before you even do them.

[Viruzzo]

Using a single die type it's a good idea for me too, and d6 are common and "medium-sized", so they would work fine. As for the cards, they can be used together with dice, but all in all they don't convince me much... Even though tarots would add a nice flavour to the game.

[KingGolem]

I vote for d6's too. Those are the kinds of dice that are easiest to acquire, and therefore are easiest to acquire in large numbers.

[Viruzzo]

I vote for d6's too. Those are the kinds of dice that are easiest to acquire, and therefore are easiest to acquire in large numbers.
Unless you've played WW games, in particular Exalted: then you'd have a bucketload of d10s by now. :smallwink:

[Zeta Kai]

Perhaps we should use a randomization system similar to White Wolf games, wherein a dice pool is used, but we can use d6's. If your a novice at a skill, you roll 1d6, but if your Teh Awsum Mastr Zomg, you roll 10d6 (or whateverD6). A roll of 1 can be a "botch", which is not only an auto-fail, but also cancels a succeeding die.

Difficulty can be a simple 1-10 scale, in which:
1=So Simple That You Shouldn't Waste Our Time Rolling, &:
10=So Insanely Hard That You Shouldn't Waste Our Time Failing.

If you get more succeeding dice than failing, you win. If not, you lose. How many exceed the Difficulty, & by how much, determines the level of success.

[mikeejimbo]

d6 all the way. And I'm good with a die pool mechanic.

[Dairun Cates]

Okay. Once again. I'm going a little bit ahead here, and I might be crazy, but one idea for how this works might be to have a character have an offensive and a defensive score. Instead of skills, your offense can be your generally offensive nature and your defense could be your generally defensive nature with your abilities adding bonuses to some rolls. Basically, you'd have two stats that have modifiers at the right time.

Lifting things, attacking, insulting a foe, punching throw a wall, downing a beer, etc. These are offensive actions, and use your offensive skill.

Hiding, bluffing to conceal the truth, sense motive, noticing something, defending against an attack. These are defense actions, and use your defensive skill.

So, if a ninja wants to hide, it's a defense check versus a pirate's offense check.

The only thing that's iffy is some skills fit inbetween like knowledge skills. For these, I recommend taking the average of the two skills and rounding down. So for a pirate with 4 offense and 3 defense this would be 3 dice rolled. If he had knowledge in the skill as one of his bought abilities, he'd be rolling a 4, 5, or 6 based on his level in the ability.

On top of that, this allows for the idea of racial and class bonuses. Ninjas have a +2 to defense, pirates have a +2 to offense. Monkeys have their +2 to climbing. Dinosaurs have their +2 to breaking things. If you split class, you get HALF of that class's bonus. So, if you're a pirate ninja (God forbid) it's +1/+1.

There's really only two issues here. The words offense and defense aren't quite right for the concept, and it does have some minor issues that would need tweaking. Also, I think you'd still need capstones for the defensive and offensive score. Something along the lines of you can go over your total exp/10 in offense and defense at any time (minus your class bonuses). Otherwise, we might get some people who only focus on an impossibly high defense score.

It probably would work to take the whole white wolf thing and call 6's crits (2 successes), call 5's successes, and 1's failures (-1 success). The skill checks are just comparisons of who gets more successes and non-opposed checks are just checks that require a certain number of successes. So, climbing a tree is a 2 climbing check.

I don't know. It seems buggy, but I think breaking the thing down to 2 basic skills that can be modified streamlines the system and keeps the focus on the skills.

[Zeta Kai]

Those are some really good ideas, Dairun. Combined with the dice pool notion, I think we could do a really fun, easy-to-learn system that encourages fast'n'loose play. Good job. Anyone wanna flesh this offense/defense idea out further?

[drawingfreak]

The system I had in mind is something akin to "Talent Trees".

At creation, you pick a Race. Each Race has up to maybe five abilities unique to that Race. HOWEVER, you have to buy them with Creation Points that you get to start with. Any templates we would add would also have up to maybe five, but the templates themselves would also cost Creation Points.

From there, the player chooses a path or two for their character to follow. Each path has a set of up to maybe twenty abilities that can be purchased with Creation/Experience Points. These paths could have restrictions to them (ala you cannot also choose the Pirate path if you are on the Ninja path).

Abilities would cost more CP/EP depending on their power level (over 9000). Also, the Abilities can have restrictions so that a starting character can't spend all his CP on the most kick ass ability ever. This is where the Talant Tree aspect comes in. Before you can use "Swift Ass Kickery" you need to have "Regular Ass Kickery".

As for the HP as MP idea that was being kicked around, how about it being our "Awesome Score". The more awesome the ability, the more awesome points it needs to function. If you spend more Awesome then you have, you die heroically, doing three times the normal damage.

I'm sure we can figure dice pools of d6s in here somehow, which is an idea I agree with.

[drawingfreak]

Well, I'm going to go ahead and call this one. It seems that we are all liking the d6 dice pool idea. Now to bring it into fruition.