A New Kind of Roleplaying Game [HELP WANTED]

[Jzadek]

So, is this still happening?

[thedarkstone]

So, is this still happening?

Simple answer? Yes, if people are up for it. I just didn't garner any responses before, so I was waiting for someone to come back to it.

[playswithfire]

So, I don't know how helpful this is, but it has been bouncing around in my head for a while and I think it might be a useful mechanic.

I realize one doesn't really need a name for a mechanic and most are simply referred to be the dice used (d20, 3d6, 4dF), but I think of this one as either "Practice Makes Perfect" or, for reasons that should become apparent "Snake Eyes."

Obviously, it's not fully fleshed out and is subject to any number of tweaks, but the version that first occurred to me is that the roll would be
22-2dX+ATTR* where
ATTR is the bonus the character has for the skill's associated ability score
X is determined by the level of training the character has in the skill
{table=head]Training|Die Size|Average roll (0 ATTR)
Untrained|d12|9
Novice|d10|11
Advanced Beginner|d8|13
Competent|d6|15
Proficient|d4|17
Expert|d3|18[/table]
So, the maximum possible roll is 20+ATTR (whenever the player rolls 1-1), which, assuming the range of values for ATTR are also capped, this creates a "peak human performance" and allows all players to theoretically reach it, though training makes the player increasingly more likely to do so and will result in a player of a higher degree of skill to generally defeat a player of a lower degree, but, with an appropriate flanking and/or gang-up mechanism, multiple less-skilled opponents should be able to take down, or at least seriously challenge, a more-skilled character.
I like that, with this mechanic, your natural ability/attribute determine the limits of what you can do and training makes you more likely to reach those limits.

It can easily be expanded into 10 levels instead of 5 (untrained not counting as a level) by decreasing the size of one die at a time instead of both at once (2d12 -> d12, d10 -> 2d10 -> d10, d8 etc) and one could create a number of skills and/or skill sets which players can use some sort of "points" to increase their level in various skills/skill sets, the latter group probably including things like magic, if it exists, and close quarters combat.

As I'm thinking of it now, a skill set would be distinct from a skill in that: increasing a skill by one level of training would cost 1 point, while increasing a skill set to a new level costs a number of points equal to the new level.
Various feats or other abilities could also be assigned point values and be chosen instead of increasing skills/skill sets.
Characters could either accumulate points as they adventure (possibly with restricted usage based on how they earned them; e.g. points earned by fighting can bot be used to increase their proficiency in understanding a new language) or there can be "levels" in "classes" with associated skills/skill sets and trying to increase a skill/skill set other than one of those would cost double its normal cost (or something).

*Yes, I know that subtracting a dice roll is the same as adding that dice roll to a different number (22-2d12 = 2d12-4, 22-2d8 = 2d8+4), but, with the subtraction, nothing has to change and 1-1 is always the best possible roll.

[Drynwyn]

Seems to me like it is unnecessarily complex, and, more importantly, means the Maximum possible roll is a 20 before attributes that doesn't allow a lot of difficulty variance.

[playswithfire]

Seems to me like it is unnecessarily complex, and, more importantly, means the Maximum possible roll is a 20 before attributes that doesn't allow a lot of difficulty variance.

It may be a bit too complicated. It was sort of the end result of me trying to combine d20 with FUDGE/FATE/4dF, though I haven't played a game using the latter and my understanding of it comes from looking at wikipedia and the FATE SRD. There would indeed be a somewhat limited range of target values, but 4dF has an even more limited range of values.

Like I said, it's just been rattling around in my head and I wanted to get it written down.

[celtois]

I'm just curious, have you poked True 20 by green Ronin at all? What you're proposing reminds me of what they've done.

They've created a multi-genre, generic system for d20. With three base classes and a sort of kit, build your own game sort of feel. The base classes then get abilities by taking feats, if you freed up the feat system a little bit and wrote some tiered feats, it might actually be right up you alley. (Magic is done through a quasi-feat system as well making it easy for you to make characters with a bit of magic, which is cool, and casters are more balanced compared to d&d)

d20, highly customizable, loose and flexible character gen.
reading your ideas, I thought of it. Maybe give it a look?

[thedarkstone]

I'm just curious, have you poked True 20 by green Ronin at all? What you're purposing reminds me of what they've done.

They've created a multi-genre, generic system for d20. With three base classes and a sort of kit, build your own game sort of feel. The base classes then get abilities by taking feats, if you freed up the feat system a little bit and wrote some tiered feats, it might actually be right up you alley. (Magic is done through a quasi-feat system as well making it easy for you to make characters with a bit of magic, which is cool, and casters are more balanced compared to d&d)

d20, highly customizable, loose and flexible character gen.
reading your ideas, I thought of it. Maybe give it a look?

Interesting. I'll have to check that out.

[celtois]

If you do go looking, try and make sure you look through a copy of the revised edition. It has a section on role creation, that basically allows players to make their own 'class' based on assigning points to various things like save, attack bonus, feat progression and the like.

It's good stuff.