An odd idea... (PEACH)

[Ralcos]

I've been experimenting with game mechanics lately, and I have gotten the base idea for a new system (as follows):

Spoiler: Basic Rule-Set idea

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Roll d4s (4-sided die)
Every 4 grants 2 points towards success
Every 3 grants 1 point towards success
Every 1 grants -1 point towards success

Power --- How many d4s that you roll. Determines natural talent and ability.
Mastery --- Static bonus to a roll. Determines training and proficiency.

Spoiler: Proposed Attributes

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• Body --- Represents strength, constitution, fortitude, and stamina.
• Mind --- Represents intellect, willpower, perception, and focus.
• Soul --- Represents charisma and comeliness
• Combat --- Represents prowess and effectiveness in melee and ranged combat.
• Skill --- Represents training and proficiency in certain tasks.
• Affinity --- Represents personal magnetism, karma, luck, and mystical/psychic potential.

Spoiler: Example of a task

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James is protecting his hacker friend Marissa, combating against robots with his laser rifle.
Attacking with his laser rifle, he combines his Mind attribute and his Combat attribute (2d4 and 1d4 +2 respectively) for a total of a 3d4 +2 attack roll. He rolls a 4, a 3, and a 1, dealing a total of 2 wounds to his targeted robot.

Marissa, on the other hand is trying to match or exceed a DC to succeed in hacking the fortress doors open (lets say DC 4). She is using a combination of her Mind attribute and her Skill attribute (both are 2d4), rolling a total of 4d4. Rolling a 4, a 4, a 3, and a 2, she has 5 points to beat the DC, successfully hacking the doors open so she and James can defend themselves from a more defensive position.

Spoiler: Word Document (WIP)

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

So, what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Ugly?
Any and all advice/criticism/death threats are allowed...

[Prince Zahn]

I should start by saying, I was never that big a fan of d4s, personally, mostly because it's easier to cheat than other dice (certain ways to roll a d4 are more likely to get the result previously rolled), and because it has 5 cruel, pointy edges that one can sharpen and use for shanks or caltrops . (All the more reason to keep them off the floor...)
Nevertheless, I think I like your idea for using d4s better

It's seems frankly simple enough to work with for a a lot of kinds of games, the numbers you can expect at any given power level might be More predictable, but at the same time it's more complex, which can spell a lot of good for players who like that.- more power would spell better average results and likelihood of getting the average, but at the same time, it lowers your chances of getting exceptionally high or low rolls, making extreme results gradually rarer in exchange for reliability, might I suggest, if you plan on making abilities/features/traits or whatever you call them, consider working with power cost for activation. The numbers might be a little more dynamic but paying just the right amount for effects vs. Necessary Efficiency can also be an interesting thing to incorporate into the system.

That being said, I'm not sure I understand how static bonuses work here from your example. Is it added to one roll? If so, who gets to pick the die with the bonus? can you divide the bonus among multiple dice? Can you use it to get more than 2 points from any given d4?

Good luck with your system, hope I helped a bit

[Ralcos]

I should start by saying, I was never that big a fan of d4s, personally, mostly because it's easier to cheat than other dice (certain ways to roll a d4 are more likely to get the result previously rolled), and because it has 5 cruel, pointy edges that one can sharpen and use for shanks or caltrops . (All the more reason to keep them off the floor...)
Nevertheless, I think I like your idea for using d4s better

It's seems frankly simple enough to work with for a a lot of kinds of games, the numbers you can expect at any given power level might be More predictable, but at the same time it's more complex, which can spell a lot of good for players who like that.- more power would spell better average results and likelihood of getting the average, but at the same time, it lowers your chances of getting exceptionally high or low rolls, making extreme results gradually rarer in exchange for reliability, might I suggest, if you plan on making abilities/features/traits or whatever you call them, consider working with power cost for activation. The numbers might be a little more dynamic but paying just the right amount for effects vs. Necessary Efficiency can also be an interesting thing to incorporate into the system.

That being said, I'm not sure I understand how static bonuses work here from your example. Is it added to one roll? If so, who gets to pick the die with the bonus? can you divide the bonus among multiple dice? Can you use it to get more than 2 points from any given d4?

Good luck with your system, hope I helped a bit

I like your ideas!
NOTE TO SELF: Make Action Point economy to activate abilities/spells/powers, as well as special maneuvers...

And to clarify, the bonus for a roll is applied to the total of your d4s rolled for a task.
For example, since James rolls a total of 3d4, he'll add 2 to however many points he rolls from his 3d4 roll (and thus, he has 3d4 +2).

[Prince Zahn]

I like your ideas!
NOTE TO SELF: Make Action Point economy to activate abilities/spells/powers, as well as special maneuvers...

Awesometastic! glad I could help. Out of curiosity, what kind of games do you intend this core mechanic to work with?

And to clarify, the bonus for a roll is applied to the total of your d4s rolled for a task.
For example, since James rolls a total of 3d4, he'll add 2 to however many points he rolls from his 3d4 roll (and thus, he has 3d4 +2).

[Example of a task]
James is protecting his hacker friend Marissa, combating against robots with his laser rifle.
Attacking with his laser rifle, he combines his Mind attribute and his Combat attribute (2d4 and 1d4 +2 respectively) for a total of a 3d4 +2 attack roll. He rolls a 4, a 3, and a 1, dealing a total of 2 wounds to his targeted robot.

wouldn't this mean the robot takes (2+1-1) +2= 4 damage? I'm confused, sorry

[Ralcos]

Awesometastic! glad I could help. Out of curiosity, what kind of games do you intend this core mechanic to work with?

wouldn't this mean the robot takes (2+1-1) +2= 4 damage? I'm confused, sorry

Whoops! lol, looks like I just miscalculated some numbers.

Anyhow, I really like generic role-playing systems like Savage Worlds or BESM/Tri-Stat, so I'd probably be focused on making the game playable in any setting, although I will also think of adding a setting to compliment the generic rules so players could get an idea on how settings could change how the game is viewed during gameplay.

[Prince Zahn]

Whoops! lol, looks like I just miscalculated some numbers.

Anyhow, I really like generic role-playing systems like Savage Worlds or BESM/Tri-Stat, so I'd probably be focused on making the game playable in any setting, although I will also think of adding a setting to compliment the generic rules so players could get an idea on how settings could change how the game is viewed during gameplay.

No biggie ^_^ but you may have inadvertantly raised an interesting point: the results on the die are not the ones you use in the game. That could be confusing to some people, or at the very least risk miscalculations in real time sessions, I'd imagine.

EDIT: mind you I thought it was charming and interesting, but I'd probably get custom-numbered d4s for it

[Ralcos]

No biggie ^_^ but you may have inadvertantly raised an interesting point: the results on the die are not the ones you use in the game. That could be confusing to some people, or at the very least risk miscalculations in real time sessions, I'd imagine.

EDIT: mind you I thought it was charming and interesting, but I'd probably get custom-numbered d4s for it

That would be pretty cool! (looks up ways to create custom dice)
For now, I'll probably recommend players and GameMaster alike have a note card with the way points for a task are granted on a roll.

[Prince Zahn]

That would be pretty cool! (looks up ways to create custom dice)
For now, I'll probably recommend players and GameMaster alike have a note card with the way points for a task are granted on a roll.

I'd imagine that works. A little reference card (or a few of them) would be very handy.

Before I forget - keep track of how high your static bonuses can get. Every+2 in this game seems equivalent to rolling a 4 on a free die. You probably want these numbers to be relatively low, so your dice can remain relevant.

Numenera (and MCG's Cypher System in general) might have an interesting take of avoiding modifier inflation - while you don't roll for things like damage there, the main modifiers make the difficulty of a task easier or harder in steps (=increments of 3DC), as opposed to straight up pumping up your result. As I recall, you'll never add more than +2 to a given roll there, as every +3 bonus instead lowers the difficulty by a step.

How this would apply to damage rolls and/or d4s? no idea yet, but maybe a defensive attribute might come in handy. I really don't know how complex you want your system to be, so you're the boss

Also, if you don't find anything and can't afford a 3D printer, there's always old-fashioned Origami? XD
I really don't know where someone can get custom made dice that sounds like a question for the Friendly Banter forum. Maybe the roleplaying games but I'm less certain about that.

[Ralcos]

Added a link to the WIP rulebook.
Hopefully you guys like!