ExploderWizard
Hero
Reaction rolls and morale checks from B/X. AD&D also had these mechanics but the B/X versions are so much less cumbersome at the table.
Your favourite gaming mechanic?
Well, I can try
After selecting a race for your character, you 'grow' your character from birth through their childhood, and teens to adulthood (or further) by picking 'lifepaths'. Each lifepath represents a number of years and comes with a set of skills you can acquire and defines some of the characters traits, stats, and resources. And each lifepath leads to one or more other lifepaths, representing the decisions your character made (or decisions that were made for them!). E.g. your character may decide to move into a city, be sold into slavery, or conscripted into an army.
So, depending on the race, you have a more or less complex network of lifepaths. The cool thing about this is that it also tells you something about the way a race's society is organized. And the Burning Wheel comes with some pretty exotic racial choices, e.g. Giant Spiders or Wolves!
So, creating a character is a bit like a mini game: You can either start with a goal, e.g. "I want to play an alchemist." and then look for the different, interesting ways to get there, or start with a certain premise, e.g. "I was brought up by wolves." and let yourself get inspired by the possible leads, picking what sounds cool and marvel at what you end up with.
Jeux Fictifs
First Post
"Each lifepath represents a number of years"
But what you do if the race live many years. A human child and elf child have not the same number of years. ?
But what you do if the race live many years. A human child and elf child have not the same number of years. ?
Neonchameleon
Legend
Success-with-consequences mechanics. They just make for richer scenarios, stories, and worlds to me.
Warbringer
Explorer
Assuming you lived through chargen....
JeffB
Legend
Clone system in Paranoia. You know you will die, it is just a matter of time and you try your hardest not to, it all leads to some interesting roleplaying and fun.
Storminator
First Post
This gives you the basic mechanics of hero points. M&M has a few differences, like granting a re-roll on a d20, or granting a bonus power for a round.
But the great part about them is the pacing currency. M&M has a rule called GM's Fiat, where the GM breaks the rules (the villain makes his save!), but tosses you a hero point when he does it to you. So the GM thwarts the players, but gives them bonus powers for it. Then at the end of the adventure, the GM stops thwarting the players and lets them kick ass with their accumulated hero points.
Once we got the hang of it, it flowed like a dream.
PS
Jeux Fictifs
First Post
But as in several role-playing games, you may have 6 copies of your characters if your Game Master is a character killer.
On that Paranoia is more in the comedy of situations than in horror science fiction.
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