Ooo! Look what arrived today!

[Morrus]

230 pages of sci-fi goodness!



One really odd thing is that I'm starting to really like the minimalist layout of the playtest document.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

"New Weapon Random Generator" immediately interests me.

 

[Derren]

"New Weapon Random Generator" immediately interests me.

And turns me off.
Having such a random name generator means that in the end none of those things mean anything so they can be applied to everything without logic. Antimatter Baton? Flechette Trident? Really?

 

[Morrus]

And turns me off.
Having such a random name generator means that in the end none of those things mean anything so they can be applied to everything without logic. Antimatter Baton? Flechette Trident? Really?

Who doesn't want an antimatter baton?

 

[Dungeoneer]

Looks pretty cool!

And I definitely want an antimatter baton.

 

[dm4hire]

Who doesn't want an antimatter baton?

The person being hit by it probably doesn't want it.

Looks good though!

 

[Piratecat]

Wow, that's gorgeous! I'm impressed (and surprised) you got it printed so soon. I make changes in my doc every time I open the damn thing.

 

[Baumi]

Can anyone tell me a bit more about that game (Basic Dice Mechanic, what is it all about, etc.)? It really looks great, but on the website is nearly no Information about it.

 

[Morrus]

Wow, that's gorgeous! I'm impressed (and surprised) you got it printed so soon. I make changes in my doc every time I open the damn thing.

Me too. It's just a personal memento. I'll have fun comparing it to the finished item in a year or so. Plus I wanted to see how the cover style looked in real life. I've settled, I think - very White Album. The front might, literally, just have the title on it.

 

[Morrus]

Can anyone tell me a bit more about that game (Basic Dice Mechanic, what is it all about, etc.)? It really looks great, but on the website is nearly no Information about it.

Sure!

So there's two games - N.E.W. (future sci-fi) and O.L.D. (medieval fantasy). Actually, there's also a hypothetical N.O.W., but it's not more than a glimmer at the back of my mind right now. The two games a long way off yet - N.E.W. is in early playtesting right now.

The system is a crunchy one. There's lots of rules-light games coming out right now. I'm aiming for those who like tactical play and optimization, though neither are *requirements*.

N.E.W. is Traveller, Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG, B5, Mike Resnick on the one hand, and Clarke, Niven, Heinlein, Herbert, Asimov on the other. You can run a range of hard-soft sci-fi in it in the same way that D&D can handle, say from medieval to steampunk. So you can have the antimatter batons above, or maybe just blasters or phasers, or maybe just projectile weaponry. You can have FTL, or your game can be all within our solar system, perhaps fighting for control of the moons of Jupiter. It's your own setting, just like D&D is. Here are some of the examples in the rulebook:

• The solar system has been explored, and colonies exist on the Moon and Mars. Outposts on Europa and other moons of Jupiter conduct vital research. Faster-than-light travel is not possible, and if there are any alien civilizations out there, we'll never meet them. Instead, we squabble for resources in an increasingly small solar system.
• The great ark ship Colossus has been traveling for 80 years, three generations of crew and passengers. With a population of nearly 100,000 souls, this massive flying city fled Earth in search of something new.
• Man's reach has extended across most of the known galaxy in a huge galactic confederation. Most alien species have come under its sphere of influence, either willingly or not. The inner and outer frontiers of mankind's civilization feature outpost worlds and trader towns where live those who wonder – has humanity itself become the bad guy in its ever expanding quest for control?
• When a natural wormhole was discovered to the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the Milky Way's orbiting dwarf galaxies, it was the start of something new. Now, dozens of galaxies are connected by great warp gates, conduits which allow trade and conflict alike. Great civilizations realize their insignificance in the vast void – and somewhere out there, beyond the edges of observable space, something ancient and malevolent exists.

The system uses d6s only, and all tasks are an attribute check vs. a difficulty category. At attribute check is a dice pool. Modifiers add or remove dice.

Skills are keyword based. There's no set list (though lots of examples) but you can have a skill in anything. Medicine, running, piloting, origami. Because every task is an attribute check, you get to add 1d6 to your dice pool if you have a skill relevant to the task. If you're trying to stabilize a fallen comrade, for example, you'd normally make a (fairly difficult) INT check. If you have medicine as a skill, you add a d6 to your dice pool. If you took medicine twice, you add 2d6. And so on.

Character generation uses a series of careers, each of which gives you a selection of skills to choose from, and some ability adjustments, plus a special ability. So the Bounty Hunter career gives you increases in INT, CHA and REP, plus a choice from skills like stealth, intimidate, tracking, etc. It also gives you some special abilities to locate targets. A character takes a series of careers (five in total) which define his/her life up until the start of play.

There's other stuff. The countdown mechanic, which the playtesters love, starship combat and construction rules, a very mobile-oriented ranged combat system which encourages tactical play and positioning, lots of astronomical info and science. Zero-G fights in environmental suits are a particular favourite of mine!