Diceless Role-Playing with my Girlfriend

[Yuan-Ti]

My buddies in grade school and I played this for a couple of years before we found time after school to get together and play D&D Basic. I won't say we preferred the dice, since it is totally different, but we stuck with dice.

Still, we had a great time doing exactly what you are talking about. Frankly, it worked best with only 1 or 2 players at a time. Of course, I was 12 or 13 the last time I played, so maybe I would be better able to handle more players nowadays...

 

[Wolfspider]

One thing that is unclear to me is whether you ran diceless but rules full or diceless and rules light...

Well, basically it turned out to be diceless and rules light. We used a skeleton of the D&D stats to represent character abilities (stats like Strength, list of skills and feats, lists of spells), but these were just used as a rough estimate of what characters could do. We/I eyeballed it from there.

 

[Pielorinho]

If you're worried about how to run combat fairly without using dice, I think I've got the solution:

Forget fair.

Diceless RPing can be lots of fun: we used to play diceless all the time. Instead of working to ward fairness, everyone works toward a good story.

So when you're trying to resolve combat, be creative. Come up with unexpected twists. Work together to describe dramatic scenes. And then, as the storyteller, decide who wins, and have the opponents succeed and fail based on that decision.

Totally unfair. Totally biased. But lots of fun, if you're willing to play that way.

I should note that when we played diceless, it was usually in a homebrew setting -- a modern X-filesish world, or a Deadlands knockoff, or something like that. And we usually played very low-combat games: excitement would come from discovering that the the manuscript was a translation of the original myth of Marduk, or from tracing the sasquatch to a glacial cave on Mount Rainier, or even from listening to a PC's wife tearfully leave him during a dinner party. Combat was usually quick, nasty, lopsided, and inadvisable.

Fairness is necessary in a game, but isn't necessary in storytelling. If you drop the dice, I think you're best off getting rid of fairness as well, in favor of collaborative storytelling.

Daniel

 

[Mojo]

When I was a young lad so long ago (ok, mid 80's) a friend an myself used to play diceless rpgs every day during recess. It was a lot of fun and the lack of "rules" seemed to open more doors for possible actions.

And when away at summer camp once we played it a lot, often walking around the woods or on the lake, and not having to roll dice was great.

How would you run flying a fighter jet with dice in a turn based combat? I imagine it could be done, but it was easier diceless.

I always wanted to try the Amber diceless rpg, but now that I'm into 3E, I enjoy my d20 and would never give it up.

 

[Darkness]

How would you run flying a fighter jet with dice in a turn based combat? I imagine it could be done, but it was easier diceless.

Probably with GURPS Vehicles...

 

[el Voz]

A group setting of diceless RPGing would need to be all in the same mindset.

Everyone would need to have a similar gaming philosphy of what is under/overpowered.

 

[Rel]

Um, not to gloat or anything, but I played some "Diceless Roleplaying" with my wife just last night as part of my birthday.

Turns out, she's a Catholic Schoolgirl 5/Seductress 9.



I recomend it!

Back to the OP, I've done this a few times but and it was fun. But I don't think it works well in a group unless you happen to have the PERFECT people for it. I just think that it is nearly impossible to get a group who's vision of the desired storyline is synchronized enough.

Plus, I think the dice add to the experience because while that icosahedron is tumbling across the table, NOBODY knows what is going to happen next. That is fun in my book.

 

[Quickbeam]

Rel:
LMAO!! My wife is more like a Tavern Vixen 8/Loremaster 4.

Wolfspider:
I'm glad the diceless gaming has worked so well for you, but I'm even happier to see that you've rebounded for the doldrums which overtake you in the recent past. Cheers for you, mate!!
For my part, I'll stick with my dice 'cuz I love them too much to let them sit idle in a bag while I game on. But if this method is working for you and Abby, then don't look back.

 

[Vaxalon]

Amber diceless

I ran a diceless roleplaying game for two years, with a group of four to six players. It's a blast.

 

[Neowolf]

Storytelling is nice and fun....

.... but you can have my d20 when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

BG

PS I'm glad you're having a good time!

Amen BG, amen.