Looking for a great PbP Rule System

[FormerlyDickensC]

Another post got me thinking about systems good for use in PbP games. I mainly like the D&D settings. I really enjoy the new 4E rules at the table. But, honestly, 4E (and almost any d20 system) sucks for PbP. Its just entirely too complicated and slow.

So, I guess I'm looking for some type highly simplified rule system that would work in a PbP game, but still be interesting and somehow "appropriate" for a D&D "type" of PbP game.

 

[Thanee]

Have you looked at the Microlite d20 rules already? That's an extremely stripped down version of the D&D rules (3E, though).

Of course, when it comes to rules light, Savage Worlds (click to take a look at the SW rules) is always worth mentioning; for PbP the card-based initiative would have to be replaced with something dice-based, however.

Bye
Thanee

 

[kobold]

Games with a heavy "narative" (see GSN) or story telling bents work best.
You want soemthing driven by the characters, this is more campaign and style then rules. Keep the adventures as simple as posible. An adventure that sems painfully simple and short at a table will take a long time, abd with the right players become quite complicated and deep and take a very long time ot resolve.
For games I've run that I feel where succesful I used FUDGE, and HeroQuest (not the MB boardgame). Both offer very simple mechanics and single roll resolution options that are unified no matter what the roll is for.

 

[Nifft]

What would a perfect PbP system look like?

I can think of:

• Phased conflict resolution, where everyone does their declarations in any order, then resolution occurs all at once.
• Contingent action support, so readied actions, interrupts, etc. could be handled in a way that didn't put the whole burden on the GM to not metagame. Phased combat could help here, if the GM decided all his actions right after "resolution phase", before the players declare their actions.
• Unambiguous dice mechanisms. You shouldn't have to ask what you can roll very often.
• No reactive rolls: whoever is taking an action should roll whatever dice need to be rolled as part of that action. No reactive saves, no reactive perception, no reactive initiative.

Cheers, -- N