Simply6 Simply6: A Fast, Light Universal RPG

jmucchiello · Jul 10, 2019

murquhart72 said:
How does this game compare or differ from contemporaries like Risus or TWERPS?

RISUS is a cliche system. What you are good at is embedded inside the cliches.

Simply6 is a skill system. Everything is a skill. Every character has "average" ability in most skills and they can improve individual skills over time.

RISUS "suffers" from the vicious cycle when you lose the first round of combat, you probably lose the battle.

Simply6 has a scaling issue. If someone's defense skill is 4 more than your attack skill, you can't successfully hit them at all (or it's nearly impossible). Guidelines for balancing characters could mitigate this.

RISUS also implies a "joke" game whereas Simply6 seems like a serious minded game.

I don't know TWERPS.

Morrus · Jul 10, 2019

jmucchiello said:
Simply6 has a scaling issue. If someone's defense skill is 4 more than your attack skill, you can't successfully hit them at all (or it's nearly impossible). Guidelines for balancing characters could mitigate this.

I was thinking about that very thing earlier today.

That’s an artifact of using average rolls rather than the Judge rolling for the monsters. If the Judge rolls, you’d need a monster with 19d6 in its Defense skill (which doesn’t exist) to make it impossible to hit by a starting character.

I like the average rolls because it makes play really fast, but you do lose that randomness.

One way WOIN mitigates that is that any attack with 3 sixes always hits (like a natural 20 in d20 systems). I might use that.

That said, if you’re fighting something with 4 more dice than you in it’s combat skills, you’re screwed anyway!

jmucchiello · Jul 10, 2019

Consider someone who decides to play a steel plated knight:

John the Knight Lvl 1
Defense +3d6 6d6
--------
Arts -1d6 2d6
Perfoming -1d6 2d6

He should be rarely hit by most level 1 "menaces". His defense roll averages 21 and the attackers are "rolling" 14 or 17 unless they too have 6d6 in their attacks. And that makes them more than level 1.

A simple "You cannot spend all 3 dice at first level on a single skill." makes for a good suggestion in the FAQ area of the text if you don't think it goes in Your Character.

Also, there are some simple dump skills. It would take some good RP to make John the Knight regret dumping Arts and Performing. Don't think that's anything to really worry about unless you are Judging the game.

Morrus · Jul 10, 2019

That highlights a nuance of the level calc change for monsters: using the same calc, John is actually level 3, not level 1.

But yeah, he's super-twinked.

Morrus · Jul 10, 2019

New update going up:
- you cannot put all 3d6 in the same skill
- your level is the total of your bonuses, not penalties
- you therefore start at level 3
- your health is your level
- If you spend a round aiming (ranged), feinting (melee), or focusing (magic) you get +1d6 to an attack in the subsequent round.

jmucchiello · Jul 10, 2019

Any plan to address time and space in the combat section? Not that it is necessary to be more than "the Judge decides how far you can move and how much time a round takes."

Morrus · Jul 10, 2019

jmucchiello said:
Any plan to address time and space in the combat section? Not that it is necessary to be more than "the Judge decides how far you can move and how much time a round takes."

I've very deliberately left that abstract. You can move as far as the Judge lets you. I don't envisage people using minis with this or counting distances and speeds.

Morrus · Jul 10, 2019

An interesting tactical note: now a sniper type can get +2d6 to Shooting by positioning on higher ground and spending a round aiming.

jmucchiello · Jul 10, 2019

I like the asterisks.

In combat, I think magic being its own phase makes sense for non-attack magic. But (again for superheroes) being able to attack with magic should not necessarily be penalized. I can understand how magic being delayed in a Fantasy game makes sense. But when everyone is throwing fire and ice, there's no reason the guy with the bow and arrow goes first. The phase is fine for turning invisible or erecting a wall of ice.

Or the SimplySuper supplement notes the difference and the core rules are silent on it.

jmucchiello · Jul 10, 2019

Morrus said:
I've very deliberately left that abstract. You can move as far as the Judge lets you. I don't envisage people using minis with this or counting distances and speeds.

All I said was it might be good to explicit about leaving it completely up to the Judge.

OTOH, eventually there will be a Judging Simply6 section of the book, I suppose.