Open Game License: P&P, the modular, free-to-all, RPG

[GMMichael]

I've seen oodles of for-sale RPGs, and plenty of homebrew RPGs that are fully fleshed out. But with the announcement of D&D Next, I think it's time for an open-source RPG that doesn't fit the dreams of a single designer; it should have modularity to meet EVERY user's dreams.

So this is what I've started, and would appreciate help getting it to a sturdy, end-user phase. It's tentatively dubbed P&P (for the website where I started it), and here's the basic outline:

1 - Uncertainties are resolved with opposing d20 rolls: versus a player, or versus the GM.
2 - Characters start with three abilities, Physical, Mental, and Metaphysical, rolled with 3d6 each, which influence their activities.
3 - Ability scores also act as hit points, measuring the most damage a character can take of that type.
4 - Characters have Levels to show their general superiority to other characters.
5 - For things that have levels of progress, a character has Skill Points that can't exceed his level.
6 - For things that don't progress, or exceptions to rules, a character has Perks.
7 - To turn characters into heroes, characters can use a Hero point, which is a free daily 1d6 bonus to any roll, per character level.
8 - The GM adds situational difficulty to rolls if it's not an automatic success, from +0 (easy) to +20 (divine).
9 - A player or GM can always take a roll result of 10, provided he announces it before rolls are made.
10 - Skills and Perks can be whatever players want them to be, as long as the whole game-group agrees. In general, each one should have the most narrow, yet useful, scope possible. They can build on each other from there.

And the full rules-in-progress are posted here:
http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/p-p-rpg

It has good compatibility with D&D and Pathfinder right now, but I'd also like to make it adaptable to other systems as well.

 

[GMMichael]

Hmm. No responses? Then let me know why you're not interested?

Is it because PCs/GMs want something with all the details already fleshed out?
Or perhaps you've seen waaaaay too many indy games by now?
Or...?

 

[MoonSong]

Well If you post a link I might check them.

 

[GMMichael]

http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/showthread.php/26391-D-amp-D-v-P1

 

[GMMichael]

Since the above version is hard on the eyes, I've begun another one:

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/p-p-rpg

 

[GMMichael]

Resurrected!

Good reason though: Skills and Perks are mostly complete.

I'm about to add the basic combat rules, which are primarily narrative, but you can choose Offensive or Defensive Posture. The tough part will be designing the magic spells, but look for that in another post...

 

[GMMichael]

Combat (physical rules) chapter is mostly complete. Comments appreciated.

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/p-p-rpg/wikis/physical

 

[Dethklok]

1 - Uncertainties are resolved with opposing d20 rolls: versus a player, or versus the GM.

I do like the general mechanic, especially since it creates a mild probability curse (not as close to Gaussian as 3dX, but still favors the mean more than 1dX). But numbers get a bit high, there. Why not d10 vs d10 or d6 vs d6?

2 - Characters start with three abilities, Physical, Mental, and Metaphysical, rolled with 3d6 each, which influence their activities.

Mmm... Not very evocative names, and doesn't offer much differentiation between characters. I've played games with only 3 attributes, but I like being able to read off what a character is like by checking the stats, and high Physical, Low Mental, high Metaphysical doesn't do much to help me along.

3 - Ability scores also act as hit points, measuring the most damage a character can take of that type.

Ah, so you know the secret as well!

4 - Characters have Levels to show their general superiority to other characters.

Eh. I'm a 4th level high Physical, Low Mental, high Metaphysical character isn't much goodness.

5 - For things that have levels of progress, a character has Skill Points that can't exceed his level.

This strikes me as redundant. It seems to me that the virtue of levels is that they allow very rapid, broad-brush development of a character. (I realize that D&D used levels primarily to provide a "level up" thrill and give a sort of in game level pride, but that doesn't mean this is a laudable model to follow.)

6 - For things that don't progress, or exceptions to rules, a character has Perks.

OK...

7 - To turn characters into heroes, characters can use a Hero point, which is a free daily 1d4 bonus to any roll, per character level.

Again, not very evocative, and feels redundant with leveling. This mechanic also compromises the pristine essence of your resisted d20 roll. Maybe it's fun - I can imagine that having a special hero die might be - but now you definitely need more than common d6 and d20 to play.

8 - The GM adds situational difficulty to rolls if it's not an automatic success, from +0 (easy) to +20 (divine).

Fine...

9 - A player or GM can always take a roll result of 10, provided he announces it before rolls are made.

I realize this is popular, but as a GM, if I'm calling for a roll at all, it's usually because there's some interesting or anxiety-provoking risk of failure. This mechanic means that the 3-in-20-chance-of-death-every-time-you-cross-this-rope-bridge doesn't work anymore.

10 - Skills and Perks can be whatever players want them to be, as long as the whole game-group agrees. In general, each one should have the most narrow, yet useful, scope possible. They can build on each other from there.

I've found that this kind of thing doesn't work well, particularly for beginners. Usually the first time someone approaches your game, they'll need things well fleshed out, because they won't even know what choices are meaningful. Moreover, game balance is a real problem even in well playtested games. You may be going for a generic system, but aren't some skills nearly universal, such as literacy, run, dodge, subterfuge, or spot hidden?

 

[GMMichael]

I do like the general mechanic, especially since it creates a mild probability curse (not as close to Gaussian as 3dX, but still favors the mean more than 1dX). But numbers get a bit high, there. Why not d10 vs d10 or d6 vs d6?

Good question. The size of the die is the granularity of your percentile. If the basic roll is a d6, any change in odds must be about 16%. d20s are 5%. So this boils down to taste, and is an excellent candidate for a rule modification, which are encouraged by the system. (Also, the d20 doesn't get a lot of attention, like the d12, so making it a standard roll makes it special.)

Mmm... Not very evocative names, and doesn't offer much differentiation between characters. I've played games with only 3 attributes, but I like being able to read off what a character is like by checking the stats, and high Physical, Low Mental, high Metaphysical doesn't do much to help me along.

Granted. Add more abilities; it's fairly easy. But three abilities works well (?) for some of my favorite systems: Final Fantasy (attack, defend, magic), Skyrim (Health, Magicka, Stamina), and Eamon (Strength, Agility, Charisma).

Eh. I'm a 4th level high Physical, Low Mental, high Metaphysical character isn't much goodness.

Don't forget the skill points and perks! And character-themed hero points.

Again, not very evocative, and feels redundant with leveling. This mechanic also compromises the pristine essence of your resisted d20 roll. Maybe it's fun - I can imagine that having a special hero die might be - but now you definitely need more than common d6 and d20 to play.

There were several D&D features that basically acted as hero points, but hero points are much simpler to use. The rogue's backstab ability, the cleric's proficiency in healing, the monk's slow fall, barbarian's rage - all can be emulated with hero points. The trick is for a player to use them at character-appropriate times.

I realize this is popular, but as a GM, if I'm calling for a roll at all, it's usually because there's some interesting or anxiety-provoking risk of failure. This mechanic means that the 3-in-20-chance-of-death-every-time-you-cross-this-rope-bridge doesn't work anymore.

Yes and no. Some things just shouldn't require rolling. Example: the party thief is a great balancer (decent Physical, and skill points in Movement). He could take 10 and get across the precarious rope bridge, with a few points to spare. Now, the GM doesn't have to take 10, which means he can make the thief sweat it out if he wants. But the rest of the party members aren't thieves. Why not reward the thief, and make the rest sweat it out by taking 10 for the thief's attempt, and rolling against the rest? It's not favoritism, because rolling against the other PCs actually gives them better odds of crossing, since taking 10 is technically on the lower half of the d20 (10.5 is the exact middle).

I've found that this kind of thing doesn't work well, particularly for beginners. Usually the first time someone approaches your game, they'll need things well fleshed out, because they won't even know what choices are meaningful. Moreover, game balance is a real problem even in well playtested games. You may be going for a generic system, but aren't some skills nearly universal, such as literacy, run, dodge, subterfuge, or spot hidden?

Some are universal, so I've added "common" skills and perks to the core rules. Literacy, actually, isn't all that common (assumed for any education-required Knowledge or Profession). Running is, and is simulated by spending one's full allotment of actions on movement. Dodge is a common skill, called Parry. Subterfuge is Sneak or Larceny, and spotting is accounted for in the Detect skill.

By the way, I've suggested d6 for the hero points, since d6s are so common, and more interesting than a d4.

 

[Dethklok]

Good question. The size of the die is the granularity of your percentile. If the basic roll is a d6, any change in odds must be about 16%. d20s are 5%.

Then I'm not understanding what is meant by "opposing d20 rolls: versus a player, or versus the GM." Because opposing d20 rolls implies d20 minus d20, which has a mean of 0, a standard deviation equivalent to 2d20, and step sizes of 1/40 the total spread. If this is what you're talking about, fine, but such a system offers more granularity than simple d20 rolls, and would probably require large numbers be thrown around. If this isn't what you mean, then what [do you mean by "opposing d20 rolls?"

Granted. Add more abilities; it's fairly easy. But three abilities works well (?) for some of my favorite systems: Final Fantasy (attack, defend, magic), Skyrim (Health, Magicka, Stamina), and Eamon (Strength, Agility, Charisma).

Ah. Basing your proposal for a modular RPG on Skyrim and Final Fantasy, are you?

Don't forget the skill points and perks! And character-themed hero points.

OK then! Sounds fun.