Recent content by JohnSnow

I wasn't meaning to imply that it is, but after polling my gaming group, the level of attachment to "big number makes dopamine" is not something I can fight against, especially when it's not something I particularly have the energy to campaign for. I should also note that I have always been a...

I get it, and I am one of those people who could adjust. But I GM for a group of other neurodivergent people, including my wife, whose response to "So in this system, rolling low is good" was succinct. 😡 "Do not like. Not one bit."

The blackjack thing is weird to me, and it's actually trivially easy to fix, doing what Vagabond does once: Subtraction!!! Everyone: Ooooooo!! Subtract the skill level from 21, and "meet or beat" that. An 18 means you need to roll a 3 or higher. The percentage chance is exactly the same...

I'm in the same boat on Dragonbane except for two things: 1) I don't like the ducks and 2) Roll under systems just don't jive with my neurodivergent brain that screams "Big Number GOOD!" Other than that, I really like a lot of Dragonbane's systems, like starting profession + skills approach...

I read a really interesting "true adventure" book called "The Brendan Voyage" (Tim Severin) about his attempt to recreate the voyage of St. Brendan the Navigator by crossing the North Atlantic in a reproduction of a 6th-century Irish leather boat. It's a fascinating story and one of the most...

A LOT of modern games do this, and the good ones usually update their price lists periodically to reflect inflation. Savage Worlds comes immediately to mind, where they explicitly mention using the price of some normal thing to set relative prices of other objects. A good trick is to use...

I like short rest mechanics, and only like daily abilities if they are adequately explained by the virtue of a good night's sleep. I like roll to activate abilities, because I prefer things that don't always succeed but am totally okay with something like stamina or spell points. I think I...

Okay, I love the topic, but just can't bring myself to read 54 pages of comments. I like meta-currency, but I hate there being a ton of different kinds of them. The only meta-currency should be something like Luck Dice, Deathbringer Dice, Bennies (Savage Worlds), Inspiration (5e), Action Points...

For what it's worth, even in Star Wars, we have multiple examples of characters getting hit by lightsabers without them being cut through. The most obvious example I can recall off the top of my head is Luke hitting Vader in the shoulder during their Cloud City fight, right before he loses.

I think the most logical interpretation of rolling for stats in an RPG is that they represent the range of characteristics that can be expected in "professional adventurers." If we took INT as an example, and mapped it to real-world IQ, 8-13 maps to the 65% that has an IQ between 85 and 115, or...

If I ever get around to writing my own game system, it is liable to look a lot like an evolved version of C&C. My gaming group, which actually got together on the WotC forums, switched to Castles & Crusades back in the 3.5e days because our DM got so frustrated with the process of adventure...

Half-formed idea, as I said. 2d6 has and average of 7, not 6.5, so I would probably argue that a great sword should step down to 1d12, but I'm not sure why a great sword is 2d6 in the first place. It seems arbitrary and nonsensical, and doesn't accurately represent the distinction between how...

“Defense” is an already-established d20 term that many games have used for years. If you wanted to scale defense with combat skill, you can actually slash hit point totals to make them straight health - albeit a bit cinematic like in, say, Die Hard or Indiana Jones.

Last question first, partly stealing from DCC: 1d4 -> 1d3 -> 1d2 -> 1 hp To circumvent the armor, you’d need a called shot system of some kind. It would have to call for more than just Disadvantage, but the general idea is sound. Also, a Critical Hit (especially the so-called “Perkins Crit”)...

Yeah, I'm coming around to just using a fixed system for it. The Dungeon Coach offered a system for this for 5e in "Alkander's Almanac of All Things," and he just gave each armor a DR of (AC value - 10). Which is a nice and simple idea that many people have done before. And while I appreciate...