What mechanics or subsystems do you use regardless of the game you are running/playing?

John Dallman · Monday at 10:00 AM

aramis erak said:
That's not how 3rd/4th/5th ed HSR luck works. There's no free levels of it.
Luck is purchased by whether it's good, where it's a Talent called Luck (3rd/4th) or power (5th); bad luck is the Unluck disadvantage.

Yes, I know. But that's a bit complicated to explain in-line in a thread.

DEFCON 1 · Monday at 1:46 PM

Scott Christian said:
But it's just, well, there is a bit of an assumption that you are the one that knows how to make the game - even more so than the designer. I am curious, who uses these subsystems prior to actually trying out the game as written? (Maybe my premise is wrong. Maybe people try the system, decide it needs X or Y, and then it just so happens that is the same X or Y that was needed in a different system. That could be, but if it is, it isn't clear in the replies.)

Nope, never concern myself with playing a game "as written". Because RAW is overrated. To me, RPGs are story-generators, not board games. So hewing only to the game mechanics misses the point in playing RPGs in my opinion. Different RPGs give us different ways to generate stories, sure, but none are so precious that I can't futz with them at any point in the process.

Scott Christian · Monday at 10:15 PM

DEFCON 1 said:
Nope, never concern myself with playing a game "as written". Because RAW is overrated. To me, RPGs are story-generators, not board games. So hewing only to the game mechanics misses the point in playing RPGs in my opinion. Different RPGs give us different ways to generate stories, sure, but none are so precious that I can't futz with them at any point in the process.

And that's awesome. I am glad it works for you. And thhank you for understanding that if someone asks you a question about why you didn't try RAW first, they are not scolding you. They are simply asking a question.

Thank you for understanding that...

it's not an attack on your GM capabilities.
it's not an attack on your gaming design capabilities.
it's not an attack on your table's playstyle preference.
it's not an attack on you as a person?

Thanks for the answer. It's interesting to me. I think I feel the same way about certain kinds of systems, and then differently about others. Any D&D'ish system I think I could modify probably without playtesting. Other systems, I am not so sure. But that is just me, and maybe my lack of experience coming through.

VHawkwinter · Monday at 10:50 PM

Scott Christian said:
Thanks for the answer. It's interesting to me. I think I feel the same way about certain kinds of systems, and then differently about others. Any D&D'ish system I think I could modify probably without playtesting. Other systems, I am not so sure. But that is just me, and maybe my lack of experience coming through.

Just out of curiosity, also for context:

How long have you been gaming?
How long have you been GMing?
How many different systems have you played / ran?
Have you ever analysed the math behind how your systems work, with spreadsheets or AnyDice or something?

You don't have to answer publicly, but your answers to that question will likely explain your level of comfort in knowing how something will play in advance and knowing how you would want to change it.

doctorbadwolf · Monday at 11:34 PM

Can't believe i forgot.

Non-binary check results. Like in 5e i will either use multiple checks to determine outcome, or you get mixed results with DC-5 TO DC-1, etc.

Bill Zebub · 2026-03-17T00:24:35+0000

The part where players have to bring food and drinks to the game.

JiffyPopTart · 2026-03-17T06:30:08+0000

sevenbastard said:
GO BACK TO TOWN CARD

Every player gets one card that they can play during the adventure to represent something they would have done in down time or would have remembered to bring with them on the adventure.

For example you might hand wave a week of down time and three weeks of travel by boat and then you get to the first room of the dungeon and everyone in the party realize they forgot to buy rope after you left it in the last dungeon. Spend a GBTT card and you have rope. Or maybe no one thought to ask in town about what that strange symbol was in the book you found. Use a GBTT card and you did.

Basically its a way to not punish players who forget to do important things that thier charachters would have remembered.

My games always equip the PCs with a SAP (Standard Adventuring Pack). It's contents are deliberately left unlisted, but instead it's considered to be "any mundane items a skilled adventurer would have on hand". It is automatically refilled and topped off at any settlement with goods available....and is part of the PCs living expenses.

It's been used for torches, rope, chalk, food, water, bedrolls, wedges and a hammer, paper and ink, and many many other items. Most recently some glue for a fake moustache.

VHawkwinter · 2026-03-17T06:49:05+0000

JiffyPopTart said:
My games always equip the PCs with a SAP (Standard Adventuring Pack). It's contents are deliberately left unlisted, but instead it's considered to be "any mundane items a skilled adventurer would have on hand". It is automatically refilled and topped off at any settlement with goods available....and is part of the PCs living expenses.

It's been used for torches, rope, chalk, food, water, bedrolls, wedges and a hammer, paper and ink, and many many other items. Most recently some glue for a fake moustache.

How do you decide what to price that as and what do you charge them to refill it?

DrunkonDuty · 2026-03-18T01:33:03+0000

Holding actions. A character can hold an action or part of an action.

You can take the action when you want. You do not neeed to stipulate a specific thing you wish to react to.

If you're trying to interrupt or go before else someone does you must beat that other character in an initiative check. If you lose you go just after them (if able.)