Search results

Ten levels is enough for me. The levels may then work as campaign pacing mechanism and each level may be mapped to a descriptive power level, without unnecessary "filler" between points where the gameplay changes in a visible way.

I'd go with something like 30% strength, 30% weapon, 40% skill or something similar. Similar amount of damage from each source. I also assume that both weapon-based part and skill-based part are rolled dice, while strength gives static modifier. This way, each listed factor matters, but none of...

I use three different approaches, depending on what game I play and what is the playstyle the group agreed on: 1. HPs as "characters are just that tough". Completely not realistic, but fun. Yes, I have five arrows stuck in my chest and my head is half-split with an axe, but I just grit my teeth...

1. Dungeon World Shares a lot of tropes and setting assumptions with D&D, but uses a light, simple system. All rolls are made with 2d6+stat, with 10+ as complete success, 7-9 as success with complications ("yes, but...") and 6- as failure. The game strongly focuses on fiction; the fictional...

In my experience, the most crucial element in creating an immersive game world is giving players things to care for. It may be done by building on PC backgrounds, it may be done by hooking PCs into GM-created plots and it works best when both approaches are used. The key here is knowing what the...

Schemes from Mistborn Adventure Game are a nice tool for player-driven sandbox tool. That's how they work: 1. Players think in advance what they want to do next. It may be done OOG, between sessions, or as roleplayed in-character planning, whatever the group prefers. 2. Players write down (it...

Things that Pathfinder did well, IMO, and that can be easily used in other games: - class structure that encourage sticking with a single class, not multiclassing - polymorph-type spells that don't restrict what you can change into, but streamline and balance the mechanical effect - channel...

Thraug is right. No need to complicate the spell with multiple layers of complicated rules. "When you cast this spell, you wish for something to happen - and it happens. If the effect exceeds the magnitude of a 7th level spell, the DM should also introduce a complication or cost, similar in...

A functional game should specify how the social mechanics applies to the PCs. Players either buy in, or not. If they buy in, they won't try to avoid whatever the dice bring. If they don't, it's time to change the system or houserule it until you have a game that the players want to play. Simple...

Consistency over detail I may - and will - add a lot of my own ideas to the setting. It does not have to be detailed, and sometimes even shouldn't, because too much detail does not leave blanks for me to fill. But the setting has to make sense, as already noted by several posters above. If...

A lot depends on what the stakes are. If each combat is a life or death matter, they should be long enough for the players to have a chance to reconsider and run when things look grim. This means at least about 4 rounds if your game uses D&D-like round structure. If the stakes are typically...

You are probably right that Next won't give me all that I want. But the thread is about what we want, not what we expect to get. :p That being said, I don't think the items I listed diverge far from the design goals of Next as they were presented. They want the game to be simpler and...

I want rules that are few, simple and clear, but strict. I want the fiction (whatever is happening in-game) to be what the game is about - not a "fluff" or "flavor text" that may be changed or discarded at whim. I want interesting fights with important decisions to make, but without a ton of...

Depends on what everybody wants from the game. The first thing to do is talk with the players and ask them, why they "munchkinize". Maybe they see the game as strongly competitive and are trying to "win" it? If so, using similar tricks to keep the challenge present is a good idea - and the...

For me, character alignment is mainly a "flag" for the GM - a short piece of information to let them know what kind of situations in play I'm interested in. For this reason, it's definitely something I choose, but also something that may change when my character evolves. I'm open to GM...

Setting and mechanics need to go hand in hand. System should emphasize the interesting traits of the setting and encourage a playstyle that fits the genre. If they don't fit, either the system will be ignored as players follow the fictional causality of the setting, or the logical consistency...

I don't have a clear idea of what exactly the exploration rules should be. I know quite what I want from them, just not how exactly to get there. My goals and expectations are: 1. Rules that are strict, but tie closely with the fictional situation, not just with other mechanical constructs...

There is also the FATE approach: the GM, in given situation, gives the player a choice between acting out the flaw and receiving a reward or ignoring the flaw and not gaining anything (or, in some versions, giving away a resource). This way, a player can't overuse a flaw or use it only when it's...

It was another way around for me. I fudged quite often when I was less experienced, knew less games and couldn't really decide with my friends what style we want to play in advance. As years passed, I improved my GMing skills, I learned communicating with my players and I gathered many...

1. If you want players to focus less on mechanical effectiveness, run a simple, rules-light game. When rules are simple, there is much less space for optimization - and, on the other hand, one does not have to be so careful with mechanics to have a viable character. 2. If you want players to...