Any Roll and Keep fans?

[RandomCitizenX]

Pouring through my old table top links, I came upon an idea I once had about using a mash up of 7th Sea and L5R to make a Roll and Keep Wuxia based game. My player base is no longer there for this idea, but thinking about it again and seeing that a 4th edition of L5R is being released soon has caused me to start thinking about a more generic version of the Roll and Keep System that could be used to run just about anything you could imagine. Would anyone be interested in this sort of fan project?

 

[Filcher]

I'm a huge fan of R&K.

 

[howandwhy99]

3d6 in order. Because it makes a nice, easily recognizable bell curve.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

3d6 in order. Because it makes a nice, easily recognizable bell curve.

...Huh?


Also, I dunno. I like R&K for L5R, but I'm not so hot on it in other systems. Maybe its too much L5R, but roll and keep makes me immidiately think I'm playing in Not-Japan, which doesn't always work for other systems.

 

[RandomCitizenX]

I guess that I am coming at R&K from the 7th Sea side of things, so I am thinking of it in terms of dramatic and cinematic action. I can definitely see how having it tied to Rokugan would make it seem odd to use it for other settings, more so than Thea. I have never actually dug too deeply into the L5R, so I am not entirely sure how the traits and whatnot compare. Waiting until the 4th ed book comes out before I really dig in.

 

[steenan]

For me, roll&keep is not the most intuitive dice system (dice pools and simple d100 are). It works great in some situations, though.

IMO, the best use for R&K is when a test is affected by two mostly independent traits that are both important for the activity. For example, if characters use robotic bodies that may be easily switched, character's combat skill and body's speed, resistance and weaponry are such traits.
A "classic" approach with the traits added together doesn't work here, as it would make a character with one trait high and the other low as good as one with balanced traits. Using "roll skill, keep stat" gives the desired effect. Also, it emphasizes higher potential of high-stat characters and predictable efficiency of high-skill characters, which is good if one prefers realism.

The analysis above shows that I like to fit mechanics to what it represents. For this reason, I don't find "generic" systems interesting. I use mechanics to empower the style of given game: sometimes tactical combat, sometimes fast martial arts action, sometimes immersion in strange cultures, sometimes mind-shattering horror. If the system does not give me tools for the important part, or forces me to spend time and attention on something that is not my focus - it is not worth using.

In other words: I suggest you forgo the idea of making a generic system. Decide on the style and focus (and maybe setting) of your game, then create a system that fits it.

 

[RandomCitizenX]

I think what I am really looking at doing is using R&K to make a modern game of cinematic action. Something that could handle bullet opera, western action, or even something a little more scifi like Snow Crash.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I'm a huge fan of R&K. I've probably played more 7th Sea campaigns than any other system besides D&D. I also own L5R but have never played it though.

Conversion of the rules is indeed possible, as a friend of mine creating an entire fantasy game using R&K, creating entirely new sword/combat schools, as well as magic schools (which he built to mirror sword school design rather than the 7th Sea sorcery school design).

The thing that all of us loved most about 7th Sea was the exploding die mechanic. Knowing that 95% of the rolls made would fall into a certain range, but there was that minute chance that at some point you were going to explode those 0s several times over and get that one massive never-before-seen roll, really exemplified the 'heroic action' motif that the game centered around. The flesh wound / dramatic wound system was also ingenious as well.

Like any system, we had eventual problems with certain facets over time and would tweak and houserule them to try and mitigate the problems we ran into... but those were minimal and non-invasive. The 7th Sea game is a great one IMHO.

That being said... could it be used for a Wuxia-styled game? I'd say yes. If you already own most of the 7th Sea Settings books, and thus have the incredibly large amount of sword schools at your disposal... you'll be able to find quite a few that you can take out and strip the fluff from and repurpose for Wuxia. Obviously, you'd leave the gun schools to the side, and probably would not want to adapt the sorcery schools because (although my knowledge of Wuxia is extremely limited) I don't think the specific magics of 7th Sea align to what that genre includes. You might find using them makes the game feel more like 7th Sea than Wuxia, since the sorceries are tied so intimately to the setting.

If you decide to go through with it, best of luck to you!

 

[RandomCitizenX]

After thinking it over during this weekend I have decided that that I am looking at doing first is a unified trait and skill set up that could apply to multiple genre's/time periods. These basic rules will have frameworks that cover basic combat styles, social confrontations, and the like. Then there will be genre specific mods that can be added based on the genre. So if the game has cyberspace, there will be a mod that adds that. If there is elemental based magic, there will be a mod to add that. Supernatural wuxia fighting styles? There's a mod for that.

The first thing needed aside from the traits (which will stay along 7th sea lines) is if it is better to use the l5r skill style or the 7th sea Skills and Knacks. I am leaning toward the Skills and Knacks over Skills with Emphasis. The name may need to change slightly, but I have been a fan of having a broad skill set over a specific skill. Any suggestions?