Dumbest rpg idea ever?

[John Dallman]

Speaking of dumb but not horrible, anyone ever use a d30?

I played a homebrewed game in the late 1980s, which had a basic mechanic of using d30+stat+skill to reach target numbers. The authors admitted that they'd used the d30 "because it was there", but found it gave useful additional resolution over the obvious d20.

 

[billd91]

Any game where you are supposed to stat and play yourself as a PC

And yet, Villains and Vigilantes was a pretty successful superhero RPG. We played it this way and had great fun with it. Though it did get weirdly existential in one caper where a player's secondary PC (not based on him) accidentally killed his primary PC (which was based on him).

 

[RivetGeekWil]

And yet, Villains and Vigilantes was a pretty successful superhero RPG. We played it this way and had great fun with it. Though it did get weirdly existential in one caper where a player's secondary PC (not based on him) accidentally killed his primary PC (which was based on him).

I don't know a single person who played V&V using that chargen method.

 

[billd91]

Didn't it originally come with a book of specialized tables.

(Hits google)

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My FLGS carried that when it was published. We had our own use for the d30 with a custom magic item - the Robe of (Almost) Useful Items. What you got was random based on a d30.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

TSR West's "Comic Modules" spring to mind. Not only did they badly sour TSR's relationship with DC Comics, but they ended up filed in with the D&D stuff, not comic racks, and couldn't even use TSR's biggest IP.

 

[Wolfram stout]

I don't know a single person who played V&V using that chargen method.

We did back in the late 80s, and it was awesome. We did review each others stats but we were very accepting. We had 2 guys with 18 intelligence but otherwise we all had 11-16's with maybe an odd 17 in Int or Chr. A bit high to be honest but not ridiculously so.

That campaign was the longest superhero campaign we had and one of the top 3 in longevity across any game type.

But that being said, we were already a fairly tight-knit group. I can't imagine it really working for most groups that I have seen or heard about.

 

[Sanguinarious]

Wow. I wonder how well some of these work in terms of the equal probabilities:

Individual d14, d16, d18, d22, d24, d26, d28, d30, d48, d50, d60, d100, d120

The one that is a d4, d6, d8, d12, and d24 all at once especially!

View attachment 265645

This is the definition of TMI...

 

[Sanguinarious]

At times I begin to wonder if doing a licensed rpg of a major property is a dumb idea given how much you have to go tgru to get and keep a license for a major property.

 

[Willie the Duck]

At times I begin to wonder if doing a licensed rpg of a major property is a dumb idea given how much you have to go tgru to get and keep a license for a major property.

Such as, say, Dallas?

 

[Sanguinarious]

No, like the stuff FASA went thru with star trek, for example.