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Message: <blockquote data-quote="doctorbadwolf" data-source="post: 9257605" data-attributes="member: 6704184">The more I wrote the system out and then was talking to my wife about it, the more I realise it neeeds revision. Things I'm adding, and I'll try to write up a more readable version tomorrowThe encounter die. The norm is a d6, but it can be increased or decreased by circumstance. Starting off, the encounter threshold is 6, which means you have to roll a six for an encounter to happen. Every time you roll the encounter die without an encounter happening you drop the threshold by 1, until you don't need to roll because it isn't possible to roll lower than 1 on the die, so an encounter happens. The encounter die resets after an encounter. Having rolled an encounter, the DM now rolls for what type of encounter. If it lands on a type you've done already during this session, you reroll, and the second result is used regardless. (so more often you'll get a variety, but it is possible to get multiple fights in a row). Everyone at the table knows what encounter has been rolled for. Like players know that 3 is a fight. Having rolled a 3, the DM chooses what kind of fight they're looking at, what the scenario is. Could be an attempted ambush, a monster that has been disturbed, unquiet spirits from the nearby barrows, a classic highway bandit situation, etc. Next the Point Character declares a desired opportunity, which the DM can veto and ask for something else, but this should only happen if it really needs to. The DM then announces the consequences of failure and the difficulty of the encounter, which determines CR of creatures in a fight, or average DC difficulty in other things. This system assumes that the DM is using the Very Easy, Easy, Hard, etc scale in the DMG, with plus or minuses to DCs based on the scenario and the group's resources. I like the idea of rolling, so maybe a player rolls for the difficulty?I also might want more back and forth in this step, but honestly I want the setup phase to be over quickly. Next the Defender is the natural point character for fights, so the Defender steps up, the DM describes the scenario, and asks what the character does, the character describes or roleplays their action, and rolls. The DM records or notes whether it's a success or failure. Next, the rest of the group gets involved, or uses their turn to try to push the scenario in a direction without retconning anything. Everyone rolls, including the point person, and it's adjuticated as a group check. If you succeed on your check, but the group check fails, it is a failure for the encounter, but what you were trying to do still works and changes the scenario. Based on the actions used in that group check, and how the DM chooses to respond, At least one more check is made, usually a group check again but if there will be more than 1 further roll then it can be resolved in turns of by group agreement who takes the next action and makes a check. I'd like to involve the Point Character more in actual resolution, and find a way for the character to mechanically be taking point as further checks are made, but I don't have any ideas right now.Depending on the difficulty of the scenario and how well preceeding checks went, you might not need any more checks after that, or might need one or two more. Each encounter should have 3 to 5 checks, with room for little checks that don't count determine whether you succeed/fail/get a mixed result, because that wiggle room is where a lot of fun lives in dnd, as long as you can also keep things moving. Anyway, checks made, successes are tallied, and compared to the difficulty number of successes required to get mixed result or success, and opportunity and consequence are resolved (sometimes the mixed result is simply that both happen). So that's what the outline of the process looks like, with a call and response conversation between one player and the DM and the rest of the group to determine what the scenario is, and then DM setting the scene and players reacting with character actions and ability checks, and an outcome determined. This works whether you're mapping wilderness, traveling, lost and trying to find a settlement, travelling by ship, looking for a lost person or item, etc. Using exploration turns helps, because you can have an encounter roll every round at the top. Exploration turns move quickly because it's just bird's eye view of working toward the goal, and making checks whenever an obstacle arises or you wish to push in a direction.</blockquote>

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