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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ry" data-source="post: 1784983" data-attributes="member: 8314">I made a very similar attempt about 5 years ago, and it produced the best game I've ever run.  I was going for the assumed realism of the middle ages martial hero - basically, that knightly rank was a good measure for martial prowess, and the associated incredible power of the high-ranking armored knight.  I used a cards+dice system that was very tarot-influenced; here's the system in 2 paragraphs:Characters had a rank (0-peasant to 7-lord), 2 stat points (general things, like Strength), and 2 skill points (specifics, like Fencing).  Actions were determined by characters adding their rank to 2d6, or adding their rank to a card they played (players had cards ranging from 2-12 in value, and I made them myself with random fantasy art).  Players made all the actions against NPCs which "always rolled a 7." - thus, players could exert a certain measure of control over their fate in the game (though they only had 1 card at a time).  There was no damage mechanic besides me just describing damage in the game (so hits were successful attack actions, but depending on what armor the character was wearing they were described from bruises to cuts, with really, really good hits being lethal or near-lethal).Here's the key, though - the modifiers were built around what I wanted to encourage; thus, a horseback rider charging a peasant received +1 for higher ground, +1 for charging, and could apply a skill bonus for Riding to the attack, as well as the bonuses he might have for say, lance and strength.  Likewise, the mass combat system worked to give the same flavor; 2 peasants acting together received +2, 5 peasants +3, up to 10 peasants +7 - effectively making a "Lord" equal to a hundred peasants working together (although it would take him longer to kill them than the lucky shot they needed to kill _him_).  Beyond this, of course, were the "DM's best friend," where I just added or subtracted bonuses based on circumstances (like wounds) that developed throughout the battle.As for problems, the system has really only 1:  I can't figure out how to balance subsystems with the core mechanic.  Thus, there's no damage system, and no magic system.  Worked great for my game - a very gritty, epic, large scale good-versus-aberrant-evil story - but as yet, I haven't determined how to get a magic system together that is even remotely cohesive with the flexibility of the core mechanic.</blockquote>

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