dm4hire
Explorer
I’m going to combine a couple of previous threads I’ve started to form the core idea for this thread which is to address the need for a game tailored for those players whose lives tend to be a little too hectic for a long term campaign or at least one that progresses into a high level of play. I recently mentioned this point in my thread about how the DCC RPG fills the OSR stomach, but there are still areas that need filled. Also in another thread I started quite some time ago I mention the possibility of designing a game where there is no level advancement or any other progression and the characters tend to stay the same just learning how to overcome their adversities with what they have on hand. Thus my recent thinking is that what is really needed is a rules light system that is aimed at the casual gamer who has little or no time for a campaign, but would still like to roleplay and play a game that’s more than a board game (by which I’m referring to games like Talisman, Runebound, and other designed to have a RPG feel without all the roleplaying).
The objective of this game system would be to focus on smaller story arcs, which tend to be primarily the length of a module or small story arc in regular RPGs. The game time would comprise of play that would last a few hours for a given night or at most maybe three or four nights. The intention of the game being designed for those who do not have the time to play on a continuous basis such as if a friend comes in from out of town or you meet up with friends at a convention but don’t want anything happening that may never get resolved. Play style would be similar to “classic” style modules that use to run at GenCon where the players will either use pre-generated characters or spend a minimal amount of time designing their characters before play begins.
Here is my idea of how characters would be designed:
Character design
Ability scores would use a generating system similar to True20 where the ability score is comprised of the modifier. So instead of having an Intelligence score of 14 with a +2 modifier; you’d just have an Intelligence of 2. Skills would be based off of ability score to keep it simple.
Races would be playable as a variable for each class.
My thought is that there would be the core four classes available, giving us cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard. The difference is that each class would have a list of powers/traits to choose from to make the play experience slightly unique if more than one player played a given class. Perhaps a way to handle this would be to have talent aspects to choose from such as two handed fighters, two weapon fighters, sword and board, and so on. The goal is that there would be just enough options to make game play exciting and give the characters enough to make them not be sitting idle during the course of the game.
Instead of a hit point system I’d recommend wounds, with death resulting from reaching the maximum number of hits your character can take. This could be determined by adding the constitution score to a set score based off of class. So a fighter might be able to take 10 +Con in hits before falling down and dying.
Encounters and Monsters
Since the main draw of the game will be that it is designed to be a short one off or series there should be enough to make the game reasonably exciting to play again and again if time would permit. The majority of the adventures that would be published for the game would be designed to be self-contained as described with any sequels being produced in the fashion of many Japanese anima movies and such where the characters tend to be descendants of the characters in the first arc. Due to this monsters would normally be designed on a case by case basis intended for characters of the same level as the last adventure which if you’re buying the modules is fine, but how do you cater to those who don’t want to buy the story arc/modules?
My thought is to include a random monster generating system that aims for low level play. I’ve been toying with a system of generating low level monsters using a deck of playing cards. Some aspects of the monsters would be predefined in the core rules for monsters such as fear effects and things like that. What the deck helps determine would be combat related statistics so that creating a monster on the fly would could be done as AC=10+card drawn. Number of wounds is equal to card drawn. Monsters to hit bonus is equal to half card drawn minimum of 1. This would mean that drawing a king of hearts, five of diamonds, and nine of clubs would generate a monster with AC 20, Wounds 5, and To Hit of 4.
There are a few things which need worked out, but the goal is to provide a quick and dirty system for running one-shot and mini campaigns with investing in a system that has a lot of books or is designed to be played over a long period of time that may not be available to the gamers. I know this is a rough outline and doesn’t cover all the bases, but what are people thoughts on the intention of the game idea and its objective?
The objective of this game system would be to focus on smaller story arcs, which tend to be primarily the length of a module or small story arc in regular RPGs. The game time would comprise of play that would last a few hours for a given night or at most maybe three or four nights. The intention of the game being designed for those who do not have the time to play on a continuous basis such as if a friend comes in from out of town or you meet up with friends at a convention but don’t want anything happening that may never get resolved. Play style would be similar to “classic” style modules that use to run at GenCon where the players will either use pre-generated characters or spend a minimal amount of time designing their characters before play begins.
Here is my idea of how characters would be designed:
Character design
Ability scores would use a generating system similar to True20 where the ability score is comprised of the modifier. So instead of having an Intelligence score of 14 with a +2 modifier; you’d just have an Intelligence of 2. Skills would be based off of ability score to keep it simple.
Races would be playable as a variable for each class.
My thought is that there would be the core four classes available, giving us cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard. The difference is that each class would have a list of powers/traits to choose from to make the play experience slightly unique if more than one player played a given class. Perhaps a way to handle this would be to have talent aspects to choose from such as two handed fighters, two weapon fighters, sword and board, and so on. The goal is that there would be just enough options to make game play exciting and give the characters enough to make them not be sitting idle during the course of the game.
Instead of a hit point system I’d recommend wounds, with death resulting from reaching the maximum number of hits your character can take. This could be determined by adding the constitution score to a set score based off of class. So a fighter might be able to take 10 +Con in hits before falling down and dying.
Encounters and Monsters
Since the main draw of the game will be that it is designed to be a short one off or series there should be enough to make the game reasonably exciting to play again and again if time would permit. The majority of the adventures that would be published for the game would be designed to be self-contained as described with any sequels being produced in the fashion of many Japanese anima movies and such where the characters tend to be descendants of the characters in the first arc. Due to this monsters would normally be designed on a case by case basis intended for characters of the same level as the last adventure which if you’re buying the modules is fine, but how do you cater to those who don’t want to buy the story arc/modules?
My thought is to include a random monster generating system that aims for low level play. I’ve been toying with a system of generating low level monsters using a deck of playing cards. Some aspects of the monsters would be predefined in the core rules for monsters such as fear effects and things like that. What the deck helps determine would be combat related statistics so that creating a monster on the fly would could be done as AC=10+card drawn. Number of wounds is equal to card drawn. Monsters to hit bonus is equal to half card drawn minimum of 1. This would mean that drawing a king of hearts, five of diamonds, and nine of clubs would generate a monster with AC 20, Wounds 5, and To Hit of 4.
There are a few things which need worked out, but the goal is to provide a quick and dirty system for running one-shot and mini campaigns with investing in a system that has a lot of books or is designed to be played over a long period of time that may not be available to the gamers. I know this is a rough outline and doesn’t cover all the bases, but what are people thoughts on the intention of the game idea and its objective?
