Low Book-keeping Systems

[Stormborn]

The thread about the player's character sheets and my own experiances with a group that is reaching the 10+ levels for the first time has got me wondering about systems without a lot of player or GM book keeping. Everybody loves all the cool things you can do with feats etc. and 3.x gives you a ton of neat options, but they are also a lot to keep up with.

Is there anysystem that lets you strike a happy medium between Cool Stuff I Can Do and a minimal amount of math? I'm not talking about ways to make a d20-lite type experiance, I'm talking pure systems (which could be d20-lite I suppose, if it was a whole system, and yes I do own True 20)

 

[GlassJaw]

I find the problem with D&D isn't the d20 system per se, it's the inherent level of magic the system accounts for (or even requires). Reduce the magic and your game (and book-keeping) will speed up considerably.

 

[Stormborn]

I find the problem with D&D isn't the d20 system per se, it's the inherent level of magic the system accounts for (or even requires). Reduce the magic and your game (and book-keeping) will speed up considerably.

Note that I did say I wasn't looking for a way to make d20-lite, I was looking for new systems. And BTW the game I am talking about where bookkeeping begins to get in the way? Very Rare Magic. No buff spells, no spell for PCs at all, magic items that only give a +1 or +2 bonus. Its not the magic in this case, its the feats and class abilities.

But, thanks for posting anyway/

 

[Yair]

Savage Worlds is supposed to be all about that. Have you looked into it?

 

[Voadam]

Basic D&D I remember as being very low on the conditional modifiers and creatures could be statted in a brief simple stat block easily. Thief skills are odd and there is cleric turning but that's about it for wierd class abilities.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

 

[Stormborn]

Anyone care to elaborate on Savage Worlds and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (and do you mean the current edition)?

 

[Hand of Evil]

Anyone care to elaborate on Savage Worlds and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (and do you mean the current edition)?

WFRP.v2 Warhammer could be called rules-light, its focus is on roleplaying, skills and talents add to stats but there is a limited number of them (skills & talents). There is even a site that allows you create a character and advance it. Plus characters don't live that long.

 

[Wombat]

The coolest low-maintainence systems I know is Atlas' Over the Edge.

Every character has four stats -- Central Trait, 2 Side Traits, Flaw

Its a very simple system, yet also pretty flexible.

 

[Michael Tree]

Just to make sure, you seem to be asking for a system that:
a) Doesn't require a lot of numbers to keep track of in play
b) Doesn't have a lot of complexity in character creation that will make characters complicated to use in play

I just want to make sure, because "low bookeeping" usually refers to tracking resources in play, like hit points, spell slots, action points, changes in character abiliites due to spells and magical conditions, and so on.

So, for example, True20 has almost no bookeeping in the #1 sense, but is still relatively detailed and complex in the #2 sense. Mutants and Masterminds is equally simple in #1, but more detailed in #2 (as any supers game has to be, to account for all the different kinds of powers).

Savage Worlds is about the same as True20 in terms of in-game bookeeping and maybe slightly simpler in character complexity.