Microlite20 : the smallest thing in gaming

[greywulf]

Hey all!

I've been working on making a lite d20-based game for some time now and with the help of ML20, I have created the game that I've wanted ever since I first saw the SRD. I combined ML20, Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game and my own Warriors and Wizards into YADoML20 called, Lite20 (because everything else is too fat!).

http://home.psknet.com/allenr/dnd/L20/index.html

It's still very much a work in progress.

--Ray.

Hi, Ray!

By the looks of it, you've taken all of Microlite20, added XP back in and changed Magic so it uses Spell Points. I hope it works for you.

I don't see where it says how many Spell Points are gained each level. Maybe I'm just being blind today. I'm not too sure about your idea or Sorcerers being able to double spell numerical values. You don't say how often they can do that, and that would become VERY powerful very quickly where even a double-power fireball could end a climactic battle before it's even begun.

I'd be interested to see how it plays again, though I suspect it'll run just like Microlite20 - fast, fluid and focus more on fun than rules decisions.

I do like your Monsters & Treasure supplement, a lot. It's a little heavy at 70 pages, but does a good job of pulling in the core critters in a lighter-that-normal form. Good work on that

 

[derek_cleric]

Hi, Ray!

By the looks of it, you've taken all of Microlite20, added XP back in and changed Magic so it uses Spell Points. I hope it works for you.

That's pretty much describes it. We're enjoying it very much!

I don't see where it says how many Spell Points are gained each level. Maybe I'm just being blind today.

Just like ML20, Spell Points are equal to a character's max hit points. However the SP number does not go down when the character takes damage. It's on the character sheet but I need to add it to the rules too.

I'm not too sure about your idea or Sorcerers being able to double spell numerical values. You don't say how often they can do that, and that would become VERY powerful very quickly where even a double-power fireball could end a climactic battle before it's even begun.

Good catch! I forgot to add that the spell will cost twice as many spell points.

I'd be interested to see how it plays again, though I suspect it'll run just like Microlite20 - fast, fluid and focus more on fun than rules decisions.

My group play tested v0.05 about 3 weeks ago and it ran just as you describe above. Blame it on the parent system. The group seems to think it would be a great system for our online game.

I do like your Monsters & Treasure supplement, a lot. It's a little heavy at 70 pages, but does a good job of pulling in the core critters in a lighter-that-normal form. Good work on that

Thanks! I have to give 95% of the credit to the author of BFRPG, Chris Gonnerman. I just reformatted the text and made some adjustments to hit dice and attacks. I've always preferred the Classic DnD monster stat block to any that of any other system.

I still have the skills and feats in the stats blocks. I have to decide what to do about that. I'm thinking that the monster's HD or HD/2 could be used in place of skill points. For example, an ogre would be good at physical so they would use a +4 but not so good at any of the other three so a +2 would be used. Feats will be dropped. I just haven't done it yet.

The Treasures section has yet to be reviewed but I suspect they are 90% usable. M&T is also the least developed part of L20 but I think it will probably need the least amount of work.

--Ray.

 

[Pilsnerquest]

I'm not sure who worked up the ultramicrolite20 rules (rycanada?) but I had mostly skipped over them until finally they caught my eye. I tweaked them a tad to give characters some depth, multiclass type ability and magic while bidding a fond ado to character levels. Each bump of a stat gives a character some ability, armor use, more spell casting, sneak attacks, cleaving, etc. I still have some empty spots, one under Strength and one under Dexterity, any ideas to fill them in?

"There are 3 stats - STR, DEX, and MIND. Share a total of five points between them; you can reduce one stat to -1 to get an extra point. These are your stat bonuses."

Stat   Strength	             Dexterity	                     Mind
-1	  -	                  -	                       -
0	  -	                  -	                       -
+1	 Use a shield	      Use light armor	       Use scrolls/wands
+2	 Use medium armor         ?                    -5 per spell per day*
+3	 Use heavy armor      Use Dex for attacks      -4 per spell per day*
+4	 2 hits w/ 2h weapon  Two attacks @ -2         -3 per spell per day*
+5	 Cleave	              Sneak attack	       -2 per spell per day*
+6	 ?	              Assassinate              -1 per spell per day*
* See “Magic”, penalty to magic roll

Here's the blurb on magic...

Magic
Characters cast spells by drawing from the energy around them or by petitioning their god, then channeling this power through their body and releasing it as a spell. Spells take a toll on the caster and each additional spell cast that day suffers a cumulative penalty to the magic roll depending on the caster’s MIND stat. A character may rest for 8 hours to refresh.
To cast a spell a caster makes a magic roll, d20 + MIND bonus. Every 5 points of the magic roll adds 1 point of effect. For instance, a wandering priest wishes to cast a healing spell. He makes a magic roll and gets a 14 then adds his +2 MIND bonus = 16. So his healing spell would heal 3 hits. A spell will always have at least 1 point of effect if the magic roll is not 0 or below.
To attack an opponent with a spell the caster must beat the target’s armor class if making a physical attack, such as a magical flaming arrow. If making an attack on the opponent’s mind then the caster must beat the opponent’s d20 + MIND roll. If the character casts a spell that effects an area, such as a ball of fire targeting an empty square, he does not need to beat any opponent’s defense and anyone in the area may make a DEX roll to take no damage or partial damage. (GM’s discretion)
When a character casts a spell that affects an area, such as a ball of fire, the character must decide how to divide the magic roll between area and damage. For example, a mage casts a ball of fire with a d20 magic roll of 14 and his MIND bonus of +3 = 17. For every 5 points of the magic roll the mage may get 1 square radius of effect away from the target square at the cost of damage. He must decide if he wants 1 square radius of area affected away from the target square and his opponents to take 2 hits of damage, or, 2 squares radius of area affected away from the target square and 1 hit to each person caught in the area.

Make sense?


Pilsnerquest

 

[greywulf]

I plead guilty to Ultramicrolite20 . It is to Microlite20 what M20 is to d20 - reduced and zenified down to just ten paragraphs. Scary, I know.

I like your rules for magic, and think they'd work well for uM20's big brother too. We used uM20 for a short WWII scenario and enjoyed the way it ran. It's on the backboiler for a little while, but I plan to use it for a project sometime in 2007. Can anyone say wiki-driven Fighting Fantasy-style dungeons?

Oh good

When I hit that project, I'll be in need of an ultramicrolite magic system too.......

 

[Ry]

Yeah, I'm still working on making Rank20 more ultralite, which may have good things to poach for magic. It's uber-simple right now, but my explanation of it is bloated.

 

[Pilsnerquest]

These ultramicrolite rules are really growing on me though compatibility with SRD D20 is flying out the window. Was mulling over how SRD spells would translate over to the simplified magic from the above post and how most everything can be resolved with the 5 points of magic roll = 1 point of effect. Then I hit resurrection and raising party members which added a surprising bit of possibility rp-wise. Threw in some bare-handed options below that for monk/ninja types.

Resurrection​

It is possible for a character with magic ability to raise a fellow party member however it is an extremely dangerous undertaking with possibly serious consequences and you really should seek a professional. A caster makes a magic roll and for every 5 points of the magic roll the dead character receives 1 point to put back towards his/her stats, minimum of 1 point as long as the magic roll is 1 or more, and life is restored with 1 hit remaining. A resurrected character may not exceed their last stat point totals when being raised and therein is the danger. A bad magic roll can leave a character a shell of their former self, albeit alive, but unable to ever reach their original stat points.

Bare-Handed Fighting​

In order to accommodate monk or ninja type characters bare-handed fighting may be used by considering all hits to be “non-lethal”. When an opponent is reduced to 0 hits they make their DC15 survival roll but instead of death occurring on a failed roll the opponent simply does not regain consciousness. In the next round the character may deliver a “death blow” which is pretty self explanatory.


Pilsnerquest

 

[Ry]

I'm just going to throw this out there (I deliberately left my Reserve rules out in case people don't want them):

Rank20: Ultralite edition

You have 3 stats: STR, DEX and INT. Stats range from 1-6.
You have a Rank. Characters start with a Rank of 4, and have three Rank modifiers:
Class (=Rank): This modifier is used when the action you take is something your class is good at.
Cross-Class (=Rank/2): This modifier is used when the action is outside your class but still something your character can do.
Prestige Class (=Rank+2): This modifier is used if you have specialized in something. Not for starting characters.

Choose a Class: Warrior, Expert, or Adept.
Warriors attack and defend with weapons and armor.
Experts use light armor and light weapons, and use skills.
Adepts use magic.

When you make an action, you add a stat and one of your Rank modifiers, roll a d20, and try to beat a Target number set by the GM. GMs treat NPCs like PCs that always roll 10.

In combat, every turn you can make 1 roll and move. If you take as many hits as your STR, you fall unconscious.

If your character learns from his experiences and improves his abilities, your Rank can increase. If your character learns things outside of his class, the GM may let him change that class (eg. from Warrior to Gladiator). If your character really wants to specialize in something, talk to your GM about a Prestige Class. Usually you have to skip gaining Rank to gain a Prestige Class, and a Prestige Class is more specific than a Class.




Did I miss anything?

 

[Ry]

There is a 4th Stat called WIL.

You have a Reserve equal to your Rank plus WIL. You spend it as below.

Action                             Cost
Add 1d6 to a check	            1 
Add 2d6 to a check                  2
Remove 1 hit                        1
Take an extra action on your turn   2
Cast a spell                        1

 

[Ry]

For magic, I'd use Pilsnerquest's idea with Reserve as the limiting factor:

Only Adepts can cast magic, although others can learn specific kinds of magic later on (GM's discretion). Usually other characters only learn how to use magic cross-classed.

To cast a spell a caster must spend 1 Reserve and make a magic roll, d20 + INT + Rank. Every 5 points of the magic roll adds 1 point of effect. A spell must roll at least 10 or it has no effect.

1 point of effect:
30 feet of Range, Deal a hit, 5' of radius, 30' of line, 2 rounds of duration
2 points of effect:
Heal a hit, lower a Stat by 1, raise a Stat by 1.

If you don't use Reserve, just make the limit "Up to INT+Rank times per day"

 

[kensanata]

I'm happy with M20. Perhaps the uµ20 people should go and start a new thread? Today we played our third M20 session. The Fighter-2 samurai struck down many a bandit with a single blow, and finished the rest with his second blow – masterwork katana with weapon focus +7/+2 (1d10+6). That played out nicely. The thieves successfully sneaking up on the players later that night worked out well enough, too. I was a bit unsure of how to handle one player on guard duty vs. five thives trying to sneak up on the party. I ended up rolling Sub+DEX five times vs. Sub+WILL once and found that all five sneaking rolls were higher than the one watch roll. The dice were on the bandits' side! How would you have handled it? From there, it was easy. The Thief-7 nearly kills the samurai with his first blow (the other bandits are all Thief-1), the magic users fail their spells, the next round the samurai is down and the rest of party surrenders. All end up in the bandit lair prison cells and we call it a day. Rescue & escape attempts follow on Monday, hopefully.