Nexus D20

[garrowolf]

I just finished a new pdf of my Player's rules and the first version of my Gamemaster low tech campaigns guide so that people can run Neolithic to Gunpowder Age tech level games.

http://www.wiki.garrowolf.net/index.php?title=Main_Page

I am wanting to get some people to play test it and tell me what you think about it.
Also does anyone have any suggestions on other places to post about it and drum up some interest in the system?

 

[Dethklok]

Can you give us a rundown of its features in 500 words or less? What makes this different from other games, and why should we play it rather than anything else out there?

 

[garrowolf]

Sure!
Part of the problem that I have always had with class based systems was that each 1st level character was at a different power level than the next. A 1st level spy in one d20 system was the same starting point as a 1st level school teacher. I wanted something that would let the differences show. Normally I would suggest going to a point based system but I have never played a point based game where someone didn't create a ridiculous and impossible character with a point based system. I came up with a system that solves both of those problems and solves a lot of other problems I have always had with various systems.

This system answers all the problems I've had with other game systems. It is fast to play and lethal and cinematic at the same time. It makes people think about cover instead of leaving all up to the multiple random rolls. It allows you to create an incredible number of character types of any tech level without leaving you with so many options that you drown in them. It allows characters of any tech level to function together and not require patches to make the system work. It will eventually have rowboats and starships existing in the same system without any problems. It has more skill options than any system I've ever seen before but it is still very simple at it's core.

Even if you only take parts of this system out and put them in your games I think that it will improve it. I have put 10 years of brilliant ideas together in this game and I think that you will be surprised by how rich it is.

And I have so much more coming for it. I have at least two more GM books taking the game far into the future that I am working on. I think that it will be the best scifi game I've ever seen once I'm finished and it blows the magic systems of every other game I've found out of the water.

So as you can tell I'm incredibly proud of this game system and I think that you will enjoy it.

 

[garrowolf]

I'm not sure that was less than 500 words.

 

[Dethklok]

I'm not sure that was less than 500 words.

The Internet claims it was 366. The internet never lies.

(I will read it later. Right now it's very, very late for me.)

 

[Dethklok]

OK, I've loaded the system and read it over.

Browsing through the rules, I like what you're trying to do; for example, using the strength of your hit roll to determine damage is an elegant feature most game designers aren't clever enough even to imagine. (I only stopped using it myself, by the way, because I found novice players had trouble with the math.)

But I'm turned off by the complexity of Nexus D20.

A key feature of any good game is that it is easy to pick up, but reveals more depth as you continue. As they say, "Chess is a sea in which a gnat may drink and an elephant may bathe." It's fairly easy to learn how all the pieces move in chess, but the strategy that develops after learning the basics can become quite intricate. Nexus d20 doesn't work this way - Not only is Nexus d20 tough to learn, without extended examples regarding things like character creation or combat, or "cheat sheets" that summarize key processes during play, but it doesn't draw a new player in by starting off simple and progressing to more complex rules later.

(Edit - Looking more closely I see you do have some examples, but they're pretty tough to follow.)

My suggestion would be for you to sit down and write a simple, bare bones ruleset, perhaps one that works with only one specific genre, in 20 pages or less. This simplified ruleset should include a quick section on what rpgs are, with key terms that are used by your game at the start, and probably some pregenerated characters and an example of play at the end. Once this short ruleset is finished, I would then put it at the start of the book. This will make it easy for players to pick up your game and learn it, and give them an incentive to look over the more detailed material that shows up at the end.

Hope that helps!

 

[GMMichael]

Feedback is good:
- One D&D pet-peeve persists in Nexus: tie goes to the roller. What this does in D&D is give attackers a 5% edge in doing damage, and contorts the base Attack Class of monsters (if you're using a defense-roll variant) to 12 instead of 10. Just ask for a reroll in case of a tie.
- Skill rank bonus (on page iii) says that there is an 8-point gap between Untrained (-4) and Trained (+4). I wouldn't want to subtract 4 from everything I haven't been trained in.
- Removal of XP: good going. XP is a pain in the butt. Yet, players love it...
- The blue enhancements bubbles (page iii) don't have any context on that page. It looks like the dwarf turns into and elf at 4th level.
- I'm not seeing how the system is faster, since feats and skills are more complex than under d20. Feats are part of skills, and you can only use feats at the right skill level, versus you-get-a-feat (from d20).
- There are numerous cases of confusing wording in the rules. Example: "Everyone starts with 14 points in attributes." Does that mean all my attributes start at 14, or I have 14 bonus points to spend on my attributes which are all 10s (or all 0s)?
- A table of contents in the Player's Guide would be nice.

 

[garrowolf]

Okay great!
I have a newer version that deals with some of this. I added several new pages in chapter 1 to help people understand the concepts for the game. One is a break down of the reason for the core concept of one roll per action. I put in a few examples of character creation. I added a few examples of low tech combat. I am going to work on some examples of higher tech combat and using magic, including magical combat soon.
For some reason Word ate by table of contents three times!!! I got it working again.
I have been trying to fix confusing wording but sometimes it takes play testing. However I changed the attribute points and gave several examples. Now you start with 5 points and you can take a level adjustment to get enhancements to certain attributes. This ended up working out better.
The game is faster but it doesn't seem like it when you are first figuring it out. Once you try it out you will see what I mean. When I have run it in the past everyone noticed how much faster it was once they caught on.
I will have to redo that blue bubble on the dwarf and the elf but that was a funny thought!
There is a step between untrained and trained called basic. It removes the penalty but doesn't give you a bonus either. It just means that you have some very basic training in that skill. Though I just realized that I have untrained listed at -4 in some places and -5 in others. I need to fix that!
I don't think of it as a tie. It is the target number you are aiming for. Everything past that is gravy.

 

[garrowolf]

Hold on! Don't download the new one yet. I screwed up on the combat example. I need to fix it first!

 

[garrowolf]

Okay I can't change the file until I get on to another computer tomorrow. Here is the corrected combat example. I will fix the pdf the weekend.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Low Tech Combat Examples[/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Low Skill Combat[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Some farmers have decided that the new bard in town has been messing with their daughters. They are going to teach him a lesson. They go to the Inn where the bard has been spending most of his time to find him. They barge in while he is standing beside the fireplace singing. They yell and point at him so surprise is not an issue. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Bard 4[/FONT]^{[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]rd[/FONT]}[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] level[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Str +0, Dex +0, Con +1, Int +1, Wit +1, Pre +2, Class Bonus +2[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Reflex 16, Stunned 13, Fort 17, Will 14, HTH 5, Tough 7, Composure 4, Notice 13[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Basic Skills: Beastcraft +3, Melee +2, Perception +3, Resolve +4, Survival +3[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Academics (T) +7 History, Mythology[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Athletics (T) +6: Brawling, Clubs, Dancing[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Persuasion (T) +8: Bragging, Charming, Mooch, Oratory[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Resistance (T) +7: Tireless, Iron Stomach, Resist Cold[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Celtic Lore (B) +3 ms[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Singing (T) +3 ms[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Fiddle (B) +3 ms[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Farmer 3[/FONT]^{[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]rd[/FONT]}[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] level +1 LA Tough = 4[/FONT]^{[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]th[/FONT]}[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Level[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Str +3, Dex +0, Con +5, Int +0, Wit +2, Pre +3, Class Bonus +1[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Reflex 11, Stunned 10, Fort 16, Will 12, HTH 8, Tough 7, Composure 5, Notice 13[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Basic Skills: Athletics +1, Melee +1, Perception +3, Resolve +2, Survival +3[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Beastcraft (T) +7: Cattle, Wagoneering[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Resistance (T) +6: Tireless, Iron Stomach, Resist Cold[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Farming (F) +7 ms[/FONT]






[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 1) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The farmers are initiating combat so they have initiative, but the bard can see them coming so he is not flatfooted.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The farmers take a simple action to cross the small room. This leaves them with one simple action to attack with but since they are not actually trained in Athletics any attacks they make are a complex action. This means that they can’t attack this round since you can do two simple actions or one complex action and they have already done one simple action by getting there. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] However it is a free action to speak. The first farmer yells “I warned you!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The other farmers just yell, “Get him!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard puts down his fiddle. He doesn’t want to start anything so he just holds up his hands, “Now wait a minute guys!”[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 2)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first farmer yells and throws a punch. The Farmer doesn’t actually have any skill in brawling so he is defaulting to Athletics at -4. This gives him a total of -3 to hit before his roll. He rolls a 12 on a D20. 12 -3 = 9. This is lower than the bard’s Reflex save of 16. A miss![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The second farmer tries to hit the bard. Since the bard has already defended himself once this round his defense goes down by 1. Now it is a 15. The farmer rolls a 16, but this becomes a 13 when you factor in his -3 skill. Nope.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The third farmer tries and rolls a natural 20! However he doesn’t have any skill with Athletics so he can't get critical hits on this roll. This becomes an 17 which is higher than the bard’s reflex save, which is now a 14. This means that he has rolled 3 higher than the defense. Take the farmer’s HTH damage, which is 8 and add the difference (3) to make 11 damage. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard has a Toughness of 7 so subtract that from the 11 damage to get a damage of 4. From 1 to 5 damage is a light bashing wound so he is at a -1 now. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard holds his stomach with one hand and punches the farmer who actually hit him. He does have brawling under Athletics so he has +6 to hit, but he has taken 1 bashing damage so he only gets a +5. He rolls a 7. With the +5 that becomes a 12. The farmers only have a reflex of 11 so a 12 hits with +1 to damage. The bard does 6. However the Farmers are tough so their Toughness of 7 stops all the damage. Opps![/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 3)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first farmer attacks again and rolls a 7. With a -3 that is a total of 4, which sucks. The bard’s defense resets to 16 -1 for damage, so 15. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The second farmer attacks and rolls a 12, which becomes a 9, which sucks as well. The bard’s defense is 14. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The third farmer attacks and rolls an 19, which becomes a 16. This hits since the bard currently has a reflex save of 13. This hits and adds +3 damage to be 11 damage. The bard’s toughness is 7 so 4 gets through. This is within the light damage range so it gives him another -1 for a total -2 from injuries. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard punches back with +6 for skill but -2 for damage so it becomes +4 to hit now. He rolls a 9 +4 is 13. This is only 2 over the Farmer’s 11 Reflex defense so +2 to damage. He does 5 base so that becomes a 7, which is totally negated by the farmer’s toughness. He is in trouble![/FONT]








[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 4)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first farmer attacks and rolls a 17! Well it becomes a 14 but even with the bard’s defense resetting to 16 it becomes a 14 with the -2 from damage and that is enough to hit. There is no bonus damage but the Farmer does 8 damage and the Bard only has a toughness of 7 so he takes another light wound. Now he is at a -3. If he takes a total of -8 then he will go unconscious. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The second farmer attacks and rolls a 13. This becomes a 10 from the -3 to his skill. The bard has -1 from the previous defense this round and -3 from damage. This means that his defense is 11 so he just barely dodges out of the way. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The third farmer attacks and rolls a 16. This becomes a 13 but the bard’s defense is now a 10. This gives him +3 damage on 8 hand to hand damage. This becomes 11 and -7 for the bard’s toughness for a total of 4. Another light wound for a total of -4. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard is in bad shape so he tries to get out of there. He steps up onto the base of the fireplace that he was standing beside and steps from there to a table, then down the other side. That uses up his turn. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 5)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first farmer goes over the table too. The second farmer goes one way and the third farmer goes the other way around the table. The bard backs up against another table and finds a knife that was beside someone’s interrupted meal. He picks it up and holds it in front of himself. This becomes a control action in one direction since the farmers aren’t going to grab someone with a knife. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 6) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard can only stop people from one direction so the first farmer holds action until they stop him from swinging the knife around. Whenever you hold action you have to declare what you are holding action until. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The second farmer grabs for the arm of the bard with the knife. This is at a -3. He rolls a 13 so it is a 10. The bard’s defense is 15 -4 = 11. This is the first attack against him this round so it misses. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The third farmer tries the same thing on the other arm and rolls a 16. This becomes a 13. The bard’s defense goes down to 10 so this is a success. He has the bard’s arm. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard however has his knife in the other hand so he stabs the guy that is holding him. The problem with holding someone who is armed is that it makes it easier for them to hit you. The farmer is now flatfooted so he uses his stunned defense rating instead. The bard has only basic training so he has a +2. He rolls a 14, which after the -4 from his own damage is a 10. This is less than the 12 stunned save so he misses anyway. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Since the knife is still in play this doesn’t trigger the first farmer’s held action so he loses his turn. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 7)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first farmer tries to grab the arm with the knife in it. He rolls a 9. The bard is flatfooted since someone is holding one of his arms. This means that his base defense is 13 – 4 for damage, which makes it 9. The farmer succeeds. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The second farmer takes the knife out of the bard’s hand. The third farmer is holding the other arm. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard can’t take an action since he is pinned. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 8) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first farmer says, “Let’s throw him out of the village.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The second farmer says, “It’s too late for that!” and stabs the bard with the knife. He rolls a 14 against a prone and pinned target, which gives the bard a 5 reflex defense. The farmer has basic melee training so his melee is +1. This gives him +10 to damage. The damage for a knife is 6/2. With the strength of the Farmer this becomes 9/5. This becomes a 19/5. The bard has a toughness of 7 but the knife has a penetration of 5 so he only has a 2 toughness versus the knife. So the damage is 19 -2 = 17. This is a heavy wound. It does 4 lethal damage and staggars the target. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The third farmer drops the bard and backs away, “I didn’t want this!” The first farmer drops him too. “Let’s get out of here!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The bard sits down and looks at the blood on his belly and hands. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Out of Combat)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] They leave and the barkeep tells his son to get the town guard. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Unequal Combat[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Two guards find the three farmers. The first farmer wants to explain what happened but the second farmer doesn’t trust them to listen and holds up a pitch fork towards the guards. They order him to drop the pitch fork but he refuses. This escalates things until the guard pulls out his sword. [/FONT]




[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Farmer 3[/FONT]^{[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]rd[/FONT]}[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] level +1 LA Tough = 4[/FONT]^{[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]th[/FONT]}[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Level[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Str +3, Dex +0, Con +5, Int +0, Wit +2, Pre +3, Class Bonus +1[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Reflex 13, Stunned 11, Fort 16, Will 12, HTH 8, Tough 7, Composure 5, Notice 13[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Basic Skills: Athletics +3, Melee +1, Perception +3, Resolve +2, Survival +3[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Beastcraft (T) +7: Cattle, Wagoneering[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Resistance (T) +6: Tireless, Iron Stomach, Resist Cold[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Farming (F) +7 ms[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Equipped with poor quality pitchfork 7/4 (after adding str).[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Infantry 5[/FONT]^{[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]th[/FONT]}[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] level[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Str +1, Dex +0, Con +1, Int +0, Wit +2, Pre +1, Class Bonus +2[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Reflex 16, Stunned 13, Fort 17, Will 17, HTH 6, Tough 7, Composure 7, Notice 14[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Basic Skills: Beastcraft +4, Perception +4, Resolve +3, Survival +3[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Athletics (T) +6: Brawling, Running, Forced March, Dancing[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Melee (T) +6: Knife, Chopping Sword, Shield, Formation[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Ranged (T) +8: Spear[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Resolve (T) +7: Spirit of the Corp[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Resistance (T) +7: Light Sleeper, Medium Armor,[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tireless, Iron Stomach, Resist Cold[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Choose one craft minor skill (T) +8 ms[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Dice Games (T) +8 ms[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Storyteller (B) +3 ms[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Equipped with a chopping sword 11/3 (after adding str), a small wooden shield (+3 defense), and wearing a metal scale shirt (4/10)[/FONT]


[TABLE="width: 535"] [TR] [TD="width: 121, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Blades[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 48, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Size[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 80, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Dmg/AP[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 72, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Smash[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 70, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Defense[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 63, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Str[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 65, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Cost[/FONT]
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="width: 121, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Chopping Sword[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 48, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]5[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 80, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]10/2[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 72, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]+3[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 70, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]+4[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 63, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]+1[/FONT]
[/TD] [TD="width: 65, bgcolor: #ffffff"] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]1s[/FONT]
[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]



[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 1) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The farmer is trying to do a control action and hold them off. He is holding action until he is attacked. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first guard wants to knock the pitch fork out of the way. Since the farmer has no melee skill and the guard is trained then the guard doesn’t even need to roll to knock it out of the way. He spends a simple action moving the pitchfork out of the way. Then he attacks the farmer. He rolls a 15, +6 for his melee skill, gives him a 21. This is 8 higher than the farmer’s defense of 13 so it adds to the damage. The attack does 19/3. The farmer has a toughness of 7, which the penetration of the sword reduces to 4. 19 damage -4 toughness = 15 damage. This is a serious wound. The farmer is stunned this round and loses his action until the next turn. He loses initiative. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The second guard watches the other two farmers to make sure that they don’t interfere.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Round 2) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The first guard swings his sword again. The farmer is stunned so use his stunned defense of 11 – 3 for his serious wound so his defense is a 8. The guard rolls a 18! This is a critical hit and adds +5 to his roll. Then add the +6 for the guard’s melee skill for a total of 29. This is 21 over the farmer’s defense! He’s probably very dead.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] We already saw that the farmers effective toughness was 4 from the last round. 11+21 -4 = 28. Since anything over a 20 is an instant kill the farmer is dead. The guard cuts the farmer’s head off in one stroke![/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Out of Combat)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The other two farmers come quietly.[/FONT]