Rules-Lite, One Volume DnD/FRPG?

[johnsemlak]

I still feel there is a demand in the market for a 96-128 page PDF/POD product which teaches new DMs as well as players how to play D&D. Ideally, it should be split between classes, races, skills, feats, spells and gear (50%) and monster, treasure, magic items, DMing skills (50%).

I could be wrong but I would guess that buyers of PDF products are all established gamers to some degree, Newbies would almost always buy print material first. I can't imagine a PDF/POD product being a 'gateway' product to people unfamiliar with tabletop RPGs.

 

[francisca]

I could be wrong but I would guess that buyers of PDF products are all established gamers to some degree, Newbies would almost always buy print material first. I can't imagine a PDF/POD product being a 'gateway' product to people unfamiliar with tabletop RPGs.

That's a good point. Of course with file sharing the way it is, it could be a catalyst product delivered via an unintended channel.

 

[Zappo]

I'd reduce the number of classes, maybe to just four, by turning some class features into feats. Reduce the number of spells to just the bare minimum needed to make each school interesting (I suspect that would still be a fairly large number). Reduce magic items accordingly. Cut lots of monsters. Make a unified mechanic for special combat maneuvers (heck, that would be good even for standard D&D). Drop PrCs entirely.

 

[mmadsen]

Why isn't there something like this for d20? I would love a "rules lite" (or at least a "stream-lined" version of the rules) single volume version of DnD.

If you stuck to the "corest" of the core classes (Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard), the primary races (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Human), and the most common spells, you could easily pare the Players Handbook down tremendously.

You could skip almost the entire DMG, except for some of the rules and tables. (What in the DMG is truly useful?)

Obviously you could pare the Monster Manual down to the most common monsters.

Then people could start playing the game with less of an investment. They'll buy the other books soon enough.

 

[Rokonin]

If you are looking for a rules-lite one volume FRPG, I suggest Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (if you can get a hold of a copy).

 

[The Sigil]

If you stuck to the "corest" of the core classes (Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard), the primary races (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Human), and the most common spells, you could easily pare the Players Handbook down tremendously.

You could skip almost the entire DMG, except for some of the rules and tables. (What in the DMG is truly useful?)

Obviously you could pare the Monster Manual down to the most common monsters.

Then people could start playing the game with less of an investment. They'll buy the other books soon enough.

Didn't want to toot my own horn, but since Henry did it for me...

This sounds very much like my Basic Player's Guide.

I pared everything down as far as I could for the Basic Player's Guide (hereafter BPG) while still keeping (I hoped) the feel of the game. I tried to do this by setting myself a goal... present everything required to play in 64 pages (9 point font) or less.

I cut races down to four: human, elf, dwarf, halfling (since LotR is en vogue, I figured these would be familiar to most readers). Each gets a page.

I cut the classes down to four: Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard. Each one is kind of a showcase of a different portion of the game - clerics get healing and undead destruction, fighters are combat, rogues are skills, and wizards are "blast magic."

I chopped out things that make the "standard" game complicated... Attacks of Opportunity, Critical Hits, Spell Components (except costly ones), etc.

Keeping the thing to 64 pages meant paring down feats, spells, and so forth. In fact, the amount of space spells take up forced me to put a cap on the spell levels offered - I could offer a nice variety of 0th, 1st, and 2nd level spells and stay under 64 pages, but adding 3rd level spells added an extra 8-10 pages. So spells stayed 2nd level and under, which capped PC levels at 4th. This wasn't all bad; it keeps iterative attacks out of the mix (I eliminated ALL multiple-attacks-per-round options to pare combat down to "move plus attack" - or "move plus spell" or whatever). Everyone gets a capstone to their advancement at 4th level with an extra ability score point. Fighters get Weapon Specialization.

Skills got reduced to "assume you always max ranks of skills" - basically you choose your skills at character creation and that's it, you never gain new ones (not the most flexible of options, but you have to sacrifice some flexibility to maintain simplicity).

I cut down tremendously on the range of weapons and armors and equipment offered, while still offering (I hope) enough variety to keep things interesting.

More info can be found in this thread here: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=87467

Much of it is reprinting OGC from the SRD, but you'll find that the "work" you're paying for is the strategic "cutting" of elements that make the system complex.

I do have plans to knock out a 64-page companion volume, a Basic GM's Guide, this summer if possible. Treasure, NPCs, Monsters, encounters, and basic GM skills would be in that work. A short dungeon, too, if it will fit.

While I know this won't get the market penetration of a print product, my hope is that this series can be used as graded stepping stones to get a player from "intro" to the full set of "core" rules in baby steps. I simply don't have the financial wherewithal to make this a print product (seriously) outside of POD (which I plan to do some time in June).

I see this almost as an "evangelical tract" for existing players familiar with the system. This isn't something you read for your benefit, it's something you use to "convert newbies to the RPG gospel."

If the BPG (and the GM's guide, when I write it) is well-received, I may work on an "Intermediate Player's Guide" and then an "Expert Player's Guide" (and GM's guides) - such that by the end of the "Expert Player's Guide" the players are just a small step away from the Core Rules. Thus far, however, interest has been lukewarm - I'm hoping a review or two - or a thread like this - will get the discussion started and the ball rolling.

Please shoot more questions my way if you're interested. I hope to have a lot more products coming down the pipe this summer (when I'll have some time to write), so stay tuned!

--The Sigil

 

[The Sigil]

I'm working on a review of that product right now. I'm using my wife as the test case. There are some really nice things I will be saying about it.

It is aptly named: Player's Guide. There is almost nothing about DMing, no monster, and no treasure. So in that regard, it is not like the old basic set.

The product only works in the hands of an experienced DM who is bringing a "never played RPGs before" person into the game. The DM will still need the SRD or the core books to run the game, and of course, know how to run.

I still feel there is a demand in the market for a 96-128 page PDF/POD product which teaches new DMs as well as players how to play D&D. Ideally, it should be split between classes, races, skills, feats, spells and gear (50%) and monster, treasure, magic items, DMing skills (50%).

Please drop me an email when you do the review, with a link. I'd love to see it... and see what I did wrong.

--The Sigil

 

[Mouseferatu]

I'm also currently working on a D20-lite product, in between my contracted assignments. It sounds like it's similar to what Sigil did in some respects, but it has some substantial differences as well. It'll be a full 20-level game, four races, four primary classes, four "advanced" classes. It has a skill system far simpler than that in the core rules--in fact, some people might not even call it a skill system at all. It has no feats, but some of the feats have snuck back in as class abilities. This isn't meant to be a "better" game than D&D--but I'm very much shooting for a Red Box version of the current rules.

It's got some "Expert Option" rules, for increased customization and the like. But played at its simplest, most basic level, it's very much a "roll your stats, choose your equipment, pick your spells if you're a caster, and start playing" game.

Monster stat blocks are half the size of those of 3E, and I've actually hit on a system that removes the need for CR, because the HD of a monster really does indicate its power level; across the board, a 4-HD monster is roughly the equal of a 4th-level character.

Now I just need to hammer it into sufficient shape to show potential publishers.

 

[Crothian]

I would suggest FFG's Grimm. It has simplidied character options since the idea is one is playing kids in farie tales, but it very well done and looks like a lot of fun.

 

[francisca]

Please drop me an email when you do the review, with a link. I'd love to see it... and see what I did wrong.

--The Sigil

Nothing wrong so far, I like what I see. I really like the simplicty of the skill system. I think the only thing I would have done would have been to script out the feats for the classes, maybe providing two paths for each class, like you suggest for the fighter - tank and dexterious versions.

I'm glad you're looking at a GM's version. I've found that a common barrier to entry level play is the DM getting it together. A short 64 page work should fit the bill nicely.