TOCC, a new free D&D alternative

[was_fired]

Hi, I'm new here the nice folks at theRPG site advised me to come here to promote my new game, TOCC. TOCC is a free d20 game, which is very similar to Dungeons and Dragons, and that's because it's based on version 3.5's open gaming content. Now what I like about TOCC compared to D&D is the flexibility. Unlike Dungeons and Dragons which has unchanging and static abilities that don't vary between characters even minor details like speed change between TOCC characters. TOCC gives you much more flexibility than any version of Dungeons and Dragons I have yet to play.

Now this comes at a cost. Making a TOCC character involves more math than making a character is most other games. Thankfully, this is mostly done for you in tables, but formulas are provided for more mathematically inclined players and GMs. All of this helps TOCC shine while making it really flexible.

Since TOCC has its roots in Dungeons and Dragons, a classic hack and slash game, I can't talk about its increased flexibility without mentioning combat. Combat in TOCC may use turns, but these are completely fluid. Characters can act out of turn in response to events that take place around them. This isn't a function of special abilities that a character can only use once a day like in Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition, it's just part of how combat works. If you're attacked you can choose to try to parry it. If a giant tries to step on you, you can jump out of the way. This isn't just flavor text for armor class. These are actual actions that take place in combat, that have real consequences. In TOCC it's possible to form a wall using a power to block a sword slash only to find out that the force of the blade was sufficient to slice through your wall and damage you, and all that requires is three rolls: the attack roll, the damage roll and your saving throw. These options don't bog down combat, they speed it up by making sure every player is always involved.

TOCC only has four classes, but each class has so many potential options that you can have a party of five fighters without seeing any major overlap. This is because TOCC lets players customize their characters almost as much as point based systems do. Not as much mind you, I won't make that claim, but it puts it still measures up nicely against the best of the class based games out there. In the all fighter party I mentioned you could easily have, an armored knight with a massive sword, a stealthy rogue who fights using twin daggers, an archer, a swashbuckler and drunken brawler who would use a bar stool as soon as a sword. Add three more classes to this mix, and you can see that TOCC isn't shy about character options.

Now, TOCC isn't for everyone. Since I'm giving this game away for free I made sure not to pay anything when I made it. That means the rules don't have any artwork and are loaded with crunch instead of fluff. Because of TOCC's many options the rules are roughly as long as the Dungeons and Dragon's Player's Handbook. Now if you still want to take a look at TOCC be my guest. The TOCC website includes a list of monsters and a single one shot adventure with more monsters and adventures coming soon. If you like what you see you're welcome to come and chat on the TOCC forum. Thank you for your time and happy gaming.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

So, how does your game compare to other fantasy heartbreakers?

Spoiler

Sorry, but I just had to ask that.

 

[was_fired]

It's a valid question. In general the flavor is weaker since TOCC isn't supposed to be setting specific and the mechanics are better laid out. The rulebook is also longer than most with the PDF weighing in at 190 pages without illustrations. The breakdown is roughly 130 pages of character options (classes, powers, styles, feats, skills and equipment), 27 pages of the core combat mechanics, 15 pages of the less critical ones and the rest of fluff and legal stuff.

I should also add the the emphasis is primarily on humans in TOCC. You can play as other races and the rules for controlling playable races in the entries for playable monsters on the TOCC site, but the main rulebook does not provide these stats. The way I see it, humans are a diverse enough bunch without adding pointy eared sterotypes to the mix.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

How would you compare it to non-d20 RPGs which can be used for fantasy, such as GURPS or Exalted?

 

[Fifth Element]

Why is it called TOCC? Presumably the name has a meaning.

Can you sell it without simply saying "it's like D&D, but somewhat different"? Doing it like that makes it sound like a glorified house rules document.

 

[WhatGravitas]

How would you compare it to non-d20 RPGs which can be used for fantasy, such as GURPS or Exalted?

More importantly: What makes it stand out?

DnD, well, has its history and brand, GURPS has a high degree of flexibility and adaptability, Exalted is good at over-the-top wuxia action.

After the first skimming, TOCC has strong d20 roots and looks like a D&D variant.

What makes TOCC unique? What's its catchphrase, so to speak?

Cheers, LT.

 

[was_fired]

I haven't played either but as far as I understand it from TOCC players who have played these systems. Character design flexibility is weaker than GURPS, but you can make characters faster and combat moves more quickly. I would also say the system is less versatile than GURPS, but I'm not sure since I haven't played it. From what I understand GURPS also slows down actions by adding multiple rolls to a single action while TOCC does not. After a quick googling of GURPS I also saw that a common complaint was that it has too many rules. Despite the sheer size of the rulebook TOCC doesn't actually have all that many rules, and most of the rules use internally consistent mechanics to make your game go smoothly.


As for Exalted the flavor in TOCC is weaker than Exalted since there is no predefined setting that establishs the grand conflict of the gods and the history of mankind. Likewise TOCC doesn't immediately assume your character is awsome like Exalted, you have to earn it and make a good character. There are no minion or extra rules in TOCC. There are just weaker enemies, and if you want to take them out quickly you need to deal enough damage to do so fair and square. Now TOCC doesn't have any major thematic effects like burning essense so if that's your thing Exalted wins there. TOCC doesn't have any upper limits unlike Exalted so your character really can become utterly amazing at something. Likewise there is no such thing as a perfect defense, because someone can always break it. I know Exalted allows you to respond to enemy actions on some level outside of your turn, but I don't think it beats TOCC in this regard. Of course since Exalted is primarily a story telling system there are ways around this that the rules don't mention.

 

[was_fired]

Tirian, I wish I was in marketing so I could answer your question with some wonderful bit of clever glib that really meant nothing in the end, but I'll do my best to replace that with a substantive answer. TOCC doesn't stand out because of it's setting since there is no default setting, and in all honesty that's what really catches peoples' eyes first when they look at a game.

I could say that TOCC is a game where you're surrounded by horrible demons trying to eat you, but that doesn't make it a horror game. Nor does that always have to be the case. I could say that TOCC is a game of epic adventure where players try to save the world from untold evil, but again that's up to the GM and the group. One of the things that makes TOCC stand out is how little attachment players are forced to have with the world around them. Money is only a problem when characters let it be a problem. Equipment isn't very hard to come by and there are no expensive magical items like in D&D. In TOCC the only magical items could as easily come from the tomb of an ancient king as they could from the dagger you had at level one which bathed in the blood of so many innocents that it awakened in a demon weapon.

You could accumulate piles of gold by grave robbing, but that won't make you any stronger. You could raise massive armies around you and conquor nations. You could become a demon hunter in order to safeguard the lives of innocents. All of that depends on your character's personality, and none of it is rewarded or punished more than any other option.

Since TOCC is a new game we haven't seen very many campaigns but here is what we have had (at least from GMs that contacted me). In one campaign players were elite soldiers on a pirate ship that was caught up in a world changing and time altering series of events. In another campaign the players spent the campaign escaping the demonic lands of their birth into a kingdom controlled by a lich who they then joined in order to assault their former home. In another campaign the players wandered around the countryside between archeological sites in an effort to uncover a lost piece of history, and doing so bit off more than they could chew.

So what makes TOCC unique? I haven't the faintest clue, but I haven't seen a better alternative yet even if it won't stand the test of time.

 

[teichman]

After I download your file, it won't open without an error message about it being a corrupted file.

 

[Aus_Snow]

File works for me, but 'Certification by <your name?> is invalid'. Also, there are some things missing in your copy of the OGL, like say, the SRD being mentioned in S15. Also, most likely, the document (TOCC) itself.

Anyway, the layout is pretty. . . well, ugly, so I won't comment on the content, as I honestly can't be bothered reading through it, as it is currently presented. I know, that probably doesn't bother you one bit. Which, in turn, doesn't bother me either.

Just my impressions, FWIW.