💾 Archived View for valinard.flounder.online › rules.gmi captured on 2023-11-04 at 11:27:27. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-09-28)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I wanted something as quick and simple as possible, so we started with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘏𝘢𝘤𝘬.
It had some great ideas - descriptive XP, player-facing rolls, usage dice.
But it was 𝘵𝘰𝘰 simple: Monsters had no AC, just HD and attacks. The wizard's STR rose with level at the same rate as the fighter's.
And also too complicated: As soon as you had monsters and PCs of different levels you had to apply the level difference as a bonus or penalty to 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 roll.
So we ended up adopting this system of over/under rolls: If a monster attacks you, you roll under your defense and over the monster's HD; if you attack a monster, you have to roll under your STR and over the monster's AC. It took a little getting used to, but it preserves the "1pt = 5%" scheme without requiring any arithmetic at all - just comparing one number to two others.
As long as you minimise modifiers, it really speeds things up at the table.
We also tried a lot of other things, some of which worked and some of which didn't. Toward the end of the campaign, when I didn't feel comfortable changing anything else, I started writing up a second edition. I tried running this a few times at the FLGS, and now I'm rewriting it here on Gemini, so I guess it's a third edition now?
There's still a lot I'm waffling over, but waffling is the point - to fiddle and futz until you find what works for you and your games.
In the process I had to really think about what my objectives for the system are. What do I want it to do?
It has to support my style of play, which means enough voids in the rules to make space for rulings - it shouldn't be overly detailed or hard to remember. It needs to have nested loops and basic activities, downtimes and the other essential elements I've written about here. Every class should have something to do in combat, because combat takes time and I don't want anyone being bored.
Player-facing rolls, for streamlining reasons; ability scores rather than ability modifiers, simply because we've inherited that from the Black Hack; some resource management gameplay; and unbalanced but forgiving combat, because I love the OSR idea of unbalanced encounters but character-driven stories require those characters to stay alive. It has to be easy to run away!
Beyond that, in running for new players in the local community, I decided that I wanted to be able to play something that is 1) recognisably D&D 2) with anyone 3) on the spot or 4) for years on end and 5) without getting a headache.
Which gave me the following design goals:
1. Compatible with B/X / OSE / OSR systems.
2. Easy for new players, enough crunch for gamers.
3. Quick and easy character creation.
5. Streamlining, minimising pressure on the DM.
The Red Hack, work in progress