Core Rules Revision
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:20 amI was never especially happy with the core rules I was playing around with before. The recent three on favourite mechanics got me thinking about mashing up the Silent Death low/med/high mechanic with a modified and elaborated allocation system based loosely on the way Otherkind resolves actions.
Here's what I've fumbled together. Might be workable. Might not. I'm always a bit clumsy with base mechanics. I never can seem to get the gist of intutively seeing what will work and what won't.
Core mechanic
A dice roll is needed to resolve any situation where the outcome is unclear or disputed. There are two types of actions: Simple and Complex. Both types of roles use 3d10 (three ten-sided dice).
Simple Actions
Simple Actions are short or simple events that have a moderate pay-off, but also don't carry substantial dangers. A Simple Action might include attacking a single opponent in an affray, picking a lock or bringing to mind a piece of obscure lore.
To undertake a Simple Action, first determine the relevant Attribute and the Skill you wish to use. Attributes have three levels, Ordinary, Extraordinary and Legendary. Skills are associated with straightforward bonuses.
The object of a Simple Action roll is to beat a Difficulty Level set by the Gamesmaster. A Difficulty of 5 is relatively easy, 10 is quite difficult, 15 is very difficult and 20 is insanely difficult.
The Player rolls 3d10 and takes a die depending on their Attribute level.
Ordinary Attribute: take the lowest die
Extraordinary Attribute: take the middle die
Legendary Attribute: take the highest die
If there are doubles, you get to add them together, but only if they fall in your usual set. So, if you have an Ordinary Attribute and roll 4, 4 and 7, you get to add 4+4 and score an 8. If you had an Extraordinary Attribute, then you also get to add the dice in this way, but if your Attribute was Legendary you're stuck with the 7.
On the other hand, a roll of 4, 7 and 7 with an Extraordinary or Legendary Attribute would grant you a score of 14.
Triples also add, and of course, they apply to any of the three Attribute Levels. If you roll three sixes, you score an 18 regardless of your Attribute.
Once you have worked out you die score, you add the relevant Skill bonus.
So, for example, you might need to climb a tree in a hurry because some wolves are after you. The Gamesmaster decides that the tree is only a little bit difficult to climb and sets the Difficulty to 6. You have an Ordinary Quickness and a Climbing skill of +2. You roll a 4, 5 and 10. Because of your Ordinary Quickness you have to take the 4. You then add the +2 for Climbing and this totals 6. This is equal to or better than the Difficulty Level (6), so you successfully climb the tree.
Effort
Normally, you will only apply a single Skill to an action, but you can expend a point of effort to bring another Skill to bear, gaining its bonus too. You can spend up to 2 Effort in this way for a single action. Additionally, you must be able to convince your Gamesmaster that the additional Skill is somehow relevant.
Complex Actions
Complex Actions are more interesting, complex and involved actions than a standard Simple Action. For example, the Simple Action of attacking an opponent might allow you to inflict a wound if you are successful, but with a Complex Action you could state: "I'm going to leap to the front of the battle and swing my axe killing three goblins in one blow."
You can nominate much more elaborate successes using a Complex Action, but Complex Actions carry risks. When you declare a Complex Action your Gamesmaster will nominate two potential risks that could come about as a result. In the above example, the Gamesmaster might decide that one risk is that one of the goblins blows a war-horn, calling more goblins, and the other risk is that your axe gets stuck in the shield of a goblin and you can't get it out.
You then roll your 3d10, but this time, you allocate the dice to the Success and Fails. What you roll will determine what happens:
Success: There will be a Difficulty Level set by the Gamesmaster that you must pass
Risks: If a risk die scores 1-5, then the risk eventuates.
You are allowed to add your Skill Bonus to one dice only. If you use Effort you can add a second Skill Bonus to any one dice (including the same dice). Two Effort allows you to invoke another relevant skill... three all up. As with Simple Actions, this is the limit of Effort.
If you roll a double, you are allowed to add the doubles together and ignore one of the risks. If you roll a triple, you add all three dice together and ignore both risks.
Using the above example, you leap in and attack the goblins. The Gamesmaster decides that the Difficulty Level of killing three goblins with a single sweep of the axe is 10. You have an axe-fighting skill of +3. You roll a 9, 6 and 2. You decide that you do want to kill the goblins, so you allocate the 9 (+3) to Success (kill the goblins). You decide that you don't want more goblins turning up, so you allocate the 6 to the first risk (war-horn summons more goblins) and negate it. This leaves you with 2 allocated to the second risk (axe stuck in shield).
Now, a great hobgoblin is bearing down on you. You decide to heft up the axe, shield and all, and bash it in the face, knocking it out. The Gamesmaster decides that the first risk is that the hobgoblin lands a blow on you, and the second risk is that the hobgoblin knocks you to the ground. This time you spend a point of Effort and invoke both axe-fighting (+3) and brawling (+2). The Gamesmaster sets the Difficulty Level to 8. You roll a 1, a 4 and a 4. The double means that you can add the die together and ignore one Risk. You decide to ignore being knocked to the ground. You add the 4+4, scoring an 8, enough to knock out the hobgoblin. Now you add your +3 and the +2 to the 1, bringing it up to 6, just enough to avoid taking a blow in return. Good thing you spent some Effort!
Experience
You can gain Experience from failed actions. If you fail at a Simple Action you gain 1 Experience Point. Every time a single Risk comes true you gain 1 Experience Point. If two Risks result from a single Complex Action you get 3 Experience Points. In essence, you learn from your mistakes.
Simple action fails: +1 exp
One risk eventuates: +1 exp
Two risks eventuate: +3 exp
Here's what I've fumbled together. Might be workable. Might not. I'm always a bit clumsy with base mechanics. I never can seem to get the gist of intutively seeing what will work and what won't.
Core mechanic
A dice roll is needed to resolve any situation where the outcome is unclear or disputed. There are two types of actions: Simple and Complex. Both types of roles use 3d10 (three ten-sided dice).
Simple Actions
Simple Actions are short or simple events that have a moderate pay-off, but also don't carry substantial dangers. A Simple Action might include attacking a single opponent in an affray, picking a lock or bringing to mind a piece of obscure lore.
To undertake a Simple Action, first determine the relevant Attribute and the Skill you wish to use. Attributes have three levels, Ordinary, Extraordinary and Legendary. Skills are associated with straightforward bonuses.
The object of a Simple Action roll is to beat a Difficulty Level set by the Gamesmaster. A Difficulty of 5 is relatively easy, 10 is quite difficult, 15 is very difficult and 20 is insanely difficult.
The Player rolls 3d10 and takes a die depending on their Attribute level.
Ordinary Attribute: take the lowest die
Extraordinary Attribute: take the middle die
Legendary Attribute: take the highest die
If there are doubles, you get to add them together, but only if they fall in your usual set. So, if you have an Ordinary Attribute and roll 4, 4 and 7, you get to add 4+4 and score an 8. If you had an Extraordinary Attribute, then you also get to add the dice in this way, but if your Attribute was Legendary you're stuck with the 7.
On the other hand, a roll of 4, 7 and 7 with an Extraordinary or Legendary Attribute would grant you a score of 14.
Triples also add, and of course, they apply to any of the three Attribute Levels. If you roll three sixes, you score an 18 regardless of your Attribute.
Once you have worked out you die score, you add the relevant Skill bonus.
So, for example, you might need to climb a tree in a hurry because some wolves are after you. The Gamesmaster decides that the tree is only a little bit difficult to climb and sets the Difficulty to 6. You have an Ordinary Quickness and a Climbing skill of +2. You roll a 4, 5 and 10. Because of your Ordinary Quickness you have to take the 4. You then add the +2 for Climbing and this totals 6. This is equal to or better than the Difficulty Level (6), so you successfully climb the tree.
Effort
Normally, you will only apply a single Skill to an action, but you can expend a point of effort to bring another Skill to bear, gaining its bonus too. You can spend up to 2 Effort in this way for a single action. Additionally, you must be able to convince your Gamesmaster that the additional Skill is somehow relevant.
Complex Actions
Complex Actions are more interesting, complex and involved actions than a standard Simple Action. For example, the Simple Action of attacking an opponent might allow you to inflict a wound if you are successful, but with a Complex Action you could state: "I'm going to leap to the front of the battle and swing my axe killing three goblins in one blow."
You can nominate much more elaborate successes using a Complex Action, but Complex Actions carry risks. When you declare a Complex Action your Gamesmaster will nominate two potential risks that could come about as a result. In the above example, the Gamesmaster might decide that one risk is that one of the goblins blows a war-horn, calling more goblins, and the other risk is that your axe gets stuck in the shield of a goblin and you can't get it out.
You then roll your 3d10, but this time, you allocate the dice to the Success and Fails. What you roll will determine what happens:
Success: There will be a Difficulty Level set by the Gamesmaster that you must pass
Risks: If a risk die scores 1-5, then the risk eventuates.
You are allowed to add your Skill Bonus to one dice only. If you use Effort you can add a second Skill Bonus to any one dice (including the same dice). Two Effort allows you to invoke another relevant skill... three all up. As with Simple Actions, this is the limit of Effort.
If you roll a double, you are allowed to add the doubles together and ignore one of the risks. If you roll a triple, you add all three dice together and ignore both risks.
Using the above example, you leap in and attack the goblins. The Gamesmaster decides that the Difficulty Level of killing three goblins with a single sweep of the axe is 10. You have an axe-fighting skill of +3. You roll a 9, 6 and 2. You decide that you do want to kill the goblins, so you allocate the 9 (+3) to Success (kill the goblins). You decide that you don't want more goblins turning up, so you allocate the 6 to the first risk (war-horn summons more goblins) and negate it. This leaves you with 2 allocated to the second risk (axe stuck in shield).
Now, a great hobgoblin is bearing down on you. You decide to heft up the axe, shield and all, and bash it in the face, knocking it out. The Gamesmaster decides that the first risk is that the hobgoblin lands a blow on you, and the second risk is that the hobgoblin knocks you to the ground. This time you spend a point of Effort and invoke both axe-fighting (+3) and brawling (+2). The Gamesmaster sets the Difficulty Level to 8. You roll a 1, a 4 and a 4. The double means that you can add the die together and ignore one Risk. You decide to ignore being knocked to the ground. You add the 4+4, scoring an 8, enough to knock out the hobgoblin. Now you add your +3 and the +2 to the 1, bringing it up to 6, just enough to avoid taking a blow in return. Good thing you spent some Effort!
Experience
You can gain Experience from failed actions. If you fail at a Simple Action you gain 1 Experience Point. Every time a single Risk comes true you gain 1 Experience Point. If two Risks result from a single Complex Action you get 3 Experience Points. In essence, you learn from your mistakes.
Simple action fails: +1 exp
One risk eventuates: +1 exp
Two risks eventuate: +3 exp