Jeff Moore

Rage, Precognition, Grace (RPG)

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

RAGE: primal force, strength, and fury!

PRECOGNITION: intuition, perception, and magical power!

GRACE: agility, beauty, and composure!

I once wrote a one-page RPG called, “Rage – Precognition – Grace.” It was a few years ago. I wrote the game to be a rules-lite RPG/character sheet in one. I felt that it was possible to put everything you really need to play an RPG on one page. This game uses the same three core character traits, and shares that game’s name, but except for that, this RPG is NOT that RPG.

The desire to keep RPG rules and materials concise is still a priority, and although not the “one-page RPG” this document is as compact as possible. This RPG is a basic reworking of the Old School Fantasy RPG “The Fantasy Trip” published by Metagaming back in 1980 and written by Steve Jackson.

The PDF document covers character creation and basic task resolution. At only 8 pages (that includes the character sheet) this is a pretty tight package. The rules use a 2d6 roll high task system rather than TFT’s 3d6 roll low mechanic.

This should be considered a “Players Manual” for the game and it is intended to be used by a GM who has experience with RPG’s in general and old school style RPG’s particularly.

Included are descriptions for skills, spells, classes, races, weapons and armor and experience costs for character advancement. If I receive any interest in pursuing this project, it might be fun to follow up later with a Monster Compendium/GM Manual.

The entire document is being shared under the Creative Commons: Attribution; Non-commercial; Share-alike agreement – BY-NC-SA.

Five by Five

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Five by Five (fīv-bī-fīv)
adj.

1. In radio communication on a scale of 1 to 5 measuring signal strength and clarity, “Five by Five” indicates the best possible strength and clarity of signal.

2. Condition or state of being the best you can be; perfect. (slang)

Five by Five (fīv-bī-fīv)
noun.

1. An original game system and RPG Toolkit by Jeff Moore.

Five by Five is a “choose your trait” style RPG that makes unique use of six-sided dice to create an easy to learn and easy to play universal task resolution system. The game is meant to be flexible enough to satisfy a variety of settings and easy enough to pick up and play right away.

The core of the Five by Five game system is the 5×5 die roll. Players roll two dice (counting any result of 6 as zero) and multiply the results. This basic mechanic gives an average unskilled person around a 30% chance of success and each ranks of skill improves this chance by 5 and a half percent.

The game includes sample adventures for both a fantasy setting and a superhero game, example characters and a character sheet.

Powers-Brawl RPG

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Powers-Brawl is the RPG of superhero battles with the emphasis on POWERS! Creating a character is as simple as choosing a few powers. There are no points to spend or attributes to roll… just select some powers and start playing right away! Players who are not sure what kinds of characters they want can even roll some powers randomly and be ready to play in moments with no prior exposure to the rules.

Combat resolution uses standard 6 sided dice and is simple enough that each player can control multiple heroes or villains. Characters can advance during play improving existing powers and adding new ones allowing for an ongoing gaming campaign with the same characters lasting as long as the players desire.

For players in a game of super powered heroes, what one element about their characters is the most important? It’s the POWERS!

POWERS-BRAWL
Powers-Brawl is a combat oriented miniatures game based on the battles of super powered comic book heroes and villains. Players can create characters and battle head to head or one player can take the role of the Referee shaping the story in an imaginary game world where the other players work cooperatively to defeat evil.

In a 2-player head to head brawl, each player can control up to 3 characters a piece. In a game controlled by a referee, any number of players will possess 1 character each and will compete against collections of villains controlled by the referee.

Characters are comprised of Values and Powers.

Values serve as a template for all characters and come in two forms: Action Values and Opposition Values. Action Values modify die rolls when you attempt to do something. Opposition Values represent how difficult it is to do something. Values can become temporarily damaged during combat but base values do not vary from one player character to another.

Powers vary for every character. They will continue to grow and evolve through play making the character more versatile and effective each time you play.

I Play Jeff Moore’s HEX!

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

I Play Games!

HEX is a one page solitaire game by Jeff Moore, an established game designer and author on 1km1kt.net. HEX soon after it was created, inspired the author to issue The Character Sheet is the RPG Challenge, that has been on now for two years running, with 27: The Character Sheet Is The RPG Challenge II currently going, issued by Errin Famiglia. This game was one of the first that I ever downloaded from 1km1kt.net, and I’m glad I did. I was attracted by HEX as a solitaire one page dungeon adventure, featuring random dungeon generation, complete with encounters, treasures and goals. Its single page also holds a character sheet with XP advancements, all the rules needed for play and even the game’s dialogue: “A curse has infested an ancient keep near your town. The evil magic has filled the keep with monsters. Can you save your home from this Hex?” -a powerful hook.

HEX is an amazingly whole game, simple and clear in its one page presentation. The questions that are asked at the end of the game, should you roll 9 and Exit the Dungeon, along with the author’s encouragement to “Chronicle your adventures!” gave me the idea to write this review and include the following play record with my analysis.

So, I played HEX and after a few minutes of rolling dice and taking notes here is what I came up with:

Play Record 1

turn 1 Roll 5 Room Monster Corridor Action Fight Result H-1,E-1,X+1 HEX 5,5,1 lvl 1 Keys

turn 2 Roll 4 Room Monster Room Action Fight Result H-1,E-1,X+1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 1 Keys

turn 3 Roll 6 Room Treasure Action Roll 2 Result get keys+1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 1 Keys 1

turn 4 Roll 4+1 Room Monster Corridor Action Run Result move on HEX 4,4,2 lvl 1 Keys 1

turn 5 Roll 6+1 Room Stairs Down Action — Result lvl +1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 6 Roll 6+1 Room Stairs Down Action — Result lvl +1 HEX 4,4,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 7 Roll 4+1 Room Monster Corridor Action Run Result move on HEX 4,4,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 8 Roll 2+1 Room Empty Room Action Rest Result H+1,E+3 HEX 5,7,2 lvl 2 Keys 1

turn 9 Roll 5+1 Room Treasure Action Roll 1 Result get keys+1 HEX 5,7,2 lvl 2 Keys 2

turn 1 Roll 3+2 Room Monster Corridor Action Fight Result H-2,E-2,X+1 HEX 3,4,3 lvl 2 Keys 2

turn 11 Roll 5+2 Room Stairs Down Action — Result lvl +1 HEX 3,4,3 lvl 3 Keys 2

turn 12 Roll 3+3 Room Treasure Action Roll 5 Result get X+3 HEX 3,4,6 lvl 3 Keys 3

turn 13 Roll 5+3 Room Boss Action lose Result H-6,E-6,X-1/2 HEX -3,-2,3 lvl 3 Keys 3

Results

I earned 3 experience points, I coudn’t buy any upgrades to magic weopon or magic armor.

I reached the 3rd level.

I found 3 keys.

I faced the level 3 boss. (evil Vampire)

I was forced to flee the dungeon after 13 turns of play.

Analysis

Even though I lost, I enjoyed playing, and in real life I feel like I gained experience points, because I learned a few things and I was inspired by the concept. Now I am working on my own game Dungeoneers RPG! Unfortunately, the “Keys and Level” system for rolling on the Dungeon table, borrowed from Doom Semper Fidelis has a few small flaws as implemented in HEX. In order to have the opportunity to regain Health or Endurance, you must roll 1 or 3 on the Dungeon table. That means if you find a Key (meant to be a “Treasure”), you lose a chance to heal -and once you have a chance to roll a 9 and exit the Dungeon successfully (keys +3), you can’t heal at all. That could be a problem, because monsters always do damage if you fight them, and you can’t avoid taking damage from Traps or a Boss. If you gain even more Keys, it becomes possible to roll off the table. It also looks like it might be possible to roll too many 7’s and quickly reach way too high of a dungeon level, and therefore have the monsters, traps and boss become impossibly deadly. Making the “stairs down” optional until the character chooses to leave the level might help this last issue.

Royal Battles

Monday, April 16th, 2007

Download (.pdf)

Royal Battles is a strategic board game of small scale battles played with playing cards and chess pieces. In Royal Battles players compete to defeat each other in head-to-head combat. Each player builds an army of 4 units (represented with chess pieces) and maneuvers them on a battle board made from a tile grid of playing cards. Each unit has a special ability that sets it apart and it is the combination of units and abilities that will determine the difference between victory and defeat.

Requires playing cards (standard poker or bridge decks) and chess pieces.

Duel Blade

Monday, April 16th, 2007

Download (.pdf)

A two-player head to head combat mechanic for table-top game play, Duel Blade pits two combatants of equivalent skill in a contest of strategy and endurance. Choice of armor and weapons helps to shape combat strategy and fighting style. Weapons balance attributes of accuracy and power, armor balances the attributes of evasion and deflection. Are you a powerful barbarian brandishing a mighty battle axe, or a swash buckling pirate who finds value in speed over strength? Choice of armor and weapon will change your strategies and your game.

Game mechanic uses 2d6.

Phantasy Star: Ragol’s Curse

Sunday, October 1st, 2006

This work is meant as a salute to the computer game upon which it is based. It is an unsanctioned, unauthorized homage, a parody of Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst. This work was begun as a result of a forum discussion at http://www.1km1kt.net/community/ I had observed that the forums had on more than one occasion received posts from browsers who arrived at the site looking for computer games. I became aware that there may be people in today’s world who may have played computer RPGs, but who knew nothing of the original tabletop RPGs that inspired the genre. I purposed the “Adapt A Computer Game Into A Tabletop RPG” challenge as an attempt to bridge this divide. The idea is that computer game players might recognize familiar concepts, settings, whatever, and be more willing to give the tabletop game a try. The competition was purposed as part of the “24 Hour RPG” challenge. What I wanted to do with PSO would require more from me than I felt the 24 hour time constraint could possibly allow, but I wanted to do it anyway. I did not attempt a 24 Hour Game for the competition, but I did set to work on what you have in your hands (or on your screen.) My congratulations to the winner of the challenge, Errin Famiglia, for “Quiz and Dungeons,” and to everyone who completed the challenge. You can see all the entries here. In the meantime I hope that you enjoy “Phantasy Star: Ragol’s Curse.”

Phantasy Star: Ragol’s Curse

The Pioneer Project:

A plan born of desperation, conceived in response to the imminent destruction of their home worlds.

As plans for the evacuation began, unmanned probes were sent into deep space to find a habitable planet.

When a potential site was discovered, the first interstellar transport ship, Pioneer 1 was sent to establish a colony. Pioneer 1 confirmed that the Planet Ragol was a suitable location, and the initial colonists started preparing the planet for the main wave of refugees, beginning with the construction of the Central Dome.

7 years later…

Pioneer 2 completed its long voyage with the main wave of refugees aboard. But as Pioneer 2 entered orbit and opened a communications link with the Central Dome, an enormous explosion shook the entire planet.

All contact with the thousands of men and women of Pioneer 1 was lost…

Rage, Precognition, Grace

Thursday, September 7th, 2006

So I am sitting around with some new friends. They are non-gamers. They are normal type folks who have heard about the “evils” of D&D, and they really don’t know anything about gaming. They do know that I love gaming and talk about it often. So, they asked me to run a game for them. Suddenly I was daunted! How do you run a role-playing game for someone new without overwhelming them with the detail? Have you ever tried showing the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Players Handbook to a completely uninitiated player? It’s scary.

I thought, “I can do this. We’ll just start playing and I will introduce them to rules as we go along.” To make sure things were kept simple, I jotted down a few notes on a piece of spiral bound notebook paper and we started to play. I created the game on the fly incorporating a number of concepts borrowed from other games (mine or others) and we played. As we played I would explain how things worked and introduce concepts. I kept the number of different concepts small and the game play simple. The end result was excellent and fun was had by all. More than I was expecting, as the friends insisted that I come back the next day to play again.

The next day at work I set about typing up the “rules” I had introduced to my new players. I worked at clarifying and cleaning up a few inconsistencies as I put the rules to paper. The collection of rules were small and manageable enough that I was pretty sure I could get them all on one page, and I set about formatting them identically to the HEX solo-RPG that I had done, putting character sheet and rules all together in one place.

The result is “RPG” the one-page fantasy role-playing game, and I am very happy with it. It is proving to be very functional in play-testing and I believe it to be an ideal way to introduce the uninitiated to the world of Fantasy Role-Playing.

For my players I went ahead and created the characters for them and just started them playing. I explained rules as they came up and just allowed everything to “happen” while we played. It was excellent.

Combat

Roll Initiative (1d6+ Precognition) This determines who goes first.

On your turn, Move up to your Speed and then attack, or move 2x your Speed.

To Attack roll 2d6+ Rage for Swords or other close combat weapons if you are next to an enemy.

Roll 2d6+ Grace for Bows or other ranged combat weapons if you are not next to any enemies.

If you did not move or attack you can cast a spell. Roll 2d6+ Precognition to Cast a Spell.

If your 2d6 roll plus your Aspect equals 8 or more, you succeed.

Damage is based on the Weapon or Spell. Damage is reduced by the Defense of the Target.

Hex

Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

A curse has infested an ancient keep near your town. The evil magic has filled the keep with monsters. Can you save your home from this hex?

“Hex” is a one page solitaire RPG by Jeff Moore inspired by “Doom: Semper Fidelis” by Sandy Antunes.

All you need to play “Hex” is a copy of the character sheet/rules and five or six six-sided dice. “Hex” creates a solitaire gaming experience similar to the dungeon crawling adventures of your favorite table-top or computer RPG.

Hex uses a minimum number of random tables to keep the game accessible and fast. Roll the dice, make a choice. Balance the loss of Health and Endurance to gain XP. Battle giant rats, skeletons, vampires, hellhounds and even a dragon to save your home town!

Gothic Worlds

Monday, August 14th, 2006

I got a bee in my bonnet to write another 24 hour RPG submission. A few weeks ago RPG Blog ran a story about some free (by license) fantasy clipart available for use by game designers. Since then I have been thinking that I would like to do a 24 hour game just so I could use the art… well, I got started last night and finished today (while at work, no less.) So I thought I’d send a copy of the game along.

Demetrius stepped quietly over the body of the fallen skeleton. The unnatural apparition had slain many good people from his village. Demetrius could feel the residual magical energy in the thing. It made the hairs on his arms bristle. He looked down at the formerly animated corpse squeezing his sword ever more tightly in his grip as he regarded it. It made him feel uneasy. Magic frightened Demetrius. It had invaded his world, and he knew that his world would never be the same.