Skill-Based Systems and the Blank Page

Wow. It has been a good long while since my last post. Been overwhelmed at work, but I have no intentions of letting my first blog go dead just yet. So here are some thoughts about skill-based RPGs.

First, I am working on a rules-light skill-based RPG. More news on that later.

I have recently begun studying Basic Role-playing. I first began to familiarize myself with the system after I started working on my own skill-based RPG. I am rather fascinated with the original 14-page version, and wish that more people were familiar with the Goblinoid Games version, GORE. I think GORE is pretty rocking and might try to come up with some stuff for it. The problem that I can see with a lot of older skill-based games I’ve seen is that they are pretty crunchy, and rather unnecessarily so for my taste. I like to think that the BRP ‘pamphlet’ should be an exception, but even that one seems overzealous in its detail at times. 

One of the other problems of simple rules-light skill based systems is that they give little implication of the particular game they want you to play with the presented rules. A generic system always feels, well, generic.

Without a kind of setting, we tend to face the blank page problem. The blank page problem is an idea that I discovered playing old-school games with people new to roleplaying. It goes like this: imagine you are sitting a bunch of folks down to draw. You hand them a blank page and a marker and ask them to draw whatever they like. Some people will immediately begin drawing something unique and unusual, others will stare at the page for a long time before finally drawing something rather simple and basic, like a dog or a tree or a house. This is not universally the case, but I find it to be true more often than not. However, if you give the artists a rule, a theme, or an object in particular to draw, their images will become quite a bit more original as each one finds a slightly more unique take on the familiar.

Roleplaying games function in much the same way. When one is presented with a class, a certain archetype of what one could be, there is a sort of basic idea there for one to play with and twist and doodle on and invert. When one is presented with a list of possibilities, the question often winds up getting bounced to the GM or the other players—‘What should I be?’ When players are given a context, a world with factions and nations and goals and obstacles, the world of the players’ concern suddenly becomes far more visible and real, and it is possible to shape oneself according to the circumstances. But that generally requires more investment from the player at the start, and some players are more suited for this than others.

Blahalahablah.

Armor Values

I changed up the values for generic armor. They were a bit too high:

Light Armor: +1 AC
Medium Armor: +3 AC
Heavy Armor: +5 AC
Shield: +1 AC

With a base AC of 10, a dextrous S&W Fighter has an AC of 17 with heavy armor and a shield. Much better. If I wanted, I could include a DEX penalty of -1 for heavy armor (or something like that), which would bring the value down to 16.

New Combat System (I Think)

 Here’s a new system I used for combat today.

Rather than having one character roll to hit a static AC, I had both sides roll off—one to attack, one to defend.

The Base Attack Bonus is now called the Combat Bonus.

To attack, you roll d20 + Combat Bonus + Strength/Dexterity modifier + Weapon Bonus (if any).

To defend, you roll d20 + Combat Bonus + Armor Bonus + Dexterity modifier.

The player with the higher roll wins.

It will probably go smoother if you combine the numbers and create an Attack Bonus and a Defense Bonus.

For instance, Shawn the Neurobarbarian has a Combat Bonus of +2, a Strength modifier of +3, and a +1 sword. That gives him an Attack Bonus of +6.

(In my game, Strength could be used for Melee weapons and Dexterity could be used for Ranged or Light Weapons—see previous post to understand weapons and armor.)

He wears Heavy Armor (+7), a Dexterity modifier of +2, and adding his Combat Bonus gives him a Defense Bonus of +11.

This system benefits the defender, but I like that. The randomness prevents several things that I don’t like: first, there is no static AC that players can eventually guess. Also, it means that every missed attack is not just a brief statistical ‘whiff’, but an engaging moment at the table, with a lot of uncertainty.

If an enemy is flanked or otherwise distracted, they lose their Combat Bonus to defense—the Armor Bonus still applies, as does Dexterity.

From the playtest, it was a little clunky at first (we had a totally new player and the system was unfamiliar) but once they got the hang of it things seemed to run pretty smoothly (or smooth enough, given that it was a hyper-buggy Google+ connection).

Anyways, hope people find this useful. I thought it added a lot!

New Item: Wailing Flask

This small bottle does not appear to contain any sort of substance, but when unstoppered it produces a frightful, keening wail. This sound does not harm any listener, but will draw wandering monsters to it if left unstopped. The source of the wail is a weak ghost trapped within the bottle itself. If smashed, the enraged spirit will attack whoever is nearest due to its anguished confusion.

Fairy Tale Worldbuilding

Zak Sabbath says cool things. Here is a cool thing he said a while back about fairy tales.

I re-read that a little while back and it got me wondering—‘What sort of fairy tales do they tell on Varth? Or what sort of Fairy Tales should I tell about Varth?’

Try this. Sit down with a book of fairy tales and read an obscure one (or a book of sagas, or epic poetry, or whatever fits your style).

Then write down a few brief (very brief, fable-short) fairy tales about events in your world (or dungeon, or city…).

Begin with ‘Once upon a time…’ (or ‘Sing Muse!’ or ‘Hwaet!’) and don’t waste too much time on descriptions.

Then go online and pick out a few illustrations for your story (doesn’t have to be exact, just some artists who have the right idea).

(I’ll post one of mine later)

Anyways, see if things look a bit different afterwards.

Monster Rehabilitated: The Digester

Many feel this is one of the dumbest monsters ever, with good reason. All I think one really has to do to make them effective is shrink their size and increase their numbers.

Digester:

Use the stats for a wild dog unless otherwise noted.

AC: 12

HD: 1d4

Number encountered: 5d4

Acid: Digesters can spit acid up to 15’ away (+3 to hit). They have no other attacks. The acid does 1d4 damage upon impact and 1d3 per round thereafter (for 1d6 rounds) unless doused with water (or some other solvent). They never appear to run out.

These two-legged beasties are shy and skittish at first, approaching adventurers warily. Once they have determined that a creature is edible, they surround it and begin spitting acid to pre-digest it. Once 1/3 to ½ their number is slain, they will retreat… but will follow at a distance, waiting for an opportune moment to strike again or feast on the remains of their former enemies. This is a good example of an 'attrition monster', one that is easy enough to dispatch at first but remains a thorn in your side (and forces you to use up resources like water, which may be a problem). 

If you want a sense of the effect these little critters ought to have, check out that scene at the beginning of Jurassic Park 2 (couldn’t find a clip) where the little girl is surrounded by the tiny dinosaurs, and then imagine all of them spitting little gobs of acid everywhere.

The Easiest Thief Class

Perhaps the defining feature of the Thief (Rogue/Ranger/Whip-Wielding Archaeologist) is not a particular skill set, but the sheer amount of luck these characters seem to have on tap. I present the Luck-Based Thief:

HD: d6

Armor: Light Armor (+3 AC) only

Weapons: Any Light One-Handed Melee, any Light Ranged

Starting Saving Throw: 13

XP per Level: Same as Cleric

Prime Attribute: Dexterity

Luck: A Thief gains a number of luck rerolls per day equal to ½ his level plus his DEX modifier. Any die roll may be rolled twice, taking the best result. The use of this ability may be declared shortly after the initial die roll. 

I originally envisioned this class as a Divine Thief, who would pray to the gods for an hour every day to receive his luck. It is easy to see how it could be modified to fit any number of archetypes.

I like this approach because it encourages the character to take risks, to rely on his luck and his wits, which is for me a much more satisfying play style for the Thief. Also, it means there is a possibility that his luck could run out in a tight spot, and one can see the sweat beading on a player’s forehead after the first four re-rolls have failed him in a life-or-death situation…