Something I've been thinking about and will begin to workshop this Saturday.  I'm looking for a constructive critique.  Feel free to make suggestions!


This system can be used anytime an action is attempted outside of conventional combat maneuvers.  

•   Roll a dice pool of d6's; only take note of the single highest number rolled, except in cases of critical success or failure.

•   If the highest number rolled is a 6 that means "complete success".  5 means "mostly success" or "success but with a minor complication or catch".  4 means "partial or half success".  3 means "no appreciable change" or "stalemate... neither success nor failure".  2 means "mostly failure" or "failure but with a silver lining".  1 means "complete failure".  

•   If there are two 6's rolled in the dice pool that means a critical success: you make it look easy, accomplish it in record time, or do it with stylistic flourish.  Three 6's means super-critical success: above and beyond expectations resulting in more than you thought possible.  Four 6's means hyper-critical success: all of the aforementioned benefits plus the next time you attempt the same action under similar conditions, one of the d6's in your dice pool is replaced with an automatic 6.

•   If there are precisely three 1's rolled in the dice pool (no more, no less) that means a critical failure results – things have gone very wrong for the character.  The rule of three 1's trumps all.

•   The average character attempting an average action under normal circumstances without any special skill, training, experience, aptitude, or advanced level will only have 1d6 to roll.

•   If a character attempts something having relevant skill, training, or experience, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   If the character has a relevant ability score of 9, 10, or 11, there's no d6 change.  Scores of 6, 7, or 8 subtract a d6 from the pool.  Scores of 3, 4, or 5 subtract 2d6.  Scores of 12, 13, or 14 add a d6.  Scores of 15, 16, or 17 add 2d6.  Scores of 18, 19, or 20 add 3d6.

•   Characters of level zero – 4th do not change.  5th – 10th level adds a d6 to the pool.  11th – 15th adds 2d6, etc.

•   If the character is being aided by another, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   Especially imaginative and well described actions add a d6.

•   Relatively easy actions add a d6.

•   Subtract a d6 if there's overwhelming force working against the character or the attempted action is particularly challenging.

•   Subtract a d6 if the character is in a debilitated state, handicapped in some way, or under excessive constraints (such as time).

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I've thought about doing a +1d6 for relevant ability score 15 or better and -1d6 for relevant ability score 7 or lower instead of what's written above.  Depends on how much weight you want abilities to have.

If this system works, then there's probably a way to use this for standard combat, too.  I'm just not sure how yet.

Also, there's probably a way to graph this list to make it more appealing or user-friendly.  Feel free to try if you've got the time and energy.

Thanks for your feedback,

VS

Is this to sit on top of D&D-type mechanics? Because it looks a bit overcomplex for that purpose, but on the other hand, as a core mechanic in it's own right it would probably be fine.

What happens if you manage to get seven dice somehow, and roll 6, 6, 6, 6, 1, 1, 1?

Quote from: Ladybird;729323Is this to sit on top of D&D-type mechanics? Because it looks a bit overcomplex for that purpose, but on the other hand, as a core mechanic in it's own right it would probably be fine.

What happens if you manage to get seven dice somehow, and roll 6, 6, 6, 6, 1, 1, 1?

On top or underneath D&D mechanics?  Maybe.  Or maybe it will become its own game.  At the moment, I'm not sure.  Ideally, I'd like the final version to work well for both.

Yeah, it is a bit overly complex.  I originally had a streamlined version.  I'll post that right here...

QuoteAnytime a PC, NPC, monster, mutant, robot, vehicle, windstorm, etc. wants to try and do something, they roll between one and three d6.

The average character without any specific knowledge, aptitude, or proficiency rolls 1d6.

If a character has some of the above, then 2d6 are rolled.

If the character is particularly well versed, prepared for the action, an expert in the field, or has specialized skill/training relevant to the task, roll 3d6.

Esoteric corollary:  gods and godlike beings get 7d6.

Make note of the single highest number rolled from the xd6 pool; use that to determine results.

A 6 always means success, a 1 always means failure.  Everything in-between depends on the character, force(s) working against him, and current circumstances; adjudicated by the GM.

Lazy, distracted, or overburdened GMs may use the following "cheat sheet":  a 2 means "mostly failure", 3 means "slight failure" or "stalemate", 4 means "minor or partial success", 5 means "mostly success" or "success but with complications".

As written, 1, 1, 1, 6, 6, 6, and 6 is still a critical failure.

Thanks for your comment.  If you have anything else to say, please do.  Much appreciated!

VS

What about taking out all the critical failure stuff?  That would solve a few problems - complexity and 1's complication.  Let's see how that looks...


This system can be used anytime an action is attempted outside of conventional combat maneuvers.  

•   Roll a dice pool of d6's; only take note of the single highest number rolled, except in cases of critical success.

•   If the highest number rolled is a 6 that means "complete success".  5 means "mostly success" or "success but with a minor complication or catch".  4 means "partial or half success".  3 means "no appreciable change" or "stalemate... neither success nor failure".  2 means "mostly failure" or "failure but with a silver lining".  1 means "complete failure".  

•   If there are two 6's rolled in the dice pool that means a critical success: you make it look easy, accomplish it in record time, or do it with stylistic flourish.  Three 6's means super-critical success: above and beyond expectations resulting in more than you thought possible.  Four 6's means hyper-critical success: all of the aforementioned benefits plus the next time you attempt the same action under similar conditions, you get an automatic 6 in your dice pool.

•   The average character attempting an average action under normal circumstances without any special skill, training, experience, aptitude, or advanced level will only have 1d6 to roll.

•   If a character attempts something having relevant skill, training, or experience, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   If the character has a relevant ability score of 9, 10, or 11, there's no d6 change.  Scores of 6, 7, or 8 subtract a d6 from the pool.  Scores of 3, 4, or 5 subtract 2d6.  Scores of 12, 13, or 14 add a d6.  Scores of 15, 16, or 17 add 2d6.  Scores of 18, 19, or 20 add 3d6.

•   Characters of level zero – 4th do not change.  5th – 10th level adds a d6 to the pool.  11th – 15th adds 2d6, etc.

•   If the character is being aided by another, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   Especially imaginative and well described actions add a d6.

•   Relatively easy actions add a d6.

•   Subtract a d6 if there's overwhelming force working against the character or the attempted action is particularly challenging.

•   Subtract a d6 if the character is in a debilitated state, handicapped in some way, or under excessive constraints (such as time).

___

Better?  Worse?

VS

Slightly modified and, hopefully, simplified...


•   Roll a dice pool of d6's; only take note of the single highest number rolled, except in cases of critical success.

•   If the highest number rolled is a 6 that means "complete success". 5 means "mostly success" or "success but with a minor complication or catch". 4 means "partial or half success". 3 means "no appreciable change" or "stalemate... neither success nor failure". 2 means "mostly failure" or "failure but with a silver lining". 1 means "complete failure".

•   If there are two 6's rolled in the dice pool that means a critical success: you make it look easy, accomplish it in record time, or do it with stylistic flourish. Three 6's means super-critical success: above and beyond expectations resulting in more than you thought possible. Four 6's means hyper-critical success: all of the aforementioned benefits plus the next time you attempt the same action under similar conditions, you get an automatic 6 in your dice pool.

•       Take 5!  Characters with a dice pool of 3 [edit: change 3 to 4] or more can accept a result of 5 instead of rolling.

•   The average character attempting an average action under normal circumstances without any special skill, training, experience, or aptitude will only have 1d6 to roll.

•   If a character attempts something having relevant skill, training, or experience, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   If the character has a relevant ability score of 7 or below, then subtract a d6.  If he has a relevant ability score of 15 or higher, then add a d6.

•   If the character is being aided by another, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   Awesomely imaginative/inventive actions that are outside the box and described by the player add a d6.

•   Relatively easy actions add a d6.

•   Subtract a d6 if there's overwhelming force working against the character or the attempted action is particularly challenging.

•   Subtract a d6 if the character is in a debilitated state, handicapped in some way, or under excessive constraints (such as time).


VS

You have got rid of the basic issue with multiple 1s which is that only characters with higher sucess roll multiple dice and you need to roll multiple dice to get critical failure. So that is good.

However you now have a situation where anyone with a 15+ skill and training/apptitude will always succeed by taking a 5.

Generally in most games people specialise so in a party of 4 or 5 there will be the strong guy, the fast guy, the smart guy etc ... the chances are high that the specialist will have a stat over 15 and training in their areas so the party as a whoile will always succeed. Even if you add the idea that its a very challenging task so -1d6 one of the rest of the party can assist and you are up to 3d6 and take 5 again.  

More importanly what is it for? what does it add to the game ?

Quote from: jibbajibba;729365You have got rid of the basic issue with multiple 1s which is that only characters with higher sucess roll multiple dice and you need to roll multiple dice to get critical failure. So that is good.

However you now have a situation where anyone with a 15+ skill and training/apptitude will always succeed by taking a 5.

Generally in most games people specialise so in a party of 4 or 5 there will be the strong guy, the fast guy, the smart guy etc ... the chances are high that the specialist will have a stat over 15 and training in their areas so the party as a whoile will always succeed. Even if you add the idea that its a very challenging task so -1d6 one of the rest of the party can assist and you are up to 3d6 and take 5 again.  

More importanly what is it for? what does it add to the game ?

I like giving players a choice.  Taking that 5 means it will never be a complete success and no chance of a critical success.  Perhaps taking 5 vs. 3d6 is too generous.  What do you think about 4 vs. 3d6 or 5 vs. 4d6?  Basically, it's akin to "taking 10" in 3rd edition D&D.  Those who focus, take their time, and put in the effort can at least be assured some kind of victory.  

Anyone else have an opinion on that?

VS

My 2c would be:
starting average character with only d6 seems like it means its easy for tasks to become impossible for them (0 dice?).

Aiding another being only d6 could mean that on some tasks, where there's no penalty for failure, its better for both characters to try separately than get just one extra dice (since its basically take-highest for success, chance for two characters trying separately would be similar to combining both dice pools together).

Its also a bit awkward in that you have lots of individual guidelines but most of them are pretty subjective/GM judgment all being applied individually. Doing it that way also means the individual things are fairly granular and may 'round down' (a sort-of easy task by someone with a 14 stat who's doing something slightly imaginative). As you originally had it where you just have a general guideline that converts to a number of dice (e.g. pretty easy for your PC = roll 3d6), unless the categories tie into other rules elsewhere for equipment or class abilities or whatnot. So what you want to do may depend a bit on if you're trying to just design some easily useful houserules or build a whole system for e.g. other people to GM with, since then you could go on to use those examples a define when a modifier comes into play. If you did want to define it more, D&D type modifiers are fairly fine so you could end up adding detailed mods to get a number and then having a conversion table to dice e.g.
adjusted stat 10-14 = 1d6, 15-19=2d6, 20-23=3d6, etc.

Quote from: Bloody Stupid Johnson;729375My 2c would be:
starting average character with only d6 seems like it means its easy for tasks to become impossible for them (0 dice?).

Aiding another being only d6 could mean that on some tasks, where there's no penalty for failure, its better for both characters to try separately than get just one extra dice (since its basically take-highest for success, chance for two characters trying separately would be similar to combining both dice pools together).

Its also a bit awkward in that you have lots of individual guidelines but most of them are pretty subjective/GM judgment all being applied individually. Doing it that way also means the individual things are fairly granular and may 'round down' (a sort-of easy task by someone with a 14 stat who's doing something slightly imaginative). As you originally had it where you just have a general guideline that converts to a number of dice (e.g. pretty easy for your PC = roll 3d6), unless the categories tie into other rules elsewhere for equipment or class abilities or whatnot. So what you want to do may depend a bit on if you're trying to just design some easily useful houserules or build a whole system for e.g. other people to GM with, since then you could go on to use those examples a define when a modifier comes into play. If you did want to define it more, D&D type modifiers are fairly fine so you could end up adding detailed mods to get a number and then having a conversion table to dice e.g.
adjusted stat 10-14 = 1d6, 15-19=2d6, 20-23=3d6, etc.

Yes, it's extremely subjective.  It will keep GMs on their toes, requiring some work - a little math and perhaps a good deal of thoughtfulness - instead of the usual d20 vs. target number or rolling 3d6 or d20 under the relevant ability.  Once the system itself is sound, I'll start working on a few examples to illustrate how it's supposed to work from my perspective.

I've made a few changes, small and big.  Here's the latest version.  Keep the feedback coming!


•   Roll a dice pool of d6’s; only take note of the single highest number rolled, except in cases of critical success.

•   If the highest number rolled is a 6 that means “complete success”. 5 means “mostly successful” or “success but with a minor complication or catch”. 4 means “partial or half success”. 3 means “mostly failure” or “failure but with a silver lining”. 2 means failure, the attempt did not succeed. 1 means “disaster!"; not only does the attempt fail but, in addition, something unexpectedly bad occurs.

•   If there are two 6’s rolled in the dice pool that means a critical success: you make it look easy, accomplish it in record time, or do it with stylistic flourish. Three 6’s means super-critical success: above and beyond expectations resulting in more than you thought possible. Four 6’s means hyper-critical success: all of the aforementioned benefits plus the next time you attempt the same action under similar conditions, you get an automatic 6 in your dice pool.

• Take 5! Characters with a dice pool of 4 or more can accept a result of 5 instead of rolling. However, a character cannot "take 5" if time is of the essence, during combat for instance.

•   The average character attempting an average action under normal circumstances without any special skill, training, experience, or aptitude will only have 1d6 to roll. Characters who find themselves with an empty dice pool (0d6) must work a little harder to at least have something to roll. Ingenuity!  [Optional rule] If the action is exceptionally innovative and well described, GMs may grant characters a 1d6 minimum dice pool to at least have a chance at success.

•   If a character attempts something having relevant skill, training, or experience, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   If the character has a relevant ability score of 7 or below, then subtract a d6. If he has a relevant ability score of 15 or higher, then add a d6.

•   If the character is being aided by another, then add a d6 to the pool.

•   Awesomely imaginative or inventive actions outside the box and fully described by the player add a d6.

•   Relatively easy actions add a d6.

•   Subtract a d6 if there’s overwhelming force working against the character or the attempted action is particularly challenging.

•   Subtract a d6 if the character is in a debilitated state, handicapped in some way, or under excessive constraints (such as time).

Thanks again for all the helpful comments!  If anyone's curious, here's the updated blog post:  http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2014/02/vsd6.html