In our latest YT show, we talk about the best TTRP mechanics we have seen. Not the best games or settings, but rather individual mechanics or procedures. Obviously, there are many games I have not played (but I have played many over 40 years of gaming), but this is what we came up with. What mechanics do you guys love?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJJgGYQlQN8&t=3s

I feel like the stress mechanic from Alien, Pssions from Pendragon, Effort from ICRPG, position & effect and flashback from BitD are all good examples.


hard to quantify "best", but I fell they all contribute greatly to making these accomplish certain vibes/ atmosphere

I do like the stress mechanic a lot

that system is all-around good

One I found was an optional set of dueling rules for Star Wars D6. 

I wasn't happy with the default game where "an epic duel between Sith and Jedi," was often over in one or two rounds to the first hit. 

I later found a group called Griffon Publishing that created a set of rules called "Dueling Blades" for 1vs1 sword fights.

Griffon Publishing "Dueling Blades"

It completely changed a fight from a boring 1-hit kill into a drawn out battle worth watching.  It went further and added something else to fights.  Outcomes that are not damage. 

At its most basic it's simply an opposed roll with four (five, actually) outcomes.  It even gets rid of initiative rolls.  The two combatants just roll simultaneously, and the margin of success sets which of the four outcomes occurs. I said it's really five, as the author forgot to say what happens in a tie.

The four outcomes are a push, a stun, a wound, and a critical hit.  If you lose the roll, the baddie's margin of success is used on you.

The push result is why I love the system.  It adds movement to a fight.  It's not rockem-sockem robots where two fighters beat on each other in one spot until one dies.  The winner of a push result gets to pick where they move.  You can literally corner a baddy, or force them into a carbon freeze chamber, off a balcony, into a fireplace, into an airlock, back into lava, etc.

Just remember that while it's a single opposed roll that it really represents an entire round of many, many strikes, parries, stabs, kicks, cartwheels, backflips, and so on.  One roll isn't one strike.  GM's, remember to narrate out an interesting round of fighting that ends with the result.

I had to add a tie breaker for the times when that result happens.  I imagine a blade lock and I either have a shoving match of strength vs strength roll to knock-down (stun) the other, or an quippy insult session by means of a Charm vs Charm roll that also results in the loser being stunned.  It's mental vs pain, but a stun is a stun. 

I push this single rules set whenever I can when D6 rules come up.  It doesn't even need to be Star Wars.  Normal sword fights, or even unarmed fights could use this. 

AD&D initiative, obviously.

Real answer: HERO/GURPS 3D6 skill rolls. Nice bell curve, ubiquitous dice, easy to understand, simple math, simple adds, easy to explain, whatever else. That's how you make a game easy to play with a lot of depth.

Quote from: Brad on December 07, 2024, 10:03:01 PMAD&D initiative, obviously.

Real answer: HERO/GURPS 3D6 skill rolls. Nice bell curve, ubiquitous dice, easy to understand, simple math, simple adds, easy to explain, whatever else. That's how you make a game easy to play with a lot of depth.

Ah.  Gauntlet is thrown down.  Let me pick that up. 

Easy?  Ubiquitous D6 based?  Innovation?

Well, my current favorites are the Nerdruna Publishing games of True-D6 and Kogarashi (they're nearly identical rules). 

It uses just a single D6.  You roll equal or under your six attributes, but roll high as the number is your damage. Armor works the same, so it's an unofficial seventh attribute.

I love those games.  They're even better because they come with solo rules, but that's another topic. 

I just love how easy it is to play using such seemingly minimal resources.  And it works.

I should really get a hardcopy for myself. 

Kogarashi looks really cool

I might have to pick that up

I'm a big fan of

usage die and think it is underused. Not for usage, which works, but...
• Imagine using it for sanity instead of the straight numbers CoC uses.
• Or some kind of mechanic for Clerics that they roll prior to using a spell or whatever and it all stops when usage hits 0. Better find a shrine or temple to fix things.
• Or charges on a magic weapon that are less obvious.

Lots of possibilities.

Haven't watched the video yet (but will!) but I'd add an abstracted mechanic for supply/ammunition record keeping whether random or fixed, combined or separate.  I was personally introduced to it with Forbidden Lands where your food, water, and ammo are a die roll where the die gets smaller every time you fail and you check each time you use the individual resource.  I'm also ok with just a simple "resource" or "supply" total that you can use on the fly as whatever you need (food, water, ammo, etc) that you just tick down by 1 each time you do.  I don't want to go back to tracking every cheese sandwich or serving of trailmix that my adventurer has during the game (and frankly most of the time we ended up ignoring it unless the survival aspect was absolutely key to the session).

One thing that D&D rules do not do well is comparative variations in speeds - regular old initiative doesn't take into account acceleration except in terms of feet/action alongside some bolt-on "run" multiples. I was running a chariot race session once, and needed to deal with accels/decels occurring at the same time, and I ended up using the old impulse chart from Star Fleet Battles. It worked perfectly for this. I stitched together a couple rules for acceleration maximums per round and we were off, literally, to the races. Best mechanic I've every found for this particular problem.

Chaosium's BRP system was a gift of the gods to an undeserving humanity, like Prometheus bringing fire to mortals.

Always liked Warhammer FRP's mechanic of rolling percentiles to hit, then you simply read the dice backwards to determine the hit location.  No need for two separate rolls.

Quote from: I on December 20, 2024, 05:07:32 AMAlways liked Warhammer FRP's mechanic of rolling percentiles to hit, then you simply read the dice backwards to determine the hit location.  No need for two separate rolls.

I like the Harnquest use of ends in a 5 or 0 to determine critical  hit or fumble. If it hit and ends in either its a critical hit. If its a miss and ends in either its a fumble. No math to determine percentage on the fly if the difficulty changes. Similar to that I've seen doubles used the same way.

I like the idea of the hunger dice system in VtM5E, but I feel it's a bit too brutal. Could also just be a ref specific issue tbh.

Maybe not the most popular answer, but i loved Blades in the Dark, its just so smooth.

Quote from: I on December 20, 2024, 05:07:32 AMChaosium's BRP system was a gift of the gods to an undeserving humanity, like Prometheus bringing fire to mortals.

Always liked Warhammer FRP's mechanic of rolling percentiles to hit, then you simply read the dice backwards to determine the hit location.  No need for two separate rolls.

Specifically, I really like the straightforward stat roll system of Runequest and BRP.