I'm normally an OSR guy and enjoy Aventurerer Conquer King, Stars Without Number, etc. However, I've really started to enjoy the idea of running a Sci Fi game using old WEG's D6 system. While I understand the love, I wasn't ever a huge fan of WEG's Star Wars because of how characters always seemed to become super competent at everything. However, with the D6 Space book and the older D6 System toolkit book, it's actually really easy to fix all of my gripes with it.
When it comes to armor as damage reduction, I often find that static values are hard to balance. It usually falls into three situations, too little to matter, invincible characters, or in the middle where all battles are drawn out and end via attrition. Representing armor with a die roll allows for a lucky strike to a weak point in an opponents armor while still providing a sizable advantage. It also still alows for weapons to have large damage with low penetration (shotguns) contrasted with lower damage weapons that ignore a certain amount of armor dice. This is easily applicable to fantasy also (swords vs. war picks.)
The attributes used and skill lists are amazing easy to tailor to exactly the themes you want to target even within genres. You can make them broad or narrow as desired. Honestly, I can see this even doing modern horror better than the White Wolf stuff partly for this reason.
Combat in the D6 Space book could use a little cleaning up, but there are so many options to work with that you can emphasize what you want. Would levels are quick and do death spiral in a way that's less annoying to me that it is in a lot of games and there is also a baked in option for hit points. The book even talks about using both at the same time, which seems a little strange.
What have your experiences been with D6? I'm itching to run a semi-hard sci-fi game, something similar to Traveller or the Expanse and these rules seem like a fun change of pace for that goal.
I only played (lots of) Star Wars with it, but I really enjoyed the system at the time.
The version I like best is Mini 6. It is an excellent minimalist implementation of the d6 system.
Star Wars 1st edition is my all-time favorite RPG. It originates from an era where actual game designers took the time to understand the source material they were trying to emulate and produce a good product vs. filling a 5 pound sack with 10 pounds of shit. Modiphius, I am looking at you...
Once you get beyond the "theorycrafting" and into actual play, the game works extremely well as long as you enjoy space opera. It's not very good for hard( er ) scifi, but we have Traveller for that.
Quote from: swzl on October 11, 2023, 06:01:36 PM
The version I like best is Mini 6. It is an excellent minimalist implementation of the d6 system.
Downloaded it. Good stuff. And free!
I love the WEG/Open D6 system. I highly recommend it.
Here's a little hack for you to make it run faster when the dice pools get larger. When you roll, 4-6 are a pass and 1-3 are a fail. Just count your passes. The exploding die works as normal. If you have any pips, you roll an extra die of a third color (or roll a die after you totaled the rest). If you have a single pip, you need a 6 for a pass and if you have two pips, a 5 or 6 to pass. As all rolls are contested, there's nothing else you need to change up.
I got this from Unbound D6. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/302645/UNBOUND-D6-RolePlaying
D6 System is in my top 5 all time best systems. Virtually no down time, pure action, it's a blast. No one has done Star Wars better. That might've been its downfall, relying on License IP. WEG tried to do their own, but it didn't resonate with a big enough audience.
Quote from: swzl on October 11, 2023, 06:01:36 PM
The version I like best is Mini 6. It is an excellent minimalist implementation of the d6 system.
I've read Mini Six and it's a great little package. I think it would be a super fast way to introduce gaming to someone outside the D&D family tree. I like the option they presented for "fast static combat" but I actually like the idea of the armor rolls. Their way would be genuinely faster, though. It's not perfectly to my tastes, but it's genuinely good stuff. I wish there were more distilled little games like this. Sometimes I want to read a book with an implied setting for entertainment (Stars Without Number is a good example of that.) But for running a game, a little package like Mini Six is superior for reference.
Quote from: BadApple on October 11, 2023, 06:49:47 PM
I love the WEG/Open D6 system. I highly recommend it.
Here's a little hack for you to make it run faster when the dice pools get larger. When you roll, 4-6 are a pass and 1-3 are a fail. Just count your passes. The exploding die works as normal. If you have any pips, you roll an extra die of a third color (or roll a die after you totaled the rest). If you have a single pip, you need a 6 for a pass and if you have two pips, a 5 or 6 to pass. As all rolls are contested, there's nothing else you need to change up.
I got this from Unbound D6. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/302645/UNBOUND-D6-RolePlaying
Tell me a little more about this Unbound D6 thing. I've read that the old Hercules and Xena games used a similar success/fail dice scheme. Is it similar to that?
D6 games are cool, man!!!
Quote from: TheFailedSave on October 12, 2023, 12:06:09 AM
Quote from: BadApple on October 11, 2023, 06:49:47 PM
I love the WEG/Open D6 system. I highly recommend it.
Here's a little hack for you to make it run faster when the dice pools get larger. When you roll, 4-6 are a pass and 1-3 are a fail. Just count your passes. The exploding die works as normal. If you have any pips, you roll an extra die of a third color (or roll a die after you totaled the rest). If you have a single pip, you need a 6 for a pass and if you have two pips, a 5 or 6 to pass. As all rolls are contested, there's nothing else you need to change up.
I got this from Unbound D6. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/302645/UNBOUND-D6-RolePlaying
Tell me a little more about this Unbound D6 thing. I've read that the old Hercules and Xena games used a similar success/fail dice scheme. Is it similar to that?
That's it right there. Mathematically it has the same odd rates as counting the face values and adding them together but dividing them into pass/fail just means you can get your results faster. When you have 12 dice being rolled, it's easier to count 7 pass and 5 failed rather than adding them up to 39. The only complaint my players ever had playing the WEG Star Wars campaigns I did was adding up the dice and Unbound solves it elegantly.
I never looked at the Hercules system so I don't know.
The exploding die still explodes on a 6. You still do opposed rolls. You still get to use pips, just lower the odds of success on a single die.
I recently did a review of Black Star. Take a look at that game too. It's not the same but some how it really captures a similar feel.
Thanks for the info, BadApple. You gave me some more things to check out.
The D6 system is classic.
The D6 system is great. The old WEG Star Wars books were great. I wish both got the love in the modern day they deserve, but IP law being what it is, there can't ever be a reprint of the originals.
Quote from: Bruwulf on October 12, 2023, 09:38:09 PM
The D6 system is great. The old WEG Star Wars books were great. I wish both got the love in the modern day they deserve, but IP law being what it is, there can't ever be a reprint of the originals.
There was a literal reprint of the 1st edition not that long ago. Did they discontinue that?
Quote from: Brad on October 12, 2023, 10:06:54 PM
Quote from: Bruwulf on October 12, 2023, 09:38:09 PM
The D6 system is great. The old WEG Star Wars books were great. I wish both got the love in the modern day they deserve, but IP law being what it is, there can't ever be a reprint of the originals.
There was a literal reprint of the 1st edition not that long ago. Did they discontinue that?
That was just the core book, wasn't it?
*looks*
Yeah, just the core book, and it looks like it's already out of print - it's listed as Unavailable on Amazon, Out of Stock on Noble Knight, etc.
I more meant actually bringing the line back than just a one-off novelty single-book release. That doesn't really help anyone.
Apparently, it is not that hard to incapacitate (maybe kill) a weaker foe with a couple of punches. Combat seems deadly.
OTOH, there are lots of combat skills and a single magic skill, so it is hard to specialize in combat.
Also, are there "degrees of success"? If I need 10 and roll 25, is there any upside?
Quote from: Brad on October 12, 2023, 10:06:54 PM
There was a literal reprint of the 1st edition not that long ago. Did they discontinue that?
I'm pretty sure that was a one time only reprint. I got a copy thankfully. At the very least, it's no longer in stock on Amazon.
Huge fan of Stars Wars D6 and played tons of it when it's was released. I disliked how if the player was not careful as a force user they could overshadow the other players. And before anyone says it yes it happens n movies all the time. In an rpg not do much fun for the players who don't have the force.
Utterly unimpressed with how West End handled the issue. It was either you're a force user and not use your power. Or it outright says in the rules to screw over the players. Epic fail how about actually doing your damn job as devs and fix a known issue with the rules. Rather than throw the responsibility on the GM while also penalizing players.
At least Fantasy Flight may have had their funky dice yet made sure to balance force users to players.
All of the WEG Star Wars books are available as PDFs. http://www.d6holocron.com/
I'm not sure where if falls legally but the site has been operating openly for more than a decade and has never been legally challenged that I'm aware of.
Quote from: Thor's Nads on October 11, 2023, 08:16:47 PM
D6 System is in my top 5 all time best systems. Virtually no down time, pure action, it's a blast. No one has done Star Wars better. That might've been its downfall, relying on License IP. WEG tried to do their own, but it didn't resonate with a big enough audience.
Yeah, I like Shatterzone a lot. But it's hard to get gamers together to play it, whether I'm converting to d6 or using Masterbook either way. It's my favorite sci-if setting.
As I contiue to read and explore D6, I have to say I am still really liking it. I will definitely be my first choice for anything when I don't want a classic D&D feel from the OSR stuff.
1. It can be tailored to my desired moderate, but still satisfying, crunch level.
2. The swing factor is much lower than games like Savage Worlds that fill that same complexity spot.
3. The rules are quite easy to apply universally after you spend a small amount of time choosing the attributes and skill lists you want for a particular game.
4. It's actually quite intuitive.
5. It can handle more granular pip counting or success/failure style resolution, making it quite flexible.
As I said, I don't think it will scratch that nostalgic D&D itch that I get on occasion, but for most other things I think it will serve a group very well in actual play, which is really what matters.
Quote from: Eric Diaz on October 13, 2023, 11:44:17 AM
...Also, are there "degrees of success"? If I need 10 and roll 25, is there any upside?
Hi Eric,
In Mini-6, there's no DOS. In Open d6, there is "Result Points & Success":
Quote
Minimal (0): The total was just barely enough. The character hardly succeeded at all, and only the most minimal effects apply. If "minimal effects" are not an option, then maybe the action took longer than normal to succeed.
Solid (1–4): The action was performed completely, but without frills.
Good (5–8): The results were better than necessary and there may be added benefits.
Superior (9–12): There are almost certainly additional benefits to doing an action this well. The character performed the action better, faster, or more adeptly than expected.
Spectacular (13–16): The character performed the action deftly and expertly. Observers would notice the ease or grace with which the action was performed (if applicable).
Incredible (17 or more): The character performed the skill with such dazzling quality that, if appropriate to the task, it could become the subject of conversation for some time — it's at least worth writing home about. GMs should dole out some significant bonuses for getting this large of a roll.
This is almost (but not quite) the same as the damage chart.
I like one specific version of D6 rules. It's called Mini-Six: Bare Bones Edition.
1. Reduced from six ability categories to only four. Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom, Charm. That's two physical and two mental.
2. A simpler combat sequence. Static Defense. You pre-calculate your average dice rolls for defending yourself, write those down, and don't count them as actions. Aka, don't worry about how many times you've parried, blocked, or dodged. Just count up how many actions you want to make offensively. Also, this eliminates half of the dice rolls you make, speeding up the game. This is optional. The old way of combat is available too.
3. Wild die is not used as much. Only a 6 on the wild die matters, as 1's do nothing but just be a 1. This makes it so the wild die only comes into effect once every six dice rolls instead of every third roll. It's just an exploding die.
4. Hero points are both weaker and more useful at the same time. They can be used to do more than enhance a dice roll, though if you do that, it's not that big of a boost. There are more uses like buying a plot hint from the GM.
5. It's generic. You can do Star Wars, but also Fantasy, Super Heroes, Cops & Robbers, or whatever.
It does have one flaw. The mystic system included is very limited and rigid. Even the authors admit this in a FAQ I found on another website. But, it was a game written fast, so you got what you got. I would say if you want to houserule any part of the rules, this would be the place to do it. I house rulled a new Combat Sense power for the included pseudo-Star Wars setting to change the defense from +2D6 to your parry to instead put you in heavy cover (+10) when holding a plasma sword, but only vs ranged attacks, and if the enemy rolls a 1 on their wild die, the shot deflects and hits your attacker automatically even if it was a hit on you.
6. It's free.
Quote from: Brad on October 11, 2023, 06:15:09 PM
Star Wars 1st edition is my all-time favorite RPG. It originates from an era where actual game designers took the time to understand the source material they were trying to emulate and produce a good product vs. filling a 5 pound sack with 10 pounds of shit. Modiphius, I am looking at you...
Once you get beyond the "theorycrafting" and into actual play, the game works extremely well as long as you enjoy space opera. It's not very good for hard( er ) scifi, but we have Traveller for that.
I agree with you so much. SWD6 is bar none one of the most elegantly made RPGs ever. And Modiphius books are bog roll. Their Star Trek game is very pretty. But one of the worst written supposedly "professional" products I've ever seen. horrendous spelling and grammar issues, Waffling text that doesn't explain the rules, no real organization for the actual rules in the books, and the biggest sin: The game just doesn't flow diegetically. I'm constantly having to consult the book to see what to do next. And what to do next doesn't always make sense. It just doesn't flow right. And I can tell they were trying so hard to make something different that they forgot to make something that makes sense to play. In many ways it's the complete opposite of D6. It's even more telling when you look at the fan made ReUP version of SWD6. Which allthough very weighty at over 500 pages is very professionally made and laid out. A free product puts overpriced Modiphius books to shame.
Quote from: Aglondir on October 15, 2023, 10:09:02 PM
Quote from: Eric Diaz on October 13, 2023, 11:44:17 AM
...Also, are there "degrees of success"? If I need 10 and roll 25, is there any upside?
Hi Eric,
In Mini-6, there's no DOS. In Open d6, there is "Result Points & Success":
Quote
Minimal (0): The total was just barely enough. The character hardly succeeded at all, and only the most minimal effects apply. If "minimal effects" are not an option, then maybe the action took longer than normal to succeed.
Solid (1–4): The action was performed completely, but without frills.
Good (5–8): The results were better than necessary and there may be added benefits.
Superior (9–12): There are almost certainly additional benefits to doing an action this well. The character performed the action better, faster, or more adeptly than expected.
Spectacular (13–16): The character performed the action deftly and expertly. Observers would notice the ease or grace with which the action was performed (if applicable).
Incredible (17 or more): The character performed the skill with such dazzling quality that, if appropriate to the task, it could become the subject of conversation for some time — it's at least worth writing home about. GMs should dole out some significant bonuses for getting this large of a roll.
This is almost (but not quite) the same as the damage chart.
Nice, thanks!
Quote from: Bruwulf on October 13, 2023, 10:50:57 AM
Quote from: Brad on October 12, 2023, 10:06:54 PM
Quote from: Bruwulf on October 12, 2023, 09:38:09 PM
The D6 system is great. The old WEG Star Wars books were great. I wish both got the love in the modern day they deserve, but IP law being what it is, there can't ever be a reprint of the originals.
There was a literal reprint of the 1st edition not that long ago. Did they discontinue that?
That was just the core book, wasn't it?
*looks*
Yeah, just the core book, and it looks like it's already out of print - it's listed as Unavailable on Amazon, Out of Stock on Noble Knight, etc.
I more meant actually bringing the line back than just a one-off novelty single-book release. That doesn't really help anyone.
To be nerdy, and you could insert the "well, actually" meme right here, the re-release was the 1st edition AND sourcebook-1 books as a set. Unedited.
They're out of print again. It was only available for about a year.
While over the years I've experimented with various generic systems, d6 remains my favourite non-GURPS generic systems. This is in part because of the joy that I had back when playing with WEG Star Wars back in the day, rose-coloured glass notwithstanding dang'nam'it.
The fact that it was the original system for perhaps the only supers setting that I've enjoyed (Godsend Agenda) just gets me more giddy.
Quote from: weirdguy564 on October 16, 2023, 03:14:13 PM
To be nerdy, and you could insert the "well, actually" meme right here, the re-release was the 1st edition AND sourcebook-1 books as a set. Unedited.
They're out of print again. It was only available for about a year.
I got a copy. It's both lovely that they're direct re-prints and tedious that some of the mis-prints are still there.
My FLGS ordered like 20 of them on release and still has a least 10 of them sitting in a pile years later (the FLGS isn't great at stock management).