"They'll have to pry X out of my cold, dead hands!"

RPGPundit · September 25, 2006, 12:28:21 PM

What's the one element, feature, theme, or mechanic that you consider absolutely critical, that you use in all your games, and that you could never be convinced to run a game without?

RPGPundit

flyingmice · September 25, 2006, 12:32:25 PM

Theme: Nobody's Perfect.

-clash

Caesar Slaad · September 25, 2006, 12:37:14 PM

Almost all my games feature some manner of espionage or subterfuge. Few straight up battle epics. I'm all about adventures wherein the players must discover, defeat, overcome, survive, or perpetrate some manner of betrayal, sabotage, or misinformation.

Akrasia · September 25, 2006, 12:51:13 PM

'Ancient evil threatening to be reawakened...'

Boy do I use that a lot.

ColonelHardisson · September 25, 2006, 01:15:58 PM

Theme: the PCs are heroes in the best sense of that word.

jrients · September 25, 2006, 01:24:54 PM

Theme: there are badguys out there and they need their asses kicked

Mechanic: rolling dice

ColonelHardisson · September 25, 2006, 01:39:05 PM

Quote from: jrientsTheme: there are badguys out there and they need their asses kicked

Good call. It goes hand-in-hand with mine :win:

Caesar Slaad · September 25, 2006, 01:43:00 PM

Quote from: jrientsTheme: there are badguys out there and they need their asses kicked

Mechanic: rolling dice

I think I can sign onto that bandwagon as well.

beejazz · September 25, 2006, 01:43:38 PM

Quote from: ColonelHardissonTheme: the PCs are heroes in the best sense of that word.

Theme: Evil and/or morally ambiguous characters is fun! "We kill for a living."

ColonelHardisson · September 25, 2006, 01:45:24 PM

Quote from: beejazzTheme: Evil and/or morally ambiguous characters is fun! "We kill for a living."

:shrug: To each his own. This isn't a "defend your choice" thread.

flyingmice · September 25, 2006, 01:45:33 PM

Another theme: Good and evil are what you do, not what you are.

Actually, that's a corollary to my first theme...

-clash

Vellorian · September 25, 2006, 02:12:43 PM

Quote from: RPGPunditWhat's the one element, feature, theme, or mechanic that you consider absolutely critical, that you use in all your games, and that you could never be convinced to run a game without?

RPGPundit

Element: Characters with quantifiable attributes, skills, edges, flaws and backgrounds.

Feature: Fantastic, but intrinsically dangerous, universes where adventuring is not just feasible, but much more rewarding than "buying a couple of oxen and farming for a living."

Theme: The PCs have to distinguish themselves as heroes before they earn the title, and from then on, life is that much harder because they have to live the life of a "hero," not just a "really powerful person."

Mechanic: Must use dice, preferably a dicepool verses a single die. (And no none of this "add them all together" nonsense!)

beejazz · September 25, 2006, 02:45:18 PM

Quote from: VellorianMechanic: Must use dice, preferably a dicepool verses a single die. (And no none of this "add them all together" nonsense!)

I'm glad *someone* agrees with me on this one!

Abyssal Maw · September 25, 2006, 02:48:03 PM

Mechanic: Hit points. No apologies.

Vellorian · September 25, 2006, 02:51:04 PM

Quote from: beejazz I'm glad *someone* agrees with me on this one!

As an aside, I've been playtesting a dicepool mechanic that has two different kinds of success in a single role and where the goal is not to accumulate "as many dice as possible," but provides players the means to lower difficulty or gain extra actions by sacrificing attribute or skill dice. It's called "sliding" the difficulty.

I think you might like it.