Hi everyone,

I'm hoping for help from people with stronger heads for stats than I have. I'll try to explain my question as clearly as possible.

In a dice pool where you're counting successes, say you have some number of successes A and some higher number of successes B. If a player is half as likely to reach B or higher than they are to reach A or higher, then does that mean that the odds of reaching B are the same as reaching A on two consecutive rolls?

I'm designing a game that is set in a cyberpunk setting. I've gotten to the point where I have to start writing down rules interactions. I've gotten stuck at which dice to use as base. Most rolls are going to be a stat + skill + roll. Stats and skills have a span of 1-10. I thought 2d10 would be good. 2d6 feels like they leave little room for stat/skill growth. At +8 the dice start to feel relatively unimportant with 2d6(becausetarget numbers have to match that lower bonuses shouldstill be able to do things with lucky roll). Bur I kinda feel like 2d10 is a little too swingy. I like that there is room to grow for stats and skills. I want the roll to matter. Any suggestions for dice mechanics that leaves room for "drama" but still makes advancing skills and stat feel good (like, that you can get a feel for how good a character is)?

Sorry for my bad English.

The main question: What reasons to have pass/fail vs degree's of success?

I have seen more recent designs having more "partial success" or succeed at a cost being a core part of the resolution mechanic. In games I have played generally this feels better to play as you usually at least get something out of attempting an action, even if its not exactly what you wanted.

Do you all feel that is just the general direction of design at this point? Or do you think one is better for certain settings and styles?

Question about Lore. (In my miniature wargaming days we called it "Fluff." is that still a thing?)

I am writing a TTRPG slowly in the background of my regular work. I have so many bits and pieces of lore and fluff that I can stick all over my core rules to give an idea of setting and tone, but I also know that brevity is the soul of wit, and to always leave the audience wanting more.

So general question:

How much does everyone like Lore? How much Lore do you folks wanna see? How much is too much?

Thanks!

What game has good mechanics for the morale or espirit de corps for a large group, like a keep or a ship? Similarly, what are some good mechanics for running mutinies and rebellions as a result?

Just looking for some general feedback on my game, i have been working on it for almost 2 years now on and off and while there is more to show i just wanted to show off the most important aspects and see what people think (Yes i am using AI art for now, i want to eventually pay for real art but i am doing this by myself so don't have the resources at the moment). Also the mage constants are still being developed so they aren't alphabetized yet.

Here is the main PDF

And the playtest character sheets

Some basic mechanics I am using include the Severity Scale on the character sheet, which is the primary method for scaling damage and skill checks. Skill checks are divided into four tiers based on the severity (each tier representing increasing difficulty). You always roll against the average of the middle value of that tier, rounded down. For example, a Tier 1 check is always against 1d6, with an average of 3.

Attacks use a d20, primarily for familiarity. There are no features that grant extra attacks. Your attack stat is the sum of all your attributes. At level one, you start with 5 attributes and would roll with a +5 bonus. Subsequent attacks in the same round use the same result. For instance, a thief's follow-up and finishers only scale off Grace. You won't know if you should go for the follow-up until you have spent Momentum, unless you have determined the enemy's avoidance (AC) through trial and error.

The system uses a hybrid class/classless system, there are 3 base classes which start with a standardized set of features, they are Warrior, Thief, and Mage, specializations are feature trees that grant classes unique features when you first take them and minor nodes which are the same for all three classes.

I am looking for a system to run a Star wars campaign that does not match several of the systems that I have already attempted to use. My group likes a heavily narrative but light rolls and rules type system but but still enjoy the randomness of dice rolls. I've been attempting to come up with my own mechanical system for my campaign but having trouble wrapping my head around the rules to make them fair and balanced. Are there any suggestions of maybe systems that I could borrow from or combine to make a cohesive system.

Working on my Social Skill System and i am trying to build a Mechanic around threats and Intimidation

Here is the Deal; when we think of the Intimidation skill we usually think of it of as Skill based on the application of cold, naked Power. But if you think about it, its not: if you are an Unarmed Prisoner and someone is threatening to shoot you while holding a gun onto your forehead, then the Question arises; why aren‘t you dead yet. The thing is being Intimidated is for People who are in some sense immune to Cold, Naked Violence; Prisoners with valueable Information in their Heads are more valuable alive than dead, Hostages lose their value the Moment they‘re killed, Mine Slaves might take the Wip but not the Bullet, as they still represent Units of Labor

So i am thinking of system to mechanize this kind of Haggling for Human Life? Thoughts and Ideas?

Im developing a simple d10 sistem for fallout, who is based on simplisity, the idea is to have quick combat (about 2 to 3 turns per enemy) who uses hit die.

To keep it simole enemies have hp based on their endurance and size, who is usually between 4 and 7 (8-10 for bosses) being hp=endurance for small enemies hp=endx2 and big having hp=endx3.

The armor substracts damage and is usually 1 or 2 for most enemies except from low level (no armor) and high level ones 3-4 armor.

Whit this most of weak enemies have 4 to 5 hp and no armor, normal ones 10 to 14 hp whot 1 or 2 armor.

The thing im having trouble whit is asigning damage to the weapons , specially building a big list who goes from low damage weapons to high damage ones, does anyone has any recomendation of how i could assing them or any generic table to borrow damage from?.

I apologize for my bad writting since english is not my first language.

As Im doing the initial balance pass for my game ive run into a problem. Right now I have 3 different archetypes: Martials (no magic, pure strength of arms), spellcasters (no martial capabilities, glass cannons), and spell blades (mix of magic and spellcasting. In each of those different archetypes there are 3 classes. The spellblades classes are the battlemage, the dragon knight, and the jack.

Each spellblade class is supposed to represent different ideas of why someone would choose to be a spellblade over a pure martial or spellcaster. The battle mage is a spellcaster who learns to wear medium armor and employ martial style defenses so they can get up close and personal. The Dragon knight is a martial who enhances their offensive melee martial capabilities with spellcasting to take advantage of scenarios where it might be advantageous to be able to throw out an extra fireball or another spell as well as to take advantage of damage type weaknesses.

The problem Im having with the jack is that they are supposed to represent the characters who mix martial and spellcaster features to create a custom class identity (so imagine a weapon master and a sorcerer class mix). They get a class feature that lets them gain the class features of the other classes at the expense of a class feat. The only problem is that when I try and do an initial balance pass the jack is so far and above the strongest or weakest class that I cant justify mixing them. Just to give you guys an idea, at level 1 the average class power is 65, the jack is 102 and then at level 5 the average class power is 108 and the jack is down at 80 where it remains in spit of my attempts to bring it up using other classes features and since the identity of the jack is based around gaining other classes abilities im having trouble of coming up with ways to balance it out without doing wierd shenanigans and implementing overly complex rules and just deciding for players what their build is for the sake of balance.

With all of this in mind im starting to think that the balance of the class will never work and so I need some other class identity to fill the 3rd class slot.

When Designing a TTRPG, you have to know so many things: world-building, game design, layout, chapter organization, editing, etc. While working on a Google Doc is perfectly fine, great art and layout truly make a game stand out IMO.

To help with the later, I created a TTRPG template for Affinity Publisher that includes both portrait and landscape versions.

The template includes styles for table of contents, pagination, headers (H1, H2, H3), body text, various boxes (light and dark), table (small and large) along with great settings for bleed and margins.

Originally, I made this for those participating in the Songs and Sagas Game Jam, but I figured it could be useful for y'all.

Here's the link to download the free templates: https://www.patreon.com/posts/portrait-and-by-108437273

If you want to join the jam, here you go: https://itch.io/jam/songs-and-sagas-jam

The RPG I'm working on is about freedom in creating your character, so recently I've been thinking about the concept of races in RPGs. We have races of humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, goblins, demons, draconians etc. But when it comes to mixed races, we only have half-elves.

If we wanted to include every possible combination of races, we could probably fill an entire book with them and balance them somehow. Unnecessary effort. So I came to the conclusion that the best solution would be to eliminate the concept of race as we know it. What is race? Just a set of attribute modifiers and a few traits or abilities (appearance has no mechanical significance). By breaking down the "race" into these few components and describing them with some numerical value, we can create a system of, for example, 4 Tiers: Weak, Average, Strong and Powerful. Within a specific tier, the player can be given the opportunity to choose a larger or smaller number of traits, abilities and attribute modifiers, which would allow for complete freedom in the creation of their 1/4 human, 1/4 halfling, 1/8 goblin, 1/8 orc, 1/ 8 dwarf, 1/8 Tabaxi by selecting the "genetic" traits that he believed would be dominant in his character. Players would play within one Tier or, in the case of mixed Tiers, higher Tiers would need more exp to advance.

Was there any game that tried a similar solution?

Researching game trends and watching video after video of game reviews I see a lot of people talk about narrative style games. These games often have a "yes, but" or "no, and" mechanic in the rules set. In my earlier days of game mastering, these things were just sort of things a good game master did and weren't actually codified in the rules. If a character missed an important roll by a narrow margin, the GM would often use that to narrate the near miss and possibly give circumstantial modifiers further along in the turn.

I guess I want to ask, must there be hard coded rules for this or is this something that could just be talked about in the "running a game" section?

I am working on an OSR hack. Really, its more of an extremely house-ruled BX. However, I dislike the term Cleric.

First, let me explain the class. I have replaced the Cleric with a class which has the ability to cast "cantrips" (bad name, but it's the best I've got) that are a bit more powerful than typical cantrips. They are essentially toned-down versions of 1-2 level spells. They have a target to cast, can cast many times per day, and the character gets a bonus to their casting roll as time progresses. They start with 2-3, and gain some as they level. They can always cast from divine scrolls and use divine magic.

The thing is, the term "cleric" or even "acolyte" really doesn't make sense to me. This person isn't devoting their life to the church, they are simply using their faith, and willingness to follow their deity's tenets, to their favor.

The best I've come up with is "Zealot" but really sounds way too intense to me. What else do you have?

I've been thinking hard about how to make my current project more fun, and one of the ideas I've begun to lean into is retroactive actions.

The idea is that players can choose to "reveal" information about past actions that their characters could have taken earlier in the narrative, but that the player couldn't have reasonably thought of at the time.

For example, your character is tracking down a known enemy and ends up chasing them through a parking garage. After some unlucky rolls, the enemy gets to their car before you do. This is when the player reveals that, actually, they had planned for this earlier and already searched the car park, found the enemy's car, and removed the spark plugs! Bada Bing Baba Boom, 300IQ "Big Brain" moment achieved with little effort.

Does anyone know of any games that include these sorts of mechanics? I'd love to read them to help refine my own ideas.

Currently working on the third iteration of the back cover blurb for Project Chimera: Enhanced Covert Operations.

This is the third draft: (edited based on feedback)

There is a silent war that stirs under the thin veneer of modern society unknown to most, fought by teams of paramilitary organizations, both through direct and indirect action. Chimera Group International (CGI) is one such paramilitary entity specializing in engineering enhanced individuals operating in elite black ops forces. These operatives and quiet professionals wield advanced technology, super powers, bionics, and even rumored use of supernatural forces, coupled with the most elite training available. The public basks, blissfully ignorant of these shadow operations, believing the whole world is held together by the fictional cooperative efforts of super heroes that while potent, are rarely more than symbolic public celebrities.

You are an elite cog in the machine and the tip of the spear; a member of your special crisis response unit (SCRU) that keeps the blood of the economy flowing. Your services are sold to the highest bidder whose faces you don’t know, and whose intentions you’ll likely never understand, be they Megacorporate Kleptocracy, Nation State Actors, Ludicrously wealthy technocrats with grand designs, or otherwise. Yesterday’s enemy is tomorrow’s bedfellow. Espionage, intrigue, and the silent change of prevailing headwinds are your bread and butter. There are no heroes, nor villains. Just you, your team, and the objective.

Every job has a goal and every goal has a hidden agenda. In the world of Project Chimera the only easy day was yesterday.

TTRPG System Features Include but are not limited to:

• Familiar yet innovative mechanical design meant to resonate with TTRPG enthusiasts
• Gameplay elements grounded in real-world equivalents whenever possible
• Diverse skill programs and moves offering meaningful player choices
• Gradient success states for nuanced narrative progression
• Point Buy Customizable characters with 4 core of 10 aspect tags
• Hundreds of feats and powers
• Gritty tactical combat with consequential wound systems
• Impactful narrative meta-currencies
• Optional GM and PC rotation systems
• Varied mission and story types in a near-future alternate Earth setting

This is the second draft:

Chimera Group Int.; a private military security company primarily based in Canada, has funded a new crew for a covert special operations team. Each surviving operative from the volunteer candidate pool has been enhanced with specialized training, unique super powers and a slew of unique talents, not to mention their robust arsenal.

In this Table Top Role Playing Game take on the role of a Special Operations Agent in a near future world of advanced technology, super powers, magic, psionics, bionics/cyberware and conflicting priorities. Travel around the globe (or further) and face off either directly or indirectly against AAA Mega Corporations, rival PMSCs, rogue nations, brutal dictatorships, terrorist cells, super groups, shadow syndicates, government coups, street gangs, and so much more.

Every job has a goal and every goal has a hidden agenda. In the world of Project Chimera the only easy day was yesterday. 

I've gone more in on the immersive angle and tried to paint a more clear picture of the world and how the game is supposed to feel.

Thoughts? Edits? Concerns? Suggestions?

To be clear, I'm not looking to change the intention of the game, just to make a better pitch and that's what I'm looking for in feedback suggestions.

I don't know that this will be the final form, but I'm trying to refine the elevator pitch a bit more as I am getting close to approaching the alpha review stage.

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

I've been working on this one page for a bit (my first foray into RPG design) and feel like I'm at a point where its clear enough for creative feedback. Firstly I'm worried I might be pushing the One Page a bit too much and this might work better as a pamphlet (that's what its called right?) Not really looking for advice as where to put it when its done, where to find play testers, or artists for artwork. I just want to know if the game makes sense and looks like fun. Baby steps.

Note: Mechanics greatly inspired by oCtane by Jared Sorensen, House of the Blooded By John Wick, and Blades in the Dark by John Harper. I guess this would be another question, how do I state this in the One Page? Or is it so obvious its unnecessary? I feel like it would be right to give credit where credit is due.

Let's Play God!
Mother Gaia has spent over 6.5 billion years creating, well, everything on earth. Her favorites are these frail vainglorius mimicries of you and your siblings. She calls them "Humans" and they all live in a simple kingdom. You & your siblings find them somewhat distasteful. Nonetheless, Mother has instructed you all to help “nurture” their development, & what Mother wants she gets.

The Wager: It’s been long debated who Mother’s favorite is. All of you agree becoming these human’s favored god would certainly solidify the title. Whoever can have them declare you to be "The God among gods" wins.

Create your god:

~Domain:~ Can be anything up to two characteristics. Anything from God of Agriculture & Clean water to God of Rabid Squirrels & Hording. You may enact miracles and supernatural events within your domain, but only within your domain. So choose wisely. Or don't and get weird with it (You'd be surprised at how effective rabid squirrels are).

Life & Death are Mother’s domains, and you wouldn't be the first child she's disposed of after they infringed on her domain of rule. There are roundabout ways to dispose of things and influence genetic development though.

Matter, time, & all things in the realm of the cosmos belong to the unknowable Womb of Creation. Even Mother obeys it unconditionally and its power is absolute.

~Method of influence:~ These are the ways in which you excel in leading & getting what you want. You are allowed a bonus of 1 & 2 to add to two different Methods of Influence:

Fear: Ruling by subjugation, force of will, and threat of punishment.

Grace: Leading with thoughtfulness, love, and empathy.

Pleasure: In all its forms. Everything from gluttony & lust to the best sleep of your life & women's clothes with reasonably sized pockets.

Your followers will emulate the methods in which you enact your will to or upon them.

The Power of Worship: Whenever a god works to influence a human/group roll a d6: 5-6 God narrates results & adds a point of worship. 3-4 God narrates results gets 1point & GM adds a complication. 1-2 GM narrates result humanity gets 1 point of independence (Described in Humanity/GM section).

As long as you have control of the narrative you may continue, & for every other round the points of worship double. To end a “Narrative streak” there must be a conclusion to the narrative. If a god fails at any point all pts of worship are lost. A GM may use a complication as a conclusion on the second 3-4 success. Anyone may offer a Proposition (below) to someone in a Narrative Streak.

When a god works within their Domain & uses a Method of Influence they have a bonus in, they can add an additional d6 on a 1:1 basis w/ the Method of Influence. If two or more dice roll 6’s that’s a critical success & can add an additional point of worship on a 1:1 basis. There are three tiers of worship: 3 points of Worship - Worshippers: Personal devotion. 7 Points of Worship – Acolytes: Temples & a public presence. 12 Points of Worship– Utter Devotion: Your worshipers worship you alone. You may now incite a Holy War! (below) at will.

A proposition: Gods/humans may approach other gods/humans with a competitive proposition. All players involved follow the rules set for a Narrative Streak but bet with their own points of worship. If someone makes a proposition in the middle of a Narrative Streak, the points already won become the "buy in amount". Like a Blind in Texas Hold'em.

All involved roll and whoever wins the roll takes control of the narrative. A tie requires a reroll, but doesn't kick anyone out. This may continue as long as people are willing to participate or have the amount of points required to bet. The back & forth of the narrative is decided by those in the proposition, but none may use a complication to conclude the matter. The runner up gets to decide the complications/failures. It is concluded when only one player/GM remains.

Humanity/The GM: Humans are just as fickle, jealous, conceited, and often times as petty as the gods themselves. The GM may Proposition on behalf of humanity just like a god when there is a clear means for humanity to participate. Points of worship count as points of independence for Humanity. They are acquired in the same way as points of worship and serve to demonstrate humanity's self-reliance.

Holy Waarrrr!!!: A Holy War works like a Proposition only you can't turn it down. Also, no one receives points for winning. They are lost not won. However, the winner may recoup half of what was lost. If someone loses all their pts in a Holy War they are a Deconsecrated (lose)! Humanity cannot be deconsecrated, but if they have less than 7pts with only 1 god left, they submit to their will. If the situation is reversed Humanity becomes solely independent of the gods.

EDITS: Clarified Domains, Methods of Influence, and Worship Points.

Also will be walking away from the idea of a one page. A lot of the feedback I'm getting from online and friends is people wanting to see things that were there with the original idea but were cut so the game could fit on one page. Looking to make it more like a 3-5 page pamphlet instead.

Hi everyone! I’ve been doing some layout test before I move to open beta. What do you guys think?

It’s my first layout work, so any feedback is more than welcomed!

I am working on a pulpy globe trotting action/mystery system. I am taking a lot of inspiration from savage worlds, where there is a big list of cool edges.

But the list I have from those and the ones I have currently are mostly limited to combat and basic ideas.

Give me some ideas for abilities or feat that would make you go hell yeah

I am also looking for good feats or abilities that would match up with the globe trotting side of the setting/system.

I was directed here from another sub and this definitely seems like the right place to ask.

I’m in the early stages of developing a new game system, with the intent to merge planet exploration and space combat.

The exploration bit is coming much easier but I’m getting hung up on the space combat side of things. I don’t want the naval combat feel, where all the players are only part of the large vessel. Rather I’d like to focus on each player being in control of their own skirmisher with hopes of emulating frenetic, dogfighting.

To this end, I had the idea to make the players phase be timed, with different increments representing the different speeds at which they’re engaging. I was toying with increments up to 60 seconds with the low end possibly being only around 15-20.

But my question is, is this a good idea? Or am I building a frustrating, anxiety inducing system?

I’m already contemplating making it an optional mechanic, but I want to get a general opinion on whether that even sounds fun in the first place?

Thanks in advance!

The general consensus in this sub (and for ttrpg creation in general) seems to be that players have a tendency to feel negatively towards a 50% success rate. The explanation is usually that humans perceive equal chances as weighted against them, since they remember their failures far more.
The question that comes to mind from this is whether or not this can be used to our favor. In particular: could this "bad feeling" be used to push a certain vibe, or to direct the player's intentions towards certain actions?
For example, figure a rather gritty game, in which reality itself seems to be stacked against the PCs and survival rates are low. Do you think it'd make sense to have a 50/50 baseline success rate? That way, failure feels more common than success. And chances are player's will start to feel that dread of "oh shit, now I have to Rolland I'll probably fail!"
And what if the game allows for real actions to be taken easily, that would change those odds? In a game with a higher success rate, the average player will prefer to reduce their chances of success but increase their damage (think of the Sharpshooter feat in DnD). After all, they are still hitting most of the time. But, if you want to reward a more conservative type of game play (in which players prioritize defending themselves and landing a hit over getting big numbers), would it help to have a 50/50 success rate? The players would perceive this rate badly, and therefore they might subconsciously attempt to increase their odds, rather than going for the big risk, big reward scenarios.
What do you think? Does this make any sense, or am I just getting it wrong?

With the launch of DC20 and MCDM, I'm seeing some interesting takes on how attacks should be done, many of which have been talked about on this subreddit.

DnD typically has you roll to attack and if you hit, you roll damage. Most systems follow suit. But many systems are trying to speed up combat by bringing this down to one die roll instead of two. MCDM is making it so the character always hits the dice decide how much damage you do. DC20 is making it so you only make attack rolls with weapons having set damage depending on what you're using. Some systems such as CoC can have 3 rolls. One for the attacker, one for the opponent to avoid the attack and one for damage if the attacker hits. But when talking about most heroic fantasy RPGs, it's typically 2 dice rolls.

So here's my idea:

In DnD it can be frustrating to go for an attack only to miss over and over again. I typically narrate this differently so that it's the opponent withstands the attack, either by blocking or dodging it so the players still feel somewhat heroic. The only time the player misses is on a natural 1. But that could so easily be the way it works normally.

The player just rolls damage. It's always assumed that they thrust the sword in the general direction of the enemy. The enemy, however rolls to avoid/mitigate damage. It could work as a simple skill check, or it could be more involved, with different levels of success meaning different forms of mitigation. A block turns into a parry and then a reposte on a high enough roll. A dodge could be a way of closing distance to give the opponent advantage on their next attack against their attacker. Armour could simply absorb an amount of damage.

This changes the feel from, "Oh, I missed my attack. Guess my character is having a bad day," to "Oh no, he avoided my attack! This guy must be pretty strong!" And the best part is, it's the same number of attack rolls! I think this idea really has legs for making enemies feel more or less imposing, depending on how they can avoid enemy attacks, and it doesn't make the players feel like they have the hand-eye co-cordination of a toddler. I'm not yet sure how ranged weapons would work in this system though. Maybe if the range is higher than a certain number, then an attack roll would be necessary.

TL;DR: In DnD or equivalent, rather than having an attack roll and a damage roll, have a damage roll and an avoidance roll from the opponent. Same amount of rolls, but makes players feel more competent.

My game is a mix of hard sci-fi and fantasy. I got ships flying around with both delta-v and aura, it’s pretty crazy over here. The magic system is one where spells are constructed out of glyphs in a way that gives players a massive amount of freedom without sacrificing balance or hard rules.

The normal magic system is nice and all, but it’s very predictable and tame. I want to add in black magic as a separate thing. Magic that is much more powerful, but much more risky. Something that gives a formidable combat advantage to extremely evil bad guys who use it recklessly, but that is extremely risky for the players to use.

I have some ideas for feats that would be possible with black magic. Things like bringing back the long-dead, violating every established rule of how magic works, and spending hit points to cast it instead of aura. I also want to make the negative consequences be random and sometimes permanent.

But these ideas are pretty vague and overarching, I come here asking for ideas for specifics. Feats that black magic can do, and consequences that they might have. If you have made anything like this before, what did you create and what have you learned?

I have a rules mechanic I'm trying to figure out for my homebrewed game. It's sci-fi, it has stats and skills and all the usual stuff, as well as a metacurrency -- let's call that Plot Points. Now, I also want each character to have a few "Shticks" (or Traits or whatever) through which the character can use said Plot Points. I'm thinking each character should have three Shticks: one for combat, one for non-combat, and one for vehicular action. An example might be a character who we'll call Joe:

Joe's combat shtick is "Swordsman," so his specialty is swordfighting and thus his Plot Points can be used for swordfighting.

Joe's non-combat shtick is "High Class," so his Plot Points can be used in instances involving high society or manners or the like.

Joe's vehicular shtick is "Daredevil," so his Plot Points can be used to jump a car over a pit or whatever.

Those are just examples, and I'm not married to them as must-haves. I'm actually struggling to come up with example shticks. I'm wanting sorta like character-defining descriptos? One of my friends suggested that each shtick line up with the "Five Man Band" trope, but I think that's not nearly specific enough. I want to be able to offer a list of likely choices for each of the three categories, providing enough examples for players to be able to make up their own that would fit in if they want to.

For Comabt, I've thought of Swordsman, Brawler, annnnd something like "Dirty Fighter"? For vehicular, I've thought of Racer, Stuntman, and Captain. For non-combat, I've got High Class ("Classy"?), Financial Wizard, Computer Fiend... I'm not sure about those though. The non-combat ones are especially tricky to me.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Or know of any games that use a similar mechanic?

Alright I will try to make this as short as possible. I'm making a d6 dicepool system and for now I've named it the chaos engine.

I would like input on what problems may arise or what you guys think of it overall.

The base of the system is you roll a number of days equal to your active atteibute and whatever skill and bonus dice from whatever modifiers. And you add up successes, nothing new.

However, rolling a 1 on a d6 generates 1 chaos. Chaos is used as a "yes, but" mechanic you accomplish what you're doing but with a setback. Or on a failed roll its an additional narrative consequence.

What I've come up with is that you can spend successes (I call them victories) to turn chaos into "opportunities". These can be spent like advantage in the star wars games by fantasy flight. Activating weapon effects or just cool narrative bonuses.

Another part of the system is that 6's explode. Granting an additional die to be rolled everytime you roll a six. 6's also generate 1 opportunity.

If you roll a chaos while rolling an exploding die, you do not have to keep it.

Thats what I have so far let me know what you guys think. If its unbalanced or anything, like I said I'm still working on it so things are subject to change. Thanks!

I'm 100% I didn't come up with this, but I don't know what games have this.

The basic idea is that for a set list of skills (lockpicking, sneaking, potentially even spellcasting and attacking), characters have a number from 1-99. So, if you have a 40 in, say, Sneak, you have a 40% chance to successfully sneak. There'd be some kind of circumstantial debuff, likely. On advancement, you'd get a set number of points to add to different skills somehow.

Is there a game that has done this? What are the pros and cons of this type of mechanic?

What do you think is more fun to play when you roughly miss half your attacks like in 5e or when misses are about 1/4 of the time.

My current maths monsters have an AC and Magic defence between 14 and 18 and each character has a static +6 to attack rolls. With a spell buff im thinking of adding you get a +2 and if you are able to get combat advantage somehow you can get another +2 for a total of +10 the easiest way being flanking or outnumbering the creature with at least 3 PCs.

Against a monster with 14 ac mostly casters thats hitting on a 4, against an ac 16 which is what most monsters are its hitting on a 6 and against monsters with 18 ac which are mostly tank type monsters thats hitting on an 8.

Im trying to have a system which rewards teamwork and tactics. Is it more fun only missing 25% of the time or does the 50/50 hemp build suspense better. You only get one attack in my system btw.

Im thinking of giving damage role characters a feat that means if they miss by 4 or less they still hit dealing half damage. But would that make them boring to play? Against a low ac monster you essentially cant miss except on a nat 1 if you are buffed and have comvat advantage still hitting with a glancing blow on 3 without. Against tough monsters hitting in a 4 is still 85% accuracy.

Thats works also for ranged combat

Hello im making a starship troopers/helldivers/xcom/impreal guard type of system where you all play as extremely disposable grunts in a galactic war

I made creating new grunts really fast and simple

You roll for specialization:only gives you good abilities symbolising your training

Quirk: a weird quirk this grunt has..its gives you a good ability and a negative one also

Weapon, support iteam and armor

For one quirk idea i have is Called: anger issues

For that one i wanted to pretty much give RAGE from dnd to the player

But i need a negative flair for it . A reason to make the quirk also harmful is surtian setuations. And i thought mybe a way for the player to accidentally lose control and start attacking friendlies..the problem is its also need to work in ranged combat and its actually shouldnt be that opressive so people will actually use the rage

For example for a similar ability i have a quirk called: trigger happy: you as a player set a term for your dm .this term should be in the length of a short sentence

When this term is met you will do an automatic free reaction attack against yhe target who activated the term

Ad you see its great ability free attacks! Its also can be harmful as well.. because its automatic. You don't have control over it. When its happenes its happens if its against a blood thirsty robot ,your brother in arms or just the trees.

A very popular trope in fantasy is a Gish, the sword in one hand and magic in the other type thing. Or a sword emanating magic in both hands.

But dnd and many other games set in fantasy worlds often fall short of people expectations or desires.

I'm looking to make basically Gish branches of the Warrior and Rouge classes I have.

Before getting into mechanics what, for you, are the reasons dnd or other attempts at a Gish have failed, and what, conceptually or broadly mechanically, make a Gish for you.

Thanks in advance.

What are some of the death spiral/ death and dying type rules have you or do you use in your games, or what are some alternatives to this?