I'm not copying off Max, I swear! I've had this idea for like eight months now. Maybe his thread is that old? I don't know, I just first visited it earlier today and decided that it might be a good idea to throw around some ideas in here as well.
So I've noticed a problem with most RP systems: they're goddamn complicated. I've dabbled in D&D, Dark Heresy, GURPS, and whatever Serenity is based off, but they've always got some fundamental problem or another.
D&D just has too much rules baggage for me: there's basic stats with their modifiers, and stats based off combinations these stats, and different attributes based off your stats with reference to your other stats and your level, second winds and saving rolls and all this weird crap you have to note on your character sheet that I think could be handled better, and the magic system just seems too artificial, not to mention the pretty large number of dice you have to deal with to play. Dark Heresy solves a lot of these problems but it's really grimdark and (in my opinion) the "lower rolls are better" thing is counterintuitive, not to mention percentile dice being a little odd when you're used to d10s and d20s.
I've also played a lot of RTD and I've realized that it's a little too simple. Also the d6 is a little too sensitive to bonuses and penalties for my taste. So I've gone and decided on the d10, and only the d10. Dark Heresy made me love the d10.
Setting
What would a system be without a default setting? Well luckily I enjoy worldbuilding so I've also made a fantasy world. It's inspired by a pretty large variety of things.
As most post-Elder Scrolls fantasy worlds seem to begin, there was once a world-spanning technologically advanced ancient race that's now extinct. They weren't much of a race, more along the lines of being the result of the world's races uniting in the name of technological and magical progress and eventually becoming what amounts to modular cyborgs. Their minds were contained in a central sphere that could be attached to a variety of body parts depending on their need.
They used up the planet and settled cities in the sky, eventually creating a perfectly controlled paradise in orbit. But eventually they reached too far, and their civilization began to lose control. As they slowly fell apart they decided to wipe themselves off the world and recreate the races they arose from, hoping that eventually they would rise again but would be prepared this time to not make the same mistakes.
They terraformed the world to be inhabitable again and sent down six races: the wild and passionate elves, the faithful and vigilant humans, the industrious and hardworking dwarves, the competitive and ambitious goblins, the adaptive and hardy kobolds, and the laid-back and free-spirited merfolk. The races were designed to compliment each other, and sent down in stasis. They were intended to wake when the Ancients were finished erasing themselves, with no knowledge of the past.
Unfortunately, the Ancients lost control of this as well. Various mistakes and inaccuracies added up so that when the six races were awoken, they quickly found themselves at odds and spread out across the continent to each do their own thing.
Some of the elves viewed their nature as a weakness and created an enchantment that would lock away their emotions. These elves quickly united and defeated the rest of the elves, dubbing themselves eigh elves and forming the Elven Republic. The rest of the elves became known as feral elves and now live in scattered tribes.
The humans quickly became paranoid, xenophobic, and superstitious. They have formed several nations, ranging from strict theocracies to capitalist republics.
The dwarves quickly retreated underground. The most notable dwarven kingdom functions very much like a hybrid of a communist state and a colony of ants. Dwarves are assigned a craft or duty from a very young age, personal possessions are very few, and living quarters are cramped dormitories with very little space for each individual. Insert "haha that sounds like my forts!" joke here.
I honestly haven't thought up much for the goblins. They're on my list of things to flesh out in the setting. They may live in deserts, maybe mountains.
The kobolds are very hardy. They were quickly pushed into the swamps, a dangerous environment that they managed to thrive in. They live in small, mostly autonomous cities and are skilled scavengers. Of course they have no qualms about "scavenging" from passing travelers and caravans.
The merfolk aren't typical merfolk - they have finned legs rather than a fish's tail. They're amphibious, but live mostly in the continent's huge bay on large floating islands of algae/kelp (see: Life of Pi). They're the least warlike of the races because they're the least at threat, and mostly lounge around and play.
There's also one race-independent civilization, the Dominion. Initially formed as a unison of three bandit groups, they're a chaotic group, with no real laws. If you have a position of power, anyone is free to challenge you for it. Leaders run the Dominion through fear and/or respect. They're not recognized as legitimate by any of the other major civilizations and are hunted down with prejudice, but they've managed to get enough people that it would be a huge military feat to just kill them all.
I'm currently considering minor civilizations like treefolk, gnomes, or centaurs, but I haven't made a final decision on the inclusion of any of them.
Mechanics
The system is based of a d10. For every attempted roll-worthy action, the GM gives the player a necessary threshold depending on the difficulty. The player then makes their roll and adds the associated stat (strength, agility, dexterity, intelligence, willpower) and skill (swords, wood crafting, etc). A 1 is an automatic failure and (sorry Max, I stole this from you, but you picked the most goddamn elegant way to do this) a 10 lets you reroll and add the new number to the total.
Players have five stats that I've listed: strength, agility, dexterity, intelligence, and willpower. They also have HP (hit points) and FP (fatigue points). You take damage to your HP (duh), and FP is used for exerting things like sprinting, special attacks, or some spellcasting (there's no mana in this system for magic).
For combat you roll your weapon skill for accuracy, then roll your weapon's damage if you hit. Anyone can make one attempted dodge per round of combat.
Experience is gained at the GM's discretion, typically at the end of an encounter or the session. Your total experience is measured to keep track of your level, but you can also spend experience to gain feats, stats, and skills. Skills aren't trained through use; I find that sort of thing typically tedious.
Okay I'm Done for Now
That's all I'm going to type today. Critique, ask questions, do whatever. That's why I'm posting it here, after all! Potential topics to type up tomorrow, depending on interest: magic, races or civilizations in detail, monsters and wildlife, whatever else anyone wants.
Author
Topic: PoH's in-the-works RP system (Read 823 times)