I, personally, like basic combat and I like "deciding what is fair for the rolls and actions" rather than having a set outcome for each roll with each level of attribute. Some of the most fun RTDs I've played had very abstract rules. In many cases I find that rules may just make it harder to do something simply cool in a game. Without having set modifiers and amounts of damage for each combat move, you let players be more creative. It ends up feeling less like RPG combat where you choose one move from a list of many and more like actual combat. It simply feels more alive. And I personally really dislike having hit points in RTDs. I like having abstract health systems. It also feels more alive. Having "10/100 HP" doesn't evoke the same feeling of desperation as "cut left wing, broken left rear leg, heavy bleeding, many small cuts on torso". Honestly, that's what the advantage of RTDs over video games is, in my opinion. To me, an RTD is more of an interactive story than an RPG or something like that. It doesn't have to work on set rules, it doesn't have to require skill. Since the dice determine everything, RTDs inevitably depend on luck. That's why you don't really want to make everything "by the numbers" fair - even having set outcomes for each action wouldn't mean that you won a fight "fair and square" - the dice made you win the fight either way. The only reason I can think of to actually have such mechanics in an RTD is that sometimes a player may feel like their character is not being treated fair. But I feel like most players that would be interested in a RTD in the first place are civil and won't start whining just because "my rolls weren't that bad, I wasn't supposed to die". I feel like most players are, simply put, chill, and don't sign up for an RTD hoping to "win". All this is just my opinion, of course. But I feel that set rules are only needed for either something that is competitive by nature or something that must require skill.
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Topic: Dragon RTD Rawr: Turn 1: Birth (Read 5817 times)