WALL OF TEXT INCOMING!
Woohoo, fumbling around with mechanics in my head and in Microsoft Word, as well as a flexible plotline.
So, before I mess around more with my plans and my RTD, is the prospect of an RTD where players have a direct effect on the world based on their actions seem alright? As in, there will be missions for the player involving certain aspects of the society they live in, mostly working around the "kill or eliminate this threat" deal, there will be a kind of 'home base' for all the players, both waitlist and current to tend to their wounds and re-equip themselves after every mission. The outcome of everything is set by the actions of the players, maybe ending in the end of the world or a brighter future for the peasantry, it all depends on them.
The time is set in high-fantasy, but magic is truly rare. Now, waitlisters have a chance of switching in with players upon request but only in breaks between missions. Certain NPCs could come in every mission if requested to. Maximum number of players = 5 per mission.
And those missions could either be related to the aforementioned plot, or just by anyone's PM to the maker of the RTD. I'll find a way of putting that in. Now, there is no morality holding any player from doing whatever they want - like killing their fellowmen, but in this certain RTD, death is permanent. You have my word that all rolls are just as how they are determined and not biased in any way. The fact is, the players have no idea on the outside world, being cloistered in their base of training for most of their lives. Only through missions do they get to interact with the world.
Oh, and there will be multiple (three) rolls for complex actions.
Name: X
Skill: Sabotage and Explosives [+1 to simple and complex rolls that govern explosive weaponry and their handling]
Class: Temple Knight
Personality: Cynical, Loyal
Life: 25/25
Weaponry: Crossbow w/ longbolt ammunition, Broadsword and kiteshield.
Name: Y
Skill: Stealth and Subtlety [+1 to feints in combat or generally sneaking around, not to battle rolls]
Class: Assassin
Personality: Open, Kind
Life: 20/20
Weaponry: Main-gauche and Short sword.
Name: C
Skill: Field Augmentation [Negates any negative rolls from protecting a single target for at most 3 turns of battle, decreases the negative modifier of the group size rolls by 1 (so from 2-3, it will become -1 for starting and holding, 4-5 is -2 for starting and holding...)]
Class: Spellwarden
Personality: Short-tempered, Persevering
Life:15/15
Weaponry: Bastard Sword, Wintersnap Whiskey (Very flammable)
Name: Z
Skill: Physical Finesse [+1 to simple defense rolls]
Class: Assassin
Personality: Arrogant, Confident
Life: 20/20
Weaponry: Short Sword, Throwing daggers strapped to a bandolier
Name: [NPC]
Skill: Honed Reflexes [+1 to simple attack rolls]
Class: Spellwarden
Personality: Cautious, Curious
Life:15/15
Situation: (Infiltrate N and find out more about the strange appearance of the "Pillar of Light")
It was night. A multitude of lights appeared in the heavens, ranging from red to the bright azure hure of blue, pointing out the stars against the light of the crescent moon. The first signs of rain are felt as the group touches down on the parapet of the tower, folding up their gliders after the travel.
As they settle to their surroundings, it seems that their arrival hasn't garnered any attention from the local guardians. From the natural lighting, X can make out a hatch nearby, it is made of Oak, rotted with age.
[NPC] lights a torch with her left hand, pointing out the direction of your goal. "This must surely be the place, I can feel faint traces of energy in the air. I'll be at the rear with all these," she says, gesturing to the folded gliders. With a nod, Y lights up his torch and shields it's side with his other hand while leading the way down through the hatch. Their footsteps are luckily muffled by the cloth padding they all brought along, no echoes are heard as they trudge through the halls. After what seemed to be hours trekking through the ancient hallway, flanked by moss and ever-green flora at all sides, Y spots a light in the distance and whispers to the rest, pointing it out. It appears that this place is actually guarded, despite what Z's guess earlier.
Judging from the light, C can make out about three or four guards, evident by the clanking of iron boots on stone. Their silhouettes giving off a humanoid appearance.
X: Hide behind one of the pillars and shoot the enemy
Y: Feign death, to attract attention away from the others
Z: Sneak attack
C: Follow the group's plan while casting a protective shield around Y
. . .
How the turn may look like:
X drops into a crouch while loading his crossbow and moves over to one of the nearby pillars as Z unsheathes his daggers, following him. C accompanies [NPC] as she snuffs out her torch's light, they shift over to the other side. Y douses his torch by stepping on it and lies prone just a few meters behind the party, with a hand on a nearby rock in preparation.
The Guards turn the corner and for those who choose to look, see three men clad in iron wearing sullen expressions in their patrol. Their only light source held by the middleman, a weakly burning torch. Their leader holds a hand up and squints in the group's direction. He gestures once more and the group follows, slowly unsheathing their blades and grasping their shields, shrugging off their aloofness. They pass the ambush point with no warning of their impending doom, fully interested in the prone figure.
The leader is alarmed but curious upon approaching Y, prodding him lightly with the tip of his blade. Suddenly, the body rises and throws his rock at the torch, taking them with surprise while the force of the blow knocks away the torch with a clatter. The sound of a boot stepping on it follows, leaving the guards in total darkness.
Keeping with the plan, the group rushes the bewildered guards, taking advantage of their helplessness. The lead guard swings his sword blindly at Y, which strikes him in the chest but the sword glances off his body as if made from iron itself. Y counters the strike with his dagger, pushing through the weak iron plating and striking true in the head. The sound of a body hitting the cobblestone floor resounds through the hall. The remaining two are assaulted on both sides by the rest. The first guard raises his shield instinctively, ignoring the blow from C but leaving his other side open to attack in his haste. Which [NPC] strikes with her sword, sparks are seen from steel glancing off the side of his copper-shod cuirass. The force of the blow leaves him dazed however which Y uses to his advantage, striking unseen at the neck, opening the jugular. Even in total darkness, the sound of spurting blood can be heard from the fatal strike.
Beads of sweat form on the last guard's forehead, the sounds around him dampening his morale. He falls to the ground, after being impaled in the back by Z, followed up by the sound of a bolt puncturing the back of the guard's cervelliere.
A few moments pass and silence is the only sound the group can hear. Y lights his torch once more and under the flickering light, the group can see the effects of their ambush. Three dead men with no notable marking.
"Hmph, nothing but ill equipped louts." X says after checking the bodies. With a nod, Y continues the journey deeper down the tower.
A few floors down, C stops the group. Y shines his torch forward and at the end of this hallway, revealing an ornate door in the distance.
I made this up on the fly so couldn't delve deeper into the RTD workings, but this is basically what you may see.
Using lawastooshort's battle mechanics, from Gatleos with a pinch of my own. Busy re-working it with his permission.
. . . Great, this seems like a whole list of rambling. Sorry for that, it's just that I had a plan for an RTD-in-the-making and unsure if it would garner any interest from anyone. I usualy spout every word that seems relevant when nervous, being my first time and having
absolutely no experience at all in running an RTD, other than observation.
So, um.
Am I overdoing this? Giving an NPC a chance in the mission (as the NPC will have effects in the future, being a waitlister character that may be randomly chosen by the current party)
Tl,dr: Team-based RTD, waitlisters get a chance of having their characters in the mission if the current group chooses so but as an NPC. Responses of the NPC are based on the "Personality". Multiple rolls of 3 may be encountered, most to determine the effectivity of a situation according to the current party's view. Wall of texts are to be expected. This is an RTD that will be constantly updated, I will not give up on it.
QuestionsOn the Life system, all damage that is going over the defenses of the player would head straight to health. Is rolling a d6 to account for it alright?
I could be planning some sort of Stamina bar or Fatigue bar on the players, that would affect their actions in game and thus, leaning towards reality which may give the waitlisters a chance but would that be too far?
Also, in planning random events, how do people do it?
And thanks for bearing with my overly-long post everyone.