Date: 04/18/21

Perfection Trap

There is a common tendency to try and find the ‘best’ way to do things. The best initiative system, the best HP system, the superior class-and-skill formulation.
Most of these appeal to people who like designing systems and games.
Many players just want to play the game - and the value of lessening the resistance to that (less to learn etc.) cannot be overstated.
Of course, you can mitigate this by ‘black-boxing’ the rules - letting the GM handle all of that. That said, some players enjoy directly manipulating the rules. I think it is a mistake to prioritise our pursuit of perfect play over the enjoyment some players can get.

Then again, the game you build will dictate the players it attracts. I think most people have a game they want to run and find players for it, rather than my process of having a very stable set of players and finding games we all want to play.

Shockingly, the answer seems to be “there is no right answer.”

Violence

Been tooling about with a fast, nasty system for violence resolution and then I stumbled on this

Update 18/11/2024 - Major overhaul uploaded. Lot of shit changed, added, tweaked etc. Have fun.

Update 11/10/2021 - As a number of people have asked - please feel free to use Violence in your own creations - I only ask you credit me for Violence, and don’t make anything hateful.

Update 14/05/2021 - added a better system for dis/advantage cribbed from Shadow of the Demon Lord. Added non-combat resolution. Melee is not unified under the dis/advantage system to leave it shockingly nasty and feeling like a different thing entirely. Part of me doesn’t like having non-violence be so similar to violence as a mechanic element. They should feel different. If it is is not obvious, games using this system should not principally be about doing combat. The parameters below should exert more of a negative influence - serious and likely consequences, hopefully mapping to something like real life.

Update 11/05/2021 - added Initiative and Suppression. I might sub out initiative for Troika style chitpull for maximum chaos - but that makes getting domed sting even worse. It’s a lot slower than d6 side-based but when so much can happen per-turn that seems like the right way to do it. Changed Shooting - being in Cover or on the move is now the assumption - stolen from Nights Black Agents lol. Tightened up the melee bands - realised it was too brutal probably. That said, knife fights really do fucking suck.

PDF HERE

Violence.

Initiative.

Roll a d20 for each individual or group ¹ involved in the combat. Write these down and resolve, highest first.

Do this at the beginning of each round.

Shooting.

To shoot someone, roll 16+ on a d20.
Roll with an Advantage when the target is not in cover or moving. Similarly, those with training may take an Advantage.
When firing multiple shots, add +1 per additional shot to a maximum of +6. If successful, roll for how many shots find their mark. Resolve each bullet individually.

When someone is shot, roll a d20 and apply the following modifiers. This is called a Injury Check elsewhere.

• Each Injury they have adds +2.
• Rifle calibres add +4.
• Shotguns add +5 at close ranges and +2 at medium.
• Concealed or civilian armour subtracts -2.
• Military hardsuits subtract -4.

Melee.

Compare melee modifiers. Note the difference between them. Below is only a sample.

• Improvised weapons add +1.
• Small weapons add +2.
• Large weapons add +3.
• Training adds +2.
• Masterful training adds +3.
• Injuries subtract -2.

Both combatants roll a d12. The combatant with the highest total modifiers adds the difference to their roll.
The highest roll wins.

• If the difference between them is 1 or less, both are Injured and go Down.
• If the difference is 2-3, the victor is Injured. The defeated is Injured and goes Down.
• Is the difference is 4+, the defeated is Injured and goes Down.

Injury.

An Injury is not just an abstract measurement of damage. The referee should endeavour to make Injuries real: broken bones, debilitating wounds, blows to the head.

Down.

After the violence is concluded, roll a d20 for each person Down. Add +2 for each Injury. On a 16+, they are dead. Otherwise, they are Critically Injured and will die without medical attention.

Rolling with Dis/Advantage.

When making a d20 roll, keep a track of all factors which afford a Disadvantage or Advantage. These factors should be easy to spot in natural language, but might also be called out in the text.
Advantages and Disadvantages cancel each other out. Once all factors are considered, follow one of the procedures below:

• Advantages and Disadvantages cancel one another out. Roll 1d20 normally.
• Remaining Advantages. Roll 1d20 and a number of d6s equal to the number of remaining Advantages. Add the highest rolled value of d6s to the d20 roll.
• Remaining Disadvantages. Roll 1d20 and number of d6s equal to number of remaining Disadvantages. Subtract the highest rolled value of d6s to the d20 roll.

Sources of Dis/Advantages include things such as position, training, traits, equipment, weapons, assistance, elevation, weather, light levels, blessings, curses, illness, psionic destabilisation or injuries.

Edge Cases.

Explosives.

Resolve as Shooting against all in the blast radius.

• Those in the kill-zone automatically receive 1d6 Injuries. They add +8 to be Shot and +6 to the Injury Check.
• Those in the shrapnel-zone automatically receive 1d6-2 Injuries. They Add +6 to be Shot and +4 to the Injury Check.
• Those in the tertiary-zone add +4 to be Shot and +2 to the Injury Check.

Suppression.

When firing to suppress, no roll is required.
When a suppressed target attempts to take an action which could expose them, roll 1d6. If the number rolled is equal to or less than the number of people firing to suppress, the target is shot. The number rolled is how many individuals hit. Resolve each separately, determining randomly which shooter hits.

If Suppression is at hidden or obscured targets, it only has half effect (e.g. 2 people would have to fire to have a 1-in-6 chance of shooting individuals as they take action.)

Firing to suppress uses half the ammunition in a weapon. Weapons without magazines or similar cannot be used to suppress. If a shooter doubles their ammunition expenditure, they count as 2 people firing.

Machine-guns and the like use only 1/10th of their ammunition to suppress.

Non-Violence.

When discussion and common sense is insufficient to resolve an issue, roll 1d20 and try and score over a Difficulty Value. This DV is set by the Handler and stated publicly - they should be able to justify this, excluding any hidden difficulties unbeknownst to the characters.
This roll is subject to Dis/Advantages, which might come from training or the situation.

Characters.

Characters should mostly be defined by their competencies. Some of these will be broad - a job role or archetype - whilst others will be more specific. Competent characters have 3-6 skills. Newer, inexperienced characters will have less.

More fantastical games might have Traits or similar too - Exceptional Strength, Amazing Agility and the like.

After notable experiences, players should record these on their character sheet. The referee can also dictate that an experience must be recorded. These Experiences can be invoked to give dis/advantage. Characters may have a maximum of 5 experiences by default, erasing old ones if desired - or required.

Characters will also accumulate injuries and skills through adventure and training. Skills should take a significant investment to develop, whilst injuries can be caused in an instant. For a lighter, pulpier game, allow skills to be accumulated after each ‘adventure’ or major obstacle, and injuries to be recovered from after 1-2 such excursions. More dour games will require in-world time spent training, researching and practice. Whilst a skill is being actively trained, allow it to be used as a normal skill. You’ll have to research the healing time for various injuries, and consider what impacts they’ll have.

Where important, you may want to generate the background details of the characters. Over-defining this can lead to ‘solved’ character who are uninteresting, but having some concrete details to riff from can be very useful.

Making it Yours.

Much of these rules were developed as needed - in the vernacular style. Think less of what you want to achieve and more of what you need to run your game. Avoid building any further than that - channel that energy into making more content for your game. That said, some of the things you’ll want to consider up front:

• What are the primary definitions of characters?
• Do characters have anything beyond skills and primary definitions?
• Will there be a provided skill list or should players just determine their own skills?
• Do they need a defined background prior to play?
• Are you sure?
• What can I steal from other games to make this easier?

Pseudohistorical Violence.

Modified Melee Procedure.

Use this to make melee slower and more involved. Good for if it’s going to come up a lot, like in a fantasy or historical game.

Both combatants roll a d12 and add relevant modifiers. Highest roll wins.
Combatants compare their relative levels of effectiveness, however it is derived. The difference between them is added to the more skilled combatant.

0. Untrained.
1. Drilled/Blooded.
2. Trained/Experienced.
3. Veteran.
4. Elite/Hardened.
5. Trained with Masters/Natural Born Killer.

Compare the weapons used by each combatant. Always apply the modifier to the Player Character’s roll. If only one party is using a shield, modify the above values in their favour by 1.

• If the difference between them is 1 or less, both are Injured and make an Injury Check.
• If the difference is 2-3, the victor is Injured. The defeated is Injured and makes an Injury Check.
• Is the difference is 4+, the defeated is Injured and makes an Injury Check.

Injury Checks resulting from melee combat are modified by the interaction between weapons and armour.

Ranged Combat

Resolve shots normally, requiring a 16+ to hit. Targets without a shield grant an Advantage.

For Injury Checks, apply the modifiers as listed below.

Modern Federal Paranormal Horror & Investigation Toolkit.

These modifications were used to run a game where all players were federal agents inducted into a covert, unsanctioned government faction looking to investigate and contain inexplicable happenings. Most notably this means curtailing the initial types of characters and the skill listings.

Agent Creation.

Before play, generate an Agent.

1. Federal Agency - determine and record which Agency and capacity the Agent works/worked for.
2. Proficiencies - determine and record 1d6+2 skills of note the Agent has. These can overlap with their Agency role, representing particular skill.
3. Characters with 3-4 Skills are Young (20-30), 5-6 Mature (31-60) and 7+ Old (61+). Record this.
4. Determine Family using Age on the table below.
5. Provide a name for the Agent and any Family they have.
6. Work with your Handler to determine [REDACTED].
7. Determine and record your Everyday Carry.

Family Table

[REDACTED]

Paranormal investigators are scarred by the experiences they have. Experiences the Referee dictates as needing to be recorded cannot be erased or replaced as part of accumulating other experiences. If all 5 slots are filled and the character needs to record another, they break down. For most this means abandoning their beliefs and retreating into whatever safety they can construct from the tatters of their old lives.

The Inhuman Violence.

Impossible beings respond differently to Violence.

Evasion: Any modifiers to shooting attacks against the entity.
Shooting: The target number the entity uses to hit when shooting, and any modifiers to the Down roll.
Melee: How many dice the entity rolls in melee combat, and any notes about damage or restrictions.
Harm: A per-entity procedure on how to manage Injuries, Downs and Death. These replace the usual Injury Check procedure.

Evasion is simply determining if you actually hit the thing - let the Harm section determine whether the entity is harmed or not. Harm is meant to be a bit tricky to get right - try a few different things. Sometimes a creature is just immune to certain effects.

Monsters

The Dead

Flesh borrowed or robbed from rightful rest. What festers within? An animus against the living carried all life long. Or an imposter that would puppet flesh with no concern for the mind that once dwelt within. Or simply the will of another killing the mind and hollowing the body to be worn as you might put on a suit.

Evasion: +3 (No evasive moves taken.)
Shooting: 20/per weapon.
Melee: 2d6. Always receives one Injury as it fights without self preservation. Adds +1d6 for each additional Dead assisting.
Harm: Whenever the Dead are Injured or Downed, roll 1d6 on the table below. Keep track of their Injuries.

Mi-Go

The fun-guys from Yuggoth. Ya boys. When using their heat-weapons, they simultaneously attack a target and suppress the area, counting as four people firing. All flammable objects in the are ignited.

Evasion: -4 (Flight)
Shooting: 16+/ Causes 1d6 additional injuries on a hit.
Melee: 1d12+2.
Harm: Whenever a Mi-Go would be Injured or Downed, instead roll 1d20 and consult the chart below.

Black Hound

The Peril, The Warden’s Dogs, Vanguards.
A face shredded like a bouquet of flowers, wrapped in black plastic and left by the side of the road. Behind this disaster a long body of taut flesh over many-knuckled bones, flexing and moving independently. There are too many legs.

From ridges and tears in the real the hounds emerge, silent, ignoring any gravity or terrain. The unfortunate notice that each leg terminates in a human hand, some with rings.

They hunt those who survive initial breach events, each marked for death. They are left as dust, all moisture driven from them. Electronic devices cannot perceive them, although they trigger moisture-sensitive systems as found in archives and museuems.

To Hit: -4 (Speed)
Shooting: N/A
Melee: 2d8. Always causes 1 Injury regardless of result.
Harm: Black Hounds ignore Injured results from shooting. Downed results send them sprawling, but continue the hunt next round. In melee, they take Injuries and Down results normally.
Any Injury or Down result from an explosive destroys them utterly.

2d6 Appearing. If killed, bodies rapidly liquefy, leaving only purified water.

The Teeming Augur

Stream-steeds, Dream Carriers, Graceful Mounts, Slow Angels.
In their thousands they buzz and dance, dwelling upon the shores of Time. They skitter across the surface freely, compound eyes drinking in all the sights offered, drinking deeply where some eddy in the flow gives their fanged proboscis purchase.

To the human eye they are each the size of ponies, scaled, built out with limbs too-slight to bear their weight. Wings of soap-bubble thin gossamer twitch frenetically from their back.

They can be ridden through time, although they will take a companion to incubate a brood of their eggs. They leave it up to those who would ride upon them to decide who bears this burden.

To Hit: -1 (Speed)
Shooting: N/A
Melee: 2d10.
Harm: Whenever a Teeming Augur would be Injured or Downed, roll a d20 and consult the chart below.

Summoned, they appear in amount specified by the summoner. Upon the shores of the Lake of Seasons or beyond the conventional timestream, there are millions.

Entropy Survivors

The Black Worms, The Coils of Consumption, The Eels of Season.
When all energy spreads infinitely thin, something will survive as a concentration in the flat empty dark. These entities will seek one another, winnowing down their numbers to eke out some few millennia more of existence. Predators and basking sharks, immense coils of ribbed worm set behind mouths fit to extinguish suns. Within the Lake of Seasons, some echo of these final inheritors of existence lurk, preying instead upon those who come to the Lake too early. They are tiny in comparison - merely the size of underground trains. They are attracted to heat, light and movement. They consume electricity, radioactivity and light before resorting to living things.

To Hit: Automatic hits.
Shooting: N/A.
Melee: Those targeted must dodge or be consumed and destroyed utterly.
Harm: Whenever an Entropy Survivor would be Injured or Downed, roll a d20, adding +1 for each prior roll this engagement. On a 20+, it is driven away for d8 hours.

1d6-4 appearing. If more than one appear, they fight over prey.

Colonial Philippines by Nico Santagoy
Laid out & combined version of The Country, written by me and laid out by Roz

Against Incentive

Incentivising behaviour is bad for your game.

Axiom - Most players, most of the time, will take the most optimal option.

Incentives create optimal choices - a mechanical reinforcement for taking certain paths - whether negative (you will lose XP if you do bad things) or positive (you will gain XP if you RP well). Optimal choices, once discovered, become boring. You can incentivize the human out of the decision - there is only A Correct Choice. By removing Correct Choices, you widen the field of play - more possibilities will be evaluated, considered. In the absence of a Correct choice, everything becomes possible.

Are you interested in seeing players make choices with their characters or just slotting in to your grand design? RPGs can be more than Rube Goldberg machines culminating in your intended experience. RPGs should be more than this - and removing the idea of incentives for desired behaviour is key. Desiring behaviour in play is something we do to opponents, not collaborators. The idea of the only reason players would do something because ‘Number Go Up’ is video-game design. Besides which - if they don’t want to do something, why is that a problem? Are they not an equal contributor to the game?

When a player acts against optimal choices, we are engaged and excited - when they reject Number Go Up, refuse the mechanical temptation and take a choice as a character - doing something which means enough to them to take a firm decision. Instead, a game could be made entirely of these moments - taking the situation as your springboard, without reference to an external, invisible, intangible rule-set.

Being Good

Many will reward ‘good’ behaviour with XP. You save the village, you only take prisoners, you’re nice to everyone. Being good for a reward isn’t being good - it’s just optimal play. Acts of sacrifice and kindness in opposition to ease - when actively chosen despite potential loss - are what marks ‘being good.’

Experience and Advancement

The ultimate example - and perhaps the oldest, in the field of games - is the Experience Point. How you obtain these, often, is described as ‘the point of the game’. Cementing an objective like this can lock off possibilities, and encourage ‘mechanical thinking’ - we should do action to accrue more XP. However, some schema are more indifferent - they do not dictate how they must be achieved. The classic GP for XP formula does not have to specify how the GP is gained - violence, theft, mercantile aspirations, MLM etc. But beyond this, why do we gather XP?

To advance.

Advancement-as-reward poisons the well of player action and agency. It is the expression of Number Go Up - some systems attach more than numbers, but the core is the same - this is the carrot being used to drive gameplay. By removing Advancement, we ask players - why are you playing - what do you want to do, freed from the tyranny of Number Go Up. This is agency and responsibility - to find worthy and entertaining objectives in the absence of an objective measurement.

Of course, characters can still grow - simply advance them internally, without reference to some prescriptive metric of advancement. If they choose to engage with local powers, ranks and titles might work. Equipment is a concern for bandits, soldiers and guerillas alike. Seeking notable treasures (and techniques) are staples of adventure fiction - characters do not become static, but collections of experiences.

An elegant example of this can be seen in What time near dawn did they climb up the other shore, Drying their wings?

But What About Themes?

A common use of Incentives is to encourage/reinforce/enforce tone - for doing things which align to the source fiction, you are rewarded. Instead, we could talk to our fellow players about what we’d like to see and agree to work towards it without the use of incentive - why do we need our efforts ‘rewarded’? Isn’t playing fun?
We can trust out playing companions to build towards those themes - or let them drift and change in the chaos of play. Anything is better than trying to subtly encourage people like children.

Ogres

Muscle cords thicker than greed.
Take up all you possess, and carry it with you.
See what you desire, and come to possess it.

This is one of the paths a man could walk to leave humanity behind.

HD 4 / AC as Chain / Damage 1d6+2

Expanded, revised & collected:

US itch

Demiurge Assassin

Some seek Heaven through violence. This sect aim to bring violence to Heaven, and use it to kill the Demiurge.
They have spent hours poring over many tomes - and from such synthesise their creed.
To reach heaven, they must be Good.
To be Good is to forgo cruelty, spite and malice.
To be Good is to never allow the weak to be bullied by the strong.
To be Good is to make do with the humble, and to scorn the riches of the world.
Nothing in this life may be taken with them - and so their body must become the weapon.
They must die at the pinnacle of their ability - dying too soon would waste their attempt.

Possessions

• Simple Robe
• 2d6 Incompatible Religious Icons

Advanced Skills

• 5 Unarmed Fighting
• 2 Charity
• 2 Comparative Mythology

Magic Outside of Levels

Effects beyond the mundane are achieved through the invocation of properties or through pacts with the supernatural.

The knowledge of these rituals in treasure in itself. The material components for One Use effects are consumed in the casting - disintegrating, cracking or simply becoming magically inert.