Trifletraxor

6 minutes ago, Mankcam said:

I get that 'do not trust this security certificate' if I try to access BRP Central on my PC using Google Chrome web browser.

Could you post a screenshot? I'm not seeing the same myself using chrome.

The skills I'm most dissatisfied with on the list is Ride, Drive and Pilot - all the skills can work for all settings - for fantasy drive can be drive cart or wagon and pilot can be pilot boat or hippogriff - but drive and pilot will be seldom used in a fantasy setting, ride and pilot rarely used in a present setting and ride seldom used in a sci-fi setting. I've been looking for a skill that could be all three and then specified, or one that at least covered both ride and drive - but have troubles coming up with candidates. 

I feel ride is necessary for fantasy/historic, drive for present and drive and possibly pilot for sci-fi, but all three bloat the skill list with some skills that will go unused. Pilot could possibly be considered a craft, as all sci-fi characters won't necessarily have the skill.

Any suggestions for a word covering ride and drive, drive and pilot or all three would be greatly appreciated.

10 hours ago, pansophy said:

Ok, I want to chime in here. I was gone for a while, playing Monte Cook's Cypher System. I also tried out the Entropic Gaming System. The most fur during the last two years I actually had with XPG (Airship Daedalus).

...

I'm back on board.

Welcome back pansophy!

I've mined Monte Cook's books before for scenarios/campaigns and recently had another look at drivethrurpg. Did you come across any good scenarios/campaigns for the Cypher System that could be converted?

3 hours ago, Nick J. said:

FYI, just got a Chrome warning about https://basicroleplaying.org not being a safe site. Just figured I should mention it, in case there's a problem with the site's security certificate or something.

I'm not able to reproduce this. Could you please post the entire warning you got, plus any information provided with it? Did you just type in the URL or did you search for it first, and if that is the case, what search engine did you use? Google's Safe Browsing Diagnostic Tool reports No unsafe content found. Do you use any add-ons to your browser which might have triggered the warning?

8 hours ago, olskool said:

This is just a vague idea that I've been kicking around.  What if you combined Listen and Spot into a singular Perception Skill.  I'm really not sure about this because I like the idea of Listen and Spot being separate, but Perception could be used for everything (touch, taste, and smell too).  Going the other direction, I might add Smell because certain characters (Trolls?) could have a highly evolved sense of Smell (Werewolves defeating Invisibility with their's comes immediately to mind).

I've tried to combine skills that rarely get used, for example climb, swim and throw into an athletics skill. Listen and Spot gets rolled almost every session, so they're both in good use. Smell, Taste or Sense/feel could be added as one of the 4 individual added skills at the end, but I don't feel it would be in that much use if you're not. f.ex. a werewolf or a troll.

3 hours ago, Mankcam said:

For a simple game like D100rules is described to be, I would possibly consider combining as many skills as possible

Eg:

• Spot, Listen  = Perception
• Sneak, Hide = Stealth
• Brawl, Melee, Ranged = Combat
• Sleight, Devise = Manipulation
• Athletics, Dodge = Agility

Then I would possibly allow specialisation bonuses for particular actions within the scope of that broad skill: ie Combat (Swords), Combat (Bows,etc), Agility (Climb), Agility (Dodge), Stealth (Sneak), Stealth (Hide), Manipulation (Lockpick), Manipulation (Pickpocket) etc. 

This way the core skill list remains concise, yet it is flexible to allow some focus in particular areas. It also makes every skill consistent with how the knowledge skills work ie: Language (German), Lore (Archaeology), Survival (Desert), etc

I've tried this once before, 6 main broad skills, with possibility for 2 specializations within each. I liked the idea, because it allows for quick generation of NPCs and a more personalized skill list for the PCs, but my players didn't like it. They felt the broad skill got too general, that they had too few skills overall and during play they missed specialized skills that they hadn't chosen.

But brawl and Melee could be combined into a close combat skill, as they're quite similar. I think I'll go with that.

So I've been working to come up with a skill list that is relatively short, but can work for fantasy/historic, present and sci-fi settings. The list above is where I'm at now. Is there any skills you feel is missing from the list? Something that is not covered? Or something else that feel quirky with it?

Skill list:

• Athletics
• Craft __________
• Craft __________
• Devise
• Drive/Ride
• First Aid
• Hide
• Influence
• Listen
• Lore __________
• Lore __________
• Lore __________
• Melee combat
• Pilot __________
• Ranged weapons
• Research
• Ride
• Sleight
• Sneak
• Spot
• Streetwise
• Survival
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________
• _____________

19 hours ago, olskool said:

I also figure human Characteristic Scores by rolling 3D6+2, making the range of Characteristics from 5 to 20 (the species maximum) in my game. 

What's the reasoning behind this tweak?

16 hours ago, olskool said:

I think I'm going to adopt the idea of Subtracting the Weapon's Required STR from the Character's STR and giving a bonus of +1 for every 5 points of Surplus STR the character has.  This provides the lower damage bonuses I desire while not allowing fighters to "double dip" by using a larger weapon in tandem with a large Damage Bonus to push their Weapon's damage to extreme levels.  It is also very easy to calculate.

I very much like the idea of the damage bonus being modified by the weapon strength requirement as it makes good sense, but I'm keeping the traditional form of damage modifier for D100rules, at least for now, as it's going to be a rules-light system.

On 18.5.2017 at 5:16 AM, ReignDragonSMH said:

Why do we still use negative modifiers? Why don't we start from ground "0" and move up? It is something I have been thinking about a lot myself. 

I'm going a second round on negative damage modifiers because so many of here have cut it from their games. I understand that for birds and small animals a damage of 1D2 or 1D3 might work better than 1 or 1D4-1. The speed factor is also there. However, a STR 3 human vs. a STR 11 one does the same dagger damage without negative damage modifiers and that runs counter-intuitive for me. So I'd like to see more arguments against a negative damage modifier if anyone has any, or hear if any have applied some other type of "fix" for the example over without negative damage modifiers.

On 21.5.2017 at 3:01 AM, olskool said:

As you can see, in my world, "Powergaming" has to take a back seat to "paying the bills."  What all this ends up doing is forcing the players to make hard choices about "stuff" versus "training"  and limiting characters to a bare "handful" of treasured items such as that "favorite sword" or "my father's old plate cuirass."   Ironically, I have never had a player say that they wouldn't game with me again.  In fact, most of my players seemed to enjoy the struggle to rise from poverty.               

I've got something to learn here!

On 21.5.2017 at 11:51 AM, Al. said:

Inspired by Chaot's Magic world character sheet, I have just recently added a Finesse damage bonus which is calculated the same but using Dex not Str (or average of Siz and Str) and is applied to weapon's where placement is more important than brawn (stabby daggers and swords basically)

Can characters choose freely btw the damage modifiers, or are they tied up to weapon type?

On 21.5.2017 at 1:12 AM, Mankcam said:

Yeah I was initially turned off by CoC 7E by the percentile stats as well, although they have actually worked quite well in gameplay.

I see how having percentile stats ease stat-rolls on a d100, but we've been using the d20 for that for some while. I bought the old version of horror on the orient express on ebay instead of the new 7th edition one just to have the familiar stats, but I guess it's just something I have to get used to.

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The Thru The Ages supplement introduces Parry, which works the same as Dodge, which means the defender successfully parries if the attacker's success level is matched. The variance is if the defender rolls under their skill, but does not match the attackers Success level then it is considered a partial Parry, and the defender rolls a variable dice roll for AP, based upon what they are parrying with (ie: Shield types, etc). Works well.

That's interesting. Should probably get myself a copy of that supplement too then.

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If D100Rules has quick char gen and a reduced skill list like OQ then I'll be very interested in checking it out to fill our beer n pretzels RPG niche

It's aiming for that niche!

On 26.5.2017 at 11:44 PM, ReignDragonSMH said:

 And I have not decided on a model for Runed Worlds though I am thinking about this weekend, wit regard to scenarios. Any thoughts are appreciated.

I prefer settings that are explored through scenarios. Books with some info about a piece of the setting together with adventures taking place there, colored by the flavor of the place. Pure setting books go mostly unread for me due to time-restraints. What Cakebread and Walton did with Clockwork and Chivalry campaign stands out like the best example for me - unfortunately a couple in my group disliked the setting so it came to a halt after some sessions.

I'm very intrigued! Hoping for lots of scenarios for the setting!

On 23.5.2017 at 5:38 PM, ReignDragonSMH said:

There will be other bipedal species, but there will be a large amount of slugs, lizards, and even energy beings that will be playable. Also, droids of course. This is weird space and life is abundant.

I love the thought of playing a slug! Sounds like you're aiming for a setting out of the ordinary!

14 hours ago, olskool said:

I believe that large damage bonuses, like easily acquired magic, create an "arms race" where the GM must continue to introduce ever larger weapons (and monsters) to compete with the ever larger weapons and ever heavier armor that the players upgrade to.  In real life, most combatants wouldn't do this.  A number of real-world historical figures continued to use the same weaponry they started with throughout their careers.   In fact, if you look at the real world weights of swords you can see just how close swords of disparate length are in weight.  Short swords run from around 1kg to 1.25kg in weight.  Arming or war swords run between 1.5kg to 1.75kg (with broadswords being on the higher end).  Very wide bastard swords may touch 2kg but most long swords run the SAME weight as arming swords despite their longer blades and handles. Claymores or Zweihanders normally only run from 2.5kg to 3kg at the most (for the ones actually used for fighting and not ceremonies).  What were the makers trying to achieve with longer (but lighter) blades?  In my opinion, it was "reach."  They were trying to extend the range at which they could engage the enemy.  In fact, if one looks at many different weapon types, you immediately realize that most weapons fall between 1.2kg and 2 kg in total weight.  This is the "sweet spot" that balances "heft" and "maneuverability."   The primary difference is in how the weapon's weight is distributed.  So what does this mean in game terms?   To me, this means that the difference in damage inflicted is not as widely varying as most games depict it. Therefore, I reduce several weapons' damages to reflect this reality.

I've never found the damage bonus to be a big part of the "arms race" as it's a relatively static bonus, in my group it's been gear acquisition and magic that have turned groups unplayable in the end. But I have problems curbing it, as a couple of munchkin players really enjoy the powergaming bit. I've tried to slow it down, but haven't eliminated it. What do you do for "reward"? Or do your group consist more of "real" roleplayers?

Your observations on weapon damage are really spot on. I'll be limiting the greatsword damage to 1D12 too, but didn't have the great argument for it that you've just given.

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To increase the "distinction" between weapon types, I use Reach as an attribute as well as varying *Weapon Speed (represented in Strike Ranks) by weapon type.  I also set minimum standards for STR, DEX, and SIZ for EVERY weapon.  Since the weapons' damages have less variation and there are greater differences in Reach and SR, my players often take weapons like Short Swords, and Hand Axes where they might originally have opted for Greatswords or Great Axes.  I'm happy that I have managed to curb the "arms race" in my own campaign because I can now use weapons to introduce "color" to my NPCs.

What rules do you use for Reach?

10 hours ago, Mankcam said:

The 'roll low' mechanic works really good for opposed rolls in CoC 7E, although it has one more level of success than what is proposed in these D100rules.

I wasn't aware of this. I have the CoC 7E rules but haven't really read them yet. I quite disliked the move to percentile characteristics, but it seems like there a lot of good stuff in there too from what I've glanced. The books are beautiful for sure!

11 hours ago, tobarstep said:

I've been looking at using the method of "Advantage" from Revolution d100 while also keeping the Critical/Fumble mechanic in place. Advantage is any time the tens digit exceeds the ones digit. This would mean a 50% skill will still crit on a roll of 1-5, but also get Advantage (or Special success if you like) on rolls of 10, 20-21, 30-32, 40-43. I think this could be used for an extra level of failure as well, though I'm personally comfortable with simple Failure and Fumble.  I haven't play tested this yet, but the numbers look pretty fair to me.

I'm sure the numbers are good, but my players try to use telekinetic powers to influence the dice rolls and thus want a simple "roll low" mechanic. Same reason they objected to the roll high under skill opposed rolls when we tried out different d100 systems.

8 hours ago, olskool said:

I'm partial to smaller bonuses and penalties myself.

Why is that?

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Weapon Based Damage Bonuses:

I have recently been playing around with "Surplus STR bonuses" for weapons.   I use STR, DEX, and SIZ requirements for weapons just like RQ2 & RQ3 did.  This Stat based system prevents the "Halfling with a greatsword" that has already been brought up in this thread.   My one issue with the Damage Bonus was that a fighter would get the same bonus for using a greatsword (15 STR required in my game) as he did for using a shortsword (6 STR required in my game).  I have been kicking around using a "Surplus STR System" for weapon damage bonuses.  Under this system, any STR over the number needed to wield the weapon will net the user a damage bonus when using that weapon.  The number of Surplus STR points needed for each +1 to Damage would vary by weapon type (weight).  A greatsword might net a +1 per 2 points of STR while a dagger might require 6 points of Surplus STR for each +1 bonus.  This is a "work in progress" as I just started considering it.  For those still using SIZ, I add 1 to STR for every 10 full points of SIZ over the SIZ required to wield the weapon.  

That's a very interesting idea. As you point out, being strong sort of gives you a double bonus, first the bigger weapons and then the bigger damage modifier. I like it. Please tell us if you develope it further.

10 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

Well for one it's faster. For two, it seems to be something that they did in RQ a lot for small animals. So a bird might do 1D3 or 1D2 damage with it's claws instead of 1D6-1D4. 

Makes sense. I'm trying to avoid the D2's and D3s just out of personal preference, but 1D4-1 and 1 can work for lesser damage. 

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No, becuase of the way RQ treats db vs weapon damage. But I've seen in in other RPGs and like it quite a bit. For one thing it helps to avoid the hobbit with a greatsword problem. Namely that in game terms it makes sense for a small weak character to wield the biggest weapon it can handle in order to offset the damage modifier. Realistically, weapons act a levers and the small character would ususally be better off weapon a smaller weapon at full speed and effciency that a heavier weapon at a slower rate.

STR requirements for handling a weapon can work, but you still have the problem that PCs with weaker characters can feel useless in combat situations. I'm dragging down greatsword/maul damage to 1D12 which help some, but not that much. Bit off topic, but have you added any advantages for using smaller, faster weapons?

The Grimoire illustration:

The design goal is a 22 page (excluding covers) PDF and saddle stitch book with 4 main chapters:

1. Core mechanics
2. Combat manual
3. Grimoire
4. Bestiary vocabulum

Each chapter will consist of 4 pages - one full page illustration, one page of rules, one page of examples and one page explaining the design choices for the rules. The 4 illustrations and the 4 pages of rules can be used to make a custom GM screen. A four page addendum will contain another full page illustration, a character sheet with the rules for character generation included, one page of char-gen examples and a page of optional add-on rules. There will also be a 2 page introduction/gm advice/copyright & public domain designation at the beginning. After reading the book once, you should only need the 4 pages of rules and character sheets to run the game.

Critical at 1/10th skill have been used with other d100 systems and have been adapted because of the easy math. Special success at 1/2 skill have been a quite successful houserule in my game - it makes opposed rolls really easy and it speeds up combat. My players were horrified at first, but have grown used to it now. Fumbles are more frequent at 90% + skill/10, but this matches the increased critical range and fumbles are always great fun!

D100rules uses two different methods for task resolution, skill rolls and stat rolls. Skill rolls are used for tasks dependent on abilities that can be acquired and increased by experience and learning. The skill system is percentile based and uses the d100 for all skill rolls. Stat rolls are used for tasks that mainly depend on physical and mental characteristics (stats), and are resolved using the d20.

Levels of success for D100 skill rolls and D20 stat rolls

• Critical ≤ Skill or stat / 10, or = 1(%)
• Special  ≤ Skill or stat / 2
• Success  ≤ Skill or stat
• Failure  > Skill or stat, or ≥ 90% or 19
• Fumble   ≥ 90% or 18 + critical, or = 100% or 20  

* Round all fractions down
 

If anyone of you have houseruled the damage modifier, I'd love to see what kind of variants you're using!