Thursday, December 14, 2017
All right folks, I want to give another look at these "ultra fast, minimal rules, generic" games you all keep talking about. I want to start a new game using one of them as the base line. At this point, I don't know what kind of game, still playing around with genre and character. So...which system should I use?
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I prefer light oracles if anything. Miso and Bivius do just that: just come up with two options. It gives you a little more control over the flow instead of shoehorning something Mythic provides into a scene that may not fit the atmosphere you're looking for.
ReplyDeleteIf you want the simplest rules, don't have any rules.
ReplyDeleteWhatever oracle you use will work.
Failing that, roll a D6 and characters succeed on 4+. 3+ if they are good at the thing, 5+ if its really hard.
Heroes reroll once per session but must take a consequence for doing so.
Ivan Sorensen I might have to try that. ^_^
ReplyDeleteIvan Sorensen My first thought was "use d6. 5+ is a success. If "advantaged" 4+. If "disadvantaged 6+." Three stats (Social, Physical, Mental), and a handful of "focuses". So, I have a small pool I can roll (like 4 dice if I'm really good at something, 1 die if I'm really bad at it). But that's just the idle thought I had.
ReplyDeleteI like Miso but I made it with inspiration from Bivius. So I'm partial.
ReplyDeleteIt's just so minimalist but still offers some resolution mechanism.
Todd Rokely That's fairly close to Tiny Dungeon. The difference is you test on 2 dice, +1 if advantaged and -1 if disadvantaged. A character also has three Traits, but that could be optional to simplify the system.
ReplyDeleteI might also recommend the mechanics from Ghost/Echo. It also does what Miso and Bivius does, but on a sliding scale, so it gives more nuance than plain yes or no. You can use it as a system, an oracle, or both.
ReplyDeleteFU works well too if you want a bit more definition to your characters and so forth. I also like Todd Rokely's suggestion. A complete system in one short post!
Wow, l must look at Ghost/Echo again. Never thought of using it as a solo system. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSophia Brandt You know I’M a fan of Miso! I really like using the “weighted” dice option on resolutions; it makes me feel like I have a bit more say in the matter. D6 as the baseline, and higher for the more “believable” or likely of the two choices. You’ll still get surprised occasionally when you roll a 3 on a D20... “Dangit.” 😆
ReplyDeleteAs noted elsewhere, I use a mix of tools and trade off when something isn't working, so I'm not good at giving a "one-size-fits-all" answer.
ReplyDeleteMy best answer is start with an oracle and a system you know, and try it out. If it doesn't work, change something and try that. Eventually you'll find your best arrangement of tools.
Jmz Haz "start with an oracle and a system you know"
ReplyDeleteI am actively trying to use a system I DON'T know.
Normally I'd agree with ya, but this is a deliberate "I want to get out of my comfort zone" type thing.
Of the choices, I've only used so1um. It's all on one page, the d6 oracle provides yes/no with and/but results which qualify a second roll providing more direction. I'm not sure if that would grow tiresome after a lot of use, but it's a nice, succinct system for quick startup and easy play.
ReplyDeleteI'll give another vote to Miso by Sophia Brandt. Tho I tend to use it alongside the Adventuresmith app if I need inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAnother option is to grab a random rpg book. Look up the skill check system and ignore the rest of the book.
ReplyDelete:)
Bivius, for me, it is simply perfect. I like and already played all the systems you pointed here...all are amazing. But Bivius is the one wich flows better for my style of playing.
ReplyDeleteWell, let's see... Oracle, Bivius, so1um, Risus. Roll 1d4 to get your system... Of course, this might be construed as using the Miso system. :D
ReplyDeleteif you want to do the bare bones minimum, use a yes/no Oracle of any type. Tiny Solitaire soldiers would seem like a logical choice:
ReplyDeletetinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com - Solo RPG?!
However, if you don't feel like that's system enough after playing around with it, you could go up in complexity as needed from the list you created and the suggestions here.
I use a variation on TSS's where I split off the "And & But" to a separate d6. That way, I can do Good Odds and Bad odds for a positive outcome. So, say Yes is on a 1-3 and No is on a 4-6. I can do Good Odds and have it Yes 1-4 or 5. Conversely I can do Bad Odds with Yes 1-2 or just 1. Same with the And. I thought about replacing Neutral with Or, but I think having a baseline Yes/No is important. And that the Twist! dice covers most interesting things. For Twists, I like using the GM Apprentice Deck for ideas, but if you want to keep things free, Tangent Zero's image dice is great for that too.
ReplyDeletetangent-zero.com - Tangent Zero - Zero Dice