Rules development

[Wraith]

Yo.

I have been gaming for 30 years, and had tried to create many incarnations of rules over that timespan.

Who else has tried to write rules? probally most here.

Anyways, In an effort to have a streamlined set of rules for my Storytelling type of GMing I have begun yet again on a set of rules, of which I am already at the 3rd update.I am calling my rules A.S.A.P.(As Simple As Possible)

My goals are as follows:

1: A single d6 will be rolled to determine all things, using Delta conventions
2: Colored chips are used to keep track of things that change: red for HEALTH , white for KHARMA, blue for?
3: No need to write anything down except initial character generation, and upgrades.
4: Skills and Traits are user defined, using  ASPECT type conventions
5: Keep major rules down to a double page.(or the reference charts?)
6: No levels, but bonuses based on Minor(+1), Major(+2), Trademark(+3)

1) what i mean by delta Convention, is basically the Convention used in the Wargame DBA. A D6 is rolled by the opposing Characters or a Character versus a set number to represent a static test, such as picking a lock a lock:All bonuses are added and the roles compared. outcomes are as in the following Chart:

The action table displays the outcomes with relation to the instigator of the action.

DELTA       OUTCOME         
<1/2       Cinematic failure            
1/2      Dramatic failure              
<          Failure            
=      Inconclusive         
>      Success            
X2      Dramatic success         
>X2      Cinematic  success      


Works quickly and easialy!

More later...

[Uncle Mike]

Sounds interesting.

I, like you, have been playing games for a long while and tried several times to create a rule set. Most were failures but eventually I hit upon an idea that was 'what I wanted to do'. Three years of playtesting and prep work later and 'Strange Aeons' was born.

It has been (still is...) a lot of work but I find it quite rewarding. I wish you the best and hope you stick with it. Find a good group of people to help you do the things you cannot and make it happen. The world needs more games!!!

Good luck,
Uncle Mike

[magokiron]

Humm...

I for one have written several "in-house" rulesets for the different games we play, trying to use the things I like from different rulebooks.

It's a hard task and not always have a good end, but then I have a lot of fun doing it!

Any more advances with your A.S.A.P. rules?

Best wishes.

[Leapsnbounds]

And here I thought I was the only one who still gamed with military miniatures after 30 years.  Keep up the good work, I look forward to your rules.  I am alwasy looking to have big fun.

[Wraith]

The ASAP rules are moving along slowly due to my time being spent on organizing my Pulps opus "And Also After" that I am posting in another thread.

ASAP is a cut down version of my previous set of rules named  "SIX", In SIX, everything in the game is based on the number 6. It is not a bad set of rules in itself, and is done in 6 pages, but I think I can do better. Ergo: more streamlined

This rules set has come about with my frustration of character sheets that have reems of stats, skills, traits and numbers on them. Sorry, but I am not intimately aquainted with my characters since I only play once a month if I am lucky, plus, in my group, we routinely roll up characters for each other to use, and complicated character sheets of varying systems just gets too confusing to me.

A few things that I am trying to overcome in this rule set are:

1: Since I am trying to not have any "LISTS" , it is difficult to define skills without them being too open ended. I may end up having a short list of 10 or so skill areas that the PC can specialize in... SIGH...

2:  Since I am trying to keep the pages of rules to a minimum, it is difficult to define things so others can understand them (I assume a lot since I am writing the rules, and this is why even so-called "simple" sets of rules seem to expand and eventually incorporate hundreds of pages to explain them.)

When I make hammer out these 3 issues and get them written up, I will be ready to playtest.

John

[Wraith]

The ASAP rules are written up and I have a friend, Joe,  who was previpusly a player in my "And Also After" who is running the campaign using ASAP, for his group. Joe's group plays every monday for 8 hrs!
Can you say 2 birds with 1 stone?

I expect plenty of feedback about the rules and the campaign in the next couple of months, so I can get them finalized.

[magokiron]

Glad to hear that.

Writing a ruleset is not an esay task and I'm sure you must feel proud.

If you want share a first version with us, I'm sure lots of forumites (me included) will gladly try a game or two and give you some feedback.

Best wishes.

[Wraith]

Sounds good.

Anyone interested in viewing or commenting on the ASAP rules please PM me your e-mail addy and I'll gladly send you a set.

Thanks,

Wraith

[magokiron]

PM sent.

[Wraith]

So...I got some remarks a while back and havent had much time to work on these rules as I have been spending my time on my campaign.

I am trying to figure out how to explain more things in my rules-set without having to add lots of pages.

Maybe a few pages showing examples will suffice...more later

Wraith

[Christian]

I can do some reviewing and playtesting for you, but I can't promise you I'll do it quickly!

[Wraith]

The GM that I have play testing these rules for me with his game group says his players are complaining about lack of advancement for their characters.

My goal was to have the players design their "Hero" caliber PC from the onset, with no real convention in place for advancement. This is mostly from the need of my players that "have real lives" and cant play often enough to worry about advancement. Plus the fact that the Character card is meant to be abbreviated "small with easy to find info" and not be full of eraser marks and scribbles as things change on it. Plus...the Gm adds "free traits" dependant on their experiences that the PCs can access for bonuses. 

What is it with people? If you say "here is 100 million dollars, but we need to take 50 million for taxes, they will gripe till the cows come home, but if you say;
"here is 10 thousand dollars tax free", they will be overjoyed! 

Anyhoo, what think ye all? Would most gamers be more satisfied being a low level PC with the world in front of them and lots of slots on their character sheet to fill up as they adventure rather than being superman and no empty slots on their character sheet?

Wraith

[Red Orc]

Horses for courses; but for a continuing set of games I'd say there's more fun in having characters that can advance some how.

Taking just one example - suppose the player decides that the character should have a better shooting ability because he's decided (after creating the character) that marksmen are cool. So the player wants to improve that aspect of the character. Depends how your system handles such things (and I'm sorry, I didn't see this thread first time round or I might have PMed you too) but essentially they want a 'shooting ability' boost.

It doesn't have to be stats as such, though it could be, such as a boost to a character's shooting stat (ballistic skill, dexterity, missile-weapon skill level) to reflect increased experience. It could instead be new skills, such as a 'sharpshooter' skill that the character gains to improve some aspect of their shooting (like range, or rate of fire).

Or it could be equipment - they get a better rifle that improves their ability to shoot (it has better sights, is better machined to be more accurate, has a more efficient loading mechanism to improve rate of fire or whatever). Or they could get 'money' (loot, payment for services from their patron, ransom money etc) to buy better equipment or training that in turn improves their ability to shoot.

'Money' can instead be thought of as 'influence' or 'reputation' - the successful character establishes better contacts in the Underworld, becomes a trusted lieutenant of a Mafia Godfather, befriends some monks with incredible combat powers, or is promoted in the Police, Army or FBI,  and gains better access to all the things that could be bought for 'money'. Their equipment is upgraded, they can obtain specialist training etc.

But the other way to look at the question of improvements (which can be related to either money or influence) is a different way of imagining the whole character/game setup. Instead of imagining the character as representing the player, if the player runs the army/force/gang rather than the character (who now becomes the heroic leader of a force) the whole thing can be regarded as a question not of skill boosts but of 'team tweeks'.

Instead of getting better at shooting, the character/leader can call on more specialists. Say, at first, the character has a small gang/team/squad, of himself (blade skill, pistol skill), half a dozen toughs (low-level, armed with pistol and club), and a Tommy-gunner (+1 shooting, multi-shot weapon). After a few successful jobs, the player's Boss (Captain, Godfather, whatever other superior they might have) is impressed (the player 'uses his influence') and the Boss sends a Hitman/Marksman (+2 shooting skill, double range rifle) to add to the gang/team (or, the player 'hires' the Hitman by 'using his money').

The player could otherwise have used his influence or spent his money to train his level-1 toughs to superior level-2 toughs (extra damamge when in hand-to-hand) or gain a different specialist (such as a demolition expert) or recruit other standard troops - perhaps 5 more toughs, or a few riflemen, or something.

Anyroadup; I hope some of that is some use.

I will PM you later, honest!

[Wraith]

RedOrk...
great ideas!
Your writings made a light bulb go on and gave me a great idea that I am going to incorporate right away!

Wraith

[Red Orc]

 

I live to serve. Glad you found something useful!