3d6 Dungeoneers: Design Diary 1

While I've worked on supplements for OSR games like Black Hack and BX/Old School Essentials I've been gametorming my own jam for quite awhile now and I'm going to explore it here on the blog. The first RPG I ever played was Champions 4E and while I've moved away from it, the 3d6 resolution mechanic has really been calling me to come back for a visit. I like the bell curve and I want something less swingy than the venerable d20. Additionally, I've always been a fan of Mike Pondsmith' Mekton, Cyberpunk 2020, and Castle Falkenstein. Falkenstein, specifically, is the first RPG that showed me how you could wonderfully emulate the genre with its presentation and is probably when I first started looking at what we now call "story games". While I have no interest in using a card-based mechanic what really caught my attention was dispensing with Attributes or Ability Scores and simply using Skill Ranks that mostly defaulted to an average score.

In that spirit what I'm looking at involves separating each individual component of Ability Scores, Racial Traits, and Class Traits to form a Skill List. Most characters will default to 'Average" or in other words roll a 9 (37.5% chance) or less on 3d6.

Here are the individual components as a Skill List:

Armor Class

Back-stab

Climb Sheer Surfaces

Detect Construction

Detect Room Traps

Detect Secret Doors

Find or Remove Traps

Hear Noise

Hide in Shadows

Hit Points

Initiative

Listening at Doors

Literacy

Magical Saves

Melee Attack

Move Silently

NPC Reactions

Number of Retainers

Open Gates

Open Locks

Pick Pockets

Ranged Attack

Retainer Loyalty

Resist Breath Attacks

Resist Death and Poison

Resist Paralysis and Petrification

Resist Wands

Resist Spells, Rods, and Staves

Speak Languages

Turn Undead

I'm still workin out how Hit Points will eventually work under this system but as of now everything defaults to a 9 or less (9- in the future) and things like Armor Class will be affected by equipment. At the moment there are twenty-nine Skills and you will assign Ranks to Skills in the following manner: choose one Skill a 13-, two Skills at 12-, three Skills at 11-, 4 Skills at 10-.

Ten of the twenty-nine will be better than 9- under this approach and that feels about right at the moment.

You'll notice I haven't covered magic or spellcasting yet. I'm not a big fan of of mixing spell points and spellcasting skill rolls and further, I am really comfortable with some form of Vancian magic. I'm thinking I won't separate Arcane and Divine magic and may just allow anyone to cast using Spell Scrolls or Grimoires ala Knave. I have a setting in the back of my mind that would allow anyone to use magic in a similar fashion as RuneQuest, Glorantha, and Mythras because removing the Classes, in my mind, makes spellcasting merely another Skill anyone can develop. 

More soon.

Deadlands: Hangin' Judge for Worlds Without Number

Hangin' Judge for Worlds Without Number

HD: 5

AC: 16 

Atk: +5 x 2

Dmg: 1d6+2

Shock: 3 / 15

Move: 30'

ML: 12

Instinct: 2

Skill: +2

Save: 13+

• It is Averse to a lawman's badge.
• Weapons wielded by a lawman inflict maximum damage on a hit to it and always inflict Shock regardless of it's AC.
• It is Terrifying.
• It is Unending and cannot die by violence. It may only be ended by being hanged.

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Willow: Death Dog for Worlds Without Number

   

Death Dog

for Worlds Without Number 

HD: 3

AC: 13 

Atk: +5

Dmg: 1d8

Shock: 1 / AC 13

Move: 40'

ML: 10

Instinct: 3

Skill: +2

Save: 14+

• It has a +2 bonus to saving throws against magic.
• When it successfully attacks a creature and the d20 roll is naturally Even, it inflicts an additional 2 damage due to its caustic saliva. 
• The difficulty of stabilizing someone Mortally Wounded by the death dog is 10 plus the number of full rounds since it was downed. Additionally, the physician's difficulty to remove the Frail condition on one of its victims is 12.

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Blast from the Past: The Black Hole's Maximillian for Stars Without Number

Maximillan for Stars Without Number

HD: 7

AC: 18

Atk: +9 

Dmg: 1d10+1

Move: 10m

ML: 12

Skills: +3

Save: 11+

• He has all of the traits and abilities of a VI robot.
• He can fly at his Movement speed.
• He is immune to unarmed  attacks or primitive weaponry as if he wore powered armor.
• His melee attacks have a Shock of 2/20.
• He can take a Move action on the same round as he makes a melee Execution Attack, closing rapidly with a target before he attacks. He may split his Move action when making an Execution Attack, taking part of it before he attempts to murder  his target and part of it afterwards. 
  

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Bullet Time: John Wick for Stars Without Number

             

John Wick
for Stars Without Number

HD: 10

AC: 18

Atk: +12 x 2 

Dmg: 1d8+5

Shock: 6/-

Move: 10m

ML: 12

Skills: +5

Save: 10+

• He always goes first in combat.
• He ignores Shock damage.
• He gain a bonus of +2 to his Physical saving throws.
• He can draw or holster a Stowed weapon as an On Turn action.
• The first time each day he is reduced to zero hit points by an injury, he instead survives with 10 hit points remaining.
• He can use pistol-sized ranged weapons in melee without suffering penalties for the proximity of melee attackers.
• Even on a miss with a Ranged attack, he does an unmodified 1d8 damage.
• He can split his Move action when making an any kind of Attack, taking part of it before attacking a target and part of it afterwards. This means he can even take a Move action on the same round as he makes an Execution Attack.
• A target hit by his Execution Attack takes a -5 penalty on the Physical saving throw to avoid immediate mortal injury. Even if the save is successful, the target takes triple the normal damage inflicted by the attack.

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Star Wars: Darth Maul for Stars Without Number [Updated]

            

Darth Maul

for Stars Without Number

HD: 6

AC: 18

Atk: +7 

Dmg: 1d10+6

Shock: 5/AC 20

Move: 15m

ML: 12

Skills: +2

Save: 12+

Force: 4

• When Maul would be hit by a ranged weapon attack roll a Force check and if the number rolled is less than or equal to his Force score the attack is deflected and if the number rolled is a 1 the attack is reflected back to the attacker.
• Maul's Evasion saving throw is 10 or better.
• When Maul uses his lightsaber for an Execution Attack, the weapon applies an additional -1 penalty to the Physical save and does double damage even on a successful save.

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Rifts: Burster Origin Foci for WWN & SWN

     

Burster Origin Focus 

for Worlds Without Number 

and Stars Without Number

Level 1

They must either be an Elementalist or take the Partial Mage class option from the Adventurer class as an Elementalist. Their maximum Effort score is increased by one point. They may commit Effort as an Instant action and while it is committed they are surround in an aura of flames and any creature that hits them with a melee attack takes 1d6 damage unless the weapon has the Long trait.

Level 2

They gain a +1 to the Modifier of Int or Cha to a maximum of +3. As a Main action they may hurl a blast of fire at a visible target within 300 feet. The attack is made with Magic as the combat skill, Int, Cha, or Dex as the attribute, and a bonus to hit equal to your character level. On a hit, the attack does 1d6 damage. They may use this bolt as often as they wish.

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