System game-play

[Kurzyk]

I'm interested in the system games here. I used to play a little bit of D&D a while ago, and I remember having a character sheet, working with a DM and using dice. It's been a very long time since then though so my memory is a bit fuzzy. Not to mention that I'm not sure how it would work here online. :)

Is there information here regarding the system games and how they work?

If not Id like to suggest that one of the experienced system gamers here write up an informational piece about it. It would help the members involved in system game-play that are looking for more people, and be a guide for those curious but don't understand how to play.

[Jeramiahh]

The biggest problem with that is that there's not just one unified system. If there were, a lot of people would go broke very fast. =P

As to a tutorial for D&D, which is one of the most popular, and not *that* difficult to learn... that's a bit trickier. The easiest way, really, is to sit down and just read the rules, though, at the heart of D&D, any edition, there is one, simple, unifying rule, from the first pages of the Player's Handbook.

The Core Mechanic

Whenever you attempt an action that has some chance of failure, you roll a twenty-sided die (d20). To determine if your character succeeds at a task you do this:

    * Roll a d20.
    * Add any relevant modifiers.
    * Compare the result to a target number.

If the result equals or exceeds the target number, your character succeeds. If the result is lower than the target number, you fail.

[Kurzyk]

Thanks Jeremiahh.

I see what you're saying. I'll take a look the Core Mechanic info and read some of the system games and ooc chat on the forums to get an idea. :)

[HairyHeretic]

I'll see if I can post a bit of info on some other system mechanics later ... logged in to work atm.

[Kurzyk]

Oh great! Thanks Hairy :)

[HairyHeretic]

Ok, I could have swore this topic had been covered before, but couldn't find the thread.

The d20 core mechanic is fairly simple, but it's not the only one out there (obviously enough). A couple of other ones I know work as follow:


Percentile based: Stats and skills are given in XX% format. To succeed, you need to roll under the percentile value, which can be modified by outside circumstances.

GURPS uses a 3d6 method, again where you're trying to roll under the stat or skill to succeed. Generally the more you roll under your target, the better your success.


A different method is used by the White Wolf stable of games, where everything is d10 based. In these you add together the number of dice you have in a stat and skill, roll them all, and are aiming to get 7s or better for a success. The difficulty of the task determines the number of successes you need to achieve your objective.


A different one is the likes of L5Rs roll/keep system. In that, you have again a pool of d10s (stat + skill), but only get to keep so many of them. In this case, you add the totals of the dice up, and are aiming to reach or beat a particular number to succeed in your task. As an example, I have a dexterity of 2 and sword skill of 3, and am trying to hit an average target. I roll 5 d10s, and keep my best 2. If I get 15, I hit my target. If I don't, I miss. 7th Sea uses the same mechanic I believe, or something fairly close.

So yeah .. lots of different mechanics out there. Some don't even use dice. Castle Falkenstein, a steampunk game, uses cards (since gentlemen play at cards, and only those ruffians use dice in their games)