Now for some more basics

Every RPG needs some basic stats for characters and N.E.R.V.system will be no different. In particular I am referring to basic character attributes, the strength, dexterity, etc. stuff. I envision that there will be two types of these attributes, the standard and the series-specific.

So the task now is to determine which attributes will be bog standard used in all series. I have already asked Bernie and Colin for some input and when we meet next I'd like to hammer out specifics.

What has been suggested so far are:

• Strength
• Physical Agility
• Intelligence (book learning)
• Metal Agility
• Body/Endurance/Constitution
• Looks
• Willpower

So, what would you like to see as the basic attributes? I'm not sure what the number will be so lets throw out ideas and see which ones get the most support.

And don't worry about how you'll pay for them, I'm seeing character generation as being a far more honour-system affair; we're all mature gamers after all. Right. Right?

A Little Update

So, we have a dice mechanic selected (dice pool with set target per Shadowrun 4 for those who might have been blocking). I have started on combat, because killing things is always fun. I should have some stuff for ya'll to look at shortly in that regard.

The Core Mechanic

At the heart of every RPG there is, or at least ought to be, a core mechanic that provides resolution for all manner of challenges. In D&D it is a roll of 1d20 + modifiers versus either a static Target Number such as AC or against another 1d20+mods roll that establishes the TN.

The question at hand now is, what core mechanic will we use for N.E.R.V.system? There are quite a few options and I'm about to bore you with them. However, without making this decision, it will be impossible to develop all the other parts of the game as I won't know what values to create to plug into the core mechanic, there not actually being a core mechanic until we decide on one.

There are two broad categories of core mechanics, roll+mods and dice pools.

Roll+mods is pretty straightforward. D20 system uses a single-die roll+mod vs. Target Number while BESM, for example, uses 2d6+mod vs. TN. In a roll+mod system, the randomizer does not change with the situation, the modification to the roll (and possibly the target number) does.

There are a lot more variants in dice pools. Frex:
Shadowrun 4 style - pool rolled against a static target number to generate hits. The number of hits is used to determine success and degree of success. Exalted uses a similar system, except the dice are d10 not d6 and the static target is 7 not 5.
OVA style - pool rolled with only the highest single die used. If multiple dice match, they are totalled and that used as the result if greater than the highest single die.
One Roll Engine (ORE) style - pool is rolled to find matches. Within a match, the number of matching dice is called the width and the value is the height. Width determines speed of action (or damage in combat) while height determines quality of action. In an attack roll, for example, a roll that includes 3 dice showing 7s (ORE uses d10s) would have a better chance of hitting against a defence that rolled a height of only 5, and would do damage based on the width of 3. The idea is to make one roll (hence the name) to sort out multiple axes of a conflict or contest.
Roll and Keep (7th Sea, Original L5R) style - pool is rolled and the best x dice are allowed to be kept and added together against a TN based on the difficulty of the task. In the standard Roll and Keep games, dice pools are formed from Skill + Trait with the number of Trait dice indicating how many of the total dice can be kept.
Fudge dice style - pool dice are special, indicating either success, failure or null on each die. Total success less total failure gives the final result. Number of successes determines overall performance.

There are probably more but you get the drift.

One advantage of dice pools is that you can add bonus dice and take away penalty dice in various ways to make things more interesting without totally eliminating the importance of the random element. With a roll+mod system, especially one that uses only one die (like d20 system), once the mods get high enough, the roll no linger matters.

Another attraction of dice pools is that the pools themselves are usually formed by adding together dice from multiple sources, usually at the very least a base attribute (like strength) plus a skill or talent. Some systems (such as Exalted) allow more dice for special equipment, stunting and special powers. Houses of the Blooded allows characters to add dice if their name is appropriate to the task. Some systems cap the number of dice in the pool, though they usually allow spare dice to be used to soak off any penalties to the pool before dice are rolled. This can all be very handy in game design.

Some systems such as ORE also have special dice that allow the player to set their value before rolling any other dice and others that can be set after the rest are rolled. This works best with the ORE mechanic, but could be made to work with other dice pool systems.

There are other mechanics out there. Some use playing cards (Deadlands), some use no dice at all (Amber), I hear there is one that uses Jenga (don't ask) and there are probably ones that use the entrails of beasts (don't go there). Suffice to say we won't be using any of those.

So, with Marc's permission, I would like to spend a few moments going over these before we start the next game and then we can mull it over for a few days. I'd like to select something everyone can wrap their heads around while still having a system that allows lots of flexibility when creating the modules of the rest of the game.

And one more thing...

Further to the genre emulation concept below, I made the following post to RPG.net a few days ago where it generated a fair amount of discussion, some of it useful in getting me started on this project. I think the post might be a useful illustration of what I'm talking about, so I reproduce it below.

Encouraging the power-escalation-during-combat anime trope in RPG play

To set the scene I’ll use Bleach but many fighting manga/anime follow the same pattern. Our hero Kuchiki Byakuya, all-around cool-but-badass-guy, steps forth to face his opponent. Said opponent is known to be strong - a definite threat. This plays out one of two ways. To whit:

The anime way – Byakuya and the enemy trash talk a bit and then our hero attacks. He uses his zanpakuto but does not unseal it and he uses flash steps (cause that’s cool and what he’s famous for) to move quickly. The enemy uses his natural claws/big teeth/rapier wit/chi-powered rubber ducky (on setting 1).

Not gaining the advantage after a few exchanges at this level, one side or the other ramps it up. Byakuya unseals his zanpakuto to its shikai form, maybe adds in a binding or destruction spell, but not a top-level one, not yet. The enemy dials his ducky up to level 3 (out of 5). Battle continues.

With much sweating and grunting, not to mention cutting and spitting up blood (this is Bleach after all), neither side has an advantage. Byakuya moves to the next level of shikai and spells while the enemy puts his ducky on 5. Cue more trash talk, gouts of blood and the SFX budget of a season of the new Battlestar Galactica

And yet after a few minutes of this, still no winner. The enemy roars, “Is that all you have? Bwahahahaha, then now feel my TRUE power.” His ducky transforms into the fabled Gutting-Goose of Shinigami-Slaying and he races forward to attack. While it takes him the requisite eternity to close with our hero, Byakuya adopts a look of pained regret and utters, in that way he does, “Ban…kai”. Cue drifts of sakura petals and the SFX budget of the entire Star Wars saga. Fight ends in tears for the enemy about 10 seconds later.

Now the RPG way;
GM – “Before you stands a powerful foe. He is thought to possess the mighty Gutting Goose and he may truly be a match for your power. What do you do?”

Player – “Bankai!”

Soooo the question at hand is; what, if any, system does the best job of mechanically encouraging the first version of the scene, rather than the second. I know that the GM could just rule that top-level powers cannot be used out of the gate, but that seems a bit much. And even in-genre there are times when characters pull out all the stops at the start, if only so they can discover that they actually have yet another level of power they hadn’t found yet.

Systems like BESM 3 that can restrict usages also tend to give points for the restriction that can be used to make powers even better than might be desired.

Power point economies (BESM Energy Points, OVA Endurance, Exalted Motes) can actually discourage the trope by penalizing the use of smaller powers first if they eat up the point reserve, perhaps making it impossible to use the big gun later. Better to fire the wave motion gun at the start and mop up with the shock cannons.

I see some merit in systems like D&D 4E with its At Will, Encounter and Daily powers. But if the game is not running with the same kind of “encounters per day” assumptions as D&D, there may not be any incentive to not spam the dailies at the start of the boss fight, especially if it may be the only combat that day.

To some degree the Charge Dice mechanic in Anima Prime has promise, but I’m not sure how well it works out in practice and that system does have a fair bit of combat bookkeeping with its three dice pools and their ever-changing values.

So, does anyone have any suggested sub-systems, games, house rules or just plain ideas that might be of use? I’m probably going to kit-bash something based on OVA or CAHS2 for my own use and I’m looking for something I can lift and graft on to encourage this play style without just mandating it or making the exceptional cases impossible.