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Alternatives to dice systems? (programming.dev)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/rpg@ttrpg.network
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Dice are pretty much synonymous with RPGs, but there are a few rare systems that forego them altogether, like Castle Falkenstein.

What are some other systems that don't use dice? Are there any that completely remove luck/random chance on "important player actions"?

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[–] 3 points 8 months ago (4 children)

oh man I had a blast with a group at a con doing amber diceless long back.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (3 children)

    In my mind, it very quickly went from something implausible (how would that system work well) to one of my favorites after playing. Still lucky enough to be in a long Amber campaign with an awesome group.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (2 children)

    it plays like diplomacy. a lot of guessing. how does it work long term. do the ranking change each session or something?

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Sorry for the long reply

    Running Amber DRPG as a diplomacy focused story is certainly an option, especially if you're doing a throne war campaign. There are certainly other setups beyond this (we started immediately following book 5 as grandchildren of Oberon). While every PC and NPC certainly has their own motivations and schemes, there is no requirements as to how political you need to be (Gerard notoriously hated the petty scheming of his siblings; Benedict doesn't care as long as Amber remains stable).

    As for advancement (which I think is what you're alluding to with ranking change): if you're following the book's rules as written, the #1 in each rank for each generation cannot change (Benedict will always lead in warfare). Advancement is also blind, so you will no longer know your stats.

    As for why it has run a long time: thankfully, I have a great GM that has crafted a compelling story and wonderful players that agree on the tone of the game and are reliable. It also helps that we started as 100pt characters, so there has been room for growth and development.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago

    ok so the #1 is always npc's then? Sorry the diplomacy comment was from the european ww1esque strategy game dipomacy. Its diceless and now that I think of it its not really similar its just the way it plays feel is similar. In amber you guessing peoples relative ranks while in diplomacy your guessing who is going to ally with who. Allies tend to be public for bluff and bluster and secret to mislead. basically you win by having larger forces and forces have to be surrounded to be eliminated and come back based on resources but the way it works you have to leave things alone so people try to get enemies to undercommit or hit them with overwelming force in an area. anyway its hard to explain but the backstabbing and secrecy make it feel similar to me.

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