My RPG group and I (mostly the latter) have spent the past few months working on a setting-generic RPG system. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! I'm quite proud of it as I haven't really seen very many dice systems like this. The system has character specialization (some are better at things than others) without any modifiers or math, just comparison!
Creating a Character
Players need only decide two things when creating their characters: their action die and their approach die.
A character’s “action die” broadly describes their physical attributes, skills, and talents.
- Intelligent, thoughtful, and quick-witted characters use a six-sided action die.
- Charismatic, charming, and attractive characters use an eight-sided action die.
- Agile, dexterous, and swift characters use a ten-sided action die.
- Strong, powerful, and tough characters use a twelve-sided action die.
A character’s “approach die” broadly describes their outlook on the world and how they go about executing their skills.
- Sharp, perceptive, and attentive characters use a six-sided approach die.
- Forceful, reactive, and fiery characters use an eight-sided approach die.
- Disciplined, courageous, and willful characters use a ten-sided approach die.
- Calm, level-headed, and careful characters use a twelve-sided approach die.
Attempts
Characters may do any of four things to interact with their environment: engage, consort, finesse, or exert. These are known as “actions.”
- To “engage” is to interact with an object or place using intense focus and care.
- To “consort” is to persuade, deceive, or otherwise communicate with others.
- To “finesse” is to maneuver one’s body in a precise, swift, and calculated manner.
- To “exert” is to use raw, physical strength.
Characters may go about an action any of four ways: sharply, forcefully, boldly, or calmly. These are known as “approaches.”
- To be “sharp” is to be perceptive, keen, and attentive.
- To be “forceful” is to explode with reckless power and speed.
- To be “bold” is to overcome one’s fears or anxieties.
- To be “calm” is to remain composed under pressure or threat.
If ever a player wishes to do something, they must first describe it to the narrator, who will then determine the action and approach that best fits. Players will automatically succeed in most of their endeavors, but the outcome of riskier or more unpredictable ones is determined by rolling their two dice and counting successes. This is known as an “attempt.”
For a die to yield a success, the number rolled must fall within the corresponding range for that category. (This is supposed to be in table form but most front-ends don't support Markdown tables.)
- Engage/Sharp: 3--6
- Consort/Forceful: 4--8
- Finesse/Bold: 5--10
- Exert/Calm: 6--12
Zero successes result in the attempt failing, one success results in the attempt succeeding, and two successes result in the attempt critically succeeding.
If ever the manner in which a character does something has no effect on its outcome, the player may roll two action dice and no approach die. If ever only the manner in which a character does something has an effect on its outcome, the player may roll two approach dice and no action die.
If the narrator believes that a player’s attempt should be easier or harder than usual, they may increase the number of dice the player rolls. If it is to be harder, the number of required successes increases. If it is to be easier, it does not.
Combat
Many direct competitions require more mechanical structure to ensure every party has a fair chance at victory. In situations such as these, “combat” may be initiated.
Combat is divided into rounds, during each of which, all participating characters make an attempt to win. As the attempts are being made, the narrator writes them down in a list, using the number on the approach die of each to order them from lowest to highest. To end the round and begin another, the narrator reads through their finalized list and describes to the players what happens. If ever a previous attempt—such as the killing of a character—prevents the current attempt—such as that character striking back—from occurring, it automatically fails.
Wounds & Stress
If ever a character is inflicted with some sort of physical injury or mental affliction, they must roll their action or approach die, respectively, and then scratch that number from the corresponding list on their character sheet. This is known as taking a “wound” or “stress” on that number. In the future, if ever an action die rolls a number with a wound, or an approach die rolls a number with a stress, it automatically yields a failure, regardless of whether or not it would normally fall within the succeeding range.
If ever a player receives a wound and no longer has a possible succeeding action roll, they die. If ever they receive a stress and no longer have a possible succeeding approach roll, they go insane. Both permanently remove the character from the game.
When determining how many wounds or stresses an event inflicts, it is important for narrators to note that one character may be killed in only six wounds, and another twelve. The same attempt should have the same effect on both of these characters. A successful attempt may result in zero-to-two wounds depending on the context of the attempt, and a critically successful one may result in two-to-four. A failure always results in zero.
Non-Player Characters
Non-player characters (NPCs)—especially unintelligent or narratively unimportant ones such as goons, objects, animals, and the environment—function differently to the players’ characters. Rather than being limited only by the creativity of the narrator, each NPC has a unique list of specific actions and approaches, each with their own, unique succeeding ranges. This is known as their “attempt table.” During combat, NPCs have no volition; what they do is randomly determined by rolling and indexing into their attempt table.
Downtime
In between important or especially grueling scenes, players may choose to have downtime. During “downtime,” rather than describing their exact actions in the present moment, the narrator and players broadly discuss what they are doing over a matter of days, weeks, or even months. This could include purchasing new equipment, training, searching for information, or taking time to recover from an injury.
Players are given special agency during downtime; they should be allowed to affect the narrative in ways they wouldn't normally be able to during play. A player might come up with a piece of information they would like their character to find or create an individual they would like them to meet. However, the narrator always has the final say and must agree to what the players propose before it becomes canon; not everything can fit into their existing narrative.
Things have to get real bad before people realize they need to get better. I’m hoping that happens here