Game Snippets

These are all random game mechanics that don't have a page of their own yet. They are mostly half-baked ideas right off the top of my head as I think about them. Hopefully they will find their way into something at my table.

Powers are rolled as a pool of d6's, finding the highest die and adding any static bonuses to it. Additional 6's are added on as +1 to the roll (if you roll a 2, 3, 6, 6, you get a 7 because 6 is your highest roll, plus and extra +1 for the second 6).

Non-super stats should be simple and broadly applicable. Possibly have stats for Body, Mind, Spirit, Social, examples of what they do, and maybe a couple specialties. Also keep in mind if they can combine with super powers (such as having a high Body score adding to super-strength).

Have some sort of stunt points to do power stunts. Also, instead of the Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, buy up abilities with your stunt points similar to buying stunts with Fate point in SotC.

Possibilities with this dice system include static bonuses (strait +1, +2, etc.), additional dice added on (+1d, +2d, etc.), rerolling existing dice (6d pool with 1d reroll, 2d reroll, etc.), lowering the threshold for achieving +1 from good rolls (roll dice pool, take highest result, every additional 5 or 6 equals +1)

1. Attack
2. Defence
3. Movement
4. Perception
5. Ability/Skill
6. Other Useful Ability

You get 1 Primary, 1 Secondary, 1 Tertiary power, with bonuses of +4, +2, 0.

Every power starts at 5d and has 1 of those effects. For every additional effect the power has, subtract 1d. Example:

The Fighting Flame has mastery over fire, able to generate and control it for his own purposes. The player chooses Fire Control as the name of his power. It starts at 5d and has 1 effect (the player chooses Attack, as a blast of flame is definitely in the character concept). He then adds more effects: Defence because the character can surround himself in flames as a form of body armour, Movement because the character can use a blast of flame behind him to allow him to fly, and Other Useful Ability which represents his control over existing flame, such as shaping it or snuffing it out. That means his Fire Control is now at 2d (5d initially - 3d for the additional effects).

You get 1 Primary, 1 Secondary, 1 Tertiary power, starting with 6d, 4d, 2d.

Every effect a power has lowers the dice pool by 1d.

Probability of Individual Role Exact

Cumulative Exact

Cumulative Percentage

Roll pools of d6's, counting successes. The number needed is based on Skill Level, the number of dice rolled is based on Stat.

Purpose: Represent an old feeble master (high skill, low stat) versus a young talented upstart (low skill, high stat). Check the percentages of those two archtypes against each other.

There are two main axis that are used to classify mechs: their weight class (light, medium, heavy) and their purpose (assault, scout, close-quarters battle, support).

Weight class determines Armour and manoeuvrability. Both of those stats add up to 2 for all mechs. Light is 0 and 2, medium is 1 and 1, heavy is 2 and 0.

Purpose determines Ranged, Melee and Speed. These stats add up to 3 for all mechs. The weight class that typifies the purpose gets a 3 in the main stat, and 0 in the other two stats. The other 2 weight classes get 2 in the main stat, and a 1 and 0 in the other two stats. The typical Scout is Light, typical CQB is Medium, and typical Support is Heavy. There is no weight class bias for Assault.

Assault mechs are the general purpose frontline mechs, with balanced stats. Scout mechs are the lightly equiped fast mechs used for scouting and traveling behind enemy lines with high speed. CQB mechs are for short range (typically urban) combat with high melee. Support are for extremely long range combat (missile platforms, sniper units, etc.) with high ranged.

The following chart combines all of the weight class and purpose combinations:

To use these stats as static bonuses in a Fate based game, treat 0 as -1, 1 as 0, 2 as +1, and 3 as +2.

Gundam-style mecha are created as reflections and avatars of their pilots. As such, the mecha is created as the character, assigning the skill pyramid as normal to represent its abilities as piloted by its owner. One of the skills on the pyramid is “Pilot”. This represents the pilots age, experience, and ability for everything outside of their mech. The older, more experienced pilot would put the “Pilot” skill at the apex of the pyramid, whereas the young, brash hotshot would put it near the bottom. This would mean that inside the mecha, the younger pilot would have more mecha skills at the top then the older, experienced pilot, which tends to be in genre for Gundam-style anime. Aspects should be spread among the pilot and the mecha.

Stats: Body, Mind, Spirit, Social. 8 Points to spread amongst them, minimum of 1 in each. This equals a bonus. Skill: This represents the amount of dice rolled.

Aptitude is for Human scale abilities that are easier to learn (a Hobbit's stealth, Elven Bowmanship, Cimmerian Climbing). Scale is for something on a completely different level to Humans (Ogre's strength).

Used in the Super Power example above. Roll a pool of d6 equal to your skill. Take highest single number. Each additional 6 after the first adds 1 to the total. Bonuses can come in the form of flat bonuses (+1, +2, etc.), dice bonuses (+1d, +2d, etc.), changing the range for bonuses (add +1 to the total for each additional 5 or 6), change the value for the bonus (each additional 6 adds +2 to the total), changing the range and value for bonuses (add +1 to the total for each additional 5, add +2 to the total for each additional 6).

http://anydice.com/program/87 (need to figure out the more complicated math)

\
Roll Xd6
Take highest of the X dice and store in Variable1
Count number of 6s on the X dice
 If greater than 1, subtract 1 and store in Variable2
 Else store 0 in Variable2
Output Variable1 + Variable2
\

output 6d[count 6 in d6] -1

This resolution mechanic is roll 3d6 for all actions. The object is to roll higher than the target difficulty or higher than the opponent but to still roll under the character's skill level. Higher skill characters should still succeed more of the time, but differences in skill are not overwhelming. Target difficulties must be very carefully chosen though, because tasks may become impossible for all but the most skilled characters. You also need to be very careful of who gets the bonus or penalty, because it could be the difference between one character succeeding or failing, and both characters succeed or failing. An example or two are definitely needed to show who should get bonuses or penalties. There can also be a difference between skill and talent, one being the number to roll under, one a bonus to the actual roll. Static defense should be a fraction of the defense skill, either a penalty to the attacker or a number that has to be rolled under.

Static: One character versus a static target, or two characters passively competing against one another such as a foot race.
Dynamic: Two characters actively competing against each other, such as a game of chess, an argument, or a fight.

Simple: One roll is all that is required to resolve the action.
Complex: Multiple rolls are required to resolve the action.

Party Actions: Some actions require either the entire group of characters to succeed, or only one character within the group to succeed. The classic example of this is in infiltration scenes, which is classic Stealth versus Perception. The group trying to infiltrate is only as quiet as its loudest member, so the person with the lowest Stealth skill is the only one that has to roll. On the other hand, it only takes one character in a group to spot or see them, so the character with the Highest perception is the only one to roll. This makes it a single, statistically interesting roll between the loudest character and the most perceptive character.

http://anydice.com/program/618

http://anydice.com/program/619

Group rolls, lowest roll counted.
Group rolls, highest roll counted.
Group rolls, lowest roll counted modified by other successes.
Group rolls, highest roll counted modified by other failures.
Only the member of the group with the highest skill rolls. (Example: Perception check to spot sneaking enemies. It only takes one character to spot the enemies for the whole group to know they are there.)
Only the member of the group with the lowest skill rolls. (Example: Stealth check to avoid notice. It only takes one loud member of the group to alert their enemies to the whole groups presense.)
If the whole group could take a turn trying to accomplish somthing, or if everyone could help, the character with the highest skill rolls with a bonus for every other character with a high enough skill to positively affect the outcome. (Example: Picking a lock in a non-time critical situation that doesn't have any sort of failsafe or booby-trap attached to it. Everyone one with the skill to pick a lock could technically give it a try.)

Single roll versus opposition's single roll.
Single roll versus static difficulty.
Both sides of conflict make single roll versus static difficulty.
Multiple rolls, first to get to a total, or the highest total if both go over in the same round.
Multiple rolls, with widening and shrinking gap.

Single skill. Take highest of two skills.
Take highest of two skills modified by the lowest skill.
Take lowest of two skills.
Take lowest of two skills modified by highest skill.

There is two types of damage: Lethal and Non-lethal. Weapons have a penetration value and damage value, and armour has a protection value and soak value.

Heavier, blunt melee weapons (clubs, warhammers) have higher damage but are non-lethal. Slashing/piercing weapons (bladed weapons like knives and swords) have lower damage but higher penetration. Piercing weapons (arrows, crossbow bolts) have very high piercing, lower damage. Chopping weapons (axes) have some penetration, and medium damage (less than equivalent blunt weapons, more than equivalent swords).

Lowest, Low, Medium, High, Highest

Weapons that penetrate armour do lethal damage (if they do that kind in the first place). Weapons that don't penetrate armour, or that do non-lethal damage anyway, do non-lethal damage. Aside from that, armour should still absorb some damage, because getting hit by a non-lethal club while wearing armour should be better than without. Certain armour can be ineffective against certain weapons; ancient armour against bullets, modern non-hardened armour against knives, futuristic energy shields against slower weapons, etc.

Various outcomes:
Attacker Misses: Weapon has no effect.
Attacker Hits, doesn't defeat armour's protection value: Weapon is converted into non-lethal damage and soak is applied.
Attacker Hits, defeats armour's protection value: Weapon's lethality stays the same and soak is applied. Maybe soak isn't applied so if a weak, lethal weapon gets through it can be very deadly? Maybe the amount of penetration that gets through an armour's protection is a multiplier to damage, so that blunt weapons always get soaked but lethal weapons can cause serious damage? Maybe 0- penetration that gets through means soak happens, 1 penetration means no soak happens, 2+ penetration means no soak happens and it functions as a damage multiplier?