[Unknown] Have you seen this mechanic before

[mratomek]

I have been working on a game for what seems to be forever--re-written it a half dozen times over the last decade--eech!

However, the reason I have had to re-write it so many times is that I am trying to develop a fast-playing table-top wargame with RPG elements, and the previous system just seems to be too slow and complex to work.

So after a long, long hiatus, I decided to dust it off and give it one more try, simplifying everything I could and looking for a new dice mechanic that might work.

In short, I wanted character statistics and in-game variables that could be determined and added together quickly, and a single dice roll that would determine, success, damage and even critical damage. Now, I have tried all sorts of goal oriented dice rolls, dice combinations, etc. etc. And all of them, to me, slowed the game down and just drug-out the action.

But this is what I have come up with, and in particular with regard to the dice rolling, has anyone seen this before. If it already exists, I would rather try to adapt to an existing system rather than re-inventing one.

I should also say that the game engine is for a superhero / Sci-Fi game.

The basic mechanic is to roll 3D6--1D6 is considered the Action Dice, the other 2D6 are Critical Dice. A player adds his character's applicable experience level for a skill or power (ranging from 0-5) to the Action Dice roll. If his total action dice roll is equal to or greater than the Target Number (TN), he scores 1 Hit.

If any of the Critical Dice match the Action Dice and his roll is equal to or greater than the TN, he scores 2 Hits; if the matching Critical and Action Dice are 6s--and the roll is equall to , etc.--he scores 4 Hits; and if he rolls triples--and the roll is equal to, etc.-- he scores 8 Hits.

Furthermore, if he rolls doubles or triples and scores a hit, he scores 1 free wound.

Example:

Captain American slings his shield at a Hydra goon. The goon has a defensive TN of 4; Captain American hurls his shield at +4, so it is a guaranteed hit. He rolls to attack and scores a 3 (Action Dice) and a 4 and 3 (Critical Dice). He adds his +4 to his roll of 3 for a total action roll of 7, a successful attack versus the goon's TN of 4. And with double 4's he scores 2 HIts of damage and 1 free wound, which he uses to select Knock Down.

The Goon, who is a low-level minion, only has 1 hit point, so he is not only knocked down but eliminated from play.

Anyone seen anything the same or similar?

Thanks.

[mratomek]

I should have also posted that benefits / penalties to a character's action roll can:

add +1 or subtract -1 from the total modifier

add +1D6 to the total Action Dice (the best roll is selected)

Add +1D6 to the total Critical Dice (the best 2 rolls are selected).

[Chris_Chinn]

Hi,

I haven't seen anything that quite does it like that - there are a few different games that do "roll a pool of dice, take the highest, or, matching dice each add +1 to the total" kind of thing.

If you want to look at other games that do wargaming/rpg stuff, and quickly, you may want to look at:

Savage Worlds

Uses different die sizes to measure ability rather than having players worry so much about adding/subtracting modifiers.  A lot of people run games with 40+ combatants on the map, so it seems pretty good if you want really large skirmish games.

Song of Blades & Heroes

The core game is a mini's war game, but the expansions do stuff like D&D-style dungeon crawling or Gamma World post-apocalyptica, with focus on players controlling single characters. character's abilities are rated in target numbers for a D6 - so you don't have to add or subtract for most of play, you just roll and compare to the few stats each character has.

Though, if you've rewritten the game multiple times, I guess the question is what do you really want the game -to do-?

Chris

[mratomek]

It started as a superhero RPG, then it became an RPG with wargaming capability, then a wargame with heavy RPG elements, and now I hope to create a sueprhero wargame with integrated RPG elements.

Thanks for the help.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

I am all about seeing this game developed further in this forum, but I ask you to check out the new forum rules. As soon as reasonably possible, please include a link to some external document which will give everyone a common reference regarding your work.

Best, Ron