DGRPG Design Diary #2: Mechanics and Actions

Keeping a broad focus for the moment, and building up a list of things to tackle in greater detail later on.

Mechanics

Design Goals:

• The game is easy to learn.
  The core mechanics are simple and consistent. The game is accessible to new players, both to this game and to roleplaying games in general. The game favours rules that are few and general rather than numerous and specific.
• The game is easy to play.
  Rolling up a new character is a quick process that lets players start playing as soon as possible. Characters remain viable even when not mechanically optimised. Players have a clear idea of their options in any given situation. Combat flows quickly and smoothly. The game rewards creative thinking and characterisation as much as number-crunching optimisation.
• The game is easy to run.
  Preparing for a game session doesn't feel like homework for the DM. Guidelines are given for assembling balanced encounters appropriate to the PCs' capabilities. Information on running each antagonist is given in a concise format in a single location. If a rule is not given for a specific situation is it still easy to arbitrate it using a rule-of-thumb approach.
• The game has an old-school feel.
  The game uses mechanics which are evocative of old-school fantasy RPGs, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. The game uses a d20 core mechanic, Classes, Levels and Alignment. The game's mechanics reflect the characters being on the "wrong" side of traditional fantasy genre conventions, in that in a straight fight it is very easy to lose.

Actions

Actions available to characters can usually be assigned to one of the following broad categories:

• Combat - Task resolution involving physical confrontation.
• Skill - Task resolution not involving physical confrontation.
• Social - Task resolution involving social interaction.
• Magic - Task resolution involving magic.

There's room for overlap between these categories - skill actions might be used during combat or social interactions, for instance, and magic actions influence the outcome of combat or social interactions. This crossover encourages players to cooperate in order to maximise their chances for success.

In the descriptions below I've used terms taken from Design Patterns in Successful Role-Playing Games, specifically "attribute" and "gauge".

When performing any action the player should expect to begin by rolling a d20; in some cases that single roll can determine success or failure, in other cases further steps may be required.

Combat

Combat mechanics cover any action involving an attempt to physically harm or overpower another character. Combat is not intended to be the central focus of the game, however, and the combat mechanics should be balanced in such a way that players are reluctant to take excessive risks by getting involved in unnecessary combat situations; when combat is unavoidable they should take reasonable measures to improve their chances.

Characters who focus on combat actions might be granted faster or more damaging attacks, improved ability to evade incoming attacks, or access to additional combat options. They may be more resilient, more physically powerful, or otherwise better suited to winning a physical confrontation.

Proposed mechanic:

• Attacker rolls a d20 with modifiers based on relevant attribute and equipment, aiming to exceed a target number based on the defender's relevant attribute and equipment.
• If attacker succeeds, roll dice based on relevant attribute and equipment and deduct the result from the defender's health gauge.
• Attacker and defender switch roles.
• Repeat until one combatant's health gauge is exhausted.

Skills

Any action in which there is a chance for failure should be covered by the skill mechanics. Skills reflect (a) a character's ability to perform certain types of action, and (b) knowledge relating to that type of action. Example skills might include Stealth, Dungeon Lore, Potion Making, Singing, etc. In selecting to advance their ability in certain skills, players are able to tailor their character to their preferred play style.

Characters who focus on skill actions might be granted access to more skills, faster advancement in those skills, or be allowed to use their skills in ways not available to other characters. They are more likely to succeed at skill actions, and have a wider range of skills at a higher level than other characters.

Proposed mechanic:

• Player states intended action, rolls a d20 with modifiers based on relevant attribute, skill and equipment, aiming to exceed a target number decided by the DM based on the perceived difficulty of the intended task.
• If the target number is exceeded the action is successful, as described by the DM.
• If the target number is not exceeded the action is unsuccessful.

Social

For the most part social interactions should be resolved through roleplay, with dice only being rolled when there is a chance of failure - when attempting to persuade or coerce another character into altering their behaviour or beliefs, for instance. At its most basic this could be handled using a skill mechanic as described above - Persuade, Intimidate or Deceive might be used, based on the approach taken - but such a mechanic should never be allowed to override common sense or character integrity. A high Persuade skill is not equivalent to a mind-control ray.

Given the importance of social interaction between characters in the dungeon environment, however, social mechanics should be more interesting and involved than a flat skill check, reflecting a character's standing with their peers and superiors in the hierarchy. This could be as simple as a social gauge which can be increased or reduced to reflect the character's reputation. An alternative (and more complex) approach might be to model the web of favours, obligation, debt and duty between the dungeon's denizens as they attempt to achieve their particular goals. Any such mechanics should require minimal bookkeeping in order to reduce the burden on the DM and players.

Characters who focus on social actions might be granted an improved ability to influence other characters, the option to gain tangible advantages as a result of their social influence, more generous terms when trading favours, and so on. In interactions with superiors they might be able to improve rewards for success or soften the punishment for failures.

Magic

Magic actions involve performing feats normally considered impossible or extremely improbable. These effects can be divided into two subcategories:

• Mundane actions performed impossibly well - seeing a tiny object a great distance away, scaling a sheer surface without climbing equipment, resisting a blow which would normally cause serious injury, etc. Some highly-trained individuals might be able to achieve similar results without the use of magic.
• Impossible actions performed at all - shooting lightning from one's fingertips, transforming into a bat, turning invisible, etc. No amount of mundane training or aptitude would allow an individual to perform these actions.

Traditionally the ability to perform such actions is packaged up into discrete spells, each of which has a a specific cost and a specific effect - throwing lightning, turning invisible, surviving a fall, etc. D&D has generally used a system based on that found in Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories, in which a magician can only remember a limited number of spells at a time, and forgets them upon casting until they are re-memorised. This kind of magic is generally the province of adventurers; monsters often have "spell-like abilities" instead, innate abilities which have similar effects to spells but which can be used repeatedly.

Characters who focus on magic actions gain access to magical abilities, which is an advantage in and of itself. They are able to perform impossible acts, or confer similar abilities upon other characters. They might have a more detailed knowledge of arcane matters than other characters, including how to negate magical actions by hostile parties.

Conclusion

This seems like a sensible way to break down the game's mechanics, and with care it should be possible to ensure that each type of action has its own distinct feel while still using the core mechanic of a d20 roll.

Since it's important for the mechanics (crunch) to support the setting (fluff), I should probably go into more detail on how the setting itself works from a narrative point of view.