My initial take is one I've seen around (possibly from Rob in the first place): Replace +1 ongoing/forward/whatever with an advantage die. This also gives a similar notion of a disadvantage die -- which you roll 3d6 and take the lower two.
That's the starting point. I've used this in DW, and it is really fun. An extra tangible die is more fun than another +1, at least it seems so in early playtest.
The next step:
1. Instead of assigning numbers to stats, assign bonus dice. In DW, maybe this is 6 dice. Maybe it is 10. That'll take playtesting. It should be relatively low, but in a game where you roll more it'll need to be higher.
2. All rolls are, by default, 2d6, no modifier.
3. To get a bonus for a particular roll and have a die in the stat, pickup one of your bonus dice.
At some point, you're going to want more advantage dice. How do you get them? A few ways --
1. Take a disadvantage dice to a roll
2. Accept a disadvantage dice from the GM or another player, effectively as a fate-like compel.
3. Fail. I think accepting a hard move is worth a die or two.
That keeps it 2-12 at all times, gives a little resource management, and lets the player decide what die rolls are important to them.
Some things I'm worried about:
1. Having a crapload of dice on the sheet, and needing to keep the "strength" dice in the "strength" box. I DONT want you to be ticking them off when you use them, I want them to be physical. But, keeping 6 (or 7 if we add disadvantage) dice pools would be awful. In another post, Rob suggested having one pool and invoking aspects rather than stats to get the extra dice.
That may work, if the table is good at using aspects.
2. I've been thinking a lot about injuries and how crappy they make you feel. One use of a disadvantage die -- and much stronger than a
So Keith, you asked. That's the idea. If you go with one dice pool, then the only number you need on the sheet is the number of dice in the pool that carries over from session to session. With multiple pools, I'm not sure how to record it without numbers.
But, we can at least reduce the math at the table. the best (or worst) two on 3d6 or 4d6 is probably easier arithmatic than 2d6+3 or 4. And it ensures you can always roll a 6-, no matter the number of dice.
Really interesting thoughts there! I got to play in a deep AW hack that Clint Marchant created that uses some of the Lady Blackbird dice pool mechanics in place of stats. You guys should brainstorm!
ReplyDeleteAt some point, I am going to have to read Lady Blackbird. Is this the relevant bit? Rolling the Dice -
ReplyDeleteWhen you try to overcome an obstacle, you roll dice. Start with one die.
Add a die if you have a trait that can help you. If that trait has any tags
that apply, add another die for each tag. Finally, add any number of dice
from your personal pool of dice (your pool starts with 7 dice).
Roll all the dice you’ve gathered. Each die that shows 4 or higher is a hit.
You need hits equal to the difficulty level (usually 3) to pass the obstacle.
So, basically, if I understand this right ... build the dice pool in your hand based upon traits that help (a lot like aspects?) and your bonus pool.
I suppose one modification is to allow access to a third (or fourth) die whenever an attribute would make sense, and have a pool that you can access without pointing to one. Along with that, if it is a DW hack, choose two of the stats to be strong and one to be weak -- you always get an advantage dice if the strong stat is relevant, and always get a disadvantage die if the weak one is relevant.
ReplyDelete