~ Language Fluency ~
Each language you know has an associated die from d4 to d20. When you want to understand something in that language, roll the die. If your result is greater than 3, you understand what is said/written or you can express yourself correctly.
You have to spend your time between adventures to go up the ladder (d4 > d6 > d8 > d10 > d12 > d20). In theory there also d14 and d16 but those are really rare so the normal set will have to do u.u
Much simpler than the old d100 system I used untill now, I'll try to playtest it asap
See you later 👁
#rules #rpg #dnd #fluency
Each language you know has an associated die from d4 to d20. When you want to understand something in that language, roll the die. If your result is greater than 3, you understand what is said/written or you can express yourself correctly.
You have to spend your time between adventures to go up the ladder (d4 > d6 > d8 > d10 > d12 > d20). In theory there also d14 and d16 but those are really rare so the normal set will have to do u.u
Much simpler than the old d100 system I used untill now, I'll try to playtest it asap
See you later 👁
#rules #rpg #dnd #fluency
One of the things I thought about doing when opening this channel was something like a review/summary of some articles on the ttrpg blogosphere and sharing my thoughts about them because this is my channel, why else would you be subscribed for? (The other options are 1. you have a crush on me and 2. the memes, choose wisely)
Anyway, I'm tweaking this idea a bit. I'll take notes on elements of game design I find interesting and then link the article I read about them in case you want to read it.
This is actually an excuse to close some of my older browser tabs, I'm in that period where I want to tidy up thing just cause.
#rpg #design #rules
Anyway, I'm tweaking this idea a bit. I'll take notes on elements of game design I find interesting and then link the article I read about them in case you want to read it.
This is actually an excuse to close some of my older browser tabs, I'm in that period where I want to tidy up thing just cause.
#rpg #design #rules
~ Contested Checks ~
I will start with this article about contested checks (warning: it's long and a little repetitive):
https://chaoticneutraldm.com/2019/05/18/using-the-rules-better-fixing-contested-checks/
Basically it says that, if there is a huge gap in skills between two contestants, rolling the dice gives not only unrealistic but also impossible results, logically speaking. And I agree with the examples provided, a gnome wizard trying to stop a troll from opening a door is laughable and an extremely charismatic bard wouldn't be discovered by a guard whose IQ is room temperature in Celsius.
The proposed solution are fairly simple and is composed of 2 simple steps:
1. Don't call for unnecessary rolls. If it sounds ridiculous than it doesn't need a roll
2. Stop using contested rolls. They can be replaced very easily by a flat number, as this is the case for many other ttrpg systems already.
They use DnD as an example, talking about AC and Spell Save DC being the exact same thing as a contested check but without two d20 rolls. This decreases randomness in situations where a single d20 is enough randomness.
It feels weird to straight up toss away a part of the rules but 1) I kind of agree with their point and 2) I do that all the time with rules I don't like so I'm a bit of an hypocrit.
Fun fact: this is what happened in Pathfinder 1e with the rules for grappling, they made them so much better than the ones in DnD at the time (to this day I still don't understand what they were thinking with that mess in 3.5).
~ Conclusions ~
This can be useful for other systems I'll design but for now the one I'm working on is based on contested checks. This will remain here until I'll need it in the future. Until then, rest well.
See you later 👁
#rpg #design #rules #review
I will start with this article about contested checks (warning: it's long and a little repetitive):
https://chaoticneutraldm.com/2019/05/18/using-the-rules-better-fixing-contested-checks/
Basically it says that, if there is a huge gap in skills between two contestants, rolling the dice gives not only unrealistic but also impossible results, logically speaking. And I agree with the examples provided, a gnome wizard trying to stop a troll from opening a door is laughable and an extremely charismatic bard wouldn't be discovered by a guard whose IQ is room temperature in Celsius.
The proposed solution are fairly simple and is composed of 2 simple steps:
1. Don't call for unnecessary rolls. If it sounds ridiculous than it doesn't need a roll
2. Stop using contested rolls. They can be replaced very easily by a flat number, as this is the case for many other ttrpg systems already.
They use DnD as an example, talking about AC and Spell Save DC being the exact same thing as a contested check but without two d20 rolls. This decreases randomness in situations where a single d20 is enough randomness.
It feels weird to straight up toss away a part of the rules but 1) I kind of agree with their point and 2) I do that all the time with rules I don't like so I'm a bit of an hypocrit.
Fun fact: this is what happened in Pathfinder 1e with the rules for grappling, they made them so much better than the ones in DnD at the time (to this day I still don't understand what they were thinking with that mess in 3.5).
~ Conclusions ~
This can be useful for other systems I'll design but for now the one I'm working on is based on contested checks. This will remain here until I'll need it in the future. Until then, rest well.
See you later 👁
#rpg #design #rules #review
Chaotic Neutral Dungeon Mastery
Using the Rules Better: Fixing Contested Checks
Contested checks cause all kinds of trouble, so why not get rid of them? Yes! Get rid of them, and here’s why!
~ Time Management ~
Let's go with another convoluted article about time management in ttrpgs (D&D is used as an example)
https://chaoticneutraldm.com/2020/07/10/something-different-managing-time/
Long story short, there are no hard set rules on how to manage the abstract passage of time during a session, except during combat. So how do we do that? But of course with abstract time of our own.
To paraphrase the 7500 words they use to describe this (I am not kidding, it took me 2 month mostly because I couldn’t focus for that long), they suggest to stop trying to track time like a clock and start using a more free-form way using Combat Encounters, Short and Long Rests.
This is especially useful for tracking the duration of effects:
A 1-minute effect will end at the end of the current Combat Encounter,
A 10-minutes effect lasts for several consecutive Combat Encounters,
Anything that takes more than ten minutes but less than an hour is over at the end of the next Short Rest.
Anything that takes several hours ends at the end of the next Long Rest.
If there is an effect that lasts more than 1 hour but less than 6-8h you can decide at your discretion if it ends with a Short or a Long Rest.
In the last part of the article, they also introduce a way to manage Rests as a Limited Resource players can use anytime they want but that needs to be recharged. They do this to try and fix the “Adventuring Day” described in the PHB (and it needs some heavy fixing if you want to use it, it’s really not functional).
They propose to shorten the time needed for the Rests to 5-10 minutes for the Short Rest and a couple of hours for the Long Rest, both relying on a safe place to rest to function. Then, you limit the number of Rests the players can take by awarding them based on relevant occasions, treating them like potions or other limited-use magic items, with a suggested rate of 1 Long Rest and 2-3 Short Rests per Session.
~ Conclusions ~
I can see why this mechanic can work, one of my favorite games is Sekiro and in general all Souls-like can be seen as having a resource-based Rest system. I mostly think these changes could have been explained in a much simpler way than with 7500 words but I digress u.u
In my opinion, these changes work if you have lots of Dungeon Crawling and less Social Encounters, especially the rule about Rests as a Limited Resource. It’s the opposite of how I run my games, it’s an almost complete separation between Game and Real World Logic. It ruins immersion by making healing and resting a thing detached from the world. Immersion is one of the things I value the most while I dm so this is a hard pass. But that doesn’t mean I won’t take something from this. As I said, this is useful for Dungeon Crawling so the simplified ways to track time will come in handy during Exploration.
Apart from that, I came up with a simple way of my own to track the time: use standard units of time for each of the players’ actions. This is an extension of the combat rules with the same basic logic: Time is divided in turn, each turn lasts a set amount of time and players can do 1 Action per turn. How long the turn lasts depends on the situation.
Do your players want to explore a dungeon but are outside of combat? Make each turn a 10-minutes unit and just add them up.
Do they want to explore some wilderness? 1-hour turns are perfect.
Do they have little to do during one day but you don’t want to skip it? Just divide it into Morning, Afternoon and Evening with Night as an optional if they want to do something a little less legal.
Do they want to train/do some research on something? Each turn lasts a day.
I usually don’t bother with tracking time and just bullshit my way out of these minor problems. But that’s all.
See you later.
#rpg #design #rules #review
Let's go with another convoluted article about time management in ttrpgs (D&D is used as an example)
https://chaoticneutraldm.com/2020/07/10/something-different-managing-time/
Long story short, there are no hard set rules on how to manage the abstract passage of time during a session, except during combat. So how do we do that? But of course with abstract time of our own.
To paraphrase the 7500 words they use to describe this (I am not kidding, it took me 2 month mostly because I couldn’t focus for that long), they suggest to stop trying to track time like a clock and start using a more free-form way using Combat Encounters, Short and Long Rests.
This is especially useful for tracking the duration of effects:
A 1-minute effect will end at the end of the current Combat Encounter,
A 10-minutes effect lasts for several consecutive Combat Encounters,
Anything that takes more than ten minutes but less than an hour is over at the end of the next Short Rest.
Anything that takes several hours ends at the end of the next Long Rest.
If there is an effect that lasts more than 1 hour but less than 6-8h you can decide at your discretion if it ends with a Short or a Long Rest.
In the last part of the article, they also introduce a way to manage Rests as a Limited Resource players can use anytime they want but that needs to be recharged. They do this to try and fix the “Adventuring Day” described in the PHB (and it needs some heavy fixing if you want to use it, it’s really not functional).
They propose to shorten the time needed for the Rests to 5-10 minutes for the Short Rest and a couple of hours for the Long Rest, both relying on a safe place to rest to function. Then, you limit the number of Rests the players can take by awarding them based on relevant occasions, treating them like potions or other limited-use magic items, with a suggested rate of 1 Long Rest and 2-3 Short Rests per Session.
~ Conclusions ~
I can see why this mechanic can work, one of my favorite games is Sekiro and in general all Souls-like can be seen as having a resource-based Rest system. I mostly think these changes could have been explained in a much simpler way than with 7500 words but I digress u.u
In my opinion, these changes work if you have lots of Dungeon Crawling and less Social Encounters, especially the rule about Rests as a Limited Resource. It’s the opposite of how I run my games, it’s an almost complete separation between Game and Real World Logic. It ruins immersion by making healing and resting a thing detached from the world. Immersion is one of the things I value the most while I dm so this is a hard pass. But that doesn’t mean I won’t take something from this. As I said, this is useful for Dungeon Crawling so the simplified ways to track time will come in handy during Exploration.
Apart from that, I came up with a simple way of my own to track the time: use standard units of time for each of the players’ actions. This is an extension of the combat rules with the same basic logic: Time is divided in turn, each turn lasts a set amount of time and players can do 1 Action per turn. How long the turn lasts depends on the situation.
Do your players want to explore a dungeon but are outside of combat? Make each turn a 10-minutes unit and just add them up.
Do they want to explore some wilderness? 1-hour turns are perfect.
Do they have little to do during one day but you don’t want to skip it? Just divide it into Morning, Afternoon and Evening with Night as an optional if they want to do something a little less legal.
Do they want to train/do some research on something? Each turn lasts a day.
I usually don’t bother with tracking time and just bullshit my way out of these minor problems. But that’s all.
See you later.
#rpg #design #rules #review
Chaotic Neutral Dungeon Mastery
Something Different: Managing Time
D&D requires that we keep track of the passage of time, but do we need to measure every second? No, in fact… find out why.
~ Mechanical Madness ~
It’s been a long while but I’m back with another blog post.
Content Warning: suicide mention, mental illnesses and disorders
https://graphiteprime.blogspot.com/2023/08/practical-insanity.html
This one is about a quite delicate topic that most RPGs treat very poorly. Even the ones where it has a huge role in the rules make so that mental illness and insanity become mechanically a switch (and a poorly made one imho).
This article is not perfect. This is because in the medium of RPGs (especially TTRPGs) the most important part is the fun of everyone at the table. That is why I quite like these practical ways to show “insanity” even though it is NOT an accurate representation. These feel more real because they impact the game both narratively AND mechanically.
The problems are present only in the representation: these rules make so that each of these disorders changes how the game works to make it more difficult and depict these illnesses as easy to cure to make sure Players can go back to playing normally as soon as possible. This is good game design but can give false ideas to uninformed people. Nothing that a clear discussion cannot fix though u.u
~ Conclusions ~
It’s not perfect but it works waaay better than the current systems. These rules are for OSR games, so it needs conversions but I can’t be bothered right now. I don’t plan on running a Lovecraftian campaign so this will remain like this for the time being. But that’s all.
See you later. 👁
#rpg #design #review #rules
It’s been a long while but I’m back with another blog post.
Content Warning: suicide mention, mental illnesses and disorders
https://graphiteprime.blogspot.com/2023/08/practical-insanity.html
This one is about a quite delicate topic that most RPGs treat very poorly. Even the ones where it has a huge role in the rules make so that mental illness and insanity become mechanically a switch (and a poorly made one imho).
This article is not perfect. This is because in the medium of RPGs (especially TTRPGs) the most important part is the fun of everyone at the table. That is why I quite like these practical ways to show “insanity” even though it is NOT an accurate representation. These feel more real because they impact the game both narratively AND mechanically.
The problems are present only in the representation: these rules make so that each of these disorders changes how the game works to make it more difficult and depict these illnesses as easy to cure to make sure Players can go back to playing normally as soon as possible. This is good game design but can give false ideas to uninformed people. Nothing that a clear discussion cannot fix though u.u
~ Conclusions ~
It’s not perfect but it works waaay better than the current systems. These rules are for OSR games, so it needs conversions but I can’t be bothered right now. I don’t plan on running a Lovecraftian campaign so this will remain like this for the time being. But that’s all.
See you later. 👁
#rpg #design #review #rules
Blogspot
Practical Insanity
So... After reading a page from the grotesque tome on the satanic alter, you must now save vs spells or roll for insanity... ah you faile...
Henlo my beautiful and foolish mortal cultists,
I'm here with a post from my blog u.u
Quantifying how much you get on NPCs nerves
It's in Italian but you'll find a summary of the important parts at the bottom of the post u.u
Remember to stay hydrated to preserve your flesh vessel until the coming of the Great Ancient Being (or GABe for short)
See you later 👁
#rpg #blog #design #rules
I'm here with a post from my blog u.u
Quantifying how much you get on NPCs nerves
It's in Italian but you'll find a summary of the important parts at the bottom of the post u.u
Remember to stay hydrated to preserve your flesh vessel until the coming of the Great Ancient Being (or GABe for short)
See you later 👁
#rpg #blog #design #rules
Blogspot
Quantificare la Rottura di Palle degli NPC
(For my English readers, I'll put an abridged version at the end of the post) Primo post sul mio WIP ed è subito furto. Questo Video parl...
I came up with a really stupid houserule for d20 Systems: instead of using a d20 use 1d6*1d4
It gives worst results on average with lower chances of critical success/failure (6*4 and 1*1 respectively) with swingy‐er middle results for no reason other than lol why not
I'll think of a way to add this to a campaign, maybe as a monster's or a location's reality-altering ability 🤔 maybe in the Feywild 🤔
See you later 👁
#rpg #resource #rules
It gives worst results on average with lower chances of critical success/failure (6*4 and 1*1 respectively) with swingy‐er middle results for no reason other than lol why not
I'll think of a way to add this to a campaign, maybe as a monster's or a location's reality-altering ability 🤔 maybe in the Feywild 🤔
See you later 👁
#rpg #resource #rules
Here's my hack:
• A disorder is a Trait with a Frequency, an Effect and one of 4 degrees of Severity expressed with a Die: d6 (Mild), d8 (Moderate), d10 (Serious), d12 (Acute)
• When you roll a d20 and one or more Traits can influence or be triggered, roll each Severity Die twice (2d6 for Mild, 2d8 for Moderate etc) to determine the individual Severities
• If the highest Severity is equal or higher than the d20 + Con (for physical) or Wis (for mental), that particular Trait takes Effect
• Nat 1s always trigger the highest two Traits
~ Getting the Traits ~
According to the book 1 in 5 people have some kind of disability, so for Character Creation either:
a) Everyone has one Trait, roll for even (physical) or odd (mental),
b) Each player can take one Trait of their choice in exchange for a Perk given by the DM (to keep a semblance of balance), or
c) Roll a d20, on 1-4 you have one Trait. Roll a d4, on a 4 you have one additional Trait and reroll the d4 until you stop rolling 4s or if you reach 6 Traits. Roll d6 for each Trait, mental (1-3, a 1 is always mental) or physical (4-6, a 6 is always physical), +1 for each physical Trait and -1 for each mental Trait. Deal with them in game.
~ Severity and Frequency ~
I suggest buying this book even for the information about disorders alone so I'll not provide the possible Effects.
Roll d10 for Severity: 1-4 Mild, 5-7 Moderate, 8-9 Serious, 10 Acute.
For ease of use, there are three Frequencies: Chronic, Frequent and Trigger. Roll a d20:
1-14 | Trigger. The Severity Die is rolled only under specific circumstances, e.g. seeing the object of your phobia, touching the substance you are allergic to, feeling a certain emotion, finding yourself in a specific situation etc.
15-18 | Frequent. The Trait is not present every day. Roll the Severity Die after a Long Rest, on a 1-2 the Trait does not trigger for that day. Otherwise, roll the Severity Die normally.
19-20 | Chronic. You always roll the Severity Die each time you roll a d20.
~ Optional: Good and Bad Days ~
Roll all your Severity Dice after a Long Rest:
● on 1-2, that specific Trait has a Severity one step lower for 1 day (if lower than d6 the Trait is dormant for that day),
● on 3-4, that specific Trait has a Severity one step higher for 1 day (maximum d12)
● otherwise, nothing changes
EDIT: Roll two Severity Dice with d20, probability of trigger too low otherwise
#rules #rpg #design #review #resource
• A disorder is a Trait with a Frequency, an Effect and one of 4 degrees of Severity expressed with a Die: d6 (Mild), d8 (Moderate), d10 (Serious), d12 (Acute)
• When you roll a d20 and one or more Traits can influence or be triggered, roll each Severity Die twice (2d6 for Mild, 2d8 for Moderate etc) to determine the individual Severities
• If the highest Severity is equal or higher than the d20 + Con (for physical) or Wis (for mental), that particular Trait takes Effect
• Nat 1s always trigger the highest two Traits
~ Getting the Traits ~
According to the book 1 in 5 people have some kind of disability, so for Character Creation either:
a) Everyone has one Trait, roll for even (physical) or odd (mental),
b) Each player can take one Trait of their choice in exchange for a Perk given by the DM (to keep a semblance of balance), or
c) Roll a d20, on 1-4 you have one Trait. Roll a d4, on a 4 you have one additional Trait and reroll the d4 until you stop rolling 4s or if you reach 6 Traits. Roll d6 for each Trait, mental (1-3, a 1 is always mental) or physical (4-6, a 6 is always physical), +1 for each physical Trait and -1 for each mental Trait. Deal with them in game.
~ Severity and Frequency ~
I suggest buying this book even for the information about disorders alone so I'll not provide the possible Effects.
Roll d10 for Severity: 1-4 Mild, 5-7 Moderate, 8-9 Serious, 10 Acute.
For ease of use, there are three Frequencies: Chronic, Frequent and Trigger. Roll a d20:
1-14 | Trigger. The Severity Die is rolled only under specific circumstances, e.g. seeing the object of your phobia, touching the substance you are allergic to, feeling a certain emotion, finding yourself in a specific situation etc.
15-18 | Frequent. The Trait is not present every day. Roll the Severity Die after a Long Rest, on a 1-2 the Trait does not trigger for that day. Otherwise, roll the Severity Die normally.
19-20 | Chronic. You always roll the Severity Die each time you roll a d20.
~ Optional: Good and Bad Days ~
Roll all your Severity Dice after a Long Rest:
● on 1-2, that specific Trait has a Severity one step lower for 1 day (if lower than d6 the Trait is dormant for that day),
● on 3-4, that specific Trait has a Severity one step higher for 1 day (maximum d12)
● otherwise, nothing changes
EDIT: Roll two Severity Dice with d20, probability of trigger too low otherwise
#rules #rpg #design #review #resource
Eldritch Blueprints
Here's my hack: • A disorder is a Trait with a Frequency, an Effect and one of 4 degrees of Severity expressed with a Die: d6 (Mild), d8 (Moderate), d10 (Serious), d12 (Acute) • When you roll a d20 and one or more Traits can influence or be triggered, roll…
Rules - Disabilities and Disorders.pdf
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Alignment languages were a feature introduced in the first edition of DnD. Gygax thought of them as a sort of Latin equivalent for the Alignments (only Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic) since at the time they were more like religions than moral standpoints.
As far as I know they were rarely used in game but they have potential.
In this article, Evlyn explains a great idea and executes it in an interesting way. 10/10 recommended
https://chaudronchromatique.blogspot.com/2024/02/alignment-languages-miscommunication.html?m=1
#rpg #worldbuilding #rules
As far as I know they were rarely used in game but they have potential.
In this article, Evlyn explains a great idea and executes it in an interesting way. 10/10 recommended
https://chaudronchromatique.blogspot.com/2024/02/alignment-languages-miscommunication.html?m=1
#rpg #worldbuilding #rules
Blogspot
Alignment languages miscommunication
Eldritch Blueprints
The rulebook goes on with the classes so I'm gonna start with the Character Creation and maybe continue later with the other parts Some notes: 1. I will use my WIP as a baseline for this (yes, I'm still working on it) so it's completely different from the…
Character Creation v0.1.pdf
893.8 KB
Eldritch Blueprints
Photo
Speaking of which, I had an idea for Cooking #rules but, fortunately, my 2 braincells lit up and I first searched online
So I found Eating the Dungeon (to my sanity's benefit cause I would have made it far more complicated than that)
I may still expand them cause I'm a masochist but that's a thought for future me u.u
#rpg
So I found Eating the Dungeon (to my sanity's benefit cause I would have made it far more complicated than that)
I may still expand them cause I'm a masochist but that's a thought for future me u.u
#rpg
While I was roaming the internet I found This Little Free Document with a small houserule for initiative
_____
Dynamic Initiative adds an Acumen Roll at the end of each round: each player (and monster) rolls 1d6-3 and applies the result to their initiative.
If the resulting total is 26 or more, that creature takes an additional turn at that initiative minus 25 (so a 27 means a second turn at initiative 2)
If the result is 0 or less, that creature does not take a turn this round but it will go up at initiative 25 minus the total (so a total of -1 means your initiative next turn will be 24)
Unconscious creatures get a -3 instead of rolling.
• Variant Rule: Acumen Bonus •
You have an Acumen Bonus equal to your Intelligence bonus or Proficiency bonus (your choice) - 5. Your Acumen roll is equal to 1d6 + your Acumen Bonus
______
I really like this rule. It gives more randomness to combat, it's not too complicated and the negative sides make you more likely to get the positive sides and viceversa. I'm also a big fan of the Acumen Bonus since it gives Players a mechanical incentive to have high INT.
I have not tried it but I'll do it ASAP, until next time I'll post memes.
See you later 👁
#rules #review #rpg
_____
Dynamic Initiative adds an Acumen Roll at the end of each round: each player (and monster) rolls 1d6-3 and applies the result to their initiative.
If the resulting total is 26 or more, that creature takes an additional turn at that initiative minus 25 (so a 27 means a second turn at initiative 2)
If the result is 0 or less, that creature does not take a turn this round but it will go up at initiative 25 minus the total (so a total of -1 means your initiative next turn will be 24)
Unconscious creatures get a -3 instead of rolling.
• Variant Rule: Acumen Bonus •
You have an Acumen Bonus equal to your Intelligence bonus or Proficiency bonus (your choice) - 5. Your Acumen roll is equal to 1d6 + your Acumen Bonus
______
I really like this rule. It gives more randomness to combat, it's not too complicated and the negative sides make you more likely to get the positive sides and viceversa. I'm also a big fan of the Acumen Bonus since it gives Players a mechanical incentive to have high INT.
I have not tried it but I'll do it ASAP, until next time I'll post memes.
See you later 👁
#rules #review #rpg
Dmsguild
Dynamic Initiative Variant Rules: Willibald's Variant Vignette - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild
Dynamic Initiative - Variant Initiative rulesfor adding a little bit of uncertainty to turn order
Welcome to Willibald'
Welcome to Willibald'