The Lord of the Rings

[Valamir]

Perhaps the traits could be generically called:  Force, Focus, and Fortune.
1) I like the goofy "f" thing.  But 2) more importantly they could be redefined as anything.  Force could be Strength or Magic whoop-ass.  Focus could be training, or speed, or reflexes.  Fortune could be luck, or inspiration, or divine favor.

I've played around with pool combat like this for a while and there are lots of really cool things you can do with it.  But that -hit location cancels dice of a certain number thing- is friggin sweet.  If all of your dice get canceled, you go down.

Theres a table top minis game called Urban Armies or something like that (you can find it in the discount bin these days) that used a die pool for space marine type combat.

It was roll a pool of d6s based on marine skill and weapon power.  6s were attack opportunities, 1s were defense opportunities.  Any other number allowed you to move.

So the first figure would roll his fist of dice.  If he didn't get any 6s he didn't get to attack.  If he did he picked a target.  That target then rolled his dice.  If the target got a 1 he defended (cover, armor, whatever).  If he didn't have a 1 he was dead (BFGs hurt).

Following this exchange the fig with the most unused dice got to go next.  With unused dice being saved until the fig got his next turn.

Armor would give effects like a free 1 each turn, cover would allow 2s to count as 1s.  Aiming allowed you to count 5s as 6s but you lost 1 defense for standing still.  Stuff like that.

Never saw a mini game be so fast and brutal and have so much tactical depth.

Combat pool systems rule.

[Matt Machell]

Theres a table top minis game called Urban Armies or something like that (you can find it in the discount bin these days) that used a die pool for space marine type combat.

Firefight, by a company called Alternative Armies. Another interesting read is the fantasy game they also produced, The Duel. A game of dueling napoleonic elves, using a similar dice pool mechanic (which was quite slick if I recall). It even had a "using this game as an RPG" section.

Matt

[reptile2k1]

Hi folks!

I didn't read this entire thread, only the first page, so be patient with me if I have missed something...

Box o' Dice
On first sight the idea looks great... but rolling 25000 d6 (yeah, exaggerated) is one of the two reasons why I stopped playing Shadowrun (the other reason was Shadowrun  itself, hehehe). It's a mess... maybe using less dice with a little tweaking...

Beat people up
The rest seems to be a slightly modified version of the rules from Button Men! Roll and snatch the opponents dice. No offense, I love Button Men!
So how about using different types of dice (4, 6, 8, 10, 12):
d4: very fast, but very weak
d6: fast, but weak
d8: average
d10: slow, but powerfull
d12: very slow, but extremely powerful
Every trained character should be able to chose, lets say, 4 dice! Untrained peasants only 2 to 3. Other than that, use basic BM rules (lowest number goes first, power attack and skill attack, re-roll used dice, out of dice... out of the game).

Legolas: fast and determined... 2d4 (to ensure he goes first), 2d10 (to deal serious damage)

Gimli: powerful berzerker... 4d12 (he will only have the first strike with some luck, but will kill nearly any foe)

Frodo: staying out of trouble... 4d6 (not as quick as Legolas, but fast enough to avoid some attacks, no 'bad-ass' damage to expect from him)

Average Orc: 3d8

Powerful Orks: d6, d8, d10 (faster and more damage)

What do you think?
Hm... I guess I will work this out a bit... with some traits and skills and stuff!

[reptile2k1]

Hehehe... here it is:

The One Button To Rule Them All
Based on the original Buttonmen rules (no freaky poison/shadow/whatever dice)!

Classes
There are 5 classes (with starting dice noted separately):
0) children, small animals, etc.: d8 (only dangerous in large groups)
1) goons, average folks, not so nasty monsters, etc.: d8 - d8 (no match for a character)
2) regular characters, nasty monsters, etc.: d8 - d8 - d8 (this type can be tough)
3) heroes, very nasty monsters, etc.: d8 - d8 - d8 - d8 (you need a group to beat one of this type)
4) extremely nasty monsters, Sauron himself, etc.: d8 - d8 - d8 - d8 - d8 (Ooops! An army or at least a group of heroes is needed to bring down one of this type)

Modifiers
Modifiers are traits, skills, abilities, weapons, armor, etc. You may up- and downgrade a single die at the same time, but the effects cancel each other out...

Allowed dice: only use d4, d6, d8, d10, and d12. The d20 is reserved for monsters (like Dragons) only!

Degrading dice: Degrading a die - using one type lower (from d8 to d6 to d4) - makes your character weaker, but faster! Since the one who strikes first tends to win, being quick is rather important!
For each trait/skill/weapon that increases your speed, degrade one die by a step, your choice. You may degrade one die more than once, but not below a d4! Examples: Quickness, Fast Shot, light melee weapon, bow...

Upgrading your dice: The opposite of degrading; the higher a die, the more damage/power it deals, but the slower your character gets. A d12 is the limit for regular characters. Examples: Strength, Toughness, Strike Mighty Blow, battleaxe, chain armor, crossbow...

Freaky stuff: Items like Frodo's chainshirt might be a bit confusing... it protects perfectly but does not slow the wearer down. Emulate this by replacing one d8 with one d12 (good protection) and one d4 (no impairment)! These dice may not be modified further!!!

Combat
Use the regular rules from Buttonmen which can be found at http://www.beatpeopleup.com/butnrulz.html. Use the "Button Men: Basic Rules, Clarifications, and Example of Play" paragraph only... speed and berserk dice could be useful, but I havent thought of that so far!

After combat
Every lost die represents a wound: the more dice you lost, the more severly you are injured. Loss of all dice means death! Characters heal one die per week of pure rest, more under the influence of magic and potions and stuff...

Non-combat stuff
For 'regular' test, use a slightly different system!

Task difficulty and resolution
The GM stes the difficulty level of the specific task, which determines the target number:
easy: no roll required... hey, IT'S EASY!
average: 2
hard: 4
daunting: 6
heroic: 8
epic: 10
The player rolls one d4 and must roll equal to or greater than the target number. For every useful trait/skill/tool, the GM may allow the player to roll one higher type of die, maximum d12.

Opposed test
Both characters roll one die according to their traits/skills/tools (like with regular tasks) and the higher result succeeds.

Character Generation
Well... it's nearly 5am around here and I'm getting tired (okay, okay, I haven't thought about it now... but it really is that late!). I will think about it later!

I would be glad about your comments!

reptile2k1

[Matt Steflik]

Hmm...ButtonMen as an RPG...interesting idea...

Looking at the smallest "1 die" category (kids n' animals), a degrade would mean all loss with no gain.  So the base d8 would be as "tough" as you could get.  That's cool, but how about giving the option of degrading a larger die by making it an equivalent number of faces in smaller dice?  For example, degrading 1d8 to 2d4.  This is a sacrifice of power to a definite bonus in speed.  I suppose you could also include 1d3's, 1d2's and 1d1's for more variation...then you could have a 1d6 and a 1d2.

Actually, using this "number of faces" mechanic might not be a bad idea for character creation.  As defined, heroes get 32 (4d8) faces.  Establish a maximum and minimum number of dice the hero could have (say, 6 max and 3 min).  Going for maximum power at the sacrifice of speed, you could do 1d12, 1d12, 1d8 (32 faces).  You want power and speed?  You could use 1d12, 1d12, 1d6, 1d2.  Want to be a speed demon, with a bit of power?  1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4, 1d2, 1d2.

Of course since "more dice=more health" at this point....hmmm.