Resource Management / d6 Pool system -- I need some help in developing

[vgunn]

Okay, here are my first thoughts. Please feel free to make suggestions, I am not married to anything at this point.

My intitial desire is to create a d6 die pool system with some resource management as well. Influenced somewhat by DERPG and MURPG.

Base Design:

– Characters have Traits and Talents.

– Traits can be genre-specific, however there are always only three of them. As a generic example we will use Mind, Body and Spirit.

– Characters have X points to divide among the three traits. There must be at least one point in each Trait.

– Characters have X points to spend for Talents. There are genre-specific lists of Talents for a character, however any Talent not listed may be created.

– Talents are rated from 1-6. If a character does not have the required Talent for a task (or need additional points), then they may “burn” Trait point(s) in order to attempt (more on this later).

– Tasks are actions which use Talents. Tests are actions which use Traits.

For Tasks, roll d6 equal to current pool of Talent points. The result on each d6 you roll counts as: 1 = 0 success; 2-5 = 1 success; 6 = 2 successes

If the character has a current Talent pool equal to or greater than the TN, then success can be automatic. However, no possible bonuses or XP will be given (more on this later).

The # of successes or failures immediately replenishes/diminishes the Talent pool on a 2-for-1 basis. Example: Character spends 4 points of Computer Talent and roll 4d6. The TN is 5. They roll 4, 6, 6, 2 which is 6. They get immediately get 2 points back in the Computer Talent. Since they rolled two 6s they have 4 additional successes. One of 6s can be used to bring the Computer Talent pool back up to 4 (2 successes for rolling a 6) and the other 6 can be placed into a Confidence or Trust Pool to be used later.

If the Task is successful, as a bonus, any die with a 6 can be either be put into a Confidence pool that they can use later; or put into a Trust pool that other PCs can use; or keep the 2 successes and use immediately.

If a character fails and the number of d6 with a 1 are greater than the failure amount then a serious mishap has occurred.

Characters receive XP only when they FAIL in attempting a Task. In a failed Task attempt, each d6 with a 1 will count as one XP


– For Tests, roll d6 equal to Trait points. Total score vs Threshold is required. For every 3 points below the Threshold then the Trait score is reduced by 1 (not sure of resolution for success at this point).

Trait points are always totaled. Example: A player wants to “Burn” 1 Trait point when attempting the same Task using their Computer Talent. They spend 4 in their Talent and roll 4d6.  They roll 4, 6, 6, 2 which is 6.  Now they Burn the Trait point and roll a 4. This is added to make a total score of 10.
Trait Points which are burned are permanently lost, however they can be refreshed by spending a Doom point. All characters begin the game with 12 Doom points. Once they reach zero, they have met their final fate and are removed from the game.

Tests such as Sanity or Trauma require players to roll a d6 for each point of a Trait that they have. Example: 3 points in Mind are rolled and totaled against a Sanity Test. Threshhold for the Test is 12. The player rolls a 5, 1, 4 for a total of 10. They fail by 1 margin (1 for every 3 points). Their Trait score is temporarily reduced by 1 and suffer any other consequences. A player can go insane, be corrupted or possibly die if any of their Trait scores are reduced to zero.

So please give me some feedback. Thanks!

[Tom Garnett]

Do you plan to have any limitation except 'the GM says no' on people generating arbitrary numbers of very easy rolls, in order to top off a Talent pool?

How does one bootstrap a talent back into being useful if the pool is exhausted? Looks like it takes a Doom point.

You have a very sharp success/failure cutoff; expect players to take one look at something with a difficulty higher than their current talent pool size, and back away from it. (Or, possibly, try it for the xp, then replenish their pool by doing something easy.)

To be honest, it feels like you want a Karma based system, with resources, and with tokens to move around, rather than dice. I have Nobilis on the brain right now, so that's where I'd start thinking about it. YMMV.

Unless you are playing a campaign with a known limited lifespan, I'd expect people to be rather unhappy about spending Doom points, and to never do so.

What do you hope to accomplish with Tests? They appear to allow the GM to put half the party into a death-spiral, and leave the other half untouched, depending how they split their 'stats'. Why is this a good thing? Why do you not, at least, allow the use of resources to prevent this, making it into an interesting choice, rather than a GM-fiat loss of character control?

I assume the Confidence pool lets you roll one or more extra D6 with rolls you want to. Does it work on Tests? How will you stop the players 'charging it up' on minor stuff, and walking around with a full one at all times? Is it limited in size?

You are mechanically rewarding people for making lots of rolls. Is that your intention?

[vgunn]

Tom,

Thanks a bunch on the response.

Do you plan to have any limitation except 'the GM says no' on people generating arbitrary numbers of very easy rolls, in order to top off a Talent pool?

Not sure what you mean here?

How does one bootstrap a talent back into being useful if the pool is exhausted? Looks like it takes a Doom point.

Talents refresh. The rate is dependent on the type of Task and the Talent used. What you do not get back immediately, you get back at a later time without using Doom points. I think this does provide a way to simulate fatigue or doubt within the game. Swinging a sword for example will eventually wear you out, this is especially the case if you are not actually physically harming your opponent. While successes build Confidence and increase adrenaline. Trying to crack a computer's password can be taxing on the mind and would for a period of time cause doubt and uncertainty, this is simulated with the reduction of the Talent pool. Again successes breed confidence. I think also that we learn by our mistakes and that we get better from them -- thus the way my XP is designed to work.

You have a very sharp success/failure cutoff; expect players to take one look at something with a difficulty higher than their current talent pool size, and back away from it. (Or, possibly, try it for the xp, then replenish their pool by doing something easy.)

Maybe, but many situations you cannot do this. For instance, fleeing from the bad guys the player must ford a raging river. If they don't attempt it, then they will have to deal with the guys chasing them.

Now I am all for suggestions on how to make the rules workable, so let me know if you have an idea here.

To be honest, it feels like you want a Karma based system, with resources, and with tokens to move around, rather than dice. I have Nobilis on the brain right now, so that's where I'd start thinking about it. YMMV.

You are somewhat right. I do what this type of system, however I really, really what to use dice. I want a bit of randomness to go along with resource management.

Unless you are playing a campaign with a known limited lifespan, I'd expect people to be rather unhappy about spending Doom points, and to never do so.

Absolutely. I want the use of Doom points to be extremely limited. And while extremely beneficial, it will come with great cost.

What do you hope to accomplish with Tests? They appear to allow the GM to put half the party into a death-spiral, and leave the other half untouched, depending how they split their 'stats'. Why is this a good thing? Why do you not, at least, allow the use of resources to prevent this, making it into an interesting choice, rather than a GM-fiat loss of character control?

Tests are examples of things which are mostly harmful to a character. For instance a character that is hit by a weapon (after armor soaks and so on) needs to prevent the wound. A Body Test would need to be rolled. Again, Trait points will refresh in most instances. Wounds heal, but can take time and a character does become more vulnerable while they are hurt. Taking a second gut shot from a sword (if it did not kill them already) should be much tougher the second time around.

Can you give me an example of using resources to prevent this?

I assume the Confidence pool lets you roll one or more extra D6 with rolls you want to.

Correct

Does it work on Tests? How will you stop the players 'charging it up' on minor stuff, and walking around with a full one at all times? Is it limited in size?

Excellent question. I am not sure on that, I can see how it could offset the need to always use a Doom point. Most of the time I think players will use the extra successes to rebuild their Talent pool, rather than hoarding Confidence points. I think that would have to be playtested to see how it worked out.

You are mechanically rewarding people for making lots of rolls. Is that your intention?

I definately want die rolling in the game. But not overboard with it. Perhaps I could limit this somehow. I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks again,

Val
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