Defcon (First Draft)

[Monkey_Zombie]

The setting is post apocalyptic Its a survival based game.

The game mechanics:
D20+ Modifier VS Goal number in non combat.
D20+ Modifier VS D20+ Modifier in combat. All opposed rolls

The players while exploring can find scraps, which they can use to improve weapons, armor and their base.

Character's base stats
    Endurance (Health and Resistance to damage)
    Perception (Stealth and Awareness)
    Intelligence (Complex skills and Knowledge)
    Charisma (Persuasion and Manipulation)
    Might (Carrying capacity and Melee damage)
    Agility (Speed and Initiative)
    Dexterity (Attack accuracy and Maneuverability)

All character stats start at 1 and a player can spend 25 points at creation and then 5 each level after first. 1 point in a single stat increases said stat by 1 and a +1 modifier is added for every 5 points. (5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40 ect..)

Carrying capacity: A player is capable of carrying 100lbs at creation and it goes up by 15 points for every 1 point in Might

Skills: A character gets 5 skill points at creation and goes up by 5 for every 5 points in Intelligence

Health: A character gets 50 HP at creation and goes up by 10 points for every 1 point in Stamina

Speed; A character's speed is 5 at creation and goes up by 1 for every 5 points put into Agility.

Armor: Armor is made and maintained through the collection of scraps. There are 6 slots where a piece of scrap can be placed, Left Arm (LA), Right Arm (RA), Left Leg (LL), Right Leg (RL), Torso (T), and Head (H).

Scraps are assigned an armor and barter value.
•         Example: a Tire has an armor value of 5 and a barter value of 7.
•         Scraps found, have a flexible armor value of 1D8-5 and a flexible barter value of 1D6-4
•         Scraps acquired in barter are the value given.
•         Scraps acquired in barter are always in good (0) condition




Weapons are assigned four (4) values:  Aiming, Armor piercing, Damage and Range.
       Aiming represents what it takes to aim the weapon, the lower the number the easier to aim (A Sawed-off shotgun has an Aim of 5 while a Sniper Rifle has an Aim of 18) (Note: picking a specific location adds additional modifiers)
       Armor Piercing represents the weapons ability to bypass an opponent's armor. The higher the number the easier it bypasses armor. (A Revolver has an AP of 5 while a Rifle has an AP of 15)(Note: picking a specific location adds additional modifiers)
       Damage represents how much harm you can do to the target. The higher the number the higher the damage (A Revolver has a damage of 1d4 while a Shotgun has a damage of 1d10)
       Range represents how far the weapon can be effective the lower the number the shorter the distance (A Double barrel shotgun has a range of 2 while the Bolt Action Rifle has a range of 12) (Note: picking a specific location adds additional modifiers)
           
Weapons are assigned a condition value which is a modifier to be applied during combat
•         -Poor (-5), Fair (-2), Good (0), Well (+2), Excellent (+5)
•         *Found Guns are always in Fair (-2) condition


Handguns:
Weapon Name   Aiming Value   Armor Piercing   Damage value   Range value
Flintlock           15                   3                    1d4-2               5
Revolver           12                   5                    1d4                   8
Semi Automatic   10                   8                    1d6                   10

Rifles:

Muzzle Loader   15                   5                    1d6                   10
Bolt Action   12                   10                    1d8                   12
Lever Action   10                   10                    1d8                   12
Assault Rifle   10                   12                    1d10           15
Sniper           18                     15                     1d12           18

Shotguns:

Double Barrel   8                   5                    1d10            2
Sawed-off          5                   5                    1d10            2
Pump Action    5                   8                    1d10            5
Assault           5                   10                    1d10            5

Melee:

Knife            0                   2                     1d4                    1
Combat knife   0                   4                     1d4                    1
Bat, Wooden   0                   0                     1d6                    1
Bat, Metal    0                   0                     1d8                    1
Bat, Spiked   0                   4                     1d8                    1
Crowbar           0                   6                     1d6                  1



1 point in any skill will add a modifier of +1 competency bonus. (I.e. 1 points in Light arms means a +1 to the use of handguns and Small melee weapons while in combat. which can be applied to 1 of the 4 vales associated with the weapon during each combat phase)


General skills.
•   Light Arms (Use of Hand guns)
•   Heavy Arms (Use of Shotguns and Rifles)
•   Explosives(Use for thrown explosives and explosive charges)
•   Melee (Use of melee weapons)
•   Repair (Fix and maintain armor and equipment)
•   Hacking (Acquire information from computers and can disable security systems)
•   Lock picking (Picking locks and opening sealed containers)
•   Scavenge (Finding items and weapons in the environment and on opponents)
•   Camouflage (Conceal oneself from enemies)
•   First Aid (Heal damage)

Things to be added.
--List of scraps(Tire, Pots, bottles, ect...)
--List of Opponents(Raiders, Mutants, Giant Vermin, ect...)

Give me your criticism and insight. I wish to make this project come to fruition.

[theletterQ]

Neat.  It seems like an interesting and streamlined take on a D20 based system.

My real question is why I should play YOUR game instead of Gamma World, or other post-apocalyptic game from a larger publisher (outside of just a love of playing indie games).

If I might submit an answer, I feel it may lie in simplicity.  I'd almost suggest to forego social mechanics for the game, and focus on your combat and scrapping systems.  That way this is a nice, light game that can be played quickly, easily and have lots of room for episodic action.

Wander around, scrap parts for your survival equipment, and then put them to the test as things try to kill you and your comrades.  Try to build the best survivor possible in this sort of Mad Max scenario and have fun pitting characters against interesting and unique challenges, bigger and badder opponents, traps, and other perils of living a life in a harsh wasteland.  There could certainly be a thrill in finding unique and exceptional parts to add to your arsenal.

Those are my thoughts, for whatever that's worth.

[Monkey_Zombie]

First off, Thank you for the reply.

Secondly, I'm relatively new to this and this is my first attempt at making a tabletop RPG. So would you kindly explain what you mean by social mechanics and Combat&Scrapping systems?

[theletterQ]

Well, you've detailed mechanics for combat.  And you've made a scrapping system in which players can find random bits of stuff to add to their arsenal and roll to see how good it is.  I'd expand on that scrapping system.  It's something you don't really see a whole lot of.  I'd also try and hash out a fun crafting system for putting scraps together in unique combinations with various benefits/drawbacks.

You have a Charisma score, but I'd steer the game away from mechanizing the social interplay.  I'd leave all rules for social stuff as sparse as possible (or just get rid of it entirely).  Some games rely heavily on social mechanics, while others give it an equal footing with combat.  I don't think your game needs that.  Rather than a political or psychological exploration, I'd remain focused on gathering supplies, building stuff to defend yourself, and then defending yourself.

Does that clear things up?

[Monkey_Zombie]

That indeed clears thing up.

I'm currently hammering out the scraps list and crafting system. I'm having trouble calculating the likely hood of finding specific scraps over others (More tin cans, Less pressure cookers)I'm also thinking about adding specific blueprints for specialty armors,("Road Warrior" 4 tires, 1 steering wheel 2 car doors, 1 sunglasses. +2 to speed)

I agree on the limited social interactions, in a world where danger lurks around every pike of rubble you learn to shoot first and ask questions later.

Thank you for your time and assistance. If you have anything you would like to add or think would be a great addition to the game, don't hesitate to ask.

[theletterQ]

Actually, on second glance, I don't even know what you have a Charisma score for at all.  None of the skills listed in your skill-list seem like they would be linked to it.  I think you may have included it in your list simply because lots of other RPGs have it.  One of the most important thing to remember when designing a game is that every mechanical element you have should serve a purpose in making the game more fun, and serve the overall kind of game you want it to be.

About the only thing I can think of that this game would need Charisma for is Barter (Which isn't in your skill-list, but it could be added).  However creating an attribute that's linked to just one skill and serves no other purpose seems like a waste of points.  I might suggest just lumping barter under Intelligence.  As unintuitive as it may seem based on how other games work, it will be INT-Based characters who will be doing the most bartering, because they'll probably be the ones building the most advanced equipment, and will therefore be the most likely to need specialty parts.  Does that make sense?

[Monkey_Zombie]

Heres a list of scraps http://defconscrapslist.wikispaces.com/home

[Monkey_Zombie]

I'v changed a few things and I asked a friend to make a sample character.

Veeone
3rd level

Character stats
7 (+1)Perception (Stealth and Awareness)
5 (+1)Intelligence (Complex skills and Knowledge)
6 (+1)Endurance (Health and Resistance to damage)
6 (+1)Might (Carrying capacity and Melee damage)
8 (+1)Agility (Speed and Initiative)
10 (+2)Dexterity (Attack accuracy and Maneuverability)

Skills
6 points per lv.

0    Light Arms (Use of Hand guns)
7 (+1)Heavy Arms (Use of Shotguns and Rifles)
0    Explosives
0    Melee (Use of melee weapons)
5 (+1)Repair (Fix and maintain armor and equipment)
0    Hacking (Acquire information from computers and can disable security systems)
5 (+1)Lock picking (Picking locks and opening sealed containers)
4    Scavenge (Finding items and weapons in the environment and on opponents)
3    Camouflage (Conceal oneself from enemies)
0    First Aid (Heal damage)
3    Barter (trade goods)

Health
100

Carrying capacity
190 lb

---Weapons

-Lever Action Rifle
Aiming Value   - 10
Armor Piercing - 10
DMG Value      - 1d8
Range Value    - 12

-Pump Action Shotgun
Aiming Value - 5
Armor Pierce - 8
DMG Value    - 1d10
Range Value  - 5

---Armor

Bent Street Sign + Shredded Tire + Rusted Chain - Torso - 23 def
Rubber strip + Giant insect shell x2 - Upper right Leg - 10 Def
Gear + Rubber Tubingx2 - Upper Left Arm - 6 def
Gear + Rubber Tubingx2 - Upper right arm - 6 def
Plastic Panel + Leather belt x2 - Lower right leg - 7 def

Total Armor Score: 52
Armor Difficulty: 26

The changes I've made to the main game are located here. http://defconrpg.wikispaces.com/

[Bossy]

Heres a list of scraps http://defconscrapslist.wikispaces.com/home

That is the kind of table that is cool to read because it is not a regular scifi or fantasy equipment list. It is actually different from what we usually see. I like that. I encourage you to complete these tables on the fly and make it awesome. Maybe you can draw some inspiration from a hardware shop catalogue...

I see that there is a "barter" column. I figured that your setting would be some kind of libertarian dreamland, heavily freemarket. Thus if you set a barter score for an item, then you somehow state how rare (or at leat how demanded) it is. It seems trivial but it is not. For instance I see that "giant insect shell" has a low barter value even though its armor value is quite decent. Does that mean that the world is infested with giant insects? If so, then it should appear in your bestiary. In the same way how can you explain the value of "circuit board" if it makes a poor armor?

The armor craft rules are okay. I'd like to see more general crafting incentives so that characters could (and should) devise weapons and other paraphernalia. I can see much fun in players saying: "okay, I've got a seel pipe and a a pair of glasses, I'll make me a rudimentary telescope". Emulate the scavenger creativity, that's what I'd do. But that's me.

[bosky]

Vaguely reminds me of D20 Modern.

My one concern with the scrapping system would be alllllllll the book keeping. If your potential players are okay with lugging around half a paragraph of scrap that's okay, but I could see it becoming tedious in some cases. Then again I don't know how you could streamline it without "dumbing it down" to raw materials, which then would drop a lot of the flavor.