[The Elder Scrolls d100 RPG] With Some Cruncy concepts

[barruktp]

This project came about because it seemed like The Elder Scrolls video games (Skyrim being the most recent example) were naturally suited for d100 tabletop play.  So I looked around, and the only thing I could find was a very brief attempt at fitting the setting into BRP. Not quite what I was looking for, so I went ahead and created my own system from scratch.  As these things go, it has kind of ballooned, so now I have a full on conversion with lots of new combat mechanics.

What's the same with other systems:
d100, skills 0 - 100, most rolls are rolled beneath the skill to pass, roll at the skill or slightly under at a critical range to critical.
Combat takes place on a standard hex grid.

What's new in my system:
1. Instead of having to roll to level up skills like in BRP, you get XP for doing most tasks, that you turn in for skill levelups.  The amount of XP needed to level up a skill is an upward curve.
2. Perks: All of the perks from Skyrim have been included, however a great many have been tweaked to make them fit into a tabletop RPG environment.
3. Combat movement system.  This is big one... Each combatant has a momentum vector that is tracked on the map by a small paper arrow.  The combination of the attackers momentum + the defenders momentum determines the combat situation, whether the defender is easier to hit or harder to hit.  Because defenders can change their momentum via Response actions, the idea is to represent dodging, parrying, strafing, etc in the combat mechanics.  It does make the combat a bit crunchy, however on whole the system is not as crunchy as some (notably Shadowrun).

Anyway, please take a look and let me know what you think.  Any feedback, constructive or not, is appreciated.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6cJpLaRHAmIMDBjMTk4MmYtMjU1OS00NjczLTllZDktMGM5NWNmNjgwYTAz

Thanks!

[barruktp]

Sorry for the type-o in the thread title.

Here's a slightly better version to look at:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6cJpLaRHAmIMWE4YTZiNGItNTY5OS00ZjM2LTlkNDctYWQ4YzY4OTVjYmJm
This one includes a combat example page and some minor tweaks to the combat turn sequence.

[JoyWriter]

A friend of mine tried this with oblivion, one of the things we found was that using skill levels to mean success chance was not actually very in keeping with the feel of the game; we wanted it to effect how good what we did was, rather than whether we did anything at all. Shifting degree of success essentially.

Have you considered doing something similar? Setting up a system to stand in for player skill and AI quirks and mediating success chances, and keeping the skill system focused on what that success means?

For example you could use your combat momentum system to produce the success probabilities in combat on it's own...

[barruktp]

Have you considered doing something similar? Setting up a system to stand in for player skill and AI quirks and mediating success chances, and keeping the skill system focused on what that success means?

Yes that is one of the main reasons I put in the momentum system.  I wanted melee fighters to have a high chance of hitting something if they were in a good position to attack, like charging straight on at an enemy who is standing still.  I call that a "lunge" attack, and it provides a +50 bonus.  So the minimum chance of of hitting a lunge is 65%, and once you skill up to 50 it would be automatic.  At that point the extra points bleed over into a higher critical hit chance.

As far ranged attacks with arrows and spells, I wanted to simulate how in the game you can hit things from a long distance, but you have to spend a bit of time carefully aiming to do so.  So I included an "Aim" action that you do between drawing and releasing, each aim action adds +20 to hit for the attack.  Just like in Skyrim and Oblivion, aiming with a bow costs stamina, but aiming with a spell does not cost extra magicka.

[barruktp]

Also, for self-cast and healing spells, if you fail the casting roll you still cast the spell, however the magicka cost is increased.

[Somnibus]

Things I Like
1) I like the formating (for the most part).  The progression of thought was mostly logical and I liked the boxed sections.
2) I like the holding of Minor Actions till your next turn.  Simple and easy to grasp.
3) I like the different bonuses granted to the different weapon types when Power Attacking.
4) I like the use of poker chips to represent XP.
5) I like the set XP for skill use.
6) I like the new skills.
7) I really like the concept of momentum.
I like the "Did You Know?" section and wished there were more.

Things I Wasn't Crazy About, Random Questions & A Wish List
1) I wish there was a running example.
2) What happens if I want to Jump a Ravine/Navigate a Boat/Climb a Wall? i.e. Things that don't have a skill.
3) The humor that showed up half way through was jarring.  I'd like more or none.
4) There are a lot of actions to choose from. It could slow things down a bit.
5) The Attack Sequence is confusing and complex.
6) Need examples for Momentum, Character Creation, Leveling
7) I'd like to see an example of adventure creation (maybe a dungeon generator as an appendix)
Maybe I missed it; Was there rules for Shouts?

[barruktp]

Things I Wasn't Crazy About, Random Questions & A Wish List
1) I wish there was a running example. 
2) What happens if I want to Jump a Ravine/Navigate a Boat/Climb a Wall? i.e. Things that don't have a skill.
3) The humor that showed up half way through was jarring.  I'd like more or none.
4) There are a lot of actions to choose from. It could slow things down a bit.
5) The Attack Sequence is confusing and complex.
6) Need examples for Momentum, Character Creation, Leveling
7) I'd like to see an example of adventure creation (maybe a dungeon generator as an appendix)
Maybe I missed it; Was there rules for Shouts?

1. That will be added eventually, right now it is still a Work in Progress and I want to concentrate on getting the mechanics down.
2. Those things would automatically succeed.  However, I would require stamina spent every turn for things like climbing or lifting a heavy object.  When the player runs out of stamina, they would have to drop the object or have a chance to fall off of the climbing surface.
3. A man walks into a bar.  The bar says "Ouch!"
4. Yeah it is kind of a big list... It may help to separate out the skill specific ones from the general list, just to help organize it better.
5. I agree and I am working on it.  After playtesting a couple of times, my next big step is to remove as much multiplication out of the game as possible.  I want to do this through introducing charts for skill + perk effects on armor, weapon, and shield ratings, as well as by simplifying some of the other formulas.  The biggest one I don't think I can get rid of is Damage Reduction %, that is a pretty core concept to the game.
6. Fair enough... I will try to include those on the next pass.
7. So would I (eventually).
8. No.  And the reason I don't have it in right now is because the players are not Dragonborn.  They can go and learn the Thuun from the Greybeards at High Hrothgar, but without the dragon blood it would take several years of training to learn one word (at least according to TES Skyrim).  In my play testing group, I allowed one player knowledge of FUUS, but he had to start the game at level 1, where everyone else started at level 5.