Simplified RPG: Example Character Creation.

So this game is intended to be for kids. Now this is after RPG Kids and not intended to copy from the work of NewbieDM (http://newbiedm.com/).  I encourage you to run out and buy RPG Kids (and save some money for my game when it is done).

This is an example of creating a character in the system.  The idea is to have the bare minimum elements to support standard combat in a RPG.  My RPG style includes much more use of skills than pure crunchy combat, but this game is supposed to be a gateway for a parent or reluctant RPG player to enjoy a game without fully becoming a nerd.

Example Character Creation:
As an example, there once was an adventurer named Yorik.  He was the orphaned farmhand in Berkshireby.  He tended the cows but dreamed of traveling to distant lands and becoming a famous adventurer.  Each day he would save his wages and practice fighting moves in the fields.  He grew stronger each summer until one day he decided to leave the farm in Berkshireby.  He had his life savings with him as he went to town and bought an old wooden buckler shield and a long knife.  With shield and knife in hand he was ready to see where the road would take him.
Yorik had started with a Move of 5, Attack of 0, and Defend of 0.  He rolled a 3 (1d6) in Character Points points to customize his character.  Yorik focused on fighting moves, he did not spend as much time working on his defensive moves or even getting much exercise.  Yorik moves 2 from Move and 1 from Defend to give him +3 in Attack and -1 Defend and 3 Move.

Yorik bought the wooden shield and knife with the 3 cp.  The shield gives him +2 Defend.  The knife might be nearly a sword, but it is old and dull.  The knife has a D of 1.  His character sheet looks like this:

Name: Yorik the farmhand of Berkshireby	Description: Tall, red hair and freckles. Likes to tell stories which start with "One time there was this cow.."
Attack:  +3	Current:  +3
Defend:  -1	Current:  +1
Move:  3	Current:  3
Equipment: Wooden Buckler Shield: +2 Defend Long knife:  D:1

As you can tell, the characters are very, very underpowered.  This is so that even someone min/maxing a starting character, they still can have a fun time playing the game.

I have most of the rules in place at this point and actually am working on getting art for the game.  Once I have the art and layout finalized I hope to make a PDF and post it here.

Who needs a distopian future when we have the TSA today?

I am still working on my modern cyberpunk game. My setting is the year 2030 when the US is not a world power and lacks freedom and liberty. Due to economic, political and criminal pressures the US, Canada and all of Europe are subject to extreme control.

As I was working on this setting last year I felt I was looking far into the future but recent events make me think such things are not too far off.

If you were to tell a air traveler in the 1970s that all flyers would be subject to strip searches they would laugh at you. Now, virtual strip searches are common. There is talk of using the scanners for trains and boat passengers, how far are we from the same scanners anywhere there are metal detectors? Attending a concert or going into a federal building might require a body scan.

A constant theme in Cyberpunk media is the concept of hackers trying to steal information to make society better. Wikileaks and Gary McKinnon are examples of this theme. Even those who live under a rock are aware of Julian Assange. Like him or not, he represents this hacker idealism. The public and private ways the governments of the world have worked to discredit and silence him would upset the founders of the United States. The back room deals and things the governments do to each other would fly in the face of the idealism of early patriots. Suppressing speech via hacking, political pressure and trumped up criminal charges is move like 1980s Soviet tactics than the actions of a "free" society that values liberty.

This is not intended to be a political post. Looking to the future, based upon the present trends, I'd be surprised to have more liberty in 2030 than we did in 1990. So, what do you see happening next?

Thanksgiving tradition: Play a RPG with the family!

So this Thanksgiving I have a new obsession.  I remember the old days of going to grandma's house for Thanksgiving and after we ate the "men" collapsed on the couch to watch football and the "women" sat and talked in the kitchen.  The "kids" played ancient board games in the den, ones like these http://www.reliablecomics.com/2010/05/lm046/.  These old days of the turkey, leather and cigarette smoke have me thinking about how cool it would be to have a tradition for my kids at Thanksgiving.

Truthfully, my entire family does not care about football in the least.  The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and following Dog Show have much more appeal.  But those old days?  How about the card table in the den or basement with a large grid map on it?  Dice and character sheets littering the table and the sound of people having fun accompanying the smell of turkey?  I write this, but my day was making the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes then sitting to eat the turkey followed by everyone sitting and watching television together with a common feeling of illness due to too much food.

Wanting something more seems to come after the fact because at the moment my mind was on deciding if I was too full for pumpkin pie.  I was not thinking of "Thanksgiving 2010" and the memories I'd make.  I was missing an alternate past I had wanted to exist, but not at the time.

Next year?  I'd like to say I'd have room in my life to pull out a AD&D book with the kids on a card table and folding chairs.  Maybe it is something I will do when I am a grandpa and the grandkids come to our house.

Latest changes to my simplified game system

Now let me say first, my interest in simplifying my game system predates my knowledge of the fantastic RPG Kids ( http://newbiedm.com/rpgkids/ ).  It was not my primary goal to create a RPG to play with kids, but I think the need is there.  RPG Kids is a great place to start for that, I give NewbieDM the props for his idea.  In fact I mandate you all who are under my influence to purchase a copy of his excellent work, should you fail to do so I will regard you as hypocrites to the cause of Independent role playing games.

Now that the elephant in the room has been mentioned, it should be of no bother.

In my last impossibly long post, I pasted the draft of a simplified version of my game system.  As I looked at it and ran it past some RPG buddies, I got some valuable feedback and have applied it.  Rather than another unreadable control+v of the latest version, here are the highlights:

- Attributes: 

     In my full game system, learned skill augments natural talent.  The learned skill component is time spent with a teacher practicing a skill.  The natural talent portion of the skill is the controlling attribute.  Skills can be used in contest and non-contest situations.  In a non-contest situation you take half the controlling attribute and add the skill, then roll under that with a d20.  In a contest situation you use the learned skill and add it to a d20 roll vs your opponent's roll, the highest roll wins the contest.

     This is a bit heavy for a "simple" system.  So I threw out the non-contest rules as this simple system is all about crunchy combat.  In the latest draft, there are two skills which are treated as attributes: Attack and Defend.  As you take damage, Attack and Defend go down until they are so negative that even the highest roll would be beat by a low roll.

- Weapon Ranges:

     In my full game there is a simple formula for calculating the cost of a weapon in character points.  But the formula was not simple enough, I wanted a 8 year old to be able to GM a game and following formulas might be beyond them.  Another issue was the way I deal with extra effort as well as point blank damage, it was all just too confusing for young newbies.

     Now in the current draft a weapon's damage is made lower for each square a target is from the attacker.  Rather than spending points on a missile weapon's range, they just do a lot of damage up close and less the further away you are.

I look forward to more playtesting with my kids as well as making some art for this project.  I hope to have a free edition available by Christmas and a more retail oriented version by spring.  The biggest problem at this point is coming up with a name for this mess... I am not good at that.

If you have an idea for a name or would like to see the latest draft please let me know!