Tuesday, December 27, 2005
A Simple Mechanic
I'm going to go ahead and blame the holidays for the break in posts here. Damn holidays!
Anyway, a simple, but I think interesting, die mechanic. You're in a conflict, and you're rolling a dice to do something. Now, whatever you roll, you can apply it to that action, or you can hold it. If you hold, you don't succeed at the action, but you add that dice to the next dice you roll. Now, with the next dice, you have the same option - hold, or apply. If you hold, you now have those two die, plus the next one you roll. It's cumulative. Hell, you can even hold that stack of die from the end of a conflict that you lose, to apply to the next one.
The point? Lot's of tactical circling - do you each hold until you have monster die stacks, do you go for the smaller, but more constant, wins, or what? Emulative of some sources - like getting beaten down and beaten down until the big climax, when you totally kick ass.
Some modifications/complications - skill levels limit how many die you can stack. You have to use some kind of ability or currency to carry from one conflict to another. Combine it with the Otherkind mechanic, and you have a stack of die which you choose to put towards different things in the conflict, when you use them. Opposed rolling, only the winner can stack. Opposed rolling, only the loser can stack. You can only stack if the next action directly follows from the one you just did. You can only stack if the next action does not directly follow. Etc.
Anyway, a simple, but I think interesting, die mechanic. You're in a conflict, and you're rolling a dice to do something. Now, whatever you roll, you can apply it to that action, or you can hold it. If you hold, you don't succeed at the action, but you add that dice to the next dice you roll. Now, with the next dice, you have the same option - hold, or apply. If you hold, you now have those two die, plus the next one you roll. It's cumulative. Hell, you can even hold that stack of die from the end of a conflict that you lose, to apply to the next one.
The point? Lot's of tactical circling - do you each hold until you have monster die stacks, do you go for the smaller, but more constant, wins, or what? Emulative of some sources - like getting beaten down and beaten down until the big climax, when you totally kick ass.
Some modifications/complications - skill levels limit how many die you can stack. You have to use some kind of ability or currency to carry from one conflict to another. Combine it with the Otherkind mechanic, and you have a stack of die which you choose to put towards different things in the conflict, when you use them. Opposed rolling, only the winner can stack. Opposed rolling, only the loser can stack. You can only stack if the next action directly follows from the one you just did. You can only stack if the next action does not directly follow. Etc.
// posted by Nathan P. @ 12/27/2005 11:54:00 PM 
