Interesting mechanics

[Curufea]

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[Ian Mackinder]

Really like the 'Player Pocket' idea for XP. Sounds like it would work very well for certain other systems - 7th Sea, for example.

[Curufea]

I was thinking of using this thread to list all sorts of interesting mechanics I've come across in the various games I've read. Having them in one place to peruse is helpful for any RPG designers or house rules makers....

From Paranoia XP

Perversity Points - It's an interesting cross between XP and die roll modifiers, giving the players some influence in the game balance for other players. It's good for adversarial games where the players are competing against each other in situations.
1) Players start with a set number of PP at the beginning of the campaign.
2) Players can earn more PP by doing cool things or making anyone laugh.
3) Each PP can be spent as a positive or negative die roll modifier for that player or any other player - subject to the GM's rule. There are open, closed or hidden spending of PP on occasion.
4) Unspent PP at the end of an adventure are used for character advancement.

[JohnTaber]

Really like the 'Player Pocket' idea for XP. Sounds like it would work very well for certain other systems - 7th Sea, for example.

I agree...I may steal that for my next campaign. ;)

[Mike W]

One of the all time greatest mechanics was from the old Marvel Super Heroes game. The Power Stunt was a great concept and one that a friend and I have been tinkering with rules for off and on for years. A classic comic book maneuver but I've never seen any other game system even attempt it.

The basic idea was that you could use unspent Karma(read XP) to get a one shot use/effect of any power that you could justify to the GM based on your concept. So if you're playing Iceman and want to created an Ice Shield, blow some Karma. Do it enough times, it becomes a permanent stunt you can automatically do.

Basically, at this point the way we handle it is that you have to blow at least 1 unspent XP to try it and that XP becomes "dedicated" to the new power. Blowing additional XP can get you more active points to try it with. Generally, 1 XP gets you half your "usual" active points of the releated power. Each additional XP gets you 10 more points to work with. Can't go above the active points of th related power unless you have a heck of a reason(e.g. saving the world).

[Kristopher]

Really like the 'Player Pocket' idea for XP. Sounds like it would work very well for certain other systems - 7th Sea, for example.


I agree...I may steal that for my next campaign. ;)

It's such a good idea that I've been doing it for over a year now, in a slightly different form. :D I needed a way to reward players for roleplaying and taking an active part in the game instead of being reactive and mainly rolling dice.

[Curufea]

An interesting campaign mechanic from Prime Time Adventures - it's notable for a) roleplaying TV series very well and "getting them" and b) for preplanning a campaign.
1) Before the campaign begins, characters are made and from that their significance to the overall campaign plot can be looked at. Note - the campaign (or "season") does not have detailed planning - the GM does not have to work out who bad guys are, what the McGuffins are or anything yet.
2) Significance of characters in the campaign is the part that is worked out beforehand. Each player has one "3" two "2"s and as many "1"s and they need. The numbers denote priority of their character in a session of the campaign.
3) The priority also affects how good their task resolution attempts will be for the session - it is easier to do difficult skill checks when you are a "3" than a "1"
4) Plot - a "3" session for a character is where they get the most screen time. It's an origin, character development or pivotal session for their character. They need to be the main influence on the plot for that session.
5) A "2" is a significant supporting role, where a character is quite influential.
6) A "1" is a background character for the session and less influential.

Multiple "3"s - if more than one player has a "3" for the same session, it's some kind of major climax. Either the first confrontation with the big-bad of the campaign, or the climax of the campaign itself. Sessions after a multiple "3" are usually aftermath and possibly setting up the next "season"/campaign.
Multiple "2"s - are team effort sessions

On a side note - PTA also has the distinction of being generic to the extent that it can be used for any television series. Not only that - but the players and GM collaborative determine what the genre will be when they make up their characters. Very rare in an RPG.

[copeab]

2) Significance of characters in the campaign is the part that is worked out beforehand. Each player has one "3" two "2"s and as many "1"s and they need. The numbers denote priority of their character in a session of the campaign.

This seems to assume a minimum number of PCs and a maximum number of sessions per seasons, unless you have sessions where no one has a "3".


On a side note - PTA also has the distinction of being generic to the extent that it can be used for any television series. Not only that - but the players and GM collaborative determine what the genre will be when they make up their characters. Very rare in an RPG.

Unheard of in any gaming group I've ever been part of. The genre has already been determined by the GM before even one C is created.

[Curufea]

This seems to assume a minimum number of PCs and a maximum number of sessions per seasons, unless you have sessions where no one has a "3".

There are sessions where there are no 3's or 2's as well - I just didn't write up multiple 1's as they're pretty much like normal gaming sessions where everyone has equal GM time for a game. I am going from memory though as I haven't got the rulebook handy. However - they do recommend that a season is 5-6 episodes or sessions. So if you have 6 players, you could have a 3 in each session, but are more likely to have 2 or more 3's falling on the same session.



Unheard of in any gaming group I've ever been part of. The genre has already been determined by the GM before even one C is created.

It's important for rules systems that are specific to a genre (or in the case of Hero, have packages/special cases for genres). It's less important for Prime Time Adventures which simulates the medium, rather than the genres shown in that medium. You can have comedy, soaps, adventure, scifi - as long as it is in a style similar to a series on television.

Another example of a rules system where genre is determined in the first session is Universalis. Which is a GM-less storytelling game which is only slightly narrative and more gamist (if using the NSG categories). In Universalis, it doesn't matter what the genre is, a 1 point attribute behaves the same no matter what it is called, and conflicts are resolved the same way - if the conflict is violent, the result is wounds, if it's verbal, the result could be reputation - both are resolved with the same mechanic. It's a bit like Object Oriented Roleplaying to my mind - the object can be a character, a vehicle, a location. You put children onto the object that can either be sub-objects, or descriptors/attributes. Attributes have ratings, and if used in a conflict you roll that many dice if the attribute is relevant. After the conflict is over, the winner can assign further descriptors to the loser, such as "wounded in the leg - 2" or "the battlefleet is now undermanned - 1" for a fleet.

[Doc Democracy]

My friend has been making his own superhero system that he calls BLAM!

One of the mechanics that we have been playing with is a spotlight mechanic. Each player may play a card each round that enhances his abilities in some way (there are a lot of cool looking cards). If a player puts his power card next to another player than he can enhance that character rather than himself. Any number of players can do this and the player holding them can then give them back at a rate of one per round.

Once a player has more than half the cards then he is 'in the spotlight' and all random events target him by default and the big baddy will fight him preferentially.

This way player characters can be supercharged to take on big baddies but only if their team-mates decide to allow him to do so.

So far it has been a cool mechanic (if slightly meta-gamey) and we are still wrestling with how to make it work to get the best comic-book feel for it.

It is a nice mechanic though. I might look at something similar with Hero. It would essentially be a small free VPP for all PCs that allow them to add an extra 2DC to a companions attack (final result not allowed to exceed maximum damage of core power). This would be a half-phase action that had to be performed before an attack and might require some kind of skill test to be successful.

In essence a teammate could add 2D6 to a buddy's attack but only to improve the effect of the attack - a 12D6 attack would never do more than 72 STUN and 24 BODY for example. I think that it would depend on a bit of roleplay (to describe how the action added to the effectiveness of the attack) and a bit of gaming (RSR).


Doc

[Curufea]

I'm a big fan of card mechanics and teamwork - I use them for my Versailles RPG. Having cards in your hand gives some resource management powers to the player, rather than relying on the luck of the moment with dice. Being able to use things to help other players helps the players to interact with each other, rather than just with the GM all the time.

In superhero comics, there are a number of things they do to increase the power of a particular team mate - you could break down the cards into different types and give them different descriptions. They would all have the same effect, but the descriptions might help them fit the genre better. You could also have limits on type, such as "only 3 maneuvre cards can be on any PC".
Suggestions -
Maneuvre: Throw character, swing character, support character
Weapon of circumstance: Pass small object, Pass large object
Psychology: Catchphrase, Encouragement, Soliloquy, Insult bad guys
Defense: Push character out of way, Take the bullet, Move object in way
etc..

[Curufea]

XP
1) Time based - each hour of playing is worth 1 XP
2) Mission based - GM can give XP as normal for various milestones
3) Player pocket - in each session every player has 1 XP that they can give to any other player for any reason. Could be a great move, great roleplaying, making them laugh, whatever.

Forgot one - every 10 hours of play you gain a level. It's not based on XP.

[Hierax]

The Riddle of Steel (TROS): Spiritual Attributes give bonuses whenever your character is acting according to and/or penalties when they are acting against them.


Destiny/Anti-Destiny
Drive
Passion
Faith
Oath
Conscience

Pendragon: Passions :


Love (Family, amor, spouse, god, ...)
Hospitality
Honor
Loyalty (Lord, vassals, king, group, ...)
Hate
Fear

which can give bonuses but also can change the mental state of the character and have interesting effects:


Inspired
Introspective
Disheartened
Melancholy
Shock
Madness

These add a lot of Role Playing opportunities that actually affect the Roll Playing too. Lots of ways to simulate them in Hero (e.g., skill levels only in x circumstances, triggered aid, etc...) but they are better than mere Disadvantages because they actually DO something concrete in play.

[Curufea]

Nice. I do think disads, while nice in character creation, don't really add much to characters in Hero in actual play. It's not "server push" :)
A player is more likely to forget disads in play, as a) they aren't good for the player b) the player keeps this knowledge and tracking by the GM is an added complication and c) they're not a core mechanic and are optional to the rules (some players have none).

Rewards on the other hand, give incentive to players to keep good housekeeping on what they have. I think even "psych lims" and other regular Hero disads, could be reworked into rewards for the player, even if it is metagame rewards (ie if it hampers the party but is in keeping with the disad, earn N points of angst that can be spent to overcome a code vs killing in the next scene)

[edit]
Of course, if your asking why put rules behind roleplaying - why have disads in Hero? There is no real reason why combat should require rules, but social interact should not. Whether you shoot someone with a gun or run away in terror from your phobias can be handled with rules, or it can be handled with roleplaying. It's just a matter of determining how much you want to simulate with your game system, and making sure all other players are on the same page.

[Chris Goodwin]

On a side note - PTA also has the distinction of being generic to the extent that it can be used for any television series. Not only that - but the players and GM collaborative determine what the genre will be when they make up their characters. Very rare in an RPG.

You forgot the coolest part. Actually parts: Budget and Fan Mail.

Budget is the amount of, effectively, power the GM has to spend against the players. Each point of Budget spent goes into the Audience Pool, which can be awarded by the players as...

Fan Mail is a combination of Heroic Action Points and XP. When a player does something cool, any other player (but not the GM) can (and should) award them one point of Fan Mail. Fan Mail stays with the character from one session to the next. Really the "Player Pocket" idea writ large.

[Curufea]

Ah, well it's been a while since I read the rules :) Thanks for putting in more details.

[copeab]

Pendragon

Although it's not a mechanic, I liked how PCs were expected to find a wife and have (male) children.

[Curufea]

Although it's not a mechanic, I liked how PCs were expected to find a wife and have (male) children.

There are quite a few rules out there (albeit usually indie games, and often free ones) that cover the life of a PC. Traditional games tend to only cover creating a character, and give tools to create adventures. But some of the newer rules actually cover things such as character arcs and the ending of a character's story. My Life With Master is a good example of this - where the actions of your PC will determine what happens after the Master is killed - do you become a Master, kill yourself, run away, die heroically, or integrate with the rest of humanity in the local village?

[Mirgos]

Hate to mention the Other Game but I quite liked the idea of Wealth checks - although IIRC there was a similar mechanic in the old Marvel FASERIP game.

Mirgos

[Mirgos]

Earthdawn had some interesting ideas on magic - particularly threads & magic items. Gave good reasons for non-sage PCs to research.

[zornwil]

I mentioned this in another thread but it's apropos here. Don't Rest Your Head has a neat way of resolving conflicts wherein players throw, for their PCs, Discipline dice (normally 3d6, but can go down as Madness goes up), Madness dice (at the player's option 0d6-6d6 unless he's gone partially mad), and Exhaustion dice (according to the PC's current level of exhaustion, which can be voluntarily or involuntarily increased, basically). The GM, representing opposition, throws Pain dice.

The side that has the most 1-3s wins (ties go to protagonists). BUT whichever type (Discipline, Madness, Exhaustion, Pain) has the highest die (if tie, proceed down each die each side has to break the tie) dominates. So the protagonist or antagonist can win but Madness might dominate, forcing the protagonist into a flight-or-fight reaction (and making it more possible he'lll go mad). Or Exhaustion might dominate, in which case the protagonist's exhaustion increases, all well and good as he gets more dice - until he crashes! Or Pain might dominate, in which case even though the protagonist gets what's desired out of the conflict, something painful/bad happens. If Discipline dominates, the PC continues to keep it together with no other trade-offs, in fact with an opportunity for benefit.

What's neat is that by using color-coded dice you get to resolve two "dimensions" of a Conflict.

[Curufea]

Earthdawn had some interesting ideas on magic - particularly threads & magic items. Gave good reasons for non-sage PCs to research.

For those of us who have never played or read the rules (including me), could you explain them please?

[Old Man]

Yeah, explain it to me too, because I spent a whole weekend trying to figure out the Earthdawn magic system and eventually gave up.

[Mirgos]

For those of us who have never played or read the rules (including me), could you explain them please?

Haven't read them in ages but basically the idea was that most characters had the ability to weave magical threads to perform different feats. Wizardly characters could weave magic to power their spells,etc but even fighter & thief types could perform thread-weaving (IIRC). They could weave a thread between themselves & a magical item or even a person, place or thing & so gain advantages over them such as bonuses to hit, dmg, etc - but to weave such a thread to an object they had to gain certain knowledge of it eg its True Name, when it was forged, etc.

Could be vague on some of these points as its been a while since I looked at the books, but hopefully I've enlightened you to some extent.:)

[Mordax]

Unknown Armies Sanity
Unlike the Call of Cthulhu sanity 'hit point' system, Unknown Armies had multiple nuanced tracks for scoring how nuts you were getting. As I recall, they had:
* Unnatural: covered seeing ghosts and other inexplicable events.
* Self: violating your own morals. (Cannibalism was the extreme example of a Self check.)
* Violence. Just taking part in fights.

You could become both hardened and vulnerable to them - if you succeeded at a check, you gained hardened, and could ignore any event up to your level of hardened. If you failed, you had a freakout, and your next freakout would be worse.

It was really, really neat. Never had call to use it in HERO, but I've used it in a lot of CoC style games in place of boring old SAN. :)

FUDGE points
These are from, obviously, FUDGE. Characters spend them to gain narrative control over some aspect of the scene: to gain an automatic success, or influence events in some helpful way. (Like, "Of course the other players are just a room over when I need them!")

I have ported this into HERO as 'Fate points,' which are XP that can be used to buy 1 charge, never recovers Luck, 1 action Skill boosts, and in extreme cases Resurrection and other powers.

GURPS training rules
In GURPS 3E, something like 200 hours of training got a person 1 XP toward a given skill. I'm using a similar notion in my current HERO campaign to try and tie character development to roleplayed efforts to improve.

Unlimited Mana House Rule for GURPS
The idea here was that, rather than limiting characters to a fixed number of energy points for spells, they were calling on outside energy. It just got increasingly risky, the more they did it - they built up a charge inside their body, waiting to explode.

My current magic system leans on this heavily: certain classes of caster could, theoretically, throw spells all day if they don't mind risking burning from the inside out.