All Entries in the "Rule Systems" Category
Review – Crime Pays: A Godfather’s Grimoire by Goodman Games
When I sat down to read Crime Pays: A Godfather’s Grimoire by Goodman Games I was extremely shocked! And, in a very good way! I was expecting a DM resource to bring the Medieval Mafia down on your unsuspecting PCs. And of course, it does this very well. There are 60 new stat blocks with [...]
Review – Pathfinder Rolepaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide
One of the hot new releases at Gen Con this year, was the Pathfinder Rolepaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide by Paizo Publishing. As media, we get into the vendor area an hour early on Thursday, before the doors open to regular guests. And when those doors opened, I was standing next to Paizo’s booth. All [...]
A Plea for Help: A Good Mechanic to Handle Gambling
“Aces & Eights” is my current campaign, but there is an issue with the rules. The rule mechanics for the gambling skill and how it works are too cumbersome and really quite annoying. You cannot fold in a game of poker without having the gambling skill! This forces nearly every player into a situation of [...]
Where is the Future of Role-Playing Games?–I expected it Last Year
RPGs in their current form date from the early 1970s and there is very little difference between a 2010 game and a 1976 game. Oh, the rules are more complex, statistically balanced and slickly produced, but the underlying structure of the game is unchanged. Gamers purchase rule books filled with game rules and fluffy campaign [...]
RPG Rule Mechanics: Universal Versus Varied
Role-Playing game rule systems fall into two categories: universal and varied. Universal games use a single mechanic for every action. “Alpha Omega” uses the same skill check system for everything from picking locks to shooting a pistol. Varied systems like some older “Dungeons and Dragons” versions use percentile for picking locks and a d20 mechanic [...]
Nominations for Worst Role-Playing Game Rule or Mechanic
Rules are a critical element of all role-playing games, but sometimes they are less than optimal. Oh hell, let us be honest. Some role-playing game rules are just stupid. Not “slightly off” or “in need of some work,” I mean completely lobotomized stupid. The kind of rules that make you wonder what the designer smoked [...]
Free Advice to Game Publishers: How to Demo a Role-Playing Game at a Convention
I specifically went to Gen Con 2009 seeking new games. Almost every slot I played was a “no experience required” event and everyone at the table was totally new to the game world and system. After four days of demos and intro games run by game publishers I noticed some serious deficiencies with how the [...]
Character Advancement–Moving Beyond XP
“Dungeons and Dragons” set the standard. As PCs complete tasks and adventures, they earn points. These “experience points” determine when a PC advances to the next level. And when that magic time arrives, the PC increases in skill, combat ability and magical strength. With few exceptions, this structure appears in almost every RPG game ever [...]