4th & Dragon : Dungeons and Dragons...and stuff

Design Journal

This is a continuation of the thread I’d started back at 3ebb.

Guiding Principle
The goal behind d20 Advanced (d20A) is to create a toolbox that maximizes options where they matter while keeping the game simple and true to the central d20 mechanic as much as possible. It’s very easy to remember how to resolve actions when they all follow the d20 + modifier vs DC model, and this mechanic should be used whenever possible. The goal of this variant system is similar to True20 and d20 Modern in that it seeks to use the core of the d20 system to create a flexible, playable, and fun toolbox with which groups can build just about any game they want.

Character Creation
Likely the area where d20A deviates the most from the standard d20 games out there, character creation follows a model similar to Mutants & Masterminds, where players are assigned points with which to build their characters from the ground up.

However, the game doesn’t force you to play a point-buy game if you’d rather play a more class-based game. It does lay out for a GM how to use the character creation system to create races and classes, and how to ensure those races and classes are balanced at each level. The system is as flexible as you want it to be.

Character creation also includes a detailed system for aliegances, complications, and character motivation. Unlike alignments in D&D, players chose from a multitude of different motivating factors, and when they play their characters with these motivations in mind, they’re rewarded with Hero Dice (more on that below).

Combat
d20A uses a system similar to Iron Heroes’ or The Book of Iron Might in order to rerpesent maneuvers in combat. Rather than having a dozen different methods of resolving a dozen different combat actions, and forcing the GM to decide on-the-fly how to resolve a maneuver the rules don’t describe, d20A uses a simple, straight-forward system of maneuvers to allow the player to switch tactics, stance, or inflict any of a number of conditions on an enemy. The secret is in that last part: d20A carefully codifies all the different condition statuses, so they’re no longer a mystery that involves flipping through a rulebook for five minutes to remember what being “nauseated” means versus being “sickened”.

d20A also takes advice from Iron Heroes with the inclusion of action zones and event zones, which give GMs the chance to create exciting, interactive areas for combat with a comprehensive, simple set of rules for quickly creating pieces of the environment to give smart players a tactical edge… or to completely shred the heroes with. 

Dramatic Interactions & Dice Pools
d20A also codifies rules for non-combat, high-action interactions between two or more groups, with the rules covering everything from chases to social duels to the ever-fun seduction/temptation interactions. The rules for these dramatic interactions have also found their way into other facets of the rules. Dramatic interactions and mechanics that are similar to Action Points are instead governed by dice pools (which include the aforementioned Hero Dice), which brings back the fun of rolling tons of dice to a game system that can really be played with just one die between a whole group.

Flexibilty
Like any other toolbox, d20A is meant to give a tremendous number of options to a group to accomplish what they want. However, it also outlines precisely how to excise almost all of these options, enabling groups to easily arrive at a game that reflects the genre they wish to play well. The system is meant to be tweaked and adjusted, but its mechanics are also meant to be broard enough to encompass many genres at once.

Now that I’ve got a little time before my next exam, I’m planning on expanding the Dramatic Interaction rules with some types of interactions (Chases, Social Duels, and Capers are on the agenda). There’s also going to be some upgrading to the conditions system to simplify it while still making it flexible enough to allow for lots of different effects (it will wind up being more similar to the Star Wars: Saga Edition condition track, but without completely wiping out different types of conditions). I’m also going to be trying to do some work on the GM side of things and start really hammering out a simple system for quickly creating different types of opponents, ideas for using the system to create classes for a class/level-based game, and more unified campaign creation guidelines (to help a group wade through all these options!)

More to come on this as I get more done. I’d also be happy to answer questions.

Keep up the good work!!

Oooh.  Fancypants.

Perhaps this can be one of our first true resources?

JK, this seems as though it is a possibility to go into play testing phases fairly soon. I am excited at the possibility of being involved in that stage. Keep up the good work. :D

Quite interesting. Especially the condition mechanic seems to tickle my fancy. I’ll be watching your career with great interest…

Benicus the PooAvenger - 01 October 2007 07:56 PM

Keep up the good work!!

Thanks, dude.

Jim Goings - 01 October 2007 08:31 PM

Oooh.  Fancypants.

And then some,

Michael Sigler - 01 October 2007 10:01 PM

Perhaps this can be one of our first true resources?

As it moves along, I wouldn’t be at all opposed to working with Dragon Avenue to make it such.

Talae - 02 October 2007 12:07 AM

JK, this seems as though it is a possibility to go into play testing phases fairly soon. I am excited at the possibility of being involved in that stage. Keep up the good work. :D

We’re getting there. There might be an online playtest coming up soon, so stay tuned.

Muahahahah!

/Stays tuned.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this, at least until 4e arrives.

Design Journal: Easy Foes
Okay, have you DMs/GMs out there ever had a day where you found yourself with all of ten minutes to come up with an exciting encounter? It sucks, we know. I mean, sure, you could always send a big ol’ bunch of orcs at the party, but that’s boring.

... until now.

Let’s say I want to do just that, and send a party of orcs at my group. This is a party of four PL 6 adventurers in a swords & sorcery fantasy game, so orcs are a fine choice of opponent. Let’s see how a single Stock NPC entry can be harvested to quickly assemble an exciting encounter.

Step 1: ‘Ere’s Da’ Orcs!
Below is an entry for a sample foe, in this case, the orc. Orcs are big, strong, and a little dim (don’t blame them, though… blame their upbringing!). They’re wild warriors with big axes and tusks who live to fight, and warbands of orcs often reflect this.

Orc (10 cp)
Abilities: +1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -1 Intelligence, -1 Charisma (0 pp)
Skills: Athletics 1, Survival (Homeland) 1, Weapon Group (Axes) 1 (3 cp)
Feats: Fearsome Presence 2, Skill Specialization (Persuasion: Intimidate) 1 (3 cp)
FX: Super-Senses (Low-Light Vision, Scent) (2 cp)
Equipment: Battleaxe (Damage 3 (Extras: Penetrating; FX Feats: Mighty)), Hide Armor (Protection 3) (2 cp)

Orc Variants:
Orc Artillery (+4 cp): Add Perception 1, Weapon Group (Bows) 1 and Recurved Longbow (Damage 3 (Extras: Ranged; FX Feats: Improved Range, Mighty)
Orc Brute (+1 cp): Add Fearsome Presence 2 (2 cp)
Orc Enchanter (+2 + 2 x PL cp): Add Shaman Staff (Damage 2 (FX Feats: Mighty, Split Attack)), Shaman Magic (PL) (Choose two of the following):
- Damage (PL) (Extras: Cone Area)
- Damage (PL) (Extras: Ranged)
- Inflict Condition (PL) (Will Defends; Attack, Will)
- Inflict Condition (PL) (Will Defends; Defense, Will)
- Dazzle (PL) (Visual)
Orc Lurker (+2 cp): Add Weapon Group (Spears) and Shortspear (Damage 2 (Feats: Mighty, Thrown))

Step 2: Power Up
So we start with the basics. I know I want the party to have a reasonable challenge from this encounter, but each individual orc shouldn’t be a great challenge. Oh, maybe two or three of them will be a match for the heroes, but for the most part, they’re cannon fodder. So I decide I’ll run an encounter with a dozen orcs, which has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I have a dozen orc minis in my minis box.

Now I want two orcs to stand out and be tough, while the others can be weaker. So maybe two boss-like orcs. Since I want them to be a challenge, I’ll put them on-par with the party in terms of power, at PL 6. The other orcs I’ll leave at PL 4.

But I’ve still just got a mob of twelve orcs, whose only difference is in PL. I still don’t even know their combat stats. How does this get me any closer to my idea for a cool encounter?

Step 3: Spice it Up!
They say that variety is the spice of life, and it’s true for encounters too. So let’s stick to that good old wisdom. I’m going to start specializing my orcs, so that they stand out and are able to work together as more of a team to provide a fun challenge to the PCs.

The Orc entry I posted above shows a few sample modifications to orcs. The Orc Brute in particular looks pretty appropriate for a big, strong Orc boss, I think. It captures their savagery pretty nicely. So I go ahead, take the basic orc template, give them rage (as per the entry for the Orc Brute under the Orc Varieties entry). Then I cross reference it with my Brute Progression Table. I see that at PL 6, a Brute should have a +5 bonus to its primary attack (and with orcs, that’s the battleaxe), a +6 to toughness and fortitude, a +3 to will, and a +3 to reflex. Further, they should have the Endurance feat and an additional +2 Strength. Now let me combine that with the stats I already have from the Orc template and the Brute variety:

Orc Warband Leader
Abilities: Strength +3, Dexterity +0, Constitution +1, Intelligence -1, Wisdom +0, Charisma -1 (4 pp)
Skills: Athletics 1 (+4), Survival (Homeland) 1, Reflex 3, Toughness 2 (+6), Fortitude 5 (+6), Will 4 (+3), Dodge 5, Weapon Group (Axes) 5 (26 cp)
Feats: Endurance, Fearsome Presence 4, Skill Specialization (Persuasion: Intimidate) 1 (5 cp)
FX: Super-Senses (Low-Light Vision, Scent) (2 cp)
Equipment: Battleaxe (Damage 3 (Extras: Penetrating; FX Feats: Mighty)), Hide Armor (Protection 3) (2 cp)

Attacks: Battleaxe (+5 Attack, +6 Damage, 3 Penetrating); Fearsome Presence (+4, Will Defends)
Defenses: Fortitude +6, Toughness +6, Will +3, Dodge +5

And that’s before I even consider sitting down and start customizing this particular baddy. Right now he’s just built to fight PCs (and he’ll be scary while doing it). But this only took me about a minute to put together (two if you count the extra minute I took to format it for this post ) He looks like a pretty big, scary Orc Boss to me. However, his damage and toughness are a little low, considering he looks like he has an – attack / + damage trade-off, so we can bump his strength and constitution a little for the final writeup.

Now let’s move on. I want this warband to be pretty diverse, but it still needs a good foundation. So lets make five of the orcs into basic grunts. I want them to be an easier few enemies, so let’s just make them PL 4 Grunts.

Orc Warband Grunt
Abilities: Strength +1, Dexterity +0, Constitution +1, Intelligence -1, Wisdom +0, Charisma -1 (0 pp)
Skills: Athletics 1 (+2), Survival (Homeland) 1, Reflex 2, Toughness 0 (+4), Fortitude 1 (+2), Will 3 (+2), Dodge 3, Weapon Group (Axes) 4 (16 cp)
Feats: Fearsome Presence 2, Skill Specialization (Persuasion: Intimidate) 1 (3 cp)
FX: Super-Senses (Low-Light Vision, Scent) (2 cp)
Equipment: Battleaxe (Damage 3 (Extras: Penetrating; FX Feats: Mighty)), Hide Armor (Protection 3) (2 cp)

Attacks: Battleaxe (+3 Attack, +4 Damage, 3 Penetrating); Fearsome Presence (+2, Will Defends)
Defenses: Fortitude +2, Toughness +4, Will +2, Dodge +2

Now to really start adding variety. What is a warband without a few archers to mix things up? So let’s add a trio of PL 4 Orc Artillery to the mix…

Orc Warband Archer
Abilities: Strength +1, Dexterity +0, Constitution +0, Intelligence -1, Wisdom +0, Charisma -1 (-2 pp)
Skills: Athletics 1 (+2), Perception 1, Survival (Homeland) 1, Reflex 2, Toughness 0 (+4), Fortitude 1 (+2), Will 3 (+2), Dodge 3, Weapon Group (Axes) 2, Weapon Group (Bows) 3 (17 cp)
Feats: Fearsome Presence 2, Skill Specialization (Persuasion: Intimidate) 1 (3 cp)
FX: Super-Senses (Low-Light Vision, Scent) (2 cp)
Equipment: Battleaxe (Damage 3 (Extras: Penetrating; FX Feats: Mighty)), Recurved Longbow (Damage 3 (Extras: Ranged; FX Feats: Improved Range, Mighty), Hide Armor (Protection 3) (4 cp)

Attacks: Recurved Longbow (Attack +3, Damage +4, 120 ft. Range); Battleaxe (+2 Attack, +4 Damage, 3 Penetrating); Fearsome Presence (+2, Will Defends)
Defenses: Fortitude +2, Toughness +4, Will +2, Dodge +2

And just to be sneaky, how about a pair of Orc Lurkers, who could be ranger-type orcs who are going to sneak in and join the fight after it starts, catching the PCs unawares…

Orc Warband Ambushers
Abilities: Strength +1, Dexterity +0, Constitution +1, Intelligence -1, Wisdom +0, Charisma -1 (0 pp)
Skills: Athletics 1 (+2), Infiltrate 3, Survival (Homeland) 1, Reflex 2, Toughness 0 (+4), Fortitude 1 (+2), Will 3 (+2), Dodge 3, Weapon Group (Spears) 3, Weapon Group (Axe) 2 (19 cp)
Feats: Fearsome Presence 2, Skill Specialization (Persuasion: Intimidate) 1 (3 cp)
FX: Super-Senses (Low-Light Vision, Scent) (2 cp)
Equipment: Battleaxe (Damage 3 (Extras: Penetrating; FX Feats: Mighty)), Shortspear (Damage 2 (FX Feats: Mighty, Thrown)), Hide Armor (Protection 3) (3 cp)

Attacks: Shortspear (Attack +3, Damage +3, 10 ft. Range Increment); Battleaxe (+2 Attack, +4 Damage, 3 Penetrating); Fearsome Presence (+2, Will Defends)
Defenses: Fortitude +2, Toughness +4, Will +2, Dodge +2

That leaves one last orc, and a little magical support to round things out is always fun. So how about we throw an orc shaman into the mix with an Orc Enchanter? And let’s make him stand out a little more by making him a nice PL 5… close enough to the leader to be an effective (but not too dangerous) advisor.

Orc Warband Shaman
Abilities: Strength +1, Dexterity +0, Constitution +1, Intelligence -1, Wisdom +0, Charisma -1 (0 pp)
Skills: Athletics 1 (+2), Survival (Homeland) 1, Reflex 2, Toughness 0 (+4), Fortitude 1 (+2), Persuasion 4 (+3), Will 6 (+5), Dodge 5, Weapon Group (Shaman Magic) 4, Weapon Group (Shaman Staff) 2 (26 cp)
Feats: Distract, Inspire 1, Fearsome Presence 2 (4 cp)
FX: Super-Senses (Low-Light Vision, Scent); Shaman Magic 5 (Damage 5 (Extras: Cone Area); Inflict Condition 5 (Will Defends; Defense, Will)) ( (13 cp)
Equipment: Shaman Staff (Damage 2 (FX Feats: Mighty, Split Attack)), Hide Armor (Protection 3) (2 cp)

Attacks: Shaman Staff (Attack +2, Damage +3, Split Attack); Shaman Magic Damage (+5 Attack, +5 Damage); Shaman Magic Inflict (+4 Attack, +5 Damage (Will Defends), Distract (+3, Will/Sense Motive Defends), Fearsome Presence (+2, Will Defends)
Defenses: Fortitude +2, Toughness +4, Will +5, Dodge +5

And about seven minutes later, I have my orc warband complete. They’ll provide quite a fun, exciting encounter for the PCs, methinks. We can start it out with the two sides encountering one another on the road. The archers fire, and the grunts charge along with the leader, who gives a battle-howl (using Fearsome Presence). Meanwhile, the shaman can call for favor from the spirits of the orc ancestors (Inspire) and the ambushers move around to try to out-flank the PCs, getting ready to unleash a volley of spears on the next round before they charge in with their axes. If things get rough, the shaman can assist with more spells to weaken the enemy defenses and make way for the leader to really bring the hurt until the ambushers are in position. It’s going to be an exciting encounter, but the PCs might just win it!

Beyond Orcs
Of course, this system is flexible enough to expand beyond just orcs. I could just as easily apply it to some cultists of a forgotten, dark demon and have an encounter against a handful of magical enemies, or give it to a couple mobsters and have a shootout with a mafia family’s enforcers. Or I could use it to quickly create a squad of soldiers who might be assisting the PCs. Heck, I could do it without templates and just look at the numbers for a given PL and just leave everything up to description (so a PL 10 Dragon’s primary attack could be a fireball, and his secondary could be his teeth and claws). It’ll still work fine even if it’s only providing a set of guidelines for me right there while I’m running an encounter.

The players get lots of flexibility, and so does the GM. The GM just has a lot more to deal with, so being able to help out with easy-to-generate Stock NPCs of just about any PL is quite a useful tool indeed.

How hard would it be to rework saves as defenses?  It seems with the streamlining of other things, defenses vice saves might be a concept worth considering, so long as it doesn’t throw a huge wrench into the gears.

One other problem I had when making my character was conceptualizing why I have a saving throw and ALSO a skill that seems to cover the same ground?

Hey do you think it’d be possible to get the token pools from Iron Heroes over on this system? I kind of digged those…

Also, what’s the experience point system for this?

Must...resist...urge...to...DM…

Cameron - 02 October 2007 03:39 PM

How hard would it be to rework saves as defenses?  It seems with the streamlining of other things, defenses vice saves might be a concept worth considering, so long as it doesn’t throw a huge wrench into the gears.

One other problem I had when making my character was conceptualizing why I have a saving throw and ALSO a skill that seems to cover the same ground?

Yep. You’re seeing artifacts of a revision-in-process, Merc. Right now, I’m in the process of turning saves into defenses, and then going a step further and actually making those defenses into skills (which are going to cover everything that isn’t a Ability Score, a Feat, or an FX). There’s a lot of revision to do, since the first version of this ruleset used saves, and now I’m going back and redoing them as Defense Skills.

Benicus the PooAvenger - 02 October 2007 06:25 PM

Hey do you think it’d be possible to get the token pools from Iron Heroes over on this system? I kind of digged those…

When I finish the writeup, Hero Dice are going to be similar to Token Pools, and many subsystems in the game use a Dice Pool mechanic. It’s certainly informed by Iron Heroes, but not the same.

Also, what’s the experience point system for this?

It’s sort of a dual-path. On one hand, you have Character Points, the basic currency for creating and upgrading characters (which can be awared just like experience points). On the other, you have power level, which tells you how overall powerful your characters are. A GM can advance one, the other, both, or neither depending on the needs of the game.

I was doing something very similar with my system before I put it on hiatus until I can see what 4th does: everything is a feat, a skill, or an attribute.  BAB (and a corresponding dodge ability), saves, HP gain per level… all skill based in Saga style progressions (with the addition of an ‘inept’ flaw only available at creation that can be bought off with later XP).

Also I was using the “players roll all the dice” variant from the get-go to massively simplify monster stat blocks, making saves-as-defenses and AC both only applicable to NPCs.  For the PCs armor offers a die roll to resist damage just as weapons have one to inflict it (plate mail = 2d6 soak), shields add a bonus to the d20 dodge roll (or to parry checks), and rolling a 1 on the dodge roll grants an enemy a crit.