作者：Rob Lang

你的游戏机制能够提供给玩家战术和策略选择。他们将购买资源，进行冒险，并感受胜利与失败。你必须确保游戏机制与理念相吻合，并能够支持设置。你需要回答的第一个问题是：

我是否应该使用现有的系统？（请点击此处阅读本文第一、第二部分）

如今市面上已经有好几百种免费RPG系统，我们都能够按照自己的需求对此进行扩展与修改。通过选择现有的系统（特别是较有名的），你能够从一个稳定且经过测试的基础开始创造。但是之后你需要基于设置和规则对此进行扩展，以吸引玩家的注意。

当你埋头开始创造自己的系统时，请检查我在第二部分中所提到的系统列表，并确保你的选择是新颖的。你最好能够从头开始扩展现有的系统。

如何创造机制

只在游戏中包含你希望玩家去做的事。奖励那些你想要培养的游戏风格。机制是指能够到达某一特定结果的一系列步骤。在此你无需使用骰子，可以将步骤当成纯粹的对话或使用资源交换。

机制范围的三个点分别是资源，传统和言语。资源机制是指玩家用游戏内部货币去换取游戏控制或成功。传统机制包括摇骰子以及与目标数进行比较。言语机制则会奖励一些优秀的理念和合适的措辞。

你们的机制可以混合这三大元素。传统机制是使用最广泛的。

你的机制必须给予玩家选择。他们必须能够选择做某事并能够理解结果的可能性。避免滚动一次骰子便造成角色突然死亡的情况。对于角色的行动你无需设置一个随机元素，但需要避免创造一些非常简单的内容。

让玩家能够通过转动脑子而获取成功，即通过操纵机制，设置或付出更多努力。

逆向作业

致力于让你能够获得角色统计资料的机制是个明智的做法。这能避免你收集一些垃圾信息。写下你想要模拟的理念（你需要在第一章节里便做出决定），然后明确一个最合适的机制。最后想出怎样的技能，统计，特技和随机性组合能够实现这一机制。

我希望角色能够以富有创造力的方法去攻击怪兽。它们必须通过使用工具，技能和环境展开进攻—-反复的射击不可能帮助他们获胜。我需要关于工具和技能使用的统计，以及一个机制去确保是否值得将理念和工具整合在一起。我将使用共享的骰子机制，从而让玩家可以通过合作而获得更多骰子。

元游戏

元游戏便是所谓的玩家与玩家间的互动。如果两名玩家正从自己的角度去谈论某一情境，那么他们便处于元游戏中。如果玩家是以角色的身份去谈论情境，那这只能说是角色扮演。所有机制的范围都是包含在角色的立场和元游戏之间。

元游戏机制可以为你的游戏增添多样性，但是你也必须谨慎使用，因为它们通常都是处在角色知识范围之外。滥用元游戏机制会导致角色采取一些无理的行动。并导致许多人质问角色扮演群组“你的角色在做什么”。

你必须合理地判断元游戏机制是否适合你的系统。以下所罗列的机制类型百年包含了元游戏的表现。

对于《Chgowiz》，我设置了元游戏机制，即玩家可以在此分享骰子。角色不需要知道用于他们行动中的骰子是哪些，所以这非常适合元游戏。

创造机制的目的

只创造你希望玩家在游戏中执行的一些机制。一些典型机制包括：

角色创造

角色创造是根据世界万物的基准进行设定。

无对手的行动

角色与世界进行单独互动便是行动。包括了骑马与航行。在这些行动中并不包含任何对手角色，只是关于角色与世界间的接触。我们经常要执行这样的行动。

有对手的行动

角色尝试着去做一些事，而其他角色将想办法阻止他们。包括说服NPC打开通向城堡的门。角色将尝试着让NPC做某事，而NPC的职责便是违逆他。

战斗

战斗可以以不同形式体现出来：赤手空拳，带有近距离武器，远程进攻，搭乘交通工具或者宇宙飞船进攻等等。战斗必须基于某种方法而对敌人造成一定破坏力。这与有对手的行动拥有相同的机制。战斗经常被分割成一些回合，而每个角色将轮流执行一个行动。

通过在战斗行动中清楚地呈现出选择能够帮助玩家快速地做出选择并推动游戏向前移动。比起纠结选择是什么，玩家可以多花些时间去思考自己的角色应该做什么。

受伤与治疗

比起控制无懈可击的角色，面对带有弱点的角色会更有趣。设定一个机制去追踪角色受了多少次伤，以及在他们采取更多行动前还会受多少次伤。减少点值（生命值）是一种非常传统的方法，但是你也可以选择通过叙述效果去影响玩家的决定。受伤将导致他们必须执行某些行动而作为处罚。同时你也需要确保能够提供给玩家治疗伤口的方法。

对于《Chgowiz》，我希望受伤的效果能够更加叙述化。当角色受伤时，他们便具有劣势，即更加艰难地游戏。而当角色能够进行克隆时，死亡便不再是问题了，这时候受伤效果将变得更加显著。

死亡率

我们可以根据健康的角色在平均战斗中死于平均武器/装备所花费的游戏时间去衡量死亡率。如果死亡率过高，玩家便没有机会再次回归？如果这并不包括在你的理念中，请考虑改变它。

执行“魔法”

魔法（游戏邦注：或者在现代或奇幻背景下执行一些技术类的行动）并不需要属于自己的系统，但是你可以添加一些新颖的元素到系统中。确保魔法系统与设置相关联—-基于魔法的世界必须足够简单，不应该包含需要在多个回合中反复绘制符文的系统。

控制叙述

控制叙述意味着玩家将决定事情的结果。

角色完善

如果角色扮演游戏是关于运行一系列过程，那么我们就必须分发一些奖励去完善角色。

角色创造

角色创造是任何系统的基础。千万不要忽视这一点。未来的GM也许会创造一些角色去明确这一效果。确保它能足够灵活，庄严且带有合适的描述。而对于玩家来说，这是他们第一次与游戏进行互动，所以你必须确保有效地解释相关过程。角色创造不需要太快，有些玩家喜欢复杂的创造过程，特别是当玩家将经历较长的行动时。同时你必须认真地对待所提出的理念。

角色通常是由以下部分所构成的：

属性–一定量角色固有的能力。包括：力量，智力等等。

技能–一列学习能力，通常是选自设置列表。

特技/特性–一般人不具有的特殊能力，但是也有可能是不利元素。

健康–能在角色被打败前追踪他们的受伤情况。

一些琐碎的内容–描述，角色名称，他们所属的团体，年龄或其它相关内容。在RPG中，这些内容都是可被接受的，并且能够帮助玩家更好地了解角色。

如果你希望玩家能够更快速地了解游戏，你就必须帮助他们去熟悉相关术语。如果你的游戏较为叙述化，你便只需要打开辞典去挑选更多与游戏类型相关的词语便可。

除非存在一个使用规则，否则你便需要避免添加上述内容。如果你拥有“超思维”能力但却不具有超思维规则，那么属性对于你来说就是无用的。

确保你能够包含一个有关角色创造的例子，并在每个点解释相关选择。

随机滚动vs.点分配

大多数角色扮演游戏要么使用随机滚动，要么使用点分配，或者就是这两种的结合。随机滚动机制将创造出更快速的角色生成，但是有可能留给玩家他们并不想面对的角色。而点分配虽然创造较慢，但却能够创造出优化并带给玩家他们所喜欢的角色。

背景创造

流程图或者随机滚动图表都能够用于创造角色背景。有些玩家觉得这太过约束，也有些觉得这很自由。如果你包含了这些机制，我建议你能提供给玩家选择权。

协作创造

有些角色创造机制是使用玩的方式去创造角色。在这些协作方法中，玩家可以在某些场景中游戏。而场景的最终结果将决定或改变角色的状态。

对于《Chgowiz》，玩家将创造一个“基因组”–即每个克隆体的根源。基因组拥有属性和技能，且能够通过点分配而进行选择。我们能够基于每个克隆体随机转动优势和劣势。如果因为优势和劣势的结合而导致克隆体难以进行控制，那也没关系，因为我们并不会重复使用克隆体。

机制类型

骰子，资源和叙述机制都存在各种各样的变量。以下只是我们所依赖的系统中4种最简单的机制。但多数角色扮演游戏都是基于机制而将角色性能（包括属性和技能）与随机元素结合在一起。

目标数

适用于：无对手的行动，有对手的行动，战斗，魔法

形式：角色性能+编辑器+骰子滚动>=目标数

目标数机制是最简单的机制形式。角色的性能可以与编辑器和骰子滚动结合在一起。而结果将与Gamesmaster所设定的目标数进行比较。在大多数情况下，目标数越高，任务便越困难。而在相对立的滚动中，目标数便是对手的滚动。而当两个骰子同时滚动时速度就会变慢，而我们需要在做出比较前将两个公式相加。

只要性能能够保持在较低数值，那么运算便会很简单。我们应该避免使用过多编辑器。有些系统是使用表格去设置目标数，这将能够完善机制的模拟，但速度相对较慢。我们可以通过将一些模拟结果写在角色属性表上而有效地维持速度。也有时候我们是将其写在次要统计中。

优点

容易平衡

快速

通用

缺点

线性概率尺度

面对更大的数值时便很难进行估算

存在各种引诱让我们添加更多编辑器（如在武器上）

不能促进谈判过程中的交流

元游戏？

因为滚动骰子代表角色的真正行动，所以这并不属于元游戏。

骰子库

适用于：无对手的行动，有对手的行动，战斗，魔法

形式：在角色性能中尽可能地滚动骰子，根据编辑器去删除骰子，并计算骰子滚动的次数。为了争取成功，你需要获取多次成功。

骰子库机制是基于成功滚动的骰子数。当你滚动了20个骰子时，这个过程将会变得很长，但是机制却维持着简单性，因为你并不是在执行加法或减法。编辑器能够用于晒出骰子（在滚动前或滚动后）。

优点

快速

编辑器并不包含算数

通用

看到满手的骰子是件很棒的事

缺点

需要很多骰子

比起单一的数值，我们需要花更多时间进行计算

平衡变得更加棘手

不能培养谈判中的交流

比起明确的骰子数，我们更难去估算成功的可能性

资源库

适用于：促进行动，控制叙述

形式：角色拥有一系列的点能够在需要时使用

资源库将通过提供给玩家战术选择（游戏邦注：不管是否会消费他们库存中的点或保存起来以备之后使用）而减少游戏中的随机性。有时候这一机制能够帮助玩家去控制叙述。同时也能够用于再次滚动骰子而提高有效结果。

优点

提供给玩家一个战术选择

容易理解

玩家将感受到控制性

能够培养谈判中的交流

缺点

比滚动骰子更慢

平衡难度

元游戏？

资源管理更倾向于元游戏任务，因为这并不是指使用点数去促进行动，或控制叙述的角色。玩家能够决定是否使用库存中的点。如果你使用了资源库的内容去换取角色所控制的对象（如魔法能量库），那么这便不是元游戏机制了。

投票

适用于：控制叙述

形式：玩家对于结果进行投票

投票将通过给予玩家更多权利而减少结果的随机性。有些投票机制是用于资源库，所以玩家能够更加明智地使用自己的投票权。投票可以是秘密的也可以是公开的。这一机制可能往表格上添加一些竞争级别，并确保能够与游戏理念相符合。

优点

给予玩家更多控制权

在表格上添加了更多紧张感

培养谈判中的交流

缺点

比滚动骰子更慢

如果大量使用的话整体的游戏节奏便会变慢

秘密投票甚至更慢！

元游戏？

这属于元游戏机制。玩家的投票结果是与角色本身相分离的。

《Chgowiz》使用了目标数机制的修改。为了执行行动，他们添加了属性，技能和滚动的骰子去与目标数相抗衡。即使属性和技能的集合超过目标数，他们仍然能够投掷骰子。不同的是所有玩家将在中间放置一大堆骰子。当有人执行行动时，他们便会从中间拿走一个骰子。如此他们便能够夺走其他玩家的骰子。这属于元游戏机制，因为角色并不会意识到他们即将失败–因为玩家用光了所有骰子！

摩擦

摩擦是指我们在游戏过程中需要记住许多规则的感受。你应该尝试着去平衡一个包含快速战术决策的简单系统以及拥有各种选择，编辑器和特殊规则的摩擦系统。如果你提供给玩家越少的战术选择，那么他们所面对的游戏系统也就越少。选择过多的话系统也会太过膨胀。简单的规则能够帮助玩家更快速地掌握，而摩擦规则能够更好地呈现出游戏世界。只有你能够决定系统是否适合你在一开始就决定好的理念。

摩擦经常会以作为咒语，怪物或装备的特殊规则而进入系统中。这些额外的规则看起来是无害的，但是当GM尝试着去使用规则不同部分的警告时，游戏便会慢慢停止。

接下来你将学习如何去组织免费RPG。

组织非常重要，因为一款组织糟糕的游戏会让玩家感到困惑，并让他们不愿意继续游戏。而RPG既需要作为一种参考资料，也必须提供给人们阅读的乐趣。为了做到这一点，你就必须谨慎地选择逻辑结构和布局。

结构

在逻辑结构中组织游戏必须确保清楚地描述。在你于机制上使用理念（如属性）前先进行详细即使。你的游戏必须按顺序包含以下环节：

封面

最起码它必须包含你的游戏的名字。不要图像也没关系，但是必须以合适且好看的字体去呈现游戏名字。你已经投入了大量时间去创造游戏，所以我希望你能够自豪地将游戏名字写上去。如果GM愿意印刷你的游戏去吸引自己的玩家的注意，那么封面好看的话，潜在GM便会越希望去运行它了。

内容页面

内容页面应该包含主标题和副标题。关于表格，图像和图解的列表则应该归属于附录中。尽可能将内容保持在1，2页内，必要的话去压缩字体或行间距而将内容全部呈现在一页上。内容页面是用于涵括整体主题，如果它所占的范围越大，便会失去功效。我们可以压缩行间距让人们只看得到内容，因为他们也不愿意像阅读散文段落那样去浏览该页面。如果你的游戏保持在7页内，那么便可以选择添加内容页面。

感谢/版本/献辞

（可选择的）。你可能需要感谢某些人在创作过程中提供帮助，而这便是最佳方法。确保将内容控制在一页内。一定要标注日期。如果你觉得有必要去特别描述下游戏，那就写下版本号。如果你不喜欢软件版本号（如1.1或1.2），那就使用整数（1，2，3，4，5等等）。

简介

简介是读者欣赏完封面后最先看到的内容，请避免一些无意义的营销措辞。它必须包含以下内容：

书中包含哪些内容？系统？设置？样本冒险？

设置属于何种类型？主题是什么？

角色的任务是什么？

包含了哪些类型的机制（是否有骰子）？

如果你的游戏还使用了另外一本书，请在此说明。

角色创造

列出所有步骤让玩家读者知道接下来将会出现什么。然后描述每一个步骤，在必要时举例说明。也可以选择添加开始到完成的角色生成内容。确保你所列举的角色与你所提供的冒险例子相吻合。不要将技能放在内联中，除非它们只有半页的内容。最好是将它们放在附录中。

机制

如果你已经完成了机制设计，那就开始介绍它们。包括机制类型，目标数，骰子库等等。在简短的介绍后，你需要轮流面对每个机制领域。从无对手行动开始，然后解决有对手的行动。战斗/魔法/叙述机制放在最后。如果你拥有核心理念（如滚动沙子去满足目标数），那就先处理它们。

设置

让我们从设置章节中寻找更多相关信息。

GM

GM环节非常重要，并且至少需要包含冒险例子。冒险例子应该呈现出你的设置并且不能过于依赖系统。想象角色扮演玩家将会拥有怎样的体验：他们将坐下。创造角色，GM便开始了。创造出容易理解且能够到达设置点的冒险。情况允许的话也可以列举角色例子。

同时也需要包含附加的设置信息。如果有些内容是玩家不能知道的但是GM却应该知道，那也将它们添加进去。通常情况下GM所呈现的是群体游戏状况，所以我们需要确保它具有吸引力。

附录

任何会干扰解释的内容都应该被归到附录中。列表便最主要的罪魁祸首。所以我们应该将它往后推，它们就像是参考内容一样，我们不能让读者在一开始便看到它们。也许将技能列表移出角色创造环节听起来很奇怪，但是我敢保证这么做绝对没错。

附录中需要包含的内容：

技能

装备

咒语

图鉴

图表

角色属性表

封底

我们的封底拥有一些广告信息，如果是出于个人使用的话也可以添加一些有关印刷所的介绍。如果未来GM愿意印刷它并进行更好地包装，那么玩家便有可能看到封底的内容。切忌说出这是世界上最棒的游戏，将会改变玩家的生活这样的话语，而是选择一些角色会做的内容，并尽可能有趣地描述它们。如果游戏是关于将巨大的宝剑插向机智的恶龙脸上，那就在封底对此进行描述！

布局

布局是游戏设计中非常主观的一部分，这一环节能够为那些不知道从何开始的玩家指明方向。当决定了你的布局后，你需要考虑以下内容：

当玩家第一次看到你的游戏时，它便处在他们的监视器上了

很多人仍会为了谈判而印刷游戏

打印机碳粉和纸张都很贵

排样

排样是带有两个间隔均匀专栏的描写页。图像被置于文本中。有些特别的包装还能让你将文本沿着图像的锯齿边缘卷起来。为了确保可读性，我们至少需要在图像和文字间留出4毫米的空隙。

确保边缘够厚，如此才能有效地装订游戏。

章节数应该位于中下方。而如果将其置于边角则意味着我们在印刷时不能选择单面和双面印。

将章节标题置于页眉上能够帮助读者更好地进行参考。

确保能够更轻松地阅读两个专栏，尽量避免长句子，因为这会导致读者将其与下一行内容混在一起。

如果你还想包含风景的话，那就需要考虑3个专栏。

读者的浏览方式总是从左上方到右下方。所以以此方式去设置文本将能更好地吸引他们的注意。如果可以的话（符合布局设定），将图像置于页面的右上方或左下方。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 5: System

By Rob Lang

Tuesday, 10 January 2012

The mechanics of your game provide the players with tactical and strategic choices. They will spend resources, take risks, win and lose. The mechanics must mesh with the concept of the game and support the setting. The first question you must answer is:

Do I use an existing system?

There are hundreds of free RPG systems available, all of which can be extended and modified to meet your needs. By choosing an existing system (especially a popular one), you begin with a solid, playtested base. However, you then rely upon your setting and rule extension being novel enough for people to want to play.

Before you dive in and create your own system, check the list of systems I gave in Part 2 and make sure yours is truly novel. It is much better to extend an existing system that start from scratch.

How to make mechanics

Only include mechanics for things you want the players to do in the game. Reward for the style of play you want to foster. Mechanics are a set of steps that achieve a specific outcome. You do not need to use dice, the steps can be purely conversational or use bartering with resources.

The three points of the mechanics spectrum are resource, traditional and verbal. Resource mechanics are where the player trades an in-game currency for control of the game or success. Traditional mechanics involve rolling dice and comparing to a target number. Verbal mechanics reward good ideas and rhetoric with success.

Your mechanic can be a mix of these three things. Traditional mechanics are the most widely used.

Your mechanic must give the player choice. They must choose to do something and be able to understand the likelihood of an outcome. Avoid mechanics where a single roll can cause the sudden death of the character. You do not need to have a random element to a character’s action but avoid making everything automatically easy.

Make the player earn a success though clever use of their brain, either by manipulating the mechanics, setting or putting effort into the game.

Working backwards

Often it is wise to work from the mechanic you are trying to achieve back to the statistics of the character. This will avoid you getting dump statistics. Write down what part of your concept (you decided in Chapter 1) you are trying to emulate then decide on a mechanic in words that satisfies that. Finally work out what combination of skills, statistics, feats and randomness will achieve it.

I want the characters to be able to hurt the monster in imaginative ways. They must be able to inflect more damage by clever use of their gadgets, skills and environment – shooting it over and over should not lead to a win. I will need a statistic for using gadgets, skills for different gadgets (to allow specialisation) and a mechanic to make it worthwhile combining ideas and gadgets together. I’m going to use a shared dice mechanic, so the players should able able to gain more dice for working together.

The Meta Game

The Meta Game is what player-to-player interaction is called. If two players are talking about the situation from their point of view then they are Meta Gaming. If the players talk in character about the situation then that is regular roleplaying. All mechanics sit on a scale between the in character point of view and the Meta Game.

Meta Gaming mechanics can add variety to your game but must be used with care as they are often outside the sphere of knowledge of the character. The upshot is that the character may be taking actions for which they have no justification. A mantra for many roleplay groups is “What would your character do?” and that is often broken by the meta-game.

Only you can be the judge of whether Meta Game mechanics fit into your system. The mechanic types listed below include how “meta” they are.

For Chgowiz, I have a Meta Game mechanic where the players share dice. The characters do not know about the pool of dice that is being used for their actions, so it sits firmly in the Meta Game. A description of it is at the end of the mechanic types section below.

What to make mechanics for

Only make mechanics for things you want the players to do in your game. Some typical ones are:

Character creation

The creation of a character sets the benchmark against which everything in the world is judged.

Unopposed actions

The character interacting with the world alone are actions. These include riding a horse, sailing and navigation. In these cases, there is no-one opposing the character, its just the character against the world. These actions will be performed a lot.

Opposed actions

Where a character is trying to do something and another character is trying to stop them. These include persuading an NPC to open the gate to the castle. A character is trying to get the NPC to do something and the NPC’s sense of duty is opposing it.

Combat

Combat can come in may different forms: unarmed, with close quarters weapons, ranged, vehicle, space craft and so on. Combat also should have a method of doing harm to the opponent. This can be the same mechanic as an opposed action. Combat is usually broken up into rounds where each character takes it in turn to do an action.

Help the players make quick choices and keep the game moving by presenting the choices in a combat action clearly. The player can then spend their thinking time working out what their character would do rather than what options there are.

Wounding and healing

Invulnerable characters are less interesting to play than vulnerable ones. Have a mechanic to keep track of how much hurt the character has been through and how much more they can take before they can take no more actions. Having a decreasing point value (Hit Points) is a traditional solution but you can also choose narrative effects that affect the player’s decisions. Taking damage might also incur a penalty to performing actions. Ensure you include a way for the characters to heal too.

For Chgowiz, I want the effect of being damage to be more narrative. As characters take damage, they can pick up disadvantages – making it more difficult to play. As the characters are clones, dying is not a problem, so the damage affects can be outrageous.

Lethality

Measure lethality as the amount of game time it takes for a healthy character to die with average weapons/equipment in an average fight. Is lethality so high that the player will never get a chance to retreat? If that’s not part of your concept then consider changing it.

Performing “Magic”

Magic (or doing technical actions in modern/Sci Fi) does not need its own system but you can add novel flavour to your system with it. Ensure that the magic system related to the setting – a society based on magic being easy should not have a system where runes need to be drawn accurately over several turns.

Controlling the narrative

Controlling the narrative means that the players get to decide the outcome of things.

Character improvement

If the roleplaying game is designed to be run over a series of sessions, then it is important to hand out a reward that can be used to improve the character.

Character Creation

Character creation is the cornerstone of any system. Do not stint on it. A prospective GM might well make a few characters to see what it is like. Ensure it is slick, majestic and well described. For the players, it is the first time they will interact with your game and it is important that the process is well explained. Character creation does not need to be quick, some players enjoy an involved creation session, especially if the character will last through a long campaign. Be true to the concept you laid out.

Characters tend to made of some or all of the following parts:

Attributes – a fixed number of inherent abilities of the character. Include: Strength, Intelligence and so on.

Skills – a list of learnt abilities, often picked from a list in the setting.

Feats/Traits – extraordinary abilities that the general populace do no possess, these can be both disadvantageous too.

Health – a way of tracking the amount of damage the character can take before they fall over.

Fluff – description, character name, organisations they belong to, age or anything pertinent. It’s the only place in the RPG where fluff is acceptable and prompts the player to flesh out the character.

If you want the game to be learnt quickly, try and keep to familiar terms. If your game is more epic in scale, feel free to break out the Thesaurus and pick words more familiar to your genre.

Avoid adding one of the above unless there is a rule that makes use of it. If you have a ‘Psyonic strength’ ability and no psyonic rules then the Attribute will be useless.

Ensure you include an example character creation, explaining the choices made at each point.

Random roll vs Point assign

Most roleplaying games use either random roll, point assign or a combination of the two (sum the rolls of 10 dice and assign). Random roll mechanics lead to faster character generation but can leave the player with a character they didn’t want to play. Point assign creation tends to be slower, leads to optimisation but leaves the player with the character they think they want to play.

Backstory creation

Flow charts or randomly rolled tables can be used to create the backstory of your characters. Some players might find it too restrictive, others liberating. If you include one these mechanisms, I recommend it is optional.

Collaborative creation

Some character creation mechanisms use play a way of creating a character. In these collaborative methods, players play out scenes. The outcomes of those scenes determine or modify the facets of the character.

For Chgowiz, the players will create a ‘Genome’ – a root from which each clone is then generated. The Genome will have attributes and skills and will be chosen with point assign. Advantages and Disadvantages will then be randomly rolled per clone. If the clone is difficult to play because of a tough combination Disavdantages and Advantages, it is ok because Clones are expendable.

Types of mechanics

There are an enormous number of variants of dice, resource and narrative mechanic. Below are just a taste of four of the simplest mechanics many systems build upon. Most roleplaying games depend on mechanics using character properties (attributes and skills) combined with a random element.

Target number

Used for: Unopposed actions, Opposed actions, combat, magic

Format: Character Properties + Modifiers + Dice roll >= Target number

A target number mechanic is the simplest form of mechanic. A Character’s Properties are combined (such as the sum of appropriate Attribute and Skill) with modifiers and a die roll. The result is then compared to a target number that is set by the Gamesmaster. In most cases, the higher the target number, the more difficult the task. For opposed rolls, the target number is a roll of the opponent. This can be slower as two dice are rolled, two equations summed before the comparison can be done.

As long as the properties are kept in low digits, the calculations are easy. Avoid applying too may modifiers. Some systems use tables to set the target numbers, this improves simulation of the mechanic but can be slow.Speed can be maintained by having the result of some calculations written on a character sheet. These are sometimes written down as secondary statistics.

Pros

Easy to balance

Quick

Versatile

Cons

Linear probability scale

Mathematics can be difficult with large numbers

There is a temptation to add many modifiers elsewhere (such as modifiers on weapons)

Does not foster communication at the table

Meta Gaming?

This is not Meta Gaming because the rolling of dice represents the actual actions of the character.

Dice pool

Used for: Unopposed actions, Opposed actions, combat, magic

Format: Roll as may dice as you have in character properties, remove dice for modifiers, count the number of dice that roll over a given number. To succeed, you need a number of successes.

Dice pool mechanics rely on counting the number of dice that successfully roll over a number. This can be a length process when you are rolling 20 dice but the mathematics remains simple because you are not performing additions or subtractions. Modifiers are applied by removing dice (either before or after the roll).

Pros

Quick

Modifiers do not involve maths

Versatile

Feels good to heft cupped hands full of dice

Cons

Can need a lot of dice

Counting can take longer than comparing a single number

Balance is more tricky

Does not foster communication at the table

Probability of success more difficult to estimate than for target number rolls

Meta Gaming?

This is not Meta Gaming because the rolling of dice represents the actual actions of the character.

Resource Pool

Used for: Boosting actions, controlling the narrative

Format: Character has a pool of points that they can spend when required

Resource pools reduce the randomness in your game by giving the player a tactical choice whether to spend the points from their pool or save them for later. This mechanic is sometimes used to allow the player to control the narrative. It can also be used to re-roll dice, boost outcomes.

Pros

Gives the player an tactical choice

Simple to understand

Player feels an element of control

Fosters communication at the table

Cons

Slower than dice rolling

Balance difficult

Meta Gaming?

Resources management tends to be a Meta Gaming task because it is not the character who is spending a point to boost an action, or taking hold of the narrative. The player is the one that is deciding to spend the pool point. If you use a resource pool for something that the character controls (such as a magical pool of energy) then this is not a Meta Game mechanic.

Voting

Used for: Controlling the narrative

Format: Players vote on the outcome

Voting reduces the randomness of outcomes by putting those back into the hands of the players. Some voting mechanisms are used with resource pools so that players have to use their votes tactically. Voting can be secret or public. This mechanic can add a level of competition at the table, make sure that fits in with the concept of your game.

Pros

Gives the players the feeling of more control

Adds tension and atmosphere to the table

Fosters communication at the table

Cons

Slower than dice rolling

Slows the pace of the whole game if used liberally

Secret voting even slower!

Meta Gaming?

This is a Meta Game mechanic. Players voting on outcomes is detached from the characters themselves.

Chgowiz uses a modification of the Target Number mechanic. To do an action, they add Attibute, Skill and a die roll versus a target number. Even if the Attribute and Skill combined are more than the target number, they still much roll a die. Where it differs is that all the players share a pool of dice in the middle. When someone does an action, they take a die from the middle. By doing so, they are depriving other players of dice. This is a Meta Game mechanic because the character do not realise that they are about to fail because the players have run out of dice!

Crunch

Crunch is the name given to the feeling that there are a lot of rules to remember to play the game. You should try and strike a balance between a simple system where the tactical decisions are quick and a crunchy system where there are lots of options, modifiers and special rules. Too few rules and you’re giving the player fewer tactical options, there is less game system to manipulate. Too many options and the system becomes overwhelming. Lite rules tend to be quicker to player whereas crunchy rules do a better job of representing the game world. Only you can decide whether the system fits the concept you decided on at the start.

Crunch often creeps into a system in the form of special rules for spells, monsters or equipment. These extra rules might look innocuous on their own but when the GM tries to apply all the caveats from different parts of the rules then the game grinds to a halt.

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 6: Organisation

In this Chapter, you’ll learn how to organise your free RPG. Organisation is very important because a poorly organised game can be confusing and will put people off playing it. An RPG is both read and referred to. It needs to be reference material as well as something enjoyable to read. To achieve this, you must be careful to choose a logical structure and a layout which is both pleasing and useful. This is an improved version of a previous guide to organisation.

The Structure

Organise the game in a logical structure such that it reads clearly. Explain concepts (such as Attributes) before you use them (in mechanics). You game should include the following sections in this order:

Front Cover

At the very least, it must contain the name of your game. It does not need to be a graphic but the name is a nice font. You’ve put a lot of work into it, I do hope you’re proud of it so put your name on it, or use a pseudonym. If a GM is printing your game to convince their players to play, the better it looks the more likely the prospective GM will be able to run it.

Contents Page

A contents page should include all the major headings and sub headings. Lists of tables, images and diagrams belong in the Appendix. Try and keep the contents to a couple of pages and compress the font or line space to fit more on a page. Contents pages are used to scan from front-to-back for topic headings, if you make it too large, it does not become useful for this. Lines can be compressed as people will only scan through the Contents, they are unlikely to read it like paragraphs of prose. This is only optional if your game is under 7 pages.

Thank you / Version / Dedication

(Optional). Chances are you’re going to need to thank someone for helping you through the game and this is best place for it. Might be a spouse, girlfriend (if you have both, don’t include both here). Try and keep it to a page. Always put on a date. If you feel you need more than a date to uniquely describe your game, put on a version number. If you don’t like software versioning (1.1, 1.2 etc) use round numbers (1,2,3,4,5…).

Introduction

The introduction is likely to be the first thing that the reader will go to after the cover, avoid fluffy marketing speak. It must include the following:

What is in the book? System? Setting? Sample adventure?

What is the genre of the setting? What are the major themes?

What will the characters do?

What sort of mechanic is it (dice/diceless/pool)?

If you game requires another book to use (such as Fate core rules), then say so here.

Character Creation

Begin this section by listing all of the steps so that the reader knows what is coming. Then describe each of the steps, giving examples when needed. Optionally, include a start-to-finish character generation. Make sure your example character will fit into the example adventure you provide. Don’t put your skills inline unless there is only half a page of them. Put them in the Appendix.

Mechanics

If you have designed your own mechanics, start with an introduction to them. What sort of mechanic is it? Target number? Dice pool? After this brief introduction, deal with each mechanic area in turn. Beginning with unopposed action resolution and then opposed actions. Combat / magic / narrative mechanics last. If you have a core concept that runs through them all (such as rolling dice to meet a target number), deal with that first.

Setting

For more information on writing the Setting, see the Chapter on Settings.

Gamesmaster Section

GM sections are important and at the very minimum include an Example Adventure. The example adventure should showcase your setting without relying too much on the system. Imagine the experience the roleplayers will have: They’ll sit down. Make characters and the GM will begin. Make the adventure simple to understand and also get the point of the setting. Perhaps give example characters too.

Additional setting information should also be included. If there are things the players should not know but the GM should, then include them. It is normally the GM that presents the game to play to the group so make it delicious for them too.

Appendix

Any item that disturbs the flow of explanation should go in the Appendix. Lists are the biggest culprit. Put them at the back, they won’t get read through from start to finish and are used more like reference. It might feel a bit jarring to move the skill list from inside the character creation section but I assure you that it will be better off in actual use.

Examples of things that should really go in the Appendix are:

Skills

Equipment

Spells

Bestiary

Charts and Tables

Character Sheet

Back cover

I would have a bit of advertising blurb on the back and perhaps instructions to the print shop that it is ok to print for personal use. If a prospective GM has printed it and bound it nicely, the players will soon go to the back cover. Avoid suggesting that it is the best game in the world and that it will change the way people live their lives, instead pick out things that the characters would do and make those things sound exciting. Is the game about sticking a giant sword into the face of a particularly shifty looking dragon? Great! Tell us on the back cover.

Layout

Layout is a very subjective part of game design and as such, this section is really intended for those who do not know where to start. When deciding on your layout, take the following into account:

The first time your game is seen, it will be on a monitor

Many people still print the games for use at the table

Printer toner and paper are expensive

A stock layout

A stock layout is a portrait page with two columns evenly spaced. Images are placed within the text. Some packages allow you to curl the text around the jagged edge of the image (rather than being square). To maintain readability, leave a gap of at least 4mm between the graphic and your prose.

Margin thick enough to allow someone to bind the game.

Number of the chapter at the bottom in the middle. Putting it in the corner means that the person printing it cannot choose between single and double sided paper print.

Chapter names in the header are useful when used as reference.

Two columns is normally easier to read, long lines make it difficult for the eye to find the next line.

The above is portait, if you’re going for landscape then consider 3 columns.

The eye naturally tracks to the top left and bottom right of the page. Put text there to keep the reader’s attention. If it fits the layout well, aim to put images in the top right/bottom left of the page. (source:thefreerpgblog)