The Dice Man Cometh

Gamers love dice. I'm a gamer so, ergo, I should also love dice. And I do...kinda.

Not gonna lie, these are beautiful.

Rant incoming...

Recently, I've been on the look out for a Fantasy RPG and a lot of new Anime/Manga/JRPG inspied ones have been promoted via Kickstarter, Backerlit, and Gamefound. Last Arc: Tactics Analogue, Legends of Akeroth, and Twilight Sword spring immediately to mind. Unfortunately, nearly all of these games share one element in common that really turns me off. I've been disappointed when I look past the pretty pictures and nifty settings and into the mechanics; a lot of them use multiple die types. 

I have grown to dislike games that use all the different polyhedrons. I prefer it when a game uses just D6s, or just D10s, or even just D20s (though that tends to be my least favorite die - too swingy). Pools of the same die are fine by me (preferred in fact) but using six or more different types just feels unnecessary and inelegant.

I know this isn't the case but I equate using all the dice with the clunky, limiting, inefficient games of yore. Given the many and varied ways I've seen the idea of 'only D6s' used to create systems from the complexity of Champions to the simplicity of Smurfs, my gut reaction to those developing a game with six different shaped dice is, 'Why? It isn't needed. There are easier ways to go about this.'

It's not just Fantasy games either but I did starting thinking about this more and more as I went on a quest to find a game to go on a quest with. The upcoming Superhero RPG from Free League, 'Invincible', based on the Image comic book and animated streaming series of the same name, uses only 6-sided dice but the recently announced Justice League Unlimited RPG uses all of the [basic] types. This instantly put a little frown on my face. I really like Invincible but I don't want to like more than my beloved DC Comics and from a cursory glance at both...I do!

Frustrated by the dynamics of this situation I did the unthinkable, though more as an experiment than anything else, and put a host of very specific criteria into an AI language program, asking essentially, 'Can you make a Fantasy Tabletop Roleplaying Game with no Classes or Levels, Rules-Lite but suitable for Long Term Campaign play, that utilizes only 6-Sided Dice in its mechanics?' I expected to get junk but thought it might inspire me to create my own from scratch once I saw how bad the result was.

To my utter shock and dismay, the AI created a damn good, playable game. It was almost perfectly what I wanted. I did have to make a tweak here and a modification there but overall I was very impressed. I thought, 'so an AI can make a really cool D6s only Fantasy RPG but no creative person in the gaming industry can?'. Now I know I'm being hyperbolic and I don't mean that literally but...well...its not completely unfounded either.

Most of the D6 only games lean towards Science Fiction or Superheroes: ALIEN, Champions, Star Wars, Tales from the Loop, Traveller, and the various incarnations and variations of Ghostbusters from the original to InSpectres to my kitbashed hybrid. While I am sure there are Fantasy TRPGs that use D6s, few seem to hold the kind of charm for me that any of the aforementioned games (except the Smurfs that is). 

My favorite Medieval Fantasy experience has come from Ars Magica, traditionally using only D10s. I think Modiphius's 2D20 System might make for a good Fantasy game but I have yet to test that theory. 

Anyway, those are just some thoughts that have been on my mind recently so I thought I'd shout them into the void. If you stayed to actually read through this you are a true Barking Alien fan and/or should probably seek professionally help. 

Talk again soon,

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Barking Alien

Where My Head Is At

First, my apologies for the long delay between posts and what appears to be my own RPG internet challenge left uncompleted.

It appears to be that way because, as of this writing, it is indeed, incomplete. I haven't finished the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge I created back in February of this year and while there are a variety of reasons for both this, that's not [exactly] what this post is here to address. 

It is related though. It's more to discuss why I haven't blogged at all. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I didn't finish an internet challenge. Surely I could just post my apology and move on, right? Well...no.

I have had a lot on my mind lately, both personally, professionally, and in the area of Tabletop RPGs. Unfortunately, my combination of ADD, Anxiety, and a connected Task Paralysis state meant that I could not start writing about anything else if the challenge wasn't fully done. I couldn't post at all due to the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge being unfinished but my brain being full of other subjects and ideas such that I couldn't focus on the subject at hand to complete the challenge.

A self-inflicted Catch-22. A vicious cycle.

So what about this post here? This is a post and its not an installment of the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge. You're correct and that is how I'm planning to get around my own mentally induced hurdle. It's just Part 1 of my plan though.

Part 2 is the trickier bit; I will be posting some other RPG thoughts I've been having, and there are a lot of them, but I do intend on getting back to and completing the challenge. When I do, when all 28 entries are totally finished, all the related posts will be dated for February 2026, including the two entries I did in March. For me, this enables my to 'Start Fresh' but also feel like I did what I set out to do. It will also make it easier for both you the reader and for me myself, to locate the challenge entries for any future reference. 

Does that make sense? Probably not but it makes sense to me.

Thank you for your time, your patience, and your continued interest and viewership. 

We'll talk again soon,

AD

Barking Alien