Magic Eight Ball

In a recent post on his blog Cowboys, Capes, and Claws, the illustrious Tim Knight discusses what he want in his 'Holy Grail' RPG.

At least, that's the general gist of the post. The title is, at least to me, a tiny bit misleading. His Holy Grail RPG is a Dungeons and Dragons-esque game and so he identifies the Eight Factors he wants to have, must have really, in a Dungeons and Dragons-esque game. Not any TRPG but very specifically, a D&D game. 

To be clear, these are Mechanical Elements that the game must have. That's important...to Tim that is. Reading the post and the specifics of what he's looking for got me thinking...

If I posted my own 'Eight Factors', well A) they wouldn't be for a D&D-like game now, would they? B) Rules matter to me much less than, say, everything else about a game. Sure, there are systems I like and ones I don't and quite a range in between but I don't know that I'd consider the rules until after I had a campaign's setting, theme, objectives, etc. in mind.

Unless...hmm...unless we were talking D&D-type Pseudo Medieval Fantasy. Then, for some reason, it matters more to me than it does in other games. Can't say I'm certain why that is but its definitely one of the genres where I do strongly consider the mechanics before [or at the very least 'as'] I develop the world and overall atmosphere. 

With this in mind, I made my eight criteria for my 'Holy Grail' Dungeons & Dragons style campaign:

1. A single die type. Preferably D6s.

I would entertain D10s only or 2D20 only as with Modiphius's Star Trek Adventures but I am over the multiple dice used just because they exist. I find it inelegant and unnecessary.

2. Armor reduces the Damage a Character or Monster takes.

Armor makes you harder to hurt, not harder to hit, which I've always found counterintuitive and a bit silly.

3. DM able to summarise all relevant information on any and all aspects of the game quickly and easily.

Little to no need to look up most elements of gameplay during gameplay. 

4. Archetypes/Templates instead of Race and Class.

Reading and running Space Opera Heroes has cemented something I already knew but now realize I  wouldn't prefer it any other way; I like Character Creation that consists of a pre-built Character 'Model' you can then customize as you like. 

I don't want to go through the whole rigamarole of figuring out all the things that make up a character, flip to a bunch of different pages, need to look up what aspects of the character do, etc. If I want to play a Dwarf Warrior, just let me grab the Dwarf Warrior Template, add a few numbers or move some around and start playing. Star Wars D6 and Space Opera Heroes are awesome for this. 

5. Contingent Advancement. No Levels. Maybe no XP. 

The PCs receive additions, increases, or other improvements once a circumstance has been met. For example: Player Characters get a +1 to Skills they used during the adventure once the [entire] adventure is over. 

We use this to great effect in my 12 year long, still ongoing, Star Trek Adventures campaign, Star Trek: Prosperity.

At the start of every even numbered 'Season' the PCs get to increase one Attribute or Department, gain a new Focus, gain a new Talent, or some combination of these. A Season is 12 Adventures, which can mean 12-36 sessions of play. 

On odd numbered Seasons the Players get to upgrade their starship with improvements to Sensors, Weapons, Impulse or Warp Drive, etc. Early on I introduced minor flaws in the ship's design and they've also used their upgrades to remedy and eliminate these drawbacks. 

I've fallen so in love with this approach that I want to implement it in every game I run from now on in some capacity. 

6. Flexible Magic of different types that comes with a cost.

Magical needs to feel Magical, not like a technical, scientific discipline. It is an art and should act as such; beautiful, sometimes terrifying, inspiring, and occasionally painful.

7. Speed & Simplicity of play

This but you know, actually this. 

I'd be a rich man if I had a quarter for every time I've asked a forum to suggest a rules-lite or simple Fantasy game and gotten suggestions of Pathfinder, D&D 5E, or Dungeon Crawl Classics. Sorry but just because you understand a game's mechanics that doesn't make it an easy, uncomplicated system. 

If it takes more than 20 pages to explain a game's base mechanics, [basic] character creation, and combat system, you're game is too crunchy for me. 

8. Regardless of the PCs' degrees of power and skill, they should always feel challenged. 

The game should never feel like its a cake walk , nor impossible to survive. Moreover, Player ingenuity and creativity should be what determines survivability, not stats or lucky die rolls. This must be true from session one to session one thousand. 

Well that would be The Eight Factors I'd Want/Need In My Holy Grail Fantasy Game. Sadly, I can't easily think of any Fantasy RPG system that matches all of these. This could be why I have so much trouble finding a Medieval-esque Fantasy TRPG (other than Ars Magica and The Smurfs) that truly works for me.

I'll probably have to make one myself. I've tried to do this before, recently even, but I didn't necessarily have all these aspects in mind. Hmmm. Something to consider.

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