Should I put the chocolate in the peanut butter?

I think my base rules for Missions & Mayhem are done. At least, the heavy lifting is done. I've got rules that seem to work for all the areas of play I think a modern (action/adventure/investigation) setting RPG should probably cover. That doesn't mean I won't continue to tweak things here and there, but for the most part it seems good. 

Now, I've got to start work on rules for fantasy, sci-fi, horror, etc. that go along with this. Some of that won't be too hard. d20 Modern has d20 Future, d20 Past, d20 Apocalypse, etc. to draw from for ideas. And there's all of the WotC and OSR output to draw on for creatures, magic/sci-fi items, etc. 

Originally, I planned to just release the base rules as a stand-alone set. Then I'd release adventure modules or campaign settings that had the rules for adding in cryptids, horror creatures, normal D&D type fantasy creatures, near-future (utopian or dystopian) sci-fi, space opera sci-fi, post-apoc stuff, etc. as their own supplements. 

But d20 Modern core rules did include three "FX" campaign settings. One is about D&D monsters living/hiding in the real world (like Shadowrun, but modern world instead of near future), one is psychics and government conspiracies (X-Files meets X-Men), and one is hunting down the monsters that secretly lurk in the shadows (Call of Cthulhu-ish, but assuming you can and will kick the monsters' asses). 

Should I include a few tastes of the fantastic in the base rules? Or should I stick to my original plan? If you have a preference, let me know in the comments. 

I know some of my players have been waiting for me to start adding in the alien invasion/zombie apocalypse/monster hunting aspects into the game. We gamers do love our speculative fiction. I'll probably start working some of these ideas into my play tests in a month or two.  

In Search of Elegant Design

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. - Albert Einstein (apocryphal) 

 I haven't made a lot of progress on Missions & Mayhem this week, but what I have done feels elegant. 

When I started out, I tried to pare down d20 Modern to the bare essentials. 

Then, I started pulling in systems and ideas from other old school games to fill out systems where I didn't want to rely on a d20 system mechanic. Because d20+mods isn't always the best roll to make for every situation, and the scaling DC system gets progress backwards. 

But I quickly realized I had a mishmash of disparate game systems, and they didn't work well together. So the past few weeks have been about simplifying and trying to find elegant solutions to problems. 

I feel like that's what I've done recently. On the first page of my playtest document, which I share with my players, I've been putting a rundown of the various mechanics involved in the game. I'm not sure if they're reading it (I should ask), but for me it helps me keep track of what the game does and doesn't do. I'll copy/paste it here: 

 

Die Rolls: The following types of die rolls may be made in this game.

Ability Scores (character creation): 4d6, drop lowest single die. Roll six times to set ability scores.

Wealth Status (character creation, level up): 3d6, sets or modifies status level. Rolled at character creation to set initial status, and checked when a level is gained for possible changes.

Funds on hand: at the start of a mission, roll 2d4 or 3d6, multiplied by a modifier to determine additional cash/credit available for this mission.

General Proficiency Check: non-proficient 2d4, proficient 2d6, advanced 2d8, roll target number or higher. Possibly with modifiers depending on talents or Gambles.

Attacks, saving throws: 1d20+modifiers (Str for melee attacks, Dex for ranged attacks), roll Armor Class or save number or higher. Situational modifiers may also apply to attacks or saving throws.

Damage rolls: various, depends on the type of attack. Strength modifiers affect damage for all unarmed/melee weapons and some ranged weapons.

Gamble: In chases and some other emergency situations involving a general proficiency check, a player may roll 1d20 trying to roll equal or below one of their ability scores to gain a +1 bonus to a check. If they fail, they get a -1 penalty. How that ability may help must be described before the roll.

I Know a Guy: 1-2/d6 chance to know a guy in general, 1-4/d6 to know a guy related to occupation. If successful, the Hero gains information, access, or a favor.

 

I've described in previous posts how the proficiency system works, but here's a brief summary. There are combat proficiencies (access to weapons/armor, removes penalties for their use) and general proficiencies (replace skills/feats from the d20 system). Players get 2 proficiencies from their Starting Occupation (background), four or five from their level 1 character class, and if they have a high Wisdom, 1 to 3 bonus proficiencies. They gain more proficiencies at every 3rd level. Everyone starts with basic proficiency in ALL of them, and the proficiencies gained above are improvements to Skilled or Advanced levels. 

For the most part, difficulties are set. They don't scale with level as the PCs go up. That way leads to the backward progress I mentioned above. If your Hero has basic level infiltration proficiency, they roll 2d4. They can't disable any security devices with a difficulty of 9 (unless they gamble and get lucky, or get a bonus from one of their class talents and get lucky). After a few levels, if they boost infiltration to skilled, they now roll 2d6 and they've got a chance to disable that security device. A few levels more, they can boost it to advanced and roll 2d8, and have a pretty good shot at disabling that type of device. 

On the GM side, as well, the 2d4/2d6/2d8 scale, and 5/7/9/11/13 difficulty levels have been useful for a variety of systems. 

One more system that I keep finding useful is the I Know a Guy mechanic. Yes, it's a metagame mechanic. Yes, it shifts (not quite retcons) what's "known" in the fictional world. But it's goddamn useful! 

"Do we know the layout of the compound?" You do if you know a guy. 

"Can we get some uniforms to disguise ourselves?" You do if you know a guy.

"We need to get into the Grammy after party to find evidence." If you know a guy, he can get you in. 

Earlier in the design process, I had borrowed from d20 Modern the idea of equipment being unlicensed, licensed, restricted, or illegal. But it was a complex mess in play, and players were getting confused about needing both proficiency and permits to have certain types of weapons. Technically, they needed proficiency to use the weapons efficiently, and permits to legally own the weapons. They could have owned them illegally, or legally owned them without being very good at using them....

Anyway, I was working on a black market system related to this, and the abstract purchasing system (another hold-over from d20 Modern), and a Wanted Status system (with varying levels of "wantedness") for adding complications when the authorities are onto PC activities. Overly complex. 

This week, I added back in the Wanted Status, but it's binary. You're wanted or you're clear. No more "of interest" "suspect" "wanted" and "fugitive" levels. And if you're wanted, there are random encounter checks made once per mission/session, and at times when the party runs into the authorities, to see if some complication develops. 

For the black market, the I Know a Guy rule solves a lot of problems. If you're wanted, you can't buy certain items that would require you to present identification (firearms, explosives, new cars, surveillance gear) without triggering an automatic complication. But if you know a guy, you can buy from a black market source for a small mark-up in price. 

Clean, simple, elegant, and works with something I've already been developing in the rules.  

Another Successful Play Test

 This afternoon, I ran Steven (my younger) and my friends Denis and Charles through a stealth/subterfuge infiltration mission with Missions & Mayhem. Well, first we needed to update Charles and Denis' Heroes to the new rules. That went pretty well, with minimal fuss and only a few things fudged to match what came before to what they have now. 

The rules worked well. They were simple for me to run, with minimal referencing to the rules (they're written by me, but in flux so my mental model of the game doesn't always update to my latest ideas). The new proficiency system (2d4/2d6/2d8) was simple and easy for them to grasp, and very easy to implement in play. Yes, it is basically a skill system. But it's independent of class/level for its power growth, and it's limited to just the three levels. 

The new version of the "I know a guy" rules came into play, and worked in the group's favor so they were happy with that. In this case, they decided to pose as OSHA inspectors, and Steven's "I know a guy" roll showed that his hero did know a guy who could get them OSHA uniforms. A bit of forgery here, paying to have the rich hero's helicopter (Charles's) decorated with OSHA livery there, a little shopping, and they were set for their mission. 

A few things did come up in play that either hadn't been addressed yet, or I'd dropped from the rules. In particular at the end of the mission, they noticed the hidden security camera only AFTER they'd hacked the computer system. But their cover wasn't yet blown so they decided on a quick retreat rather than deal with that. In a campaign, this is the sort of thing that would bring them heat. At the moment, I've dropped the "wanted status" but the players today seemed to think it should come back.  

We also discussed a few ways to make it work. For one thing, they suggested that random encounter chances could be pegged to a character's (or group's) wanted status. Every few game hours, or once per scene/setting, roll to see if someone recognizes the wanted PC and alerts the authorities. I'd need to work out how that system plays out, something I hadn't finalized before dropping the original idea. 

To complete it, I'll need to decide exactly what sorts of complications might arise from being wanted, how likely they are to occur, what are the effects of each possible complication, and what players can do to lower their heat. 

There was hardly any combat this session. The manager in the office was already suspicious of them, and when they came in to "monitor the computer system for safety reasons" he wouldn't buy their story. So they tasered him. While he was out, they hacked the computer and got the information they were after. 

Which reminds me, the computer hacking rules worked OK, but I think I need to increase the chances of automated responses to actions while hacking. Most of the actions have low percentages, and there weren't any reactions or complications from the hack. To spice things up, I need to bump them up a bit. Not too much, or no one will try hacking. 

The important thing is, the entire hack was quick, and the other players weren't bored while it happened. So that's a success. 

My take-away: The basic combat rules are good. The proficiency system is good. Most of the resolution mechanics are easy to run. I need to tinker with a few probabilities and add/refine a few systems. 

We also leveled up everyone's heroes to 3rd level. Charles stuck with Fast Hero 3, but Denis multiclassed into Strong 2/Tough 1. Steven decided to do the changes later, but he will go Fast 2/Smart 1. Charles was a little confused by getting both a talent from his class, and a free proficiency slot from being 3rd character level, but we got that sorted quickly. Denis leveled up with no problem, but a complaint. When he rolled for hit points, the die slipped when he picked it up. It was a 2. I saw that it obviously slipped from his hand, so I let him re-roll it. He got a 1. 

Next time, I will run a combat heavy mission, in order to test out some of the more advanced combat rules (the autofire rules, explosives, etc.). We expect some or all of the heroes to die, but since it's a play test not a regular campaign, they'll resurrect if that happens. Charles didn't roll very well for hit points either, so they're all feeling a bit uneasy about a heavy combat mission. Should be fun!

The Final Puzzle Piece (yeah, nah, probably not final)

Last night, my son and I were going over the recent rule changes and updates to Missions & Mayhem, and I was explaining what would be different for his character. He should have been in bed already, but he said he wasn't sleepy. Well, talking about boring rules sure did the trick! He was a sleep within half an hour. 

 While we were talking, I realized something. I've taken away ability score modifiers to the proficiency checks. Like old school D&D, the ability scores have their effects but they're limited. One of the big problems with WotC's editions of D&D, for me at least, is that EVERYTHING depends on the ability scores. They're important, but shouldn't be that important. Besides, the character classes in this game already focus on one ability score each. 

Because the modifiers don't (normally*) affect the rolls, that left Intelligence as only modifying linguistic ability. And while a globe-hopping treasure hunter or superspy may need to know lots of languages, your typical 80s muscleman with machinegun or quaint New England murder detective or long-haul trucker running moonshine from Georgia probably doesn't. 

The ability scores affected these areas before last night's epiphany: 

Strength: melee combat (hit and damage), carrying capacity

Dexterity: ranged combat (hit only), AC, reflex saving throws

Constitution: hit points, fortitude saving throws

Intelligence: languages known (or limited communication ability if low)

Wisdom: bonus proficiency slots, will saving throws

Charisma: reaction checks, follower morale 

So all the scores except Int cover at least two mechanical areas. Well, I figured out what Int should do besides linguistics: bonus XP! 

Since the base classes are functional rather than professional, and multiclassing is not just easy, it's expected, it doesn't make sense for each class to get different bonuses to XP for high ability scores like D&D's prime requisites. If a Strong/Dedicated Hero has both high Str and Wis, does she get to double dip in the XP bonus? That's not good design. So I'd left it out. 

But last night, it hit me that Intelligence equals ability to learn, so that should be the general "prime requisite" ability score. 

So I'll be adding to the rules a little bit: 

"Intelligence modifies how well you learn from your experiences. Heroes with high Int learn faster, and those with low Int need to put in a little more effort." 

Int 3 to 5: -10% XP

Int 6-8: -5% XP

Int 9-12: no change

Int 13-15: +5% XP

Int 16-18: +10% XP

 

I know in previous discussions of D&D's prime requisite bonuses here and on other blogs, people have expressed the opinion that the small percentages don't really make that big of a difference. And in my opinion, that's a good thing. It's a nice little treat for a player who puts a high score in Int, and it's a small annoyance for a character who uses Int as a dump stat. But it won't have massive effects on the comparative power between PCs. And it gives me one small mechanical boost to the one ability score that didn't do very much. 

*One area where ability scores CAN modify proficiency rolls is in the Gamble mechanic. I developed this for chases, but may allow it in other areas as well. In a chase, each side rolls against the other, in a best three out of five framework. But on any particular roll, a player can try to gamble with their ability score. If they gamble, they roll 1d20, trying to get their score or lower. If they succeed, they get a +1 bonus on the chase roll for that round. If they fail, they get -1 to the roll. 

I'm considering allowing this for other areas of contested rolls, like with computer hacking. And maybe just a general rule for any Proficiency check.  

Decision Points

The current iteration of Missions & Mayhem has much simpler character generation than its parent game, d20 Modern. That was the big impetus for me to create this, actually. Could I create a version of the game that has simple mechanics for the DM (the reason I will play newer WotC games as a player, but not DM anymore), and simple player character mechanics, but keep the flexibility of character concept creation? 

I think I've done it. The iteration I'm working on this week has a revision of the proficiency system (which doubles as both feats/skills for the game), which manages to plug a few holes I had in the system, and reduces the need for so many different mechanics. But I went over that in my previous post. 

What I want to talk about today is how I've come up with suites of proficiencies for each class to streamline character creation a bit more. This also brings it a little closer to old school D&D type games. Jeremy suggested that I still allow the option for carte blanche proficiency selection, but I don't think I need to add that to the rules officially. GMs worth their salt will know that they can house rule that for their game if they like. 

The char-gen guidelines, simplified, has seven steps listed, but one of them is math and not really a decision point. They are: 

To create a Hero, follow these steps: 

1. Roll Six Ability Scores [Place scores as desired. Note modifiers for each.]

2. Select Staring Occupation [Check prerequisites, note talent, proficiencies, starting gear.] p. 6-9

3. Select Character Class [Gain +1 to Ability Score. Select proficiency suite, and a talent.] p. 10-15

4. Modify Combat Values. [Note armor class (AC), hit points (HP), base attack bonus (BAB), massive damage threshold (MAS). Subtract modifiers from saving throws.] p. 10-15

5. If additional languages for high Int or proficiencies for high Wis are gained, select them. p. 24-29

6. Roll Wealth Level and Funds on Hand. Note starting vehicle. Buy additional equipment. p. 16-23

7. Give your Hero a name, description, and a few personality traits.

This gives us seven decision points, with one of them (#5 on the list but actually 6) being situational. 

Decision Point 1: Roll your ability scores, then decide where to place them. This is the same as with d20 Modern. Even if you use a standard array instead of rolling, you need to decide where the numbers go. And it's much faster than point buy. 

Decision Point 2:  There are 19 starting occupations. I didn't modify the list from d20 Modern, just the mechanics for what they do/provide a character. Players will need to consider character concept, how the talent, proficiencies and starting gear provided reinforce or round out a concept when combined with a class, and in a few cases which of two proficiencies or a language to take (decision point 2.5?). Not overly complex, as a lot of players will rule out certain occupations out of hand. And again, the same number as in d20 Modern, so no extra burden. 

Decision Point 3: There are six character classes to choose from. Based on the ability score distribution and starting occupation, most players probably already have this decided. But it is still a choice to make. And it's the same six classes from d20 Modern. 

Decision Point 4: Here is where we finally streamline the process over the original. Each character class has three suites of proficiencies (given convenient labels). Two of the options are based on the standard advanced classes of d20 Modern (not the FX advanced classes, saving those for supplements). The third for each I just thought about what other concepts work well with each ability-score themed class. This replaces both going through a list of 41 skills and 94 feats. Well, not all of those 94 feats can be selected at 1st level, but that's how many are in the game. And experienced players know that you need to think ahead about feat trees and advanced/prestige class requirements, etc. I just counted, and there are 54 feats available to starting characters. That's a lot of comparison and deliberation. 

My version, pick one of three options, and get these four proficiencies (five if you're a Smart Hero). 

The next step is figuring out the combat values (AC, HP, saves, BAB), but that's just a bit of simple math. Take the base numbers and adjust them by the ability score modifiers.  No decisions to make. 

Decision Point 5 (Situational): If you have average or low scores in Int and Wis, there's nothing to decide. If you have high scores in either, you have some choices to make. For high Int, you get one to three extra languages. And granted, it assumes a real world setting so you have thousands of options, from the common UN languages to any world language, including sign language (take your pick), Esperanto, conlangs like Klingon or Sindarin, or even dead languages like Latin and Aramaic. This is part of the decision process for d20 Modern, only it's folded into the skills. So in a way, those 41 skill options become many many more when you factor language. And d20 Modern makes you take Read/Write and Speak as separate skills! I originally had languages as part of the stepped proficiency system (that's what my day job is all about after all), but I realized it's just a game and it's not usually fun to have to roll to see how much of the conversation in a foreign language you can understand. If you pick a language, you're fluent in it.

If you have above average Wisdom, you can pick one to three bonus proficiencies. As I mentioned in the previous post, all of the proficiencies have three levels: Basic, Skilled, Advanced. Everyone now starts with Basic level in all proficiencies. You get two from Occupation, four (or five) from Class, at Skilled level. But if occupation and class give you the same proficiency, it bumps up to Advanced. If you get these bonus proficiency slots, you can take more proficiencies at Skilled, or bump ones you have at Skilled to Advanced to start. There are 19 proficiency areas. Five for combat, fourteen for general. You'll already have up to six (or seven...go for it, Gen Alpha!) at Skilled, but if you have one or two at advanced, they're already maxed out. So it shouldn't be too much mental strain to make these decisions. 

And again, not every character will have decisions to make in this area. 

Decision Point 6: You roll for a Wealth Status level, using a 3d6 roll weighted to Middle Class. That determines what dice you roll with a multiplier for your starting Funds on Hand. Everyone gets a bit of gear from their Starting Occupation and from their Class, and the Wealth Status provides a vehicle (or two if you're Rich). And it's Shopping Time! I have made some modifications to the equipment lists, removing some obsolete or redundant items. I simplified weapons and vehicles to types rather than specific models. I'll probably truncate the lists even more before I'm done as there are still redundancies (day packs, range packs and backpacks are all different items for some reason? [They do have different capacities, but this is probably unnecessary detail.]) I've of course added some items to the list as well, things that hadn't been invented in 2001 when d20 Modern was designed, and things they just didn't include (no WD-40 style spray lubricant? That's useful stuff for an adventurer!). 

So how does this compare to d20 Modern? A bit simpler thanks to the weapon/vehicle simplification. But with hard cash/credit numbers rather than rolling against target numbers, it requires a bit more thought. The fact that you're actually spending a set amount of money, rather than just grabbing everything you like under your "wealth score" probably makes this a bit faster. 

Decision Point 7: Decide on a name, description, and a bit of personality. Standard for almost any RPG. And no, I'm not going to do the NuSR thing of making everyone roll for a random feature or three. Players can stretch their imaginations a bit, and besides the name, it's not so vital at the start of a PC's career. 

 

 

A collection of mini-games

 Up until 3rd edition, every edition of Dungeons & Dragons has been a collection of mini-games. Combat is d20 rolls. Interaction (reaction rolls, morale, recruiting hirelings) and turn undead are 2d6. Lots of exploration abilities are x/d6 (or x/d10). Thief skills are d%. Magic is Vancian. The adventure day (wilderness), the exploration turn (dungeons), and the combat round are all procedural mini-games. If there are rules for strongholds, followers, magic item creation for high level play, they probably have their own bespoke mechanics. 

These days, most OSR games that come out that aren't close clones of an older edition tend to strive for the unified mechanic idea. Especially the "rules lite" games like Black Hack, PBTA, etc. 

I'm taking a game with a unified mechanic (d20 Modern) and trying to backwards engineer it into a game with a collection of mini-games. And it's interesting where I'm finding the lines to draw. 

I want Missions & Mayhem to be simple and easy to run and play. So far, I seem to be hitting that goal. A week ago, we did a play test of a mystery (no combat, although there was potential for it depending on how it might have played out). Before we started, a few players needed to bump their PCs up to level 2. Denis added a second level of Strong Hero to his PC, so that was easy. Justin decided to add a level of Charismatic Hero to his Dedicated Hero PC, but that turned out to be really simple and easy as well! 

Playing the adventure, things went smoothly for the most part, but I'd realized something I'd added in the edit was overly complicated. So this week, I'm taking it out. This has me streamlining how to run all the general proficiencies, and it's become a unified mechanic for those tasks (combat is still run differently, as are a few other bits and pieces). 

The bit I added then took out were "Basic Tasks" that any PC could do. They were % based, each starting at 20% but modified by ability score modifiers and character class. I realized, though that having all of the General Proficiency areas start at a Basic Level (roll 2d4), then have them progress to Skilled (roll 2d6) and Advanced (roll 2d8) would work better than having % basic tasks, some proficiencies at 2d6, others at x/d6 chances. 

Of course, that means I had to revise the General Proficiency list, and also now I'm revising the mechanics to how to run/adjudicate these actions. It's a fairly big overhaul, since I need to be on the lookout for areas that might be influenced by the new proficiency areas I added. But in the end, the streamlining will hopefully make the game even easier to explain and run. 

And this is just the base "tool box" rules. Once I add campaign settings (modern-day monster hunters, cyberpunk, zombie (or regular) apocalypse, X-Files/Stranger Things style aliens/dimensions weirdness, etc.), there will be more mini-games added to cover certain areas. So it will get worse. But hopefully, having familiar old-school D&D combat, and these simple 2dX general proficiency rules as the base, it will be easy to graft on other systems as needed. 

More Play Testing - One-on-One!

 About an hour ago, Jeremy and I wrapped up a one-on-one play test of Missions & Mayhem. 

He rolled up a Fast Hero, which has been a popular choice. Steven, Charles, and Nate also all picked the Fast Hero as their level 1 class. And for a talent, Steven picked fast hands (pick pockets), while the other three all decided that dodge (AC bonus) was the optimal starting talent. I may have to tweak that. It might be too good the way it is right now. 

I ran him through the same adventure that I ran Charles and Jada through a week and a half ago. It went well, even with only one hero. The potential fight that could have ended both games was averted through bargaining and interaction with the NPCs rather than a gunfight both times. 

My dice kinda sucked. In the chase scene, I rolled really low the first two rounds, and decent the third, but Jeremy waited to leverage his Dex score in a gamble to gain a bonus, and succeeded on the gamble and the chase roll. 

In general, Jeremy thought it was fun but that there are maybe too many mini-games mushed together for this. He'd prefer not so much a unified mechanic for the whole game, but maybe one system for combat and another for non-combat tasks. 

Right now, I've got standard roll d20 to hit vs AC combat, with roll d20 over set value saving throws. But for out of combat tasks, some things are on an x in d6 chance (roll low), some are x or more on 2d6 (roll high), some are d20 vs ability score (roll low), and some are d% (roll low). 

I may have gone overboard with that. I will definitely keep D&D style d20 based combat. But I may make some changes to make every non-combat action that requires a roll to be on 2d6 (I like the bell curve results) or d%. 

I also need to be more precise in the character generation rules. I'm far from finalizing the text (still trying to get mechanics to work in a way that I'm satisfied), but Jeremy made his PC by himself and had a few small errors. Both of them were areas where I'm sure I wasn't clear in the text, but every other time players have made PCs I've been there to answer questions. 

I don't plan to make any big sweeping changes just yet. I want to run another play test with the local gang, or at least as many folks that aren't busy with vacations or winter camps or whatnot. I've got a detective style mystery to solve and I think it might be fun. It will give me a chance to test out more of the non-combat systems and decide how to modify them, if necessary.