Roll the Bones

Roll the Bones



Goals – create a genre-agnostic system for TTRPG that is fun, rewarding, classless and based on pools of d20 dice. The game should encourage “cunning over crunch.”



Fun & Rewarding – easy to learn, complex to master.

Classless – utilizes a “skill web” to replicate class features but in a customizable and unique way.

Dice Pools – similar to Action Points, but they are not abstract, they represent actual d20s to be spent and rolled each round.

Cunning over crunch – character building is not about stacking +1s, it is about the clever and unique ways to combine abilities and then use them to implement in-game solutions.

DICE POOLS



Dice Pools – each character at first level gets 3d20 refreshed to their dice pools each round on their turn in the initiative order. These dice are rolled to move, attack, cast spells, etc. They are also rolled to activate skill web abilities (class features).

They roll much like d20 attack rolls, ability checks and saving throws in 5e and PF2e. They can have positive or negative modifiers to the roll.

Some abilities cost 1 or 2 or even 3 dice to use.

Multiple attacks suffer a degenerative modifier. -3 or –5 to each attack. (needs play testing)



At first level, a character can store up to 5d20s in their pool. That gives players the option to save a d20 to use in future rounds. Some higher tier abilities will cost 4 or 5 dice to use.



Some abilities allow players to manipulate their dice pool.

For examples:

Adrenaline Rush – gain 1d20 this turn but lose 2d20 from dice pool refresh next round.

“I love it when a plan comes together” - spend 1d20 this turn but gain +1d20 on your next two refreshes (so 4d20 per turn)



Opportunity Actions – some abilities allow players to act “out of turn” but they can only be fueled if you still have a d20 in your dice pool, meaning you saved a d20 during your turn.

“Raise Shield” is an example of an Opportunity Action, lift your shield to absorb incoming damage.

“No Escape” – strike an opponent that tries to leave your threat zone



Readied Actions – you can spend a d20 to create a condition based on a later trigger. you still have to hold enough d20s to active the ability later. This is not an economical usage of d20s, but it allows for the flexibility to act out of turn, which has its own advantages.



Dice pools caps will increase as you level up. +1d20 at maybe 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th. Remember that higher tier abilities cost more d20s to use!



Epic Monsters will also have larger dice pools and higher refresh rates.

For example, a Dragon might have a Dice Pool cap of 12!

It might also refresh +2d20 every time a player takes an action (like a legendary action in 5e). There is also a mechanic for the Epic Monster to spend dice at several points during the turn – Opportunity Actions! Remember it is adding dice after each player turn, so it will have dice to spend. Monsters get additional options for Opportunity Actions, like attacks.

SKILL WEB



The Skill Web is a representation of your character’s abilities. You get to freely design who your character is and what they are of capable of doing.

There are a number of Skill Lines within the Skill Web. The specific combination of Lines you create makes your own Skill Web.

Skill Lines emulate class features from class-locked TTRPGs.

For examples: melee, ranged, defense, sneaky, nature, divine, arcane, occult, shapeshifting, summoning, etc.

A starting character gets to select 2 Lines at rank 1 each.

So a Rogue archetype might select sneaky + melee. An Archer archetype might select sneaky + ranged. An Occultist might choose sneaky + arcane. A warrior might choose melee + defense. A necromancer might choose occult and arcane. A monk might choose melee and shapeshifting. A demonologist might choose occult and summoning. A druid might choose nature and summoning.

At each level, your character gets +1 Skill Line rank. So you could increase your skill in an existing tree by taking sneaky 2 and melee. Or you could diversify your abilities and turn your warrior into a Paladin archetype by adding divine to melee + defense. Or evolve your Archer into a Ranger archetype by adding Nature to ranged + sneaky. Adding Arcane to melee and defense makes a spellsword. While adding Occult makes it

more like a Sith. A druid might add shapeshifting to nature and summoning.

The possibilities are up to your imagination!



Each Skill Line has abilities that you can unlock within that Line. These abilities are fueled by a certain number of dice from your d20 dice pool.

Each time you add a rank to a Skill Line, you get 2 “pips” to add to abilities.

Some examples:

Sneaky has the following abilities:

Vanish – 1 round invisibility

Backstab – add damage dice under certain conditions

Disable device – pick locks, disarm traps, etc



So at first level, you would choose 2 of the 3 abilities that you can use. The pip level is capped at the rank of the Skill Line. So lets say at level 1, you put pips into backstab and vanish.

At level 2, you can add 1 pip to vanish and\or backstab to raise it to 2. Or you could buy Disable Device at 2. Or DD at 1 and increase vanish to 2.

Each pip improves the ability. For example, each pip in backstab adds an extra dice of damage to your backstab. Or it adds a flat bonus to your DD roll. Or maybe vanish lasts 1 rd longer per pip.

At each odd rank in a Skill Line, new abilities become available to choose. Perhaps at sneaky rank 3, you can now select a short-range teleport or the ability to spider climb walls for x# rounds.

Of course, leveling up provides other bonuses at various times like attribute increases, skills, talents (general feats like Lucky, mobile, etc).



Remember each ability costs dice to use. So DD rolls a d20 when you make the attempt.

Backstab costs 2d20, but you roll both dice (like Advantage) to hit and in addition, you get the extra damage dice. You can only use this under certain conditions, like being unseen as an attacker, or if they are flat footed or restrained or unconscious etc etc.



Let’s look at Ranged for more examples.

Ranged has the following abilities:

Rapid shot – fire 2 shots at the same target, costs 2d20, no penalty

Mark target – costs 1d20, adds additional damage dice (like Hunter’s Mark) plus other minor features

Steady Aim – ignores ¼ cover and roll 2d20 (ADV) to hit 1 target. The amount of cover it negates increases with each pip.



So those all give the archer some interesting options. They can’t all be used at once.

Remember, multiple attacks normally have a degenerative penalty of –3 or –5 per attack. So 2 regular attacks are both rolled at –3 or –5 each normally. But Rapid shot lets the archer fire 2 arrows at no penalty!

Marked Target only needs to be applied once per target, so you give up 1d20 for extra damage over multiple rounds. Better against a boss than a bunch of minions.

Rank 2 ranged might include abilities like:

Exploding arrow for small AoE damage

Jumping shot that lets you disengage from melee while taking a shot on the way out.

Elemental arrows – add fire\cold\electric\acid damage to your arrows for X rounds per pip



The Defense Skill Line not only provides active skills to use, but also determines the types of armor you can wear. So any type of character can function in armor... if they put points into it!



A quick look at spell casting...

Divine Line abilities might look something like this:

Healing – 1d20 touch single target, 2d20 range 30ft, 3d20 30ft pulse affects multiple targets. (higher pips = more healing)

Bless – same as healing for area of effect\range

Arcane might have abilities like:

Pyromancy – 1d20 touch fire attack, 2d20 for a ray attack at range, 3d20 for a small fireball. (size, range and damage increase with pips\ranks)

Aeromancy – 1d20 shocking grasp, 2d20 lightning single target, 3d20 lightning bolt that goes through multiple targets (damage, distance increase with pips\ranks)

Hydromancy – 1d20 chill touch, 2d20 ice knife, 3d20 cone of cold.

WEAPONS

Weapons will have a basic damage dice that is rolled after a successful attack.  Some weapons also have additional features that cost 1 or more dice to use.  These “weapon abilities” are similar to Skill Line abilities, but have no prerequisite to use.

Long sword might be d8 damage.

Or use 1d20 to bury the sword tip in the ground to resist a shove by rolling the d20 and subtracting the amount rolled from the distance you are shoved.  You could use more than 1d20 if you have more available as an Opportunity Action.



Greatsword 2d6 damage

1d20 for a “sweeping attack” hit up to 2 targets within 5ft dealing 1d6 + STR damage to each target.  

Dice pools make this ability stack nicely -  

2d20 for up to 4 targets.  3d20 for up to 6 targets.



Casters get weapons too!

just quick examples


Wand, Staff, Rod, Focus will all be different weapons. This means they do damage and have additional weapon abilities. In a lot of ways, this replaces combat cantrips from other games.

Wand - arcane, range 120ft, damage 1d8 + int
special - add Wits to AC as an Opportunity Action (like a shield spell)


staff - occult, range 60ft 2d6 + Charm
special - blade ward, reduce 1/2 physical damage as an opportunity action

Rod - elemental, range 90ft, 1d10+int
special - reduce 1/2 elemental damage as an opportunity action (like absorb elements)

PROFICIENCIES

I am looking at ways to make "skills" or proficiencies more useful and less of a spreadsheet of how many and what +s they are.

For example, instead of having separate proficiencies in Athletics and Acrobatics, I want to find a name that encompasses multiple different activities when combined with different attributes.

for lack of a better term, lets just call it "exercise" for now. there is 1 proficiency that covers many similar activities and separate skills from other games.
a proficiency is NOT tied to only 1 attribute.

Strength + exercise = athletics in 5e or jumping, climbing, lifting, carrying, shoving
Dexterity + exercise = acrobatics in 5e or balancing, tumbling, dancing
Constitution + exercise = anything endurance related, running, staying awake


Some proficiencies might be combined with both mental and physical attributes. Let's look at how a Deception proficiency might work:

Dexterity + deception = sneaking, stealth
Intelligence + deception = Sun Tzu battlefield tactics, but also barter
Charisma + deception = con, bribe, lie
Strength + deception = a feint in 1v1 combat

Another example of a proficiency for both mental and physical might be something like Observation

Intelligence + Observation = like Investigation, logic puzzles, how does a trap work
Wisdom and Observation = spot a trap, hidden door
Charisma + Observation = Insight, detect lies, sense fraud
Strength + Observation = test a door to find the weak spot for a pry bar
Constitution + Observation = how bad is an injury, how sick is someone, how drunk are they



This is not an exhaustive list, but only to suggest that you can combine a proficiency with different attributes and get different results. I hope this encourages both the goals of "fun" and "cunning over crunch".

Resolve

I hate the saving throw system in 5e and even PF2.  I hate save or suck.  I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.


I am looking at a couple systems from video games that I have played over the years that I think did a better job.  Guild Wars 2 used a Resolve "bar".  Each time you got hit with a debuff, it partially filled the bar depending on the strength of the effect.  Once your bar was full, you could no longer be debuff for a few seconds (maybe 1 rd in D&D).

I am thinking about it in reverse.  While your Resolve bar has points in it, you cannot be debuffed.  Only once your Resolve is broken (dropped to 0) can you be affected by any debuffs.  

I am looking at 2 types of Resolve:  physical and mental.  Let's call them Fortitude and Grit (subject to change).

Fortitude blocks physical debuffs like trip, grapple, restrained, shoved, etc
Grit blocks mental debuffs like fear, charm, bane, etc


Fortitude and Grit are very fluid pools.  Many abilities from Skill Lines will refill one or both pools.  

Martial abilities like "Raise Shield" or "Rally"
Magical abilities like "Bless" or "heroism" or "restoration"


Mobs will have different levels of Resolve.  An Ogre might have a high Fortitude but a low Grit.  A dragon would have very high both.  Beholders would have a high Grit but a low Fortitude.  


This should make player tactics and coordination matter more.  Party balance should be more important.  Fights (hopefully) will not just devolve into standing there pounding on each other until someone runs out of HP.  

Armor is also going to be part of the equation.  

Physical armor - splint, chain, plate - will provide high levels of Fortitude but no Grit.

Robes - arcane, divine, nature - will provide high levels of Grit but no Fortitude

soft armor - cloth, leather - might provide a more balanced amount of both


Wounds are the measure of actual injuries.  Wounds will be slow to heal and inflict penalties.

Fortitude and Grit must be depleted before damage goes to the Wounds.
Critical hits go to the Wounds.

Attributes

Something has always bugged me about D&D\PF and most games is that you have a number for your attribute, like Strength 16 and then the modifier +3 to dice rolls.  But what does the 16 actually mean?  Nothing, usually.  

I am doing away with the artificial number.   Attributes will just look like Str +2,  Dex +3, Con +1, Int -1  etc


I am looking at 8 attributes - 4 physical and 4 mental.  One of the main reasons is that I want to de-couple initiative\speed from Dex to make Dex less dominant.  I also want to de-couple some stuff from WIS and CHA, because they both have too much and not enough relies on INT.  

Physical:  
Might - same as Str
Agility - ranged attacks, acrobatics, physical reaction timeetc
Endurance - same, pain threshold
Speed - initiative and movement modifier

Mental:
Intellect - same, but think of it like mental strength
Wits - like mental agility, how fast you can think on your feet, mental reaction time
Willpower - like mental Endurance, ability to ignore pain
Charm -  similar to CHA


I don't know how many points to start or anything yet, but I would think the total number of good, average and poor stats would be comparable to other games.  1 really high, a couple good, a couple average and 1 or 2 at penalty.  


Stat points are going to directly affect Resolve.  All physical stats will be added\subtracted from Fortitude.  All mental stats add\subtract from Grit.  

for example:

Might  +2
Agility  +3
End +1
Speed  +2

would be a net +8 to Fortitude

Int -1
Wits +1
Will 0
Charm -2

-2 to Grit is really going to hurt, so dump stats will have an affect.  You can't have a negative Fort\Grit but if you got Grit points from somewhere else, you would modify it by -2 to get the total.  Remember, when you reach 0 in either Fort\Grit, you can be affected by debuffs.  Your max values matter.  

You don't have to take penalties, but each -1 gives you another +1 somewhere else.  There will be limits.  

I am also thinking you will get some attribute points at regular intervals.  Either like +1 per level or +4 every 3rd level or something.  Just in my head, I am thinking about +10 being the max, not +5.  This is mostly because there is no general proficiency bonus.  

Skill lines get their own bonuses, proficiencies get their own bonuses.  Modifiers will be more in line with PF than D&D.  I prefer less dependence on the d20 roll.  Again, its not about number crunching and it will be fairly obvious and standard progressions.

For example, each point you put into Melee gives you a +1 to hit with melee weapons, in addition to the abilities you select.  Each point of Defense increases your AC by 1.



I want more crossover between physical and mental.  Numbers are not fixed, but just as examples:

Wounds = 10 + END + Willpower + racial   (big races more, smaller races less)

AC = 10 + AGI + WITS + racial   (big races less, small races more)


Str affects melee damage, thrown wpn damage, comp bows, xbow weight
Int affects arcane\elemental damage
Charm affects Bard\Occult type damage
Speed is already super important for initiative and movement

Skill Web pt 2


Physical

Melee
Ranged
Sneaky
Defense
Shapeshifting



Mental

Occult\summoning
Telekinetic\Aeromancy
Nature\Geomancy
Divine\Hyrdomancy
performance\pyromancy

Okay. I will test and do my best to reserve judgement until the test is complete.

navyik wrote:Okay. I will test and do my best to reserve judgement until the test is complete.

Feel free to share any thoughts now. I have been texting with Matt for a couple weeks about ideas.

I like the idea of mixing a mental and physical component to form each “skill.” Balanced flexibility and limitation will be hard to quantify. I think we need a basic framework in the form of a character sheet. We will naturally try to crunch it, but I think it will be more about crunching out the options that other systems have rigidly subverted than about “breaking” the game.

When I roll a bowling ball I use at least strength, dexterity, intellect, and wisdom. Maybe also charisma if that is what quantifies keeping my cool or getting out of my head. When I first started it was mostly just dexterity. Do we incorporate more attributes as our skill improves?

navyik wrote:When I roll a bowling ball I use at least strength, dexterity, intellect, and wisdom. Maybe also charisma if that is what quantifies keeping my cool or getting out of my head. When I first started it was mostly just dexterity. Do we incorporate more attributes as our skill improves?

Interesting thought there. Its worth exploring for sure.
My initial crunch thought would be that players try to justify their 2nd highest attribute to add to everything. I need willpower to climb the wall, when it could also be endurance or intellect to pick the path.

I could definitely see adding Str to a charm + intimidate

Maybe the 2nd attribute would have be from the other group? So you have 1 mental and 1 physical

Maybe simpler or more mundane tasks can be accomplished with one or two abilities. As a task gets more challenging it involves more comprehensive capabilities. Slaying a goblin with an axe involves strength and maybe wits or something. Fighting a Dragon taxes more abilities and is therefore not an option for newer characters who maybe only have one good ability. A first level fighter may be almost as strong, or even stronger than his 10th level dad. But dad knows a thing or two and he’s too old to fear death. So his cumulative ability to fight a goblin is similar but his ability to fight a dragon is greater. Then you can still find a little bit of a challenge fighting goblins at 10th level…

Hoi Chummers!

Let me give this all a detailed read and Ill have some feedback / questions tomorrow (sunday).

Quick thought, I like the idea Alan just shared of more powerful abilities/attacks/etc will require more and more skills or certain combos of skills at certain levels.

Welcome MAS!

I am working on the initial pregens and a few mobs for a quick fight.

PREGENS are up!

https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t482-roll-the-bones-pregens


level 1s
no skills cuz its just a fight, super basic

pick one and report here. first come, first served


https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t483-playtest-encounter-1#31772


you can ask questions, but I will try to really explain as we go, so its ok if you don't understand everything before we start

You guys pick characters and I will take the remaining character.

I don’t mean to debate this during the battle but Ftr, maybe grit doesn’t come from armor unless it has a magical bonus of some sort. Maybe things of significance, like a holy symbol, arcane focus, familiar, or a sigil provide bonuses to grit. Armor for fortitude, (with magical bonuses also applied to grit) and items of significance for grit with magical bonuses applied to fortitude. The soldier who gains grit from the letter from his girlfriend that he keeps in his pocket or the locket with his kid’s picture.

Maybe there are special abilities out there that let you rob Peter to pay Paul between fortitude and grit, (sort of a monk or paladin effect). I’m sure you would also have an ability called true grit that doubles the ability bonuses or just provides a linear bonus, just like natural armor would for fortitude. Then you include magical defensive effects that can boost either.

navyik wrote:You guys pick characters and I will take the remaining character.

I don’t mean to debate this during the battle but Ftr, maybe grit doesn’t come from armor unless it has a magical bonus of some sort. Maybe things of significance, like a holy symbol, arcane focus, familiar, or a sigil provide bonuses to grit. Armor for fortitude, (with magical bonuses also applied to grit) and items of significance for grit with magical bonuses applied to fortitude. The soldier who gains grit from the letter from his girlfriend that he keeps in his pocket or the locket with his kid’s picture.

Maybe there are special abilities out there that let you rob Peter to pay Paul between fortitude and grit, (sort of a monk or paladin effect).  I’m sure you would also have an ability called true grit that doubles the ability bonuses or just provides a linear bonus, just like natural armor would for fortitude. Then you include magical defensive effects that can boost either.

That makes sense in a logical way. I can see where you are coming from.

But think about it mechanically from a game sense. Everyone would have a high grit from special letters and a high fortitude from armor. I think of robes the same way you are for holy symbols, arcane foci and sigils. But they occupy the same body slot as armor, so it makes it more balanced. You can say the robe has a holy symbol on it or an arcane ward, which is why you need the skill line to use them. Its not the cloth itself, its the significance of the robe

Definitely have some swap abilities. Magical robes/armor will benefit both, sure.

Ill take "masta Casta"

Is Josh not going to join the test?

He said he was. But here's the thing.... I asked for a playtest while Mike was gone for 4 days. He is back tomorrow and we haven't even started yet.

I don't want to distract from his game or time as GM.


Perhaps Matt and I can playtest this round? I know Anthony would join as well.

I actually want to run the wolf scenario at least 3 times, changing a few variables, maybe more. So it would help to have consistent play testers. Alan and Josh are most welcome, if they feel like they can do that without affecting their attention to Mike's game.

Im down to run tests Chris, this month is pretty quiet for me.

I will be more flexible next week. I’m visiting a customer this week. If you want to go ahead, please let me know when there’s another opportunity. I will keep watching the action and discussion.

cool, thanks for the updates

Alan, have a safe trip!

Should initiative include speed AND wits?