[note]Please do not post in this thread. Once I have a bit more information up on this system, I've created a discussion thread, which can be found here (http://thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?42605.last).[/note]
Overview
I'm creating my own gaming system, based on various mechanics I've run into, trying to take into consideration the problems those particular mechanics deal with. I'll occasionally include notes on why I chose to use certain mechanics, and what they're supposed to do.
I intend this system to be:
Diceless
This, I think, may be the hardest mechanic to implement, but I know it isn't as impossible as it may seem. When faced with a challenge, your character expends Energy-- a limited, renewable resource-- to try to overcome it. For example, if you have X ranks in, say, Driving, and you have Y Energy, then you can use to either X or Y (whichever is lowest) points of Energy in Driving. If the amount of Energy you use in Driving is equal to or higher then the DC of whatever driving stunt you're trying to attempt, then you succeed.
Classless
This system is going to be skill-based, like GURPS is. I'm choosing to do this for two reasons. One, it's much more flexible then a class-based system, where classes and levels dictate some portion of the various abilities that your character receives. Two, skill-based systems are much easier to balance properly, IMHO. If a skill or ability is unbalanced, I have the options of either increasing the cost of it, limiting what it can do, decreasing the cost of it, or allowing it to do more. I don't see class-based systems as having that many options for balancing.
Character creation and advancement in this system is achieved by spending Character Points (CP), with a set amount at the beginning of the game (GM discretion), as well as any CP gained with experience.
Of course, I should take the time to point out that classes can exist even in skill-based systems. All you need to do is create a predetermined advancement path in various skills and/or abilities.
Lastly, I want this system to be (relatively)...
Settingless
I want this system to be adaptable enough to use in any setting that GMs and players can think of. Given the nature of this site, that demands quite a bit of adaptability. With any luck, ideas for skills and abilities that are setting-specific can be submitted by the creators of the settings.
(More to come!)
Character Creation
There are a few simple steps to creating a character in DUGS.
Points
First, the GM determines how many Character Points (CP) a character can start with. Most standard characters can start with 100 CP. A character can earn more CP through experience.
Attributes and Stats
A player starts to create their character by spending CP on Base Attributes. As soon as the Attributes are purchased, the character also has secondary Stats. These Stats can be affected by certain skills, advantages, and disadvantages.
Skills
(To come)
Advantages and Disadvantages
(To come)
Attributes
This system as four Base Attributes. They are:
Strength
(To come)
Dexterity
Dexterity determines one's ability to move. Low DEX scores might mean clumsiness, while higher DEX scores indicate agility and speed. In combat, DEX determines the order of turns in a round. Characters with high DEX scores get to go before characters with low dex scores.
Intelligence
This is the Base Attribute for all mental actions. Your character's intellect, commonsense, and willpower are some examples of what this Attribute represents. This, along with Durability, is one of the two most important Base Attributes, because it dictates the maximum Energy level for mental Skills, such as Investigation.
Charisma is not represented by this Attribute at all. Just because a character can show that they know what they're talking about, doesn't mean others will want to listen. This is prime information for any player wishing to play the desperate intellect. (for examples of this character-type, watch almost any movie with Jeff Goldblum in it)
Durability
This Base Attribute represents your level of physical endurance. Like Intelligence, this is another important Base Attribute, as it will affect both a characters HP and their maximum Energy level for physical Skills, such as Swimming. How long a character can continue preforming a given physical activity is directly linked to this Base Attribute.
At character creation, each Base Attribute costs 2 CP/level, with the exception of INT, which is 3 CP/level, and DUR, which is 4 CP/level. If a play wishes to improve a Base Attribute later on, during game play, this cost is doubled (4 CP/level, 6 CP/level for INT, or 8 CP/level for DUR).
Secondary Stats
Health Points
(To come)
Initiative
(To come)
Energy
Energy is what is required to do any action at all. Energy is measured in Energy Points (EP), and can be spent to preform any action, up to the appropriate Skill Level. There are two different Energy Pools for each character: one for mental tasks, equal to the character's INT score, and one for physical tasks, equal to the character's DUR score. Characters can recover EP in both pools at a rate of 1/hour, or they can recover all of their lost EP after eight hours of rest.
Action Resolution
Actions are made by spending EP in a skill or attribute, in attempt to overcome the action's Difficulty Level. The level of the skill or attribute determines the maximum amount of EP allowed to be spent.
Example
John decides to drive a car. He has 5 EP in his appropriate Energy pool, and a Driving Skill Level of 3. John can put 3 EP into Driving, which would leave him with a total of 2 EP left over. This would allow him to make some fairly tricky maneuvers, but he wouldn't be able to continue at that rate. If John wanted to just drive a long distance along a highway, he might instead simply put just one EP into driving, and he would be able to continue at that rate for much longer.
Skills
Please note that, if an action of any kind can be preformed by an average human (GM discretion), but either isn't represented as a Skill, or is represented as a Skill that a character doesn't have, then that action defaults to an associated Base Attribute. If the action is represented by an existing Skill, that attribute may be listed in the Skill description. Otherwise, the associated Base Attribute is at the GM's discretion.
A skill marked with (p) is considered a physical skill, and uses EP from the Physical Pool. Skills marked with (m) are considered mental skills, and use EP from the Mental Pool. Some skills, which are marked (m/p), can be either mental or physical, depending on the nature of the ability. In these cases, the player may choose at character creation which Energy Pool they wish to use for that skill.
[table=Skill Costs]
[tr][th]Level[/th][td]CP[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]1[/th][td]1[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]2[/th][td]2[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]3[/th][td]3[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]4[/th][td]5[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]5[/th][td]8[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]6[/th][td]13[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]7[/th][td]21[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]8[/th][td]34[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]9[/th][td]55[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]10[/th][td]89[/td][/tr]
[/table]
The cost of each further level in a skill is equal to the sum of the cost of the two prior levels.
Skills
Acting (m)
Animal Handling (m)
Charge (p)
Climbing (p)
Combat, close (p)
Combat, ranged (p)
Driving (m)
Flight (m/p)
Force Blast (m/p)
Grow/Shrink (p)
Investigation (m)
Investigation helps you follow paths of information and unravel clues.
Mage (m)
The Mage skill is required for a character to use magic.
Medical (m)
Pyrokinesis (m)
Rope Use (m)
Social Skills (m)
Swimming (p)
Telekinesis (m)
Tracking (m/p)
This is similar to investigation. However, while Investigation is used to trace paths of information, Tracking is for physical paths. If it is a physical skill, it can represent heightened senses; as a mental skill, it can represent a subset of observational skills.
Advantages
Advantages are abilities that don't increase with experience. These can be innate abilities, gained at character creation, or they can be acquired later on in the game.
If a character acquires an Advantage after their creation, they must pay the cost of the Advantage by acquiring a Disadvantage, or a number of Disadvantages, with an equal or greater Cost. For example, If a character acquires an Advantage that costs 10 CP, they must choose a Disadvantage, or even multiple Disadvantages, but either way, the character must get at least 10 CP from the Disadvantage(s). Characters can only acquire Advantages in this manner at a point when they are using CP, but any extra CP gained from Disavantages acquired cannot be spent until the next time the character spends CP, unless it is used to begin "buying off" a Disadvantage.
Charisma
Defense
Energetic
A character with this advantage regains their Energy twice as fast, at a rate of 1 EP/30 minutes.
Cost: 6 CP
Fast Healing
Fast healing enables you to regain HP three times as fast, at a rate of 1 HP/2 hours.
Cost: 6 CP
Immovability
Keen Sight
Luck (1/2/3)
This Advantage allows a character to gain their rank in free Energy points for a chosen action, in order to allow that action to succeed. This can be chosen after success or failure is revealed for the chosen action, but can be used once every ten minutes of game time. The use is still counted against the character, even if the chosen action still does not succeed.
Cost: 2CP/rank
Natural Weapons
Precognitions
Radar/Sonar
Radar/Sonar grants a character sight in situations that the character would not otherwise have sight. However, color cannot normally be perceived in this manner, and it is presumed to be based on the feedback of an energy type (Sound, Magic, Electricity, etc. as examples; this can't be changed later on), and can be disrupted by excessive amounts of the associated energy. Characters with Radar/Sonar are also granted the use of the Keen Sight advantage in situations where the character relies on Radar/Sonar, but at a -1 penalty.
Options:
Color-- This allows the character to perceive color with their Radar/Sonar, and removes the -1 penalty to Keen Sight. (cost: +1CP)
Lack of Disruption-- (To come)
Sensitive-- (To come)
Extra Source-- This allows the character to be granted their Radar/Sonar from multiple sources. In order for the advantage to be properly disrupted, there needs to be enough interference from all energy sources. (cost: +3CP/extra source)
Cost: 4CP
Translation
Disadvantages
Addiction
Amputee
Bad Habit
Frail
Insanity
Pacifism
Psychological Trauma
Repulsiveness
Sensory Loss, Full
Sensory Loss, Partial
Magic[/b]
To help support multiple kinds of magic, there will be three official systems. All three will require the Mage skill.
#1 - Skill-Based Magic
To Come!
#2 - School-Based Magic
To Come!
Super Secret System Three
To Come!
Spells
Combat
Combat, like any other action in DUGS, is a simple matter of expending energy in attempt to overcome a target difficulty. In this case, the difficulty is your opponent's defense. For each point of energy that overcomes your opponents defense, you deal a point of damage to your opponent.
Turns are decided by initiative. If two characters have the same initiative, their turns are decided by their base initiative, then available energy, then current HP. If they are equal in all these regards, they may bid energy for initiative. Energy allocation goes from lowest initiative to highest, while the actions resolve from highest initiative to lowest.