Friday, April 16, 2010

LotFP: Weird Fantasy Role-Playing version 0.05 Now Available.

Link is there to the right.

This one doesn't really have a layout, it's just a PDF converted directly from my working document.

Changes this time:

Removed Attack Bonus from Specialist abilities, cleaned up Specialist ability text. Changed dwarf HP. Changed Halfling abilities to d6. Switched Minor and Small weapon costs. Revised Encumbrance. Moved Specialist skill explanations to general adventuring rules. Alphabetized general rules. Added Language Rules. Added Small and Oversized notations in equipment section.

I think Encumbrance is going to come down to just number of items carried, keeping it abstract instead of worrying for rules purposes what's in a pack or in a sack. That'll lead to some odd things (a guy trying to carry 20 axes might not get very far, but 20 torches? Even allowing for the fact that torches are big honking sticks of wood almost as big as your forearm?), but I bet it's simply about setting the correct numbers of items at each encumbrance marker.

These rules make the average D&D-style character overencumbered, but that's the point. Outside of RPGs, are there people who adventure and explore in full battle armor? People who go cave exploring with full packs and sacks and... and...? Nah. Not that realism is the goal, but something a bit more believable would be nice. There is the note in the rules that the Referee can call for an audit if he thinks stuff is too overpiled.

And if people decide not to use my encumbrance system? Then, this encumbrance system will be in good company considering every encumbrance system ever invented has been brutally ignored. ;)

That's what the retainers are for. "Jeeves! Carry my shit!" Servants are cheap. And you need to protect them else you're never going to get your gear around, let alone get the treasure out!

(the back of the character sheet will have a numbered equipment section making it easy to count up how many pieces of equipment you have without having to actually count... I'm going to try to make it easily usable, at least)

Let me know what you think of the Language rules. I'm thinking I may have made them one step too difficult. We'll see how it plays. But there are a lot of multilingual dumbasses out there, as well as geniuses (me!) that can't seem to get the hang of any other one.

8 comments:

  1. Im not sure if I missed it but there are no listings for weapons usable by class. Can a magic user use a great weapon while not casting spells? It didnt list that they had to be unencumbered to cast spells so can they wear armor? I kinda like the thought of no weapon/armor restrictions but can understand the concept of certain weapons/armor needing extra skill to use properly.

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  2. Being noted to make sure it's in there and clarified for the next upload:

    Once it was decided that only fighters would improve in combat ability as they gained levels, there was really no reason to restrict weapons.

    Magic-Users need to be unencumbered to cast spells. Clerics and Elves do not. Actually maybe I should change that to Lightly encumbered for magic-users; carrying a staff, few scrolls, and a gizmo or two shouldn't prevent them from casting.

    That "no increase in combat ability" thing turns out to have another benefit I hadn't initially thought of... after a few levels, an average-strength fighter actually is a better in combat than an above-average strength cleric, for example. Traditionally, an 18 STR cleric would be better than a 12 STR fighter at combat. Now the fighter can be better than the brute by finesse after a few levels.

    Of course the skilled fighting brute will still kick most ass. ;)

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  3. A lot of your rules are exactly as I would have them - spookily so. The ability scores, skills, equipment lists, and the abundance of rules related to exploring, chases, and non-combat adventure in general are very well chosen.

    Some of the flavor is also fascinating, if a bit prescriptive. I liked the explanation of fighters.

    On the retainer recruit table, you roll 3d6, right?

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  4. Yes, 3d6. I'll make a note to state that plainly in the next update. :)

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  5. Just make sure that, in your encumbrance system, pieces of armour count as different item "slots". A plate armor consists of the chest plate, the arms, the legs etc. Make leather just one piece, for example. => 2 AC equals 1 piece
    Or something like that

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  6. I'm in proof-read mode, so please accept the following in the spirit they are given - that of wanting clarity instead of baggin' in ya.
    ------------------
    A sentence on page 12 throws me a bit: "In combat, the Referee will inform you of your opponent's Armor Class."

    Why would I want to tip my hand like that? The player's opponent could be wearing hidden armor, or using a magical boost to his AC. Wouldn't I rather want to simply make the opponent's apparent AC part of the general description I give to the players?
    -----------
    On page 25, the bottom chart throws me completely. If there's no point difference between a character who is carrying "5 or more different items" (1 point) and a character who is carrying "20 or more different items" (1 point), why differentiate between them? I went back and forth between p 25 and p 26 looking for what I surely felt was a piece of missing information. Should it instead have read that 5/10/15/20 items equal 1/2/3/4 respective points? What did I miss?

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  7. I don't give the AC to the players until someone actually attacks, and at that point I figure they'll have a good idea how hard the opponent is to hit. Keeping it secret and blah blah is too much trouble for me with not enough payoff. I don't really care what the player rolls to hit, I just want them to tell me if they hit or not.

    If I have to worry if they're cheating about it or not, I don't want them at my table in the first place.

    As far as page 25, maybe I do need the + next to all the "one point," as it is supposed to be cumulative. But surely that is made crystal clear looking at the character sheet?

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  8. Didn't see the character sheet. I'll check it out. -CW

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