Thread 96428052

Hi, i want to try new systems for a low fantasy/no magic medieval game, and im interesting about the ones that only use D6s. Can you help me?
I want to know the name and something positive and something negative of it. It doesnt matter if its simple or complex. Many thanks.

>>96428052 (OP)
EZ D6

> Positive
Easy to learn and funny moments from time to time when the die explode multiple times

> Negative
No progress in the characters and very limited personalization

>>96428052 (OP)
>D6 system
>Low Fantasy
GURPS, unironically
>something positive
Lots of material to work with and /gurpsgen/ is genuinely helpful
>and something negative
Character creation genuinely sucks if you're not using a program. Also Savage Worlds is generally more approachable for your average player, and SWADE is a C-tier system.

>>96428052 (OP)
GURPS
>Positive
You can be anything and has rules for everything.
>Negative
It scares people.

>>96429520
Why GURPS scares people? Or its a meme? I also saw people hating it, its a shitty system?

>>96428052 (OP)
In Darkest Warrens
> Positive
Very simple D6 system, anyone could learn it 5 minutes, robust enough rolling mechanics to resolve any action.
Fantasy focus with low magic elements that could be cut out without issue.
Monster stat blocks are 1 sentence long while still being helpful.

> Negative
Might be too Simple if you looking for more flesh out systems, like Skills etc

Bonus Suggestion: Mini Six bare bones edition.
A universal D6 system for any setting. Clever processes with more effects/Skills/Mechanics to help process interesting actions (IE Rules for Cover, range, a perk system). Reads like a West End Games D6 Stars Wars system. But more complicated than Warrens. Haven't played it yet, but I'd say its worth checking out.

>>96429681
The book has many rules though not everyone understands that most of them are optional. So it kinda has a learning curve to get into it.

>>96429785
Ooh, i see i see

>>96429782
Every suggestion is welcome, so thanks. I will check Mini Six

>>96429253
I saw many times people suggesting Savage Worlds. What version do you consider the best?

You have Troika. It's based on a system made for choose your own adventure books and it's extremely lite, too much for me. It aims for a gonzo mish mash of things that attracts quirky lolrandumb people so people hate it for the audience it has, but it also results in a lot of interesting modules that you can adapt to other systems if you want something that pushes to the impossible the internal consistency.

I kinda like Orbital Blues.
Space cowboys. Three stats, poorly arranged so one is useful all he time while 2 are mostly for combat. You have a lot of special skills that mix up how you roll in special conditions.

The main appeal for me is that experience is earned by having character moments and to level up you have to deal with bullshit you ran away from. So your gunslinger has to deal with his exwife getting remarried to an asshole you hate and was about the rob, or your femme fatalle has to meet her family after a decade in the funeral of her mom in a town controlled by a gang who put a bounty on your head. If you go for a western vibe and can mix it properly with whatever adventure you were having it results in some really cool scenarios you would never think about without that push.

>>96428052 (OP)
Im making an RPG that focuses on D6 so whoever pirates it can play easier. I remember being a kid in middle school and not having dice for the longest time.

>>96428052 (OP)
D6 fantasy

>>96429782
Seconding mini six, came in to recommend it. If you want lots of combat, OP, use Body Points.

>>96430078
>exwife getting remarried to an asshole you hate
Serves him right, then.

>>96428052 (OP)
Clash of Steel 2e

>Positive
combat akin to Advanced Fighting Fantasy,
very much geared toward Howard/Conan style sword & sorcery,
good amount of helpful charts, sandbox tools, mass battles, solo play advice, freeform costly magic, etc.

>Negative
combat akin to Advanced Fighting Fantasy,
might take a little work to adapt to other sword & sorcery/low fantasy settings not derived from Howard/Conan,
got rid of crippling blow/maiming chart from older iterations of the system in 43AD and Zenobia.

Someone have tried Age of Sigmar Soulbound? It is good? Fun?

OVA is great. Characters are made of abilities, and rank of ability determines number of D6 rolled (baseline is 2D6). Highest result counts, duplicate results are added to each other and count as the highest result. Characters also have weaknesses that remove dice (in case of negative dice player has to pick the worst result), and balance of abilities and weaknesses depends on power level of the setting and kind of game GM wants to run. There is also an optional system for building attacks.
It is an universal system, but does have most prepared material for science fantasy game. Works just fine without any anime themes too, even if some of abilities and weaknesses are based on anime tropes.

>>96428052 (OP)

The Old Lords of Wonder and Ruin

Pro: Based on Chainmail, easier to read, centered around sieges and mass combats, very low page count, fantasy creatures included but not necessary, armor/weapon interactions and human army types allow variety without being human-centric. Free.

Cons: Has some magic via wizards. May need to be paired with 0e/LBB D&D or another "dungeon" based system if the campaign is going to be centered around "delving," chart lookups expected and necessary, understanding how different charts interact may take a second to click.

>>96430507
>>96429782
How the hell does defending work in minisix?
You have block, dodge, parry, and active dodge... When I get attacked can I choose what the attacker rolls against, or do I have to declare block and parry ahead of time like the active dodge option? It makes sense that dodge (passive) is your normal "AC", but I cant figure out whether block and parry are possible replacements for dodge, or more of a single use once-per-round thing. The bare bones document is well named, because it doesn't explain things very well.

HeroQuest

Pos: simple rules, fun, comfy minis
Negs: rules are too simple and aged. No overland system. The game almost directs you to create homebrews.

>>96437142
As far as I can tell from Page 6 (re Orders of action) and page 7 on the combat styles:

> For Traditional OpenD6 Combat:
Declaring your defence (dodge/parry/block) ahead of time counts as an action, thus the -1D penalty to extra actions will still apply to 2nd, 3rd actions declared etc.
You can choose NOT to declare defence early, BUT any defence declared as you get attacked (IE reactively), Gives you a -1D for a extra action ASWELL as a -1D for the reactive defence.
(Example: This round I just declare to shoot once. But then I get stabbed twice. My 1st reactive defence as a second action gets -2D, then a 2nd defence as a third action gets -4D)
Active dodge or Full dodge means you can't do any other actions that round.

> Fast Static Combat
defences aren't actions in Fast, you just get to choose what defence you want as the Target Number for the attacker, no multi action penalty or reactive penalty. So yes you can replace dodge with block or parry if its melee, but of course if its a ranged attack it has to be dodge.

I agree that it doesn't explain it well, and I regretfully refer you to "A few clarifications on combat" post on r/minisix where the co-author of minisix replies to questions on defence.

>>96430041
>What version do you consider the best?
The newest. That said it's not what you're looking for. If you are looking for a d6 system it's often about consistency, and SW is neither a d6 system nor consistent. Instead of boosting your stats like going from 10 strength to 11, it's about boosting your strength from d4 to d6. This results more often in skilled characters jobbing and the unskilled getting lucky. This is reinforced by the Acing system, where if you roll the highest value on the dice, you get to add that highest value and roll again until you stop hitting the max value. It's like the anti-d6 system in that regard.

>>96437421
I must have found an old document, because my page 6 and 7 are very different!
Thanks for the clarification.

>>96438346
Oooh. Yeah, that doesnt sounds what i want :/

>>96438938
Also: always use fast combat. Static defences are great.

>>96443811
I think that's the way I'd go, but I'd houserule it so that you could only use each defense once a round (especially if your attackers aren't standing right next to eachother), so if you block the first incoming attack you'll need to parry or dodge the second, etc.

I think that helps nerf potential defensive stat stacking, punish poor positioning, and reward good positioning and teamwork in combat. (Im just sick of my friend always optimizing the shit out of his AC in d&d 5e)

The Star Wars D6 system by West End Games is one of the greatest systems and easy to adapt to anything you want.

>>96443919
Ah, that's a misconception.
Dodge is (in D&D terms) your AC Vs ranged attacks. Parry is your AC Vs melee. Block is the same as Parry but for fistfights. They don't stack, you can't use more than one on an attack, etc.
Because static defences are slightly weak Vs equivalent skill attacks, there's not usually a need for "ganging up" rules.

>>96446115
Where is any of this explained lmao. I'm beginning to think (http://www.antipaladingames.com/2023/05/mini-six-bare-knuckle-edition-release.html?m=1) is not the right minisix?

That is some dumb naming though if you're not going to explain it, dodge is only vs range as if you couldn't duck under a swinging sword? Just call it ranged Defense, Melee Defense, Unarmed Defense... Or "evasion vs X" or something.

>>96448650
The naming comes from WEG's D6 books which the system is based on and makes more sense in that context, but it indeed is poorly written in Mini Six especially if the reader has no experience with WEG D6.

>>96428052 (OP)
Haven't had the chance to play it personally, but Barbarians of Lemuria seems like what you'd want

>>96428052 (OP)
There are two Traveller games that fit this description.
1. Sword of Cepheus - This is based on Cepheus Engine which in turn is based on Mongoose Traveller 1e. It's a decent rules set and it's low magic game. Once you get the hang of the dice mechanics, it's easy to convert modules for other systems to use it. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/493396/the-sword-of-cepheus-2nd-edition
2. 1520:HRE 2D6 Adventure in the Holy Roman Empire (Yes, all that is the title) is another Traveller based game. This one is a historical setting RPG with no fantasy elements at all set in the early Renaissance period. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397322/1520-hre-2d6-adventure-in-the-holy-roman-empire

Barons of Braunstein. The PDF costs few bucks. It is approved and licensed by David Wesely but does not really have too much in common with the old Braunstein games except themes and some vibes.

The system itself is simple 2d6 system about beating the target number depending on difficulty. It has simple freeform character creation. Characters' abilities are determined by a 25 word description rather than lists of skills and attributes, as well as by character's social class. Literacy is also potentially a big deal, illiterate adventurers compensate by being a bit more lucky. Only stat characters have is "Luck" which can be used to improve results of any roll and which acts as pseudo-health, it recovers after resting. Characters are typically killed or incapacitated from taking one nasty hit in combat, once their "luck runs out". NPCs are similarly simple and easy to craft on fly.
There are some pointers for running things like sieges and mass battles, but they are rather simple as well.
Mechanical advancement happens by increasing maximum luck, but characters improve mainly through the items they get, the wealth they acquire and the connections/status they achieve in the world.
There is an optional low magic that adheres to medieval times, where witches can conjure and command spirits. Religious rituals can grant temporary bonuses on GM's discretion, such as luck bonus portraying increased morale after making a large donation to the church.

As a downside, they game might be too simple and abstract, and description based character archetypes do require a table where players and GM can derive character's capabilities and limitations from them without too much arguing.

Makers of Barons of Braunstein, Olde House Rules, also have other simple and similarly dirt cheap D6 systems for fantasy, sword & sorcery/pulp scifi and horror.

The Year Zero Engine has a couple of game. It's a d6 dice pool game best suited to survival games but has successfully been modified for a lot of different themes. The two official Free League Press fantasy games are Forbidden Lands and Symbaroam. Forbidden Lands is a classic generic western fantasy with a focus on wilderness exploration, resource gathering and management, and base building. Symbaroam is a fantasy horror game inspired by Scandinavian folklore.
There are other YZE game made by third parties.you might want to explore as well. YZE tends to be a brutal system for combat intensive play.

Damn, a lot of games to check. Thanks everyone. This is very helpful.

>>96429520
>>96429681
NtA, but I didn't find GURPS to be that scary. I have several sb's in my offline cache (The Prisoner, the Autoduel trilogy, the Cyberpunk trilogy, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Lensman) & pair them with GURPS Ultra-Lite to understand some rules notation.
If you don't want to go in whole-game, I find the 'rules-lite' or quick-start rules to be helpful, & the GURPS sourcebooks can stand on their own when it comes to basic lore.

>>96451915
It is great. Works best for short campaigns though, going by the vanilla rules makes characters grow quite strong quickly due to +1 in attributes being a major addition and careers being very broad in skill checks. .

>>96448650
That is indeed the wrong place to look. You want the Bare Bones edition pdf from drive thru (it's free). BK edition is unfinished.
Teeeerrchnically you can use dodge in melee at a -5 but it's almost never useful to do so.

>>96428052 (OP)
Prowlers and Paragons

>>96453164
>Symbaroam is a fantasy horror game inspired by Scandinavian folklore.
Don't you mean Vaesen?

>>96428052 (OP)
Ventangle and Nechronica are my favorite d6 systems, but not what you're after

>>96465146
I definitely would count Symbaroum as horror too.

>>96430214
Same here. Mine uses a dice pool of no more than five and no less than two.
I also don't want the rules to make anyone who doesn't own a battlemat or want to deal with graph paper have to buy into those things, so I'm taking a page from Index Card RPG and suggesting they use playing cards or index cards to represent different locations and ranges during combat.

>>96451915
>>96462231

This. This i really really like. I will try it. Many thanks

>>96475116
There are also several spin-offs, including Dicey Tales (two-fisted pulp theme, like Indiana Jones) and Honor & Intrigue (swashbuckling theme, from pirates to musketeers). The BoL system is great for a wide variety of homebrew settings via Everywhen, too. It's very fun.