Good ideas there. I also write wargames and RPG rules - simple usually works best and players can quickly work out which character is good at what and how difficult tasks are.
This actually kind of reminds me of Soulbound - the Age of Sigmar RPG does that with the three stats.
This is certainly an excellent gateway drug, though you might want to introduce one ability based on class/background mapping to classes. Could be fun.
You should look at DP9's Silhouette system - classless, deals with modifiers not raw scores, etc. It does a lot of what you've talked about here (and its not the only one - tons of simple (including waaaaaaaaaaaay simpler) RPG systems have been developed over the last 40 years).
There's also things like the Storyteller system used in Vampire: The Masquerade. Its 'narrative' focused, not 'simulationist' focused - broad rules to cover general concepts and not the detailed 'rule for everything' that DnD 2nd (or Traveller) go for.
And there are even 'rule-less' RPG systems - strictly narrative, no crunch.
DnD 5th is also substantially streamlined compared to its predecessors.
"Each of these abilities is on a natural scale of 3 to 18, the sum of the results of three six-sided dice,"
That has not been the case since 2nd edition. 3rd edition and later went to a point buy systems where '10' is the middle and you can buy higher (or lower) scores with an allocation of character creation points. Scores can go down as far as 1 (a '0' score in any attribute generally means 'you're dead') and there's technically no upper limit on the scores anymore - though limited creation points and rules on bonus stacking do put a limit it can be in the mid-20's. So no more bell curve.
"Our first simplification will be to trash all this bell curve crap and just use the modifier as the score."
Which they did, effectively, starting at 3rd edition;) Sure, the vestigial traces of the old system are there but no one pays any attention to the number itself but the bonus you get from the number.
Oh, I see you have written an article for my nephews... :D
Any thoughts on how to integrate a 4 year old in with an 8 and 11 year old, though? Just have the older kids play the "lower complexity" ruleset?
Also, "Fifth Edition". *headshake*
Ya makin' me feel old, mate!
what is '1d4' and '1d6' etc?
Good ideas there. I also write wargames and RPG rules - simple usually works best and players can quickly work out which character is good at what and how difficult tasks are.
When I was a kid I used to write wargame rules. I always thought most wargame rulesets were over-complex.
This actually kind of reminds me of Soulbound - the Age of Sigmar RPG does that with the three stats.
This is certainly an excellent gateway drug, though you might want to introduce one ability based on class/background mapping to classes. Could be fun.
You should look at DP9's Silhouette system - classless, deals with modifiers not raw scores, etc. It does a lot of what you've talked about here (and its not the only one - tons of simple (including waaaaaaaaaaaay simpler) RPG systems have been developed over the last 40 years).
There's also things like the Storyteller system used in Vampire: The Masquerade. Its 'narrative' focused, not 'simulationist' focused - broad rules to cover general concepts and not the detailed 'rule for everything' that DnD 2nd (or Traveller) go for.
And there are even 'rule-less' RPG systems - strictly narrative, no crunch.
DnD 5th is also substantially streamlined compared to its predecessors.
"Each of these abilities is on a natural scale of 3 to 18, the sum of the results of three six-sided dice,"
That has not been the case since 2nd edition. 3rd edition and later went to a point buy systems where '10' is the middle and you can buy higher (or lower) scores with an allocation of character creation points. Scores can go down as far as 1 (a '0' score in any attribute generally means 'you're dead') and there's technically no upper limit on the scores anymore - though limited creation points and rules on bonus stacking do put a limit it can be in the mid-20's. So no more bell curve.
"Our first simplification will be to trash all this bell curve crap and just use the modifier as the score."
Which they did, effectively, starting at 3rd edition;) Sure, the vestigial traces of the old system are there but no one pays any attention to the number itself but the bonus you get from the number.
Like it!
Very nice