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A lot of roleplay on Massive revolves around some sort of contest between two or more participants. Often this is combat, but these contests can take the form of just about anything. To streamline the process of resolving these contests, @DrFong and I would like to present the beta version of the Dead Simple system.
The Dead Simple system (DS20) is an attempt to supply the simplest possible mechanism for resolving roleplay encounters with dice, while still taking into account player proficiencies. It is not intended to deliver realistic results, but rather, to deliver fun results while being as versatile and easy to learn as possible.
We're also not publishing this because we think people are roleplaying "wrong". There is no right or wrong way to roleplay! Instead, we think we have something with potential, and hope it will enhance the experience of those players who do wish to use it. Remember, because this is a player created system, not an official one, please make sure all participants agree to use it beforehand.
The Core MechanicDS20 uses only a single type of roll, hereafter called a Skill Roll.
A skill roll is made by rolling a d20 (accomplished in game with /roll 20), and adding a modifier equal to half of the roller's points in a particular proficiency (or rarely, half of a participant's physical stat). In either case, always round up to the nearest whole number.
In a scene, results are determined by comparing opposing rolls to each other. A higher roll beats a lower roll, with the treatment for ties being established prior to starting the scene. All implementations of the DS20 system involve a series of one or more opposed rolls, with the outcome of an action, or sometimes an entire scene, determined by whose roll beats whose.
Exactly which proficiency each player uses is dependent on what they're doing. Perhaps a chef is attacked in their own kitchen, but aha! With frying pan in hand, they're able to defend themselves with their expert handling of cooking equipment. Their attacker makes a Thin Blades skill roll, but the chef gets to roll a defense using their Culinary Arts skill.
A simple scene, such as sneaking past someone, might use only a single roll, with a rogue rolling their Stealth Rogue skill against a guard's Perception Training. A more involved encounter, such as combat or other prolonged competition, might require a participant to get certain number of successes to be declared a victor, and could involve many different rolls to reflect evolving tactics.
Because all rolls operate off of the same underlying mechanics, the DS20 allows for creative clashes between skillsets that might not otherwise be pitted against eachother.
Deciding on Skills
Because DS20 supports any skill being rolled against any other, using it in a scene does require a bit of initial discussion on what's appropriate. In general, a skill specifically suited for a purpose (such as Stealth Rogue for sneaking, or Medical Sciences for healing) should always be allowed. Other skills might require specific circumstances in order to be used for a scene. In a forest, for example, a trapper might be able to use their Hunting Knowledge skill, instead of Stealth Rogue, to remain undetected.
Some skills are almost never going to be appropriate for a certain use. However, an important part of the DS20 ethos is fun over realism, so when there's a dispute, try to be lenient on what skills are allowed. Don't be afraid of the absurd, or of losing. Roleplay is about mutual storytelling, and all participants should have fun, regardless of who "wins".
As a final note, because Physical Stat can go far higher than any single proficiency, rolls based on it should generally only be used for scenes where all participants are rolling with their Physical Stat. Examples of this include contests of raw strength, like arm wrestling or strongmen competitions.
Using the System in Roleplay
Because DS20 can be applied to many different situations, the specifics are going to depend a lot on the circumstances. Aside from the core system of comparing Skill Rolls, DS20 provides no hard-coded rules for any particular type of encounter. Our goal with DS20 is not to provide a strict framework for codifying roleplay, but instead to offer a versatile common system that interesting mechanics can easily be built from.
Here we have included, however, some examples of how one might utilize the DS20 system for some common scenes. These aren't meant as the only means of running these scenarios in DS20, and there are almost certainly better ways to do some of them (Fong and I aren't much for combat RP, for example, so we're certainly missing some important nuances).
It is our hope, however, that DS20 will be accessible enough that players will begin creating their own applications for whatever their roleplay scenarios might require. Remember, we're not proposing DS20 as a system everyone has to use. We want this to just be one more tool in the roleplayer's toolbox.
Combat
In a combat encounter between two people, we suggest taking turns as "attacker" and "defender". The attacker emotes their attack, followed by a roll. The defender rolls to defend, then, based on their result, emotes the success or failure of their attempt at defense. In this system, we suggest treating a tie as a point for the defender.
The roles then switch, attacker becoming defender, and the process repeats. A victor is declared when one player scores 3 points. Exactly what a victory entails will probably depend on how many of the points came from successfully defending, and how many from successfully attacking. If a player wins through 2 or more successful defenses, perhaps their opponent is merely exhausted and keels over (or is forced to flee). If a victory comes through 2 or more successful attacks, perhaps the loser is gravely wounded and can no longer fight.
Attack rolls will generally use combat skills (with the exception of Shielding), and defense rolls will generally use Shielding or Athletic Training (for blocking or dodging, respectively). Other skills might be appropriate under certain circumstances. A particularly graceful fighter might defend with their Dance Arts skill, while a poor miner might attack with a pick using their Labour Training skill. As a rule, no skill should be used for both attack and defense by a single combatant.
In a combat encounter between two people, we suggest taking turns as "attacker" and "defender". The attacker emotes their attack, followed by a roll. The defender rolls to defend, then, based on their result, emotes the success or failure of their attempt at defense. In this system, we suggest treating a tie as a point for the defender.
The roles then switch, attacker becoming defender, and the process repeats. A victor is declared when one player scores 3 points. Exactly what a victory entails will probably depend on how many of the points came from successfully defending, and how many from successfully attacking. If a player wins through 2 or more successful defenses, perhaps their opponent is merely exhausted and keels over (or is forced to flee). If a victory comes through 2 or more successful attacks, perhaps the loser is gravely wounded and can no longer fight.
Attack rolls will generally use combat skills (with the exception of Shielding), and defense rolls will generally use Shielding or Athletic Training (for blocking or dodging, respectively). Other skills might be appropriate under certain circumstances. A particularly graceful fighter might defend with their Dance Arts skill, while a poor miner might attack with a pick using their Labour Training skill. As a rule, no skill should be used for both attack and defense by a single combatant.
First Aid
Particularly grievous wounds might be difficult to patch up. A doctor can roll their Medical Sciences against the roll which inflicted the wounds (for example, if someone was stabbed by a thief, the doctor compares their Medical Sciences roll to the roll which resulted in the successful stab). If you don't know the roll which inflicted the wound, you can assume a roll of 10 + half the attacker's proficiency. In instances of wounds that aren't inflicted by other players (such as through accidents or natural hazards), simply treat the opposing roll as 15, adjusting up or down for severity as you see fit. For First Aid, we suggest treating tied rolls as a success for the healer.
If the wound only needs to be sewn back up, a tailor might be able to use their Threads Arts skill instead of Medical Sciences. If you can't find a professional healer, a local farmer might know enough about caring for their livestock to patch you up with Anima Care Sciences.
Particularly grievous wounds might be difficult to patch up. A doctor can roll their Medical Sciences against the roll which inflicted the wounds (for example, if someone was stabbed by a thief, the doctor compares their Medical Sciences roll to the roll which resulted in the successful stab). If you don't know the roll which inflicted the wound, you can assume a roll of 10 + half the attacker's proficiency. In instances of wounds that aren't inflicted by other players (such as through accidents or natural hazards), simply treat the opposing roll as 15, adjusting up or down for severity as you see fit. For First Aid, we suggest treating tied rolls as a success for the healer.
If the wound only needs to be sewn back up, a tailor might be able to use their Threads Arts skill instead of Medical Sciences. If you can't find a professional healer, a local farmer might know enough about caring for their livestock to patch you up with Anima Care Sciences.
Sneaking
Basic sneaking past someone is fairly straightforward. Simply roll your Stealth Rogue skill against a potential observer's Perception Training skill. If trying to sneak past multiple people, instead of each observer rolling separately (as this would give them many more chances for success), you may want to have them roll only one die, with each observer determining their result by adding their modifier to this single die roll. An observer whose roll is a success can see the rogue, while those that fail can't spot them. Ties should generally go to one sneaking.
While Stealth Rogue skill should always be appropriate for sneaking, in certain environments, other skills might be used. While in a forest, Hunting Knowledge might be an appropriate substitute. If someone is trying to blend in to a crowd, they might instead use Theatre Arts to pass themself off as an inconspicuous peasant.
Basic sneaking past someone is fairly straightforward. Simply roll your Stealth Rogue skill against a potential observer's Perception Training skill. If trying to sneak past multiple people, instead of each observer rolling separately (as this would give them many more chances for success), you may want to have them roll only one die, with each observer determining their result by adding their modifier to this single die roll. An observer whose roll is a success can see the rogue, while those that fail can't spot them. Ties should generally go to one sneaking.
While Stealth Rogue skill should always be appropriate for sneaking, in certain environments, other skills might be used. While in a forest, Hunting Knowledge might be an appropriate substitute. If someone is trying to blend in to a crowd, they might instead use Theatre Arts to pass themself off as an inconspicuous peasant.
Arm Wrestling
Arm Wrestling, as a competition of strength, is a scenario where Physical Stat rolls are appropriate. A single match can be as simple as a set of opposed Physical Stat rolls, treating ties as a stalemate.
To make things more interesting, you could treat a losing roll 15 points or more below the winning roll as an injury.
Arm Wrestling, as a competition of strength, is a scenario where Physical Stat rolls are appropriate. A single match can be as simple as a set of opposed Physical Stat rolls, treating ties as a stalemate.
To make things more interesting, you could treat a losing roll 15 points or more below the winning roll as an injury.
Creating your own Implementations
Hopefully the above examples should give you ideas about how to implement the DS20 system in your roleplay, but there are a few specific points you may want to keep in mind when designing something new.
- Prioritize fun results over strictly realistic ones. DS20 is not intended to simulate real life, but to create dynamic and exciting stories.
- Prioritize simplicity over complexity. The simpler the system, the more time you have to devote to emotes and dialogue. Any mechanic should add enough to the experience that it outweights the cost of slowing the scene down.
- Give participants chances to be creative. Even if a particular choice of skill might seem a little absurd, it's better to allow it and let the dice decide.
- Think about how long you want your scene to be. A long event like a baking contest might involve many rolls over its course, whereas something as simple as trying to pass off a forgery will likely need only a single set of opposed rolls.
- Always include a rule for dealing with ties. In general, a tie should go to whoever's success results in the most positive aspect for all players.
- For example, in combat rolls, a tie should go to the defending player, as a successful defense means no one is harmed, but a successful attack means the defending player is harmed. Sometimes, (such as with the Arm Wrestling example) a tie should be an actual stalemate. If you're not sure how to treat a tie, you should probably just declare that a tie results in a reroll.
Corner Cases
While DS20 is designed to be a "universal" system, on Massive, there are few mechanics that are truly universal. As such, there are times where DS20 falls short. Here are some guidelines for dealing with a few of those situations that we can immediately think of.
Sorcery
Certain proficiencies, like Sorcery, require a slightly different approach. We suggest using half the number of points invested in a particular sorcery school as the roll modifier for things involving magic.
For example, someone with 12 points in Elemental Sorcery (3 spells) would use +6 as their modifier for rolls involving Elemental spells.
A character particularly devoted to magic, however might instead use their total number of points across *all* schools to determine the modifier for magic related rolls. As always, this will require some discussion beforehand. Err on the side of leniency to speed up the process.
Existing Dice Roll and Counter Mechanics
If an ability already has some sort of dice rolling mechanic spelled out (such as ranged combat rolls), it's best to use either DS20 system or the ability's built-in roll for the duration of the scene. Mixing systems with different underlying math is only going to complicate things.
The same is true for abilities with hard counters. The Stealth Rogue skill, for example, has a perception threshold below which you are entirely undetectable. If one wants to use these mechanics for a scene, it's best to not try to use the DS20 system on top of it. Conversely, if all participants would prefer to try the DS20 system, then these counter mechanics should be disregarded for the duration of the scene
Abilities that don't use the Proficiency System
Some abilities, such as Vampire Bloodline mutations, don't depend directly on proficiency. For scenes involving these abilities, it may be better not to use the DS20 system. If DS20 proves to be popular, we may try to develop further guidelines for integrating these abilities into the DS20 system.
Certain proficiencies, like Sorcery, require a slightly different approach. We suggest using half the number of points invested in a particular sorcery school as the roll modifier for things involving magic.
For example, someone with 12 points in Elemental Sorcery (3 spells) would use +6 as their modifier for rolls involving Elemental spells.
A character particularly devoted to magic, however might instead use their total number of points across *all* schools to determine the modifier for magic related rolls. As always, this will require some discussion beforehand. Err on the side of leniency to speed up the process.
Existing Dice Roll and Counter Mechanics
If an ability already has some sort of dice rolling mechanic spelled out (such as ranged combat rolls), it's best to use either DS20 system or the ability's built-in roll for the duration of the scene. Mixing systems with different underlying math is only going to complicate things.
The same is true for abilities with hard counters. The Stealth Rogue skill, for example, has a perception threshold below which you are entirely undetectable. If one wants to use these mechanics for a scene, it's best to not try to use the DS20 system on top of it. Conversely, if all participants would prefer to try the DS20 system, then these counter mechanics should be disregarded for the duration of the scene
Abilities that don't use the Proficiency System
Some abilities, such as Vampire Bloodline mutations, don't depend directly on proficiency. For scenes involving these abilities, it may be better not to use the DS20 system. If DS20 proves to be popular, we may try to develop further guidelines for integrating these abilities into the DS20 system.
In Closing
This is an ongoing effort, not a finished product. We're eager to hear what you think about it, and how it might be improved.
Do you think you'd use the DS20 system? Is there anything you think is unclear, or needlessly complicated?
Do you have any ideas for your own applications of the system?
Please, tell us what you think! Especially if you've actually given it a try. Actual playtesting is the most useful feedback!
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