evolution of my game idea

Submitted by John Lennon on Sun, 2007-07-01 03:06. Design

I have decided for the time being that when I do the character class/abilities I will follow Aaran "Relentless96" White's advice and use the same progression as I used for my tables: d4,d6,d8,d10,d12.

My main decisions on this next is target numbers. I am of two minds.Either I could say that the d12 is the strongest and roll high.That could make combat resolution easy.Subtract low from high and the difference is damage comes to mind.That would make lvl V d12 characters powerful.The other way is to make the d4 the strongest and roll low.As you make your way from d12 down, you remove chances for your failure and increase your odds of success.

Here also is a brief exploration of "content dice" also suggested to me by Aaran. If I explore this direction too much further,I will definitely not be able to keep the game to a page, but then I might keep my one page game idea and use it for the core of a related game using these kinds of extra tables.

The Dungeon Table
-Start by rolling 1d4
1 Entrance/Way Out (rest,move on,move up or down 1 level)
2 Passage Way (rest,move on, find the Way Out)
3 Room (rest,move on,encounter? other actions?)
4 Monster I easiest,low xp (fight,run or sneak,win the fight? gain xp rest, move on)
-lvl I 1d4
5 Trap (disarm or take damage,successfully disarm? gain xp,rest,move on)
6 Monster II standard monster (fight,run or sneak,win the fight? gain xp or common treasure, rest, move on)
- lvl II 1d6
7 Treasure (trap,guard monster or encounter? search for treasure,rest,move on)
8 No Way Out I (roll 2d4,roll 2 and return to your lvl die)
- lvl III 1d8
9 Boss! Hard monster, big reward
10 Teleport! Choose any room 1-10
-lvl IV 1d10
11 No Way Out II (roll 2d6 roll 2 and return to your lvl die)
12 Goal! (What is a good Goal? Obviously it can't be the Amulet of Yendor.)
-lvl V 1d12

Roll 2 Passage Way
1 Passage Way,Actions rest move on find the Way Out
2 Door to a Room,Actions Go To Room rest move on
3 Monster I is coming! Actions roll to notice hide run/move on rest+fight wait+fight
4 Monster I is here!
-d4
5 Trap, Actions take damage or disarm after that move on
6 Monster II is coming! Actions roll to notice hide run rest,fight wait,fight
-d6
7 Secret Door, Actions roll to notice/open success? Go to Door to A Room Fail? rest move on
8 Monster II is here!
-d8
9 Boss is coming!
10 Teleportation Trap roll to notice/avoid Fail or volluntarily enter roll 1d10,your are on lvl IV otherwise move on
-d10
11 Trapped Door I -a Door to a Room,but it is also Trapped!
12 Boss is here!

Roll 3 Room
1 empty actions rest move on
2 empty actions rest move on
3 empty actions rest move on
4 Monster I
-d4
5 Monster I
6 Secret Door Actions roll to notice/open success? Go to Door to A Room Fail? rest move on
-d6
7 Treasure
8 Trap
-d8
9 Monster II
10 Monster I and can't run
-d10
11 Secret Door, Actions roll to notice/open success? Go to Door to A Room Fail? rest move on
12 Sleeping Dragon Actions sneak,search for treasure,run (Don't wake the Dragon!)
-d12

Roll 7 Treasure
1 coins = 1d4
2 coins = 1d6
3 coins = 1d8
4 magic item
-d4
5 Guard Monster I and magic item
6 Trap and magic item
-d6
7 coins = 2d4
8 coins = 2d6
-d8
9 Teleportation!
10 Trap and Teleportation if you disarm the trap
-d10
11 Guard Monster II and magic item
12 Trap,if you disarm the trap you have reached the Goal!
-d12

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This is all looking very good

Submitted by ErrinF on Mon, 2007-07-02 17:24.

Your game seems to be proceeding nicely. If I may, here are a few things to keep in mind when making a one page RPG:

Do you want your one pager to be one-sided or two-sided? A one-sided one page RPG has one page in pdf form that is printed out on a piece of paper where you leave one side blank. A two-sided one page RPG has two pages in pdf form that are printed out with one pdf page on one side of the piece of paper, and the other pdf page printed out on the other side of the same piece of paper. Hence, the one page RPG.

Is your one pager going to be a character sheet RPG as well? A character sheet rpg is a roleplaying game that functions as it's own character sheet. As such, a character sheet RPG needs a section or sections wherein the player writes down all the pertinent info. If your one pager is not going to be a character sheet as well, then it does not need such sections.

Besides the main design of the game rules, you'll also have to factor in the design of the pdf file that will be the game. You can even include artwork if you have the space. Here is a link to my blog which names all the one page submissions for the 2007 challenge. If you like, you can check out the submissions for all the various ways to design a pdf for a one page RPG. Good luck!

Peace, Errin : )

http://www.1km1kt.net/Errin-Famiglia.htm

Adventuria Online RPG

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Yea Its Proceeding Nicely, Too Nicely

Submitted by John Lennon on Mon, 2007-07-02 17:54.

OK so I think I have like every 1 page rpg submission that ever made it downloaded,thank you. I've got more and more tables and level progression and what not now of my own too that I'm not sure how I'll get it all to fit on 1 page. I'm thinking I might do a two page or two part game of two one page games the DM/Solo game where I do the random dungeon and another game sheet where I do the character sheet game.

Whatever I do I want to have it done in 1 week or so.
Your encouragement helps.

-John Lennon

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No problem if this ends up not being a one page RPG

Submitted by ErrinF on Tue, 2007-07-03 05:19.

If this game ends up being more than a one pager, it's still a cool concept. Wouldn't be the first time a game maker started with a one page concept that expanded into more pages... sometimes you've got to let the game be what it is. If this game turns out to not be a one pager due to it's size, so be it... you can still make the game, then go back to the drawing board for another go at making a one pager.

Peace, Errin : )

http://www.1km1kt.net/Errin-Famiglia.htm

Adventuria Online RPG

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I think it is going to expand

Submitted by John Lennon on Tue, 2007-07-03 13:34.

You know,I really like the modular design of some of the new 1 pagers and Adventuria (I lost time on that yesterday, it is fun!),I think I am going to wind up with connecting game sheets. I've actually got more than I've posted,It is just a matter of fitting the pieces together and trimming away what is not essential.Btw, sorry it wasn't finished yesterday,but I got my review and play testing of THE CREATURE OF MURKY COUNTY RPG done and inside a book I Play Games! thanks to your help.

-John Lennon

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That's kind of where I'm at with Adventuria

Submitted by ErrinF on Tue, 2007-07-03 17:42.

That is, expanding the one page format to other, more modular uses. In a way, Adventuria is just a chain of one page RPGs. If a person wanted to, they could spend their entire Adventuria game on one page. Interestingly enough, I have pages for Adventuria that match some of my past 1 pagers. For instance, you can go to The Terror Tract in Adventuria to have an experience not unlike my one pager Terror Town RPG. You may even find it amusing that I will have The Boggy Creek in Adventuria which will basically try to duplicate a creature hunt a la The Creature of Murky County RPG.

By all means, go the modular route with 'Dungeoneers'. I look forward to playtesting it when it's done.

Peace, Errin : )

http://www.1km1kt.net/Errin-Famiglia.htm

Adventuria Online RPG

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Hell yeah!

Submitted by Evil1 on Mon, 2007-07-02 00:59.

This looks very good. i am not much of a fantasy guy, i prefer modern/future games myself, but the game looks good

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Fuel I'm looking for thank you

Submitted by John Lennon on Mon, 2007-07-02 01:23.

Every time I get a positive response I am driven to keep going,so thank you! Btw,I think I have a working title: "Dungeoneers" What do you think?

-John Lennon

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To roll high or roll low?

Submitted by Relentless96 on Sun, 2007-07-01 03:23.

Its interesting to note that many RPG's that have a roll low mechanic later move to a roll high mechanic (BESM). I don't think this is because one is inherently better than the other, it just makes sense that a high number is better than a low number.
On the other hand, a roll low is perfect for solitaire adventures, as it allows a very strict control on the probability of a task. In the case of your dice progression though, this might affect things when a player with a D4 tries to roll under 6 (automatic).

I probably haven't given you a straight answer to your question, but hopefully it helps you decide.

http://www.1km1kt.net/Aaron-White.htm

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Roll high in my dungeon

Submitted by John Lennon on Sun, 2007-07-01 14:52.

I have decided on Roll High, in a solo game this might be roll over an unchanging number,if you have two players, one can DM and roll for the monsters. For combat subtract the low roll from the high roll and re-roll ties.Example: A rolls 5,B rolls 4.A does 1 point of damage to B.This allows to hit and damage to be resolved gracefully in the same roll.
Ability levels run the same progression line as the dungeon: d4,d6,d8,d10,d12. The character stats I am considering are Might,Magic and Mettle.Hit points are equal to Might + mettle. Might is your prowess in combat,Magic is your brains,skillfulness and power,Mettle is your endurance and ability to survive.Characters will need to fight/flee,search,untrap and perform other actions.Use Might for combat,including with spells,use Magic to spot/search/disarm a trap,use Mettle to flee,avoid damage and otherwise survive. Going this route some common level I characters might look something like this:

Mage I
Might d6
Magic d8
Mettle d4
HP 10

Fighter I
Might d8
Magic d4
Mettle d6
HP 14

Thief I
Might d4
Magic d8
Mettle d6
HP10
and the monsters they fight might look like this:

Monster I roll 4 on the dugeon table
Might d4
Mettle d4
Magic d4
HP 4-8

Monster II roll 6 on the dungeon table
Might d6
Mettle d6
Magic d4
HP 6-10

Boss Roll 9 on the dungeon table
Might d12
Magic d8
Mettle d12
HP 24

I am not sure how to make character improvement work yet aside from that they will move from smaller to larger dice and I want to tie it into the old xp thing.While as I don't normally do class and level for role playing games, for this game I probably will.But,then this is more of a roll playing game.
Thank you for your coments,advice and encouraging me to finish this project.

-John Lennon

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Character Class and Level Proggression

Submitted by John Lennon on Mon, 2007-07-02 01:30.

This is just a rough idea of how I might "Level Up" the Character classes from my other entry and another step towards project completion.I haven't worked out the XP cost of each level,because I don't have assigned how much XP different monsters and successful actions are worth yet.

Mage I II III IV V
Might d6 d8 d10 d12 d12
Magic d8 d10 d12 d12 2d6
Mettle d4 d6 d8 d10 d12
HP 10 14 18 22 24

Fighter I II III IV V
Might d8 d10 d12 d12 2d6
Magic d4 d6 d8 d10 d12
Mettle d6 d8 d10 d12 d12
HP 14 18 22 24 24

Thief I II III IV V
Might d4 d6 d8 d10 d12
Magic d8 d10 d12 d12 d12
Mettle d6 d8 d10 d12 2d6
HP 10 14 18 22 24

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