The core of Alpha is the use of a totally unoriginal dice mechanic, namely “roll 2 dice, add them together, aim to roll high”. This is a time-honoured approach and chosen for one very specific reason: I want beginners to be able to grasp the rules quickly and easily.
My reasoning goes like this… Six-sided dice are the usual kind that most households have somewhere, even if you have to steal them from a copy of Monopoly or some similiar game. Only needing a pair makes it reasonable for a new player to at least get started with our rules.
The basic “roll 2d6 and score high” is augmented by two basic modifiers, namely an Attribute bonus and a Skill bonus. Again, there is nothing new here for the experience roleplayer. In fact, this entire core mechanic is inspired from the earliest games I played way back in the late-70′s. I hope that the flavour of Alpha will not flow from this core rule, but rather from the other stuff that surrounds it, such as how we do experience or other details like magick. Actually, in the long run, I don’t expect the game to be massively innovative – just emminently playable and a lot of fun.
I think in the past we have said D6 dice would work best – as you mentioned – ease of access, and better for beginners.
THe only problem I see with 2D6, is the spread of options after the dice are rolled – as the heroes climb the greasy ladder of skill points, how many sessions will the heroes have, before items get too easy to roll for?
3D6 gives a better spread – but seems to run too close to the Juggernaut that is D&D, and 4D6 becomes a lesson in maths!
With the 2D6 roll, how do you think the game will flow, when working out whether a action succeeds? will it make the game too quick, and not durable enough, or will the rules set allow character growth, without making any skill check too easy after a few advancements?
Ian
The choice of 2d6 is mostly with ease of play in mind. Admittedly, 3d6 gives a better bell-curve, but 2d6 still beats 1d20 for the curve PLUS it’s only two dice to add up.
The question of progression is more complex. In short, I feel that most RPGs offers too quick a progression. In most games, a few minutes combat over a handful of days can take a character from fumbling idiot to marksman. This is, plainly, not very believable. It’s actually a strategy to allow those of us who like to power-up to get our fix.
I think Alpha will have a slower progression. What is more important, in my mind, is that characters develop through the stories we create. In short, I want less focus on skill points or attribute growth; instead, I would emphasise story development. Experience will allow the player to either save up for the big but rare upgrade… or spend it in any given tough situation to gain a temporary edge. Also, I want to introduce atrophy for skills and abilities that are not tested over a period of time. Right now, I don’t have the details about experience on paper… so I am open to influence and suggestions.
Coming back to the dice… 2d6 works for me. I believe it’ll work for new roleplayers. I think it’s simple enough. Another point is that it’ll keep the focus on the character’s skills rather than the randomness of the dice, unlike the d20 system.