WE BUILT THIS GAMING…
Board gamers make a big deal about theme. Those who care judge
games by much the game’s mechanics reflect and deepen the theme. If there’s a
disconnect then the theme’s “pasted on.” It’s one of the foundations of the Eurogame/Ameritrash
divide. Board games of the former thinly apply theme. If you scrubbed it off,
you’d have essentially the same game experience. The latter sacrifices
playability in order to have shiny chrome that replicates the subject matter.
So on the one hand we have the excellent Azul, a game about tile-laying artists
in classical Portugal. It’s a beautiful game with amazing components that
reflect the source material. The theme’s easily forgotten, especially in the
amazing play. On the other hand you have the Fallout Board Game. It’s a big, messy release from Fantasy Flight
with tiles, figures, and artwork taken straight from the video game. It
simulates Fallout—many of the most
important systems carry through (gangs, missions, the SPECIAL perks). But that
comes at the expense of play. It’s super random. At the beginning you suck and
will get killed. Repeatedly. You could spend hours trying to build up your
character and end up with 1 VP. Fun’s sacrificed at the altar of
verisimilitude.
I’m wondering if the same structures apply to rpgs. Games
like Dungeon World have a deep theme:
it wants to simulate the classic D&D experience. It does that well, but
when gamers hack it more broadly they have to work past baked-in default
assumptions. On the other hand, you have thin reskins, like Rolemaster’s series of genre books which
tried to overlay Modern, Samurai, Wild West, and more atop the most kludge
fantasy game out there.
I mention this because today’s list has worn me out. Sometimes
I’ll play a board game and I can tell the designer started with a mechanic. They
love that mechanic; they built everything around that. The game’s
architecture’s rests on that foundation. If it’s a simple thing, like Red7, then it’s awesome and stable. But
if it’s a more convoluted teetering edifice (Euphoria) then my eye glaze over
at the inevitable collapse. In reading through and translating many of the core
mechanics from these games my eyes glazed over. Repeatedly.
…ON MULTIPLE GRANULAR ROLLS
I only include core books here. I’m also only listing books
with a physical edition. I might include an electronic release if they’re
notable and of significant size. At the end you’ll see some miscellaneous
entries, covering borderline or similar cases. Some selections came down to a
judgement call. I’m sure I missed some releases. If you spot something
Universal I missed from 2012-2013, leave a note in the comments.
History of Universal RPGs (Part Eight: 2014-2015)
1. 6d6 Core (2014)
One of several games on this list released in a Creative Commons
format. 6d6’s characters have a mix of
"advantages". Each covers an area and has both a die value (1d6+X) and
a character point rating. When players attempt an action they assemble dice from
applicable advantages. Static and dynamic potentials (represented by markers) limit
how many advantages they can apply. Finally the player compares the die roll plus
mod total to a difficulty number. It reminds me of Lady Blackbird's compiling of traits, but with a lot of extra crunch.
6d6 has added complexity
in combat and other situations where players may not have all their potential ready.
It offers interesting tricks about shifting tokens between states to allow actions.
I’m struck by the cascade of terminology for different advantages. They don't seem
to impact play heavily, but instead categorize concepts. I understand the impulse
to have a cool, encyclopedic approach, but it clutters the field.
You can see the online version of 6d6 here. There's a pdf and PoD version. The
layout's clean, but the three column design makes it harder to follow, especially
given the white space. The art's cc-sourced and doesn't add much to the book.
2. D6xD6 Role-Playing Game (2014)
A note to publishers using DTRPG: you get to choose what pages
of your game appear in the preview pdf. Make that choice carefully. Show us what
the game does, give us a sense of the contents, and put your killer tech forward.
Game fiction, dedications, explanation of how the game came to be-- they're less
useful to someone considering the game. It's a small thing, but I'm constantly surprised
by how many games have previews without real info.
Lester Smith, an industry veteran of GDW and TSR fame, created
D6xD6. The titular dice refer to the basic
roll of the game, generating results from 1-36. Character have a focus number for their abilities. If they
have experience with the task, they have to roll higher than that number. If they're
inexperienced or rusty with it, they have to roll below. Better rolls generate additional
success levels. More difficult tasks subtract from the higher of the two dice rolled.
Characters themselves have four attributes (Brawn, Grace, Will,
and Wits) and focus number. Players choose one attribute to be focused in, one to
be weak, and the other two are neither good nor bad. They select a
setting-appropriate occupation and up to nine skills based on that. Their focus
number equals the number of skills chosen; broader experience makes you less good
in any single one. That's complemented by three skills you're rusty in.
Overall it's a good, intuitive, and easy to get rolling universal
system. You can see an online version at the d6xd6 site. The basic book includes seven settings, while the
expanded version includes 26. Most of those individual settings plus others can
be bought seperately as well. They're each 6 pages, so if you like reading quick
new campaign premises, they're worth checking out.
3. Entropic Gaming System (2014)
Entropic seems straight-forward
with the usual system suspects appearing. Attributes and skills have a die type
(ala Savage Worlds). Higher rolls are better, with a default difficulty of
7. Entropic has a couple of interesting
mechanical bits. For example doubles on successes are criticals, attacks do fixed
damage, and players get three actions in combat. The Stat-Skill-Talents design
triangle appears with qualities covering good and bad stuff (i.e. edges, hindrances,
advantages, disads, etc). Overall Entropic
feels very close to Savage Worlds.
That's not entirely surprising given the publisher's history of SW supplements.
They've supported the Entropic line with
a couple of setting books and some more general sourcebooks.
4. Insight RPG System (2014)
Insight leans towards a trad approach universal gaming. The
crunch spills forth: hit locations, split damage tracks for physical and mental
damage, weapon tables with nine dimensions, multiple damage types (pierce, slash,
bludgeon), values for senses, advanced skill combinations, cross-reference tables
to success vs. difficulty. Insight
has an base mechanic interesting: each of your six main stats offers a number of
dice. Skills connect to those, so when you make a check you roll that many d10's.
Those skills are rated as Unknown, Basic, Known, Trained or Specialized. That determines
the number you need to roll on your each stat die for a success. Difficulty modifiers
can increase or decrease that range.
It's definitely a game with detail in mind. It feels like fusion
of GURPS, Storyteller, and d20 aesthetics.
The base book includes a sample setting and rules for magic. The company's Norwegian,
but the rules offer clear English. It's cleanly presented, but aims for a depth
that I'm less into now. If you dig things like d20 Modern or CORPS it might be worth checking out. The designer has
a fantasy adaptation available for free on DTRPG with the encouragement to purchase
if you like it. They've also released a Age
of Sail and Wild West supplements.
5. OneDice Universal (2014)
We can spot some patterns with generic systems. One the one
hand publishers first release a genre game with a new system (Champions, Numenera, M&M). The
system does well and players start hacking it and sharing fan supplements. So
they develop a generic version (HERO System,
Cypher, True20). On the other hand we have “from-the-ground up” universals (Forthright, Forge Engine). Cakebread
& Walton’s OneDice takes another path;
while the company released a series of complete genre-specific rpgs, they've also
released this one usable for all settings. And they've continued to do that up to
the present.
OneDice describes characters
simply: three or four stats with six points distributed among them. Figured stats
derive from those. Skills and other packages round that out. As you might
guess, the system uses a single dice for resolution. Roll and add the appropriate
attribute + skill against a difficulty set by the GM. OneDice is the epitome of pick up & play rpgs. Cakebread & Walton
have supported the line generously. I sometimes complain about repeated rules
across games, but given the simplicity of the mechanics that’s less of an issue.
6. P.E.R.K. (2014)
aka The Pretty Easy Roleplaying
Kit. PERK uses a d6 dice pool system: roll those against a difficulty (4 is
default) and count those that match or beat the TN. You need one success, but the
difficulty of the action determines how many positive dice results you need to get
a success. Extras successes can raise the action’s final effect. PERK makes their
explanation of this more complicated than it has to be- with "success"
on individual dice confused with overall "successes" needed.
A word on d6 dice pool
systems: I've been running Mutant: Year Zero (and its offspring) for a long time
now. It uses a d6 pool system. In those you only need a single “6” for success.
You'd be amazed at how many times people fail, even with a metric shit-tonne of
dice. PERK’s target number of 4 seems like a merciful approach.
PERK characters have basic dice pools (Action, Defense, Strength,
Stamina, Focus) with others possible. That's supplemented by PERKs-- race, role,
classes, as well as talent, gear, and skills. The company only released a single
supplement: P.E.R.K. Urban Horror, though
Dire Ninja Media also promised a dark urban fantasy game called Underlife. That game (and the novel based
on it) doesn't seem to have materialized. The system's still available, but their
webpage hasn't updated since late 2016.
7. Storium (2014)
I’ve written this whole list and put off this entry until the
very end. That’s because I have a confession. See I backed Storium during its Kickstarter. It had a great pitch: online,
collaborative, text-based roleplaying with content developed by an amazing
array of authors. It would provide evolving tools to support that play. A
central hub, clever organization of material, notifications. It would be
awesome and it would truly be universal.
But I’ve never actually played it. I don’t know why I feel
ashamed about that. I have plenty of rpg projects I’ve backed that I haven’t
got to the table. I have plenty I’m certain I’ll never get to the table. But Storium sounds so cool. And it might be
a way for me to overcome my dislike of play by post games. I’ve tried them and
there’s something about the medium that kills me. Even when we’re creating a
cool story, I can’t bring myself I write responses. I don’t know what it is.
Storium’s gotten a ton of positive word of mouth—and you can try it for free. But I know it’s
dropped off the map for many of its earliest and most enthusiastic advocates.
When I’ve talked to folks about their experiences, they describe a trail of
dead and half-finished games. OOH that’s how I’ve heard PbP games described in
general…
8. Zettel-RPG (2014)
A short, saddle-stapled German rpg. RPGGeek lists it as part
of Gratisrollenspieltag (aka German Free RPG Day). The Geek makes this great comment
about the game, "Jens Stengel's photographs of everything from dice to walnut
shells provide a refreshingly unorthodox backdrop."
9. CdB Engine (2015)
CdB apparently stands for Cacería de Bichos, which I’ve seen
translated as Bug Hunt, Bitter Hunt, and Bite Hunting. It’s a massive Spanish-language
universal rpg split into three volumes: Manual
del Jugador (300 pages), Manual del Director
de Juego (288 pages), and Manual de Equipo
y Vehiculos (336 pages). That last book may hold the record for a game-associated
equipment supplement. CbB’s blurb describes it as "hard, realistic and considerably
tactical." That makes me suspect it might not be for me. The same rules also
power the game Walküre, a transhumanist
alternate-reality rpg.
It looks like the company has supported the line, judging by
this page of supplements. There's a solid review of the system here. If you're curious about it, check out their crowdfunding page which has descriptions and sample pages.
10. Cypher System (2015)
Cypher comes out of Numenera
and The Strange, two already
versatile rpgs. The latter's multiversal setting offered a proof of concept
that the system could handle multiple genres. Numenera and The Strange
have core books with dense information and detail on the setting. They're about
disgorging a ton of content. Cypher’s
core rules does the same, but with character options and bits as the detail
dump. It's a massive book with dense layout and text. But what’s weird is it isn't
that complicated a system. In fact, I think it conceals its simplicity under a ton
of chrome.
Characters have only three stats (Might, Intellect, and Speed).
When they attempt something challenging, the GM sets a difficulty from 1 to 10.
The player negotiates to modify this. The final difficulty times three is the number
the player must meet or beat on a d20 roll. Stats don't affect the roll directly,
instead players can spend from these to reduce difficulty. So state task, GM assigns
difficulty, modify difficulty, roll a 20.
The complexity comes in the modify difficulty section. Characters
have skills, talents, gear, weapons, armor, and effort. Each can reduce that
difficulty. Nothing creates a huge swing, instead you collect incremental shifts
to make things easier. Some of these details can be complicated. For example, using
a stat to reduce difficulty isn't straight 1 for 1. Instead characters spend
Effort which is three points from their relevant pool to reduce the difficulty by
a step, BUT that cost can be modified by an Edge. At higher tiers characters may
spend this effort to reduce it by more than one, but that costs 2 from the stat
not 3. Also you can only apply an Edge once in the sequence of an action—to
effort or other special abilities. Learning the system means pushing aside the bells
and bobs to see the core; playing the system means mastering those bells and bobs.
Cypher's core simplicity extends across the board; for example
damage is measured in a handful of states. It reminds me a little of True20, core simplicity with levels and classes,
plus a lot of ornamentation atop that. The game also has a couple of key mechanics
outside basic resolution. For one, experience is about exploration and discovery.
As written the GM doles out experience not for mission success or defeating villains,
but for learning about the world. It's a cool concept, but requires tweaks depending
on the setting.
GM Intrusions are the other key idea. At any point the GM may
add an unexpected complication to the situation. This is aimed at a single character's
action (though the repercussions may be broader). The GM offers experience
points to the player in exchange for permission to have this happen. If the player
accepts they have to deal with the problem, get 1 XP, and give 1 XP to another player.
Players can refuse by spending XP. The intrusions feel like PbtA soft moves, but
more parallels GM compels from Fate. The rules encourage the GM to intrude at least
once per session, but no more than once or twice per character. That seems fairly
doable.
I've run three different Cypher games this month hoping to learn
via stress-testing. I’m still figuring out what I think. Character creation’s a
mix of loose and restricted. The different setting books have key shifts about
heightened powers and the cyphers (one-use items which are a main feature).
Probably the most challenging part for me has been setting the difficulty
number cleanly. The GM’s supposed to do that without reference to a character’s
skills, assets, or position. It’s on the players to bring those forward. As
well a player’s stats act as a pool—a spendable resource and a measure of
damage taken. Some characters will death spiral; others won’t
Monte Cook has recently released a 16-page quick system guide for Cypher. It does a good job of distilling
the basics. The following year Monte Cook ran a "Worlds of Cypher" Kickstarter,
adding several new full-book settings. It included Predation (timepunk dinosaurs), Gods
of the Fall (like Godbound), Unmasked (weird '80's teen supers), and a
collection of chapters handling different genres.
11. Krendel Core (2015)
A system with an unusual opening. Universal rpgs have a common
problem: where do they start? Genre-specific games can begin with a setting summary,
lay out typical play, or drop game fic on unsuspecting readers. OOH universal
rpgs don't have that defaulting beginning (though some still vomit game fiction
forth). Krendel starts with a discussion
of the gamer contract and expectations. From there it moves to explanations of Declaration
vs. Intent, Narrating Success and Failure, and Tailoring the Rules. I haven't seen
another game on these lists begin with that high level discussion. We've had "what
is an rpg?" and "This is why I wrote this universal heartbreaker"
intros, but nothing quite like this.
Krendel itself uses
a single d10 roll for resolution. Actions have a target number of 4 + skills &
bonuses - penalties. Players try to roll as close to that number as possible without
going over. If they succeed, they get successes equal to the number rolled. Difficulty
applies penalties to the TN and successes can be spent on various effects. It reminds
me of Fading Sun's roll under mechanic.
The game’s simplicity connects to some serious crunch in places.
The discussion of scale, volume, area, and range came out of left field and
signaled a shift in the rules. Krendel
opts to present all the mechanical bits before we get to character creation or even
a sense of what characters might look like. Eventually we get to the lists of traits
and skills and their associated rules, but the thread’s hard to follow.
Krendel has a ton of
optional mechanics. It presents these in callout boxes next to their corresponding
system rather than pulling them to a distinct chapter. I like rules options and
I dig that it's as much a toolbox as it is a system. But while I appreciate having
options close by for later reference, it distracts while reading initially.
Overall Krendel feels trad, complete with pages and pages of
powers and abilities, detailed guns & equipment lists, systems for building
unique items, defined environmental threats, and more. Also in some places Krendel seems tied to a specific setting
(the Artifice section) and in others moves to the universal. It has great chapter
header art, but the in-chapter illustrations look sketchy at best. If you'd like
to check this out, both the Core and the Power rules can be found for free right
now on DriveThru.
12. Lite (2015)
A German-language universal rpg. Until recently you could
find it on DriveThruRPG. Lite’s a stat-based,
dice pool system with point buys. It was released with a Creative Commons license
(a more and more common approach). Designer Jürgen Mang also created the comedy
RPG Das Weltenbuch and the SpacePirates RPG. The latter has had a long
life, with several supplements.
13. PowerFrame (2015)
An anime-inspired universal rpg, though not as far down that
road as OAV or BESM. PowerFrame has a cartoony look and a clean layout. Characters
have abilities measure from -5 (appalling) to +5 (masterful). To test an action,
players roll a d6 and add their relevant value. These dice explode both up and down.
The final result has to beat a target number set by the GM. A roll of -3 or less
is a critical failure.
To build a character players pick from a list of abilities and
assign points to those. The game seems simple enough, though it does use specific
ranges measured in hexes and the weapon list from the rules primer takes up a full
page. Armor has protection ratings in each of the four different types of damage.
Overall I like the look and feel of the game, but it drops down to trad lists and
approaches in places (distinct action types and lists, dual-wielding rules, movement
points, travel & exposure). If you're looking for something relatively easy
to pick up and play, but want a hex-map anime combat feel, this might be for you.
There’s a quick start available.
14. QuestCore (2015)
An rpg from a Swedish company. QuestCore came from a Kickstarter which I think supported both the language
editions. It has a small core book-- less than 60 pages. The blurbs mentions D&D
and d20 as inspirations a couple of times. The system itself uses the oft-ignored
d12 for resolution. Characters have seven basic stats (Will gets added to the usual
lineup) and skills. Overall it feels like a slimmed down version of d20. tdphillips
does an extensive read-through over at RPG Geek and confirms that assessment.
The Kickstarter page is worth looking at. It's nicely designed
and presented, using the best of the game’s art assets. It sets up some of the games
selling points: simpler than D&D, Skip Williamson's writing an adventure, universal
mechanics. But there isn't much meat to the discussion beyond that-- no quick start
or sample material to seriously examine.
15. Those Who Play (2015)
Subtitle: A Narrative Focused RPG. Another one funded via Kickstarter;
this had modest goals and 45 supporters. Those
Who Play appears to be built on a d10 dice pool system with abilities and skills
associated with one of four pools: Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Social. Beyond that
it's hard to say-- the KS page is remarkably thin on details and there's no reviews
so far. And the 114 page pdf goes for $18.29 on DriveThruRPG. That's about $7 more
than if you'd backed the KS originally.
16. Universal
Adjacent
Several games come close to being universal but place some bounds
on play. I'd originally planned to put Chronos Universal LARP on the list above, but the game has a multiversal setting.
In each world players can explore "Aether" which has shaped history
in different ways. Chronos uses
special cards for generation and resolution.
Downfall has you play child characters in a decaying civilization. While you can use any kind of world, the
play's structured around telling those stories of collapse. It’s a sharp game
and worth checking out. Will Hindmarch used IndieGoGo to fund Odyssey: Journey and Change a few months
before his Kickstarter for Project: Dark
began. Odyssey delivered in late 2014.
In it you explores stories of journeys and how those change the characters. It's
an interesting concept applicable to many settings. Finally Primetime Adventures 3rd edition offers the
most recent version of this TV-themed rpg. You can play out any genre, but done
as a television show. That framing device shapes the narrative. Players who
love PTA seem torn on this revision; some appreciate the changes while others
prefer 2e. I hope we can see some violent edition wars over this.
17. Electronic-Only
RPGs
The following universal rpgs have a substantial electronic-only
edition:
- AARG Preflight Edition: A 3d6 based system. Designer Steve Keller released this slim version, but doesn't seem to have followed up on that.
- Amazing Roleplaying Game: Has a fully generic version and one with an alt-history steampunk setting.
- Cornerstone: Ben Dutter's 1d6 based "answer to Freeform Universal, Fate, GURPS, and Savage Worlds.”
- Modos Roleplaying Game: Though it presents the fantasy genre as a default, Modos is intended for universal play.
- Monad System: An Italian universal rpg which has released several supplements in recent years
- Multiverse Adventures: The in-house generic system powering many of Starbright Illustrations shovelware rpgs.
- Pangenre 2e: A d20 universal system which does away with ability numbers, classes and levels.
- The Sigil System: The universal version of the system Stormforge Publishing uses for their other game The Runed Age. The company also released The Glyph System, a lighter version of this.
- Simpli-6: Base rules includes the "Arkalanon" setting. The publisher has released a couple of supplements including Mythic West and Mars Rising.
- Solo Gaming Rules: Pretty much what's written on the label.
- VIP Core: "VIP stands for Variable Initiative Point. The system gets its name because in the VIP System all actions have an initiative point cost."
History of Universal RPGs (Part Eight: 2014-2015)
