Yet Another RPG Resolution Mechanic
I am obsessive about mechanical systems in tabletop role playing games. It’s true. I can never truly get the ceaseless swirling ideas out of my head. I do know, however, that there are some areas of design that are extremely overexplored. One of those areas is the humble resolution mechanic. Even so, I relatively recently had an idea for a resolution mechanic with a variable DC and buying off complications. Without further ado, I present YARRM, a relatively simple resolution mechanic that has stuck in my mind lately.
1d6 + modifiers against an opposed flat roll of a single die that changes based on the difficulty level of the test, with a d4 representing the easiest tasks and a d12 representing the hardest tasks. Modifiers to the roll include but are not limited to:
- +1 for each relevant and genuinely useful piece of equipment used
- +2 for every expertise a player character has related to the situation
- +3 if you’ve successfully done the thing before
- +4 if you’ve spent a decent amount of time preparing yourself to succeed.
If the rolls are equal it’s just barely a success. If the player roll is below the challenge roll, it’s a failure. Every positive point of difference between the d6+modifiers roll and the challenge die is a point of effect, used as a currency to buy off consequences and gain additional benefits. Here is an incomplete list of possible default consequences and buyable benefits for rolls to be purchased with effect points, keeping in mind that anything not purchased is not inherently true (though it might be true even if the player hasn’t bought a consequence off or purchased a benefit, depending on the circumstances). Players are typically able to purchase benefits (those are the ones where you aren’t canceling out a potential consequence) more than once.
1. You don’t attract immediate unwelcome attention. 2 points. 2. There are no unexpected unfortunate side effects from your actions. 2 points. 3. A resource is not used up as you carry out your task. 3 points. 4. Your success is not only temporary. 1 point. 5. Your task doesn’t take a large amount of time. 1 point. 6. You don’t overextend yourself and take -1 to your next roll. 1 point. 7. Ask a single yes or no question. Take +1 to future rolls when acting on the answer. 3 points. 8. Take +1 to your next roll in the scene. 2 points. 9. Bank a +1 to be used on any one future roll. 5 points. 10. Pick up a useful knickknack. 7 points. 11. Refill a resource. 5 points. 12. A minor opportunity becomes available to you. 1 point.
Time for a shoutout: CALICO//VISIONS continues to work on his Psychological Dungeon Crawler and I continue to be excited about its eventual release.