Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Mar 24, 2012 21:03:06	Hey everyone. I've homebrewed before, but I'm looking to undertake a project of much grander scale than I've ever tried before.  It's a daunting task, and I'm not really sure I'm up to it, but I plan on trying.  I'm looking to design a completely new gaming system from scratch.  Does anyone have experience, and can they give any helpful hints? As for why I'm doing this, it's not for a D&D-like game.  Who here knows Zoids?  I recently got a little revival, and shockingly, I couldn't find any Zoids RPGs out there.  A friend with better Google Fu than I confirmed this.  So here I am, looking to design a new system allowing for animal-inspired mecha, lost ruins of an ancient alien race, smaller robots that fuse with and enhance mecha, and even ways for machines to "evolve."  A world where "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" reaches the extent of "mechanical superweapon fueled by lost souls." I've got a few ideas bouncing around, but it's daunting to tie it all together coherently.  And how do I even make sure it covers everything it needs to?
#2 Eisenritter Mar 24, 2012 23:23:11	...That is a daunting task.  Just going by the Battle Story, it'd be hard to balance the fact that some Zoids are deliberately designed to fight others.  Organoids, whether separate units like Sieg or built-in attachments to the core of the Liger Zero are an entirely different beast.  So let's focus on just the mecha portion, yeah? You might look into the video games for some ideas.  Translation wreck though it is, Battle Legends (on the GameCube) does give a good idea of how stats should translate (Durability, Combat, Mobility, etc.) and of how some Zoids can be customized.  Failing that, there are other systems floating around the tubes, namely Mekton and Giant Guardian Generation, that you can use as a springboard for your giant robot games. Let me know how it goes, aye?
#3 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Mar 25, 2012 9:02:46	Hey, thanks for the advice.  As far as the video games go, is there a way to get familiar with their system other than buying and playing it?  I really, really suck at video games.  I mean it.  Those old straight line shooter games predating hit points?  I'd die at the first bullet 90% of the time.  First person shooters or MMOs - "How do you steer this thing?!  Oh lord, I'm getting motion sick!"  If it requires reflexes of any sort, I can't play.  I just can't. That said, here's a preview into some of my thoughts: - Re: full Zoids vs organoids/Blox/other smaller combiners - I'm gonna handle that in the point buy.  (A class-based system just doesn't make sense).  Everyone gets a Zoid as a basic character, but by expending character points, you could get a more powerful one, a second one, or an organoid/Blox/combiner to augment your primary Zoid. - You gain a bonus to damage rolls equal to the amount by which you exceed the foe's AC.  That just always seemed to make sense to me, and I never understood why it's not in the core rules for most games. - Extra weapons/add-ons.  I kind of like DragonMech's Payload Units system, so I'll use that as the base.  As a random example, I'll take the Command Wolf, because it's a classic and I remember its layout pretty well.  Let's say it has 10 PU available for weaponry, 7 of which is used by the back-mounted rifle system.  The PU are distributed as 8 back-mounted and 2 side-mounted zones.  So if you want to augment a Comand Wolf, you can add a pair of small, side-mounted guns, replace the rifle with a bigger gun, or maybe replace the rifle with a pair of items that add up to 8 PU.  I may want to change the "PU" term to my own terminology, but now I've introduced the concept of Mounts - there are different locations you can add items on to a Zoid, so even if your Zoid can bear the load of more weaponry, you may be prevented due to matters of balancing the sides or already occupying that space. - You roll both to attack and to dodge.  For the sake of speeding things up, enemies except for the most significant NPCs just use average roll for both attack and dodge. - I'm fooling around with the idea of using a d12 system, but certain abilities may increase (or decrease) the die type.  Example: a combat maneuver called "Pulling a Leena."  (I'm not sure if everyone has all maneuvers, or if some need to be bought with character points).  When you Pull a Leena, you expend ammo at a ridiculous rate, pretty much forcing a mid-battle reload, but in exchange you blanket the field with ammo and don't need to worry about aiming.  Or even seeing the foe.  Allies beware of friendly fire.  Mechanically, it may be something like "Expend ammo at 20x the usual rate.  In exchange, you can make an area attack in place of a ranged attack, using d20 in place of d12 for the attack roll."  Of course, the final form will depend very much on balance.  But right now, it makes for a great mop-up ability, which I like.  Hold off until the combat seems won, and then bring it to a close rather than drag it out a couple more unnecessary turns.  From a design perspective, I think that's potentially elegant.  If it works as intended.
#4 Krusk Mar 25, 2012 10:15:26	Before you design anything you ought to outline some clear goals. What do you want people to do? What do you want people to ignore/not do.   Basing it off Zoids helps you focus that, we know you want pilots who manage giant robots in team based fights. No dungeon crawl really.  With that in mind I would suggest  -Balancing a fight to use 100% resources, with winning shots at 50/50 (or slightly better depending on how easy you want it. This helps emulate the single fight a day model the show tends to use) -Pilots should barely have stats. Your character sheet could have nothing but you name, and maybe some sort of repair/mid battle maint stat. In general You want the Zoid to be your main character sheet. (This encourages the majority of the game to focus on being in zoids, not running around) - Items aren't statted. You don't care about gear for the pilots. This discourages people from speccing some sort of sniper warrior assassin and being upset that the game doesn't focus on that. - Flight is expensive. If a zoid can fly that needs to be its main thing. If flight is something any zoid can get as a minor add-on everyone will be flying. If flight is basically your whole thing, you may have a single flying zoid per team which if I remember the show was a rough rule. An entire flying team was a specific and interesting exception to the rule, not the norm. - How customizable do you want zoids to be? The more options you have, the less they will resemble consistant animals.  Maybe some sort of "pick base catagory from bird/tiger/snake and then add mods from here" insteaed of "build from scratch"? I tried building one based off the voltron/giant combining mech idea and never got around to playtest. Pretty rough draft. The major complications I found were things like people trading or having more than one zoid.   You have a lot of specific mechanics outlined, but I don't see any general goals. Those are the most important part of RPG design, and many first/second time rulesets are written without them.
#5 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Mar 25, 2012 11:09:10	Actually, I was going for more of a Chaotic Century/Guardian Force vibe, where dungeoncrawls and fist fights do occur.  So outlining my basic goals: 1)  Zoid combat is the focus, but it's more like a 70/30 split that the rules seek to accomodate.  Everyone gets a Zoid, and that's a significant part of their character sheet.  But there are important things to do outside of Zoid battles.  There are ancient ruins where you might discover ancient alien equipment (almost always Zoid-related.  There are bandits who raid and pillage using Zoids.  You may get into a bar brawl in town, and it plants a rivalry that sees its conclusion in a Zoid battle.  And there exist dark cults that are sometimes better suited by infiltrating and espianoge than rushing in guns blazing.  In essence, everyone uses Zoids, but there's some wiggle room to become a bit less of a pilot to become more useful outside of battle.  Not to an extreme extent, mind you.  No one is utterly useless in a Zoid battle, but you can choose to keep it more basic for a few more general skills. 2)  There exist standard issue Zoids, which you can modify.  Truly custom Zoids are rare indeed, pretty much requiring a special quest, or an organoid "evolving" a standard Zoid into an entirely new breed. 3)  Flight is expensive.  Most Zoids don't fly, and flying Zoids rarely can do much more. 4)  There exist tiers of Zoids.  The Command Wolf isn't in the same class as a Blade Liger, and a Helldigguner is not in the same class as a Gojulas.  I'm debating whether or not starting play should assume all players have the same tier of Zoid, or whether character points allow for mixing of different tiers.  I'm leaning toward the latter, if I can balance it.  For example, a Geno Breaker is much higher tier than a Command Wolf, but the player with the Command Wolf has more points he can spend on augmentations and maybe even an organoid to boost his powers.  I may want to divide up starting tier of play based on what tier of Zoid you can afford - which also means one of the most expensive things you can buy with character points is an upgrade in Zoid tier. 5)  Battles can be to the destruction of the Zoid, or to command system freeze (I forget the term they use.  Hopefully I'm close).  There should reach a point where you know pushing your Zoid much further is likely to result in its total destruction, and a tactical withdrawal may be the best option.  Not sure of specifics yet, but after some threshold (20%?), an attack may cause a command system freeze, taking your Zoid safely out of the fight.  It's a safety feature, and there's a sort of unwritten code everyone observes: a command system freeze means the Zoid is out of commission for a good hour (random number).  Respect that, and don't attack.  Besides, Zoids are valuable, and you can always take a prize (more of the villainous approach than the heroes).  While you can turn off the command system freeze safety lock, it functions as a declaration that you are fighting to the death, and expect no quarter, no mercy (potentially implying you will grant none, either).  You can't tell in advance whether or not someone has selected the CSF option.
#6 Krusk Mar 25, 2012 15:47:49	Specifically about 1. If you do this, you are effectively needing to make two games, both of which are interesting. I'd honestly recomend doing something like "D20modern, but if you get in your zoid we will use those rules". Pick a ruleset you like, thats just pretty well known.  Although I do like the idea of focusing more on your zoid than out of it, or vice versa. You could consider a point based system, and then give extra points while saying "normally you have 32 points to build your character. Now you have 50, but I strongly recomend putting most into your zoid".   Letting people pick the exact ratio themselves. I would shy away from different tierd zoids, unless you have some method to keep everyone on the same level. I see 2 options with a tierd approach. Everyone always upgrades except the guy attached to his zoid. He can't hold his own and is disappointed/forced to upgrade. OR No one every upgrades, because pumping up a base model zoid is always better than upgrading. The guy who upgrades to something he is actually interested in is behind.  To differentiate between a blade liger and command wolf, just say one was built with more points than the other. IIRC his command wolf gets some sweet upgrades late in the series to make it almost on par right?
#7 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Mar 25, 2012 17:46:14	Well, I feel like your idea of "now you get 50, but I strongly recommend you put most of them into your Zoid" captures pretty well what I'm trying to do. As for upgrades to the Command Wolf, nope.  If you're talking about Zoids (New Century Zero, though the subtitle is usually dropped), it gets destroyed and replaced with a Shadow Fox.  Similarly, in Zoids Chaotic Century/Guardian Force, the Command Wolf got damaged beyond repair, but its Zoid core was transferred to a Lightning Saix. As for the idea of tiers, it was partly inspired by Metal Machine Music.  The site appears to be gone now, but it did appear to be an IM-based RPG, albeit one with almost no mechanics.  But they did break Zoids down into tiers.  Effectively, it's something like starting level.  An adventuring party wtih a Blade Liger, a Dark Spiner, a Shadow Fox, and a Storm Sworder is a higher level party than one that starts with a Command Wolf, a Pteras, a Shield Liger, and a Rev Raptor. But you raise a good point.  I was planning on statting out the basic Zoids for use, but it sounds like I should create a point buy for designing them.  In short, I could say Tier 1 are designed with 30 points, Tier 2 with 60, Tier 3 with 90, and Tier 4 with 150, for example.  Since you can spend points to upgrade, that's fine.  Moreover, I want piloting to matter.  Effectively, if you put more points into upgrading your Zoid, some pilots disparage you for using all those bells and whistles as a crutch.  And there's some truth to that.  But the show also had some examples of "outgrowing a Zoid."  Effectively, I'd like to cap augmenting a Zoid past some percentage of its point value.  And maybe break that up by tier.  Tier 1 Zoids are simple, but they are more utilitarian and more easily customized.  But there still comes a point when you just can't augment any further.  You either need a new model or start focusing on your piloting ability.  A higher tier Zoid is more specialized and leaves less room for augmentation.  If I want to keep it more in tune with the show (I know, beware of trying to perfectly reproduce a show and its main characters), one use of an organoid is being able to push a Zoid past its fundamental limitations.  At one point, the character Van had outgrown his Blade Liger.  Fast as it was, maneuverable as it was, strong as it was, he had grown as a pilot to the point that its response still felt sluggish.  But when he got his organoid Zeke back, the Blade Liger responded as smoothely as if it was his own body.  That's a cool concept, but I'm leery of it making organoids required, at least for any character who wants to keep a simple model.
#8 Krusk Mar 25, 2012 18:44:24	I saw new century zero and thats it. Something happened where I didn't watch the others and I don't remember what. I do remember wanting to.  Shadowfox transition sounds familiar.        I like the idea that a pilot can put points into the zoid or his skills and thus be a skilled guy in a crappy zoid or a rich kid in an awesome zoid. Something about that seems very cool. Food for though - The higher the tier the more specialized you can get. Super specilization can be a great thing, but if you aren't good you won't be able to take advantage of it.     A specialized zoid could be something weird like a giant frog zoid. Its got super jump powers and weird ranged grapple mechanic, that when built right is awesome. If you don't do it right though, a simple laser gun can tear you apart.   If/when you finish please let me know, I'd love to get a finished giant robot rpg to play and don't really have time to work on mine. (working with a publisher for the first time for a legit real rpg for real money on a real team, so that comes as a priority. [even if its not as cool as giant robots])  I'd also be open to any brainstorming session you want to have, or help I can provide. This is something I'd like to see get finished, you have some solid ideas here.
#9 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Mar 25, 2012 20:01:00	Well here's a crash course in Chaotic Century.  Rather than fighting in tournaments for cash and glory, Zoid pilots fight tooth and nail to survive on the fringes of two wartorn societies.  The world is littered with the ruins of the ancient Zoidians, original inhibitants of the planet Zi, who went extinct countless ages ago when their ultimate weapon went all Skynet on them.  All that remain are the Zoids, which have been put to use by human colonists.  Occasionally great advances are made by unearthing yet un(re)discovered ancient Zoidian technology.  The greatest of which is the organoid.  A very small Zoid, barely bigger than a human, organoids can temporarily fuse with Zoid cores, reviving dead Zoids to fully functional form, repairing damage, enhancing the pilot's ability, and even causing the Zoid to evolve.  Usually limited to a change of color pallete and small modifications like growing spikes.  However, an organoid can also bond with a Zoid for a longer period (days to weeks) causing it to evolve into a completely brand new class of Zoid, never before produced anywhere.  Within the TV series, the Blade Liger was a Shield Liger that one organoid enhanced.  While "evolving" a Zoid is encased in a coccoon of sorts, and the organoid is capable of directing to evolution to specific ends.  Again, in the case of the series, the Blade Liger was created in response to the Genosaurer, and it is specialized to combat Zoids of that variety (especially fending off charged particle beams).  Later, the Geno Breaker was created as an evolved Genosaurer specifically to counteract the Blade Liger's advantage.  It's often assumed that the Liger Zero and Berserk Fury are in fact Chaotic Century's first Blade Liger and Geno Breaker with their creator organoids permanently fused.  There, that should explain the key highlights of the differences as relevant to game design, without really spoiling the action of the series.  Still, I do recommend picking up Chaotic Century/Guardian Force (GF is sometimes used to refer to Chaotic Century season 2, though I've never seen it displayed in the opening credits). Glad you like the contrast between fancy Zoid vs skilled pilot.  Mind you, there's no in-game reason you couldn't just place the better pilot in the better Zoid, but it's not shaking my suspension of disbelief, and I agree: it's cool. As for your food for thought - I like it, as long as it's not the only possible distinction.  I mean, the Genosaurer family are just innately more powerful Zoids - the charged particle beam is a killer (though definitely a finisher and not something to use at-will), but there's also several other gizmos.  In addition, it can both take a beating and dish one out.  It's just in a different class from.... damn, I can never remember the name.  Godos, according to Wikipedia.  Seriously, the Godos just sucks as a Zoid.  It's the kobold of Zoids.  (Though I also take that as a challenge to make sure someone can play a modified Godos that kicks @r$e  with the right pilot behind it).  Ok, I'm sort of rambling now.  My point is, yeah, I can see more specialized Zoids in higher tiers, but Godos and Genosaurer are different tiers even though both are pretty broad is use. Anyway, I'll be sure to keep you in the know about my designs.  I'm still kind of stuck on designing a bunch of official Zoids to start with, and giving them as templates to start.  So a Zaberfang and a Shield Liger are two separate chasses, rather than two different ways of designing a Zoid with the same generic feline chassis.  That said, I'd like for modifications and equipment to be much more free-form.  And I'd still show the rules for Zoid design.  After all, if I include organoids, people will have the option of creating brand new Zoids.  I'd just like to have enough options to choose from classics without having to design from scratch.  That in particular is a place I'd like to have a few extra hands with, once I'm ready. Also, good luck with the rpg book!  When's it supposed to come out?  I'll have to pick up a copy when it happens.
#10 Eisenritter Mar 26, 2012 2:11:23	...I really don't know how to answer questions about the video games' systems, I haven't touched Battle Legends in awhile.  I know that each Zoid had one stat governing ranged combat, one for melee, and Mobility, which determined speed, as well as Durability, which would be your hit points.  Pilots also modified those first three stats; Bit, for example, is great in melee, sucks at ranged, and has good Mobility. Then there was radar stuff, turning ability, weapon targeting, mostly video game stuff really. Each frame then had a certain number of slots for customization.  Three option parts, allowing you to add equipment for increasing Mobility, combat ability, armor, etc.  One "sub" part, which is stuff like dropping mines, smoke screens, shields, or temporary boosters.  Weapon slots then depended on the Zoid you were looking at.  A Gun Sniper, for instance, can equip a frankly ridiculous number of weapons (Leena's loadout, if you're interested, is the double-gatling rifles+laser cannons, back-mounted missile packs, and two sets of of shoulder- and hip-mounted 8-missile pods, plus the chest-, wrist- and tail-mounted guns that all Gun Snipers have, a total of 7 slots, only 4 of which can be changed), while the Berserk Fuhrer can only equip two (Sturm unit can be switched in on the back, plus a medium weapon mount on the chest). Which might be more complicated than it's worth, but it's a crash course.
#11 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Mar 27, 2012 20:55:38	You know, that sounds like a decent framework to start off with.  Since Zoid battles would be the framework for my system, and since I've talked about specialized pilot vs tricked out Zoid, I think I may break up piloting into multiple skills: - Pilot.  This skill governs dodging and mobility.  Certains feats (or their equivalent) allow you to pilot in aquatic or flight conditions without penalty.  (In general, the training to deal with 3D combat). - Melee Weaponry.  This skill governs accuracy with melee-type weaponry. - Precision Firearms.  Rifles, sniper rifles (I guess that falls under rifles), and other weaponry where aiming is pretty important. - Autofire Weaponry.  I'm thinking specifically of Leena where I decided to break up ranged weapons.  Honestly, it makes sense - some people prefer sniping, and others prefer just laying down a wall of ammo and not worrying about aim.  These are two very different ways of shooting, and you can easily be a master of one and terrible at the other. - Special Weaponry.  This is for using various systems (and in fact, not all of them are weapons).  Ranging from a Genosaurer's electrified grappling claws to a Stealth Viper's smokescreen to a Darkspiner's jamming system, and maybe even the Shield Liger's shield, this skill measures your ability to use special systems.  (Come to think of it, Special Systems may be the better name).  I'm thinking this skill will have a slightly different buying mechanism.  I just need to explain by example (numbers are far from carved in stone): Let's say you can buy one skill rank with one character point.  So 5 points gives you 5 ranks in Melee Weaponry.  However, if you wanted 5 ranks in Special Systems, you'd need to speed 5+n points, where n is the number of systems you know how to use.  So if your Zoid has 3 special systems, you'd need to spend 8 points for that rank of +5.  Or you could only spend 7 points and have to choose one system that you'd operate untrained.  I'm thinking of making the cost tiered (if needed for balance).  So it would cost 8 points to use 3 systems at +5 rank, but to go past rank 10 (again, random number), you'd need to pay the training cost again.  So 10+2n rather than 10+n for 16 character points.  Again, it's a random thought, going for a more specific example to try to find words for the feel I mean to capture.
#12 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Mar 29, 2012 21:29:03	Lil update on the ideas front: three cornerstones of character creation.  I've sort of touched upon it already, but I think I'd like to formalize it: 1)  Zoid and equipment 2)  Skills 3)  Tactics So #1 and #2 are self-explanatory, but #3 I've barely touched upon (besides a couple of specific ideas).  This third thing you can spend points on covers special actions you can take.  Using D&D as an example, there's all the special moves - bull rush, cleave, sneak attack, trip, grapple, supressive fire (ok, that's not in D&D).  These are special things you can do with your turn other than make a vanilla attack.  I'm thinking that in my system, you'd spend points at character creation to unlock the ability to use these special moves.  Although it may be restrictive (something I'm still considering), it does make learning the system faster - you don't need to learn the trip rules, or the grapple rules, or anything other than attacks and damage, really.  If you want something more complex, you can spend points on the ability to do it.  Although I do fear it will straight jacket characters, forcing them to never go outside of their bought abilities.  Here's one possible solution: You can use abilities you didn't buy the "tactic/asset/feat/whatever it's called" for, but you take some "non-proficiency" penalty.  Moreover, if you spend an action point while using such an ability, you do not take the penalty, in addition to the normal benefits of the action point.  As an alternative (and actually the first one I thought of), Tactics that you buy represent your "calling card," as it were.  Using a tactic that is not your calling card is fine in small doses (and not at all penalized).  But your DM has the right to call shenanigans if you use some maneuver every single battle that you didn't spend character points for.  I kind of like the cinematic flare behind it.  Like from one episode of Zoids (New Century Zero), when Leena uses the catapult from their Zoid carrier like a giant rail gun to extend the range and power of her Gunsniper.  That's an awesome, creative idea.  But any DM who allowed it would be worried about the players making it a broken combination they turn to for every battle. Within this Tactics system, you can use it once in a blue moon (especially for cinematic purposes), but you can't use it in every single fight unless you spent points on the character ability, and it's pretty likely that this specific move would need to be homebrewed and approved by the DM.  Now, on the one hand I like this freeform approach because not everything needs to be listed mechanically, and I like RPGs that realize they don't need to provide hard and fast rules for everything.  To paraphrase CthulhuTech, "A lot of systems try to make cover complicated.  It's really not.  If there's something substantial between you and the person shooting at you, you have cover.  If it's bigger and thicker, it's total cover.  Use your damn heads."  But on the other hand, isn't it my job as the designer to make sure there isn't a big gap in the rules right where there's a potentially contentious problem?  Also, I like the vanishing penalty approach - I like how 3.5 action points (esp. Eberron) encouraged hairbrained schemes and doing stuff you normally wouldn't.  Well, the vanishing penalty means you get a bit more bang for your buck if you work outside your normal schtick.  Plus I believe it'll frame action points in the light I'd like to see them used - action points are meant to do something epic, something you normally wouldn't do.  It stretches your character beyond their usual limits. Thoughts?  (And yes, wall of text).
#13 WhisperMagellan Apr 13, 2012 23:30:03	Wow, I haven't hears about Zoids since... 1987? For a basis for combat and building different mecha... have you considered the old BattleTech game? Or if you love accounting, there's always Champions. Personally, I like the simpler style, quick&dirty of WEG D6. I'm sure you can adapt that to Zoids--or anything else.
#14 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Apr 14, 2012 19:40:22	Wow, I haven't hears about Zoids since... 1987? For a basis for combat and building different mecha... have you considered the old BattleTech game? Or if you love accounting, there's always Champions. Personally, I like the simpler style, quick&dirty of WEG D6. I'm sure you can adapt that to Zoids--or anything else. Well then I guess you and I have been living in different worlds.  Sure, I haven't heard it mentioned since like 2008, but '87 was, well before I was breathing.  It hasn't gathered that much dust. Anyway, I've never heard of Champions, but I have heard of BattleTech.  I'll have to look into them both.  And what is WEG D6?  I presume d6 means it's a d6 system, of course.  But anyway, part of my goal is to design a system from scratch.  I do at least know the DragonMech and CthulhuTech rules for mecha, so I've got some experience to build off of.  And I was actually just about to post that I've got a rough draft of what goes into a Zoid stat block - along with an example: Blade Liger hp: 500 (100) Armor: 35 (20) Shield: 40/5 Reflex: +3 Speed: 7 Systems: - Energy Blade (0 PU, sides): +3 weapon, 3d8 damage - Energy Cannon (2 PU, chest): +2 weapon, 2d10 damage - Booster (2 PU, back): As a minor action, you may activate the booster, providing a +2 bonus to speed for 1 turn. - Open (2 PU, blades, symmetry required) - Open (1 PU, back) Tactics: - Sword and Shield: By linking together the shield generator and energy blades in a positive feedback loop, the Shield rating is changed to 60/2 and the Energy Blade changes to a +5/4d12 weapon.  However, redlining the shield in this way taxes the system, and the shield requires repair to reactivate after the battle is over. - Sidestep (requires Booster Pack): By rotating the Booster Pack and activating it suddenly, you can nimbly dodge attacks.  When you roll to dodge an attack, you can spend an action point to roll 1d20 in place of 1d12. What this translates to his the blade liger has 500 hp, and reaches its critical threshold at 100 hp.  At or below that number, it uses the lower value listed in its Armor stat.  Its armor stat is a damage threshold of sorts.  If an attack deals damage in excess of the Armor rating, a critical hit is scored.  There is a table of things that can happen upon a critical hit (chosen by the attack who scored the crit).  This table includes such options as knocking a foe prone, cutting off weapon, temporarily locking up all weapon systems, or crippling a limb.  Some crits have a modifier.  For example, pushing the Blade Liger into Command System Freeze has a +10 modifier, and an attack needs to beat 45 damage instead of 35 to put a Blade Liger into CSF.  But if the attack dealt 37 damage, the foe could still choose to knock the blade liger prone or daze the pilot. Reflex means that the Blade Liger is a nimble Zoid and its life-like characteristics synergize well with a pilot.  You gain a +3 bonus to dodge attempts.  Moreover, since the value is non-negative, your maneuverability is good.  That means that movement is handled like standard D&D.  A negative value for Reflex comes with some limitations on maneuverability.  I'll probably just steal the DragonMech maneuverability rules.  Maneuverability will probably have 3 tiers: Good, Poor, and Pathetic.  Good is the standard, but some Zoids are poor (like a Lightning Saix at top speed or a D-Bison) and Pathetic is pretty much exclusive to the Cannon Tortoise. Speed is exactly as in D&D. PU (or Payload Units) is a term I stole from DragonMech.  It basically indicates where you have room to attach equipment, what the standard models have, how heavy the equipment is, and how much the Zoid can handle.  So the Blade Liger's blades are 0 PU, meaning they're integral to the Zoid and cannot be swapped out.  But the cannon on its chest can be, as well as the booster on its back.  Moreover, there's 1 empty PU on the back, so you could either attach a small widget to the booster or remove the booster for a single bigger item.  There also exists an attachment point to the blades accounting for 2 PU, but symmetry is required.  This means the 2 PU need to be spent as two 1 PU items and not one 2 PU item. Tactics indicate special maneuvers you can learn to do, assuming you spend character points on them.  Tactics open up a lot of complexity in the system, but it also assures that you only need to learn a small subset.  There are also some base tactics available to all Zoids.  Any Zoid can grapple, but there's no need to list that rule in every stat block.  In addition, I'm likely to add keywords to weaponry, since there are probably tactics that could make use of a laser cannon, or that need to distinguish a ranged weapon from melee, or autofire from single shot, etc.  Furthermore, as I've mentioned a couple posts ago, not spending character points isn't required to use a tactic, but it costs an action point otherwise, and action points are a limited resource. Summary of rules and goals: - Hp as normal, but below a threshold, certain stats change. - Armor is a damage threshold.  Deal damage above that value, and a crit happens.  Crits are not just bonus damage, but any number of things you get to choose if you scored the crit.  Crits are tactically interesting and can be key to winning a battle.  My goal is for crits to be common - you should be seeing at least one a battle, though the more severe ones should remain rare.  Essentially, a crit should end most battles before the Zoid reaches 0 hp. - Shields have been explained before.  They're temp hp that regenerate.  Not all Zoids have shields. - Reflex is a bonus or penalty to the pilot's Dodge rolls.  Particularly low Reflex can adversely impact your maneuverability. - Dodge and Aim are both skills, and you roll 1d12 and add your modifier.  To simplify, NPCs usually take the average value for both.  Some Tactics may let you use a d20 under some circumstances. - Attacks gain a bonus to damage equal to the difference between your attack roll and your foe's defense roll. - Weapons have a proficiency bonus like in 4e D&D, but a broader range of bonuses exist. - Payload Units measure where changeable systems are, while static systems are listed as 0 PU.  Zoids usually have a few open PU as well.  I'll likely change the term, but right now the placeholder is a term from DragonMech. - There are special Tactics you can learn to use.  Spending character points allows you to access a finite set indefinitely, and you can access ones that you don't know by spending action points. - Action points can be spent on a few specific things listed as well as getting a bonus to any action if you spend it that way (3.5 Eberron style). They're designed to be kick-@$# moments and/or doing something your character normally wouldn't try/be very good at. - Action economy may be something like 4e (minus 4e-style action points).  I'm debating there being a penalty for using the full allotment of actions, unless you specialize in that sort of multi-tasking. And that's the rough draft of the basics.  Now it's a matter of fleshing out the character creation side of things, fleshing out the guidelines for Zoid design and balance, and balancing the numbers.
#15 Krusk Apr 15, 2012 10:11:38	Looks like you have done a lot of work. Was thinking about this the other day hoping it hadn't fizzled out. A question for you, Dodge and Aim are both skills, and you roll 1d12 and add your modifier.  To simplify, NPCs usually take the average value for both.  Some Tactics may let you use a d20 under some circumstances You roll d12 to dodge or aim. What made you go for a d12 system over d20?
#16 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Apr 15, 2012 10:59:06	The idea sort of just came to me.  Maybe it's in part because a friend homebrewed his own Transformers game that was d12-centric.  Also, your d12 cries itself to sleep.  (One thing I remember fondly from 3.5 was the realization that d12 really saw only 2 uses: dragon hit dice, and barbarian hit dice.  Die for die, a barbarian is just as tough as a dragon.  Sweet).  Also, if you may remember, during my brainstorming stage I came up with the idea of some tactics (such as Pulling a Leena) allowing you to use a d20 in place of d12.  That said, I am left wondering if a d20 system is better suited - after all, I'm making crits a pretty important part of the system, and my version of crits would have more room to occur if it's a d20 system.
#17 WhisperMagellan Apr 16, 2012 20:02:08	West End Games (WEG) created a system based on regular D6's. The main game that this engine was used with was the Star Wars RPG (edition 1 and 2, before WotC got the license). WEG's system was very simple, for quick&dirty rules that emphasized  RP over number crunching and rule lawyering. On the other side of the spectrum, Heros/Champions was created by bored accounting students in college. Designed to be a universal game system, it is... Well, you can accomplish anything, but it is such a clunky, cumbersom system, that it just (for me) wasn't fun. "By taking the limitations that this power can only be used on the morning after the first full moon in may, when there is dew on the grass, Mars in in the house of the Bull, and the target is a stagitarius, I can roll 245 dice of damage, and the power only costs 12 points!" "Oh yeah? for a mere 374 points, my character bought a base that is the entire Earth! everyone has to pay me rent or property taxes, including the US government and every fish in the ocean." Zoids... I remember the toys from when I was about 8, under a generic name. Then "Zoids" when they showed up when I was about 14. Then they disappeared from stores for about 6 years, until they came back... Then I didn't see them again for a while until they were in the back of a japanese model kit I bought in college... Then, well, I haven't been paying much attention to toys outside of Legos for some time now...
#18 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Apr 16, 2012 20:46:23	Hey, thanks for the info.  Yeah, I keep telling myself KISS as I design this.  At the very least, I've reduced combat to "basic attacks" if I may borrow 4e terms.  Everything else are "Tactics" that you need to buy to use (or spend an action point if you do it only on occassion).  Point being, all of the complicated things are stuff you can choose to ignore or to specialize in.  I've heard it said that grappling is normally complicated in any system, but I think I've got a simplified version - if you're grappled, you take a penalty to any action besides dodging or attacking your grappler.  Initiating a grapple is just a subtle variation of the "critical hit" rules.  With a Tactic, you can reduce actual damage to increase your effective damage when comparing to armor and seeing if you actually initiate the grapple.  Pretty simple, I think. Anywho, thinking about it more, I think I've set the basis for Zoid balance - specialized Zoids have a lot of Tactics and Special Equipment you can buy access to, but they have limited PU.  So they're not very versatile, and there's not a lot you can do to improve them (not a lot =/= nothing at all).  Meanwhile, simpler frames have a lot of open PU.  They may not give you a lot to start with, but they can really be expanded upon.  It easily balances out across levels, too.  One low level character may have a simple Zaber Fang, and he doesn't have a lot to work with.  Meanwhile, another member of the same party has a Genosaurer, but his character hasn't learned to operate the special systems yet, so he's still stuck at basically the same power level as the Zaber Fang pilot. As they level up, the Genosaurer pilot learns how to use all of the special systems - the grappling arms, the shock claws, the hover skates, and the charged particle beam.  Meanwhile, the Zaber Fang pilot installs smoke grenades, an IR and radar tracking system, a land mine system, and an electroshock net.  Their transport has a crude CAS system, allowing him to swap out some parts in the midst of battle to switch to a booster system to enhance his skill with charge attacks or a missile rack to augment his battlefield control with extra suppressive fire.  Thus I leave the balance of Zoids mostly in the hands of character "level" rather than actual Zoid capabilities.
#19 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Apr 17, 2012 11:12:14	Ok, I banged out a rough draft of skills now.  1 Character Point buys you +1 to a particular skill.  You cannot spend more than 10% of your character points on any skill.  (Character points go into skills, tactics, and equipment, so spend wisely).  A couple of skills have special caveats: (1) Endurance determines your own equivalent of "Armor Rating" so the key value is 7+your endurance skill.  That's kind of a placeholder number, assuming that unarmed attacks are 1d6 weapons.  Likely to tweak this, but personal combat isn't the focus of this system anyway.  (2) Swimming, Flying (a Zoid), or being Stealthy are special uses of the Pilot or Athletics skill.  (Athletics is a placeholder).  You spend 2 points to know how to do it, or else you only use half your modifier.  (3) Lore is bought at 2 ranks per point, but you must specify what kind of lore.  The rank cap is for each application.  So a 100-point character might spend 60 character points to have 12 different fields of expertise each at a +10 rank. I'm still double checking that I've got skills for everything, but currently I've got 18 skills, and I'm debating if support weapons (missiles and autofire) should use a different skill from single-shot ranged (rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, cannons).  And are grenades support weapons or something else?  Melee fighting and dodging are 4 skills total: personal and Zoid versions, but being able to point and shoot is one skill, regardless of whether it's personal or Zoid-based combat. With that, I feel like I've got a rough sketch of the system.  Another week or so to flesh it out, and then I should be ready to test how the numbers work.  There's really just three gaps I need to figure out how to fill: (1) Ancient Zoidians.  A couple popped up in Chaotic Century/Guardian Force.  Hard to tell apart from humans, but with a few psychic knacks.  One could detect water.  One was a bit of a mentalist, but relied on technology to amplify it to full-fledged mind control.  Little, specialized knacks.  Do I want to bother with rules for playing one of these?  I'm inclined to leave it as an update.  (2)  Organoids.  Roughly human-sized Zoids that fuse to a true Zoid's core and augment its abilities and repair damage at an accelerated rate.  Capable of augmenting a rookie pilot's ability.  (Maybe use your own dodge and melee in place of Zoid skills).  But the overall rules for them - what are they?  I don't know.  (3) "Blox/Z-Builders/Fuzors."  Again, maybe I'll save it for a later supplement.  But how do I handle these 2nd-rank Zoids that form armor/upgrades to an existing Zoid?  Maybe spend character points to get the companion Z-Builder, which can occupy equipment as normal, but gives more benefits per PU than normal?  Hm, that's doable.  It's also capable of fighting separately, but it may not be up to snuff compared to other Zoids. ...Thinking about it more, I think it's fine that HP doesn't increase as you level - damage is determined mostly by the difference in attack and defense, which should remain more or less constant, holding challenge level constant.  I'm glad those numbers look like they'll work out.
#20 Omnirahk_half-Rahkshi Apr 23, 2012 20:58:17	Hey everyone.  Just wanted to say I haven't forgotten about this project.  I've continued plugging away, and I'm in mop up mode now.  I've got all the grand scheme lain out, as well as example Zoids, custom parts, and the works.  I'm even able to make some sample characters.  I'm just assembling it into a legible format, checking that there aren't gaping holes in it, and crunch some numbers to make sure it looks like it'll work.  Then I think I'll be ready to playtest.  Here's a preview of my organoid rules: - 10 point asset - an organoid has 10 skill points of its own to spend.  Repair is strongly recommended.  Since organoids do not speak, investment in social skills is discouraged.  Though if you'd like to have knowledgable organoid trying to pantomime out key information, more power to you.  Just be sure roleplaying two characters doesn't wear thin on your fellow players.  If your campaign has non-Zoid combat elements, investing in Endurance and Melee (personal) are recommended.  And organoid's skill cap is the same as yours. - 5 character points can buy an organoid another 6 points to spend on skills. - When an organoid fuses to a Zoid, the Zoid gains a +1/+2 increase to its armor value and regneration 1. - For additional character points, your organoid further boosts the Zoid: the general progression is 1 point per +1, up to +3, then 2 points for +4 through +6, and 3 points for +7 through +9.  These points can be used to improve Armor, Reflex, speed, or damage with a single weapon.  For an additional +1 to the base cost, you can similarly improve regeneration or damage with all weapons using the same skill - Melee (Zoids), Ranged, or Support Weapons. - 1 point apiece gets you a +2 bonus to Computers, Pilot, Melee (Zoids), Ranged, Support Weapons, or Evade (Zoids). I'm still wondering if maybe a 5 point asset is better.  Most things only cost 2 right now.  Mind you, 2 is just a placeholder.  I just want to make sure that the initial cost is high enough that people don't take advantage of the 6 points per 5 spent ratio to make an organoid a replacement skill monkey. EDIT: It's probably worth noting that I intend to use similar rules for BLOX/Z-Builders (oh how I wish they had a better name.  In-world, they just seem like bad names).  Anywho, with a focus on the Chaotic Century/Guardian Force era, it seemed to me that there's a real place to incorporate these, even if it's not canon.  Basically, the Helic Republic and Guylos Empire start research into replicating the organoid technology.  While moderately successful, they were not able to shrink the scale down to a size that could directly fuse with the Zoid core.  Although such research is still in progress, it proved easier to redesign this organoid prototype as an exterior-binding piece of equipment.  Hence the BLOX unit was born.  I'd like to make BLOX an acronym of sorts - O clearly needs to stand for organoid, but I'm entirely blanking on the other letters.  Anyone got any ideas?  Maybe Basic Linked Organoid, eXterior variety.  Because BLOX sounded better than BLOE, and the only other reasonable combo was BELO, Basic Exterior-Linked Organoid.