[DT] Pools of Radiance (for now)

[Oedipussy Rex]

Dual-wielding
If a character decides to dual wield, the two weapon's pools are combined with the smaller weapon providing only half its dice (rounded up). Only certain weapon combinations are allowed.

Shields
When using a shield, the entire pool is combined with the weapon's pool but the shield's dice can be used only for defense. Proficiency in shield assumes either the character is proficient in all shields rated up to the character's skill or the character is able to use any shield to the effectiveness of his skill. If the GM decides to run a campaign where specific shields have specific ratings (In much the same way that weapons have specific limits) then the character needs to create pools for each type of shield.

Ranged Weapons
Ranged weapons require two CP to add a die to the pool but only a single CP to increase the size of the die. Needless to say, although I will, all dice in the pool can be used only for the attack. All ranged attacks are against the defense with only shields being able to reduce damage (characters cannot "slap away" attacks. It may look cool on the screen, but we're dealing with the real world here -- populated with orcs and dragons. Shut up.) But the defending character needs to be aware of the attack and facing the right way to defend against the attack.

Ranged weapons have three ranges of affect, short, medium, and long, where each subsequent range is double the range of the previous. For each range beyond short, the dice in the pool is suppressed a Rank, where d12s become d10s, d10s become d8s, etc., and d4s are removed, however the pool will never be reduced to less than half its original size. So if a character with a pool of {d8,d6,d4} in the long bow shoots at someone at long range the d8 would be reduced two Ranks to a d4 and the d6 and d4 would be removed, but that would reduce the pool to less than half in size so the attack would be made with {2d4}. (Yes, I had earlier stated that distance increases the target number. I changed my mind.)

[Oedipussy Rex]

Getting back to weapons' defensive values.

Code:

               all               ¾              ½                  ¼               0
1 (d4)  dagger          quarterstaff     club                 –               –
2 (d6)  short sword     mace            hand axe        flail, light         –
3 (d8)  longsword       morningstar     battle axe      pick, light     flail, heavy
4 (d10)        –           bastard sword   war hammer      short spear     pick, heavy
5 (d12)     –                –          great sword     maul            mattock

So a dagger, short sword, and longsword will have pools where all the dice can be no larger than a d4, d6, and d8, respectively, and all dice can be used defensively in combat. Meanwhile the club through great sword can use only up to half their dice for defense (rounded up). Note: you do not need to use the dice for defense, you are simply limited in how many you can use if you choose to do so.

Full Defense: All weapons can be used for strictly defensive purposes, but all dice that would otherwise not be allowed are reduced to d4s: a short spear with a pool of {d10,2d8,d6} would have a pool of {d10,3d4} for full defense.

[Oedipussy Rex]

It's probably been noticed (though I doubt it) that almost a year had passed before I revisited this thread. A large part of that was how I got tired of trying to figure out how to work Resists/Saving Throws into what is essentially a skills-based, not level-based, system. But now I think I've got something and when it finally came to me I felt like an idiot.

Every character has three pools: Resistance, Reflex, and Rebuke. Resistance is under Combat/Strength, Reflex with Fortune/Finesse, and Rebuke with Knowledge/Intellect. Each pool starts with {d4} which can be increased in the usual manner.

[Oedipussy Rex]

Been thinking about it and I've decided to try a Gamma World-type theme.

Some time in the distant past a fertile, verdant world was laid to waste; the actors involved and their motivations are lost to the ages. Eventually -- how long, no one knows -- the combination of radiation, toxic sludges, burning rains, and/or the Will to Life* brought forth new species, new societies (such as they are), as well as new environments and dangers.

*Not to be confused with the Will to Live, which is the desire of everything living to avoid death. Will to Life is the philosophy that where life can emerge, it will emerge.

[Kersus]

Triffids? Aardvarkians? Sandpeople? Ginormous Centipedes?

[Oedipussy Rex]

Triffids? Good lord, no. I don't need the grief from the Wyndham estate. I'd probably be okay with Giant Hogweeds, however. I can say that the game will have:

Transmen, Herbaceans, Oxen, Robots, and Norms

Otherwise known as
Þ

(Because if something is funny once it's funny every time. Just ask that jackass who yells, "In the hole!" at the tee on a par five Every. Single. Time.)

(Also: Þ is a thing. Look it up.)

[Oedipussy Rex]

So:

Transmen
Far back during ecological destruction of the world, some people attempted genetically adapting to the new environment. These people survived but, by loosening their genetic code, they and their progeny became something new. When exposed to radiation, instead of getting sick and dying, Transmen have a chance of mutating. (Details to be worked out later.)

[Oedipussy Rex]

Herbaceans
An intelligent, mobile species of plant. Not Triffids. Herbaceans are tripedal (still not Triffids) with their three roots equally spaced radially around the trunk, as are the limbs but shifted by π/3 radians (spaced midway between the roots, radially). They "see" through photosynthetic variations and have full 4π steradian vision (Yes, it's a thing) out to 10 meters, things start fading out at 20 to 40 meters, depending on light conditions. Forward/backward, ahead/behind have no meaning to Herbaceans who think in terms of sunward and shadowline (away from the sun). Needless to say, they do not do well at night or underground.

Herbaceans can regenerate missing parts, regrowing up to 5 kg mass in a day when doing nothing else but converting raw material: compost, mulch, a dead cow, or even a living one -- Herbaceans aren't picky. Regrowth can be accelerated by converting its own mass at an additional cost of 50% the Health lost from dismemberment.

While an Herbacean has specialized "organs" -- reeds and air bladder for speech, tympanic membranes to hear, mycorrhizae to feed, etc. -- it has no centralized intelligence. Lopping off the "head" will only create a temporary blind spot. A consequence of this distributed consciousness is that when one is killed, a clipping can taken and nurtured that will eventually have all the knowledge and memories of the original. While a clipping can be taken of a live, healthy plant, this is considered abomination.

[Oedipussy Rex]

Oxen
Guess who got all grown up and now sits at the big-brain table. While Oxen now understand what mirrors are, they still aren't the brightest bulbs in the closet. Large and powerful have their advantages, but large and clumsy can create difficulties. Although they did develop opposable thumbs, Oxen are limit in the types of tools/weapons they can use.

Only Oxen Bulls are playable, and only one Oxen can be in any group. Any attempt to force two male Oxen to work together only results in a dominance struggle that ends when one leaves or is dead. Castration will eliminate the aggression, but it also eliminates their main feature: powerful, brutish aggression.

[Oedipussy Rex]

Robots
Well, androids, actually. Or gynoids if that's your thing. How robots develop sentience is unknown, even to Robots themselves. All they know is suddenly they think, therefore they are.

Robots start with the most Health of any of the playable species. They can repair damage, but their maximum Health never improves.

Robots also do not earn Character Points. For a Robot to improve, it must purchase/install upgrades which can be difficult and/or expensive as almost all knowledge of the technology has disappeared.