A call has gone out asking for resolution mechanics this January and it feels like a fun exercise. However, the main system projects (as opposed to adventures and other content) I have lined up for this year are a slight tweak on 24XX and using a d20 for FitD-style resolution (similar to Realms of Peril’s approach to PbtA).
Clearly, neither of these are sufficiently new and novel.
So instead, here’s:
1, 2, MAXIMISE
(where possible I aim to make my mechanics sound like rejected Venture Bros episode titles)
Rolling
For any risky action, you always roll two dice. Typically, these are your ability die and your skill die. Certain circumstances may swap one or both of these dice for others such as:
Hireling die
Equipment die
Ally die
Magic die
Diety die
All dice range from d4 to d12.
Roll both dice at the same time. If:
Either die shows a 1, this action has failed
Either die shows a 2, this action has resulted in a mixed success
If both dice show a 3 or higher, this action is a success
If both dice show their maximum values, this action is a critical success
Maximising
Certain character abilities will allow you to maximise a die of a particular size or range of sizes. When you maximise a die:
Set it to its maximum value
Raise the stakes of the roll by accepting a worse consequence from the Referee if you roll a 1 or 2
You may only maximise one die per roll, never both.
As a default, the players as a group are allowed to maximise each die (d4,6,8,10,12) once per session.
Analysis
The odds of fail/mixed/success look like this:
As you can see, the odds of a critical success are extremely low (compared to other systems) once you start rolling anything other than a d6 or d4. Here’s where the MAXIMISING comes in:
By limiting maximised rolls, and raising the stakes of them, we focus the table’s attention on these rare single die rolls.
What might this be used for?
Despite the mixed successes, I think their lower frequency compared to PbtA/FitD suggests this might be less suitable for a purely narrative game (where you want plenty of them to drive the action). Instead, I think we’re into complex NSR territory — lots of places on the character sheet to pull dice from and potentially have them “break” or become unusable for a time.
But of course, it’s not up to me — go forth and do with this as you will!
Pictured: Crowd chanting “Maximise! Maximise!” at the 2032 live actual play for popular vid-stream ’1, 2, Die!”