ka1ikasan

joined 9 months ago
[–] ka1ikasan@lemmy.zip 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

But... but... So a thoughtful (d6) character that tries something forceful (4--8) would have 1/2 chance to succeed (with 4, 5 or 6 on their die) while a strong character (d12) would have 5/12 chances to succeed (with 4-8 on their die). It means that a strong character is mathematically weaker at attempting something with their strength than a less thoughtful character.

Edit: ...all of that given the same approach die which I assume may happen in character creation.

[–] ka1ikasan@lemmy.zip 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)
  1. Wow, that's way easier than I was imagining. So, the GM uses core position and effect notions to play around player intention. Thanks!
  2. Hmm, even if it's not RAW, your approach still sounds very reasonable. A bad roll means something bad happens and therefore leads to stress. A good roll means everything works good and therefore no stress.
  3. "Fail forward" is a phrase I easily forget as a non-native English speaker but this is such a meaningful concept. It is also one ofe the core notions in Fate that I played quite a lot and I am kinda embarassed to have forgot it.

Great insights, thank you a lot!

[–] ka1ikasan@lemmy.zip 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I agree, feels a lot like Fate. Well, the no-stats approach using different dice is interesting and worth to be noted. I'd try it on a few random scenes just to test it and to see what question would emerge. But yeah, I already foresee quite a few.

I also like the galton-board stress approach. I used a similar thing in my latest game. It's not necessarily better than any other system but it's a bit of fresh air and a pretty little mechanic which is rarely (never?) used.

 

Hi fellow BitD-ers! I am currently learning the system and started a solo campaign (don't judge me on that lol), two sessions in I finally have a reasonably good understanding of how different mechanics work. However, I did not manage to find some clear information about how flashbacks are supposed to work:

  • How far or close in time can a player flashback to? IIUC, the whole mechanics is supposed to replace the tedious prep phase and taking some decisions before the actual mission. Can it be a flashback to a point in time before even knowing what the mission would be ("Several years ago I hid some tools in this prison, just in case")? Could it be to a moment during the mission ("In fact, I set some papers on fire before leaving the previous room so it should cause some panic and confusion among guards"). I did this last one on my first session and, given the fact that I am my own GM and my only player, I was pretty happy about that. However, I do not know how canon it is to the RAW.
  • If I understand correctly, a flashback should always cost 1 stress. Hmmm, should it? I read every now and then that people only apply stress in some cases (bad flashback roll, very difficult task, etc.). I cannot find anything in RAW about it, are people just massively homebrewing that?
  • I also see a lot of GMs saying that flashbacks should never fail and a bad roll should result in a complication (heat, stress, bad position) but not in a missed opportunity for a good player's idea. Once again, I cannot wrap my head around that in RAW, it seems to me that a flashback just calls for a roll and is interpreted as any other action.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has some details on that and may y'all retire with a fine stash!

[–] ka1ikasan@lemmy.zip 2 points 8 months ago

Wow, that seems to be a great supplement! I might look into buying a pdf only somewhere (I already have lots of maps and minis) but if I cannot find one... Well, there's never too many maps and minis, right?... Right?

[–] ka1ikasan@lemmy.zip 9 points 8 months ago (2 children)

There's a talking dragon waiting to share their wisdom and power with the party. He is, like, a couple hours away from the city everyone spends like a few sessions in, preparing to be sieged. NPCs are all talking about how great were the legendary times when dragons were helping dwarves with defending the city. There are dragon claw marks on the city walls. A geographer sponsored by one of my party members tells stories like:

"There was once a cavern just here, near the city, where lived an ancient dragon. And you know what? People don't talk about this place anymore, it isn't on any recent map and nobody goes here. Ever. What could be hidden there? Who knows? If only someone could, like, walk in here and take a look".

Nope, never happened. My party destroyed the whole damn dark forces army all by themselves and left the city. They are now heading to the cooking contest organised by a pixies queen.

[–] ka1ikasan@lemmy.zip 3 points 8 months ago

That's hilarious! Honestly, that's probably how a real bunch of ~~murderers~~ adventurers would react.

 

A few weeks ago I have found a very nice jam on itch.io called Road Trip Game Jam 2025 which was really inspiring and chill. At the time there were already a lot of really good little video games. I decided to hop on and try to submit something physical instead and ~~many coffees later~~ my solo TTRPG Focus on the Road was born.

It's a chill game about driving across a big country, meeting interesting people and visiting some cool landmarks. You will take some pictures of your new friends and visited places using an instant camera and try to continue your trip before the gas tank is empty. As many solo RPGs it's not really a game you can win or lose, it is mostly a tool to narrate a cool story while listening to some old rock music. The main mechanic is interacting with any hitchhikers you might take with you, trying to find a good discussion topic, listening to the radio together, etc. It's absolutely non-violent, features no cigarettes, drugs or booze and has been designed to be as chill as I was when designing it. Oh, and it's free and features only creative common art. Hope you might enjoy it!