Ideas borrowed form other games.

[scottypotty]

I've played dozens of different roleplaying games over the years. And eventually I come accross something clever or unique that I like to adapt and use in almost every game I GM. Here's a list of some neat things I've come accross that help add to the game.


-Pathfinder: I played in a campaign once where the players were offered a list of extra little talents for their characters. Each talent came with a backgroudn that tied them into the greater campaign. I thought it was brilliant. Some players don't do so well with the roleplaying aspect and it helped them add depth to their charaters. It was also a very easy way to tie the group together and keep them o nthe track of the campaign.

-L5R: Mass Battle. It is very fun and lets regular player characters influence important events. GMing or playing, mass battle was always exciting because major events in the campaign world could be altered by character. It was great fun as a climax to long adventures as well. Characters met mortal enemies in duels to the death, they could become heroes of the battle, honor and glory was theirs for the taking. It's crazy what a few lucky dice rolls can do in defining how a character develops.

-3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Adventure group sheets. Like a character sheet, but with much less depth. It defins the adventuring group's role and major goals along with giving them a few little abilities when accomplishing them. I thought it was another great way to tie characters together. Now, it may be a little awkward in other rules systems, but it's a cool idea nonetheless.

-7th Sea: Drama dice. Several other systems have similar stuff. D20 Star Wars had force points, WFRP had fate and luck points, Cyberpunk allowed you to spend luck. They are re-rolls or extra dice that you can use at critical times. I think 7th Sea did an excellent job as you got extra dice when you did dramatic things. "Tagging" someone in a duel, a witty remark in court, things that enriched the game. It was a way to reward players for using their character well.

-Not from any particular game, but I like to keep certain numbers out of the player's hands. Such as XP. For years I have kept track of my players XP for them. It allowed many to focus on their character and what they're currently doing, rather than trying to level up through more encounters. I would simply tell them when they reached a new level, or if they were close. In Rifts I also had a record of the MDC of their equipment. I found the game better overall when istead of telling them they took 25 mega damage, I'd tell them that their cheap suit of plasticman armor is almost done and nother hit like that would probably do them in. They got into the scene and their characters better. Not everyone is an exccelent actor, and it helps them view their character as a person rather than a bunch of numbers.


This list is only a few little gimmicks I have found helpful. Anyone else do anything different that helps them run a game?

[The Dark Elf]

Not different but I do the same for XP. As you say theres is no levelling grind or distraction.

I liked the idea of force/fate points as the player but as the GM they just had no place for rewinding fate. I disliked the idea unless the character was a priest and I could make it the god that is doing so.

[scottypotty]

Not different but I do the same for XP. As you say theres is no levelling grind or distraction.

I liked the idea of force/fate points as the player but as the GM they just had no place for rewinding fate. I disliked the idea unless the character was a priest and I could make it the god that is doing so.

I believe the true purpose of such benefits allow the characters to attempt some epic actions, knowing they've got a little better chance of them working. It also allows a GM to go with the roll of the dice rather than altering it sometimes to avert complete disaster. Sometimes characters get an unlucky streak and GMs get hot dice. For me it's a slipperly slope on when to intervene and when it becomes too much. It's easy to play favorites accidentally when you "flub" roles from time to time. The trick is to limit how much free "luck" you allow players to have. I've never used the idea for Rifts, but I think it can add value depending on the game's theme.

[Damian Magecraft]

I have used a token based mechanic (I have no idea where this originated; I experienced a game with another GM who used it and I liked the idea)...
I use poker chips for this...

White: exchanged for a +2 (on d20) or +10% (on d100) to any skill for one session or for a one time bonus of +5/+25% to a single roll
Red: exchanged for a re-roll of any toss of the dice or a +3 (on d20) or a +15% (on a d100) to any skill for one session or a +10/+50% one time bonus to a single roll
Blue: exchanged for an auto success (treated as a natural 20 or natural 01%) or a +4 (on a d20) or a +20% (on a d100) for one session

All players start the Campaign with 1 white, 1 red, and 1 blue chip
Additional chips are random draw
ratio of chips is
1 blue for every 5 red
1 red for every 5 white
1B = 5R = 25W (chips cannot be traded for higher value chips)
Additional chips are earned for every 1000 exp gained
and at GM whim (impress me with an action; deduction; RP; etc...)
there is one Caveat however...
The GM gets Chips as well (for use with the NPCs)
The GM starts the Campaign with 1 white, 1 red, and 1 blue for every PC in the game (so if there are 5 PCs he starts with 5w, 5r, 5b)
Every time a player "spends" a chip the GM gets a random draw for chips
for every White chip spent the GM gets 1 draw
for every Red chip spent the GM gets 2 draws
for every Blue chip spent the GM get 3 draws

[The Dark Elf]

Good point scotty. I ran a game last week where the main character was in a duel and got hit with a critical jump kick doing 54 damage. this was in PFRPG so that is ALOT! he was comatosed and is obviously gutted as his opponent had 10 HP for 4 melees.

He bled to 6 by the end and was actually comatosed too so I suppose it was a draw really.

Point being, luck (bad) of the dice but the player would have used his point and it would have ended the game on a much more "fun" mood.

[scottypotty]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not just a softie on characters. I've had characters and an entire party die once in my game. Sometimes horrible mistakes are made and the player knows it. It would devalue each small victory if characters didn't risk their lives striving for their goals.

-Another novel idea is to have a rotating GM. Many groups only have one person who likes to run games. I've usually had a few in mine, and recently the majority of the players in my RP group are GMs. I like to tell the story, but let's face it, sometimes I'd like nothing more than to pick up a sword and go dungeon crawling. The trick here is to keep the different game master's storylines seperate. It's not fun when eventually the majority of the players learn the secrets of the campaign. The element of surprise is important. An epic campaign may be possible with distinct chapters. Or a series of mini-campaigns.