WhidouNov 20, 2024
Re-reading #Swyvers now that I have received my physical copy.
Genuinely flabbergasted by the design choices for the resolution system: it's roll-under attribute with the difficulty setting the number of dice, EXCEPT when there is no relevant attribute then it's a fixed number of dice with a threshold set by difficulty EXCEPT when it's a contest, then whoever rolls higher wins, EXCEPT during a fight, where you must roll over the defence, using d10s instead of d6s.
Why? 🤦‍♀️
#OSR #TTRPG
Show threadWhidouNov 20, 2024
Every single game system mixing roll-over and roll-under that I ever tried had the players confused about their rolls, not knowing whether to be happy or sad about their 1s and 20s, constantly asking to be reminded of the rules. Most recently, I had this issue with #BreakRPG, but here #Swyvers doubles down by also changing the dice used, for maximum confusion.
#TTRPG designers, if you pull this kind of acrobatics, please at least provide a quick reference or rule cheatsheet for the players. 🙏
Show threadLexTenebris

@Whidou All right, I've been crunching over that in my head from a descriptive point of view, and it goes off the rails right at the beginning.

If you're going to set the difficulty with number of dice, then that should always be the mechanism for setting the difficulty.

If there's no relevant attribute, it should default to a fixed value, and the difficulty should have a variable number of dice.

If it's a contest where there is no relevant attribute, then it should simply default to a fixed number of dice on both sides, with narrative elements either adding or reducing the die pool. (They act as difficulties for one another.)

If it's a fight, when would you ever be in a fight where there is no relevant attribute? Unless you're saying that they shift mechanics entirely for conflicts of a physical nature and change the entire die used to resolve, which makes no sense at all.

This sounds very much like it simply needs to be rewritten from the ground up by someone who isn't garbage at their job.

#TTRPG #Swyvers #design

Nov 20, 2024 at 10:21pmWeb