MrHyLyfe
Hey #tabletoprpg fans, what does it mean if a game is "crunchy"?
Dec 13, 2017 at 5:39amTusky
Show thread17M d20s in a TrenchcoatDec 13, 2017

@MrHyLyfe It means that game has a lot of mechanical complexity, in terms of rules and numbers and whatnot. The opposite of crunchy is fluffy.

Pathfinder, D&D 3.5, and Shadowrun are crunchy.
FATE and Apocalypse World are (relatively) fluffy.

Show threadMrHyLyfeDec 13, 2017
@rngesus_wept thanks! I have a question about a particular #tabletoprpg (I'm using hashtags to see if anyone else can chime in). The game is #acesandeightsrpg (Aces & Eights) I have a question about how core stats work.
Show threadMrHyLyfeDec 13, 2017
@rngesus_wept in it, when you roll a core stat, you also roll a percentage to go with that stat. How does that affect skill checks?
Show thread17M d20s in a TrenchcoatDec 13, 2017
@MrHyLyfe Give me a moment; not familiar with this system so I'll need to read up.
Show thread17M d20s in a TrenchcoatDec 13, 2017

@MrHyLyfe Wow this is crunchy.

Based on the description in step 2 on page 17 of the core rulebook, I'd say that the percentage you roll doesn't have any in-the-moment relevance; it's basically a small experience point tracker for levelling up that particular stat.

Show thread17M d20s in a TrenchcoatDec 13, 2017

@MrHyLyfe Yuup, the Building Points that you get for character progression are used to buy fractional (.01's) stat points (among other things) at a rate that decreases as you progress (so it is difficult to get too much better than you started out).

The core rules also seem to foreshadow that it might matter for skill checks because they take place against your "complete" stat score rounded down (e.g. two thirds of 10.01 rounded down is different from two thirds of 10.99 rounded down).

Show thread17M d20s in a TrenchcoatDec 13, 2017
@MrHyLyfe I think the short answer is that everything rounds down and you should always consider your actual stat to be xx.yy, but in practice that usually won't matter too much. Certainly that .yy doesn't act in strange ways independent of the rest of the stat (e.g. you get to make reroll attempts if you're between .80 and .99 of a stat for some bizarre reason).
Show threadMrHyLyfeDec 13, 2017
@rngesus_wept if I was gonna make that less crunchy, could I just use a pointbuy system for the build points like in Dnd 5e?
Show thread17M d20s in a TrenchcoatDec 13, 2017
@MrHyLyfe I think that kind of depends on how generously build points are awarded during play, which I haven't read deeply enough to determine. (Since this is a question that affects character progression, it's not enough to just use point buy, which is only applicable to character creation.) D&D 5 has its own method of stat progression that you might be able to use if you can tie it to a "level" concept in A&8, though I didn't see anything like that on first pass.
Show threadMrHyLyfeDec 13, 2017
@rngesus_wept I've thought about it and I've decided how I wanna do it.
Show threadMrHyLyfeDec 13, 2017
@rngesus_wept I ended up making my own personal errata that uses only whole numbers.
Show thread17M d20s in a TrenchcoatDec 13, 2017
@MrHyLyfe Cool, hope it works out for you.
Show threadMrHyLyfeDec 13, 2017

@rngesus_wept if it doesn't work out I'll just make up something else.

I am the GM, I am the rules.

Show threadsol_shifterJan 13, 2018
@MrHyLyfe It means that the rules of the game system are more complex and harder to learn than other systems.