RPGADD and Tiny D6

Last week I made significant progress on the rules for a homebrew 2D6 system. In a fit of RPG ADD, I have now abandoned those rules. I now find myself considering the Tiny D6 system.

What is Tiny D6?

Tiny D6 is a minimalist, generic, and universal RPG ruleset. The author has published variants for multiple settings: fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, Cthulhu, and others. For more information, check out their webpage.

Character creation is simple. A player specifies a "heritage" or archetype, some traits, weapon proficiency, and background info. A character sheet can fit on a 3 x 5" index card!

Task resolution is equally simple. 

• For a standard test, roll 2D6. You succeed if either die is a 5 or 6.
• If your character has an advantage, roll 3D6, succeeding if any die is a 5 or 6.
• If your character has a disadvantage, roll 1D6, succeeding on a 5 or 6.

What's "Wrong" with Tiny D6

I discovered it a while back, but discarded it because a couple features irked me.

Advantage / Disadvantage
This seems to be a trend in RPG design, and I hate it. If you've read about my MicroBattle rules, you may be asking "Doesn't your rules have advantage / disadvantage?" Well, I use the terminology but the mechanic is different. My advantages and disadvantages are simple modifiers to the die roll. The trend is to roll additional dice and keep the best for advantage or worst for disadvantage.

I understand that the common advantage / disadvantage mechanic simplifies math. The problem I have is that it reduces granularity. Think about how it is used in Tiny D6:

• A test with disadvantage will succeed 33% of the time
• A standard test succeeds 56% of the time
• A test with advantage succeeds 70% of the time.

That's it. There are 3 possibilities. Heck, if I just use a simple D6 roll I have 6 possibilities!

Skill Systems

In days gone by, I had an interest in skill-based RPGs, such as GURPS. The idea of creating exactly the character I want appealed to me then. The problem with skill-based systems is that they can make for longer character sheets. It can get absurd. "Sorry, you can't use the restroom unless you took the toilet trained skill!" OK, that's an exaggeration, but I see a bit of that in Tiny D6. For example, you don't get a benefit from using a shield unless you take the Shield Bearer skill.

Why I'm Considering It Now

Despite these flaws, I'm giving it a second glance. I'm considering running a Halloween scenario for my wife and brothers. Since I plan to do it as a one-shot, I want something quick and simple. Tiny D6 certainly fills the bill there.

I'm not sure it would work for long-term play, but that's not really the goal right now. And for solo play, MicroQuest works best for me.