Kevin's Quest

The Year of GADD

This must be the year of gamer's attention deficit disorder (GADD). So far, I've started and stalled out on projects with chariots, galleys, horse & musket skirmish, Byzantine skirmish, and African exploration. This week, I turned back to RPGs.

Me and RPGs

I have a long history of experimenting with roleplaying games. A couple of months ago, I mentioned that I was toying with running an online campaign with my brothers. At the time, I was pondering which system to run. Unhappy with the commercial options, I did a short experiment with a 2D6 system. I've played around with 2D6 before (here are some examples).

Kevin's Quest

I had a burst of inspiration this week and began jotting down rules for a 2D6 system. I began calling the rules Kevin's Quest.

Origins of KQ

These rules are certainly not original. They have many inspirations. I drew on a number of rules that use a 2D6 system, such as

• Traveller
• Barbarians of Lemuria
• PDQ
• QUERPS

Furthermore, old school D&D has an influence. I may gripe about D&D (and there are quite a few flaws worthy of griping about) but the basic structure is very solid. 

• Some positives about old school D&D:
• Character creation is straightforward
• Roll attributes, pick a class, roll hit points and gold, then buy equipment.
• The BECMI edition added some general skills, which I like.
• Combat is straightforward
• Roll to hit, then roll damage if successful.

Some Features of KQ

• Characters are created by determining
• attributes (strength, dexterity, intelligence, charisma),which range from -1 to 5 with 0 representing the average
• race and profession (similar to D&D)
• combat skills (fight, shoot, and magic, health) determined by profession, and
• general skills.
• Health starts low (average around 5) and remains low across levels. I want to avoid hp bloat.
• To give some staying power to PCs, I give luck points, which can negate hits.
• Combat is based on 2D6 + modifiers >= Difficulty. Average difficulty = 7.
• Monsters do not roll to hit. Instead, players roll to defend their characters from damage.
• While shields affect the difficulty of hitting, armor does not. Instead, it absorbs damage.

The Experiment

Rather than try out a full-blown dungeon, I decided to experiment with a handle of encounters. I rolled up 2 characters - a ranger and a warrior.

Here are their fights:

1. 8 giant rats. The PCs managed to kill 3 rats but were themselves overwhelmed.
2. Reduce to 4 giant rats. This time the heroes win. The warrior takes a hit, but negates it with luck. OOPS. I just realized that I forgot to reduce damage due to armor!
3. 2 orcs. The heroes kill the orcs but the warrior takes a light wound.
4. An ogre. The heroes roll real well, and manage to win unscathed.

In general, I think the rules work. I don't plan on using them for solo RPGing. MicroQuest, my RPG version of MicroBattle, works better for solo play. However, I would like to use KQ if I run a game with my brothers.

Oh, nearly forgot. I need to work on magic rules.