Character Development

Actually, this post is about how I am developing character rules for my latest version of Micro Quest. I just jotted down some random thoughts.

Classes

Last year's version of MQ (MQ22) only had 3 classes - fighters, rogues, and sages. For compatibility with D&D, I'd like to include the full panoply of major classes. 

• Add fighter sub-classes - barbarian, monk, ranger, and paladin
• Split sage into bard, cleric, druid,  and magic-user.

I plan on streamlining abilities so I can fit a character's stats on one line of an index card.

Levels

MQ22 mashed characters into 6 levels. This means I had to convert from D&D to MQ levels. Not that it was difficult; I generally just divided by 2. But it dawned on me that I don't to convert because I derive target numbers from relative levels.

I may still have character levels cap out around level 10 or so. In AD&D, that's about when characters become eligible to settle down and run a fief.

I will still likely create my own leveling charts, probably based on quests completed rather than killing stuff or finding treasure.

Ability Scores

MQ22 dispensed with ability scores. I assumed that fighters are strong, sages are intelligent, and rogues are dexterous. But this negates some opportunities for characterization. For example, I found it amusing that my character Tweedle turned out to be a bit rash.

A previous version of MQ allowed for strengths and weaknesses. I will resurrect this mechanic in some fashion to add a little flavor. I think I will assume that characters are average for all characteristics and then roll to see if they have a strength or weakness.

Axeholm's Upper Level

 A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

A Burial

After defeating the ghoul, the way is open to the upper level.

"Let's go," a grim but determined Killian commands.

"Wait!" Martin interjects. "If we leave Gruff's body, he will turn into a ghoul. We need to cremate him, quickly!"

The party finds a fireplace, and then sends their comrade off to the heavens.

The Upper Level

With that sad duty performed, the remaining party members head up the stairs.

The Chambers

They find themselves in a wing with a series of bedchambers. In one, the floor gives way, dropping Killian and Haiden to the floor below. Both are bruised, but Martin uses a rope to pull them back up.

The Gallery

The gallery looks down upon the great hall in the lower level. Fortunately, they have no encounters.

The Bastion

This area features arms and defensive works to protect the stronghold. Unfortunately, it was unable to protect the dwarves from a spy, an elven maiden working for the enemy. They killed her, but now she roams the halls as a banshee. And our heroes find her.

The banshee immediately shrieks, and Martin falls unconscious!

Killian and Haiden rush to the attack. This begins a long drawn out combat. They are unable to hit the banshee, but her attacks do not penetrate their armor.

Then Haiden has an idea! He rushes to Martin's body and dumps the contents of his pack. Phials of holy water spill out. Haiden flings it at the banshee. His aim is off, however, and it simply splashes at the banshee's feet.

The banshee attacks Haiden. She hits and he slumps to the ground. He is severely wounded.

Killian reacts. "Grab Martin and get out of here! I'll hold off the banshee!"

Haiden crawls over to Martin and begins pulling him towards the exit.

Meanwhile, Killian grabs a holy water phial. The banshee rushes him. At the last second, he splashes holy water in her face. She screams in pain and rage, then disappears.

"Is it dead?" Haiden gasps.

They hear ghostly wails and screams.

"I don't think so," Killian replies. "But she is hurt. We better get out of here before she comes back."

The Escape

Killian picks up Martin then helps Haiden hobble through the halls of Axeholm. Fortunately, they do not meet any resistance, and they escape from the haunted stronghold.

That night they make camp. Killian heals Martin, but the cleric is barely conscious. He will need rest to fully heal.

Ultimately, they make it back to Phandalin.

One day, Winston, Killian's confessor and former comrade in arms, sees Killian praying in the temple they've been building.

Winston approaches. "Do not blame yourself, my son."

Killian looks at him and wanly smiles. "I don't know if that's possible, Brother. But that's not what's on my mind. I am thinking of Axeholm. But not about what happened. I'm thinking about what will happen. You see, I have a clever plan..."

Stay tuned for more adventures of Ser Killian!

THOUGHTS

You might think that I would see this disaster as a negative, but I see it as a great success! Maybe not for Killian, but it was for MicroQuest.

I think my changes generally worked well.

• Mapping the dungeon, even in a simple manner, was more effective than just rolling for encounters.
• My character changes seem to work. I'll detail these in a later post.

Furthermore, despite my characters' failures, the session was suspenseful and exciting! That's hard to do in a solo RPG. When it happens, it's a great feeling.

I just can't wait to see how Killian responds to Axeholm!

Investigating Axeholm Redux

A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

The Quest

After the adventure against the wererats, our heroes return triumphant to Phandalin.

There, Harbin Wester, the townmaster, has news. Adabra Gwynn of Umbrage Hill recently spotted the dragon. Wester is concerned that it may soon attack Phandalin. He wants to relocate to a more secure location. To that end, he asks the party to scout the dwarven ruins of Axeholm.

The Journey

Axeholm is about a day south of Phandalin. Their journey is easy. On the way, they meet a cleric named Martin. He joins the party.

WAIT A MINUTE! 

Haven't we heard this before?!

Why yes. Back in February I began the Axeholm adventure. But now that I making changes to MicroQuest, I decided to experiment using my Icespire Peak characters. I figured I should start the adventure from scratch.

Changes

I'll elaborate some of the changes to the characters in an upcoming post. For now, let me mention a change in how I run the dungeon.

In February, I experimented with a map-less dungeon. Essentially, it took a certain number of encounters for the party to reach a major milestone, such as reaching a boss. Honestly, it felt a little flat.

This time, I decided to use a simplified version of the dungeon map. As you can see in the picture, I divided the lower level into 5 distinct wings. I decreed that each wing will have up to 2 encounters.

You can also see my character sheet in the picture. I managed to streamline it so I could fit the entire party on one index card!

The Lower Level

Here is the true story of Ser Killian's adventure in Axeholm.

Axeholm's lower level

Entrance

The great gates at the main entrance are locked but somehow Gruff manages to unlock the doors. Hmmm. May need to watch out for him.

The party runs into 4 ghouls.

The party (colors) vs, ghouls (black)

Haiden and Gruff manage to kill 2 each.

The Hall

In the great hall, 2 stirges attack the party. One latches onto Gruff but Martin manages to kill it while Haiden knocks down the second.

The Throne Room

An arrow trap drives them back before they can reach the stairs to the upper level. Gruff is now badly wounded but Martin partially heals him.

The Barracks

The party finds the stairs up, but a ghoul guards the path. Our heroes get the drop on it and attack. Haiden manages to slice off one arm while Killian opens up its abdomen. Stinking black blood and guts spill out.

Two critical hits in one turn. The thing is almost dead!

But the ghoul still has some fight in it. It lunges forward and grabs Gruff by the neck. It pulls him towards it, then it rips out Gruff's throat with its teeth!

Oh no, another critical!

The ghoul lord drops Gruff's carcass and turns on Killian. Martin rushes to Gruff's side and tries to heal him, But Gruff's lifeblood continues to spill from his body.

Killian finishes off the ghoul, then tries to help Gruff. He lays on hands, but he fails.

Gruff is dead.

Both Martin and Killian rolled 1's when trying to heal Gruff. I took that as a sign that it was not meant to be.

What next for our heroes? Find out tomorrow!

Delving into Dungeon Crawls

As I mentioned, I planned on playing a solo D&D adventure last week, but I lost my rules. I have since found them, but I have some ideas for improvements. This has led me onto a path of re-evaluating my design. 

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

As part of my re-evaluation process, I decided to jot down some of my design goals.

Simplicity

In general, this is a major goal for my designs. I prefer games where I don't have to refer frequently to the rules or to charts. I also want to minimize math. I don't want to add a bunch of modifiers to determine results, especially since I tend to roll for all characters simultaneously.

D6, or maybe D12

I have a bunch of D6's lying around. I want to use them. I also have some D12's and sometimes consider using them instead. Something to consider.

Party on a Postcard

Actually, an index card, but you get the idea. Currently, I have each character on an index card, but I am not keen on shuffling among them. I'd like to minimize the stats for each character so that I can fit the entire party on one side of an index card. This may be a tall order, in which case I'll go up to a 4 x 6 inch card.

Convertibility

Although I have complained about the Dragon of Icespire Keep module, I like the idea of using published D&D modules. Therefore, I'd like to be able to convert easily from D&D to my system. Details to be determined.

NEXT STEPS

Where do I go from here?

• I think the core MicroQuest system is solid. I'm looking to tweak this system so that it meets my design considerations.
• I'm starting with character generation. I'd like to include all the core D&D classes. I'll need to look into ways to differentiate them without too much crunch.
• Right now I'm reading various versions of D&D for ideas.

I'll continue to post on my progress until GADD steers me away from this project.

Investigating Axeholm

A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

The Quest

After the adventure against the wererats, our heroes return triumphant to Phandalin.

There, Harbin Wester, the townmaster, has news. Adabra Gwynn of Umbrage Hill recently spotted the dragon. Wester is concerned that it may soon attack Phandalin. He wants to relocate to a more secure location. To that end, he asks the party to scout the dwarven ruins of Axeholm.

The Journey

Axeholm is about a day south of Phandalin. Their journey is easy. On the way, they meet a cleric named Martin. He joins the party.

I rolled a boon for the random event during the journey. The party needs a cleric so I decided to add one.

The Lower Level

The party arrives at the impressive fortress carved into the rock of a mountain. Once a dwarven stronghold, the inhabitants abandoned they executed a dark elf spy. With her dying breath, the spy cursed the fortress. People say that her spirit still haunts the now empty halls.

As they enter the fortress, four zombie dwarves attack them. 

Gruff kills one but another wounds him in return. Killian comes to Gruff's aid and helps dispatch the zombie. He, Gruff, and Haiden then slay the rest.

Later, 2 stirges attack, but our heroes take them out easily.

Then they encounter 2 ghouls.

One wounds Killian. He resists paralysis and then slaughters the monstrosity. Martin then turns the other.

Finally, they find the ghoul lord. Martin turns it before it even gets a single attack.

Technically, Martin is too low a level to turn a ghoul, but I gave him a 1/6 chance. He succeeded!

After defeating the ghoul lord, the party finds the stairs up to the top level.

What happens next? Find out next time!

I played this adventure a few weeks ago but finally got around to posting it. I still haven't finished the adventure. :(

Rats, Foiled Again!

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

Return to the Mine

As Killian promised, the party cleared the orcs from the abandoned shrine. After their victory, they return to Mountain's Toe Gold Mine without incident.

They stop at the miners' camp. Gavril offers to accompany them to meet the toughs, but Killian says that they should not need him.

Abandoned!

The go to the toughs' guard room and announce that they completed the mission. One of the guards offers to escort them to their boss.

They follow the guard. Suddenly, he turns into a giant rat and scampers into the darkness!

"A wererat!" cries out Gruff.

"We've been betrayed!" exclaims Haiden.

"Nevertheless," declares Killian, "we shall venture forth and exact justice!"

Killian Smells a Rat

As our heroes delve a little further into the mine, two rat-headed humanoids confront them.

Killian demands that they surrender and leave the mine. The two wererats sneer and attack.

Gruff holds off one while Killian and Haiden gang up on the second. It does not last long. Seeing the fate of his comrade, the first one runs.

Another Creepy Crawly

The party ventures on. They come to a room that is covered in webs.

"Careful," whispers Gruff, "somethin' may be a lurkin'"

Sure enough, a giant spider flings a web at Haiden. 

He barely dodges.

Gruff looses an arrow. It catches the spider in a critical spot, killing it instantly.

Among the spider webs they find a healing potion. They use it to heal one of Haiden's wounds from the prior adventure.

The Rat Boss

Our heroes make it to the wererat boss's lair. The boss is there with another henchman.

Henchman are stronger than standard minions.

Killian demands that the boss and his followers leave the mine.

"We ain't leaving," it says. "And neither will you!" it snarls as it draws a sword.

A melee breaks out. Killian and Gruff wound the boss. Haiden parries an attack from the henchman. His riposte guts the enemy.

The boss turns on Haiden. With a series of blows, scratches, and bites, it severely wounds Haiden and forces him backward.

Haiden's comrades rush to his aid. They strike simultaneously, both their blades bite deep into the boss's flesh. It collapses to the ground.

Haiden's Fate

Killian checks on Haiden, who is slumped on the ground. He uses his healing power to stabilize his squire.

"He needs additional medical attention. Let's take him to the miners' camp."

Gruff nods, and picks up the young warrior. They return to the camp without incident. There, they perform first aid. They let Haiden rest and recover while they check out the rest of the mine. The wererats are dead or gone. They inform Raskin, who rewards them for their efforts.

Killian is pleased. More funds for the church at Phandalin.

Terror at the Logger's Camp

Part Two of a Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - This adventure is based on one of the quests from D&D's Dragon of Icespire Peak. You should not read this post if you wish to play the adventure.

Last Time

Our heroes managed to make it safely to the logger's camp to deliver supplies.

However, the camp is deathly silent. They begin to explore

Out of the Earth

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake. Two small ankhegs pop out.

My encounter tables have different levels of monsters - from minions, to henchmen, and then the boss. So I decided to have different levels of ankhegs - youth, adults, and, well, you'll see.

They surprise Gruff and Winston, but both manage to dodge attacks.

Gruff then shoots one with an arrow. It strikes back and wounds him. Haiden comes to Gruff's aid. Together, they kill one. The other flees.

More Tremors

They approach one of the cabins. It is situated on a rocky hill. It's solid foundation has allowed it to remain standing while the other buildings have collapsed.

But before they get to the cabin, the earth shakes again. This time, three small ankhegs attack!

Gruff drives one off, but another crunches into Haiden's arm. Its acidic saliva burns into his flesh. The rest of the party comes to his rescue. They hack the ankheg to bits. The last one flees.

The Cabin

There is no one in the cabin. But they find a hole in the floor. Inside is a bloody totem.

"Witchcraft!" yells Killian. He tosses the totem in a fireplace and sets it alight.

As it burns, they hear shrieks from outside. Looking out, they see a swarm of ankhegs fleeing from the camp.

Winston opines, "It looks like that totem attracted the ankhegs. Its destruction has panicked them."

Mama Mia

They exit the cabin and discover that not all ankhegs panicked. One monstrous sized ankheg sits in the middle of the camp. As soon as it sees them, it rushes forward.

It spits acid, which sprays Killian and Winston. The liquid burns through their clothing and bubbles their flesh.

The party attacks, but their blades bounce of the creature's hardened chitin. However, one of Gruff's arrows managed to find a chink in the armor and wound the monster.

It lashes out, and strikes Winston. He falls, then rolls down a hill to safety.

Winston should have been killed, but I used a luck point to save him.

The beast turns on Gruff and claws him. He backs away. Killian covers him, then launches an attack. He strikes hard, biting into the ankheg's chitin. Black ichor seeps from its wound. The creature then dives into the ground. They can see its wake as it plows through the earth, rushing into the forest away from the deadly warriors.

Epilogue

Once the ankhegs flee, a figure emerges from the woods. It is Tibor Wester, Harbin's brother. He explains that the loggers fled. He hid in the woods, hoping for relief. He accepts the supplies and sets out to re-staff the camp.

Our heroes return home without incident and receive their reward from Harbin.

THE END.

Game Notes

Converting the scenario into a random quest was far more satisfying than trying to run it like I would for a group of players. I think I'll do the same for the remaining adventures.

Another aspect that made it interesting was having different levels of adversaries. In the module, there are a handful of ankhegs, all of the same level. Having some variety of challenge creates more tension and interest.

Adventure of the Logger's Camp

Part One

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler Alert - This adventure is based on one of the quests from D&D's Dragon of Icespire Peak. You should not read this post if you wish to play the adventure.

Additional Note - I decided to take a new tack with these adventures. Rather than trying to run through them as written, I'll convert them to random adventures using my latest MicroQuest adventure generator.

The Quest

Once more Harbin Wester, townmaster of Phandalin, has a quest for our heroes. He asks them to deliver supplies to a logging camp deep in Neverwinter Wood.

Ser Killian agrees but Gruff interrupts.

"Beg yer pardon, m'lord, but somethin' just ain't right," he asks as he pores over a map of the region.

"I've done some scoutin' and this seems foolhardy. He's askin' us to traipse through 50 miles of forest with a wagon in tow to deliver supplies. Why don't they jest ship supplies down the river from Neverwinter?"

Harbin looks perplexed. Gruff proposes an alternate plan. Skirt the forest and head toward the river. Find a merchant along the river and buy supplies. Ultimately, this is the plan they adopt.

Game Note - yeah, I thought it is a pretty stupid quest. I can't imagine plowing through the forest with an oxen-pulled cart of supplies.

On the Road

The party skirts the forest, staying far enough away to avoid ambush but close enough to hide among the trees if needed.

About halfway, Gruff's plan is put to the test. They hear a monstrous roar from above. A white dragon is flying overhead!

Akin to Warrior Heroes Adventures in Talomir, I added a travel phase, where wandering monsters might attack. I rolled a Monster on my table, which represents a pretty significant challenge. I figured that the dragon would be appropriate. I confirmed with a random roll, a la the Mythic Game Master Emulator.

"Quick!" Gruff commands. "I don't think it sawr us. Let's hide in the forest!"

They run to the trees. Gruff makes it, then turns back to check on the others. Incredibly, Ser Killian is standing in the open, upon a hillock, shouting curses at the dragon!

Since the party won initiative, I gave them a chance to hide. They needed to pass a stealth test. Killian failed miserably, so I assumed that Killian's urge for glory overwhelmed his good sense.

The dragon swoops down on Killian, maw open and teeth gleaming! At the last moment, Killian dodges, then drives his sword into the dragon's neck. Blood spatters the ground and the beast howls in fury. As it flies by, it knocks Killian to his feet.

Killian hit and wounded the dragon. The dragon hit, but it only shook Killian up a bit.

The dragon climbs back into the sky and circles Killian. The knight is back on his feet, brandishing his bloody sword. The dragon hesitates. It was hoping for easier prey. It turns and flies away.

I figured that the dragon wanted easy prey so I had it roll morale. It failed, so it flies away!

The River

The party makes it to the river and as luck would have it, they come across a merchant's boat plying the waters. They convince the captain to deliver them and supplies to the logging camp. The rest of their trip is uneventful.

I rolled a boon as a random encounter. I interpreted this as them finding a merchant.

Arriving at the Logging Camp

After a relaxing river voyage, they arrive at the camp. They expect to see a beehive of activity, but the camp is deathly quiet.

The merchant drops them off at the dock. They walk into the camp. Not a soul is moving. The buildings are in various states of collapse, as if struck by an earthquake.

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake!

What is going on? Find out next time!

I decided to turn this into a 2-parter!

And Now for Something Completely Different

I've probably used this title before, but it is appropriate. I've been on an air combat kick for the past month, but now GADD has set in and I've been fiddling around with, well, something different.

The cause of my recent tangent is Two Hour Wargames, specifically this.

I previously mentioned that I went in for the Kickstarter of the Quick Play version of Warrior Heroes Adventures in Talomir (WHAT for short). The physical version is due in January, but in the interim THW sent our PDFs of the games.

So far, I'm upbeat about the purchase. The contents seem like they will be useful.

The PDF comes with 3 different 8.5 x 11 inch battle boards, like this one.

As well as a slew of counters. Here is just a sample.

I'm not so keen on the rules. But that's to be expected. I've often said that I don't care for the THW standard dice pool mechanic.

Nevertheless, there are some good ideas in the rules. I like the table for creating quick-play, no-map dungeons. I also like how WHAT QP distills dungeon encounters into 3 enemies - low lifes, minions, and the Big Bad.

The rules have inspired me to give a go at creating my own quick play dungeon table. I added a few additional features - traps, hazards, boons, and monsters - but the concept is the same. Complete a dungeon with maybe 4 to 6 random encounters.

Stay tuned for some play tests of my latest MicroQuest dungeon crawl rules. And don't worry, I haven't given up on dogfights.

Fast Play MicroQuest

Back in August, I acquired some fantasy meeples for some fast play dungeon crawls. I only recently managed to use them.

I did not have formalized rules during the game. I just winged it, although I essentially used a variant of MicroBattle.

Since then, I have been working on the rules. Here is what I have so far.

Characters

Each character has the following statistics.

• Class - basically fighters, rogues, or sages
• Level - measure of the character's skill in the class
• Armor Class - none, light, medium, or heavy armor, ranging from 0 to 3 points
• Hit Points - characters start with 2-3 hit points
• Special Abilities - working on these for each class. They'll be short and sweet.

I don't bother with ability scores. I assume that fighters are strong, sages are intelligent, and rogues are dexterous. This simplifies the stats and allows me to keep a party's stats on one index card.

Combat

Combat essentially follows the MicroBattle rules. The player needs to roll a 4 or better for a character to succeed in an action. Advantages add 1 or 2 to the roll while disadvantages subtract 1 or 2.

I determine which side has advantage in the combat by comparing levels. The PCs have an advantage if they are higher level or have a disadvantage if they are lower.

Combat is "player-facing," which means that the PCs always roll. The monsters never do. When the monsters attack, the PCs roll defense.

Damage

In order to reduce hit point tracking, I made a modification to damage. When a hit occurs, roll a D6, with the following results.

• 4-6 - take 1 hit point of damage
• 1-3 - the character is stunned

I'm still working out what a stun does. In my test game, stunned characters had to spend a turn recovering, essentially losing an attack. To speed things up, I may just give stunned characters a disadvantage.

And the Rest

I still need to work out the rest of the rules. But I feel I have a decent start.

Stay tuned for more!

Determining To Hit

While pondering my raging D6 vs D12 debate, I recognized that changing the die type would affect the modifiers to the to hit number. Before I explain that issue, though, I thought I should explain how my to hit system works.

Getting Hit

Dungeons & Dragons, the first and most popular role playing game, bases the to hit number on the defender's armor. It's harder to hit someone with heavy armor and easier to hit someone without armor. I have a problem with that approach.

Let's demonstrate my reservations with a video.

In D&D, the heavily-armored guards should have had no trouble hitting the unarmored fencing master with his [old school] AC of 9. Yet they can't touch him until his wooden sword is broken. Clearly, armor is not the main determinant on whether he got hit; it is skill and experience.

Now, I know that D&D uses hit points as an abstract measure of defensive acumen. Syrio would have a lot of hit points so it would take a while for the guards to whittle him down. But that turns combat into a very attritional game, with more record-keeping. I wanted to get away from tracking a lot of hit points.

This led me to a different take on determining hits. The To Hit number would depend on the relative experience of the combatants. A master would have an easier time hitting a novice but the novice would be lucky to hit back.

In game terms, this means I compare the combatant's levels, which range from 1 (novice) to 6 (legend). If the combatants are equal in levels, then there is no modifier to the base to hit number (4+ on a D6). A difference of 1-2 levels results in an advantage or disadvantage (effectively + or -1 on the roll). More than 2 level difference is a significant advantage or disadvantage (+/-2). In practice, the system is simple and quick.

What About Armor?

You'll notice that armor has no impact on getting hit in my system. Instead, I assume that armor reduces damage if you get hit.

Right now, I divide armor into 2 broad categories - light and heavy. No armor gives a disadvantage to the save roll while heavy armor adds an advantage. Failing the save results in a wound.

And Shields?

Initially, I treated shields as armor, which reduces damage. But I am experimenting with shields affecting the to hit roll. Realistically it makes sense. I use a shield to prevent you from hitting me. But in practical game terms I think it is easier if shields add to the armor bonus for saving. I haven't decided which way to go.

But How Does the Dice Type Affect All This?

My system assumes a 50% chance to hit if there are no modifiers. With a D6, this means that I can only after 2 levels of advantage or disadvantage. For example, a novice attacking a master would need 4+2 = 6 to hit. If there were another level, then there would be no chance for the novice to hit, which may be realistic but is no fun.

Note: This example shows one of the advantages of a D12. A 1 in 6 (16%) chance seems too high for a novice to hit a master. A 1 in 12 (8%) chance is better. For more realism, I probably should use percentile dice and give the novice 1-2%! But I don't want to go that route.

If I switch to D12, I can add more levels of advantage. If the base to hit is 7+, I can have 5 levels of difference - more granularity but in practical terms this seems to require more detailed record keeping and calculations. I'm trying to keep it simple, and D12 seems to negate that.

I have a similar issue with armor. Using D12 allows more categories (padded armor, leather armor, maille, plate + other variations), but introduces more complexity.

Ultimately, my D6 vs D12 dilemma seems to boil down to the level of complexity I want. Part of more wants more granularity, but I am really enjoying the simplicity of a rules light system.