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King_Kull
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Re: Sell me on the core system, isn't it clunky?

Fri 02 Feb 2018, 09:07

Single Page Character Sheet:
1. Four attributes that also represent your overall health.
2. Simple yet versatile set of skills.
3. Tiered talents, as opposed to numerous discrete talents.

Minimal Math:
1. Each roll consists of D6s equal to Attribute + Skill (modified) + Gear.
2. Modifiers are fixed (talents) or situational (typically none or +/-1).
3. You make one roll per action (no separate roll for damage or modifying the result with bonuses/penalties).
4. You count dice that rolled a 6.
5. Damage is fixed (weapon) plus successes.

Sensible Fumbles:
1. You only risk a “fumble” if you decide to push your roll (it’s not arbitrary and represents taking risk for greater reward).
2. If you pushed your roll and have dice that rolled a 1, then the color of the dice indicates the fumble result (stressed yourself or damaged your gear).
3. Skill dice ignore results of 1, which means more skilled characters are less likely to fumble.

Simple & Versatile Damage:
1. “Hit points”, “wound modifiers”, and “type of damage” are all combined into Attribute reductions.
2. If you roll multiple successes, instead of just inflicting more damage you can chose to perform stunts (a maneuver, subdue/disarm opponent, etc).

Simple & Versatile Skills
1. Since you can chose how to spend successes, each skill allows multiple types of actions (stunts), so you can do many things with a few skills.
2. Talents typical enhance a skill or make a skill even more versatile.
Nice job! :)
I am king!
 
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The1TrueFredrix
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Re: Sell me on the core system, isn't it clunky?

Fri 02 Feb 2018, 11:09

It is probably the most complex iteration of the Zero System, adding polyhedral dice for example, but all of that is in the spirit of the retro feel of the game. In fact, having read these chapters and then played Tales from the Loop recently I am impressed by how versatile the Zero mechanic is. TftL is a really simple, player facing (the GM doesn’t roll) version of the game and it demonstrates that if you really find it too complex for your table, you could even play it with TftL rules (as long as your burley soldier is prepared to run home to his mother when he gets broken  :P).
Effekt - A fan podcast celebrating Swedish RPGs including, but not limited to: Alien; Coriolis; Forbidden Lands; Symbaroum; and Tales from the Loop. Featuring discussion magazine episodes and Actual Play recordings. https://effektpodcast.org/
 
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9littlebees
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Re: Sell me on the core system, isn't it clunky?

Fri 02 Feb 2018, 12:22

It is probably the most complex iteration of the Zero System, adding polyhedral dice for example, but all of that is in the spirit of the retro feel of the game. In fact, having read these chapters and then played Tales from the Loop recently I am impressed by how versatile the Zero mechanic is. TftL is a really simple, player facing (the GM doesn’t roll) version of the game and it demonstrates that if you really find it too complex for your table, you could even play it with TftL rules (as long as your burley soldier is prepared to run home to his mother when he gets broken  :P).
The big difference with Tales (and Coriolis) is that you only use one pool of d6s. Here (as in MYZ) there are 3 pools (base, skill, gear). This does add to the complexity, though as we've said, it's easy to grasp once you've played one or two sessions.

Also, I'd recommend Coriolis over Tales, since that game has regular trauma, weapon damage stats and full combat rules, something Tales lacks.
I make YZE games (https://drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matt%20Kay) and produce predominately Free League content on my YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@3skulls)
 
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The1TrueFredrix
Posts: 357
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Re: Sell me on the core system, isn't it clunky?

Fri 02 Feb 2018, 12:50

The big difference with Tales (and Coriolis) is that you only use one pool of d6s. Here (as in MYZ) there are 3 pools (base, skill, gear). This does add to the complexity, though as we've said, it's easy to grasp once you've played one or two sessions.

Also, I'd recommend Coriolis over Tales, since that game has regular trauma, weapon damage stats and full combat rules, something Tales lacks.
I wasn’t seriously recommending using TftL to play in the Forbidden Lands, but you are right, the published games represent a scale of complexity from Loop, through Coriolis and MY0 to Lands. These are all horses for courses though. The player-facing deathless version in Loop is perfect for 80’s kid mysteries, the Darkness Point mechanic vital to the spiritual SF of Coriolis, and the degradation of MZ0 seems right (though I must admit, I have never played that). Personally, I think the way Lands is turning out is exactly the level of complexity I want to pull me back into running Fantasy, which I have eschewed for years. And i’d assure the OP that though it might look complex, it’s really a very elegant system. 
Effekt - A fan podcast celebrating Swedish RPGs including, but not limited to: Alien; Coriolis; Forbidden Lands; Symbaroum; and Tales from the Loop. Featuring discussion magazine episodes and Actual Play recordings. https://effektpodcast.org/

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