JonTheGrog
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Thu 23 Feb 2023, 02:59

The timing of this document is excellent! Just last month I was saying "I hope they release and update to the YZE SRD soon. I'd like to see them incorporate some of the newer stuff." I read through the SRD quickly over the last few days. All in all it seems to do a good job picking and choosing from the different systems without just throwing the whole kitchen sink at us. If I have time I'll give it another read to look for typographical errors or minor inconsistencies.

I was surprised to see the omission of base/stronghold/vault mechanics given that they cross (at least) Mutant, Forbidden Lands, and Twilight 2000. There seems to be enough similarity between those three systems that an approach similar to the one you took to talents might make sense. i.e. "Here are the core mechanics and a dozen or so possible structures although your game will likely have many more." I assume the omission is intentional, but I'm curious at the rationale?

Parting thought: will you be issuing an editable version for those of us trying to cobble together our own Franken-systems based on this text?

Thanks,
Jon
 
JonTheGrog
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Thu 23 Feb 2023, 18:09

I read through this again last night and noticed two issues worth mentioning:

1) Base dice are initially defined as attribute+skill (or attribute+skill+gear) or just attribute. This was a difficult concept for me to grasp when I first encountered it in Forbidden Lands. Given its importance to some of the mechanics it will likely need to be clarified. I believe base dice is only supposed to apply to attribute dice?
2) The Stamina skill description omits reference to its use as an "endurance" check during travel and exploration(cold checks and forced march), which could easily result in players missing one of the most likely reasons to take the skill. To a lesser degree the "Force" equivalent is used in some YZE systems when trying to knock down opponents etc.
 
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LatchKeyKid
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Sun 26 Feb 2023, 02:24

I'm a bit late to the party (and just registered after lurking for a few weeks!) but wanted to say thanks for putting out a free license and SRD. I'm looking forward to seeing what the community comes up with and will be taking a closer look at both the SRD and the license in the coming weeks to see what I myself might be able to dream up.
 
itsmrwilson
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Sun 26 Feb 2023, 18:41

Nitpicky bit: par 2 of "Player Characters" reads "Their skills and talents can be developed through experience" but elsewhere in the text talents are referred to as "specialties".

Probably 100% of posters in this forum know they're the same thing, but just in case...

Do you plan to include in the new SRD all or most of the content that was in the previous one?
 
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9littlebees
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Mon 27 Feb 2023, 09:40

Actually, the use of talent is much more widespread, throughout the entire SRD. As @itsmrwilson says, most people will know what is meant, but it could be confusing to people who are new to the engine. A simple search and replace should be able to sort this out.
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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c4s4
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Thu 02 Mar 2023, 00:26

It would be nice to include success stats for Dice Pool and Step Dice.
 
Thomson
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Sat 04 Mar 2023, 15:04

  1. Thank you so much. I am a huge fan of the rules you created for Twilight 2000. IMO one of the best Rules System created within the last 20 years.
  2. My favourite part about the SRD is its flexibility. So many options to mix and match rules to create your "own" flavor of a YZE game. Please keep this!
  3. I guess there is a typo on page 45, in the second paragraph for Cooking. It says: "virulence 3/D for plants, 6/D for meat or fish". I think it shoud say "virulence 3/D for plants, 6/C for meat or fish"
  4. I think vehicular armor does not work. A battletank has an armor of 12. This would result in an average of two successes in the dice pool system. My battleaxe does damage 3. While it is hillarious that a babarian with a battleaxe can hack a battletank into smitherens, it quite hampers my suspension of disbelief. IMO heavier vehicles should get an armor rating that provides automatic successes to mitigate damage. A battletank in Twilight 2000 just requires at least 13 damage to its front to be hurt, which works pretty well. This would also make them compatible with both systems, Dice Pool and Step Dice, since the Step Dice system does not support armor ratings higher than A. My favourite solution would be to add some options how to handle tough vehicles like tanks in the YZE engine.
  5. I would prefer something like "Ranged Attack" to "Marksmanship", since it is more generic. Otherwise I think the selection of your 12 standard skills is amazing.
P.S.: I am currently experimenting with armor ratings of xA, where x is a digit indicating automatic successes in addition to the successes granted from the grade A armor roll. This combines the great mechanic of degrading armor with the possibility to make armored vehicles resistant to small arms and melee weapons.
Last edited by Thomson on Sat 11 Mar 2023, 15:55, edited 1 time in total.
 
your evil twin
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Tue 07 Mar 2023, 07:41

In the "Consumables" section on page 7, it uses the Supply Rolls rules from the Alien RPG, where you roll a number of D6s equal to the Supply Rating, and for each 1 you roll you reduce your supplies by 1.

However, if a game uses a Stepped Dice system like Blade Runner or Twilight 2000, then players won't normally need a big pool of D6s, most tests will only need a couple of dice. But if someone decides to add the SRD's Supply Rolls system to a Stepped Dice game, then players will need at least six D6s just for the supply roll mechanic, despite not needing that many D6s for anything else.

Since the game offers a choice of either Dice Pool or Stepped Dice options for every other mechanic, this seems like an oversight. Presumably that's because neither of the existing Stepped Dice games - Blade Runner or Twilight 2000 - have supply rolls.

But Free League does actually already have a Stepped Die system for supplies. Forbidden Lands is mostly a D6 dice pool system, but it does uses stepped dice for a couple of things, including supply rolls. Instead of rolling a large pool of supply dice, you roll one "Resource Die" that steps down if you roll a 1 or 2.

So in a Stepped Dice game it would make more sense to use the Forbidden Lands system, as then players can use Stepped Dice for everything. So it might be useful to have sub-sections with alternative rules for both "Dice Pool Supply Rolls" and "Stepped Die Supply Rolls" (which could simply be an abbreviated, concise version of the Forbidden Lands rules).
 
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alessandrofranzen
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Wed 08 Mar 2023, 11:29

In the "Consumables" section on page 7, it uses the Supply Rolls rules from the Alien RPG, where you roll a number of D6s equal to the Supply Rating, and for each 1 you roll you reduce your supplies by 1.

However, if a game uses a Stepped Dice system like Blade Runner or Twilight 2000, then players won't normally need a big pool of D6s, most tests will only need a couple of dice. But if someone decides to add the SRD's Supply Rolls system to a Stepped Dice game, then players will need at least six D6s just for the supply roll mechanic, despite not needing that many D6s for anything else.

Since the game offers a choice of either Dice Pool or Stepped Dice options for every other mechanic, this seems like an oversight. Presumably that's because neither of the existing Stepped Dice games - Blade Runner or Twilight 2000 - have supply rolls.

But Free League does actually already have a Stepped Die system for supplies. Forbidden Lands is mostly a D6 dice pool system, but it does uses stepped dice for a couple of things, including supply rolls. Instead of rolling a large pool of supply dice, you roll one "Resource Die" that steps down if you roll a 1 or 2.

So in a Stepped Dice game it would make more sense to use the Forbidden Lands system, as then players can use Stepped Dice for everything. So it might be useful to have sub-sections with alternative rules for both "Dice Pool Supply Rolls" and "Stepped Die Supply Rolls" (which could simply be an abbreviated, concise version of the Forbidden Lands rules).
Agree with that.
 
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alessandrofranzen
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Re: Feedback Thread - The Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document

Tue 21 Mar 2023, 01:28

Hello, any updates in SRD? When a new version will come out officially?

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