Push Die!

Sometimes you want your PC heroes (and knaves) to push on, to try harder. Here's a game mechanic for any system where you roll high. The Push Die.

The Push Die is a die added to your normal resolution check to improve your odds of success. It is voluntary on part of the player if they will or will not add the push die to the roll and must be declared before making the normal roll to resolve a task. The push die should be rolled simultaneously with the resolution die, it's score being added to roll.

If the roll of a push die is a 1 the character suffers a point of fatigue. Tally that up and if fatigue is ever higher than 1/2 of the ability score related to an action the PC is now -2 to attempt that action (or at disadvantage if you use that mechanic in your game).

A HitDie of Fatigue is removed each full turn of rest a character takes. Magical healing will remove 1/2 of fatigue if the character is fully healed by healing magic. A DM may wish to add additional spells, salves, or potions t0 the game that remove (or inflict fatigue). A normal amount of full rest (for the night or a full rest break) this fatigue is fully removed.

If the resolution roll fails the full score of the push die is suffered as fatigue.

If the resolution roll fails with a fumble (a roll of 1 if you are using 1d20) the full score of the push die is suffered as fatigue and the related ability score suffers a point of strain. If the highest number was rolled on a push die than 1/2 that score is suffered as strain. Strain can be added up against each ability score. If strain is greater than 1/2 the ability score the character is now -2 to attempt actions with that ability. if strain exceeds a character's ability score they are overcome and unable to purposefully take actions that would use that ability and are -10 if forced to make a saving throw or reaction using that ability score.  Yeah -10, being virtually helpless should be a big deal.

An hour of rest will remove 1 point of strain in 1 ability score. 

I recommend a 1d4 be the base Push Die for all characters. If the ability score is a Prime Ability shift up a die. If the character has a score of 15 or more in an ability shift up a die.  A player may choose to roll less than their full push die if desired. So a Fighter with a score of 17 in Strength (a prime attribute in many systems) could roll 1d8 when pushing it. (or choose to roll 1d4, or 1d6 instead).

Why I like this mechanic.   There's no direct penalty for trying harder. But there is a consequence for trying harder and failing. The more players push it the more they will win...until they don't. I can also use a fatigue mechanic without having to always apply a fatigue score to a host of actions. Trying harder can cause fatigue but there isn't a constant penalty for action itself. Players that have their characters push on and on without resting will suffer more. those that do not risk will not reap rewards as easily however.

OLD DM TRICK #3

 

"And this d8 has an A instead of a 1, do you want to know why?"

A  friendly joking facebook response made to a humorous post on gamers dice fetish. But seriously do you want to know more? 

The first eight sided die I owned came from a set of polyhedral dice my dad went into the city and bought for me when I was a kid and had begun playing D&D with the boxed set that came with chits instead of actual dice. I pillage dice from the Yahtzee set but used paper chits for the other dice sizes. So probably sometime after my 2nd or 3rd D&D game my dad just shows up late after work one day with a set of polyhedral dice. There was a d4, d8, d12 and one or two d20's numbered 0-9 twice. The d8 has this curious little A on it instead of a 1 where the 1 would normally be.

Not a huge mystery really. Turns out it was from a mold meant for a set of poker dice to get results of 2 through 8 and Aces. I immediately pondered "what about the other numbers? Wouldn't a d12 make more sense for poker dice? That way you could come closer to a full set of cards, you'd just be missing one face card?" . "They probably didn't know about 12 sided dice when they made these eight-sided ones" was my father's sensible response. I was actually a little surprised the first time I saw d8 with a "1" instead of an "A".

EDIT:   I believe the set of dice was sold by The Armory and my dad bought it as The Compleat Strategist.

Quick Humanoid Roster

Wanting to have a different roster of humaoids in my next megadungoen and here's

my roster so far.

HD Move AC Atk, Special

Feral Hobars         1/2     30 12 weapon 1d4, +4 save vs poison,hide 90%

Thorn Gnomes 1/2     20 13 weapon 1d4 +sleep poison, automatic counter

attack vs grapple attacks +4 to save against herbals and gas

Cyanoids 1-1     40 11 weapon 1d6, immune to poison & paralysis, -2 vs mental                                                                             attacks Healing magic "Hastes" then for 2 rounds per point

                                                                of healing

Boggarts         1     30 13 weapon 1d6, 33% capture spell

Poison Dwarves 1+1     20 14 weapon 1d6 +poison, immune to poison & paralysis 

  Rotwood Elves     1+1     30 14 weapons 1d6 +spores, immune to sleep & paralysis,

                                                                +4 vs poison

Hammer Goats 2 50 14 hammers 2d4, +2 to save vs mental attacks cause confusion in                                                                     those 2HD or less 

Amazons 2 40 14 weapons 1d8,+1 initiative, immune to charm by males

Broken Men 2+1 20 14 weapons 1d8, 33% to drive a telepath insane vs mental                                                                                 intrusion/attacks,climb walls 95%,hide 66%

                                                                can't be knocked prone

Headless         3 30 13 weapons 1d8+1,Bite 1d4+1, +4 to save vs mental attacks 

Lanks 3 40 13 weapons 1d10, 90% silent, always has reach advantage over                                                                     normal men

Geminoids 3+1 30 13     2 weapons 1d8+1 or 4 weapons 1d6 each,

                                                                +4 save vs.mental & illusions,twice as hard to surprise

Cyclops         4 40 14 weapon 1d10+2, blows shatter normal weapons or shields 1in6,                                                                 +2 vs illusions 

HD are 1d8 Move is feet per round if unencumbered or in stabdard default armor (as

per AC listed) 

AC listing is for most common armor. Boggarts,Poison Dwarves,

Rotwood Elves, Amazons,Headless,Lanks,Geminoids, and Cyclops may be found with

any sort of shields and armor. Cyanoids physically could but they find armor too

confining and itchy.

Is old school play ready to move beyond 1d20?

A plain and simple question. Is old school play ready to move beyond 1d20? I'm seeing plenty of new games embracing alternate dice mechanics again while the games are otherwise very D&D adjacent. All actually old old-timers should be familiar with a few now classic competitors to the throne where we rolled 3d6 under a difficulty rating or 1d100 to get within a % chance. But they were only "slightly" D&D adjacent. Like The Fantasy Trip and Rune Quest. (please not very subtle sarcasm there) Has the corporate beast actually left the gate open to "allow" gamers to enjoy a wider range of dice mechanics in games that sell and will be played widely?

The Rule of 2

In my games I've been using the rule of 2. The rule of 2 is easy. If you are better at 2 things over your oppoent or 2 steps better you get +2 to your rolls. If you are worese at 2 things compared to your opponent you are -2 to yuor rolls. I keep track of quality of manufacture and materials used in equipment. So if your weapon is 2 steps better than an opponent's armor you are +2 to hit. Two or more friends helping you out in a task? +2 to yuor roll! Ability contest between two characters? I use a 1d20 roll vs opponents ability score. As we alreayd track differences in ability scores in the score itself and ability modifiers to rolls that diffwerence isn't factore into the rule of 2 but levels are. So if you are 2 levels or higher than an challenger yuo are +2 to your rolls and they are -2 to their roll. Oh is this saving throw 10th level but you are only 5th level. That's -2 to your saving throw roll! (oh no) Oh and only ever apply the rule of 2 in two factors at most keeping all modifiers the rule of 2 could apply to form -4 to +4. I like fiddly details but I also recognize not all players can track a lot of details and apply the math quickly. So I keep the math out of the descriptions a lot of the time. why 2 instead of one? Becasue a shift of only 1 isn't really noticable on a turn per turn (or round by round) basis beyond what the rules are already keeping track of in most situations using a d20 roll. the rule Rule of 2 baby!

It was safe trust me.

That last post was an experiment. A fun one and despite it beign a little frightenign completely safe. It's a javasctipt scrput that embeds a basic transpiler. I've been a nohhyst and work-tools promammer for years and always expermineting to bringign more of that to my gaming. I have a simple dungeon geenrator I've been fiddling with on and off for sometime now that I'm explorign ways to share.