Creating a Roll System
How To Play
Key Rules
After we’d decided on the base stats for our TTRPG, we moved onto the next important question: “how will it roll?”. That is to say, what specifically will our players need to do to pass or fail checks and functionally play our TTRPG. In the end we decided on a percentile system that has slight, natural and extreme successes and failures to give more variation in day-to-day play. It also allows us to give buffs and debufs more frequently to keep everyone on their toes.
How to set Targets
Generally speaking, it’s up to the Game Master (GM) to make a level for the players to beat for a check, but we do have a guideline here for you if you’re not sure!
Easy = 30. Medium = 50. Hard = 70. Deadly =90.
Exhaustion
There are 5 levels to exhaustion. Each level increases the ammount of stamina or mana required to use skills until the exhaustion wares off. See the table here.
Natural Rolls
If you roll neither a slight or extreme success or failure, it counts as a natural success or failure. In this instance, nothing extra is done to alter the rolls outcome in any skill or social scenario. That is to say no additional or lessened costs, you just simply achieve or don’t achieve what you’re trying to do.
Stamina and Mana
All skills and spells cost either stamina or mana to do. This, to us, balances the abilities of all classes and forces more strategic thinking from players. That said, there are some universal actions that any class can do which means they’re never going to be completely useless in combat.
Succeeding a Check
Your players succeed a check, broadly speaking, as long as they meet or exceed the target set. So to pass an easy target, a player would need to meet or beat a 30 on their dice roll after adding modifiers.
Slight Successes
If you succeed a check by 5 or less, you only slightly succeed at whatever skill you’re attempting to use. This means that the skill happens, but it costs 1.5 x the mana or stamina needed to do it.
This extends to social interaction checks at the GM’s discretion. For example, the speech you gave did ralley men to fight but only half the number you were hoping for.
Extreme Successes
If you succeed a check by 20 or more, you manage an extreme success. This also applies if you roll a 100 (the highest possible roll on percentile dice) which is the only way to achieve an extreme success on deadly difficulty targets. In this instance, the skill not only happens, but it costs 0.5 x the ammount of mana or stamina normally needed to do it.
This extends to social interaction checks at the GM’s discretion. For example, you convince someone not only that what you’re saying is true, but that everything they ever knew was wrong.
Failing a Check
Your players fail a check, broadly speaking, as long as they fail to meet or beat the target set. So should the target be 50, and the player after rolling and adding modifiers is at 49 or under, they fail.
Slight Failures
If you fail a check by 5 or less, you only slightly fail at whatever skill you’re attempting to use. In this instance, the skill doesn’t happen, but it costs you 0.5 x the ammount used instead of the full ammount.
This extends to social interaction checks at the GM’s discretion. For example, you didn’t manage to sweet talk the troll into helping your group, but they didn’t decide to attack you either.
Extreme Failures
If you fail a check by 20 or more, you experience an extreme failure. This also applies if you roll a 1 (the lowest possible roll on a percentile die). In this instance, the skill not only doesn’t happen, but it costs you 1.5 x the ammount of mana or stamina, and a coin must be flipped to decide whether you get an immediate point of exhaustion.
This extends to social interaction checks at the GM’s discretion. For example, you not only fail to befriend the blacksmith, they get so annoyed with your antics that they throw you in the fire.