- Fast character creation
- No concern for balance
- You can't die, so you can focus on having fun instead of staying alive
- Failure makes things more interesting
- It's just goddamn hilarious
Here are some draft character generation rules I've been thinking about.
Equipment: two or three six-sided dice
- Choose species/race. It's important to do this first to increase the chance you get something weird that doesn't fit the stats you roll.
- Roll 1d6 for each attribute: Muscle, Zip, Smarts, Chutzpuh. Maybe you can reroll 1s. Or maybe not. Sucking can be fun in this system.
- Roll 1d6+6 to determine max hit points.
- Select a class: Fighter, Thief, or Wizard (see details below). Make adjustments as needed. I've included some simple stat adjustments but the net effect is zero and I feel like they are optional.
- Spend your 30 skill points. You can buy one schtick if you like (you will get 1 or more schticks for free from your class).
- Choose 1-2 Natural Enemies.
- Choose Beliefs & Goals.
- Record starting equipment: 4 weird items and 4 mundane items.
- Draw a picture, or snag one from the internet.
- Write a description of your character.
Stat Adjustments: +1 Muscle, -1 Smarts
+3 to Max Hit Points, +2 to Damage Rolls
Schtick: Toughness (Physical),
Thief:
Stat Adjustments: +1 Zip, -1 Muscle
Schticks: Bag of Many Things, Maximum Boggle
Wizard:
Stat Adjustments: +1 Smarts, -1 Muscle
Schticks: Cosmic Shift or choose two Spells
Other Considerations
In playing a few online games, I found the sweet spot for the length of a session for me to be about 3 hours. Beyond that I would start to get burned out. Others' opinions may differ, but let's operate under this premise.
Small Dungeons: This game should run a bit faster than traditional D&D, so small dungeons of 5-10 rooms should be about right for a 3-hour session.
Running a Megadungeon: I think a fun way to run different groups through a megadungeon in short sessions would be to have some sort of teleporter at the beginning that transports the group to a randomly determined area in the dungeon. The dungeon rooms themselves should be somehow marked or labeled so that the players can create maps in each delve, and have a way to know how to stitch them together after the fact.
Classic TSR Modules: I first got this idea from hearing about Adam Thornton's "TOON of Horrors" game. It sounded to me like a great way to experience that classic module. Since you never actually die you could play it more aggressively and not have to worry about dealing with the death of a high-level character as you would in D&D. Why not play the other TSR modules on my shelf as well? There's less of a barrier to entry with TOON characters and casual players.
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