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LOL! I just started up a d6 Star Wars camapign, and experienced just this thing with one of the players. He had to keep rolling the same die over, and keep a running count of the total. But he forgot to roll the wild die, and had to do it all over again, but rolled the wrong number of dice. The third time was the charm and he successfully managed to roll initiative.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Tatterdemalion King
I've been an avid FASA player since 1991.
The percentile system makes it easy for me to figure up game-stats for just about anyone or anything I can throw into the game.
And I homebrewed my own Starship Combat system (rather than pay a "collector's item" price for a copy of FASA's). I doubt I could have done anything like that on any other system.
But, I recently picked up the CODA books on line. The system was easy to learn. And so far my characters from our FASA campaigns have been easily converted.
I've never played a D20 game, and I've heard CODA is very similar. But, it runs smooth, and fast in my book ! It reminded me a lot of the Unisystem used in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.
Low attribute scores (2-12 instead of the 30-cap of FASA's Doctor Who, or the 1-100 of FASA-Trek), edges & flaws (Qualities & Drawbacks in Buffy), and the basic system of rolling 2 dice, and adding mods to beat a target difficulty number are all similar to Buffy/Unisystem.
I've played all the variations since I first picked up the FASA version in the late 80's. Right now I am enjoying and preparing for the CODA system.
When it comes to Trek, the system I use most is the CODA system. I didn't get much of a chance to work with the ICON system, though the little time I spent playing with it I did like it pretty well. I played every edition of the old FASA game and loved it. When you've been roleplaying as long as my group has, individually and as a group, you get your hands on and try a huge variety of games, as well as versions of games over the years, such as the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises.
The similarities between CODA and the d20 system don't bother me. Then again, I like the d20 system for the most part. Its certainly better than some systems I've played, but admittedly is a bit complex.
The CODA system appears complex at first (and trying to create a character strictly from the layout of the Player's Guide is enough to turn a lot of people off, and usually does), but once you understand the fundamentals of the system, its actually not complicated at all. I've seen quite a few converts in roleplayers that are friends but not part of my ridiculously large core roleplaying group (about 33 strong, though we obviously don't all play at the same time! That'd be a seating and refreshment nightmare).
Anyway, there are several dice pool oriented games out there, like the ones already listed. In addition, just off the top of my head, I can think of Shadowrun, Earthdawn, the old WEG Star Wars d6 game, original World of Darkness, new World of Darkness, White Wolf's Exalted/Aberrant/Trinity lines, and I know there are quite a few more that I just can't think of at the moment.