How do we accomplish this? I think the best solution is to make mechanics very simple to understand and match the world space. For example, if you want to make a magic system in a quest where your character can use electricity, then you should make it simple to understand. You can only shock someone wearing metal. Enemies hit with the power get stunned, unless they are wet, in which case they die. You have to "charge up" once a day by touching the sacred artifact, or by getting struck by lightning during a storm. This makes a LOT more mechanical sense and, in my opinion, is more interesting to play with then, say, just being an Electromancer with a set number of mana points, even if that second system is more "gameable".
>>5770580SO TRUE. Plus has been my ideal of working with a smaller number of mechanical bits but making each more present or useful in more situations.
Speaking of which; I've made a bunch of shitty DnD hombrews, and combat systems are some of the most fun to screw around with- not just in terms of numbers and mechanics, like what different types of weapons do and stuff- but also in terms of how damage is actually calculated.
My absolute favorite would be to use an almost totally narrative combat system, with the roll result being how well you do with the target, with a sliding scale of difficulty based on how hard it is. Stabbing an enemy in the heart will kill them, but will be almost impossible if they have armor or are full health. So stab them in the leg first to slow them down. If your character is an archer, you can shoot the Beholder in the eye, blinding it. But this comes with the inherent problems with narrative or "storygame" systems; how do you interpreter the rolls fairly and objectively? Does a 13 hit the eye, or just scratch it? If you had actual targets or AC, then you're just doing health and armor systems by another name, which somewhat limits the point. Another really simple system is a 3 strikes system, where the player dies or loses if they fail 3 rolls. Simple version of health- but you can't really do this for enemies because some enemies are naturally stronger then weaker then others. Unless you get creative- stating all the minions of a bad guy as one "enemy". How do you get the first hit? I throw a fireball. How about the second? I shoot the beehive above them, covering them all with bees and honey. etc. Needs work and communication, but I think this is more inherently interesting then a hit point system. And while you can argue hit points are easier to understand; I'd argue the actual nitty gritty of hit points (average enemy has 6 hp, average weapon deals 6 damage- enemy with 8 hp will take an average of 2 hits to defeat leading to this amount of damage taken in return, etc.) is more complicated and less communicable then a more narrative system.
I hope this wasn't too rambly at the end. Where the FUCK is Hylics 3? Never ever.
