Footnotes & Endnotes

Idraluna Archives had an post on Footnotes in RPGs that grabbed my eye. My degree was in Graphic Design and usability is a big thing with me. The article didn't seem to allow comments so I thought I'd spew forth here on my own blog. The point Idraluna Archives is about making the flow of the prose, of a dungeon key, easier to read and uses the Gygax wall of text vs a minimalist example from the Cairn house style(1) and Idraluna Archives believes using footnotes would solve the readability problem.

I think the Idraluna Archives picked a bad example as dungeon keying is not about flow and readability(2) but about quick access to information at the table and dumping all that information into footnotes would make the footnotes massive. For use at the table the Cairn house style is nicely written. It does attempt to utilities a multi-level 'information hierarchy' except unlike footnotes that make you hunt for the information it drops the info right there where you can skip it or not (depending upon how curious the players are). Just read the bits without the bullets and it should flow very smooth. Add the bullet points and you get extra information on different aspects that were highlighted in the first sentence. They act like footnotes but are placed closer for easier readability. They also have a third-level of info, presumably to help the GM if the players keep asking questions or do a Perception test(3). This is really good design, maybe not for someone that wants to read read read but from a usability stand-point it is well thought out.

So by choosing dungeon keys as an example Idraluna Archive is asking for design that actually hurts the functionality. What they should have picked was game books. The core rules that is. And instead of Footnotes which as they pointed out are difficult in a modern word processing program they should have narrowed in on Endnotes. The industry could really use some love for Endnotes.

An RPG rulebook should have design notes and examples to help make understanding easier to understand (and as a good way to add humor). These are things you don't need to read often and that will make the prose clunky if mixed in with the text. The reader would be better served if they were dumped into the last chapter of the book. That way if you know the rules well you can ignore the little numbers but if not you keep one thumb at the end of the book and flip back and forth to ensure you understand. Also if written properly you can just read the End Notes as a design chapter and if linked backwards(4) will have examples from the text.

So Idraluna Archives, thanks for the design experiment. You got me thinking and made a good point, you just used the wrong example(5).

Usage Dice for Random Encounters?

 I like the mechanics of Usage Dice but they seem to be used primarily for consumables which I tend to just sell by days worth (4 days food, 4 days worth of torches) and otherwise forget about. 

For those that don't know the Usage Dice works it goes like this. An item, usually a consumable has a die number U12 would be a 1d12, U10 would be 1d10. If you roll 1-2 your Usage Die drops one die, so down to U10, then U8, U6, U4. Naturally the odds of rolling a 1-2 increase as the size of the die drops. You roll 1-2 on 1d4 and your item is depleted. Usage Die are typically used for torches, food, and arrows but I think the idea can be expanded far more than that.

In my previous post on Usage Dice I mentioned a few alternate uses but it just occurred to me that the Usage Dice would make a nice mechanic for Random Encounters.

Random Encounters

Create a random encounters table with 8 entries,  another one with 6 slightly tougher entries, a third one with 4 tough entries, and the last is the boss encounter in the area. So when you enter the area you roll 1d8 anytime you would normally roll for random encounters. If you roll 1-2 you get an encounter but also switch to the 1d6 table next time. By having multiple tables you also limit the number of repeat encounters. For a big area you could have the tables escalate only on a 1, or you could have a table with 10 or 12 entries.

I haven't  played this out, it should work but might lead to to much bookkeeping.

Usage Dice

I've been fascinated off and on by the Black Hack. I appreciate the simplicity of the system, I'm fascinated by the idea of player facing rolls in combat, but haven't really played it yet. Anyway this little post is about the Usage Dice. 

For those that don't know the Usage Dice works it goes like this. An item, usually a consumable has a die number U12 would be a 1d12, U10 would be 1d10. If you roll 1-2 your Usage Die drops one die, so down to U10, then U8, U6, U4. Naturally the odds of rolling a 1-2 increase as the size of the die drops. You roll 1-2 on 1d4 and your item is depleted. Usage Die are typically used for torches, food, and arrows but I think the idea can be expanded far more than that.

Reputation

A new character might start with U20. Nobody has heard of them. Whenever they complete an adventure they roll the usage die. Then construct reaction tables to use the Usage Die. I don't roll reaction for the big bad or lieutenants but different NPC and lackeys, why not. In this system you either have a group Usage Die or use the lowest Usage Die in the band. The reaction table provides randomness. So construct the table so that low results indicate lackeys running away or surrendering and high results indicate the NPC And lackeys have no idea and assume the characters are just another group of push-overs to bully and threaten.

So the idea is that the mechanic ensures the reaction of NPCs is random but different as the character or party becomes more and more (in)famous. When/if the players journey a good distance the Usage Die can go up again.

Weapon Damage

Weapon damage is easy. The usage of the weapons equals the damage die of the weapon. Roll a 1-2 on your attack and the usage die and damage die both drop to the next die. So Aleena uses a weapon that does 1d10 damage but rolls a 1 on her to hit roll. That drops her weapon to U8 and does 1d8 damage now. If she rolls a 1-2 again it'll do 1d6 damage. She better get the thing fixed or have a backup. This provides a slow ticking warning about the weapon quality.

Once that weapon breaks Aleena will scrounging weapons which might not start at full value.

Ship Damage

I've always liked the way RuneQuest handled ships. Each ship had what in effect were armor and Hit Points and if you run out of hit points the thing sinks. I think using a usage die might be better than Hit Points as it is less, precise. In the heat of battle you might not know that a few cannonballs hit you below the water line.

Mass Combat

The last example, for now, would be mass combat. Maybe not a really big mass combat but a large skirmish where say the players stand with a bunch of allies. Break the local combatants down into groups that correspond to a die. Then roll the players combat as usual, and roll the usage die for the other combatants and tell the players the results. The guys on the flank, well they've got like 6 standing at this point. Their enemies don't look any different. 

So that's the basics. This might add more bookwork than desired, especially the weapon damage one, but I don't think so.