adventures-of-olympus-devlog

[adventures-of-olympus-devlog]

Making Solutions - Devlog 2

(6/29/24, devlog by Seth)

Goal: Difficulty systems for harder rolls

Last round, I talked about my issue with the current stat system. It's the same problem I have with most low-rolls-succeed styles, like Mothership--it means there's only one level of difficulty to every possible action, which is hard to work around. So, here's where I'm going to detail my solutions for fixing that problem in as simple and effective way possible.

Let's get into it.

The two ideas I'm currently entertaining are:

A risk/reward system for higher/lower difficulty rolls

Some sort of advantage/disadvantage system (rolling more than one dice and taking the higher/lower of the two?)

Each of them would add a layer of complexity into the game system itself. I'm aiming for keeping things simple, so I'm going to flesh out both of these ideas and then decide based on simplicity, time, and story-effects (is it easy? does it interrupt fast-paced moments? does it encourage or hinder roleplaying?)

The more I go through this, the more it seems like combining the two is actually the way to go, lol. So here's what mechanics they would be separate, and at the end I'll decide whether to combine them.

Risk and Reward

Right away the biggest issue I see with this is that a highly dangerous task's "reward" is just getting what you asked for, and its "risk" is hard to balance. So hopefully the spectrum-style of the dice rolls lends itself well to this idea.

There is also the added portion of Risk being one of the core actions in PbtA. Do we need any if this, if Risk is a roll? Should I remove Risk and make it 4 stats? Could I even narrow it down to 3 stats, to keep the pattern of the series?

If I narrow it down, the three I would keep are Change, Know, and Fight. I would make Endure a part of Fight, and then add a system of risks and rewards.

Here's what that system would look like:

High risk -> Neutral risk -> Low risk. This is borrowed from Candela Obscura by Critical Role, their Stakes system.

With the previously mentioned roll system, this is what a neutral risk roll would play out as:

Snake eyes (double ones) -> critical success

Below your Action Stat (AS) score -> success

Exactly your AS score -> mixed success

Above your AS score -> failure

Box cars (double sixes) -> catastrophic failure

To make more sense of those answers, here's the results of each type.

Critical success: you get what you wanted and more

Success: you get what you wanted

Mixed success: you get what you wanted, but something goes wrong

Failure: you don't get what you wanted, and something goes wrong

Catastrophic failure: you don't get what you wanted, and the situation becomes much worse

In a High Risk position, it would look something like this:

Snake eyes -> critical success, no consequence

Below your AS score -> mixed success

Exactly your AS score -> mixed failure

Above your AS score -> failure

Box cars -> catastrophic failure

Now, we've added a new term to the rolls, which is less on the simplicity scale than I wanted. But, here's what that would look like.

Critical success -> you get what you wanted

Mixed success -> you get what you wanted, but something goes wrong

Mixed failure -> you get a little bit closer to what you wanted at the consequence of something going wrong

Failure -> you don't get what you wanted and you're now in a much worse position

Catastrophic failure -> you are now in extreme danger

Now, moving on to Low Risk:

Snake eyes -> critical success

Below your AS -> success

Exactly your AS -> success

Above your AS -> mixed success

Box cars -> failure

This removes the ability to critically fail from rolls that don't have a worse-possible-outcome. It would look like this:

Critical success: you get what you wanted and more

Success -> you get what you wanted

Mixed success -> you get what you wanted with a minor consequence

Failure -> you don't get what you wanted, and something minor goes wrong

After all of that, this is a hell of a lot more terminology than I wanted to add. However, it does add a bit of nuance to the rolls, and it makes it easy to push the story forward regardless of failures or successes.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Again, there's a glaring issue of complexity. This needs to be easily defined and easier explained--it's not just an improvisable storytelling mechanic like above, it's a new layer to the game itself. But, here is what I'm thinking:

Any action gets one of the following labels: High skill -> Neutral skill -> Low skill

High skill:

These are actions that are far-fetched with a high chance of failure. Stabbing the big boss in the neck for a one-shot kill, convincing an entire room of creatures to stop fighting all at once, patching yourself up to full health with no potions and a medkit.

Option one:

When rolling a High Skill action, you will roll three dice instead of two, and drop the lowest result.

For testing, here's the scenario: I am playing James, a son of Apollo with a penchant for dramatic tension. I take an explosive arrow and I aim it to pierce a Cyclops' eye, Nobody-style. I am far away, but my friends are closer and in range. If I miss, I could hurt them. I am rolling a High Skill Fight action. My action score in Fight is 6.

Here are the dice sets for five attempts (using only the neutral risk block):

[1, 4, 4] -> [4, 4] -> [8] = Failure

[3, 3, 3] -> [3, 3] -> [3] = Mixed success

[3, 2, 2] -> [3, 2] -> [5] = Success

[1, 3, 3] -> [3, 3] -> [6] = Mixed success

[3, 4, 6] -> [4, 6] -> [10] = Failure

Option two:

When rolling a High Skill action, you will roll four dice instead of two, and drop the two lowest results.

The scenario is: I, James, son of Apollo, am in a dangerous situation. All of my allies are distracted, unconscious, or brainwashed. I need to successfully charm a large snake for long enough to either kill it, or well enough for it to leave us alone. I am rolling a High Risk Change roll. My Change action stat is 8.

Here are the tests:

[1, 2, 5, 5] -> [5, 5] -> [10] = Failure

[2, 3, 5, 6] -> [5, 6] -> [11] = Failure

[1, 1, 5, 6] -> [5, 6] -> [11] = Failure

[1, 4, 5, 5] -> [5, 5] -> [10] = Failure

[5, 6, 6, 6] -> [6, 6] -> [12] = Catastrophic failure

(I continued rolling this style several times and got one mixed success and zero full successes. I don't think this one is a good choice.)

Neutral skill -> Roll as normal

Low skill

Rolls that are less difficult or skill-worthy, but still have a chance at failure, would be low skill. However, I genuinely can't think of any low skill scenarios--so I'll develop a possible system, but it may be completely disregarded.

Option one:

When you roll a Low Skill action, you roll three dice instead of four, and drop the highest result.

Rolling for Endure, an action stat of 6:

[3, 3, 6] -> [3, 3] -> [6] = Mixed success

[1, 2, 2] -> [1, 2] -> [3] = Success

[4, 4, 5] -> [4, 4] -> [8] = Failure

[2, 2, 5] -> [2, 2] -> [4] = Success

[2, 2, 6] -> [2, 2] -> [4] = Success

Oddly similar to the rates of the high skill option ones. Hmm.

Option two:

When you roll a Low Skill action, you will roll four dice instead of two, and drop the two highest results.

Rolling for Know, AS score of 6:

[2, 2, 3, 5] -> [2, 2] -> [4] = Success

[5, 6, 6, 6] -> [6, 6] -> [12] = Catastrophic failure

[2, 3, 4, 5] -> [2, 3] -> [5] = Success

[1, 2, 2, 5] -> [1, 2] -> [3] = Success

[1, 2, 4, 6] -> [1, 2] -> [3] = Success

Four successes and a catastrophic failure. Maybe...

End results:

Individually, I do like both systems. I would favor the Risk system over less numbers and complications, and the Advantage system over removing a core roll. Also, more dice is more fun.

I'm going to think on this a bit before making my decision. If you're reading this, let me know what you think, and if I'm missing something I need to look out for. I'll test these with a group and get back to you next week.

Thanks for reading! See you in the next one.

[adventures-of-olympus-devlog]

Balancing Simplicity: Devlog 1

(6/20/24, devlog by Seth)

Goal: Working with a baseline pt 1 - Actions, Action Stats, and Rolls

Alright. Let's give this a shot. My goal for this week is to work out a baseline. I want Adventures of Olympus (AoO) to be highly expandable, and for that, I need a good framework to build on. I've been working through this for a while, and here's what I want in the baseline mechanics:

Simplicity. I want it to be easy enough for TTRPG newbies or young teens to understand, like a stepping stone to get into more complicated systems like D&D, Pathfinder, VtM, etc., later on.

Fluidity. Beyond simple mechanics, my vision is something that's malleable or fluid for storytelling purposes. Actions that don't feel rigid, and plotlines that don't feel like railroading.

Expandability. The framework should be sturdy enough to allow easy homebrew, such as gods or pantheons I'm less familiar with, or new locations beyond Camp Jupiter or Half Blood Hill.

With those three as my core ideals, let's get into the ideas I have to sustain them.

There are several systems I need to make the game functional. Here are a handful I find most important:

Game phases (currently Combat, Questing, and Camp)

Actions (Powered by the Apocalypse, or more specifically, Place of Thing)

Tools, weapons, trinkets, and other useful items (how to keep them simple?)

Character creation! (again. simplicity is vital)

Godly parentage, oracle influence, prophecies, storytelling mechanics, creatures--and I've gotten ahead of myself

There is a lot that goes into fleshing this out. So I'm borrowing from the open game system Place of Thing (PoT), or TheBurgerKreig's compilation of all the rules in the Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) system. AKA: the actions are covered and adapted.

Actions

In PbtA, there are five core actions. They're incredibly malleable and simple to grasp, which is what attracted me to using them. They are as follows:

Change: Impact the world around you. 

Interact with an object, eg. lock a door

Persuade an innkeeper to give you a discount

Tend to a wound

Endure: Resist a consequence.

Negate a status effect

Take less incoming damage

Survive a poison

Fight: Attack someone or something.

Win an argument with a rude customer

Attempt to stab a creature

Break a door down

Know: Rely on instinct or wit in a situation.

Gain insight on someone

Recognize where the next attack might come from

Recall facts on a location

Risk: Take an action that is particularly dangerous.

Climb the lava wall

Allow yourself to get hit to make another attack

Hide from an alerted guard

To keep things simple, the "stats" I'm going to use are directly tied to the above actions. So, I'm calling them Action Stats.

Action Stat (AS): a number from 1-12 on your character sheet, used to determine whether its corresponding action succeeds. There are five, and they are exactly the same as the above actions. So, your character would have five Action Stats--Change, Endure, Fight, Know, and Risk--on their character sheet.

Now, I've yet to figure out how to determine what number each AS is. However, I have figured out how to roll for actions.

Rolling

Your character wants to do an Action! To figure out if it succeeds, you will roll two six sided dice (2d6). You want to roll at, or below, your Action Stat score to succeed. However, there's a bit of nuance there, to make actual progression in the story easier. Here's a table:

So, say you’re attempting to convince the shopkeeper that you deserve a discount on the chocolate you’re buying from his gas station. You roll Change. Your Change Action Stat is 4. 

If you roll snake eyes, he gives it to you for free. 

If you roll below a 4, you get the discount. 

If you roll exactly 4, you get the discount, but he kicks you out right after. 

If you roll a five or higher, you have to pay the full price, and he’s irritated at you. 

And if you roll two sixes, he calls the police.

HOWEVER: There is a big issue with the above design. It doesn't allow for difficulty. Your own power dictates exactly how difficult any action is, regardless of how insane that action is. If you wanted to, you could state you're going to cut off someone's hand--and the only thing between you and completely incapacitating that character is your own stat and a dice roll.

Some solutions would be:

Adding an advantage/disadvantage mechanic. However, it's ripped directly from D&D, it's a bit more complex depending on how it's implemented, and it once again refers to situations, and not the action itself.

Changing the system to a Difficulty Class type. It's the easiest way to fix overpowered actions, but it would take work, and I will admit: I'm a bit attached to the PbtA idea.

Creating an Action Class system. Making certain actions more difficult than others by simply stating it's harder. I'm not sure how I'd implement it, and it also gives more power to the Game Master, which may end up unfair.

Creating a risk/reward system. Actions that are more difficult could end up with more consequences. But the end result would stay the same--you could do whatever you wanted.

Something else. None of the above ideas seem satisfying to me. But I have time, so if there are alternate routes, I'd love to hear them.

So I have a fairly alright system to start with, but an issue that does need to be addressed. This is the first of many, many mechanics I need to balance. But first: I need a way to make that Dangerous mechanic fit into the rolling.

That's what I have on this topic as of right now. Let me know if you have ideas!

Seth out. See you in the next one!

--

(Place of Thing is public, so is PbtA. They're both explicitly stated as community-based, so if you're interested, look them up! They're highly inspirational and for anyone to borrow from, alter, or use entirely.)

[adventures-of-olympus-devlog]

let's get this party started - devlog intro

Hello! My name is Seth, and this is an old side-blog repurposed for a new challenge.

I've been developing a tabletop role playing game based on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series (as well as the many other books he's written in the same universe). This blog is for me to post updates and systems for others to use.

The goals:

As a whole, make a beginner-friendly tabletop RPG based on PJO

Beneath that, mold a system that's simple to grasp but easy to manipulate in a play setting

Create clearly defined game phases for simplicity

Define and flesh out a character creation system that includes gods/goddesses and other options such as satyrs or nymphs

Build a framework that's easily expanded on in homebrew (when Greek pantheons are done, make it easy to develop Roman, Egyptian, Norse, etc as well)

Cohesive, simple, easy to grasp, and storytelling-encouraged systems are the hope. I want a good start for those new to TTRPGs.

Let's clarify here: I intend to make no money off of this project. Characters, locations, monsters, creatures, and art belong to their creators only, and will be heavily credited. I will find permission to use what I use in every possible outcome. Hopefully, copyright doesn't take me down.

My additions will be mechanics and setups to make the universe into something roleplay-able, but it will not be for commercial use. I'm just a fan of the series and a TTRPG nerd. More information under the readmore!

Some disclaimers:

Due to Riordan no longer being on social media, trying to get active permission for this project is difficult. However, I'm going to move ahead with it--simply because it's not for money, it's for fun. I'm not branding it as mine. I don't want to sell it. Hopefully, that's enough for copyright...

I'm not a visual artist. Any art I do use will either be the official art done by Viria, art I've asked and received explicit permission to use by other artists, or art I commission and pay for personally. ALL OF WHICH WITH CREDIT. The artists in this community are incredible. I would hate to undermine their work.

I have never made a TTRPG before. This is my first shot. It will be a lot of trial and error, and a lot of playtesting. I will make mistakes! Please correct me!

I have also never made a devlog before, so this is going to be interesting.

Though I have made progress, the system is nowhere near playable yet. I hope to get it there soon!

I'm titling it Adventures of Olympus, but that is subject to change.

Once again, I am not infallible. Asks are open and anonymous for a reason. Please let me know if I've made a mistake or need to rethink something. I'm here to learn.

I don't expect this to get incredibly popular. But hopefully, it's something people enjoy regardless.

Anyway, that's it for the devlog intro. I'll see you in the next one!

[adventures-of-olympus-devlog]

on the off chance that I have been using my spare time developing a Percy Jackson themed TTRPG for kids in PJO fandoms to get into tabletop role-playing, would anyone be interested

edit/update: i have camp, combat and quest mechanics, plus a very basic version of Apollo as a godly parent. should i make a blog and post, should I wait, find a different archive? what do you guys think?