Writing a ttRPG - Wyverns & Warrens (Pt 13 - A First Stab At Skill Descriptions) (Patreon)

(This article is not part of the content of this blog that is covered by the OGL 1.0a.)

I'm designing Wyverns & Warrens (WyvWar), an effort at a short, easy-to-learn, easy-to-play, fast-playing fantasy ttRPG that still has a depth of options. And I am doing that in weekly installments, exclusively for my paying Patrons!

You can check out the earlier articles at the links below.

First Look - Wyverns & Warrens Fantasy ttRPGPreview 01 - When Are Hit Points Not Hit Points?Preview 02 - Paths & EdgesPt. 1 Writing and RPG (How We Got Here)Pt 2. First Outline DraftPt. 3 - Core Mechanic, Attacks, and DamagePt. 4 - Target NumbersPt. 5 - Damage and BenchmarksPt. 6 - Time, Space, Scale, Distance, Movement, and RangePt. 7 - What Defines A Character, First Draft: AttributesPt. 8 - Hero McHeroFacePt. 9 - A Framework for MagicPt. 10 -Enough to Start WritingPt. 11 - What Is A Roleplaying Game... and How Do I Design For That?Pt 12. - An Assumed Setting

As mentioned last week, it's time at a first stab at actually writing skill descriptions. This is going to take more than one entry, so settle in folks.

Before we begin, let's remind ourselves what we've written so far. I dislike trusting that I can perfectly remember how rules work--if you are building on a set of rules, READ THE RULES.

For starters, our core mechanic is the Action Check.

(I want to create a game that gives me the sense of awe I felt when first running into ttRPGS, but not one where only thieves can climb. Art © Dean Spencer, used under license.)

Action Check: Most actions are resolved with an action check. To make an action check, a player rolls 2d10 and adds the appropriate bonus from their character. If the total is at least as much as the Target Number (Target #) stated by the GM, the action succeeds. Otherwise, it fails.

Within that system, we set nine levels of task difficulty, from "Nearly Automatic" to "Nearly Impossible." Each entry gives a Target#, its official difficulty level, and then the chances of someone hitting that on 2d10 with first a +0 bonus, and then a +2 bonus.

04 Nearly Automatic (+0, 97%; +2, 100%)06 Trivial (+0, 90%; +2, 97%)08 Easy (+0, 79%; +2, 90%)10 Typical (+0, 64%; +2, 79%)12 Demanding (+0, 45%; +2, 64%)14 Arduous (+0, 28%; +2, 45%)16 Heroic (+0, 15%; +2, 28%)18 Super-Heroic (+0, 6%; +2, 15%)20 Nearly Impossible (+0, 1%; +2, 6%)

And after more than one run at it, we decided everything in the game would be handled through one of ten Attributes, as follows.

AttackConcealmentCunningDemeanorDodgeHealthMightPerceptionSpeedSpirit

Let's add some definitions to those Attributes.

Attack - Your ability to make an effective attack against a foe or target. Determines both if your attack connects and (in combination with a weapon, spell, or similar damage-dealing option) your damage.Concealment - Your ability to keep others from noticing things you want to keep hidden. This includes moving stealthily, hiding yourself and other objects.Cunning - Your ability to retain and analyze information, memorize facts, solve puzzles, and understand complex systems including magic traditions, sciences, philosophical concepts, and so on.Demeanor - Your ability to influence other thinking, feeling creatures through interaction. This would include diplomacy, making friends, intimidation, social interactions, seduction. and not having any tells when you lie, bluff, or wish to keep your emotions from being obvious.Dodge - Your ability to avoid things in physical space.Health - Not only your ability to absorb damage without passing out of being killed, but also how resilient you are, including the ability to resist or withstand toxins, diseases, poisons, fatigue, allergies, sleeplessness, and other ailments.Might - Your physical power, and your ability to apply it effectively. A ton of real-world activities require a mix of strength, agility, and training to do well. If you are applying your body directly or through a tool, from powerlifting to fencing to acrobatics to archery, that's a Might check.Perception - Your ability to notice things, including the use of all 5 senses, and awareness of things like being deceived or tricked.Speed - All things fast-related. This covers reaction time (and thus initiative), running, swimming, and so on.Spirit - How well you can access, and resist, the metaphysical universe. This powers spells (even though you may have to use cunning to learn some kinds of magic, and attack for magic that launches a physical attack). The raw power of magic abilities, the ability to resist magic that does more than just deal damage.

Okay, those are all broad and vague, and intentionally so. This list isn't what the final descriptions will look like, just a quick note to myself so I remember what I'm doing. And while characters CAN be built by just increasing these 10 Attributes, I'm pretty sure most people are going to want to be better at specific aspects of several Aspects. I've been saying for a while I need to work on a specialization system. So...

Next Week: An Attribute Specialization System