Some ideas for a ruleset tentatively called Weirdos and Wonder
A few big ideas:
A big table full of weirdos. Rolling once on the table gives you race, starting gear, starting hp, and abilities. Kind of like Troika.
Four Stats: Mind (MD), Might (MT), Agility (AG), and Luck (LK). Roll 3d6 down the line. Your stating package will give you a reroll of one of these stats. Might adds to HP rolls. These four stats make it much less bothersome to roll stats for monsters, which is a necessary aspect of this game with the current mechanics.
Everything is roll under, including attack rolls. AC is ascending but it subtracts from the stat being rolled under. For instance: Karl the Dwarf Wannabe Hero swings his axe, Craig, at the slathering beast. Since this is a Might based melee weapon, Karl rolls a d20 under his strength of 15. The creature has an AC of 5, thus reducing the target number needed to roll under for Karl to 10.
Saving throws work much the same way. Different characters will get bonuses to certain kinds of Saves. These bonuses apply to the Stat not the die roll.
Abilities all have a single mechanism to see if they are used up. Each ability will be based on one of the stats. Karl's Cleave ability is based on Might. Each time he uses this ability, he rolls a number of d6s equal to the number currently marked for this ability, then he marks the ability again, thus the first use of any ability is free. If he rolls above his Might, he loses use of this ability until he rests for the night. A wizard-type's spells will be based on their Mind.
Advancement: all advancement is based on in-game play. Each weapon, even mundane ones will have a martial ability attached to them. During your downtime, a pc must spend gold to train on how to use this ability, rolling a check based on the gold spent to learn the new ability. This also increases your attack bonus with this weapon and all weapons of its type.
Spells work much the same way. They are found during play, learned during downtime with the expenditure of gold.
HP/HD will be gained during downtime. If your character didn't have anything else to spend gold on during their downtime, HP training is a good choice. This works the same as the spells or abilities. (I might include some HP training with weapon training as well. Not sure yet.) There is a hard cap on HP at 20. Magic items and permanent magical alteration of a person's body will allow them to exceed this cap but no entirely mundane creature can have more than 20 HP.
Characters gain a Boon (+1d6) to all checks where it makes sense based off of their starting package that they should be good at a given task, like skill checks in DCC.
Luck works like DCC.
Boons and Banes (+/- 1d6) like Shadow of the Demon Lord.
A few sample Weirdos:
Dwarf Wannabe Hero:
HD: 1d8, AB: +1 with weapons of dwarven make. Reroll Might.
Saving Throws: +1d6 to Saves regarding keeping courage or morale and resisting poison.
Driven on by the tales of the heroes which have come before, you left your ancestral mountain fortress to explore a world full of adventure. Naivete is your greatest defining characteristic, followed by disappointment, then fear as the worlds facets unfurl like the wings of a grim butterfly, but there is always the glimmer of optimism as the stories of your people pound through your veins more powerfully than blood.
Gear: An Axe named (Roll 1d6) 1) Craig, 2) Seamus, 3) Skullbreaker, 4) Bob, 5) Goblin Slasher, 6) Troll Cleaver.
A set of dwarven mail and a horned helmet: 4 AC.
1d4 Dwarven Hero Figurines. Collectible pieces of a game every dwarf is currently addicted to. Worth 10gp each to a player/collector. Probably also used as action figures for children.
Abilities: Cleave: (Might) After a successful attack, you may make another attack against a different enemy within range. Usable only once per round.
Heroic Optimism: You get one free Combat Maneuver each round. (No cost)
Elf Dream Weaver:
HD: 1d4, AB: None. Reroll Mind.
Saving Throws: +1d6 to Saves against charm, mind control, illusion, and sleep.
Elves are known for their exquisite weaving. Elven spider silk garments and light-woven tapestries are highly sought after. Some elves have taken this to the next level, weaving with the stuff of dreams.
Gear: 2d4 Spools of Oneiric Thread (10gp each), a set of Mithril Needles (worth 25gp).
A Flickering Lightwoven garment: 1 AC. 1 Charge per day. Spend this charge to negate a weapon attack. (Worth 20 gp)
Spells: Roll 1d4 twice, rerolling duplicates. You don't need to mark off a spell that an opponent saves against. If you use up a spell, you lose one of your Spools of Oneric Thread. You must have Thread and Needles to cast any spells. Each spell has a range of 30ft and requires line of sight, unless stated otherwise. All spells are based on Mind.
A big table full of weirdos. Rolling once on the table gives you race, starting gear, starting hp, and abilities. Kind of like Troika.
Four Stats: Mind (MD), Might (MT), Agility (AG), and Luck (LK). Roll 3d6 down the line. Your stating package will give you a reroll of one of these stats. Might adds to HP rolls. These four stats make it much less bothersome to roll stats for monsters, which is a necessary aspect of this game with the current mechanics.
Everything is roll under, including attack rolls. AC is ascending but it subtracts from the stat being rolled under. For instance: Karl the Dwarf Wannabe Hero swings his axe, Craig, at the slathering beast. Since this is a Might based melee weapon, Karl rolls a d20 under his strength of 15. The creature has an AC of 5, thus reducing the target number needed to roll under for Karl to 10.
Saving throws work much the same way. Different characters will get bonuses to certain kinds of Saves. These bonuses apply to the Stat not the die roll.
Abilities all have a single mechanism to see if they are used up. Each ability will be based on one of the stats. Karl's Cleave ability is based on Might. Each time he uses this ability, he rolls a number of d6s equal to the number currently marked for this ability, then he marks the ability again, thus the first use of any ability is free. If he rolls above his Might, he loses use of this ability until he rests for the night. A wizard-type's spells will be based on their Mind.
Advancement: all advancement is based on in-game play. Each weapon, even mundane ones will have a martial ability attached to them. During your downtime, a pc must spend gold to train on how to use this ability, rolling a check based on the gold spent to learn the new ability. This also increases your attack bonus with this weapon and all weapons of its type.
Spells work much the same way. They are found during play, learned during downtime with the expenditure of gold.
HP/HD will be gained during downtime. If your character didn't have anything else to spend gold on during their downtime, HP training is a good choice. This works the same as the spells or abilities. (I might include some HP training with weapon training as well. Not sure yet.) There is a hard cap on HP at 20. Magic items and permanent magical alteration of a person's body will allow them to exceed this cap but no entirely mundane creature can have more than 20 HP.
Characters gain a Boon (+1d6) to all checks where it makes sense based off of their starting package that they should be good at a given task, like skill checks in DCC.
Luck works like DCC.
Boons and Banes (+/- 1d6) like Shadow of the Demon Lord.
A few sample Weirdos:
Dwarf Wannabe Hero:
HD: 1d8, AB: +1 with weapons of dwarven make. Reroll Might.
Saving Throws: +1d6 to Saves regarding keeping courage or morale and resisting poison.
Driven on by the tales of the heroes which have come before, you left your ancestral mountain fortress to explore a world full of adventure. Naivete is your greatest defining characteristic, followed by disappointment, then fear as the worlds facets unfurl like the wings of a grim butterfly, but there is always the glimmer of optimism as the stories of your people pound through your veins more powerfully than blood.
Gear: An Axe named (Roll 1d6) 1) Craig, 2) Seamus, 3) Skullbreaker, 4) Bob, 5) Goblin Slasher, 6) Troll Cleaver.
A set of dwarven mail and a horned helmet: 4 AC.
1d4 Dwarven Hero Figurines. Collectible pieces of a game every dwarf is currently addicted to. Worth 10gp each to a player/collector. Probably also used as action figures for children.
Abilities: Cleave: (Might) After a successful attack, you may make another attack against a different enemy within range. Usable only once per round.
Heroic Optimism: You get one free Combat Maneuver each round. (No cost)
Elf Dream Weaver:
HD: 1d4, AB: None. Reroll Mind.
Saving Throws: +1d6 to Saves against charm, mind control, illusion, and sleep.
Elves are known for their exquisite weaving. Elven spider silk garments and light-woven tapestries are highly sought after. Some elves have taken this to the next level, weaving with the stuff of dreams.
Gear: 2d4 Spools of Oneiric Thread (10gp each), a set of Mithril Needles (worth 25gp).
A Flickering Lightwoven garment: 1 AC. 1 Charge per day. Spend this charge to negate a weapon attack. (Worth 20 gp)
Spells: Roll 1d4 twice, rerolling duplicates. You don't need to mark off a spell that an opponent saves against. If you use up a spell, you lose one of your Spools of Oneric Thread. You must have Thread and Needles to cast any spells. Each spell has a range of 30ft and requires line of sight, unless stated otherwise. All spells are based on Mind.
- Sleep Paralysis: Bind your opponent in some way. They must make a Mind Save at a minus equal to your HD or suffer this effect until your release them or a day passes. You could make them unable to open their hand, bind their mouth shut, bind their legs together, and so on.
- Waking Nightmare: Weave a foe's fears onto an object or creature that you can touch. The foe must make a Save or the object or creature your touched becomes their greatest fear. This spell persists until the foe can be convinced of the illusion's unreality or a day passes.
- Wet Dream: Weave a creature's greatest desire's about yourself. If you have something belonging to the target or a piece of them, you know what they desire and can weave it easily. Otherwise, you must work off guesses. A creature whose greatest desire is presented to them in a convincing manner must make a Mind Save at a -5. A creature whose desire is not accurately or believably presented to them makes this Save at a +5.
- Forget Me Quick: You may weave a cloak about yourself that makes you easily forgotten. This lasts for an Adventuring Turn. Creatures that lose sight of you forget that you were ever there if they fail a Mind Save. Each time you pass out of their vision, they must Save again. A creature that fails this save looks around, wondering why they are there and goes about as it would normally.
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