Before we get to all the delicious fluff of the NMA PnP, we need to chew through the bity crunch.
The ruleset defines how a Pen&Paper plays and flows. Do you have to sift through pages of tables to find the modifier for your skill roll on how fast you can run at a particular time of day? Do you need advanced calculus to know your damage roll, and is your table big enough for the 15 d6 you have to roll for it?
First we need to collect all the options we have and consider each one.
So please post in this thread your favourite PnP ruleset and options. Give a short summary of the system, with a short list of what you think are pros and cons. Try to make it easily understandable how combat and skill rolls work, make it clear how the combat system in general works (like, using action points like Fallout or general actions like D&D), what dice are needed and how many rolls per turn (player and GM) can be expected.
Also, try to give information on how easy it would be to modify to our needs, and how easy it is to get into for PnP noobs.
Try not to repeat suggestions, so make sure you read this thread carefully before posting. If you have grievances with a description, don't immediately post in this thread, rather contact the other poster via PM and see if you can work it out.
Last but not least, please be sure about your informations, and only post if you have actual experience or at least really know what you're talking about. This thread does not need half-knowledge and semi-truths, it is about informing the others about a particular ruleset so we can then decide what ruleset we want to use or modify.
/edit: In case you are wondering: Yes, I'm heavily moderating these threads. I have to sift through them to collect all the information in the end, so please don't get off-topic here and only post when you read everything carefully.
It's been a while since the last time I've played PnP, but Cyberpunk 2020 had a pretty straightforward system for basic functionalities.
Skillchecks are pretty straightforward (both skills' and attributes' values range from 1-10). Governing attribute (e.g. Intelligence) + skill (e.g. Hacking) + 1d10 against task difficulty (10 - 30+ -- 10 being "easy", 30+ being "nigh impossible") that's decided by the GM; equal or higher roll is a success, if the attribute+skill is already equal or higher than the difficulty, it's an automatic success that doesn't require the 1d10 roll.
Combat is based more on a quick succession rather than high level HP grind (there is some d6 tossing for damages and tables for various stuff like wounds, hit locations and ranges, etc, but nothing overwhelming -- and a little bit of tablecrunching is business as usual anyway) with lethality generally being pretty high and only little piling up actions and rolls (more than 1 action already comes with a penalty).
The whole system is probably not really applicable verbatim, but I think it may give a good basis to adapt and build from (the careers and stuff related to them, and the skill packages can easily be peeled off and have the focus be on the basic functionality and how that might or might not fit with a Fallout style game). You could start the easiest way by taking the SPECIAL stats and assigning a number of fitting skills under each (save perhaps for luck), and move from there.
Rather than explaining it all possibly inaccurately or copying it all here, somebody put the basic rules online for people to check: http://voltor.narod.ru/cp2020/contents.html
It's a D20 system following DnD. It has the basic characteristics of Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. The skill checks are done by rolling a certain dice (usually a D20) against a check (16, 1o, 12, etc) with modifiers from your skill proficiency and ability modifiers (from you characteristics). If you roll equal or higher then a certain number you succeed, with 1 being a critical failure (usually having a major negative effect) and 20 a critical success (usually having a major bonus). Both fail or pass no matter the modifiers.
(Can't believe I'm explaining DnD)
Combat is quicker then DnD due to the higher damage modifiers from guns. Expect Ghouls to die quicker then Humans, and Humans dying a lot quicker then Trans-genetic Mutants (aka Super Mutants). An attack roll is done by rolling a D20 and adding modifiers, if you is equal or above the target's defense bonus you hit and roll for damage. There are negative modifiers from being in cover and hiding. You then roll damage, with different weapons having different damage rolls (this is where the other dices come into play really, with some weapons having 2D10 and others 2D4). There's a wide range of old to modern weaponry, including many of Fallout's iconic gear (super sledge hammers and the likc). Basically it's very like DnD, and many of the rules are the same.
The game starts with three races, both perfectly tailored for the Fallout universe. Ghouls, Humans and Super Mutants (let's call them that for simplicity) with their appropriate bonuses and negatives. Ghouls are wise (perceptive) but brittle, Super Mutants are tough but stupid and Humans all rounders. There's no need to change the classes and advanced classes, as they all fit within the Fallout universe. The skills all work like in DnD, but of course they're more appropriate to the post apocalypse. Also there are added vehicle rules, with some example cars, motorbikes and dune buggies. I'm not going to explain them because they're entirely optional and you may not like using them. There's also a bestiary that adds a lot of creatures and bandits. This is where most of the tweaking will take place, as new creatures will have to be made and changed.
Seriously, it's an addon for DnD, with a lot extra for the setting. It gives you the least amount of rule work, unless you want to make rules for specific gear, currency and locations. Also you may want to rework the factions. I want to provide a PDF but I'm not sure if it's pirating or not, so until that's cleared up I won't send it,
I personally love GURPS simple approach to skill checks, and combat in general. Everything can be done with 3d6, making it very lightweight. In the GURPS system, you roll low so your skill level is always accurately reflected. Since there are only a possible outcome ranging from 3-18 (with 3 always being a critical success, and 18 always being a critical failure) on three dice, the skill/attribute levels are pretty small, with "super-human" or highly skilled being in ranges of 18-20+, and the "average human" or poorly skilled being 8-12.However, the GURPS system supplies you with ideas on how you can apply modifiers in order to allow your players to do cool stunts in-game.
Combat is also super simple and comes in steps
Pick what maneuver you want to do
If attacking, roll against modified weapon skill to see if you hit.
Target rolls against one of three (modified) active defense options (usually relevant skill/2 + 3).
If target fails, you hit. If he succeeds, you don't and your turn is over.
Roll for damage.
Subtract rolled damage from targets Damage Resistance
Apply damage modifiers (piercing damage, slash to the neck, etc)
And your done. Usually doesn't require a whole lot of calculating, except for applying the final damage modifier, but everything usually comes out to whole numbers (but if not you always cut off the decimal [don't quote me though, you might round up or down]).
If using GURPS-esque weapon damages and such, combat (even for melee weapons) is horrific and quick. You'd be lucky if your character still had his arm after a chop from a sword, let alone a shotgun blast. The GM could decide that brutal combat is too gritty, even for a Fallout game, so they could just give the players a wealth of HP without affecting any other aspect of the game.
I always thought that this system was quite interesting because it is a bit different from most classic systems, here are a few characteristics of it:
There are no character levels
There are no character classes
Everything works by dots (•) (more on this later)
Experience gained is used to increase/buy dots
Only uses 10 sided dice (I will be referring to a 10 sided dice as: d10)
Players only get awarded XP at the end of a game session, not during it
Explaining the Dots:
Attributes, Skills, Health, Willpower and Merits use Dots (•). The Dots represent how good a character is in that area (think of Dots as an actual number), Attributes, Skills and Merits have a maximum number of five Dots.
Every character starts with the first dot on every Attribute, then he has a number of Attribute Character creation Points to increase his chosen attributes at character creation, Skills work the same as Attributes at character creation except they do not start with the first dot (if a players wants to know a skill, he has to spend some of his Skill Character Creation Points to learn it). I can go into more detail how character creation dots work if anyone is interested later.
Permanently increasing the number of Dots costs experience points and the cost increases for each Dot (if the player wants to increase his Dots he has to pay the new Dot cost plus the previous Dot cost).
Dice Poll:
The number of dice rolled to determine failure or success (and the degree of success) for a character’s action. Dice pools are usually determined by adding Attribute Dots to Skill Dots, plus any relevant equipment and/or modifiers.
Attributes:
Attributes are classified into three categories: Mental, Physical and Social. And are rolled to determine how well your character accomplishes efforts in the game.
Mental Attributes suggest how insightful, clever and determined your character is. They are Intelligence, Wits and Resolve.
Physical Attributes indicate how strong, graceful and enduring your character is. They are Strength, Dexterity and Stamina.
Social Attributes determine how imposing, magnetic and dignified your character is. They are Presence, Manipulation and Composure.
The Attributes of ordinary people are rated from 1 to 5. It’s possible for someone to have more dots, but these individuals are typically beyond the human ken.
You get to allocate five dots among your character’s primary Attributes. You assign four dots among his secondary Attributes. And you get three dots to divvy up among his tertiary traits. Attribute dots can then be increased further using experience points.
Skills:
Like Attributes, Skills are broken down into three general categories: Mental, Physical and Social.
A character’s initial Skills are purchased during character creation and are prioritized in the same manner as Attributes, with eleven points to allocate among primary Skills, seven points to allocate among secondary Skills, and four points to allocate among tertiary Skills. Skill dots can then be increased further using experience points. Or new Skills can be purchased during an adventure at the player’s discretion.
Skills in World of Darkness represent areas, for example the skill Larceny is used for many actions like lockpicking, pickpocket, deal with security systems, hiding stolen loot, etc. Also when a player uses a Skill (for example lockpicking), he uses the skill dots plus an attribute dots and equipment bonus:
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Larceny + equipment Action: Extended (2-12+ successes required, depending on the sophistication of the lock; one roll represents one turn — three seconds — of work)
Picking a lock is one of the most common applications of Larceny, and requires nothing more than a basic set of tools, a steady hand and a few moments’ concentration. The task is an extended action, requiring a number of successes based on the toughness and sophistication of the lock. A suitcase or diary lock might require two or three successes, while a padlock or a house lock might demand anywhere from four to seven. Combination locks could require anywhere from eight to 12. Using specialized lockpicking tools (as opposed to improvised picks) can add a bonus to the roll.
How to beat a challenge or task:
Okay, so you have all these dice in your hand. How do you use them?
Almost all rolls made in the Storytelling System have a target number of 8. You want to roll 8 or higher on each die.
For each die that turns up 8 or higher in a roll, your character achieves a success at the action he performs.
Sometimes the number of successes is counted to determine results, such as in combat. Other times a single success is all that’s required for an action to be fulfilled, such as rounding a corner in a speeding car.
Your character tries to identify the kind of vehicle from which a part comes.
His Intelligence + Crafts is 6, and he has a Specialty in engines, offering a +1 bonus. You form a pool of seven dice.
The Storyteller decides, however, that the wear and tear that the old part has suffered makes it difficult to recognize (he imposes a -1 penalty). You remove one die and are left with six to roll against a target number of 8.
You get a 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9, for two successes. Since only one success is required to pull off the feat, your character recognizes the part from a military truck.
10 Again:
When you’re hot, you’re hot. Extremely good rolls can lead to extremely positive results for your character.
Anytime you get a 10 on a die roll you earn a success and you get to roll that die again. That’s called “10 again.”
If the re-roll results in a success, you earn an extra success in the effort. If the result is another 10, you get to keep rerolling and you add another success to your character’s action for every 10 that you get.
If multiple dice in your pool turn up 10’s, you re-roll all of those dice and keep accumulating extra successes and keep making any extra rolls.
The results can be exceptional successes, in which your character performs stunning or near-miraculous feats.
Your dice pool consists of seven dice. You get 2, 4, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10. That’s three successes, but one die got a 10, which you get to re-roll.
Say you get a 5. That’s not a success, so your total successes for the roll remains at three. If you got an 8 or 9, however, you would have gotten an additional success, for a total of four.
Now, if you had rolled another 1o, not only would your total successes for the action have risen to four, you would have rolled that die yet again. If it got another success, your total would have increased again. If it resulted in yet another 10, your successes would have increased by one and you would have kept re-rolling.
The rule of re-rolling 10’s applies to everything from gathering information on the street to determining the effectiveness of a punch.
A 10 rolled on a die always calls for a re-roll, even on a chance roll (see below). Of course, a 10 is required to achieve any success on a chance roll. If you keep re-rolling 10’s, you keep accumulating successes.
Chance Roll:
Any time a dice pool is reduced to zero dice, usually due to penalties applied to your pool, you may still make a chance roll.
Roll one die, called a chance roll. It has a target number of 10. Rolling 10 gets you a success and your character amazingly performs the feat attempted. Almost any roll other than 10 indicates failure. As always, you get to roll 10’s again. You have a chance to perform a stunning success if you keep re-rolling 10’s and accumulate successes.
Whenever you make a chance roll, no matter how many times you roll 10 again, the target number remains 10. Rolls of 8 or 9 do not count as successes, not even on re-rolls.
Dramatic Failure:
A dramatic failure occurs only when you’re reduced to making a chance roll and you get a 1.
For a dramatic failure to occur, no other successes can have been achieved in your chance roll. So, a catastrophic result may occur only on your first chance roll. If you get a 10 on your first roll, which is a success, and get a 1 on your re-roll, your character has one success and you stop re-rolling. No dramatic failure occurs because you’ve already achieved one success on the chance roll.
Dramatic failures do not occur when you still roll any part of your normal dice pool. If penalties to your character’s action reduce you to few or as little as one die in a pool, your character is not at risk of suffering a dramatic failure. A roll of 1 here is just an ordinary failure, not an extraordinary one. A dramatic failure occurs only when you are reduced to a dice pool of zero and you get a 1 on a chance roll.
Experience Points:
Experience points are a bit different that in most PnP RPGs because it is only awarded at the end of a game session (called a Chapter) and can only range from 1 to 5 experience points.
Each character that participated in that game session gets 1 point, no matter how bad they performed in it, then the Storyteller (same as a Game Master or Dungeon Master) decides if he awards more Experience points to each player individually:
Extra points should be based on merit, not favoritism.
1 point — Automatic. Each player gets one point for participating in a chapter.
1 point — Learning Curve. Ask the player what his character learned during the chapter’s events. If you agree with his response, award his character one point.
1 point — Roleplaying. The player did a good job of portraying his character, either entertainingly, appropriately, or both. If he veered too far from his character’s concept, he might not deserve this reward, but don’t be stingy here. Indeed, superlative roleplaying might be worth two points.
1 point — Heroism. Characters who rise to the occasion with truly heroic actions or feats of survival and sheer persistence deserve a point. Do not reward characters who act in stupid or suicidal ways just so they can gain the accolades of the hero.
When players finish an adventure (called a Story) the Storyteller may want to award more experience on top of the one earned by finishing the Chapter:
Once a story has come to a conclusion, its aftermath provides moments of reflection or self-awareness that might warrant extra experience points, beyond those awarded for the final chapter.
1 point — Success. The characters achieved all or part of their goals.
1 point — Danger. The characters survived against harsh odds and grave dangers.
1 point — Wisdom. The player, and thus his character, devised a brilliant plan or came up with a spontaneous solution that enabled the group to survive or succeed when it might have failed.
If you want the characters to advance in talent more quickly, feel free to award extra points to get them to the desired level of competence.
Action:
A task that takes all of a character’s time and attention. Storytelling measures instant actions(one to three seconds, taking place within a single turn) and extended actions, taking longer (duration determined by the Storyteller). Also, there are reflexive actions, which take no time and do not prevent a character from performing another action within a turn, and contested actions, in which two or more characters compete in a task or for a single goal.
Health Points:
Health is determined by adding Stamina and Size. Typically, the bigger and more resilient your character, the more punishment he can endure before he goes down for the count. The average person is 5 Size and has 2 Stamina, for a total of 7 Health.
The more injuries your character suffers, the more impaired his actions are. Penalties are imposed on your dice rolls thereafter.
Merits:
Merits are like perks and traits with ranks.
Merits are special capabilities or knacks that add individuality to your character.
They’re purchased during character creation or with experience points over the course of your chronicle.
Some apply to your character’s basic traits to enhance them in particular situations.
Some have prerequisites that must be met before they can be purchased. For example, a character with the Gunslinger Merit must have a Dexterity of 3 and Firearms of 3 or higher to be able to accurately fire two weapons at the same time.
By the same token, some Merits apply drawbacks that balance out their inherent advantages. A character with the Fame Merit, for example, is treated like a star wherever he goes, but has a hard time blending into the crowd when he wants to.
Each Merit has a number of dots (•) associated with it. These dots represent the number of points that must be spent to purchase the Merit. Some Merits allow for a range of dots (say, • to •••). These allow you to purchase a low rating if it’s appropriate to your character concept, or you can start with a low level and increase it over time with experience points.
A character is born with some Merits or develops them early in life, while others can be acquired through trail and error, training and effort later in life.
The first kind can be acquired at character creation only and are labelled as such. The second kind can be acquired during play with experience points. Merit dots must be purchased sequentially with experience points. You have to buy • and then •• before your character can have ••• or more.
Combat:
Combat almost always progresses through a series of three-second turns. The system for handling combat turns is further divided into two basic stages: initiative and attack.
Initiative is to determine who gets to act before whom in combat. At the beginning of combat, roll a die for your character and add his Dexterity and Composure scores to the result. The total is his standing in the Initiative for the entire fight (from the first turn when the action commences till the last turn when only one side is left standing).
There is two types of attack, the close combat and ranged combat.
Close Combat:
Includes unarmed combat (Strength + Brawl) and melee (Strength + Weaponry).
Ranged Combat:
Involves projectile weapons (Dexterity + Firearms) such as guns, crossbows or spear guns. Or it involves thrown objects (Dexterity + Athletics). Range for firearms varies based on the weapon. Range for thrown weapons depends on the attacker’s capabilities.
Defense:
A target is automatically allowed a degree of evasion when an opponent uses a Brawl, Weaponry or thrown attack against him. Such a response is a reflexive action and applies even if your character is attacked before his place in the Initiative roster.
This reaction is called your character’s Defense, a trait equal to the lowest of his Dexterity or Wits. Your character’s Defense is subtracted from an attacker’s dice pool.
In essence, your character bobs and weaves to avoid the blow.
This automatic Defense does not normally apply against Firearms attacks. The only instance in which Defense does apply against Firearms-based attacks is when the attacker shoots within close-combat range; within a yard or two of the target.
Defense does apply normally against thrown weapons, such as rocks, knives and spears.
A target who is tied up, unconscious or simply unmoving does not receive Defense as protection. Nor does one who’s taken by surprise or who is unaware of an incoming attack (say he has his back turned). That is, the attacker’s dice pool is not modified by the target’s Defense trait.
If multiple close-combat attacks are directed at your character in the same turn, he may try to evade each of
them, but doing so becomes progressively more difficult.
Each attack after the first diminishes your character’s Defense modifier by one.
So, if three attacks are staged against your character who has a 3 Defense (his Dexterity is 3 and his Wits is 4), the first attack suffers a -3 penalty, the second suffers a -2 penalty and the third suffers a -1 penalty. A fourth attack would suffer no Defense penalty.
Basically, your character’s Defense is subtracted from incoming attacks, but it gets progressively harder to avoid them.
Dodge:
Your character’s can spend his action for a turn to anticipate attacks and moving out of harm’s way. Double his Defense trait.
Thus, if the lowest of your character’s Dexterity or Wits is 2, his Dodge trait for the turn is 4. That number is subtracted from incoming close-combat and thrown attacks.
Dodge operates somewhat outside the normal Initiative order of the turn. You can declare a dodge for your character at any time in the turn, even before his place in the roster, assuming he hasn’t acted yet.
Hitting and missing:
All combat actions (close or ranged) require a successful roll to hit. As with any other roll, your character’s Attribute and Skill dots are combined as the basis for your dice pool.
For example, a Strength of 3 and Brawl of 2 adds to five dice. This pool represents your character’s raw combat potential. Other factors apply, however, such as any weapons he wields or special effects that he attempts or initiates.
That is, a number of bonus dice are added to your pool equal to the rating of the tool or effect used. So, a sword rated 3 adds three bonus dice to your pool. Meanwhile, your character’s target tries to avoid being harmed, and may wear protective gear.
In close combat, the target’s Defense trait and the rating of any applicable armor worn is subtracted from your attack dice pool. If penalties imposed on your character’s attack exceed your character’s Attribute + Skill + any bonuses involved, the action is exceptionally challenging.
The aforementioned character brings a sword into close combat. His 3 Strength and 2 Weaponry grant five dice. His sword, rated 3, adds three bonus dice to that pool. His opponent has a Defense total of 4 and wears armor rated 1. That means five dice are removed from the attacker’s pool. The attacker is left with three dice.
In ranged combat, dice pools for attacks are composed in much the same way. The attacker’s Dexterity and Firearms (or Athletics for a thrown weapon) are combined. The rating of the gun or weapon used is then added to that pool.
In the case of Firearms attacks, however, a target’s Defense does not usually apply. It’s not subtracted from the attacker’s pool. People don’t try to avoid arrows or bullets like they do punches or sword swings. They run and look for protection.
The exception is if Firearms-based attacks are staged within close-combat range; within a yard or two.
A target’s Defense does apply to thrown attacks made by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, such as with a rock or spear.
If your character has 2 Dexterity and 1 Firearms, you have three dice in your pool. If she fires a gun rated 4, four more dice are added for a total of seven. The Defense score of the target is not subtracted from the dice pool of your character’s Firearms-based ranged attack. His 1 point of armor is, however. Assuming the target stands stock still, without diving for cover, your dice pool loses only one die. You’re left with six dice in your hand.
Weapon Strength Requirement:
All weapons have a Strength requirement to be used, if a character does not meet this requirement he has a penalty of -1 when attacking.
Other Rules:
There are rules for many other combat related things like:
Offhand Attacks
Drawing a Weapon
All-Out Attack
Touching an Opponent
Charging
Going Prone
Flank and Rear Attacks
Targeted Attacks (specific body parts or objects)
Fighting Blind
Armor Piercing weapons
Damage Type (bashing, lethal or aggravated)
Attribute Damage (like poisons and drugs)
Continuous Damage
Stun
Knockout
Knockdown
Immobilization
Killing Blows
Armor type
And for Unarmed Combat:
Bite
Grapple
And for Ranged Combat:
Autofire
Short burst
Medium burst
Long burst
Range
Aiming
Shooting into Close Combat
Concealment
Firing from Concealment
Cover
Reloading
Weapon Jam
There are also rules for things that are not mainly combat related:
Temperature Extremes
Poisons and Toxins
Fire
Fatigue
Falling
Explosives
Electrocution
Drugs
Disease
Healing naturally over time
Deprivation (food and water)
Sorry for the wall of text but I don't know how to resume it, I also had to get some text from the actual Core Rulebook because I don't know how to explain it in my words using english (I learned it using Portuguese Manuals more than ten years ago and never played it much back then), that was what prevented me from writing about this system before, I tried to write this before a couple of times but I just couldn't explain it without making it sound super complicated and confusing by my own words . I probably forgot something so if anyone is curious or detects errors please PM me (like the OP says) and tell me about it so I can add/fix it.
Also this rule system is for the old World of Darkness and not the newer Chronicles of Darkness, I never looked into that newer one so I have no idea how it works.
Dammit Risewild, you ninja'd me! Anyway, I'll do Shadowrun instead.
Shadowrun is based on D6's, a target number for an action is decided by the GM based on various conditions and difficulties, the number of die a player is allowed to throw is determined by their level in a certain skill, for example is they have 5 in strength then they'll be allotted 5 die, if all 5 of those die hit the target number of 6 then they'll be very successful.
The gamemaster will provide the player with a target number against which he will make the dice roll. The player rolls the indicated number of dice and then compares each die result individually to the target number. Unlike most games, the results of the dice rolled are NOT added together. Each individual die that scores equal to or greater than the target number is considered a success. The more dice that score successes, the better the result. (...) Sam the Ranger is running down an alley and needs to leap a molerat to get away from the raiders chasing him. The gamemaster decides the test should be an Agility Test. Sam has Athletics 4. That means Sam’s player gets to roll 4 dice against a target number of 5. The player rolls 3, 3, 4, and 5. That’s one success, and Sam is able to leap over the fence and make his escape.
If a target number is above 6 then the player will have to roll a 6, then they'll be given an additional roll in order to reach the target e.g. if the player has to reach 20 then they'll have to roll a 6, then another 6, then another 6, then 2 or more.
The player re-rolls the 6, with a result of 5. Adding the two together, the new die roll result is 11 (6 + 5). The player can re-roll additional 6s if the current die result total is still less than the target number. For example, to beat a target number of 14 (really hard) the player would have to roll a 6, then re-roll for another 6, and then re-roll for a 2 or better (6 + 6 + 2 = 14).
In addition to the die you're allotted by your stats, you'll have a pool of additional dice that you're allowed to use on rolls you deem important (or on unimportant rolls, if you're an idiot), this is called your 'Karma pool', it's limited but you can refill it either by waiting for the next scene or completing a task set by the GM.
Also, Shadowrun just has a bunch of cool shit that can be adapted into Fallout considerably easy, of course magic would have to be hacked out, but then it'd be great.
Jason Mical's Fallout PnP ruleset!!!!1!!!!!(@Dr Fallout, you lazy shit)
MATERIALS
-Two ten sided dice, with one die representing the "ones" column and the other representing the "tens" column of a two-digit number as well as your standard RPG dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20)
-The character sheet
-Pencil
-Imagination
CHARACTER CREATION
Jason Mical's PnP system has rules for playing as 6 different races namely robots, deathclaws, dogs, super mutants, humans and ghouls, each one of these races have their own maximum and minimum SPECIAL stats and unique advantages/disadvantages.
When creating your character you may choose 0-2 traits that (assuming you're a good roleplayer) dictate an aspect of your characters personality as well as some of their, and possibly others, statistics.
After choosing race your responsibilities as a character creator are to decide upon your characters SPECIAL, SPECIAL will influence your character's proficiency in certain skills and your ability in more generalised situations. You start with 5 points in each of your SPECIAL stats with an additional 5 points to be allocated as you wish, of course you can also reallocate default SPECIAL points to other SPECIAL stats. SPECIAL is rarely altered in the course of a game.
Your SPECIAL stats and traits determine several secondary stats that should influence your character's general playstyle. SPECIAL influences the following stats: Hit points, radiation resistance, gas resistance, electricity resistance, damage threshold, armour class, action points, carry weight, melee damage, poison resistance, damage resistance, sequence, healing rate and critical chance.
From here you'll determine your skills, which are set about by your SPECIAL as well as what you choose to tag (you can tag 3 skills), tagged skills instantly get a 20% increase and when allocating skill points to tagged skills 1 skill point will equal 2.
A character's default karma's 0, Overseers will be responsible for informing characters of any change in their karma due to their actions.
THE ACTUAL GAME
A character may only have two items equipped at any give time.
A character must have the required item in hand in order to complete a task dependent upon said item (to heal you must hold a stimpak).
Combat officially begins when one character attacks someone or something else.
Combat is a series of 10-second rounds where every participant gets a turn that resolves when all parties hostile to each other are either incapacitated, dead, or have run away.
The critter or character that initiated combat gets the opportunity to use all of their Action Points before Sequence is determined.
DETERMINING SEQUENCE
The Sequence statistic does not change, this step needs to be performed only once in combat, at the beginning. Whoever has the highest sequence moves first, with the next highest sequence moving second, and so on until the round is over
Ties in sequence are broken by rolling 1d10 with highest roll going first.
ACTION
Most actions in combat requires the use of Action Points. The higher a character's agility, the more action points they have.
A character's Turn is over when all AP are expended, or they declare their turn finished.
Remaining APs are added to the characters AC for the remainder of the round.
1 AP Standing movement per hex
2 AP 1 hex of movement while crouching
2 AP Accessing Inventory
2 AP Crouch stance to prone stance
2 AP Opening a door or other action
2 AP Placing an item from Inventory into hand
2 AP Reload weapon or retrieve grenade from inventory
2 AP Standing stance to crouch stance
3 AP One handed weapon attack
3 AP Unarmed Attack
4 AP 1 hex of movement while prone
4 AP Changing stance from standing to prone
4 AP Getting up from knockdown
4 AP Jump
4 AP One handed weapon targeted/burst shot
4 AP Targeted unarmed attack
4 AP Throw
4 AP Two handed weapon attack
5 AP Two-handed weapon targeted/burst shot
5 AP Launcher or Artillery single shot
All AP Disarm a trap
If a character wishes to use a skill in the midst of battle it's up to the Overseer when it comes to AP expenditure.
If characters change their positioning (crouching, prone, standing) their stats will get relevant bonuses and subtractions.
Unarmed and melee attacks must be made on a target in an adjacent hex, ranged attacks may be made so long as targets are in your line of sight and range (range is defined by the Overseer).
There are three kinds of attacks, besides the normal HtH and Ranged: a Normal (Single) Attack, a Targeted Attack, and a Burst attack. Certain weapons can do all three while others can only do one type of attack.
ATTACK
A target must be in range.
Your base hit chance for hitting an opponent is dependent on your skill with the weapon type you're using and the relevant stats.
The range of a weapon greatly affects your hit chance, the formula for range is 2 x Perception = Y metres (or 2 x Strength = Y metres with thrown weapons).
If targets are outside of the determined range you take a penalty of 3 (6 at night, assuming your Overseer is being obtuse like that) from the relevant skill per metre over range.
A target's armour class is deducted again from the relevant combat skill.
The percentage of a target's body which is covered by potential combat cover is again subtracted from the relevant combat skill (so if a quarter of a target's body is in cover then 25% is subtracted from, say for example, the small guns skill).
Now disadvantages and advantages are added to the roll.
Once the chance to hit is determined, the player makes a roll against that number. Rolling that dice is the same as pulling the trigger; if the character snuck up on an unsuspecting person, they had up until that point to stop and suffer no consequences. Once the roll is made, however, there is no turning back.
A critical failure occurs if an attack fails by the roll of 97-100%.
DAMAGE
The formula for damage is unique to a weapon except with firearms where it's determined by the ammo used.
The Damage Threshold of a target's armour is immediately subtracted from overall damage.
The Damage Resistance of a target's armour subtracts a percentage (determined by the armour, obviously) from this new amount of damage.
CRITICALS
Every successful attack means the attacker has a chance for a critical hit.
If the roll to hit is equal to or less than the character’s critical chance, then the attack becomes critical.
If a gun firing in burst mode hits a target more than once, only one of those bullets is allowed a critical hit (once per attack).
One effect of a critical is that it can bypass armor entirely.
Well, this is quite the convoluted system. If it comes down to a vote I think I'll cast mine elsewhere; of course there's a pretty solid chance I misread the game rules (it's really late here, and I'm tired as shit), so please correct me if I've misrepresented or misunderstood anything from Jason Mical's Fallout PnP.
I think that GURPS is actually a really bad system. (maybe that's why you don't like it )
It uses a lot of tables and some really clunky mechanics (don't know if 4th edition dealt with that), but my actual problem with GURPS is that it is universal...
Sounds weird, I know, because a universal system for all your PnP needs sounds awesome at first, but in my opinion system and setting are always interwoven. If you try and separate both you have to stay as basic as possible. Fate/Fudge are good examples for universal systems that actually play well with any setting, but they are heavily storytelling based and play in a very special way. As soon as you flesh out rules more specifically you start losing universality. And eventually GURPS became a compromise in every aspect, because it tries to be precise, so that everyone always knows what they are up against without discussing it too much, and at the same time it tries to keep everything universal, so that it would fit any game reality. That works for basic things which are part of almost all game settings but not for the unique specifics that every game setting also has.
This then creates a blurry feeling when it comes to actual play, because often, especially when you do special things that go beyond eating, shitting, sleeping and bashing someone's skull in with a club, it is about the small details of how these special things actually work in comparison to each other. And GURPS blurrs that down to generalized mechanics that just don't feel like anything when executing them.
And I really want to feel the game when I play it!
Boom headshot. That's my exact problem. I don't mind the mechanics but it feels like a generic tabletop game without any soul then an interesting RPG. I mean sure, you can make it all up but the mechanics rarely capture the world. Playing a high fantasy and gritty sic-fi feel too similar.
I GM gurps a bit, and I agree with the sentiment. For me it is gurps for fantasy and other systems for other genres.
That said the biggest reason to not use gurps for this project is they just did their version a couple of months back. "After the end."
How they handle equipment/weapons is probably worth stealing though.
Yeah I also thought it was pretty condensed. But I think that is the point, fast and easy gameplay.
I am quite curious about this kind of gameplay, I never played a fast paced P&P game and would love to try it out and see if I like it. Unfortunately all of my P&P buddies are on the other side of the globe and I can't play P&P anymore.
But I have a not so good thing about how backgrounds can be from where you come from or your race... So we can't be a Raider Super Mutant or a Ghoul Vault Dweller. I always liked race and background to be separate. But that is me nitpicking.
Yeah I also thought it was pretty condensed. But I think that is the point, fast and easy gameplay.
I am quite curious about this kind of gameplay, I never played a fast paced P&P game and would love to try it out and see if I like it. Unfortunately all of my P&P buddies are on the other side of the globe and I can't play P&P anymore.
But I have a not so good thing about how backgrounds can be from where you come from or your race... So we can't be a Raider Super Mutant or a Ghoul Vault Dweller. I always liked race and background to be separate. But that is me nitpicking.
. I probably forgot something so if anyone is curious or detects errors please PM me (like the OP says) and tell me about it so I can add/fix it. 
)
