Converting to D20 (part 2)

Continuing from this post...

STEP # 2 - Class & Level
The difficulty in converting Risus cliché levels to D20 class levels is that D20 class levels do not fall neatly into the "putz->professional->master" progression. Any conversion to D20 will involve making assumptions about the meaning of a class level. This assumption will vary from campaign to campaign, even for the same GM.

For an upcoming D20 version of Dragonspire, a fairly typical heroic fantasy game, I am making the assumption that a 1st level character represents professional competency (assuming 4 ranks in the relevant professional skills). This makes designing a conversion formula a bit tricky, given that only 4 cliché levels need to be spread among 20 class levels. Since I'd like a fairly linear progression, I arrive at 5 class levels for each cliché level from 3 to 6. A Cliché (1) would convert to a 0-level character, while a Cliché (2) would be 1st-level character with fewer than 4 skill ranks in their chosen profession.

Once a cliché level to class level formula is defined (and there are many more possibiltiies than the one I suggested for Dragonspire), the next step is actually converting characters.

Begin with a character's most important (and usually highest) cliché. Convert the cliché dice to a number of class levels (usually at the low end of a range of possible levels). Then assign these levels to one or more classes that seem appropriate for the cliché. Pay special attention to the things the character can actually do, increasing levels in certain classes to make sure the character still retains those abilities.

A character with more than one cliché can then add additional class levels, but generally not enough to put the character outside of the range of levels available to their primary cliché. Once again, pay attention to the abilities granted by the secondary clichés.

An alternative approach would be to convert all clichés equally with a less generous formula... perhaps one cliché level to one class level. Superficially, this would seem like a better approach. However, it fails to account for the stacking multi-classing mechanics of D20.

Next Up: Feats & Skills

This Week's Dragonspire Update

We had an exciting session of Dragonspire on Thursday. Updates have been posted.

Converting to D20

I apologize in advance to all you D20-phobes out there in the Risusverse, but I'm going to start to tackle the issue using Risus as a short-hand for D20 characters. As mentioned in this post, I typically generate a large number of NPCs for the local area of my campaign setting. Doing this in Risus is a snap, where a character can be represented in as few as 2 phrases (plus cliché level):

Name: Cliché (level).

A more complicated character might include additional clichés, a physical description, a Hook, some Lucky Shots, notes about Tools of the Trade, and role-playing hints. But even the most complicated of characters will only take a few moments to imagine and document. There is no need to consult a rulebook or worry about a bunch of inter-dependent statistics.

A Risus character is usually sufficient for most NPCs. But if a character is expected to see combat in a D20 game, more concrete statistics will be needed. Deriving those statistics is what I plan to address.

Before I get there, though, I need to mention my philosophy of character conversions. While I try to stay true to the numbers, the most important thing in a successful conversion is to remain true to the character concept and preserve the things that the character can actually do. The actual probabilities of doing things are a secondary concern.

STEP # 1 - Ability Scores
Deriving D20 ability scores from a set of Risus clichés is not as hard at it would seem. In a sense, any single cliché implies a set of ability scores. At their most obvious, clichés may explicitly state a connection to an attribute: a Charismatic Socialite (4) or Brawny Lass with Heroic Potential (4), for example. They may also state a connection in the cliché description: "being tough" or "being clever". In these cases, one simply needs to convert the cliché dice to the attribute bonus [i.e. D20 ability score = 10 + 2*cliché dice]. Funky Dice give proportionally higher ability scores [i.e. Supernaturally Strong Son of a Demigod (3d12) should give a Strength of 22].

When an ability score is not listed directly in the name of the cliché or in the cliché description, one must determine if the given ability score is a secondary or tertiary ability of the cliché. Strength might be a secondary ability of Dwarven Hardcase (4), while Constitution might be considered a tertiary ability of Successful Warrior Adventurer (4). Secondary abilities convert at half the level of primary abilities, while tertiary abilities convert at one quarter. When deciding if an ability score is primary, secondary, or tertiary to a cliché (and if it is an ability at all), I tend to ask myself "how much better at the attribute is a character with one more die in the cliché ".

What about substandard ability scores? There are two ways to get them. The first is through a Hook. The second is through a negative cliché descriptor, such as in Dumb Jock (3) or Sickly Wizard (5). In either case, assign the relevant ability score a value of 8 or less.
If the character has more than one cliché that covers the same attribute, use only the cliché that provides the ability score that best suits the character concept.

Up next: Class & Level

D20 Grunt Squads

As a GM, one of my favorite tools when running Risus is the Grunt Squad. It is, hands down, simply the best mechanic for handling hoards of nameless mooks. The idea is simple... treat the entire group of mooks as a single character (albeit one that can be in more than place at a time). Everything else is handled through description.

I have been wondering, as of late, if the concept could be ported to other systems, specifically the omnipresent D20. One of the major flaws of the D20 system is that combat is excessively tactical and takes far, far too long. Want your party of heroes to wade into a battle against hundreds of goblin spearmen? Using a battle mat and the rules as written, this would take hours and would probably result in some inconvenient player character deaths. But could those hundred of goblins be represented as a single monster? Here's how I might handle it...

First off, I'd most likely dispense with a battle mat in this situation. Cinematic combat against hundred of opponents is going to be primarily narrative and the rules for Attacks of Opportunity won't make any sense when a the "Goblin Hoard" grunt squad occupies hundreds of squares.

Next, I'd communicate to the players that the goblins that they are facing are a Grunt Squad and that they should assume their characters are attacking more than one character in a given action (even if the character is not usually capable of making multiple attacks in a round).

The "Goblin Hoard" would look like a suped-up version of an ordinary goblin, built to whatever CR the GM feels is appropriate. The Hoard's hit point are divided among the actual number of goblins for descriptive purposes only. The Hoard is only destroyed when the Hoard's hit points are reduced to zero. But when a character does 10 points of damage, it's fun to describe how many goblins he just killed.

The "Goblin Hoard" would get to attack each character that is threatened by at least one goblins. The number of attacks would be the minimum of the number of goblins that threaten that character and the Hoard's number of attacks per round. This is to make things exciting for the characters, and it ensures that the characters share the risk equally.

Weekly Dragonspire Update

We had an exceptional Dragonspire session this past Thursday. Updates have been posted.

Risus Monkey at NC Game Day

I'll be running Silverlode: Dances with Werewolves at NC Game Day X. Drop by this thread over at EN World to discuss getting in on the action before registration opens on March 17th. Here's the listing:

SILVERLODE 1908: DANCES WITH WEREWOLVES
In the spring of 1908, President Roosevelt has sent agents to Silverlode, Colorado to investigate suspicious foreign interest in local occult activity. These investigations are interrupted when the daughter of a prominent U.S. government official is carried off by rampaging werewolves.

Silverlode 1908 is a Risus game set in the last days of the Weird West. Players will assume the roles of US government agents (or exceptionally concerned citizens) in the fictional town of Silverlode, a former boomtown suffering from a reputation for strange occurrences. The mysterious Anasazi were only one of many famous disappearances from the area and foul things are rumored to inhabit the old silver mines that were once a source of great wealth for the region. At the dawn of the new century, Silverlode acts like a magnet for curious occultists, courageous adventurers, and covetous treasure seekers from all over the world.

NOTES: We will be using a "semi-serious" version of Risus: the Anything RPG. Rules and examples of play can be found at http://www.velvet-edge.com/silverlode_1908.html. Pre-Gen PCs will be provided, though player-created PCs may used if approved by the GM.

On Healing

After a combat in Risus, I generally allow each wounded character to roll against the cliché that lost dice (at its current value). Each multiple of 5 means that the character recovers one die in that cliché (up to the number of dice lost in this particular combat). This is a sort-of "flesh-wound" check, to see how much of the damage suffered is minor enough to be ignored for the rest of the game. It's not fun if the characters are so wounded that they have to return to a safe area every time they get a little banged up in a fight. A "flesh-wound" check keeps things moving nicely.

That being said, a "flesh-wound" check won't cover all injuries. Characters with lasting injuries will need to employ other methods to get back up to full strength. These methods depend on the nature of the injury. A Potion of Healing may take care of a physical injury, whereas a good mechanic will be needed to fix damage to a character's vehicle. A poor character who has suffered a loss of confidence may be able to regain it through meditation, or perhaps after a resounding success in another challenge. This is where "healer" characters really shine.

Dungeonauts Unite!

Vincent Diakuw has created one of the coolest Risus sites in existence. In addition to being laugh-out-loud funny, it is loaded with genuinely useful ideas for running Risus. Specifically geared towards sword & sorcery games, much of the advice can be applied to other genres as well. Particularly cool: cliché Stunts and location clichés.

Additional Dragonspire Updates

We didn't play this week, but I did manage to update the characters and post session notes from the previous week. I also added some more info to the lexicon and gazetteer.

A GM's Friend

Things have been slow on the Risus Monkey for the last few days. The reason is that I've been trying to think about how I might run Dragonspire for another group using (gasp!) Dungeons & Dragons. While I like Playing D&D, I find that actually running something using it to be incredibly cumbersome. Not only is the combat system overly complicated (and too tactical for optimal cinematic play), but quick character generation is just not possible without throwing out fidelity to the rules.

That's why I always return to Risus. Even while running games using other systems, I find that if I do my preparations as if I were using Risus, I don't feel quite so overwhelmed. Converting characters from Risus is a snap, which is great because my usual style of preparation is to create a bazillion NPCs so that they can drive the story. I could never do this in D&D or GURPS (strike that... I used to do it in GURPS, but I can't imagine doing it now).

One of the things that I've been meaning to do on this site is to post tips for converting between Risus and other systems. Finding time to do it has been a challenge, but I hope to get to it soon.