Dice-less Role-playing Games

[ChrisGunter]

IDLE HANDS…

We’ve rolled dice for as long as we can remember. Playing our beloved games and hoping for that great roll. Sometimes fate shines upon us and sometimes it leaves us in a dark cave. The element of chance is incredibly exciting. How could we live without it? Some game developers have said you can. I’ll enter one contestant. Marvel Universe Role-playing Game. I use this example because I have experience with it. In the game you start off with points to put in to your character to flesh out abilities, skills, powers, etc. Pretty standard. Once that is all done, one of your abilities will determine how much energy you have to spend each round or page. Marvel Universe Role-playing Game does not use the standard round but panels and pages like in a comic book. The goal was to give the feel of being in the comic book that you write as you play. Back to the energy pool. The Game-master explains the situation to you. Say you have arrived at an abandoned chemical factory and you are searching for clues to a villain. If you have a power or skill that would allow you to do that then this is the time for energy allocation. Let us say you have 10 energy. You have a 4 in Infra-vision and a 6 in Force Field. You can allocate your points to max out those two powers so if you find something and it triggers and attack, you will be prepared. However, you have no points in movement. Moving will not be something you can do this page. This is just a small example. It seems like it gives you a new experience with great freedom and control. The time I ran it, it seemed clunky and slow. This was years ago. I am considering giving it another chance. The questions is, what do you guys think? Is a dice-less game possible? Are we too rooted in the roll? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Mutazoia]

Naturally some one is going to mention Amber Diceless Roplaying, so I might as well be the one to do it.

[Fri]

There's a system using cards that I sometimes see mentioned.

Basically you have a hand of cards, then you can choose to use any of your cards at any challenge where you usually roll dice. For example, do you want to use the card with high number now, or you want to hoard it for later? Something in that line.

[Jonagel]

I just started playing a fantastic new dice-less system, Masters of Bloodiron. http://mastersofbloodiron.com/

Two base stats, health pool, and then everything else is based on descriptors you get whenever you would 'level up' I suppose (Cruel, Academic, Wild, Bloodcrazed, Soothing, etc.). Each descriptor gives a new ability, a bonus to stat, a more role playing/esoteric bonus, etc.

Managed to play it in a long car ride the other weekend -- scrap paper, a couple pencils, and 4 hours of shenanigans. Though dice have their benefits, being able to play a game so easily/cheaply is pretty great. Would love to see other dice-less systems out there!

[Lvl 2 Expert]

The trouble with any system that does not use any sort of random number generator is that the game becomes solvable. You can, at least in theory, calculate how the entire situation is going to work out. There are two ways to remedy this. One is enough complexity. Chess does not use random numbers, yet you couldn't say how a chess match against your DM would go, blow by blow. The other remedy is hidden information. You know this is a goblin, most goblins would fall to two longsword hits, but it could be an extra tough goblin, or it might be better at dodging (a difficult mechanic to make without random numbers, but that's besides the point), or there could be a second goblin behind that rock. It can most certainly be done.

[weaseldust]

The other remedy is hidden information. You know this is a goblin, most goblins would fall to two longsword hits, but it could be an extra tough goblin, or it might be better at dodging (a difficult mechanic to make without random numbers, but that's besides the point), or there could be a second goblin behind that rock.

I think the most elegant approach to that is a sort of wager system, which is kind of what the OP describes the Marvel RPG as having. E.g. each round you and the goblin have some number of points to divide between your Attack, Defence, Chasing, and Running-Away abilities. If you put too few points in Defence and the goblin put loads in Attack, you get stabbed. But if you put loads in Defence and too few in Chasing, while the goblin put loads in Running-Away, it escapes from you. So the system can't be 'solved' - any number of results are possible - but there's no need for dice.

[Cazero]

The trouble with any system that does not use any sort of random number generator is that the game becomes solvable. You can, at least in theory, calculate how the entire situation is going to work out. There are two ways to remedy this. One is enough complexity. Chess does not use random numbers, yet you couldn't say how a chess match against your DM would go, blow by blow. The other remedy is hidden information. You know this is a goblin, most goblins would fall to two longsword hits, but it could be an extra tough goblin, or it might be better at dodging (a difficult mechanic to make without random numbers, but that's besides the point), or there could be a second goblin behind that rock. It can most certainly be done.

'Solving' the game is playing the game. A system without any random generator doesn't have random punishment. That's a feature, not a bug.

You know it's a goblin. If you're some kind of fighter, you know you're way stronger than one miserable goblin and will crush him in a fight. If you fail to do so, you then know there is something wrong with that goblin. Maybe it's actually not a goblin. The game's focus makes lulrandom fights irrelevant.

I played a rules-less game where I made every other PC strip. I had a perfectly legitimate IC reason and exploited my position of power to act on it faster. It only made everything more complicated for myself. Fun times have been had.

[Firest Kathon]

Are you looking for a system which uses a randomization system other than dice, or (as your example) a system without random chance?

For the former, Deadlands uses playing cards which you have to form into Poker hands.

[Joe the Rat]

Dread is another one, and quite well suited to horror/suspense. It uses Jenga for "risky task" resolution. "Blocks fall, somebody dies."

As noted, there are games that use cards for resolution, though this is often just a random number substitute. Castle Falkenstein is one of the early examples (because dice are simply too gauche for a parlor game).

[Mutazoia]

Dread is another one, and quite well suited to horror/suspense. It uses Jenga for "risky task" resolution. "Blocks fall, somebody dies."

Not a big fan of Dread. Not only do you have the added expense of buying a Jenga game, just to play your RPG, but think of:

1. How often your gaming table get's bumped by players during a gaming session
2. How long it takes to re-set the Jenga blocks just to reslove the next action
3. What if you want to play some where that you can't set up a Jenga game?

If you still want random number generation, but with out rolling dice, you could always use the old "chit" system. Literally drawing numbers from a hat (or cup or other container).

Dammit.....now I just got an idea to create a rule set that uses a magic 8 ball instead of dice.... >.<

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I think the most elegant approach to that is a sort of wager system, which is kind of what the OP describes the Marvel RPG as having. E.g. each round you and the goblin have some number of points to divide between your Attack, Defence, Chasing, and Running-Away abilities. If you put too few points in Defence and the goblin put loads in Attack, you get stabbed. But if you put loads in Defence and too few in Chasing, while the goblin put loads in Running-Away, it escapes from you. So the system can't be 'solved' - any number of results are possible - but there's no need for dice.

That's...

Actually a cool idea.

Stronger characters still have an advantage and you still can't tell how a turn will turn out. It might take some getting used to, with everyone writing their moves down in secret at the same time rather than taking turns, but I'd try this.

This is also a much better example of the hidden information thing than I wrote down.