Looking for the Free Microlite20/7x/8x/2020 Rules Downloads?

There are well over 100 free downloads of rules (and more) for Microlite20, Microlite2020, Microlite7x, Microlite 81, and their many variants in the Game Download Library area below. These files can be downloaded without creating a membership on this site.

 

 

 

Update (19 Jun 23):

As I mentioned many weeks ago, maintaining the seldom used Wordpress side of this site became too much of a bother, especially as parts of Wordpress are constantly updating and some those updates break things -- like access to this forum. I'm finally had time to remove it. The forum should stop disappearing from view now.

As many of you know, my wife has had MS for about 20 years now. It has gotten to the stage where helping her takes a lot more of my time that it used to. This means visits to this board have become few and far between. I'm looking for a couple of members willing to help moderate this board. Note that if your idea of good moderation is anything similar the way boards like RPG.net are moderated, do not bother volunteering. Good moderation isn't about forcing your opinions, ideological positions, or biases on members via your power to gag and ban, it is about being helpful to all members (even those you don't like/disagree with), cleaning up after spammers, and enforcing the rules with the lightest hand possible and only doing so when the rules are actually broken. If you are interested in any message board moderation position on any board because of the supposed "power" it will give you, you are (IMHO) the wrong person for the job. If you are interested, PM me. It may taken quite a while to reply, unfortunately.

RPG Magic System Types

A place to share your rules-lite RPG ideas and designs.


Post Reply
User avatar
quaffeine
Posts: 81
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2019 11:53 am
x 23
United States of America

RPG Magic System Types

Post by quaffeine »

Hey Microliters,

As part of a little project I'm working on, I'm trying to identify the different types of magic systems on RPGs that I've used or encountered. Not the specifics of how they work (yet), but just at a high level what types of mechanics are around.

For example, consider the "four by five" system that appears throughout the Compendium. To me, this is a combination of Skill-Based (the words that are learned through advancement) and Composition-Based (action plus realm). Meanwhile The Original Game is of course Preparation-Based, while as I understand it Whitehack uses a great Resource Usage-Based system.

Please let me know if there are any other basic mechanics I'm missing! I'm sure there are some!! Please!!!

  • Attribute Test-Based: Attribute test to succeed, failure brings stacking penalty. Optionally some catastrophic failure prevents further attempts.
  • Composition-Based: The wielder must combine two or more things in order to work the magic.
  • Feat-Based: Magic is gained through advancement, and is available for a set number of uses per day.
  • Inventory-Based: Casters must have a certain item(s) on their person and/or attuned in some way in order to work magic.
  • Preparation-Based: Wielders must "prepare" magic in advance, which once discharged cannot be used until it is prepared again.
  • Resource-Based: PCs have some resource such as "magic points" that they expend to work magic. It may be alternately be a physical resource that is consumed in the working. There may be a single resource, or multiple that must be combined in specific ways.
  • Resource Die-Based: PCs start with a usage die representing their magical capacity. Once it's demoted and emptied, they must replenish it in order to work more.
  • Ritual-Based: PCs work magic through a long, difficult ceremony. It may be aided by additional individuals, and suffer if it is disrupted in any way.
  • Skill-Based: The use of magic is a discrete skill or attribute that can improve with advancement and is tested in order to work magic. Failure may or may not risk depletion.
0 x


Top
User avatar
squirewaldo
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:15 am
x 11
United States of America

Re: RPG Magic System Types

Post by squirewaldo »

Image

0 x
Top
Post Reply

Return to “Design and Development”