The beginning of the good news about 6d6 Core, being a review about the most exciting and innovative roleplaying system created this century.
If you're like me then you've read a lot of roleplaying rulebooks in your time. You've seen it all, Hershey, and you're probably rolling your eyes at the prospect of reading another one.
I don't know about you but until yesterday I was really getting pretty jaded regarding roleplaying rulebooks.
And then I read this one.
6d6 Core
Here's the short version of my review: go to http://6d6rpg.com/6d6rpg/rules/ and spend the £7.50 on the 6d6 Core rules.
Read it. Digest it. Try it.
Welcome to the 21st Century.
Wave "Bye Bye" To Character Sheets
Several years ago, when we first set-up the Friday Night Roleplay group, a guy I'd first met at a roleplaying club in Nottingham used to sit at our table. We had many good times, with highlights including his alien-abductee news reporter with the secretly implanted cybernetic camera... or something along those lines.
His name was, and actually still is, Chris Tregenza.
Roll the clock forward a few years and picture me, much older and no longer sitting in the Games Workshop office, slipping out of work one lunchtime to visit Chris at Mondo Comico in Beeston, Nottingham.
Chris had offered to demo me an idea he had about a new way to roleplay. I met him, we created a version of my all-time most hackneyed character, Goriel Swiftfoot, and we fought some zombies. Walking away I remember thinking, "That's pretty cool... I like that idea."
I'd just played 6d6 RPG for the first time. The big thing that stuck in my mind was the fact that I hadn't picked up a pencil. Instead, nestled in my jacket pocket was a small deck of cards, about the size of a business card, connected to a single ring.
Here's what I loved first about 6d6 RPG:
- There are no character sheets.
- You really don't need a pencil.
Intuitive and User-Friendly
Right, here's the confession: I've been stupid (and busy) enough to completely fail to play 6d6 since that day.
Yesterday I re-read 6d6 Core.
The reason is that I've been thinking for months that it'd be a great RPG to use to introduce new gamers to the hobby and, as I work in a school, to use for running a club.
My top three reasons are:
- It can be learned in about 10 seconds.
- It's totally intuitive and requires no higher degrees in maths.
- It's really fun to play.
To that I would add that it's completely adaptable to any setting you can imagine.
The only downside is that, being a new system, it'll require some work to get my Traveller-esque SF setting adapted... and so I kept putting it off. Until yesterday.
Pure Genius
6d6 Core is a work of genius.
Not the work of a genius, but in and of itself one of those striding steps forward that happen every 50 years or so... or slightly more frequently in roleplaying.
First came D&D, then came Traveller; along came GURPS, then Storytelling, and Fudge; recently came Fate... and here is 6d6 Core.
Genius. A big step forward for the hobby.
Why? It's genius, ladles and jellyspoons, because it sticks to some core principles. Let me quote...
The 6d6 system has been written with certain principles in mind, principles designed to create an easy to learn, fast to play, flexible game.
1. Everything is on the Cards. Everything the player needs to know about their character and their abilities should be on the cards in front of them. From round to round the player should have nothing to remember...
2. No Pencil Needed. A player should not need to pick up a pencil during a game. Game mechanics that need players to update cards or do other book-keeping will slow the game...
3. Reuse. Reuse existing mechanics rather than creating new mechanics. This keeps the game simple to learn and play...
4. Remix. Combining existing keywords can create variations and flexibility in the system without the need to create new mechanics...
5. Make It Simpler. Each game mechanic [has been] be made as simple as possible.
6. Title, Keyword, Description. A player should be able to understand a card by reading the card's title, keywords and summary...
7. Remember They Are Cards. Cards can be moved, re-positioned, stacked on top of one another, handed to other players and much more. The game mechanics [do] take advantage of these features... rather than attempting to recreate what other games do...
8. Everything has a Cost. The 6d6 system is a game of choices and all choices have a cost. Some costs are obvious... Others are more subtle...
9. No Negatives. 6d6 is a game of advantages where a character only adds to their chance of success. The player should never be required to subtract from their action dice or modifiers. There are no disadvantages or negative penalties applied to characters...
10. Be Sociable. Role playing is a social activity. Game mechanics should encourage and stimulate social interaction between players as much as possible.
11. Don't Tell the Players What to Think. Allow the players to be creative in whatever way they want, including how they use the rules of the game... Game mechanics should aim to provide a flexible and adaptable skeleton for the players to flesh out with their own creativity.
12. Failsafe Mechanics. Failsafe does not mean, as a lot of politicians and journalists seem to think, that something will not fail. It means that when it does go wrong, it does the minimum possible harm... Mistakes should not have an undue negative impact on that game.
The principles make the system. It's really that simple.
By sticking to the above, 6d6 RPG has been crafted (and continues to evolve) to meet an exacting specification that ends up delivering maximum playability, creativity and fun without tacking on the usual truckload of calculation, rules-lawyering and paperwork.
It's genius. Pure and simple. Literally.
Next instalment... What I've been doing with 6d6 Core and why you should pay attention.
Hope you take my advice. Click that link and check it out.
Until next time... game on!
