TABLE-TOP ROLE PLAYING GAMES

TTRPGs usually have rules suiting and restricting them to a particular genre; Fantasy, Sci-Fi or whatever.

They can also tend to be very complicated.

 

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BUT

In any RPG; aside from general narrative interaction & dialogue, the actual rules generally only matter when:

– A character is attempting to do something…

BUT:

+  some force or obstacle is acting against them or hindering them

+ some other character is acting against them or hindering them

– or vice versa

 

And then different “characteristics” or “skills” are cross-referenced on various tables

and a number of different dice are rolled and a number must be beaten + or – modifiers

And this is where it usually gets complicated.

 

Chaos keeps it simple…

HOW?

During any RPG session there will be times of general descriptive narrative where alternatives may be given and where game mechanics don’t much matter:

For example: – You are walking down an overgrown forest path which forks downhill quite steeply to the left or gently upward to the right.

The players make a decision and what happens next may be pre-written or left to a random choice by dice roll.

 

The rules only come into it when there are attempts by characters to do certain things,

Either Vs each other

or Vs The World which present some kind of challenge or obstacle:

(or else “The World” is doing something to them)

For example: – You see a small hole in the ground glinting with something shiny within. But it is covered by a large rock which must be shifted to reach it.

If any character attempts to lift the rock – only two things are important:

How good are they at lifting rocks? – ie what’s their level of STRENGTH?

And how difficult is it to lift this particular rock, in this instance?

Not simply its size and weight, but how wedged in is it?

How slick or unwieldy; or easy to grab?

Is it raining, or are there other factors which come into play?

But essentially:

HOW GOOD ARE THEY? Vs HOW HARD IS IT RIGHT NOW?

What’s their level of ability here against the level of difficulty?

 

 

THE ALGORITHM

 

For CHAOS, this is reduced to a single algorithm

In this instance:

  • A character is attempting to use a particular attribute or skill
  • With it, they will have a certain level of ability

VS

  • The World is presenting a challenge or obstacle,
  • This will involve a certain level of difficulty

FIRST:

These “levels” are arbitrarily rated by a number between 1 and 10:

Where 3 is the Human Average,

and 8 -10 are considered SuperHuman.

This is also the number of six-sided dice

which are to be rolled

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Both, by the Character, and the World, or Opponent Character which rolls against them. 

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If they roll HIGHER they succeed

If The World, or their Opponent rolls HIGHER they fail

 

And that’s it.

That’s the basic algorithm on which the entire game is based

 

– a number of dice is rolled to reflect the level of aptitude with what’s being attempted

versus a number of dice to reflect how hard it is. 

OR

Two characters acting against one another roll dice

reflecting their level of capability in this instance

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For example: This particular rock which needs to be lifted, is medium sized and reasonably heavy for one person, but it is also slick with moss, there are no easy hand-holds, and it’s wedged in quite badly, Overall:

– it presents a HIGH degree of DIFFICULTY = 5  The Rock will roll 5 dice

The character attempting to lift it is ABOVE AVERAGELY STRONG (ie: They roll 4 dice)

Two characters could attempt it together and combine their STRENGTH Rolls but it could be ruled that there isn’t much room and so they’d suffer a penalty of -1 die each, or whatever seems reasonable and agreeable.

 

This algorithm can be applied to any conceivable ability and/or problem.

– Application only requires common sense.

  • Note that a roll of all 1s can be considered a Fumble, a fuck-up; and some extra penalty may be imposed on top of failure.

 

  • Similarly, a roll of all 6s, can be considered a Fluke, a lucky shot; and may earn some extra bonus to success.

 

  • Extra Dice (or constant numbers) can be added or subtracted for things which enhance or impede performance

 

 

FOR EXAMPLE

Example 1:

  • A character is trying to shove open a door which is jammed. They possess above average strength: – they can roll 4 dice.
  • The door, however, is quite badly stuck, the hinge rusted and presents an obstacle of high difficulty: – the door will roll 5 dice. 
  • They both roll. The character rolls a 12, the door rolls a 10. 
  • They are just able to slowly push the door open. 
  • An alternative outcome: –  the door rolls 18 and they only roll 8. The door doesn’t budge at all.
  • They may, of course, try again, but it may be ruled that a third attempt requires a short rest first, or will be attempted at -1 die due to becoming fatigued.

Example 2

  • Character B attempts to punch Character A in the head. Character A attempts to dodge the punch. 
  • Chracater B has a High level of ability with the SKILL Strike/Parry they roll 5 dice.
  • Character A, has a Very High level of ability with the SKILL Evade – they roll 6 dice,
  • Person A rolls higher than B (22 to 13) and so they Evade the punch easily.

Example 3

  • A character throws a fist-sized rock, hoping to hit the trunk of a tree. Their ability THROW is Above Average , they may roll 4 dice.
  • The tree, however, is 20 metres away (60′) and only waist width at its widest; and so it is agreed that this presents a High degree of difficulty.
  • In addition it has begun to rain heavily. Making the challenge Very Highly difficult. The tree will roll 6 dice.
  • Or perhaps the tree can roll 5 dice + 3 (ie: add 3 to the roll) if that seems fairer
  • Also – whatever they are trying to THROW, can potentially increase either the difficulty or their ability dice.
  • A too-heavy rock versus a javelin, for example. Inventory can boost skills or abilities.

 

 

[Most RPGs use Fixed Probability. eg: roll d20 and beat 14 – which is not how the universe works. Chaos matches typical performance against a World where tiny changes in initial conditions can radically alter outcome ]