So, here we are. Knee-deep in development. All of the notebooks, all of the old files, scraps of paper with notes made in the middle of your day job or middle of the night are all coming together. Or so I'd like to think. It should be easy, since there is so much work has been already done, but its anything but. At first, you see how long and difficult this journey has been. Then you see all of the previous concepts that either did not worked, or got scrapped midway. It's heavy toll. But necessary. We, at Star Wolfs Studio, are perfectionist. That means only one thing: all difficult concepts must be easy to explain and understand to players.
For example, if read FAQ you'll know that STALCKER runs on combination of d12 and custom d8 dice. What you don't know, that until current version of rules, d12 was used primarily as tool for random effect generation on a table. In fact it was doing same job as 2d6 does in every other game. The core of mechanics was working on custom d8, which in many aspects is similar to X-Wing gold die [merge of red attack and green defense die]. All interaction were made by rolling your bucket of dice against the opposing bucket of dice, and then modifying your result to win or lose. In quick board game, where number of dice is limited to a maximum of 5, that works well. But when you have a more than 8 dice on both sides, it becomes a slog and draws players attention away from game to dice fiddling. That was not my goal as a designer. So something has to be changed.
In my "research" I suddenly rediscovered two old but still great games: DnD and Space Hulk. In my opinion, Dungeons and Dragons, despite 5 or more editions, is still a very convoluted system. However, it still manages to present your efforts in a very quick an simple roll of d20. How "realistic" your chances of victory or defeat is open to debate, but system determines it by opposing roll of d20. In fact, system does not care for your preparation or other input: its all in the dice.
Space Hulk is another source of pain and inspiration: there roll of d6 is a life or death question for each and every one of your characters. The tension of that game is built on two major pillars: uncertainty of situation, and uncertainty of roll. Unless you play as Genestealers, you never know the real strength and position of your enemy. And each and every missed shot or blow will have most grave consequences for your team. Luckily, new version of Space hulk allows for die roll modification and limited support, but still retains that fear of rolling "1", when you needed "6" to stay alive. Again, the very limits of die, are used to speed up decisions and their outcomes.
So where is d12 coming? Good question. I'm glad you asked.
In current rules, d12 is a main die used in every test you make during the game. To make resolution faster, you always know your success threshold. Even if you fail on the roll, you still can modify it using results from "Effect dice". Then all you have to do is compare results: win-win, win-lose, lose-lose, is all available options. But what about Critical success? Its still a Win result. But with benefits.
In order to conclude designers ramblings: the test should be simple, easy to understand. But it should reinforce other mechanics of the game. Lets hope that play testing this version of STALCKER will show that it works.
Sincerely yours,
P.S.
