Image by sinepax from Pixabay

0. Fundamentals (repeated for all posts:)

— The Sixes System has been used in my Dr Who campaign since September 2014, and has just come to a successful conclusion.

— Characters are constructed using a point-buy methodology with NPCs generatable using die rolls for speed.

— Success or Failure on tasks is determined by adding dice to a pool based on ability and circumstances which are then rolled against a target number determined by the GM.

1. Stats

Stats have 8 basic rules:
 

• Normal Characters may spend 30 Construction Points on Stats during character construction. Exceptional Characters may spend 50 points.
• Stats cost 4 Construction Points per stat point to improve during character construction and 6 Experience Points thereafter.
• Characters can reduce stats to harvest points, but these points can only be spent on improving other stats. Since the price is the same, this is essentially one-to-one transfer û put one stat up and the other down.
• There are 6 stats: Strength, Nimbleness (or Intelligence), Dexterity, Glibness, Aim, and “?”. See below for definitions and explanations.
• Stat values range from 2-12. Characters cannot exceed these limits during creation but may do so through the expenditure of experience.
• All characters start with a base value of 6 in each stat for free.
• No more than two stats should have the same score at the conclusion of character generation, and only one such pair is permitted. Once play has commenced, the expenditure of experience may cause violations of this rule.
• Players/GMs should consider listing stats in sequence of high-scores to low-scores. Refer designer’s notes for explanatory comments.
  

  1.1 Strength (STR)

  • Strength is the ability to effect or resist change in a situation by physical force.
  • Characters can typically lift 2.5 kg per point of STR with an adequate grip, up to STR 6.
    • STR 7 +5kg = 20kg
    • STR 8 +5 kg = 25kg
    • STR 9 +10 kg = 35kg
    • STR 10 +10kg = 45kg
    • STR 11 +15kg = 60kg
    • STR 12 +15kg = 75kg
  • Weightlifting or equivalent skill multiplies these amounts by (1+ranks).
  • Each point of success in a STR check adds 1kg. Each point of success in a Weightlifting skill check adds 4+d6 kg.

  1.2 Nimbleness or Intelligence (NIM or INT)

  • Nimbleness is used for Intelligence-oriented characters. Intelligence is used for Physical characters.
  • This stat represents the characters ability (or lack thereof) outside their relevant basis of expertise.
  • Nimbleness is the ability to effect or resist change by shaping or moving the hands and fingers.
  • Intelligence is the ability to effect or resist change with the power of the intellect.

  1.3 Dexterity (DEX)

  • Dexterity is the ability to effect or resist change in a situation by altering the location of a character.
  • It should be used for all movement-related skill-checks unless assistance is needed and not available.
    • Climbing a ladder uses DEX.
    • Climbing a rope uses DEX if there are climber’s knots and STR if there are not.
    • Climbing a cliff uses DEX if there are ropes and pitons and STR if there are not.
    • Running without tripping uses DEX.
    • Changing location in combat uses DEX.
    • Sneaking uses DEX.
    • Swimming uses DEX. (Staying afloat uses STR because there is no movement involved.)
  • Characters can move 2+DEX in meters in combat or over difficult terrain before triggering a movement check. Checks are made AFTER movement out of combat, BEFORE movement in combat.
  • Characters can sneak DEX/2 meters in combat before triggering a movement check to remain stealthy.
  • Characters can run 2.5 times as far as they can walk before triggering a movement check.
    • Running skill adds 0.1 to the multiplier, and 1m to the total distance, per rank.
    • Marathon Running skill adds 1 to the multiplier, and 5 meters to the total, per rank.
  • Carrying weight in excess of what the character can normally manage reduces the multiplier by 0.2 per point of additional required STR. Results less than zero indicate that the character is immobile (and probably crushed).

  1.4 Glibness (GLIB)

  • Glibness is the ability to effect or resist change in a situation using words, be they written or verbalized.
  • Glibness is not used to employ Telepathy, but is used for any Telepathic communication.
  • Glibness is used for all interpersonal interactions. It can focus on concision/minimalism, expression, plausibility, or morale, as the circumstances dictate.
  • Glibness checks (usually checks against some interpersonal skill) are usually made against a target determined from a resistance roll made for the targets. Beat the target and you succeed.

  1.5 Aim (AIM)

  • Aim is the ability to effect or resist change in a situation using accuracy with a thrown or fired weapon.
  • It presupposes that the character has the strength required to throw the object the required distance.
    • For every point of STR, a character can throw a 1/2 kg weight 1m. Multiply or divide accordingly to get the base range of any given thrown object.
    • If the object is designed to be thrown, triple the range.
    • If the object is fired by a device that stores or amplifies a character’s STR, e.g. a bow, multiply the base range by 5. Such weapons will have a STR cap; character strength in excess of the cap is wasted.
    • If the object does not use a character’s STR (e.g. a firearm) it will have a designated range, but will still have a STR requirement to use; the same principles apply.

  1.6 “?” (to be determined)

  This is reserved for a campaign / class-specific stat. The GM will usually mandate a default choice appropriate to the campaign genre, but it is generally recommended that characters choose something more specific to their characters. SUCH CHOICES SHOULD NOT OVERLAP PREDEFINED STATS.

  • To achieve maximum benefit, the stat should encompass as much as possible of what the character normally “does”; so there is a drive towards generality, but the strictness of interpretation creates a drive towards precision.
  • The limits of a skill’s meaning are to be interpreted strictly by the GM from the terminology used in the name of the stat.
  • Stat titles must be encapsulated within a single word with no qualifiers.
  • The GM must review and approve each choice, and should recommend a more generic term if one is appropriate. He or she is the sole arbiter of what is acceptable and what is not. As a rule of thumb, if it requires a written definition, it is not general enough and should be rejected. If you need to look it up in a dictionary, it isn’t general enough and should be rejected. If you can’t tell what a character does for a living (or will do within a campaign/adventuring party, it’s probably too general and needs refining or replacing.
  • “Adventuring” or anything similar is so vague as to defy precise definition, and so is not considered a valid or permissible choice.
  • This Stat is the equivalent of character levels in other systems to at least some extent. By giving characters the capacity to “choose their own stat”, the system effectively permits characters to define their own character classes while retaining game balance.
  • Technically, these stats are defined as ‘the ability of the character to effect or resist change using (STAT).

A Dalek from the Doctor Who Experience, 11 July 2008, location uncertain, Image by Paul Hudson from United Kingdom / CC BY via Wikipedia Commons; background, contrast enhancement, and minor edits by Mike.

Designer’s Notes & Discussions: Stats

The Innovations

There’s a lot to unpack in the rules given above. The system contains two innovations that I haven’t seen anywhere else: The shared Stat, and the Self-Defined Stat.

By defining itself as the element that is least relevant to the character, the shared stat makes room for the Self-Defined Stat. Neither of them work well in isolation; by being a generic catch-all for “(almost) everything else”, the shared stat makes possible the Self-Defined Stat.

Self-Defined Stat Choices

Because I want the main rules to be as genre-agnostic and concise as possible, I’ve excerpted several bullet points from section 1.6 about suitable choices and translated them into paragraphs of designer’s notes below. In any published version, expect these to be relocated – some to the sections dealing with genre (Posts 7 & 8 and some back to the 1.6 from whence they came. Putting them here permits me to be a bit more fulsome than that would permit.

The “No qualifying words” is important. “Quorsh Politics” is excluded; “POLITICS” is fine. This forces both generality and concision, even though the two objectives are frequently at odds. These trends are further constrained by the need to be able to interpret the term without recourse to a dictionary or written definition; the name of the stat alone should be all the GM needs to interpret the stat and its breadth, i.e. what it covers and what it doesn’t.

In Sci-Fi campaigns, “TECH” is a popular choice (“SCIENCE” would make the character well-versed in the theory, “ENGINEERING” would make the character well-versed in practical applications, “TECH” covers both). But others might be “HELM” or “COMMS” or even “WEIRDNESS”. Or “SECURITY” or “OPERATIONS” or “TRANSPORTERS” or “TEMPORAL MECHANICS”. The last is an important example because it implies that the general terms “Mechanics” and “Physics” don’t encompass the totality of “Temporal Mechanics” as a subject – which would not be the case if it was purely a theoretical discipline; so this implies that the Stat deals with practical matters of what happens to paradoxes and temporal changes in the real world, how to employ technology relating to time-travel, and so on, in addition to the theory. And, of course, in some campaigns, some other terms might also be valid – “Swordsmanship” for example.

In a fantasy campaign, Sages might take Knowledge; Wizards would take MAGIC; Fighters might take Swordsmanship or Fortifications; Nobles might choose Duelling; Leaders would choose Command or perhaps Tactics; and so on. Rogues might choose Theft or Item Possession or Sneak Attacks û so long as they can make the case of these being significantly different. Purchasing skills, abilities, or tools, that are restricted to that mode of action would do so û something to be covered in more detail in the next part of this series.

Each genre will have it’s own set of appropriate possibilities. It’s impossible to think of all of them, which is what makes even similar characters unique and differentiated from each other. This stat, from a player’s perspective, is all about the character carving out a niche within the campaign for themselves; it’s then the GM’s responsibility to make their choice relevant. This is something that should be borne in mind when approving or rejecting choices. “Great idea but it won’t mesh with the rest of the party” should be a response always at the GM’s fingertips – but at the same time, should not be an automatic response. Take your time and try to find some way of making the choice work.

Although he’s never played the system, I know at least one player who is likely to present three choices, in order of preference. I’m not saying that you should mandate this approach; I know another player who would struggle to define one, never mind three.

It should also be noted that choosing a Stat that doesn’t encompass something a character might want to do (e.g. Casting spells when your stat is not “Magic” or equivalent) does not prohibit them from doing that task with an appropriate skill, it simply means that the character lacks a natural talent in doing so – and will therefore always be second-rate in comparison to characters WITH such an advantage.

Finally, another implication of the concept should be amplified and stapled to every players’ forehead: A clear character concept is essential to the creation of a character. That can simply be a personality within the context of the genre, or it can be a profession, or it can be a vision of how the party will function in-game – that’s all up to the player.

It does bring up an interesting choice for the GM to make, though: whether or not everyone should generate characters at the same time. If the answer is ‘yes’, you should get each player to describe their character before character generation starts and for there to be a group discussion about the choices and how the party will work together. If the answer is ‘no’, each player should be firewalled from the others as much as possible during character generation. The first promotes greater unity and overall cohesiveness, with the strength that this implies; the second promotes greater individuality. Some players will struggle under the first approach, others under the second – and some will simply struggle with choice, either way. A description of the “virtual person” and what they do and what their basic personality is, provides guidance and inspiration for the choice of Stat.

Personally, I think that the system permits such diversity of characters that no party is ever likely to have everything covered, so you might as well go for the maximum of personal expression, which means private character creation, free from the influence of others. But that might be impractical, and theory should always give way to practical reality.

Stat Sequence

It is recommended that players and GMs consider listing a character’s stats in sequence from high-score to low-score as this should speed game-play (presuming that a character relies more often on a high-value stat than a low-value stat) and should shape the player’s thought processes when playing the character, assisting roleplay. However, it is possible that some players will find consistency more useful in permitting them to know exactly where to look for a given score. As the best alternative will vary from group to group, I can’t put it more strongly than that.

Using stat sequence to encode aspects of a character’s personality probably qualifies as a third innovation within the game system, but it’s not for everyone, so I haven’t counted it.

Stat Specifics

I’ve included some specifics on how fast characters can move, how much they can lift, and so on. GMs should ignore these as much as possible – they didn’t even exist in the working draft of the rules. Instead, everything should proceed at the speed of plot – if it advances the plot for the character to do something, they should be able to do it (on a successful roll, of course). Even whether or not a roll is required should be determined by the GM on the basis of plot and excitement / fun.

Basic Stat Rules

I tried very hard to winnow the list down to only six items so as to tie into the system name, but couldn’t quite do it without conflating points that should be separate.

Mixed Scores

The system deliberately forces characters to start off better at some things than others. While it permits the expenditure of experience to equalize the different Stats, the presumption is that a character will orient himself around what he is good at, and prioritize that for improvement at least some of the time. Besides, this doesn’t matter as much once a character’s style has been established – and while a PC is busy flat-lining his stats, another is becoming very superior within his “Shtick”.

Leftover Improvement Points

The system deliberately leaves a remainder of unspent Construction Points at the conclusion of character construction. This is intended to offset the first point of Stat Improvement from Experience Points, reducing the price of that improvement to the same level it would have been at during character construction.

Optional Rule:

GMs may find it simpler to state that stats have starting values of (normal characters) 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 (exceptional characters) 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, to be allocated to the specific stats as the player sees fit. This is not the only way to arrange the scores such that the rules are met, but they should all bear a reasonable resemblance to valid arrangements.

2. Purposes

Purposes describe what a character is attempting to do with a Stat. Purposes have 7 basic rules:
 

• Normal Characters may spend 8 Construction Points on Purposes. Exceptional Characters may spend 12 points.
• Purposes cost 2 Construction Points or Experience Points per Purpose Point to improve.
• Characters can reduce Purposes to harvest points, but these points can only be spent on improving other Purposes.
• There are 4 Purposes: Attack/Build/Unbuild, Explain/Persuade/Emote, Defend/Repair, and Analyze/Understand/Spot. See below for definitions and explanations.
• Purpose values range from 1-6. Characters cannot exceed these limits during creation but may do so through the expenditure of experience.
• It is important that the sequence in which the purposes are listed is maintained. In the event that more than one Purpose might describe what a character is attempting to do, the one listed first takes precedence.
• All characters start with a 6 value points to distribute amongst the four Purposes, for free.
  

  2.1 Attack/Build/Unbuild

  • This Purpose is to use a Stat to effect change in a status or situation.

  2.2 Explain/Persuade/Emote

  • This Purpose is to use a Stat to effect change in an attitude, personality, belief, intention, or relationship.

  2.3 Defend/Repair

  • This Purpose is to use a Stat to prevent change in a status or situation, or to undo a change that has previously been introduced to a status or situation.

  2.4 Analyze/Understand/Spot

  • This Purpose is to use a Stat to investigate, analyze, or understand a status or situation to whatever extent of which a character is capable.
  • It includes the accessing of prior knowledge that may or may not be relevant. A separate action check may then be required to interpret that past knowledge.

Designer’s Notes & Discussions: Purposes

The Innovations

The entire concept of having different ways of applying Stats that apply to ALL stats probably qualifies. With six Stats and four Purposes, there are 24 possible combinations. Some will be used frequently, others only rarely.

At first, some combinations might seem to have no relevance – for example, Attack/Build/Unbuild and Glib – but then a player announces that he is attempting to intimidate an NPC. This is not explanation, not quite persuasion, and not emote unless the player states that he is simulating anger to intimidate. If that’s not the case, then it ca be assumed that some sort of physical threat is being used to intimidate, perhaps some demonstration of physical prowess – and that is certainly edging into the territory of Attack/Build/Unbuild. As soon as it does so, the precedence rule clarifies the rules situation – and suddenly, Attack + Glib = Intimidate.

Rather than trying to anticipate every possible action by a character, the system relies on the player describing what the character is doing, in narrative terms, and perhaps proposing a game-mechanics interpretation of that action, which the GM is free to accept or amend. This flexibility is key to the system being able to cope with every possible choice by a character – no more holes in the game mechanics due to the GM’s failure of imagination.

Purpose Descriptions

The intentions described by the name are the most common purposes of such a change. It’s for cases that don’t quite fit any one, exclusively, that the precedence rule exists.

Some GMs & players will understand that “Attack/Build” implicitly incorporates “Unbuild”, i.e. Destroy, and it is common to leave it off. Similarly, “Understand” and “Analyze” may be considered synonymous by some. If such compression is understood by all, the names of the Purposes may be simplified. The simplest definitions are, respectively, “Change”, “Connect”, “Resist”, and “Observe” (the latter in the Holmsian sense). But prior attempts to use these terms resulted in confusion, hence the more explicit terminology used in the Dr Who campaign, which worked quite satisfactorily..

The Nuances Of Fighting Style

One of the benefits of this system is that it permits a wide range of combat styles to be expressed while maintaining parity amongst them.

• • Attack + STR = Physical Force, with or without a weapon, battering through the enemy’s’ defenses.
  • Defend + STR = block an enemy’s attacks until an opening presents itself.
  • Attack + DEX = Using Agility to evade an enemy’s defenses. More likely to do damage, not as likely to do a lot.
  • Emote + GLIB = Using prattle, insults, etc, to goad an enemy into a rash move.
  • Attack + AIM = Staying out of reach while throwing/firing missiles or bullets.

The above is just a small selection, there are many more. Whichever one a character is best at will obviously be their preferred fighting style.

It may be observed that these rules haven’t yet told you how these combinations are actually used in play – in fact, outside of the designer’s notes, there’s not much of an overt suggestion that they do, in fact, combine, though that would be a logical inference. I’ll get to that in Part 3, but first, there are more ingredients to list – in Part 2, “Education, Abilities, and Tools”.

Clarification Update:
Some feedback I got from the previous part of the series said “some interesting ideas, like the Nimbleness/Intelligence thing. But it also leaves me wondering how you can have an Int-based character without an Int score.”

My reply: If you need to and can’t find a better general term, you could use “Intellect” or “Intelligence” for the sixth stat. But there will usually be a better choice: Engineer, or Detective, or Problem-Solver, or Archeologist, or Jet-jockey, or Inventor, or Science, or even Time Lord. And any of them will tell you more about the character than “Intelligence” does.

This update will be repeated at the head of the next post in the series to ensure that everyone sees it.