I did some more brainstorming and combined all my rambling notebook pages to come up with a rough document containing some of the core ideas of the game.
The best part is I TOTALLY just realized I can play an early, early, early version of Dinosaur Cowboys using this info, plus the left over information rattling around my head.
+ Combat
- # of Attacks in D12s
- Modify -1 Attack at Long range, +1 Attack at Short range
- To-Hit based on Armor Rating of target
- Give +1 AR in cover
- Roll all Attacks, count each one >= target AR
- Any 12s (Criticals) count as two
- Add base damage of weapon to total count
- Apply result as HP damage to target
- Close combat handled the same way, roll Attacks of Melee type weapon, damage as normal, etc.
- Get a free attack on a foe moving out of combat, but no one is locked into hand to hand
- Some sort of Charge move, maybe 2xMovement? Results in +1 Attack on Charge
- Dino mounts give +Armor Rating, +Movement, +Attacks (in close combat)
- Dino mounts use damage tracks, foot targets use plain HP
- eg damage track: [ |M| |B|A|AR| |HP| ]
- X = Dinomount Dead, M = -1 Movement, B = Break Test, A = -1 Attack, AR = -1 Armor Rating, HP = -1 HP to rider
- OR have -1 HP every hit on the dino, which means from an 8 damage attack the dino basically absorbs 7 damage
- Dinomounts don't die, they are just removed from play for that battle and must be revived later
- Combat example:
Firing a Laser Revolver (A=3, D=2) at Short range (+1 Attack) at a target (AR=6) in cover.
Roll 4D12 (3 base Attacks, plus 1 for range bonus), get 8, 6, 12, 3
Need a 7 (6 AR +1 for cover), so 8 and 12 hit, so 2 hits. But 12 is a critical so count it for 2, so 3 hits
Add base damage of the weapon (2) to the total hits (3) for 5 damage.
Reduce by 5 the target HP or apply to Dinomount damage track
+ Weapons
- Reload when X number of 1s rolled (for example 2 1s if the Reload value is 2x1)
- Have to spend the whole next firing turn reloading
- Firing into close combat is no problem, hits desired target as normal
- Some weapons have a blast radius (eg: 2" Explosion)
- Allow +X weapons, like "Plasma Rifle +1"
- Must specify what is increased, for example Laser Sniper +1A would add 1 Attack
- Can increase Range, Attacks, Damage
- Also allow prefixes that give Special? Like Explosive Bolt Gun would have a blast
- All weapons have a level requirement on them, one of the motivations for levelling up
- Weapon statline example:
S/M/L = range / distance
Sm/Md/Lg = size
Laser/Plasma/Gunpowder/Melee = type
Requirement is in levels
Some weapons have minimum ranges
Standardized Special attributes
Name S M L Attacks Damage Reload Size Type Requirement Special Cost
Laser Revolver 1-3 4-8 8-12 3 2 1x1 Sm Laser 1 N/A $10
Katana Close Combat 2 4 N/A Md Melee 2 N/A $12
Bazooka X 6-10 10-14 1 6 N/A Lg Gun 5 2" Blast $30
Plasma Gatling 1-7 8-14 14-20 6 1 3x1 Lg Plasma 4 N/A $20
+ Movement
- Double cost to move through any rough terrain
- ie: Move 4" over 4" of flat terrain to edge of a forest 8" long, would cost another 16" to move through it
- Can't move through any other models (friend or foe)
+ Turns
- Roll for surprise (D12) to see who goes first
- Whoever gets higher goes first, rotate turns from there
- Turn consists of Movement and Combat
+ Skills
- Have a generic Skill bonus for each character
- To do a task, roll D12 and get >= Skill to succeed in the check
- Examples: climbing, lifting something, lockpicking, swimming, etc.
+ Traits
- Bonus perks or feats chosen from a list every few levels
- All have a level requirement and tree structure to advancement
- eg: Fast Move (2xMovement one turn per battle), Double Shot (more Attacks at less Damage), etc.
- Only real customization done for a character
+ Break Test
- Roll D12, add Courage, if >= Dinomount Fear score then Break Test is passed
- Otherwise Dinomount can flee, do nothing ("stunned with fear"), or go beserk
- Slots on damage track prompt Break Tests, maybe other situations like ally killed, urging mount to charge off a cliff, etc.
+ Characteristics
- Player example:
Name: X
Gender: Male/Female
Movement: (1-8")
Armor Rating: 0-12 (3 is default)
Hitpoints: X
Courage: +X
Skill: 0-12
Level: X
Kills: X (every 10 = level up)
- Dinomount example:
Name: X
Size: Small, Medium, Large
Movement: +X"
Armor Rating: +X
Melee Attacks: +X
Fear: X
- Generic monstrous creatures have a similar statline, but don't use a damage track and have custom weapons
- eg: Sabretooth Cats, Giant Lizards, etc.
+ Level Ups
- Based on # of kills
- Dinomounts never level
- Perhaps 10 kills per level?
- Gain +1 HP every level
- Gain +1 Skill every 2 levels
- Gain +1 Bravery OR +1 Movement every 3 levels
- Also a level requirement for weapons
+ Money
- Money is a Neodollar
- Printed and controlled by the Neotechnoists, but some slips out into the poorer Wastelands
- Still use '$' sign
+ Miscellaneous
- No food / water tracking
- Time is tracked by day, month, year, but just day / night for time of day (not hour by hour)
- Travel is X miles = X" Movement score (so a total of 18" Movement would be 18 miles per day)
- Use slightly modified USA maps
- No limit to weight or inventory maximums, but limit weapons by sizes, and only 1 suit of armor
- ie: maximum of equivalent of 2 Large weapons (and 2 Medium = 1 Large, 2 Small = 1 Medium)
Dinosaur Cowboys - Tabletop Skirmish Game 