25d6 System (For 1-25 players plus Editor, with 3-6 players being optimal)

Underlying Assumptions:

• There is an under-laying set of assumptions that I haven't been able to verbalize yet. Basically the idea is related to the idea of character balance within and between comic books. The same character in a solo book is often much more powerful than when he shares a title with others.

Basic Mechanics:

• 25d6 on table at start of play, distributed between players (not counting the Editor) evenly, with any excess going to the Editor.
• No sharing of dice.
• It is the Editor’s prerogative to never roll dice.
• Actions are made by declaration. Appropriate Descriptor and Action are agreed on. The larger of the number associated to the chosen Descriptor and Action is the number of dice rolled (can be no greater than the number of dice in front of the player). The smaller number is added to the die result. (If an appropriate Descriptor or Action does not exist on the character sheet, it is automatically a zero! See Adding Actions to Characters for more details. Players should strive to describe their actions in terms of existing Descriptors and Actions.)
• A Die Result is equal to the largest number showing on the dice rolled. If the largest number is a 6 and more than one 6 is showing, each 6 beyond the first adds one to the result. A Die Result of 1 is ALWAYS a spectacular failure, regardless of any modifiers.
• Pushing Your Luck: A player may choose to Push Their Luck on any action. To push your luck you choose what number to divide your dice pool for that action by: 2, 3, 4, or 5. When reducing the dice pool in this way, fractions are always rounded down. Note that this means that the dice pool must be at least as large as the dividing number. The die result is computed normally and then multiplied by the number the pool was divided by. (Note: modifiers add after the multiplication.) However, the likelihood of a spectacular failure is increased when you Push Your Luck. If the die result prior to multiplication is less than or equal to the dividing number, the action is automatically a spectacular failure. (Optionally, players may choose to push their luck further, but this will require very large starting dice pools and very lucky rolls.)
• Losing Dice – The Veto Rule: At any time, a player can veto anything that occurs in the game. To do so, they must give up one of the dice in front of them for the rest of the session. This die goes into the Editor’s dice pool. Upon Vetoing an occurrence, the event unhappens and rehappens according to the vetoing player’s wishes. Note that another player (or the Editor) may veto the new occurrence in the same manner. If the Editor vetoes an occurrence, his veto-die leaves play for the rest of the session. Player may not reduce his die pool to zero in this way.
• Losing Dice – Damage: If a player fails a avoid damage check (which may result from an attack, a trap, or other phenomena) they lose one die from their pool which leaves play. If they fail the check spectacularly, they lose two dice from their pool (which leave play) and are unable to act for the rest of the scene. If a player’s die pool is reduced to zero, their character is knocked out, kidnapped, or otherwise taken out of play for the rest of the session. The Editor should consider wrapping up the session on this potential cliffhanger event. Note all characters start at full die pools at the beginning of the next session. Characters cannot die without their player’s express permission, but being reduced to a zero die pool in a particularly dramatic way may be a valid excuse to alter their character sheet. (See Radiation Accidents for more details.)
• Difficulties: Action checks are against a difficulty value of 3 or higher. As a rough rule of thumb, an activity with difficulty of 3*k will be considered difficult for a character with a die pool of k dice.
• Editor Dice Use:

Basic Character Generation (World’s Greatest Team-ups):

• Characters are defined by two sets of statistics: Descriptors and Actions. The number of players involved in character generation determines the number of each and the players define the specific descriptors and actions during character generation.
• Descriptors fit in the blank of one of the following phrases: “World’s Greatest ________” or “World’s _____est Person”. Descriptors should not overlap, though it is up to the playing group to determine what overlaps for their game and how much overlap is too much.
• Each player chooses one Descriptor for the group. This Descriptor is the player’s character’s defining trait. That Descriptor is assigned the number of dice in front of the character. (Did you remember to distribute the 25 dice prior to starting character generation?) All other descriptors must be assigned fewer dice and all other player characters must have fewer dice in this Descriptor than the character of the player who choose the Descriptor.
• Once every player has chosen a Descriptor and Action and the group has agreed to all Descriptors and Actions, players assign dice values to Descriptors and Actions other than their defining descriptor and primary. Every player has a total of 20 dice to assign to their remaining Descriptors and Actions. Descriptors and Actions may be assigned 0 dice. Note that if an action is attempted for which a character has 0 dice in the appropriate Descriptor and 0 dice in the appropriate Action, then the action cannot be attempted and/or automatically fails. Normal human dice range for Descriptors and Actions is 1 (below average) to 3 (above average).
• Next, the process is repeated for Actions. Working in reverse order that the Descriptors were choose, each player chooses an Action which they are best with when using their primary Descriptor. Actions should be as general as the playing group feels comfortable with. This action is that player’s character’s primary action and is assigned the number of dice in front of the player. (What do you mean you haven’t distributed the dice yet?!?)
• Players should note down interesting bits about their character such as, what do they look like, how they combine various Descriptor and Action choices in unique ways, and their personality and history.
• Example:

Making Up The Bad Guys and Other Non-Player Characters:

• Bad Guys and Other NPCs use the same character sheets developed for the PCs.
• The Editor is responsible for assigning statistics to most characters, but it is recommended that the playing group create the major nemeses.
• The playing group and Editor must agree whether the or not the PCs are strictly the Best at what they do, or if they are one of the best. If they are strictly the best, nemesis characters have two Descriptor and two Actions and one die fewer than the PC maximum. If they are one of the best, then nemesis characters are created as PCs, though they must use the existing Descriptors and Actions. Note that, either way, Nemesis characters can overlap with one another in areas of expertise.

Adding (and Losing) Characters:

Levels of Play – City’s Finest, Nation’s Best, World’s Greatest and Galactic Supreme:

• City’s Finest – 4 die pools, 6 players
• Nation’s Best – 5 die pools, 5 players
• World’s Greatest – 6 die pools, 4 players
• Galactic Supreme – 8 die pools, 3 players
• Other levels – Normal Heroes who have maximum die pool of three and appropriate group size of 7-8 players. Normal Folks who have maximum die pool of two and appropriate group size of 9-12 players. Wee Folk who have maximum die pool of one and appropriate group size of 13-25 players. Two player gaming groups will have 12 die pools and one player gaming groups will have 25 die pools. Both of these are well suited to extremely high-level play.

Character Improvement – Adding Actions or Descriptors:

Character Improvement – Improving Actions or Descriptors:

Radiation Accidents and Other Life Changing Events:

The Card Option:

Other Game Variations – Go N-Team Go!

Other Game Variations – Four Colors/Shades of Grey

Other Game Variations – Spirit Hunters