#RPGaDAY2020 9: LIGHT

#RPGaDAY2020

9: LIGHT

Rules-light RPGs.

Light is the opposite of dark, but also of heavy. Light RPGs usually mean rules-light, only sometimes tonally light.

Let there be light... systems.

I started with Fighting Fantasy, bounced hard off MERP and then went on to TOON, so my preferences have always been on the lighter end of the rules weight scale.

Part of this is absolutely laziness... okay, a big part of this is absolutely laziness. But I also like to keep the flow of play going, and looking up specific rules makes it decidedly stop-start.

I’ll also absorb hefty amounts of setting material and lore. (As an aside, I hate the split of “crunch and fluff.” It makes setting material sound like lint.)

There are also games where the rules are big factor in the flavour of the game. Dread absolutely works because of Jenga.

If I improvise a game entirely, no rulebook, to this day it will look a lot like Fighting Fantasy. 2D6, a couple of stats. Maybe borrow the Advantage and Disadvantage system from D&D 4, making it best or worst two out of 3D6?