クイック・プレイ・ダイスレス (QPD: Quick Play Diceless)
クイック・プレイ・ダイスレス (QPD: Quick Play Diceless) ゲームシステムは、すぐに始められてすばやく遊べること、を念頭に設計された。作者は Eric Waters であり、英語の無料版は http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/quick-play-a-diceless-universal-quick-rpg で入手できる。英語版はパブリックドメインであり、Samwyn によるこの和訳版はCC0である、すなわち、英語版も日本語版も好き勝手に利用してよく、何なら作者名・訳者名の明示すらいらない。
キャラ作成
1 を最弱、5 を最強として、以下のステータス (能力値) に割り振る。やりたいプレイに従い、1、2、3、4、5 をそれぞれに割り当てても良い (標準的キャラ) し、あるいは 15 ポイントから各ステータスに割り振っても良い (得手不得手が明白なキャラ) し、あるいは 20 ポイントからそうしても良い (英雄的キャラ)。
- 威力: 腕力と耐久力。
- 器力: 器用さと素早さ。
- 知力: 記憶力と看破力。
- 顔力: 社交性と指揮力。
- 魔力: 超人力と補正力 (ジャンルによって読み替えられて良い。サイバーパンクなら電脳力、ホラーなら正気力、等)。
ステータスが決まったら、各ステータス値分だけそのステータスのスキルを取得できる。スキルはそのキャラが得意なことを示す (自由に作って良い)。スキルが決まったらキャラ作成完了となる。
Conflict Resolution
Generally speaking, characters should be able to do whatever they come up with, provided that their Stats and Skills support the action. For instance, someone with Power 3 can do more than someone with Power 2, and someone with Power 3 and an appropriate skill can do more than someone with Power 3 alone. If there is doubt as to a character's success, however, a Conflict occurs. To resolve a conflict, take the following steps:
- The Game Master selects a number; the range of selectable numbers depends on the perceived difficulty of the task:
- Easy: A number from 1 to 10
- Difficult: A number from 1 to 20
- Hard: A number from 1 to 30
- The scale can continue as high or low as you like - the bigger the spread, the more difficult the task. GMs are encouraged to write the number down to avoid accusations of bias.
- The player selects one number within the same range for every point he or she has in the Stat. If the player chooses the number the G M selected, the character succeeds. "Or GM replies with High or Low." If the character is using an appropriate skill, the character succeeds with a number one less than, equal to, or one more than the GM's number (the GM's number ±1).
("" is my guess from the comments.)
If the conflict is between two player's characters, one player (the "defender") chooses a number with a range equal to 10x his or her appropriate stat, +5 if he or she has an appropriate skill. The other player (the "attacker") then follows Step 2, above.
Combat
Combat is essentially a series of Conflicts. Turn order is determined by comparing Finesse scores, followed by quick negotiation between players or GM decision based on circumstance. Characters then do one thing on their turn (In this context, "One Thing" means attack, run away, dive for cover, charge, shove, and so on. Small things like drawing weapons and talking don't count). Players pick numbers both for offensive (hitting people) and defensive (dodging attacks) actions. Generally, Power is used for Attacking and Finesse is used for Defending, although each attack should be judged based on circumstance; it's not unreasonable to use Finesse to attack with a handgun or dagger, or to use Expertise for a clever use of cover in a defense, for instance. Each time a character is hit, he or she takes a point of damage. Characters can take up to 10 points of damage, after which they fall unconscious. Characters can also take the following special actions:
- Avoid Attack: If the character would normally be hit, he or she is missed. A character can do this once per combat per point of Finesse he or she has.
- Catch Breath: The character's damage taken is reduced by an amount equal to the number of points he or she has in Pneuma. This can be done once per combat. If the game isn't using the Pneuma stat, this should be replaced with something else more appropriate.
- Insightful Attack or Defense: The character can pick an extra number for attack or defense. The character can do this once per combat per point of Expertise he or she has.
- Intimidate or Impress: The character can reduce the range for his or her next Attack or Defense by 5 (so if it was going to be a number from 1 to 20, it would now be a number from 1 to 15). The character can do this once per combat per point of Presence he or she has.
- Power Strike: The character can declare that a hit deals 2 damage instead of 1. The character can do this once per combat per point of Power he or she has.
Magic and other Special Powers
Magic - and all other supernatural powers - is handled with the Pneuma Stat and associated Skills. Roughly speaking, if a character is going to be using such abilities, this should be reflected by the character's background and his or her skill selection. Characters can produce supernatural effects only within the context of their Pneuma skills; unlike other stats, Pneuma is useless (except as described in combat) without appropriate skills. Any stat used to replace Pneuma should follow similar guidelines.
Use of Special Powers requires creativity and restraint. Since the way magic and other abilities work varies greatly from one game/setting to another, no hard and fast rules can be given. Keep in mind, however, that higher stats mean better effects, so if a character with Pneuma 3 and a Weather Control skill is allowed to call down lightning on a bad guy, a character with Pneuma 5 and the same skill should be able to do a whole lot more; summon a tornado, for instance.
Experience and Advancement
Quick-Play isn't really meant for ongoing games, but if it is used for multiple sessions, characters should be allowed to advance. Every few sessions, or after a particularly good bit of role playing, the GM may allow the players to either advance a Stat by 1, or to pick a new skill. A character can only have one skill per point he or she has in the associated stat (unless that stat is at 6), so stat advancement must occur before any new skills are picked. Stats are capped at 6; once a character has a 6 in a stat, he or she may have as many skills as advancement allows related to that stat.
If you find yourself playing the same characters long enough to advance more than one stat on any one character to 6, you should seriously consider using a more formal game system.
Sample Skills
Below are a few sample skills, just to give you ideas. Depending on the game group, skills could be more or less specific than these. Five examples are given for each stat, except Pneuma, which has five examples each for Magic, Super Powers, and Psychic abilities.
What the names of these skills mean is up to you; complete descriptions of each skill are left out on purpose. Discuss any skill selections with the rest of the group (or the GM if you're the secretive type), just to make sure that everyone's on the same page as to what your interpretation of the skill is.
Power Skills
- Brawling
- Raw Strength
- Marathon Runner
- Sports
- Alcohol Tolerance
Finesse Skills
- Handguns
- Acrobatics
- Slight of Hand
- Figure Skating
- Stealth
Expertise Skills
- Engineering
- History and Lore
- Safecracking
- Literature
- Photographic Memory
Presence Skills
- Attractive
- Diplomacy
- Con/Fast-talk
- Seduction
- Terrifying Visage
Pneuma Skills (Super Powers)
- Force Fields
- Flight
- Body of Fire
- Energy Blast
- Super Strength
Pneuma Skills (Magic)
- Conjuration
- Charms
- Necromancy
- Shamanistic Ritual
- Transfiguration
Pneuma Skills (Psychic Abilities)
- Telepathy
- Psychokinesis
- Remote Viewing
- Psychometry
- Teleportation
Special Rules
The following are special rules. All of these are optional, but might make things more fun or make the game flow more smoothly.
Right Skill, Wrong Stat
If someone has a perfectly appropriate skill, but they have it assigned to the wrong stat for the situation, the player can gain the skilled bonus anyway. For instance, perhaps someone has a Finesse related Acrobatics skill, but wants to use it in an Expertise related way; reciting the last 10 Gold Medal Winners in the Olympics in the Parallel Bars event, for instance. The player would use their Expertise stat to select the numbers for the conflict, but would receive the benefit of being skilled.
If you think this makes skills too generic, fine: reduce the skill benefit so that success is only achieved if the player picks the exact number or one above it (instead of the exact number ±1).
Variable Damage
If the damage system described in combat is too simplistic for you, you could have it so that a successful hit deals damage equal to the stat used (so a hit made using the Power stat would deal Power damage), +2 if there was a weapon involved. A Power Strike special action would deal 1 additional damage.
If you use this special rule, you should probably increase the damage characters can take to 20 or 30 to keep combat from becoming a two-or-three hit affair (although maybe that's what you're looking for...)
Random Conflict Numbers
If you have access to dice when you play, you could have the GM or a "Defending" player roll dice in secret to determine the target numbers. You could use 1d10 for easy, 1d20 for normal, and then use a d4 for the tens number and a d10 for the ones number to create numbers from 1 to 40. Or however you want to handle it.
