dreadnaught diceless rpg – gameplay (non-combat)

Before getting into more depth on creation and leveling (the feats and templates in other words), first a word on the basic gameplay mechanic:

Most actions can be performed for “free”, requiring nothing of the player apart from stating that he or she wishes to pursue a particular action. However, in the face of adversity or challenge players make use of their action points to sway the fates.

Actions of all players and NPCs may be awarded a “role-playing” bonus of +1 by the GM. This bonus is only appropriate if the entity in question adds a significant circumstantial spin on the action; accompanied by an “Aha!” moment. Simply performing a run-up to a jump is not sufficient for this role-play bonus (rather the lack of a run-up would incur a circumstantial penalty). The final decision regarding this bonus rests, as always, with the GM.

In non-combat situations such as searching a door for traps, or attempting to decipher a message, a character attempts to equal or exceed the Success Threshold (ST) of the task using his or her skills. An Action Threshold (AT) is provided by the character – provided no feats, templates or abilities modify this step the basic AT for any action of a character is equal to his or her Base Potential. If the player feels it is necessary, the character can use some of his or her daily action points to enhance the action in the hopes of meeting or exceeding the Success Threshold.

The Success Threshold of an activity depends on the difficulty of the task at hand, naturally the ST is determined by the GM and is not generally made known to the players. The ST can be modified by circumstance, as well as roleplaying (or the lack thereof) of characters and NPCs. The ST of a non-living thing (such as a trap, or an encrypted message) is fixed and set appropriately by the DM. The ST of a living entity is typically set to the BP of that entity – barring feats, templates or abilities that modify the ST for specific tasks.

Example 1

Thorst is furious with anger and attempts to break down the door of a local casanova to exact vengeance for an indiscretion. His BP of 3 and the additional 3 daily action points spent by Thorst are, unfortunately, not enough to break down the reinforced oak gate that has a ST of 7.

Example 2

Barli (BP equal to 3) is down on her luck and attempting to rectify this by picking the pockets of a likely looking drunk (BP equal to 4) in the local inn. She’s distracting him with her feminine wiles (+1 to her AT) and waits for the victim to become quite well inebriated (-2 to the ST). Finally Barli attempts the pickpocketing, she adds no additional action points, trusting in her well thought-out staging of the scenario, and given her total AT of 4 (Barli BP + roleplay) that easily exceeds the ST of 2 (victim BP – circumstance) she finds herself a few gold richer.