Oops, All Resource Management!

In the latest iteration of my ever changing home game system (One Last Coin), which lay somewhere between a GLoG hack and a Frankenstein-ien monster of countless systems sewn together, I am experimenting with going all in on one of my favourite aspects of game play. Resource Management!

The Process

Heavily inspired by my latest fixation, Dungeon Meshi, I stumbled across the always captivating Rise Up Comus’ Rat-Kabab. A wonderful system to make eating monsters fundamental to your GLoG game. Implementing it in a heartbeat I started to realize how little the Stats where actually mattering in my system and as such very little importance ever went to the Stat improving nutrients. The easy solution would be to simply make stats matter more by making more rolls through out the game… bleh.

Instead I started thinking about the mechanics that where sticking really well in my Players (and my) brain. Immediately my brain when to the GLoG’s Magic Dice and the Usage Dice (Which I know from the Black Hack) which I had been using for just about any gear that could use it. Arrows? UD. Oil? UD. Cheese?! UD.

And thus it clicked. Magic Dice are mechanically very similar to Usage Dice, with a few key distinctions. Magic Dice are used on high rolls not low rolls. Magic Dice do not lower in size and just disappear. The result of the Magic Die typically matters beyond just checking if it gets used up. And only if you are a purist, Magic Dice are D6s.

So what is the next step? Looking at Rat-Kebab we already had a system of “getting Magic Dice” for other stats. and thus with a quick tweak to my systems resolution mechanic I’ve found myself with the following core to my dungeon delving game, which runs almost entirely on Magic Dice and Usage Dice.

The Execution

Saves

When doing anything with an interesting or dangerous chance of failure you roll a d12, trying to roll higher then 8. A tasks difficulty may grant you a bonus or penalty to your roll.

Gambling Dice

To gamble dice decide the size of the pool and then roll all of them, losing any dice that show the highest 2 results of that die.

Cooking

(Stolen Shamelessly from Rise Up Comus’ Rat-Kabab and butchered to fit my needs!)

A feast is a moment of actual rest in the middle of hostile and hungry darkness. Depending on the make up of the feast, characters might gain Grit, Magic, Brain, or Brawn Dice. See Nutrients below.

To create a feast, you require:

• Two unique ingredients
• One portion per character

In addition, you must fulfill two of the following four criteria:

• Fire
• Water
• Cooking gear
• Spices

A feast must be prepared and then immediately consumed.

Each monster butchered provides a certain amount of portions. A rat yields about one portion. A human yields about 6. A dragon could be upwards of fifty.

The GM adds together any nutritional benefits from the ingredients used to make a feast and tell the players the totals for each nutrient category (see below). Decimals are rounded as god intended.

A nutrient has a maximum score of 5. No matter the combination of ingredients, a nutrient can’t go above 5 for any one particular feast.

Nutrients

Characters must eat well-balanced, healthful, and magical meals in order to maintain their performance during an adventure.

Each feast has four stats, called Nutrients.

• Energy determines how many calories a feast has. This nutrient reinforces a character’s Grit.
• Minerals provide needed magical energy. This nutrient refills a character’s Magic Dice.
• Vitamins are good for your brain. This nutrient reinforces a character with Brain Dice.
• Protein builds strong bones and muscles. This nutrient reinforces a character with Brawn Dice.

Eating a ration grants 1d4 in one nutrient.

Food Dice

Food Dice (FD) are either d4s, d6s or d8s.

• If the feast contained mundane animals or plants, the Food Dice are d4s.
• If the feast contained no mundane animals or plants, only exotic ingredients, the Food Dice are d6s.
• If the feast contained extraordinarily magical ingredients, like a dragon or an angel, the Food Dice are d8s.

Energy

The more energy a character has, the more resilient they are in the face of adversity.

If the players benefit from energy: After the feast, characters roll as many FD as the feast’s energy rank. The character’s current Grit score is immediately replaced with the new total, if it is higher.

Minerals

Minerals connect a character to the natural world and the ebb of mana. As a magic-user casts spells, their internal reserves of minerals becomes quickly depleted.

If the players benefit from minerals: They gain magic dice (MD) of the same die type and number as the feast’s mineral rank. A character can hold a maximum amount of magic dice equal to their number of Templates. These MD are held until spent and expended through casting spells.

Vitamins

Vitamins produce a healthful effect on one’s metabolism, reasoning, and cognitive capabilities. By eating foods rich in vitamins, characters benefit from increased memory and logical reasoning capabilities.

If the players benefit from vitamins: They gain Brain Dice of the same die type and number as the feast’s Vitamin rank. This pool replaces the current pool. These Dice can be Gambled when making a predominantly mental Save.

Proteins

Proteins are important for building muscle and reducing soreness after exertion. Eating foods rich in proteins promotes physical development.

If the players benefit from proteins: They gain Brawn Dice of the same die type and number as the feast’s Protein rank. This pool replaces the current pool. These Dice can be Gambled when making a predominantly physical Save.

In Play

Senshi is attempting to bash down a door before the beast catches the party. It is an old wooden door so there is no difficulty penalty to break it, meaning he will be trying to roll a d12 above 8. However, the party had just finished eating a wonderful Cockatrice omelette so he has a d6 Brawn Die that he could Gamble on this Save. Knowing this is life or death he Gambles all he has. Rolling 1d12 and a d6 for 6+5= 11 easily breaking the door down in time to get the party to safety. However his Brawn Dice rolled a 5 meaning he lost it. Knowing they have little time before the beast is upon them again he scarfs down a ration, gaining a d4 Brawn Die and continues his delve.

What’s Next

Now this is a weird direction to go in that I think is cute, however I don’t know yet if it is fun. What I can say is that the mechanics are very inspiring to me. So many ideas for weird Classes that use Brain and Brawn dice in fun unique ways. Like a fighter type who could Gamble Brawn Dice to add damage to an attack, or a thief who can spend a brain die to have packed something for the adventure! I think it’s a direction worth exploring and I’ll update with what my games uncover!