There are three pillars of gaming in a FreeD6 game: skirmish, social interaction, and problem-solving. Role-playing means approaching each of these pillars using the attitude and abilities of a created character. The results of the game create the emergent narrative which feeds memorable role-playing. The three pillars are the ways in which characters interact with the setting of the game.
Tag Archives: freed6
Rolling the Dice
Whenever FreeD6 calls for an ability check, it’s calling for a dice roll. Sometimes FreeD6 calls for a skill check when referring to a specific skill or specialization. All skill checks are also ability checks; all skills are also abilities. Any time the dice are rolled, it is referred to as an ability check, no matter the circumstance.
Boost and Penalty Dice
Some abilities, powers, or effects add boost dice or penalty dice to an ability check. This is written as “Boost-“, “B”, or “Penalty-“, “P”, followed by the number of dice. For example, Boost-1 (B1) adds a single boost die, and Penalty-2 (P2) adds a two penalty dice.
Abilities and Skills
Characters are described as having abilities; the specific abilities a character possesses are determined by the character’s narrative background. Abilities are ranked by a die code and further described by one or more skills and specializations which enhance the die code. Abilities are either normal or extranormal. Abilities describe broadly defined actions which they allow the character to perform. Rolling the dice to test an ability or skill against a difficulty is called an ability check (when not testing a specific skill, or when using a default value) or a skill check (when testing a skill or specialization). The term “ability check” is a blanket term for rolling the dice to test against a difficulty number and applies to both abilities and skills.
Narrative Structure
FreeD6 uses ordinary language to describe the conflicts and events of an adventure narrative. The conflict structure uses die codes (ranks) and difficulty numbers to turn narrative actions into a game. The action point economy allows players to influence the dice or to introduce elements to the narrative. The die codes, difficulty numbers, and result points help the players and Game Master determine how strong, fast, or effective something is within the context of the game.
Luck Points
Luck is an extranormal ability. A character must be a Dynamic character to have the Luck ability. Luck is a ranked ability; for every rank of Luck, the character begins a play session with one luck point, regardless of the number of luck points the character ended the previous session with. Normal: a Stock character does not have the luck ability.
Wild Die
The Wild Die is an extranormal ability. A character must be a Dynamic character in order to have the Wild Die ability. All player characters are automatically Dynamic. Normal: a Stock character does not have the Wild Die ability.
Core Mechanisms
FreeD6 is a narrative conflict role-playing game compatible with OpenD6. The abilities and skills have a slightly different emphasis, the application of the Health Track is slightly different, and there is a greater emphasis on relative values instead of absolute values. Character creation and the dice rolling mechanism are the same, and conditions are emphasized as a core mechanism. The core mechanisms in FreeD6 are: narrative structure, abilities and skills, conditions, and taking action.
Results and Conditions
Taking action produces results. Results are measured with conditions. Elements within the game are understood to function and respond in the game setting in the same way as their real-world counterparts. It would be exhausting to try and detail all possible circumstances and assign them game mechanics. Instead, conditions are used to describe ways in which results restrict or enable game elements.
Dice Flip
Some abilities, powers, or effects call for a dice flip when a certain number is rolled during a skill check. A dice flip is also called a difference flip. This is written as “Flip-6” or “F6”, meaning that if any die on a roll shows a 6, it should be flipped to a 1 before being totaled to figure result points.