# New Microlite20 thread



## dunbruha (Feb 19, 2008)

continued from this thread



			
				greywulf said:
			
		

> In our games we've used the Magical Attack bonus for a number of things, including setting the save DC for spells in place of the usual Spell-level based Save DC; that way, the difficulty to resist the spell is based on the level of the character rather than the level of the spell. In other words, resisting the _Sleep_ spell cast by a 20th level Mage is harder than resisting against the same spell cast by a 1st level apprentice. Makes sense to us, anyhow. Sometimes we do it, sometimes we don't. Depends on the style of game, I guess.
> 
> We also enjoy trying out other magic systems (several are listed on the Macropedia), and use the Magical Attack bonus then in a similar manner to any other attack bonus.
> 
> Hope that helps!




Thanks, Greywulf, for the advice and for creating a way cool game!

I guess I came late to the party, but I do have a couple of questions that I didn't see addressed in the Macropedia.  (And I have a couple of suggestions, too, but later for those...)

I can definitely see the use of the magical attack bonus for saves, and I like the idea of it being level-dependent.  But there are two similar, but distinct, mentions of this in the Core Rules.  

1)  The Difficulty Class (DC) for all spells is 10 + Caster Level + Caster's MIND bonus.
2)  Magic attack bonus = [d20] + MIND bonus + Level

So the Save DC is 10 + ..., and the Magical Attack Bonus is d20 + ...

I can see where the DC for saves works, as you described above.  But when does the Magical Attack Bonus come into play?  All of the spells in the SRD are either automatic, require a save, or require a "to hit" (which would be the Missile attack bonus (ranged touch), right?)  Could you give an example of when the Magical Attack would be used?


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## dunbruha (Feb 19, 2008)

I am curious about the rationale for the skill advancement system.  In the Core, "Each level adds: +1d6 to Hit Points, +1 to all attack rolls, and +1 to all skills.  Has anyone thought about having a degree of customization for the characters, skill-wise?  So, for example, each level would add +1 to *any one skill*.  This way, a player could decide which skills the character would be stronger in.  Would this be too weak at higher levels?


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## greywulf (Feb 19, 2008)

dunbruha said:
			
		

> ... Would this be too weak at higher levels?




The short answer is "probably". 

The longer answer is "it depends on your style of play". Hmmm.... that's not much longer. I'll ellaborate.

The +3 at 1st level gives quite a boost to your chosen skill area to start with. Remember that Skills in M20 cover a whole lot of ground; there's only the four (Physical, Subterfuge, Knowledge and Communication - I'm recapping for the benefit of new readers, please bear with me here  ), so in effect that means your character has a +3 head start with the things their class is most likely to use frequently, and is adding another skill point at each level advancement. 

That's kinda like D&D/d20 where a Rogue, say, will start with +4 on all his roguely skills, then adds +1 skill point to them as they increase level - it's just the mechanics boiled down. 

Except (don't you love sentences that start with "Except"? I do.) Im M20, they get a +1 to all skills, as that's simpler still and in keeping with the M20 ethos. That means your 20th level Rogue will be at +20 Phys, Comm and Know too and able to do other heroic things your average 20th level D&D Rogue couldn't do. To my mind, that's a Good Thing. Remember that M20 has No Feats, so no skill boosting Feat tricks up its sleeves. Heck, M20 doesn't even have sleeves. But anyway.

If you want to create a character in D&D that's got a skill out of the ordinary, you need a Feat of some kind - Educated, Cosmopolitan or something from the Forgotten Realms book, say. In M20, you just use it. If you want an Intimidating Magi, just play one, and roll Com+STR a lot of times. If you want an Educated Fighter, make Know+INT rolls. Your roll will be lower than choosing the "right" class for the skill, but this is about Fun, not Balance. If I wanted a game all about balance I'd have taken up tight-rope walking, not role-playing. I just hope Wizards don't hunt me down for that last sentence. Oops.

Anyhow, giving the characters only a +1 to any one skill at level advancement takes away that flexibility - either the character will choose to put in on their core skill (Sub for Rogue, etc) and stay Two Dimensional (not that that's a bad thing), or choose to put it on a different skill and become More Interesting But Weaker In The Important Stuff. That's up to you, but for my money I'd say flexibility during play trumps it. 

When it comes to customization of the rules, anything goes. How I play is unlikely to be how you play, so please do make any and all changes you want; if it doesn't suit, make it fit how you play the game. All I can do is explain my rationale; if it's not for you, that's cool 

Phew. Another explanation that's longer than the rules themselves. Sorry about that!

Back to Magical Attack. If you hadn't guessed, we play a loose game where the rules intentionally take a back seat, so what the SRD says ain't necessarily what we do. Magical Attack is used whenever there's.....uhhhh.... a magical attack - a direct physical manifestation against an opponent. So that means Fireball, Lightning Bolt, etc are all Magical Attacks. Magic Missile would be, but that's auto-hit anyhow. Touch spells are physical attacks though.

We explain it that Magi focus on the opponent's Chi/Spirit/Soul/whatever at range and target that, not the physical presence. It helps explain why low DEX Magi can hit a womp-rat at 400 paces but couldn't hit their foot with a crossbow bolt while kneeling 

Hope that helps


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## Darrell (Feb 19, 2008)

Glad to see there's still interest in m20.  I wondered if the 'long-thread rule' would kill off our discussion. 

Anyhow, as promised on the other thread, here is the work I've done on differentiating one type of magic from another.  I know Greywulf will consider it needless complexity, but my group wants to try out something of this nature.      It all kind of came out of our desire to change and define the nature of magic for our games.  At any rate, here it is:

*MAGIC*
Magic is separated into three types.  Divine Magic is that granted by the gods, and controlled by clerics.  Arcane Magic depends on formulae and arcane knowledge, and is the province of wizards.  Ritual Magic can be either Divine or Arcane in origin, and is dependent on eldritch ritual and the petitioner's skill at acquiring and using such.

*DIVINE MAGIC*
Clerics focus divine power in order to effect certain miraculous abilities.  This power focus can be used a number of times per day equal to the cleric’s level + his MIND bonus + 2.  

The divine energies channelled by the cleric can have any one of the following effects:

_Bless:_ The cleric grants his allies a +2 bonus to Attack/Damage/AC/Saves/Skills per 5 cleric levels, to all allies within 30 feet.

_Create:_ The cleric can summon up to 50 GP worth of non-magical, non-living items per cleric level. 

_Cure:_ The cleric cures blindness, deafness, insanity, or disease in a subject.  Certain diseases might resist clerical curing, and curing does not prevent reinfection by the same disease.

_Heal:_ The cleric is able to heal 1d8 hp of damage per cleric level.

_Purify:_ The cleric is able to remove spoilage from food and water, and to remove poisons from either substance, or from the body of a subject.  

*ARCANE MAGIC*
A wizard learns spellcraft as arcane formulae and lore, and records it in his grimoire, a book of collected magickal knowledge.  A wizard can cast any arcane spell from the Microlite20 spell list, as long as he has that spell in his grimoire, and is able to cast spells of that level.

A wizard begins play with a grimoire which contains all 0-level spells (cantrips) from the spell list, as well as 1d6+1 1st-level spells.  He adds 1d3 spells of the highest level he may cast to his grimoire at each successive character level; and may also add spells through study (say, by studying the recovered grimoires from enemy wizards he has defeated), and by purchasing them from other wizards.

Wizards can cast any arcane spell with a spell level equal to or below ½ their class level, rounded up.  

Casting an arcane spell costs Hit Points.  The cost is 1 + double the level of the spell being cast.  This hp loss cannot be healed normally, but is recovered after 8 hours rest.  

*RITUAL MAGIC*
Ritual magic can be either of arcane or divine origin, and is based on the use of rituals and ceremonies to accomplish effects.  Examples of ritual magic might include summoning and binding extraplanar creatures, creating magical items, temporarily changing local weather patterns, communing with a deity, or raising the dead.

In order to accomplish a specific ritual, a character must find, purchase, or possess several things:

a) the proper rite for the task he wishes to accomplish (it may be necessary to purchase or obtain this information from a church or a high-level wizard)
b) the necessary materials required to perform the rite; possibly including rare items or artefacts, or the assistance of several other clerics or wizards
c) a requisite number of successful skill checks made to signify that the ritual has been correctly performed.

Note that the obtaining of these materials may, in themselves, be cause for further adventures.  Perhaps the rite for raising a dead comrade requires the party to travel to a far-off kingdom to obtain a rare incense (which, of course, must be kept safe from brigands and thieves during the return journey).

SAMPLE RITUALS

_Enchant Weapon:  _ Used to enhance a weapon (to create a +3 longsword, +1 battle axe, +2 short bow, etc.)
   Required:  Weapon Enchantment rite (a scroll, obtainable from a wizard of level 5 or higher); a masterwork weapon to be enchanted; the assistance of one additional wizard per point of bonus to be enhanced; 1d4 successful Know + MIND checks.

_Summon Servitor:  _ Used to summon and bind to service either a creature of nature or a minor fiendish being.
   Required:  Servitor summoning rite (a scroll, obtainable from a wizard of level 3 or higher); knowledge of a creature to be summoned; the assistance of 1d2 assistants in the rite; a sacrifice of incense worth at least 150 gp; 1 successful Know + MIND check.

_Summon Demon:  _ Used to summon and bind to service a creature from the depths of Hell.
   Required:  Demon summoning rite (a scroll, obtainable from a wizared of level 10 or higher); the true name of the demon to be summoned; the assistance of 2 additional wizards, or 1d4+1 cultists devoted to the demon; a blood sacrifice; 1d4 successful Know + MIND checks.

_Commune:  _ Used to commune with a deity, in order to seek guidance.
   Required:  Communion rite (a scroll, obtainable from a cleric of the proper deity of level 5 or higher); a number of questions needing to be answered; a cleric devoted to the proper deity; 1 successful Com + MIND check per question to be answered.

_Raise the Dead:  _ Used to return life to a recently-deceased being.  Must be used within (STR) days of death.
   Required:  Raise the Dead rite (a scroll, obtainable from a cleric of level 15 or higher); a holy site dedicated to the deity being called upon to return life to the body; the body of the recently deceased being; the assistance of one cleric per level of the deceased being; 1d6 successful Com + MIND checks.

Well, that's it.  I'm still working on which spells to include in the Arcane Magic spell list.  Let me know what you guys think.

Regards,
Darrell

PS--
Should there be a blatant link to the m20 site on this new thread, or do ya think the one in Greywulf's sig will suffice?
--D.


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## dunbruha (Feb 20, 2008)

blatant link to the m20 site


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## dunbruha (Feb 20, 2008)

Darrell-  Pretty cool system.  Probably too complicated for my taste, but I like the different types of magic used by clerics and magi.


greywulf-  I see your point about the skill levels.  I like the idea of having a way for characters to be diffferent, and you are absolutely correct that role-playing is the best way to do it.  


Going back to the Magical Attack Bonus (maybe I'm dense, but...).  If you use the Magical Attack Bonus for the DC for saves against Fireball, etc. then what is the "Difficulty Class (DC) for all spells (10 + Caster Level + Caster's MIND bonus)" used for?  They seem to really be essentially the same thing.  So why is it in the rules in two places with different mechanisms (one "takes 10" and the other rolls d20)?  Or am I making too much out of nothing...  I tend to do that now and again.


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## Mondbuchstaben (Feb 20, 2008)

dunbruha said:
			
		

> I am curious about the rationale for the skill advancement system.  In the Core, "Each level adds: +1d6 to Hit Points, +1 to all attack rolls, and +1 to all skills.  Has anyone thought about having a degree of customization for the characters, skill-wise?  So, for example, each level would add +1 to *any one skill*.  This way, a player could decide which skills the character would be stronger in.  Would this be too weak at higher levels?



I am planning something Microlite-ish right now and this was crossing my mind as well.

My solution is to raise any two skills +1 per level. That way a player could still raise his "main skill" every level while also getting better at select other skills.
If spread out evenly it's more like SWSE's (and 4e's?) "stat plus half level" instead of M20's "stat plus full level".

It doesn't prohibit a Mage to eventually being as good at thievery as a 1st level Rogue, but now the Mage has to actively pursue it (by putting a +1 into Subterfuge).


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## greywulf (Feb 20, 2008)

Darrell - I like! On a tangent, I've been thinking about using Rolemaster's sources of magic ideas in D&D and M20 for a while. The idea of magic originating from three different sources appeals to me. There's Essence (drawing magic from all around), Channelling (drawing it from the Gods) and Mentalism (drawing it from yourself). It's probably the best take on Arcane/Divine/Psionics I've ever seen, and deserves Microliting.

Mondbuchstaben - Sounds like a good compromise to me 

dunbruha - I agree, it does sound like there's two rules for one thing, doesn't it? Let me think on that one.........

Sorry about the short post, I'm lost in Poser renders and trying to get articles complete for Save Or Die right now.


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## Darrell (Feb 21, 2008)

Mondbuchstaben said:
			
		

> My solution is to raise any two skills +1 per level. That way a player could still raise his "main skill" every level while also getting better at select other skills.




I like this.  It makes characters a bit more 'customizable' but retains the level-scalable aspect of regular m20.  I'm probably gonna implement this in my version of m20.

Regards,
Darrell


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## Darrell (Feb 21, 2008)

greywulf said:
			
		

> Darrell - I like! On a tangent, I've been thinking about using Rolemaster's sources of magic ideas in D&D and M20 for a while. The idea of magic originating from three different sources appeals to me. There's Essence (drawing magic from all around), Channelling (drawing it from the Gods) and Mentalism (drawing it from yourself). It's probably the best take on Arcane/Divine/Psionics I've ever seen, and deserves Microliting.




Yeah, my guys like it differentiated, too.  I handled it this way because I wanted the cleric's use of 'magic' to reflect the fact that the cleric is channelling a minute portion of the limitless divine power of his deity (in a similar way to Turning Undead); while wizards use arcane lore and magickal formulae to bring about an effect by drawing on an eldritch power that permeates the universe.  Ritual Magic came about because we wanted to keep certain types of effects, but didn't think they should be common spells.  That way, a _wish_ or raising a dead comrade is still possible, but not on a whim; so it retains its 'uber-magic' wonder in the characters' (and therefore the players') eyes.

Regards,
Darrell


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## dunbruha (Feb 21, 2008)

Mondbuchstaben said:
			
		

> I am planning something Microlite-ish right now and this was crossing my mind as well.
> 
> My solution is to raise any two skills +1 per level. That way a player could still raise his "main skill" every level while also getting better at select other skills.
> If spread out evenly it's more like SWSE's (and 4e's?) "stat plus half level" instead of M20's "stat plus full level".
> ...




Maybe have +1 to all skills each level, plus add +1 to any skill if the level divides by three  (i.e.  level 3,6,9,etc.), and change the +1 to STR, DEX or MIND to if the level divides by four (i.e.  level 4,8,12,etc.).  This is more similar to the SRD progression.


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## dunbruha (Feb 21, 2008)

*My take on the ranger and the druid*

Here is a suggestion for the ranger and druid classes.  I modified the descriptions in the Expert Rules, because I didn't want to add a new skill.

*Rangers* can use light or medium armor. They are +1 to hit and damage with ranged weapons and only incur a -1 to hit penalty when fighting with 2 weapons. Ability Bonus:  when they are in a natural setting, rangers gain +2 bonus to all skills.

*Druids* can wear light or medium armour and use shields.  They worship Nature and Nature spirits, and cast from the Druid spell lists [see Expert Rules].  Ability Bonus:  when they are in a natural setting, druids gain +2 bonus to all skills. Druids avoid using metal, preferring living or once-living materials (leather, wood, etc).  At third level, a Druid can Wild Shape into any small animal (eg a fox or badger) once a day. Every three levels the number of uses increases by one (2/day at 6th, 3/day at 9th, etc). A Druid can use up 2 uses by Wild Shaping into a medium-sized animal (eg, a wolf), or 3 uses by Wild Shaping into a large animal (eg, a bear). A Druid heals 2hp per level when changing back into his human form.


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## Nomad4life (Feb 24, 2008)

Mmmm...  Now if only there were an M20 Star Wars...


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## Elephant (Mar 1, 2008)

Star Wars M20:

Not much needs to change.  Simply choose equipment from the Star Wars universe and change the races and classes as follows:

Races:

Humans and Zabraks get +1 to all skill rolls.
Bothans, Duros, Ewoks, Gungans, Kel Dor, Rodians, and Sullustans get +2 Dex
Gamorreans, Quarrens, Trandoshans, and Wookiees get +2 Str
Cereans, Ithorians, Mon Calamari, and Twi'lek get +2 Mind.

* Duros and Kel Dor could reasonably be given +2 Mind instead of Dex.

Classes:

Jedi wear no armor, get +3 on Knowledge checks, and can use the Force (treat this like spellcasting).
Nobles can wear light armor, get +3 on Communication checks, and can inspire allies (once per turn, grant an extra action to any ally).
Scoundrels can wear light armor, get +3 on Subterfuge checks, and can sneak attack like M20 Rogues.
Soldiers can wear any armor and use any weapons, get +3 on Physical checks and +1 on attack and damage rolls, increasing by +1 at 5th level and every five levels thereafter.

The Force:

Much like spellcasting in M20, using the Force costs Hit Points.  The cost is commensurate with the effect.

Minor effect: 1hp
Medium:  5hp
Major:  10hp
Legendary: 20hp

Minor effects are things you'd expect half-trained Force-sensitives to be able to pull off, like Luke pulling the lightsaber out of the snowbank in Empire Strikes Back.
Medium effects are things that most Jedi Knights would be able to do -- like Luke's Force-use in Return of the Jedi.
Major effects are things that require the training and discipline of a Jedi Master.
Legendary effects are things that Yoda could pull off.  Lifting Luke's X-Wing out of the swamp on Dagobah is the classic example.

If characters use the Force to deal damage in combat, they deal damage dependent on the level of effect they use:

Minor d4
Medium d6
Major d8
Legendary d10

Force powers deal one die of damage per level of the Jedi.


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## Grimstaff (Mar 1, 2008)

Nomad4life said:
			
		

> Mmmm...  Now if only there were an M20 Star Wars...




Or Star Frontiers....


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## bytor4232 (Mar 7, 2008)

Hey guys, just contributing to the new thread.  I'm still around, and still use m20 on occasion.  I keep the m20 PocketMods in a dice bag with a set of dice, pencil, and paper.  Its always with me.  The other day I threw down with my daughter and nephew for a fast game.  I still play 3.5e, but m20 is great for those rainy days.


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## Hawkwind (Mar 16, 2008)

*microlite*

I DMed a game of Microlite last night for the first time and i was pleased with it. my players rolled their characters and completed a 7 room dungeon in 2 hours of play which was satisfactorily fast for them.

The game is so simple that Like C&C it just begs to be heavily house ruled. I used the conviction system from True 20 where characters have to choose a vice and a virtue and get bonus conviction points for roleplaying these aspects of the characters personality, i ended up with a greedy thief and a alcoholic cleric in the party. I also used media pigs idea for talents http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=177624&page=39&pp=30. With this the two fighters in the party didn't seem identical.

I think this game has a lot of potential for allowing me to use all the d20/3.5  adventures i having lying around with out using the 3.5 rules which slow play down for me, again its bit like using C&C to run old first and second edition adventures. Overall its a nice bit of reverse engineering


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## Elephant (Mar 17, 2008)

I've started running a casual Microlite20 game on IRC.  So far, we've managed to have six encounters between two sessions without a single round of combat.  It seems slow, but IRC gaming ALWAYS seems slow 

I'm thinking I'll really notice the speed of Microlite once a combat starts - those always take FOREVER via IRC.


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## bytor4232 (Mar 17, 2008)

In case you guys haven't been following roleplayingtips.com:

http://www.roleplayingtips.com/articles/5_room_dungeons.html

These little gems are PERFECT for m20.  I'm going to try out a few with one of my gaming groups when I get a sec.


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## Hawkwind (Mar 17, 2008)

*turning rules are broken*

One thing i did notice in the low level dungeon was the turning rules not working well as writen where you use the monsters DHit points as the DC for turning, The party encountered a undead bug bear with 42 hitpoints, with the rule as currently writen a 20th level cleric is only going to have better than a 50/50 chance of turning it or have I misunderstood the turn effect wrong


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## Tagnik (Mar 18, 2008)

I'd like to hear any comments on this turning as well.


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## greywulf (Mar 18, 2008)

Hawkwind said:
			
		

> One thing i did notice in the low level dungeon was the turning rules not working well as writen where you use the monsters Hit points as the DC for turning, The party encountered a undead bug bear with 42 hitpoints, with the rule as currently writen a 20th level cleric is only going to have better than a 50/50 chance of turning it or have I misunderstood the turn effect wrong




You're heading in the right direction. Let's see.......

An INT 16, 20th level cleric will have a Magic Attack of d20+23, meaning they'll need to roll a 19 or 20 to exceed the Undead Bugbear's 42 hit points. Ouch. that might sound like a bug (bear?), but it's not. I did that on purpose.

Y'see, it means that even at high level the cleric is unlikely to be able to use an encounter-ending ability before the other characters get to do anything fun. Picture something like this:

GM: A bugbear lunges toward you. From the stench and the flaying flesh, it's clear it's been long dead, though that's not stopping it reaching out to tear at your limbs
Cleric: I turn it, calling on the name of Fharpelordimmara (rolls dice)
GM: Ok, it's dead. Moving on..........
Other players: Ho hum.

Remember that it's the _current_ Hit Points of the undead critter that matters, meaning that the other characters get a chance to soften the target up a little (or a lot) before the Cleric delivers a Turning coup de grace on the beastie when it's Hit Points are low enough. Get that Undead Bugbear down to 10hp and the Cleric can make it explode, which is both cool and messy at the same time. It would go something like this:

GM: A bugbear lunges toward you. From the stench and the flaying flesh, it's clear it's been long dead, though that's not stopping it reaching out to tear at your limbs
Fighter: Attack!
Rogue: Get ready, Cleric. We're going in....
Cleric: I hold back, whispering a prayer to my god as I finger my holy symbol
......
BANG!

Much more fun, even at higher levels. See?

Of course, if that doesn't suit your style of play and are of the opinion that 20th level characters should be near gods with the power of immediate arbitrary life or death (I'm not, as it happens), then change is cool too. I suggest setting the DC equal to 10+(hp/10). That should do it.

Hope that helps!


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## Tagnik (Mar 18, 2008)

Thank Graywulf!

I want to start a M20 Campaign but I've had enough trouble mobalizing my gaming group as it is.  But I always think of house rules so here's what I've changed for myself.

Rogues can wear light or medium armor and their reflex saves negate damage as opposed to half but only in light armor.  Basically giving them evasion in light armor.

Casters gain free Magic Points = to their MIND bonus.  Doesn't go against HP.

Clerics wear Light armor and can use Shields.  I call them Priests. 

Fighters gain their bonus every 4 levels.  Just a bit sooner.

Magi can get a familiar

Priests must use their Shield or Dietie's weapon as a Holy Symbol or it must take up their amulet slot.

Magi must use a Wand or a Staff to cast spells.  Keeps them from running around with great swords.


then I have my combat options.  This is for everyone from levels 1 - 20

Double Move - Essentially RUN!!
Two Melee Attacks
Move and Melee Attack
Single Ranged Attack
Move and Ranged Attack at -2
Cast Spell
Move and Ready Action 
	-Ranged Attack at -2
	-Melee Attack at -2
	-Counter Spell
Ready an Action
	Spell
	Ranged Attack
	Double Melee Attack
Aim +4 to Ranged Attack -2 AC, takes 1 round
Charge +2 to Melee Attack -2 AC Double Move straight line
Not using an Off Hand Weapon grants a +1 Shield Bonus to AC.

I also have included the UA Armor adding Damage reduction to give armor more importance.  This helps the Fighter from being weaker with the D6 HP.

(although secretly.... I've given the Fighter class a d8 for HP... sue me.)

ok that is all.


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## Nomad4life (Mar 21, 2008)

Elephant said:
			
		

> Star Wars M20:
> 
> Not much needs to change.  Simply choose equipment from the Star Wars universe and change the races and classes as follows:
> 
> *Snip*




Okay, I got buried under Real Life ™ for a while there, but I should be back to gaming again soon enough.  I'm still obsessed with the idea of an M20 Star Wars, and these notes you jotted down look like a great starting point.  Thank you!

I want to iron out a few other details…  Droids, equipment, starships, etc…  Maybe nails down some specific force powers (and make the rest up as they appear in-game) but I'm convinced that the idea could work just fine.  I like the way you've grouped Jedi powers into "degrees of effect."  I can definitely work with that.

I tend to favor SW games with computer slicers and mechanics and whatnot, so I'm a bit baffled as to how to work "tech" rolls into the game.  The obvious choice would be to fold it into Knowledge but that seems like it should also be the domain of the Jedi as well.  Hmmm…  I might nix the Noble class, replace it with a Technician (or Specialist) class, and give Jedi a bonus to Communication instead?  

My overall design philosophy is that I want something I could run M20 Star Wars under, yet still be able to do an M20 Star Wars / M20 D&D crossover if I wanted to.  (Not that I want to, I just want the systems to be that similar.)

God, I love Microlite20.


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## greywulf (Mar 21, 2008)

Wow. I think you guys have got Star Wars M20 covered all by yourselves, so I'll just sit in the sidelines and clap my hands, ok? If you can turn it into a webpage, pdf or whatnot when you're done, I'll link (and host, if you like) it up at http://home.greywulf.net/m20 on the Macropedia.

Talking of which, work on the Big Shiny Macripedia pdf has stalled completely, thanks to Real Life. It's affected me too. Real Life is a virus, and it will get us all one day, I swear. There is no cure, and it's fatal at the end.

Anyhow. 

Talking of which, I've just been given a heads up (thanks, Bruce!) that the download link for the Palm .pdb version of M20 is broken. It was up on http://deimodius.tripod.com/dnd/MICROLITE20_PDB.zip, but it's not anymore. Anyone got a working URL for it, and I'll amend the link. 

Thanks!


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## xechnao (Mar 25, 2008)

Eh, why cant I access the site?


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## greywulf (Mar 25, 2008)

Server died. It's at -10 hit points 

Hopefully, it'll be back soon though! Geek resurrection. I love it.


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## greywulf (Mar 26, 2008)

....aaaaaaand the server is back up. Get it while it's hot, folks!


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## Elephant (Mar 27, 2008)

Hmm...has anyone tried to convert Eberron-specific material to Microlite20?  I'm planning an Eberron game, and I'd like to use Microlite for the rules.  However, I'm not sure that the "classic" Eberron elements (shifters, warforged, artificers, etc) can easily be translated into Microlite20.

Off the cuff, here's what I can come up with:

Kalashtar:  +2 bonus on saves vs. mind-affecting effects.
+2 on Communication checks
Mindlink 1/day
Shifters: +2 dex, -2 mind, Shifting (more specifics are needed, but I'm inclined to mostly leave it as written)
Warforged:  +2 str, -2 mind, living construct traits, +2 AC

Artificer: I'm at a loss.  Other than getting artificer infusions as wizards get spells, the artificer abilities don't seem to map to M20.  How do people handle magic item creation in regular M20?


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## greywulf (Mar 27, 2008)

Elephant said:
			
		

> How do people handle magic item creation in regular M20?




What you've got looks good so far, Elephant.

When it comes to magic items creation I use the same rules I use for full-size D&D: The Rule of Cool. All that working out gold piece cost and time-keeping just sucks the fun out of the game for me, so I discuss with the players what they want, figure out how whether it'll be game-breaking or not, then wrap a plot around it.

For example:

Eric the Eager Gamer: I want to make a Wand of Teleport Others
Me: Uhhhhh....ok. That'll take 15 years of research and demand four quests, two of which are to the Elemental Planes
Eric: Can I have a Wand of Fireballs instead?
Me: Sure. Three weeks. You'll need the shell from a Red Dragon's Egg though. There are rumours of a Red Dragon in Thimble Valley. Maybe you could..........

Hey, it's worked so far, and shouldn't be difficult to apply to Artificers too.

In M20, only make new rules if you really, _really_ need them


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## WildWalker (Apr 5, 2008)

First things first. 

I want to say that M20 is one of the coolest systems I've seen in a very long time.

I signed up on this board just to get involved in the M20 comunity.

Second, I was very interested in hacking a version compatible with the Heroic levels of 4e...so I did...based on ideas presentd by JSpektr on the RPGnet forum...modified by my own sensibilites. 

I created a Pocket Mod version of my hack that needs some play testing and now I just need to find a group.

All in all a very cool idea! I can't wait to play with it some more!

WildWalker


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## greywulf (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks! If you want to share your pocketmod, mail it to me - greywulf<at>gmail.com - and I'll happily host and link it in the Macropedia. I love to see folks' interpretations and additions to the rules.

My own group will finally be getting back together after a 3 month hiatus next weekend, and we're planning a marathon M20, D&D and Mutants & Masterminds session to celebrate. The plot will go something like this:

Part One - M20 characters, dungeon crawl, find the Hammer of Ajax, a powerful artifcact. The cannot use it's powers but take it as a part of their treasure horde
Part Two - D&D characters around 8th level. Discover the Hammer of Ajax in a ruined city. Players realise that the M20 session happened several thousand years ago. Find the bones of their original characters with the Hammer at the centre of the blast. 
Part Three - M&M, modern day, in LA. Ruins discovered off the coast reveal an ancient civilization, possibly Atlantis itself (yeh, Atlantean LA. No, seriously.). Hammer is a part of the treasure. One of the players (the only non-superhero in the group) takes the hammer and becomes Ajax the Conquering Destroyer. Players battle to save their friend from an insane destructive rampage through downtown. Will they succeed? I dunno, and it'll be fun finding out 

I expect each session to last 2-3 hours, meaning 8 hours gaming over one weekend, starting simple and sweet and ending with blast everything-in-sight-superhero gloriousness. Boo yah!


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## WildWalker (Apr 8, 2008)

*Wildwalkers M20*

greywulf,

I e-mailed you my PocketMod hack of M20. 

I am hoping to do some testing soon.

I'm thinking  a 4E version of the Temple of K'thu'uk using the 4e stuff that has been compiled.

Thanks for posting it up.

If anyone has time I'd love a critique.

WildWalker


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## greywulf (Apr 8, 2008)

WW, I got it and mailed you back a reply. Thanks! And I'd love to see a conversion of the Temple to 4E 

Just so you know, the server that hosts M20 is down AGAIN and I'm not a happy bunny about this. It's down far too often for my liking these days, so it's time to jump hosts. I'm going to spend some time the finding a good place to call it home. Suggestions welcome.

Thanks, all!


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## WildWalker (Apr 9, 2008)

I started in on a conversion of the Temple of K'thu'uk last night and ran smack dab into a new understanding of the resource management in 4e. 

It  is completely different. 

Very cool, but different. This means that a straight conversion isn't even close to being possible.

Since I don't like the idea of picking on poor defenseless Kolbolds anyways (they've just become too cool), I've decided to rewrite the fluff into Redcaps ( Brownies turned Boggart turned murderous nasties) and thier undead minions.

It'll be a little while till it's done but I have to tell you, I'm having the time of my life rewriting the adventure! 

With M20 (even my hack) it is a cakewalk. The hardest part is back matching the crunch to the limited list of "known" monsters from 4e. 

_Spoiler!!!_

So far I've decided the stats for the Redcaps will be Kolbolds of one variety or another. One of thier undead minions is Blood Skeleton Squirrels, for which I'm using the stats for Kolbold minions. The minion I'm having trouble matching is the alligators. I'm also having trouble deciding if I'm going to use the Young Black Dragon stats for the Blood Pool which will be replacing K'thu'uk's Skull or if I'm going to use something else.  

Writing the tactics into the descriptions is also a new one for me but all in all it's a breeze compared to 3.x.

I love this game.

WildWalker


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## Mondbuchstaben (Apr 18, 2008)

Greywulf has put my *Revised Character Sheet* up on the Macropedia.
It was a by-product of another project that I can talk about in short while.

Another by-product was this map that I will soon make available to the Macropedia as well.


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## bytor4232 (Apr 18, 2008)

That character sheet is stunning!  I plan on running an m20 game with my local tabletop group on the 26th.  I may just have to use this!


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## Grimstaff (Apr 20, 2008)

Its good to see folks still having fun w/this!   

AFAIC, this system and Wilderlands were simply made for each other.


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## Darrell (Apr 22, 2008)

Mondbuchstaben said:
			
		

> Greywulf has put my *Revised Character Sheet* up on the Macropedia.




Your character sheet looks great!  Much better than the one I did.

Would it be possible to get you to make a version with a fourth stat (Charisma) and a fifth skill (Personality) in the respective areas?

Those are the primary 'alterations' I've made to m20 that would be reflected on the character sheet.

Regards,
Darrell


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## Grimstaff (Apr 22, 2008)

Darrell said:
			
		

> a fourth stat (Charisma) and a fifth skill (Personality)
> 
> Those are the primary 'alterations' I've made to m20



Sounds interesting!

What does Personality cover to differentiate it from Communication?


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## llamatron2000 (Apr 23, 2008)

Hmm.  Thought I'd put a link towards this: Microlite Storyteller in this thread.  I think its interesting how people are applying the microlite philosophy to other games(but is this actually, uh..legal without an OGL for storyteller?)


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## greywulf (Apr 24, 2008)

Yeh, I saw the Storyteller variant too. Rather jolly good it is as well.  In a similar vein a while ago (December 2005. Sheesh. Time flies, eh?) I created a two-page Microlite version of GURPS 4th Edition. It's completely unrelated to M20 (unlike the Storyteller version which copies us brilliantly), but it's more than usable. We ran a few WWII GURPS sessions using only a one sheet of paper (printed double sided) with that baby without problems. Legal? I dunno, and don't care. No money changed hands and no one died nor nuthin' 

And I've just posted Wildwalker's excellent variant core rules PocketMod up on the Microlite20 Download page . Get 'em while they're hot!


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## kensanata (Apr 24, 2008)

When I ran B3 - Palace of the Silver Princess using Labyrinth Lord it felt cool from a nostalgic point of view. But I think my next one-shot will use M20 rules again.


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## GQuail (Apr 24, 2008)

llamatron2000 said:
			
		

> Hmm.  Thought I'd put a link towards this: Microlite Storyteller in this thread.  I think its interesting how people are applying the microlite philosophy to other games(but is this actually, uh..legal without an OGL for storyteller?)




As the man who wrote it, I'm under no illusions as to the legal murkiness of this ground.  I just had a good idea, wasn't going to do anything much with it myself and wanted to get it out in the open.  :>

LIke Greywulf says, no money is changing hands and, ultimately, I don't think it stops people buying books anyway - as I said in the thread, you really won't play White Wolf games unless you like White Wolf fluff, so all those Vampire or Changeling books are still as useful to you as ever.  It's just that you can keep those books at home for inspiration, and run the game with something that fits in your dice bag.  :>


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## GQuail (Apr 24, 2008)

greywulf said:
			
		

> Yeh, I saw the Storyteller variant too. Rather jolly good it is as well.  In a similar vein a while ago (December 2005. Sheesh. Time flies, eh?) I created a two-page Microlite version of GURPS 4th Edition. It's completely unrelated to M20 (unlike the Storyteller version which copies us brilliantly), but it's more than usable. We ran a few WWII GURPS sessions using only a one sheet of paper (printed double sided) with that baby without problems.




Hey, Greywulf - thanks for some positive words for my rather blatant pastiche of you!  

Although I'm not using M20 right now, I've been looking at it a lot - I'd really like to give it a spin with my group, and think it would make an excellent pickup game or starter RPG for my younger relatives.  (Several tried and liked D&D, but I'd prefer to have something quicker to use with them)  In a totally non-stalker way, you've been on my mind the past few weeks, hence applying your principle to another game system.  

Also, thanks for the link to your GURPS stuff.  As you say, it's only really usable alongside GURPS Lite, but it's an excellent quick reference.


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## Gilladian (Apr 25, 2008)

What's the longest campaign anyone has played with M20? 

I'm seriously considering running a Savage Tide campaign with M20 to see how durable it is over many levels. I would take the game through about 12-15th level at the most, cutting off the game before the "descent into the maw" portion of Savage Tide; that part doesn't attract me.

Any warnings, suggestions, etc?

(The reason for this trial is that I/we are not switching to 4E. But 3E does require a fairly high input time as DM; more and more I dislike spending an hour designing adventures just to spend an hour playing them)


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## Elephant (Apr 25, 2008)

I'm trying to run a campaign using M20 - the basic theme is "Eberron pirates".  Since it hasn't really gotten off the ground yet (silly people who say "I'll come" and then cancel at the last minute...), I can't speak to M20's durability for a longer-reaching campaign.


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## greywulf (Apr 25, 2008)

We've gamed from 1st to around 8th level, and several one-shots using characters all the way to 20th. M20 definitely shines at lower level, and while it works just fine for very high level stuff, the general player feeling is that D&D does higher-level better. 

I think there reaches a breakpoint where players want the cool-but-complex funky stuff that D&D brings to the table, and M20 just doesn't provide the same level of meaty crunchiness. It boils down to your style of play, though. If you want legendary characters who are extraordinarily capable at what they do, but don't rely on magic/wushu/items to do it, then M20 is very, very good at simulating it. 

I'm thinking Waylander or Conan here. Conan would be a terrific 20th level M20 Fighter 

On the other hand, if you want a "classic" high-level D&D character complete with a feats, special abilities and a direct line to several gods, look elsewhere. At D&D itself, say.

As you're aiming a little lower around the 12th to 15th mark, I don't think you'll have any problems. Just toss around a few ludicrous skill penalties and encourage the players to be cinematic with their actions. In one 15th level playtest I had a player run up the spine of an enraged Red Dragon by making a Phys+DEX check with a -15 penalty. He did it too, but that's another story.


My vote would be to keep a weather-eye out to how the game plays and if the players start to grumble about the lack of options, consider migrating the characters to D&D. You never know, it might never happen


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## WildWalker (Apr 27, 2008)

greywulf said:
			
		

> And I've just posted Wildwalker's excellent variant core rules PocketMod up on the Microlite20 Download page . Get 'em while they're hot!




Thank you very much for posting my hack!

I have actually never successfully run a game wth characters higher than 15th level...in advanced D&D...and nothing higher than 6th level in D&D 3.x so the idea of running a game in M20's sweet spot really catches my imagination.

I need to finish my 4e hack of "Temple of K'thu'uk" so I can do some more playtesting but I think it's going to work just great for how I play. 

I can't WAIT to have a player run a Squirrel Wraith...

WildWalker


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## Gilladian (Apr 27, 2008)

Well, it looks as if it will be quite a while before I get to run my STAP in Microlite 20 - happily for me, one of my players has agreed that when we finish the current campaign (they're 9-10th lvl now, and will wrap up by about 12th, I think - maybe 2 more months), he's going to run Pathfinder!

But I do intend, probably in the fall, to try my M20 game. I'll let you all know when it happens, and how it goes. And I'll probably have questions during the process...


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## Satori (Apr 27, 2008)

I've been abstaining from any and all DnD until 4E comes out...but reading this makes me want to host a PbP M20 game just for the heck of it.

What I love about M20 is that it provides a basic skeleton to do whatever the heck you want.  One of my big gripes about 3.xE was that the rule complexity seemed more limiting than enabling (at least for a DM).

With M20, the DM is given a nearly divine mandate to BS and houserule to oblivion.

I love it.

I'm a bit curious about the high level issue as well. I've been playing with the idea of getting rid of "Weapon Types" in general, and instead making a distinction between "Martial" and "Simple".

i.e. ALL "Martial" weapons do the same damage, while ALL "Simple" weapons do the same damage.

This damage will also scale up to reflect increased aptitude and to remove reliance on magical gear.

Maybe Martial = 1d8 and Simple = 1d4 to start, then increases a die every 4th level.

I like weird, iconic, non-standard characters and I want to promote that.  Hence, with this system you could have a Fighter who specializes in Knife Fighting...utilizing expertly crafted "Martial" daggers that, through design and skill, strike as solidly as a Great Axe.

On the other hand, Gandalf the Mage could still carry around a "Simple" Long Sword...he just inflicts less damage than a Fighter using the same weapon.

This would also handle the "Monk" issue, since a Monk would just have unarmed as a "Martial" weapon.

Hmm...I may have to chew on this.


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## ekb (Apr 28, 2008)

*d100 - sort of a M20 Percentile Hack*



			
				llamatron2000 said:
			
		

> think its interesting how people are applying the microlite philosophy to other games(but is this actually, uh..legal without an OGL for storyteller?)



d100 has roots in M20, but only in that I reduced the number of stats to a more reasonable one. I also thought that removing initiative, having a binary resolution system that was contained in a single roll andhaving some pretty friggin' lethal combat was good for adapting other percentile-oriented systems to "rules-light" gaming. http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/d100-system-core if you'd like to check it out...


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## greywulf (Apr 29, 2008)

Folks, listen up! Ok, look up. I've got a picture for you. 







These are German translation 26 page, A5, saddle stitched, full color booklets put together by Mondbuchstaben for a Role Play Convention  in Münster. They were created to promote his company's  anime themed DVDs and upcoming cinema release of Brave Story.

And. They. Look. Fantastic! 

Seriously, they're great - full colour throughout, great layout, the works. He's done a superb job from start to finish. Mondbuchstaben, if you can make an English translation, I swear these will sell like hot cakes around here. Let's split the profits 

Kensanata and Darrell, if you send me your addresses (to greywulf@gmail.com), Mondbuchstaben will send you copies too, because you're in the credits. Name in lights and all that 

I'll leave Mondbuchstaben to tell you more, as he deserves credit for making this possible. Suffice to say, I'm over the moon!


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## Neurowiz (May 1, 2008)

Holy.Mother.of.God.

In one fell swoop, I've fallen in love, found my old Blue/Red box fix, found something simple enough to lure my children into Role Playing *and* make it possible for my Ultima CRPGtoPnPRPG rewrite to happen.

Greywulf and others who made this happen, thank you. This is probably the most excited I've been (about gaming) in a long time (that edit required in case my wife ever reads this ;P). I've just gotten back into Role Playing - and reading/worldbuilding in 3.x was becoming a chore requiring a spreadsheet, massive amounts of text files (Yea, I work in notepad...) and headaches.

This simple rulebook has reduced the amount of work, justification (trying to somehow 'explain' a lich that 4th level PCs could face under 3.x rules was becoming a nightmare) and put back in the fun I remember from blue/red book - and that's just from my world building perspective!

I'm going to give this a test this weekend with my daughter(s) - I've got an old intro adventure based on the old "Fast Play" modules that I'm going to rewrite into m20 and see how it goes. 

Thank you again... and I can't wait to keep an eye on this next 2 year thread (I read the previous one last night) and see how it goes.

Neurowiz/Chgowiz


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## greywulf (May 1, 2008)

Lol!

Neurowiz, a warm welcome to the party. Bring a bottle.

Honestly, I never thought M20 would get such a cult following. It all started when scourger said I ought to start a new thread about this minimal version of d20 I'd come up with. So I did. 1,217 posts in that thread, and hundreds of thousands of views later we're well into the second thread about something that's only 996 (-ish) words long. 

Along the way M20 has gained adventures, several campaign settings, a d20 Modern variant and countless House Rules, tweaks and other ephemery. It's seen print and been distributed to around 1,800 folks in a Role-playing convention. There's no sign of it stopping any time soon.

Every player, every game and every GM brings something different to M20, and make the game their own. As has been said, it positively _begs_ to be customized, and that's cool. I wouldn't want it any other way. Add what you want, change what you don't like, have a ball. After all, _anarchy is fun_. Microlite20 is a tiny little seed of fun that just aches to be fed and watered.

So Neurowiz, I'm glad you and the family found us. Any questions, just ask


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## Age of Fable (May 4, 2008)

*a question about spells.*

The first page says that

"the Difficulty Class (DC) for all spells is
10 + Caster Level + Caster's MIND Bonus"

But I can't find

i) rules for when the targets of spells get to save - is it meant to be for all spells?

ii) how to work out the bonus for someone who is saving against a spell.


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## greywulf (May 4, 2008)

Hmmm. I really ought to fix this as it keeps coming up.

The Magic Attack is there if you use an alternative Magic System (there's plenty in the Macropedia). Or it's used to target an attacking spells such as Lightning Bolt. Or it could be used as the Attack for mind-based attacks against. Or it can be used in a Magical Duel. Or for other things I've not thought of.

It's there for when the GM feels the caster needs to make an attack roll and Melee/Missile Attack doesn't quite cut it. 

Hope that helps!


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## Age of Fable (May 4, 2008)

It looks like you have two systems for magical attacks:

One is in Combat: caster rolls d20 + Caster's Level + MIND bonus, DC is the target's AC.

The other is in Spells: the target rolls d20 + their Level + their MIND bonus, DC is 10 + Caster's Level + Caster's MIND bonus.

My question is how you know which one of those two to use, or when (if ever) the spell is assumed to 'hit' automatically.


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## Ze (May 4, 2008)

Greywulf,
I have been lurking through your threads since the beginning, and I'm just another M20 lover.
I translated it to Italian and I really hope I'll be able to convert my current campaign (see sig) to M20 during the next session (well, I hope all my players will agree - given M20 is perfect with our gamestyle, I don't see why they shouldn't).
I will eventually send you my translation, if you care.

Great job!


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## Neurowiz (May 4, 2008)

Age of Fable said:
			
		

> It looks like you have two systems for magical attacks:
> 
> One is in Combat: caster rolls d20 + Caster's Level + MIND bonus, DC is the target's AC.
> 
> ...




I've only played this a couple of times now, and I get the feeling that both rules are there for when we need them.

If my player's mage is casting a sleep, the monsters have to save as you specified " the target rolls d20 + their Level + their MIND bonus, DC is 10 + Caster's Level + Caster's MIND bonus."

To be honest, I opted for simplicity and ignored the "Magic Attack" stuff. For my game (and in how I'll interpret m20) mages cast spells which targets must save against. If my players use a magic item like a sword or arrow, they use their melee/range attacks. If my mages use a wand/rod/staff, the effect is similar to cast. 

But, again, that's how I'm going to go with it. YMMV and the nice thing is you have a lot of tools to adapt it as you want. Me, being an old fogey, I go for the easiest (laziest?) route. 

Have fun!
Regards,
Neurowiz


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## greywulf (May 8, 2008)

Here's a quick heads-up because I'm just about to head through the door: Microlite20 conversion for Thieve's World, here, courtesy of El Diablo Robotico.

Enjoy!


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## greywulf (May 9, 2008)

Folks, I'm sorry to say that the server which hosts the Microlite20 site has been down for the entire of the day. Enough is enough.

I've started a Microlite20 Fundraiser . Check out that page for information how you could help put Microlite20 on a shiny new site with better uptime, cool new toys and much, much more!

I'll write more about this when I'm a bit less hacked off with our server hosts..........  

*UPDATED: *
Here's what I have planned for the new Microlite20 site so far:


core rules, including downloads as .txt, .pdf and.rtf
blogs and story hours
forums
house rules 
campaign settings
adventures
a store where users can sell their own PDFs

All content will be free to read and comment; the forums will require (free) registration. Donaters will be able to host a blog/story hour and contribute house rules, settings and adventures. PDF sales will split the profits. 

This ain't no subscription model neither - donate (any amount, at least a dollar) and you get it. Simple as that 

But, it's not going to happen unless we reach that target, so get donating!

I'll stop with the hard sell now. Promise


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## Age of Fable (May 9, 2008)

Soooo....

can anyone give me an answer to my question?

Basically I'm wanting to know how saves vs magic work.


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## Elephant (May 10, 2008)

Age of Fable said:
			
		

> Soooo....
> 
> can anyone give me an answer to my question?
> 
> Basically I'm wanting to know how saves vs magic work.




Fable, I would have thought that Neurowiz's post (http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=4202843&postcount=60) had answered your question.  If it's a spell that offers a save, have the target roll a save; if it requires an attack roll, use the magic attack of the caster.

For saves, per the base M20 description, roll Physical + Strength for Fort, Physical + Dex for Reflex, and level + Mind for Will saves.

And as always, this being Microlite, tweak anything that seems odd to you 

@greywulf:  Good luck on the M20 fundraiser!


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## Age of Fable (May 10, 2008)

Elephant said:
			
		

> Fable, I would have thought that Neurowiz's post (http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=4202843&postcount=60) had answered your question.  If it's a spell that offers a save, have the target roll a save; if it requires an attack roll, use the magic attack of the caster.
> 
> For saves, per the base M20 description, roll Physical + Strength for Fort, Physical + Dex for Reflex, and level + Mind for Will saves.
> 
> ...





My question was more how you work out whether it needs an attack roll and/or offers a save.

So you're saying there's no way of doing that other than referring to the main d20 rules?


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## Neurowiz (May 10, 2008)

Age of Fable said:
			
		

> My question was more how you work out whether it needs an attack roll and/or offers a save.
> 
> So you're saying there's no way of doing that other than referring to the main d20 rules?




Ah, yes, that's true, there's no clear rule on that, now I understand what you're asking. If you feel comfortable enough, use your best GM judgment and decide. You can, as you say, also go back to the main D20 spells list and figure it out that way.

Example:
Things like acid arrow and acid splash requires, according to D20 SRD, a 'ranged touch attack' - I would have the mage make a magic attack instead. If the targets gets a save, then the DC we described before applies. 

What do you think?

Regards,
Neurowiz/Chgowiz


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## greywulf (May 10, 2008)

Age of Fable said:
			
		

> My question was more how you work out whether it needs an attack roll and/or offers a save.
> 
> So you're saying there's no way of doing that other than referring to the main d20 rules?




Yes, there's an easy way to do it. 

You're the GM. You make the call.

Unlike D&D, Microlite20 doesn't have rules for things that the GM should be able to decide for themselves. If you want the player to make an attack roll, then that's cool. If you want the victim to make a save instead, that's cool too. It's your game, remember 

Most of the time, it's pretty obvious (Lightning Bolt? Attack roll! Charm Person? Make a save.....), but it's also fun to have the flexibility to flip between the two, even for the same spell.

If the players are casting Lightning Bolt, then get them to make an attack roll; it puts the drama into their hands, and that's a Good Thing.

On the other hand, if the Evil Orc Shaman is the one firing the Lightning Bolt, why not have the players make a Phys+DEX save to dodge out of the way instead? That puts the drama in the players hands too, so that's _also_ a Good Thing.

That's what's cool about Microlite20; the Rules Can Be Changed to suit the situation. 

Hope that helps! 

In other news, the Microlite20 Fundraiser!  is only $7 away from reaching the target!!!! Get donating


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## Age of Fable (May 10, 2008)

I agree that if you filled in every situation it'd be d20 again   , 

but in this case, different interpretations could make an enormous difference in the power of wizards. Especially in situations where both caster and target are likely to make their roll.

If there's no official answer then there's no official answer, but...I wish there was an official answer.


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## greywulf (May 10, 2008)

:grin:

Ok, here's an official answer, straight from the mouth of him wot wrote Microlite20 in the first place:

"It's up to you."

Better now?


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## Tagnik (May 10, 2008)

Think of it this way for the Magic Attacks..

If your GM uses some kind of Action Point system where you can affect the rolls you make, then ask him if you can make a magic attack to take advantage of it.

If not.. just take a 10.


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## Age of Fable (May 11, 2008)

I think if I end up using Microlite20 I'll do saves based on how they work in d20, just because that's likely to be reasonably balanced.


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## Neurowiz (May 12, 2008)

Age of Fable said:
			
		

> I think if I end up using Microlite20 I'll do saves based on how they work in d20, just because that's likely to be reasonably balanced.




I think balancing comes with playing the game and seeing what works, just like in anything. 

Let us know how this works for you! 

Neurowiz/chgowiz


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## greywulf (May 12, 2008)

Ah. It's good to have ENWorld back up and running, ain't it?

Just a quickie to let you know that http://microlite20.net is up and running. Thanks to all donaters! I'm busy migrating content over, the current theme is temporary (but growing on me), and there's still lots to do (forum, store, a little restructuring here and there), but alive is alive is alive 

If you're in the neighbourhood, drop by and say hi!


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## Neurowiz (May 12, 2008)

*microlite20 Character Generator*

While Greywulf was moving in bullet-time to get the new m20 site up, I threw together a PHP m20 character generator. It's core rules only, but the cool part is being able to download the character sheet as a PDF with values filled in. 

I'm working on a version where you can add in rulesets from the Macropedia - I'm using Grimstaff's Expert rules as a starting point. I'll also probably do the Modern rules as well.

http://microlite20.net/chgowiz/m20cg/m20cg.php

Let me know what you think, any feedback is appreciated. Praise will keep me working on this till 3am some nights. 

Neurowiz


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## Gilladian (May 13, 2008)

I like it! I mean, it's kinda funny to have a generator for a game as simple as Microlite, but it sure makes creating characters simple...

Are you thinking of expanding the generator to higher level characters? That would make it more useful for NPCs.


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## Neurowiz (May 13, 2008)

Gilladian said:
			
		

> I like it! I mean, it's kinda funny to have a generator for a game as simple as Microlite, but it sure makes creating characters simple...
> 
> Are you thinking of expanding the generator to higher level characters? That would make it more useful for NPCs.




Thanks for the kind words! 

That's what I was thinking... or of just having some pre-gens available for tossing out there. Not to mention it appealed to the programming geek in me to program a simple ruleset into a simple generator. The actual generation isn't that hard, it was more of remembering all the weird PHP quirks and then doing the PDF generation that took awhile.

Not to mention that if I get the inclusion of various Macropedia rulesets, you can mix/match and have a consistent character generation, which will be helpful for some, I hope.

The codebase does support more than first level and one of the things I'll do when I'm finished with the chargen is to make an NPC generator. Although I guess it might not hurt to do same for characters... I'll add that to the todo list. I don't have it set up to do the automatic advances, but when I create the code for the NPC gen, I'll end up using the same m20 class and just make it available in the chargen.

If you leave comments on the microlite20 site for the story about the chargen application (http://microlite20.net/node/33), I'll be able to keep track of bugs and suggestions there in one place.

Thanks again!
Neurowiz/Chgowiz


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## Neurowiz (May 14, 2008)

*m20 Char Gen updated*

I've updated the microlite20 Character Generator, which can be found here:
http://microlite20.net/chgowiz/m20cg/m20cg.php

The generator is currently based on the following rulesets from the Macropedia:
- Core
- Expert (Grimstaff)

More rulesets from the Macropedia will be made available going forward.

Hopefully this will be available on sourceforge soon as well so others can contribute.

Please leave any comments, suggestions or bug fixes in comments to the article on the microlite20 site (here: http://www.microlite20.net/node/33 ) I will keep updating it as new rulesets and features are added.

Neurowiz/Chgowiz


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## Grimstaff (May 14, 2008)

Hey, nice chargen!


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## greywulf (May 15, 2008)

Just a quick heads up: I've posted a new Microlite20 article over at the new site entitled Everything you need to know about the Microlite20 Skill System.... but were afraid to ask. 

Enjoy


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## Age of Fable (May 29, 2008)

Are you going to make a Microlite version of 4th edition?


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## kensanata (May 29, 2008)

Age of Fable said:
			
		

> Are you going to make a Microlite version of 4th edition?




In fact, it has already been done! Extensive research and statistical analysis of the exception based combat engine behind 4E and the superior design-fu of our developers have resulted in a new M20 that is as simple and easy to play and run as the old M20. In fact it is not just as easy, it is precisely and exactly the same easy. In the end, after a long grammatical and syntactical struggle it was decided by the Wulf that is and will be, that simplifying 4E results in the exact same M20 as simplifying 3E. In fact, all editions except for AD&D 1st edition simplify to the same M20. When simplifying AD&D 1st edition to M20, one ends up with an extra Appendix with suggested reading. But that's all there is to it.

Enjoy.

Editions come and go, M20 is here to stay as long there is a d20 to be rolled.


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## greywulf (May 29, 2008)

Well said kensanata  Couldn't have put it better myself.

I reckon you could simulate 4e by taking out all of the role-playing elements, putting a load of figures on a gameboard then moving them all three squares to the left each round. If two figures bump into each other they're "bloodied" and move 4 squares right instead. Rinse and repeat.

Yeh, that's about it.

Me? Cynical about 4e? Never!


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## Tagnik (May 30, 2008)

Well.  I think I've finished doing all I want to Microlite20 via my house rules.

I still think it's the same game, but I gave the players access to Martial stances.. ha 


Stats
40 Points.
Stat bonus = (STAT-10)/2, round down.
Races
Humans get +1 to all skill rolls
Dwarves get +2 MIND
Barbarians get +2 STR
Elves get +2 DEX
Classes
The classes are Fighter, Rogue, Mage, Cleric. Characters begin at Level 1.

Fighters wear any kind of armour and use all shields. They have a +3 bonus to Physical and add +1 to all attack and damage rolls. This increases by +1 at 4th level and every four levels on
Rogues can use medium armour. They have a +3 bonus to Subterfuge. If they successfully Sneak (usually sub+DEX, but depends on situation) up on a foe they can add their Subterfuge skill rank to the damage of their first attack, this is automatic when flanking.  Rogues also gain Evasion.
Magi wear no armour. They can cast arcane spells, and gain a +3 bonus to Knowledge.  They can summon a familiar or improved familiar for free.  They may keep a summoned monster summoned as long as they want but this keeps the amount of HP's used gone.  They can only summon one like this at a time or must use a familiar.
Clerics can wear light armour and use shields (except tower). They cast divine spells and gain +3 bonus to Communication. A Cleric can Turn Undead with a successful Magic Attack. DC is the current Hit Points of the Undead. If the DC is exceeded by 10 it is destroyed. This can be used (2 + Level + MIND Bonus) times per day. This can also be used to heal hp by the amount of the attack to a single target or half the amount rolled to all in a radius of 50 ft.
Skills
There are just 4 skills : Physical, Subterfuge, Knowledge and Communication. Roll higher than the given Difficulty Class to succeed.
All classe except Rogues must pick one skill at -3.
Skill rank = your level + any bonus due to your class or race.
Skill roll = d20 + skill rank + whatever stat bonus is most applicable to the use + situation modifiers

For example, Climbing would use Physical + STR bonus. Dodging a falling rock is Physical + DEX bonus. Finding a trap is Subterfuge + MIND bonus. Disabling a trap is Subterfuge + DEX bonus.

Note that there are no “saving throws” in this game; use Physical + STR or DEX bonus for Fortitude and Reflex saves. Saving against magic (Will save) is usually MIND bonus + Knowledge.
Magic
Magi can cast any arcane spell, and Clerics any divine spell, with a spell level equal or below 1/2 their class level, rounded up. They have access to all arcane spells in the SRD spell list.  Metamagic works just as if you are casting a spell of the appropriate level.  Such as a Silent Fireball would just be a level 4 spell.

Casting a spell of any kind costs Hit Points like Subdual Damage. The cost is 1 - double the level of the spell being cast:


Spell Level	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	   
HP Cost	*	1	3	5	7	9	11	13	15	17	 

This loss cannot be healed normally but is recovered after 8 hours rest. There is no need to memorize spells in advance.

Casters get extra points to cast with equal to their MIND bonus.

The Difficulty Class (DC) for all spells is 
10 + Caster Level + Caster's MIND bonus
Magi must use a Staff or Wand as an Arcane Focus, Clerics must use a Shield as their Divine Focus/Holy Symbol.  Spells cannot be cast without them.
Fly Spell must have a Broom, Carpet, or Bed.  Flying requries ride checks and acts as if the player is mounted.
Teleport works as a Port Key.  2 Mundane Objects must be set in certain places and must be outdoors.  It takes 10 minutes casting time to set each item (20 minutes total).  Dimension Door takes a full round action to cast and requires throwing a stone to the location wished to Dimension Door to.  The location must also be within line of effect.
Once a caster knows an Energy Type and a Spell Area type, they may mix and match their types to form new spells when casting Evocation spells.  This works as a "Free" Metamagic effect.  For Example a Cone of Cold and a Fireball can make a Coldball.
Combat
Hit Points = STR Stat + 1d8/Level. If HP reach 0, unconscious and near death. Further damage directly reduces STR. If that reaches 0, death.  Fighters get 1d12 per level.

Roll d12 + DEX bonus for initiative order every round.  A result of 12 gives you a +2 luck bonus this round.

Melee attack bonus = STR bonus + Level
Missile attack bonus = DEX bonus + Level
Magic attack bonus = MIND bonus + Level

Add attack bonus to d20 roll. If higher than your opponent's Armour Class (AC), it’€™s a hit. Natural 20 is automatically a critical doing maximum damage.
Roll 1d12 on the Critical Chart
1-2 Nothing
3 - offhand is hit, -2 Dex and can't use offhand. A shield or Gauntlet blocks this
4 - Mainhand, -2 Dex, can't use mainhand, weapon dropped if no Guard or Gauntlet
5 - Offarm, -2 Dex, -2 Str, Same as Off Hand, Shield and Arm Guards block this
6 - Mainarm, Same as off arm
7-8 Leg, -2 Str, -4 Dex, move at Half Speed. Leg Armor blocks this
9 - Stomach -  +5 Damage, sickened, -4 Str.  Plate Armor Blocks this
10 - Chest - stunned, -2 Str, Bleeding 1 point.  Blocked by Plate armor
11 - Neck 20% Death, Bleeding 5 points
12 - Head 10% Death, -4 Mind, Stunned 1d4, +10 damage, blocked by Helmet

Fighters and Rogues can use DEX bonus + Level as Melee attack bonus instead if wielding a light weapon. Fighters and Rogues can wield 2 light weapons and attack with both in a round if they take a -2 penalty on all attack rolls that round. Rapiers count as light weapons, but you cannot wield two rapiers at the same time.

Add STR bonus to Melee damage, x2 for 2-handed weapons. 
Armour Class (AC) = 10 + DEX bonus + Armour bonus.
Combat Options
Double Move
Two Melee Attacks
Move and Melee Attack
Single Ranged Attack
Move and Ranged Attack at -2
Cast Spell
Move and Ready Action at -2
	-Ranged Attack
	-Melee Attack
	-Counter Spell
Ready an Action
	Spell
	Ranged Attack
	Single Melee Attack
Aim +4 to Ranged Attack -4 AC
Charge +2 to Melee Attack -2 AC 
Not using an Off Hand Weapon grants a +1 Shield Bonus to AC
Level Advancement
Each level adds:
+1d8+1 to Hit Points (1d12+1 for Fighters) Max at 1st Level
+1 to all attack rolls
+1 to all skills

If the level divides by three (i.e. level 3,6,9,etc.) add 1 point to STR, DEX or MIND.

Fighters gain +1 to their attack and damage rolls at levels 4,8,12,etc.

Clerics and Magi gain access to new spell levels at levels 3,5,7,9,etc.
Assumed Feats
Power Attack - max of +5/-5 Used for called shots like Trip, Disarm, etc. at -5.
Combat Expertise - max of +5/-5
Item Creation - Comes at appropriate levels
Summon Familiar - Magi only
Precise Shot
Manyshot
Greater Cleaving
Improved Shield Bash (Light Shield Only, Fighter only)

Damage Reduction
Medium Armor (Except for Hide) gives 1/-, Breastplate gives 2/- DR. 
Heavy Armor gives 3/- DR, Half Plate gives 4/- DR, full plate gives 5/- DR.  This stacks with all other damage reduction.
Heavy Shields give DR from spells, spell like effects, and breath weapons.  Heavy Shields give 2/- and Tower Shields give 4/-

Drama Dice
Drama Dice are 2d10's that can be used for a number of options.
Add to any dice roll before or after the roll (this includes damage)
Submit 1 to Re-Roll any dice roll
Submit 1 for a half action 
Submit 2 for an full Action 
Submit 3 to Cast Another Spell
Submit 1 for any Dramatic Situation in which the PC's plea to the GM (including saving your life!)
All PC's recieve 5 Drama Dice per level.  They may be given as rewards or other reasons such as tough encounters or extra per session.
Martial Disciplines
All Classes may choose one martial discipline from the Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords.  They know all the stances and manuvers at appropriate levels and may perform them by spending HP's in the same way as spell casting.  These hp's cannot be healed exactly like spell casting and recquire rest.  These cost more than spell casting according to the chart below.

Discipline Level	*	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	   
HP Cost	*	3	5	7	9	11	13	15	17	19	 




I can't do spoiler tags


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## greywulf (Jun 3, 2008)

Stances, huh? I really ought to crack open my Book of 9 Swords and figure it all out. Looks good!

Over on the Microlite20 forums I've started a webcomic called   Sin20: The Life and Death of Callen Oncedark, complete with stats for characters and the monsters for Microlite20. The first eight pages are up, complete with stats for the Cave Troll Sentry, Daemonshade Snakes and Callen himself


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## GEEKAZOID (Jun 8, 2008)

*Contribution*

Hey Greywulf, nice game.
I've been lurking for a while, but now have something to contribute.
I re-worked the character sheet form Races of Renown.
I think it may get some mileage. I've attached it to this post.

Enjoy


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## greywulf (Jun 17, 2008)

Geekazoid, thanks for the kind words and the sheet. It's sweet!

Coming up in Microlite20 land - more webcomic , more noise in the M20 forums , more content migration into the new site . Microlite20, where less really _is_ more


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## dystmesis (Jun 18, 2008)

Let's talk Microlite6.

Microlite20 using the d6 as the only die. 

Anyone know any way this could be done, other than replacing 1d20 rolls with 3d6 and using the bellcurve system? 

I'd actually like to make it so the resolution roll is 2d6, but this would require changing the entire system. Static DCs for things could be changed somewhat easily - for example, the default AC could be changed from 10 to say, 6. A bigger problem is modifiers.

On a roll of 1d20 against DC 20, there's about a 5% chance to succeed, and each +1 modifier increases the chance of success by 5%... But on a roll of 2d6 against DC 12, there's... what... 2.75% chance of success? And each +1 modifier increases the chance of success by... what?

Anyway, it becomes much, much more complicated...


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## Age of Fable (Jun 18, 2008)

If you used 1d6 x 3 you wouldn't have to change any of the DCs or other factors, but the chance of very good or very bad results would be much higher (the opposite effect to using 2 or 3d6).

EDIT: It's only higher if you count a 1 as a critical miss and a 6 as a critical failure. Obviously you have a 1 in 6 chance of either, as opposed to 1 in 20.

If you don't use critical hits or misses the problem doesn't arise.

If you wanted to have roughly the same chance of a critical, you could roll the dice again on a 1 or 6, only counting a critical if the new roll is a 1 or 2. But that's probably too much work.


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## Elephant (Jun 18, 2008)

On a roll of 2 or 3d6, each +1 modifier increases the chances of success by a variable amount - 2d6 vs. DC 12, there's one way to succeed (two sixes), but 2d6+1 vs. DC 12, you have three ways to succeed (two sixes, a five and a six, or a six and a five).


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## JDJblatherings (Jun 19, 2008)

suggestions for d6 roll micorlite

calculate stat bonus as (stat-10)/4

divide all DCs by 3 (drop fractions). do the same for ACs.  (AC 10 becomes AC 3.  AC 20 becomes AC 6.)

a roll of 1 usually fails. unless someone is really good (bonus > DC) in which case they get to try again. (a second roll of 1 fails).

if you get a 6. roll another die and add it to the score. keep rolling if you keep rolling a 6 (don't keep adding a bonus).

class bonuses are just +1 instead of +3.


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## greywulf (Jun 21, 2008)

Hmmmm. I'll have to think about a d6 variant of Microlite20. My gut feelings are that it adds a little more complexity, even though the dice are easier to get  hold of. Perhaps if you got rid of the stats and just used Fort, Ref and Will instead....... Lemme think more 

Meantime, Microlite20 is celebrating Free RPG Day with not one, but two complete M20-inspired games for your enjoyment - grab your Spy and Superhero goodness right here.

See you there, and *Happy RPG Day*!


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## Age of Fable (Jun 22, 2008)

Also, there's already at least two cut-down Dungeons & Dragons which only use d6s (Tunnels & Trolls and Forward...to Adventure!).


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## Age of Fable (Jun 22, 2008)

Do you prefer people to comment in this thread, or in the forums on your site?


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## greywulf (Jun 23, 2008)

Either!

I try to keep an eye on the ENWorld threads when I can, but might miss a day or two sometimes. 

If I'm not around, just talk among yourselves


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## greywulf (Jun 23, 2008)

Oh, and Tunnels & Trolls is definitely NOT a cut down Dungeons & Dragons. I know some places where you'll be shot on sight for such blasphemy!


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## mediapig (Jul 4, 2008)

greywulf said:


> Folks, listen up! Ok, look up. I've got a picture for you.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




DUDE!  I want these!  Bad!  Is  there any chance of an English version?  Those are EXACTLY what I want an ROG game to look like.  If there are any plans afoot to offer and English version, please let me know!


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## greywulf (Jul 4, 2008)

Consider yourself added to the list. I'd love to see it too


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## Mondbuchstaben (Jul 7, 2008)

mediapig said:


> DUDE!  I want these!  Bad!  Is  there any chance of an English version?  Those are EXACTLY what I want an ROG game to look like.  If there are any plans afoot to offer and English version, please let me know!




Thanks!

This edition was possible thanks to some coincidences (a DVD publisher wanting to target their marketing at role playing gamers and anime fans and a Microlite 20 fan in the position to decide about the marketing tool - me).



("ROG" game?)


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## kroh (Jul 7, 2008)

Wow... It is amazing how far the rules have come since the beginning and to see that they have jumped the pond into other langauges is very cool...

Regards, 
Walt


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## WildWalker (Jul 12, 2008)

*I finally got my D&D 4e books so I've been working on my "compatable with 4e" hack of M20. *

*Below is how far I've gotten. *

*There is some work that still needs to be done (things are not as clear and concise as I'd like because I want to slice it down into a PocketMod) and some things that are missing (Rituals for Mages and rules for Monster stat conversions) but I think I could use some input from other people before moving forward.*

*I would love it if y'all could hack away at it and give me some insight on how I might proceed.*

*I now need to finish up my re-hack of The Temple of K'thu'uk.*

*WildWalker*



*WildWalker's M20-4e V1.2*

*Stats*

There are 3 stats: Fortitude (FORT) _(Replaces Strength and Constitution)_, Reflexes (REF) (_Replaces Intelligence and Dexterity_) and Willpower (WILL) _(Replaces Wisdom and Charisma)._

Roll 4d6, drop lowest dice. Total remaining 3 dice and allocate to one of the stats. Repeat for remaining stats.

Stat bonus = (STAT-10)/2, round down.
*Races*

*Humans* get +1 to all skill rolls
*Fey* get +2 MIND
*Ffolk* get +2 DEX
*Feyborne*_: Fiendish, Celestial, Divine, Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Metal, Nature, Dragon_
*Wolves get +2 DEX, Natural Weapons**
*Ravens get +2 DEX, “raven strength**”, Flight*
*Bears get +4 FORT, -2 DEX, Natural Weapons**
*Squirrels get +4 DEX and “squirrel strength**”*

_*Natural Weapons are considered Unarmed attacks and do 1d8 damage. Races with Natural Weapon, gain an additional +2 to AC when not wearing armor._
_**“raven strength” and “squirrel strength” means that the character can not lift and carry more than what a raven or a squirrel might be considered able to carry. The trade off is that they are extremely small and can go places that other characters might not due to their size._

*Classes*

The classes are:

*Warriors* *can *wear any kind of armour and use any shields. Warriors add +1 to all attack and damage rolls. This increases by +1 at 5th level and every five levels on. Warriors have a +3 bonus to Physical.

*Warriors* can "Mark" an opponent they are in combat with. A Marked opponent gets -1 to their attack rolls against anyone except that Warrior as long as they are Marked. The penalty increases by 1 at 5th level, and by another 1 every 5 levels after. An opponent can only have one “Mark” at a time. Once per encounter, against a Marked target, a Warriors may add their level to the damage from one roll. Once per day, against a Marked target, they may add twice their level.

*Rogues* can use light armour and a light shield. Rogues have a +3 bonus to Subterfuge.

*Rogues* can Sneak Attack foes. A Rogue that successfully Sneaks (usually Sub+REF, but depends on situation) up on a foe has Combat Advantage and can add their Subterfuge skill rank to the damage of their attack. Once per encounter, if they have Combat Advantage, a Rogue may add their level to the damage. Once per day, if they have Combat Advantage, they may add twice their level. 

*Warriors and Rogues* can fight unarmed (kicks, punches, etc) doing d6 damage. Their unarmed damage increases by one dice type (d6->d8, d8->d10, etc) every 5 levels. If they are wearing no more than loose fitting clothes their unarmed attack counts as a light weapon and theygain a +2 mobility bonus to AC. If they are wearing armor their unarmed attack does not count as a light weapon and they gain no extra AC bonus. 

*Warriors and Rogues* can also trade their regular weapon damage for Exploits. Exploits are special attacks, that mechanically work like Mage Spells, but replace the damage of a weapon with the damage or effect of the Exploit. A Warriors or Rogues can spend up to their level number of hit points on a single Exploit but only if they have an appropriate weapon. Unarmed attacks can be an appropriate weapon for some Exploits. Warriors (but not Rogues) can perform an equivalent Exploit to the Healing Word Spells but the hit point cost is twice what it would be for a Mage. The Healing Word Exploit does not require a weapon or implement.

*Warriors and Rogues* can use a number of hit points per day equal to their level to power Exploits. These hit points heal normally. After that, hit points lost to activate Exploits *cannot* be healed normally and "Second Wind" and Heroism won't heal the loss either. The loss is only fully recovered after an extended (6-8 hours) rest. 

*Mages* can wear up to light armor. They can cast Spells and perform Rituals. Mages have a +3 bonus to Knowledge.

*Mages *can use a number of hit points per day equal to their level to power Spells. These hit points heal normally. After that, hit points use to cast Spells *cannot* be healed normally and "Second Wind" and Heroism won't heal the loss either. The loss is only fully recovered after an extended (6-8 hours) rest.Mages can spend up to their level number of hit points on a single Spell only if they have an appropriate attuned Implement (Wand, Staff or Athame). Other wise they can only cast basic Spells.

*Exploits and Spells*

The first basic combat Spell/Exploit is a Bolt. The basic Bolt affects one Target, is a hand to hand attack and costs no hit points. The basic Bolt can do three different levels off effect depending on the choices of the Player. 
· Effect 1 does 1d6 damage. 
· Effect 2 does 1d4 damage and causes a Condition until the end of the Player’s next turn. 
· Effect 3 causes a Condition on the Target until the Target makes a Saving Throw.
· For 1 hit point a Bolt can be made a ranged attack with a range of Short. For 2 hit points a Bolt can be given a range of Medium. For 3 hit points a Bolt can be given a range of Long. 
· For 1 hit point two effects can be added together. For 2 hit point three effects can be added together. For 4 hit points four effects can be added together.

The second basic combat Spell/Exploit is a Burst. The basic Burst affects all Targets in its area and costs 1 hit point. The basic burst can do two levels of effect.
· Effect 1 does 1d6 damage to all Targets in the Area. The area of the basic Burst is the square it is cast on plus a radius of 1 (9 squares total). Target gets a Saving Throw for half damage.
· Effect 2 causes a Condition on the Target. The area of the basic Burst is the square it is cast on plus a radius of 1 (9 squares total). The condition lasts until the end of the Player’s next turn or until the Target makes a Saving Throw, whichever comes later.
· For 1 hit point the origin square can be immune to the effect of a Burst.
· For 1 hit point a Burst can be made a ranged attack with a range of Short. For 2 hit points a Burst can be given a range of Medium. For 3 hit points a Burst can be given a range of Long. 
· For 1 hit point two effects can be added together. For 2 hit points three effects can be added together. For 4 hit points four effects can be added together.
· For 1 hit point the radius can be increased by 1 (20 squares total). For 2 hit points the radius can be increased by 2 (36 squares total). For 4 hit points the radius can be increased by 3 (49 squares total).

Combat Spell/Exploit damage increases by one dice type (d4->d6, d6->d8, etc) every four levels. 


A Healing Word is a Spell/Exploit that gives the target another Second Wind in combat. Each Healing Word Spell will only work on a given target once per day. The basic healing Spell/Exploit is the Minor Healing Word.

Minor Healing Word costs 1 hit point for Mages and 2 hit points for Warriors.
Lesser Healing Word costs 2 hit points for Mages and 4 hit points for Warriors.
Greater Healing Word costs 4 hit points for Mages and 2 hit points for Warriors.
Major Healing Word costs 8 hit points for Mages and 16 hit points for Warriors.
*Heroism*
Every Player Character has a number of d6 Heroism dice, equal to their level, which can be added to the following rolls once per encounter: Attack, Damage, Skill, Hit Points. They can be added, 1 die per roll, before, during or after a roll. At level 11+ you can add 2 die per roll. At level 21+ you can add 3 die per roll. A Mage can not use Heroism on any Spell effects unless he is using an attuned Implement.

Any Player can give their Character’s Heroism dice to another Player’s Character instead of using them on themselves. 

*Skills*
There are 3 standard skills: Physical, Subterfuge and Knowledge. 

Roll higher than the given Difficulty Class to succeed.

Skill rank = 1 + 1/2 your level (round down) + any bonus due to your class or race.
Skill roll = d20 + skill rank + whatever stat bonus is most applicable to the use + situation modifiers

For example:
Climbing would use Physical + FORT bonus. 
Dodging a falling rock is Physical + REF bonus. 
Finding a trap is Subterfuge + WILL bonus. 
Disabling a trap is Subterfuge + REF bonus.
Use Physical + FORT or REF bonus for Fortitude and Reflex saves. 

*Level Advancement*
Every level add +5 to Hit Points
If the level divides by two (2,4,6…) add +1 to all attack rolls and +1 to all skills
If the level divides by three (i.e. level 3,6,9,etc.) add 1 point to FORT, REF or WILL and +1 to one skill and +1 to Level Bonus for AC.
All melee and missile damage (but not Spell and Exploit damage) is doubled at level 21and beyond and are considered magical attacks.
*Combat*

Hit Points = FORT Stat+ (REF Stat _OR _WILL Stat)+ (5 x Level). If HPs reach 0 Character is unconscious and near death. Further damage directly reduces FORT. If that reaches 0, Character dies.
Armour Class (AC) = 10 + REF bonus + (Armour bonus _OR_ Level bonus).
Melee Attack Bonus = FORT bonus + Level
Missile Attack Bonus = REF bonus + Level
Magic Attack Bonus = WILL bonus + Level

Roll d20 + REF bonus for initiative order. Everyone can do one thing each turn; move, attack, cast a spell, etc.
For melee or missile attacks, if your d20 roll plus Attack Bonus is higher than the target's AC (10+ REF + Armor or Lvl Bns), you hit. 
For magic attacks you must beat the target's level+ the appropriate bonus (REF for rays or bolts, WILL for illusions, charms, or mental effects, FORT for alterations like flesh to stone). 
A natural 20 automatically hits and does maximum damage regardless of the opponent's defences. 
A Natural 1 is always a miss.

Warriors and Rogues using a light weapon can use their REF bonus instead of FORT when attacking. They can also wield 2 light weapons and attack twice in a round (at the same time in combat order), but with a -2 to all attack rolls that round. If only one attack is made, the second weapon can be used to parry, granting +1 AC. Rapiers count as a light weapon, but two rapiers cannot be used at the same time. The hand to hand attacks of the Unarmed Warrior and Unarmed Rogue count as light weapons. Hand to hand attacks for Mages and Commoners do 1d4 damage and do not count as light weapons.

*Second Wind*
Once per Encounter, between Encounters, a character can get a "Second Wind". This will heal 5+Con Bonus+Character Level number of Hit Points. Use of a "Second Wind" on an unconscious character automatically brings that character back to 1 Hit Point and then heals them normally. Healing Words can give a Character another "Second Wind". Each "level" of Healing Word will only work on a Character once per day. Healing Words can be used at any time. 


*Combat Advantage and Conditions*

A character has Combat Advantage (CA) if their target is incapacitated, confused, blinded, unable to see them, or the character is behind them. Rogues can get CA on a successful Sneak. A character with CA gets +2 to hit that target and adds their best Stat bonus to Melee damage in ADDITION to any other bonuses. _(Yes this means that a Rogue Sneak Attack is absolutely frightening…)_ Exploits and Spells can create Conditions. A Target affected by a Condition, gets -2 to all rolls for each Condition until they make a Saving Throw but that COndition does not nessesarily provide CA to an opponent.

*Saving Throws*
Roll d20 at the end of your turn, if you get 11 or more, you are no longer affected by any Condition (including Unconsciousness).


*Other Hazards*

*Falling:* 1d6 damage per 10', half damage on successful save. 
*Spikes: *add +1 point to falling damage per 10' fallen, max +10
*Poison:* Save to avoid or for half, depending on poison. Effect varies with poison type.
*Extreme Heat & Cold:* If not wearing suitable protection, roll to save once every 10 minutes, taking 1d6 damage on each failed save.


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## Grimstaff (Jul 15, 2008)

Hey, Greywulf, I noticed your monster stat blocks on the comic page are a bit different from the .pdfs. What's your system for monsters?


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## greywulf (Jul 15, 2008)

@WildWalker: I like it so far - especially your treatment of Exploits. I want to know more about  the Feyborne - MUCH better idea than 4e's Dragonborn/Eldarin/Elf/Elf/Nuther Elf treatment. 

You need to remove about half the words though  Simplify! Find synergies, fold and blend. That's the Microlite20 way.




Grimstaff said:


> Hey, Greywulf, I noticed your monster stat blocks on the comic page are a bit different from the .pdfs. What's your system for monsters?




They are? Oh crud! I wrote 'em as I thought 'em; M20 is fast enough to be able to do that.  I'll try to be most consistent in future. Maybe.

If there's enough interest in the webcomic *Sin20: The Life and Death of Callen Oncedark* (here: http://forum.microlite20.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=21&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a, over on the Microlite20 forums), I'll continue. If not, I've no shortage of other ideas. 

Personally, I like the "D&D meets Sin City" vibe, but each to their own.


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## WildWalker (Jul 16, 2008)

Greywulf,
Feyborne is a shorthand to myself for making a whole swack of races with special unusual abilities that don’t map to a stat bonus. I couldn’t figure out a simple way to do it until I came up with the unified Exploit/Spells (E/S) hack. Now it’s easy but it will take me some time to think through the possibilities. 


Some possibilities include: 

Eladrin could have a Fey Step as a -2 Condition range zero safe blast they could apply as part of an attack (“I can’t believe Shem missed him but, one minute he was there and the next minute he was behind him. He just kept blinking in and out of existence…”)
An Airborne might have the same -2 Condition range zero safe blast they could apply as part of an attack but it is defined as a hurricane force wind blowing off of him at whim.
A Dragonborne could have access to a short ranged blast even if they were not a Mage.
A Firebore could have a range zero safe blast defined as “He just burst into flames!”.
…and so on.
The possibilities are endless…and easy to adjudicate…I just need to do some thinking about how to define it. 

For the E/S hack itself, it just doesn’t feel done to me yet. There are also some Spells that are not defined that maybe should be Mage only or defined as Wuxia powers in some way. I’m just not sure yet. I’m also contemplating rolling Heroism into the E/S hack.

Another thing that hit me was the possibility I could dump equipment completely by using the E/S hack as the baseline for attacks with “suitable equipment” and armor as a Condition based on the same. I’m still exploring that.

It sure would make the game more compact. T'would be a little scary if it doesn’t reduce the overall compatibility with 4e…

WildWalker


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## WildWalker (Jul 18, 2008)

*D6 Microlite*

Since it was first mentioned I've been trying to figure out how to do a D20 mechanic using only 6 sided dice.

This morning I had a wild thought and I think I've finally got something that can be done with only two 6-sided dice.

It changes the range a little bit but I think it's a fair trade off. I've got to write it up cleaner but here is the concept:

*d3:* Half d6 or 1>2=*1*, 3>4=*2*, 5>6=*3*
*d6: *1d6. No change.
*d9:* Roll two d6. First one is read as a d3. Second one is read as Low, Middle, High. 1>2=*Low*, 3>4=*Middle*, 5>6=*High.* *Low:* 1>3=*1>3*, *Middle:* 1>3=*4>6*, *High:* 1>3=*7>9*
*d12: *Roll two d6. First one is read as a d6. Second one is read as Low, High. 1>3=*Low*, 4>6=*High.* *Low:* 1>6=*1>6*, *High:* 1>6=*7>12*
*d18: *Roll two d6. First one is read as a d6. Second one is read as Low, Middle, High. 1>2=*Low*, 3>4=*Middle*, 5>6=*High.* *Low:* 1>6=*1>6*, *Middle:* 1>6=*7>12*, *High:* 1>6=*13>18*

Using this a d20 roll becomes a d18 and the damage rolls need to be shifted up or down to match the new paradygm. Other than that, you are set to jam.

WildWalker


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## RandallS (Jul 27, 2008)

*Microlite74*

I've been working on a version Microlite20 designed to capture the playing style and feel of that very first fantasy roleplaying game published in 1974.  It's finally finished and is available for download from my web site.

Here's the announcement and download link.



> Microlite74, like its parent game, Microlite20, is a trimmed down, sub-miniature version of the Primary Fantasy SRD rules that has been designed to be quick and easy to play. The goal of Microlite74, however, is to recreate the style and feel of that very first ("0e") fantasy roleplaying game published back in 1974.
> 
> This five page PDF includes variant rules based on Microlite20, a complete spell list and monster list, and a short designer's note section touching on the differences in style between "old school" and the usual style of play encountered today. Microlite74's rules were written to support the "old school" style, while retaining many of the more modern rules features of OGL games based on the 3.5 SRD. Microlite20 trimmed the fat from the 3.5 SRD, paring the game down to a fast-moving and easy to learn two-page system. Microlite74 takes the M20 system and modifies it for a 1974 style, but leaves most of the basic Microlite20 rules in place.
> 
> ...


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## WildWalker (Jul 27, 2008)

RandallS,

I just wanted to tell you that your ML74 is awesome! 

Reading through it made me rethink my hack and dump the weapon list...which cascaded through everything and monkeyed with a lot of my own assumptions about how stuff works...

Great work!

WildWalker


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## RandallS (Jul 28, 2008)

WildWalker said:


> Reading through it made me rethink my hack and dump the weapon list...which cascaded through everything and monkeyed with a lot of my own assumptions about how stuff works...




1d6 for weapons (and the basis for most monster attacks) actually works well in play, too.  If I do an M75 (based on the 0e LBB and the supplements -- M74 was just based on the LBBs), weapon damage will vary more as variable weapon damage was added in the first 0e supplement. Even then I intend to keep it simple. Say, 1d4 for small weapons, 1d6 for most weapons, and 1d8 for large weapons. I'm not nearly as interested in pole arms as E.G.G. was so I don't need a weapon list a couple of pages long. LOL.

Thanks for the kind words about M74, BTW. I'm really happy to hear that many people like what they see.


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## Urizen (Jul 28, 2008)

hello everyone.

I've been trying to follow this thread in my spare time, because the microlite system is intriguing. I'm wondering, how many "versions" are there?

I downloaded the 3-page rules a while back, but I keep on seeing pictures showing 4 booklets...?

Am I missing something?

Where do I find these?

I am very interested in possibly doing some development of adventure paths and other drop-in locations for games, but I don't want to just jump into it without getting as much information about the system as I possibly can.

I love the 3-page booklet, though I think a bit more information regarding spell generation, monster creation and magic item creation might be nice.

Again, maybe I'm missing something.

Any help would be appreciated.


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## dystmesis (Jul 29, 2008)

Universal 1d6 damage die for all weapons is what led me to want to use 2d6 for microlite instead of 1d20, but again, that system can lead to mathmatical problems... Right now, I'm thinking of maybe just halving stat modifiers and halving bonus modifiers from each level up for microlite2d6...


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## greywulf (Jul 29, 2008)

Urizen said:


> hello everyone.
> 
> I've been trying to follow this thread in my spare time, because the microlite system is intriguing. I'm wondering, how many "versions" are there?
> 
> ...




Apologies for the delay in replying, Urizen - I'd half completed my answer then ENWorld ate my post yesterday. Gaaaaah! I'll try again.......

Welcome to the wonderful world of Microlite20 

The booklets you're seeing are PocketMod Editions of the rules. These are single-sheet prints that are folded in a special way to make a miniature 8-page booklet - perfect for backpocket gaming. Along with the Core Rules, there's booklets providing Spell Lists, Monsters, a GM Guide, a variant for Modern gaming and more; they're all available from the download page. 

When it comes to spells, it's possible to use them straight from D&D or the SRD if you're willing to adjudicate and simplify as you go. Or, hit the Download page for ready-made m20 spell lists (or here and here) 

Part of the fun of microlite20 is that it begs to be tweaked and customized to suit your style of play. If you don't mind deviating from D&D's way of working, there's also the Four by Five magic system which comes closer to the style of magic found in many classics of fantasy literature. And Harry Potter.

Monsters are ridiculously simple to create. Check out my article about this very thing; it's straightforward to use D&D monsters as-is too, so those Monster Manuals and published adventures are fodder for M20 too. If that's not enough, there's always the Critters random monster generator over on the old site (steadily being migrated by yours truly).

Hope that all helps! I look forward to hearing more about your adventure paths


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## Urizen (Jul 30, 2008)

Awesome!

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely diggin' on this system, and want to support it as much as possible.

I'll be working on a simple adventure and also a location to start, which I'll upload for free download, and, depending on the feedback, I may move towards full-blown professional development, if there's a desire for it.

Thanks again!


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## RandallS (Oct 7, 2008)

Over 500 copies of original 1.0 release of Microlite74 have been downloaded since it was released just over two months ago. Release 1.1 is available for download today in two different forms. 

The original release of Microlite74 included variant rules based on Microlite20, a complete spell list and monster list, and a short designer's note section touching on the differences in style between "old school" and the usual style of play encountered today. Release 1.1 contains minor error corrections, information on other OGL retrogames based on early editions of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game, and new rules for morale, hirelings, and equipment. 

Microlite74 Release 1.1 Standard is a six page PDF. Everything you need to play is in the fairly small print of this edition. It is a 112K free download.

Microlite74 Release 1.1 Digest is a special version of Microlite74 formatted to print as a digest-sized booklet something like those of 0e using the booklet printing feature of Adobe Acrobat. The type size is larger and there is B&W fantasy artwork, courtesy of Håkan Ackegård. This file is much larger than the standard file (2.25M compared to 112K) so the art will print with high quality. While the download is free, because of the large file size the file is stored at Rapidshare.

Downloads Available Here


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## jdrakeh (Oct 8, 2008)

RandallS said:


> Downloads Available Here




The download links appear to be non-functional.


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## Grimstaff (Dec 14, 2008)

I'd encourage everyone to check out Paul Lessack's beautiful new version of the Microlite20 rules, its very nice!


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## Tagnik (Jan 15, 2009)

How does one handle Touch Attacks and Ranged Touch Attacks for microlite20?  The same as regular d20?

I've been trying to keep it simple, but let's say its not necessarily a spell, but a fighter has to make a touch attack (with an item, or a maneuver).  He'd roll his attack, but would the defense be regular AC or a modified AC without the Armor?


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## Elephant (Jan 15, 2009)

Short answer:  Do whatever you like.

Long answer:  The simplest way to handle it is to just treat it like a regular attack roll, but if you don't like that, go ahead and roll against AC without the armor.

Treating it like a regular attack has the nice advantage of being faster - you don't have to recalculate AC for touch attacks or write down a Touch AC on your character sheets!


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## Darrell (Jan 15, 2009)

What Elephant said...kinda...

In a technical sense, m20 works in a similar manner to the earliest forms of D&D, in that there is only one AC number (and, therefore, one attack roll number); so you simply roll a regular attack vs the target's AC.

That said, one of the unspoken tenets of m20 since Greywulf first began to devise it has been, "do it however you like, as long as you're having fun."

Regards,
Darrell


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## Tagnik (Jan 15, 2009)

ok well..  I'm going to try to put up my Microlite20 tweaks/houserules, etc.

this is how I'm running my game Saturday.


Books required: Tome of Battle, DMG, PHB, WoW RPG

```
Based off Microlite20
Stats
35 Points to split amongst STR, DEX, and MIND
Stat bonus = (STAT-10)/2, round down.
Races
All PC's are Human, but I will include stats for the Demi Humnas in the world.
Human- Roll 1d4
1= +1 in all Skills, 2= +2 Str, 3= +2 Dex, 4= +2 Mind
Roll 1d8 then 1d4.  1= +AC, 2= +DR, 3=, +Melee Attack, 4= +Missile Attack, 5= +Magic Attack, 6= +Melee Damage, 7= +Missile Damage, 8= +Magic Damage

DemiHumans
Elves +4 Dex, -2 Str, Low Light Vision, Improved Precise Shot
Gnomes +4 Mind, -2 Dex, Low Light Vision, Blind Fighting (Nose)
Dwarf +4 Str, -2 Dex, Darkvision 120ft., -2 to All rolls in Daylight
Orc +4 Str, -2 Mind, Darkvision 120ft., -2 to All rolls in Daylight
Classes
The classes are Fighter, Rogue, Mage, Cleric. Characters begin at Level 1. 
Fighters wear any kind of armour and use all shields. They have a +3 bonus to Physical and add +1 to all attack and damage rolls. This increases by +1 at 4th level and every four levels on
Rogues can use medium armour and bucklers. They have a +3 bonus to Subterfuge. If they successfully Sneak (usually sub+DEX, but depends on situation) up on a foe they can add their Subterfuge skill rank to the damage of their first attack, this is automatic when flanking with a Fighter. 
Magi wear no armour. They can cast arcane spells, and gain a +3 bonus to Knowledge.  They can summon a familiar or improved familiar for free. Magi may also Counter Spell/Dispel.  They may make a magic attack at anytime at a spell being cast, if they beat the DC of the spell, they absorb the SP of the spell cast and the spell disappates, if they roll a 20 the spell is turned back and they absorb twice the SP.  This can be used (Level+MIND bonus) times per day and is an Instant.
Cleric can wear light armour and use light or heavy shields.  They cast divine spells and gain +3 bonus to Communication. A Cleric can Turn Undead with a successful Magic Attack. The number rolled is the damage done. It can be single targetted for full damage or un a burst radius of 30ft. for half damage. This can be used (Level + MIND Bonus) times per day. This can also be used to heal hp by the amount of the attack to a single target or half the amount rolled to all in a radius of 50 ft.  This also heals SPs.  If single targetted the Cleric may not heal himself, if used in a radius, the cleric is healed as well.  This can be done as an Instant.  If a Druid, they gain an Animal Companion and may use their Turn Plant/Animal attempts to Wild Shape.  They must choose 3 shapes, Small, Medium, and Large.  1 Use turns to small, 2 uses to Medium, 3 uses to Large.  Druids can use all size armor (Dragonhide can be made into Platemail)
Skills
There are just 4 skills : Physical, Subterfuge, Knowledge and Communication. Roll higher than the given Difficulty Class to succeed.
All classes except Rogues must pick one skill at -3.
Skill rank = your level + any bonus due to your class or race.
Skill roll = 2d10 + skill rank + whatever stat bonus is most applicable to the use + situation modifiers

For example, Climbing would use Physical + STR bonus. Dodging a falling rock is Physical + DEX bonus. Finding a trap is Subterfuge + MIND bonus. Disabling a trap is Subterfuge + DEX bonus.

Note that there are no “saving throws” in this game; use Physical + STR or DEX bonus for Fortitude and Reflex saves. Saving against magic (Will save) is usually MIND bonus + Knowledge.
Magic
Magi can cast any Wizard spell, and Clerics any Cleric/Druid spell, with a spell level equal or below 1/2 their class level, rounded up. They have access to all spells in the SRD.  Metamagic works just as if you are casting a spell of the appropriate level.  Such as a Silent Fireball would just be a level 4 spell.
Summoned Creatures remain until they are killed or dismissed, though only one may be summoned like this at a time.  The SP's used to summon the creature may not be healed until it is dismissed or killed.  Clerics can be Priests or Druids by casting from the Cleric or Druid spell lists.

Casting a spell of any kind costs Stamina points.  They are as Hit Points but more like non-lethal damage. The cost is 1 - double the level of the spell being cast:

 
Spell Level	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	   
HP Cost	*	1	3	5	7	9	11	13	15	17	 

This loss cannot be healed normally but is recovered 1 point per hour per level (DM Option) and fully after 8 hours of rest. There is no need to memorize spells in advance.

Casters get extra points to cast with equal to their MIND score.

The Difficulty Class (DC) for all spells is 
10 + Caster Level + Caster's MIND bonus (May also be 2d10 rolled instead of base 10, player's option to take 10)
Spells with a save use a Magic Attack vs a Resistance check, ranged touch attack spells use a Magic Attack vs AC

Equipment
Magi must use a Staff or Wand as an Arcane Focus, Clerics must use a Shield as their Divine Focus/Holy Symbol.  Spells cannot be cast without them.
Fly Spell must have a Broom, Carpet, or Bed.  Flying requries ride checks and acts as if the player is mounted.
Teleport works as a Port Key.  2 Mundane Objects must be set in certain places and must be outdoors.  It takes 10 minutes casting time to set each item (20 minutes total).  Dimension Door takes a full round action to cast and requires throwing a stone to the location wished to Dimension Door to.  The location must also be within line of effect.
DM's Option: Once a caster knows an Energy Type and a Spell Area type, they may mix and match their types to form new spells when casting Evocation spells.  This works as a "Free" Metamagic effect.  For Example a Cone of Cold and a Fireball can make a Coldball.  Casters gain the Metamagic feats at appropriate levels.
Reach weapons may be used anywhere within their range, including adjecent.
New Metals from WoW RPG can be used as well as Firearms.
Combat
Hit Points = STR Stat + hit dice/ level, max at 1st.. If HP reach 0, unconscious and near death. Further damage directly reduces STR. If that reaches 0, death.  

Roll d12 + DEX bonus for initiative order every round.  A result of 12 gives you a +2 luck bonus this round.

Melee attack bonus = STR bonus + Level
Missile attack bonus = DEX bonus + Level
Magic attack bonus = MIND bonus + Level

Add attack bonus to 2d10 roll. If higher than your opponent's Armour Class (AC).  A Critical Hit allows for double the weapon's dice damage (ex: d4 for daggers, only the weapon's damage dice are multiplied, not strength) or more depending on the weapon, ex: a Spear would be 3d8 rolled.  During a critical hit, all damage dice explode.  Spells only Critical with a Natural 20.
All Attacks, Dodges, and Skill checks are done with 2d10.  Natural 2, or snake eyes, is an automatic failure during attacks.  Natural 20 rolls on the critical hit chart. These dice "explode", meaning on a 10 they can be rolled again and add up.  An Unnatural 20, done with exploding dice, is a critical hit, but not on the chart.  20's are not automatic hits.

Roll 1d12 on the Critical Chart.  Also Add to the DC of a special combat maneuver to do a called shot. (IE -8+-12 for a head shot)
1-2 Nothing
3 - offhand is hit, can't use offhand. A shield or Gauntlet blocks this
4 - Mainhand, can't use mainhand, weapon dropped if no Guard or Gauntlet
5 - Offarm, -2 Str, Same as Off Hand, Shield and Arm Guards block this
6 - Mainarm, Same as off arm
7-8 Leg, -2 Str, -2 Dex, move at Half Speed. Leg Armor blocks this
9 - Stomach -  +5 Damage, sickened 1d4 rounds.  Plate Armor Blocks this
10 - Chest - Dazed, -2 Str, Bleeding 1 point 1d4 rds.  Blocked by Plate armor
11 - Neck 20% Death, Bleeding 5 points 1d4rds. blocked by Plate Armor
12 - Head 10% Death, -4 Mind, Stunned 1d4 rounds, +10 damage, blocked by Helmet

Fighters and Rogues can use DEX bonus + Level as Melee attack bonus instead if wielding a light weapon. Rogues can wield 2 light weapons and attack with both in a round if they take a -2 penalty on all attack rolls that round, this gives one extra attack per round. Rapiers count as light weapons, but you cannot wield two rapiers at the same time.

Add STR bonus to Melee damage, x2 for 2-handed weapons. 
Armour Class (AC) = 2d10 + DEX bonus + Armour bonus.  Defense is rolled after every attack.  When being attacked you may use an Active Defense of 2d10 plus your base AC (Dex mod, equipment, etc.)  A natural 20 allows for a Counter-Attack.  If you are in the middle of an action and an instant attack is used against you, you may not use Active Defense.  Passive Defense is a base 8+AC.
Special attacks such as Disarm, Trip, etc must be done at a -8.  A weapon that is used for the purpose gives a +4, Sai to disarm, chain to trip, etc.
Sometimes, Attacks of Opportunity are translated into Instant attacks for conversion purposes.
OPTIONAL: When you leave a threatened area, an opponent may take a free Single Melee Attack.
Doing a ranged attack when threatened in Melee must be done at a -4, this includes Magic and Missile attacks.
"Touch Attacks" are just regular attacks using either Strength or Dexterity, whichever is higher and Dexterity for Ranged Touch Attacks.  You may channel a spell through a weapon and add the weapon's damage if the spell uses a touch attack and requires no save.  This cannot be done in the same round that the spell was cast.
Touch Attacks and Flat Footed grant a +2 Attack Bonus.

Combat Options
One swift action and then the following:
Double Move
Two Attacks
Move and Attack
Cast Spell
Special Move

Move and Ready Action at -2 as an Instant (Spells and Special Moves: Standard Action Only)
Ready/Hold an Action as an Instant

Aim +2 to Ranged Attack -4 AC, can take a full round to aim at +4/-8
Charge +2 to Melee Attack -2 AC, can take another -2 AC for +2 Damage
Healing another person Know+Mind DC= Current HP.  Heals 1d4
Unarmed damage is 1d2, can fight unarmed but may not use Active Defense
Adding additional actions, such as intimidating or drinking a potion cause an additional -2 to all attacks. (Only rogues can attack 3 times, may not use to cast another spell)
Take a -4 to hit to increase crit range by 1

Level Advancement
Each level adds:
+1d6+1 to Hit Points for Clerics and Magi, 1d8+2 for Rogues and 1d12+3 for Fighters Max at 1st Level
+1 to all attack rolls
+1 to all skills

If the level divides by three (i.e. level 3,6,9,etc.) add 1 point to STR, DEX or MIND.

Fighters gain +1 to their attack and damage rolls at levels 4,8,12,etc.

Clerics and Magi gain access to new spell levels at levels 3,5,7,9,etc.
Fighters and Rogues gain access to new Maneuvers and Stances at levels 3,5,7,9,etc.
Assumed Feats
Power Attack - max of +5/-5
Combat Expertise - max of +5/-5
Metamagic
Summon Familiar - Magi only
Precise Shot
Manyshot
Whirlwind Attack at -2 - Fighter Only
Improved Shield Bash (Fighter only, does not provide another attack)
Evasion - Rogues only
Rapid Reload
Quick Draw

Damage Reduction
Medium Armor (Except for Hide) gives 1/-, Breastplate gives 2/- DR. 
Heavy Armor gives 3/- DR, Half Plate gives 4/- DR, full plate gives 6/- DR.  This stacks with all other damage reduction.
Heavy and Tower Shields give DR from spells, spell like effects, and breath weapons at a 2/- and 4/-

Exploding Drama Dice
Drama Dice are d10's that can be used for a number of options.
Submit 1 or 2 to add to any dice roll before the roll (this includes damage)
Submit 1 for an instant half action such as a single melee attack, a movement, etc.
Submit 2 for an instant full action such as a spell, or a special ability.
Submit 1 for any Dramatic Situation in which the PC's plea to the GM (including saving your life!)
All PC's recieve 5 Drama Dice per level.  They may be given as rewards or other reasons such as tough encounters or extra per session.  When Drama Dice are used for an Attack, it takes all the dice used to Explode for the critical hit chart to be used.  Ex: 3 dice, would require a 30 to be rolled on the first try.

Martial Discipline Special Moves and Special Casters
Fighters and Rogues may choose martial maneuvers and stances from the Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords.  They may perform them by spending Stamina Points in the same way as spell casting.  These sp's cannot be healed exactly like spell casting and recquire rest.  These cost the same as spells by level.  They gain a new maneuver per MIND bonus per level.  They may use each maneuver only once per encounter.

DM Option: For a lower magic world, use the chart below to increase the cost of spells and maneuvers.  Allow one spell per level to be a favorite spell which costs 1 less.
 
Discipline Level	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	   
HP Cost	1	3	5	7	9	11	13	15	17	19	 

Notes

Monster Creation -HP - 1, 4, 6-7, 10 / lvl.  BAB - 1/2, 2/3, 1/1.   Skills 2/3 level or 1/1 for elite, +3 if intelligent in one skill.
Monsters tend to attack player with most HP typically.
Magi and Clerics use spell books and prayer books
Alchemists Motto: Its one thing to bring magic into the world, its another thing to make it stay.  Alchemists create magic items and enchantments out of Gold.

Mithral adds 1 to crit multiplier for weapons and allows it to be used with Dex for an attack instead of Str (Fighter and Rogue Only)
Humans/Arcanite, Gnomes/Adamantine, Elf/Mithral, Barbarians/Thorium/Cold Iron
To overcome Spell Resistance casters must roll 2d10+Know+MIND
Mithral/Adamantine works as Silver, Arcanite/Thorium works as Cold Iron for DR
Your Alignment Determines your Damage Reduction for Law/Chaos/Good/Evil
Elves can use warmage spell list and cleric class abilities, instead of turn undead they gain Sudden Metamagic
```


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## TheWyrd (Jan 16, 2009)

*Converting D20 to 2d6*

20 = 2 x 2 x 5
12 = 2 x 2 x 3

Because of that you'll want to convert at the modifier level. All Die rolls are 2d6. If you're adding Modifiers to the roles then the numbers translate as:

D20 Value => 2d6 value
1 or 2 => 1
3 or 4 => 2
5 => 3
6 or 7 => 4
8 or 9 => 5
10 => 6
11 or 12 => 7
13 or 14 => 8
15 => 9
16 or 17 => 10
18 or 19 => 11
20 => 12

So instead of taking 10 on a roll, you end up taking 6. AC = 6 + Modifiers. A 20 Strength trait = +3 Modifier. General circumstance modifiers = +1 rather than +2. Etc. Crits become a little bit more rare (2.7% rather than 5%) but that's nothing compared to the 1% chance you'd get if you were rolling 2d10.


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## Tagnik (Jan 17, 2009)

a 20 won't be the only way for them to crit. I see Microlite as all about the items and abilities (Maneuvers and Spells).

That's why I added the Metals from World of Warcraft RPG and gave Mithral another property of adding to Crit Multiplier


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## joela (Mar 1, 2009)

*why the jab?*



greywulf said:


> Well said kensanata  Couldn't have put it better myself.
> 
> I reckon you could simulate 4e by taking out all of the role-playing elements, putting a load of figures on a gameboard then moving them all three squares to the left each round. If two figures bump into each other they're "bloodied" and move 4 squares right instead. Rinse and repeat.
> 
> ...




uh, have you and kensanata played 4e? especially in a campaign setting? i run both 3.x and 4e campaigns and the role-playing is just the same: independent of the systems. if you have played 4e and don't find it to your taste, fine. right now, though, you both sound like parrots, mindlessly mouthing the anti-4e/wotc rhetoric.

i _was_ considering demoing microlite20 to my 3.x and 4e players and at an upcoming convention (strategicon) but am reconsidering that decision. 

sad. a fine system but i won't support such repellent sources.


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## greywulf (Mar 1, 2009)

Actually I am a pretty big 4e D&D fan, and consider it the best version of D&D to date, after the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

But I'm also not above poking fun at things I love. Heck, I've been known to take the p*** out of Microlite20 too, and I wrote the thing 

If you're going to decide whether to play Microlite20 based on my sense of humour and ability to laugh at things then.... uh... fine. That's your call.

Shame though.


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## Tagnik (Mar 1, 2009)

joela said:


> uh, have you and kensanata played 4e? especially in a campaign setting? i run both 3.x and 4e campaigns and the role-playing is just the same: independent of the systems. if you have played 4e and don't find it to your taste, fine. right now, though, you both sound like parrots, mindlessly mouthing the anti-4e/wotc rhetoric.
> 
> i _was_ considering demoing microlite20 to my 3.x and 4e players and at an upcoming convention (strategicon) but am reconsidering that decision.
> 
> sad. a fine system but i won't support such repellent sources.




You are taking yourself far to serious for what you are talking about.

Hopefully you will relax a little.  I won't support such repellent posting.


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## joela (Mar 1, 2009)

*then why?*



greywulf said:


> Actually I am a pretty big 4e D&D fan, and consider it the best version of D&D to date, after the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.




So you do find the 4e supports role-playing?


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## greywulf (Mar 1, 2009)

joela said:


> So you do find the 4e supports role-playing?




Good question, and (at the risk of spinning this thread further off topic), well worth answering.

In our group, we find that 4e has certain elements that positively encourage and improve the whole role-playing experience. Things like Skill Challenges, quicker and simpler encounter and monster creation and the way that the game puts the trust back over to the GM are the kind of things I'm thinking of. In short, we feel there's a darned find story-based role-playing system hiding between the pages.

But. 

The disjoint between imaginative play and figure-based play creates a reality bump during play that's hard to ignore. One minute you're immersion role-playing, the next you're pushing plastic figures round a table. That breaks the role-playing experience for us. You go from Bob the Fighter being me, in my head to Bob the Fighter being this little plastic dude on the table. Bye, Bob.

We've accepted the bump and recognise that 4e D&D is basically two games in one - a role-playing game and a table-top figure-based miniatures game  - and accept that's how it's played. Partly that's because we've never played using figures in any other rpg before. Never felt the need. With 4e, that's not really an option.

Would I ever make a 4e version of Microlite20? Nope. It just doesn't suit the kind of philosophy and design goals I had in mind when I shrunk d20/SRD. Anyone else is free to try though, of course. But not me.

I stress - this is IN OUR EXPERIENCE. "No, you're wrong" is not a valid answer to this observation.


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## RandallS (Mar 4, 2009)

Microlite74 Version 2.0 is now available for free download. Over 2000 copies of Microlite74 version 1.1 have been downloaded since its release on October 6th last year. Microlite74 is dedicated to the memory of E. Gary Gygax and Version 2.0, which is even closer to that the very first edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game he co-authored over 30 years ago, is being released on the first anniversary of his passing.

While Microlite74 is designed as an introduction to "old school" play for players more familiar with modern rules systems based on the Primary Fantasy SRD, it is a rules-lite OGL based game system that old school grognards – especially those who cut their gamer teeth on "0e" – should find equally enjoyable. It is also easy to modify with your own house rules or rules drawn from your favorite edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game.

The revised and expanded Microlite74 Version 2.0 features many changes and improvements made since the publication of version 1.1 of Microlite74 in 2008, including:

The spell and monster lists have been rewritten to make Microlite74 much more compatible with 0e and 0e retro-clones.
Many more monsters and a few additional spells are included.
Stat, combat, and some other bonuses have been reduced from Microlite20 levels to levels more appropriate for 0e and Microlite74.
Optional rules that remove demi-human class and level limits have been added.
Spells lists are now alphabetical within each level.
Many minor tweaks in wording or rules have been made to correct typos, to improve clarity, or to make GM rules modifications and future expansions easier.
Microlite74 Version 2.0 is available for download from the Microlite74 page of the RetroRoleplaying.com web site. You can download the standard version or the booklet version. The standard version is 10 pages of small print (Microlite20-style) and is a 170K PDF. The booklet version is 20 pages and has larger type, cover pages, public domain art, and is a 2.2 meg PDF. A special digest-sized version will be available in the future. 

You can also download Microlite74 Version 2.0 directly from these links:

Microlite74 2.0 Standard Download
Microlite74 2.0 Booklet Download


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## jaerdaph (Mar 4, 2009)

Okay, I'm *really* late to the party here but I only recently discovered Microlite20. I've read all the major threads here and at RPGNet, downloaded and read through a lot of stuff (including the message boars) at microlite20.net and I have to say, wow! greywulf, you have managed to extract the essence of the new (d20) and the old (1e) and boiled it down into exactly the rules lite tip of the hat to old school fantasy roleplaying system I've been craving for a long time. And Grimstaff's Expert rules only sweeten the pot! Well done, gentlemen, well done! 

I'm psyched because I'm going to run Microlite20 for the first time this weekend for a small group of friends, some who haven't gamed in years, and this is just the right thing to whet our appetites. I'm going to be running through the first level of Greyhawk Grognard Joe Bloch's The Castle of the Mad Archmage. Microlite20 is perfect because the rules are quick to pick up and non-intrusive to roleplaying. I'm hoping this leads to more appreciation and enjoyment of the actual adventuring experience (including the problem solving and sometimes subtle, sometimes dark humor) that this Gygaxian megadungeon looks like it will provide. 

I know that its easy to port/convert existing 3e/d20 material into Microlite20, but does anyone have any tips or suggestions for converting (perhaps even "on the fly") 1e/OSRIC rules with the same amount of ease?


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## jaerdaph (Mar 4, 2009)

joela said:


> i _was_ considering demoing microlite20 to my 3.x and 4e players and at an upcoming convention (strategicon) but am reconsidering that decision.
> 
> sad. a fine system but i won't support such repellent sources.


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## RandallS (Mar 6, 2009)

jaerdaph said:


> I know that its easy to port/convert existing 3e/d20 material into Microlite20, but does anyone have any tips or suggestions for converting (perhaps even "on the fly") 1e/OSRIC rules with the same amount of ease?




You might check out my Microlite74 for some ideas of how easy this is. M74 is a "total conversion" of M20 for "0e." 1e would not be any harder, especially if you are just want to add some 1e stuff to M20 instead of doing an M20 version of 1e.


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## jaerdaph (Mar 6, 2009)

RandallS said:


> You might check out my Microlite74 for some ideas of how easy this is. M74 is a "total conversion" of M20 for "0e." 1e would not be any harder, especially if you are just want to add some 1e stuff to M20 instead of doing an M20 version of 1e.




Heh - looks like the answer might have been right under my nose. 


Thank you very much, Randall - downloading now!


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## joela (Mar 11, 2009)

*well worth answering*



greywulf said:


> Good question, and (at the risk of spinning this thread further off topic), well worth answering.
> 
> In our group, we find that 4e has certain elements that positively encourage and improve the whole role-playing experience. Things like Skill Challenges, quicker and simpler encounter and monster creation and the way that the game puts the trust back over to the GM are the kind of things I'm thinking of. In short, we feel there's a darned find story-based role-playing system hiding between the pages.
> 
> ...




Thanks, greywulf!


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## RandallS (Mar 12, 2009)

Ancient Auguries: A Microlite74 Version 2.0 Supplement Released

Ancient Auguries has four pages of completely optional rules that can be used with Microlite74 Version 2.0. My intent in writing this supplement was both to provide some interesting optional rule sections and to show how flexible and easy to modify the Microlite74 rules really are. Some of these optional rules will please old school grognards, while others will make the game more friendly to 3.x fans. Each section of rules in Ancient Auguries is independent and can can be used or ignored at the GM's option. Optional rule sections include:

* The Specialist class
* Special abilities for fighters, magic-users, and clerics
* A Skills system
* Ritual Magic and Metamagic
* Vancian magic in two forms, a "memorized spells" add-on to the standard M20-like magic system  and a full fire-and-forget replacement magic system
* Combat variants: Simple and complex combat stunts, no initiative rolls, overwhelming opponents
* Hit points and body points -- a replacement damage and healing system

Ancient Auguries is a 5 page pdf file. It's a free download (about 105K) and is available from the Microlite74 page of the RetroRoleplaying.com website.


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## SpyderTattoo (Jan 16, 2010)

*Chase Rules*

Hi all, I'm brand new to this forum, and to M20. I love this game and have been going crazy over it all week. I've read the entire thread over on rpg.net and through page 35 of the first thread here on enWorld. If this has been covered before, I appologise, but I haven't gotten through it all yet. 

Have any chase rules been made/covered yet? I'm thinking about this for many genre's like Fantasy, Modern, "Star Wars" . I'm going to try to port M20 over to Star Wars (I have the SAGA Edition) because M20 is so much easier. And my kids like SW also.

Along the lines of Star Wars, any suggestions on how to make the Force work? It would use the magic rules, but I'm thinking that Force would be another skill.


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## SpyderTattoo (Jan 16, 2010)

*Damage Threshold*

Anyone ever consider using the Star Wars SAGA Edition Damage Threshold rules?  I'm planning on encorporating this into all my M20 games.


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## Age of Fable (Jan 16, 2010)

There's more frequent discussion at forum.microlite20.net


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## SpyderTattoo (Jan 16, 2010)

Unfortunately, that forum is locked to new registration so I can't participate in any discussion...


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## Age of Fable (Jan 17, 2010)

Hm..that's weird. Maybe they had trouble with spammers. I'd PM greywulf (see a few posts up).


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## SpyderTattoo (Jan 29, 2010)

Anything yet?  I'm really interested in learning if any chase rules have been worked out.  I'm mostly thinking this for being used in a modern and a Star Wars setting.  Space ships controlled by characters...


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## spaceLem (Feb 3, 2010)

I've just discovered Microlite d20, and I have to say I'm very interested. While it doesn't do everything I'd want it to, it certainly makes a good base to start from. I also just read the announcement across at the m20 forums 

One question (I think the m20 forums would be a better place to ask this, but I'm not registered there...) : is it possible to obtain the pocket versions in A4 format, rather than US Letter? The pocket books don't print out properly on our printers here. I could just attack them with scissors, but that doesn't look as nice.


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## booboo (Feb 7, 2010)

microlite20 for sale?

Greywulf's Lair - The big Microlite20 sale


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## jaerdaph (Mar 12, 2010)

FYI: Greywulf announced today that he's sold Microlite20:

Greywulf's Lair - Microlite20, sold!


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## Qatux (Mar 13, 2010)

Hi folks. I am also late in discovering Microlite20 and like others have mentioned I have ended up here because registration is closed at the main Microlite20 forum. 

I've been going over various flavors of D&D (original, classic, retro-clone, etc.) and I was just curious if there was a reason behind the "roll higher than AC to hit" rule in Microlite20. As far as I can tell every other form of D&D has the mechanic as "_equal_ or higher than AC (or some target number in a table)" to hit. 

I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I don't know how to search a single long thread and I have tried many Google searches already. I know it is a minor point, but I tend to get hung up on little details like this. Thanks!


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## jaerdaph (Mar 14, 2010)

Qatux said:


> I've been going over various flavors of D&D (original, classic, retro-clone, etc.) and I was just curious if there was a reason behind the "roll higher than AC to hit" rule in Microlite20. As far as I can tell every other form of D&D has the mechanic as "_equal_ or higher than AC (or some target number in a table)" to hit.




I don't recall the reasoning behind that being discussed or coming up before, but I could be wrong and someone with a better memory than me can probably answer. 

I've played a lot of Microlite20 games in the last year, and we've just used the standard d20 "roll equal to or higher to AC/DC to hit/succeed", and haven't ever noticed anything out of whack. I think we just assumed that was the way it was supposed to work all along, but I'd still be curious to learn more about why it's different in the M20 rules.


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## Darrell (Mar 14, 2010)

I've been playing m20 pretty much since Greywulf wrote the thing,  and I've always assumed it was standard d20 'equal or better' for attacks.  I think it may just be his 'shortening' of the phrasing to cut down as much as possible.  The whole concept of m20, after all, is to be able to use standard d20 resources with no conversion (other than the 'on the fly' type) necessary.

Regards,
Darrell


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## jaerdaph (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks, Darrell.


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## Qatux (Mar 17, 2010)

Thanks for the responses guys. (I didn't see them until now because for some reason the subscription notification didn't get sent.) I guess I was reading things with too much of a rules-lawyer-eye.

I'm looking for something simple to introduce a young relative to RPGs and microlite20 seems to be the best thing I've found so far. I haven't played much since BECMI D&D and AD&D 2E, and I'm amazed my younger self absorbed all those rules.

Anyway, thanks again for the clarification!


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## jaerdaph (Mar 17, 2010)

Qatux said:


> I'm looking for something simple to introduce a young relative to RPGs and microlite20 seems to be the best thing I've found so far. I haven't played much since BECMI D&D and AD&D 2E, and I'm amazed my younger self absorbed all those rules.




I've been using Microlite20 to successfully run a "D&D" game for my nephews (ages 10 and 7) for a few months now. They both had no trouble at all comprehending the simple rules, and because it really is easy to import a lot of existing d20 material into M20, they feel like they can use the "grown up" books (they're naturally attracted to all the cool artwork) to pick out monsters to fight, equipment, treasure etc., which is great because they are reading more, using their imaginations and becoming "converts" to tabletop roleplaying even thought they are living in the Playstation2/Wii/Gameboy age. The younger one really likes to design his own monsters and make his own dungeons, which I think is really cool. 

I think that's another good thing about Microlite20 that doesn't get emphasized enough - it serves as a great introduction to roleplaying for younger kids as well, but because of its design that allows you to use all the "big" source books, they still feel like they are playing a real grownup game of  "Dungeons & Dragons".


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## RandallS (Apr 2, 2010)

The first playtest draft of Microlite75 (0e plus supplements plus magazine articles plus more) is ready for people interested to look over -- and hopefully comment on. M75 includes more classes (Paladins, Rangers, Monks/Martial Artists, Illusionists, Druids, and Thieves) from the 0e supplements, spells up to 9th level, and much more. It's Microlite74 on steroids. 

Download your free copy of Microlite75 Playtest Version 0.1 from Mediafire: Microlite75-Playtest-0.1.pdf. It's a 250K PDF with about 19 pages of rules, spells, and monsters.


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## SethDrebitko (Apr 10, 2010)

Hey folks new M20 guy just wanted to say hello, and answer a few questions. The website has moved over to KoboldEnterprise.com (though the old site is still up) as well as the OPEN forums. All the blog posts are moved over and I am finishing up the downloads as well. 

That said Randals M75 is pretty slick and worth a look if you're into the old school thing.

Seth Drebitko
The adventure's just begun!


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## RandallS (Apr 27, 2010)

Two new M20 items:

*The Microlite20 RPG Collection:* A large number of Microlite20-based games and Microlite20 variants have been published over the last 3 or 4 years. I was testing PDF combining programs for a client today and decided to test them by making a combined PDF holding all the free Microlite20 basic, variant, and complete game PDFs I had on my drive: over 40 plus some characters sheets and the like. There are free Microlite20-based fantasy games, science fiction games, modern games, superhero games, and after the holocaust (or the zombies) games. The final PDF file was about 400 pages (and 17.5 megs because some of the PDFs had illos). I figured that after I'd created this, I might as well make it available. If you'd like to have a single PDF file with the rules for Microlite20 and many of its variants, you can download it from Mediafire via this link: [link removed].

I've uploaded a revised version with a new link. It's about 660 pages (and 20 megs) and includes more games than the original. Download from Mediafire via this link: Microlite20-RPG-Collection-Spring-2010-Revised.pdf 

*Microlite75 Playtest Draft 0.2:* The second playtest draft of Microlite75 is available from Mediafire. It's a 350K PDF file: Microlite75-Playtest-0.2.pdf

Lots of changes: Variable weapon damage, monsters converted to d8 and Supplement level damages, spell costs reworked. Combat expanded. New spells. More. Many minor changes.


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## RandallS (Jun 3, 2010)

*Microlite75 Playtest Version 0.3 (with Psionics) Available*

The third playtest draft of Microlite75 is now available. Changes for this draft are mainly in the optional rules section. Major additions to the  optional rules include: Advantages and Disadvantages, Character Goals and Traits, Armor for all classes, and Psionics. Some spells had descriptions added or slightly modified. Some types were corrected throughout the book. A new section on Old School Play was added. 

The major -- and most time consuming -- addition is rules for psionics. The system from 0e is hard to understand and even harder to actually use. Coming up with a set of simple rules that worked, felt mechanically and stylistically different from magic (as 0e psionics did), could be added to any character without unbalancing the game too much was a major pain. The current rules lack psionic combat. I haven't yet decided if I will try to add this in a future playtest edition. I've used psionics in my Empire of Arn campaigns since 1976 and psionic combats have been rare as hen's teeth. Your comments on this issue will strongly influence my decision. 

What's planned for Playtest version 0.4? There will definitely be some minor changes to combat based on my current playtest campaign. The optional rules for combat maneuvers may get a complete overhaul. I will probably add more advantages, disadvantages, and psionic abilities. A full equipment list will be added for those who prefer to buy exactly what they want instead of using the quick packs. Some type of non-clerical healing will be added (probably some type of herbalism). The section on hirelings will be expanded.

Spells may get rearranged in alphabetical order. While I personally prefer the old way of alphabetical with class and level, switching to alphabetical would mean that some long high level spell descriptions would not have to be duplicated. One of my players has asked for some of the useful spells used in Harry Potter books (like Obliviate). I may add a few with the names filed off.

The "Science Fantasy" section will be completely rewritten. New monsters may get added.

However, that's for the future. Today, you can download your free copy of Microlite75 Playtest Version 0.3 from Mediafire: Microlite75-Playtest-0.3.pdf. It's a 400K PDF with about 27 pages of rules, spells, and monsters (plus a cover sheet). 

And remember, you can still sponsor Microlite75 (and Advanced Microlite20 OSS). Information is included in the playtest pdf or can be found on the RetroRoleplaying web site. I'd like to thank Dennis Kadera, Shane Morales, Ronald Pehr, Richard Tongue, Matthew Cooper, and Sebastian Dietz for their sponsorship!

*UPDATE: Playtest Version 0.4 of Microlite75 is available. New classes, weird science, equipment lists, and more added. See this post on my blog for more details and to download your free copy: Microlite75 Playtest Version 0.4 (with Equipment and Weird Science) Available. BTW, feedback really is welcome.*


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## Nomad4life (Jun 28, 2010)

I need to ask someone here a favor in case anyone is also active on the M20 forums.   
  A long while back, I put together an M20 version of Star Wars.  I was slowly bit by bit working on a PDF for it (with pictures and starship rules) but I teach in the day and work on grad school projects by night, so progress was almost non-existent and getting the group back together for playtesting has been a problem.


  Several days ago, somebody in my group showed me where someone over at the M20 forums has done a *fantastic* job of converting my SW mod into a PDF file- in fact, they did a much better job than the mess I've been trying to put together.  Next time we play, I'll be using their version of the mod at my own table!

  I wanted to let this person know how impressed I was with their compilation and editing of M20SW, but frustratingly, I cannot log back in to the forums there anymore.  I've even tried asking for a new password multiple times, but none of them work either.

  In any case, if somebody could pass along my big smile and thumb up of approval, I'd sure appreciate it.


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## SethDrebitko (Jul 13, 2010)

Yea luckily the new forum working has spurred on a ton of great ideas. We  have nearly doubled the prior post count from the old forum since the transfer.


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## RandallS (Aug 10, 2010)

*Download the Microlite75 Final Playtest Draft*

The (hopefully) final Playtest draft of Microlite75 is now available for free download. M75 hase been split into two books: Characters and Magic contains the standard rules, the spell and equipment lists, and a player's intro to old school play. Options and Monsters contains the various optional rules that GMs can add to customize the game, monsters, and advice for the GM. In most campaigns, players will only need a copy of the Characters and Magic book. 

You can find out more and download free PDF copies of both books from this post on my blog: Download the Microlite75 Final Playtest Draft.


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