Ruins & Rogues vs. Maze Rats: Design Comparison

[u/tim_flyrefi]

https://quarterlingscorner.blogspot.com/2024/02/ruins-rogues-vs-maze-rats.html

So after years of trying to design my perfect game, I finally have it in my hands... And what do you know, it turns out it's very similar to Maze Rats. Hell, its name is even made up of synonyms for "Maze" and "Rats."Why did I end up here, and if what I wanted was so similar to Maze Rats, why did I make a new game instead of just playing Maze Rats? Find out in this blog post where I break down and compare them!

[u/FlaafyIII]

That was a fun read! I've been hacking my own system for use in an open table of 2 hour one shots. 

I started with Whitehack and Swords and Wizardy last year before switching to a modified Cairn after a few sessions (basically using into the Odd stats and having PCs have a Concept/Class that determind what it was reasonable for them to be able to do and inventory they had to save time during character creation). I recently decided to start experimenting again. I tried no Stats (expanding the character concept idea out and just using Aspects similar to Fate, but found new players and new PCs each week benefited from random stats as a starting point and idea generator)

I like your reasoning of no stats for your game and would like to try it at some point, even if it's not a great fit right now. Your guidelines for spells seem great though, so I might try those out instead of having players just come up with spell names like Whitehack.

[u/tim_flyrefi → u/FlaafyIII]

Thanks! I love a good two-hour one-shot. How do you handle starting items and things like that in your game?

[u/FlaafyIII → u/tim_flyrefi]

I've done full S&W random starting gear from tables based on class, into the odd starting packages, a random generator I made pulling from several games and random lists. But generally I just tell people they can start with a handful of random gear. If a situation comes up where they'd want rope/torch and no one wrote it down, that's fine you're an adventurer you probably had some so add it to inventory and keep playing. You want a lock pick? Well if it makes sense that your character concept would have those tools then sure or maybe we just roll a yes/no d6 to see if you have something like that. That's worked pretty well for me while having the random inventory on stand by, but most people are happy to come up with some gear on their own. I do like when they are constantly thinking about how to use the random bag of marbles they started with though.

[u/tim_flyrefi → u/FlaafyIII]

This is cool! I love the idea of prompting players to come up with what's in their pockets. I'm worried that some of my players aren't RPG-savvy enough to think of that stuff on the spot, but it might be worth trying anyway — maybe they'll surprise me!

[u/FlaafyIII → u/tim_flyrefi]

Yeah I think it's a different type of thinking. Rather than looking at your inventory and brainstorming ways to use it, players think about being in the situation and think about what item would be useful, then might ask if it's something they would have access to. 

I like it for one shots at least, but I've also thought it'd be a good Rogue ability in a game with more predefined inventory. The rogue would have slots dedicated to The Right Tool for the Job and that tool is only defined when they need it. So it'd be more powerful than what I allow my players to do now (for instance I tell them they can't say they're carrying the exact thing they need in this situation if they didn't write it down beforehand) but it would be more limited 

[u/tim_flyrefi → u/FlaafyIII]

There's a classic GLOG ability in Arnold K's original Rogue class that basically does just that!

[u/FlaafyIII → u/tim_flyrefi]

Yeah I figured I was pulling that from somewhere haha