Just flip two coins

Just flip two coins. Count the heads. (Or do 1d4/2 rounding down, or 2D20 ≤ 10, same thing.) Read as: 0, 1 or 2 heads. 0: you fail. 2: you make it. 1: you make it, but there’s a price.

How do I play D&D with this?

	0	1	2
Reaction Roll	Hateful	Mixed	Friendly
Surprise	You’re surprised	Neither	They’re surprised
Save	You’re done	You make it, but there’s a price to pay	You make it
Skill check	You fail	You make it, but there’s a price to pay	You make it
Combat	They hit you	Both take damage	You hit them
Damage	It’s bad. It’s bad.	It hurts but you’re still standing.	Tis but a scratch.

D&D

Complications

What if you‘re in a tough spot, odds worse than 50/50? If they’re really bad, don’t flip any coins; you’re done. Conversely if they’re really good, don’t flip – you just make it. If your odds are worse than 50/50, but there’s definitely a chance, there are two options.

1. Go step by step; first you have to make jump, next you have to pull yourself up … and test your fate for each. If you get a 2, you can skip a step.
2. Use this table:

	0	1	2
Easy	You make it, but there’s a price	You make it	You make it, and then some
Hard	You’re minced meat	You fail	You make it, but there’s a price

AD&D

Say in a social situation, they distrust you but you might win them over. Offer your bribe, flip two coins. 0: They take your bribe, maybe add an extra 50%, and then rat you out anyways. 1: They merely rat you out. 2: They take your bribe, maybe add an extra 50%, but then play fair.

What if it’s player vs. player? 0: I win, 1: mixed, 2: you win.

Questions

Why is this better than flipping one coin?

With one coin, you fail 50% of the time. I think that’s a bit harsh. Conan didn’t fail 50% of the time! Also I think the “success at a cost” thing leads to a certain dynamic, hectic and even realistic gameplay that I like. The world is not merely black and white but full of shades of grey!

Is this for #Mechanics24 (or whatever it’s called)?

I actually had this drafted for a month or two, but then Marcia did hers and it was very close to mine and I thought now I have to do it. Anyway, I think nifty mechanics are actually a trap. I have a big folder full of nifty mechanics, it’s fun to come up with them, but they’re a trap. Nifty mechanics draw attention. To be specific: they draw attention to themselves. I don’t want the attention on the mechanics. I want it in the fiction.

More Questions, and flippant answers

How many HP do I have in this game?

If you get hit with a flamethrower or battle axe, you’re definitely dead. If you get hit with a handgun or a dagger, you may or may not be dead, flip two coins. If you get hit with a fist, you still may be dead but probably not but you definitely got a headache and see stars.

Ok but I want to murder an orc, where’s the rules for murdering an orc

Describe how you want to murder the orc. If it seems dumb, orc’s alive. If it seems smart, orc’s dead. If it seems questionable, flip two coins and see where it takes you.

But you have to describe it. No hiding behind the attack roll.

Am I an elf or a magic user or a fighter and what’s my THAC0?

You’re an elf. This is an elfgame after all. Or a dragonkin or whatever the kids do these days. Your THAC0 is tweleventy.

I shoot an arrow, how many do I have left?

I don’t know, one less than you had before? Alternatively you flip two coins and on a 0 you’re out of ammo on a 2 you still got a full hand, depending on how into paperwork you are.

How many mana points does my spell cost?

Funny that you ask. It’s also tweleventy.

Isn’t it a lot of work to make up all of this on the fly?

Isn’t it a lot of work to buy and read all these books? And then you still can’t do mounted combat until you’ve bought GURPS Mounted Combat, and it doesn’t even cover laser lance dragon jousting. Here if you want to do that, you just flip two coins.

Seriously I need more rules. Rules rules rules.

Really? You think so? Ok here’s some more, but you may not like them.

1. In any tense situation, the GM has to look at the player most directly affected and ask: What do you do? If not everyone at the table is asked What do you do? roughly equally, you can hit them with a fish.
2. The GM has to give you a warning before they can actually hurt you. No warning – no hurt. If you get hurt without a prior warning, unless you did something unambiguously stupid, you can hit them with a fish.
3. If the GM railroads, you can hit them with a fish.

This is just PbtA meets John Harper’s 50/50 right?

I guess so.

It’s also Diegetic World given that the 10+A-B system leads to stats clustering around 10.