Game Mechanics

Dice Mechanics and Design

April 20, 2026April 20, 2026

There are moments, reading about other designers and their turning points, when I feel a faint kinship with that familiar image of someone shaking a fist at the sky. Not out of bitterness, but out of a need to understand why something didn’t sit right and what I might … Continue ReadingDice Mechanics and Design

Game Mechanics Open

Tradecraft Marks the Spot

January 6, 2024

Tradecraft is a mechanic peculiar to The Dee Sanction, included to lend a certain vibe and flavour to the adventures as Agents seek to overcome significant threats. It’s peculiar enough that I suspect many people don’t use it, or just use the bit that provides generic skill support for the … Continue ReadingTradecraft Marks the Spot

Abilities

Playing with Abilities

March 17, 2023March 17, 2023

Abilities set characters apart. In a session, a player can use all kinds of personal resources generated at the genesis of their character. A simple thing like coming from the same town as someone, for example, can sway a decision or a reaction. If the character possesses a Swiss Dagger, … Continue ReadingPlaying with Abilities

Game Mechanics Question and Answer

Advantage & Disadvantage

June 5, 2021

I acknowledge that a terse core book means that sometimes, the mechanics might not settle into place the first time on reading. Or the second. However, with doubt come questions, and with questions comes the opportunity to put together a fuller response. On the Discord, Guybrush asked: Could someone please … Continue ReadingAdvantage & Disadvantage

Game Mechanics

Nightmare – A Sample Combat

May 15, 2021May 17, 2021

I have had various requests to explain combat in The Dee Sanction. I have outlined a fight below, and I might return and add detail if what I’ve written doesn’t quite have the level of useful information needed. A ‘Mare Scenario Agents Julian Dunham and Isabel le Bone arrive at The … Continue ReadingNightmare – A Sample Combat

Game Mechanics Open

A Discovery of Tradecraft

April 26, 2021April 26, 2021

I do not claim to have the ways or means to explain Tradecraft in a way that will be clear to everyone. When I wrote it up, I imagined it was both an ephemeral skill and a means to pull of a blinder when the moment mattered. For the former, … Continue ReadingA Discovery of Tradecraft

Game Mechanics

Checking the Numbers

December 8, 2020

There’s a weird juggling act going on between totally freestyle game design and having a solid structure of checks and balances. On the one hand, the numbers should make perfect sense. On the other hand, balance blows. Don’t get me wrong, there does need to be some kind of structure … Continue ReadingChecking the Numbers

Game Mechanics RPGaDAY

Rest — RPGaDay #13

August 12, 2020August 13, 2020

An Agent must have the equivalent of a full night’s rest (i.e. about 8 hours) to recover all of their Hits—starting characters have 3. Otherwise, they recover a single Hit for every two hours of uninterrupted sleep. However, sometimes rest is insufficient. Some enemies inflict Consequences that are not as … Continue ReadingRest — RPGaDay #13

Game Mechanics Setting

Objects of Desire

August 25, 2018

And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice. [ Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī ] Power and objects walk hand in hand. For some, the power imbued within an object arose from association. The very … Continue ReadingObjects of Desire

Game Mechanics Playtesting

All The Angels

August 16, 2016

So, after much time and rumination my thoughts have started to tun (a little) toward the business of resolving my issue with characters and mechanics. While I cannot guarantee that I have found the solution, I have ideas that I can playtest – which seems like the most positive and … Continue ReadingAll The Angels