Voyager: Tactics V0.6 Early Testing

Currently, there is a new draft version of Version 0.6 out, with reworked dice mechanics and systems. You can still use V0.5 as your main reference, which is why the current V0.6 PDF is much shorter - think of it as the bare minimum you need to start playtesting and seeing if the new system works for you! Non-essential pages/chapter not relating to the main playtest content such as Visages, Equipment and Recruits have been excluded for now.

Some of the goals for 0.6 and the issues it aims to tackle:

Layout

In V0.5, the book's layout listed everything by category: gameplay first, then all the player options separated into chapters for Sapients, Ventures, etc. This layout was quite time-consuming to reference as you had to scroll between different chapters during character creation just to see what options you had.

I hope to experiment with a better layout in V0.6, where currently character creation is its own dedicated chapter, with basic summaries of each player option, which then goes into further detail on subsequent chapters, before finally reaching the gameplay chapter.  Let me know if creating a character is faster in this layout.

D10 Dice Mechanic

While I love all the different kinds of funny dice and up to this point I had always intended on making them work, I decided for once to try out a singular, simpler dice resolution system. Past versions of Voyager have always tried to basically reinvent the wheel every time, searching for a perfect, completely unique dice mechanic.

V0.5's Action Duration Dice system I did like, especially for how easy it was to understand that dice size = magnitude of action, and I love the mechanic of matching an opposed roll representing concepts like perfect parries and dodges. 

It did, however, lead to several problems of having too many granular rules for  determining who gets to react first, priority, etc. There was also the fairly common issue found with AP systems, where after taking your main turn, you're sort of left with "leftover AP" that may feel superfluous.

For V0.6, we'll be testing a fairly familiar system: a simple two-action system, akin to Lancer. You have a straightforward initiative and a choice between a Full Action and two Quick Actions. Full Actions constitute your main action, such as attacks, while Quick Actions often are used for reactions and super speedy moves.

After some testing, I determined that the fastest way to test my system was with a straightforward dice system. I've always liked World of Darkness' d10 dice pool system, where you roll multiple d10s based on your stats and counting the number of successes. I liked the tension that arose from opposed rolls using this system and the versatile way they can be used for both narrative roleplay and combat.

In V0.6, your d10 roll has three states: 1-3 are Misses; 4-7 are Hits and 8-10 are Crits. Crits are the equivalent mechanic for Brave in 0.5: You can activate special effects from your abilities and weapons based on the amount of Crits you roll, such as triggering additional attacks or inflicting a Condition.

Stats 

Stats have also been overhauled. Spheres, while evocative, did not fully satisfy my needs for a stat system. For now, I'm using a pretty basic 5-stat system, largely inspired from reading about the Memento Mori RPG.  There are four you roll your dice from, and a fifth called Blood that represents your HP, explained below.

Speed

V0.5 had problems with movement as by default, it was rolled from your action duration. This hampered the tactical elements of the game, as this made movement random, leaving you less able to plan your strategies. 

To address this, Speed is a "sixth" stat that is used for movement and initiative. Whenever you take an action, you gain an amount of Movement equal to your Speed. Speed is something you can set at character creation and upgrade later down the line using EXP, so is always consistent. Your Speed is also used to determine your turn in initiative.

Blood Dice

Blood and Bleed is the new HP system in place of Resolve and Break. You have regular HP that takes normal damage. Whenever you take Crit damage (a high result on a d10), you take on 1 Bleed.  However, the closer you are to death, the harder you fight to stay alive. For each point of Bleed you have, you gain a 1d10 Blood Die that you can roll on all your actions. If you succeed a roll with your Blood Dice, you heal your HP, keeping you in the fight.

Facets

Abilities have been moved from Ventures and shuffled into a new system called Facets. Think of Facets as tags or keywords you give your Voyager at character creation. When you have a Facet, you can learn any ability (called Skills now)  under that Facet.

So for example, you give your Voyager the Elemental Facet. This allows you to access all Elemental Skills relating to casting elemental magic. Or you give them the Ballistics Facet, which lets them learn all abilities relating to guns and ranged attacks.

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This is just a short summary of the reworked features, so do download the PDF so you can get a more cohesive view of all these concepts working together. Working with this system has made things a lot more straightforward and less confusing mechanically in many areas, from action resolution to turn order.

Attached is also a printable character sheet with the updated mechanics to keep track of. The sheet still has fields for exploration and Visages, in the case you wish to use them for your games. Thank you for reading as always, and I look forward to your feedback!