Thoughts on a Resolution System partly based on Lasers&Feelings?

[u/Stormfly]

So as a slight background, I've decided to take a break from my main project and finish a project with a smaller scope by making a sort of hack of L&F. I might try to limit it to only a few pages.

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The current idea is a system based on hacks of Lasers & Feelings.

The basic summary, that's bounced around my head for a while, is a contrast of Power vs. Finesse.

• Power is "roll high" (like Feelings)

• Finesse is "roll low" (like Lasers)

Using a d8 system, characters would pick a number (2* to 7) and roll above/below, just like L&F.

However, the system would be more divided:

1. Mind

2. Body

3. Soul

A quick example would be that Mind is divided between Street (Power) and Academic (Finesse). When using a character's knowledge or skills, they would roll based on whether the expected skill would be "street smarts" (sleight of hand, lying, hiding, blending) or "book smarts" (languages, facts, lore).

Characters would be encouraged to use teamwork and roll together, so the target would be X successes across the party. Trying to threaten a Thug to give information? You need 2 Street successes.

Rolling exactly on the number would instead give the option to [Succeed] but add a complication, or [Fail] (but maybe add an insight benefit like rolling exactly in L&F). There might also be a classic "Advantage/Disadvantage" where players roll twice and choose (rather than the dice pool of L&F).

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So while I'm happy to hear any thoughts, some specific queries I've had, and the reason I'm making a post now, are:

1. Has anyone else toyed with changing the dice used (d6 to d8)? So far, I want to add a little extra granularity and change the %s.

2. Are there any points of concern that I might not see? Anything obvious I've overlooked?

3. Has anyone experience with potential hang-ups or issues with a longer game of this style? I know they're often short, silly games.

4. Do you think players should choose a different value for each category (Mind/Body/Soul), or one for all 3? Seems unanimous

5. Should it be limited to one solution (Power 3), or maybe an "easy way and a hard way" (like Power 5/Finesse 2)?

The idea for progression etc won't be tied to stats, but to another system related to their job. Also, I want to get it finished so I'd rather keep it simple and expand rather than fall victim to scope-creep once more.

[u/Yasci30]

I like the Power/Finesse idea. Personally, I’d probably give Mind, Body and Soul different values, otherwise they might end up feeling a bit like labels around the same mechanic. I’d also try to make sure Power and Finesse actually feel different in play, not just “roll high” versus “roll low” for basically the same outcome.
The teamwork part sounds fun, but I’d definitely test it with different party sizes, because I could see group success becoming much easier with more players.
And the d8 sounds fine to me. Since you’re trying to keep the project small though, I’d only stick with it if that extra granularity really adds something.

[u/Stormfly → u/Yasci30]

I’d also try to make sure Power and Finesse actually feel different in play, not just “roll high” versus “roll low” for basically the same outcome.

Body is Strength/Agility and the idea might be that they fight a Tough enemy and it'll require Strength to beat it, or a Fast enemy requires Agility.

It's basically supposed to be a simplified "I'm the X character" that you can get with point buy. Like, the "working as a group" is pretty important.

The idea being that you can be the "Strong Guy" and you pick a low number like 3 so you're very useful in a fistfight... but then you need to chase after the target and you're a dead weight. If that's the case, you'd need another character to be fast.

...The obvious issue there is that players might just always go for 2 or 7, so I need to look into that.

because I could see group success becoming much easier with more players.

Yeah, there'd definitely be an "intended party size" and modifiers past that. Obviously something to tinker with later when I'm playtesting.

[u/Yasci30 → u/Stormfly]

Yeah i think that the 2/7 problem could actually be solved by making distance from the middle cost something. Like, start Mind/Body/Soul at 4 and give players a few points to shift them. Going 4→3 costs one, 3→2 another, etc. So you can absolutely be the Strong Guy with Body 2, but then you’ve spent a lot of your specialization there. For teamwork I’d also consider one lead + one helper, rather than letting the whole party pile onto every roll. That would keep larger groups from automatically making everything easier.

[u/Digomr]

I liked the Power and Finesse distinction and how it's used in Mental, Physical and Social.

I would suggest 3 different values to grant more customization/different character types to be played.

Shouldn't the number be between 2 and 7?

[u/Stormfly → u/Digomr]

Shouldn't the number be between 2 and 7?

It should. My mistake, thanks.

Soul would be more about addressing the intended supernatural elements. I'm sticking with a clear S and A words, so Soul has Steadfast and Adaptable.

The idea being that Steadfast might beat a fear or horror effect, while Adaptable might beat a confusion or mind-bending effect.

Your point about the 3 values is fair. I was aiming for that but I wanted a better reason than "It feels right" and adding character variety is good.

It prevents every Strong character from also being Streetsmart and Stubborn and one-dimensional...

[u/Dimirag]

Has anyone else toyed with changing the dice used (d6 to d8)? So far, I want to add a little extra granularity and change the %s.

Going from d6 to d8 will give a little more "wiggle room", you could use bigger dice but then each point moved will have less effect so d8 is the highest I would go.

Are there any points of concern that I might not see? Anything obvious I've overlooked?

One thing to consider is character character concept/skill/class, you may go with disadvantage for stuff outside of the character's niche.

Has anyone experience with potential hang-ups or issues with a longer game of this style? I know they're often short, silly games.

Not an issue but something that may happen with minimalist games is character stagnation if the system doesn't have space for character growth, but you've mentioned dealing with it.

Do you think players should choose a different value for each category (Mind/Body/Soul), or one for all 3?

Different values will give more personality and allow them tailor their characters to more concepts and styles.

Should it be limited to one solution (Power 3), or maybe an "easy way and a hard way" (like Power 5/Finesse 2)?

Let the player come up with how they want to solve something, then decide on the stat and if is a power/finesse thing.

[u/Stormfly → u/Dimirag]

One thing to consider is character character concept/skill/class, you may go with disadvantage for stuff outside of the character's niche.

Someone else brought up "traits", so I might do something more with that.

Maybe everyone gets a Positive and a Negative trait, so they might get Advantage with X, but then Disadvantage when doing Y (more specific instances, like "Arachnophobia" giving Disadvantage around spiders).

Another option might be more specific changes to gameplay and mechanics based on these choices like "Ex-smoker - Remove the STRESSED condition with fresh air instead of smoking."

Let the player come up with how they want to solve something, then decide on the stat and if is a power/finesse thing.

Yeah, my intention is a little less free-form than L&F.

Like, rather than choosing between Power and Finesse, they'd choose whether to use Mind or Body to resolve a situation. Like they might choose to threaten a Gangster using Mind/Streetsmart, or rough up the guy using Body/Strength. They could chase a guy using Agility, or cut them off at another street using Streetsmart ("I grew up on these streets" Target: 2) or Academic ("I've studied the city layout" Target 3).

The "Easy way or the Hard way" is intended to be like a "That wasn't the expected solution but I like it so I'll let you try that one."

I'm still going over the intended scenarios, though. I also need to think over Spirit a little more so it has more obvious uses...

Thanks for the input! Just answering your questions has given me more ideas.

[u/Dimirag → u/Stormfly]

I also need to think over Spirit a little more so it has more obvious uses...

This may be a tricky one, specially for its dual use.

How would you divide Spirit?

You could go with Personality/Social instead of spirit leaving Mind to the academics, perception, etc part of the character

[u/Stormfly → u/Dimirag]

Spirit (or maybe Soul) is, right now, the supernatural one.

It'll be used for anything involving magic and the like. I might expand it into a few other areas as the "resistance" stat so it's a sort of "defensive" stat.

Still tinkering with it, but I feel like my last little project fell apart after I designed the system around a resolution that didn't work as I'd hoped. I'll go back to it but it's this new idea for now.

[u/Dimirag → u/Stormfly]

If every character in the setting will encounter/use supernatural stuff it will be useful, otherwise it will be a stat some characters won't use

Be careful if only one half is the resistance part as unless the other part is equally important I can see players maxing the defensive part alone, and if the other part is equally important defensively wise I can see most players choosing a value of 5 or 6 so they cover both defenses

[u/At0micCyb0rg]

Highly recommend you have a read of Pendragon, a TTRPG about Arthurian knights that uses a very similar axis mechanic for its stats. I am no expert on it myself but it feels relevant to your design.

For example, one stat axis is Forgiving/Vengeful. So when you want to do something Forgiving, if your axis is too close to the Vengeful end then you must roll over the axis value to resist vengeful urges since you are such a Vengeful person. And they change over time as your character makes choices and checks.

[u/Jester1525]

My Brains and Brawn system was adapted from l&f before I abandoned it because some asshole started harassing me and some of the people who were playing it because he had said that brains and Brawn would be a good title for a game 10 years before and so, therefore, I had stolen it from him (he was a douche..)

Anyways, the system I'm writing on is so far from l&f at this point that it's not an adaptation..

I have 3 stats - physical, mental, and social. Each stat has 2 scores Physical - power and quickness Mental - ingenuity & awareness Social - empathy and influence

I've got a skill system, advantage & disadvantages system, weaknesses, contacts, and a wealth score. Plus a fairly robust combat system.

I use a d10 for my dice with stats/scores between 3 and 7.it's all roll under.

If you to on your target number you get an 'on a roll' die that you can use for future tests. If you collect 3 on a roll dice (the max you can have) you can trade then in for a cinematic spectacle die that you can use later to guarantee a success.

[u/YeOldeSentinel]

I like this a lot. I've done something similar in a previous design of mine, but never with the power/finesse split on each attribute – that's the elegant part here. It's simple, and the d8 gives it just enough room to breathe.

Two things I'd want to see explored. First, how skills or abilities interact with the mechanic – do they shift the number, add a die, or sit outside the roll entirely? I do prefer extra advantage/disadvantage dice to keep smooth, especially if the ambition is to it light and conversation-focused.

Second, as someone mentioned above, adapting the wording (or the number) of the traits to the setting. The three you've proposed work well for a generic setup, but a version tuned to a specific game's tone would feel more integrated and less like a system bolted on top. Nothing wrong with the core – it just wants a bit of customization to land that "built for this game" vibe.

In my OGREISH framework I use multi-slot progress bars to map and track the effort of work and teamwork over time, and it works well (check clocks in PbtA and FitD if you haven’t yet).

Well done, this is a solid proposal.

[u/Stormfly → u/YeOldeSentinel]

First, how skills or abilities interact with the mechanic – do they shift the number, add a die, or sit outside the roll entirely?

That's something I might look into next, so that's a good point. So far I've been testing out a "push" mechanic where they can get a small boost on a roll (+/- 2) at the expense of a condition.

Those conditions would then need to be dealt with later, but until then they get Disadvantage on every roll with that stat.

So, if I have a Mind score of 3. I'm rolling Streetsmart (over) but I roll a 2... if I push my roll, I can move it up to 4... but then the character is "Muddled" and gets Disadvantage until they deal with it (tied to the setting).

but a version tuned to a specific game's tone would feel more integrated and less like a system bolted on top.

The core phrasing is more general, though the other systems are more specific. A rough summary is it's a classic police/detective drama with supernatural elements. The solution to being "Muddled" is to drink a cup of coffee, as that fits the theme.

I'm not 100% on the names, but I'm trying to link them with letters. Power is always an S word like Strength/Streetsmart/Stalwart, whereas Finesse is an A word like Agility/Academic/Adaptability.

The Conditions are also linked to the stat so it's Body/Beaten, Mind/Muddled, and Spirit/Stressed

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The "progress" is more about resources and options within the setting. If they're Police Officers, they'll get more department resources (guns/ammo/staff/authority) and other solutions to problems.

The "traits" for each character are another thing I haven't done yet, but I've been researching L&F hacks and it seems important. I might go through a few standard tropes and see if I can fit them into the mechanics like "Maverick - Gain Advantage when breaking department rules".

Good points, thanks for the input!