Looking for feedback on the following "dying" rules for use in an OSR like game.

Death's Door

• PCs do not fall unconscious or stop fighting at zero HP. Instead, they are at Death's Door and any blow could be their last.
• DC 16 CON Check whenever you have zero HP and take damage. Fail and die immediately. Roll 20+ (a dirty 20 or more) and recover 1 HP.
• DC 16 INT Check to stabilize an ally at Death's Door and restore 1 HP.

Players stay engaged and contribute every turn instead of ticking down death timers and rolling death saves.

There's a bit of agency over character death. Players suddenly dropped to zero HP can flee or play defensively.

STAT and HP rules listed below for reference:

Stats

• Stats are tracked as bonuses. Having 3 CON means you roll d20+3 on a CON Check.
• Roll 3d6 at level 1. Stats are numbered 1 through 6. Add 1 to each rolled STAT. EXAMPLE: Rolling 2, 2, 3 generates a character with +2 DEX and +1 CON.
  1. STRength
  2. DEXterity
  3. CONstitution
  4. INTelligence
  5. WISdom
  6. CHArisma
• PCs add 1 to a Stat of their choice and describe how their background contributes to this bonus
• PCs get +1 to two separate Stats at first level of their class
• PCs gain +1 to a Stat at each level but cannot increase the same Stat twice in a row. Max level 10.

HP

• PCs start with 1d6+2 HP and get an additional d6 HP per +1 CON. A PC with 2 CON starts with 3d6+2 HP.
• Reroll HP at every level. Take the new value if greater - otherwise increase HP by 1.

Damage

• All attacks deal a single die of damage (d4, d6, d8, d10, or d12)
• Effective attacks roll damage with advantage (roll twice take greater)
• Ineffective attacks roll damage with disadvantage (roll twice take lesser)
• Sharp weapons can explode once (roll max value, roll again, and add the two rolls together)
• Blunt weapons reroll 1s and 2s
• d8, d10, and d12 remain relatively lethal across all levels

Looking for a vibe check on equipment based spell casting.

There are a few OSR style games with similar systems, like Knave and Mausritter. For folks who have played those systems - what were some pros and cons you observed?

Magic Implements

• No spell slots. No memorization. Spells are cast with magic items like rods, staves, talismans, totems, wands, etc.
• Slot based inventory system equate spells known to inventory carried. Assume most spells consume 1 inventory slot and staves with greater spells occupy 2.
• PCs have 10+CON item slots.

Spell Casting Checks

• DC 16 Stat Check to cast a spell. Stat is INT, WIS, or CHA depending on the item/spell.
• Cast with Disadvantage if the spell's level is greater than caster level
• Cast with Advantage if the spell's level is less than caster level
• Take damage equal to the spell's level on a failed spell-casting check - OR - break casting item
• Casters can repair 1 broken casting item during an 8 hour rest
• (optional) Casters that die from failed spell casting checks rise as some form of aberration or undead

Spell Craft

Casters can disassemble casting items during downtime - mixing and matching effects, ranges, and duration.

Spell level is determined by ranges, area, duration, and effects. Heavily inspired by how MP costs scale with spells in Vagabond.

• Range
  • Close (5') Spell level +0
  • Near (30') Spell level +1
  • Far (60') Spell level +2
  • Extreme (within sight) Spell level +3
• Area
  • Bolts Spell level +1 per bolt.
  • Close (5') Sphere Spell level +1
  • Near (30') Sphere Spell level +2
  • Far (60') Sphere Spell level +3
  • Wall Spell level +1 per 5' cube. Cubes must be anchored to a solid surface on 1 side. Each additional cube must share a side with another cube.
• Duration
  • Instant Spell level +0
  • Focus Spell level +1. Caster maintains 1 focus spell per Caster Level at a time. Spell ends when unconscious. DC 16 WIS Check whenever caster is distracted or damaged to maintain.
  • Persistent Spell level +1 per d4 rounds the spell persists after casting
  • Rune Spell level +1. Inscribe on an item, object, or Close size surface. Spell affects the first creature or object to touch the inscribed rune. Caster can maintain 1 rune per Caster Level at a time.
• Effects (limited examples)
  • Damage d4 damage. Spell level +1 for each die size increase up to d12 at Spell level +4.
  • Hold Suspend in geosynchronous location for duration. DC 12 STR Check to dislodge. Spell level +1 per +1 increase to dislodge DC.
  • Mend Restore d4 HP. Spell level +1 for each die size increase up to d12 at Spell level +4.
  • Snatch Item(s) that fit in 1 Slot fly to your hand or land at your feet. Spell level +1 per 1 additional Slot of items affected.

Intentions

In my head - this produces better parity between weapon based martial classes and casters. Much like their arms bearing counterparts - casters rely on equipment availability.

Spell acquisition and power progression is diegetic and creates plot hooks for PCs.

Less special rules for spells. Each spell is a magic item and using it is akin to an INT, WIS, or CHA based attack roll.

Looking for feedback on the following armor and weapon rules for a rules-lite d20 dungeon crawler.

• Is it easy to understand?
• Do you feel it provides interesting equipment choices?
• Is it too much abstraction?

Design goal is to simultaneously streamline weapons and armor with more verisimilitude than damage reduction or hit/miss/AC adjustments.

Combat is meant to be quick and consequential. PCs can go down frequently - but can be brought back into combat fairly quickly.

It's understood that this is a "roll heavy" system and that can slow down play. However, I see this as a feature and not a "bug".

Much of this extra rolling is to the player's benefit (re-rolling 1s and exploding dice) and I think throwing the math rocks is fun.

Background

• Traditional 6 Stats (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma)
• Stat Bonuses range from +0 to +5 at 1st level with +3 being the most common. PCs can raise a Stat +1 at each level but cannot raise the same Stat they raised last level. Maximum Stat bonus is +10.
• Attack roll is always a Stat Check vs 15. Roll twice and take the greater result if proficient with the weapon.
• Players roll to defend. Stat Check vs 15. Roll twice and take the lower result if attacker level is greater. Roll twice and take the greater result if attacker level is lower.
• Base Attack damage is always 1 die. There are no weapons that deal a base 2d6 damage, etc. However - some weapons have "exploding" damage dice.
• All PCs start with 4+Hit Die HP. They get +1 Hit Die of HP per +1 CON bonus. Reroll HP at every level. Take the new value if greater - otherwise increase HP by 1.
• Hit Dice are either d4, d6, or d8.
• PCs reduced to zero HP fall unconscious and gain a d4+CON bonus death timer.
  • CON Check vs 15 on dying PC's turn to recover d4 HP and take turn as normal. Otherwise tick death timer down 1. PC dies when death timer reaches zero.
  • Attacks against unconscious PCs automatically hit. CON Check vs damage or die instantly.
  • INT Check vs 15 to stabilize a dying ally. Stabilized allies regain d4 HP and take turn as normal.
• Slot based inventory (10+CON bonus slots)

Armor

• Rated in weight/die size
  • Light: d6. 1 slot.
  • Medium: d8. 2 slots.
  • Heavy: d10. 3 slots.
  • Shield: *increase armor die size by 1. Held in 1 hand. 1 slot.
• IF...
  • Armor Equal to Attack Damage Die: roll weapon damage
  • Armor Less than Attack Damage Die: roll weapon damage twice and take the greater
  • Armor Greater than Attack Damage Die: roll weapon damage twice and take the lesser
• Armor Proficiency is by die size.
  • Proficiency must advance by die size from smallest to largest. IE to be proficient with heavy armor you must first be proficient with medium armor.
  • PCs gain 1 proficiency (armor, shield, or weapon) with each new level.

Weapons

• Melee Weapons
  • d4 small. STR or DEX bonus to attack. Throwable. 1/3 a slot.
  • d6 simple. STR or DEX bonus to attack. Throwable. 1/2 a slot.
  • d8/d10 military. STR bonus to attack. d8 wielded w 1 hand and d10 wielded with both. 1 slot.
  • d12 heavy weapons. STR bonus to attack. Wielded with both hands. 2 slots.
  • Sharp Weapons Roll max damage and add an extra damage die to the roll.
  • Blunt Weapons Reroll 1s on damage.
• Projectile Weapons
  • d4 small. DEX bonus to attack. 1/2 slot.
  • d6 simple. DEX bonus to attack. Wielded with both hands. 1 slot.
  • d8 military. DEX bonus to attack. Wielded with both hands. 2 slots.
  • d10 heavy. DEX bonus to attack. Wielded with both hands. Cannot be full-auto. 2 slots.
  • Burst-Fire. *increase damage die 1 size.
  • Full-Auto. *increase damage die 2 sizes.
  • Opting not to track ammunition. Instead, the attack fails on a damage roll of 1 or 2.
  • Roll max damage and add an extra damage die to the roll.
• Weapon Proficiency is by die size and type.
  • Proficiency must advance by die size from smallest to largest. IE to be proficient with d8 projectile weapons you must first be proficient with d4 and d6 projectile weapons.
  • Martial oriented PCs start with d4 and d6 proficiency in all weapons and a d8 proficiency with a single weapon type (blunt, sharp, or projectile).
  • Less combat focused classes start proficient with d4 and d6 weapons in a single type.
  • PCs gain 1 proficiency (armor, shield, or weapon) with each new level.
  • d8/d10 melee weapons count as 2 separate levels of proficiency. d8 proficiency to wield effectively with 1 hand and a separate d10 proficiency to wield effectively with both hands.

I've seen arguments made for Scaling Success Systems that are typically a combination of "yes and...", "yes, but...", etc. Usually providing improved results or complications to a scene.

I like the idea on paper - but rarely see it get much traction at tables. A lot of rolls or events come down to binary results (yes or no).

Fishing for extra nuance on every roll is a lot of work for GMs, can ruin pacing, and lead to some weird calls for off-the-cuff consequences. I wonder if my experience is an anomaly or more inherent to scaled success rules.

What's been your experience? Looking more for stories about players engaging with these rules at the table and less about rules on paper.

Pondering feasibility of modifier-less, player-facing, roll-under Stat Checks with bonuses and penalties handled entirely by Advantage and Disadvantage methods.

No roll modifiers. No DCs. No skills or feats. Just 6 traditional Stats that represent both natural talent and learned proficiency (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha). PCs start with 5 to 9 in each Stat and can improve two separate Stats by 1 with each gained level.

This is the same as +1 to +4 starting Stat mods on a d20 roll-over with a default 16 DC.

Any bonus to a roll is Advantage and penalties are Disadvantage. PCs can have up to double Advantage/Disadvantage (rolling 3 dice) and bonuses cancel penalties.

Sanity check...

• Is two "levels" of bonus too few? A PC may have bonuses from multiple sources (proficiency, a bless spell, advantageous circumstances) but only ever rolls a maximum of 3D take best.
• Any edge cases or circumstances that would be better handled with discreet modifiers and not abstracted into Advantage and Disadvantage on rolls?

Math wise, advantage on a Moderate DC 15 check is the same as a +4 bonus or reducing the DC to 11. The reverse is similar, with Disadvantage on DC 15 being the same as a -4 penalty or increasing to DC 19.

Extrapolating this out to a Roll<=Stat check, we can say "easy" DC checks roll with advantage and "extreme" DCs roll with Disadvantage. This creates similar odds as a roll-over DC check with less math.

Example: A first level PC with 9 Dex has a 45% chance to succeed at a Dex check. This is the same as a flat DC 12 roll with no modifiers. If the check is Easy or the PC has proficiency, they roll with Advantage and improve their odds to 70% (equivalent of +5 to the roll).

Rolling with Advantage is always better than without, but the improvement is non-linear. I can see an argument for modifiers over Advantage/Disadvantage for linear consistency - but I find this to be a feature and not a bug.

D&D like d20+mod based systems heap on extra circumstantial bonuses that generate non-linear advancement curves. Prime example is acquiring a feat or proficiencies that increase at specific levels. Every gained level is beneficial - but levels that add new feats or improve proficiency bonuses are more beneficial than other levels..

Those benefits also taper off - as PCs grab more impactful bonuses early and have fewer impactful options at later levels.

The non-linear curve for Advantage does the exact same thing without extra rules for feats, proficiency, etc.

The player also stays within a bound system. Modifiers extend rolling ranges - creating an escalation of 20+ DCs to keep up with larger bonuses. Advantage/Disadvantage achieve the same ends without changing the scale.

Here's the difference in odds with Advantage or Double Advantage for reference.

Roll >= DC	Normal	Adv+	Adv++	Roll <= STAT
20	5%	10%	14%	1
19	10%	19%	27%	2
18	15%	28%	38%	3
17	20%	36%	48%	4
16*	25%	44%	57%	5*
15	30%	51%	65%	6
14	35%	58%	72%	7
13	40%	64%	78%	8
12*	45%	70%	83%	9*
11	50%	75%	87%	10
10	55%	80%	90%	11
09	60%	84%	93%	12
08	65%	88%	95%	13
07	70%	91%	97%	14
06	75%	94%	98%	15
05	80%	96%	99%	16
04	85%	98%	99%	17
03	90%	99%	99%	19
02	95%	99%	99%	19
01	100%	100%	100%	20

Heads up that this isn't a D&D killer Heartbreaker I want to monetize. I have fun with homebrew and I'm just looking for a meaningful discussion.

These potential rules are going into a d20 rules-lite OSR style homebrew with a focus on loot and inventory management.

Using traditional 6 Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

PCs start with 10 to 13 in a primary Stat and likely 8 to 10 in supporting Stats. They put +1 into two separate Stats with each level and top-out at level 10.

All Checks are d20 roll under-stat.

Experimenting with having each mental Stat have a separate spell casting function.

1. A Caster has INT Spell Slots. There are no Spell Levels, but every spell can scale up in targets affected and duration by the number of allocated Slots.

Examples:

• A Fire spell starts by affecting a single target in a 5' area. The number of targets increases by +1 and the area increases by +5' for each extra allocated Spell Slot.
• A Wall of Fire occupies a 5' square for 1 round and an additional +1 square and +1 round for each extra allocated Spell Slot.

2. Casting a Spell is a d20+allocated Spell Slots <= WIS roll.

3. The efficacy of the spell (damage dealt, spaces pushed, etc) is the d20 result of the spellcasting check - up to the caster's CHA.

Putting it all together:

• A Caster has 9 INT, 12 WIS, and 8 CHA.
• They prepare a 3 slot Fire Spell that deals damage to 3 separate targets in a 15' area. The Caster has 6 more spell slots they could allocate to other spells.
• Casting this spell is a d20+3 <= WIS roll. The PC rolls 9 for a total of 12 and succeeds.
• The rolled 9 is the damage dealt by the spell, but it's capped by the caster's 8 CHA. The spell deals 8 damage to 3 targets in the affected area.

A Caster has no limits to the number of times they can cast a Spell. But they must make a spellcasting Check with each casting.

It takes 10 minutes to reallocate a Spell Slot. So, a Caster with 9 INT would need 90 minutes to prepare/allocate all of their spells.

A Caster can only have 1 spell with an active duration cast at any time. So a Caster could not have two separate Walls of Fire going at once.

In addition to spellcasting, the 3 mental Stats are rolled for...

• INT: Break codes. Translate. Operate, repair, or sabotage machines. Navigate. Administer medical care.
• WIS: Exercise self-control. Stay calm. Focus. Detect deception. Resist fear.
• CHA: Calm or incite others. Bargain, bluff, distract, encourage, impersonate, interrogate, and negotiate.

Questions

• Given the rate at which Stats increase with level (+1 to two separate Stats) is requiring a character to maintain 3 Stats to be an effective Caster too much?
• Does the allocation between Spells Prepared (INT), Casting Success (WIS), and Potency (CHA) make sense - or should the effects be split differently among the Stats?
• Alternatives to CHA as a potency limiter? I'm experimenting with "roll up-to" on the d20 roll under method and not 100% sure I like it.
• Is this too weird/trying to do too much? Does it make more sense to just use them as casting Checks for different kinds of spells like wizard, priest, etc?

Writing a rules-lite OSR style game with a single d20 roll used for all actions.

• Check is roll d20 equal to or less than Stat. Rolls that have measurable results like weapon damage use the rolled value. Players are looking to roll greatest value under Stat.
• Weapons have maximum damage values. So, a 4-damage weapon deals a maximum of 4 damage per hit - even on a successful attack roll of 5+.
  • Planning to go with max damage ranges based on traditional weapon damage dice: 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.
  • There are no weapon proficiencies. PCs can use any weapon they choose - but their Stats may not be great enough to get that weapon's full damage potential. PCs with better combat Stats hit and deal maximum weapon damage more frequently.
• Planning for Armor to function as Damage Reduction from 1 to 4 for light, medium, and heavy armor with the option to hold a shield.
• First level Min Stat is 5. Best first level Stat is 13. PCs raise 2 separate Stats by 1 with each gained level. 18 is greatest possible overall Stat score. PCs must "retire" at level 11.
• Traditional 6 Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

Questions

• Is this fairly straightforward and easy to understand?
• Do you see any issues with weapons being rated by max damage (as opposed to rolled damage dice)?
• Would you miss rolling the other polyhedrals?
• Would you play this as a rules-lite dungeon crawler?
• Any other general feedback or anticipated issues?