D6: THE BASICS, FAST & DIRTY!

A real fast breakdown on how D6 works.
MiniSix: www.drivethrur...
Final Age Primer (5e): preview.drivet...
Bastard Sword Pre-Beta: www.drivethrur...
Mighty Super Heroes Playtest: www.drivethrur...
My Patreon: www.patreon.co...
Buy Me A Coffee: ko-fi.com/zeni...
Teepublic Store: www.teepublic....
Facebook Group: / zcpresents
Twitter: / zenithcomics
Instagram: / zcpresents
Reddit: / zenithcomicspresents
Discord: / discord

[@spacelem]

My "1 on the wild die" rule is it's an optional complication. The player can choose to keep the 1 and get a complication OR they can pay off the complication with their highest die. This means that the higher your skill, the less you'll need to accept complications in order to pass, but the choice is yours.

[@bearthegenxgm]

Nothing wrong with that to be sure.

[@weirdguy564]

I prefer how Mini-six does it. They changed the rule so only the 6 on the wild die explodes. The 1 on the wild die does nothing but be a 1. That seems to play better. That being said, I have found a use for natural 1's on the wild die when using magic powers. For example, in my Mini-Six I change how Star Paladins use their plasma swords to deflect enemy attacks. In my game it only works with ranged attacks, and when you use the power the Paladin is considered in 75% cover, with the caveat that if the enemy rolls a 1 on the wild die the deflected shot is returned to sender, no roll needed.

[@brettpisinski9210]

I've been running the D6 System since '95 throughout its various iterations. I do enjoy running D6 Space and Fantasy when I get the chance. This all started when our AD&D group asked me to run Star Wars 2nd edition (Blue Vader) - and the rest was history. Glad to see the D6 System still getting the love it deserves. A fantastic video, and thank you!

[@Kyrnsword]

My understanding is the simplest ttrpg the better. Given that a D6 system I found and like is EZD6 by DM Scotty. The easiest mist fun for me is a D100 system with only 3 ability stats called: D100 Dungeon by Martin Knight. That said I most prefer Fantasy/Medieval TTRPGs'. Description of TTRPG is not over. A Video screen; but someone enjoying hobby with paper, pencil and dice rolled on a table.

[@MarkGoldfine]

Great rundown of the d6 system 🤘 I'm really excited to see where this goes.

[@bearthegenxgm]

You and me both! ;)

[@jcraigwilliams70]

I picked up Mini D6 after watching two of your videos. I really like it. I'm still deciding whether or not to make a late pledge on the D6 2E Kickstarter but after watching a Q&A in which they said they are "staying away" from Mini D6 (without elaborating in which manner), I am a little more hesitant to do so. I'd like to see a new edition of Mini D6 with that's cleaned up a bit , as I am fussy about spelling and grammar mistakes, but overall, I think it's quite good. You mention near the end of this that you will be making a fantasy hack. What is the name of that video?

[@N843M]

I hope Anti-Paladin Games does an Update to Mini-Six, I will always love the Original though so many great games run in that system. Great Vid Bear keep them coming.

[@bearthegenxgm]

I hope they do as well, but apparently the duo that created it broke their alliance. Back scenes drama, don't know anything more specific than that. Still, they did great stuff together to give us this :)

[@weirdguy564]

Ray Nolan is doing a 2E version of Mini-Six. The two big things is that the original combat sequence will be dropped in favor of the Mini-Six version (static defense, no cost in actions). The second is a main reason for 2E, the "magic" system is getting revamped to be more like a famous fan-made system where you can get stronger effects, but with a higher difficulty number. Mini-six spells/powers were all fixed effects, with fixed difficulty number checks. One bit I'm not happy about is that 2E will ditch the game setting examples in the back of the book. It will just be a rulebook only. Make your own world.

[@comiccolorist]

People complaining about counting 6 die never played Champions, that's for sure!!

[@bearthegenxgm]

Meh, I remember a 10d6 attack used against me the one time I played Champions and I was taken out in one shot (the first shot of the combat) and lost all interest.

[@bigklu4756]

I thought the title was "The Basics OF Fasty & Dirty!" Talk about mismatched expectations!

[@bearthegenxgm]

😲

[@dalerussell5673]

I cant wait for a d6 fantasy. That game would be fun.

[@bearthegenxgm]

I am looking forward to it as well.

[@DamienJamesOFarrell]

Been running stuff in W.O.I.N for a while now. It's Mt fave d6 dicepool system with tons of custom options

[@dansun1981]

Great video! I was unaware of the legend system to be honest. Also, I've never seen the division method when it came to damage. We always used the damage charts that was used in Star Wars 2e and 2e revised (and that Mini Six also uses). I seem to like that one better, because nothing frustrated my players more than scoring a great hit on an opponent and then, when they rolled less for damage than the opponent did to resist it, got a "yeah, no damage what so ever" from the GM. The damage charts always give you at least a Stunned result on a succesful hit, which then removes 1D from the opponents dice pool temporarily, so the players always get some satisfaction out of it. And yeah, Mini Six has 1-3 as a Stunned result on pg. 7 (0 or less is Unharmed) but the character sheet has Stunned as 0-3 just as Star Wars 2e and 2e revised, so that's what I'm gonna go with! =)

[@justinchristenson8201]

I have watched videos of other folks presenting a game, or an idea for a game here on YT and they come off as college professors in a lecture hall. I like your presentation style it grabs the attention and holds it. This was a great low down on D6, and I learned some stuff I did not know(always a plus).

[@bearthegenxgm]

Thank you kindly :)

[@justinchristenson8201]

@@bearthegenxgm you are welcome

[@fanfywriter8727]

I actually never understood the wounds system intended approach until now. oops. Welp at least it is simple now that i had it explained to me!

[@fanfywriter8727]

Honestly I am still a little confused as to how going up a level is supposed to work according to the mini six instructions. I have taken it to me that if I am Wounded, and take even 1 point, I go up a wound level. But I don't know if that is how it is supposed to work.

[@bearthegenxgm]

I don't use that system, so I never dove deep into it, I use the old D6 system myself. Sorry I can't give you the answer you seek right now. Let me research it.

[@longshot9060]

WEG's D6 Star Wars! You said it. The books are beauuuutiful. * and nice thoughts on rolling "1" on the wild die. I will try that for my D6 Fantasy one-shot I am working on for a game night in the near future.

[@bearthegenxgm]

Let me know how it goes! Please :)

[@Daniel-Strain]

We say, if you fail the roll and it's a 1 in the wild die, then it counts. Otherwise it doesn't matter. That way, people tend to blunder less as they become more skilled.

[@shaunb8294]

I think I told you in another video, I *love* Mini Six! Next to Traveller it's one of my favorite games. I did, however, find that the TN's in "fast static combat" are entirely too low. The net effect was that after many hundreds of hours of play, I could count on 1 hand how many times someone didn't go straight to either incapacitated or dead. I still like fast static combat, but had to tweak the formulas a bit (which varies depending on game and tone) to make the game "feel right".

[@bearthegenxgm]

So how would you tweak the formulae? I am curious :)

[@shaunb8294]

@@bearthegenxgm at bare minimum, it should be skill x 3.5 + pips, since 3.5 is the actual average die roll on a d6. I like high action, pulpy games so often I'll push it to skill x 4 + pips. and if I want a _really_ high powered game i'll tell the players to add anywhere from 3-5 to that.

[@gavinthompson1133]

This was very informative. Thank you.

[@windmark8040]

We had the botch issue come up in out SW game last night. One player was kinda miffed about the chances of a fumble happening.

[@bearthegenxgm]

That's why I added the 2nd roll of 1 as a requirement. Takes off the sting ;)

[@watchfulsleeper7513]

Liked for Beans.

[@watchfulsleeper7513]

Also an insightful take on the d6 system. Been a fan since the original Star Wars . Also love Mini 6

[@MarkCherkowski]

So Gallant Knight Games is putting out D6 System: Second Edition by West End Games through a Kickstarter. Were you thinking of doing a video on your thoughts about the new update?

[@bearthegenxgm]

I've backed it and will review it when it comes out for sure.

[@DarkKnightCuron]

Really digging this system! While I would prefer a sci-fi or giant-robot hack, if you're doing a fantasy hack, I'll definitely check it out. Maybe I should finally make my own giant-robot hack of d6 or some system.

[@bearthegenxgm]

You really haven't seen how flexible the system is. The first thing you do is decide on attributes and skills, from there you add things you need. So all the work is base work, then built upon. I'll show you as we go ;)

[@bearthegenxgm]

Also, look at page 9 of MiniSix, trust me ;)

[@DarkKnightCuron]

@@bearthegenxgm Awesome, really looking forward to the videos! I appreciate this sort of guided tour of the system.

[@DarkKnightCuron]

@@bearthegenxgm Oh man, the fact they have stats built-in for mecha in this game already makes it a favorite. WE IN BUSINESS.

[@ravenshadowz2343]

The very first RPG to use only d6 was Tunnels and Trolls, unless I'm missing something.

[@DiomedesRangue]

I find it interesting that people don't like the negative complication on a 1, it's much more likely to happen in PBTA games. I found that success based dice pools don't work very well in playtesting because sometimes there's a chance that a character has 0 chance at success. That feels pretty bad at the table. I like there to be a chance, even if it's less than 1 percent. One thing I hate about savage worlds is that you can roll to hit, roll damage, and do nothing to your opponent. Feels like a waste of time. I think that if you're rolling damage and fail to beat the toughness threshold then the opponent should be stunned. If they're already stunned they should go up to damage track. That way it doesn't feel as bad.

[@bearthegenxgm]

Successes or die totals, there is always a chance for failure or wild success in D6. It's rather fun that way.

[@WinterWill0w]

Thanks

[@Leverquin]

is this like D6 System? and what is your opinon on GURPS

[@bearthegenxgm]

Yes this is the D6 System, not just a game that uses D6s

[@tomryan3768]

Looks like the West End Games 'DC Universe RPG' might have been a version of this system. It's one that I skipped. (Honestly I've only got the Mayfair one)

[@bearthegenxgm]

It wasn't as bad as folks made it out to be, but it did need work.

[@bpblitz]

I know this is an old video but I was still curious if you might be able to answer, does the d6 system that West end later released into public domain utilize the legend system or the addition pool?

[@bearthegenxgm]

I don't know, but I seem to remember it was both. Ultimately you can publish without their license though, many have. :)

[@ricardoricric]

Hi! Thanks for the video! What books would you advise to start with the D6 system? There are many starter guides/adventures so I dont know wich one to choose? Do you have any advice? :) Thanks!

[@bearthegenxgm]

I'd say get MiniSix, it's the best iteration of the D6 system I've ever encountered. :) Thanks for watching.

[@ricardoricric]

@@bearthegenxgm Never tought about Minisix, I will check it! Thanks for your help!

[@michaelenzweiler2319]

If rolling multiple d6s for resolutions isn't the defining attribute of the D6 systems, then what would you say they all share in common that makes them fit within your definition of D6? You've said elsewhere that Apocalypse World variants, where you roll 2d6 for resolution, don't fall within the D6 category. I'm just curious what the difference is. Is it just that AW systems always roll the same number of dice and D6 games vary the number of dice rolled depending on stats/circumstances?

[@bearthegenxgm]

D6 System is a brand name of a family of games, using the same system I outlined above. It starts with the Ghostbusters game, then they did Star Wars, then Hercules & Xena (and I think Men in Black), and then DC Universe. Later they released them as generic books, D6 Fantasy, D6 Space, and D6 Adventure. 3rd party publishers have been granted permission through the Open D6 license to make games, so we get Open Fantasy, Epic D6, Mythic D6 D6 Powers, Mini Six (my fav), and some others. Much like WotC had d20, White Wolf had Storyteller, and your mentioned AW games all share a common system... As for the primary difference of D6 vs. say AW, I don't know, I never played AW. :) For more on D6 I guess you could watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5iTcodmhZurZpI

[@dane3038]

D6 and skill based RPGs in general are still a depressingly underdeveloped RPG system. There's still plenty of dice systems that can be used. Plenty of splat books to be written for every system ( Star-Wars is complete ). New skills, traits, equipment ect... ... Most of them still have the DNA of GURPS plainly visible, which makes me wonder how creative one really needs to be to invent a game system. Almost none use a static To-Hit number for some reason.

[@blakes9771]

Savage worlds uses 4 as the standard

[@mrosskne]

prowlers and paragons better

[@bearthegenxgm]

You know Len is a regular on this channel, yes? I'm sure he will be happy to hear :)