It is a rules light system. Incredibly rules light. So what?
All rpg dice systems boil down into "What are you aces at?", "What are you okay at?", and "What do you suck at?" Most games add in a bunch of fiddly numbers to measure your suck-age in 5 or 10% increments.
Tiny D6 forgoes using math to describe your character. Instead you get Traits.
Example: On a scale of 1-10, how strong is Chewbacca? What ever number you come up with, it's just a guess. What do we know? We just know he's Strong. That's one of his Traits. And we don't need a paragraph of rules to explain how being strong affects the game. You can already infer that Chewbacca is going to have an advantage in any roll that involves heavy lifting.
Describing characters with words instead of numbers? HERESY!
Maybe, but it feels so nice.
So how does Tiny D6 system work? Well, you roll with 1 to 3 6-sided dice. Any die that comes up a 5 or a 6 is a Success. If you roll at Disadvantage, you get 1d6. Standard Test is 2d6, and Advantage is 3D6.
For those that like knowing the odds of Success -
- Disadvantage - 33%
- Standard - 56%
- Advantage - 70%
This game can be learned easily, and gets the hell out of the way when you want to get into story. And it doesn't feel jarred by constant rules lookups and shouting attack roll numbers and difficulties. Instead you get...
Player: "I want to swing across the chasm."
GM: "Okay, but your not an athlete. You're an accountant, right? I'm certain you suck at this. Roll with Disadvantage."
Player: Rolls 1d6. "5?"
GM: "Against the wishes of gravity and all of your clients, you successfully swing across."
And since it uses d6s, I don't have to look for a game store southern #Okkamuggatawa (not a real place).
My only complaint is that Heavy Weapons deal the same as Light weapons and armor does nothing. However, with such a simple system, it was easily house-ruled. Here's what I came up with:
Light weapons deal 1 Hit per success rolled. Heavy weapons deal an extra +1 Hit. Using Light Weapons lets you carry a shield.
Armor adds to Hit Points. If Hit Points are Timers (and Tiny d6 openly embraces the idea with weapons dealing 1 Hit), and armor makes you stay up longer, then armor just needs to add to Hit Points. If you get dropped to 0 Hit Points, your ruined armor is the least of your worries.
Light Armor adds +1 HP, Heavy Armor adds +3 HP, and Shields add +2 HP.
I have to say that the system edges out ICRPG for my new go to system, but only barely. The GM advice and philosophy of ICRPG are indispensable and I do not regret my purchase.
Final Verdict: If you play with new players, this is an excellent choice. If you play with kids, this is an excellent choice. If you are a seasoned rpg player and can get over not-knowing if your hero is 10% stronger than their opponent and can let yourself go with the narrative, this game may be all you need. If you're frustrated that you can't get the feel you want from more restrictive systems, Tiny D6 is incredibly easy to modify.
I think I may be done looking for a multi-genre system.
I don't know about the Supers game though. But I rarely ever run Supers campaigns. I don't have the knack for it.
Edit: I have one other complaint/ desire. I wish there was a way to publish unique settings for it but as of yet it doesn't look like there's any kind of open license or approval method. But that's just me, feeling overly crafty.
