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This homebrew system my friend cooked up is so ungodly bad. When some of the party tried to point out the glaring flaws he just got angry at them.

I fucked up agreeing to play this, and I'm not sure if I should pull out or stay around to watch this crash and burn.

Oh, and he's obsessed with D20 being the bests system, so he's based everything, literally, everything off of D20s. Even weapon damage, it's so ungodly broken.
Is there any way to fix this?

Sounds entirely fucked OP. About the only value you'll likely get out of it is venting to us in ways that we can be amused by.

Mate, I'd unironically rather play FATAL than this piece of garbage. The comments he's made to defend this make me very worried as well.

>You don't need to worry about prone, there'll always be cover

It's a pen and paper RPG not Gears of War, why is he so confident I'll have cover in literally every scenario?

Here's how prone works by the way:
>Prone: A position on the ground where a character may not move or take actions other than a half action to get up to standing position.

So, is it d20 or not?

I was gonna pull out, but might as well stay in the game so I can write about it. First session is tomorrow. He's using the plot of Mass Effect Andromeda.

>Setting: Andromeda Galaxy, 2785
>Base Story: You have all been woken up from cryo to wake in a new Galaxy. Andromeda but unbeknownst to you though the galaxy has already shown itself as a harsh place and will require cooperation, cunning and strength to overcome it to help you and your fellow milky way descendants survive in their new home by going on dangerous missions across the cluster as an APEX team.

It's not D20.
It's some homebrew fuckery, that uses 20 sided dice.
When he said d20 was the best, he didn't mean the system, he literally meant any system that uses 20 sided die is automatically superior to those that don't.

I'ma dump some of the highlights. To start, stats.


>Stats:
>Agility (AGI): 1d20 (Movement and Initiative)
>Strength (STR): 1d20 (Melee Combat and Toughness)
>Knowledge (KNO): 1d20 (Understanding of your situation or encounters)
>Combat (COM): 1d20 (Weapon Damage)
>Tech (TEC): 1d20 (Tech Damage/Power)
>Biotics (BIO): 1d20 (Biotic Damage/Power)
>Influence (INF): 1d20 (Character Interaction, Persuade/Intimidate)
>Minimum Role is 7.
>Every level you gain 3 points to spend into one of these traits.

Which doesn't sound so bad until you get to this bit.

>Mod: The Modifier of any stat would be the stat score /10. So a score of 20 would have a mod of 2.

And then we get our health and shields.

>Shields: Shields are your first line of defence and is determined by your TEC (Half of your total score rounding down = shields amount) depending on your abilities. To replenish shields requires a full action and to be in cover. At the Start of your turn if your shield is up regain health equal to your health.
>Health: Health is what keeps you from being alive or dead simply put your Strength +5 = Health. Upon reaching 0 you become “downed”.

My level 1 character with 20 TEC get's 10 shields and 6 health. Which is alright till you look at weapon stats.

>Weapons:
>Assault Rifle: 1d20 + (COM mod). Damage: 1d12 + (COM mod). Range: 30 metres. -2 AGI.
>Shotgun: 1d20 + (COM mod). Damage: 1d20 + (COM mod). Range: 15 metres. -2 AGI.
>Sniper Rifle: 1d20 + (COM mod). Damage: 1d20 + (COM mod). Range: 30 - 80 metres. -4 AGI.
>Pistol: 1d20 + (COM mod and AGI mod). Damage: 1d20 + (COM mod). Range: 20 metres.
>Melee: 1d20 + (AGI mod). Damage: 1d20 + (STR mod). Melee oriented creatures gain attack opportunity.

Whenever my level 1 character get's shot at, there's a 25% chance to die, immediately.

Isnt there a d6 Masd Effect? Show him that

He's trying to model X-COM as well at the same time and is bloody obsessed with this thing. I've tried telling him to reskin something else, hasn't worked. I'll try linking him this though. And again, he's convinced anything not d20 is trash.

But hey, maybe he's trying out realism and you just don't get hit very often.

>Cover: Cover works as full and half cover when someone attempts to attack a target in no cover the DC is 5 when in half cover 10 and when in full cover 15.

There is no armour. Only cover. So there's a 30% chance of getting shot, and that's by the average person.

>Shields are your first line of defence and is determined by your TEC (Half of your total score rounding down = shields amount) depending on your abilities.
Eh, that doesnt make much sense for a team.
"Hey Bob, youre better at this science shit, can you config my shields?"
"Fuck you Sam, I hope you die"
Which is why shields are items with base amount of hp and tech skill lets you mod it a bit

This is complete cancer, tell your friend his system is completely shit and that other dice exist for a reason, the only possible way to fix this would be to use a dice pool system instead.

>Races:
>Human: Access to all classes, +1 Bonus to Combat, Biotic and Tech
>Turian: Access to all non-biotic classes, +2 Bonus to Combat
>Asari: Access to all classes, +2 Bonus to Biotic
Salarian/Quarian: Access to all non-biotic classes, +2 Bonus to Tech
(Yes he was too lazy to come up with different races for these two)
>Angaran: Access to all non-biotic classes, +1 Bonus to Agility, Combat and Tech
>Krogan: Access to all non-tech classes, +1 Combat, +2 Strength, - 1 Agility and Influence
(1 Squad member only.)

He decided Krogan was OP and decided to limit it to 1 per squad. He's also been buffing/nerfing things based on what classes we choose.

>Classes:
>Soldier: Combat. +2 to Agility and Combat rolls.
>Engineer: Tech, Swap your STR mod for your TEC mod in melee attacks.
>Adept: Biotic. +2 to Agility and Biotics rolls.
Infiltrator: Combat and Tech (May only take 4 abilities from each ability tree.)
>Vanguard: Combat and Biotic (May only take 4 abilities from each ability tree.)
>Sentinel: Combat and Biotic and Tech (May only take 3 abilities from each ability tree.)

He's one of the most stubborn people on this planet so far.

G U R P S
U
R
P
S

>Turns:
>Turns: Turns are made up of Half Actions and Full Actions doing a full action ends your turn. You may do one full action, two half actions or one half action then one full action as a full turn.
>Interaction: Half Action.
>Movement: Half Action (20 metres) (Sprinting is a full action but allows you to move 50 metres.)
>Attacking/Abilities: Any attack or ability counts as a full action unless stated otherwise.
>Swapping Weapons: Half Action

>Turian: Access to all non-biotic classes
>Krogan: Access to all non-tech classes

For what reasons?

Get a new GM.

mfw only one of five platonic solids are used.

I asked him about this. Turians he said because there were none in the game, I told him they exist in the lore and he told me to fuck off, so that's nice.
And Krogans, he said it'd be too OP or something and that Krogans are too stupid.

I can handle a bad GM, a bad GM with worse rules is a really wombo combo though.

>Melee attacks: Melee attacks may result in several ways. A standard attack, a grapple or a knockdown. In order for the attacks to result in these ways they must be called specifically prior to the attempt and then succeed in the roles as required. A standard attack will need to succeed the STR roll and will then proceed to deal damage through the STR roll. A grapple is the same as a standard melee attack to hit but will require a STR roll against the targets STR roll to maintain it if it succeeds the target will be grappled and unable to perform actions until it succeeds a STR roll against an opposing STR roll. If a character is currently holding another in a grapple they may spend a half action to release their target by way of throwing them with a 1d4 +STR mod to determine the distance, upon release the target is prone. A knockdown requires the AGI roll to succeed but will deal no damage and knock the target prone.

And no, you don't get an attack of opportunity if you knock someone down, they get up and then try to shoot you in the face with their gun.
And no they don't get any penalties either.

>Overwatch: (Full action) Take time to prepare a reaction shot on a target if they should move during their turn.
>Shooting Out of Range: When shooting a target beyond your weapons range take a 5 DC penalty.
>Abilities: Every 5th consecutive level after level 5 gain an additional ability, start with 3.
>Each ability has a cooldown of 1 round.
>Stealth: Stealth rolls are 1d20 + (AGI mod).

Then we finally get to abilities, which is the last bit, there's nothing else. No gear, no explanation of how XP and leveling works. Nadda.

A bad GM is never worth it my dude.
If your GM is ok, average, sub-par, or even lackluster then that's fine. But no game is better than a bad game with a bad GM.

I haven't seen him GM before, it looks like he'll be bad, and he is certainly terrible at making a system. But I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll only be a bit shit and new. Rather than as terrible as his system or That GM tier.

Overwatch is too good. Like I'm going to spend my turn doing nothing so I could maybe attack, when for the same full action I could just take the attack to begin with. Lmao

>Combat:
>Loaded Round: Fire a standard attack that explodes into shrapnel dealing half of the damage roll to enemies behind the target in a 10 metre radius.
>Frag Grenade: Throw a fragmentation grenade at a distance of 25 metres dealing 1d20 + (COM Mod) damage within a 15 metre radius.
>Empowered Suit: (Passive) Melee attacks now deal 1d10 + (STR Mod) + (COM Mod). (Cannot be taken if Biotic Pump is also taken.)
>Perfect Reload: (Half Action) Load your weapon in such a perfect fashion your next weapon attack deals an additional + (COM mod) in damage.
>Combat Reflexes: (Passive) Once per round attempt to dodge an attack attempt made at you that would otherwise hit. 1d20 + (AGI mod). Roll higher than the attackers attempt to succeed.
>Turbo Shot: Deal triple your damage roll in one shot at the cost of being less accurate. +2 DC
>Precise Shot: Deal half of your damage roll in one shot at the cost of being more accurate. -2 DC
>Track Record: (Passive) You can now Sprint an additional 20 metres.

I think the idea is to be able to pin people, but cover is so arse that that it becomes useless, might as well take the shot and roll the dice to see if I insta-gib them.

How new is he? Does he have any GM or TRPG experience?

One assumes you get to attack any enemy in range that moves from cover

These abilities used to a lot better, but we all went TEC classes so he nerfed em.(Tech support used to stack, overshield used to be spamable)

>Tech:
>Cloak: (Half Action) Activate a camo shield to avoid detection making stealth checks use both your AGI and TEC mod. Cannot be used without active shields.
>Disruptor Grenade: Throw a disruptor grenade at a distance of 25 metres dealing 1d20 + (TEC mod) within a 15 metre radius. Dealing double damage to mechanical units and stunning them.
And removing shielding from any organic units.
>Flamethrower: Activate a flamethrower with a range of 15 metres within a cone in front of the user dealing 1d20 + (TEC mod). Dealing an additional damage of 1d20 + (TEC mod) for 3 rounds.
>Jump Pack: (Half Action) Activate a jump pack to propel yourself up into the air becoming able to traverse terrain quickly. You can hover for 1 round but enemies gain a 2.5 DC bonus accuracy against you.
>Overload: Send an electrical current directed straight to a unit within 25 metres dealing 1d20 + (TEC mod) deal 1d20 + (TEC mod) if the unit has shields or is mechanical.
>Synthesized Ammo: (Half Action) Your next attack with your weapon now also deals its damage plus your TEC mod as well as your COM mod.
>Tech Support: (Passive) All squadmates gain + (Your TEC mod) In any TEC rolls. (Does not stack)
>Overshield: (Half Action) Replenish either your own or a squadmates shields within 25 metres with up to 1d10 + (TEC mod) points. (Does not work on Squadmates with Protective Layer) (The Cooldown for this ability applies to the squad instead of just the caster.)


Been playing TRPGs with him for like a year, I don't think he's ever GMed before.
He's a bit odd and edgy as a player, but not bad. He played some weird homebrew dragonkin when we played PF, but after one session even he admitted it was retarded.

Lol no, you have to designate which target you're overwatching against.

And yeah, I have no clue why empowered suit makes your attack a d10, I think that was a typo, or he meant to change melee to d10 normally but never got around to it.

>Biotic:
>Protective Layer: (Passive) Your shield is now determined by your BIO and not your TEC.
>Backlash: (Counter) You prepare yourself for an attack when a unit makes an attack directed at you or a squadmate within 5 metres you can attempt to block and deflect it back at them. 1d20 to hit, 1d20 + (BIO mod).
>Nova: Send a shockwave of biotic energy in a direction 15 metres long dealing 1d10 + (BIO mod). Is not stopped by terrain and knocks shieldless units prone.
>Biotic Charge: Charge at a targeted unit with biotic propulsion within 30 metres. 1d20 + (BIO mod) dealing 1d10 + (BIO mod and STR mod).
>Bio Pump: (Passive) Your melee attacks now deal 1d10 + (BIO mod) Instead of STR.
>Biotic Lift: (Half Action) Propel yourself up into the air becoming able to traverse terrain quickly. You can hover for 1 round but enemies gain a 2.5 DC bonus accuracy against you.
>Pull: Pull or throw a targeted unit or object toward or away from you up to 20 metres dealing 1d10 + (BIO mod) and moving them 1d20 metres + (BIO mod) closer or further to the user any units caught along their path are stunned.
>Bio Bubble: You project your own personal biotic shield to an area within 5 metres that spans 15 metres in length and width 1d20 + (BIO mod) to determine the shields strength. Which your squadmates can shoot through. You may not take any actions while you keep the shield up. If you take damage while still using Bio Bubble you do not have shields and become stunned.

>Downed: Once downed you become stunned and immobile until someone revives you it takes a half action to revive someone. While downed you regain all of you health as temporary health and are unlikely to be attacked but you take damage over time every round you take 1 damage then 2 and so on scaling once you reach 0 you die.

That's everything. Going to be an interesting waste of a few hours of my life tomorrow.

I don't think your friend knows anything about game design, let alone building a system from the ground up. All of these rules are just obtuse and terribly made, and if his only experience is one year as a player with no GM experience, then this campaign is going to crash and burn within a maximum of 3 sessions.

A picture of the party, these pictures and a text file for our character info is all we get in terms of character sheets.

I'd be surprised if it lasts one, nobody wants to be in it.
We accepted to make him shut the fuck up about it mainly.

>>Sniper Rifle: 1d20 + (COM mod). Damage: 1d20 + (COM mod). Range: 30 - 80 metres
>Range: 30 - 80 metres
Lol you can hit that with a pistol. You can get led on paper out to 1000m with 5.56 of all things. The future sucks

He said we'd never see anything past 100m.
I'm not sure what exactly was meant by that, but it worries me as much as the
>There'll always be cover
comment.

Me thinks ye may be Space Hulking it