Editing RPG (section)

==Innovations in RPGs==
Here's where roleplaying games can claim their "me first!" status. (most of this research was done by J.H. Kim)
* Unified resolution mechanics
** Traveller (1977) put everything into rolling 2d6 vs. a target number, but had different outcomes for situations.
** RuneQuest (1978) had combat and skills into "roll under XX on d100," for pass-fail.
* Point-build characters
** Steve Jackson's Melee (1977), although your characters only described fighting abilities.
** Champions (1981) had point-buy include social & psychological features, and negative point-buy of flaws to get extra points.
* Personality mechanics
** Bushido (1980) had an honor system, a measurement of a character's strength of virtue.
** Call of Cthulhu (1981) had the Insanity rules, obligating players to change their characters' behavior when taking sanity damage.
** Champions (1981) had Psychological Limitations as an optional part of character creation.
** Pendragon (1985) was the first to have a fully-fleshed out demeanor and mannerisms as part of a character's description mechanics.
* Levels of Success
** RuneQuest (1978) was the first to have critical hits in combat.
** [[James Bond 007]] (1983) was the first to introduce levels of quality to success (and failure) for all skill rolls and conflicts.
* Players spending points to modify a resolution
** Top Secret (1980) had Fortune/Fame points, but they were spent at the GM's discretion.
** James Bond 007 (1983) did it first with Hero Points that could be gained and spent during a conflict.
** [[Ghostbusters RPG|Ghostbusters]] (1986) combined experience points with hero points.
* Dramatic modifiers to resolution (not just "that was cool, so I won't roll dice," but actual rules for this)
** Champions (1981) had bonuses for "surprise maneuvers" for something cool the player described.
** Paranoia (1984) and Toon (1984) had explicit modifiers for players adding drama to a scene.
* Mechanics for social resolution
** James Bond 007 (1983) had skills and rules for contests in social situations.
* Modular Rules
** Worlds of Wonder (1982) was the first to have a set of generic core rules and then add-ons for specific genres.
** GURPS (1986) was the first set of rules that didn't require exceptions for some genres; a character from any setting could be transplanted to any other setting with no mechanical differences.
* Rewards other than killing monsters
** Dungeons and Dragons (1974) had you gaining experience points for treasure gained. This often meant killing monsters and taking their stuff, but not always.
** Traveller (1974) and RuneQuest (1978) had an experience-point system for skill use or training.
** [[Rolemaster]] (1980) had experience points that were more than just a progress bar for leveling up.
** Marvel Superheroes (1984) had Karma points to coerce players into heroic behavior.
* Dice Pools
** Ghostbusters (1986) was the first to have bonuses & penalties as changing the number of dice you rolled
** [[Ars Magica]] (1987) used a universal mechanic for rolling attribute + skill + d10 and comparing the sum to a difficulty number to determine success.
* Character Templates
** Star Wars (1987) had not just pre-made characters, but a generic pre-made character you could tweak to make it closer to what you wanted.
*[[Character sheet|Character sheets]] designed to keep track of things like equipment, Hit Points, total experience, ect.
* Metagame control / Director Stance
** Champions (1981) had a flaw called Hunted where the player could dictate the nature of a recurring villain, and the frequency of that villain showing up, although the GM still chose the exact moment of appearance and played the role.
** Ars Magica (1987) had its Whimsy Cards for players to bumping the plot into new directions instead of the GM, and troupe-style play that allowed players to share in the narration.