Bearded Rats: An introduction

 Not that I will be specifically groundbreaking, but I have been thinking on hacking Maze Rats to make it do more of the things I want it to do. My main thing is that I want to try out playing without XP and Levels as rewards. Advancement is still possible, but only through in fiction actions. And to be a bit silly I call my hacks of this game "Bearded Rats". 

(You know, because of the title of the game and my online ... name ... persona ... alright, I'm gonna leave now and let you guys read what I've come up with as a general brainstorm.)

"Dwarf Rat" by Mª del Mar Garcia Sanchez

BEARDED RATS: Maze Rats Hack Ideas.

No more XP. Your reward is your accomplishments or the stories you create. Advancement of character happens through character actions and accomplishments, rather than leveling up.

A. Character Creation

1. Everyone starts out the same: 
4HP, 6ARM. Human.
2. Reverse Life-paths:
 Choose a background/profession/template and then roll to see how you got there. 
3. Ties: 
What ties you together? How does this combination of characters make for a good story? Make this a conversation at the table. 
Have at least one bond with another PC. 
Optionally have a bond to the setting/locale.

B. Advancement

Advancement is only achieved in the fiction by taking specific actions. This is not to be said that there are no mechanics at all involved, but advancement should be consequence of actions or other emergent story beats.

These things will kind of work themselves out by players, especially when/if they state the intent of their actions. Still, some of the possibilities I will list here.

• Training with the troops
• Training with a master
• Self Study
• Being cursed or blessed
• Finding special gear, magic or otherwise

C. Healing

1. Healing should take time and skill, and depending on the wounds inflicted, might not be a done deal. 
2. HP should be more along the lines of Hit Protection or Luck. 
3. Once that runs out, a danger roll using a situation appropriate stat should be made to see if you survive the onslaught. The Target Number of the Danger Roll is modified by the amount of negative HP sustained.
4. If you do, you are wounded. Either the GM assigns a situation specific wound or a roll on a wounds table is made. Keep the negative HP value and keep subtracting if you get hit again.

Question: How to decide on the severity of the wound if you choose for yourself? A wound should be a hard move, but how hard? A severed limb is less severe than a wicked scar. Or is it? It depends on the situations you find yourself in, right? Could we just make it a luck roll? Or is it dependent on the modifier to the wound roll? If at 0 HP a light wound, if below that, a severe wound? That might work.

D. Danger Roll Mechanic For Procedures

While at some points we will no longer be talking about actual danger, the mechanic of roll 2 dice, adding an applicable bonus and trying to hit a target number will be the basis for most procedures, like training, healing, building, etc. Rather than just using it to see wether or not something succeeds, they should always add something to the story or highlight something setting specific. More on this later.