The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The D6 System is a really generic, generic RPG. It is more of a mechanic for building RPGs, rather than an RPG of its own.

It presents a character system where the GM picks, or creates his own, statistical fields. This is good, compared to GURPS where there are only four stats. This way you can have as many as you want and the book guides you through it. I used the fields: strength, coordination, constitution, tech, knowledge, and gnosis. I specifically like the book for this. I have seven (not four) stats, and they cover what I want. Each stat is listed as dice. Whenever you use a stat, you roll that number of six sided dice.

Skills add to your stats, for example: you have 3D+1 coordination and you take 1D in pistol skill, this means you have an effective pistol skill of 4D+1, the total.

The mechanic used to determine a successful roll seems to be simple, but the book doesn't give any decent examples to use in applying the system. This can be frustrating, but there are several sources on the net that are helpful.

I like the idea but the book needs to be about four times thicker.

There are no decent weapon lists and the magic and psionics are pathetic, but if you have enough time to work on it, things can work out well.

Eventhough it is an inexpensive book, I wouldn't buy it unless I had a lot of time to put towards it. It's not as hard as it sounds though; it only took me about fifteen minutes to throw something together.

The real problem is not the system itself, but that it doen't give enough examples and doesn't go into any detail. It is not so bad if you have some good source material to help you. GURPS source books are specifically helpful, but best of all is West End's Star Wars RPG, as it was that game from which the D6 system was derived. The Star Wars Basic book costs around $30 and Should provide very useful.

Overall, it is not bad, but it needs to be a little more fleshed out. Use Star Wars and you should be alright.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

D6 System RPG
Author: George Strayton Category: game Company/Publisher: West End Games Line: D6 Cost: $10 Playtest Review by Allen on 10/23/00. Genre tags: Generic	The D6 System is a really generic, generic RPG. It is more of a mechanic for building RPGs, rather than an RPG of its own. It presents a character system where the GM picks, or creates his own, statistical fields. This is good, compared to GURPS where there are only four stats. This way you can have as many as you want and the book guides you through it. I used the fields: strength, coordination, constitution, tech, knowledge, and gnosis. I specifically like the book for this. I have seven (not four) stats, and they cover what I want. Each stat is listed as dice. Whenever you use a stat, you roll that number of six sided dice. Skills add to your stats, for example: you have 3D+1 coordination and you take 1D in pistol skill, this means you have an effective pistol skill of 4D+1, the total. The mechanic used to determine a successful roll seems to be simple, but the book doesn't give any decent examples to use in applying the system. This can be frustrating, but there are several sources on the net that are helpful. I like the idea but the book needs to be about four times thicker. There are no decent weapon lists and the magic and psionics are pathetic, but if you have enough time to work on it, things can work out well. Eventhough it is an inexpensive book, I wouldn't buy it unless I had a lot of time to put towards it. It's not as hard as it sounds though; it only took me about fifteen minutes to throw something together. The real problem is not the system itself, but that it doen't give enough examples and doesn't go into any detail. It is not so bad if you have some good source material to help you. GURPS source books are specifically helpful, but best of all is West End's Star Wars RPG, as it was that game from which the D6 system was derived. The Star Wars Basic book costs around $30 and Should provide very useful. Overall, it is not bad, but it needs to be a little more fleshed out. Use Star Wars and you should be alright. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 2 (Sparse)

D6 System RPG