Knave 2e Alternate Attributes

Sometimes, I'm exactly in the mood for the classic simplicity of defining characters entirely by D&D's six attributes, as Knave does. But sometimes, I want the players have have just a little smidge more to fiddle with.

Repeated rounds of Covid have kept the group from meeting for awhile. So, my idle thoughts have strayed into GM solipsism: home brewing finnicky little preference into a perfectly fine system just because you can.

This approach pairs a few ability scores with a short list of broad skills. It is mostly drawn from Microlite20. I think it adds some more nuance to character mechanics without straying from Knave's philosophy of playing the world, not the character sheet.

Attributes & Skills 

3 Attributes

STRength 

DEXterity 

WILl 

5 Skills

Awareness

Communication

Coordination

Knowledge

Subterfuge 

Expertise: If you roll a natural 20 on a non-combat, skill-based check, you can gain an expertise bonus of +1 in that specific activity (e.g. blacksmithing, pickpocketing, history, etc.). A character can have a number of expertises equal to half their level (minimum of 1). A player can choose to not take a new expertise if they would rather keep an existing one. Expertise never stacks.

The Rule of Specificty: I don't know if this would ever come up, but it seems like a good idea for when you let folks define skills on the fly: If two expertises are ever competing, the more specifically stated one gets the bonus. F'rinstance, if two rivals were competing to brew a new vaccine and one had an expertise in "Science" and the other in "Immunology," the Immunologist gets the bonus.

Base Mechanic

d20 + 1 Attribute + 1 Skill (+ 1 Expertise, if applicable) ≥ Target Number = Success

Combat Checks 

Melee attack bonus = STR 

Missile attack bonus = DEX

Magic attack bonus = WIL 

Item Slots

STR + 10

Character Creation 

+1 to one Attribute 

+2 to divide among skills (you can stack)

1 Expertise 

Advancement 

+1 to one Attribute 

+2 to divide among skills

Mixing and Matching Attributes & Skills

Several combinations of attributes and skills may apply to the same challenge. In climbing a cliff face, one player might rely on STR + Coordination, but another, who has studied how others have climbed similar surfaces, might use DEX + Knowledge. The referee may adjust target numbers to reflect the aptness of a particular combination.

Some Typical Recipes for 5e Skill Equivalents

Athletics = STR + Coordination

Acrobatics = DEX + Coordination

Sleight of Hand = DEX + Subterfuge

Stealth = DEX + Subterfuge

Arcana = WIL + Knowledge

History = WIL + Knowledge

Investigation = DEX + Awareness

Nature = WIL + Knowledge

Religion = WIL + Knowledge

Animal Handling = WIL + Communication

Insight = WIL + Awareness

Medicine = WIL + Knowledge

Perception = WIL + Awareness (but, of course, there are no Perception checks in Knave!)

Survival = STR + Knowledge

Deception = WIL + Subterfuge

Intimidation = STR + Communication

Performance = WIL + Communication

Persuasion = WIL + Communication

Remembering Microlite20

Back in the day, Microlite20 was the darling of the homebrew scene. Created by Robin V. Stacey from the d20 OGL, it boiled down D&D into a very simple game that made a great springboard for lots of folks to build from. Hundreds of variants sprung forth, including one or two on this blog. 

It was also a little undercooked in ways that made it very hard to actually play at the table. But I've long admired it's simple pairing of 3 attributes + 4 skills to model a wide range of character behaviors. This is from Microlite20 Pureset Essence, the first variant of Microlite I saw, and the one linked above.

An addition lots of folks made to the skill list for Microlite20 was "Survival." This is campaign-dependent, but I might add it in.