Microlite20 - Some House Rules

So, while I batter my way through these Tau rules for Rogue Trader, I want to run some good old-fashioned dungeon crawl goodness.

Microlite20 is a personal favourite for such things, so here's a few House Rules I plan on adding to the Basic Set:

"Skills" List

As a player handout, to get them used to the idea of three stats (Strength, Dex and Mind) and four to five Skills (Physical, Subterfuge, Knowledge, Communication, plus Survival from the Advanced Rules), which combine to make most skill tests, here's a list of suggested combos for various actions (using the 3.5 skill list as inspiration), not a be-all-and-end-all:

Balance - DEX+Phys
Bluff - MIND+Sub (or MIND+Comm)
Concentration - straight MIND roll
Diplomacy - MIND+Comm
Escape Artist - DEX+Phys or STR+Phys depending on what you're escaping
Handle Animal/Wrangling - MIND+Surv
Intimidate - STR+Comm (or MIND+Comm if it's more of a subtle threat)
Open Lock/Disable Device - DEX+Sub
Perform (Dance) - DEX+Comm
Ride - DEX+Surv
Sleight of Hand/Pickpocket - DEX+Sub vs. opponent's MIND+Sub
Sneak - DEX+Sub
Use Magic Device - MIND+Sub to cheat it, MIND+Comm to encourage it to work, or for non-Magic Users, a straight MIND check against a set DC

Combat Manuvers

All combat manuvers fall under two categories: Basic and Advanced.

Basic Manuvers are "dirty tricks" that anyone can pull, from throwing sand in an opponents eyes, to kicking them in the crotch (if they possess a crotch), to feinting one way but attacking from another.

These are resolved as normal attacks, at a -3 penalty. Fighters and Rogues can perform these at a -1 penalty.
These attacks only do 1 point of damage, but can place a Condition on an enemy (so, the sand would blind him for a round, the crotch-shot might Stun him for a round, or the feint would drop his Armour Class by 2).

Basic Conditions: Attack or Armour penalty (-2), Stunned, Blinded, or Confused for 1 round.

Advanced Manuvers are a bit more complicated, but provide better results. So, a feint that totally disorients a foe, or leaves them wide open to attack, demoralises them badly, or knocks them out cold.

These are resolved as normal attacks with a -6 penalty. Fighters and Rogues can perform them at a -4 penalty. In addition, the DM call call for a Skill check as part of the attack (so the demoralising might require a MIND+Comm roll, a particularly heavy blow may need STR+Phys to penetrate heavy armour, etc.)

Advanced Conditions: Attack or Armour Penalty (-4), Stunned, Blinded, Confused, or Unconscious for 3 rounds.
I don't know how balanced these will be. I like the idea of giving Fighters more to do in combat, and allowing Rogues to have a few "dirty tricks" up their sleeves, while keeping them open to all classes. I'll be running the game soon, so we'll see how they turn out...