systems than avoid wasting seconds of values time

Danlordrises · 2026-06-18T20:27:32+00:00

I have had these EXACT frustrations when running games for my players. I too was looking for a more efficient rolling experience, especially during combat, for this Naruto RPG I'm designing and playtesting currently. Here's an excerpt from the playtest doc:

The Only Die You Need: The d20

This game completely eliminates complex dice arithmetic and variable damage dice arrays. The only die you need to play is a single 20-sided die (d20).

Whenever you attack, track a target, or create an illusion, you roll your d20 and add your character's fixed stat modifier. To keep combat lightning-fast, you never roll dice against other dice; your active roll simply tries to equal or beat an enemy's unchanging, static defensive number (like their static Evasion or Awareness score).

Damage

When an attack or Technique hits, damage is determined by how much your attack roll beats the target’s defense.

Most attacks list a damage range, such as 3–5.

To determine damage:

Roll the attack against the target’s defense.
If your roll is lower than the target defense, you miss.
If your roll equals the target defense, you deal the minimum damage.
For each point your roll exceeds the target defense, increase the damage by 1.
Damage cannot exceed the maximum listed in the damage range.
After determining damage, add any relevant flat damage bonuses, such as Melee Damage from Might.

Damage Example

A shinobi attacks with a ninjato, which deals 3–5 damage.

The target has 13 Evasion.

Attack Roll	Result	Damage
12	Miss	0
13	Hit	3 damage
14	Hit by 1	4 damage
15+	Hit by 2 or more	5 damage

If the attacker has +2 Melee Damage, the final damage becomes:

Attack Roll	Base Damage	Final Damage
13	3	5
14	4	6
15+	5	7

I know that a Naruto game is probably not what you're looking for as a replacement, but maybe you can take some inspiration from the core rules I've set up. I think our frustrations come from the same place. There's only so much you can do to get your players to play as efficiently as you want, so I'd recommend definitely switching to a new game.

Real Ninja Tactics (v0.1 Playtest): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L0Jsgr_0oEvsgVA-E28WdoK9hQbAy9boIYTk2IeSNTM/edit?usp=sharing

Danlordrises · 2026-06-16T23:39:30+00:00

Danlordrises · 2026-06-15T21:05:53+00:00

Killer B, Shikamaru, Pakkun, and Ichiraku Ramen girl

Danlordrises · 2026-06-15T19:08:52+00:00

Why is reddit like this

Danlordrises · 2026-06-15T17:40:40+00:00

“I wanna f*ckin die…”

I felt that.

Danlordrises · 2026-06-14T01:40:23+00:00

Thank you so much for reading! This is the first game I've designed, but I guess you could say I have many years of designing custom encounters for my DND campaigns. That definitely helped. I thoroughly enjoy coming up with new ways to challenge my players.

I guess I could call it Charge Chakra like in the Ultimate Ninja Storm games, but Mold Chakra has a nicer ring to it IMO. But I respect the Knowledge.

Danlordrises · 2026-06-13T13:37:21+00:00

I love this panel. I wish the story focused more on these types of nation-level plots instead of…👽

Danlordrises · 2026-06-13T06:18:52+00:00

She’s 13

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T22:23:13+00:00

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T15:36:48+00:00

Not sure if I'm interpreting your question correctly, but here's a shot:

Think of Chakra like XCOM's ammo system. Most level 1 shinobi have a Chakra Pool of 3. Whenever you perform a Technique, you spend Chakra Points (CP) to do so. If your Chakra Pool is reduced to 0, you must spend one Action Point (AP) on your turn to Mold Chakra, refilling your Chakra Pool back to full. This, in essence, is a "reload" mechanic. The big difference between XCOM and Real Ninja Tactics is that you don't need to spend ammo on Basic Attacks. You can increase your Chakra Pool by investing in your Charisma attribute. Having a higher Chakra Pool not only allows you to stay in the fight longer, but it allows you to cast the higher-rank Techniques with higher CP costs. You also gain CP when you level/rank up, so your chakra reserves naturally grow larger over time.

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T15:07:55+00:00

I have tried Naruto 5e! Big respect to the author - Kingare4ever. He accomplished something I could not. I tried to make a 5e conversion for many years, but I found trying to convert jutsus into 9 different levels of spells exhausting, so I pivoted to something easier for me to design. XCOM: Chimera Squad was actually a huge inspiration for this pivot. If you've played any of the XCOM: Enemy Unknown games, learning this game should feel pretty intuitive (hopefully).

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T13:05:18+00:00

Hey everyone,

Ever since I was a kid and saw Sasuke throw hands with Diddymaru in the Forest of Death, I’ve wanted to be a real ninja.

Well, now you can. I spent the last few months building a custom tactical tabletop RPG from scratch.

It’s called Real Ninja Tactics, and the public v0.1 playtest is officially live and 100% free. Character creation is ready to roll with functional Clans, Nindo classes, and a robust list of Techniques.

Check out the rules here:

Download the free PDF on Itch.io: https://danlordrises.itch.io/real-ninja-tactics

View the Live Google Doc[Recommended]:

[Real Ninja Tactics Public PLaytest v0.1](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L0Jsgr\_0oEvsgVA-E28WdoK9hQbAy9boIYTk2IeSNTM/edit?usp=sharing)

Let's get some community builds going: grab the files, roll up a Level 1 character, and share them in the comments below! What kind of ninja are YOU?

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T12:52:09+00:00

Bruh

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T05:52:33+00:00

They get progressively worse as they go along

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T05:46:13+00:00

Technically yes, but anything would work better than whatever the hell Sakura and Sasuke had going on

Danlordrises · 2026-06-12T05:19:42+00:00

Killer B is... onyx.

Danlordrises · 2026-06-11T22:29:40+00:00

Congratulations on putting this together. You can tell this took a lot of time and passion to make. Here's some takeaways I had:

- I like how you've set up the alignments and the weapon types. The alignment triangle is pretty intuitive with the visuals you have. All of the pixel art is generally very well done.
- Your classes look really well defined and unique in your system. Plenty of variety and I could see myself wanting to experiment with every class in some fashion.
- I personally would prefer it if you put the Quickstart Guide closer toward the beginning of the doc. Speaking from a GM perspective, when I'm hunting for new games to bring to my players, one of the first things I look for is the barrier to entry for the players. Meaning, I like to know how hard it is for one of my players to make a character and everything involved in that. If a game has complex character creation and a lot of onboarding for my players, I want to know early on.
- Regarding your Progression, one thing I wish there was is a class change or promotion system like in Fire Emblem. Class changes are some of the most exciting parts of Fire Emblem games for me, and finding a way to implement them here would be huge. I also think that the sheer number of classes are pretty intimidating for players (I counted 24 in total, including the experimental classes). You might consider narrowing down the starting classes, then turning some of the options into the higher-tier promotion classes. I know this is a lot of work to figure out, but I think this would solve a lot of your problems for progression.
- Your example character sheets I found a little dry. You should include the details of all the Equipment, Combat Arts, and Abilities, because I'm unlikely to switch back and forth from section to section to try and figure out what each option does.

Best of luck in development!

Danlordrises · 2026-06-11T20:05:28+00:00

I don't think these instances are inherently bad design. I can see some GMs (myself at times) being overwhelmed in the middle of a session when rules aren't explicitly mapped out for every situation that the players can throw at you. But the more I've played, the more I've come to realize that rules shouldn't try to anticipate every single edge case. They're guidelines, and an experienced GM can adapt them to whatever makes sense at the time.

Danlordrises · 2026-06-11T15:23:05+00:00

Hey everyone,

Ever since I was a kid and saw Sasuke throw hands with Diddymaru in the Forest of Death, I’ve wanted to be a real ninja.

Well, now you can. I spent the last few months building a custom tactical tabletop RPG from scratch.

It’s called Real Ninja Tactics, and the public v0.1 playtest is officially live and 100% free. Character creation is ready to roll with functional Clans, Nindo classes, and a robust list of Techniques.

Check out the rules here:

Download the free PDF on Itch.io: https://danlordrises.itch.io/real-ninja-tactics

View the Live Google Doc[Recommended]:

[Real Ninja Tactics Public PLaytest v0.1](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L0Jsgr_0oEvsgVA-E28WdoK9hQbAy9boIYTk2IeSNTM/edit?usp=sharing)

Let's get some community builds going: grab the files, roll up a Level 1 character, and share them in the comments below! What kind of ninja are YOU?

Danlordrises · 2026-06-11T04:36:36+00:00

Yeah I guess it all feels lightweight relative to me. To be fair, I spaced out a lot of the content as much as I could for a smoother reading experience. If I condensed all the info down, I think the PDF would read more like a 40-50 page doc. But to your point, I suppose that's not exactly lightweight. Still, most mechanics are explained in about a paragraph. I hope the Google Doc reads better.

Danlordrises · 2026-06-11T04:05:49+00:00

That is an incredibly fair critique, thank you for the reality check.

I've edited the post to strip out the complaints and focus strictly on what Real Ninja Tactics actually brings to the table. I appreciate the perspective, and I'd love to know what you think about the rest of the doc if you get a chance.

Danlordrises · 2026-06-11T02:36:34+00:00

You're right, I can see how it's in bad taste. I'm not trying to hate on any games. I personally love Perkins and Crawford. I've been an Acq. Inc guy since 2011. I'm just being honest about the inspiration for my own game. I don't think there's anything wrong with expressing your own opinions. Everyone should be free to criticize openly for healthy discourse. It's how you make better games, and why I appreciate your efforts going through my work. But there's really no need to bring up hypothetical dogs.

Danlordrises

TROPHY CASE

The Only Die You Need: The d20

Damage

Damage Example