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RPG Update
I finally went and started writing up that new tabletop RPG I mentioned. Here, for your reading pleasure, are the first few sections of the rules. If anybody has any suggestions or questions, don't hesitate to drop me a line.
Primary Attributes
Muscle (MS): Represents a character’s raw physical power. Used for such actions as lifting heavy objects, hitting things hard, and carrying. Exceptionally strong characters have high Muscle.
Build (BD): Represents a character’s physical hardiness. Mostly used to increase the amount of abuse a character can withstand, but also helps with such things as poison resistance. Exceptionally sturdy characters have high Build.
Quickness (QU): Represents a character’s natural agility and dexterity. Helps with avoiding taking hits and striking things accurately, but also helps with tasks requiring fine manipulation. Exceptionally fast or agile characters have high Quickness.
Intellect (IQ): Represents a character’s raw mental power. Used for learning, processing, and recalling information. Exceptionally smart characters have high Intellect.
Instinct (IN): Represents a character’s ability to think on his feet. Used for improvisation, some combat actions, and some social actions. Exceptionally quick-thinking characters have high Instinct.
Resolve (RS): Represents a character’s mental fortitude. Used for keeping one’s head and influencing others. Exceptionally willful characters have high Resolve.
Presence (PR): Represents a character’s ability to control a room and make people do what they want just by being around. A combination of personality and appearance. Used for a lot of social actions. Exceptionally intimidating or commanding characters have high Presence.
Charm (CH): Represents a character’s guile and ability to manipulate others. A combination of personality and appearance. Used for a lot of social actions. Exceptionally persuasive or manipulative characters have high Charm.
At character creation, a player is given 30 points to distribute among his Primary Attributes. Barring Advantages and racial adjustments, no Attribute may start higher than 6. No Attribute may start lower than 1.
Attribute Percentiles (A%) are equal to five times the Attribute score.
Example: A character with a Muscle of 5 would have a Muscle A% of 25%. (5 x 5 = 25)
The cost in Experience Points to improved Attributes is equal to the Attribute’s current score plus ten.
Example: To increase a Muscle score of 5 to 6 would require 15 Experience Points.
(5 + 10 = 15)
Secondary Attributes
Health: Represents the amount of abuse a character can take before dying. When a character takes damage, they lose Health. A character’s starting Health is equal to twice their Build score plus their Muscle score, rounded down.
Initiative: Used to determine who acts first during turn-based sequences. A character’s Initiative is equal to their Quickness or Instinct score, whichever is higher.
Heroism Points: Used to perform acts that would normally be impossible, or to make normal actions easier. All characters start play with one Heroism Point. Heroism Points are awarded at the discretion of the Higher Power.
Defense Percentile (D%): Makes a character more difficult to hit with attacks. Equal to one-half a character’s Quickness score plus one-half their Instinct score, rounded up.
Armor: Reduces the damage inflicted by successful attacks against a character. Equal to the total of the Armor values of all armor being worn.
Shock: Incurred whenever a character takes damage. Makes it more difficult to perform actions. All characters start with zero shock.
Morale: Measures a character’s mental stress. Reduced by traumatic events. All characters start with 10 Morale.
Speed: Measures the number of yards a character can move in one round of turn-based actions. Equal to Quickness times five.
Secondary attributes cannot be raised directly. They can only be increased if their base Primary Attribute is improved.
Example: A character has a Health score of 15 (Build 5 x 2, Muscle 5). When the character’s Build is raised to 6, his Health score becomes 17 (Build 6 x 2, Muscle 5).
Skills
Skills are used to perform actions that occur in the everyday life of a character. Every character receives a number of points to distribute among their Skills equal to ten times their Intellect score at character creation. At creation, no Skill can be higher than 8, but Skill scores of zero are acceptable (and expected, since nobody can do everything).
Skill Percentiles (S%) are equal to the corresponding A% plus the Skill’s rating.
Example: A character has a Quickness rating of 5 and a Run score of 8. This gives him a Run S% of 33%. (Quickness A% 25 + Run 8 = 33%).
When determining which Attribute score to use for a Skill’s corresponding A%, when more than one Attribute is listed use whichever is higher.
Example: A character has a Muscle score of 3 and a Quickness score of 6. When determining his Run S%, he would use the much higher Quickness score.
The cost in Experience Points to improve a Skill’s rating is equal to the Skill’s current rating.
Example: To raise a Run score from 8 to 9 would cost 8 Experience Points.
Note that the Skills listed below are just examples. Players and Higher Powers should feel free to create their own Skills. Just remember that no Skill can have more than two corresponding Attributes.
General Skills
Run (MS/QU)
Ride (PR)
Swimming (MS)
Survival (IQ/IN)
Gambling (IQ/IN)
Animals (PR/CH)
Jump (MS)
Climb (MS)
Perception (IQ/IN)
Academic Skills
Research (IQ)
Knowledge (IQ)
Language (IQ)
Craft (IQ)
Art (IQ)
Medical (IQ)
Social Skills
Entertain (PR/CH)
Debate (IQ/RS)
Intimidate (PR/RS)
Persuade (PR/CH)
Command (RS/PR)
Etiquette (IQ/CH)
Larceny Skills
Stealth (QU)
Pick Pocket (QU)
Pick Lock (IQ)
Vehicle Skills
Pilot Airplane (QU/IN)
Pilot Zeppelin (QU/IN)
Drive Car/Truck (QU/IN)
Drive Motorcycle (QU/IN)
Pilot Boat (QU/IN)
Pilot Ship (IQ/IN)
Sailing (IQ/IN)
Combat Skills
Pistols (QU/IN)
Rifles (QU/IN)
Heavy Firearms (MS/IN)
Vehicle Weapons (QU/IN)
Axes (QU/IN)
Bludgeons (QU/IN)
Polearms and Staves (QU/IN)
Unarmed Fighting (QU/IN)
Whips (QU/IN)
Explosives (QU/IN)
Attribute and Skill Checks
Any time a roll of the dice (called a check) is needed to make use of an Attribute or Skill to perform an action, there is always a Target Number (TN), determined by the Higher Power. Roll both dice and compare to the TN. If the number rolled is lower than or equal to the TN, the attempt is a success. If the number is higher than the TN, the attempt is a failure.
For Attribute checks, the appropriate A% is the TN. Example: A character is trying to lift a heavy crate. His Muscle score is 3, giving him a Muscle A% of 15%. If he rolls under 15%, he lifts the crate and can proceed. Otherwise, he cannot get a good grip on the crate, or otherwise cannot manage to lift it.
For Skill checks, the appropriate S% is the TN. Example: A character is trying to escape from a pursuing enemy. His Run S% is 35%. If he rolls under 35%, he manages to lose the foe, or maybe simply gains some distance. Otherwise, he is still being chased, or perhaps the enemy has closed with him.
Opposed Checks
Whenever two characters make the same skill check in “opposite directions,” it is called an opposed check. This means that they are pitting their Attributes or Skills against each other.
All of the characters involved average their A%s or S%s to find the target number. That average is the TN that all involved characters roll against. The first one to fail a check loses. If both characters fail the check, they call it a draw and roll again. One check is made each round during turn-based action.
Example: Two characters are arm wrestling. This is a Muscle-based Attribute check, so they would average their Muscle A%s. If one has a Muscle A% of 20% and the other 30%, the average would be 25%. Both characters roll against a TN of 25%. The first one to fail a check loses.
Giving Aid
Sometimes one character may add his prowess with an Attribute or Skill to the effort of another.
When aiding with Attribute checks, the first character helping adds one-half his A%, rounded down, to the A% of the one making the check. The second character adds one-quarter, the third one-eighth, and so on. The Higher power determines how many characters are allowed to aid a given Attribute check, and not all Attribute checks may be aided.
When aiding with Skill checks, all characters helping add their Skill rating (not their S%, but the Skill’s base rating) to the S% of the one making the check. The Higher Power determines how many characters are allowed to aid a given Skill check, and not all Skill checks may be aided.
Critical Successes
If doubles are rolled on an Attribute or Skill check and the result is a success, it is an exceptional success. The Higher Power determines the exact nature of the success. As a general rule, a critical success doubles the effect of a normal success.
Example: A driver is attempting to jump his car over a ditch. A gunman on the other side of the ditch is shooting at him. The driver rolls a critical success on his Drive check. Not only does he make the jump, but because of the critical success he manages to land on the gunman.
Critical Failures
If doubles are rolled on an Attribute or Skill check and the result is a failure, it is a disastrous failure. The Higher Power determines the exact nature of the failure. As a general rule, a critical failure doubles the effect of a normal failure.
Example: The driver from the previous example instead critically fails on his Drive check. He crashes headlong into the ditch, and because of the critical failure is also thrown through the windshield.
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