Osu-botano Pod, by Aliyus Rudh ( Only somewhat unpredictable, because of the averaging nature of: Pairs of dice ) ATTRIBUTES STRENGTH -- You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. Used when lifting that crate, swinging that sword, or for general smashing. BALANCE -- For staying upright and steady. Used when sneaking in the dark, dancing at a wedding, or when placing that last card on top of your perfect card pyramid. ATTENTION -- For noticing the the little things. Used passively to hear the assassin running across the rooftop above you, see the trip wire to a nearby trap, or to notice your enemy glance at his ally during a flanking maneuver. FOCUS -- For concentrating on any task. Used when actively searching for treasure, while lining up the perfect shot with your bow, or trying to read a spell book in the middle of a construction site. RESILIENCE -- For staying alive and healthy. Used to resist the effects of poison, to run for hours at a time, or to recover from a heavy blow. (MANA -- If the setting of the game includes magic of some kind, the player will probably need another way of measuring their ability when summoning fire, or controlling the minds of lesser beings.) CHARACTER CREATION Roll 5 pairs of six sided dice, recording the results. Assign those numbers your 5 attributes: like most RPGs, high numbers are better. Next, write short descriptions of your character's skill set, personality, background, beliefs, etc. These may be used by the DM for determining the difficulty of certain actions for your character. Usually, the DM chooses a number of skill points apropriate for his world or campeign; let's say 10; and assigns bonuses to relevant skills until all points have been used. Many DMs will prefer that you, as a player, take an active roll in this process. This ensures that your character's skill set matches your vision. Some DMs may ask experienced role-players to do this themselves. HOW DO SKILLS WORK? Skills in this system take on a much less technical roll, though they are still fundamental to the game. In short, a skill is any action that can be practiced. All the DM or player must do to establish a skill is to say a name for the activity which is to be performed. For instance: Boating, Juggling, Horse Riding, Archery, etc. Often, an activity in game may be similar to a skill description assigned to your character, but not necessarily practiced by them. In these cases there are a few options that the DM will choose from as far as calculating your bonus to any rolls: [/] Half-way similar - The character has a +3 to Horse Riding, and they are asked to care for a sick horse. In cases like these it isn't uncommon to use half of their Horse Riding skill, rounded up, as a bonus to the roll. Half-way similar skills are sometimes called "halfies" like so; Husbandry is a halfy of Riding. [<] Lesser of two - As before, the character has a +3 to horse riding. However, they are attempting to shoot a bow on horse-back. The character has a +1 to Archery, and because of the difficulty of combining the two actions, the DM uses the smaller bonus. The lesser of two method is only used when combining two relatable skills. When the character has no skill level with one of the two skills, then they use a +0 bonus. [:] Splitting skills - In some cases two skills are difficult enough that combining them into one roll for a given action would be too easy. A character may have a +4 to juggling, a +2 to Boating, and a +3 to Horse Riding, but juggling while on a horse in a rocking ship is just too difficult a task to be accomplished with one roll. Splitting skills is usually a matter of establishing the order in which each skill will demand the attention of the character. For instance, in the Juggling example, the character may be required to first make a Horse riding roll to mount and calm the horse, then a 'Lesser of two' Juggling/Boating roll, then perhaps other rolls depending on environmental factors while he or she is performing (the boat cresting a wave, the horse hearing a loud noise). [*] Stackable skills should be marked with a star or other symbol on a character's records, and are sometimes used to define Classes or Professions. A Stackable skill costs three times as many skill points to increase it's skill level (and subsequent bonus). The character Thaden has spent 6 skill points in Scouting, but he won't get a +6 bonus to actions he takes while he surveys the landscape; this skill instead has a +2 bonus, since it encompasses more than one minor skill type. When Thaden wants to build a tree stand as a look-out post, the activity might call for a skill like Wood Work, Pioneering, or Hunting: As a Scout, he will use his Scouting bonus in addition to his other skill bonus to determine the stand's usefulness and structural integrity. Unlike other skills, Stackable skills can only be increased in-game by critical successes. Special skills and abilities - some tasks cannot be performed without special training or supernatural ability. They may even be Stackable skills that have other special skills associated with them. For instance, a DM might reward a battle-mage with the ability to Teleport. Such abilities must be elaborated upon as the DM creates them, and may even imply the existence of other new skills such as 'Line-of-sight Teleporting' to teleport great distances, 'Teleport dodging' as a method of evading and moving in the same action, 'Sense teleportation' to determine the start and end locations of enemy mages, or 'Double teleport' to mitigate penalties associated with teleporting twice in one round. The new territory of special skills often requires new penalties for failure. For instance, a failure could give the teleporter a sudden migraine, whereas a critical failure might cause the teleporter to phase into a wall upon re-entry, maiming them permanently. GAINING SKILL LEVELS Instead of a point-buy system of skills, DMs give skill points to players directly after critical successes and failures on related rolls. Raechi might roll a 12 as she tries to shoot her bow, breaking her string or bow. The DM might give Raechi a skill level in Bow-Craft. Or if Raechi had rolled a 2, she could instead choose any Archery related skill and increase it's level. A BRIEF ON ROLLS To succeed at a task, the player 'rolls against' a certain attribute of their character, usually adding or subtracting from that attribute based on the difficulty and type of the task at hand. For example, Raechi is persuing a Separatist Assassin and must leap across a gully. She has a +1 to her Jump skill, but the 2 m gap gives Raechi a -2 penalty. Though jumping can be a Balance or Attention based action, the gap that Raechi is attempting to span is neither suddenly presented, nor will it require a graceful landing, so Raechi must rely on her Strength attribute. Raechi's STR is 5, so the number to roll below is 5 +1 -2, or 4. Raechi will not likely make this jump, so she stops before attempting the leap. She instead opts to rely on her Focus attribute in conjuction with a +2 bonus to Tracking, hoping to cross the gully with help from the local authorities and hunt the assasin as he travels through the Aleran Forest. HEALTH A character's health is not measured in 'points' like in other games. Rather, landing an attack on an enemy prompts them to make a Null-check. This check is made at a penalty equal to the difference between the attacker's roll and the attacker's attribute. Armor and shields often provide bonuses to Null-checks. If a Null-check is failed, the character drops to the next lowest State on the following chart: + State: Attribute to roll against for Null-check - Vibrant: Any - Healthy: RES, BAL, or ATT - Crippled: RES - Prostrate: None - Dead. Vibrant characters must make RES checks before and after combat, as well as one each night while sleeping to maintain their peak condition; So characters typically roll out of bed in a 'Healthy' state. To become Vibrant, a Healthy character must eat a hearty meal and sleep for 8 hours in a place of safety (i.e. guarded or policed) and without the need for any RES checks while asleep (i.e. sheltered, warm, and comfortable). If these conditions are met, the character makes a RES check upon waking to start their day. RES checks for staying Vibrant are sometimes called Vibrancy checks or VIB checks. While Crippled, a character must roll against their RES to perform any action. They can move 5 ft per round, or 10 on a successful RES check. Rolling a natural 12 on a RES check will allow the character to elevate to a Healthy state for one round. Sleeping 8 hours and succeeding a RES check will also elevate a character to a Healthy state. Prostrate victims can be kept unconscious (or immobile, if bound) by their aggressors, and the aggressors can even occupy themselves with other tasks, if they remain ATTentive. Attacking a prostrate character always succeeds. Fainting occurs if any one of a character's attribute scores are reduced to 0 for any reason. When a character faints, they are Prostrate until revived; then they are crippled until their attribute penalties have been annulled. ATTACK ROLLS Every attack requires a roll against a certain Attribute in order to hit, which is sometimes dependent upon the situation in which the weapon is being used. Weapon descriptions list the Attribute or Attributes that are required for their proper use, in addition to any effects that the weapon may grant. If a weapon description lists more than one Attribute, then a character may choose any of those Attributes to roll against when they attack. A success on this roll is called a 'hit', and implies a connecting blow or slash against the enemy if they choose to use their RES for their Null-check. If a situation requires the use of a certain attribute, and a character's weapon (or tool) does not list that attribute in their description, then the required roll is made at a penalty, and a failure to hit may have negative consequences. For example: Raechi discovers an Assassin's hiding place and, though she was carrying her bow in-hand, she is reacting suddenly, therefore she _must_ roll against her Attention. Since Raechi's bow is designed to be used by STRong or FOCused characters, Raechi's roll will be made with a -2 penalty. Raechi's Attention score is 6, so the roll to get _below_ is 6 -2 +4, or 8. Raechi rolls an 8, so she misses hits the target, if only by a hair's bredth. ATTACKS TYPES AND EFFECTS MAJOR CUTS AND BRUISES: If an attack hits, but a target succeeds their Null-check, then the target has been cut or bruised. If a character is cut or bruised, they cannot become Vibrant during the following day, since they will require time to heal. For combat specialised characters, this is the primary reason that Vibrant health cannot be maintained. LIGHT WEAPONS: Attacking with a small or lightweight weapon allows the enemy target to make the first 'true' attack. If a target is aware of an agressor and their intent to attack with a light weapon, then the target has the opportunity to attack as the aggressor 'closes in.' This is a reactive action, so the target won't likely have time to draw a lethal weapon without the use of special equipment. After this initial exchange, combat continues normally. Light weapons should include the 'light' keyword in their descriptions. HEAVY WEAPONS: Striking a heavy blow to an enemy can daze them, even if the weapon has a blade attached. If a heavy weapon like a mace or great-sword hits, and the target succeeds their Null-check, they must succeed the same Null-check again to avoid a 'non-lethal' blow. Heavy weapons should include the 'heavy' keyword in their descriptions. NON-LETHAL: Non-lethal attacks daze their targets after a failed Null-check, temporarily dropping their State for one round. If the target takes another hit while they are dazed and fail their Null-check, the original state drop becomes permanent, and any effects of the second hit are treated normally. So, after a successful 'bonk!' on the head of a 'Healthy' victim, they become Crippled for a turn, and if they are 'bonked' again, they will find themselves Prostrate and helpless for a turn. They will remain Crippled during any subsequent turns, and will need a good night's sleep to recover from the beating they just took. Non-lethal weapons should include the 'non-letal' keyword in their descriptions. UNARMED ATTACKS: Fists and feet are light, non-lethal weapons that roll against any attribute that the attacker chooses (including RES). Unfortunately, an unarmed attack against any enemy not only provokes an attack from that enemy (as with all light weapons), but also from all adjacent enemies. A description of a basic unarmed attack looks like this: -name-, -weight-, -description-, -price- unarmed, 0, light; non-lethal; attacks with this weapon allow any adjacent targets to have the first attack; STR RES BAL FOC ATT, 0 SURPRISE ATTACKS: Unaware targets do not have the luxury of choice when it comes to their Null-checks. An assassin (or an archer, after a successful FOC check) may choose the RES, BAL, or ATT Attribute for the opponent's Null-check. If a target is in a Vibrant state, however, they can always choose the attribute for their Null-check, even when taken by surprise. LETHAL WOUNDS: Bladed weapons and projectiles cause puncture wounds and gashes. After a failed Null-check against an attack from a bladed weapon (or arrow), a character will have to make a RES check at the beginning of their turn during every round that the wound is not properly attended (i.e. during combat). Every successful RES check reduces RES by 1, and every failed RES check reduces all attributes (including RES) by 2. If any attribute is reduced to 0, a wounded character faints and becomes Prostrate. While Prostrate, a wounded character must make a RES check every round: as before, a successful RES check still reduces RES by 1, however a failed RES check results in death. RANGED WEAPONS Ranged weapons take an uninterrupted turn for characters to to load and fire, making them difficult to use for character's within the meleeing range of enemies. Descriptions of ranged weapons include the keyword 'range' followed by the ideal number of meters away a target should be. For every 2 m (usually the size of one square, if using a battle grid) the difficulty of landing a hit will apply an additional -1 penalty to the attack roll. If ranged weapons are 'light' they provoke the initial attack if used against an adjacent target. Unfortunately, if this initial attack hits, an archer's arrow will fail to hit entirely, unless the archer's Null-check roll or subequent attack roll are critical successes (a natural roll of 2 is a critical success). If ranged weapons are 'heavy' they take two uninterrupted turns to load, aim, and fire. SNIPING: If a target is unaware of an archer's presence or occupied with another combatant, the archer may make a Surprise Attack (see above) if they use their FOC attribute to purposefully aim their weapon. TRAVEL AND GEAR If a character tries to carry too many things, they will be forced to Check themselves every round that they attempt to do anything of note. The maximum weights that characters can carry without making these checks are calculated by the following table: + Action, maximum load (kg), check to avoid collapsing (round down) - Hiking, STR x 5, RES -(excessKg / 5) - Combat, STR x 3, BAL -(excessKg / 3) - Swimming, STR / 2, STR -(2 x excessKg) Dawn of Worlds can make for an excellent world building method if you plan to maintain a 2d6 system ideology. INITIATIVE BAL or ATT roll where light weapons give +1 and heavy weapons give -1