Pentru Timmy

This system is not the traditional system using dice. In fact, there will be no dice used in this one at all. However, some things need to be covered before we actually start making characters, the main one being the way this will all work. Your characters stats will be determined by a series of 5 card poker hands. They will, in fact, gain extra traits based on these, as well as having some derived attributes change. Jokers are left IN the deck. Drawing one requires you to draw another card, but you get an extra trait, determined by the GM.

To better understand how certain things will change, you will need to know all the hands you can get. Or at least ones that will come up, since some of these are not generally better or worse than anything else. In order, from least to greatest, are nothing, Ace High (Having no other usable hand, but a single ace), Pair (two matching cards), Jacks (A pair of Jacks), Two Pairs, Three of a Kind (Three cards with the same number), Straight (5 cards in numerical order, no matching suit), Flush (5 cards are all the same suit, not in numerical order), Full House (Three of a kind and a pair), Dead Man's Hand (two black Aces, two black 8s, and a Jack of Diamonds), Four of a Kind, Straight Flush (5 cards, same suit in numerical order), and the Royal Flush (10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit.)

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

The first step in character creation is physical attributes. There are five of these: Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Health, and Speed. Each of these will, obviously, have different effects. Strength is used for, well, feats of strength: pushing a boulder, for example. Agility is used for avoidance, primarily, but has other uses, as well. Dexterity is used to pick pockets, shoot a gun accurately, etc. A character would use Health for resisting poison or surviving some magic. Speed is used to determine combat order, among other things.

The cards drawn for this can be arranged in any order you wish, of course.

For every hand you get above nothing, you get one point toward special traits. These points can be used to purchase normal traits, as well, but special traits may be more valuable. Also, the hand you get determines your starting HP. Having nothing gets 8 HP, and each hand above that gives an additional 2 points. Having a royal flush or dead man's hand starts you with 40 HP.

MENTAL ATTRIBUTES

The next step is determining mental attributes. These are Perception, Willpower, Education, Intuition, and Charisma. Perception is used to hear, see, or otherwise pick up concepts. Willpower is the control over one's own mind. One's Education is used for more abstract ideas, while Intuition is used for things learned without formal education. Charisma is how your character reacts to the world and, more importantly, how it reacts to them.

As with physical attributes, the hand cards can be organized as you wish.

For every card you get above nothing, you get one point for special traits. These points can also be used to get regular traits.

SPECIAL TRAITS

Each has a point cost, and the points that can be spent are dependent on your hand for both physical and mental attributes. If the point cost of the trait is a single number, then that is the cost. If it's a point range or lists multiple numbers otherwise, read the description for what each cost means.

7 Adept: Your character is a natural conduit of magic. They can choose up to five touch or self-targeting spells from any arcane study tree. They can use these spells whenever with no cost. However, if they get a useless hand, they have to draw one more card. This card is the nonlethal HP damage they take, with an ace being 14. If this card is a joker, another card is drawn, which makes them take lethal HP damage. As these are not actual spells, but innate abilities, any negative effects for failing don't take effect. This can be taken with Tempest, but the penalties are in addition to the Tempest ones.

2 Ambidextrous: Your character can use both hands equally. There is no penalty for dual-wielding (unless of course you're trying to dual-wield two 2-handed weapons. If that's the case, however, the penalty is cut in half).

1-7 Arcane Blood: Your character comes from an ancient magic bloodline. You must choose a specific line of magic, however. The available lines are Blood Magic, Sorcery, and Tribal Magic. The number is the degree of concentration of the bloodline. If it is completely pure, it's 7. For each point less, there is less concentration of the bloodline. These bonuses are used when casting spells. How they're used depends on the spells, but remember that with great power comes great responsibility; if you fail with a high concentration of magic blood, the drawbacks can be dangerous. Only one arcane bloodline may be chosen, even if both parents have different ones; one will always overpower the other. However, one with arcane blood can still choose an arcane study. An average rank is used (rounded down) in the study if this is done. Typically, Arcane Blood is the minimum hand the character gets automatically, though this is up to the GM and the spell in question.

1 Giant: Your character is huge. This causes a loss of 1 level of agility, but raises strength by two levels. This cannot be chosen if it raises strength above an ace.

3 Natural Languages: Your character can learn languages fairly quickly. It just comes naturally. There is a requirement for this trait, however: your character must start knowing at least three languages at no less than two levels each.

1-7 Natural Tech Skill: For some reason or other, your character is a natural at taking things apart and putting them back together. When using tech skills, they gain bonuses (dependent on the skill in question). Cannot be taken with regular Tech Skill. Higher than 4 levels of Natural Tech Skill negate the need to perform basic tech tests. With 7, only very complex machines or dangerous situations need to be tested.

1 Pretty: Your character is exceptionally pretty in comparison to others and gets +2 on charisma tests when peacefully persuading people.

6 Quick Learner: Your character gains an additional 10% points in addition to the normal ones gained at the end of a session, a campaign, or a campaign arc, rounded up.

4 Quick Study: Can't be taken with Quick Learner. Learning new skills costs two fewer points, to a minimum of 1.

1 Small Frame: Your character is tiny. This lowers strength by one level, but raises agility and speed by a level. This cannot be chosen if it raises agility or speed above an ace.

3 Tempest: Your character can use one spell from any arcane study tree. This cannot be taken with Arcane Blood or Arcane Study, however. This is the only spell they can use. They draw 5 cards for this spell, regardless of any other circumstances that would raise or lower it. The downside is that they automatically cast it if they get surprised and it CAN affect them. The target is randomly selected from everyone in range of the spell. This includes themselves, even if the spell says otherwise. If it's a spell that drains HP and gives it to the caster, and it targets your character, you only take damage; it is not negated by healing, since you lose the healing effect when targeting yourself. If it is a continuous drain effect, it will simply be a continuous damage spell.

7 Veteran of the Wastes: Your character knows how to survive in the wastelands between civilizations. They can find things easily and they know how to make things. They get a free point each in Scavenging and Tinkering, among other benefits at the GM's discretion.

NORMAL TRAITS

The number of normal trait points you get is any transfered from special traits, plus Intuition and Education. Face card values are 11 for a jack, 12 for a queen, 13 for a king, and 14 for an ace. Negative traits may give you points now, but be prepared to roleplay them later and face the consequences.

1-5 Account: Your character starts with an additional 200$ per level of this trait, and they can always ask for more during the game. The GM may give them more if it's necessary.

-1 to -5 Addiction: Your character is addicted to something, be it drugs, sex, gambling, or something else. They have to do this at least once a day (at -1) to as much as five times a day (-5). If they don't, they get a -1 for each day spent without it (to a maximum of -5). Once this penalty reaches -5, the addiction level goes closer to 0 (from -5 to -4, for example) every three days, but the penalty stays at -5. Once the addiction reaches 0, the penalty gets one step closer to 0 each day. They do, however, have triple the risk of gaining other addictions if they lose an addiction. Note that more dangerous addictions are also at a higher penalty than normal; addiction to impaling oneself on a spear, for example, would probably net a -5, while even an extreme addiction to making paper flowers wouldn't likely net much higher than a -1. The GM may increase or decrease the times required to overcome addictions, though a character's Willpower should play a roll in the curing of the addiction if this is the case.

-1 to -5 Allergy: Your character is allergic to something. The points gained for it are a combination of severity and rarity of the offender. A peanut allergy that could kill you (in modern times) would be a -5, while an allergy to dragon blood that causes a severe rash is only a -1.

2 Apt Pupil: The character can know one more starting spell than normal. This can be taken up to 3 times.

3 Arcane Prodigy: When learning a new spell, your character needs to spend only half the time to learn it.

1-7 Arcane Study: Your character has learned magic, probably from a book or years of study. The more points spent in this trait, the more power spells have. Only one study may be chosen. The studies include, but are not limited to: Necromancy, Divine, Geomancy, Hexing, and Mimicry.

-2 Bad Ears: Your character is hard of hearing. This is a -2 with perception tests related to hearing.

-2 Bad Eyes: Your character is near- or far-sighted, or maybe their vision is dim. They could even have light-sensitive eyes. This is a -2 with perception tests related to sight without appropriate correction (glasses, sunglasses, dark ambient light, bright ambient light, etc.)

5 Blandness: Your character looks perfectly average. So average, in fact, that it is a lot harder to pick them out from a crowd. Cannot be taken with Pretty or Ugly.

-10 Blind: Your character can't see at all. Cannot be taken with Bad Eyes, and it's not recommended to take Bad Ears or Deaf.

2 Contortion: Your character can bend in unnatural ways. The GM can determine what you can and can't do. Just ask if they think it's plausible.

-5 Coward: Your character is scared of pretty much everything.

-4 Curious: Your character wants to learn things. A lot of things. Even if common sense demands they avoid it. What's down that other hallway, with all that fire burning at the end? Were those gunshots?

-6 Deaf: Your character can't hear at all. You probably should avoid giving them Bad Eyes or making them Blind, but either way, they can't take this with Bad Ears.

-3 Elderly: Your character is over 80 years old. They lose 2 levels of Strength and Health.

5 Familiar: Your character has a pet. This pet can share basic senses and understand simple commands. It also shares telepathy with your character up to fifty feet away. If your character has the traits Arcane Blood: Sorcery, Arcane Blood: Tribal Magic, Arcane Study: Hexing, Arcane Study: Geomancy, or Arcane Study: Mimicry, the effect of a touch, self-targeting, or any effect centered on the caster can be centered on the familiar, as well. This familiar can be any animal the GM allows, though it's typically a bird or small mammal. If the familiar dies, your character will have nightmares of it for a week, getting no sleep. In addition to the fatigue penalty, they will also have a -3 on ALL tests for the first half of that week.

-2 Greedy: Your character wants it all, and more. They take everything they think they can sell if they don't think someone might miss it. Or if they think they will miss it. That depends on the greedy person in question.

-1 to -5 Hate: Your character hates a certain group of people. The amount of points you get depends on how common that group is. If the entire campaign takes place in Chinatown and your character hates asian people or tourists, and that'll be a -5. If your character lives in a vault and hates outsiders, and they never leave that vault, it's most likely a -1.

-3 Horny: Your character wants sex. Constantly. Despite society in big cities being sexually open, your character is still looked down on.

-5 Illiterate: Your character can't read at all until they have mastered a language (5 levels of the appropriate language), and even then, they can only read the most basic words. This includes their native language.

-3 Impulsive: Your character does things without thinking. Common sense rarely comes into play. Impulsive characters are often also Curious.

-3 Limp: Your character has a severe limp. They move more slowly. This can be doubled if they have a missing leg instead and have to use a crutch. That applies other penalties, too, of course.

-2 to 5 Living Arrangements: Your character starts with money equal to 300 plus 100 times their level of Living Arrangements. -2 is homeless, while 5 is disgustingly rich.

-5 Loyal: Your character would take a bullet for their friends. Or recent acquaintances. Or people they just met and have only introduced themselves to.

1-7 Martial Arts: Can be taken for multiple martial arts, with each rank being the mastery of each.

-4 Mechanic's Bane: Your character breaks things. Often. The GM can have fun with this one. Keep that in mind.

-6 Night Terrors: Your character has horrible nightmares every night and gets almost no sleep. They almost constantly have a fatigue penalty. These dreams, however, are inspired by spirits, and do occasionally give useful information...if you can decipher the dreams.

-2 Overconfident: Your character rushes into danger because they think they can handle it. No matter what.

5 Pain Tolerance: Your character isn't as likely to feel the effects of pain. This is also a required trait for the Arcane Blood: Blood Magic trait to use blood arcana.

1 Performer: Your character is naturally gifted at performing. They get +1 to draws for performances.

-2 Poor Health: Your character has poor health and is often sick. This gives a -2 to some tests, at the GM's discretion.

1-5 Something Nice: Your character starts out with something nice, like an engraved pistol. The value of the item must be equal to or less than 250$ times the level of this trait. This trait can be taken multiple times for each item. The character does not get the remaining cash, however.

2 Stamina: Your character makes half as many Health draws when running and gets a +2 to most health draws. The GM has the final word on when this bonus applies.

5 Tech Skill: Your character often used technology before the start of their new adventuring career. They need to perform far fewer tech tests than others. The GM will know exactly when to perform the checks.

-1 Ugly: Cannot be taken with Pretty, obviously. Your character is very ugly. Your character gets -2 when trying to peacefully persuade people.

-3 Underage: Your character is under 15 years old. They lose two points each of Strength and Education.

-5 Unlucky: Bad things happen to your character. Very bad things. Often. The GM is allowed to have very improbably bad things happen to your character, depending on the situation, if you fail something. If you fail, you fail horribly.

SKILLS

Your points in Skills are any extra points from Traits and Education + Intuition + Willpower. Each skill has a linked attribute for those who do not have the skill, but those tests will be done with fewer cards (three fewer, to be exact). Skills can have up to 5 ranks unless otherwise stated. To use a skill, you draw a hand with as many cards as the related attribute plus the level in the skill. Skills each have different hands that are required, based on the difficulty of the specific task.

Academia (Education): Your character has taken specialized classes. This skill must be taken for each class if you want your character to have more than one, and it cannot be taken alone. The classes include: The Occult, Religion, Technology, and Technomancy. Study of the Occult is used when trying to identify magic, among other things. Religion MUST be taken by anyone wanting to be a priest, along with Arcane Study: Divine. Technology is used to identify the purpose of a machine. Technomancy is the study of using magic to power machines or machines to power magic.

Bluff (Intuition): Your character knows how to lie to people. Effectively, at least.

Bravery (Willpower): Your character is not quite as afraid as others.

Climbing (Agility): Your character can climb effectively. Your character automatically has one level of this.

Connections (Charisma): Your character knows people who can find things out or do things for them. Every once in a while, they may run into them. This should be taken for individual contacts who may be helpful, but it can be taken on its own, as a general way of finding a reliable person.

Cybercombat (Education): Your character can make computer viruses that target specific things on a computer.

Disguise (Intuition): Your character can pretend to be someone else. They'll need appropriate disguises, of course.

Dodge (Speed): Your character can, at the cost of their highest combat action, once per round, avoid a bullet, bolt, or melee attack. They must know where the shot comes from. The minimum to avoid a bullet is a queen, or one lower per level in this. The minimum to avoid a melee attack is a 9, or one lower per level in this.

Driving (Intuition): Your character can drive a car. Just because they have the skill to do so doesn't mean they won't run out of gas.

Faith (Willpower): This must be taken with the Arcane Study: Divine trait in order to use divine arcana.

Forgery (Dexterity): Your character can imitate writing for practically anyone.

Gambling (Intuition): This must be taken with the Arcane Study: Mimicry trait in order to use mimicked arcana.

Hacking (Education): Your character can hack into other computers. This is just to get into and do things on the other computer, as well as making programs. This does not include cybercombat.

Hardware (Education): Your character can make and repair computer parts, if they have enough spare parts and the tools to do so. A single card is drawn for this skill, with a regular target. This target number is reduced by the level in this skill.

Hexslinging (Perception): This must be taken with the Arcane Study: Hexing trait in order to use hex arcana.

Instrument (Intuition): Your character can play a musical instrument. This must be taken for each individual instrument your character can play.

Intimidation (Charisma): Your character can scare someone into doing things. Or not doing things.

Language (Intuition): Your character speaks another language in addition to their native language. Arcane classes may want to take additional languages so they can learn from arcane texts. These texts are typically in Welsh, Latin, Greek, or Swedish.

Local Knowledge (Intuition): Your character knows their area fairly well. This is generally limited to the district they live in, but the GM may allow you to have knowledge of another area if your character is new. Your character automatically has two levels of this.

Lockpicking (Dexterity): Your character can pick locks. Each level affects a level of lock.

Medicine (Education): Your character can do first aid. 4 or 5 levels and your character can do basic surgeries.

Melee Weapons (Agility): This must be taken for each class of melee weapon your character can use. The classes are knives, one-handed swords, two-handed swords, clubs, and improvised. The last category is used for things picked up, like signs, ladders, and anything else that wouldn't fit into another category. Clubs covers any heavy weapon, generally. Cannot be taken alone.

Persuasion (Charisma): Your character can convince someone to do something.

Ritual (Intuition): This must be taken with the Arcane Study: Necromancy trait in order to use necromancy arcana.

Quick Draw (Speed): This can be taken for any weapon, melee or ranged. Must be taken for individual weapon classes and cannot be taken alone.

Scavenging (Perception): Your character can find things that may be useful.

Shadowing (Agility): Your character can follow another without being noticed. While it does use agility for stealth, perception checks must still be made to follow them, as normal.

Shooting (Perception): This must be taken for each class of gun your character can use. These classes are pistols, rifles, shotguns, crossbows, heavy guns, and rocket launchers. Cannot be taken alone.

Singing (Intuition): Your character can sing. You never know when this might come in handy.

Sneak (Agility): Your character is sneaky.

Speed Load (Speed): Your character can quickly load pistols, rifles, and shotguns. This must be taken for individual classes, not all.

Teaching (Charisma): Your character can teach things to others. There is a -2 penalty to try to teach physical skills.

Tech Arcana (Education): This trait must be taken with Academia: Technomancy if you want to incorporate technology into your magic or vice versa.

Theft (Dexterity): Your character's a thief. They steal stuff. That's what this is for. Specifically picking pockets.

Throwing (Strength): Your character could be a master pie-thrower. The more levels in this, the more accurate a throw can be.

Tinkering (Dexterity): Your character is good at taking things apart, putting them together, and making new things. They can fix things, too.

CONDITION

Your character isn't just a collection of skills and traits. They have HP, too. Two sets, in fact: Lethal and Nonlethal. If lethal HP reaches 0, they're dead. If nonlethal HP reaches 0, they pass out and wake up with 1 nonlethal HP after a few minutes. They can continue to take damage, though all damage when non-lethal HP is 0 is considered lethal, meaning their lethal HP will go down even for what would normally be non-lethal damage.

Starting lethal HP is Health plus Strength. Starting nonlethal HP is Health plus Willpower. The minimum is 9, though, so even someone with 2 Strength and Health won't die getting hit by a pebble.

Omni-genre Tabletop RPG System

Last Edit: 12 Jan, 2014.

Character Creation

Name your character and decide what he or she does for a living. Knowing what your character does for a living can help you decide which way to go with later steps. Additionally, it's nice to decide what your character looks like. You could just say "Blue eyes, brown hair, five feet three inches tall, 105 lbs" or you could go into a lot of detail right away and use it to decide things that relate to game mechanics later, if you do so at all.

Pick three to five motivations for your character. Motivations are broken down into four categories: Beliefs, Histories, Goals, and Fears. They give characters a connection to the game world, and help guide the story. It is the GM's responsibility to make a character's motivations into story elements. It is the players' responsibility to make these motivations specific and clear to facilitate this. Generally, no more than two motivations should be of the same type to make this easy for the GM.

Beliefs are moral or ethical values for your character (or lack thereof), like "elves are scum and don't deserve to walk the same streets as me." Beliefs should be strong beliefs, not just a phase your character is going through. A well-formed belief alters how a character is played. For example, if one was playing a character that believed elves are worthless, they won't likely kiss every elf they encounter (unless they have some sort of elf-killing poison on their lips). A belief should be able to be questioned through the plot. Maybe this anti-elf character had their life saved by an elf, or maybe they find out they have elven heritage.
Histories are personal relationships with a person, place, group, or thing, like "He was a member of the illuminati until he informally quit last year." Histories should not be wasted on saying "X character is related to Y character, also played by me." A well-formed History can lead the plot in a whole new direction, or even add an entire subplot all its own.
Goals are long-term objectives for your character, like "I will rid this city of elves and make it look like I had nothing to do with it." These goals do not have to be accomplished in one plot alone. The same character may be brought back into a campaign world and continue on their quest to kill every elf in sight. A well-formed goal should never be something easy to accomplish; if it was, the character would likely have done it already.
Fears are the opposite of goals in function; they are what your character absolutely does not want to happen. It differs from fears listed as traits, which would affect play, in that these fears affect the overall game world. These things should happen and characters should work through them to get through the plot. Any fear that would motivate a character should be allowed, but as with everything else, it's up to the player and GM to have the character act on these. An example of a well-formed fear: "I will die at the hands of someone who loves me due to a misunderstanding." It covers what they are afraid of and would alter the way the character is played.

Divide 10 points between your character's four attributes: Body, Mind, Awareness, and Spirit. For game purposes, these are treated as special traits and exist to ensure the character is never completely unprepared for a given situation. Attributes must have at least 1 point, but no more than 4.


Body is used for things that are physically stressful, when there is exertion, or anytime one would have to, say, jump from a moving beam to another one.
Mind is used for quick thinking or situations which require logic. Can be used to convince people of things IF they are very logical and you're trying to show them benefits of whatever you propose. Spirit would still be used, as well.
Awareness is used to notice sounds, objects in the distance, and lies, among other things.
Spirit is overall force of personality and passion, and is used to convince people of things, among other possible uses of a strong personality.

Divide 20 points between your character's traits and assets. These can be anything the player likes that fits the game's setting, described in at most a short sentence. Like Attributes, these should have between 1 and 4 points. Do not be ambiguous (see sample characters). Traits and assets allow the player to (A) Describe their character, and (B) emphasize their strengths and weaknesses. Traits and assets should fit a character's class and background, but that isn't to say they didn't dabble in something else in their spare time, so long as it makes sense for the character. Some equipment can have an asset attached, particularly weapons and armor. The asset represents the skill in using them, and may have other effects at the GMs discretion.

If it exists in the game world, magic is listed in this section as well. Individual spells are listed, but the rules on how they work is up to the player to describe afterward. Obviously, effects are up to the GM's approval. Alternatively, magic can simply be a single asset, though this will require approval from the GM.


Traits and assets can also be 0-ranked. 0-rank skills cannot be improved. They are typically racial abilities or things that won't be used in rolls, like if a "reformed" demon character has to spend the first round of combat focusing on not reverting back into their old ways (Combat Sickness 0). It's up to the GM how to treat these traits, but most of these are more for flavor than for an actual effect on the game.

If the GM uses the optional HP rules, roll a six-sided die and add your Body rating to it to determine your starting Hit Points. If the game uses levels, and the starting level is higher than 1, roll for each additional level, as well, adding the your Body rating for each level.

Sample Characters

Der'vasen
HP 9/9

Der'vasen is an elven Dread Knight.

Belief: "Only a coward fights with magic or with a bow."
Belief: "Only the weak talk their way out of fights."
History: "Had to watch his wife and daughters be raped and murdered by the soldiers at Fort Paladrian."
Goal: "I will get my revenge on the humans of Ivory Hill, starting with the captain at Fort Paladrian."

Attributes: Body 4, Mind 2, Awareness 1, Spirit 3

Traits and Assets:
Darkly Charismatic 4 (People are more likely to follow him out of fear)
Silent Step 2
Greatsword 4
Intimidation 3
Tactician 1
Hatred for Humans 3
Armor Piercing 1 (Deals 1 point of additional damage after damage reduction from armor)
Warped Honour 2

Equipment: Greatsword, leather-reinforced clothing


Avenya

Avenya has pale blond hair and even lighter skin. She has heterochromia, with one blue eye and one green eye. She is a spy and mercenary who operates under the guise of a seller of an ambiguous product that she insists no one buys.

Belief: "There's nothing that money can't buy."
Belief: "If they can't be swayed by words or money, shoot them."
Goal: "I will earn my own ship and a home for my mother, Erynn, and my sister, Leigh, so they at least have a home on the moon."
Fear: "My family will be killed before I can achieve my goal."

Attributes: Body 2, Mind 3, Awareness 4, Spirit 1

Traits and Assets:
Former Mechanic 3
Deceptive 4
Pistols 4
Rifles 3
Intimidating 3
Family-Sensitive 1
Utilitarian 3

Equipment: Light Pistol, Communicator


Nelei (pronounced "Neh RAY")
HP 26/26

Nelei is a nyane hybrid, but doesn't know what kind as she is unsure of what her non-nyane parent was. She doesn't look like a child, instead looking like a preteen. Her arm and leg fur is softer and only half as long as a normal nyane and has streaks of violet in it. The parts closest to her hands have bloodstains from her trade as a blood apothecary, but she tries to keep the fur as soft as she can. She has one violet eye and one mango orange one, which is unnatural for any race. Her ears are smaller than a normal nyane and her head hair is nowhere near as exotic in color, simply being a shade of brown. It should be noted that while she has a knife with which to draw her blood for magic, she prefers to use her teeth.

Belief: "If a few people have to die to make me stronger, they're going to be remembered as martyrs for a good cause."
History: "She has never met her own parents, and doesn't know whether she was abandoned or orphaned."
Goal: "I will be known as a nyane when history remembers me, and not as a human."

Attributes: Body 2, Spirit 2, Mind 3, Awareness 3

Traits and Assets:
Heterochromia 0
Outcast of Her Own Race 2
Blood Sacrifice (spell) 4 (Sacrifices owns blood to heal another or vice versa. If casting on an unwilling target, the chance of success is penalized by target's Spirit score. The penalty is cut in half (rounding up) if Blood Control is used prior to casting. Requires the one sacrificing to have blood, but not the one being healed. The total HP transferred (in a 1-to-1 ratio) is no more than (rank)d6, so right now: 4d6 (4-24). Causes the one to sacrifice to lose (rank)d2-(rank) HP per turn from bleeding (4d2-4, 0-4) until the wounds are treated)
Knives 1
Blood Control (spell) 4 (Controls the flow of blood in the target. Doesn't do much on its own, but can be used to temporarily prevent or cause bleeding, doing (rank)d2-(rank) damage per turn: 4d2-4 (0-4). Obviously, the target must have blood.)
Hiding 2
Secretive 1
Appearance of Innocence 3
Flesh Mending (spell) 3 (Stops bleeding if successful. If used right after Blood Control, automatically succeeds. Only works on fleshy creatures. Blood is not necessary; however, this spell is purely cosmetic if the target has no blood.)
Blood Slave (spell) 3 (Only works on creatures with blood. Chance of success is a normal pass/fail roll with a penalty equal to the target's Mind score. If no Mind score is presented, it is assumed to be 2. Can only have one slave at a time, and control only lasts until the caster sleeps. The slave can think and remember what they've done while enslaved, and if it goes against their wishes, can fight back against the control (Mind check, penalty equal to the caster's rank in this spell). Success of this spell causes both the target and the caster lose blood at a rate of (rank)d2-(rank): 3d2-3 (0-3))

Equipment: A jagged knife, the robes of a priestess, an apron, and all the tools and herbs necessary to make common, non-magical salves and poultices.


Tir'vanil
HP 6/6

An elven wilder; a magic user who does not believe in the magic academies, and whose very existence is illegal because of this. To her, an assassin is a weapon, and no longer alive, so she feels no more sympathy for one she kills than she would for a broken sword. 

Belief: "Mages should all be free, but those that prove dangerous should be contained."
History: "Fled the forest when she was nearly killed by Red."
Fear: "I will be forced into the bondage of magic-fearing humans."

Mind 4, Spirit 2, Awareness 2, Body 2

Charismatic 4
Poison Dart (spell) 4 (deals 3 poison damage per turn (5 seconds) for a minute (12 turns). Target gets a new body roll to resist every turn. Effect ends when target either succeeds or dies.)
Restoration (spell) 4 (heals 4 HP and removes poison)
Chain Lightning (spell) 4 (deals 4 damage to the target, then passes to the nearest creature or conductive surface, dealing 3, then bounces again for 2, then again for 1)
Dagger 2
Dagger 2

Equipment: Two daggers, a robe, and a backpack.


Harry

Belief: "I will not accept my common ancestry, because my family is all weak!"
Belief: "Rage in battle is all that is important. And bloodshed."
Goal: "I will kill every last person who stands in my way as I hunt the person who turned my family against me."
History: "Harry was born into a perfectly normal rich family, but when he was sold out to save the family from taxes, he went into a rage and slaughtered those who came to take him."

Body 4, Mind 1, Spirit 4, Awareness 1

Greatsword Training 4
Not Afraid To Kill 4
Easily Angered 4
Bloodlust 2 (Unlikely to stop killing once he starts)
Greatswords 4
Light Armors 2

Equipment: A greatsword carved with primal designs, lightweight and low quality leather armor, furs

Character Advancement

Whenever a character does something spectacular, or when the story reaches certain GM specified checkpoints that would warrant it, he or she gains 1 point to spend in traits and assets. This point is spent immediately upon gaining the level. It cannot be used to gain equipment, but if the character has an appropriate related asset or trait, it can be used to improve existing equipment. It can also be used to raise HP, if that system is used. The player may be rewarded for playing negative traits well, which is why even negative traits have a positive value.

Action Resolution

Whenever an action being taken matters to the events of the story, the GM may ask the players involved to roll a d20. The base goal for success is 10, but this will be increased by the Difficulty trait of the task at hand, or anything else the GM sees fit. The player then adds appropriate traits and assets to his or her roll. The player's roll needs to exceed the target number for success. Only the players roll; if they are being attacked by an enemy, the enemy is treated as any other task. The GM may lower the target number if an applicable trait would do so, and the players are encouraged to do so as well. The GM may also penalize characters for a task for other reasons, like trying to jump from rooftop to rooftop in heavy plate armor, penalizing the score by the rating of said armor.

Examples:

Player: "Avenya shoots the elf in the face with her pistol." [Body 2, Pistols 4; +6 to the roll]
GM: "Roll it. You need a 16." (10 + Body 4 + Evasion 2)
Player: (rolls 11, then adds the 6 from Body and Pistols to get a 17.)
GM: "Avenya attempts to shoot the elf in the face, but misses. Luckily for her, she did hit his ear, suddenly making him a half elf."

Player: "Avenya jumps from the collapsing tower to the ship."
GM: (Rolls a 20-sided die, adding Avenya's Body score of 2. This is not enough to succeed, but she notices the Utilitarian asset and adds it to the score.) "The tower collapses a little too far to the left for Avenya to make it to the door of the ship, but she catches onto the wing as she passes it, avoiding the 400 foot drop."

Players can volunteer to fail a roll, as well. This provides no special benefits. However, the GM should take note of times when they volunteer to have traits or assets work against themselves, as they may be rewarded for it later with an advancement point.

Hit Points (HP)

Hit points are optional, so if the GM or players want to do away with this rule, they are free to. Instead, the GM can have the players roll against the attribute (the attribute would depend on the source of the damage) or take some effect from it. Alternatively, the GM may decide not to use either system, instead using logic to determine the outcome.

How a gunshot to the chest can play out:

HP system:
GM: "He shoots you in the chest, dealing 32 damage. You have 1 HP remaining."

Attribute Save System:
GM: "He shoots you in the chest."
Player: (rolls against character's Body attribute and fails)
GM: "You go into shock and soon die from blood loss."

Storytelling:
GM: "He shoots you in the chest."
Player: "Edward feels immense pain, then quickly bleeds to death. As he is dying, he tries to throw his magic dagger to Lyna."
GM: (Makes an attribute check for Body and Awareness, and a trait check for Juggler, failing with the first two, but succeeding with the last, implying the gun does not go skittering away on the floor) "Edward tries to throw the dagger to Lyna, but he's grown too weak. Instead, it ends up being caught by Sir Jarvis in the hand that's not holding the gun."

Did your HP reach 0? Don't worry, it's not over right then. Your character will remain alive, but unconscious, taking one point of damage each round. They are only dead if their HP reaches its negative maximum. For example, if Tir'vanil were to fall in combat, she could drop to -6 HP before she would be dead. Unconscious characters cannot avoid being hit while unconscious, and take 50% more damage. Damage is not reduced except by armor, whether natural or synthetic. The Body score does not reduce damage when unconscious.

Things Not Covered Elsewhere

Things not covered, like money, are either determined by traits and assets ("Wealthy 3") or by whatever is most convenient to the plot.

The rules do not cover damage, defense, or evasion in detail, nor should they. These are campaign and genre-specific, if they're included at all. All rules concerning them are up to the GM.

Remember that story trumps rules, and the GM has the final word. Starting points are up to the GM, as well. The numbers given here, however, are likely to balance play more than higher numbers, but different stories have different requirements. For example, a survival horror campaign will likely start with fewer points in order to increase the risk, while a superhero campaign may have double or even triple the points.

Type 5 Character Creation

This is a completely separate game from the other one. This one is even MORE simple; fewer things to pay attention to and such.

Attributes

There are two attributes: Body and Mind. These are determined by class and race.

Races

Each race has a base body or mind score.

Race Human Elf Dwarf Faerie Minotaur

Body 10 8 12 5 15

Mind 10 12 8 15 5

Classes

Each class adds to at least one of the attributes and grants a skill that can be used once per turn in place of an attack. It also determines HP.

Class Fighter Mage Knight Spellsword Rogue

Body +6 +0 +4 +2 +3

Mind +0 +6 +2 +4 +3

HP 25 15 35 30 20

Skill Double Strike (Attack Twice) Fire (Ranged, deals 10 damage) Heal (Restore 15 HP to an ally) Hold (Target misses next turn) Steal (Steals an item or gold if available), Backstab (+1 damage per level if behind the target)

Money and Equipment

Each class starts with a set amount of money. Fighters and Spellswords get 100 Gold, Mages get 40 Gold, Rogues get 80 Gold, and Knights get 150 Gold.

Weapon Dagger Greatsword Longsword Short Sword Spear (Reach) Bow (Ranged) Shields Small Shield Medium Shield Large Shield Armor Robe Padded Armor Leather Armor Studded Leather Chainmail Shirt Chainmail Armor Breastplate Plate Mail Food Light Meal Dry Meal Nutritious Meal Clothing Standard Clothing Feminine Clothing Masculine Clothing Decayed Clothing

Price 4 50 20 12 18 16 --- 5 10 15 --- 5 10 15 25 50 75 150 400 (daily) 1 2 1 --- 5 10 10 0

Damage 4 20 15 10 17 17 Armor 1 2 3 Armor 1 2 3 4 5 7 9 14 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Restrictions None Knight Fighter, Knight, Spellsword, Rogue Fighter, Rogue Fighter, Knight Fighter, Rogue --- Fighter, Spellsword Fighter, Knight, Spellsword Knight --- Fighter, Mage, Spellsword, Rogue Fighter, Mage, Spellsword, Rogue Fighter, Knight, Spellsword, Rogue Fighter, Knight, Spellsword, Rogue Fighter, Knight, Spellsword, Rogue Fighter, Knight, Spellsword Fighter, Knight, Spellsword Knight, Spellsword --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Level

Characters start at level 1. At each level afterward or at certain levels, each class gains a bonus: Fighters deal 1 more damage with attacks for each level past 1 (+1 at Level 2, +2 at Level 3, etc.) and gain 4 HP; Mages deal 2 more damage with Fire for each level past 1 (+2 at Level 2, +4 at Level 3, etc.) and gain 2 HP; Knights deal 1 more damage with attacks for each level past 1 (+1 at Level 2, +2 at Level 3, etc.), they heal 1 additional point of HP with Heal for each level past 1 (16 at Level 2, 16 at Level 3, etc.) and gain 5 HP; Spellswords' Hold lasts for one turn per level (1 turn at Level 1, 2 turns at Level 2, 3 turns at Level 3) and gain 3 HP; Rogues deal 1 more damage with attacks for each level past 1 (+1 at Level 2, +2 at Level 3, etc.) and gain 2 HP.

Levels are gained at the GMs discretion after an adventure. If a GM chooses, they may decide to implement some sort of experience system. The GM must be fair and would choose which characters to level up wisely; the decision should be balanced with the current adventure: if healing is frequently needed, the Knight should level up quicker than the others (to restore more HP with Heal); if there are swarms of enemies, the Fighter should level up quicker (to take out two at a time), etc.

Battle

If the players find themselves in a combat situation -which they inevitably will-, they will need to determine the order of the turns. For players, it is a consensual decision among them; they may choose a turn order in the very beginning of the game and pick up in the order where they left off or any other method. Enemies, unless they managed to ambush or surprise the party, go after the players in whatever order the GM chooses.

Attacks automatically hit unless the GM wants to add flare to the story ("You swing at the goblin, but miss, your sword getting stuck in the wooden statue.").

Attacks deal the base damage listed plus any class, environmental, or situational bonuses, then armor is subtracted from this number. If a Level 10 Knight with a Greatsword attacks another Knight wearing Plate Mail, the attack will deal 16 damage (20 + 10 - 14). The GM may choose to vary the damage by some means (such as subtracting 2 from the damage and rolling a four sided die, adding the roll to the damage). They may wish to add a method to inflict critical hits, which will generally deal between 150% and 300% damage (200% or 2x being the most common).

Type 4 Character Creation

Stats: (from 3 to 18, or 3d6)

Strength

Flexibility

Stamina

Magic

Spirit

Intimidation

Charm

Classes: (followed by bonus class skillsets (or a skill in italics, or something else underlined))

Fighter (Str + 1, Int + 1) - Bonus Feat

Barbarian (Str + 2, Sta + 2, Int - 2) - Rage

Light Paladin (Str + 1, Spi + 1) - White Magic

Dark Paladin (Str + 1, Sta + 1) - Black Magic

Thief (Fle + 1, Cha + 1) - Steal, Pick Locks, Move Silently

Assassin (Fle + 1, Spi + 1) - Critical Plus, Shadowstep

Wild Mage (Mag + 1, Cha + 1) - Wild Magic

Necromancer (Fle + 1, Mag + 1) - Black Magic

Priest (Sta + 1, Cha + 1) - White Magic

Bard (Spi + 1, Cha + 1) - Song and Dance

Skills

Critical Plus (Chance to critical goes up 1% per rank, up to 5 ranks)

Rage (Lasts 1 round per rank (up to 5 ranks), HP + 10% per rank, Str + 1 per rank, Sta + 1 per rank, Int + 1 per rank)

Steal (Pick someone's pocket with 50% success + 5% per rank - 3 per point of target's spirit + 15% if currently unseen + 20% if invisible + 1 per point of user's flexibility, up to 8 ranks)

Pick Locks (Pick a lock with 50% success + 5% per rank - 15% per difficulty level of the lock above Cheap + 1 for each point of Stamina, up to 8 ranks)

Move Silently (Move very quietly, 50% chance of being detected + 5% per rank - 10% in medium armor - 50% in heavy armor + 1 for each point of Stamina + 1 for each point of flexibility, up to 8 ranks)

Shadowstep (Move invisibly in shadows, 50% chance of being detected + 5% per rank - 10% in medium armor - 50% in heavy armor + 1 for each point of Stamina + 1 for each point of flexibility - 10 if an unaware person is to see you -20 if someone is actively looking for you, up to 8 ranks)

Climbing (Able to climb. Checks are based on Flexibility. Rolls get + 1 per rank, up to 3 ranks)

Running (Able to run fast. Checks are based on Flexibility. Rolls get + 1 per rank, up to 3 ranks)

Jumping (Able to jump high. Checks are based on Strength. Rolls get + 1 per rank, up to 3 ranks)

Sliding (Able to slide horizontally. Requires at least one rank of Running. Checks are based on Flexibility. Rolls get + 1 per rank, up to 3 ranks.)

Feats

Improved Criticals (+5% chance for criticals)

Critical Momentum (Extra attack each time you get a critical)

Ferocious Nature (Get + 1 to rolls in Intimidation checks)

Charmer (Get + 1 to rolls in Charm checks)

Deft Hands (Get + 5 when stealing or picking locks)

Stealthy (Get + 5 when moving silently or shadowstepping)

Toughness (Get +3 to HP, stacking, limitless)

Weapon Specialization (Deal + 1 damage with weapon of choice, can get for multiple weapons)

-Weapon Mastery (Get + 1 chance to hit with weapon of choice, can get for multiple weapons, requires Specialization in that weapon)

Fast Casting (Cast spells in 3/4 the casting time. Requires 14 Spirit.)

-Implied Motion (Cast spells, ignoring somatic components. Requires Fast Casting.)

--Thought Speak (Cast spells, ignoring verbal components. Requires Implied Motion.)

---Omnipresence (Cast spells, ignoring material components. Requires Thought Speak.)

---Good Memory (Able to cast one more spell of each level each day. Requires Thought Speak.)

Strong Legs (Get + 1 on rolls for Running and Jumping. Requires 12 Strength)

-Parkour (Get + 1 on rolls for Climbing and Sliding. Requires 14 Flexibility and Strong Legs)

Armor Specialization (Get + 1 chance to hit while wearing medium or heavy armors. Requires 15 Strength)

Type 3 Character Creation

Characters start with 300 "Character Creation Points". These points can be spent however the player wishes on attributes and skills. Each time the character gains a level, they gain another 20 points to spend however.

Initially, players also choose a class for their character. These classes provide free points in an attribute and a free skill.

---

Attributes

These start at 0 and cannot go below that. They have no upper limit, but the more points spent in each, the more likely checks in them are to succeed. Checks are a comparison of the required attribute for a task and the character's attribute. Success if the character's attribute is higher than the requirement.

Strength (STR) - Melee attacks deal damage equal to Strength.

Motion (MOT) - Ranged attacks deal damage equal to Motion.

Constitution (CON) - How much HP a character has is equal to Constitution.

Psyche (PSY) - Magic attacks deal damage equal to Psyche. Magic healing restores HP equal to Psyche.

Fellowship (FEL) - Higher Fellowship than the one it's being used on allows discounts in stores, trust in the character, and likability. Low Fellowship results in higher prices, distrust in the character, and unlikability.

---

Classes

The points and skills gained from classes are non-refundable. Only one class can be selected. If two skills are listed, only one can be taken.

Knights can gain an additional 10 points in Strength. They also start out with Melee Combat OR Ranged Combat at no cost.

Thieves can gain an additional 10 points in Motion. They also start out with Stealing OR Parkour at no cost.

Barbarians can gain an additional 10 points in Constitution. They also start out with Rage at no cost.

Disciples can gain an additional 10 points in Psyche. They also start out with Combat Magic OR Support Magic at no cost.

Bards can gain an additional 10 points in Fellowship. They also start out with Musical Instrument OR Dance at no cost.

---

Skills

Skills cost 10 points each.

Balance - Character can balance more successfully.

Climbing - Character can climb effectively.

Combat Magic - Character can use combat magic.

Dance - Character can dance.

Fast Casting - Character can cast spells in half the time.

Implied Movement - Character doesn't need to move to cast spells.

Implied Words - Character doesn't need to chant to cast spells.

Intimidation - Character is twice as effective with Strength persuasion.

Jumping - Character can jump higher.

Melee Combat - Character deals more damage with melee attacks.

Mounted Combat - Character deals more damage while mounted.

Musical Instrument - Character can play a musical instrument. This skill can be taken for individual instruments.

Parkour - Character knows how to get from Point A to Point B by climbing, swimming, sliding, and other skills. This is more specific than the individual skills as it is for a more urban setting.

Persuasion - Character is twice as effective with Fellowship persuasion.

Rage - Character deals more damage without weapons.

Ranged Combat - Character deals more damage with ranged weapons.

Riding - Character can ride mounts.

Running - Character can run for longer before getting tired.

Stealing - Character can steal from other character and pick locks.

Support Magic - Character can use support magic.

Swimming - Character can swim.

---

Combat Magic

Must have the Combat Magic skill to spend points on these. Each spell costs 15 points.

Fireball - Creates a tiny bead that when thrown, erupts in flame.

Spark - Creates a tiny bead that when thrown, creates an electric field.

Death Touch - Touch an enemy to deal direct damage to their body.

Fear - Targeted creature becomes terrified and flees if they fail a psyche check.
Drain Touch - Touch an enemy to restore health while lowering the enemy's.

---

Support Magic

Must have the Support Magic skill to spend points on these. Each spell costs 15 points.

Restore - Heals an ally.

Remove Fear - As the name implies, removes magical fear.

Ward Against Elements - Cuts elemental damage in half against an ally.

Ward Against Damage - Cuts non-elemental, physical damage in half against an ally.
Ward Against Draining - Cuts damage from draining in half against an ally.