Adventurers are defined by Attributes, Skills, and Combat Values.
Attribute and Skill levels begin at 0. Beginners get 20 levels to divide among them. They may spend no more than 5 on any one thing. Combat Values are derived from these.
Attributes
These measure the basic attributes of a character.
Brawn is physical strength. Brawny characters hit more often in melee, do more damage, can take more damage, and can lift heavier crap than others. Brawny characters are big and scary.
Brains is a measure of intellect. Brainy characters know stuff and can figure out puzzles and shit. Brains aren't very important unless one is a Wizard.
Moves is a measure of how fast and slick you are. Moves lets a character run fast, dodge attacks, and hit more often with sissy weapons like rapiers and bows. High Moves means one is agile, sneaky, and good at running away.
Cool is just what it sounds like. The more Cool you have, the more cool you are - people will listen to you, want to be like you, and sometimes even do what you say. Cool is important for every character, but especially for Clerics.
Skills
Skills measure what a character is good at. They are added to any rolls involving the Skill regardless of the Attribute involved.
Fighters like to do stuff like march, ride horses, act tough, push people around, and beat people up.
Clerics enjoy philosophizing, preaching, and making others feel inspired or ashamed. They can heal wounds, cure diseases, and destroy unholy creatures like zombies and vampires and demons and smurfs. They are also protected by divine grace.
Wizards are nerds with amazing powers. They can teleport, turn invisible, and throw lightning bolts and fireballs at people they don't like. They also know a lot about arcane shit like magic and artifacts and other planes of existence. Nobody likes Wizards.
Experts are good at everything not related to fighting, clericking, or wizarding. They can't fight and don't have any kewl powerz, but they have their uses.
Combat Values
Speed is how many spaces you can run in a single action. It is equal to 6 + Moves.
Defense is the ability to not get hurt by weapons. It is equal to 10 + Moves + Fighter + Cleric + Armor.
Defiance is the ability to not get hurt by magical attacks. It is equal to 10 + Cool + Cleric + Wizard.
Hit Points is how much damage you can take before you drop. Characters get 10 for every level of Brawn or Fighter and 5 for every level of Cleric, Wizard, or Expert. In other words, HP is equal to (Brawn + Fighter) * 10 + (Cleric + Wizard + Expert) * 5.
Gear
| Weapons | |
|---|---|
| Weapon | Offense |
| None | Brawn OR Moves + Fighter |
| Bow | Moves + Fighter + 4 |
| Rapier | Moves + Fighter + 6 |
| Longsword | Brawn + Fighter + 8 |
| Bastard Sword | Brawn + Fighter + 10 |
Bows can attack at range. -1 to Offense for every five spaces between the attacker and the target.
Melee weapons require the attacker to be adjacent to the target. Brawny fighters may use two longswords to get +10 Offense if that seems cooler than using one bastard sword.
| Armor | |
|---|---|
| Armor | Defense |
| None | Moves + Fighter + Cleric |
| Leather | Moves + Fighter + Cleric + 2 |
| Chain Mail | Moves + Fighter + Cleric + 4 |
| Plate Mail | Moves + Fighter + Cleric + 6 |
| Tank Mail | Moves + Fighter + Cleric + 8 |
Armor does not stack - you can't wear Chain Mail over Leather to get +6 Defense. You can use a Shield to get +2 Defense in addition to other armor, but the Shield takes up a hand that could be used for a weapon. Armor interferes with almost everything not related to fighting, clericing, or talking. Armor value should be subtracted from any skill rolls involving Moves except for attacking. Wizards can't cast spells in armor at all.
Action
Whenever a player wants to do something, he rolls 1d20 and adds the appropriate Attribute and/or Skill. Which Attribute and Skill to use should be obvious based on what the character is trying to do. If the player rolls a 1, the action fails. If the player rolls a 20, he gets to roll again and add the new result to his original 20. If he rolls another 20, he gets to roll a third time. This continues until a non-twenty is rolled.
In combat, time and space is divided into rounds and spaces. A round is about six seconds; a space is about 5 feet. At the beginning of each round, all characters roll their Brains or Moves (whichever is higher) to determine who goes first.
One any given round, a character may take two physical actions, use one Cleric power, or cast one Wizard spell.
Fighters can choose two maneuvers from the following list:
You can move and attack, attack and move, move twice, attack twice, aim and attack, dodge twice, etc. You can also use an action for something else, like breaking down a door or picking a lock.
To make an attack, the player rolls his Offense and subtracts the target's Defense. If the number is greater than zero, the victim takes that many hit points.
Using a divine power or magic spell requires a full action. The character must stand still and concentrate, thus losing any Defense bonus from Moves or Fighter (Cleric and Armor still count). If the character is injured before his initiative, the power fails.
When hit points reach zero, the victim drops. He will not recover until bandaged or healed. Bandaging a fallen comrade is a full-round action and brings the character to 1 HP.
Sneak Attacks
Stealth can be used to sneak up on things. The sneaker must roll Moves + Expert. If this is greater than 10 + the target's Brains + Expert + Cleric (there's that divine protection again), the target is unaware of the sneaker. The difference between the two can then be added to Offense for a surprise attack. In addition, the target gets no Defense from Moves or Fighter.
This doesn't normally work during combat, when everyone is watching their backs, unless the sneaker is invisible or something.
Divine Powers
Clerics are pretty weak by themselves, but can call upon their deities for help. Each divine roll is 1d20 + Cool + Cleric.
Heal
Both cleric and target must remain still for one round.
The target regains a number of HP equal to the divine roll.
Harm
This spell allows the cleric to make a melee attack using his divine power.
The divine roll is made vs the target's Defiance.
The difference is the number of HP inflicted.
Harm only affects living creatures.
Cure
Both cleric and target must remain still for one round.
The cleric then makes a divine roll.
If he rolls higher than the target number of the disease or poison, the target is cured.
Disease
This spell allows the cleric to inflict disease upon an adjacent target.
If the divine roll is greater than the target's Defiance, the victim is afflicted with a
horrible wasting disease. All Attributes are reduced by the difference until the
disease is cured.
Bless
Bless is used to remove curses.
If the divine roll is higher than 10 + the cursing cleric's Cleric + Cool, the curse is lifted.
Curse
The cleric makes a divine roll vs the Defiance of the target.
If successful, the target is cursed and suffers a penalty to all rolls equal
to the difference until the curse is removed.
Multiple curses are not cumulative; the largest is used.
Spiritual Hammer
This spell allows the cleric to make a melee attack using his divine power against nonliving
creatures such as golems, elementals, and undead.
Holy Smite
Clerics can beg their deities to smite their enemies.
If the enemy in question is unholy or one the deity truly despises, then the deity will oblige.
The cleric makes a divine roll with a +10 bonus.
This roll is compared to the Defiance of each eligible target in sight.
The difference is the number of hit points inflicted.
Magic Spells
Wizards are badass. Each magic roll is 1d20 + Brains + Wizard.
Magic Missile
The most direct magical attack.
The wizard rolls his magic with a +10 bonus vs the Defiance of the target.
If successful, the difference is the number of HP inflicted.
Shield
This spell lets the Wizard add his Wizard level to defense.
The shield lasts a number of rounds equal to the magic roll.
Shield spells negate Magic Missiles completely.
Dispel
Dis spell is an attempt to wreck the magic of others. The wizard must
roll higher than the creating wizard's 10 + Brains + Wizard. If successful,
the spell or magic item is doomed.
Invisibility
This spell turns the target invisible for a number of rounds equal to the magic roll.
Attacking, using a divine power, or casting a spell ends the invisibility.
Teleport
This spell allows the wizard to move from place to place without having to walk.
The wizard can move a number of spaces equal to the magic roll.
Dimension Door
Like teleport, only it opens a gateway that others besides the wizard - friend or foe - can use.
The door lasts for ten rounds.
Lightning Bolt
Bolts begin at the caster and damage everything in a straight line to the designated target (maximum 50 spaces).
The caster makes one magic roll. This roll is compared to the Defiance of each victim. The difference is the HP inflicted.
Fireball
The ultimate in destruction.
Fireballs damage everything - friend or foe - in a 7x7 area.
The caster makes one magic roll. This roll is compared to the Defiance of each victim. The difference is the HP inflicted.
Experience
Adventurers get tougher when they kill things and take their stuff. The Bastard will sometimes give out Experience Points when players succeed at some task. These points can be used to raise Attributes and Skills. This is completely arbitrary, so you might get screwed if your Bastard is a dick.
Copyright 2007 by Joshua Morris