-Beta Test-
David J. Powers
Copyright 2016 Subnet Studios
Introduction:
Welcome to the first edition of the Subnet d6 RPG Ruleset. This is the Core Rulebook. If you’re new to Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games, you’re in for a treat. We here at SGS have worked tirelessly to create a rule system that is easy to learn, quick to begin playing with, and fun to master.
Don’t have funny looking differently shaped dice? No problem! This one is based off of the most common die, the lowly d6, those cube ones with the dots found in almost every board game. Go on, scavenge those babies from every cardboard box in your home, grab a pencil and either print off a Subnet Character Sheet or grab a piece of paper.
This Core Rulebook will be divided into several sections: Character Creation, Skills, Equipment, Combat, and Settings.
The Settings Chapter will deal with things like starships, psychic abilities, magic, and cybernetics. The three settings we’ll be looking at are Subnet Masks, a cyberpunk setting set in the near dingy, corrupt future, Dying Suns, a Science Fantasy setting set in the far future with solar system jumping gates, blaster rifles, and incredible psychic powers, and finally Tales of the Asandari, a high fantasy setting with airships, powerful wizards, and dark and hungry gods.
The Rules without these Settings add ons can be used for any modern setting, so feel free to use them as is. If you’re like other gamers, go ahead and create some house rules. You know you wanna. And email those to us. We want to know. Praise for or issues with this Rulebook? Same. Email us. We’re doing this for gamers, by gamers. The more systems out there, the better. The more games, the better. The more gamers, the better. Oh. subnet_games@yahoo.com.
We grew up on Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, D20 Modern, Pathfinder, Vampire the Masquerade, etc. Gaming is in our blood. We’ve gamed with our small children. This is our giving back to the community. This is for you.
-David Powers
Subnet Studios
“He held the styrofoam cup of Nucaff in both hands, inhaling the faintly coffee-smelling steam, stealing its warmth like a witch steals a soul. His fingers were coming back to life, the numbness leaving his hands as the cup of heated stimulants chased away the chill of the Maine evening. He took a sip, the vaguely coffee like taste washing over his tongue, replaced an instant later by the sharp tinge of chemicals and copper. His face was lit by green neon, advertising something in Japanese, the light accentuating the dark circles under his eyes. He was just another neon lit face in a sea of neon lit faces, kept alive by Nucaff and rice. Paycheck to paycheck the new ideal, half his life spent in cyberspace. Just another American, in other words.
His name was Braxton Gargaryan, and he lived in the Lewiston/Auburn development, a colossal living organism of people-as-cells, crammed into high rises, in thirty by thirty boxes jokingly called apartments. Enough room for a bed, a kitchenette, a toilet, and maybe a desk. Each box, Braxton Gargaryan refused to refer to it as anything but, did come with electricity and a cyberdeck. And the electricity was constant, more or less.”
-Subnet Masks Web Serial
PART ONE: Defining Your Character.
Alright, so, this is where audience participation comes in. What do you need to participate? Well, I’m glad you asked. You need five things. This book, a handful of dice, a character sheet, and a pencil. If you have a smart phone, feel free to grab a dice rolling app (one that shows the numbers of each roll), and have a calculator present, especially if you’re like me and you suck at math.
Name and Background:
Whether you want to be a silver tongued sales rep, a guns blazing vigilante, an earth shaking sorcerer, or a martial artist yoga instructor, your character will need a name. Depending on the game and your game master, this can be anything. If the game you are playing allows it, feel free to have something dumb like xXdragonlord frodoXx or something. In most games, a normal name will do. (Normal being relative. Bob and Jen would be good in a modern or cyberpunk setting, not so good in a quasi-medieval setting like Middle Earth.)
Got a name? Good. Jot it down on your character sheet.
Now, Subnet d6 doesn’t use an alignment system, those things are clunky and weird, but let’s use this next step to brainstorm some ideals and values for your character. Is she a patriot? An anarchist? A housewife? A fifth wave feminist fifth level vegan?
Mull that over and let’s make your character a background. Nothing fancy. Or it can be, your choice. A general idea is fine, kudos to you if you want to write a novella. A good idea for your background is to include family, friends, maybe a previous (or current!) occupation, and maybe some contacts. A good game master can incorporate some or all of your background into the game itself.
Done with your background? Awesome. Let’s move onto the Stats department of your character.
PART TWO: Stats and Stat Points
Don’t worry it’s easy.
Each character starts with six stat points. These will be spread over four Stats (some settings will have five). Now each Stat must have at least one point assigned to it, and no more than three assigned at the start of the game. You can increase a particular Stat past three points when you level up, but we’ll cover that later.
The four Stats are: Body, Speed, Smarts, and Social, and they cover different aspects and different mechanics of the game.
Body: This stat defines your character’s brute strength and resilience. It plays directly into melee combat, kicking in doors, and shrugging off food poisoning.
Speed: This stat defines your character’s hand/eye coordination, their dexterity, how well they can fly jets, drive cars, and how well they can avoid attacks and aim a gun.
Smarts: This stat measures your character’s intelligence, their problem solving, even street smarts, or if they were on the honor roll in high school. This stat determines how well a character is at the sciences, at research, problem solving, and math. It also aids in determining skill points for your character. A dumb dude isn’t going to be as skilled as a smart dude.
Social: This stat reflects on how… well, how social your character is. Everything from bluffing, schmoozing, updating your social media, negotiations, and talking your way out of being shot in the head is determined by your social stat.
Now, some settings have an optional fifth Stat, which you can place a stat point into, if you choose. For example, Dying Suns has a Psychic Stat which allows you to have access to the psychic skills and the ability to use nifty powers. Tales of the Asandari has the Magic Stat, which… you guessed it, allows you to use magic.
You don’t get extra Stat Points for this, but that drawback may in fact be a blessing.
Assigning Stat Points:
Alright, as discussed as above, you start with six Stat Points (SP). Now, you must put at least one SP into each stat, so that (using the base rules) leaves you with two left over Stat Points. You could spread this out, say putting an extra SP into Body and one into Smarts, or you could put them both into Speed. Your character, your choice.
Once your stats are assigned, we can move onto the next step.
PART THREE: Health Pool:
Yeah, hit points. I know, I know. How realistic. Anyway, think of your health pool as an abstract concept. Near misses, lucky deflections, etc. As you go down in health, your luck starts to run out.
So how do you come up with your health pool number?
Easy. Take your Body Stat. Multiply your Body Stat Points by twenty. That’s your Health Pool. Have one SP in Body? You have a health pool of twenty. Have two SP in Body? Hey presto, forty. And so on. Easy peasy.
When your health pool reaches zero, your luck has run out and any damage done can result in broken bones, disfigurement, and death. But we'll cover that in the Combat chapter.
Your health pool regenerates when you rest.
PART FOUR: Defense
Defense is the target number (TN) that an enemy has to roll to hit you. Or you hit them. Whichever. This starts at a base of 4, and adds double your speed stat. So, let’s assume that Satomi has a Speed Stat of two. What would her Defense be? Well, it would be 8. 4+4=8. There will be more on this in the Combat Chapter.
PART FIVE: Resilience Rating:
Your resilience rating will be determined by multiplying your Body SP by two and adding your Speed SP. This can also be modified by different conditions and armor.
What it boils down to is this: The number your resilience rating is is the number you can subtract from any damage done to you.
So, let’s assume that a character, Satomi Kino, has two SP in Body and one SP in Speed. She also is wearing padded armor, which has a rating of +1. Let’s figure out her Resilience Rating.
The two SP in Body gives her a four after multiplying it by two, and adding in her one SP in Speed gives her a base Resilience Rating of five, plus one for her padded armor. So, Satomi has a total Resilience Rating of six. This means that Satomi is able to subtract six damage from any source, such as being hit by a baseball bat or being shot at. Remember, until you hit zero, your health pool is an abstract concept depicting luck.
PART FIVE: Skill Points:
This is the first time you'll get to roll dice while creating your character, you lucky dog. Roll 2d6 (that's two six sided dice, if you didn't know) and multiply that number by how many SP in Smarts you have.
So… let's say you rolled a 5 and a 3, for a total of 8. Yay math! Let's say you put two SP in Smarts, so we'd multiply that 8 by 2. 18 Skill Points. Just kidding. 16.
Now, with skills, you don't have to assign a point into each one. That would be crazy and you'd stretch yourself too thin. That would suck. So the minimum amount of skill points per skill is zero.
On the flip side of that, the max you can put into any one skill at character creation is three.
Don't worry, when you level up (more on that later) you can go beyond that max.
Assign your skills. You can also ‘cash in’ five skill points for a Perk. Which will be explained below. I promise.
Now, each point you put in a skill equals one d6 you roll when using said skill.
Let's say you have two SP in Speed and you put three points into Light Firearms.
You would roll 5d6 when shooting at an enemy using a Light Firearm, like a pistol or revolver.
You'd also roll your Light Firearm dice when resolving damage. In the pistols case, damage would be 5 plus 3d6, where 5 is the weapon's base damage, and 3d6 is a six sided die per skill point in Light Firearms.
Yeah. More on that in the Combat Chapter.
PART SIX: Perks:
Alright, so you traded in ten skill points for this, eh? Hopefully it’s pretty good.
Well, it is.
I think.
Alright, now these will be sample Perks. If you’re a Game Master, feel free to make your own. There will also be some setting specific Perks in the Settings Chapter.
Better Lucky Than Good:
Effect: Allows the player to reroll any one dice roll, keeping the greater of the two rolls. Able to use once per day.
Dead Aim:
Effect: Add a d6 to any attack (not damage) roll involving a ranged weapon.
Hard Headed:
Effect: Add 2 to your resilience rating against heavy melee attacks.
Social Savant:
Effect: you're a skilled winer and diner, add a static +3 to all Social skill rolls.
Quick Draw:
Effect: Add a static +1 to all initiative checks.
Lightning Reload:
Effect: Reloading your light ranged weapon no longer takes up an attack.
Hack and Slash:
Effect: Add a static +3 to all hacking and computer use skills.
Amazing Avatar:
Effect: Your avatar in cyberspace is, in a word, amazing. Good for you. Add a static +5 to your Social Media Skill rolls.
Hard to Kill:
Effect: You gain one Wound Point
“So, what are your options? Selling drugs, which is pretty easy to do down here, amongst the scraps of humanity, we all have our vices, and getting high is the easiest one to fulfill. The other choice? Work your way up through the corporations. Get a job. If they’re hiring. You’ll still die of malnourishment, but they may kick some shit your way. Maybe some bandaids or antibiotics when your kid gets sick, and they will. Trust me. You’ll have expanded food rations which might include sugar or ketchup. That would be neat, when was the last time you had ketchup? Squirt that shit on your noodles, have a good fucking time.
So, sell drugs, fuck it, sell yourself. Again, humanity scrap vices, we all have ‘em. Organs, your time, your muscle, your cock, all of its up for creds. It will probably get you killed, harvested, or left with some fucked up disease that’ll rot your dick off, but whatever, you were able to provide some joy to your kids life.”
-Traceroute, a Subnet Tale
Alright, everyone has something they’re good at, right? These things that you’re good at are also known as skills. Just like you have skills, your character will have Skills, but with a capital S. For no reason.
After you’ve come up with your starting Skill Points (SkP, why not?), you may assign them into any of the following skills: (Please note, this list is is broken up into non-combat skills and combat skills. Your SkPs count towards both, you don’t get a separate SkP pool for combat skills. Because fuck you, that’s why.
Non-Combat Skills: (Modern/Future)
Acrobatics: (Speed)
Flipping, sprinting, somersaults, tumbling, juggling, juggling chainsaws, you name it. This is the Acrobatics Skill.
Athletics: (Body)
Jogging, lifting weights, anything that deals with fitness and endurance, the Athletics skill covers.
Chemistry: (Smarts)
You were really good in high school science class. You know the periodic table of elements by heart, and you’re good in a lab. You’re awesome.
Bartering: (Social)
The ability to haggle and get the best price for an item.
Driving: (Speed)
Cars, trucks, motorcycles, y’know?
Piloting Space Fighters: (Speed)
In settings that have them, you are awesome at piloting fighters through space. Pew pew.
Piloting Jet Fighters: (Speed)
F-14s, Blue Angels, Stealth Bombers. It has wings, you can fly it.
Piloting Starships: (Smarts)
For settings that have them. You can maneuver a starship through a nebula or calculate jumps to lightspeed.
Force: (Body)
The ability to open pickle jars, kick in doors, or pry open painted-shut windows.
Biology: (Smarts)
You can explain the birds and the bees, natural evolution, and identify flora and fauna.
Medicine: (Smarts)
You can help wounds heal, diagnose illnesses, or perform surgery.
Physics: (Smarts)
You know how magnets work. Sorry.
Technology: (Smarts)
Smart phones, tablets, drones, computers. You are really good at making old people feel dumb.
Hacking: (Smarts)
You can get into your Ex’s Facebook, check other people’s bank account information, expose government secrets, stuff like that. Usually you just use it to change people’s profile pics to Tub Girl or something.
Social Media: (Social)
You are skilled at using Social Media, and all that that pertains. You know how to gain followers, how to monetize blogs, how to make really neat YouTube videos.
Alertness: (Smarts)
You’re perceptive for an old man. Spotting hidden people, seeing a concealed weapon, being really good at those stupid “There are 9 Differences Between These Two Pictures” things.
Seduction: (Social)
Bow Chicka Bow Bow. You can talk anything into bed. Or get information out of them. Or both.
Tracking: (Smarts)
Following footprints, game trails, scat, stuff like that.
Distract: (Social)
You can distract enemies or other people away from you. Whether through actions, or talking. They won’t know what’s up. Or down.
The Rule of One and Less Than Half:
During any Skill Roll, if a natural 1 is rolled, it counts as a failure, and is subtracted from the total of the dice. Furthermore, if a 6 is rolled, that 1 takes away the 6, subtracting both from the total number of the roll.
Example: Bob the Builder is driving on a congested freeway and wants to cut across the median to change direction. He has 1 Stat Point in Speed and two Skill Points in Driving. He rolls 3d6, and gets a 4, a 6, and a 1. The GM sets the Target Number of the Action (see below) as Easy, so Bob has to get a 10 or better on his roll. Well, crap. The 1 takes out the 6, and leaves Bob with only the 4. Not only does Bob screw up cutting across the median, he rolled less than half of the TN, which means he made a mistake. Now, the GM is an ass, so he rules that Bob rear ended the car in front of him.
The Rule of Six Six Six:
Let’s say in the previous example, Bob had 2 Stat Points in Speed and two Skill Points in Driving. He rolls a 2, a 6, a 6, and a 6. Bam. Not only did he succeed, but he succeeded so well that even if it had been a Very Challenging Action (a usual TN of 30) he would have succeeded. Why? Because if you roll three or more 6’s in your Skill rolls, you add 10 to your dice total. Neat, eh? 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 2 plus 10 is 30. Awesome possum.
Target Numbers:
Non-Combat Skills use target numbers to determine success. Now, this part is really Game Master discretion, but here are common Target Numbers (TN) based on how easy or difficult a particular action is.
Very Easy: TN 5
Easy: TN 10
Mildly Challenging: TN 15
Challenging: TN 20
Mildly Challenging: TN 15
Challenging: TN 20
Very Challenging: TN 30
Improbable: TN 40
Let’s say that Kitomo is trying to hack into his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook. The GM has decided that this is a mildly challenging action, as his ex-girlfriend knows that Kitomo was into hacking, and so she put an extra special character or something into her password.
To hack into her Facebook and write a post about how much of an evil woman she is, he must roll a Hacking Skill Check against the TN of 15. He has 2 Stat Points in Smarts, so right away he has 2d6 to roll. Now, he has put 3 Skill Points into Hacking, adding 3d6 to his roll. To further complicate this, he also has the Hack and Slash Perk which adds a +3 to his Hacking Skill Rolls.
*Sigh*
Alright, so he rolls his 5d6 and gets a 5, a 2, a 2, a 3, and a 2 for a total of 14. He doesn’t roll any 1’s, so nothing is subtracted, so we’ll stick with the total of 14. Oh, but that’s not enough to hack into his ex’s Facebook. Darn.
But wait! Since he traded in ten Skill Points for the Hack and Slash Perk, he adds 3 to his skill roll, pushing him up to a 17, and he’s in! He pos
ts a really snarky post about how she let the best thing in her life go, changed her profile picture to Tub Girl, AND because Kitomo is kind of a dick, he changed her password to ilovekit0Mo.
Medicine TN’s:
For Medicine Skill Rolls, here are some target TN’s
Return 10 points back to character’s Health Pool: TN 15
Restore 1 Wound Point: TN 25
Diagnose Disease/Illness: TN 10
Surgical Procedure: TN 15-30 or higher.
Combat Skills:
Heavy Melee Weapons: (Body)
Swords, Maces, Baseball Bats, Clubs,
Light Melee Weapons: (Speed)
Daggers, knives, rapiers, batons.
Heavy Ranged Weapons: (Speed)
Bows, crossbows, stuff like that.
Light Ranged Weapons: (Speed)
Slings, throwing knives, stuff lke that.
Light Firearms: (Speed)
Pistols, submachine guns, etc
Heavy Firearms: (Speed)
Shotguns, machine guns, etc
Energy Ranged Weapons: (Speed)
If the setting has them, these can include blasters, laser guns, etc.
Energy Melee Weapons: (Speed)
If the setting has them, plasma swords, kinetic axes, etc.
Explosives: (Smarts)
Plastique, C4, dynamite. Stuff like that.
Grenades: (Speed)
Grenades…
Martial Arts: (Body)
“Oh.” Morse said, going back to business. “Your credstick isn’t limitless, so don’t go buying a case of smokes and a kilo of cinn. We need itemized receipts. All personal purchases will be reimbursed out of your account.” He lifted up his White Mint. She sighed, “I’ll overlook the smokes, I know how you work. Get Hernandez, bring him in, or shoot him, I don’t care. Oh-” she brought out her phone, a wide, flat piece of black plastic. She swiped the screen, pushed. “Your firearm is now activated. You have it on you, right?”
“Um.”
“Its in your apartment?”
“Yes.” He replied. Hopefully.
“Alright, go home, take a fucking shower, buy some new clothes. On ArkSen. You reek. Good hunting.”
He got into his hovercar, and lifted off. Put it on auto, and finished his coffee on the way back to Santa Monica.
-Subnet Masks Web Serial
Everybody has stuff. You have stuff, I have stuff, your neighbor probably has stuff, your character has stuff.
At the start of the game, feel free to choose a ranged weapon, a melee weapon, a place to hang your hat, and maybe a vehicle. Along with the everyday items such as a computer, a smart phone, clothes, a tablet, you know, stuff that most everybody has.
Make an itemized list, the items on the list will need GM approval. If your GM is a dick, he may give you a studio apartment with roommates, a flip phone, and an outdated Macbook that can’t connect to wifi. The jerk.
Now, the items listed below are just examples, and to list every single thing you could own would both be sad and too painstakingly… gah. Use these items as springboards.
Mundane Equipment:
Electronics:
Smart Phone.
Tablet.
Kindle.
Garage Door Opener.
Desktop Computer.
Laptop.
A lighter that flashes colors obnoxiously.
Housing:
A one, two, or three bedroom apartment
A studio apartment.
A house.
A van down by the river.
Clothing:
A Suit
Jeans.
A nice blazer and sweater combo.
A wedding dress.
Vehicles:
A car.
A truck.
An RV.
A plane.
A boat.
A bicycle.
A motorcycle.
A unicycle.
Weapons:
Okay, weapons. Each weapon has a base damage, which will be displayed next to the weapon and which Skill it Utilizes.
Weapon Base Damage:
Long Sword: (HMW) Base Damage: 3
Warsword: (HMW). Base Damage: 5
Axe: (HMW). Base Damage: 4
Halberd: (HMW): Base Damage: 6.
Baton: (LMW): Base Damage: 2.
Rapier: (LMW): Base Damage: 3.
Knife: (LMW): Base Damage: 1.
Dagger: (LMW): Base Damage: 3.
Fists/Kicks, etc: (MA): Base Damage: 0
Rifle: (HF). Base Damage: 3
Carbine: (HF).Base Damage: 3.
Submachine Gun: (LF) Base Damage: 4.
Assault Rifle: (HF). Base Damage: 4
Pistol: (LF) Base Damage: 3
Crossbow: (LRW) Base Damage: 3
Now, the base damage is what you would add to the Skill Points Roll, plus or minus any modifiers. More on that in the Combat Chapter. WOW!
Armor:
While not really common in the modern age, hey, if it can stop a bullet from killing you, I’m all for it. Armor adds to your Resilience Rating, which reduces damage. Which keeps you alive if you fail your Defense skill roll. And you will. Again, these are example armors, feel free to reskin or rename, or just come up with your own.
Light Tactical Armor: +1 to Resilience Rating, -0 to Speed Checks
Security Armor: +2 to Resilience Rating, -1 to Speed Checks
Standard Military Armor: +3 to Resilience Rating, -2 to Speed Checks
Plated Exoskeleton: +6 to Resilience Rating, -5 to Speed Checks
Different Settings will of course have other armors. And if you wanted to wear plate mail in 2016, I won’t stop you. Cops might try to stop you. But I won’t.
“MR. GARGARYAN, THESE MEN WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU.” Hilton greeted him as he stepped into the lobby. Braxton’s eyes snapped up to see three Chinese men in dark suits standing at the door.
“Mr. Gargaryan.” The man in the middle said, taking a step forward.
“You guys are early. I didn’t expect an escort either.”
The man in the middle smiled, took off a pair of shades. One eye was swimming pool blue, a gold script logo etched onto the iris. Mercer Law. “You will come with us, Mr. Gargaryan.” A pistol appeared in the hands of the two men flanking him.
“Hilton, call security.”
“I AM SECURITY, MR. GARGARYAN. ARE THESE MEN A THREAT?”
Shots rang out, explosive rounds ripping the Security bot apart within seconds. Braxton threw himself to the floor, rolled behind the old fashioned desk that served no purpose but decoration.
“Please, Mr. Gargaryan. My employer is a man of little patience.” The man’s voice was even, calm, even bored. “Come with us, or we will be forced to shoot you. It will be painful, but you’ll live. And we’ll be angry.”
“Go fuck yourself.” Braxton said with a bravado he felt the opposite of.
“That was a stupid thing to say.”
“Probably.” Shit, what was he doing?
“The door slammed open, he heard grunts, and then weapons cocking. “Drop ‘em! ArkSen Security! On the ground! Now!”
A hissing sound filled the lobby, and then everything went white and all Braxton could hear was static. And then gunshots rang out, muffled.
And then silence.
Warmth flooded Braxton’s front. He looked down. He had pissed himself.
“Mr. Gargaryan,” a new voice called. “Please step out from behind the counter.”
He did. Three dead Chinese men lay on the lobby floor, along with one man in an ArkSen uniform. Rifles locked onto Braxton before the owner of the voice patted the air. The guns lowered. “Braxton Gargaryan?”
Braxton nodded. “That’s me.”
-Subnet Masks Web Serial
In every character’s life, there is conflict. Now this conflict can sometimes be resolved without lettings fists or bullets fly, but when talks fail, when the person giving you grief is a meth head with an anger problem, sometimes you have to make lead meet head, and that’s where the combat rules come in.
There are a few things to keep in mind. Combat is abstract and turn based. It simulates an actual fight, but in no way does it replicate it. The Rule of One and Less Than Half applies, still. The attack roll is in effect a Skill Roll, just with a different TN.
So, let’s talk about that TN. It’s pretty easy, but there are a few things I’d like to elaborate on.
To attack someone, you must be within range, and you must have enough actions in your turn. We’ll cover the order of turns and rounds below.
Movement:
Outside of combat, movement is not regulated (other than by the laws of physics), but inside of combat, movement is restricted to a certain number of squares or feet, depending on whether you are using a grid and miniatures, a white board and markers, or running combat in the theater of the mind.
During a turn, you are able to move thirty feet, or six squares, and still make an attack. If you are within range of an opponent, you can make a full attack action, where your attacks have more umph.
You can also charge your opponent, where you can move up to 10 squares, but you get one attack, a -2 to your Defense Roll until your next turn, and your opponent must be in a straight line from the point that you initiated the charge. When using the charge option, you do gain a +2 to your attack roll. And you must be using a melee weapon, of course. It would be weird to charge up to someone with a pistol, y’know?
You can run 15 squares but take no other actions other than Defense Rolls, if applicable, or sprint 30 squares but are denied a Defense Roll.
The Combat Round:
The first thing you must do when combat has been initiated is to figure out the combat order, or the initiative order of the fight. To do this, each character and NPC or NPC group rolls their initiative dice. This is a d6 for each Stat Point you have in Speed and Smarts. The combat round goes in order from highest to lowest in respect to initiative. Ties are resolved by whoever has the highest Stat Points in Speed. If those are tied, they roll again.
So… combat round
- Roll Initiative
- Move or attack
- Rinse and Repeat.
Each round takes approximately six seconds in game time, every ten rounds is a minute in game time (duh). For every five rounds, a fatigue marker gets placed on each character, each fatigue marker is a subtraction to their defense rolls. Let’s say that the battle has been going on for fifteen rounds, which is a long time, but let’s just say. Each character that has been in the fight since the beginning of said encounter would subtract three from their Defense Target Number as they grow more and more tired.
What Happens in Combat:
- Attacks: Pretty straight forward. To make an attack, you must designate a target or a target square (when using a molotov cocktail or a grenade.) Roll an attack roll, which will be the associated Stat Points plus the Skill Points in the weapon you are using. Example: Satomi attacks a street thug with her Revolver. She rolls to attack, she has two Stat Points in Speed and three Skill Points in Light Ranged Weapons, so she rolls 5d6. She rolls a 3, a 4, a 3, a 5, and a 2 for a total of 17. No ones or sixes, so no adjustments are made. This is much more than her opponents Defense of 10, so she hits.
- Damage: When a hit is successful, damage will then be rolled. To roll damage, take your Skill Points in the associated weapon skill and roll a d6 for each. Add to that the Weapon’s base damage, and you have your damage. Satomi rolled a 6, a 4, and a 3 for the Skill, and she adds to that the revolver’s base damage of 3 for a total of 16. The street thug has a Resilience Rating of 11, so he takes 5 damage. (The rule of 1, and the rule of six six six do not apply for damage rolling)
Full Round Attacks:
Now, there are times when you don’t need to move or talk, or anything but kill, and you can take a full round attack, there are a couple of drawbacks. You take a -2 to your Defense Skill Roll. You can only attack, nothing else. The benefit to this? You can add your associated combat skill points as straight damage. For example, Satomi has three Skill Points in Light Ranged Weapons, so she would a straight 3 to the damage her weapon does. So, instead of 3d6 plus 3 for the weapon base damage, it would be 3d6 plus 3 for the base damage plus 3 for the full round attack damage. Or 3d6 plus 6.
Grenades and Molotov Cocktails:
Sometimes you just want to make things go boom. For grenades and Molotov Cocktails, instead of designating an enemy, you designate a cube of four squares. Roll your attack rolls and any creature within that four square cube must roll their defense skill.
Feinting and Distracting:
“Hey! Look over there!” rarely works in a fight, but hey, you can try it. This does take a full round action, and the base TN is 15.
If the fight hasn’t even started yet, lets say you won initiative, you may attempt to make a Distract check against your opponents with a TN of 15. This causes your opponents to lose their next turn.
For each round of combat after the first, add 10 to the TN of the Distract check.
For feinting, choose one opponent. Roll your distract skill. They will counter it with a d6 per Stat Point in Smarts plus five. If you win the Action, you gain a +5 to your next attack against that target.
Attack Modifiers (Ranged):
- Shooting into melee: -4 on Attack Roll
- Attacking with a Weapon you have no Skill Points in: -3 on Attack Roll.
- Attacking a Flanked Enemy: +2 on Attack Roll.
- Enemy is prone: +2
- Light Cover (10% concealment): -1
- Moderate Cover (25% concealment): -2
- Heavy Cover (50% concealment): -3
- Total Cover (75+% concealment): -4
Attack Modifiers (Melee):
- Enemy is stunned: +2
- Attacking with a Weapon you have no Skill Points in: -4
- Behind enemy: +1
- Enemy is flanked: +2
- Enemy is prone: +2
Grappling:
Sometimes, you need an opponent alive. For questioning, or something. A grapple roll is simply this: if you are unarmed, you may attempt to grapple by rolling your Body Stat Point dice and your Martial Arts Skill Point dice. Your opponent gets the choice to try to resist your grapple with either a Defense skill roll or a Martial Arts Skill roll. If your opponent, using their Martial Arts Skill beats your roll by 5, he may attempt to grapple you.
What you can do with a grapple:
- Pin. Once you have successfully grappled your opponent, you may attempt to pin him. This renders them unable to take any actions on their next turn.
- Choke Out: Once pinned, you can attempt to render them unconscious by making an attack using your martial arts combat skill. The base damage for martial arts is 0. Roll a d6 for each skill point you have in Martial Arts and deal damage normally. Resilience Rating applies.
Health Pools and Real Damage:
As stated earlier, if your health pool is depleted, your luck runs out, and the next hit or two could kill you. That's not fun.
After your health pool is gone, you move onto Wound Points (WP). You have a Wound Point for every Stat Point you have in Body. Your WP is how many times you can take hits before you are dead. An enemy doesn't even have to roll damage, your RR doesn't matter, your luck ran out and everybody dies.
So, for an example, Jerry is in a pitched fight with a gang of drug dealers. He has a Health Pool of twenty, and after two very unlucky hits he’s down to 1 health. Another of the drug dealers strikes Jerry with a baseball bat for a 13 points of damage, this reduces Jerry to -12 in his health pool, but we just take away the negative number here and call it zero. Jerry’s luck has run out. And since he only has one Stat Point in Body, a single blow to the head can kill him. The dealer comes in with an attack, rolls above Jerry’s Defense, and the bat cracks upside his head, crushing his skull. Jerry is dead, and Jerry’s player ragequits the game.
Now, sometimes, an attack is so brutal, so lucky that it bypasses a Health Pool all together. Lets say that the first drug dealer in the above scenario rolled a 2, a 6, a 6, and a 6 against Jerry. The rule of six six six applied here, and there were no 1’s to counteract. The attack bypasses Jerry's Health Pool and Resilience Rating and goes against his Wound Points, if he fails his Defense Skill Roll. And he does. Jerry is dead, even though he still has 1 point in his Health Pool. Poor Jerry.
Unlike your Health Pool, your Wound Points don’t regenerate with rest, only with medical care.
Experience:
Experience Points will be given out for combat, story points, and anything else the GM decides. With enough experience points, you can improve yourself.
Level 1: 0 exp
Level 2: 100 exp
Level 3: 300 exp
Level 4: 600 exp
Level 5: 1000 exp.
At each level you receive:
1 Stat point to assign anywhere, even if your Stat has three or more points in it.
1d6 times twice your smarts stat in skill points. The cap on your skills raises as well, to 4 at second level, 5 at third, 6 at fourth, and 7 at fifth level.
10 points to add to your health pool.
1 point to add to your Resilience Rating.
The Andur
Hailing from the north west corner of the Silg Expanse, the Andur are a humanoid race, devoted to the gods Array and Arom, in fact, they worship a deity that combines the two deities together they call Thün.
Andur stand as tall as seven feet tall, sport curbed horns and are physically powerful and mentally bright. They have been at war with the Iridisian Empire for centuries, and have joined the Republic as natural allies.
Typical Andur soldier:
Health: 60 Wound: 3
RR: 15 Initiative: 2D
Defense: 2D
Greataxe: 6D (6+3D)
Gore: 3D (1D)
For Andur characters, make these adjustments:
+1 to base damage with heavy melee weapons
-1 to all speed checks
Gore: to hit: XD, where X is stat points in Body. Damage is 1D
Asandari Tanks
With war being a constant threat from both the east and the north, the Asandari military have expended resources beyond the Republics ability to pay. The results? Crippling debt and tanks, skycutters, mechs, and Firearms.
The Asandari military unveiled the Manticore class tank this summer, and other classes are in development.
This brings us a couple new skills, which we will present now.
Tank Driving (speed) Tank Repair (smarts) and Tank Gunnery (speed)
Manticore Tank:
Health: 80
Resilience Rating: +10
Defense: -10
Main Gun: 20+XD (where x is skill points in Tank Gunnery) Note: Must have at least one skill point in Tank Driving.
Strength: Takes half damage from fire.
Weakness: Takes double damage from lightning damage.
Mechs
Mechs, machines made of iron and glass, powered by steam and magic, are a very new advancement in the Republican military. Most require one pilot, but the gargantuan Gargoyle Class requires two, one pilot, and one gunner.
Mechs are extremely expensive to manufacture, and as of right now are very rare. Only the Drake class Mechs are light enough to ride on airships.
Drake Class:
Health: 50
Resilience Rating: +3
Defense: -2
Speed: land: 10 squares air: 20 squares
Main Gun: 8+XD (where x is skill points in heavy Ranged weapon or heavy firearm) Note: Must have at least one skill point in Mech Piloting.
Strength: Takes half damage from fire.
Weakness: Takes double damage from lightning damage.
Wyvern Class
Health: 75
Resilience Rating: +5
Defense: -3
Speed: land: 10 squares air: 30 squares
Main Gun: 12+XD (where x is skill points in heavy Ranged weapon or heavy firearm) Note: Must have at least one skill point in Mech Piloting.
Sword: 6+XD (where x is skill points in heavy melee)
Strength: Takes half damage from fire.
Weakness: Takes double damage from lightning damage.
Dragon Class
Health: 100
Resilience Rating: +8
Defense: -4
Speed: land: 15 squares air: 40 squares
Main Gun: 20+XD (where x is skill points in heavy Ranged weapon or heavy firearm) Note: Must have at least one skill point in Mech Piloting.
Flame Thrower: 10+XD to target square and 4 squares surrounding target square. (Where x is skill points in heavy Ranged Weapons) again, must have at least a skill point in Mech Piloting.
Strength: Takes half damage from fire.
Weakness: Takes double damage from lightning damage.
Gargoyle Class:
Health: 150
Resilience Rating: +15
Defense: -6
Main Gun: 45+XD (where x is skill points in heavy Ranged weapon or heavy firearm) Note: Must have at least one skill point in Mech Piloting.
Strength: Takes half damage from fire.
Weakness: Takes double damage from lightning damage.
Spells
New Skills (Must have at least one Stat Point in Magic):
Manifesting (Magic)
Elemental (Magic)
Positive Energy (Magic)
Negative Energy (Magic)
Shield:
Manifeting Skill TN: 10
Effect: Raises Armor Rating by 5 plus 1d6 per skill point in
Manifesting.
SFX: Most common is a shimmering azure force field that surrounds the mage, but they can also be invisible, or any color/density the mage wishes.
Bomb:
Manifesting Skill TN: 20
Effect: Using latent matter, the mage causes a massive explosion. Damage is 10 plus 1d6 per skill point in Manifesting.
SFX: Most common is a normal seeming explosion, but some mages opt to use more dramatic imagery, like starbursts or green smoke.
Clone:
Manifesting Skill TN: 5-20
Effect: The mage creates a clone of someone they have seen before. The more intimately the mage knows the subject, the better the clone will look. This power also scales. The lower the TN the less real the clone looks. Sometimes eyes will be different colors, or if the mage was distracted, different shapes. Sometimes the skin will look like wax. On the higher end of the scale, the clone can be flawless and only a close friend or lover can (sometimes) tell the difference.
SFX: While able to manifest clones out of thin air, some mages with a flair for the dramatic conjure bright lights or "doorways" to summon their clones.
Magic Weapon
Manifesting Skill TN: 5-15
Effect: The mage creates a weapon out of latent matter and is able to wield it. The lower end of the skill TN conjures simple bludgeoning weapons like clubs, hammers, or a mace, while the higher end of the spectrum conjures firearms or energy weapons. Mid range are bladed weapons like swords or axes.
SFX: Most times the mage will create a weapon that looks like its actual counterpart. Sometimes, mages will stylize these weapons to look like something out of their imaginations.
Animate Object
Manifesting Skill TN- 10 or 20.
Effect: The mage will be able to animate any object, causing it to move on its own accord. On a TN 10, the mage must concentrate on the object and may take no other actions while concentrating. On a 20, the object will carry out demands.
Azure Fire:
Elemental Skill TN: 5
Effect: Blue bolts of fire shoot from the caster's hands, dealing 2+XD damage.
Fireball:
Elemental Skill TN: 15
Effect: The mage is able to conjure a ball of superheated plasma within thirty feet of himself. This detonates, causing 10 damage plus 1d6 per skill point in Elemental to all creatures and structures within 20 feet of the detonation point.
Lightning Cloud.
Elemental Skill TN: 15
Effect: Crackling with electricity, a cloud of lightning manifests around an opponent, causing 10 damage plus 1d6 per skill point in Elemental or 20 damage plus 2d6 per skill point in Elemental against an opponent wearing metal armor, or made of metal
Ice Storm:
Elemental Skill TN: 15
Effect: Razor sharp shards of ice launch themselves at an enemy, causing 10 damage plus 1d6 per skill point in Elemental.
Acidic Wave:
Elemental Skill TN: 15
Effect: The opponent is splashed with corrosive acid, causing 1 damage plus 1d6 per skill point in Elemental per round for 1d6/2 rounds per skill point in Elemental. Eats through all but the strongest body armors, reducing the armors effect on RR by half.
Vampire's Kiss
Negative Energy Skill TN: 10
Effects: By touching the opponent's bare skin, the psychic is able to drain 3 plus 1d6 per skill point in Negative Energy, adding half that number (rounded down) to their health pool. The bonus health points last for minutes equal to your skill points in Negative Energy. Example: If you have two skill points in Negative Energy, you lose any extra health points in two minutes.
Life Drain:
Negative Energy Skill TN: 15
Effects: A tendril of black and sickly green light connects you and your opponent. Your opponent takes 1 damage plus 1d6 per skill point in Negative Energy while you gain half that number to your health pool for the next x rounds, where x is the number of skill points in Negative Energy you have.
Void Star:
Negative Energy Skill TN: 30
Effects: A miniature black hole is created at anyplace within 100 feet from the psychic, and everything that implies. The black hole is open for 1 round plus 1 round per skill point in Negative energy. The psychic is not immune to the effects of the black hole. If Void Star is placed on an opponent, that opponent is killed instantly. If an opponent is within 20 feet, it must make a defense check with a TN of difficult or very difficult if within 10 feet to move away from the Void Star.
Light Burst:
Positive Energy Skill TN: 10
Effects: Heals every creature within 10 feet of the caster 5 plus 1d6 per skill point in Positive Energy.
Healing Wave
Positive Energy Skill TN: 15
Effects: Heals a creature within 30 feet of the psychic for 5 plus 1d6 per skill point in Positive Energy for x rounds where x is skill points in Positive Energy.
Life:
Positive Energy Skill TN: 30
Effects: Brings a deceased creature back to life.
Airships and Skycutters
Typical Airships are modified sea-faring vessels fastened to an enchanted balloon that allows it to fly.
The Asandari Republic is typically the only owner of airships, but a few have recently been sold to wealthy individuals. The majority of Asandari airships are for military use, most civilian travel is done by locomotive or on horseback.
Skycutters, the newest model of Asandari airship require no balloon, are safer by far than the conventional model, and are able to travel at much higher speeds. They usually are styled like a normal sea-faring vessel, complete with sails, but this not always the case, nor is it necessary.
Airships and Skycutters are both armed with the latest and greatest artillery, and crewed by the Asandari military's best.
Airships are able to go twenty miles per hour, while Skycutters max out at around sixty miles per hour.
In game terms, an airship or a skycutter's main cannon would do 10+XD damage, and the gunner would use the Airship Gunnery Skill to aim. For example: Caex Delnhome has 3 Skill Points in Airship Gunnery and 3 Stat Points in Speed. To aim, he would roll 6D. If he hits his target, it would deal 10+3D. If the character also has Skill Points in Cannon, he may add half his Skill Dice (rounded down, minimum of 1D) into both aim and damage for the Airship Cannons. In Caex's case, where he has 4 Skill Points in Cannon, he would now roll 8D to attack, and 10+6D for damage.
New Skills:
Airship Piloting (Speed): You are able to pilot an airship.
Target Numbers:
Quick Lift Off: TN 5
Landing on Ground: TN 10
Landing in Water: TN 0
Docking at Tower: TN 5
Quick Bank: TN 15
Evasive Maneuver: TN 20
Airship Gunnery (Speed): You are able to use this skill to fire airship cannons.
Arms and Armor:
Firearms:
Jaheeri Revolver: (Light firearm) Damage- 2+XD Cost- 50s
Asandari Revolver: (Light firearm) Damage- 3+XD Cost- 80s
Jaheeri Rifle: (Heavy firearm) Damage- 3+XD Cost- 80s
Asandari Rifle: (Heavy firearm) Damage- 4+XD Cost- 100s
Crimson Brigade Rifle: (Heavy firearm)- 5+XD Cost- 150s
Jaheeri Steam Powered Portable Cannon: (Heavy firearm)- 6+XD cost- 225s
Ranged Weapons:
Sling (Light ranged weapon) Damage: 1+XD Cost 5s
Bow (Light ranged weapon) Damage- 2+XD Cost- 10s
Composite Bow (Heavy ranged weapon) 3+XD Cost-50s
Crossbow: (Heavy ranged weapon) 3+XD Cost 50s
Light Melee Weapons:
Knife: (light melee weapon) 1+XD Cost 1s
Dagger: (light melee weapon) 2+XD Cost 5s
Spear: (light melee weapon) 2+XD Cost 5s
Mace: (light melee weapon) 2+XD Cost 10s
Rapier: (light melee weapon) 3+XD Cost- 20s
Cutlass: (light melee weapon) 3+XD Cost- 20s
Scimitar: (light melee weapon) 3+XD Cost- 25s
Heavy Melee Weapons:
Warsword: (heavy melee weapon) 4+XD Cost-30s
Battle Axe: (heavy melee weapon) 5+XD Cost- 40s
Great Sword: (heavy melee weapon) 5+XD Cost- 40s
Shield: (heavy melee weapon) 2+XD Cost 10s
Armor:
Padded Surcoat: +1 to RR, -0 to Speed Checks Cost- 10s
Leather Armor: +2 to RR, -1 to Speed Checks Cost- 20s
Brigantine Armor: +3 to RR, -2 to Speed Checks Cost- 30s
Chain Mail: +4 to RR, -3 to Speed Checks Cost- 40s
Ring Mail: +5 to RR, -4 to Speed Checks Cost- 60s
Breast Plate: +6 to RR, -5 to Speed Checks Cost- 80s
Plate Mail: +7 to RR, -6 to Speed Checks Cost- 100s
Adamantine Plate: +10 to RR -10 to Speed Checks Cost- 300s
Shield: +1 to RR, -1 to Speed Checks Cost- 10s
(Speed Checks being all Skills that use Speed, including Ranged Attacks)
S in Cost equals Sterling, the official Republic currency.
Allies and Adversaries (Stats)
Typical Asandari Squad Soldier:
HP: 15 WP: 1
RR: 5
Defense: 9 Initiative: 2D
Jaheeri Revolver 4D (2+3D)
Short Sword: 3D (2+2D)
Asandari Rifleman
HP: 15 WP: 2
RR: 5
Defense: 8 Initiative: 3D
Jaheeri Rifle: 4D (4+4D)
Jaheeri Revolver: 4D (2+3D)
City Guard
HP: 10 WP: 1
RR: 5
Defense: 8 Initiative: 2D
Jaheeri Pistol: 2D (2+2D)
Club: 2D (1+2D)
Wyvern
HP: 25 WP: 2
RR: 15
Defense: 9 Initiative: 3D
Claw 4D (4+3D)
Bite: 4D (5+2D)
Breath: 3D (6+6D)
Piatek
HP: 10 WP: 1
RR: 7
Defense: 10 Initiative: 3D
Claws: 5D (3+2D)
Bite: 2D (2+1D)
Mardagayl
HP: 20 WP: 2
RR: 10 (RR: 5 vs Silver)
Defense: 12 Initiative: 3D+1
Claws: 3D (3+3D)
Bite 2D (2+3D plus lyncanthropy Body TN 8)
Animated Cannon
HP: 10 WP: 0
RR: 10
Defense: 4 Initiative 2D
Cannon: 3D 5+4D
Ghul
HP: 15 WP: 0
RR: 7 (RR: 2 vs Silver)
Defense: 7 Initiative: 1D
Slam: 3D (2+2D)
Bite: 2D (2+2D plus necrotic damage of 2D unless a Body TN 5 is made)
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