Religious Affinity

When encountering a new religion, roll an exploding d6 (re-roll sixes and add them to the total until you stop rolling sixes). This is your affinity with the religion, how strongly it speaks to you, and how powerfully its gods, spirits, rituals, etc. affect you.

1: you can't stand this religion, it makes you sick, as do all its followers, for whatever reason
2-4: uninterested, just another thing people do
5: hm, this is sort of interesting, I might want to take a closer look, oh isn't that charming!
6: you can't roll a six (re-roll and add)
7-10: strongly consider immediate conversion, there's something here speaking to you!
11: you can feel the truth of this religion in your bones, you might even want to become a leader someday of this faith
12: you can't roll a twelve
13-17: You are a "prodigy" of sorts, already knowing the rituals, the words, the community, immediately at home and maybe even access to some silly little miracles or divine knowledge!
18: you can't roll an 18
19+: you only have to take a step to start walking the road of a saint, frequent dreams of the faith's figures, etc., you might even get to have a Greater Miracle in your life someday...

Mostly to be used as a guide, for a little spontaneous religious motivation.

Combat Fun

Basics of ANOTHER combat system. This is a response to Charles Taylor's post on his blog, Spells and Steel.

Relevant stats:

Constitution
Dexterity
Strength
Attack
Defense
Effort
Armor

For a fighter, attack is a bonus equal to level. Effort is a pool, from which you spend points. Fighters get 6 + constitution bonus at first level, 1d6 + constitution every level thereafter. Defense is 12 + dexterity bonus.

Before you are attacked, you may spend a number of Effort points to increase your Defense against that single attack. You may spend up to 5 Effort points per attack. This maximum increases periodically as the fighter gains levels.

The attacker then rolls a d20 and adds Attack. If the result is equal to or greater than the Defense, the attack hits. Damage from melee weapons adds Strength bonus, damage from ranged adds Dexterity bonus. Damage directly decreases Constitution. If you take at least half your current Constitution in damage, you are stunned for 1 round.

Armor acts as limited additional Constitution points. It gets worn away by damage before your Constitution does. Any damage to armor must be repaired later.

A natural 20 automatically hits, ignores armor, and deals maximum damage.

Resting for little while will return any spent Effort.

If you are not carrying a weapon suitable for parrying, you must spend 2 Effort points for every 1 increase in Defense.

The Bell Curve Experiment

Consider the range of 3-18, produced by 3d6. Generally speaking, lower is worse, higher is better. Any particular action requires a roll of 3d6. A result of 9-12 indicates the "expected" result, whatever that may be. 3 is the worst possible outcome, indicating a rare and notable disaster occurring, while 18 is the inverse.

This roll can be used to resolve anything. Is there a hiding place nearby? Can I make an impromptu crossbow? How large is that army? How good is this armor? How far can I jump?

Skill (or lack thereof) is represented by rolling more than 3 dice and keeping the highest or lowest scores respectively. This could be a range of -5 to +5, say. A particularly skilled thief may roll 6d6 (that is, +3 dice) and keep the 3 highest when sneaking about. Contested rolls would be made by either party, the roll consisting of subtracting one entity's skill from the other (e.g. two men arm wrestle, one with +1, the second with +3. If the first makes the roll, it is 5d6 keep the 3 lowest. If the second makes the roll, 5d6 keep the highest; they are symmetrical, and the results are relative the roller's interests).

For any given question asked, action taken, or detail implemented, the DM need only define the expected outcome, then roll to find the deviation from this outcome.

I would group the results into the following 7 categories:

3 disastrous
4-5 severe
6-8 unfortunate
9-12 expected
13-15 fortunate
16-17 grand
18 miraculous

Cleric Spells

Any saving throws required by a spell at made with a penalty equal to the spell’s level.

The cleric must pray for an hour in the morning to gain his spells. After this, the cleric may cast any spell he knows as many times as he likes, subject to the following limitations:

In order to successfully cast a spell, the caster must roll 2d6. The results of the roll indicates what occurs with the spell. Only one spell may be cast each round. Some spells may be cast instantly or in reaction to an event. This does not remove the one spell a round limitation.

<0 Wrathful Deity: cleric may not cast any more spells this day, and his deity takes punitive action. Roll on the Wrath Table

<3 Failure: cannot cast spell again until the next day

3-5 Marginal Success: spell goes off at end of round, spell cannot be cast again till next day

6-8 Success: Spell goes off at end of round

9-11 Success: spell goes off at start of round

12+ Superb Success: Spell has maximum effect

This roll is modified by several factors. The most important is that every attempt to cast a spell adds a cumulative -1 to the roll. These penalties dissipate once the caster rests for the night.

Modifiers:

-1 to roll for every spell cast since rest

+1 to the roll per character level

-1 to the roll for spell level

+1 to the roll per point of statistic bonus

[The above is pillaged almost exactly from -C's Players' Guide to Numenhalla, available here]

A cleric with a wisdom of at least 13 gets an additional first level spell at first level. A cleric with a wisdom of at least 16 gets an additional second level spell at fourth level, and a cleric with a wisdom of at least 18 get an additional third level spell at seventh level.

First Level

Awe

The cleric can fill friends and foes alike with divine awe. The cleric’s head shines with a holy light, and all who can see him within 30 feet must make a will saving throw or be stunned for 1d2 rounds as they reel in wonder.

Bless

Allies within 30 feet who are the same religion as you increase damage by 1 step and get +1 on any non-combat rolls for 10 minutes. This effect does not stack if cast multiple times.

Command

You issue a one-word command to a creature, which it must obey for the following 10 seconds (1 round). A will saving throw negates this. “Die” makes them fall asleep. Must be within earshot.

Confine

A being within 20 feet becomes unable to take any movement actions, unless they succeed at a fortitude save. They may make the attempt again every round until they succeed.

Heal

You may instantly repair 1 wound on a person. You can also ease the suffering of a serious wound, causing it to heal 1 day faster than it otherwise would have, though the effect of the wound remains.

Influence

For one hour after casting this spell, the cleric’s words are taken more seriously than they might otherwise be.

Numerology

You may use this spell to note peculiar combinations of numbers that are rolled on dice (mark them down somewhere). These numbers are now meaningful in some way. Whenever they come up in the future, you may ask the DM the significance of the numbers appearing, and gain some divine insight related to this.

Protect

You may coat yourself or an ally in divine armor. This increases Damage Reduction by 1, but only against melee attacks. Lasts for 5 rounds. Does not stack with multiple uses.

Purify

You may purify food and water for 1d6 people. This eliminates any poison, disease, or parasites.

Smite

The cleric’s weapon becomes imbued with the colors of their god, and they may increase their damage die by 1 step. This effect lasts 3 rounds, and may not be used against a member of the same religion (though it does work against heretics).

Mage Spells

All mage spells have a charge effect and a release effect. Charge effects are either passive auras or abilities that may be used at will until the spell is released in its natural form, and may be either beneficial or a hindrance. Once the mage has used a spell’s release effect, he may not use that spell again (charge or release) until he has rested for one night and restored the energies to his person. Restoring the energies thusly requires an intelligence check minus the spell’s level. The mage may attempt to restore the energies of a number of spells per night equal to his intelligence modifier, with a minimum of 1.

A mage may attempt to use a known spell without its energies being present. When attempting this, roll a d6. For first or second level spells, a 2-6 indicates success. For third or fourth level spells, a 3-6 indicates success, and for fifth and sixth level spells, a 4-6 indicates success. Wound penalties apply to this roll. On a failure, the spell has backfired. Roll on the backfire table and apply the results.

If a save is relevant, the target receives a penalty on their save equal to the level of the spell.

All spells require 2 movement points to cast unless otherwise noted (this applies to both charge and release). Spells cast during a round are only activated at the end of the round (after everyone has acted). During the intervening time, the caster is subject to their spell being disrupted. Any damage the caster takes requires a will saving throw with a penalty equal to the damage or else the spell is lost.

Spells require arcane hand motions and arcane speech of at least normal speaking volume. It will be obvious to all present that a spell is being cast, though they will have no idea which spell. This has a tendency to make people nervous at the very least, and occasionally violent.

Casters with intelligence of at least 13 gain an additional first level spell at first level (chosen). Casters with intelligence of at least 16 gain an additional second level spell at third level (chosen). Casters with intelligences of at least 18 gain an additional third level spell upon reaching 5th level.

First Level

Affix

Charge: Objects adhere to the caster’s skin. It grips with a strength of 2.

Release: The mage can bind together two objects with magical force. The two act as though held together by a strength equal to the mage’s strength plus his caster level. This lasts a number of minutes equal to caster level. At 8th level and higher, the mage may choose to have the effect be permanent.

Charm

Charge: The mage gets a +1 bonus to persuasion attempts.

Release: A single target considers the mage to be a close friend, and interprets all actions in the most favorable way possible. This lasts a number of hours equal to the mage’s level, or until the mage or his allies directly harm the target. A successful will save negates.

Enlarge

Charge: The caster’s height increases by 1d6 inches (afterwards, this is constant until the spell is released). His weight is unchanged, and he thus looked stretched and unnatural if examined too closely.

Release: The caster may make an object or being larger by up to 25% per caster level. If cast on an unwilling being, a will saving throw negates. Weapon damages increase by 1 step every 50% increase, though they require larger and larger beings to wield them.

Eye

Charge: The caster may see twice as far and clearly as he is normally able.

Release: The caster may painlessly remove his eye and have it float about independently. He can see what the eye sees. The eye lasts for a number of hours equal to his caster level. If it has not been returned by that point, it falls lifeless and cannot be replaced until the caster restores the spell’s energy.

Feather

Charge: Birds do not fear the mage, though abusing this trust may lead to a general spitefulness from all birds.

Release: An object or person falls to the ground as lightly as a feather. This spell may be cast without expending any movement points or taking any time, but the caster must succeed at a dexterity check to do so (failure indicates the spell is lost).

Pyrotechnics

Charge: The caster has minor control over fires, making them form strange shapes and quelling or feeding them to a limited extent (candles can be put out, torches go out 1 in 4, fires grow faster, etc).

Release: A given fire suddenly explodes or immediately goes out. Explosions spread outward 10 feet, and deal 1d6 damage, or 2d6 in the case of particularly large fires. The caster may put out any fire up to the size of a large campfire, or significantly dampen a bonfire. Large areas of a burning building may be made safe in this way as well.

Glamor

Charge: The mage unconsciously draws the visual attention of all those around him, through no describable mechanism.

Release: The mage can produce a perfect visual illusion of 10 sq ft per caster level, of anything he desires. The form can be as specific as desired, though the caster must know what the illusion actually looks like. A will save negates, observers to see faintly see the illusion, and also that concealed beneath. The illusion lasts for 1 minutes per caster level.

Heave

Charge: The mage may move any object within sight that weighs less than a pound as he desires, as though it were a minor form of telekinesis. Particularly coordinated actions may require a dexterity check at -4. Only one object may be moved at a time.

Release: The mage may throw an object in an uncoordinated fashion weighing up to his level x 100 lbs in weight. The object can be moved or thrown 5 feet in a given direction. This distance can be modified proportionally by fractions of the weight attempted (A first level caster attempting to move a 500 lb object could move it 1 foot, or a 50 lb object 10 feet). The maximum distance is 100 feet, the minimum is half a foot (therefore, a first level mage cannot move any object weighing more than 1000 lbs any distances at all). The object must begin within 20 feet of the caster.

Hinder

Charge: The mage is surprised more often, from 2 in 6 to 3 in 6. The same applies to ambushing.

Release: The mage specifies a field of interconnected hexes equal to his caster level. Any beings moving through this field must expend 2 movement points to move one hex, as their legs muscles spasm and weaken in the field. The field lasts for 2d6 rounds.

Leap

Charge: The mage deals 1 additional damage when throwing items.

Release: The mage leaps, 1d6 + intelligence modifier in hexes. An exchange of one hex for 5 vertical feet is permitted. The number of feet leapt is not rolled until the leap occurs.

Light

Charge: The caster’s hair and nails glow slightly, and are apparent in the darkness.

Release: A touched object is infused with daylight. Everything in a 15 foot radius appears to have a sourceless light shining on it. The line between illuminated and dark is sharp; on one side, daylight, on the other, no illumination. Beings outside the sphere can also see the daylight shining on the objects within the sphere. This effect lasts for 1 hour per caster level. The caster may split hours between different objects as he pleases (1 hour minimum).

Link

Charge: The mage is functionally ambidextrous.

Release: The movement of two touched, non-living objects is permanently linked. Both objects may weigh no more than 1 pound each. The two attempt to follow the movement of the other with a strength of 3. If they cannot follow one another’s movements, they press against barriers until they have enough free space to act as their partners.

Message

Charge: The caster can write in ink with mere hand gestures, no materials required.

Release: The caster can transmit whispered messages into the ears a being within sight. The communication is one-way. The ability lasts for one minute per caster level, though the caster must be able to see the target the whole time for the effect to work.

Missile

Charge: Objects on the caster’s person have a tendency to fall apart. Every time the caster does anything that could in any conceivable way cause an item on their body to break, roll a d6. On a 1, a random item breaks.

Release: The caster releases small streaking meteors of condensed entropy at his foes. These missiles strike unerringly, as long as the caster could see his target when he cast the spell. Each deals 1d6 damage and automatically wounds if it deals any damage at all (a strike that would have been a wound is still just a single wound). At every level divisible by 4 the caster gains another missile, which may strike another target or the same.

Renew

Charge: The caster may polish items to a nice sheen with a simple hand gesture.

Release: The caster may repair a small item (could fit within the caster’s torso) that was broken in the last number of days equal to caster level.

Shield

Charge: The caster does not get wet from regular rainfall, though torrents still affect him.

Release: The caster may choose one person within 20 feet to be shielded. If the target is struck by a ranged weapon, roll a d6. On a 4 or higher, the shot is entirely deflected. On a 3 or less, the caster takes damage as normal. On a 1, the shield is broken and the spell ends. This effect lasts for 2 rounds per caster level.

Sicken

Charge: The caster gains a +2 bonus to resisting poisons.

Release: A target of 6 HD or less within 20 feet must succeed at a fortitude save or be swept with terrible nausea, retching and becoming disoriented for 1d4 rounds. During this time, they must succeed a dexterity check or drop any items held, and can take no action but movement. They may still dodge, but doing so deals them 1 damage from staggering during the attempt.

Sleep

Charge: The caster needs only sleep for 3 hours a night, instead of the usual 6.

Release: The caster may choose up to 6 HD of creatures, distributed as he pleases, within 30 feet. All those affected must succeed at a will save or immediately fall asleep. The sleep is very deep and peaceful, and only pain or extraordinarily loud noises will wake them. The sleep lasts for 1 hour if uninterrupted.

Sound

Charge: The caster’s shouts are magnified in volume.

Release: The caster may perfectly imitate a known sound of a volume up to a shout. The sound may last up to 1 minute, and can come from a desired point within 40 feet. A successful will save reveals the illusion.

Speak

Charge: The caster’s voice is soothing and pleasant to listen to.

Release: The caster may speak and understand a chosen language for 5 minutes per caster level. This spell also allows limited communication with birds and beasts. The caster is not able to read the chosen language, however.

Noticing

This post is essentially a dissection of the encounter table. I have difficulty making straight encounter tables that work well for me, so I'm always tinkering with new ideas.

Roll 3d6. This number simultaneously represents both how unusual an event is and how noticeable; we'll call this its Subtlety. 3 and 18 are equally rare, but 18 is very discreet, while 3 is exceedingly obvious. 10 and 11 are the most mundane occurrences. A quick chart, with chance of occurrence and examples (obviously tailored toward a city environment):

3 (.5%) - an open murder, a flash flood, a building collapsing
4 (1.4%) - a hanging, a lynch mob
5 (2.8%) - a public fight
6 (4.6%) - a rich man with his entourage, a skilled bard playing
7 (6.9%) - a mad man talking to himself, a street preacher sermonizing
8 (9.7%) - a servant being whipped
9 (11.6%) - a drunk swaying down the street
10 (12.5%) - a beautiful person, a heated conversation
11 (12.5%) - a deformed beggar
12 (11.6%) - a wanted poster
13 (9.7%) - a merchant selling unusual wares
14 (6.9%) - a woman being beaten in her home
15 (4.6%) - an expensive item hidden on a person
16 (2.8%) - a man passing by linked to his wanted poster
17 (1.4%) - a pedestrian with backwards hands
18 (.5%) - a secret message from assassin to assassin

Let's say that in a bustling, vibrant city, we want a 3 (a striking and rare event) to occur about once a month. Statistically, if we roll on the above chart seven times a day, we will roll a 3 about once every 30 days. So, we can now organize our city's (or any environment's) vibrancy by the number of times per day we roll on the chart.

7 times/day: Large, bustling city (3 rolled once a month)
6 times/day: City
5 times/day: Large Town (3 rolled once every 40 days)
4 times/day: Town
3 times/day: Large Village (3 rolled once every 2 months)
2 times/day: Village
1 time/day: Hamlet (3 rolled once every 200 days)

It's a simple task to make this chart work for traveling hexes as well. Just determine how interesting the given hex is and roll a number of times. In general, deeper wilderness is more interesting, more infrastructure is less interesting (until we hit larger settlements, that is).

Assassins and thieves can roll 1d6 and add this to their wisdom when checking what they notice in an urban environment. Scouts can add 1d6 while in the wilderness.

For a traveling party, whether the party knows about the encounter ahead of time is important. If moving in a line, each character has a penalty to their wisdom equal to their distance from the front of the line (1st position at -0, 2nd position at -1, 3rd at -2, etc.). Then use the resulting highest wisdom. Remember that scouts may add 1d6.

This system is heavy on improvisation. The chart will tell you the rarity of the event, but no particulars about it. Right now, I'm experimenting with breaking down encounters into three categories: Subtlety/Rarity, Type, and Reaction. We've covered the first, obviously. Type can be pretty simple. Here's an example for the wilderness:

1 - Human/demi-human
2 - Humanoid
3 - Monster
4 - Location
5 - Wilderness event
6 - Animal
7 - Resource
8 - Roll again twice

For Reaction, I'm a fan of keeping things simple. For wilderness, roll 2d6 and keep the lower, in civilization keep the higher:

1 - actively seeks to harm
2 - suspicious
3-4 - ignores
5 - curious
6 - friendly

We roll three sets of dice for a wilderness encounter, and we can know how unusual that event is, how difficult to notice it is, what it concerns, and how dangerous or helpful it is. A wilderness example:

Type: Location
Subtlety/Rarity: 6
Reaction: 1

We have a rather unusual (4.6% chance), very obvious, very dangerous place in the wilderness. Off the top of my head, this could be an old haunted battlefield, an avalanche-prone section of mountains, or a poisonous salt marsh.

Another example:

Type: Humanoid
Subtlety/Rarity: 12
Reaction: 3

Ordinary humanoids not givin' a damn. Perhaps some goblins just trying to celebrate their harvest in peace.

Tell me what you think.

I Sing the Dungeon Electric: Deities

I continue designing my new game, I Sing the Dungeon Electric. This is my introduction of the Priest class. I haven't finalized how I'm going to handle spellcasting, so let's just start with the basic deities.

Priests must roll for which deity they worship, which gives them certain powers and restrictions. Roll 1d10 for deity. If the priest disobeys any restrictions, he loses his priestly powers for 1 week.

1: Deddahoor, Who Sings Sweetly in the Night
Colors: Dark violet, black, dark blue
Powers:
(level 1) While the priest is singing, those who are asleep cannot wake up. The priest must sing at full volume.
(level 5) The priest makes no sound as he moves.
(level 10) The priest can see through walls up to half his level in feet thick when bathed in moonlight.
Restrictions: The priest cannot let his skin touch sunlight. During the day, he must be fully covered in cloth. The priest may not wear armor.

2: Kilbayath, Behind the Golden Veil
Colors: Red, Gold, Ochre
Powers:
(level 1) The priest can handle and deliver poisons without risk of poisoning himself.
(level 5) The priest can communicate silently with anyone he makes eye contact with. They cannot speak back.
(level 10) The priest may turn himself invisible 1 time/day for 1 minute per level. Any hostile actions immediately end this invisibility.
Restrictions: Priests of Kilbayath cannot enter private dwellings uninvited.

3: Yumnulla, the Vast Mother
Colors: Brown, Yellow, Dark Green
Powers:
(level 1) Priest may heal 2 hit points per level per day
(level 5) The priest can switch places with another being in sight 1 time/day.
(level 10) The priest can compel pacifism into a number of creatures whose total HD does not exceed the priest's level. Effect lasts for 1 week. Save against will negates.
Restrictions: Priests of Yumnulla must have sex with a new person at least once a month.

4: Hemnai, Who Builds and Destroys
Colors: White, Black
Powers:
(level 1) Priest may create 1 pound/level of a common material from thin air per day. Can only be roughly shaped.
(level 5) The priest can destroy 1 pound/level of any material once per day. Must be touching the material.
(level 10) The priest can forge magical artifacts.
Restrictions: Priests of Hemnai must always be touching a piece of metal.


5: The Wandering Man, Whose Strides Are Long
Colors: Gray, Blue
Powers:
(level 1) The priest has 1 more movement point.
(level 5) The priest can speak with trees, in a limited sense. They are favorably disposed to him.
(level 10) The priest can instantly move between two known locations 1/week.
Restrictions: The priest cannot remain in one place longer than a week.


6: Ruefursoth, Under the Broken Earth
Colors: Brown, Dull Orange, Teal
Powers
(level 1) The priest can speak with insects and grubs.
(level 5) The priest can burrow at 1/4 normal speed through dirt. Clothes still get dirty.
(level 10) The priest can summon the aid of the one of the great Maggots who swim through the flesh of the earth.
Restrictions: The priest cannot touch open water or running water, and consequently cannot swim. He may only be on a boat if he is meditating the entire time.


7: Klebk, the Dreaming One
Colors: Black, Yellow, Green trim
Powers:
(level 1) The priest can detect all magical items within 20 feet.
(level 5) The priest can make all sources of light within 100 feet suddenly go out. They cannot be relit for 1 hour. 1/day.
(level 10) The priest may switch two creatures minds 1/week. A will save negates from either, though if they are willing, no save is necessary. The change is permanent until switched back. Touch is required in both.
Restrictions: Priests of Klebk must sleep for 12 hours per day. All of them snore.


8: Biim, Of Four Faces
Colors: Blue, White, Violet
Powers: (level 1) The priest is surprised 3 in 6 instead of 4 in 6.
(level 5) The priest can make an illusory double of himself. This double cannot speak, and can only repeat a single simple action at a given interval. Illusion is visual only, and has no substance.
(level 10) The priest can see that which is invisible, and touch that which is ethereal.
Restrictions: Priests of Biim may not be within 20 feet of fire, and are discouraged from being in sight of it.


9: Garalt, Who Stands Atop Mountains
Colors: Saffron, White, Grey
Powers:
(level 1) The priest can summon light rain 1/week.
(level 5) The priest can cause rockslides, mudslides, or avalanches as appropriate given the surroundings.
(level 10) The priest can gain DR 4 and increase his unarmed damage die by 2 steps for a number of rounds per day equal to half his level (rounded down). It takes one round of pure concentration to activate this ability.
Restrictions: Priest may not kill a defenseless creature, nor allow them to be killed.


10: Ebbernet, the Swollen Heavens
Colors: Dull green, Grey, Red
Powers:
(level 1) The priest is immune to sickness.
(level 5) Priest can turn dead bodies into sacks of disease, which explode if touched. 1/day per level.
(level 10) Priest can transform into a cloud of flies 1/day. Transformation back is voluntary at any time until the next sunrise, when it happens automatically. If half the flies are killed, so is the priest. Cannot carry equipment while in this state.
Restrictions: Priest may only eat raw meat. No ill health effects come from this.


Add more to this list if you desire. Formula: strange fantasy name + evocative epithet; whatever colors you feel that epithet evokes; level 1 power should be weird and occasionally useful; level 5 power should be quite effective in a variety of situations; the level 10 power should be something cool that anyone would want; restrictions should be mildly annoying and exploitable.

I Sing the Dungeon Electric: Fighter

I've decided to write my own RPG, because RPG rules are all I think about in my free time. I'll be making a series of posts here for each section of said RPG. I'm calling it I Sing the Dungeon Electric. It should have a dungeons and dragon-y feel, but it won't necessarily overlay very well onto the D&D ruleset.

The combat system will be based on my post Killing the Armor Class. See that if you get confused.

First up, the Fighter Class. Each class has three d100 tables: the Metal table, the Weird table, and the Gritty table. At first level and every time you gain a level, choose two tables (or the same table twice) and roll on them. This is how advancement works (thank you Zak Smith).

Also, I'm utilizing the simple combat maneuvers system: when attempting a combat maneuver, declare it and roll damage as normal; the opponent can choose to take either the damage or suffer the effects of the maneuver.

Fighter

hit die: 1d8
Saves: Fortitude 13, Reflex 15, Will 17
Social Skill: Intimidate

Metal

1-35: increase the damage die by one step for one weapon

36-40: switch-hitter - when you deal a wound to an opponent, you may drop your weapon and grab theirs. If you do, you can immediately gain an extra attack using their weapon. If you roll this again, you don't drop your weapon, and are just holding both (you still have to attack with the taken one, though). If you roll this a third time, re-roll.

41-50: RAGE! - you can rage once per day for a number of rounds equal to your level. Increase your strength by 2, your constitution by 2, and all your damage dice by 1 step. If the increase in constitution would grant you more HP, gain them as a temporary bonus. You cannot dodge while raging. Afterwards, you are tuckered right out! You are at -1 movement and -2 strength. 1 more time per day for each time you roll this.

51-55: increase your constitution by 1 up to racial max. Extra points go to strength or dexterity.

56-60: increase your strength by 1 up to racial max. Extra points go to constitution or dexterity.

61-70: Weapons Shall be Broken - any time you don't want to take damage, you may instead have your weapon be broken in twain, as Shields Shall Be Splintered. You take no damage. If you re-roll this, your weapon only breaks 1 in 2 chance. Each re-roll increases this, to 1 in 3, then 1 in 4, etc.

71-75: Glorious Battle - you could kill this beast with one hand tied behind your back! If you handicap yourself in some meaningful way, you get double XP at the end of the fight. Only works against monsters with more hit dice than you. Examples of handicaps include no weapons, half HP, blindfolded, one hand tied behind back, etc. Re-rolling this result means you can take two handicaps for triple XP, and so on.

76-80: Beastrider - finally! You get to ride around on the back of a bitchin' beast. It has to be local to where you leveled up, it can't have more than 5 hit dice, and it has to have roughly animal intelligence. It is not particularly intelligent, but will let you ride it into battle (because what's the point otherwise!).

81-82: Hands of Steel - if you wound an opponent using bare hands, then succeed an opposed strength check, you literally tear off one of their limbs. Scary. Re-roll means you get +1 on the strength check, then +2, etc.

83-97: +1 to fortitude save.

98-00: Thick-Skinned - You get Damage Reduction 1 from your thick-ass hide. Second time you roll this, 2 DR. Re-roll if you get this a third time.


Weird

1-25: increase the damage die by one step for one weapon

26-30: Crowspeech - you can speak with birds, in a limited fashion. You sound like a crow though, and they don't all like that. Roll this again, and you're fluent, all birds like you. Re-roll after that.

31-35: Beastspeaker - you can grunt and bark like a beast. You can speak with non-bird animals, in a limited fashion. Roll this again, and you're fluent. After that, re-roll.

36: Old Crone's Quest - that thing you always wanted? The Storm Axe of Fronsold Giantbane? The Headband of Bloodlust? The Breastplate of Catrigga the Gnome? It's there. 4 sessions of play away or less. You must have a reasonable (but not guaranteed) chance of getting it. If you haven't gotten it within 4 sessions, you may switch it out with another macguffin, but the first one becomes unattainable (DM make up a reason).

37-40: Luck of the Gods - you can re-roll 1 die roll once per day. If you get this result again, twice per day, and so on.

41: Nice eyes - increase wisdom by 1 up to racial max.

42: Nice voice - increase charisma by 1 up to racial max

43-45: You gazed into something you shouldn't have. Take a random mutation.

46-47: Cowl of Ghosts - those you have murdered hover around your subconscious. If you sacrifice 1/10 of your current XP, you can ask a question of anyone you have killed, and you will receive a truthful answer. The answer will come to you in a dream, so you have to sleep. If you lose a level from the use of this ability, lose one level's worth of hit points, and two random class abilities you have acquired. You will level up again as normal. If you roll this a second time, you only lose 1/12 of your XP, then 1/14, and so on down.

48: Blood for the Blood God - You've made a deal with something dark and hungry, maybe by accident. At least once per week, you must mutilate yourself, dealing a quarter of your hit points to your own flesh, and consequently taking a wound. You must then spread your own blood out on a flat surface in a profane ritualistic circle. Every time you do this, roll a d%. On a 1-99, nothing happens. On a 00, however, a you are possessed by a demon for exactly one week. In return for this ritual being performed, you may shriek "Blood for the blood god!" once per week. After this, you and all allies within 30 feet all increase your damage dice by 1 step for a number of rounds equal to your level, and blood runs from all your eyes. If you miss any of your blood rituals, they are saved. The next time you take a wound, roll for all the missed ones at once, and you are possessed on a 99-00 for any of them.

49: Arcane Acquisition - holy shit, someone fit a spell into your brain. Any spell of your choice is sitting up there, waiting to be used. One time only. Acts as if cast by a 15th level mage.

50-64: +1 to all your saves

65-74: I Know These Lands - in terrain similar to the land you hail from, you may ask one yes/no question about the land per week. Increase by 1/week each time you re-roll.

75-81: You get around. You've picked up another language.

82-90: Know Level - You can spend 1 movement point to estimate a foe's level or hit dice. Roll 1d6 and add half your level (rounded down). If you rolled under their actual level, you believe them to be the rolled number. If your rolled over the actual number, you know their actual level (though not their class, if any). Roll this again, and you can add another d6, then another, etc.

91-94: Seen Too Much - immune to fear. On a re-roll, your allies get +2 to resist fear, then +4, etc.

95-96: Blub-blub: you can hold your breath twice as long as normal. On a re-roll, 3 times, then 4, etc.

97-98: Weatherbeaten - you gain a +2 bonus to resisting weather effects.

99: Things Fall Apart - you just don't get along with technology. Whenever you interact with a complicated mechanical device, it immediately ceases to work 1 in 6. Increase this chance with every re-roll (cannot be higher than 5 in 6).

00: The Wind Speaks a Warning - Lower your surprise by 1 (from 4 in 6, to 3 in 6, for example). Cannot be lower than 1 in 6.


Gritty

1-30: increase damage die of one weapon

31-40: increase reflex save by one

41-45: increase fortitude save by one

46-50: Persuasive Shove - when attempting a shove, increase damage dealt by 1

51-55: Persuasive Trip - when attempting a trip, increase damage dealt by 1

56-60: Persuasive Disarm - when attempting a disarm, increase damage dealt by 1

61-70: Battlefield Command - once per fight, you can give one of your allies an extra movement point. Each re-roll allows you to do this an additional time per fight.

71-75: Quick draw - pulling out an item or weapon takes 1 less movement point. You can fire ranged weapons 1 round more frequently than normal (bows every round, light crossbows every other round, heavy crossbows every 3 rounds). If you roll this again, just re-roll.

76-80: Cast Iron Stomach - +4 to saving against poison

81-82: +1 to dexterity, up to racial max. extra points go to strength or constitution

83-85: Battlefield Medic - You can heal 2 hit point per level per day, spread amongst characters as you please. Roll again, and it becomes 3 hit points per level, then 4, etc.

86-90: brutal life - you recover an additional number of hit points every night equal to half your level (rounded down). Each time you re-roll this, add 1 more hit point per night.

91-95: quick as a viper - increase your movement by 1

96-00: dual-wielding - you can use a weapon in each hand. Decrease the damage dice of both of them by 1. If you re-roll, the weapon in your main hand is at regular damage. If you roll this again, your off-hand gets normal damage. After that, re-roll.

Killing the Armor Class

Here are the bare-bones of an alternate combat system:
 - there is no armor class
 - all attacks hit; roll damage immediately
 - armor provides damage reduction (usually on a scale of 1-4)
 - dexterity bonuses provide that number of free "dodges" usable per fight
 - increase in fighting skill is represented by an increase in damage die

Think of hit points as representing combat endurance. It's your character's ability to keep ducking and weaving, ignoring small wounds, parrying blades, etc. Whenever someone swings a weapon, your hit points are reduced, because you had to put energy into evading that blow. Once your energy is exhausted, you start taking hits for real, and are debilitated by whatever rules you have for negative hit points.

Damage, then, is really a measure of how much energy you have forced someone else to expend, either through having a big fucking sword, or a lot of skill with it (or both).

Armor allows you to absorb some blows, so you don't expend as much energy. Dexterity gives you a couple "get out of jail free" cards, to evade damage you didn't want to take.

Shields Shall Be Splintered.

All weapons start out dealing either 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, or 1d10 damage. Gaining levels allows the character to pick specific weapons that deal more damage. Here's an example of the way damage would progress in various weapons:

1d4 --> 1d6 --> 1d8 --> 1d10 --> 2d6 --> 2d8 --> 3d6 --> 3d8, etc.

Fighters can pick a weapon to increase in damage every other level, starting at first. Clerics/Thieves can pick a weapon for damage increase every three levels, starting at second. Mages can pick a weapon for damage increase every four levels, starting at third.

I came up with this system out of a desire to both represent exhaustion wearing down on a character during battle, and to decrease the number of dice rolled per turn in combat. Let me know what you think.

Reactions to an Unconscious Foe

Short post today.

My players are knocked unconscious a lot. I consequently struggle with how a combatant, in the heat of battle, reacts to an enemy being thrown to the ground, apparently lifeless. I'd rather not make ad hoc decisions about whether or not a killing blow is delivered, so I'll make a random table instead.

First of all, I require a wisdom check from the combatant in question to know if a character is dead. If they think the character is dead, they will subsequently ignore them. Most of the following tables assume that death (not capture) is the goal of the combatants.

Mook (0-level human or demi-human combatant)

Still in the first six rounds of combat:
 - more than 50% of opposing force remains: 20% chance of decision to kill
 - less than 50% of opposing force remains: 70% chance of decision to kill
In the seventh round or later:

 - more than 50% of opposing force remains: 5% chance of decision to kill
 - less than 50% of opposing force remains: 50% chance of decision to kill

Humanoid

Still in the first six rounds of combat:
 - more than 50% of opposing force remains: 30% chance of decision to kill
 - less than 50% of opposing force remains: 80% chance of decision to kill
In the seventh round or later:

 - more than 50% of opposing force remains: 15% chance of decision to kill
 - less than 50% of opposing force remains: 60% chance of decision to kill

Monster (hungry, animal intelligence)

Will always start eating an unconscious character

Monster (pissed off, animal intelligence)
15% chance of decision to kill, out of dull spite

Leveled NPC/Intelligent Monster

Still in the first six rounds of combat:
 - more than 50% of opposing force remains: 20% chance of decision to kill
 - less than 50% of opposing force remains: 80% chance of decision to kill
In the seventh round or later:

 - more than 50% of opposing force remains: 10% chance of decision to kill
 - less than 50% of opposing force remains: 60% chance of decision to kill
[if the opposing party is known to have a cleric, increase above percentages by 15%]

I may edit this post later if I come up with different ways to handle this, or invent more situations.

Story from Statistics: Demographics

I like to generate plot ideas and stories from known statistics about my various worlds. I hope to make this a series of posts on how exactly to do this.

Your players are entering a town they know nothing about. Who is inside this town? What do they have to offer? This town was a living, breathing place before the PCs got there, and it should react to them arriving.

Let's start with some numbers. I like to say that 2% of the world at large is "leveled" (that is, has at least one level in a character class). You can choose whatever number you want, or have it vary from region to region. My frontier regions have 3 or 4% of the population being leveled.

The classes are not made equal. Certain classes are rarer, or more difficult to train in. I use ten classes: Assassin, Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Mage, Monk, Mystic, Paladin, Scout, and Thief. I argue that the Monk is the rarest class, so we'll assign a relative frequency of 1. I'll say there are twice as many Mystics, Assassins, and Paladins as monks, so they get the value of 2, and so on up through to the most common classes, Fighter and Thief. Here are my numbers, and the consequent percentages:

Monk: 1 --> 3.226%

Assassin: 2 --> 6.452%

Mystic: 2 --> 6.452%

Paladin: 2 --> 6.452%

Bard: 3 --> 9.677%

Mage: 3 --> 9.677%

Scout: 4 --> 12.903%

Cleric: 4 --> 12.903%

Fighter: 5 --> 16.129%

Thief: 5 --> 16.129%

So, of a given population, 2% are leveled, and 16.129% are Fighters. Therefore, we have a good approximate number of Fighters for ANY given town, city, region, or country.

Let's get deeper. I would suggest that of a given pool of Fighters, 1/2 of them are level 1, 1/4 are level 2, 1/8 are level 3, 1/16 are level 4, and so on, each level containing about half the number of the previous level.

Let's create a large town of 10,000 people. There are 200 leveled people. There are 25.806 Clerics. There are 12.903 first level Clerics, 6.4515 second level Clerics, 3.22575 third level Clerics, 1.612875 fourth level Clerics, 0.8064375 fifth level Clerics, 0.40321875 sixth level Clerics, 0.201609375 seventh level Clerics, 0.1008046875 eighth level Clerics, 0.05040234375 ninth level Clerics, and 0.02520117187 tenth level Clerics.

Obviously, we can't have a .0252 of a person. So, read these decimals as chances of an additional member. 12.903 first level Clerics means there is a 90.3% chance of there being a thirteenth first level Cleric in the municipality. By the same stroke, .1008 eighth level Clerics means there is only a 10% chance of there being an eighth level Cleric at all.

Let's roll some dice and get exact numbers. We could roll for members of higher than tenth level, of course, but for the sake of demonstration I'll stop there.

1st: 13

2nd: 7

3rd: 3

4th: 2

5th: 0

6th: 1

7th: 0

8th: 1

9th: 0

10th: 0

We estimated in the beginning that there were 25.8 Clerics, and we got 27, a bit more than average. Furthermore, out town has the rare honor of hosting an 8th level cleric, which only 1 in 10 towns of its size can boast.

I have a google spreadsheet that calculates all of these instantly for me, but rolling a lot of d% will work just as well. After repeating this process for all the classes, we have definitive numbers of all the important players in the town. I like to say that anyone of 5th level or more is a "known" entity. They hold some sway in the community. From my excel sheet, I can make the following list of "important" people:

Assassins: One 5th level and one 8th level.

Bards: One 5th level and one 6th level.

Clerics: One 6th level and one 8th level.

Fighters: One 5th, one 7th, one 8th.

Mages: none (higher than 4th level, that is)

Monks: One 7th.

Mystics: One 5th.

Paladins: One 5th, one 6th.

Scouts: One 5th, one 7th.

Thieves: One 5th.

We now know have a list of the 16 most influential people in the town. Do you see the possibilities? Who are the PCs competing with? Which of these people are looking for recruits? Who hates who? This town has three 8th level NPCs! What does that mean? Were they once an adventuring party themselves? Monks are the rarest class, yet by chance we rolled a 7th level one. Who is this person?

This is where story lies. It is contained within a world that exists independently of the PCs, which has its own rhyme and reason that the players can tap into. These numbers scream tales to me, they whisper to me about adventure opportunities, they seem to invent histories for these people.

Don't shy away from numbers. They'll do so much work for you, they'll surprise you, and they'll hook together in ways that will withstand the closest scrutiny.

Craft Skills

Craft skills work just like regular skills. They are associated with intelligence and dexterity (and thus use the lower of those two ability scores). All craft skills function in basically the same way with regards to their standard effect and challenge percentage.

There are four qualities of items: poor, average, excellent, and masterwork.

Items have a quality, material, a complexity, and a time for completion. Complexity ranges from 1 to 10, and time is measured in days.

The following list describes the number of days required to complete an average item of a given complexity (it is indeed in the fibonacci sequence):

Complexity
1 --> 1 day
2 --> 1 day
3 --> 2 days
4 --> 3 days
5 --> 5 days
6 --> 8 days
7 --> 13 days
8 --> 21 days
9 --> 34 days
10 --> 55 days
(11) --> 89 days
(12) --> 144 days
(13) --> 233 days
(14) --> 377 days

Craft Skills, Standard Effects:

• A craftsman can complete an average quality item of a certain complexity in the above time frame with no chance of failure (assuming they are trained).
• If the craftsman wishes to make an excellent quality item, the time increases by two steps on the above table. Again, there is no risk of failure here.
• If the craftsman wishes to make a poor quality item, the time decreases by one step on the above table. There is no risk of failure. Decreasing below one on the table halves the time with each step.

Craft skills have challenge percentages like any other skill, used for more difficult projects. A project can be made more difficult by increasing quality without increasing time, or by decreasing time without decreasing quality.

Every upward step of time that a craftsman wishes to avoid requires one challenge roll. For example, if a craftsman wishes to make a complexity 5 item of excellent quality, this would ordinarily take 13 days. If he wishes to finish it in 8 days, he must succeed at a challenge roll. If
he wishes to finish it in 5 days (two steps below usual), he must succeed at two challenge rolls, etc.

Creating masterwork items increases the time by four steps, and always requires an additional challenge roll. Thus, attempting a masterwork complexity 7 item takes 89 days and a successful challenge roll to complete. Every step of time decrease requires an additional challenge roll, as usual.

Items cost [base material price] x [days] x [2 ^ number of challenge rolls]. Let's assume iron's base cost is 5 s.p (or .5 g.p).

Thus an average blacksmith's set of horseshoes costs [.5] x [1] x [1] = 5 s.p.
A poor quality set of horseshoes costs [.5] x [.5] x [1] = 2 s.p., 5 c.p.
An excellent set of horseshoes (normal time) costs [.5] x [2] x [1] = 1 g.p.
An excellent set of horseshoes (expedited one step) costs [.5] x [1] x [2] = 1 g.p. (same as above)
A masterwork set of horseshoes (normal time) costs [.5] x [5] x [2] = 5 g.p.
A masterwork set of horseshoes (expedited one step) costs [.5] x [3] x [4] = 6 g.p.

Some items, such as horseshoes or nails or cannonballs, obviously take less than one day to produce. In these cases, group them into sets of items that would take about 1 day to complete, and call that complexity 1. We'll say 50 nails can be made per day from scratch, for example.

This is not the simplest system in the world, but it gives me hard numbers to work with, and is rewarding to players who want to make things themselves.

A partial list of craft skills: woodworking, blacksmithing, whitesmithing, carpentry, instrument-making, metallurgy (more on this later), pottery, textiles, fletching.

I'm working on compiling lists of items and their relative complexities. I'm also working on a system of specializations within craft skills (such as weaponsmithing underneath blacksmithing).

Towards Cohesive Skills

It's time for a post again, after my very long hiatus.

Cuurent thoughts in skills:

A skill is a (generally) non-competitive activity that a character performs which must be trained (rather than being innate). Examples include Stealth, Blacksmithing, Disabling Devices, Climbing, Instrument Playing, etc.

Every skill has an ability score associated with it (dexterity for Climbing, for example). Some skills have multiple associated ability scores. Use the lower of them in these cases (Musical Instrument is associated with dexterity and charisma).

Every skill has a standard effect, which can be performed with no risk of failure. This is specific to each skill (Stealth allows a character to move within 2d6 hexes of an observer without being noticed, with no chance of failure).

Every skill also has a challenge percentage, which is rolled whenever the character steps outside the standard effect while using the skill (in the case of Stealth, movement through every hex closer than the 5d4 first rolled requires a roll of the challenge percentage).

If a character is not "trained" in a skill, their challenge percentage is equal to the relevant ability score (no training in stealth for a character with dexterity 13 means a 13% challenge percentage). An unskilled character must also roll an additional challenge percentage on every attempted use of the skill. A character untrained in blacksmithing must make a challenge roll even if they are attempting a project within its standard effect. That same character, when attempting a challenging project, will roll their percentage twice (or more, depending on the difficulty).

Increasing one's ability in a skill requires time and money. First training takes 1 month and 1000 g.p., and makes the character "trained" in the skill, as well as doubling their challenge percentage (from 13% to 26% in the last example). At this point, they now have full access to the skill's standard effect.

From there, increasing a skill takes a number of months equal to the ten's digit of the current percentage, and the same x 1000 in g.p. This increases the skill by 5%.

Some classes (notably the thief) gain these skill increases automatically by gaining levels. This obviously takes no additional time or money. Thieves and other skilled classes may supplement their automatic increases with the time and money system on the side.

No skill may rise above its associated ability score x 5.

One of the simplest skills:

Stealth (dexterity): The character may move within 2d6 hexes of an observer without being detected. Add 1 to this number for every 10 lbs of equipment carried. Thieves may subtract their level from this roll. This number of hexes assumes evening light or torchlight, and no background noise; DMs may add or subtract up to 3 from the number based on worse or better conditions. Movement through every hex closer than this number requires a challenge roll.

I'll be doing a series of posting various skills as I design their particulars.

Next up, I'll be covering craft skills specifically.