Friday, March 20, 2015

Combat Basics

Combat is fairly straight forward! 

Attack: Make a roll based on a normal stat.

Most melee weapons = Body
Most ranged weapons = Speed
Most spells = Mind

You're looking for umber of successes compared to the targets Defense.

Defense is the number of successes required to hit a creature or object, it will usually range from 0 to 2, only very powerful monsters will have a 3 or higher defense. 

Damage is done based on the roll against them, if it meets or exceeds the defense. The total of the roll is applied as the damage.  The one exception on that is if the target has a defense of 0, in that case target takes half damage unless at least one success is rolled.

Then Armor is applied, Make a roll versus the armor value that a character has if any, and remove the total of the successes from the damage.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Initiative

After the last post I was thinking that I should really do smaller bits, one race at a time... ect...

CRASH COURSE:  Rolls are made versus a number, and you need to roll that number or higher.

INITIATIVE is used to determine who gets priority to act in a combat round.

It's a Speed Roll!

The order of combat is based on number of successes, and total check.

Example: A standard party versus, a orc encampment.

Fighter:
    Speed 9
    Rolls: 3,4,12
    Successes:1
    Total: 19
Mage:
    Speed 9
    Rolls: 5,8,8
    Successes: 0
    Total: 21
Thief:
    Speed 8
    Rolls: 1,3,3
    Successes: 0
    Total:7
Cleric:
    Speed: 9
     Rolls: 7,7,9
    Successes: 1
    Total: 23
Orcs:
    Speed: 9
    Rolls: 1,10,10
    Successes: 2
    Total: 21
Orc Chief:
    Speed: 7      
    Rolls: 5,6,6
    Successes: 0
    Total: 17

So the order is:

Orcs
Cleric
Fighter
Mage
Orc Chief
Thief

Combat order is called out from the top of the list to the bottom, those on the top get the first options to act, and gain advantage against those lower on the combat order, but they are not forced to act.  If one or more participant in the combat declines to go when the option is available, they can act after any other participant in the combat.  Finally, starting from the bottom of the combat initiative participants are forced to act or do nothing for the turn.

Unfortunately in the example the Orc Chief and thief rolled incredibly poorly despite being the fastest.

Combat example:

The orcs move into combat.
The cleric delays.
The fighter attacks an Orc.
The mage delays, expecting the thief to soften the Orc Chief.
The Orc Chief charges the fighter.
The Thief engages an Orc in melee because he  rolled to poorly to shoot anything with his bow.
The Mage is forced to act, and bathes the Orcs, Thief, Fighter and Orc Chief in fire, narrowly avoiding the Cleric. The thief managed to dodge most of the damage, the fighter did not. 
The Cleric is forced to act, and casts a healing spell on the fighter.
End of round, Roll initiative for next round.






















Roll New innitiative.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Races v1.0

So I figure we start with the basic races.  Remembering the "Tolkien can rot" aspect of the game, we're not dealing with aloof Elves, stoic Dwarves, and fearless Halflings.  These are fantasy beings, strong in ways that humans can't match, but humans compete in other areas.  I even want to replace the race names but think that it's something that can wait... for a major overhaul of the idea.

Races

     I want the character race to be a important decision.  Because of the reduced stats and dice system I'm implementing each aspect of the race should largely be what sets the race apart.  With variable defenses, special skills, or access to abilities before others.

Human

    Humans, are the longest lived race on in the world, their empires rise and fall.  Their ruins and abandoned castles dot the lands, the lands which are trying to retake the world.

    Varied: Humans gain a feat from any non-racial class. They can gain feats in that class in addition to the class they start with without having to finish the first one.

   Durable: Humans gain a one point of armor in three energy types of their choice. Fire, Frost, Sonic, Lightning, Poison, Holy, Necrotic, Acid.

   Last Stand: If an attack would reduce a human to 0 or less hit points, make a body check against the attack, if successful, take half damage. 

   Leap to Action:  Humans have advantage on initiative checks.



Dwarf

   Dwarves unlike other races tend toward toward tribalism, they travel the world in great paths leaving little in their wakes aside from great tales and trade goods from around the world.  They are traders, travelers and story tellers.

   Long Road: Dwarves gain advantage on body checks for endurance, and speed checks for running and any check for navigation.

   Weathered: Dwarves gain 2 points of armor against Fire, Frost, and Lightning damage.

   Well Liked: Dwarves get +1 on checks to influence people.

   Tight Squeeze:  Dwarves can choose to count as a size smaller than they are, if it is beneficial.



Elf
   Elves, when they appeared, were like many other races in the world, curious, scared and alone.  As time passed, they grew in number and lost their fear, they did anything and everything, eventually they settled in extreme environments to keep themselves active and aware.

Adapability: Elves gain 3 points of Armor against one energy: Fire, Frost Lightning, acid, sonic, Poison.  Once per Level The armor may be changed to a different type,



   
 Natural Explorers: Elves gain advantage on checks to Jump, Climb, and Swim checks. 

Steady Hands: Elves do not roll to see if they accidentally, poison themselves when applying poison.

Weapon Savant: Elves do not suffer the penalty for not being proficient in a weapon, arcane focus or religious focus of an elven deity. 






Halfling
     Halflings, while not the most traveled race are known for their drastic influences on the world.  Known to be world builders, Halflings build great monument, sprawling cities, vast dungeons, but they are not limited to dungeons, they expand forests, deserts and on rare occasions pull mountains from the ground.

   Cooperation:  When assisting in a ritual or similar style check Halflings gain +1 on the check.

   Builder: Halflings have advantage on checks to craft, examine and evaluate structures of all sorts. in addition they can learn magical rituals for the creation of objects, buildings, and adjusting

   Fast Paths: Halflings can travel in urban environments faster than others.  On a worked surface Halflings  increase their move speed, and in cities they have "Learned the Layout" of they gain +1 on any chase or flee rolls.

   Fourth thing: Halflings have a power so awesome and mysterious that it can't be casually discussed on this blog.  Even mentioning the fact they have a fourth power is revealing too much.


Thursday, March 12, 2015

Unemployment, Time, and Gaming.

I've been unemployed for just about a month and a half now, and I'm starting to implode mentally.  Job hunting is draining. Finding new ways to waste time is annoying. I don't even get joy out of this that once fueled me, books movies and games seem like a waste of time.

I have to keep busy though, depression isn't helpful.

I've decided that since I'm usually at my computer anyway, I should work on the game system I've had rattling around in my head.  I had previously been working on a 4E update for Dragonmech, and a game system based on a deck of cards built for each player.  Neither went off spectacularly, due to lack of interest or implementation.

So, I'll be working on this new idea, my goals at the moment are to get ideas down on the blog daily.  The more updates the better. So let me discuss some of the basic tenants of the idea, I've worked out so far.

3 stats
     Body, Speed, Mind
4:1
     Things will be composed of four sub parts. Races, Classes...ect.
Tolkien can rot!
     The game is not set in rural New Zealand or medieval England, with the most common of fantasy tropes.
d12's are golden!
     D12's are rarely used, I think that's a shame.
Magic items are awesome!
     Seriously, magic items are quest rewards not treasure just pulled off random corpses. They have powers to be unlocked, histories, and stories. There is no such thing as a generic +1 sword.