Tarragon Oubliette Setting: 20 Questions

"Hey!" I hear you all not yelling. "Where's this last two weeks blog post?"
Well truth is, dear reader, I wrote two posts about the setting of K'thyna I'm working on before realising that both would spoil the setting for any players. I also realised that I really need to playtest Tarragon Oubliette. So then I started working on a setting to playtest in.

The DREAM of Erehwen.

Erehwen is named for its founder and first ruler, the dragon Erehwen who lived within the herb-covered crag of Tarragon Rock. The realm is a monarchy, but the monarch is 'elected' through divine providence. In short the three main religious groups are told by their deities, the Powers, who the best choice would be. Given the nature of these Powers it's never someone untalented at the job and, unless things are going to be particularly boring, usually have strange ideas. This has resulted on a highly enlightened society. For instance, due to having had an orc rule during one particular war-like decade orcs can be subjects of the realm, with all the rights thereof.

Here's Jeff Reint's Quick 20 Questions for the setting of Erehwen:

1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?

Well you're a cleric, which means you're part of the Clergy. The clergy worship the New Way, also known as the New Power. Formerly known as Kirza Sacredgrove. Kirza was an Erehwenite born miraculously to a barren woman through the blessings of the Old Power. Born intersex both the Druids and the Dryads (witches) sought them out to teach them the secrets of the Old Ways. Kirzen was an attentive student, more so than many of their peers, but seemed... bored. They spoke of needing to find a new way and of having to go on a long journey. Not more a few days past their 13th birthday they woke early, packed a bag as if to travel, took a few steps from their front door and dropped dead. There was much grieving, but not long after Kirza's funeral there were sightings of them wandering the realm. Talking to people. Asking questions. On the morning of what would have been their 14th birthday a friend of theirs, Conn Goldeyes woke to find Kirza sitting at the foot of his bed.

 "I've found a new way," Kirza was reported to have said, "I want to show it to you." By dawn Conn was first of the Clergy.

The New Way/Power (nobody says "Kirza" anymore; that would be rude/blasphemy/deadnaming) focuses on laws, innovation, trade and all the other aspects of civilisation.

The Old Way focuses on nature and wilderness. Including hunting, animal husbandry, agriculture and, of course, the harvest. It is practiced by the aforementioned druids and dryads.

2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?

There is a market in the capital, the city of Tarragon, where you can get pretty much everything legal. The illegal stuff will be tougher, you might have to head for the border for that. There are smaller markets across the realm with typically a  smaller range of available equipment.

3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?

The Storm Forge, just on the corner of Tarragon Market Square and Castle Rise, is the best smithy in the realm.

4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?

Archmagister Lohion Clearthorne is Chancellor of the Lyceum of Erehwen and, by popular reckoning, is the mightiest wizard in all the realm.

5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?

Ser Dakio "Warmight" Axefang is regarded by many as the greatest of the realm's Guardians. Some attribute his ferocity in battle to his Orc mother, but many who remember is father say that papa Axefang was a mean piece of work himself.

6. Who is the richest person in the land?

The realm of Erehwen itself. Castle Tarragon still sits atop the hoard of the dragon Erehwen and the dungeons beneath.

7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?

Given that all the clergy within Erehwen can work miracles and a decree by the current monarch means that they have an obligation to heal the realm's subjects, magical healing is easily found. There are also special clergical doctors who focus entirely on healing. The druids and dryads also have access to healing magic. The clergy, druids and dryads aren't allowed to charge for their healing services, nor refuse the needy, but can request donations. Since some 'healing' spells require expensive ingredients and material components these are usually included in any requested donations.

8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?

The aforementioned clergy, doctors, druids and dryads.

9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?

Yes. Getting an education in magic sets one up for all sorts of prospects. The only form of magic that doesn't make the practitioner an immediate gentleperson is Wild Magic. That's only because it's proto-magic which is looked down by more 'sophisticated' practitioners.

10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?

The Grand Lyceum of Erehwen, at Tarragon, is the foremost school of learning in the realm, if not the world.
The Lyceum system results in a well educated and highly literate population.

11. Where can I hire mercenaries?

If you are a landowner you're allowed to raise a volunteer militia from among any tenants you might have. It's not uncommon for landowners to pay warriors to become tenants and join their militia. 

But that's not what you asked. You asked about mercenaries. There are... associations... of warriors. Not militias as such but combat solidarities. It might be possible to employ them. But most likely you'll end up bringing mercenaries from outside the realm, and that probably won't go down too well.

12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?

Not within the realm, as such. Most of that sort of thing is found beyond its borders. 

13. Which way to the nearest tavern?

In any town you're probably no more than a stone's throw from some sort of drinking establishment.

14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?

The foreign conspirators may have been releasing monsters into the countryside to destabilise things further.

15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?

Some of Erehwen's neighbours are attempting to take advantage of the upheaval from the new monarch. Some of it is ideological, much of it is opportunistic, but a great deal of it is out of fear of change. 

16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?

There are contests of skill. This can include gladiatorial style contests. Lightweight practice weapons are used to reduce the chance of injury and all such contests are to first blood or yield.

17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?

There might be a dragon cult. There are certainly groups of conspirators funded or led by foreign agents to destabilise Erehwen.

18. What is there to eat around here?

The national dish is Tarragon Chicken. The local chickens have been bred until they are turkey sized.

19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?

First and foremost there are some missing dragon eggs.

20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure? 

In the depths of the Tarragon Oubliette.

Tarragon Oubliette: Skilless Skill System

I suppose you're wondering how a skill system can be skilless.

Well firstly I'm not going to give you a list of skills. Because I'm not ready to yet. I'm not ready to work on the controls and bodywork until I've got an engine that functions, and a framework to support it, at least on paper. No game system survives contact with the players after all.

And secondly... well I'll get to that.

Skill System.

I said I wasn’t going to do this. This was to be an “old school” and thus skill free system. However in earlier drafts I found myself explaining the stealth mechanic I was then using for the umpteenth time, (well I was copy-pasting by that point,) and realised that species and class combinations were throwing the whole thing off I decided it would be far easier if I had a single “stealth” ability and could just say “stealth +1”.

Thus skills.

Skill Points.

Whenever a character “levels up” they get skill points to add to their skills. Although in some cases/classes this goes on hidden within the class progression system. However in many cases the player gets to decide what skills to improve with these points.

Starting characters also get a certain amount of skill points with which they acquire their starting skills. Although again this varies between settings, classes and characters.

(All fairly standard stuff)

Skill Ranks.

All skills are ranked 0 through to 9 with the number acting as a bonus to dice rolls involving those skills.

Unskilled Use.

If a character doesn’t have a skill (not even a rank of 0) then they are at -4 to any die rolls involving that skill. Modified further by skill difficulty.

Rank 0 

Represents the most basic of familiarity with a skill. A character who has invested a rank in a skill they did not previously have is at rank 0 with that skill. It costs 1 skill point to gain rank 0.

Rank 1 

Represents a minimal professional level with that skill. Rank 1 is enough to pass a test to get a license to practice that skill, if necessary. It is at rank 1 that a character may start investing ranks into specialisations of that skill. It’s also at rank 1 that some skills start to modify a character’s ability scores. It costs 1 skill point to progress from rank 0 to rank 1.

Rank 2 

Is a good solid professional level of skill. It costs 1 skill point to progress from rank 1 to rank 2.

Rank 3 

Is the peak of the professional level of skill. It’s the equivalent to a Bachelor's degree(?). It costs 2 skill points to progress from rank 2 to rank 3. 

Rank 4

It costs 2 skill points to progress from rank 3 to rank 4.

Rank 5

It costs 2 skill points to progress from rank 4 to rank 5.

Rank 6 

Represents mastery of a skill. In an academic skill a character with a rank of 6 would have the equivalent of a master’s degree. If they also had rank 6 in a specialisation within that skill they’d have the equivalent of doctorate. An MD has rank 6 in medicine. A surgeon has rank 6 medicine and rank 6 surgery.  It costs 3 skill points to progress from rank 5 to rank 6.

Total Skill Points by Rank

Rank 7

It costs 3 skill points to progress from rank 6 to rank 7.

Rank 8

It costs 3 skill points to progress from rank 7 to rank 8.

Rank 9 

Is the peak of ability. To further improve one must specialise. It costs 4 skill points to progress from rank 8 to rank 9.

Skill Difficulty.

Not all skills are equal, and some are more difficult than others. These more difficulty skills, usually specialisations, have a penalty that applies to every use of that skill. This is to encourage specialisation. For example a character who has specialised with 4 ranks in quantum physics, a specialism of physics with a difficulty of 4, would be rolling for quantum physics essentially without penalty (although the -4 would still be there, just countered by the ranks in the specialism) whereas a character with the physics skill and no specialisation in quantum physics would still be rolling at -4. A character with no skill in physics at all would roll at -8 and expect to fail. 

Every skill has a difficulty rating of 0 or higher. However I would only recorded the difficulties of skills where the difficulty is higher than 0.

On a skill list it would look something like this:

• Physics
• Quantum Physics (4)

In a skill description it looks something like this:

Quantum Physics (Difficulty 4)

Skill Specialisation.

Many, if`not most, skills are general skills that cover wide variations of uses of said skill. Indeed many skills have uses not obvious at first blush. Such as the archery skill also including the maintenance and care, and even the construction of, bows and arrows. In addition to the use of specific types of bow.

All these “subskills” are considered specialisations of the parent skills and can have skill ranks invested in them to improve a character’s use of them in that area alone.

So a character with the archery skill may want to specialise in hunting bows (whatever they are) specifically, but not in longbows.

So Why Specialise?

There may seem little motivation for a character to specialise before reaching rank 9 other than to counter the penalties from higher difficulty skills.

A character with 9 ranks in archery alone is +9 to all archery related tasks while the character with archery 5 and “hunting” bows 4 is only +9 with “hunting” bow tasks and +5 in all other archery.

However to get to Archery 9 requires a total of 22 skill points while Archery 5 only costs 9, and the specialism of 4 only 7, for a total of 16 skill points. A saving of 6 skill points.

Ability Score Improvements.

In the real world people are not static and unchanging. We grow and develop, both intellectually and physically. (We can also go backwards and get worse in things but I’m not planing on modelling that for now.)

To simulate this some skills will increase a character’s ability scores at certain ranks. But only a single ability score. Usually ranks 1, 3, 6 and 9. Others improve scores at every rank from 1 onwards but again only one ability per rank and usually there’s multiple (no more than 3) ability scores to choose to improve.

There are hard limits. No score can be improved by more than 4 points from a single skill. No score may rise more than 8 points from its original score without some paranormal influence. And finally there is a hard cap for ability scores with none being able to be higher than 24. Although this last cap would not apply in many super-heroic games.

Why "Skilless"?

Because I can map anything I want onto this system.

I started this whole process by wanting to simplify my system by turning class features into skills. That hasn't changed. I can take almost any class feature I want and make it a skill. Sure I can say "Halflings get 1 skill point in stealth and Rogues get 1 skill point in stealth. Two skill points in stealth means stealth of rank 1." But why stop there?

Pop Quiz:

Q: What has been measured in levels between 0 and 9 in most editions since AD&D1e?
A: Arcane Spells.

So I can create an Arcane Spellcasting skill and say that a character can cast spells of a level equal to their rank in a skill. Perhaps call it "Wizardry". Do the same with divine spells and call it "Channeling". Sorcerers know sorcery, druids do druidry, witches and warlocks have witchcraft. Class specific casting skills and spell lists. Job done,
Fighters? Well they fight. A fighting skill seems too general. Archery, Brawling, and Melee. There's your Ranger, Monk and Fighter straight off.
A character's level is essentially the skill points in their class skills, so rank 9 around level 22. Specialisms can literally be specialised sub-classes that characters can choose to train into.
Each class can have a few skills, and some special abilities that fill the gaps when they level up but don't get a full rank. Everything tied to class and level. The Basic option.
Or I can go more Advanced and have slightly looser classes, letting players choose some skills from outside their classes. Maybe have a fighter that knows a bit of magic?
Or I can go completely loose. Have players roll on a chart to find out how many skill points and/or ranks they start with. I mean modern setting would expect a character to start with a Phd or MD. Perhaps streamline it a bit with predefined skill packages and let them pick a set number of them. Or something.
The options are endless.

"But Niles, nobody would want to play a starting magic user who can only cast cantrips or a fighter who is at +0 to hit!"
Well, hypothetical reader, I can simply give each class a talent (feat, feature, what-have-you) that gives them an effective +1 rank to one of their skills. So while the MU starts casting cantrips and first level spells, the character who learns spellcasting on the side (say as a "secondary skill") starts with just cantrips. Meanwhile the fighter starts with a +1 to melee. (Maybe the only difference between the ranger, monk and fighter is which skill they get their starting bonus on; didn't think of that, did you hypothetical reader!)

It doesn't even have to be skill based. Maybe, I dunno, the PCs can level up the local economy. Maybe it takes a thousand gold to set up a blacksmith and 22,000 to get it to its cap at "level 9".
With this system I can do anything. Well within reason.

The thing is all of this can be hidden away behind the interface and bodywork. On the outside it runs serenely, while underneath it's scrabbling furiously.

Project Tarragon Oubliette: Stamina & Vitality

Having written about Resolve and Spirit, Delirium & Dementia and most recently about my dice mechanism I thought it was about time to go back where I started.

The thing that started off as DaD's RPG and became Project Tarragon Oubliette began with me looking at B/X and wondering what would happen if I switched the relationship between hit dice, attributes and classes.

So I started by having the hit dice based on Constitution and the hit point bonus based on class. Like this:

What happened was... well if you ever took things apart as a kid to see how they worked... That thing where you remove the last screw and there's an unexpected noise like "sproing!" and suddenly the thing is in very small pieces all over the floor. That? Yeah, that's what happened with B/X.

Only the floor was my brain.

I had the bits of B/X all over my brain. I could put it back together anyway I wanted. I could do anything!

So what was a thing in D&D that irritated me? Dying at zero hit points. One moment fine and then the next, dead. Didn't like it. There should be some buffer between 0 hp and death. None of this death's door malarky, no. My own thing. Having read about Death & Dismemberment tables I went looking for some.

I found some of course. I used them as reference and made my own. Very nice. I might share it at some point, although I can't stop tweaking. Currently trying to add hit locations without making it super complex.

Of course now hit points actually became the thing that they've always been described as but rarely ever used as: The thing spent to avoid injury and death.

What else could they do?

Well I found that it's easier to think of things in different and new ways if you call them different and new things. Well, at least new for me. First I started by calling them "Vitality", but more recently they became "Stamina" and vitality became something related but different.

Stamina.

Stamina is a measure of a character’s endurance. It is a pool of points that are depleted when a character is subject to strenuous physical activity and potential injury. It is most often lost during combat but can also be lost when using certain physical abilities.

As with resolve, stamina is calculated by rolling a number of dice equal to a character’s level. This is usually done by adding a single dice roll to the pre-existing resolve pool when a character levels up. But some players, and GMs like to re-roll the entire pool every level, or in the cases of some games, more often.

The number of sides the dice has is defined by their Constitution score, literally “Stamina die”, further limited by their background, and further modified by their class.

Thus a character who rolls a d6 for stamina and gains +1 from their class would roll 1d6+1 per level for their stamina.

Some GMs permit a starting character maximum stamina at first level. In the example above such a character would have 7 stamina.

Uses Of Stamina:

• Soaking Damage: For every point of damage, a point of stamina can be spent to prevent vitality from being harmed. If there is insufficient stamina to negate the total amount of damage any remainder is applied to vitality as normal. This is the most common use for stamina. However a character need not spend stamina to soak damage if they don't want to.
• Boosting Saving Throws: Stamina can be used to add to any saving throws for Might, Mortality, or Mobility. This is at a rate of +1 per point of stamina.
• Boosting Dice Rolls: Likewise stamina can be used to increase any roll for physical activity. Again at +1 per point of stamina.
• Activating Talents: Some talents (powers, feats, what-have-yous) require stamina be spent to be activated.

Recovering Stamina:

• One point of stamina can be recovered every ten minutes of rest. However resolve cannot be recovered over the same period.
• As with resolve, stamina can be restored to full after a full nights sleep (of 6+ hours, which need not be consecutive) in a comfortable bed. Or after the same sleeping rough if the previous day the character did not use a point of stamina for any reason. (So light activity in other words)
• Similarly the character can recover an amount equal to half their maximum stamina if sleeping rough after a day's adventuring, or after a night's carousing.
• Spells that restore vitality will also restore stamina once all vitality is restored.

Vitality.

Vitality is the measurement of the character's capacity to survive physical damage and associated injury. If a character runs out of, which is to say hits zero, vitality then that character dies. However it's more probable (I say that, but I've yet to do the maths) that the character will die of their injuries before then. Because whenever a character loses vitality, even a single point thereof, there is an associated roll on the Death & Dismemberment table.
Vitality equals the total of a character's Strength and Constitution attributes. Optionally you can add the Stamina per Level bonus based on the character's class, (see above) every level. But currently I'm not planning on doing that.

Vitality and Injury.

When a character is injured from a roll on the Death & Dismemberment table the amount of vitality loss that caused the injury is recorded with it. This is used to determine how long it will take for the injury to heal.

Vitality is capped by how injured a character is. A character with 21 vitality who has a penalty of -5 from  their injuries is capped at 15 vitality until those injuries are healed.

Recovering Vitality.

Typically a character will regain 1 point of vitality per day of  rest. However healing magic can restore vitality instantly and without scarring.

Injuries are healed separately and I'll write about that when I present the Death & Dismemberment table.

What Next?

That's all for today. I'm not feeling well. Which is why this is being posted so late.

Next I'll write about my skill system and why I call it "Skilless".

Project Tarragon Oubliette: Dice Mechanic/Task Resolution

I've been talking lots on the OSR Discord about Tarragon Oubliette and in line with my goal of blogging more actual game design I thought I'd record how I'm doing the core of the system; the dice rolling.

Core 'Philosophies'.

Okay so first off I'm replacing the 1d20 roll with 3d6.

This is because I like how the bell curve pulls towards the middle, which means that character ability and skill becomes more important.

Secondly a high roll is good.

This means that bonuses and penalties act as they look; -4 to a roll is bad, and +4 good. I also don't have to set a cap on how high things can go. If I want to adapt this for say, super-powered heroics (and I do), the system still holds itself together and functions as long as everyone and thing is essentially on the same page.

This 'good' aspect currently breaks down when it comes to things like the Death & Dismemberment and Delirium & Dementia tables. But I can probably fix that in the edit.

Thirdly, fewer rolls are good, but player rolls are better.

Rolling dice is fun, and is what makes TTRPGs different from sitting around and just telling each other stories. But too many rolls can get in the way of, and slow down, everything else in the game.
My solution is to get the players to do the majority of the rolling.
So for the most part I'll present them with static difficulties/TNs (see below) which they'll have to overcome; most NPCs and minor monsters will be nameless "mooks" with static attack and defence scores. I've still to decide if they can be taken out by 5+ damage or not.

Task resolution.

Tasks are either uncontested or contested. Each must equal or exceed a Target Number (TN) or Difficulty to succeed. Rolling under the TN indicates the task was failed.

Currently, when all things are considered the most general, standard, default uncontested TN is 12. That is to say in many, if not most, cases an uncontested roll of 12+ will succeed.

The amount by which a roll succeeds or fails, that is to say is above or below the TN, is called the degree of success (or failure). This is useful in measuring how well the character did and if further rolls are required. It is applied as, what I like to call, a modifier to effect.

This is an important thing to note. Either for damage, or long tasks. The degree of success or failure of an attack is applied as a modifier to the damage done by that attack. While for extended or long tasks it is applied as a modifier to the TN (see below).

Uncontested Tasks.

An uncontested task is basically a character versus some passive or environmental thing. Such as attempting to navigate a forest, or scale a cliff. If there is nothing actively trying to thwart the task in question then it’s probably uncontested.

Uncontested Task:

3d6 + [Attribute Bonus] + [Skill Ranks] +/- [other modifiers]  ≥ TN

Contested Tasks.

A contested task happens when do or more characters are attempting to outdo one another. They happen most commonly in combat and the most frequent contested task will between two characters is when one attempts to strike the other.

In essence the other character's dice roll becomes the TN of the task.

Contested Task:

3d6 + [Attribute Bonus] + [Skill Ranks] +/- [other modifiers]  ≥ 3d6 + [Attribute Bonus] + [Skill Ranks] +/- [other modifiers]

Extended Tasks.

When it comes to tasks many of them could take more than a single roll to complete. Tasks such as repairing a device, climbing a wall, searching a room, negotiating a treaty, or something similar the TN is reduced by the degree of success (or increased by the degree of failure). So unless the degree of success of a task equals or exceeds the TN then there will be need for at least one additional roll. If, through repeated failure, the TN grows beyond the character's ability to succeed then they can't succeed at that task. It's just beyond them. At least for the time being.

For Example a character is attempting to climb a cliff. It’s typically a typical uncontested [Dexterity] + [Freerunning] roll. Let’s take a hypothetical character. He’s a Ninja called “Bob”. His dexterity is 15 and he has Freerunning 6 and this being an Action game he’s rolling 3d!6. The TN to climb this particular cliff is 16. Rolling three 4’s, a 12, and adding +2 from dexterity and +6 from his Freerunning skill Bob’s player has a total of 20. He succeeds in his task by 4 points. This reduces the TN to 12, implying that he’s covered about a quarter of the distance. His roll the next round is is 6, 3, and 6. Those two 6’s explode and he rerolls them, getting a 4 and a 2. That’s 21, +2+6, or a total of 29. He easily scales the remaining distance. 

Had "Bob" rolled a 6 for his first roll then his total would have been 14, 2 under the 16 TN. This would mean that the TN would go up to 18. The second roll of 29 would have had an effect modifier of 11, meaning that the TN would have been reduced to 7. 

This introduces another idea:

Automatic Successes: Taking 3 & Taking 10.

Simply put if a character is sufficiently capable that, all modifiers considered, a minimal roll of 3 would succeed the TN, and/or the effect doesn't matter, and/or there is no time pressure. Then they don't have to roll. They just add 3 to the modifiers and calculate the effect as normal. This simulates the minimal effort of the skilled at simple practiced tasks. Then taking 3 each action/'roll' still takes a "round" as normal for when it comes to initiative. Or the normal amount of time for longer rolls.

In the above example where Ninja Bob had TN 7 remaining on their climb, their total bonuses from attributes and skill equals +8. Taking 3 would give a total of 11 and an effect of 4. Taking 3 again they could reach the top at the end of the next "round".

Taking 10. 

Related to this is the idea of Taking 10. 

Mostly this is for NPCs, so I don't have to roll for them. I just add 10 to their bonuses and the result is the TN for when the PCs interact with them.

When PCs take 10 there's a little more to it. Primarily, it always takes the maximum amount of time. So in combat they'd always go last. Secondly, in uncontested rolls it must be able to succeed. [There should probably be more here, but right now I'm coming up blank.]

So going back to Ninja Bob and his wall. If he had taken 10's it he'd have made 4 rolls of 18 and it'd have taken 24 seconds to climb.

Dealing With Failure.

A few weeks back I was reading a review of and about how Mouse Guard deals with failure. (If I can find it then I'll post a link here.) What that does is apply a narrative event to any failures. So if you fail to pick a lock a guard wanders by, or something.

That's all well and good but not what I'm interested in for Project Tarragon Oubliette. However it does raise issues about how to deal with failure within the game. 

A game should never hang on the success or failure of a single dice roll. It is always better for the players to win through their own skill rather than fail due to the skill of their character. However the players will invariably set themselves a goal that requires skill rolls to overcome. This should never be their main goal; if sent to free a princess from a bandit lair then nobody should need to roll to free her from her manacles. She should know where the keys are to be found if nothing else. However if they decide to raid the bandit’s treasure vault on their way then they should certainly need to roll to pick the locked door.

What happens if they fail to pick that lock? In most games in the style of the Old School that would be that. Too bad, so sad. Try again (and again and again until the dice roll in your favour). This is something I wish to avoid. So instead, in order:

0. Let Them Take 10.

If taking 10 would be a success then why are they rolling? Just let them get it done.

1. Burn Resources: Stamina & Resolve.

Both these pools of points exist to do stuff with. Normally they soak damage or boost saving throws but the option exists to use either, or both, to boost other rolls too. Something that can be done retroactively. Stamina for physical activities and resolve for mental. Some tasks, such as lockpicking, could arguably use both. If they have the points and are willing to spend them then let them. +1 per point spent.

2. Burn Resources: Tools.

Tools exist to help  us get things done, from hammers to, well, lockpicks and a whole variety in between. Some of these tools give bonuses to their related tasks. If these bonuses are insufficient then increase them by +1 temporarily, for one roll, but permanently reduce the bonus by -1 thereafter. Once the bonus goes below +0 then the tool is broken/destroyed. Thus you can increase the bonus to twice its normal rate, +1 for one roll. So if you have lockpicks +2, you can increase them to +5, but then they're gone.

3. Extend the Task.

Turn the task into an extended one. This is akin to rolling again as mentioned above which is why it comes here. If the players can't succeed in one roll then obviously they need to take their time. Turn the task into an extended one, as above and proceed as normal.

4. Let The Players Choose To Fail.

Sometimes a task just can't be completed. Some things are just beyond some people. And that's fine. Present the options above to the players and if they don't want to use them then fine. That's good.

Greebling.

Greebling is a scratch-built model maker term for the little decorative bits on the model that gives it texture and depth. In this case I'm using it as a term for all the little extra subsystems that make games interesting.

Explod!ing D!ice!

You may have notice in the first Ninja Bob example I used an unfamiliar dice notation 3d!6. The d! is the notation for exploding dice.

Exploding dice are open ended rolls where extra dice are can be rolled and added or subtracted from the total.

In this case any roll of 6 on d!6 is rolled again, or an extra d6 rolled, and the result added to the existing total.

meanwhile any roll of 1 on d!6 is rolled again and the result subtracted from the total. 

This can result in chain-reactions of exploding dice. As long as 1's and/or 6's are continued to be rolled then the additional rolls are made. However once they start exploding in one direction or another they can't reverse. A 6 followed by a 1 is just +1 and no more dice are rolled. A 1 followed by a 6 is just -6. Again no further dice are rolled. This can result in very high rolls and very low rolls. But not too low, as rolling 5 1's in a row and then a 2 is still only -6.

Exploding dice are intended for Action and (super) Heroic games.

Advantage & Disadvantage.

An idea nicked from the recent edition of the world's most popular TTRPG, but done differently. Instead of rolling twice and picking the best/worst result an extra die is added to the roll what you so with that die pulls the lovely bell curve out of shape. It also doesn't work well with exploding dice.

Some of you are looking at me like "What?" so let me break it down.

Advantage.

Rolling 3d6 with Advantage means you actually roll 4d6 and discard the lowest die (4d6-L, in common notation). This pushes the average roll out to around 13.

Disadvantage.

Rolling 3d6 with Disadvantage means actually rolling 4d6 and discarding the highest die (4d6-H). This pushes the average down to around 8.

What this means is... well I'm not entirely sure. I suppose it means I can implement the Advantage and Disadvantage stuff which will make some people happy.

That's all for now. 

Next time I'll write about Stamina and Vitality. TTFN!

Dementia: Phobia and Sanguine

Previously:

So in previous posts in this series I've shared my notes on Resolve, the Delirium & Dementia table, Choleric, Katochic, Melancholic and Phlegmatic dementia.

Now:

In this post I'll close with the phobic and sanguine dementia.

Phobic Dementia.

Phobic comes from the Greek word "phobia", which means fear. Phobia isn't one of the four humours and is, infact, the only dementia with a real world association. However, where other games have produced long lists of realist and real-named phobias, I'm intending to go the other way. At no point have I attempted to simulate real mental illness here. Instead aiming for a fun and gameable dementia. That said, it would be remiss of me to not include phobia amongst them. 

When it comes to the phobic dementia the afflicted character suffers from an irrational fear of a thing (suggestions for things listed below). 

When they encounter that thing, or something that they associate with that thing, then they must make a save versus Madness. If they fail they suffer an immediate attack of Delirium of the same severity as their dementia (so moderate phobia manifests as moderate delirium). This lasts for a number of rounds equal to the amount the save was failed by. (Roll 1d6 for each point of failure and the delirium lasts that total in seconds)

1. Arcane Magic
2. Birds
3. Blood
4. Cats
5. Children/Halflings
6. Crowds
7. Darkness
8. Death
9. Divine Magic
10. Dogs
11. Dwarves
12. Elves
13. Enclosed Spaces
14. Filth
15. Fire
16. Heights
17. Humans
18. Insects
19. Light
20. Men
21. Mold & Slime
22. Open Spaces
23. Reptiles
24. Sex
25. Solitude
26. Strangers
27. Undead
28. Water
29. Women
30. Other (being anything else not on this list)

Sanguine Dementia.

Sanguine is the last of the classical four humours, it's associated with blood, and an enthusiastic temperament.

Roll 1d6.

1. Hubris: The afflicted believe themselves to be superior to others and expect themselves to be treated accordingly.
2. Monomania: The opposite of a phobia, monomania is an irrational attraction towards something. Use the Phobia table above to find out what it is they’re attracted to.
3. Masochism: The afflicted enjoy pain in all its forms and seek it out, going so far as to wound themselves in its pursuit.
4. Religious Zeal: The afflicted feels the touch of the divine, resulting in a newfound or strengthened faith.
   Their Dementia score acts as a bonus versus those opposed to their faith and a penalty towards their own faith.
5. Ritual Compulsion: The afflicted feels compelled to perform certain actions as a personal ritual otherwise they are convinced that “something bad” will happen. Either to them or their companions.
   Add the Dementia score to their personal initiative when resolving actions.
6. Word Flow: The afflicted continually speaks, seemingly stringing together random sounds and noises, as if it were a language.
   Not only does this make stealth impossible but it is disastrous for spellcasters, making magic use difficult in most cases. Stealth is penalised by the full Dementia score, which also adds to initiative when casting spells. Half the Dementia score is applied to the Wyrd cost for casting spells and using abilities and talents.

And that's it for Delirium & Dementia.

For now.

I mean, I still have to write explain how to cure this stuff.

So we'll back for that, whenever that may be.

Dementia: Melancholic & Phlegmatic

Previously:

We looked at Resolve, the Delirium & Dementia table, Choleric Dementia, and Katochic Dementia.

Now:

Melancholic Dementia

Melancholic dementia is associated with black bile (whatever that is), the supposed cause of sadness and depression in the outdated and discredited Four Humours system of the ancient world.

Roll 1d6.

1. Alienation: The afflicted loses their sense of society.
   The Dementia score is expressed as a penalty to the benefits of Carousing and other social activities.
2. Black Blooded: The blood of the afflicted feels heavy and sluggish in their veins, weighed down with bile. With it comes a sadness of the heart and a sense that the world weighs down upon them like a mountain upon their shoulders.
   Resolve and stamina costs to boost rolls are doubled (2 points per +1).
3. Delver's Dishonour: The afflicted are able to mostly function normally (half normal penalty from Dementia for actions). However if reminded of their trauma (drop below half Resolve, lose more than 10-score Resolve at any one time, fail a save versus Madness, take damage to Spirit, or at the GM’s whim) they immediately experience their full score as an attack of Delirium lasting for 2d6 rounds (2d6x6 seconds).
4. Hounded: The afflicted feel dehumanised, bestial and wild. They instead identify with an animal, most frequently a canid. They will find some charm, item, or clothing that they associate with their animal and will keep it with them at all times. If seperated from it then they take alf the dementia score as a penalty to all actions until they are reunited with it, or a similar item. Furthermore, on nights when the full moon is visible they will behave as if transformed into that animal, although no transformation will take place.
5. Isolationist: The afflicted finds it hard to carry out normal day to day tasks, especially interacting with others. It’s not that they lack the desire for a social life only that they struggle to leave their place of residence.
   They have a limited number of places that they feel safe in. Roll a resolve die for the character, with no modifiers, and the total is their number of safe places. Outside of these places the character suffers a constant penalty to all actions equal to half the dementia score.
6. Soldier's Heart: The afflicted becomes breathless easily and lacks energy.
   Divide the maximum Stamina (hit) points of the afflicted by the Dementia score and round to the nearest whole number. The total is their maximum Stamina (hit points) until they recover from the dementia.

Phlegmatic Dementia

Phlegmatic dementia are associated with phlegm; you know, snot. This was once believed to cause apathy and disinterest. 

Roll 1d6.

1. A Route To Understanding: The afflicted believe that they have had an epiphany, that they have come to a new understanding about their world and reality as well as their place in it. They might be wrong, they could be right, but in neither case can they be convinced of any conflicting worldview.
   Their Dementia score acts as a bonus to resist alternate worldviews, actually adding to saving throws. Saves still cost resolve.
2. Crisis of Faith: The afflicted feels abandoned by the divine.
   [Wyrd] costs for all channelling/divine magic is increased by the Dementia score. Which is to say a 1st level spell would be cast like a 3rd, 5th, 7th or 9th level spell.
   Further the Dementia score adds to any saves against channelled spells. Such saves are automatic and without resolve cost. Instead it costs resolve to NOT save against them.
3. Doom Touched: The afflicted senses that their personal end is at hand and act to bring it upon themselves.
   It costs a point of resolve to use stamina to soak physical damage. Otherwise all damage goes straight through to vitality.
   Additionally the dementia score is applied as a penalty to all saving throws.
4. Feeble Minded: The afflicted finds their thoughts sluggish and ungainly. Their memories fragmented and riddled with holes.
   The Intelligence and Wisdom attributes of the afflicted are reduced by half the Dementia score until they recover. This does not affect Spirit. But it does everything else related to those scores.
5. Nervous Poverty: The afflicted is constantly on edge and emotionally fragile.
   The maximum Resolve points of the afflicted are divided by the Dementia score. The total becomes their maximum Resolve score until they recover from the dementia.
6. Pacifist: The afflicted has seen too much violence and has lost the will to visit it upon even the deserving.
   Their Dementia score acts as a penalty towards any attack or damage the afflicted makes.

That's it for today. But join me next time for what should be last post in the series when we confront phobia and sanguine dementia.

Dementia: Katochic

Previously we looked at the Resolve mechanic, the Delirium & Dementia table and the Choleric dementia.

Now we're going to look at:

Katochic Dementia:

As I said before Katochic comes from the (ancient) Greek words Kato ("Underworld") and Chic ("In the fashion of..."). Thus it means "In the fashion of the underworld". It is thus synonymous with possession and outside influences. Katochic dementia thus appear to be forms of possession, external influences, or interactions with supernatural forces, raising the question whether a character is truly suffering from dementia at all.

Please keep in mind that these tables are still works in progress. I intend to give every entry a system based effect but they're not all there (b-dum-tish) yet. That's also not something everyone finds desirable. But as always YMMV.

Roll 1d6:

1. Haunted: The afflicted sees dead people. Sometimes even when they aren't there.
2. Infestation: The afflicted believes that they have become infested with parasites; fleas, worms, bugs; what-have-yous.
3. Minsc's Companion: The afflicted believes that one of their items, or in some cases a pet, is not only animate but intelligent and communicating with them.
4. Shadow Touched: The afflicted hear voices whispering dark secrets to them, criticisms of their actions and appeals to harm those around them. It is almost as if the evil of the last dungeon has seeped into their minds. 
   The Dementia score manifests as a penalty when they’re trying to concentrate on tasks, spell casting and saving throws as the voices seem to seek to distract and dismay the afflicted. However if the afflicted heeds the voices and follows their advice they may instead gain their score as a bonus to research rolls. However the result of such advice are always tainted by evil and, while possibly accurate, easily misconstrued.
5. Stark Hunger: The afflicted feels possessed by a malevolent spirit that gives them an unnatural hunger. They feel the urge to sate this insatiable hunger at any opportunity, prioritising it above other deeds. This is often distressing for the afflicted 
   At the start of every session the character rolls a save versus Madness against (10+Dementia score). If they succeed they resist the hunger. Otherwise the hunger becomes overpowering and the afflicted is drawn to act upon it. This urge does not abate until the hunger is sated. During this time half the Dementia score is a penalty to any action that is not towards appeasing the hunger. 
   If, by the end of the session, the hunger is not sated then the full Dementia score becomes a penalty to all downtime activities that don’t sate the hunger, until the hunger is sated. They will sate the hunger before the next session in which they play. How that plays out is between the player and GM. 
   If the hunger is sated in play the afflicted feels an overwhelming sense of completion, tempered in many cases by guilt. The afflicted gets a bonus to all activities for the rest of the session equal to half the Dementia score.
6. Rider: The afflicted manifest an alternative persona that shares the body of afflicted but can be of a different class or even race. Sometimes these personas claim to be extensions of the afflicted, friends or relatives, sometimes the spirits of the deceased. Or even supernatural entities. Sometimes they express themselves at seemingly logical times, while at other times seemingly at random. The rider has full control of the body of the afflicted when they are manifest but have their own Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores. As well as stamina, resolve, spirit and experience level. They begin play with a character level equal to their host’s minus the Dementia score, with a minimum of first level, and level up separately from their host. However because they share a body all wounds are shared. From the point of view of the rider it may be they who are being ridden. 
   If an active persona wishes to manifest an inactive persona then the inactive persona must succeed in a save versus Madness, with a penalty equal to the Dementia score, to resist. Otherwise they manifest against their will. Or they could just choose to manifest. 
   If an inactive persona wishes to manifest against the will of the active persona then it is the active persona that must make the save versus madness (with the same penalty) to resist them. 
   Inactive personas are considered to be resting when it comes to healing and spell memorisation.

Types of Stark Hunger:

Roll 1d6.

1. Avarice: The afflicted hungers for gold and material wealth. They will sometimes go so far as to steal from their allies.
2. Cannibalism: The afflicted hungers for the flesh and blood of their own kind. This includes all intelligent beings. They will feast on the fallen as well as kill to get their taste of flesh.
3. Inebriation: The afflicted hungers for intoxicants, seeking to lose themselves in drink and drugs.
4. Lust: The afflicted hungers for their own sexual release. They often have no concern for the desires or pleasure of their partners. This isn’t just lust for lust’s sake but lust regardless of the consequences. It’s not tied to their sexual preferences or ideals, or orientation. It’s a compulsion. No redlight district can be passed without sampling. No “interesting” monsters or beasts can go unmolested. They will seduce rather than fight. Fuck rather than negotiate. They need not even enjoy themself. They just wanna. 
   (Please consider the comfort of the other players and GM when roleplaying scenes involving this dementia.)
5. Murder: The afflicted hungers to take the lives of other intelligent beings. This is not the death of any intelligent being, slaying one's enemies in self defence is not murder. 
   The afflicted will often ritualise their slayings to mark them as special or different. At the same time they’re not stupid and will attempt to cover their involvement in any ‘extracurricular’ killings if it will cause them trouble.
6. Perversion: The afflicted hungers for deviant activities and company. This is not “all of the above”. The afflicted does not seek wealth for its own sake but would find certain object-de-arte appealing. They don’t seek to consume the flesh of others but if presented with a juicy  “long pig” chop they would find it hard to resist. They don’t seek to drink themselves into oblivion but sample exotic narcotics and rare, perhaps unwholesome, liquor. They don’t seek sexual company to gratify themselves but wrap it in taboo, risk, or ritual and aberration, and they will feel the need to participate. They don’t desire to end the lives of others but bind a maiden to an altar of a dark god and hand them the knife. See the desire fill their eyes. 
   The afflicted will seek out the companionship of people with compatible tastes, feeling the desire to join secretive cults and clubs of like minded people where they can sate their perverse hungers.

Types of Rider.

Roll 1d3:

1. Avid Rider: The avid rider acts in their own best interest and has a [neutral/selfish] alignment. This does not mean that they are unsympathetic to their host and their colleagues; the rider may just believe that they have a better grasp of what those interests are. The rider will only try and take over their host’s body if it suits their interests or if they think that the persona currently in control is putting them at some risk.
2. Kind Rider: The kind rider acts in the best interest of their host and their comrades, having a [good] alignment. The kind rider won’t, as a rule, attempt to take control unless the persona currently in control is acting in a manner contrary to the rider’s alignment. Or unless the active persona is incapacitated by Delirium or something similar.
3. Vile Rider: The vile rider actively acts against the best interests of their host and their comrades, having an [evil] alignment. This doesn’t have to mean that they’re self destructive; indeed they may seek a way of permanently usurping control of their host body. The vile rider will attempt to take control at any opportunity. Provoking the active persona to make saves versus Madness to lower their Resolve at the most inopportune times and make it easier for the vile rider to assume control.

Next time we'll go through melancholic and phlegmatic dementia.

Dementia: Choleric

Previously:

There are six expressions of dementia. Choleric, which expresses itself as violence and aggression; Katochic, which expresses itself as multiple personalities, prophetic pronouncements and similar; Melancholic, which expresses itself as depression and anxiety; Phlegmatic, which expresses itself as apathy and catatonia; Phobic, which expresses itself as irrational fear; and Sanguine which expresses itself as mania and delusion.

And Now:

Firstly I'm going to apologise for going back to numbered bullet points instead of proper tables but Blogger can't handle HTML tables with the information density I'm creating. They're not huge but they break something deep in the code and create unreadable word salad.

Rolling 1d6 below to generate what sort of dementia a character is afflicted by:

1. Choleric
2. Katochic
3. Melancholic
4. Phlegmatic
5. Phobic
6. Sanguine

Those of you familiar with the long-discredited theory of Humorism will recognise the temperaments associated with the four humours from Ancient Greece: sanguine (blood), choleric (yellow bile), melancholic (black bile), and phlegmatic (phlegm).

It also has phobic, from the ancient greek for "fear" and katochic. Katochic is a word I may have invented. It comes from the ancient Greek kato; "underneath" or "underworld", and chic; "in the fashion of...". So it means "in the fashion of the underworld" and is synonymous with possession or outside influence.

Today we're going to focus on:

Choleric Dementia

Choleric is synonymous with excesses of aggression and anger. 

Roll 1d6 again.

1. Berserk Fury: The afflicted becomes maddened to the point of violence.
   
   Every time they take Vitality, Stamina or Resolve damage they must make a save versus Madness. Failure results in the afflicted flying into a rage and flailing about themselves in their blind wrath. In this state their Dementia score penalises their Defence but is a bonus to their damage and melee attacks.
2. Talking Shit:  The afflicted experiences hard to control tremors and vocal utterances, usually of an obscene nature, when startled or upset.
   Half the Dementia score is expressed as a constant penalty to Dexterity and stealth. When the afflicted loses Resolve the penalty becomes the full Dementia score for the rest of the following round.
3. Cruel Streak: The afflicted become aggressive towards their allies, believing them to be weak and the cause of all the woes the afflicted suffers. They develop a tendency to lash out at those around them. They take their Dementia score as a penalty in Charisma when it comes to interacting with NPCs. They essentially gain the Barbed Wit talent but without the self control. The afflicted gains the same amount of Resolve points themselves as their victims lose.
4. Martial Zeal: The afflicted are filled with wrath seemingly of a divine origin.
   The puissance of their blows and their aim against their foes are heightened but against their friends and allies, even those that have turned against them, are weakened. Unlike berserk fury this is a constant effect. Add half dementia score to combat rolls against enemies but subtract it against (former) allies and friends.
5. Ratted: The afflicted cease to trust their colleagues and others, believing that they are all out to harm and/or deceive them.
   The Dementia score manifests as a bonus to all saving throws, except Madness. It also penalises the character’s Charisma when it comes to interactions with others including loyal henchmen and hirelings.
6. Waking Dreams: The afflicted struggles to sleep and finds that their waking hours take on a surreal and dreamlike character as they are plagued with hallucinations. There is a constant penalty to Intelligence and Wisdom equal to the Dementia score as well as a penalty to all activities equal to half the Dementia score.

Next time we'll look at the Katochic dementia.