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femmefaggot · 2 years ago

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alright. time for a pro/con list for merits. i was planning on sleeping at least an hour ago but im already here. so.

i have 7 points to allot, with 1 extra starter for resource

this will be long ill try a readmore

more filled in sheet for some extra context i suppose Eye for the Strange (••) Prerequisite: Resolve ••, Occult • Effect: While your character does not necessarily possess a breadth of knowledge about the supernatural, she knows the otherworldly when she sees it. By perusing evidence, she can determine whether something comes from natural or supernatural origins. Roll Intelligence + Composure. With a success, the Storyteller must tell you if the scene has a supernatural cause, and provide one piece of found information that confirms the answer. With an exceptional success, she must give you a bit of supernatural folklore that suggests what type of creature caused the problem. If the problem was mundane, an exceptional success gives an ongoing +2 to all rolls to investigate the event, due to her redoubled certainty in its natural causation. MENTAL Eye for the Strange (••) Prerequisite: Resolve ••, Occult • Effect: While your character does not necessarily possess a breadth of knowledge about the supernatural, she knows the otherworldly when she sees it. By perusing evidence, she can determine whether something comes from natural or supernatural origins. Roll Intelligence + Composure. With a success, the Storyteller must tell you if the scene has a supernatural cause, and provide one piece of found information that confirms the answer. With an exceptional success, she must give you a bit of supernatural folklore that suggests what type of creature caused the problem. If the problem was mundane, an exceptional success gives an ongoing +2 to all rolls to investigate the event, due to her redoubled certainty in its natural causation.

pros: on theme ^^ + could be useful as we all seem like a relatively investigative group cons: occult is already pretty high

Danger Sense (••) Effect: You gain a +2 modifier on reflexive Wits + Composure rolls for your character to detect an impending ambush. Your character’s reflexes are honed to the point where nothing’s shocking.

pros: also thematically appropriate cons: not a combat oriented campaign

Common Sense (•••) Effect: Your character has an exceptionally sound and rational mind. With a moment’s thought, she can weigh potential courses of action and outcomes. Once per chapter as an instant action, you may ask the Storyteller one of the following questions about a task at hand or course of action. Roll Wits + Composure. If you succeed, the Storyteller must answer to the best of her ability. If you fail, you get no answer. With an exceptional success, you can ask an additional question. • What is the worst choice? • What do I stand to lose here? • What’s the safest choice? • Am I chasing a worthless lead?

pros: cool. i can leave out thematically appropriate actually from now on. ive been more or less ignoring everything that isnt. cons: 3/7 points, unsure of what a "chapter" is re: usability

Indomitable (••) Prerequisite: Resolve ••• Your character possesses an iron will. The powers of the supernatural have little bearing on her behavior. She can stand up to a vampire’s mind control, a witch’s charms, or a ghost’s gifts of fright. Any time a supernatural creature uses a power to influence your character’s thoughts or emotions, add two dice to the dice pool to contest it. If the roll is resisted, instead subtract two dice from the monster’s dice pool. Note that this only affects mental influence and manipulation from a supernatural origin. A vampire with a remarkable Manipulation + Persuasion score is just as likely to convince your character to do something using mundane tricks. pros: perhaps good. idk what to say abt this one it rly depends on context re: the campaign cons: perhaps useless if it doesnt come up

Striking Looks (• or ••) Effect: Your character is stunning, alarming, command- ing, repulsive, threatening, charming, or otherwise worthy of attention. Determine how your character looks and how people react to that. For one dot, your character gets a +1 bo- nus on any Social rolls that would be influenced by his looks. For two dots, the benefit increases to +2. Depending on the particulars, this might influence Expression, Intimidation, Persuasion, Subterfuge, or other rolls.

pros: offputting cons: who knows (:

True Friend (•••) Effect: Your character has a True Friend. While that friend may have specific functions covered by other Merits (Allies, Contacts, Retainer, Mentor, et cetera), True Friend represents a deeper, truly trusting relationship that cannot be breached. Unless your character does something egregious to cause it, her True Friend will not betray her. Additionally, the Storyteller cannot kill her True Friend as part of a plot without your express permission. Any rolls to influence a True Friend against your character suffer a five-die penalty. In addition, once per story, your character can regain one spent Willpower by having a meaningful interaction with her True Friend.

pros: sister (: cons: 3/7 again, not sure how relevant death or betrayal would be

gm advised us against supernatural merits since we will be gaining/losing them sighsss anyway ill pt those here for laterrrr

Automatic Writing (••) Your character can enter a trance of sorts, in which she’s temporarily overtaken by a spirit or ghost, and compelled to write mysterious things. Effect: Your character must meditate for at least one min- ute. Spend a point of Willpower and roll Wits + Composure to enter the trance. For every success, your character writes a single statement or clue about something occurring in the area or relating to a pertinent issue. The Storyteller provides these clues, and they may at first seem completely nonsensi- cal. Characters may attempt to interpret the clues with Wits + Investigation or research efforts

pros: ghost cons: body taken over Medium (•••) Prerequisite: Empathy •• Effect: Your character hears the words and moans of the dead. If he takes the time to parse their words, he can interact with them verbally. Your character has more than just a knack for knowing when ephemeral beings are lurking nearby, he can reach out and make contact with them. By conducting a ritual, meditating, or otherwise preparing to commune with the unseen, and succeeding at a Wits + Occult roll, he temporarily increases the relevant Condition one step along the progres- sion from nothing, to Anchor, Resonance, or Infrastructure, to Open, and finally to Controlled (see p. 133 for more on Conditions as they relate to spirits). The effect lasts until he spends a Willpower point, but if an Influence has been used to progress the Condition further, doing so only reduces it by one step. Drawback: Speaking with ghosts can be a blessing, but your character cannot turn the sense off, any more than he can turn off his hearing. The character hears the words of the dead any time they’re present. Once per game session, usually in a time of extreme stress, the Storyteller may deliver a disturbing message to your character from the other side. You must succeed in a Resolve + Composure roll or gain either the Shaken or Spooked Condition.

pros: ghosts again cons: im not. reading that rn.

Cursed (••) Effect: Your character has run afoul of fate. Somewhere, somehow, he’s been cursed. Most importantly, he’s aware of the curse. When taking this Merit, define the limitations of the curse. Usually, it’s expressed in the form of a single state- ment, such as, “On the eve of your twenty-seventh birthday, you will feast upon your doom.” It’s important to work out the details with the Storyteller. The curse must take effect within the scope of the planned chronicle. While he knows how he’ll die, this is a liberating experi- ence. He’s confident of the method of his death, so nothing else fazes him. Gain a +2 on any Resolve + Composure roll to face fear or self-doubt. Any time he takes lethal damage in his last three health boxes, take an additional Beat

pros: kinnie memory compliant??? cons: /: Omen Sensitivity (•••) Effect: Your character sees signs and patterns in every- thing. From the way the leaves fall, to the spray of antifreeze when his radiator pops, to the ratios of circumference on the shell he picked up on the sidewalk, everything has meaning. With some consideration, he can interpret these meanings. This would be far better if he could turn it off. Everything is important. Everything could mean the end of the world, the deaths of his friends, or other tragedies. If he misses an omen, it might be the wrong one. Once per game session, you can make a Wits + Occult roll for your character to interpret an omen in his surroundings. For every success, ask the Storyteller a yes or no question about your character’s life, his surroundings, a task at hand, or the world at large. The Storyteller must answer these questions truthfully. Drawback: His ability becomes an obsession. Each time he reads a portent, he gains the Obsession or Spooked Condition.

pros: so me cons: soooo me.

Unseen Sense (••) Effect: Your character has a “sixth sense” for a type of supernatural creature, chosen when you buy the Merit. For example, you may choose Unseen Sense: Vampires, or Unseen Sense: Fairies. The sense manifests differently for everyone. Her hair stands on end, she becomes physically ill, or perhaps she has a cold chill. Regardless, she knows that something isn’t right when she is in the immediate proximity of the ap- propriate supernatural being. Once per chapter, the player can accept the Spooked Condition (p. 290), in exchange for which the character can pinpoint where the feeling is coming from. If the target is using a power that specifically cloaks its supernatural nature, however, this does not work (though the Condition remains until resolved as usual)

pros: interesting (: cons: idk already established i see ghosts but this is definitively not that

#thjeres on ec alled aura reading insert betty i read her aura now drink this and throw up #long post #cod posting #okay bye for ever im so tired

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ilthit · 5 years ago

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Stand Still Stay Silent / nWoD adapted tabletop RPG rules

(above picture from @hummingfluff - Stand Still Stay Silent is her webcomic)

I know this blog is trash on the whole but here, I made something potentially fun/useful: Game mechanics for a roleplaying campaign for SSSS based on the new World of Darkness (nWoD) system, also known as the Storytelling system, with modifications that I thought made sense. This is how I would run an SSSS campaign, only I can’t, because I don’t have the time. But I’m sharing it all here in case someone else will find it useful.

The full nWoD Core rulebook is available as a PDF on DriveThruRPG.com and the pirated version is available by googling for it, follow your own hearts on that. This assumes basic familiarity with tabletop roleplaying games. You can also find quick guides to the system elsewhere online.

Character creation (nWoD) briefly

For reference, these are the rules for human characters in nWoD.

Basics: Dots represent skill level from 1 to 5 and in gameplay affect the number of dice you can throw to succeed in a task. The system only uses 10-sided dice and every result between 7 and 10 is a success; 10s can be rerolled for more successes.

Attributes: Prioritize the three categories (5/4/3). Your character begins with one dot in each Attribute automatically, already filled in on the character sheet. Dots spent now are in addition to these starting ones. The fifth dot in any Attribute costs two dots to purchase. Mental: Intelligence, Wits, Resolve Physical: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina Social: Presence, Manipulation, Composure

Skills: Prioritize the three categories (11/7/4). The fifth dot in any Skill costs two dots to purchase. Select Skill Specialties, your character’s focused areas of expertise: Take three Skill Specialties of your choice. You can assign each how you like, whether each to a separate Skill or all three to a single Skill. There is no limit to how many Specialties can be assigned to a single Skill. Mental: Academics, Computer, Crafts, Investigation, Medicine, Occult, Politics, Science Physical: Athletics, Brawl, Drive, Firearms, Larceny, Stealth, Survival, Weaponry Social: Animal Ken, Empathy, Expression, Intimidation, Persuasion, Socialize, Streetwise, Subterfuge

Determine advantages, traits derived from your character’s Attributes: Defense (the lowest of Dexterity or Wits), Health (Stamina + Size), Initiative (Dexterity + Composure), Morality (7 for starting characters), Size (5 for most humans), Speed (Strength + Dexterity +5), Willpower (Resolve + Composure), and Virtue/Vice.

Virtues and Vices: Virtues: Charity, Faith, Fortitude, Hope, Justice, Prudence, Temperance Vices: Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath

Select Merits, representing character enhancements and background elements: Spend 7 dots on Merits. The fifth dot in any Merit costs two dots to purchase. Note that many Merits have prerequisites. The list of available merits is in the book and probably somewhere online.

Experience points: These are gained through gameplay and can also be awarded and spent at character creation at Storyteller’s discretion to advance the character.

Experience point costs: Attribute - New dots x 5 Skill - New dots x 3 Skill - Specialty 3 points Merit - New dots x 2 Morality - New dots x 3 Gameplay in nWoD briefly

When a task needs to be performed that requires skill, the player rolls a number of 10-sided dice based on the number of dots they have in the relevant attribute + skill. Every result between 7 and 10 is a success and 10s can be rerolled for a chance of even more successes. The difficulty of the task determines how many successes are needed. If the character doesn’t have the relevant skill, they can roll attribute only, but usually with a penalty (still fewer dice) depending on the task and Storyteller’s discretion.

Some tasks can be extended actions, meaning the number of successes required can be acquired over several rolls, each roll representing a certain amount of time passing. For example repairing an item is usually an extended action.

In combat rolls, the number of successes gained reflects the number of damage dealt to the opponent. The opponent’s Defense score is deducted from the attacker’s dice pool. So if a troll is attacking Emil, and would otherwise get to roll six dice to hit, but Emil’s Defense is 2, the troll only rolls four dice.

There are three types of damage: Bashing damage, Lethal damage and Aggravated damage. Losing all health to Bashing damage results in an unconscious character, and bashing damage to an unconscious character will begin to stack as lethal. Losing all health to Lethal damage results in death. The third is supernatural damage or poisoned/infected damage like from nuclear fallout, or devouring diseases like the Rash Illness. It either takes a very long time to heal or does not heal without supernatural interference. Modified rules for SSSS

I suggest these modifications for the world of SSSS and have applied them below in my example character sheet.

Experience points at character creation I suggest giving every starting character 10 XP to spend at character creation. It’s a harsh world, they’ve already done well to survive—and this enables them to pay for immunity and magic, if they choose, while giving non-immune and non-magical characters in the group an edge of their own.

Immunity and Magic Immunity costs 5 xp, as does magical ability, and they are only available at character creation. If you purchase magical ability, you will gain an extra tracker next to your Health and Willpower, to be spent in a similar way: Mana, or Väki if you’re Finnish. This is your magical oomph, which must be recovered after magic use, and has the value of your Resolve + Composure. More on that below in the magic mechanics section.

Virtues and Vices I would allow continuing to use these Christian tradition virtues and vices in the Norse context, because by the time they returned to the old ways they’d have been living with the Christian mindset for hundreds of years. However, I can see the characters with virtues more like Honour and Bravery, and vices like Cowardice and Irresponsibility. Suggested list for followers of the Norse gods: Virtues: Bravery, Charity, Fortitude, Honour, Justice, Prudence, Temperance Vices: Cowardice, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Irresponsibility, Lack of Self-Control, Sloth

Merits and Flaws nWoD has no Flaws, but it’s such a beautiful game mechanic that in this game I would suggest allowing players to buy Merits with the 10 XP given at character creation, or creating a balance of Merits and Flaws of equal efficiency. So, if you take two Merits costing 1 point each, you could instead pay for them by taking a Flaw costing -2. Storyteller can and should limit the use of Merits and Flaws. Two of each max seems reasonable to me. Since nWoD has no rules for Flaws, I suggest either applying the rules from old WoD rulebooks or making up your own; Storyteller must agree to the limitations and advantages gained from them. Note that Languages is a merit!

Skills Most if the WoD skills work for SSSS, but I suggest replacing Academics with Skald, and removing the skills for Larceny, Computer and Streetwise. Why? Because Larceny would not be such a vital skill for characters in the SSSS world. Larceny can, however, be a Specialty under Crafts. Also Computer and Streetwise make very little sense. They would go under Skald or Science, depending on specialty, and Socialize. To compensate, I added Troll Ken and Cleansing. I couldn’t think of a social skill to replace Streetwise. So the new skills would be: Mental: Crafts, Investigation, Medicine, Occult, Politics, Science, Skald, Troll Ken Physical: Athletics, Brawl, Cleansing, Drive, Firearms, Stealth, Survival, Weaponry Social: Animal Ken, Empathy, Expression, Intimidation, Persuasion, Socialize, Subterfuge

Combat When making targeted attacks with weapons on specific body parts using weaponry in close combat, all players, in all situations, roll Dexterity and Weaponry instead of Strength and Weaponry to hit. This just makes more sense in combat with trolls, giants and beasts, where non-targeted body-hits won’t get you very far.

Advantages Willpower cannot be spent to gain successes in magic. That requires the expenditure of Mana/Väki. This ensures that even someone low on Mana has access to willpower for other tasks and someone low on Willpower can still wield magic—though I would encourage Storytellers to up the difficulty if Willpower is very low. Alternatively, the Storyteller can choose to scrap Mana and use Willpower for magic, if they want to make the game a little harder. Character sheet example Name: Lalli Hotakainen Age: 19 Virtue: Diligence Vice: Pride Concept: Bog Emo Chronicle: Stand Still Stay Silent Faction: Finnish Mage Group Name: The Crew Languages: Finnish Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3 Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3 Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 3 Mental: Crafts 1, Occult 3 (Specialty: Finnish Mage) Physical: Brawl 1, Firearms 2 (Specialty: Rifle), Stealth 3, Survival 3, Weaponry 2 Social: Animal Ken 3, Expression 3 (Specialty: Spellruno), Intimidation 1 Defense: 3 Size: 4 Health: 7 Initiative: 6 Morality: 7 Speed: 10 (+3) Willpower: 6 Väki: 6 Immunity: Yes Magic: Yes Merits: Fleet of Foot (3) Flaws: Small-Framed (-1), Poor Communication Skills (-2) Some Merits and Flaws I made up

Merits: Resistant to Spirit Voices (1-3 points): Available for mages only. An added dice to resistance rolls against spirit voices per point spent on this merit. In addition at 3 point cost it will make the mage practically immune—any failure in the roll will make the mage depressed and listless, but will not compel them to approach the troll. Flaws: Poor Communication Skills (-2 points): -2 penalty to all Social rolls involving communication. Does not affect language, writing, or performance skills, and basic communication that wouldn’t normally be rolled for is also not affected. Small-Framed (-1 point): -1 penalty to Strength rolls related to lifting, catching, or pushing, Etc. but has no effect on speed or damage. Finnish magic game mechanics Mage: Purchased at character creation and never available again after that. Any related training will go under Occult. Non-mages will not have access to magic, so anyone else with points in Occult will just know about it, but be unable to create spells. Väki (mana): Resolve + Composure. Spent on spells and effects and can only be recovered through time, one point a day. In addition, Väki can be spent to add successes to your result in magical spells the same way Willpower can be spent in ordinary tasks. Spellruno: Presence + Expression, plus spend one point of Väki. Requires Occult 1+ with specialty Spellruno. This specialty is available to non-mages as well. NOTE: SSSS states that non-mage Finns can also use magic to a small extent. This will always require Occult 1+ with specialty Spellruno and the effects may be severely limited as per Storyteller’s discretion. In this case, Willpower replaces Väki. Examples of Spellruno effects: Call up an army of beasts. Call up a spirit being (such as Kokko). Ask for something from gods, spirits and elements, such as the Moon, Fire, Tapio, Vellamo. Exorcism of spirits. The effects will be limited as per Storyteller’s discretion. Storyteller may also require a certain amount of successes to avoid a negative consequence for magic that’s above the mage’s power level. Typical negative consequence would be separation from your luonto, or your soul (mind, self, ghost) getting lost. Calling up your luonto: Spellruno requiring two or more successes. Three successes are needed to avoid becoming separated from your luonto. Recovering from separation with your luonto: Resolve only. An extended action requiring a minimum of three successes depending on the severity of the trauma that caused the separation. Can be attempted once every half hour. In the meanwhile the character is incapacitated (asleep) and will be taking damage if they begin to starve as per deprivation rules in the Core rulebook. Rituals: Intelligence + Occult, plus spend one point of Väki. Rituals are typically extended actions. Examples of rituals: Guiding spirits to the land of the dead (Tuonela). Guiding animal spirits to rebirth in the sky. Ritual to send your soul to the Underworld for a visit. Ritual to protect an area. Ritual to recover eyesight. Ritual to attract love. Ritual to bless a new dwelling place. Sielulintu (soul bird): Your guide in the other realms. No game mechanics needed, to be used on Storyteller's discretion. Appears if player is in the dream world or has performed a ritual to visit the Underworld. Dreamworld: No penalty or cost to visit your own dream-place. To move across the waters in search of other spaces, either through flying (if the character has access to a flying form), swimming or on a boat requires an explanation (why can they do this) and related success rolls (except for flying) and the Storyteller can always use this as an opportunity to attack them with spirit beings. If wanted, a probability roll can be used here to see if they make it through safely. Damage will not cross over from the dreamworld to the physical world, but dying in the dreamworld sea will kill the sleeping mage. Seeing spirits: If you're a mage, you see them when they're around. No roll needed. Resisting spirit voices: Composure + Occult. If the spirit voices continue, roll again every thirty minutes. Only one success needed. If a mage becomes enthralled, they can roll again to release themselves from the spell if someone shakes them or otherwise distracts them from the voices. If several spirits are calling to the mage in the same time/combat round, the mage rolls only once to resist them all with no penalties to the roll and will then remain protected against the calls for the next thirty minutes. No roll is required of the troll to try to enthrall the mage but it does take them a turn. Icelandic magic game mechanics

This section is very basic and covers only what we know about it in SSSS. I encourage anyone setting up a campaign with an Icelandic mage to expand on these rules or modify them to better reflect Icelandic traditions and beliefs. Input from people who are more knowledgeable on those subjects would be appreciated.

Some repetition from above for ease of reference.

Mage: Purchased at character creation and never available again after that. Any related training will go under Occult.

Mana: Resolve + Composure. Spent on spells and effects and can only be recovered through time, one point a day. In addition, Mana can be spent to add successes to your result in magical spells the same way Willpower can be spent in ordinary tasks. Sigils: Dexterity + Expression. Requires the character to be Icelandic or trained in Iceland, as knowledge of what staves look like comes free for locals. Occult 1+ with specialty Icelandic Magic is required for non-Icelanders and in any case improves the efficiency of sigil work. Examples of Sigil effects: Protection from spirits. Calling up love. Fertility to the crops. Keeping sheep from wandering off. Keeping animals away from a certain spot. Strengthening structures. Dreamworld: No penalty or cost to visit the dream world, and moving across the waters in search of other spaces also comes free with being an Icelandic mage. Damage will not cross over from the dreamworld to the physical world, but dying in the dreamworld sea or in another mage’s space will kill the sleeping mage. Icelandic mages can find their way instinctively to other people’s dream places if they know something about that person or have something to guide them there; they can also ask their Fylgja to guide them. It will be easier for them to find the places of other mages than non-mages. They can also cross from the dreamworld into the realms of death.

Fylgja: This guardian spirit animal has no stats and is completely controlled by the Storyteller as an NPC, though I suggest deciding the shape of the spirit animal at character creation. They give warnings in dreams and act as a guide in the other realms. Fylgja comes free with making a Scandinavian or Icelandic character, the same as luonto comes free for Finnish characters. Seeing spirits: If you're a mage, you see them when they're around. No roll needed. Resisting spirit voices: Composure + Occult. If the spirit voices continue, roll again every thirty minutes. Only one success needed. If a mage becomes enthralled, they can roll again to release themselves from the spell if someone shakes them or otherwise distracts them from the voices. If several spirits are calling to the mage in the same time/combat round, the mage rolls only once to resist them all with no penalties to the roll and will then remain protected against the calls for the next thirty minutes. No roll is required of the troll to try to enthrall the mage but it does take them a turn. The Rash Illness

Symptoms appear two weeks after infection. From the onset of the first symptoms the infected person will take a special kind of aggravated damage daily and be subject to spirit voices. This damage cannot be healed in any way but when the patient loses all health, instead of dying they go into a coma and the illness continues to mutate them. Every day after the second week of symptoms the character will have an extra Stamina roll, difficulty 10 minus half their Stamina (rounded up), to see if they survive. If they survive four weeks after the first symptoms, they will turn into trolls. Trolls, giants, beasts, and ghosts

Example sheets for trolls, giants, beasts, and ghosts below for combat situations. Different trolls will have different sheets, some will be stronger, smaller, etc. To be adjusted accordingly.

Troll Type: Once a human, now a hungering mutant. Can take many shapes and have different attributes accordingly. This is a troll that used to be an adult urbanite. Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve 4, Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Presence 4, Manipulation 2, Composure 1 Skills: Athletics (Running) 3, Brawl 3, Persuasion 2 Willpower: 7 Initiative: 4 Defense: 2 Speed: 12 Size: 5 Attacks: Bite 2L dp7, Scratch 1 L dp7, Stab 2 L dp7 Health: 8 Specialty: All damage a troll takes is bashing, unless it’s to the head. There is a -3 penalty for the hit roll. Players roll Dexterity and Weaponry to target the head with a weapon.Specialty: Spirit voices, see above in Magic section. No roll is required of the troll to try to enthrall a mage but it does take them a turn. Specialty: Takes aggravated damage from direct sunlight.

Giant Type: Many trolls and maybe beasts fused into one abomination. This one has four heads. Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 3, Resolve 4, Strength 7, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Presence 4, Manipulation 2, Composure 1 Skills: Athletics (Movement) 3, Brawl 3, Persuasion 2 Willpower: 7 Initiative: 4 Defense: 3 Speed: 15 Size: 20 Attacks: Bite 2L dp10, Scratch 1 L dp10, Stab 2 L dp10 Health: 23 Specialty: All damage a giant takes is bashing, unless it’s to the head, and a giant is not dead until all its heads have been individually killed. Each head dies at 8 points of lethal damage directed to that head specifically. There is a -5 penalty for the hit roll. Players roll Dexterity and Weaponry to target the head with a weapon. Specialty: Spirit voices, see above in Magic section. No roll is required of the troll to try to enthrall a mage but it does take them a turn. Specialty: Takes aggravated damage from sunlight.

Wolf beast Type: A mutated wolf, looking for its next meal. Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve 2, Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Presence 3, Manipulation 1, Composure 1 Skills: Athletics (Running and Leaping) 3, Brawl 3, Socialize 1 Willpower: 6 Initiative: 4 Defense: 2 Speed: 7 Size: 3 Attacks: Bite 2L dp7, Scratch 1 L dp7, Stab 2 L dp7 Health: 6 Specialty: Damage must be to the head to be lethal. There is a -3 penalty for the hit roll. Players roll Dexterity and Weaponry to target the head with a weapon. Specialty: Takes aggravated damage from direct sunlight.

Ghost Type: A wandering spirit of a Finn, lost on its way to Tuonela. Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 1, Resolve 2, Strength 0, Dexterity 0, Stamina 0, Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 2 Skills: Persuasion 2 Willpower: 4 Initiative: 0 Defense: 0 Speed: 5 Size: 5 Attacks: None Health: 0 Flaws: Confused 3 Specialty: Incorporeal spirit. Cannot touch anything. Has lost touch with its self from wandering about without form. Specialty: Spirit voices, see above in Magic section. No roll is required of the ghost to try to enthrall a mage but it does take them a turn. However, even if they enthrall a mage, the worst they can do is make him forget to do eat and drink. They might choose to talk and be guided to Tuonela instead.

#stand still stay silent #sssscomic #nwod #tabletop rpg #rules adaptation #rpgs

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brawlingbrujah · 6 years ago

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Character | Stats

These stats derive from the rules of the 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade (2018). With a newly embraced 13th generation Fledgling as a foundation, I made additions and increments according to the (un)life events, experience and skill I think the character has gained in the decades that have passed since.

I strongly favor plot and narrative over stats and dice rolls. These numbers are not gospel.

ATTRIBUTES

Strength ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️ Dexterity ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Stamina ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️

Charisma ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Manipulation ⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Composure ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️

Intelligence ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Wits ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Resolve ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️

Health: ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Willpower: ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Humanity: ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️

SKILLS

Athletics ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Brawl (Grappling) ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️ Drive ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Firearms ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Larceny ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Melee ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Stealth ⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Survival (Urban) ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Intimidation ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Performance (Prizefighting) ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Streetwise ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Awareness ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️

DISCIPLINES

Potence ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️⚪️ Celerity ⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ Fortitude ⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️

Blood potency: ⚫️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️

ADVANTAGES and FLAWS

+ Criminal contacts; from Alleycat predator type ⚫️⚫️⚫️ + Bloodhound; from being an avid hunter ⚫️ + Haven; private and secure in the basement of an abandoned building ⚫️ + Fame; with a select (human) subculture, from being a cage fighter ⚫️ + Resources; lives from paycheck to paycheck, fight to fight ⚫️ + Respected (Anarchs); from having been active in sect wars ⚫️⚫️

- Obvious predator; from taking so well to the Beast within ⚫️⚫️ - Shunned (Sabbat); from having been active in sect wars ⚫️⚫️ - Suspect (Camarilla); they know he has fought them in the past ⚫️

BUILD - Reasoning behind the dots

Raul lived an ‘eventful’ life in his mortal days. As a youth, he fell in with the wrong crowd and ran with gangs. He begins with a specialist skill loadout + utilizing some of the 15 free XP awarded to new characters of the 12th and 13th generation, with dots in Athletics 3, Brawl 4, Larceny 1, Melee 3, Stealth 1, Survival 3, Intimidation 1, Streetwise 2 and Awareness 1, adding Drive 2 and Firearms 2 to reflect his military training from when he was drafted into service.

Though his sire’s other childe tried to instruct him otherwise, Raul feeds by assaulting whomever when he’s hunting. He indiscriminately stalks and overpowers. The Alleycat predator type adds the specialty ‘grappling’ to the Brawl skill, adds a dot in Potence, subtracts a point of humanity, and adds three dots’ worth of criminal contacts.

His sire’s other childe has instructed him in more than just the basics of unlife. She also taught him to strengthen his physical resolve, to supplement his innate disciplines: Gained a dot in the Fortitude discipline (7 XP), which allows him to add this dot to his Health (Resilience, raising Health from 6 to 7).

Over the course of his unlife, Raul further developed his talents, gaining one more dot in Larceny, Stealth and Streetwise (21 XP total), and two more dots in Intimidation and Awareness (30 XP total). Gained 3 dots in Performance (18 XP total) over the course of decades as a prizefighter.

Raul has been an active participant in the sect wars of the 90′s and early 2000′s, which has gained him renown among Anarchs and infamy among what’s left of the Sabbat.

#vtm #vtm oc #character sheet #stats #bio

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theonyxpath · 7 years ago

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Hello Hunter fans!

The team and I are doing everything we can to move the needle to second drafts, and I cannot wait for this game to come out. We’re working through my developer’s feedback, so we can clearly proceed with vigor. Plus, we’ve got some great collaboration going on and I personally think you’re going to LOVE Mysterious Places. As you know, I am keen on tapping into why you fell in love with Hunter in the first place while ensuring second edition rules enhance your experience at the table. One of H:TV2E’s setting conceits is the idea that there are more monsters than ever before, and this has affected hunters in many ways. Is there one tried-and-true methodology to fighting monsters? Will they ever be destroyed? What happens when you’re forced to deal with the devil-you-know to fight the devil-you-don’t?

As it turns out, these questions are a wonderful source of conflict that can be resolved thematically and by rolling dice. Today, I’d like to share with you one of the ways we can facilitate gut-wrenching personal conflict via our first draft of The Code. I’m posting how The Code works utilizing Integrity, Conditions, and Breaking Points; I did not include them here, but Touchstones for hunters also play into this as well and will immediately follow in the text. This first piece is crucial to helping you see the direction we’re taking, and anyone who’s familiar with second edition rules should have a clear idea on how The Code will work in game.

The Code will be part of regular gameplay. The draft I posted below will continue to evolve, and we’ll make surgical edits for clarity. One of the ways we’ll define The Code further, will be to highlight how you, the player, can shape your hunter’s experience by crafting a one sentence statement to define your views. This will further accommodate your personal take on the Code, but also draw in powerful, thematic moments over the course of your chronicles.

I hope you enjoy this preview!

The Code

Hunters have an Integrity trait that represents the health of their souls, just like ordinary people do. Psychological stress can destabilize a hunter’s self-image, and in fact this self-image is the crux of the Code. It’s just a question of what constitutes “psychological stress” for people who kill monsters for a living.

For the average person, excessive violence and exposure to the dark supernatural underbelly of the world cause trauma — she questions her sanity or the truth of everything she’s ever known. Brutality shocks her, numbs her. This is true of hunters when they start out, too, but at some point they make the choice to stop being victims. They draw a line in the sand and say, not me. Not my people. Never again. They may not realize it at first, but they have dedicated themselves to the Code, trading away their safe worldview for the unforgiving mentality it takes to fight the impossible.

The Code is sometimes an unspoken understanding, and sometimes a tangible set of principles that hunters vow to each other to uphold. It could be a mission statement for a conspiracy that every member signs. It could be an oath a cell swears over a freshly dug grave. Some just wax philosophical about it over beers late at night. Whatever the form it takes, when two hunters’ interpretations of the Code come into conflict, they’re willing to shed tears and blood over it.

The Vigil

When a hunter takes up the Vigil, she vows — whether out loud or just to herself — to abide by certain precepts, ones that separate her from common murderers and unnatural predators. She justifies her life of violence, crime, and paranoia with strict rules which, if followed, keep her from being like them: the monsters that prey on the innocent, kill for fun, leech off society, and care about nothing but themselves. The hunter tells herself she’s different, that she’s doing it all for the greater good. If she can cling to her Integrity, she might even be right. The more she violates the Code, the hollower her insistence rings. She builds a wall of scars around her heart so she can live with herself. Do the job, slay the fiend, save the day. But the more Integrity she loses, the less she knows herself anymore. The further she falls, the harder it is to see the difference between herself and any other killer.

A hunter’s greatest saving grace is her companions. A lone hunter doesn’t make it far before she spirals into self-loathing or forgets what she’s fighting for, living from one bloody thrill to the next. She needs people — not just any people, but people she can trust. People she can open up to and be vulnerable with, even if it’s just for a night here and there. Without the occasional reprieve from living on a hair trigger, paranoia consumes her. Confidants, called Touchstones, help remind her why she took up the Vigil to begin with and who she is behind the flamethrower.

Integrity

A hunter has an Integrity trait that ranges from 10 to 0 and represents his psyche’s stability. Characters start out with seven dots of Integrity. Whenever a hunter character violates the Code or experiences something that drastically shakes his confidence, his player rolls a breaking point (see below) and risks degeneration, or losing a dot of Integrity. A player can buy Integrity dots with Experiences (p. XX), but to purchase a dot of Integrity, a character must first spend a scene opening up to someone in a frank and honest manner, trusting that person with his rawest feelings and deepest secrets, or with his life or the lives of those he cares about. It could be anyone — a fellow hunter, a Touchstone, even an enemy, as long as he’s genuine. This trust must not be betrayed before the player purchases the Integrity dot. Characters with high Integrity (7-10) see themselves in more or less the same way they always did. The Vigil is a major part of their lives, but they can see beyond it to pursue other things — relationships, hobbies, even careers. They can draw a clear line between themselves and the monsters they despise.

Characters with middling Integrity (4-6) fully internalize the hunt, reacting more instinctively to perceived threats. They tend toward the paranoid, and are more prone to violence and/or Machiavellian behaviors. They wonder whether their actions are justified while the Code pushes them to keep hunting anyway, or they double down on their lifestyles and become cynical. Characters at this level of Integrity gain the Vigilant Persistent Condition (p. XX).

Characters with low Integrity (1-3) allow the hunt to consume them utterly. They lash out at the slightest hint of a threat, throw themselves gleefully into bloodshed at every opportunity, or scheme like a spider to take out the enemy before it makes a move. They can’t remember or imagine being anything but a hunter. Some hate themselves for what they’ve become. Others steadfastly refuse to admit they’ve fallen from grace, thoroughly fixated on the job. Still others survive more than they live, jaded to the point of single-mindedness. Characters at this level of Integrity gain the Merciless Persistent Condition (p. XX).

A hunter who falls to Integrity 0 is barely recognizable as human anymore, a relentless engine of violence and obsession. Characters who drop this far usually become Storyteller characters, and are prone to becoming slashers (see p. XX).

Breaking Points

Characters in Hunter suffer two types of breaking points. Innate breaking points are those a character carries with her from before she took up the hunt, and those that remind her of just how unsettling her life has become. Most innate breaking points involve doing or encountering something traumatic for the first time; even the most seasoned hunter hasn’t seen everything that’s out there, and surprises in her line of work are never pleasant. A character also reaches a breaking point when she violates the Code, the set of tenets that every hunter instinctively recognizes as sacred duties of the Vigil.

The Code may be universal, but no two hunters interpret it exactly the same way. They argue over what constitutes a “monster” or a “person” all the time, although the Code draws a few indelible lines that, deep down, no hunter can deny. In system terms, the Code considers any creature that wields Dread Powers a monster, including slashers. It never counts ordinary humans or other hunters as monsters, no matter what kind of terrible deeds they perform. For anyone who falls between the cracks, individual characters must decide for themselves where they draw the line.

Whenever a character suffers a breaking point, her player takes a Beat and rolls Resolve + Composure, with a modifier based on the level of the breaking point (see the list below). Only breaking points at or below a character’s current Integrity score apply to her. Other modifiers may apply to the roll as well, at the Storyteller’s discretion; modifiers can’t exceed +/-5.

The following are some examples: [begin table] Situation Modifier Deliberate act of significant personal sacrifice +3 You have more than one Touchstone attached +3 Acting in defense of another person or on behalf of cell/compact/conspiracy +2 Interacted meaningfully and positively with someone you trust within the last full scene +2 You have one Touchstone attached +2 Acting in accordance with your Virtue +1 Acting in self-defense +1 Acting in accordance with your Vice -1 Acting under duress or coercion -1 You have no Touchstones attached -2 With no control over your actions -2 Betrayed by someone you trust within the last full scene -2 Actively and willingly helping a monster -3 [end table]

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The character loses a dot of Integrity and experiences a moment of awful clarity, as the full weight of what she must do to keep the Vigil descends upon her like an avalanche. She gains the Demoralized or Violent Condition. Take an additional Beat for the dramatic failure as normal.

Failure: The character loses a dot of Integrity and questions herself. She gains the Guilty, Shaken, or Spooked Condition (or a custom one with Storyteller approval).

Success: The character keeps her Integrity, forging scar tissue around her soul thick enough to take the strain. She gains the Obsession (temporary), Stoic, or Vendetta Condition.

Exceptional Success: The character not only keeps her Integrity, but pushes a wedge between herself and the rest of humanity, justifying it all in the name of the Vigil. She gains the Addicted Persistent Condition with regard to some visceral or unsettling aspect of the hunt, such as earning a monster’s flattering attentions, killing one, or causing one pain; or the Obsession Persistent Condition with regard to a particular monster. In addition, gain a Willpower point.

List of Breaking Points

The following list includes the tenets of the Code, as well as baseline innate breaking points. The Code allows for indirect actions in the spirit of its edicts, such as collecting or sharing information about a monster so that someone else can trap it. Storytellers and players should work together to decide whether a given action or experience in play constitutes an innate breaking point for a character, depending on his circumstances and his past. Estimate the level of such breaking points using the list below as a guideline.

If a single action or event would fit multiple breaking points at once, use the one lowest on the Integrity scale.

High Integrity (7-10; -0 modifier) • First time personally encountering a particular type of supernatural trait or power (Innate) • Causing significant harm to a person (Code) • Allowing harm to come to a person in pursuit of your Vigil (Code) • Causing a person to suffer a breaking point from exposure to the supernatural (Code) • Refusing aid to a fellow hunter in need (Code)

Middling Integrity (4-6; -1 modifier) • First time killing a particular type of monster (Innate) • First time enduring physical torture (Innate) • First time enduring psychological torture or a mental/emotional supernatural attack (Innate) • Killing a person (Code) • Learning that a monster harmed a person when you could have done something to stop it but didn’t (Code) • Putting the well-being or autonomy of a monster over that of a person (Code)

Low Integrity (1-3; -2 modifier) • First time torturing a particular type of monster (Innate) • Torturing a person (Innate) • Suffering a significant loss (e.g. a loved one, a home) at the hands of the supernatural or because of the Vigil (Innate) • Gaining or bestowing power from an obviously monstrous source (Code) • Betraying a fellow hunter (Code)

#Onyx Path Publishing #White Wolf Entertainment #Hunter: The Vigil #Hunter The Vigil #Chronicles of Darkness

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delinquent-deity · 5 years ago

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MattyCharGen pt 4: “Finishing” Touches

So, we’ve got her Attributes, Skills, Callings, Knacks all done. At Origin level - still pre-visitation by her divine parent Thor - We’d be almost done. We are going to take her to Hero soon, but like I said I like to start at mortal and then go up from there.

Finishing touches we get 1 additional attribute point (which we spent earlier to bump up her stamina to 5), 5 skill points, take skill specialties, and either 2 more Knacks or 4 points in Birthrights.

So, since we’ve already taken that Attribute point lets look at skills and round Matilda out some more.

We are going to go ahead and add 2 dots to Fire Arms, raising it to 3, snag 2 points in Empathy so she’s not completely at a loss socially, and another point in Pilot, raising it to 2. Easy peasy.

Now for any skill with 3 or more dots she gains a specialty. The way specialties work is anytime you roll a skill check and score any successes you gain an Enhancement (an additional success) that you can use to overcome the challenge or buy off any complications (things like “the ground is covered in oil, if you fall you may hurt yourself”). You can buy off the difficulty and succeed but still take consequences from the complications (You manage to catch the thief, but you slip on the oil just as you tackle him and land badly, you now have a sprained wrist).

Lets see, her Athletics is at 4 so I take a specialty “Running”. Her Close Combat is 5 so I take the specialty “Unarmed”, she grew up using her fists and not a big stonking hammer, so it makes more sense for her to be more comfortable using them. For Firearms, which is now at 3, I take Pistols. Finally her Survival is 3 so I take “forests”, since that’s where she went camping the most.

Now we are going to go ahead and work on her additional Knacks or Birthrights.

So, at the start of every session I have to pick which knacks are active, up to the number of dots in that calling. So if I have, say, 9 dots worth of Warrior knacks, but only 3 dots in that calling, I have to pick 3 dots worth of knacks to use during that session. (In this case its the 1 dot knack Master of Weapons and the 2 dot immortal knack Perfect Defense). While taking additional knacks can make you more adaptable I like where I’ve got her knacks over all, so I’m going to dive into Birthrights instead!

at Origin you gain 4 dots worth of birthrights. You also gain 7 dots at Hero, but we’ll talk about that here in the next post.

Birthrights can be Relics (magical items), Creatures (anything from your Raven Familiar to a Pet Dragon), Followers (1 or more mortals that are loyal to you), or Guides (wise sages that give you advice).

While having a big ol’ pet wolf (maybe with some weird magic abilities for fun) would be cool and all (2-4 dot creature), and having a gang of rowdy drunk elf youths to get her into the hottest clubs to have fun (followers) would be OK, and you know why wouldn’t dad send down a grumpy dwarf to give her advice from time to time (guide), that’s not how I’m seeing her.

What I know about her is that she has “A Big Hammer” and “Biker Leathers”

The biker leathers is the easiest, I just start with basic biker jacket stats and add in Resistance (bulletproof). That’s a 2 dot tag, so it makes her “Rune Blessed Leathers” a 2 dot relic. Halfway there!

Now for her hammer. I wanted her hammer to have a really cool name, something evocative. Quick google translate search and her hammers name is Skallebryta. Skull Breaker. :D But what does it do?

All weapons have tags, what they do or what they are. A sword has the Lethal tag, a pistol would have lethal and ranged, and so on. So we start with a basic sledge hammer stats (2 handed, Versatile [it can be used to do stuff outside of beating up monsters], Pushing, Bashing, Melee, Unconcealable) some of these tags are negative, some are positive. Now I can add tags to it. I could, for example, make it Thrown and Returning (net +1 cost) or I could make it 1 handed to remove the -1 2 handed tag (+1 cost) or both of them. That would make a nifty 2 point hammer, a sledge hammer so massive that for a normal mortal they would have to wield it in both hands but for a child of Thor she wields it effortlessly in only 1, and it flys through the air and returns to her without fail. But that’s...well, we’ve all watched Marvel movies yeah?

No, Skallebryta is something else. We are going to leave all the base tags as they are. Instead we are going to add on a General Enhancement, something that’s there all the time when its being used for 2 points. (I could say “Only works when fighting Trivial Foes” for only 1 dot, or otherwise limit when it works but for now I’m sticking with a general enhancement). I’m also going to add on the Aggravated Tag for 2 dots, her hammer is magic, and if she hits it with you the damage is last, requiring magical healing to cure. That’s 4 points.

Shit. I only had 2.

Aha, flaws! Relics can take flaws, to limit or otherwise balance out what they can do (or so you can make a bullshit OP hammer at origin level...) For flaws her hammer doesn’t have any magic enhancements or additional tags unless she takes an action to say a prayer to the Aesir “Velsigne min hammer Skallebryta min far Donnar!” that’s -1 point. I can also add on negative tags from basic weapon tags as flaws. Once activated her hammer becomes “Loud”, that’s -1 points, for a total of negative 2, making Skallebryta a 2 dot relic. That also leaves room for me to add on dots later on to make Skallebryta even more awesome :D

“Skallebryta, its haft hewn from living oak, fire hardened with wood from the hearths of Valhalla and Sessrumnir, Freya’s hall in Folkvangr for 9 days and 9 nights. Its length inscribed with sacred runes under a full moon with tools of silver by dvergar smiths. Its head of adamant forged in the heartfire of a dragon and quenched in the glow of the Aurora, the final breaths of dying soldiers cooling the molten metal. Its sacred runes took a moons time to carve. For his daughter did Donnar, also known as Thor, have made, to battle the foes of Asgard and Midgard.” WHEW!

The last thing we do is note down health, defense, and movement.

Health is 1 bruised +1 for stamina 3 or 4 and +2 for stamina 5. She’s a tough girl, so she starts with 3 boxes of Bruised, 1 injured, and 1 maimed. after that she’s taken out :(

Defense is the highest of the resilience stats, so 5 for 5 stamina. If your highest was resolve or composure you would note that down.

Movement is Might + Athletics, so 8 dice there.

Ok, next post we will look at the changes made in Hero, gain some Purviews and Boons, and more dots in birthrights!

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