Beckonfall. A d8 System.
Since I hate all RPG settings and rules, I decided to make my own shitty one.
Part of my design goal is to put as little base complexity on mechanics you have to learn to play correctly. I want complexity to ramp up as you play, but never get too high.
It might be like every other bad 'simplified' dnd but this one's mine.
If there are any typos or anything, you did it and it's not my fault.
Welcome to Starstrom
The Setting:
Starstrom is set in the late 1700's in a medieval sword and sorcery world.
There is magic, there are guns, there are machines starting to take over people's place in the world.
Generally, players are a displaced worker or someone who grew tired of modern life. They seek adventure as a solace. The God is long dead and so are mortal dreams.
The land is divided between those who use the relics of the Dead God for their will and those who believe that they must be preserved and held in worship.
The Players:
A player will select one of the races and classes and goes from there. After construction of a character. They will have Race, Class, 4 base stats, 3 Secondary stats, proficiencies, equipment, class bonuses and spells and MP if applicable. When creating your character, it is assumed that the character has the
trinkets and baubles that come with your race and class. For example, an
Investigator most assuredly has a notebook, a watch, a magnifying glass.
Anything reasonably expected to be carried with you, (and isn't too
expensive) is. Be reasonable about it. 50 ft of rope or gold ingots
won't 'generate' when needed but a Hunter's pocket knife or a Medic's
gauze could.
The Base Stats:
The Base Stats are all determined by assigning the pool to your stats on character creation.
(-1, 0, +1, +2). Your race will likely effect at least one stat.
Strength is used when physical strength applies. Attack rolls, Kicking a statue over, Lifting a stone door, flexing and intimidating with your size and bulk. Affects HP.
Dexterity is used when your physical prowess applies. Attack rolls, Dodging a kicked statue, rolling under a stone door, sleight of hand or other manual checks. Affects HP.
Mind is used where your intellect and mental force applies. Magic attacks, Counting, strategizing, understanding, general knowledge, dodging mental attacks, also affects MP.
Luck is used where everything else isn't. Gambling, unusual damage resistances, rolling to eat gravel.
Secondary Stats:
Level Simply the level of your character, goes up as you play. Every time you level up, you may +1 a stat and follow what your class says as well.
HP which stands for Health Points, is equal to 2d4 per level plus whatever is lower between Str and Dex.
MP which stands for Mana Points, is equal to your level*3 plus Mind.
AC which stands for Armor Class, is equal to 6 plus whatever bonuses you have.
Backgrounds:
Roll or pick a background for your character. Your character has knowledge of all components of their background. (For example, being a Horse Trader has your character know about Metalworking, Economics, Animal Handling, Riding, Ect. Be creative and extrapolate).
1. Factory Worker
2. Horse Trader
3. Outlaw
4. Gambler
5. Musician
6. Tailor
7. Baker
8. Sheriff
9. Exotic Chef
10. Clock Maker
11. Gunsmith
12. Toy Maker
These are examples, pick or make up whatever you'd like.
The Races:
Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, Froaks, the whole fantasy crew is here. Heck, make a race up. I'm not gonna stop you, I'm a blog page and I physically can't.
Basic:
Human: +1 HP per level
Dwarf: +1 to Strength.
Elf: +1 to Dexterity.
Owlkin: +1 to Mind.
Goblin: +1 to Luck.
Advanced:
Leonin: Your unarmed attacks get +Str and deal 1d6 damage.
Jellykin: +1 AC. +1 Luck. Cannot wear armor.
Ogre: +2 to Strength. -1 to any stat.
Fairy: -1 to Strength and Dexterity. +1 to AC. Flies.
Froak: -1 to Strength. Amphibious.
Shardling: +2 AC. Every time you take damage, you get -1 AC. This effect stacks. AC resets after combat.
Doomling: An abomination. You are being hunted. +2 to any stat.
Tiny Man: Just a little guy. -1 to two stats. +1 to all saves.
Wretched: -1 to all stats. When you level up you may +1 two stats instead of one.
The Classes:
Simple:
Fighters are the classic adventurers, knowledgeable in many forms of combat, well equipped and super cool and hot.
The Fighter starts with an Advanced Weapon of their choosing, Leather Armor and 10S.
Proficiency: Advanced weapons, armor and shields.
Level 1 You gain Crush. Whenever you deal damage with a counter attack. They may make
one more attack roll. This attack roll won't trigger this effect again. The first attack roll you make against each target gets +1 to hit.
Level 2 You gain Boast. It's an Action. It makes all enemies within 10 feet per Fighter level target the Fighter instead of anyone else. When you take damage, for the rest of the round, you deal +1 damage per Fighter level.
Level 3 You gain Overpower. Whenever he deals a maximum damage roll, the target makes a Hard Dex save or falls prone, then deal 1d4 damage to them.
Thief is the classic adventurer, they know how to hide, steal and how to hit hard from the shadows.
The Thief starts with an Advanced Dagger, Leather Armor and 10S.
Proficiency: Advanced weapons and Light armor.
Level 1 You gain Lightfooted. You gain +2 to Dex saves and checks. You also get +1 AC if you haven't attacked this turn.
Level 2 You gain Mirage. It's a Bonus Action. You may turn invisible until your next turn. If you attack, you drop invisibility. Attacks from Invisibility deal +2 damage per Thief Level.
Level 3 You gain a Bonus Action. They can't attack with this action.
Advanced:
Mages know many spells and and are generally smart. Not very well equipped, but they make up for it with flexibility.
The Mage starts with a wand of their choosing, Robes and 10S.
Proficiency: All Wands, Simple weapons, and Light armor.
See The Magic for the spell list.
Level 1 You gain two spells from the 1MP section.
Level 2 You gain two spells from the 2MP section and one from the 1MP section.
Level 3 You gain two spells from the 3MP section and one from the 1MP or the 2MP section.
Gun-Knights are a new breed of adventurer. Wielding cutting edge weaponry such as the blunderbuss and flintlock pistols, they storm onto a battlefield guns blazing.
The Gun Knight starts with a Advanced Ranged Weapon of their choosing, Leather Armor, 30 rounds, and 10S.
Proficiency: Advanced ranged weapons, Advanced weapons and armor.
Level 1 You gain Overpower. Whenever the Gun-Knight makes a maximum attack roll, the target gets a -1 AC against the gun knight for the rest of combat.
Level 2 You gain Quickfire. It's an Action. It allows you to make an Attack roll with a gun twice but don't get any bonuses to it. You still need to reload once. (no one knows where the second bullet came from)
Level 3 You gain Massacre. Your attacks now pierce in a line. Stopped on environment.
You also gain proficiency in Martial ranged weapons.
Combat:
Combat starts when weapons are drawn and multiple parties are ready to rumble. Surprise attacks can be made before combat, but generally start combat. Upon entering combat, everyone rolls for turn order. Everyone rolls 1d8 plus their Dex and their Luck. After targeting an enemy, they will get to make a non-movement action. Same as when a player is attacked by an enemy. Counter attacks to not trigger additional counter attacks.
The Actions:
Each turn you may make two actions. You may not take the same action twice.
Each turn is roughly 5 seconds.
Attack: Make an attack roll against the defending target's AC.
Move: Move up to 20 feet.
Defend: Gain an additional +1 to AC until you act again. Only take this if you haven't attacked this turn.
Cast: Cast a spell. See the Spells section.
Other: You can gain other actions from Classes or other sources.
Environment:
Advantageous terrain (walls, high ground) will grant +1 AC
Disadvantageous Terrain (mud, low ground) will grant -1 AC
Being full concealed to an opponent by a wall or fixture grants +1 to saves from that opponent.
Conditions And Other Keywords:
Prone You are flat on the ground. Standing up takes your Move action. -1 to AC.
Invisible You can not be seen by non-magical means.
Unconscious You cannot take any actions. Make a hard Mind save to wake up. Takes your movement.
Dying You are dying when at 0 HP. You are Unconscious and every turn must make a hard Str save. If you fail 3 times, you Die. Succeed twice or once with assistance to recover back to 1HP.
Reaction You may immediately respond to a trigger with an attack or ability with Reaction.
Instant You may use an ability with instant at any time. It does not take an action.
Bonus Action Actions with this trait do not consume one of the action points.
Weaponry Types:
You must be trained on weapon types in order to utilize them effectively. Each class determines starting Proficiency. If you are not proficient in a weapon type, you have a -1 to hit for each tier of training you are missing. (If you are only proficient in Simple Weapons, you have a -1 to hit on Advanced, and -2 on Martial.)
Unarmed attacks deal 1d4 and don't get a bonus.
Simple Weapons deal 1d4 damage and tend to be anything that anyone can grasp and swing effectively. Anything resembling a nice club can be a simple weapon.
Advanced Weapons deal 1d6 damage and are generally designed to be a weapon. Mass produced swords, a well crafted flint spear and a sling are all good examples.
Martial Weapons deal 1d8 damage and are specifically forged for highly demanding combat scenarios.
Swords, Spears, Axes, Hammers. Anything with expert craftsmanship is likely Martial.
Other Weaponry Types:
Ranged Weapons come in Simple, Advanced or Martial and have an operating range listed
on the weapon. Some ranged weapons need to be Reloaded after firing. Reloading is an Action, and must be used before you can fire again.
Natural Weapons will generally be on animals and monsters and sometimes have unique properties attached to them.
Wands requires its own proficiency. Spellcasters require their wand in order to cast spells.
The Magic:
Each magic user has a finite number of MP they have per day. They expend MP to cast spells.
1MP:
Fear: Target within 20ft makes a Hard Dex save roll or has -1 to hit and to all saves until the end of their next turn.
Rage: Target within 30ft takes 1d6 fire damage.
Morale: Target within touch range gains +2 to the next save they make.
Positivity: Lift up to 100 pounds per wizard level. Lasts 1 minute.
Happiness: Touch. Heal 1d6 damage.
Disgust: Target gets -1 to next save.
2MP:
Paranoia: Two targets replace minds for a round.
Ethereal: Target within 15ft turns invisible for 1 round per mage level.
Betrayal: Target takes 1d8 psychic damage and makes a Hard Dex save or falls prone.
Apathy: Target's HP can't decrease for 1 round.
3MP:
Overwhelm: Target loses next attack.
Despondency: Up to three targets get -1 to AC until end of combat.
Hatred: Target takes 3d6 fire damage.
Love: Heal 3d6 damage divided as you choose.
Stat Applications:
Attacks are made with a 1d8 plus Str or Dex, depending on the weapon.
The standard AC to beat is 6 plus whatever bonus their equipment grants them.
Saves run from Easy (4 to match), Standard (6 to match), Hard (8 to match), and Very Hard (10 to match) and are judged by one of the stats.
An Easy save might be dodging a ball someone throws at you. A Standard save would be trying to land on your feet after a 15 foot fall. A Hard save might be dodging an unseen arrow trap. A Very Hard save would to dodge a point blank explosive trap. Failing a save makes you take the full effect, Succeeding a save makes you take half the effect. Getting a 4 or higher over a Save makes you fully dodge it.
Sample Rolls:
Thog the Fighter wishes to attack a Goblin. Thog makes an attack roll with his Steel Sword.
1d8+half of his strength trying to match or beat a modified 7 (The goblin has leather armor on). Thog rolls a 7, plus his Str makes 10, which will beat the goblin's defenses. Then he will make his Advanced Weapon roll unhindered as he is proficient (1d6 damage) Thog rolls a massive 6 damage and fells the goblin.
Gargul the thief wishes to pick someone's pocket. He rolls a 1d8+Dex, trying to beat a standard 6. Gargul rolls a 6, with the plus 2 from Dex he then swiftly grabs the coin pouch and runs away. After retreating to safety, Gargul opens the pouch and rolls for Luck. Gargul rolls a measly 1, with the +1 he gets an extremely low 2, and gets a handful of argots.
Pondar the Mage failed a spell and must make a save against a rock he accidentally dislodged from above him. Unfortunately Pondar is very old and is not as dexterous as he once was. He must make a Standard Save(6) or take the full impact. Pondar sadly rolls a 4, with his +1 Dex, it only brings it up to 5. He fails the roll and takes the full 1d6 damage.
Yes I did change the name from Starstrom to Beckonfall. Maybe I'll change it again. Names change with the tide.
Comments
Post a Comment