Alt Rulesets

THIS PAGE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Fantasy Levels

There are 3 Fantasy Level Settings in which this game can be played. Currently <AS OF ALPHA 3>, only 1 of those levels is supported. The three levels are Normal (Supported/Default), Low, and High.

Low Fantasy

This is a grim, darker, harsher environment. The character's health doesn't increase significantly, meaning death is just around every encounter. Here, leveling provides more functions and choices for a Character, but not necessarily more power.

High Fantasy

This allows the characters to gain max health and extra bonuses as they level. The difference between just 1 or 2 levels can be significant in terms of both survivability and power.

Normal Vs Hidden Vs Subtle Rolls

The GM and the Players should agree before gameplay if they wish to use something other than Normal Rolling in their game, and what additional customizations and rules should be applied.

Defining Normal/Hidden/Subtle Rolls

Normal Rolling

Here, the Player rolls for all the actions a Character commits to or reacts to that require checks. The GM rolls for all NPCs and enemies. If, for example, the Character encounters a situation that involves a show of Strength, such as climbing a long flight of stairs while holding something heavy. The Player would roll a Strength check for the Character. They would then share that result with the GM, who would inform the Player of success or failure. In this situation, the Player knows their own result but doesn't know the DC, though the GM may share that value ahead of time if they wish.

Hidden Rolling

Here, the GM rolls for most actions a Player does. The exception is usually Combat. The thing hidden about the roll is only its final total. Whether or not the check passes or fails is not hidden from the Player. The GM should share success or failure results immediately, either through a dramatization or simply by stating the fact. The goal is to hide certain forms of meta-gaming and maintain suspense in the story. It allows the GM to hide the true difficulty of the situation from the Players. The Players should trust the GM, and the GM should role 'in good faith' and not attempt to lie about the result. This is useful for suspenseful moments of role-playing or out-of-combat encounters where the roll matters and its resulting success or failure is immediately apparent.

Example

To follow the scenario above, the Player states to the GM the intent of the Character to take on the challenge of going up the long stairs while holding their fallen comrade. The GM rolls the Strength check and verifies with the Player any bonuses. Then the GM explains in the story. "Your host, your wounded friend, over your shoulders, who seems light to your strong arms. As you climb the stairs, you start to slow. Keeping your focus on the end goal ahead, you soon realize your friend's weight, which was light at first, feels much heavier now that you have been carrying her for so long. You collapse just before the top". The Player doesn't know just how much they failed; they have no idea of their result, but they do know they failed.

Note

It may be useful for the GM to make these type of rolls inside of a Dice Boat, Dice Tower or some other type of container. That way, if there is ever any debate about the result, the GM can still show the true total.

Subtle Rolling

Here, like Hidden Rolling, the GM rolls for Player actions. But only for a certain type of action. These actions were the success or failure of the roll, which is not immediately apparent to the Player or party. It often involves the Player asking the GM for something or the Character gaining something from an encounter. This is excellent for a specific set of Skills. All Knowledge checks, Study, Perception, and Sense Motive. When the GM performs a Stuble roll, they hide not only the final total but also whether the roll succeeded or failed from the Player. The goal is to prevent Players from using their out-of-game knowledge of their roll's result to determine whether their Character's behavior changes. A perfect example of a conflict in meta-gaming.

Example

The previous scenario about a Strength check doesn't fit as a Subtle Check. Instead, the perfect example is Sense Motive. The Player wants a Character to sense the motive of an NPC. They inform the GM as much. The GM rolls a Sense Motive Skill check for the Character and verifies with the Player any bonuses. The check fails, and the GM knows the NPC is lying. But they inform the Player that the Character cannot detect any malicious or deceitful behavior. Only later does the Player realize that they were lied to and that the Sense Motive check failed. This results in the Player/Character acting only on the information they *should* be acting on and not additional information such as the roll total.

Subtle Rolling Critical Failures

Normally, a Skill check cannot critically fail. But as an optional rule, when the GM rolls a Natural One, they can do things like provide false information or inform the Character that they are confident in their knowledge or senses. An Example might be a critical failure of a Perception check, and the GM informs that the only player in the party to notice the shadow moving through the sky was this one Player who critically failed. There was no shadow. Another example could be a Knowledge check where a normal failure just yields no knowledge, but a Critical failure results in the GM providing false information.

Placeholder content

Going to add this stuff later:

• Mechs