If you guys think it's worth it I'll whip up a PDF version to post to the
vault.
My House Rules
Initiative
Initiative is the sum Dexterity + Wits adding the sum of a single d10
roll. (example: A dexterity of 4 and wits of 3 would give a base
initiative of 7 to which the die roll is added to find the Initiative of the
player. Just like Aberrant/Trinity.) The loser of the Initiative declares
his action and the winner bases his choice of action off that information.
Ties go to the player with the highest In Multiplayer battles players
announce their action from lowest Initiative to highest.
Timekeeping
Standard matches are 15 turns long. And the fighter¹s movements are
kept on the same page as the countdown. Multiplayer battles have no set
time limit and are played on standard hex maps.
Dice Rolls and Botches
All dice rolls are made against a standard target of 7 with difficulties
reducing the number of successes rolled by the amount of the difficulty. A
difficulty of +2 requires three successes to overcome. Botches occur only
when no successes are achieved and there is a one present on the dice roll.
Damage
The damage of all moves is equal to the Strength of the attacker plus
the damage modifier of the attack. When executing the attack the attacker
may add as many successes from the attack roll as he has dots in the
Technique used for the attack roll, to the damage dice pool of that attack.
For example if Fighter A has Strength 4, Punch 3 and uses a Fierce Punch on
his opponent then the base damage of the maneuver is 7 and the fighter can
add up to three dice to this if he scores three or more successes on his
attack roll. If he scores two successes he can choose to add one or two
dice or even no dice to the damage dice pool. But he cannot add three since
he didn¹t get enough successes. Conversely if he gets four or more
successes on the damage roll he cannot add these extra successes to his
damage dice pool since his Punch Technique is only 3. Attacks that do
multiple damage tests on the same hit do not receive the extra damage for
each damage test. The fighter can choose to distribute the damage among the
damage tests or lump it into one damage test.
Any attack that hits does at least one die of damage unless the soak of
the target is twice or more than the damage dice pool of the attack,
including damage added from the successes on the attack roll.
Dodges, Interrupts, Counters and Blocks.
Dodges can be attempted whenever the fighter is subject to an attack.
If the fighter chooses to dodge he can do nothing else for the remainder of
the round. A dodge is considered to have the same Speed as a Block and if
the incoming attack is faster than the Dodge the dodge automatically fails.
A dodge avoids all damage from the attack when it is successful but does not
add +2 to the speed of the next maneuver as a Block does. When a dodge is
attempted the defender must roll Dexterity + Athletics with successes going
to reduce the number of successes on the attack roll on a one for one basis.
Even if the dodge is unsuccessful it may help to reduce the damage of the
attack by reducing the number of successes the attacker can apply to damage.
Also at the end of the block the defender must move at least one hex away
from the attacker.
Interrupts can only be attempted by the fighter who loses the initiative
for that round. Furthermore the interrupting character must play a move
that is faster than the maneuver of the attacking player. If the maneuver
of the player who lost the initiative is faster than the maneuver of the
attacking player then the interrupting player must roll a normal attack
(Dexterity + Technique) and garner more successes than the attacker in order
to interrupt that attack. If both players roll the same amount of successes
then the interruption results in a double hit with both fighters receiving
damage equal to the Base damage of the attack. However if the interrupting
attack has a speed equal to the speed of the incoming attack then there can
be no interrupt. In this case the Interrupt is a Counter and must score
more successes than the incoming attacker to be effective. If the attack
and the counter score the same number of successes then the defender takes
the base damage of the attack minus the damage modifier of his attack down
to a minimum of One die. Even when effective a Counter causes no damage to
the attacker though it can block the incoming attack.
Blocks are automatic as long as the speed of the block is higher than
the speed of the incoming attack. Furthermore a block can be attempted even
when the fighter has won the initiative. In this case the block is
automatic even if the speed of the attack of the player who lost the
initiative is higher than the speed of the bock. If the Block increases the
soak of the defender by five more than the damage dice pool of the attack or
by twice the dice pool of the attack, whichever is lower, then the attack
does no damage. Remember to include damage added from attack successes to
the dice pool when determining if the attack does at least on die of damage
to the defender.
Aborting to a block can only be attempted by the player who wins the
initiative. If the player who loses the Initiative announces that he will
attempt to interrupt or take the damage of the attack to then deliver
another attack, then the other player can decide to abort his attack and
play a Block instead. It costs one Willpower to Abort and an attack cannot
be aborted once it has been rolled.
Spending Willpower
Whenever the Fighter spends Willpower to achieve an automatic success on
a die roll he cannot do so again until the next turn. If he has spent
Willpower to initiate a Special Maneuver or Abort to a Block this does not
count towards his one use per round of Willpower to achieve an automatic
success. Such expenditures of Willpower are separate and do not exclude
each other. After all why should Yoga Flame be any more effective to use
than a Spinning Suplex?
Hex Maps
Since Hex maps take up too much time and slow down play, all fights are
two dimensional where they involve only two fighters. The default map is 12
hexes from side to side and the fighters start at hex #4 and #9, exactly
four hexes apart. After each move phase the fighter merely subtracts or
adds his move from this number to find out where his fighter is. His new
hex number is then recorded under his name in the timekeeper¹s sheet.
Whenever a move has a set range simply subtract the hex# of the fighter
closest to hex #1 from the other¹s to determine how far away one fighter is
from the other.
[] []
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
In multiplayer battles a standard hex map can be used, but all distances
between fighters are counted as if they where a straight line of hexes
between them. Use your imagination and turn the hex map in your head until
the hexes align with the two fighters.
Miscellaneous
Animal Hybrid, Cyborg and Elemental are backgrounds not Techniques.
Whenever the rules state that Animal Hybrid is used to determine dice pool
or damage use the Technique under which the maneuver is listed instead. For
the basic maneuvers substitute the Athletics technique. For Cyborgs use the
Weapon technique to cover all Focus maneuvers. For Elementals use the
appropriate Technique under which the maneuver falls.
Cartwheel Kick only hits twice before it either causes a knockdown or
the defender manages to hold his ground. After the second hit the defender
is knocked to the ground as the attacker continues on. If the defender was
blocking when the Cartwheel Kick started then the attack ends with the
attacker in front of the defender. This applies to all multi-hit attacks
that drive their opponent before them except for Psycho Crusher which has
it¹s own set of rules.
Advanced Options
Power Up
A fighter can take a turn during the round to charge up her battle power
represented as Chi. To do so the fighter cannot do anything else that round
and if interrupted cannot Power Up. As a maneuver a Power Up is considered
to have a Speed of Zero, Damage of Zero and a Movement of Zero. So any
attack that reaches the hex of the fighter who is powering up automatically
interrupts the power up. When a power up is successful the fighter rolls
her Focus vs. a difficulty of +2 and for each success regains One Chi.
Taunts
A fighter can attempt to get under his opponent¹s skin to throw him off
and get him angry. The rules are basically the same as those for a Power
Up, except that the Taunter rolls either Charisma or Manipulation and for
each success reduces the Chi of his opponent by one. The difficulty remains
+2 and the Taunt has a Speed of Zero, Damage is Special and Movement is
Zero.
Wrestling
These rules are for actual wrestling matches, where both opponents are
helping each other to entertain a crowd, not necessarily trying to pound
each other into the mat. Wrestling matches have no fixed time limit and use
certain special rules to determine their outcome. Traditional wrestling
matches occur in a ring and have a referee present. This adds to the drama
but more importantly a ring reduces the damage of maneuvers that rely on
Knockdown damage, such as throws by two dice. Also the ring usually has
ropes, though barbed wire and cages are also used. Ropes add +2 to the
Movement of any wrestler who is thrown into them. (Whether he wants the
extra impulse or not.)
During a wrestling match each Player records his Health on a separate
paper. The player makes five boxes for his wrestling¹ health track. This
is the health that the wrestler will use during the match. Whenever the
wrestler takes damage he removes it from his wrestling¹ health track. This
damage can cause Dizzy just like normal damage. If the damage is more than
five health levels however then the overflow is recorded on his regular
health chart. At the end of each turn each wrestler rolls his Stamina and
for each success removes one level of damage from his wrestling¹ health
track.
Since many maneuvers in wrestling are usually damaging or fatal only if
performed incorrectly a botched attack that is not interrupted, dodged or
blocked does full base damage directly to the health of the defending
fighter.
A note on metal foreign objects. Even when they do less damage than the
five wrestling¹ health levels they always record their damage on the
fighters regular health track.
A wrestling match ends when a preset occurrence has happened. A pin, a
submission or a disqualification are all standard ways of ending a match. A
pin in wrestling is a standard Grab and is relatively easy to get out of.
If a Crouching grab is sustained for two turns then the match is over and
the wrestler who executed the pin wins. A submission is a more complicated
affair. The attacker must hold the defender in a sustained hold for a
number of turns equal to the defender¹s Stamina. If successful the defender
submits and the attacker wins. In a disqualification the defender usually
wins due to outside interference or weapon use by the attacker.
Special
In this option all fighters have 5 extra Chi, but at the beginning of
the fight this Special¹ bar is empty. Whenever the fighter is hit while
Blocking he receives one point of Chi. Also the fighter can use the Power
Up¹ option above to increase his Special¹ Chi during combat. This Chi can
be used to power special maneuvers or it can be used to add range, speed,
damage or movement to a maneuver. Each point spent adds one to any of these
three attributes but the fighter can¹t spend more Chi in this manner than
his Focus rating. For example a fighter wants to add one hex to the range
of his fireball to reach an opponent who is out of reach of his normal
fireball. As a bonus he decides to add two dice to his damage since he has
a Focus of 3 and currently has 4 Chi in his Special¹ bar. If he had a
Focus of 4 he could have added one more die to his damage. Since his
regular Chi is still okay he doesn¹t need to dip into his Special¹ bar to
power the maneuver. Though if he runs out of his regular Chi he could use
that last point from his Special¹ bar to pay the cost of the Fireball.
Rules Addendum and Miscellany
Renown
A measure of his reputation, the Renown of a fighter also determines his
Ranking. Add both Glory and Honor to determine the Rank of the fighter on
the scale below. If the fighter has Fame this is also added to his Renown
total to determine his rank. To maintain his Rank the fighter only needs to
be winning more fights than he is losing. Obviously then a fighter with
Fame 5 still has to fight in the ring at least once to achieve Rank. If a
fighter loses more fights than he is winning at his current Rank then he
drops one Rank. A fighter cannot drop or rise more than one Rank at the end
of each fight.
Renown 1-4, Rank 1; Renown 5-7, Rank 2; Renown 8-9, Rank 3; Renown
10-11, Rank 4; Renown 12-13, Rank 5; Renown 14-15, Rank 6; Renown 16-17,
Rank 7; Renown 18-19, Rank 8; Renown 20-21, Rank 9; Renown 22+, Rank 10.
Renown Awards Honor/Glory
Not striking dizzied opponent +1/+1
Taking a turn to pose/show off +0/+1
Striking dizzied opponent -1/+0
Striking opponent being held -1/+0
Knocking dizzied opponent unconscious -2/+1
Losing for fighting honorably +1/+0
Accepting challenge from higher ranked opponent +1/+1
Challenging higher ranked opponent +0/+1
Challenging lower ranked opponent -1/+0
Defeating higher ranked opponent +0/+2
Defeating much higher ranked opponent (4+) +0/+3
Being defeated by lower ranked opponent +0/-2
Being defeated by much lower ranked opponent (4+) +0/-3
Defeating opponent in three turns +0/+1
Defeating opponent without taking damage (unless much lower rank)
+0/+3
Beating multiple opponents (2 on 1) +0/+1 to +3
Winning match +0/+1
Losing match +0/-1
Using weapon or animal against unarmed opponent -2/+0
Using firearm against opponent who can¹t reach you -2/-1
Fighting weaponless against a duelist +1/+1
Fighting weaponless and defeating duelist +0/+2
Losing for fighting unarmed against a duelist +1/+0
Disarming opponent +0/+1
Allowing disarmed opponent to retrieve weapon +1/+0
Performing more than 3 Blocks in a row +0/-1
Using maneuver to which opponent has a weakness twice or more in a row
-1/+0
Out of Tournament
Suffering Injury while protecting an innocent +1/+0
Accepting a challenge +0/+1
Running from a challenge -1/-2
Putting criminal group out of business +1/+3
Ignoring someone in need of help -1/+0
Helping someone for no material gain +2/+0
Defeating a much more powerful foe +2/+2
Backgrounds
Allies - A fighter can have Street fighters for Allies but must exchange
competence for Influence.
Animal Companion - Attacks using the Animal Companion have a base damage
equal to the Focus of the fighter, not the Strength of the animal. Basic
Animal Attacks are the same as for Animal Hybrids of the same type. A
fighter with an Animal Companion can buy Animal Hybrid Special Maneuvers for
his Animal Companion substituting Animal Companion requirements for Animal
Hybrid.
Arena - Not all Arenas are Dragon Nests, but the best are. The fighter
can choose to sacrifice the accessibility and fame aspects of his Arena to
make it a Dragon Nest. Though these two aspects can be combined with a
trade-off. The rating of a Dragon Nest determines how much Chi a fighter
can draw from it in one turn.
Backing - In addition to Corporate, Criminal and Police Backing the
fighter can also choose to have the support of a wealthy Individual or even
some organization other than the ones previously mentioned.
Contacts - Fighters move around a lot and have little chance to build up
a network of contacts in each new city. If the player is willing he can
choose to have his Contacts background represent the ease with which he can
arrive at a new city and schmooze¹ up to it¹s local informants. In this
case the fighter doesn¹t have any specific Contacts that he knows, Contacts
is merely a dice pool that he rolls to see if he can get connected whenever
he arrives at a new city. Depending on the city and attitude of the people
the fighter is trying to impress the difficulty could be Standard, +0 to
Difficult, +3.
Fame - The fame background adds to a fighter¹s total renown. However
the fighter who loses more fights than he wins cannot maintain a Fame above
two. This level of Fame represents hardcore fans who will stick with the
fighter no matter what. The fighter would actually have to betray or insult
these fans to get them to stop following his exploits.
Manager - The rating of a fighter in the Manager background can
influence the amount of money he receives as well as which opponents he
faces. Each level of Manager background adds 10% to the fighter¹s end of
month earnings.
Resources - If the fighter doesn¹t have a manager then resources
represent a day job¹ that the character has to maintain in addition to his
fight schedule. As an alternative high levels of resources (4 & 5) could be
an inheritance that the character himself does not have to maintain but
which do require the services of a competent Staff.
1 -$1000/$500 per month.
2 -$8000/$1200 per month.
3 -$50000/$3000 per month.
4 -$500000/$9000 per month.
5 -$5000000/$50000 per month.
Sensei - The competence level of a Sensei determines the maximum rating
of Power Points which he can teach in a single maneuver. A Sensei of four
can teach any maneuver of his style with a Power point cost of four or less.
Staff - Can be bought multiple times, once for the personal Staff of the
fighter, once for the Staff of his estate, once for his Manager, and once
for his Fan Club. Each separate Staff frees the character from having to
manage those resources himself.
BioChem Augmentation
Not content with Cybernetic Enhancements some fighters have turned to
drugs and chemical boosters to augment their abilities to keep up with the
Plethora of Duelists, Cyborgs, Animal Hybrids and Mystic Warriors that
dominate the Deadlier tournaments. In some cases the BioChem augmentation
is more readily available to the fighter, in other cases it¹s simply a
matter of economics. Cybernetics cost millions to construct and hundreds of
thousands of dollars to maintain. Most fighters would rather not have that
kind of debt to a corporation or criminal cartel. Drugs on the other hand
are cheap to acquire and easy to administer. Drugs however take their toll
and before long the fighter is forced to retire before his body gives out on
him.
Beginning from the first level of drug use all fighters receive a +1
bonus to the Speed of their Basic and Special Maneuvers. Many a fighter has
been caught by surprise by an opponent who snaps up from a Knockdown almost
as quick as he fell down. The fighter also adds one dot to his Strength and
Dexterity scores while his Athletics Technique also goes up by one. On the
downside the fighter has to deal with the effects of Drug dependency. At
the end of each fight the fighter must roll a straight Stamina roll against
a difficulty equal to his rating in BioChem augmentation. If he fails this
roll he loses all the benefits he has obtained from BioChem augmentation for
the next hour and his Strength and Dexterity drop to one for the duration of
the weakness. If he botches the roll he goes into cardiac arrest and needs
medical attention. The doctor has to succeed in a medicine roll against a
difficulty equal to the fighter¹s BioChem augmentation rating, but this is
an extended roll and the doctor can roll once each hour. If the doctor
botches the roll then the fighter goes into a coma where he is kept alive by
life support. The fighter can attempt to get out of the coma each week by
succeeding at a Willpower roll with a difficulty equal to the fighter¹s
rating in BioChem augmentation. At the end of each week the fighter has to
roll Willpower against a difficulty equal to his BioChem augmentation rating
to avoid overindulging. If he fails the result is usually clinical
depression which lasts a number of days equal to the fighter¹s rating in
BioChem augmentation. During this time the fighter is lethargic and
unmotivated. All his maneuvers receive a penalty of -4 to their Speed and
his Movement ratings are penalized by -3.
At this level the drug use is fairly sporadic and there are no
major changes to the behavior and prowess of the fighter. No other changes
beyond the minimum.
At this stage the fighter has gone beyond simple steroid and
Adrenaline abuse and has added a few synthetic booster chemicals to his drug
cocktail. The fighter receives the Jump and Kippup maneuvers for free, if
he already has them these maneuvers gain an additional +1 to Speed and Move.
By this time the fighter has added several painkillers and
amphetamines to his repertoire. The fighter cannot be Dizzied unless the
damage is higher than twice his Stamina. The fighter also gains one extra
Health level which can take him over 20.
The fighter is now using several unique and experimental drugs
and chemicals to his bloody mix. All his maneuvers (Including Jump and
Kippup) gain a further +1 to Move. Also the fighter gains one more dot in
Strength. Alternately instead of an extra dot in strength the fighter can
elect to gain a single Animal Hybrid basic maneuver. In this case the drugs
are turning the fighter more bestial and he may be mistaken for an Animal
Hybrid.
By now the fighter has taken every drug under the sun. His
drug cornucopia includes several drugs that shouldn¹t be used on humans.
He¹s a regular at the local emergency room and is a likely candidate for
early death. However he is a monster in combat and can regularly pull off
feats that leave experienced street fighters gasping on the ground. All his
maneuvers gain an additional +1 Speed modifier. The fighter cannot be
Dizzied under any circumstances, even Focus powers or bad footing which
would cause a Dizzy regardless of Stamina do not affect the fighter. He can
also recover from a successful dodge in time to attack in the same turn. In
this case he does not move one hex away from his opponent but must attack
immediately with his fastest Basic attack. The fighter also gains one extra
Health level which can take him over 20.
Crash and Burn. At the end of each game year the BioChem augmented
fighter must succeed in a Stamina roll against a difficulty equal to his
BioChem rating or he loses a dot from one of his Physical Attributes. If he
botches this roll he dies from a massive heart failure. If he is saved from
death by quick acting friends and medical attention he loses two dots from
his Physical Attributes and one dot from his Mental Attributes.
BioChem augmented warriors tend to gravitate towards styles that
emphasize speed and strength. They also tend to steer away from styles that
rely a lot on mysticism and inner Focus. The BioChem augmented fighter¹s
need for high Willpower to overcome his dependency usually means that Chi is
a secondary concern.
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Dr. Michael Redford
dr_destruction_mredford@...