B-Grade Alternate rules WIP - ignore for now

SETS AND WIDTH, HEIGHT AND AREA

• When a player rolls dice, look for matches (pairs, triples, etc). Those matching dice are called Sets. A set has Width, Height and Area, and is written as W x H when it's described (Area is calculated by multiplying width and height together). The Width of a set is how many dice came up matching, while the Height is what number is matched.
  • eg. Wolfman Jackson takes a swing at a nazi. The results of the roll are 3, 5, 5, 5, 6, 8, and 10. Since three dice came up 5, he has a Set. The set is Width is 3 (three dice are in it), and it's height is 5. This is written as a 3x5 set. The area of the set is 3 times 5 = 15.
• Sets indicate a number of things about the roll. The Area of the Set indicates, in general, how quickly the task is performed (like initiative), the width of the set determines how successful the task was performed, while the Height of a set determines whether the task was done sufficiently well enough to overcome certain difficult circumstances. Large area sets are faster, and wider sets are more successful. Tall sets (in height) are successful in most difficult situations.
• As you probably guessed, if your roll results in no Sets, your attempt to perform a task fails.

DEGREES OF SUCCESS

• Different width sets represent different degrees of success
  • Width2 = minimal success
    • Success occurs but it takes time, generally a few units of time (such as 3 rounds later). You slam the door repeatedly with your shoulder. It finally comes crashing down
    • In combat, you get a small bonus to your next attack plus an extra benefit that you choose from a list (such as causing a point of shock on your foe).
  • Width3 = adequate success
    • The Success occurs this round. The door crashes to the ground.
    • In combat, you will cause 1 wound plus an extra benefit that you choose from a list (such as bonus dice next attack, etc)
  • Width4 and beyond = spectacular success (this was previously just a good success, but i realise now that width5 successes are so rare that they don't need to be catered for)
    • The success occurs this round and something special happens. The door crashes to the ground, crushing the two ninjas waiting in ambush in the room beyond.
    • In combat, you will cause 2 wounds plus an extra benefit that you choose from a list (such as disarming your foe, etc)

DIFFICULTY

• Typically, any roll that results in sets is sufficient to succeed at a task (even if only barely). However, for challenging tasks, the Gamemaster may decide to set a Difficulty for the roll. The Difficulty of any task is the tallest set of width2 that can be rolled that is still considered to be a success. Widths of 3 or greater automatically beat the difficulty rating (as they are rare enough as it is).
  • Example: Wolfman Jackson is trying to break down a door. The door has a strength of 4, which establishes the Difficulty of breaking it down. Wolfman's result will need to have a height of 5 or more to succeed if he rolls only a width2 success. Heights of 1 to 4 on Width2 Sets will fail in this task. Width3 or greater sets will automatically succeed.

DERIVED STATS

• Note that you always round down in B-Grade when calculating averages
• THREAT
  • For Melee Combat: threat = Average of body + Weapon skill (if in armour) OR (player's choice) Average of Dex + Weapon skill (if in non-bulky/no armour)
  • For Projectile combat: threat = Average of Dex + Dodge
  • For Firearms: threat = Body (you can't dodge bullets. Best to be far away from the firer (distance modifier) or in cover (cover modifier)
• RESIST
  • resist = Average of Spirit + Spellcasting

COMBAT - WIP ALTERNATE

• I'll be using the reign ore combat system for now. Once i get a better feel for ORE, then i'll revisit these alternate rules.

• The combat system in B-Grade is a variant of ORE combat (and builds on the previous work i have done on torglike). Here is the combat system. Still a work in progress. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
• Founding Principles:

1. Combat should be fast and abstract rather than specific
2. Combat should have room for stunts, manuevering, and have a pulp/high adventure/action movie feel.
3. Combat should be fairly simple but needs variety
4. Combat should not be all about the Dex stat (Dex = Coordination in B-Grades)

A NOTE ON SPECIAL DICE AND OPTIONAL RULES

• Expert dice no longer are available (can't see the need as hit locations are now removed).
• Master Dice are available but are now much rarer and are linked with flaws. You get them at character creation when you choose a template (class). Not all characters get them and only at a price. In B-Grade i have renamed them Hammer Time (HT) dice in tribute to Hammer films (plus i like the idea of saying Hammer time as often as possible during combat..)
• No squishing dicepools
• dicepools can exceed to 10 dice

INITIATIVE

The largest Area (width x height) set now goes first (This would increase the chance of smaller hits going first, which i think is a good thing. it would also be more reflective of how combat is shown in films - eg in a combat such as the troll combat in fellowship of the ring, the small hits happen first (the glancing blows), and then the killing blows act last).

HITTING

• Every character has a 'threat' value (like Reign's threat value for unworthy opponents, except extending now to PCs). Threat changes according to circumstance. Nb - When averaging, always round down
  • For Melee Combat: Threat = Average of body and Weapon skill (if in armour) OR (player's choice) Average of Dex and Weapon skill (if in non-bulky/no armour)
  • For ranged combat (Projectile): Threat = Average of Dex and Dodge
  • For ranged combat (Firearms): Threat = Body (you can't dodge bullets. Best to be far away from the firer (distance modifier) or in cover (cover modifier)
• Cover modifiers may change your threat value. If cover is great than Threat, use the better/higher number.
  • Cover7 = you are Hiding most of body behind a barrel
  • Cover5 = you are Half behind a wall, leaning out to use a missile weapon, or behind a window.
  • Cover3 = you are mixed with a group of people
• Distance modifiers reflect how far the target is from the aggressor. They work just like cover. If distance is great than Threat, use the better/higher number.
  • Distance8 = Long range
  • Distance6 = Medium range
  • No distance modifier for short range or point blank.

• To hit in combat
• Every combatant rolls a dice pool as normal at the start of the round.
• If attacking in close combat, roll:
  • Dex + weapon skill of weapon used (for finesse weapons)
  • Body + Martial arts (for martial art fighting)
  • Body + Fight (for basic weapons that are just swing'n'thump!)
  • Body + Brawl (for unarmed basic combat).
• If attacking in ranged combat, roll:
  • Dex + Weapon skill of weapon used (for projectile weapons from throwing knives to bows)
  • Dex + Weapon skill of weapon used (for guns, but only if firing a single shot)
  • Gunpool (for spraying the area with a gun)
  • Gunpool + Weapon skill (for full auto with a gun)

• Results of hitting in combat
  • Width 2 sets hit only if they are equal to or greater than the enemy's Threat. Eg. a 2x6 set will hit someone with a Threat of 6 or less. It won't hit the guy hiding behind the barrel (cover 7)
  • Width 3 or greater sets do NOT need to roll equal to or over Threat. They are sufficiently good enough to hit. (Otherwise, threat is too good, and width greater than 3 sets are rare enough as it is. However, this changes when actively defending, as shown below.)
• Note that hitting an opponent does NOT knock out one die from the opponent's set. (the reason for this change is that i have changed the damage system. Width 2 hits now only do a little shock damage as they are just glancing blows. This may change with playtesting).

ACTIVE PARRY AND DODGE

Actively parrying or dodging does not involve dice (I am not a big fan of gobble dice in combat. I think it complicates things a bit too much.), it is a full round action, and cannot be used in a multiple-action. Sets of any width that attack the defender this round (from all foes) must be equal to or greater than threat to hit. This includes widths of 3 or greater (which means that critical hits are less likely. In effect, actively defending doesn't do anything in reducing the chance of glancing blows, but has a huge effect on minimising the chance of getting critical hits on you)

DAMAGE RESULTS

The quality of a success is different in B-Grade Combat (in combat anyway, not sure whether this should carry over to non-combat situations...Probably not). Width 2 = minimal success, Width 3 = adequate success, Width 4 = Good success, Width 5 = Spectacular success

In combat, there are a few options of what you can do based on the degree of success of your set (this is still all work in progress)

• Width 2 = minimal success (glancing blow or gaining the advantage) = +1 dicepool next round plus either
  • 1 shock point damage
  • maneuver to a better position (another +1 dicepool next round)
• Width 3 = adequate success (a solid whack) = 1 wound level and either
  • Use other successes in your dice pool as attacks (effectively a multiple action attack without first declaring and without the -1 dice penalty)
  • maneuver to a better position (+3 dice to dice pool next round)
  • Knockdown opponent
• Width 4 and beyond = Spectacular success (critical blow) = 1 wound level and either
  • An additional wound level
  • Disarm opponent
  • Knock a die out of the opponents dicepool this round.
  • maneuver to a better position (+5 dice to dice pool next round)
  • Degrade armour by one level (hard armour now becomes light for the rest of the combat, light armour provides no protection).
• Note that certain weapons will give further options to choose from when you hit at certain widths.

WOUNDS

There are 4 types of damage in B-Grade: shock, knockdown, knockout and wounds.

• SHOCK
  • A character can take a maximum of Body worth of shock before being defeated (then they must surrender or flee).
• KNOCKDOWN
  • All attacks from any foe on a fallen opponent have a +1 die bonus while they are on the ground. Opponents on the ground have a -1die to dice pool and -1 threat until they stand up.
• KNOCKOUT
  • Knocked out for x rounds (effectively the same as 'downed' in reign)
• WOUNDS
  • There are no hit locations and no wound boxes per location. Instead there are now a number of wound levels.
    • Unharmed (where uninjured characters start)
    • Superficial - minor cuts and bruises. No effect on combat effectiveness
    • Serious - more serious cuts and bleeding. some effect on combat effectiveness. -1d on every stat and skill (which means that generally combat effectiveness is reduced by 2).
    • Critical - possibly internal bleeding, deep cuts. major effect on combat effectiveness.
    • Out of Action (instantly out of combat)

Note that the wound experienced is not evaluated until a later date. In combat, it isn't the wound that is important, it is the effect this wound has on your ability to continue fighting. Only when first aid, or vigor is rolled is the severity of the wound finally determined.

(everything below needs work and a rethink!) When you hit, you start from the top(for those not wearing armour this would be the unharmed wound level), and count off the damage of the hit. A width3 set (causing 1 wound) moves an unarmoured character from unharmed to superficial. Width 4 (2 wounds of damage) moves a character from unharmed to critical. A width 5 hit (3 wounds) moves a character from unharmed straight to Out of action.

ARMOUR

• There are 2 basic types of Armour, light and hard. Also, armour is bulky or non-bulky. Generally, light armour is non-bulky and heavy armour is bulky. Armour degrades when sufficiently hit, reflecting that weak spots have become exposed. (certain types of armour will provide other bonuses and have certain penalties as well)
• Armour has shock as well, and can take a certain number of shock before being non-functional. Shock Damage taken in combat is first deducted from armour shock. When the maximum shock value of the armour is reached, any further shock is applied to the wearer instead.
  • Light armour has around 5 shock.
  • Heavy armour has around 10 shock.
• Some armour (mainly heavy) also have wounds (basically the integrity of the armour). These types of armour can take a certain number of wounds before becoming non-functional. Wound damage taken in combat is first deducted from armour wounds. When the maximum wound value of the armour is reached, any further wounds are applied to the wearer instead.
  • Light armour has 0-1 wounds
  • Heavy armour has 1-3 wounds
• Note that armour non-functional for shock (generally quite damaged and no longer providing the all round protection it used to) may still be functional for wounds (as it still protects vital spots)

WEAPONS

To be completed. (Weapons generally do not increase the damage in combat (such as shock or wounds). Instead they offer benefits to dice pool, or do other things, such as provide additional options when a wielder successful hits ). (for example, a fighter with a man-catcher has the option of grabbing an opponent on a successful width 3 hit.) (daggers can be drawn without having to spend an action drawing/readying the weapon)

Founding principles

1. Magic should be fun and easy to use.
2. Spellcasters should be able to cast as many spells as they can (and this can be kept in check with a risk/reward system)
3. Not every can cast spells. Limited to certain templates only. For humans, spells are more ritualistic in nature. For monsters, spells can be more dnd-like

MAGIC

CASTING SPELLS

• In B-Grade, spellcasters roll their dicepool to determine whether they have successful cast a spell.
• Resist is equal to the average of Spirit and Spellcasting
• Every character has a resist value (works similar to threat in combat). Resist may change according to circumstance.
• To successful cast a spell against/on another character, roll Knowledge + Spellcasting
  • Width 2 sets work only if they are equal to or greater than the enemy's resist. Eg. a 2x6 set spell will work on someone with a resist of 6 or less. It won't work on the foe with a resist of 7
  • Width 3 or greater sets do NOT need to roll equal to or over resist. (Otherwise spells are too underpowered)
• To successful cast a spell that is not against a foe (non-offensive), then generally there is no difficulty number to beat. Any set will mean a success.

• There are also circumstance modifiers that affect the chance of casting spells
  • under no/minimal pressure to cast the spell (eg. not in combat and not time critical) +1d
  • casting the spell in a ritual-like manner (with preparation time, ingredients and paraphernalia, etc) +2d

ACTIVELY RESISTING

• Actively resisting does not involve dice, it is a full round action, and cannot be used in a multiple-action. Sets of all widths that round must be equal or greater than resist to hit (e.g width 3 sets must now be equal or greater than resist (which means that critical effects are less likely. In effect, actively resisting doesn't do anything *in reducing the chance of a minimal success, but has a huge effect on minimising the chance of experiencing critical effects)

FAILED SPELLCASTING

• If the spell fails (dice pool has no successes or does not beat the resist value), then the spellcaster has a -1d penalty to all future spellcasting rolls (until the caster has rested/meditated). This penalty increases by an additional -1d for every successive failed spellcasting roll.
  • eg. a spellcaster with 7 dice pool fails at casting a magic missile. From now on, his dice pool is 6. He next tries to cast a fireball with 6 dice pool, and succeeds. His dice pool stays at 6. If he then fails at casting a sleep spell, his dice pool would now be 5. After resting for the night, the spellcaster's dice pool resets to 7. (with this system , there is no need for a mana mechanic or fixing the number of spells that can be cast per day. Also, the spells with the greatest effect (greatest width), are spells cast when the spellcaster is his freshest. As he casts more spells in a day, his chance of success lessens, as well as the strength of his spells. i.e. unsuccessfully casting spells is fatiguing).

SPELL RESULTS

The quality of a success is different in B-Grade Magic (and is akin to combat). Each spell has a table that details the result of different width successes. Width 2 = minimal success, Width 3 = adequate success, Width 4 = Good success, Width 5 = Spectacular success

EXAMPLE SPELLS

• Magic Missile
  • diff = Resist of foe
  • • Width2
    • Width3
    • Width4
    • Width5

• Burst of Light
  • diff = No difficulty
  • • Width2
    • Width3
    • Width4
    • Width5

Miracles

Founding principles

1. Miracles should be fun and easy to use. Performing miracles should feel different to spellcasting (i.e. a different mechanic)
2. Faith casters should be a bit more discerning when calling on their god as compared to spellcasters.

PERFORMING MIRACLES

• In B-Grade, miracle workers (such as priests, shamans) roll their dicepool to determine whether they have successful performed a miracle.
• Unlike spellcasting, miracles generally do not need to beat a foe's resist difficulty. Instead, miracles must beat the miracles focus difficulty (this means that the chance of performing a miracle is independent of the foe's strength , unlike spells that must equal or beat a foe's resist).
• To successful perform a miracle, roll Spirit + Faith
  • Width 2 sets work only if they are equal to or greater than the focus of the miracle. Eg. a 2x6 set miracle will work on a foe if the miracle has a Focus6 difficulty or less. A Focus7 miracle wouldn't have worked.
  • Width 3 or greater sets do NOT need to roll equal to or over focus. (Otherwise miracles are too underpowered)

• There are also circumstance modifiers that affect the chance of performing miracles, changing the dicepool of the caster
  • performed in front of a congregation (at least 20 people) +1dicepool
  • the recipient of the miracle is from the same faith +1d
  • the recipient of the miracle is of a similar faith (e.g an anglican performing a miracle on a pentecostal) OR has no faith (athiest) or is uncommitted (agnostic) +0d
  • the recipient of the miracle is from a completely different faith (e.g. an anglican performing a miracle on a taoist) -2d

ACTIVELY RESISTING

• Miracles cannot be actively resisted unless the character has the faith skill as well. It is a full-round action of denouncing the opposing faith and results in increasing the focus difficulty of the miracle by +2. Also, sets of all widths must now beat the focus difficulty to work (such as width3 sets).

FAILED MIRACLES

• If the miracle fails (dice pool has no successes or does not beat the focus), then the miracle worker cannot perform THAT same miracle again until he/she has communicated with God and performed a penance. After the penance is complete, access to that miracle is restored. The penance is directly related to the Focus difficulty of the miracle. For example, a failed bless miracle with focus3 would need only a nights rest + rosary in the morning (for catholics) or 20min meditation (for buddhists) to be restored. A failed Faith Healing with focus6 would need a more severe penance such as donating a week of community service in the name of your god, or a 3 day fast with nothing but water/juice (with an associated penalty to the body stat while fasting).

MIRACLE RESULTS

Each miracle has a table that details the result of different width successes (in general Width 2 = minimal success, Width 3 = adequate success, Width 4 = Good success, Width 5 = Spectacular success).

EXAMPLE MIRACLES

• Bless
  • Focus3
  • • Width2
    • Width3
    • Width4
    • Width5

• Faith Healing
  • Focus6
  • • Width2
    • Width3
    • Width4
    • Width5

• Cure Disease
  • Focus7
  • • Width2
    • Width3
    • Width4
    • Width5

• Exorcise
  • Focus9
  • • Width2
    • Width3
    • Width4
    • Width5