Ru's Ex3 system hack
Contents
Character
Traits
Rated 1-5, 15 total
These describe the Character’s basic aptitudes.
- Might
- Speed
- Presence
- Insight
- Knowledge
Specialities
+2 dice each, choose 5
Specialities cover:
- Things the Character is good at doing
- Tools the Character is particularly effective with
- Things the Character knows a lot about
- Special qualities the character has that advantage them in some way
Players are encouraged to come up with their own, but the GM should make sure that they are not too broad. As a guideline, it should be obvious when a speciality doesn’t apply within the purview of a trait.
Specialities can apply in the context of multiple traits. A speciality of “Swords” applies to attacking or defending, but could also apply when appraising an artifact sword with Knowledge, for example.
Only one speciality can apply to any one roll.
Rank and Aura
Starting characters have a Rank of 1. Aura = Rank + 5.
In combat, your aura pool refreshes at the start of each round (before rolling join battle, in round 1). Out of combat, your aura pool refreshes whenever you have the chance to rest.
[TODO - health levels]
Spending aura
You can spend:
- One point to add one die to any Trait roll, up to a maximum of the trait you’re using.
- Two points to add one to one of your defences for the rest of the round - declared after the attacker declares, including aura spent, but before the attacker rolls.
- Two points to add one damage die - must be declared before rolling to attack.
Burning aura
Additionally you can burn aura. Burnt aura is not taken from your current pool, instead it’s removed from your maximum aura. In combat, burnt aura is not usually recovered until the end of the fight except if:
- in combat, you can take the Recover action. Roll Insight or Might, difficulty 1 - if you succeed you regain 1 burnt Aura. This action cannot be flurried, nor can it be used in initiative crash.
- you perform a particularly impressive stunt (max 1 per round).
You can burn:
- One point to negate any penalties to one Trait roll.
- One point to reroll any Trait roll.
- One point to roll an additional die after a Trait roll.
- One point to prevent the loss of a single health level, up to your Might in levels.
- A number of points to activate a Technique or Sorcery equal to its cost.
If you are in initiative crash, you can only burn aura to activate Techniques or Sorcery. Burning aura is always obviously supernatural.
Combat
As in Ex3e (see here) except as noted:
- Attacking or Defending may be done with the higher of Might or Speed.
- "Soak" is a form of defence, based on Might, alongside Dodge or Parry.
- Mundane weapons and armour have no stats; they are instead modelled purely by their tags. New tags are introduced in the equipment section.
- Don’t roll damage for withering attacks. Initiative gained/lost = MoS. (Note: Dice pools are in general lower, so this shouldn’t be too swingy)
- Decisive attacks must exceed target’s Defence.
Powers
5 total to start
Techniques
(Note: this section is adapted from Qwixalted by Jarvis of Dog Day Games and others)
Techniques are built freeform from a number of tags. The cost of the technique is usually the number of tags it has, but the cost of some tags varies. Write down the name of the technique, what it does, and what tags it uses.
A given technique can only be used once per round, but a character can use as many techniques to enhance the same action as he or she wishes.
Tags:
- Multiple: The technique allows a single action to affect a number of extra targets equal to the Trait being rolled.
- Duration: The effects of the technique last to the end of the fight. Applies only to the Technique that it is a part of.
- Action (Cost 0 +1 per activation): The technique allows the character to take one reflexive action under a specific circumstance. If combined with Duration this technique may be activated multiple times, including in a single round, but costs an extra 1 per activation. Attacking, hitting, woulding or otherwise adversely affecting a target is specifically excluded as a valid trigger (no multi-attack for you.)
- Panoply (Cost 0): Allows the character to perform actions that would usually require equipment, without it. With one purchase, gain the equivalent of mundane equipment; for two, it's equivalent to an artifact. If the character owns said equipment but doesn’t have it to hand, a technique with this tag may summon/retrieve it instead.
- Range: Extends the range of the action by two brackets.
- Impossible: Allows you to perform an action that wouldn't normally be possible due to some outside circumstance. Examples include striking immaterial targets, blocking attacks that can't normally be blocked (including Irresistable attacks). Note that the outcome of the effect is still basically mundane.
- Dolorous: Against a specific class of target minimum damage from a successful withering attack is raised by 2; decisive attacks ignore hardness.
- Irresistable (Cost 2): A specific class of defence is ineffective against this attack. E.g. Unblockable or undodgeable effects. This is incompatible with Duration.
Different sorts of supernatural may have other tags appropriate to their theme - see the Quixalted rules for ideas.
Sorcery
Sorcerous spells are created in the same manner, except they also include at least one of the following tags as well - the first one of which is free.
Conceptually, Techniques enhance an action, Sorcery *is* an action. You can only cast one spell at a time, and spells cannot be enhanced with Techniques.
[TODO - something like sorcerous mote gathering?]
Affecting unwilling victims with non-damaging effects requires a successful Gambit with the difficulty depending on the severity of the effect.
- Destruction: Make a decisive attack. When the spell is created, choose to either make the attack normally using your initiative, or instead with a base damage equal to the Trait being used. In the latter case, you do not reset to base initiative afterwards.
- Lash: Make a withering attack. Incompatible with Destruction.
- Transmutation: Alter the form of the target (can be the sorceror themself).
- Control: Move the target bodily, or cause it to act in a certain way if animate.
- Creation: Conjure something from nothing.
- Environmental: The spell has lingering effects upon the environment such as setting things on fire or conjuring an obscuring mist.
Resources
Resources are things that a character can use to accomplish tasks. The distinction between resources and a speciality tool or quality is that resources can accomplish things without the character themself having to do anything. For example, if the character has "Underworld contacts" as a resource, it can be used to find out information or procure goods, or even kill people, all while the character stays at home with their feet up.
Resources are modelled as Traits, with the same 1-5 rating. When you want to use a resource to accomplish a task, roll the resource's rating instead. Resources cannot be boosted by Aura, however a particularly appropriate resource may face a lower difficulty, or be generally safer.
[TODO - cost; resource-boosting techniques?; minions in combat]
Equipment
[TODO - everything]
