Ogre:CharacterCodex:Introduction

Introduction

The Core Mechanic

Whenever you attempt an action that has some chance of failure, you roll a twenty-sided die (d20). Every action that you do is represented by a skill. A skill value represents how good you are at doing a particular thing. The higher the value, the better you are with that skill. Checking the result of an action is called a skill check. To determine if your character succeeds at a task you do this:

• Roll a d20.
• Add any relevant modifiers from the appropriate skill.
• Compare the result to a target number called a Difficulty Class (DC).

If the result equals or exceeds the DC, your character succeeds. If the result is lower than the DC, you fail. Difficulty Class (DC) is generally set by the Gamemaster based on the complexity of the task to be done. DC should follow the following guidelines:

Complexity	DC
Very easy	0
Easy	5
Average	10
Tough	15
Challenging	20
Formidable	25
Heroic	30
Nearly impossible	40

1s and 20s dice roll

On a skill check, rolling a 1 or a 20 on the dice, without any modifier is an open-ended roll. If you roll 20, you have particularly well done your job and have more chance of success. You can roll another d20 and add the result to the first d20 to calculate your check result. If you roll another 20, you can add a third dice to your roll. There is no limit to the number of dice you can add this way. If you roll 1, you have not done a very good job and have more chance of failure. You can roll another d20 and subtract the result to the first d20 to calculate your check result. If you roll a 20 on your second dice, you throw a third dice and subtract it from your check. There is no limit to the number of dice you can subtract this way.

Automatic Success

If your skill modifier is equal or higher than the DC to beat, you can choose to use an automatic success instead of rolling dice for the check.

Automatic Failure

If by rolling a 20 would result in a failure, the GM may decide that the action is impossible to do and that you automatically fail your skill check.

Total Success

If you beat the DC for an action twice, this is a total success. This mean that you have done your action extraordinarily well and some positive events may happen. When fighting an opponent, you may hurt him more than expected. The result of a total success is described for most skills. Your rank of total success is the number of time you beat the DC for a task.

Total Failure

If your skill check, after all modifier applied, is below 0, you have failed miserably your action and something wrong happen. You may have broken your tools to open a lock or open your defense in a combat. The result of a total failure is described for most skills. Your rank of total failure is the negative result of your skill check.

Checks without Rolls

A skill check represents an attempt to accomplish some goal, usually while under some sort of time pressure or distraction. Sometimes, though, a character can use a skill under more favorable conditions and eliminate the luck factor.

Taking 10 : When your character is not being threatened or distracted, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. For many routine tasks, taking 10 makes them automatically successful. Distractions or threats (such as combat) make it impossible for a character to take 10. In most cases, taking 10 is purely a safety measure you know (or expect) that an average roll will succeed but fear that a poor roll might fail, so you elect to settle for the average roll (a 10). Taking 10 is especially useful in situations where a particularly high roll wouldn’t help.

Taking 10+ : With some feats or by spending XP (See Controlling your fate), you can take a 10+. You roll a 1d20 for the skill check as usual, but consider any roll under 10 as a 10. This assures you to always have a minimum of 10 on your dice roll for a skill check.

Taking 20 : When you have plenty of time (generally 2 minutes for a skill that can normally be checked in one standard action), you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20. In other words, eventually you will get a 20 on 1d20 if you roll enough times. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, just calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20. Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takes twenty times as long as making a single check would take. Since taking 20 assumes that the character will fail many times before succeeding, if you did attempt to take 20 on a skill that carries penalties for failure, your character would automatically incur those penalties before he or she could complete the task. Common take 20 skills include Escape Artist, Open Lock, and Search

Dice

Dice rolls are described with expressions such as “3d4+3,” which means “roll three four-sided dice and add 3” (resulting in a number between 6 and 15). The first number tells you how many dice to roll (adding the results together). The number immediately after the “d” tells you the type of die to use. Any number after that indicates a quantity that is added or subtracted from the result. d%: Percentile dice work a little differently. You generate a number between 1 and 100 by rolling two different ten-sided dice. One (designated before you roll) is the tens digit. The other is the ones digit. Two 0s represent 100.

Rounding Fractions In general, if you wind up with a fraction, round down, even if the fraction is one-half or larger. Exception: Certain rolls, such as damage, have a minimum of 1.

Multiplying

Sometimes a rule makes you multiply a number or a die roll. As long as you’re applying a single multiplier, multiply the number normally. When two or more multipliers apply to any abstract value (such as a modifier or a die roll), however, combine them into a single multiple, with each extra multiple adding 1 less than its value to the first multiple. Thus, a double (×2) and a double (×2) applied to the same number results in a triple (×3, because 2 + 1 = 3). When applying multipliers to real-world values (such as weight or distance), normal rules of math apply instead. A creature whose size doubles (thus multiplying its weight by 8) and then is turned to stone (which would multiply its weight by a factor of roughly 3) now weighs about 24 times normal, not 10 times normal. Similarly, a blinded creature attempting to negotiate difficult terrain would count each square as 4 squares (doubling the cost twice, for a total multiplier of ×4), rather than as 3 squares (adding 100% twice).

Skill Mechanics

Since every action is resolved using a skill, this is the core of the game mechanics. There are two types of skills, but they mostly work the same way. Character attributes are the essential skills that all character has. Normal skills are developed as a character grows and is different from one character to another.

All skills have a value that is used as a modifier to your skill checks. The higher the value, the better are your chance of success. A skill value is calculated as follow: base ranks + ability modifier + racial modifier + armor modifier + item modifier + miscellaneous modifier.

Base rank This represents your character knowledge and experience with the skill. Those ranks are bought with experience points (See Character Evolution).

Ability modifier All skills are linked to an ability. Abilities represent the raw capacity of your body and your mind. The outcome of an action is always influence by one of the six primary abilities. (See Character Attributes)

Racial Modifier Racial modifiers have an impact on character attributes, but some races may gives modifier to normal skill. (See Races)

Armor Modifier Wearing protection is often necessary to survive an adventure. Unfortunately, most armor is encumbering a can gives penalties to your skill.

Item modifier Having the right tool for the right task help you succeed with your skill, but on the other side, bad tools might give you penalties.

Miscellaneous modifier There are a lot of other things that can influence a skill like disabilities or special talents.

Skill systems

Depending on the level of complexity you want for your games, the skill system will be different. We will start with the most general and simpler skill system and will add more complex, but specific element. The first level of complexity is using aptitudes only

Aptitude only system

Aptitudes describe a broad range of general capabilities of your character that cover many possible actions. When using an aptitude, the ability modifier that you use is different depending on the action you are doing. Choose the ability that best match the action you are doing. While you do not use skills, they can be used as a guideline for choosing the appropriate ability modifier. They can also be used to know what are the possible actions made with a particular aptitude. For example, in a fight, you are using your Combat aptitude to attack an enemy. You have 3 ranks in your Combat aptitude, a +2 Strength modifier and a +1 Dexterity modifier. If you are striking with a melee weapon, you add your Strength modifier to your aptitude. You have a +5 bonus to your roll (3 Combat + 2 Strength). But if you are firing an arrow, you use your Dexterity modifier. You have a +4 bonus to your roll (3 Combat + 1 Dexterity).

Aptitudes and Skills

With this system, aptitudes still represent your general capabilities in a domain, but you never check for aptitudes. Instead, each aptitude is separated in different skills that represent specific action your character can do. When resolving an action, you use your skills to make the checks. Your skill check is done as usual, but you add the related aptitude value to your skill. For example, you have 3 ranks in your Combat aptitude. You also have 3 ranks in your Melee skill and 2 ranks in your Range skill. When fighting with a melee weapon, you have a +6 bonus to your roll (3 Combat + 3 Melee) and while fighting with range weapon, you have a +5 bonus to your roll (3 Combat + 2 Range).

Feats system

Even if two people are as skilled in an activity, they may have learned different things or different ways to do the same thing. A feat describes a particular technique you have developed through a skill. Feats can be developed and become better with time. Feats are gain when you have a certain number of base ranks in a skill. Aptitude ranks never allow you to access a feat, only skill ranks.

Proficiency system

Proficiencies are specialization in a very specific domain of a skill. You do not make proficiency check, they only serve as a bonus for your skills when your proficiency is used. Each skill has a list of proficiency that you must learn to be able to use efficiently your skill under certain condition. You receive a number of Proficiency Points (PP) equal to your skill base ranks. You have a modifier to your check depending of your degree of proficiency you have.

Proficiency Level	Modifier	PP Cost	PP Total Cost
Not proficient	-4	0	0
Proficient	0	1	1
Specialist	+1	2	3
Expert	+2	3	6
Master	+4	4	10

Which system to choose

The system you want to use depends of many factors and personal preferences. Using aptitudes only make it for generally fast pace action resolution and allow more time to role-play your character. If you use the full system, this make a game flow a lot slower, but allows more strategy when resolving action, particularly combat. Choose the system that most players and the Gamemaster will feel comfortable with.

Modifiers

Favorable and Unfavorable Conditions

Some situations may make a skill easier or harder to use, resulting in a bonus or penalty to the skill. A modifier can affect your skill roll or the DC of the task to be done. Modifiers are always describe in four parts, for example, a +2 insight bonus to Spot check.

• The first part (+2) is the value you add or subtract from a skill check or a DC.
• The second part (insight) is the type of modifier that you receive. As a general rules, modifier of the same type do not stack, you take only the best bonus or the worse penalty.
• The third part (bonus) explains if the modifier is advantageous for the player or not. A bonus is always advantageous for a character while a penalty always hinders the character.

For example a +2 circumstance penalty to Climb DC makes the DC of a check higher and more difficult to do.

• The last part (Spot check) gives the skill that the modifier affect and if it is applied to the skill check or to the skill DC.

Skill Modifier vs. DC modifier

Both modifiers influence your chance of success when using a skill, but there is one important difference between a modifier to a check and to a DC. The DC modifier only affects your chance of success, while a skill modifier also changes your chance of doing a Total Failure. For example, with a -4 penalty to a check, you have more chance of having a check that fall below 0 while a +4 penalty to DC do not increase the probability of having a check below 0. While DC penalty make an action harder to make, a skill modifier also make the action more risky. When giving modifiers, the Gamemaster should always think if the action is only more difficult (DC modifier) or if it is also more dangerous (Skill modifier).

Modifier Types

Here is a list of the different modifier your character can have.

Ability Modifier

The bonus or penalty associated with a particular ability score. Ability modifiers apply to die rolls for character actions involving the corresponding abilities.

Circumstance Modifier

A circumstance bonus (or penalty) arises from specific conditional factors impacting the success of the task at hand. Circumstance bonuses stack with all other bonuses, including other circumstance bonuses, unless they arise from essentially the same source.

Deflection Bonus

A deflection bonus affects Defense Resistance and is granted by an effect that makes attacks veer off harmlessly. Deflection bonuses stack with all other bonuses to Defense except other deflection bonuses.

Dodge Bonus

A dodge bonus improves Defense Resistance resulting from physical skill at avoiding blows and other ill effects. Any situation or effect (except wearing armor) that negates a character's Dexterity bonus also negates any dodge bonuses the character may have. Dodge bonuses stack with all other bonuses to Defense, even other dodge bonuses.

Enhancement Bonus

An enhancement bonus represents an increase in the sturdiness and/or effectiveness of armor or natural armor, or the effectiveness of a weapon, or a general bonus to an ability score. Multiple enhancement bonuses on the same object (in the case of armor and weapons), creature (in the case of natural armor), or ability score do not stack. Only the highest enhancement bonus applies.

Insight Bonus

An insight bonus improves performance of a given activity by granting the character an almost precognitive knowledge of what might occur. Multiple insight bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest insight bonus applies.

Luck Modifier

A luck modifier represents good (or bad) fortune. Multiple luck bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest luck bonus applies.

Morale Modifier

A morale bonus represents the effects of greater hope, courage, and determination (or hopelessness, cowardice, and despair in the case of a morale penalty). Multiple morale bonuses on the same character do not stack. Only the highest morale bonus applies. Non-intelligent creatures (creatures with an Intelligence of 0 or no Intelligence at all) cannot benefit from morale bonuses.

Pain Penalty

Some wounds are so painful that you cannot act without causing yourself more pains resulting in a penalty to all actions. Pain penalty from different wounds does not stack, but pain penalty provided by a single attack does stack.

Profane Modifier

A profane bonus (or penalty) stems from the power of evil. Multiple profane bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest profane bonus applies.

Racial Modifier

Races have different capabilities resulting in modifiers from most attributes.

Sacred Modifier

A sacred bonus (or penalty) stems from the power of good. Multiple sacred bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest sacred bonus applies.

Size Modifier

A size bonus or penalty is derived from a creature's size category.