Uz

Uz

Welcome to the wiki page for a Heroquest game aout trolls run by Mandacaru.

We'z the Skull Splinters and our big Mama is Mama Snip. She Krolar and she eat war beetles for breakfast. We'z Indigo Tribe but most of them stoopid. We'z got uz own Smoky [volcano], good for Zorak magics.

Mama Snip's Mama, she Uzuz [Mistress Race troll] and she come back when Big Rumble start. She got special job for Uz.

We woz made when when Fireye smash a Thunderlizard skull to bits. Fireye woz Mama Snip's Mama's boy. That means he'z our uncle. Mama Snip's Mama get all the bits and each bit she give to a god. One to Gorakiki. One to Argan Argar. One to each. So we'z got all the gods for uz.

South is Torkani. They's hoomans but they thinks them Uz. West is Bachad. Them hoomans too and them always fighting the HurtMan and his boys.

Glossary:

• Krolar = scorpion god, so Mama Snip, the clan chief, is a Krolari shaman and has taken the form of a scorpion.
• Zorak Zoran = mad berserk death chaos-fighter who makes zombies and is on our side, mostly. Fireye was a Death Lord.
• Big Rumble = Hero Wars, currently under way
• HurtMan = The Man of the Sun, a new figure in AldaChur

Links: Recruitment

Characters

• Chargen & Template - go here to see how to make a character
• Uz Keywords - mix & match
• Uz NPCs

The World

text

Rules

1. Chargen is explained on the template character sheet. (Note that one aim of the limited pool of abilities is to make character advancement more meaningful.)

2. Abilities can be pretty much anything, including contacts, personality traits and so on. However, some abilities are tricky and need discussion (e.g. 'Lucky'). We'll sort this out via discussion. Above 20, an ability is called a Mastery, so we go 19, 20, 1M, 2M and so on. You might see me write 1W, but I mean 1M when I do that.

3. Contests and Target Numbers.

• Setting up Contests It helps if we know exactly what you are trying to achieve. We will be setting up and resolving contests rather than tasks. Thus, we might use a single roll to decide if you defeat your enemy. There is no difference, a priori, between combat and other contests. We might decide some contests are automatic successes.

• Target Numbers are based on your ability rating +/- your 'Vitality' (see below). I may add 'improvisational modifiers' (you are using 'Sword and Shield Combat' but only have a club and shield) or 'circumstantial modifiers' (terrain, weather, you are trying something particularly easy/difficult/cunning).

4. Contest Resolution.

• Rolling for Outcomes. Two opponents have 2 opposing TN's. If each has a mastery, these cancel (i.e. 2M vs. 13M equates with 2 vs. 13). Each tries to roll under the TN on a d20, so we have a pair of outcomes to match up with each other:
  • 1 = critical
  • equal or less = success
  • over = fail
  • 20 = fumble

• Bumping with Masteries or Hero Points. If you have a mastery, you improve your result ('bump') by one step (e.g. I have 4M and roll a 3, I get a critical rather than a success). You may also use a hero point to improve a result in the same fashion.

• Contest Outcomes. If you have better than your opponent, you win the contest (low roll wins ties). How much better decides victory level. The victory/defeat level has a numerical effect on your 'Vitality' (see below) and narrative results, which I will explain in-game.
  • Equal results (e.g. two successes) but low roll decides the tie = Marginal victory/defeat
  • One result better (e.g. critical vs. success) = Minor victory/defeat
  • Two results better (e.g. critical vs. fail) = Major victory/defeat
  • Three results better (e.g. critical vs. fumble) = Complete victory/defeat

• End of the Contest. In principle, the contest is now finished. It is possible we will carry things on when there is a particularly important contest. This is a 'chained contest' and runs until one party opts to leave the contest.

• Group Contests. I will fly by the seat of my pants. It has always worked (or looked like it from where I sit) so far.

5. Vitality.

• Contests Affect Vitality.
  • Defeat - Marginal -2, Minor -4, Major -6, Complete -8 (represent wounds, despondency etc)
  • Victory - Marginal +1, Minor +2, Major +3, Complete +4 (represents being flushed with victory. Note: these will not apply if there is a 1 or more mastery imbalance in favour of the eventual victor).

• How Vitality Works. Vitality is an amorphous mix of physical and emotional state. It starts at 0 and is limited between -10 ("dying") and +10 ("incredibly full of yourself"). Your current level is cumulative/additive; thus, if you are on +3 and score a minor defeat, you drop to -1. Likewise, victory can be a way to get "healed" (or to get a boost before a contest, if you think about it). Vitality is added to the Target Number for every roll you make!

6. Healing.

• Natural healing - your vitality moves one step towards 0 every day (e.g. after sleeping).
• Active healing may be attempted once per day, using a skill appropriate to the cause of the wound. The default is an automatic success which heals one point in addition to natural healing. A more aggressive healing effort is a contest against (10 + the square of the vitality) and includes the active party's vitality (i.e. healing yourself has a negative effect of vitality). Any success level restores the victim to -2 vitality. Failure worsens the condition by -2.
• Example: Jim has been bitten by a venomous snake and is on -7 vitality.
  • He is alone so rests up for a day, scoring a +1 natural healing shift to -6.
  • At the same time, he applies a moss poultice using his very own Survive in the Wild 3W2 ability to score an automatic success of +1. He is now on -5.
  • Next day, he has to move on so he uses the same ability at 3W2 -10 improvisational modifier and -5 for his sickness. His TN is 8W, facing (10+5^2 = 35 or 15W). He scores a success so heals 3 vitality and is now on -2, ready to move on but feeling the after-effects. Had he failed, he would have been on -7, so back where he started.
  • Seems to make sense to me :) Let's see if it works.

7. Hero Points. Start with 3 Hero Points. Use these to bump contest results post hoc (e.g. you got a success but want to change it to a critical, or fail to success, or fumble to fail). I will award more points for new scenes. You cannot use HP for character advacement !!!

8. Character Advancement. Between episodes, I will award a few character points. Use these to increase keywords on a one-for-one basis. You may also spend a character point to add two new abilities to a keyword.

9. Sidekicks. You may have a maximum of one sidekick. It costs two chracter points, is tied to one of your keywords, and has three abilities at the keyword rating. If it dies it is gone forever. You may take a sidekick (e.g. an insect mount) at chargen, in exchange for two abilities.

NB I will be changing point 10

10. Magic. You may have magic abilities or items. Each time you use an ability (or item? thoughts?), take -1 Vitality. Prior to a contest, you may also increase your magical ability rating by 3 at the cost of an extra Vitality point. Thus: +0 costs -1V; +3 costs -2V; +6 costs -3V; +9 costs -4V and so on [we may adjust this scale later]. Magicians have ways to defer this cost, via sacrifices, captives and so on. This whole magic thing may need revising.

Other Options

(a) Augments and Target Numbers: You may use up to 2 of your character's abilities to augment. You may add weaknesses as negative augments. You may add single abilities from any number of other characters as augments, including followers. The final augment is 10% of the sum of the above, rounded appropriately (e.g. augments of 18 +15 +12 from friend = 45, gives total augment of +5).

(b) Upping the stakes. Before the contest, you may use appropriate narration to up the stakes. The outcome of the contest (marginal, minor, major or complete) moves up 1 step (e.g. minor victory/defeat moves to major victory/defeat) to a maximum of complete. You may up the stakes two levels if you choose. But you may not cry afterwards.

(c) Hold your ground/play for time.As upping the stakes, only you reduce the stakes, such that victory levels move down one. Caution: moving below marginal does not yield a tie but instead a swapping of (marginal) defeat and victory.

(d) Pyrrhic victory. If you win a contest, you may increase your opponent's defeat level by 1 level post hoc but you take a wound of -4 vitality.

any more?