Rule Zero SRD

Basic Rules

Character Types

Combat

Antagonists

Rule Options

Rule Zero is all about making the game that you want to play. It doesn't constrict you into a rigid set of rules. We've aimed to provide you with the tools you need to configure and tweak your game experience to match what you prefer. Toward that aim, we've built in numerous optional rules and modifications to rules. When building a game using Rule Zero, you would usually choose a single configuration for each rule, weeding out the ones you don't want and presenting just the options you've chosen. But feel free to extend these options to your players as well.

Terminology

The following serves as a glossary of terms used in this game:

• Ancestry: Representation of a character's ethnicity/heritage/species.
• Epicness: A rating of how "Epic" the game is, Legendary, Heroic or Mundane.
• Game Master: A Game Master serves as the referee of the game, they lead the players in telling a collaborative story, and they are the judge and interpretter of the rules.
• GM: See Game Master

Epicness

Epicness is a scale of how grand and epic you want the deeds of the characters to be. The Epicness of a story or campaign should be determined by the players and the Game Master before the game begins. This is broken down into three categories:

• Legendary - Lengendary games create a very epic story for the characters. Characters have higher statistics, attacks cause more damage, combatants have larger health totals. Everything is scaled up.
• Heroic - Heroic games are the "standard" starting place for characters. While its still quite epic, it's not quite as cinematic and grand as a Legendary game.
• Mundane - Mundane games are for players that want more challenge, or want to play characters that start of as regular people, not adventurers. Stats are lower and combat is more deadly.

One of the main impacts of the Epicness of the game is how a character's Attributes are determined and what their modifiers are. Note that in this document, unless otherwise stated, we will assume the use of Heroic Epicness.

Dice Rolls

The Rule Zero system uses several types of polyhedral dice. These range in type from a two-sided die, to a 100-sided die. These dice can be purchased from local game stores or ordered online. You can commonly buy a set of dice containing a 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 20-sided die. When a dice roll is needed the rules will indicate which die to roll using "D-Notation". An example of D-Notation is 1D20 (or 1d20, both mean the same thing). The number before the D indicates how many dice to roll, and the number after it is which type of die to roll. So in the example of 1d20, you would roll one 20-sided die. In this example of 4d6, you would roll four 6-sided dice.

Sometimes D-Notation will have additional parts after the die type. These are computations that must be made after the roll. For instance, 3d6+4 would mean roll three 6-sided dice and add 4 to the result. Likewise, 1d12-2 would be roll a 12-sided die and subtract 2. Computations can be multiplication and rarely division as well. So 2d4x2 would be roll 2 4-sided dice and double the result, and 2d4/2 would be the same roll but taking half the result. Whenever a rule would ask you to divide a value, unless otherwise stated, always round the answer down (so 5/2 would be 2).

Whenever multiple dice are rolled, their results are added together and the sum is then modified by any applicable modifiers.

If the rules call for a strange type of die that you don't have, you can roll a larger die and divide in half, or reroll any results above the maximum. If you need to roll a d2, you can either flip a coin, heads counting as a result of 2 and tails being 1, or you can roll any even number sided die with evens being 2 and odds being 1. A d100, or percentile die, uses 2d10, one is indicated to the be 10s place, the other is the 1s place. Some special d10s come with this indication on the die. In the case of a d10, usually the numbers will read 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0. 0 in these cases indicates a roll of 10, unless being rolled as a percentile. Percentile 10s read a 0 as a 0, unless both dice come up 0, which indicates a roll of 100. It's easier than it sounds, trust me.

Checks and Target Number

A Check is a special die roll that is used to determine success or failure of an action or task. A Check is most often a Skill Check, Attribute Check or a Save.

When a Check is made, the player rolls 1d20 and adds any applicable modifiers to it, this is most commonly a Skill Bonus (including the relevant Attribute modifier), and any situational bonuses or penalties. Checks have a Target Number associated with it that the roll must meet or exceed in order to succeed. The higher the Target Number, the more difficult the task.

For example, if a player wants their character to attempt to rummage through a trash heap for clues, they might make an Investigation Check. They would roll 1d20, add their Investigation skill bonus (which includes their Wits modifier), and calculate the result. If the total meets or exceeds the Target Number that the GM predetermined, the roll suceeds, otherwise it fails.

Automatic Success/Failure

When making a check a result of 20 on the die (the actual number showing on the die, unmodified by any modifiers) results in an Automatic Success, regardless of the Target Number. Likewise, result of 1 on the die is an Automatic Failure, even if the total roll with modifiers meets or exceeds the Target Number.

Automatic Successes (sometimes called Critical Successes, or Exceptional Successes) usually come with extra effects, like increased damage in combat, or exemplary results on a task. Automatic Failures (sometimes called Critical Failures, Fumbles or Botches) sometimes come with disastrous results for the character who failed the check.

The exact impact of an auto success/failure depends on the task being attempted, but in general any quantifiable results (i.e. damage, distance, gold pieces, etc.) should be doubled for an Auto-Success. The nature of Auto-Fails are generally at the discretion of the GM and should be customized to the individual task at hand.

Contested Checks

Sometimes a check must be made in direct competition with another character. In these cases, a Contested Check should be made. One character is determined to be the initiator of the action. If one of the characters in the contest is a player and the other is an NPC, the player should always be the initiator. If both characters are players, and there is no clear initiator, the character with the higher modifier on the roll should be the initiator. That character makes their check and compares it to a Target Number equal to 11 plus the relevant modifier of the other character in the contest.

For example, a player wants to sneak past a few guards, they might make a Stealth Check against the guards' Wits or Perception. They would roll 1d20, add their Stealth skill bonus (which includes their Finesse modifier), and calculate the result. This would be compared to a Target Number of 11 + the guards' Wits or Perception modifier. If the roll meets or exceeds the TN, it succeeds, otherwise the guards see them.

See Check Rule Options for options pertaining to this rule.

Saves

Saves are a special kind of check that are made reflexively in defense of some force acting on the character. Saves are made exactly like Skill or Attribute checks, except they use the Save modifier instead of the base Attribute modifier. See Attributes for more info on Saves.

Fate Checks

Fate Checks are a special type of Save that do not add any modifiers of any kind. They are a simple luck roll with a specified Target Number. An example of a Fate Check would be the roll made when a character is Dying to see if they pull through.

Sample Target Numbers

Task Difficulty	Target Number	Example Task
Trivial	<5	Noticing a large object in plain sight.
Very Simple	5	Persuading a child to have a slice of cake.
Simple	10	Hearing a group of people approaching on stone floor.
Moderate	15	Picking a basic lock.
Challenging	20	Climbing a vertical rock face.
Difficult	25	Sneaking past a skittish wild animal over dry leaves.
Very Difficult	30	Finding a source of water in arid desert.

Situational Modifiers

Some rolls will be modified by situational modifiers. This is most often the case in combat, where one character will have an edge over another. This could be from allies flanking the target, or attacking from the rear, or having the high-ground. But, situational modifiers apply in non-combat scenarios as well, such as getting a bonus to a social roll by using bribe money, or magically altering one's voice while rolling to impersonate someone. No matter the case, the GM is the final word on which modifiers apply to which situations. When these modifiers apply, they are added to (or subtracted from) the check that the player is making.

Multiple modifiers may apply, and sometimes even negative and positive modifiers can apply to the same check. These are all added together and calculated at the same time on the same roll.

See Combat Modifiers for a list of common Situational Modifiers that apply to combat rolls.

Rule Option: Simplified Modifiers

Situational Modifiers can quickly become complicated with a lot of bonuses and penalties being applied to a single roll, and each situation will have different types of modifiers. To make things simple, the GM can opt to use the "Simplified Modifier" Rule Option, in which they evaluate whether the situation is advantageous or disadvantageous for the character, and bestow a single bonus or penalty to the roll. See the Simplified Modifiers Rule Option for more information.

Attributes

Attributes represent a characters overall natural abilities. These determine how strong, fast, intelligent or charismatic a character is. Attribute score influence dice rolls so that a character with greater scores in a relevant attribute will success in a task more often. The Rule Zero system uses the following six attributes by default, but feel free to change the names of these to whatever fits your game.

• Power (abbrev. POW) - This represents a character's raw strength and ability to physically force their will on their environment. Characters with high a Power score will deal more damage in melee combat and be able to lift and carry heavier items. Other names for this Attribute might include 'strength', 'might' or 'brawn'.
• Finesse (abbrev. FIN) - Finesse is a character's ability to quickly and accurately use their fine motor skills and agility. Characters with high Finesse can more often succeed and tasks that require great accuracy or quick movements, such aside picking locks or outrunning a monster. Other names for this Attribute could be 'dexterity', 'agility' or 'quickness'.
• Vitality (abbrev. VIT) - This attribute determines a character's overall health and wellbeing and their ability to stave off illnesses and poison. Characters with a high Vitality score will be able to take more damage before being incapacited and more easily defend themselves against toxins and disease. Other names for this Attribute could be 'constitution', 'stamina' or 'endurance'.
• Intellect (abbrev. INT) - Intellect is a character's ability to think deeply and rationally as well as a measure of how much knowledge they have acquired over time. Characters with a high Intellect will solve complex problems more quickly and have better control of some types of magic. Other names for this Attribute could be 'intelligence', 'IQ' or 'smarts'.
• Wits (abbrev. WIT) - A character's Wits represents their ability react quickly to events, notice subtle clues and hints and think on their feet. Characters with a high Wits act quicker in combat, make better perception tests and have more control of certain types of magic. Other names for this Attribute could be 'wisdom', 'insight' or 'acumen'.
• Personality (abbrev. PER) - Personality represets how likeable and charismatic that a character is and determines their leadership ability. Characters with a high Personality scores will be better at social interactions as well as certain types of magic. Other names for this Attribute could be 'charisma', 'appeal' or 'allure'.

Using Attributes

The primary purpose of Attributes is to modify other traits, but occassionally a player will be called to make an Attribute Check. An Attribute has three parts, a Score, a Modifier and a Save. The score is mechanically irrevant in most cases, but it is used to derive the Modifier and the Save. Depending on the Epicness (Legendary, Heroic or Mundane) of the game being played, one of the following charts is used to determine an Attributes modifier. Note that in this document, unless otherwise stated, we will assume the use of Heroic Epicness.

Score	Legendary Modifier	Heroic Modifier	Mundane Modifier
1	-3	-5	-9
2	-3	-4	-8
3	-3	-4	-7
4	-2	-3	-6
5	-2	-3	-5
6	-2	-2	-4
7	-1	-2	-3
8	-1	-1	-2
9	-1	-1	-1
10	0	0	0
11	0	0	0
12	+1	+1	0
13	+2	+1	+1
14	+3	+2	+1
15	+4	+2	+1
16	+5	+3	+2
17	+6	+3	+2
18	+7	+4	+2
19	+8	+4	+3
20	+9	+5	+3

When a trait or roll is modified by an attribute you simply add (or subtract) that Attribute's modifier from the trait or the result of the die roll.

For example, if a character wants to make a roll to pick a lock, they will get a bonus (or penalty) based on their character's Finesse Attribute. If that character's Finesse score was 15, they would modify the result of their die roll by adding +2 to the total, in addition to any bonuses their skill level adds. If a different character with a Finesse of 5 made that same roll, they would receive -3 to their roll.

As stated before, a player may sometimes make an Attribute Check. When this happens, they simply make a roll, and add/subtract the appropriate attribute modifier to the total.

Saves

Each attribute has a Save modifier associated with it that is a combination of that Attribute's Modifier as well as bonuses from a character's Ancestry, Archetype or abilities. Not all characters will have bonuses to all Saves, some will be the same as their base Attribute. This is typically a function of a character's Archetype.

• Power - Power Saves are used when a character needs to resist a strong force, such as gale-force winds, rushing current or unburrying themselves from fallen rubble.
• Finesse - Finesse Saves are the most common, they are used when the character needs to dodge something like a fireball or arrow trap.
• Vitality - Vitality Saves are used any time a character would be subjected to a toxin such as snake venom, or to resist a disease. Vitality Saves are also used to help a character stay alive when they've taken too much damage.
• Intellect - Intellect Saves are used to resist effects that target the mind, such as magic that causes confusion or disorientation.
• Wits - Wits Saves are used to resist things that break concentration, such as distrations while casting spells, etc.
• Personality - A Personality Save may seem strange at first and they are somewhat rare, but these are used when an effect or situation attacks or affects a character's spiritual focus. Resisting a demonic possession is a perfect example of a Personality Save.

Defense

A character's Defense sets the Target Number for attackers to score a successful hit against them. Defense begins at 10 and is modified by a character's Finesse modifier, and any armor they are wearing. Some special traits or magical effects may modify Defense temporarily or permanently.

Proficiency

Each character has a Proficiency Bonus that is added to any trait or roll that they are proficient in. Characters can be proficient in weapons, granting their Proficiency Bonus to any attacks made with those weapons, they can be proficient with tools, granting them the bonus when using those tools, Saves can have proficiency, and skills can have proficiency. Proficiency can be applied to almost any trait that can have a roll based on it. Proficiency Bonus is based on overall character level, which is the sum of all of the levels in each of their Archetypes. For example, a character that is a level 3 Warrior and level 3 Rogue, is a level 6 character. Proficiency Bonuses begins at +2 and increases by 1 every 4 levels. See the following chart.

Character Level	Proficiency Bonus
1	+2
2	+2
3	+2
4	+2
5	+3
6	+3
7	+3
8	+3
9	+4
10	+4
11	+4
12	+4
13	+5
14	+5
15	+5
16	+5
17	+6
18	+6
19	+6
20	+6

Alignment

Most characters, either player character or NPC, have an Alignment, though it is up to the game group if they want to use this feature. Alignment is a simplistic way of categorizing a character's moral and social compass, whether they tend toward law and order, or chaos, and whether they tend toward good or evil acts. Alignment is a two-part designation.

The first part indicates a character's feelings toward society and law and order. This can be Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic. Lawful characters tend toward obeying the laws of society, and opting for a more orderly lifestyle. Chaotic characters are the opposite, they actively disobey societal norms and act in a more chaotic way. Socially Neutral characters act to create a balance in the world with their actions, carefully weighing out ordered and chaotic acts.

The second part details the character's moral stance, which can be either Good, Neutral or Evil. Good characters act in a more-or-less selfless way most of the time and tend toward wholesome acts. Evil characters are out for themselves and tend to act in completely selfish ways. Morally Neutral characters give no thought either way and act in neither a good or evil manner.

By combining these two axes, you can create 9 different combinations which are described below.

• Lawful Good (LG) characters always do the right thing and always obey the laws. They are often very chaste and dependable.
• Neutral Good (NG) characters live to help others and to do the right thing, even if it means ignoring laws.
• Chaotic Good (CG) characters actively go against established laws and structures to do good. Robin Hood is a good example of a CG character.
• Lawful Neutral (LN) characters obey laws and traditions to the letter, regardless of whether they are seen as good or evil.
• True Neutral (TN) characters are true agents of balance. They often fight for the underdog to even the playing field.
• Chaotic Neutral (CN) characters actively go against society, but give no thought to morality. They act according to their own whims and tend to be spontaneous and unpredictable.
• Lawful Evil (LE) characters not only follow laws and traditions, but use them toward their evil ends.
• Neutral Evil (NE) characters live to enact evil on the world for their own gain, with no credence to laws and tradition.
• Chaotic Evil (CE) character actively go against traditions and laws in order to further their own position, often to violent ends.

Languages

Most cultures in the world speak their own language, or dialect of a language, and each character knows one or more of these languages. Characters always can fluently read, write and speak their own native language as well as the Common Tongue. Additionally, characters may know more languages at character creation depending on their Intellect. Human languages are as varied as humans themselves. Each region in the world has their own language, which depends on the individual setting of the game. Humans begin knowing their homelands language as well as Common. Non-Human races begin knowing the language of their Ancestry (elvish, dwarvish, etc.). Below are the standard languages.

Language	Native Speakers
Common Tongue	Humans
Dwarvish	Dwarves
Elvish	Elves
Gnomish	Gnomes
Halfling	Halflings
Hillspeak	Giants, Ogres and Trolls
Undertongue	Goblins and Orcs

Status Effects

Characters may be assigned specific Status Effects (otherwise known as States or Conditions) the codify common afflictions or states of being. States usually have some sort of ending trigger or criteria that must happen in order for the State to be removed. A character's default State is that they have no States, which can be referred to as the Normal state, which imparts no effects. Below are the common States in the game:

Dying

When a creature is at 0 HP, they have the "Dying" state. Characters in this state cannot take actions, move, or communicate in any way. The Dying state is removed soon as the character's Current HP reaches at least 1, or another character or effect "stabilizes" that character.

Every turn in combat that a character has the Dying state, they must make a Fate Check at TN 10. If the Fate Check fails, the character creeps one step closer to their end. If the Fate Check succeeds, they step toward recovery. If the character fails 3 such Fate Checks, they die. If they succeed on 3 Fate Checks, the Dying state is replaced by the Stabalized state.

A roll of 1 on a Fate Check counts as 2 failures. A roll of 20 replaces the Dying state with the Stabalized state.

If, while Dying, the character takes damage from an attack, they are considered to have failed an additional Fate Check. If that attack was a critical hit, they fail 2 checks. If that damage were to exceed their Max HP, they are dead. if a creature is healed by any amount while Dying, the Dying state is removed and they heal HP normally from 0.

A Dying character can be Stabalized (see Stabalized below) with a TN 10 Medicine check.

See Fate Checks for more information.

Restrained

A Restrained creature cannot take a move action and their effect Speed becomes 0. Effects that modify the creature's Speed have no effect. Attacks against a Restrained creature are made at +4 to attack.

The Restrained state is removed when the effect that Restrained them is cancelled, either by the attacked that grappled them, or the spell that bound them, etc. If the Restrained state was bestowed by a grapple attack, the state is removed if the grappler is forced away from the target, or the restrained character frees themselves with an Athletics or Acrobatics check.

Stabalized

Stabalized is a special state that a character reaches when they were Dying, but are saved without being healed. Characters can be stabalized through the use of first aid or by succeeding in 3 Fate Checks while Dying. A Stabalized character cannot move, act, or communicate, but they are still at 0 HP. If they take further damage, the Stabalized state is replaced by Dying and they must again begin making Fate Checks. A Stabalized character will not die without outside intervention. Stabalized characters naturally heal like normal.

TODO fill out the rest of the status effects

Healing Damage

Health Dice (HD)

Each character has one or more Health Dice (or HD for short) that represent their physical fortitude and ability to recover from wounds. Health Dice are granted by a character's Archetype and level. Each Archetype has a specific Health Die associated with it, and a character's Archetype grants a number of those Health Dice equal to its level.

For example, if an Archetype has a Health Die of d10, and the character has 3 levels in that Archetype, they have 3d10 Health Dice.

Health Dice are used to health the character between fights. Some special effects may cause a character to lose or gain Health Dice (usually through magical means), and Health Dice may be spent to activate certain abilities or powers.

When a character gains a level, they gain 1 Health Dice of the type associated with the Archetype in which they gained the level.

Health Dice from Multiple Archetypes

If a character has levels in more than one Archetype, they get the Health Dice from both, which should be recorded separately.

For example, a 5th level character has 2 levels in an Archetype that has a d10 Health Die and 3 levels in one that has a d6 HD. The character's HD would be 2d10 and 3d6, for a total of 5 HD.

Resting

Throughout an adventure, characters will need to rest to compile themselves, gather their thoughts and regain strength and stamina. Each day a character can take 1 "Full Rest", usually at the end of the day when they go to sleep. Throughout the day, they may take any number of "Partial Rests".

Partial Rest

A Partial Rest is at least 1 hour in length, during which the character can take no strenuous actions such as travelling, or fighting. The character may do minor tasks such as meandering about camp, eating food, reading, or tending to their wounds. If strenuous activity occurs, the Partial Rest provides no benefits and must be restarted.

During a Partial Rest, the player may choose to spend some of the character's Health Dice to regain Health Points. The maximum number of Health Dice available to spend in a single Partial Rest is equal to the character's Level, or however many Health Dice they have remaining for the day, whichever is smaller. For each Health Die spent, roll the applicable die and add the character's Vitality modifier. They regain that many lost Health Points.

Full Rest

A Full Rest is at least 8 hours long, in which the character spends time doing nothing strenuous (similar to a a Partial rest). However, with a Full Rest, the character may stand watch for no more than 2 hours. If strenuous activity occurs, the Partial Rest provides no benefits and must be restarted.

During a Full Rest, the player may spend Health Dice as if it were a Partial Rest. If the Full Rest is uninterupted, and the character has at least 1 Health Point, they regain spent Health Dice equal to half of their total Health Dice (rounded up).

Characters with Multiple HD Types

When a character has Health Dice from multiple sources, of different types (e.g. 2d10 and 3d6), they choose which HD to spend and roll when healing lost HP. However, when regaining spent HD, they must regain the smallest HD first, before regaining any larger dice.

Damaging Objects

Often times a character will need to interact with an object of some sort, and when adventurers interact with something is usually involves destroying it in some way. This could be breaking a window, smashing a crate, ripping through a tapestry or smashing a bottle, etc.

Objects have a Defense and a number of Health Points just like creatures do, they can also have Resistances, Immunities and Weaknesses to certain damage Tags. An object's statistics are based on the material that is is made of and its size. Below is a list of material types and their Defenses:

Material	Defense
Cloth, paper or rope	11
Crystal, glass or ice	13
Wood or bone	15
Stone	17
Iron or steel	19

Here is a list of object sizes and their approximate Health Points and their corresponding Health Dice. If an object could be considered fragile, it's HP are halved (rounded up).

Object Size	Health Points
Tiny	5 (2d4)
Small	10 (3d6)
Medium	18 (4d8)
Large	27 (25d10)

Very Big Objects

Objects that are huge or gargantuan in size are handled on a case by case basis. A good way to handle damage is to break the object into several parts that might be large, medium or small. HP can be tracked separately for each section and the overall effect on the object can be determined by the GM.

Resistances, Immunities and Weaknesses

Some objects take different amounts of damage from certain damage Tags. Nearly all inanimate objects are immune to Poison and Psychic damage, for instance. Here are some other examples:

Material	Property
Bone	Weakness to Bashing
Cloth	Weakness to Piercing
Paper	Weakness to Fire
Stone	Resistant to Cutting

Ancestry Basics

A character's Ancestry indicates which species their were born from. This determines what bonuses/penalties they receive to their Attributes at character creation and several other traits. A character's starting age, lifespan, size, alignment tendancies, movement speed and starting languages are all determined by Ancestry.

Attribute Bonuses

Each Ancestry grants a character one or more Attribute bonuses that are applied at character creation. These will be listed like "+2 VIT" which means after that character decides on their Attribute scores, they add +2 to their Vitality. Most Ancestries will have 2 Attributes that are modified in this way.

Attribute Penalties

Ancestries also affect the character's Attributes in a negative way. Most Ancestries will have one Attribute that they are not known for having high values in. These will be listed like "-2 PER", which indicates that the player would subtract 2 from the total of their Personality Attribute. If the Epicness of the game is Legendary, then all Attribute Penalties from Ancestry should be ignored.

Age and Lifespan

Each Ancestry will describe an age range for when a typical character would begin adventuring. This is not a hard and fast rule and can be bent and broken as desired. But the player should discuss with the GM what a reasonable starting age should be. In addition to starting age, Ancestries also have an average lifespan listed for that character type. This doesn't mean that the character will die when it reaches that age, but the player should start thinking about retirement.

Alignment

Alignment is a loose term for what a character's thoughts and beliefs are on the topics of morality, good and evil, and law and order. Alignment is completely optional and some players find it restrictive. GMs should discuss with their players and see if they want to use it. If being used, Ancestries have certain tendancies toward particular alignments. This doesn't mean players can't deviate from this, but it gives them a guideline for creating a character.

Size

A character's size is a rating of how much space they take up and how much mass they have. Most player characters will have a size of Small, Medium (human sized) and Large. Other sizes are possible but creatures that are meant to be played as characters are generally of these sizes. Mechanically, size determines the types of weapons a character can weild, which armor they can wear and potentially other gear. Small creatures are around 2-4 feet tall (60-120cm), Medium range from about 4-8 feet (120-240cm) and Large creatures go up from there.

Speed

A character's movement speed is directly determined by their Ancestry (though some Archetype features or effects may increase/decrease this). Small creatures move 20' per turn (6 meters), while most every other size moves 30' (9 meters).

Starting Languages

Creatures from each Ancestry start the game being able to fluently speak/read/write in the language of their native people as well as the Common Tongue. High Intellect characters may start the game knowing more.

Other Traits

Many Ancestries grant a character additional unique traits which are described along with that Ancestry.

Health Points

If playing in Legendary Epicness, each Ancestry adds a set number of Health Points to a starting character.

Bloodlines

Some Ancestries have offshoots of people with slightly different traits. These are called Bloodlines. The Traits for Bloodlines are described in the Ancestry section for the people they belong to.

Humans

Humans in a fantasy world are as varied and dynamic as humans in real life. There are many different cultures, ethnicities and races within the human species. As such, humans are known for being versitile and adaptive.

• Attribute Bonuses: Humans do not being play with pre-determined Attribute bonuses. Instead they can choose any 3 Attributes and increase them by +2 each.
• Attribute Penalty: As with bonuses, humans do not have a pre-determined penalty. Instead choose any one Attribute to apply a penalty of -2.
• Age: Humans begin their adventuring career between 16 and 25 and typically retire in their 60s, but live between 70-100 years.
• Alignment: Because of their vastly different natures, humans as an Ancestry do not have tendancies toward any particular Alignment.
• Size and Speed: Humans are Medium-sized and move 30' per turn (9 meters).
• Languages: Humans begin play knowing the Common Tongue and the language of their homeland (name after the region they are from).
• Versitility: Humans begin play with proficiency in their choice of any 2 skills.
• Health Points: Legendary Humans begin with 6 extra Health Points at character creation.

Dwarves

Dwarves are short, stout people that value hardwork, tradition and craftsmanship.

• Attribute Bonuses: Dwarves receive a +2 bonus to their Vitality due to their robust stature.
• Attribute Penalty: Dwarves can be quite gruff and offputting, giving them a -2 penalty to Personality.
• Age: Dwarves reach maturity at around 20 years old and begin adventuring shortly thereafter. They can live between 300 and 400 years old.
• Alignment: Dwarves are staunchly traditional and are almost always lawful.
• Size and Speed: Dwarves are Medium-sized but are rarely over 5' tall. They move only 20' per turn (9 meters).
• Languages: Dwarves begin play knowing the Common Tongue and Dwarvish.
• Darkvision: Due to much of their life being spent underground, dwarves have adapted to seeing in low-light conditions. They can see perfectly fine in low light up to 60 feet as if it were daylight.
• Resilient: Dwarves receive +2 to Vitality Saves.
• Weapon Proficiency: Dwarves are profient in all axes and hammers (aside from polearms).
• Tool Proficiency: Dwarves may choose one tool proficiency to begin the game with.
• Health Points: Legendary Dwarves begin with 6 extra Health Points at character creation.

Elves

Elves are magical creatures, sometimes considered to be related to fae.

• Attribute Bonuses: Elves receive a +2 bonus to either their Wits or Personality.
• Attribute Penalty: Elves can be quite frail and receive a -2 penalty to their Strength.
• Age: Although elves seem to mature at about the same rate as humans, they typically begin adventuring around a century old, and can live more than 700 years.
• Alignment: Elves tend toward good nature, but value freedom above all else, so many are chaotic.
• Size and Speed: Elves are Medium-sized and move 30' per turn (9 meters).
• Languages: Elves begin play knowing the Common Tongue and Elvish.
• Hightened Senses: All Elves receive proficiency in Perception.
• Darkvision: Due to their keen senses, Elves can see fine in low light up to 60 feet as if it were daylight, and can see shapes and figures up to 30' in complete darkness.
• Resistance to Charm: Elves receive +4 bonus on all rolls to resist charm or sleep effects.
• Meditative Rest: Elves do not require 8 hours of sleep to become rested. Instead they can enter a meditative trance for 4 hours and receive the same benefit.
• Health Points: Legendary Elves begin with 4 extra Health Points at character creation.

Bloodlines

• Highborn Elves: Highborn elves are reclusive scholars. They receive +2 to Intellect and proficiency in single handed swords.
• Wildland Elves: The Elves of wilderness realms are hardier than their more delicate cousins. They receive +2 to Vitality and profiency in all bows.

Warrior

The Warrior is the quintessential fighting soldier. They are proficient in most weapons and armor and are formidable in head on combat.

Combat Phases

Combat occurs when two or more parties engage in a turn-based conflict. Each character involved in the combat may take actions during their turn depending on gear and abilities they have available to them. Typical combat turns include attacking in melee combat, shooting in ranged combat and casting of spells. Combat is divided up into Rounds, which are comprised of individual character Turns. The order of individual turns is determined by each character's Initiative roll. The phases of combat occur in the following order:

1. Surprise Round: Determine if any sides in the combat are surprised by the encounter.
2. Deployment: If using miniatures on a map, each side deploys their characters. If not, determine the ranges at which each character starts the battle.
3. Initiative: Determine who will act in which order.
4. Take Actions: Each player takes turns in initiative order taking actions for their character. If there was a suprise round, the surprised characters don't act during the first round.
5. Repeat: Repeat previous step until the combat resolves.

1. Surprise Round

The GM must determine whether one or more sides of the combat were suprised by the encounter. This usually happens when one side sneaks up on the other, but it's possible for more than one side to be surprised. Sometimes there is a chance that only some characters are surprised, not the entire side. When this is a posibility, the characters in question make a Wits Check against a Target Number determined by the GM. Failure on this roll indicates that they are surprised and do not act during the first round.

2. Deployment

During the deployment phase the players and GM discuss what marching order or positions each character would most likely be in based on how the encounter started. If using a map and miniatures, the figures are placed on the map to represent their positions. If not using a map, then the range that each character has from the combat should be established, i.e. how far they must move to attack in melee combat, are they in range to shoot, etc. The GM deploys all NPCs, monsters, enemies, etc. onto the map, or declares their positions/range.

3. Initiative

Each player rolls 1d20 for each character they control for the combat, and adds their Initiative modifier to the result. The remaining total is their Initiative Score, the higher the score, the earlier they act in the combat round. The GM rolls initiative for each NPC in the combat.

See Initiative Options for options pertaining to this rule.

4. Take Actions

During this phase individual characters take their actions. The character or group with the highest initiative score that hasn't acted already this round takes their actions. A character taking regular actions during a combat Round is known as a Turn. See Combat Actions for information on what can be done during a Turn.

5. Repeat

Once a character has taken their actions or passed their turn, then phase 4 is repeated with the character or group with the next highest initiative. This repeats until all combatants have taken an action or passed their action, then a new Round starts. Normally, initiative scores are kept for the entire combat, but the GM and players may wish to reroll initiative each round. If that is the case, repeat the phases from phase 3 instead of 4.

Combat Actions

A character may take 1 Movement and 1 Standard Action during their turn, or they may take 2 Movements. In addition, a character may take 1 Bonus Action if they have one available to them granted by an ability, gear or other circumstance. Some characters may have a Reaction available to them during a Round depending on certain circumstances. When available, a character may take 1 Reaction each Round. Reactions are typically taken during other character's turns, in response to something they did.

Moving and Acting

On their turn, the player can choose to move their character a number of feet equal to that character's Speed, and take 1 Standard action. They may choose to move then take the action, or take the action first and then move. They may break up their movement, moving part of their max distance, taking their action, then moving the rest. A player may choose not to move their character at all, and instead just take a single Standard Action. They may not, however, swap their movement for another Standard Action, they simply lose their movement for that turn. The player may choose to take a second movement instead of their Standard Action, moving double their Speed for that turn. This is known as Sprinting. See Combat Movement for more information on moving in combat.

Standard Actions

Depending on a character's Ancestry, Archetype, gear, level and environment, they may have several options for Standard Actions on their turn. However, unless a certain situation prohibits these, the following actions are always available as Standard actions:

Attack

An Attack action involves the character either attempting to hit an opponent with their equipped melee weapon, an unarmed strike of some sort, throwing a weapon or object at an opponent or firing a ranged weapon at an opponent. Some characters may have multiple attacks that they can make in a single Turn. In these cases, the character may make all avaiable attacks, and assign different targets for each attack. See Attack Rolls for more information on making attacks.

Overextended Attack

If a character is engaged in Close Combat with an opponent, and they did not use their Movement for the turn, they may opt to use an Overextended Attack instead of a normal Attack action. When overextending an attack, the character makes only a single attack roll, regardless of how many attacks they get during the turn. The attack roll is at +4 to hit and the attack will deal double damage if it hits (in otherwords, if the attack would normally deal 1d8+2, it deals 2d8+4 instead). The character suffers -4 to their Defense until the beginning of their next Turn.

Magic

Some characters may have magic spells that they can cast or magic abilities that they can use. A Magic action is used for these abilities. Magic usually takes a while to activate, and most characters will only be able to cast a single spell or use a single ability as a single Standard Action. See Magic for more information on how magic works.

Sprint

As a Standard Action, the character has the option to take a second Movement, moving their Speed in feet again. With this action they can effectively double the distance they can travel in a single Turn. See Combat Movement for more information on moving in combat.

Disengage

Characters that are engaged in Close Combat may take a Disengage action as a Standard Action. This enables them to free themselves from Close Combat without triggering any effects that would normally trigger from leaving Close Combat. This most common effect to trigger from leaving Close Combat is an Attack of Opportunity. If you are not using the Attacks of Opportunity optional rule, this action will likely be rarely used. See Attacks of Opportunity for more information.

Defend

If a character is able to move (i.e. not bound or disabled some how), a player may choose for them to focus completely on defense for their turn, foregoing their attack. Characters using the Defend action gain the following benefits as long as the character can see the attacker:

• The character adds +4 to their Defense until their next Turn against any attacker they can see (or otherwise detect through other means).
• The character receives +4 on all Finesse Saves to dodge attacks or effects.

Aid

Characters may help each other out in combat when necessary. To do this the aiding character must be within 5' of the character to be helped. The target character becomes "aided" until the end of their turn. The first check they make during that turn gains a bonus equal to the modifer than the aiding character would have on that roll. For example, if an aiding character wanted to help a character in combat, they would add their attack bonus to that character's roll while they attempt to distract and confuse the opponent. If a character were helping another character force open a heavy door, they would add their Power modifier to the roll. Whenever a character helps another character in this way, the bonus is always at least +1.

The GM can also allow aiding when characters are more than 5' apart. For example, distracting an enemy so that an archer can more effectively line up a shot from a distance. These situations are at the GMs discretion.

Wait

A character is not required to take a normal action on their turn. Instead they can take a Wait action, which doesn't do anything directly. A Wait action allows a character to stay where they are, at the ready, waiting for an opporunity to make their move. At any point until the beginning of that character's next Turn, they may interupt anothe other character's Turn and take their action. If they hadn't moved as part of their Turn, they may take their Move as well as their Standard Action. A Wait can interupt a Turn, even if that Turn has already started and the character has already taken some actions. It can interupt a Move, partway through the movement. For example, if a character Waited, then on the enemies turn they moved 10' of their 30' of movement, the character in wait can stop their movment and take their action. The interupted character can continue their Turn where they left off after the waiting character has acted.

Skill Check

Most skills can be used in combat as a single Standard Action (although some take multiple Turns to complete). Players should ask the GM when they want to do something special such as rifling through a junk pile (Investigation), or taunting and enemy (Intimidation). The GM will let the player know which skill is applicable and have them make a Skill Check, and describe the results.

A good example of an in-combat Skill Check would be hiding. The character makes a Stealth check against a Perception check from the opponent with the highest Perception modifier. Alternatively, individual Perception checks can be made to see which opponents detect or fail to detect the character. Success indicates that they become hidden from view.

Interact

Sometimes a character needs to interact with a device or object on the battlefield, or use a piece of gear or artifact from their inventory. Interact Actions can be used to pull levers, operate devices, and anything that requires more focus that simply opening an unlocked door. Interact Actions generally do not require a roll of any kind, but occassionally they GM will require it.

Combat Movement

In combat it is usually important to determine a character's location on the battlefield for situational modifiers, range, line of sight and other variables. This section details the system used for how a character can move through the battlefield from one location to another. Characters have a Speed trait (usually 30) that determines how many feet they can move in a single Move action. Different terrain that the character moves through may have an effect on the actual distance travelled. You can think of a character having a number of "movement points" equal to their Speed, and under normal circumstances 1 foot of movement costs 1 point.

Dividing Movement

A character may, if they wish, take part of their movement, take their Standard Action, then take the rest of their movement. This means that if they have 30 Speed, they may move 20' toward an opponent, then attack, then move 10' back in the same Turn. If they have multiple attacks in a Turn, they can even move part of their movement, attack a target, move another portion of movement, attack a second target, then finish their move. Movement can be divided by Bonus Actions as well. Movement can be broken up into as many portions as the player wishes, as long as there is an action to be taken between the parts.

Hindering Terrain

Some terrain may be more difficult to move through than a flat, uncluttered, area. Sometimes a battle breaks out in dense underbrush or in a waist-deep swamp. When the GM determines that a part of terrain is troublesome to navigate through, they may declare that the area is Hindering Terrain. Moving through Hindering Terrain takes twice as long as normal terrain. If a character has 30 Speed, they may move 15 feet through Hindering terrain in a single Move action. You can think of this as Hindering Terrain taking 2 movement points to move through a foot.

Changing Stance

Characters may change from "standing" to "couching" and vise-versa for free during their movement, or even during most Standard Actions. They may even go from "standing" or "crouching" to "prone" for free. However, going from "prone" to either "crouching" or "standing" costs half of that character's movement. For example if a character was knocked down, and they had a Speed of 30, on their Turn, they could stand up and then move 15' with their Move Action.

Mounting and Dismounting

Characters may mount or dismount a steed or other ridable creature while in combat. It takes 15' (5 meters) of movement to mount or dismount a creature and they must not be hostile. If the character has less than 15' of movement remaining for the Turn, they cannot mount up.

Free Minor Actions

When a character takes their Move Action, they may take 1 Minor Action for free. These are things that take very little focus, concentration, or time to accomplish, and can be done while moving, or as part of normal movement. If the character wishes to do more than one of these actions during their Move Action, they may spend 5 movement for each action.

Examples of Minor Actions

• Drawing or putting away a weapon.
• Opening or closing a door.
• Taking an item from a pack or pouch.
• Picking up a dropped item within reach.
• Swipe a small item from a table within reach.
• Equiping or unequiping a small piece of gear, like a ring, glove, or mask.
• Eat a small piece of food or drink a potion.
• Throwing a simple lever or switch.
• Handing of an item to an adjacent character.

Other Creatures

A character may move through space that is occupied by another creature, whether it is hostile or friendly. Friendly space may be moved though without penalty, but hostile space can only be moved through if the character is 2 sizes larger or smaller than the creature. For instance, a small creature can move through a space occupied by a large hostile creature. Any time a character moves throug a space that is occupied by another creature, it counts as Hindering Terrain. If using Attacks of Opportunity, moving through an enemy space, provokes an attack.

Fighting Area

Creatures take up a certain amount of space while they are fighting, known as their Fighting Area. This space is not physically filled by the creature, but it represents how much space they need to fight effectively and how much space they control. A normal human-sized creature is Medium-sized, and they control a 5'x5' square area. Smaller creatures have less space, while larger creatures have more.

Creature Sizes

Size	Fighting Area
Tiny	2.5' x 2.5'
Small	5' x 5'
Medium	5' x 5'
Large	10' x 10'
Huge	15' x 15'
Gargantuan	at least 20' x 20'

Fighting in Confinded Spaces

If a creature finds themselves in a space that is only big enough for a smaller creature to fight in, the area is considered to be Hindering Terrain, they receive -4 to all Finesse Saves, Attack Rolls and Defense.

Attacking

An attack roll is called for whenever a character attempts to strike an opponent with a melee weapon, throw an object at them, or fire on them with a ranged weapon. Some magic effects require an attack roll as well, which will be detailed in the description of that effect. Attacking in combat requires a Standard Action. Once the character declares that they will make an attack, the following steps are followed:

1. Declare Target: The attacker choosed a number of targets determined by the nature of the attack (usually 1), within range and line of sight. Targets may sometimes be an area or location, but are usually another character.
2. Identify Check: The nature of the attack determines which check the player will make, which modifiers apply to the roll and what the Target Number is of the check.
3. Attempt the Attack Roll: The player makes the check and the GM interprets the results.
4. Determine Effects: If the attack was successful, the player then rolls any damage dice dealt by the attack, or resolves any special effects detailed in the attack's description.

Attack Rolls

Attack rolls, unless otherwise specified, are a regular check with 1d20 + the relevant Attribute modifier + the character's proficiency bonus, if they are proficient in the type of attack they are making. If the check meets or exceeds the target's Defense, the attack is successful. If a successful attack is a regular weapon or unarmed attack, the damage for the attack is rolled at the target takes damage.

If the attack roll is for a magic attack of some kind, the player usually adds their character's casting Attribute modifier, or whatever modifiers are listed in the magic effect description. Magic attacks have different Target Numbers to meet, which should be detailed in the description of the effect. If a magic attack is successful, the effect of the attack happens as described by the magical effect.

Close Combat (Melee)

Any time 2 characters are fighting either unarmed or melee weapons (such as a sword or axe), the are considered to be engaged in Close Combat. Some monsters fight with natural weapons like claws or teeth, these are also considered Close Combat attacks, or sometimes called "Melee Attacks". A combatant has a certain "reach" with a Close Combat attack, determine by their weapon, and sometimes certain Feats or special abilities. A creature's reach determines how far their attacks may extend to hit their target with a Close Combat attack.

Offhand Attacks

If the character is wielding light weapons in both hands, whenever they take a Standard Action to attack someone in Close Combat, they may use their Bonus Action for that Turn to make another attack with their offhand weapon. For this Offhand Attack, the player does not add the character's Attribute modifier, unless it is negative.

Grappling

A character may attempt to grab a creature using a Grapple Attack, as long as the target is no larger than one size level larger. To execute a Grapple Attack, the player makes an Athletics check against the target's Athletics or Acrobatics (target's choice), and the target must be within reach. If successful, the grappler chooses an effect:

• Target gains the "Restrained" state. This effect can be ended at will by the grappler. Target can use a Standard Action to escape making an Athletics or Acrobatics check against the grappler's Athletics.
• Target is shoved backwards 5' (2 meters) or is knocked prone.

See Restrained for more information.

Range

Attacking with a weapon or an attack with a listed "Range" trait is considered a "Ranged Attack". The Range trait on such attacks is the maximum effective range of the attack in yards/meters. Attacking a target within this range is done as a normal attack with no penalties. Attacking a target beyond this range imparts a -4 penalty to the attack roll. A ranged attack will always miss if the target is further than double the Range of the attack.

Example: A character is making a Ranged attack with a Range of 20. If the target is within 20 yards/meters away (20 yards/meters or less) the attack is made with no penalties. If the target is further than 20 yards/meters away, the attack is at -4. If the target is beyond 40 yards/meters away, the attack automatically misses.

Ranged attacks underwater automatically miss when attacking a target beyond their base effective range.

Throwing Attacks

Sometimes an attack will be listed with a Range of "Thrown". This indicates that the weapon is being thrown by the character. Thrown weapons have a default base Range of 5, and automatically miss after 10 yards/meters. Using a thrown weapon is a Ranged Attack, and uses the character's Finesse modifier for the attack roll. However, since it is based on physically throwing the object, the character's Power modifier is used for damage.

Attack and Damage Modifiers

Attack Type	Attack Bonus	Damage Bonus
Melee Attack	Power Modifier	Power Modifier
Throwing Attack	Finesse Modifier	Power Modifier
Ranged Attack	Finesse Modifier	Finesse Modifier
Magic Attack	Casting Attribute Modifier	See magic description

Point Blank Attacks

Ranged attacks made at a range less than 10 feet (3 meters) are considered "Point Blank Attacks". Unless otherwise specified by a Feat or special effect, Point Blank Attacks are made with a -4 penalty.

Firing in Close Combat

If a character attempts a ranged attack while a hostile creature is within 5 feet (2 meters) of them, they receive a -4 penalty to the attack roll from the interference and distraction.

Combat Modifiers

Below are some of the most common situations that modify combat rolls:

Situation	Modifier
Attacking from the rear	+4
Flanking (attacking from the side)	+2
Attacking while mounted against non-mounted target	+2
Attacking from higher ground	+1
Blind	-4
Attacking opponent behing partial cover	-2
Attacking opponent behing full cover	-4
Attacking with ranged weapon at point blank	-4
Firing ranged weapon into close combat	-4
Attacking while underwater with a non Piercing weapon	-4

Cover

Terrain features such as buildings, trees and the ground provide cover against ranged attacks. A character can be in 1 of 4 levels of cover, which grant them some level of protection against these attacks.

No Cover

If less than 50% of the characters body uncovered by terrain features, they receive no bonus to their Defense.

Weak Cover

If at least 50% of the characters body is covered or obscured from sight, they receive a +2 bonus to their Defense.

Strong Cover

If at least 75% of the characters body is covered, they receive a +5 bonus to their Defense.

Complete Cover

If the characters body is completely covered, with no parts visible to the attack, they cannot be targeted by the attack. This will block line of sight completely and most magic cannot target them. Some Area Effect magic may still be able to affect them though.

Health and Damage

Damage is an abstract approximation of the overall physical impact that attacks have on a creature or object. It represents injuries, cuts, burns and physical exertion. Any time a character's body endures physical trauma, they may take damage. Damage is applied to a character's Health Points (or HP for short), when those HP reach 0, the character is incapacitated and is in danger of death.

Health Points (HP)

Health Points (or HP for short) are represented by a number that indicates how much damage a creature can take before death. The more Health Points a creature has, the more robust it is and the harder it is to kill. HP is expressed with 2 ratings, the Current HP and Max HP. Max HP is how many Health Points a creature has when completely healed and free of any damage. Current HP begins at Max HP and goes down as the creature takes damage. Current HP can, temporarily, rise above Max HP (usually through magical means), but always returns to Max HP. As a creature heals damage, their Current HP rises, up to a maximum of their Max HP.

Temporary Health Points

Some effects or abilities may grant a character Temporary Health Points, usually through magical means. When a character gains Temporary HP, it is added to their Current HP, but can increase it above their normal Max HP, temporarily. If a character receives damage from an attack, Temp HP is used up before any real HP are taken away.

Usually, effects that grant Temporary HP have some sort of duration detailed in the effects description. Once the duration expires, if there are any Temp HP left, the character's Current HP will be reduced by whatever was left. Sources of Temp HP do not stack, when receiving Temp HP, the character keeps whichever source grants them more HP, but does not keep both.

For example, if a character has 5 Temp HP, and an effect grants them 7 Temp HP, they now have 7, not 12.

Damage From Attacks

The most common source of damage to a character is an attack during combat. When a successful attack happens, a damage roll is made and the target takes damage based on the results of that roll.

Whenever a Close Combat attack scores a hit, the player rolls damage based on the damage rating on the attack. This is usually a single die and may have small modifiers, such as 1d6+1. Close Combat attacks add the character's Power modifier to the roll.

For instance, if the character's weapon deals 1d8 damage, and their Power modifier is +2, they would roll 1d8 and add 2 to the result to determine how much damage was caused to the target.

Likewise, when a ranged attack lands, the player rolls damage based on the weapon or attack (sometimes a spell). Unless otherwise specified, a Ranged Attack adds the character's Finesse modifier to the damage roll.

Critical Hits

If an attack roll is an Auto-Success, this is considered a 'Critical Hit', and deals double damage. In these cases roll any damage dice twice (or roll twice as many dice), then add any bonus modifiers after summing the dice.

For example: an attack that deals 1d6+2, deals 2d6+2 with a critical hit.

Tags

Some attacks come with special Tags in their description. Most weapons have at least one Tag. These Tags indicate any special types of damage that the attack causes. Usually these Tags can be ignored, and they only come into play against special targets. Examples of a few common Tags are:

• Bashing: attacks that deal damage through heavy blunt force trauma, such as hammers and clubs.
• Cutting: attacks from blades that lacerate flesh and sever body parts. Swords, knives, axes and claws deal this type of damage.
• Fire: attacks that burn their target.
• Psychic: attacks that cause damage to a target's mind using psychic energy.
• Stabbing: attacks that puncture deep into tissue like a spear, arrow or long teeth.

Resistance, Immunity and Weakness

Sometimes a creature or object will take more or less than normal damage from certain sources. Whenever a target of an attack would be more or less suceptible to a specific damage type, they will have one or more Tags listed as a Resistance, Immunity or Weakness.

Targets with Resistance to a specific Tag take only half damage from any attack that has that Tag. Additionally, if an effect with a Tag would cause the target to roll a check to avoid or cancel part or all of the effect, that target received +4 to their roll.

Targets with Immunity to a specific Tag cannot be harmed by any attack with that Tag.

Targets with Weakness to a Tag take double damage from any attack that has that Tag. Additionally, if an effect with a Tag would cause the target to roll a check to avoid or cancel part or all of the effect, that target received -4 to their roll.

If a target would have both a Resistance and a Weakness to an attack, the two cancel out and damage is dealt like normal. If the target would have an Immunity and a Weakness, they have Resistance to that damage instead. If a target would have Resistance, Immunity and Weakness from a single attack, they have Resistance instead.

Multiple sources of Resistance, Weakness or Immunity do not stack and count as only a single instance. For example, if an attack had the Bashing and Fire tags, and the target was Resistant to both Bashing and Fire, they would simply have Resistance to the attack, and not be doubly resistant in some way.

Resistances and Weaknesses are calculated on the total damage that was rolled after all other modifiers have been taken into account. When dividing damage by half, always round up.

Damage Reduction (DR)

Some creatures or objects might have a level of protection that doesn't translate into a standard Defense score or Resistance. Objects such as stone walls or iron doors, for example, might have a Damage Reduction trait that reduces all damage by a set amount. If the DR reduces the damage to 0 or below, they take no damage from the attack. DR can be listed along with certain tags, such as "DR 10 (Fire)", which indicates that damage from attacks with the "Fire" Tag is reduced by 10.

Taking Damage

When a creature takes damage, they are at risk of becoming incapacitated or even killed. When their Current HP drops down to 0, they immediately become incapacitated (knocked out, taken out of action, etc.). This doesn't mean that they are dead (yet), but they gain the "Dying" state.

See Dying for more information.

Massive Damage

When a creature takes enough damage in a single hit to reduce them to 0, and there is enough remaining damage after reducing them to 0, they may die instantly from Massive Damage. If the extra damage equals or exceeds their Max HP, they are dead.

For example, if a character has 10 Health Points, but already has 5 damage, their Current HP is 5. If they then take 15 damage, reducing their HP to 0, and having 10 left over damage, they are dead. Consequently, if the character took double their HP in damage in a single attack, they are dead.

Dealing Non-Lethal Damage

When the target of an attack reaches 0 HP, the attacker who dealt the final blow may choose to have the attack count as "Non-Lethal Damage". When this happens, the target gains the "Stabalized" state, instead of the "Dying" state.

See Stabalized for more information.

NPC Deaths

If an NPC is unimportant, or will not return to the story later, it may not be worth tracking their Fate Checks while Dying. If an NPC is just a random encounter, a fun monster to fight, or a nameless henchman, simply remove them from play when they reach 0 HP. If it is important to the story for the PCs to save them, or it is part of their quest to keep them alive, then Fate Checks may be appropriate. This is completely up to the GM.

Drakes

Drake are a sub-type of dragons. They are quadrupedal reptiles that have large wings. All drakes have a deadly breath attack (such as fire breath) and are capable of flight. Several species of Drake exist and are classified by their breath attacks or native regions.

Drakes tend to be aggressive when hunting or defending their lairs, but can be aggreeable under the right circumstances. If a drake does not consider you a threat, you might be lucky enough to speak to one. Drakes are typically of a True Neutral alignment, though some Neutral Evil or Neutral Good drakes exist.

Drakes are more than formidable, even as hatchlings, and only get deadlier with age. Statistics are given here for each drake at each stage of their life: Hatchling, Adolescent, Adult, Ancient and Venerable.

Drakes are intelligent creatures capable of speech and reasoning. All drakes speak Draconic, and drakes that reach Adolescent learn to speak the Common Tongue. By the time a drake reaches adulthood, it is not uncommon for them to speak several common languages for their region, and a Venerable drake can usually speak at least a dozen languages from across the world.

Age Group	Age in Years	Size	HD Modifier	Defense Mod	Speed/Fly	Languages Known
Hatchling	0-15	Small	-10 (d6)	-3	30/60	Draconic
Adolescent	16-80	Medium	-4 (d8)	-2	40/80	Drac. + Common
Adult	80-500	Large	0 (d10)	0	40/80	Drac, Comm, +4 others
Ancient	501-1000	Huge	+4 (d12)	+2	30/60	Drac, Comm, +8 others
Venerable	1000+	Gargantuan	+6 (d20)	+3	20/40	Drac, Comm, +12 others

Fire Drake

Tags: dragon

In the mountainous regions of the North, just below the frozen wastes, Fire Drakes keep grand lairs in cliffsides and cave systems. Fire Drakes are known for their pronounced brick red color and ability to belch destructive plumes of fire. Many a thatched roof has met its end to the aggressive fire drake and its flame breath.

A fire drake's breath attack deals fire damage in a cone-shaped area. Targets within the area of effect can make a Finesse save for half damage. The length of the cone, damage and Save TN depend on the age of the dragon.

Age Group	Health Points	Defense	Breath	Speed
Hatchling	59 (9d6 + 27)	16 (natural armor)	15' cone, 4d6 dmg, TN 13	30, fly 60, climb 30
Adolescent	143 (15d8 + 75)	17 (natural armor)	30' cone, 10d6 dmg, TN 17	40, fly 80, climb 40
Adult	238 (19d10 + 133)	19 (natural armor)	45' cone, 16d6 dmg, TN 21	40, fly 80, climb 40
Ancient	357 (23d12 + 207)	21 (natural armor)	60' cone, 22d6 dmg, TN 24	30, fly 60, climb 30
Venerable	463 (25d20 + 200)	22 (natural armor)	90' cone, 28d6 dmg, TN 13	20, fly 40, climb 20

Simplified Modifiers

Any time a rule would give a bonus or penalty to a check, they can instead be given an advantage or a disadvantage to that check. This greatly simplifies the bookkeeping and math-on-the-fly that players and GMs need to handle in-game. However, it does remove some level of granularity and control over character traits and some of the uniqueness and identity of each individual scene. This may be what you want. If you prefer a quicker, lower-weight bonus/penalty system, maybe Simplified Modifiers is for you. Simplified Modifiers essentially boils situational bonuses and penalties to what equates to either a +4 or -4 to a roll. There are two main ways to implement this rule:

Replace All

In this method, if the character would have a situational bonus or a penalty, they will roll 2d20 instead of 1 for their check. If they would have the advantage in the situation they take the higher result. If they are at a disadvantage, they take the lower of the two. After the die is selected, any modifiers that would apply (like Attribute or Skill modifiers) would then be applied.

Replace 4s

Since mathematically Simplified Modifiers equates to a +/- 4 on average, you can choose to use any smaller situational modifiers (i.e. the +1/2/3s) like normal, but anything +4 or greater (or -4 or lower), use the Simplified Modifiers Rule Option. This is slightly more complicated than the Replace All version, but it provides a little more crunch in the smaller end of the numbers while retaining the simplicity when modifiers climb too high.

Stacking/Cancelling Simplified Modifiers

Simplified Modifiers never stack. In other words if more than one effect would grant a character an advantage on their check, they still only roll 2d20 and choose 1 die for their result. Likewise, if there were multiple negative influences on the character's check, they would still only roll 2d20, taking the lower result. Consequently, if a character would receive both a positive and negative modifier on the same check, they cancel each other out, and the roll is made like normal.

Target Number Traits

If using Simplified Modfiers, whenever modifiers would grant a bonus or penalty to a trait that is used to determine a Target Number (such as Defense), then the roll that is made against that Target Number gets the modification. For instance, if a rule says to give a character +4 Defense, the Simplified Modifiers rule would instead give attackers a penalty to their attack roll, (i.e. roll 2d20 and take the lower result).

2d10 Checks

A d20 provides an even distribution of probability across its range of 1-20. Each number has an equal 5% chance to come up as a result on any single roll. While this provides an easy way to ballpark your odds of success, it creates a very swingy game. If you crave a more consistent resolution mechanic, where die results tend toward the average result more often and extreme highs and lows are more rare, you may opt to roll 2d10 instead and add the results together, then apply modifiers. This gives a range of 2-20, with an average result of 11. Results of 2 and 20 only occur 1% of the time while a result of 11 occurs 10% of the time. Using this rule gives more weight to the character's abilities and less weight to the randomness of the die roll and is preferrable in some cases.

Automatic Success/Failure

On a d20 roll its easy to see when a natural 1 or 20 occurs and determine that it is an automatic success or failure. On 2d10 its a little trickier and there are a few options for this.

If you want to preserve the 5% chance of auto success/failure, you can interpet the 2d10 as a d100 and count anything 5 or under as an auto-failure and everything 96 and above as an auto-success.

Another option is to identify one die as the "crit die", by using a specific color die. Whenever this die comes up as a 1 or 10, check the other die. If the other die is even, then the result of the roll is an auto failure or success (depending on whether the crit die was 1 or 10 respectively). This also preserves the 5% probability.

If you don't mind deviating from that probability spread a little bit, you can count a result of 2, 3 or 4 as an auto-failure and a result of 18, 19 or 20 as an auto-success. This does change the odds to a 6% chance of either auto failure or success. If you prefer a small probability you could use 2/3 and 19/20, for a 3% chance of either.

Dicier Contests

Contested Check rules are meant to make things fast and simple, and create less uncertain contests where the more qualified character is more likely to win. However, it may be preferrable to have some less-certain and more "dicey" results. Sometimes uncertainty can add tension and a little extra fun to the game. If that is your preference, you may choose to use the Dicier Contests Rule Option. With this option, both characters involved in a contest make their checks and add their relevant modifiers. Whoever has the higher roll wins the contest. In the case of a tie, the character who had the higher modifier to begin with wins. If it's still a tie, either resolve it as a tie, or have the characters reroll their result if a definitive winner must be known.

Initiative Options

Group Initiative

For a more simplified Initiative phase, with less bookkeeping. Group initiative can be rolled. Group initiative involves the players rolling a single unmodified die, or a die modified by an average of all character's Initiative modifiers, and the GM rolling once for all NPCs. The higher result goes first and all combatants in that group take their actions, in a mutually aggreeable fashion, then the other group acts.

Hybrid Initiative

Another Initiative system is a hybrid of the normal initiative (where each character rolls separate intiative scores) and the Group Initiative system above. It involves each player rolling their own initiative, and the GM rolling once for all NPCs. Characters then act in initiative order, but once the NPC turn comes around, all NPCs act in whichever order the GM prefers.

Alternating Initiative

A variant of Group Initiative is the Alternating Initiative. Groups roll initiative as above, and the group with the higher score goes first. However, after the first character acts, then the other side chooses a character to act. This alternates between sides in the combat until either: all characters have acted, or all characters on one side have acted. Then any remaining characters on the other side may act in any order.

Arbitrary Initiative

One last initiative system involves the GM arbitrating which combatants act in which order. This could be based on Finesse, movement speed, Wits, position in combat or any other system the GM prefers. This can be combined with any of the other intiative systems, this simply replaces the d20 roll for initiative score.