RIP Roleplaying the Infinite Possiblities Overview -------- RIP is a quite simple roleplaying system ideal for high fantasy or similar environment. Skill and ability values and tests ---------------------------------- Basic levels of skills or abilities are: level abilities* skill 0 none none 1 minimal pathetic 2 weak beginner 3 normal skilled 4 strong good 5 exceptional expert 6 superhuman artist 7 10-timer master .. *when compared to basic human ie. basic human has all abilities at 3 (except special abilities like fate and mana) When needed to make a test, d6 is rolled and appropriate skills and/or abilities are added to roll, including possible bonuses (see below) If result is 7 or more (thereafter 7+), test is succesful. (7 may be taken as partial success if needed to) Standard modifiers for roll: +2 easy situation -2 hard situation -1 wounded (one or more wounds lost) This roll is open-ended, and thus following special rules are used: If die rolled is 1, it is rerolled, but this time test is at -5. If 1 is again rolled, repeat (this time with -10 original test) If die roll is 6, new d6 is rolled: 1-3 result is 6 (+ modifiers) 4 result is 7 (+ modifiers) 5 result is 8 (+ modifiers) 6 reroll d6 again, this time with above results +3 So, for example, 6 is thrown, and next die is also 6, so die is again rolled, with 4 this time. Final result is 10 (+modifiers) Standard abilities ------------------ Strength (STR) overall physical strength Speed (SPD) movement speed and agility Toughness (TGN) damage resistance Endurance (END) resistance against blood loss, diseases and poison Intelligence (INT) perception and memory Will (WIL) willpower Power (POW) overall might and how frightening creature might be Fate-level (FATE) special bonus aginst dying, effects etc. If more precise information is needed, speed may be divided to speed and agility and intelligence to perceprion and memory. Creatures with magical aura have also: Mana reserve (MANA) reserve for spells etc. Big creatures have special resistance against damage: Wounds (WND) extra damage needed to kill creature When basic ability (ie. not fate nor mana or wounds) goes up one level, it's effectual value almost doubles and two levels are equal to thrice power. (ie. strength 5 creature is thrice as strong as strength 3) Combat ------ One combat round is approximately 3-6 seconds, and creature may do one of the following actions in one combat round: Attack Cast a spell / use an item Run At the start of the round, each combatant announces if he is going to cast a spesific spell (effectually simultanously) and actions are then conducted (look below for order). Creature may at any time chance his action to one of the following _interrupt_ actions, if permitted by GM: Defend Throw (or fire) ready weapon Cast a fast spell If action is changed, previous action is lost. This chance of action _may be done as many times as wanted_ (but note that human cannot have more than one knife ready to throw at times etc.), but spells are restricted to 1 per turn. Attack: ======= Before attack, creature may move up to SPD x2 meters. Attack is then made normally (look striking or ranged attacks). Creature may only attack with ready weapon; if he has none, fast draw is allowed. Creature has full defence value while attacking. Cast a spell or use an item: ============================ Casting a normal spell or using some items requires whole round and no movement is permitted with it. In addition, if creature is hit with attack STR at least equal to creatures POW or creature is damaged, action is ruined, and creature may do nothing special for a rest of turn (except interrupts, see above). Unless action is interrupted, creature is at minimal defence (see defence). Run: ==== Creature may run (or crawl or fly) up to SPD x5 meters per round if no other action is done. Encumbrance will reduce this amount, but some creatures may have special modifiers for fast movement. Order of actions: ================= 1. Start spell casting 2. Movement and attacks 3. Spells 4. Slow item actions ready Interrupts may only be done during step 2 and 3 Movements and attacks: ====================== Creatures move and attack at order thay choose, ie. if someone wants to move, he does it. If multiple creatures want to do things at exactly same time, each should roll d6+SPD, biggest doing his action first. Ties do exactly at the same time. If no creature announce movement or attack for a while, then whole turn is wasted while creatures wait for other's to do their action.. Running is conducted similar way. If creature is charged by another creature, it may opt to run, and opponent may not strike flee'er unless catches him. Notes about attack: - If target has longer weapon, he may strike first, but may not then do anything else. - If target is casting a spell or readying an item but has ready weapon (somehow), he may strike back if he announces it immediately upon seeing that he is under attack. Previous action is then lost and replaced with attack-action. - If creature is damaged by other creature with longer reach, he may not do attack for a rest of turn (only creatures with POW 5 or less) - If creatures are very close, shortest weapons act first. Spells: ======= Spells (not fast ones) are casted at random order; any fair method may be used. Look magic for precise information about spell casting. Defence ------- Creatures has 3 defence values against physical attacks: PD (passive defence) Defence against ALL attacks Parry Defence against melee attacks when parry is conducted Dodge Defence against melee and thrown weapons when initiated Passive Defence = SPD + FATE +1 if equipped with shield (not against very large and powerful attacks, generally GM's judgement) +2 if equipped with large shield -1+ burdened from encumbrance (GM's judgement) Special bonuses may be gained from various spells and effects. Non-humanoid creatures may have PD differing from this. Parry defence = PD + melee-skill Creature must have some kind of parrying method. -2 small parrying item +1 good parrying item(s) (sword, shield, staff) Parry is never lower than PD Dodge defence = PD + (SPD + melee) / 2 (round down) -1+ burdened (again same modifier as for PD) Dodge is never lower than PD Melee attack ------------ Hitting someone in melee is totally different from normal skill-checks because of so many variables included. Instead, melee-skill of attacker is compared to defender's defence to see bonus for hitting, and actual roll is made _without_ actual skill level. Defender's defence To-hit -------------------------------- none (0) +6 quarter or less +5 half or less +4 same or less +3 1½x or less +2 2x or less +1 3x or less +0 4x or less -1 more than 4x -2 Modifiers for to-hit roll +1 higher ground -1 seriously wounded -1 attacker using large shield -1 bad visiblity If result is 7+, attack hits and target may be damaged (see damage). If last die rolled was 2 and strike hit, attacker may immediately strike again anyone close to him. If attacker has two weapons (or similar non-simultaneous attacks), he may strike again with another weapon if last die rolled was 2 or 3. In such case, previous attack must also have hit as above. In addition, on a roll 10+ hit strikes at +3 for attack location. Note about parry: If target parried the strike, and to-hit result was 4+ the strike strikes the parrying weapon/item. In such case, parrying weapon might be damaged or attack can blow thru. This can only happen when attacker's overall mass-value (STR+TGN+1-4 for big weapon) is at least 4 higher than defender's STR, and should only be considered when human (or eq.) is fighting big creature. Roll for damage normally except with -4 to -1 penalty (-4 for 4, -3 for 5..) unless attacker's mass-value was 8 or more higher, in which case normal damage is done. In addition, parrying weapon may be damaged. Ranged attack ------------- When creature does ranged attack, he must success in normal skill-check to hit target. Modifiers for this roll include: - x target PD (or dodge in some cases, see defence) if target in combat (if not, only FATE) -2 per range step (see ranged weapons) -1 attack while in move (horseback etc.) +1 aimed shot (no moving this turn, no fast action) +1 point-blank range (few meters) If 10+ is rolled, attack is at +3 for location Damage ------ If creature is hit with some kind of attack, he may got wounded, killed or simply frightened. Armor protection: ================= Against physical attacks, armor may give protection. If target has any kind of armor, roll must be made if attack strikes it or not. Normal test is made and if roll is equal or lower than armor coverage, armor gives it's protection, otherwise no additional defence is given. Rules for armor coverage is at armor. Example: Barbarian has chain (short) shirt and plate helmet, greaves and bracers. His armor coverage is now: -2 plate 3 chain 4+ none When he is hit, check is made where strike hits, and no armor is on way on roll 4+. Roll 8+ is critical hit, and attack STR is at +3 then. Causing damage: =============== Each attack has attack STR, which tells general power of the attack. Similarly each creature has toughness (TGN), which tells about creature's resistance against damage. And if armor is hit, it's value is added to toughness (but note that some attacks reduce armor bonus!) Next, attack STR test is made with modifiers: - x target's total TGN+armor On roll 3+, target gains 1 point of damage On roll 7+, target gains 1 point of damage and check is rerolled, this time with -1 (also -FATE if target has any) If there was no armor or it was totally negated (reduced to 0 or less by attack), target is always scratched and will bleed a little, and may get infection from dirt. Effects of damage: ================== If creature has wounds (WND), they are reduced by the damage inflicted, and only remaining damage causes normal damage. Effect of total damage: Damage Effect 1 Lightly wounded, -1 to non-combat actions 2 Seriously wounded, -1 to all actions. Will die for bleeding unless wounds are closed. Must make END or POW (bigger) check each time hit or fall unconsicious. 3+ Critical. As above and must make END check by few minutes for not to die for loss of blood. -1 for test for each damage point beyound this point. Cannonfodder rule: ================== In a case of typical cannonfodders, simplified damage may be used: 1 point of damage is ignored, and creature is out of action if 2 or more is caused by one strike. Effect of FATE: add FATE/2 (round down) to level of Lightly wounded add FATE to level of Serious wounded add FATE to level of Critically wounded Example: Thrud the Barbarian has FATE of 2. His damage levels are: 2+ Lightly wounded 4 Seriously wounded 5+ Critical Strong creatures ================ While claw attacks by big creatures are not always more lethal than sword strikes, they have so much mass behind them that smaller creatures are knocked over or even knocked back few meters - and if there is no room, extra damage is caused for collision. So, if creature has greater STR+TGN than target's STR+3, then it is far better to try to dodge than parry... Bleeding -------- Creature seriously damaged will die for blood loss unless wounds are banded. A succesful healing-skill test must be made with penalty -2 if critically wounded. Healing ------- Creature heals END+FATE damage points in a month if in total rest, otherwise much longer. If treated with healer and herbs, healing rate is doubled. In addition, healer may try to repair damage once each day if he has suitable herbs - roll for damage with STR healer's skill-level against current damage +3. Caused damage is instead healed damage points. Only best healing in one day is counted. Dying and soul departure ------------------------ If creature is killed, it can be bought back to life only as long as soul is still in it's body (so creatures without soul cannot be resurrected). During each dawn, creature must success in FATE+4-test, or it's soul departs to the netherworld. Such test must also be made if creature is tried to be animated or raised as zombie. In such case, creature cannot be animated if the test succeeds. If soul is lost to netherworld, it can only be bought back by some powerful outerplanar entity. In addition, spirits in netherworld may be interested if someone tries to bring creature back to life.