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jared a. sorensen's
INTRODUCTION: DISCLAIMERS
PART I: SYSTEM MECHANICS
PART II: CHARACTER CREATION
System Mechanics
Roll, Keep, Total
The conflict resolution in darkpages uses 10-sided dice in a "Roll, Keep, Total" system. After rolling two or more dice, the player is allowed to keep a certain number of dice. These dice are totaled for a result, the other dice are discarded. In darkpages, a result of 0 on a die counts as "zero" rather than the usual "ten."
Checks
A "check" is made whenever the character tries to accomplish a goal within the game. Unopposed checks are made against a static Target Number depending on the character's capabilities versus the difficulty of the goal. If the player meets or exceeds the Target Number, the player succeeds. Roll lower than the Target Number and failure results.
Opposed checks are made against NPC's or other characters, where there are two conflicting goals. In this scenario, the higher roll wins the conflict (a tie results in a stalemate or some other situation where the conflict is not resolved for some reason).
Note to GM's: Although a goal might appear to be unopposed at first glance, always consider the motivations and goals of your NPC's. If a terrorist planted a bomb, and a character wants to defuse it, don't just pick a Target Number…use the skill of the terrorist as an Opposed Check. If a hero is chasing a villain across the rooftops of the city, it would be an Opposed Check – the hero's goal is to catch the villain, despite the treacherous terrain. The villain's goal is to escape, using that same terrain to his advantage.
Modifiers
Modifiers change either the number of dice rolled or the number of dice kept (sometimes they change both). This is written by a + or – followed by two numbers (the dice rolled and the dice kept).
A modifier can never have one positive value and one negative. Either both are positive, both are negative or both are zero.
- +1/1 means to roll +1 die and keep +1 die
- -2/0 means to roll -2 dice
- +0/1 means to keep +1 die
- -1/2 means to roll -1 die and keep -2 dice
It is possible to have a modified roll where the player keeps more dice than rolled. This is intentional because some situations allow extra dice to be added to the die roll.
Goals
All checks are based around Goals, Actions and Effects. A goal must be summed up in one sentence and cannot contain the word "and" (that would count as multiple goals, so multiple checks would be necessary).
A Goal can be as simple as "I want to punch his lights out" to something as complex as "I want to prevent an assassination attempt." When opposing other characters or NPC's, your goal almost always conflicts with theirs. The Action is how you try to achieve that goal. The Effect is what actually happens that makes that goal successful or failed.
In the example, "I want to punch his lights out," the Action is "A hard right-cross to the jaw." The Effect is, "Knock him unconscious." The goal is to successfully perform the action without opposition (the other person could block the punch, get out of the way, counter with a quick jab, etc.). Failure means that the person is NOT out cold on the ground and worse, now has the goal "get some payback."
In the example, "I want to prevent an assassination attempt," the Action could be any number of things (from physical involvement to investigating the assassination plot to talking the shooter down from the bell tower). Failure could mean the target is killed or that you're targeted by the shooter because you represent a threat.
Goals shift and change all the time. As soon as one is reached, another takes its place. The only goal expressly forbidden is the goal "I want that person to die" (or otherwise be permanently removed from play). There are avenues for lethal conflict but that's covered in another part of the game.
Target Numbers
Target Numbers range from 5 (for easy goals) and 25+ (for extremely difficult goals). When determining a Target Number for an Unopposed Check, factor in the skill of the character, the nature of the goal that character desires to achieve, and the relative difficulty of that goal.
Because most die rolls involve more dice rolled than kept, the results should (on average) grant success to a character whose goal is of a corresponding difficulty. A novice will usually accomplish Easy goals. An expert will usually accomplish Very Difficult goals. To increase the difficulty, raise the suggested Target Number by five points (approximately "1 die" worth). To lower the difficulty, decrease the Target Number by five points.
The Zero Effect
Although a 0 is the worst possible result on a die (it adds nothing to the player's total), there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For each 0 kept for the total, one Training Point is granted to each member of that character's Archetype. Training Points can later be used to develop the character's abilities to a greater degree (more on that late).
Because NPC's do not earn Training Points, the GM only counts the highest numbered dice for Opposed Checks.
Dismal & Dramatic Failures: A Dismal Failure occurs when a die roll results in all 0's. This means that the worst possible thing happens to the character (directly tied to the failed goal). A Dramatic Failure occurs when the character only keeps 0's but other numbers were rolled on the dice. This means that the character fails, but the player gets to determine how this affects the story.
NPC's can roll Dismal Failures but because they cannot choose to keep 0's and ignore higher-numbered dice, they cannot roll a Dramatic Failure.
Attributes
Attributes are the three characteristics (Body, Mind, Soul) that all characters have in common. They are rated as being Primary, Secondary, Limited and this rating determines how many dice are rolled when that Attribute is called into play. Attribute ratings are comprised of two numbers – the first number tells how many dice to roll when using that Attribute. The second number tells how many of those dice the player is allowed to keep. Either of these numbers can be temporarily modified during the course of play, depending on the nature of the situation.
Primary Attribute
The Primary Attribute is that area in which the character excels. Most characters are "built" around this Attribute, meaning that his or her concept and powers focus on this Attribute. The Primary Attribute usually (but not always) defines which Damage Trait is susceptible to Lethal Trauma.
Body : covers strength, stamina, agility, quickness and general physical fitness. Body is the Primary Attribute for athletes, martial artists, soldiers and other sweaty, physical types.
Mind : defines the character's mental acuity, awareness, reasoning power, memory and a host of other intangible traits. Inventors, scientists, professors and investigators usually have Mind as their Primary Attribute.
Soul : describes the character's "spiritual strength" – his or her sense of purpose, empathy, willpower and general humanity. Characters with a mystical background, a strong spiritual side or a charismatic personality often have Soul as their Primary Attribute.
IIEE: Intent, Initiation, Execution, and Effect
The working definition of IIEE is "how actions and events in the imaginary game-world are resolved in terms of (1) real-world announcement and (2) imaginary order of occurrence." Experienced gamers know it as "Initiative," or "I Shot you First!" and it's the basic game mechanic all the way from those halcyon days of Cops n' Robbers.
When a character performs an action (making Attributes checks, using super powers, casting spells, whatever), the player should state a goal. This is a collaborative environment. Take turns, going around the table. What does your character want? What do YOU want? Take your time.
Intent : What do you want to accomplish? If there's opposition (from an NPC or another player, it might come down to a roll of the dice). If there's no opposition, ask yourself the following question:
"What's at stake?"
If the answer is "Nothing," skip the roll. The GM can just decide what happens.
If the answer is "Everything, including our fun at the game table," skip the roll. Same deal as before.
Only roll when it matters.
If you, the other players and the GM can all nod sagely and say, "Damn. This is going to be cool no matter what happens!" then you can pick up the dice and start rolling.
Initiation : But who gets to roll first? There are several factors to ponder:
- Proximity to the action : If your goal is to stop a bank robbery and you're at the bank, you can act before the guy who hears about it from three blocks away on the police band.
- Ease of execution : If it's going to take time to do the thing, it's going to take time to do the thing. Unless you have "super-baking" as a power, you're not going to finish that Boston Cream Pie before your wife gets from the garage to the front door.
- Dramatic flair : "One second left" is infinitely more dramatic than "Plenty of time to spare." It's perfectly reasonable for the GM to muck with the time stream in order to make the game exciting. This can be through real world events (you get stuck in traffic) or through the meta-game (the GM just decides that you have "One second left").
And because this is a superhero game, don't forget to factor in pre-cognition, time control and super speed. The thing is, it can be a nightmare to discuss war game tactics in a superhero game without exhaustive rules to cover time and space. The obvious solution is to not treat darkpages like a tactical war game. You've read comics. You've seen films. Everyone at the table knows how things should happen.
Is that a cop out? Am I omitting a comprehensive initiative system? Yes.
Execution is the act of rolling dice, totaling the results and comparing it to the Target Number or the Opposed Roll. Effect is whatever happens next.
Here's where we talk about the Effect of a shotgun blast to the chest…or worse.
Damage Traits
The three Damage Traits (Health, Sanity and Aura) represent three ways a character can be "damaged" in this game. Damage in darkpages is represented by a series of increasingly severe group of penalties called Damage States.
- Body's corresponding Damage Trait is Health. Its Trauma is called Injury or Illness.
- Mind's corresponding Damage Trait is Sanity. Its Trauma is called Stress or Fatigue.
- Soul's corresponding Damage Trait is Aura. Its Trauma is called Corruption.
Trauma
The three forms of damage (Injury, Stress and Corruption) in the game are called Traumas. Injury impairs Health, Stress erodes Sanity and Corruption destroys Aura. Each character can be affected by all these forms of damage (called Trauma) but only one of them is lethal to the character (this special damage is called Lethal Trauma).
Damage Checks
A Damage Check occurs when something has befallen a character that could cause a loss in Health, Sanity or Aura. The character's goal is to resist the Trauma – this is done with an Attribute check opposed by the attacker's total. In the case of a Damage Check caused from an Unopposed Check, use the Target Number that the player failed to roll.
Although this isn't often done, players can choose to keep 0's on a Damage Check in order to earn Training Points.
Damage States
There are four Damage States in this game: Defeated, Diminished, Damaged, and Destroyed. Anytime the character is attacked and suffers damage (or fails a die roll that could incur damage of some kind), the character is automatically Defeated unless the player wants to risk Attribute penalties in order to stay up. Characters can only be Destroyed by Lethal Trauma.
The Damage States and their progression are as follows:
- Defeated : At any time before Destroyed, the character may choose to become Defeated. The character is effectively "out of play" until the conflict ends but no additional penalties are incurred.
A State of Defeated does not mean that the character is unscathed (although it could , depending on the situation). Usually, it means that no serious damage was done (a character that is Defeated after one check might have suffered a minor wound, for example). When the smoke clears and the dust settles, the character resumes play.
- Diminished : is a minor form of Trauma that impairs the character in some way. Diminished characters suffer a penalty of -1/0 to the corresponding Attribute. They recover as soon as they receive some medical attention, rest or some other kind of respite.
- Damaged : is a more serious form of Trauma that dramatically affects the character's abilities. A Damaged State gives the character a penalty of -1/-1 to the corresponding Attribute. Damaged characters recover more slowly. Given the right environment (proper care, rest, etc.), a Damaged character fully recovers at the start of the next game session. Damage from non-lethal Traumas can never advance higher than Damaged but subsequent Trauma can further reduce the character's Damage Traits. A character that recovers from Damaged suffers from no further Damage States.
- Destroyed : Destroyed characters have been through hell and it shows. If a Destroyed character is Defeated, that character is out of the game (the character dies, goes insane, has a nervous breakdown, is damned to hell, becomes a sociopath, etc.). Given the nature of the game, a Destroyed character may return, but only as an NPC (and then, most likely as an antagonistic NPC). Characters can only reach a State of Destroyed from Lethal Trauma.
Destroyed characters recover to a Damaged State at the end of the game session but they also gain a Scar, a permanent negative modifier to their actions. A Scar may affect different Attributes unrelated to the type of Trauma that was inflicted. For example, a character that loses an eye (Health Trauma) might suffer penalties when judging distances (Mind) or might make people uncomfortable in social situations (Soul).
Note to GM's: This system encourages the players to risk more at the final moments of a game session because their characters will be more or less okay at the start of the next session. If you want every moment of the game to have the same level of intensity, change the recovery time from "next session" to a set amount of game time or real time. While the character recovers, this gives the player an excuse to skip the game due to real life concerns, or enables him or her to come in with an alt character from their roster.
Training Points
Training Points are used to develop character powers (Attributes cannot be directly changed although some characters can mimic this by adding a new power called "Training" or something similar). When a character is said to earn Training Points, what is meant is that the character earns them for all characters with the same Archetype (if a Warrior earns 3 TP's, every Warrior in the other players' rosters earns 3 TP's). Training Points can only be spent at the end of the game session.
See the Methods section for more on how to spend Training Points.
Optional Mechanics
The following are "optional" rules that GM's may wish to use during the game. Not including them won't break the game but they add a bit more detail for group dynamics. Note that a Failure during one of these checks could put everyone involved in danger of Trauma.
Teamwork : when two or more characters work together, have the character with the highest Attribute rating make the check and allow that player to keep one extra die for each assisting player. Any kept rolls of 0 give Training Points to the assistants, not the die roller (the die roller determines which assistants get Training Points).
Defenders : if one character is defending another, have the character with the highest Attribute rating make the check against the attacker. Success means that the defender prevents the other character from being harmed. The drawback is that the defender now has the goal of "avoid harm" and must make an additional Opposed Check. The defender gains any Training Points earned from the check.
The Swarm : if multiple characters are performing the same function (such as searching a bombed-out building for survivors), then have everyone make check and use the highest total. In situations where more is not necessarily better (such as sneaking around an abandoned warehouse), have everyone make a check and use the lowest total for the group's result. In either case, no Training Points are awarded (The Swarm is not a well orchestrated maneuver; it's more of a general free-for-all).
No Mercy : this is a very severe option geared toward violent, lethal games. If a character is ever Defeated, the attacker may then make a check to kill off the character (this only applies if the attacker is using Lethal Trauma – non-lethal Trauma can only cause the character to become Damaged). If the check is unopposed or it is successful, the Defeated character is killed.
INTRODUCTION: DISCLAIMERS
PART I: SYSTEM MECHANICS
PART II: CHARACTER CREATION
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