Rules
3.x compatible co tent is generally compatible with this system.
Bab+proficiencies skills, saves, Caster Level, and MSB/MSD
Bab has been replaced and is now just a skill to attack. Attacking is now a skill check, with a range of new sub-skills under the new Combat skill and follow the rules for skills. Cases where bab is normally used, is now treated like any other skill and bab is not it's own stat. Any improvements to BAB apply to an attack skill instead.
Proficiency is determined simply by whether one is trained in the appropriate skill and classes do not gain proficiencies per-say, though the appropriate sub-skills count as class or cross-class skills based on the class proficiencies. (If using classes, an optional rule)
Combat is the overall skill, but like Knowledge, is divided into a variety of sub-skills.
The basic sub-skills are, Axes and Hammers, Tiny blades (daggers and the like), Light blades (one handed), Heavy blades, Polearms, Bows, Crossbows, Maces, Flails, Rope weapons, Thrown, Natural (basic attacks with natural weapons including unarmed strike), Martial Arts (advanced martial arts techniques, monk type stuff and combat maneuvers), and exotic weapons are generally individually taken.
Armor types are also sub-skills of Combat. This keeps defense on par with attack. For AC, use the lesser of the armor/shield skill ranks or armor+shield bonus. If skill is higher than armor+shield bonus, the difference applies as disadvantage for enemies attacking you (or advantage on defense rolls if using Players roll all the dice variant rules).
Saves roll two ability score modifiers, and concentration is a save.
Fortitude save is Constitution and Strength.
Reflex is Awareness and Dexterity.
Will save is Will and Aura.
Concentration is Constitution and Intelligence.
CL and MSB/MSD
A caster has the Magic skill, which has a sub-skill for each magic Sphere.
Casting a spell requires a check. For secondary aspects, (like duration and distance) the magic effect has CL equal to the amount by which the check exceeded the DC, but for the main effects (such as # of dmg dice), CL is equal to Power.
Skills
Very close to Standard D20, but coming from the 3.x list, Search and Appraise (which can do more than assess monetary value) have been rolled into the Examine skill, Swim is part of Athletics which can now cover many strength based movements, and Craft has been rolled together with Profession and Perform into the Trade skill.
Search + Appraise -> Examine
Swim -> Athletics
Craft + Profession + Perform -> Trade
Additionally, skills do not have specific ability scores, rather, the best ability score for the task will be used. I.E. if Trade (blacksmith) is used to know about metal alloys, Int would be the ability score used.
Some spells would work via skills. For example, detect magic would not be a cone that automatically brings magic to your attention, rather it allows you to see magic auras, and thus for any object you don't automatically notice or already notice (such as looking at an object in your hand), you'd need to roll Perception/Spot to notice them, but any object you do notice you would see if it's magic.
Certain skills would enable other skills to be used in new ways, for example, being trained in Magic would allow you to roll Examine to figure out the specifics of the magic aura while using detect magic.
Skill ranks and class skills
Class skills, also know as prime skills, get +1 maximum ranks. If using classes, class skills are prime skills. If classless, you can choose up to 3+ int modifier of skills to be prime skills.
Skills have a maximum rank of Power +2 (+3 total for prime skills). Seems at first to step backwards from PF's class skill bonus, but the problem in 3.x was the multiplier at first level. Here, you do not get extra skill points at first level.
You can only put one skillpoint into a skill each level. Each rank of a skill costs a number of skillpoints equal to the new rank to upgrade from the previous rank (i.e. upgrading from 2 ranks to 3 ranks costs 3 skillpoints)
Iterative Attacks
Iterative attacks are now the optional rule (I won't be using it unless players vote otherwise).
Instead of rolling a bunch of attacks, for every 5 points an attack beats a target's ac, the target takes +100% weapon damage as though hit by a second attack.
Certain abilities that add additional attacks (such as Haste) reduce the number by which the rol; must exceed the ac, as well as certain feats (such as weapon focus). I.E. Haste type effect would mean that for every 4 points an attack roll beats the ac, additional dmg is dealt.
Two weapon fighting allows two attack rolls, which can be against separate opponents.
Cleave and similar keep the original attack roll but compare to each successive enemy at a -5 per successive enemy.
Two weapons
If you desire, you can accept the penalties for fighting with two weapons (whenever you could so to attack with two weapons), but instead of gaining a second attack, you can use the off-hand weapon defensively to gain a +1 to AC, which stacks with defensive fighting and total defense actions. Two Weapon Defense improves this.
Alternate Advancement
Many aspects of gaining levels in the standard rules add to raw power in addition to versatility.
The idea here is to separate raw power growth from levels, so you can gain plenty of levels while remaining in the desired tier of play, and can even start at a high tier of play from level 1.
You have a new stat called Tier. Tier starts at 4 (or at a level set by the gm for the campaign), and is improved via narrative achievement (your character needs to overcome significant obstacles to their main motivations and make significant sacrifice and character growth doing so). Advancing Tier is rare and probably won't happen every campaign.
Additionally, a new stat called Power also exists can covers raw cower, such as more powerful magic.
Tier and power are added to saves.
Power is the base for determining numbers normally based on level or class level, especially damage (i.e. sneak attack dice, spell resistance, etc).
A caster's spell save DCs are based on Power instead of CL.
This system uses a pool of spellpoints and a caster adds a number of spell points to their pool equal to their Power times 1, 2, or 3 (for minor, moderate, or major casters respectively. Innate spells with no caster class counts as minor caster for this). If using classes, the classes determine which category of caster, but when classless, a caster starts out as a minor caster and feat selections can improve to be moderate then major caster.
Anything based on a number of hit dice are based on Power instead.
Health
HP work as normal except represent non-lethal, minor damage, and non-physical effects (like morale and exhaustion) only. A character has a lot more HP as well, with their con score in HP per threshold and a number of thresholds equal to the average of con and will scores. Whenever a threshold is reached, a fort or will save is made (depending on dmg type) to remain conscious. Once half the thresholds are reached, a character is staggered, and once reaching 1/4 thresholds left, a character is disabled. In any of these cases, they roll a fort save to remain conscious, with a dc of 10 + their Con damage + the number of injuries they have. NPCs and companions roll morale as well.
Losing HP can still result in death, but it is much harder than normal due to the larger number. When a character reaches a threshold, they take 1 Con damage. Thus, a character with a Con score of 10 and no other Con damage would have a total of 100 hp and die from reaching con 0 and hp 0.
Anytime a character takes more damage, they must make a Soak roll. Failure means they gain an Injury.
A Soak roll is rolling their hit dice (maximum number of dice is equal to power) plus any armor/dr they might have. The DC is equal to the damage taken. Fire, Cold, Acid, and AoE (except Sonic) damage count as half for calculating DC. Explicitly nonlethal dmg is 1/10 (just move the decimal over one) for this purpose.
If the soak roll fails, roll for injury location (I'll describe this below once I get to use my laptop) and use the effects from the Pathfinder call shot tables. A Soak roll that fails by less then half the Con score uses the regular called shot effect (a minor injury), but if it fails by more than that, then use the Critical called shot effect (a moderate injury), and if the soak roll fails by more than the Con score, use the Debilitating called shot effect (a major injury). With the exception of Staggered, Sickened, and Stunned conditions, all effects last until the injury is healed. Staggered, Sickened, and Stunned effects last minutes instead of rounds.
A Major injury to the limbs or Moderate injury to the torso/head/vitals also deals 1 con damage. A Major injury to the torso/head/vitals follows the rules for the Dying condition, including the need for stabilizing, except acts on Con damage instead of HP damage.
HP heals your Con die in hp for every 8 hours of light or restful activity and twice that during sleep.
Dice
D20 system is normally a d20 plus static modifiers for checks, but here three to six dice are rolled, each of which is sized based on a character's stat, other than those stats, everything else still applies the same as before as static modifiers. The D20 is replaced by the Tier stat which has a racial base (4 for most player races) and improves with Power. The ability score modifier and skill ranks are each replaced by dice. Ability score modifiers are calculated a bit differently to eliminate negative modifiers.
Determining Dice sizes
For all dice based on a stat, the stat number is the die's average result, thus the die size is twice the stat. So, 1 = d2, 2 = d4, 3 = d6,...
This progression for dice, the even numbers only, is used for all purposes so no need to worry about different rules for improving dice in other places, i.e. damage dice improvement for size.
Ability score modifier is 1/4 the score rounded up. So,
1-4 is 1, d2
5-8 is 2, d4
9-12 is 3, d6
13-16 is 4, d8
17-20 is 5, d10
21-24 is 6, d12
...
Tier
Tier is a character's agency and power in the world, and their ability to impose their own will on events.
- (no score); "character" makes no decisions, acts directly by reflex. I.E. jellyfish, traps
0; pure instinct, minimal decision-making. I.E. ants
1; emotional instinct, emotion based motivation and immediate instinctual responses I.E. horses
2; thoughtful instinct, beginnings of planning and analysis, I.E. birds, predators
3; beginning of sapience, understanding place in the world and lasting environmental development
4+; greater will and control of self and world/others I.E. player races
Example perception check,
d8 (tier) + d6 (avg ability mod) + d4 (two ranks in perception) + 5 (misc modifiers)
Advantage
Advantage is a great way to skew results higher without simply shifting the whole range of potential results.
There are two aspects of advantage, an advantage die, and advantage rank.
For each advantage die, you roll an extra die for the check and discard one of the lowest dice after rolling (so the same number of dice that would be added for final result without or with the advantage remains the same).
Advantage dice are normally a d6 unless otherwise stated. The ranks of advantage can be altered or combined when multiple advantages occur. Penalties go in reverse, so a smaller penalty us a larger die (rhus a smaller impact on result), whilea smaller bonus is a smaller die.
Advantage ranks group together into groups of up to six ranks. Six ranks results in a d12 as seen in the before mentioned dice progression, thus more than six will automatically be multiple dice, a d12 for each 6 ranks plus a die for the remaining ranks.
Disadvantage works the same as advantage except for
-each disadvantage die on a check a highest die gets removed after rolling but before totaling
-disadvantage die size is reversed, 1 rank is a d12, 2 a d10, 3 a d8, etc, this maintains lowest ranks as having least impact
Advantage and disadvantage cancel each other out rank for rank. Optional, keep both penalty and bonus die, this complicates the roll a little bit, but adds more flavor.
Combining skills
Sometimes multiple skills might apply, for example Examine and Magic for idenfying a magic item. In such a case, the second skill is added like advantage to the check, and like advantage, each extra die results in a discarded die.
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Note, rpol roller can indeed add multiple dice of different sizes. Jase added it for me a while back.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:37, Mon 22 Feb 2021.
