THE BASICS
3DIE6 is quite simply a 3d6 system, with some unique and innovative twists. This pool of dice is used for two different types of rolls: Skill Tests, and Combat Rolls. This is a player roll system, meaning the GM does not roll any dice.
Skill Tests
There are 6 different skills:
- Accuracy (ACC): Covers agility and precision. Ranged attacks use this score along with finesse movement, precise manipulation, and delicate tasks.
- Intelligence (INT): Represents stored knowledge and book smarts. Artifacts and Oddities require INT to properly use.
- Charm (CHA): How charismatic your character is and their "street smarts" and intuition. Also covers willpower and Mind Gap tests.
- Durability (DUR): How healthy your body is and how resistant to damage you are.
- Power (POW): How strong you are. This relates to physical strength.
- Speed (SPD): How fast your character is, both in physical speed as well as mental reactions.
When making a Skill Test, you roll 3d6 and add the appropriate modifier. That number is compared to the Target Number (T#), and if it is equal to or above, it is a success. Otherwise it is a failure. An average skill test has a target number of 9-12, and difficult tests are 13+. A skill test is only called for if the T# is 9+ and only when a failure has consequences (be they danger or something else). If a test is Easy (8-) or there is no chance of failure, or any consequence to failure, the roll is an auto-success. The single exception to this is the Mind Gap (see below).
The RPOL Dice Roller is already configured to roll 3d6, but you will need to put in your own modifier.
Initiative, Turns, and Rounds
Initiative is a character's ability to react to combat and is equal to your SPD + 1d6. When combat starts all participants are listed from highest to lowest Initiative. Ties between enemies are given to the player, with ties between players being broken by alphabetical order.
A turn encompasses a single creature's actions, while a round is made up of all character turns.
A creature has two actions on their turn: a move action and a standard action. A move action can only me used to move, that is it. A standard action is everything else.
Combat Rolls (Melee)
Combat Rolls are handled slightly different and use a 3DIE6 roll. In this case, you still roll the traditional 3d6, but each die, in order of roll, is utilized by itself. The RPOL Dice Roller is already configured as needed for this. When you make a roll the output will look as follows:
quote:
11:18, Today: GM Tribal rolled 11 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,2,6.
When making a Combat Roll, the total of the dice (11 in above example) is ignored, instead we look at each individual die. As the player, use the code template below when making their post that requires a Combat Roll.
quote:
<Pink>(To Hit) DIE # + MOD # = #</Pink>
<Aqua>(To Defend) DIE # + MOD # = #</Aqua>
<Green>(React) DIE = #</Green>
The first die rolled is PINK. Place that value in the To Hit DIE # spot. Place any roll modifier in the MOD # spot, and then record the total.
The second die rolled is AQUA. Place that value in the To Defend DIE # spot. Place any roll modifier in the MOD # spot, and then record the total.
The third die rolled is GREEN. Place that value in the React DIE # spot.
The final result using the above roll example and random modifiers will look like this:
quote:
(To Hit) DIE 3 + MOD 1 = 4
(To Defend) DIE 2 + MOD 1 = 3
(React) DIE = 6
As an example, let's say we are making an attack on a Shadow Hound. The GM will put up a notice on the creatures pertinent info at the beginning of each round or as the stats are changed based on the situation so that players can post accordingly. Here are the Shadow Hound's stat block:
Shadow Hound |
---|
Grotesque black beasts
of weathered skin,
sinewy muscle, and
gnarled bones that
wander the Vast in
small packs preying
on anything edible. | To-Hit: | 3+ |
To-Defend: | 4+ |
Hit Points: | 5 |
Damage: | 3 |
Again, we are going to use the rolls above to simulate this attack.
Looking at the PINK DIE, we see that we have a total of 4. Comparing that to the To-Hit T# of the Shadow Hound (3+), we have successfully hit the beast and deal damage.
Consulting the AQUA DIE, we have a total of 3, but we needed a 4+ in order to defend against the Shadow Hound's attack, this is a failure. The character then takes 3 points of damage (see below for damage information).
Lastly, We look at the GREEN DIE which was a 6. As a player, this is not utilized and is simply ignored. It is used by the GM and determines the enemy's course of action in the new round. Maybe it will run away, maybe it will go defensive, or maybe it flies into a blood rage. Guess we will have to wait and see...
Combat Rolls (Ranged)
Ranged attacks work differently than melee, but are quite simple.
A ranged attack must be 1 Area away (and no more than 1 Area away), the character must be able to see the target, and they must have a ranged weapon. If any of these are not true, then a ranged attack is not an option.
To make a Ranged Attack the character makes an ACC Test by rolling 3d6. The Target number is equal to 9 + Target To-Hit Value. Using the Shadow Hound example stat block above, the Ranged Attack T# would be 12+. On a success, you deal damage; on a failure you miss AND, if the target has a ranged attack option, you take damage.
Damage
Damage is handled two different ways depending on if it is damage dealt to a target creature or damage dealt to a character.
Characters all have a base damage equal to their POW (Minimum 1). This can be further modified by powers and items that specifically say so. When you deal damage to a creature, you deal this amount and it is subtracted from their Hit Points. When a creature's HP reaches 0, it is dead.
Character's take damage directly to an ability stat. All abilities have a BASE and an INJURED box. When you take damage, first reduce the damage taken by your Defense value. If you still have any remaining damage, choose an ability and reduce the BASE value by the damage dealt and record the new value in the INJURED box. From this point on you must use the INJURED value when making a Skill Test with that ability AND you do so with a disadvantage. Rolling with DIS means that you roll 3d6 like normal, but ignore the highest die value rolled. For example, if you roll 3, 5, 6 on your 3d6 roll, you ignore the '6' and have a final result of 8 (and then add or subtract any further modifiers).
Furthermore, if the ability is in relation to one of your combat rolls, you must adjust the combat roll accordingly. For example, if your ACC is +2 normally, and becomes injured reducing it to -1, you must use the -1 Modifier. Each time the Injured Value changes, so to does the corresponding Combat Roll (Keep in mind any Minimums though).
If, at any point, all 6 of an Identity's stats become injured, you must play out your 'Last Breath' and the Identity dies.
Healing
Injuries can be healed slowly over long periods. You increase an ability stat's value, in the INJURED box, by +1 for every Deep Sleep that you finish without interruption. Once the INJURED value reaches the BASE value, that ability is no longer damaged and the injured condition (value) is removed. This healing applies to a single stat only. This healing can be applied to any Identity's ability stat, whether active or not.
Identities
All of this leads us to Identities. Every character in the Darkness has three Identities. Think of this as complete split personalities (both physically and mentally) that are fully aware of one another and their surroundings, but only the 'active' Identity is able to control the character. You always use the active Identity's stats, abilities, and powers at any given time and do not have access to the other Identities. You may swap Identities only during a Deep Sleep. This allows a player to have access to three completely different characters as desired. Sometimes they all have the same core personality and emotions, sometimes they are all wildly different. This is entirely up to the player and how they wish to roleplay the character. For simplicity sake, all three Identities share the same given name and generally resemble the same person, albeit potentially different builds and mental aptitude.
A deeper look at Identities: The Darkness is an unknown and brutal setting in which the creatures that live there do not even know, truly, what it was, is, or could be. It is a vast endless desert of pink sand overshadowed in perpetual darkness with no stars, no moon, just darkness. Occasionally, impossibly large columns of soft blue granite soar into the sky beyond sight. Each tower roughly triagular shaped and stretching far along each side. They are pocked with caverns and are chiseled out creating makeshift settlements, some ancient ruins and others still inhabited by all manner of things.
Few have any knowledge or lore of the Old World, and everything is shrouded in mystery and fear. 'Humanity', for lack of any better term, ekes out it's survival in anyway that it can. And, while most Humans are normal by any common standard, there are those known as Roans. Humans gifted with [mutant/symbiotic/parasitic??] aspects that makes them...different. Roans are known to have Three Identities, each unique in itself. And, while the Identities share the same given name and general appearance, they differ from one another in mental aspects, personalities, and physical attributes. Identities always give themselves a 'Title', and though rarely used when interacting or speaking with them, does help other's to differentiate between a Roan's identities when needed. When young, Roans are unable to control their Identity Swaps, but over time they are able to do so and can change Identities during a Deep Sleep.
Roan Name / Title examples: Johann 'The Vicious'; Johann 'The Simple'; and Johann 'The Romantic'. Oftentimes a Roan's title will be in relation to something that describes them, but not always.
Deep Sleep
Humanity has adapted to sleep as little as possible. Doing so allows them to stay on guard and better able to survive. Eventually the body and mind must rest, however, and a Deep Sleep is required. During a Deep Sleep, the body and mind shutdown into an almost hibernation like state. During this time the individual is completely helpless and will only awake through forceful actions, particularly loud noises, or injury. Stories shared speak of those who have been dragged away by the Shadow Hounds of the Darkness during a Deep Sleep, only to be awoken in the beastial lairs as they are being eaten alive.
A Deep Sleep lasts for 18 hours. Humans/Roans are able to remain awake without a Deep Sleep for 6 days before their body begins to weaken. If a character does not take a Deep Sleep, they take 1 point of Permanent INT or DUR damage (player choice) for each day they remain awake without a Deep Sleep. In this case, the player reduces the BASE value of the stat by 1.
Roans may choose to swap Identities prior to taking a Deep Sleep. Doing so causes their body to make physical and mental changes during the process (which can be grotesque to see for those around them), and they will awaken in their chosen Identity.
If, for any reason, a Roan is awoken from a Deep Sleep while swapping Identities, they are Lost. A Lost Roan is a confused mess of mental aptitude, a mixture of personalities, and physically deformed. All of their Abilities and Stats have disadvantage and all have a BASE value of 0. A Lost Roan does not have any Powers. If a Lost Roan is injured, the damage may be applied yo any of their identities (chosen by the player).
A Lost Roan must begin a new Deep Sleep in order for them to successfully swap into a chosen identity.
The Vast & The Gap
The Vast, also called The Darkness, relates to the unending sand and darkness outside of covered settlements, ruins, and complexes. It is the deep blackness above, the gritty sand below, and the nothingness that eventually consumes everything.
All creatures are victims of the Vast be they humanoid, beast, or insect. It is a weightless sorrow that burrows into their reality and eats it from the inside out. Most creatures can barely withstand even a few days in the Vast, while others have adapted to it, albeit with side effects.
Humans can often last a few days at best before their mind shatters separating consciousness from reality from existence. But, lucky for you, you are not just a mere human, you are a Roan. Roans, for whatever reason, can often withstand the Vast much better than a typical human, but even so, they too will see The Truth if they spend to long beneath the Obsidian Sky.
For every 24 hours a creature spends within the Vast, they must make a CHA Skill Test beginning at T#6. This is the only exception to the auto-success 8- Target Number Rule. This target number increases by +1 cumulatively for each additional day spent within the Vast without True Shelter. 24 hours spent within True Shelter resets this value back to T#6. A success on this CHA Test means that the Roan holds it together and does not suffer any Mind Gap. A failure, however, means that the Vast is slowly, but surely creeping it's way into their psyche and ripping apart whatever reality they believe in.
On a failure, reduce your Mind Gap value by -1. If your Mind Gap ever reaches 0, all of your Identities are ripped apart, your mind is shattered, and you become lost within the Vast (i.e. you become batshit crazy and out of touch with reality). In game terms, your Roan is dead.
Very little is able to repair your Mind Gap and every point lost is one step closer to insanity and despair. On the other hand, it has been said that the more one becomes with The Vast (the lower your Mind Gap value), the more Truth you can perceive. Of course, that is what the crazies say. It may be best not to test the theory...or maybe it is...
Occasionally the GM will call for a Mind Gap Check. This is simply your Mind Gap score, nothing else. This is used for all sorts of things on the GM side of the screen and can completely alter who or what can been perceived by any Roan (or other creature). Note: For RPOL play, please keep your Mind Gap Value in your Bio for easy reference for the GM.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:19, Sun 19 Feb 2023.