the drifting saga (incomplete)

8/7/2019 The Drifting Saga (Incomplete)

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The Drifting SagaAn indie tabletop RPG system

Written by Joseph Maxwell

Table of Contents

1. Ability Scores12. The Base Mechanic1

3. Character Creation2

4. Races: A Primer25. Character Fluff3

6. Skills4

7. Archetypes78. Weapons and Armor8

9. Gear

10. Combat

11. Magic

1. Ability Scores

Strength is a measurement of acharacters raw physical might.

Endurance is a measurement of acharacters physical hardiness and

stamina.

Intellect is a measurement of a

characters raw mental capabilities and

ability to learn new things.

Wisdom is a measurement of a

characters ability to apply knowledge

learned as well as their common sense.

Agility is a measurement of a

characters raw alacrity, be itreflexes, footwork, or dexterity.

Prowess is a measurement of a

characters accuracy and skill whentheir speed is applied.

Charisma is a measurement of acharacters social abilities as well as

their force of personality.

2. The Base Mechanic

Based off of the Storytelling System

used by White Wolfs various

tabletop roleplaying games(Vampire: the Masquerade, etc.), the

base mechanic of The Drifting Saga

is to try and beat an opposingnumber of successes or a target

number (TN).

All skills have a corresponding

ability score as well as a number of

ranks; both ability scores and skills

can have a maximum of 5 ranks.

Each rank in a skill plus its

corresponding ability score results in

the number of 10-sided dice beingrolled (i.e. someone with a Strength

rank of 2 and a skill that usesStrength with 3 ranks would roll

5d10).

In order to win at an opposed roll,each person participating in the

opposed roll must beat the others

number of successes. Each successis equal to a 6~10 on the d10 (a 50%

chance per die).

If a character gains more failures

(1~5 on the d10) than successes,

something bad is bound to happen;this is called a Critical Failure. The

number of failures must exceed half

the dice rolled rounded up (for

instance, rolling 4 failures with 5dice will result in a Critical Failure).

What happens is up to the Game

Master (GM), but its almost alwayssure to be bad.

On the other hand, every time acharacter rolls a 10 on their d10s,

they gain something called a Boost.

For each 10 rolled in an initial roll,

another d10 is rolled after (i.e.


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rolling a pair of 10s results in rolling

an extra 2d10 after your initial roll).

Any successes gained in theadditional roll are then added on to

existing successes.

If all parties involved in an opposed

roll tie in a number of successes,

nothing happens. Whoever rollsmore successes, however, will have

their chosen effect work. (For

instance, someone who gets more

successes while attacking hits theirtarget, but one who fails has their

attack successfully avoided).

3. Character CreationIn order to create a character, a

player must do the following:

Think of a character concept

Assign a characters fluff

(things that do not pertain tostats but are necessary, such

as height, weight,

appearance, etc.)

Assign a characters ability

scores; each player has 7

points which they may assignto a characters scores, but no

ability score may exceed a

rank of 3 during creation. All

ability scores already startwith a rank of 1.

Assign a characters skills;

each character has 30 pointsto invest in skills, but they

are not allowed to have any a

higher rank in any skill than 3

during creation. All skillsstart at a rank of 0.

Purchase a characters

equipment; each characterhas 50 silver to buy items

with.

If applicable, assign acharacters beginning magic:

each character that has at

least 3 ranks in Wisdom and

at least 1 rank in a magic-related skill can use magic. A

character starts with two

spells upon creation to usefrom that category equal to

their ranks (i.e. a character

cannot choose a Level 3 spellfrom a desired magic school

if they only have 2 ranks in

that schools skill).

Write a brief back story about

your characters past.

Submit the character for

approval.

When the character isapproved, play!

All players are allowed to play up to

three characters; an exception applies to

staff members, who can play variousNPCs (Non-Player Characters) in

addition to their own three PCs (Player

Characters).

4. Races: A Primer

All races are mostly cosmetic, but startwith a free rank in one chosen ability

score from their description as well as a

special ability. Below is a brief

description of each.

Humans are pretty darn obvious;

just look in a mirror and youll knowwhat one is. They are to be found

just about anywhere, and are the

most common race on Terrestria.

They start with a bonus to any twochosen ability scores. Because they

gain two ranks in any chosen ability

scores instead of one, they do notpossess special racial effects.

Elves are lithe, wise humanoids withpointy ears who hail from the forests


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of Terrestria, lovers of the arts as

well as lovers of knowledge. They

start with a bonus to either Agility orWisdom. They also gain an

additional d10 to try and resist sleep-

inducing effects.

Dwarves are short, stout humanoids,

with males oft possessing long,rugged beards. They hail mainly

from mountainous regions, and are

hard at work but even harder at play.

They start with a bonus to eitherStrength or Prowess. They also gain

an additional d10 to try and resist

poison-based effects.

Hobbits are your typical Tolkien

variety; short peoples of habit withhairy feet. They are typically found

in hilly plains. They start with a

bonus to either Prowess or Charisma.

They also gain an additional d10 rollto any and all Resolve skill

challenges, regardless of ranks in

Resolve.

Gnomes are similar to hobbits, being

short folk. However, they are skilledmachinists and are more willing to

adventure than your average hobbit. Like

hobbits, they are usually found in hillyplains. They start with a bonus to either

Endurance or Intellect. They also gain an

additional d10 roll to any and all Use

Device skill challenges, regardless ofranks in Use Device.

Nereids are a race of sea nymphs,mostly female, that are able to reproduce

with any race to form children of either

their partners race or more nereids.They are commonly found in port cities

on islands, or other areas close to large

bodies of water, and are very

interdependent, if not lusty, folk. They

start with a bonus to either Intellect or

Charisma. They also gain an additional

d10 roll to any and all Diplomacy skillchallenges, regardless of ranks in

Diplomacy.

Lizardmen are essentially humanoids

that resemble ancient dinosaurs, most

commonly raptors and tyrannosaurs.They are usually to be found in badlands

and savannahs, and are on the whole a

tribal race. They start with a bonus to

either Strength or Intellect. They alsogain an additional d10 to try and resist

disease-based effects.

Felixians are humanoids with traitsof big cats, mainly tigers; for a good

example of their appearance, look upthe character Tigra from Marvel

Comics. They are usually found in

rainforests and jungles, and are

typically self-reliant. They start witha bonus to either Agility or

Charisma. They also gain an

additional d10 roll to any and allFortitude skill challenges, regardless

of ranks in Fortitude.

Vulpines are essentially humanoids that

resemble the foxes, either the red fox or

the arctic fox. They, like elves, can oftbe located in forests, and are wise people

skilled at the ancient ways of magic.

They start with a bonus to either Intellect

or Prowess. They also fain an additionald10 roll to any and all rolls in one

magic-related skill, chosen upon

character creation, regardless of ranks inthe chosen skill.

5. Character Fluff

Character fluff includes:

Height

Weight


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Age

Hair Color

Hair Style

Eye Color

Clothing

Morality (good, neutral or evil) Ethics (lawful, neutral or chaotic)

Patron deity (see The World: A

Primer section)

Anything else you see fit (with

reason)

6. Skills

Each skill is as follows: its name, the

ability score associated with it (inparentheses), and a brief description of

what it is used for. They are subdivided

into a few different categories, eachcategory written in italics.

Survival Skills

Forage (Wisdom) - Allows oneto forage for food. Opposes a

TN.

Tracking (Wisdom) Allows oneto follow footprints or otherwise

locate a creature in the

wilderness. Opposes a TN.

Geography (Intellect) Allows

one to have an understanding of

their surroundings when out innature. Opposes a TN.

Notice (Wisdom) Allows one

to perceive something that isusually not noticeable. Opposes

the Dexterity skill (in the case of

avoiding being pick pocketed),

the Notice skill, or a TN.

Knowledge Skills

Gather Information (Intellect) Allows one to gather

information on a subject.

Opposes a TN.

Supernatural (Intellect)

Allows one to recallinformation learned regarding

magic and monsters. Opposes

a TN.

Machinery (Intellect)

Allows one to recall

information learned regarding

the inner workings of modernmachines. Opposes a TN.

Streetwise (Intellect) -

Allows one to recallinformation learned regarding

rumors, urban legends, and

well-known local peoples.Opposes a TN.

Religion (Intellect) - Allowsone to recall information

learned regarding religiousrites, rituals, myths, and

legends. Opposes a TN.

Legends (Intellect) - Allowsone to recall information

learned regarding ancient,

non-religious tales andlegends. Opposes a TN.

Social Skills Diplomacy (Charisma) Allows

one to speak and act

diplomatically to alter the

attitude of an NPC or to convincethem to do something. Opposes

the Determination skill.

Threaten (Charisma) Allowsone to threaten an NPC into

doing something against their

will. Opposes the Determination

skill. Deception (Charisma) Allows

one to successfully deceive

someone through a bluff or bylying. Opposes the Discern Lies

skill.

Determination (Charisma)

Allows one to stand their ground


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and not waver in their actions or

opinions, regardless of anothers

attempts to change them.Opposes the Diplomacy (and

Threaten skills.

Disguise (Charisma) Allowsone to assume another persons

ways, thus disguising their true

identity. Opposes the DiscernLies or Perception skills, based

off of the GMs discretion.

Perception Skills

Discern Lies (Charisma)

Allows one to realize untruths

being told to them. Opposes the

Deception and Disguise skill (thelatter at the GMs discretion).

Locate (Wisdom) Allows oneto locate something out of plain

sight or a hiding being. Opposes

a TN or the Stealth skillrespectively.

Listen (Wisdom) Allows one to

understand their surroundings

through subtle noises, or toeavesdrop on whispered

conversations. Opposes a TN.

Deftness Skills

Lock-picking (Prowess)

Allows one to successfully pickopen a lock. Opposes a TN.

Medical (Wisdom or Prowess;

see text) Allows one to eitherdiagnose an illness and to treat

illnesses or injuries (treating

injuries is based off of Prowess).

Opposes a TN. Repair (Prowess) Allows one

to repair a device of some sort.Opposes a TN.

Disarm Trap (Prowess) Allows

one to successfully disarm a

traps mechanics. Opposes a TN.

Acrobatics (Prowess) Allows

one to maintain or regainbalance, jump skillfully, or

otherwise employ poise. Opposes

a TN.

Athletics (Strength or Enduranceat GMs discretion) Allows one

to swim, climb, run or otherwise

perform a task that requiresphysical strength and hardiness.

Opposes a TN.

Dexterity (Prowess) Allowsone to perform sleight of hand, to

pickpocket without being

noticed, or to escape bonds.Opposes the Notice skill (in the

case of pick pocketing) or a TN. Stealth (Prowess) Allows one

to move silently, hide, orotherwise avoid being noticed.

Opposes the Notice skill (for

stealthy movement) or the Locateskill (for hiding).

Use Device (Prowess) Allows

one to use a special device,mechanical or magical, with

ease. Opposes a TN.

Offense Skills

Swordplay (Prowess)

Allows one to strike

successfully with a bladedweapon such as a sword or

dagger. Opposes the Dodge

skill.

Cudgel (Strength) Allows

one to strike successfully

with a top-heavy weapon

such as an axe or mace.Opposes the Dodge skill.

Marksmanship (Prowess)

Allows one to strikesuccessfully with a ranged

weapon such as a bow or

crossbow. Opposes theDodge skill.


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Polearms (Prowess) Allows

one to strike successfullywith a long shafted weapon

such as a spear or a staff.

Opposes the Dodge skill.

Hand to Hand (Agility)

Allows one to strike

successfully with either a

hand to hand weapon such asa steel claw, or with unarmed

strikes. Opposes the Dodge

skill.

Defense Skills

Dodge (Agility) Allows one toavoid a physical attack or

projectile-based spell. Opposesthe Swordplay, Cudgel,

Marksmanship, Polearms andHand to Hand skills or an

opponents magic skill as

appropriate.

Fortitude (Endurance) Allows

one to shrug off harmful physical

effects, such as fatigue or

poisons. Opposes a TN.

Resolve (Intellect or Charisma,

depending on effect) Allowsone to shrug off harmful magical

effects, usually as an opponents

spell. Opposes an opponents

magic skill as appropriate.

Magic Skills

Evocation (Wisdom) Allowsone to call forth the power of the

elements through magic.

Protection (Wisdom) Allows

one to call forth magic whichprotects life.

Conjuration (Intellect) Allows

one to call forth magic whichsummons forces or beings.

Necromancy (Intellect) Allowsone to use magic that unleashes

the power of unlife.

Illusion (Charisma) Allows one

to use magic that alters thesenses.

Transmutation (Charisma)

Allows one to use magic that

alters the physical properties ofsomething.

Life Skills

Instrumental (Prowess) Allows

one to successfully play an

instrument to a certain degree ofskill. Opposes a TN.

Sing (Charisma) Allows one to

successfully sing a song to a

certain degree of skill. Opposes a

TN. Brewing (Intellect) Allows one

to successfully brew drinks or

magical potions. Opposes a TN.

Construction (Strength) Allows

one to successfully build a stablelarge object, from a campsite to a

small building. Opposes a TN.

Woodworking (Prowess) Allows one to craft an object

from wood. Opposes a TN.

Smith (Strength) Allows one tocraft an object from metal.

Opposes a TN.

Masonry (Strength) Allows oneto craft something from stone.

Opposes a TN.

Cooking (Intellect) Allows one

to successfully prepare food.Opposes a TN.

Example TNs

Trivial task- 1 success

Very easy task- 2 successes

Easy task- 3 successes

Somewhat easy task- 4 successes

Moderate task- 5 successes

Somewhat difficult task- 6successes


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Difficult task- 7 successes

Very difficult task- 8 successes

Heroic task- 9 successes

Superhuman task- 10 successes

7. ArchetypesAn archetype, in tabletop RPGs, is a

term used to describe character plans

used to provide examples in RPGs thatdont have a class system. Below are a

few examples of archetypes for The

Drifting Saga. Note that all archetypesskills are set to a rank of 2.

Warriors are skilled weapon

fighters, whether they are soldiers,

mercenaries or other types of combatspecialists.

Skills: Tracking, Gather

Information, Streetwise, Threaten,

Determination, Locate, Medical,Repair, Athletics, (Swordplay,

Cudgel or Polearms),

Marksmanship, Dodge, Fortitude,Smith, and Masonry.

Rogues are specialists in terms of

practical skills, especially onesassociated with larceny.

Skills: Tracking, Notice, Gather

Information, Streetwise, Diplomacy,Deception, Discern Lies, Locate,

Listen, Lock-picking, Disarm Trap,

Dexterity, Stealth, (Swordplay,Marksmanship, or Hand to Hand),

and Dodge.

Wizards are talented at using

various types of magic, and are oftwise beyond their years as well.

Skills: Forage, Gather Information,Supernatural, Religion, Legends,

Determination, Discern Lies, Use

Device, Polearms, Resolve,Evocation, Conjuration, Illusion,

Transmutation, and Brewing.

Druids are one with the spirits of

nature, capable of communing withthem to evoke their magic.

Skills: Forage, Geography, Notice,

Supernatural, Religion, Locate,Listen, Medical, (Cudgel,

Marksmanship or Polearms)Fortitude, Resolve, Evocation,

Protection, Transmutation, and

Woodworking.

Scholars,while not pure warriors orspell users, dabble in various talents

that prove useful while adventuring.Skills: Geography, Notice, Gather

Information, Supernatural,Machinery, Legends, Diplomacy,Deception, Discern Lies, Lock-

picking, Medical, Disarm Trap,

(Cudgel, Polearms or Hand toHand), (Evocation, Protection,

Conjuration, or Illusion), and

Brewing.

Bards are traveling minstrels, well-versed in lore and talented at various

aspects of adventuring and urban

life.Skills: Notice, Gather Information,

Streetwise, Legends, Diplomacy,Threaten, Deception, Determination,

Disguise, Lock-picking, Acrobatics,

Dexterity, (Swordplay orMarksmanship), Illusion, and

(Instrumental or Sing).

Yojimbo are traveling warriors of

the Far East, so named due to theircommon profession as bodyguards.

Skills: Tracking, Notice, Diplomacy,Threaten, Determination, Locate,

Listen, Medical, Athletics,

Swordplay, (Marksmanship orPolearms), Hand to Hand, Dodge,

Fortitude, and Resolve.


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Assassins are hired killers, capable

of stalking their quarry and strikingthem dead without detection.

Skills: Forage, Tracking, Notice,

Gather Information, Diplomacy,Deception, Disguise, Locate, Listen,

Lock-picking, Acrobatics, Athletics,Marksmanship, Hand to Hand, and

Dodge.

Warlocks dabble in the darker arts

of magic, sometimes consorting withevil spirits to learn their spells.

Skills: Supernatural, Legends,Gather Information, Threaten,

Deception, Determination, UseDevice, Locate, Cudgel, Polearms,Evocation, Conjuration,

Necromancy, Transmutation, and

Brewing.

Seekers are those who seekperfection of body, mind and spirit,

and are adept at various adventuring

skills.Skills: Forage, Notice, Supernatural,

Religion, Legends, Diplomacy,Discern Lies, Locate, Listen,

Medical, Dexterity, (Swordplay,

Cudgel, Marksmanship orPolearms), Hand to Hand, Dodge,

and (Fortitude or Resolve).

8. Weapons and Armor

Before listing the weapons andarmor of The Drifting Saga, I find it

important to list how they even work

to begin with.

A weapons damage dice means,

after succeeding against a targetsdefense skill, the number of dice you

roll afterward. The number of

successes rolled equal the amount of

HP damage you cause to a target

(more about HP in the combat

section). Spells that cause HP

damage also will have a similardamage dice listing.

Armor, as you would expect, helpsprotect one from damage taken. If it

is worn, a character taking damage

will then have their own armor dicethat they roll, which works akin to

damage dice. The number of

successes rolled out of the armor

dice reduces the number of successesan opponent gets on his or her

damage dice, and the resulting

difference is equal to damage caused

to the defender. Note that thedamaged received cannot go any

lower than zero points.

For instance, say a character is struck

with a long sword. The long sword

has damage dice equal to Strength orAgility +2 (meaning the dice rolled

are equal to the users Strength or

Agility rank, whichever is greater,plus 2). Say the character being

attacked is wearing leather armor,

which has armor dice equal to onesAgility +1.

The attackers total damage dice is,in this example, 4 (2 from his sword,

plus 2 from his Strength as his

Agility is a 1), and the defenders

total armor dice is also 4 (3 comingfrom Agility and 1 from the armor).

If the attacker was to roll 2 successes

and the defender was to roll 1success, the defender would only

take 1 point of damage from the

difference.

Finally, a shield will increase the

users Dodge roll by a number of

dice equal to the shields Dodge


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bonus. Note however that a shield

cannot be used in conjunction with

two weapons or a two-handedweapon.

With weapons and armorsmechanics explained, its time to

present the weapons and armors

themselves. The format for each itemis as follows: their name first (with

[2H] in a weapons name to note it

is purely two-handed), followed by

damage dice and damage type inparentheses (for weapons), armor

dice (for armor), or Dodge bonus

(for shields), and then finally their

price.

It should be noted that weapons arearmor are categorized. Weapons are

categorized by the skill associated

with their attack rolls (opposed by a

defense skill to determine whether ornot damage can be potentially

caused). Armor is categorized by its

armor type: light, medium, or heavy(more on those a bit later in this

section).

Weapons

Swordplay

Fighting knife- Strength orAgility (Slash or pierce)- 1

silver

Short sword (Slash or

pierce)- Strength +1- 5 silver

Long sword (Slash or pierce)-

Strength or Agility +2- 7

silver Rapier (Pierce)- Agility +1- 5

silver

Great sword (Slash orpierce)- Strength or Agility

+3- 12 silver

Cudgel

Club- Strength (Bludgeon)- 1

silver

Mace- Strength +1 (Bludgeon)- 4silver

War hammer- Strength +2

(Bludgeon)- 9 silver Morning star- Strength +2

(Bludgeon and pierce)- 12 silver

Maul- Strength +3 (Bludgeon)-15 silver

Hatchet- Strength +1 (Slash)- 3

silver

Battle axe- Strength +2 (Slash)- 7

silver

Great axe- Strength +3 (Slash)-12 silver

Marksmanship

(Note: Ammunition is used up upon asuccessful attack; single weapons such

as throwing knives are also considered

ammunition in addition to arrows andbolts)

(Note 2: Marksmanship weapons have

reach; see the combat section for moreinformation)

Bow- Prowess +1 (Pierce)- 6

silver (1 silver for 10 arrows)

Crossbow- Prowess +2 (Pierce)-

12 silver (1 silver for 5 bolts)

Throwing knife- Prowess(Pierce)- 1 silver for two knives

Polearms

(Note: Polearms weapons have reach;

see the combat section for more

information)

Staff- Strength or Prowess(Bludgeon)- 2 silver

Spear- Strength or Prowess +1

(Pierce)- 4 silver

Partisan- Strength or Prowess +2

(Pierce)- 8 silver

Halberd- Strength +2 (Slash orpierce)- 10 silver


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Hand to Hand

(Note: Hand to Hand weapons, with theexception of the claw strike, can stun a

foe; see the combat section for more

information)(Note 2: Only lizardmen, felixians,

vulpines and some monster can use a

claw strike)

Unarmed strike- Strength,

Agility or Prowess rounded up

(Bludgeon)- n/a

Claw strike- Strength, Agilityor Prowess rounded up (Slash)-

n/a

Steel Claws- Strength, Agility or

Prowess +1 (Slash or pierce)- 6silver

Knuckle dusters- Strength,Agility or Prowess (Bludgeon)- 3

silver

Armor

Light Armor

Cloth armor- Agility- 2 silver

Leather armor- Agility +1- 5

silver

Buckler- +1 to Dodge- 4 silver

Medium Armor

Chainmail- Agility or Endurance

+1- 15 silver

Steel cuirass- Agility or

Endurance +2- 22 silver

Brigandine- Agility or Endurance+3- 30 silver

Shield- +2 to Dodge- 8 silver

Heavy Armor

Banded armor- Endurance

+4- 45 silver

Full plate armor- Endurance

+5- 70 silver

With weapons and armors explained, it

should be noted that one should not

immediately jump into using theheaviest of armors that they can. The

heavier the armor category, the more

certain skills will be hampered by it. Assuch, the number of dice rolled when

doing a skill challenge will decrease if

the armor is worn.

Below will be the penalties applied to

various skills by armor, categorized by

armor types. Medium armor lowers theseskills rolls by 1 die, and heavy armor

lowers the rolls by 2 dice:

Lock-picking

Acrobatics

Athletics (when swimming)

Stealth

Dodge

Evocation (due to arcane gestures

needed to cast this type of magic)

Conjuration (due to arcane

gestures needed to cast this type

of magic)

9. Gear

Miscellaneous items, useful for bothadventuring and urban living, are listed

here by their names followed by their

price. Tools effects will be listed inparentheses after their price.

the drifting saga (incomplete)

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