LINKAGE

BY MICHAEL CIANTAR　 THE UNIQUE DETEMINISTIC ROLEPLAYING SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

There is a world out there where there people of many races. They all have the potential for greatness- the potential for greatness comes from their guiding spirit (or angel) who senses everything that they sense with translation of all languages that he can understand to your own. The spirits guides them and offers them their power to allow them to act in their world. You are one such guiding spirit for a person of your choice. He/she/other understands his people, how to speak, culture and normal bodily actions (eat, sleep, go to the toilet) but with you as his awesome guiding spirit, he is set on the path to greatness. You are an incredible team. Later you learn that your path to greatness needs others with their own guiding spirits- your fellow players. Your character generally follows your guidance- it has worked well for him so far- but won’t commit seemingly suicidal directions without some convincing. You “make” your character by selecting one that has the characteristics that you want and has the training that you directed him/her to take.

This role playing system is designed to be totally deterministic except for the elements that you don’t know about and those which your GM adds. You　 gather information by role-playing,　 plan well and decide upon a good strategy, use good tactics and work together then you succeed. Its combat focused but information is your key.

“I have a dragon killing sword. I will kill a dragon.” announced Balrick.

“They are worth a lot of money- high demand for their remains, great magical value” exclaimed Iriff.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea wantabe dragon-killer they are so enormous. How can one sword kill one” countered Singli.

“It is well known it is easy to get close to a dragon- we right near one now” boasted Balrick, “keep back let me do the work”.

And just as Balrick said it was so simple to get next to the dragon.

“Dragon I will kill you” with a not a murmur from the dragon.

Balrick put all his might into his first strike even it was near impossible to miss the vast creature.

“Oh good you have gone him a paper-cut” denounced Singli.

“My next strike will be even bigger” stressed Balrick.

And it was and might have taken a man down but the dragon… Deep in the head of the dragon, it was beginning to fully aware of the annoying tiny wound. It had initially sensed something there but given the wrong use of its senses had thought it was nothing hazardous. Now it was aware.

Balrick smashed again and bigger wound was created. The dragon struck with one massive leg and missed by many metres without Balrick trying to avoid. “Ha Ha stupid dragon will never hit”. Balrick hacked at the dragon and it was non-apparently annoyed. The next strike of the dragon`s leg didn’t give Balrick time to scream as his body exploded leaving no enough to bury. The dragon had learnt to

tailor its strike to the unexpected and unknown puny enemy. Iriff and Singli scampered off and the dragon went off took a while to heal.

You are gathered here to help prove that training at Gozenth makes sense.

A Slown, a Grounder and a Flexer. I’m not slow, none of our people are slower- we are faster than Flexers - easily beat you in a race or doing any warlike art or magic. Then he proceeds to take a long pause.

Exactly your people are always taking two days doing nothing.

CONTACT WITH CREATURES/PEOPLE

CONTACT WITH MONSTROUSLY LARGE CREATURESYou have three choices-

Avoid and try to get what you want They will generally be unaware of you and be initially poorly equipped mentally to fight such comparative small creatures (significant misapplication of link points) but after a few rounds they will get their minds ready and then crush you with one hit. Henceforth characters have a good chance to

Gather information and seek the weak point (assuming the creature lived in a family or was professionally trained)

Direct fighting is something that the character you guardian would never do. You won’t necessarily kill the monstrously large creature but will at least weaken so can’t crush you with one blow anymore and

When fighting a large animal in the wild, what do humans usually do? They strike for the head or heart or neck usually using a ranged weapon although a martial art bull fighter killed about 100 bulls by breaking their necks. They do not strike the general body as the animal such a lion is so dangerous and can kill you with one bite. Yet what is the typical response in a fantasy RPG- you strike the monster many times. They have to reduce the health and damage realistic approximations of a monster as adventurers have a random element chance of hitting and damage dealt. Instead my RPG system is deterministic as the adventurers need understanding of the key weakness of the monster that when exploited will weaken the large monster a lot and leave it confused. The large monster doesn’t expect

small creatures (adventurers) to be dangerous and so won’t react to their presence quickly and is unused to fighting such creatures. Equally adventurers are unused to fighting strange normal size and small creatures so those creatures have a chance.

(3) Try to deal with intermediaries that the creature has taken on enable it to solve it small problems like food gathering or wealth gathering.

Contact with Similar Sized Up to 2 sizes bigger and smaller.

Combat While smart combat tactics are useful, it is less about information gathering about the enemy and more about

　

Contact with minute creatures

SETTING　 FEATURE Gosenzth is a great central land. It was once was the site for a great war requiring a massive array of talents of its people and many mercenaries- the king Obrok and his council sought to continue the massive skill concentration by setting up schools to teach anyone usually from 10 prepared to repay with their kingdoms support- they cover transport and general living expenses. Schools for fighters, rangers, rogues, magic, clerics (all sub-schools of good and neutral

gods) and a wide range of technical arts and social arts are present and going strong. There is even a sages` school whose chief sage who advises adventurers where the best places are to go to first with their skills and even which skills to study.

His sages are in every settlement across the civilized world. They advise adventurers on quests and adventures for a price and convert gold and platinum to sage notes to reduce weight and volume - accepted at most places. All settlements have tremendously strong oafs trained by Gozenth who can carry almost anything and pack ponies and pack horses who carry items faster than oafs. Adventurers need to come back by quick travel to repay their debt and then they are free to second student loan to get a second session of training.

Magic power and god power all comes from ordinary people. God power comes from their belief in anything and general actions- it is holistic in nature. Magic comes from the physical and mental actions of applying a skill. Ordinary people simply aren’t aware or able to utilize the power- it takes special training and natural abilities/high level training in one area. After basic training and general magic control, the magic and god spells are easy to cast since all you need a mental short cut- verbal and hand motions plus mental selection of a target generally directly visible but can also be imagined.

All common skills developed to the expert level give an inkling of the magic power that the skill generates. With the special guidance of a qualified Gozenth magic aide that feeling can be developed into a magic spell related to the skill that is twice as powerful as that which similar magic users can generate.

GAME MECHANICS

You get 1000 Link Points to start which you help to do character do every skill. These points can incremented with role-play usually at 1 point per meaningful element of character direction whether it is combat, non-combat, spoken or acted. A full day of rest gives you 300 more link points- the world does not stop for you so just stopping for a day may cost you more than you gain.

Alternative RuleGive your players the numbers of link points available to each opponent met which is divided equally amongst the players.

All Skills and general abilities with a few exceptions are developed by training.

Level Training weeks needed to gain this level

1 Basic 12 Beginner 23 Intermediate 44 Advanced 85 Expert 166 Top Expert 327 Heroic 648 Legendary 1289 Epic 256 10 Supernatural 512

Helping your character

Application Level Link Points1 (Normal) 12 (Above Normal) 2

3 (Moderate) 44 (Above Moderate) 85 (Hard) 166 (Very Hard) 327 (Expert) 648 (Incredible or heroic) 1289 (Unbelievable or legendary ) 256 10 (Near Impossible or godlike) 512

Conversion table from Link Points to Application Levels

Comparison Level

Base Level derived1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9　 10

1 02 1 03 4 2 04 7 6 4 05 12 14 12 8 06 25 30 28 24 16 07 52 62 60 56 48 32 08 103 126 124 120 112 96 64 09 204 254 252 248 240 224 192 128 010 409 510 508 504 496 480 448 384 256 0

Level comparison table- converted to Link Points.

Each skill has a certain base success level. There are modifiers to these base levels- some are directly in your control and some due to your enemies or the area in which you are. One point above the base level is a normal success. One link point below is a normal failure. Usually 3 levels (2 levels for level 7 and 8 and 1 level for level 9) above the base level are needed to get an amazing success and exceptional display of using your skill also known as a critical success. From 3 levels below to 4 levels below is a critical failure- something bad happens as you foul up but you learn something about what not

to do- below that is complete fluff up which shows you not even trying- you learn nothing and still get the foul up result. Your DM either tells you if either some challenge is occurring which triggers the need for a skill to be used or he can use a visual/audio trace that suggests that you need to choose a skill to apply. Note that circumstances where the skill suggested to be applied may only occur briefly. A clue triggers your memory of training so that it is possible to apply your skills efficiently. Choose the right skill and apply the appropriate number of links points and you succeed. If you fail, the clue then gets lost in your mind and the challenge becomes more difficult. This is especially true of perception and physical/mental challenges, less so of combat situations but you could still misread what’s happening and use combat when it is not triggered.

Wisdom and IntelligenceYou are your character’s wisdom and intelligence but if you don’t trust your judgment and ability to solve problems then you can ask your DM to roll a 20 sided dice- of it gives a 1 then you get some bad information but if you get a 20 then some good information- maybe he will just solve your problem. This is your character thinking hard and either coming up with good idea or bad idea.

If you judgment is very bad and or problem solving ability then you can take advantage in wisdom or intelligence so one more number per advantage gives good information in return you suffer one level down in strength or dexterity or communication which you need to train past. Alternatively if you think you don’t need your character to do thinking you can take a disadvantage and one number per disadvantage gives bad information and use that to gain a level in the strength or dexterity or communication.

Combat Abilities

There are two main types of muscle training- strength and dexterity. Only weapons that have your type of muscle training or are un-typed do full damage otherwise they do half of the normal amount of damage. If you have no type of muscle training then you can do extra training to do to at least have one type of muscle training.

You have two strength categories- legs and arms and similar two dexterity categories- legs and arms. Leg quantities represent the full body abilities plus kicking. In regards to strength, it includes the ability to stand up while carrying stuff, the ability to lift equipment without fatigue, and doing various activities. For dexterity it includes the ability to roll, dodge and avoid enemies` attacks. Arm quantities represent your upper body abilities. For strength, it is the ability to handle unbalanced and oversized weapons and knock open boxes or bars (you can put your legs into and consider it although the level is equivalent to the total of the training points of both types plus link points ) - normal weapons that you trained for have no arm strength requirements and will let you use similar weapons with difficulty. For dexterity, it is the ability to do fine manipulation and handle fiddly items, weapons when untrained.

Putting your general abilities to the test There are two approaches to being tested: quantitative (GM Guide) and textural. TexturalYour party and Your GM and you discuss how difficult you think the task to be done is- does it fit with one of the application level descriptors and your GM makes the final decision about it difficulty. From normal where it happens once a day to hard which takes a lot of energy to expert which is the only best can do to legendary which is once in a generation can achieve it. Compare the task to something described through the quantitative approach

Damage Resistance (health)Adventurers and all creatures have two types of damage resistance- sneak (SH) and war (WH). When you see the strike, you automatically

respond to handle the damage as you learnt from training and gain from some combat practice so you can keep going- adrenaline and similar keeps you going. It is described by value of WH. The tough part is resist the damage that you don’t see coming or can’t normally resist - that is the special value of being trained at Gozenth- whether you are struck in the back while in combat or poisoned then you can resist the shock and keep going- SH is the measure of the damage tolerance in those situations.

If either number goes to zero then you go unconscious- you need SH and WH to be above zero to recover consciousness. All damage after you become unconscious is considered SH. Then total damage needs to reach the total damage tolerance which is greater than the sum of your maximum SH and WH. Most SH and WH maximums are created by training but you get one more if the respective SH and WH go to 0. That total damage tolerance depends upon your weight (1/kilogram of mass of torso) times the toughness. Toughness comes from innate abilities of your species (most humanoid-1 except dwarves 2, rodent creature 4) and is increased by 1 when you get down to 10% of total health.

When in actual battle, generally all attacks deal WH damage while the enemy is conscious and facing them- thus stunned parties suffer SH while stunned, knocked out, sleeping and hit from the side or back. If aware of the attacker (i.e. not surprised or not sniped and succeed a perception check of animal more than 2 sizes bigger or smaller) then the damage is WH otherwise its SH. A specialist can suffer stealth damage. If surprised, he suffers stealth damage if hit from the side or behind. He can be aware of the enemy behind him to suffer war damage instead. Some sorts of attacks deal SH when it would normally be WH see

For details on initial SH and WH see the character classes- characters usually gain 1 WH per week of training with a weapon or shield or magic (choice of WH or SH) (except for ball attacks which don’t hurt at all) - you get to be hurt by your practice partner. In addition you

can train to gain more- it takes 1 week to gain 　６ WH or 6 SH(so much more difficult and dangerous to do it). For every 100 WH that you lose, you gain 1WH. For every 100 SH that you lose, you gain 1 SH. For every 1000 of WH+SH that you lose, you gain 1 toughness.

STAMINA/RESOLVEFor simplicity, I consider stamina/resolve as just stamina as resolve (your mental keep going ability) can push your body when your stamina (your bodily keep going ability) lags. Stamina Level Can do0 Be conscious1 Wake Up2 Crawl and get items while crouched3 Get Up4 Move 5 Use magic or attack with weapons6 Do quickened actions.

Doing skill application/attack after skill application or sprinting normally uses 1,2,3,4,5,6…of stamina per application so consider taking a break between attacks. Generally specialists have level 7 stamina.

The Departments of Gozenth UniversityA specialist (aliases) of each department does basic training for usually at least one year (also known as a Class). You learn to fight with short sword and crossbow which are both un-typed. When you become such a specialist, you learn think in a certain way and can apply those instincts to gather valuable information which is your SPECIALTY SKILL with basic level- with a comparison level of 8. Use this Specialty Skill 3 times and the current level becomes easier by level and a higher level skill is possible. Each specialist generally gets

a protection mark from the magic council that makes poison not deadly but rather just do SH damage. All specialists are taught to a basic resist god created emotions- it costs stamina equal to the level of the spell but at least you are compelled to act.

Combined School of sneakiness and combatLong ago the combat skill were separately taught from those related to sneakiness but it was determined that combatants needs stealth and other general skills and those focused on sneakiness needed some great combat abilities to back that up so it was combined so there are sub-schools which can match your particular specialization: danger avoidance/stealth/scouting ; armour handler; general weapons; edge focused weapons; ranged; communications/leadership/teamwork; rage; trap/locks; subterfuge/thievery; assassin/skirmisher(hit and run).

Sub-departmentTactical observer focused on danger avoidance/stealth/scoutingTO are also capable of a quick or final killing/disabling strike. (Scout)Muscle Training Type: DexteritySpecialty Skill: Basic: Detect sources of danger in 20 m circle- just vague areas of possible dangerBeginner: More precise danger locationsIntermediate: Items of value+ precise danger locationsAdvanced: Comparative value of items+ types of danger whether traps or enemiesExpert: Use Basic becomes automatic if you wish at each new location assuming its significantly dangerous+ details of the sources of danger and items not including magic and holy effects.Heroic; Use Beginner or Basic becomes automatic if you wish at each new location if it is dangerous + Expert works up to 30 m circleLegendary: Advanced/Beginner/Basic can auto + 20 m circle has full detail or 40 m circle of Expert level detail.

Unworldly: Intermediate detail is constant+ can choose any sort of area equivalent to 20 m circle to scan for dangers/opportunities.

Sub-department Skirmishing Assassin

Need to train in rapid motion and two of stealth, hit-and-run and focused strike to intermediate. Basic- Can move with a burst sprint without preparation. Beginner- Can see opportunities to move and get at enemies ignoring all obstacles.Intermediate- . Sub-departmentLeaderNeed to train in communication to level expert(“face” rogue and similar)Basic- Get a general read of the other people nearby- emotional/physical state.Beginner-

Archer (Ranger)Need to train in three ranged weapons- hunting bow, short bow, medium bow, long bow, medium crossbow, large crossbow to intermediate level. You need to develop strength to level 5 and dexterity to level 5.Muscle Training Type: DexteritySpecialty Skill: Basic: 80 ms distance vision one man width- you choose the direction and detect arrow/bolt materials in 20 m circle

Beginner: 80 m distance vision three mans width and detect bow and arrow materials in 20 m circle. Intermediate: 120 m distance vision or detect in any direction good locations to snipe from up to 80 m. Detect bows, arrows and materials in 40 m circle. Advanced: 160 m distance vision or detect sniping locations at up to 120 m. Detect and evaluate bows, arrows and materials in 80 m circle. . You have 3 WH and 2 SH.

Your basic vision is tuned to 40 m distant.

Sub-departmentGeneral warrior (Fighter)Muscle Training Type: StrengthA Professional Warrior needs to train to intermediate in three types of general weapons from this training he gains 9 WP.

Specialty Skill; Beginner: Detect all general weapon and know whether they are being held, stored or simply lying around in 20 m circleIntermediate: The beginner level detection is extended to details of those weapons.Advanced: The intermediate level is extended to precise details of those weapons including whether they are readied or not. Can assess the value of weapons to be sold- whether they are worth the cost Expert: Basic can automatic. Can do basic weapon upgrades with the best equipment and assistance and get better value from normal purchases.Heroic: Beginner or Basic can be automatic, Expert with expanded range of 30 m Weapons can gain

You also learn the skills of all melee weapons to a basic level as part of your training. Sub-departmentSlicer(pirate, rogue)A SR needs to train to intermediate in three types of edged weapons from this training he gains 9 WP.

Specialty Skill; Beginner: Detect all edged weapons and know whether they are being held, stored or simply lying around in 20 m circleIntermediate: The beginner level detection is extended to details of those weapons.Advanced: The intermediate level is extended to precise details of those weapons including whether they are readied or not. Can assess the value of weapons to be sold- whether they are worth the cost Expert: Basic can automatic. Can do basic weapon upgrades with the best equipment and assistance and get better value from normal purchases.Heroic: Beginner or Basic can be automatic, Expert with expanded range of 30 m Weapons can gain special qualities with supporting people and resources.

Sub department Wild Swinger(Berserker, Barbarian)Some combination of selling your anger to GM as you raising your anger or All strikes are 1 level more difficult. Need to gather anger to enter enraged state Basic: Need annoyance 1- Can strike twice one after another with a readied weapon within one step (1m) Uses 2 stamina Beginner: Need annoyance 2- Can strike four times with a readied weapon with at most two steps (2m) between hits. Uses 2,5 or 9 stamina depending on how strikes you do.

Intermediate: Need annoyance 3- Can strike seven times with a readied weapon with three steps (3m) between hits. Uses 2,5,9,14,20 or 27. Advanced: Need Anger 1- Can strike at up to 5 times with a readied weapon in a 2 seconds with whirl of the blade covering a 2 metre square. Uses 0,3,8,15 stamina. Superior: Need Anger 2- Can strike up to 9 times with a readied weapon in 2 seconds in 2 metre square. Uses 0,3,8,15,22,30,40,55 stamina.Expert; Need Anger 3- Can strike up to 16 times in 2 seconds swinging strike in 2 seconds in 3 metre square with 2 weapons- 0,3,8,15,22,30,40,55,70,85.90,105. Heroic: Legendary:Unworldly:

Augment Strategician(wizard)Muscle Training Type: NoneSpecialty Skill: Detect sources of magic in a 40 m. circle.

You need to train in the base common skill of your magic type to intermediate and then you can access the magic

Base Common Skills Fire engineer gives fire access.Blacksmith gives improve weapon access. Food Worker gives ice, salt, make food.Meteorologist gives give windAttack with medium/long sword gives- improved aimMedicine give fix broken limbs, head and heart.

Magic Missile (One of Fire, Ice, Salt, Poison, Wind)Raw damage/each hitLevel Number

of Missiles

Fire (burns paper, oil and natural foliage 1/second5/second if in full armor for each body area)

Ice Toxin (can’t double- up second hit falls off)

SaltEffect depends on the number doubled up

Acid (can’t double up- second hit falls off)

1 1 2 1Slows actions if it hits skin by 1 sec

1/second if it hits skin of a adventurer5/ second

5 for plant/ insects Heals (1) wounds of allies if focused

Degrades Armour at one point by 1 if none 1 SH damage4 levels to hit point

2 3 4 2 Slows by 2 sec

2/ second10/ second

101+ Irritates (2) an enemy’s eyes so

2 3 levels to hit point

can’t attack for 1s/ missile

3 6 8 5Slows by 3 sec

3/second15/second

152 +Irritates wounds (4) double wounding damage

32 levels to hit

4 10 12 8Slows by 4 and freezes armour so its 1 less effective

4/second20/second

20(5) can do damage for 5

4 1 level

5 15 16 115 sec2 less effective

5/second25/second

25(5) 10

5 and 5Dagger hits easily otherwise 1 level

6 21 20 14Slows by 63 less effective

7 28 248 36 289 45 32

Pool/surface (One of Fire, Ice, Salt, Toxin, Acid)

+3 levels to place fire/ice/acid under enemy

Level Fire Ice Toxin Salt Acid

1 Fire Patch4- foot armour

Sticky slick Sticks feet for 1 s can still fly

Toxic sheenCauses 1/item size/8s for that held item until cleaned

Salty breathEye watering so can’t target for 1 second

Acidic Ooze Degrades Feet Armor by 1.Remaining damages reduces body strength level temp level.

2 8 Sticks for 3 s

3 Coughing for 2 seconds- can’t prepare.

Degrades by 2

3 8 Sticks for 6s

6 Bad Coughing for 4 seconds, can’t prepare or target.

Degrades 3

4 16 Solid iceSticks for 10 s- Defense is impaired 1 level

10 Eye and mouth irritant

Degrades 4

5 32 Sticks for 15s Defence impaired 2 levels.

15 Degrades

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Ball attacks

EE D E

E D C D EE D C B C D E

E D C B A B C D EE D C B C D E

E D C D EE D E

ERectangles are 1 m squares

For Fire and Ice ballsLevel 1 affects all very tiny creatures at A.Level 2 affects all very tiny creatures at A&B (2.1) and tiny creatures at A (2.2)Level 3 affects all very tiny creatures at A&B&C (3.1) and tiny creatures at A&B and small creatures at A.Level 4:very tiny at A&B&C&D(4.1); tiny at A&B&C(4.2); small at A&B(4.3) ; medium at A(4.4) .Level:5:very tiny at A&B&C&D&E(5.1); tiny at A&B&C&D;small at A&B&C; medium at A&B; large at A.

Level Fire Ice Toxin/Salt1 Does 1 damage Slows all very

tiny creatures in a one metre square in motion- unable to sprint .Attack is

Obscuring MistOne

delayed one second.

2 2.1 Does 2 damage2.2 Does 1 damage

3 3.1 Does 3 damage3.2 Does 2 damage3.3 Does 1 damage

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Totalistic belief practitioner- TBP (cleric, priest) Muscle Training Type: None Totalistic practitioners get powers from a god because they learned the practices and tenets of their god and gave a commitment to try to follow those tenets. The tenets are limited in coverage- they tell that you should and should not do in certain types of circumstances but otherwise unless you are extremely good or evil all the other times then the gods and their senior practitioners don’t care. TP can follow multiple gods if they don’t overlap in coverage but each one needs separate basic training. Over time a practitioner needs to develop followers, either in practice or prayer or both for their god from their party and other people. This development of both practice and prayer is both because of who they are and that it increases their access to

power. TP get an initially easy access to power - they have proven their devotion to their god by learning and prayer but they still need to develop their own practice of religion and keeping praying. TP need to harmonize with allies or get them to join your religion to help them which might be a little as seriously consider your religion. TP start with a limited list of skills.

Belief Subclass Other adventurer classes can take on a clerical subclass by having a special relationship with a senior cleric as a true representative of the faith- they need to have been totally conscientiously in following the tenets of a neutral or good god.

Note that evil god TBP would normally be trained in another class and then train most likely secretly in tenets of the Evil god for three months for pre-payment- a full double class. The high TBP can do a lot of evil with money. Evil gods care little for your promises and prayers in training- you have to walk the walk. You’d have to borrow from a nobleman or loan shark if you want this full class during initial training.

Gods

All gods compete for adherents, good want to reform other types, each evil god want to kill/make suffer all others, Good and Evil gods are jealous of neutral gods for their greater overall influence of souls. There is a lot of conflict over their individual approach to souls/creatures.

Good GodsAll good gods value life- so can’t kill others unless the enemy has exhausted a second chance.Main good gods are human, elven, mother nature, honorable war, sneak/subterfuge (subdue the enemy boss give him a chance to

repent), death (St Peter), society, music, the building construction and preservation. If you fail to be good 90% of the time when it comes to upgrading skills then you can repent and while you don’t gain any more training, you do get a chance to be accepted again.

Examples good gods:Good War God Edicts: Always take a defensive position Never use subterfuge or hit them in the back. Always give enemies a chance to surrender (spirit creatures excluded) Beginner- +5 defence for one hit to yourself or others Give one ally the means to heal one 1 WH for each 1 LP used in one self-heal Neutral Gods They take a balanced view. You may need do bad things to achieve good or the opposite or sometimes do good and sometime evil or actions which are in-between good and evil. Generally flexible you only need a 25-75% balance of good and evil ways but if you are exceed those limits then they will cut you off totally so you are forbidden from following that god. Neutral gods offer about half the power that good gods offer and require you do twice as much belief and belief practice in others to upgrade. Every species has a neutral god- they are so pragmatic- plus ecology (everyone has to eat and kill but no extremes), war, stealth, mirror, judge/administrative, societal balance, nature, the judgment death(decides who goes who goes where after dying but not very competent), fun and free society, a nature god of combination of destruction and creation, mirror (most powerful of all- no one can stop him because their attacks bounce back on themselves but cares nothing for being in control- so empty without company), music, city remodeling and music.

Evil- Extremely against all life or in favor of death or destruction or a combination- gives 1% back to adherents.

War, sneak (kill anyone of value first), society (tyranny), earthquake, desert heat, ice cold, violent volcanic, violent storm, powerful waves and demolition, devil- the death god who want souls to go to hell and various species including a human god. Only the dumb or deceived, weak-willed or plain destructive follow evil gods- it makes little sense otherwise. Only the powerful and evil inclined become evil TBP( mostly only death and tyranny) or take an evil religious subclass.

Evil War GodEdicts: Go all out to kill enemies or anyone else- can ignore party members as useful tools.

Do not snipe or assassinate- a waste of killing time- can stab enemies in the back or side. The chief belief practitioner and his mercenaries use you as practice target for the belief power of their god. The chief forces you to conscious all the time so you gain 1 toughness and 10 WH. Powers Hurt an enemy 1WH for 2 WH and 2LP used- can be your WH or allies or anyone else you’ve harmonized with or got to join your religion. Induce anger in allies. Induce anger in enemies. 　Level Good

WarNeutral War

1

Discourage/fear/phobia

Annoy/anger/rage

Focus/Obsession/Taunted

Down/Sad/Depressed

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Expert Focused Fighter(monk)Need to train body strength to level 6, arm strength to level 7, arm dexterity to level 7, stamina to level 8 and body dexterity to level 7. Muscle Training Type: Special- You do two times the normal damage of one type of weapon- unless its hands and feet (natural weapons) then it generally does four times of damage as stealth damage - no one expects a fighter to do so much physical harm and they are your natural weapons which are trained to be as hard as metal. You fight with “both eyes open” seeing all the efficiency and effectiveness that can be done and flexibility of attack that your body can do.Special benefits: perfect stillness- when not moving you can have major benefits to stealth (+3 levels difficulty), Basic will is set to level 1. Special Ability

Level 1: Complete memorization- any scene whether you choose to remember or later realize you needed the information can be studied in complete sensory detailLevel 2:Level 1 and

Sage(bard)Worker of knowledge and music to aide a group or one memberMuscle Training Type:NoneSpecial ability- detect sound sources and written and pictures no matter how faint or covered over- possibly signs of traps. Two type- noisy and soundlessNoisy You play an instrument or sing. It is fast- takes 2 seconds but gives away your location to enemies. You can use the sound to somewhat easily negatively affect enemies with some prior knowledge of their culture and particular members. You can only either affect allies or enemies at one time.

SoundlessYou paint, draw, make sculptures etc. It is slow-takes a full 8 seconds to have an effect and limited to only those allies close to you but if enemies are not already aware of you then they stay unaware. With difficulty you can similarly affect enemies- naturally the difficulty is that they need to see the item that you make. You can prepare many items for quick use- possibly to inspire allies/ negatively affect many enemies at the same time and in different ways.

Both types can either aide many allies or with focused effort You are capable of imparting any emotional state that TPC can do- its role-played so .

BATTLE MECHANICS STEPS

(DM) Calculate your players` and non-players(NPC)` initiative values and show them their order.

Characters can choose to be more attentive but it will cost stamina. They can also choose to have a weapon ready but that has risks- it might not be right weapon for the situation, it will be harder to convince others that you are not a violent possibly evil person and you can’t run without it costing even more stamina let alone that the weapon hand can’t be used for anything else.

Each player and enemy then gets a go at the number of seconds equal to their initiative value- given the same number then attackers go first or between players they can choose who is first. Then proceed to next second of initiative- ideally players have discussed general enemy and some specific enemy strategy before entering battle so a 1 second go only take 3 seconds real time. On each go the player and NPC writes down an action.

A go can be one of three options (2.1) Preparation to act or internal health/stamina generation or wait- this is not immediately shown to NPC or players. Preparation stage is for the magic or other attack being prepared to be used. For magic, you write down how you want to use it and show it when it is used. It can also be a specific perception check for objects outside of normal line of vision range prior to doing the preparation stage. You can choose not to do the magic or act chosen by preparation stage but you need a preparation stage (2.2) Move or act. The move can be setting a charge or sprint or running or walking. The act can be readying a melee weapon (you can keep a weapon out but doing so has its disadvantages) or readying a ranged weapon (crossbows can be pre-readied but do take 2 goes to ready again) (without dexterity strength it takes 1 more) or targeting using a ranged weapon (unavoidable). This is role played by the player and GM or they each write the action down and show it only to those you who can see the action. You can rush through some readiness stages for extra difficulty.

(2.3) Assuming preparation stage (plus readiness) has been completed (unless it’s a very rushed action) the NPC or player can then attack or defend. This is role played by player and GM. The GM for each NPC and each player writes a number of link points for the attack or defense or both and shows it simultaneously whereby it is resolved. You have to succeed, critically succeed, fail and critically fail with each skill level to confirm your ability- you learn from success and learn from failure. Once you confirm a skill, it becomes 3 levels easier and all higher abilities based on that skill become 3 levels easier.

Weight doesn’t matter for carrying items close to your body- armour and swords in a hilt or shields mounted on the body whilst standing. Weight makes moving other than standing more difficult such as standing up.

One attack is tripping- opponent needs to be next to you at some point and travelling fast. Your dex+LP-dex-LP. On critical failure, the attacker can either crush your foot or trip you back automatically or just jump 1 square further.

If you trip you need to do a dexterity check. Target Levels=15- (2*number of items held)- BodyDex.You can choose to drop the item on falling but picking them up afterwards is next to impossible if you have significant armour.

Falling does 1 HP/ 10kg / m counting small creature as 40kg, medium 80 kg, large 120 kg and add up item held- 1/2 for small, 1 for medium, 2 for large, 3 extra large. So a tower shield plus a great sword is 6 HP damage extra and then you are stunned for 1 second and placed one square behind and beside the tripper. Then it is a strength check to stand up.

Opponents will jump on a lying down creature- only sensible attack with kicking the other option unless you are half its size when you can

do normal attacks. If conscious/nonstunned you get choose to accept hits and try to get up or protect your body with arms and legs. And then you are unconscious or consciously decide to go fetal position- takes 3 sec to stand up versus 1 normally then you instinctively protect your body so it 1/2 HP damage/10 kg. Lose 5HP for breaking one limb. State Arm Leg Head Wing/Fin Usually

one Startle Lose arm

preparationStep in a direction other than intended if moving or delay moving 1 second

Lose mental preparation

Move in a direction other than intended gradually for 1 sec

Stun 1 Startle+ can’t prepare the attack again with arms at the first chance

Startle + brought to a shuddering stop or can’t prepare to run or sprint at the first chance

Startle+ can’t prepare an attack at the first opportunity

Move fast in a direction other than intended for 1 sec but can land/surface as normal.

Stun 2 Stun 1+ next attack is 1 level more difficult

Stun 1+ can walk at first chance

Stun 1+ lose 1 more sec of initiative

Move down fast 1 second- rough landing/ surfacing unable to prepare do anything for 1 sec

Stun 3 Stun 2 + next attack is 1 level more difficult

Stun 2+ unable to move for 2 seconds

Stun 2+ lose 2 more sec of initiative

Stun 2- harsh landing- suffer 1/8 crash damage or can’t maneuver on

surface for 1 second

Cripple 1

Stun 3+ attacks are more difficult by 1 level for whole battle

Stun 3+ body strength reduced one level for battle+ unable move for 2 more seconds

Knockout- increased vulnerability 2 levels easier to hit for 2 seconds

Cripple Stun 3+ can’t fly/ swim for 8 seconds- suffer 1/4 crash damage if approp. or suffer 1/8 damage and reduce limb direct damage by 1/4 or increase weapon use level by 1

Cripple 2

Cripple 1+ 1 more level difficult temp + 1 level permanent more difficult (stacking)

Cripple 1+ permanent body reduced 1 level+ unable to move for 2 more seconds.

Knockdown and out for 2 seconds-

Suffer half damage or 1/4 damage and 1/2 limb damage or increase equipment use level by 2. knockout for 2 seconds.

Cripple 3

Cripple 2 + 1 level more difficult permanent + 1 arm strength reduced level.

Knockdown and down and out for 8 seconds.

Suffer 3/4 damage or 1/2 with 3/4 limb damage/3 levels harder.

Broken Cut off- can use no equipment on that arm- spells are permanently 1 level more

Totally broken body strength is reduced by a 1/3

Kill Suffer full damage or 3/4 with 7/8 limb damage/4 level harder.

difficult

GM Guide

Level bonuses and penaltiesSelect any bonuses and penalties that you like but always make it logical- increase effects- as suggested below. Initiative+1 for general situations that a character is familiar with- e.g. a forest elf is good in forests, +2 for a specific area that the character knows well-1 for areas that a character is a good deal out their depth- forest elf in the big city for the first few times-2 for areas that are very confusing with hidden directions such a medieval defensive city where the character does not have experience. +1 for enemies that the character is familiar with +2 for enemies that the character knows well-1 for enemies that the character has never experienced before-2 for bizarre creatures that arrive from unusual directions such as through ground or straight down. +2 for surprising enemies but they get to a rushed response when you make contact.

CommunicationRole-playing bonuses and penalties

Physical appearance.+1 For slightly ugly as others sympathize with you and don’t look at you closely so your words count more. -2 Very ugly except similar character with groups of warrior where you get a big bonus as they assume you were war-torn (+5). Each

class gets a bonus with similar class or background (+2) but penalty for totally different class (-2).

.Items have advantages and disadvantages.ArmourDon’t need training to use but do need training the use with reduced disadvantages.Very light armour Light Armour Basic support training: None

Medium Armour

Support trainingAble to put in 10 minutes.Basic: Able to put on within 8 secondsBeginner: No disadvantage to using close range weapons or shields.

Heavy ArmourNeed a trained support individual- takes 30 minutes Support trainingBasic: Able to put with help of any individual in 30 minutesBeginner: Able to put if arm and leg strength is 8 in 10 minutes. Intermediate: No disadvantage to using swords, shields or close range weapons. Advanced: Able to repair with some suitable tools. Lose one less stamina for each sustained use.Expert:

Skills,Medium/Long Sword

DM GUIDE

CREATURES (TYPES)

VERY LARGE1000+ DP Need a heroic combination of attacks to cause the animal to become vulnerable. These animals are not used to fighting such tiny enemies and generally ignore them- these creatures have other enemies that are either 2 sizes larger or smaller or are specialized parasites.

SEMI-PHYSICAL and ETHEREALThese are soul bound creatures. Ghosts are ethereal. Undead, golems and elementals are generally semi-physical though there are physical equivalents that work like regular creatures. The adventures need to drive their soul away from their physical (or earth-bound) form. The common way to defeat them is using communication to overcome their will and reduce their stamina to 0. You reduce the stamina by 1 point reduction for a standard victory and 3 points for critical victory. For ethereal beings, this and special weapons that attack ethereal being’s stamina are only ways they can get hurt. Generally ethereal beings can’t directly deal damage either though they can hurt your stamina by using their weapons or causing fear that can be resisted which hurts your stamina or acted on.

You can fight their bodies- this aids this stamina reduction by indirectly changing their will. Zombies come in two forms: soul-bound and non-soul-bound. The soul bound move faster and attack faster and act autonomous from the totalistic practitioner however when

formed they have a chance of going crazy and destroying themselves and also when broken. Reduce a zombie to 0 WH or O SH and it is cut in half and its will is reduced to a quarter, cut off a limb and the zombie’s will is reduced by 1. Both situations naturally reduce the zombie’s ability to attack. Other undead are similar to zombies but can only be non-soul-bound.

DOING STUFF FOR PEOPLE/ FIXING PROBLEMS (QUESTS) and TRADING

I think the characters would get nothing tangible but rather improved reputation that they use to get better purchasing ability. Buying items using money (if you can even simple buy the items) gets the worst value. Second best is bartering one item for another with money to make up the difference in value. Best is bartering in items for sage notes (prior notice required for upgrading). Reputation drives how good all these trades are and the characters can’t clearly tell how good a trade they could have got without training in item assessment and reputation skills. Traders in general can’t be manipulated as they were trained by Gozenth in high level belief magic defense.

You simultaneous suffer one type or both types- which is reduced by special damage continually such as from burning, acid, poison and/or bleeding- slashing without armor does 1 SH /second/ 5 WH dealt. With at least light armor it becomes 1 SH /second/10 WH dealt unless it is alight or solid frozen whereby it jumps to 1 SH /second/1 WH dealt.

Raw fighter attacks deals stealth damage with his hands and feet during war to all but creatures with special defenses. When an enemy is stunned, knocked out, sleeping any