Elliot's Web Based RPG System

[SilvaShado]

About weapons -

What is a star?

You mentioned different kinds of crossbows, are there short and long bows? Is there any difference in damage or just how many attacks?

Are there differences in sword? A rapier is much faster, but does less damage than a bastard sword.

[Gray Lensman]

I think El might be referring to a morningstar, Sarah. Unless, of course, I'm wrong.

[SilvaShado]

greylensman said:

I think El might be referring to a morningstar, Sarah. Unless, of course, I'm wrong.

Oh, like maces and the like. I see.

[SilvaShado]

Here's the basics of a character. She has no spells or equipment. I went ahead with the skill tumble for her, but can delete that if its not accepted.

Character Name: Loriana Lightfoot
Player Name: Sarah (Silva)

Description – she is small for a human, 5 feet tall. She has dark brown hair and bright green eyes. She is very lithe and smart. Magic runs strong in her family, and she is no different. As a kid, climbing a tree was as natural as lighting a candle with her mind. But developing her mind and speed came at the cost of her strength of body. She may be able to climb a tree quickly, but she would get seriously hurt if she fell. She avoids close combat, knowing she would not be able to take much damage. The bow has become her favored weapon, with a dagger as her back-up.

HP: 40
AR: 11 (agility+parry)
Mana: 80
Speed: 80
Lift: 40

Strength: 4
Agility: 8 (+1 attack)
Intellect: 8
Endurance: 4

Skills:
Read/Write: 3
SpellCraft: 3
Swimming: 3
Stealth: 3
Parry: 3
Use Missile Weapons: 3
Use Dagger: 3
Tumble: 3

[SilvaShado]

Looking at her basic use of weapons and the base damage of those weapons, I do hope that there will be some variety in choice of weapons. There's a lot of difference between a sling and a longbow. Same goes for daggers. People may not think there is much difference in daggers, but there's a lot of difference between a serated dagger and a long thin dagger.

I know we want a simple system, but there is something to be said about uniqueness.

[Elliot Kane]

BEFORE you start creating characters, people, hadn't you better wait for me to create a standardised character sheet?

And also - what I have in mind might not suit ANY character you can conceive of without knowing how you are starting off.

That said, the practice of creating characters will beu useful from the POV of showing how easy it is to do - or otherwise...

***

silvashado said:

I've started creating a character as well, and have a few qeustions.

What limitations are there when it comes to using missile weapons. Can they be used in close combat? Can you still use your parry modifier if attack? Can you use a shield with missile weapons?

You could call 'Parry' evade, dodge, or anything similar. It's basically a skill that allows you to up your AR, and no, players can't have more than one of those skills.

Firing missiles into melee - a lot will depend on what your friends are doing. If they are TOO tricky, you might end up hurting them instead...

Also does a character start off with some spells if they have chosen spellcraft? If so how many? 1 spell per rank in spellcraft or points in intellect?

Depends on what the player wants. In a starting game, my only restriction would be that all spells are Level 1 - unless we were planning to start with higher powered characters right from the off, which does not seem like a good idea.

Thinking about some new skills -

Tumble - being able to roll out of the way to avoid being hit, or tumble around an oppnent to get a better angle. Use when falling to reduce damage.

The 'better angle' version I like. I'll certainly allow that

Survival - knowing how to survive in the wilderness. Knowing which way is north, how to find food, safe places to sleep, finding firewood, etc.

Yep, good one. That's fine

what about Listen or Hide skills?

Hide is included in Stealth. Listen is fine

Also, what does higher ranks in read/write mean? You know more languages or you're better at it?

Better at it. Level 1 gives you the basic ability, but there are things you might need it for that will allow you to do other things - which is all I will say for now

[Elliot Kane]

Character looks fine, Silva You should actually be able to use her for what I have in mind, scarily. Assuming you don't want to change Tumble, or don't mind the revision, that is

Stars are Morning Stars & Flails. The picture in the DMG is absolutely wrong as to what a morning star is. It's a single headed flail, created for use by knights as it deals very heavy crushing damage. The idea is that you spin it round until the head is little more than a blur, then unleash it on some poor person who is in the way... It's a truly terrible weapon.

In terms of weapons - those are general categories, not absolute fixed values. Not all weapons of a single type will have the same damage or hit rate. I'll let you know what each weapon does as you find it. The given values are averages.

For example, a short sword is going to be faster thn a two handed sword, but will do a lot less damage. And yes, you do NOT want to be hit by a Greatsword, however slow it is

[Gray Lensman]

Testing the system was what I had in mind. I tried to go for a character that was simple enough to fit in a standard game world. If she doesn't work out, well, I can either alter her or use her in a story somewhere. It's all good.

[Elliot Kane]

Post her then, Steve. Let's see what you came up with

[Elliot Kane]

...Actually, I really like Silva's layout. I think I'll adopt that, if no-one else's version is better

[Elliot Kane]

A few more spell notes.

Heat Blast obviously has a number of similar spells to it, which deal other types of damage, such as Cold Blast, Lightning Blast, Rock Blast, etc.

Area effect stuff will usually be 10 feet radius, and begin at Level 3, due to the chance of doing serious damage to a large number of creatures.

Resurrect is Level 5 only. It should be quite hard for a character to die in this system unless the player is incredibly careless, so I see little need to allow for easy resurrecting.

There will also be some spells that damage specific creature types, but these might carry drawbacks. Example:

Holy Fire - lvl 1 - costs 5 mana, does 5 dam to Undead or Demons
Holy Fire - lvl 2 - costs 5 mana, does 10 dam to Undead or Demons
Holy Fire - lvl 3 - costs 5 mana, does 15 dam to Undead or Demons
Holy Fire - lvl 4 - costs 5 mana, does 20 dam to Undead or Demons
Holy Fire - lvl 5 - costs 5 mana, does 25 dam to Undead or Demons

Note: Holy Fire can only be used by a spell caster who is basically a good person, as it is after all holy. Any evil creature trying to use it will only damage themselves. (Note also that 'good' and 'evil' will depend on role playing, not an alignment system as such. If your character is always and only out for themselves though, don't try casting this one...)


Other spells may have a general use, such as:

Light - lvl 1 - lights up an area 5' radius around the caster with a radiance which is equivalent to strong moonlight. Costs 5 mana.
Light - lvl 2 - lights up an area 10' radius around the caster with a radiance which is equivalent to strong moonlight.Costs 5 mana.
Light - lvl 3 - lights up an area 15' radius around the caster with a radiance which is equivalent to strong moonlight.Costs 5 mana.
Light - lvl 4 - lights up an area 20' radius around the caster with a radiance which is equivalent to strong moonlight.Costs 5 mana.
Light - lvl 5 - lights up an area 25' radius around the caster with a radiance which is equivalent to strong moonlight.Costs 5 mana.

[Elliot Kane]

Regaining Mana & Health

Nearly forgot this one. Careless of me...

A good night's sleep will recover all lost Mana points. There may also be potions or other items that allow recovery of some or all Mana.

Recovering Health is a lot harder. You get 2 Health back at the end of every 24 hr period, which represents the natural healing rate - ie horribly slow. Value your spell casters

[Gray Lensman]

Okay, finally done.

Some notes...

Firstly, I have kept my description of Callie very general right now. I have a lot more I could include, but I'll leave that out in case I need to change my plans. So this is the much simplified version of a character I made up a couple of hours ago.

Secondly, I have not included spells, though I've left room on the sheet for it. That depends on what initial spells the GM may decide on.

*

Callie Moraine

Description: Callie Moraine is a raven-haired young woman with penetrating blue eyes and the figure of a dancer. Callie is the youngest daughter of a large and fairly successful family. (Possibly her father was a Knight or some equivalent.) While her family was well off enough to provide her with a decent education, they are not that rich. This education paid for some schooling in magic, and in the arts of self-defense, but not long afterward, the well started running dry. Seeking to gain independence and a higher social status for herself, Callie has taken the path of the adventurer. Callie is fairly bright, and somewhat stronger than most girls her age, but her speed and endurance are about average. She prefers to wield two short swords if she needs to be in close combat, but favors the light crossbow for ranged battles. Obviously, Callie prefers to fight from a distance far enough to not be stabbed or worse.

Stats:

STR: 7
AGL: 5
INT: 7
END: 5

HP: 50
Mana: 70
Speed: 50
Lift: 70
AR: 7

Skills:

Read/Write: 3
Spellcraft: 5
Use Swords: 5
Use Missile Weapons: 3
Swimming: 2
Survival: 2
Tumble: 1
Parry: 2
Stealth: 1

Weapons:

Sword:
Attacks: 3
Damage: 21

Light Crossbow:
Attacks: 2
Damage: 17

Spells:

[To Be Determined]

[Elliot Kane]

Looks cool, Steve

As specific weapon types have now been mentioned, I guess I'd better deal with those:

Short Sword: Atts 3 Dam 3. It qualifies as a sword, but it's basically a big dagger.
Light X-bow: Atts 1 Dam 4. Gains NO Str bonus to Dam.

Trust you to figure out short swords already ;D

You might want to make changes accordingly, but otherwise fine for what I have in mind

[Gray Lensman]

Cool. Will do.

[SilvaShado]

So let me make sure that I understand tumble - it's only good for getting around an opponent to get a better angle of attack, which may reduce the oppenent's armor?

Will thought of a few skills, they are combat oriented:

Overpower - each rank adds to your strength attempts when trying to overpower your opponent, such as knocking him down or picking up and throwing them. Also used to stagger the opponent - your blow is so strong that they are stunned for a while.

Focus - you are good at aiming your attacks at the weak points in armor. Each rank reduces the enemy's armor bonus, but you cannot reduce it more than what the armor gives.

You've mentioned crossbows, both light and heavy. But what about short or long bows. I've always prefered them because you could get more attacks per round with them. Do they do less damage?

Also, what is the range on missile weapons and spells?

I pretty much agree that a spellcaster should start out with lvl 1 spells. It just depends on whether you want the number of spells to be equal to the spellcraft rank or Intellect. I lean more towards Intellect because of previous role-playing experiences. But maybe rather than 1 spell per point, have it 1 spell per 2 points in Intellect. So with my character having 8, she would get 4 lvl 1 spells.

[SilvaShado]

Oh, and glad you liked my character sheet layout - I didn't give it much thought, but then I have created a lot of home-made character sheets over the years so organising it probably came naturally.

I don't think I'll change my character any, even if tumble is limited. I'd just need to know how to determine spells and decide which ones to know. Also need to know what equipment we start with and/or money and what we can buy. But that later part is for when you tells us about the campaign.

[Elliot Kane]

silvashado said:

So let me make sure that I understand tumble - it's only good for getting around an opponent to get a better angle of attack, which may reduce the oppenent's armor?

Right.

Will thought of a few skills, they are combat oriented:

Overpower - each rank adds to your strength attempts when trying to overpower your opponent, such as knocking him down or picking up and throwing them. Also used to stagger the opponent - your blow is so strong that they are stunned for a while.

Focus - you are good at aiming your attacks at the weak points in armor. Each rank reduces the enemy's armor bonus, but you cannot reduce it more than what the armor gives.

Nope, and nope. Both replace player ingenuity with set skills.

You've mentioned crossbows, both light and heavy. But what about short or long bows. I've always prefered them because you could get more attacks per round with them. Do they do less damage?

A bow will do more damage than a crossbow because it's a better weapon, basically. I may have to rethink crossbows as they are fairly useless currently, where they should be the missile weapon of choice for people with a low Str score.

I'll specifically stat long bows and short bows when I must

Also, what is the range on missile weapons and spells?

You WOULD have to ask! Seriously, it's pretty much line of sight for now. I'll add ranges if I have to later on.

I pretty much agree that a spellcaster should start out with lvl 1 spells. It just depends on whether you want the number of spells to be equal to the spellcraft rank or Intellect. I lean more towards Intellect because of previous role-playing experiences. But maybe rather than 1 spell per point, have it 1 spell per 2 points in Intellect. So with my character having 8, she would get 4 lvl 1 spells.

I'm not fussed, honestly. 1 spell per 2 points of Intellect seems cool, though

It will be VERY hard for a spell caster to unbalance the game in this system, howeer many spells they may know

[Konrad Flameheart]

EK, a question.

I may have missed the note it is after all a silly late time of day here. But i as yet have noticed no rules with regard to actually hitting an opponent in conbat, is there to be no chance of missing? are you only planing on manipulating the amount of damage one takes?

[Elliot Kane]

snigit said:

EK, a question.

I may have missed the note it is after all a silly late time of day here. But i as yet have noticed no rules with regard to actually hitting an opponent in conbat, is there to be no chance of missing? are you only planing on manipulating the amount of damage one takes?

You got it in one A combat round basically means a lot of prodding and poking that fails, and a few chances to do actual damage. The damage bit happens automatically.