How To Play
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"The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible." - Albert Einstein "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please." - Samuel Clemmens "To make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe..." - Carl Sagan |
Playing A Role
Of course, not everyone has played a roleplaying game before, just like there are people who have never played cribbage. One of the more significant differences with roleplaying games is the extensiveness of the rules, and consequently, the size of the books. Don't be intimidated by the size of the rulebook or its contents. The most important thing to remember is that people play games to have fun and to be entertained, and roleplaying games are no different.
The elements of character and role-immersion in roleplaying games makes them a lot like improvisational theater or collaborative story-telling. Because roleplaying games use abstract rules to interpret the outcome of various events, they also allow for a significant variety of settings and events which are at least difficult if not impossible to handle with pure character acting and improvisation. The rules of a roleplaying game allow us to simulate fights (without to many "no I shot you" arguments), magic and psychic powers, super technology, et al. The Narrator also helps to make the games more fun by providing a cohesive plot, and allowing the heroes to have enemies and to work together to defeat them without the needing the other players to adopt their roles.
On the Stage
The most principal element of roleplaying games, the part that makes them different than any other kind of board, computer or tactical game is the element of role immersion. In this respect, roleplaying games are much like improvisational thater. Each player thinks of a character they would like to be, and then takes the part of that character within the story being told. The Narrator must do most of the work, since he or she is responsible for determining the setting, and the plot of any given story, as well as developing and playing all of the villains, extras and supporting characters.
Once the Narrator is ready, and all the players have designed their heroes, you all sit down and actually begin to play. The majority of the game is quite simple. The Narrator describes the setting where the heroes are, and what is going on around them. Eventually, one of the players will begin to speak in-character or describe to the Narrator what their hero is doing. Either this will happen by the player's own initiative, or the Narrator will thrust the hero(es) into the action of the story. The Narrator then responds as the extras and villains, arbitrates the rules, and continues to describe the scene in terms that the heroes (and the players) can relate to. As long as the players are enjoying themselves, the Narrator can simply continue to describe the scene. When he or she notices everyone starting to get distracted, the Narrator should thrust the players back into the thick of things.
EXAMPLE: Mike is narrating, a story for Joe, Sue and Don. The story they are involved in is one of high-tech weaponry, suspense and human drama. The heroes return to the appartment they've been using to discover it's been ransacked. Every piece of furniature (including the bed mattress) has been overturned. Personal effects and general brickabrack are scattered about the floor.JOE (speaking in character): "You vacuum, I'll dust".
SUE (also speaking in character): "Wait. You two stay here." (to the Narrator) I pull my gun and carefully search the place to make sure we're alone.
NARRATOR: You don't find anyone else in the appartment. Whoever was searching the place is gone now.
SUE (again speaking in character): "Ok, it's clean."
DON (to the Narrator): Are any of the rooms still clean?
NARRATOR: No, they're all trashed.
DON (speaking in character now): "They didn't find what they were looking for."
JOE: "You guys check these rooms, I got the fridge..."
DON: "What are you looking in the fridge for? Did you leave the cat in there or something?"
JOE: "I wanted to see if they got the ice-cube trays. I need a drink..."
After a few minutes of searching the apartment and trying to figure out what the bad-guys were looking for, the Narrator notices the players starting to look bored.
NARRATOR: Crash! Thud... The room starts filling with smoke.
Behind the Scenes
Due to the inherent audience participation nature of roleplaying games, there are some common themes in literature and film that simply don't often work well, since your friends who are playing with you want to be a part of the story as well as being entertained. These themes include having heroes off-stage for long periods of time, injured, in a comma, unconscious, imprisoned or otherwise unable to actively participate in the story. In cases like these, occasionally concessions in the plot and story must be made for the sake of the enjoyment of the players, because ultimately we play to enjoy ourselves.
It is also important to remember, that while your character's personality is an important part of the story and the enjoyment of the game, allowing the character's personality to make the game unenjoyable for other players is a bad idea. Often, players should concede on elements of their personality for the sake of the game as a whole. More often than not, this issue presents itself in the fashion of personality conflicts between the heroes (though the Narrator may make similar concessions for the villains). The best way to ensure that everyone enjoys the game is to develop the hero's personality backwards. Rather than develop their personality in whole and then use it to determine your responses to others actions, give yourself only an outline of your hero's personality, and then fill-in-the-blanks with reponses which are appropriate, and which don't cause too much bloodshed between the heroes.
EXAMPLE: Joe is playing a hero who is an irreverent wise-cracker. Sue's hero is a very serious individual who is not above killing. When Joe's character cracks wise, rather than Sue's hero pulling her gun on Joe's hero, she responds by simply ignoring him in most cases. In emergent situations, she sometimes replies with a curt suggestion to keep quiet.While playing a particular scene, Sue's hero is convinced that Joe's wisecracking is going to give them away to the villains, who would like nothing better than to put a bullet in both of them. Sue thinks fast and decides instead of trying to knock Joe's hero unconscious (an action sure to engender hostility between the players), she'll just cover his mouth. Joe thinks about this, and while his first instincts tell him that his hero would become hostile at someone touching him in this fashion, he thinks twice for the sake of the story. Joe decides to roleplay indignity instead of outright hostility, and allow the story to continue instead of falling appart completely from a difference of opinion.
You've probably noticed by now that we haven't made any mention of the actual rules of the game yet, merely describing the social aspects of roleplaying. This is a significant amount of the game, and what sets it apart from other games. The mechanical rules of the game are only used when the Narrator and other players want an element of random chance, to create suspense, or when they want to simulate a turn of events which they feel is not easilly described through roleplay. Most roleplaying games are written so that the rules may only be applied when one of the heroes attempts something for which they have a reasonable chance of failure, treating all other routine activities with roleplay.
Optional and House Rules
Even when playing board-games, people often use house rules. Monopoly is a good example. Do you leave money on the Free Parking space for a player to pick up when they land on it? In roleplaying games perhaps more than any other kind of game, this happens a lot. In fact, in many early roleplaying games, the authors went so far as to put a kind of disclaimer at the beginning of the book which stated that all of the game's rules were optional and that the Narrator could add to, ignore or otherwise modify them at will. As time passed, many people started writing, developing and marketing roleplaying games only to people familiar with the hobby, and so many of the more recent games on the market no longer feel the need for these kinds of editorials for the benefit of the uninitiated.
We've attempted to create a roleplaying system which is very flexible and dynamic, allowing the players to create whatever kind of stories they want. To this end, many rules in this book have been marked as optional. Don't think that just because a rule is not labelled as optional that it is set in stone, it's your game and ultimately you play to have fun and to be entertained, so if you don't like the rules, change them.
This book labels optional rules for a couple of reasons. The first reason is to give you an idea of the relative complexity of the rule, and so it might be easier for you to tell your friends when you'd like to Narrate a story "I want to use most of the second level rules", to give them an idea the kind of story you want to create. Also, labelling a rule as optional helps you know when a rule is (more or less) independant of other rules, and it can be eliminated without requiring the rewriting of a lot of other rules.
Optional rules in this book have been marked with brackets "{}". These brackets contain a number between one and three which indicates the relative complexity of the rule. A "T" within these brackets indicates that a table is provided for this rule. Any optional rules which may lead to story problems during play are marked with an exclamation point {!}.
{1} A simple option; little or no math is required.
{2} A moderately complex rule; some math required.
{3} A very complex rule; a calculator may be useful.
EXAMPLE: An optional rule labelled {1!} will be very simple, although it may make the story more difficult to Narrate. An optional rule labelled {2T} will be moderately complex and include a table to aid in its application.
Skill Rolls
Skill rolls are made to determine the effects of skills, gifts, and flaws when they are used. When a skill roll is made, a difficulty rating for the action is determined by the Narrator. The player then rolls one ten sided die (1d10) per level of the hero's skill being used. The total of the skill roll is equal to the highest number rolled on a single die, minus the lowest number rolled on a single die. This gives a result between zero and nine, with nine being the least common and the most common being one. If this result is greater than the difficulty for the given action, the hero succeeds. The result of the roll, minus the difficulty is referred to as the hero's net success. The higher the net success, the more successful the hero is.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is listening in on a conversation between two evil aliens. Since Captain Acme is an all-American, and his native language is English, Joe Gamer must make a language skill roll for Acme to properly translate their schemes. Acme, who has been in space, has built a pocket translator for just such an occasion. The translator provides him with four levels of language skill, so Joe rolls four dice (4d10), against a difficulty of five (5; The Narrator has determined that alien languages are particularly difficult to translate). The dice land on three, five, six and nine, respectively, (3,5,6,9). The result of the skill roll is six (9-3=6). Acme get's a general idea of what they are saying with a net success of one (6-5=1), but can't determine any specifics.
If a hero has only one level of a given skill, use of the skill may be attempted by the player rolling three dice and using the difference of the lowest two dice as the result. The result still ranges between zero and nine, with average results being lower.
Action Modifiers
There are three types of action modifiers including skill level modifiers, difficulty modifiers and success modifiers. Each type of modifier has its own merit and is appropriate for a particular action.
Skill level modifiers will temporarily increase or decrease a hero's effective skill level. No skill may ever be reduced below level one in this manner. When a hero attempts an action which receives a skill level modifier, both the player and hero are well aware of the modifier, and a player may change their mind about their hero attempting an action after hearing “you receive a two level penalty for...” The same level modifier may be mild if the action's difficulty is low (two to four), or extreme if the action's difficulty is high (five or more).
Difficulty modifiers temporarily increase or decrease the difficulty of a given skill roll. No difficulty may be increased above eight, or decreased below two. Like skill level modifiers, when the difficulty of a skill roll is modified, both the player and hero are aware of the modifier. At low levels, difficulty modifiers are very drastic. As an individual's skill levels increase, these modifiers become gradually less effective.
Success modifiers are the most drastic type of skill roll modifiers. While there is no maximum to the number of success penalties an action may have, success bonuses may not exceed already applied penalties. Success bonuses are only used to cancel out success penalties, if they exist, such as when resisting a gift, etc. Success penalties are subtracted from the hero's net success. Like difficulty modifiers, a little goes a long way. One or two points off of a character's net success is often enough to cause failure at low skill levels. As a individual's skill increases, such modifiers are gradually less effective.
Unlike level and difficulty modifiers, only the Narrator need know about any success modifiers. In this way, the player and the hero are both left in the dark about the hero's success since they do not know the net success of the action.
EXAMPLE: When Captain Acme attempts to search a room for electronic surveillance devices (bugs) placed by the evil lawyers, Joe Gamer makes a surveillance skill roll. Afterward, one of four things may be true:
- Captain Acme found all the bugs.
- Captain Acme found some of the bugs.
- Captain Acme found none of the bugs.
- There were no bugs for Captain Acme to find.
Captain Acme (and Joe Gamer) will know only that Captain Acme "found some bugs" if he found some or all of them, or "found no bugs" if he found none or there were none to be found. They won't know that there are bugs remaining if they only found some or if they found none. Conversely, Acme may find none, and Joe might think that they were too well hidden for Acme to find, when there actually aren't any.
Relational Modifiers {1T}
Relational Modifiers | |
---|---|
Relationship | Success Modifier |
Intimate | +3 |
Close | +2 |
Familiar | +1 |
Similar | None |
Unfamiliar | -1 |
Foreign | -2 |
Alien | -3 |
"Government and cooperation are in all things the laws of life; anarchy and competition the laws of death."
- John Ruskin
Cooperative skills are skills which allow more than one individual to collaborate, increasing effectiveness and speeding progress. With some exceptions for particularly large projects, no more than one individual per point of the difficulty may collaborate on a single project, as there is a finite amount of work to be done, and space to work within.
When heroes collaborate with a cooperative skill, a skill roll should be made for each individual involved. The sum of all dice rolled for all individuals involved is treated as a single skill roll. Thus a group of individuals can perform a given task faster than a single individual without sacrificing quality, or they may spend the normal amount of time for better quality work. p. 39: Trick of the Trade
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme and several of his friends are attempting to repair a crash-landed spacecraft. None of them fully understand the machinery, however, there are three of them to help, and plenty of room to move around and repair obvious damage. Due to skill level penalties for working on alien technology, each of them is only able to use two dice of skill. Joe Gamer rolls two dice (2d10) for Captain Acme, resulting in a two and a four (2, 4). This pitiful die roll wouldn't normally succeed with a total result of two (4-2=2). Since Acme's friends are helping, however, the remaining two players each roll two dice (2d10), a total of four dice (4d10) resulting in a three, a five, a seven, and an eight (3, 5, 7, 8). The total skill roll of six is now much improved (8-2=6). It may not be enough to repair the ship completely, but it will likely show improvement.
Victories, Fumbles and Overkill {1}
"It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail."
- Gore Vidal
Victory dice are an option the Narrator may include to provide for “lucky” events related to skill rolls, but not necessarily linked to success. Any die which lands on a zero (0) is a victory die, and some “lucky” event related to the skill used should occur. These lucky events should occur even if the skill roll fails.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is fighting a couple of thugs. During the fight, Joe Gamer makes a skill roll for Acme to use martial arts to throw one of them across the room. The result of the martial arts skill roll is less than the difficulty of the action, so Acme failed in his attempt. Since Joe rolled two zeros, the Narrator determines that the thug is dropped to the floor and the remaining two thugs are startled enough by the outcome that they suffer a penalty to their initiative during the next round of the fight.
Fumbles are an option similar to victory dice, allowing for “unlucky” events connected to a skill roll but not necessarily linked to its failure. Any die roll which lands on a one (1) is a fumble, and causes an “unlucky” event which relates to the skill used. This unlucky event should occur even if the skill roll succeeds.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is jumping behind cover while a thug sprays the room with automatic gunfire. The Narrator rolls the dice for the thug's weapon skill and determines that the attack is successful, and Captain Acme is injured. Unfortunately (for the thug) the Narrator rolled two one's, and the weapon jams, rendering it useless until it can be unjammed.
Overkills are an optional rule designed to encourage well-rounded heroes and lateral improvement. An overkill is produced when the number of victory dice (minus any fumble dice) exceed the difficulty of the skill roll. An overkill result is an extreme success which defeats its own purpose the Narrator must determine precisely how an overkill affects the hero.
EXAMPLE: The hero known as Goliath is attempting to subdue a guard. The player rolls four zero's for Goliath's fist fighting skill, the difficulty of which is three. Unfortunately, since the victory dice exceeded the difficulty, the Narrator decides that Goliath strikes the guard so hard that his neck snaps, leaving him dead. An unexpected witness then provides the police with Goliath's description.
While the design of characters (heroes, villains and extras) for a roleplaying game is not strictly a part of playing the game, these characters are a necessary element of the game. The following few sections will give you a thumbnail view of the various elements which define a character. These elements will all be more thoroughly described later in the book.
Karma
Karma is a general representation of a hero's ability to influence their environment. Wether this influence is manifest as knowledge and experience, social grace or raw power depends upon the individual. Karma is used to purchase skills, gifts and perks. Banes and flaws will add to a hero's pool of available karma. Two characters with the same amount of karma have roughly equal amounts of ability.
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot."
- Samuel Longhorne Clemens
A hero's disposition defines their place in the eternal struggle between good an evil, from the altruistic and purely good, through the selfishly corrupt, to the truly evil. Disposition also helps to determine the difficulty involved in persuading or forcing an individual to perform various feats through social skill or mind-altering abilities.
A hero's passion is a brief label which describes how the hero sees themselves, and what they strive for in their lives. Passion provides a very simple description of the hero's strongest emotions and the reasons why they make the choices they make. Though not directly related to disposition, it gives a much more personal insight into the hero's motives.
Stance, Bulk and Scale
These values are basically selected by the player for their hero. Though the Narrator may choose to disallow heroes outside of certain size constraints, selecting a small or large size does not cost the player any karma. A hero's stance and bulk help to determine the spaces they can fit into, as well as their mass and weight. A hero's scale helps to determine the range of their abilities as well as their effects on objects or creatures of much greater or smaller size.
"Few things are impossible to diligence and skill."
- Samuel Johnson
Skills Skills are mundane abilities which any hero may have. All skills begin at level one, so even if a hero has no karma invested in a skill, they may attempt to perform feats which require the skill with minimal potential for success. Some banes may prevent a hero from using the base one level of certain skills.
"I always try to do six impossible things before breakfast."
- Lewis Carrol, Alice In Wonderland
Gifts are used to represent the magic, psychic abilities, super-science and supernatural powers of heroes from film and literature. All gifts have skill levels, just like standard skills, and use the same formula to determine their karma value. Perks have no skill levels and include such things as licenses and privileges, allies, strongholds and vehicles.
Banes and Flaws
Banes and flaws are limitations which increase a hero's karma pool, allowing the player to purchase more abilities and perks if they so desire. Flaws have levels just as skills and gifts, and use the same formulas to determine their karma values. Banes are flaws which don't have skill levels, such as being blind or deaf, having no hands, enemies, amnesia, dependants, etc.
Options
Options provide a system of altering and adjusting various skills, gifts and flaws as appropriate for a given character, event and or setting. Options which increase an ability's power or versatility will also increase its karma value. Likewise options which decrease an ability's power or versatility will decrease it's karma value. Options which make a flaw more or less drastic will increase or decrease its karma value respectively. An option which does not apparently increase or decrease an ability's power or versatility will neither alter its karma value. Options can not be used to alter perks or banes.
"Finite players play within boundaries; infinite players play with boundaries."
- James P. Carse
This section describes how the In Media Res rule system models all standard abilities. Though these systems are far from arbitrary, most of them are fairly intuitive, and you should not have to memorize all of them. For instance, you will not usually have to reference a skill or ability's time to know that a given task may be accomplished in a few minutes, or that it will take a few hours of work. By the same token, you should not need to reference the range of your hero's fist fighting skill to know that they cannot strike an opponent who is several meters away.
The following sections are provided as a guideline or framework, primarily for the sake of designing new and unique abilities. You might want to skim the following section before reading the rest of the book since it explains much of how the existing abilities work, however, don't feel you need to absorb it all right away. Read what you like now, you can always come back to this section if you find something in the remainder of the book which you don't understand, or if you are unsure how a particular rule works. The descriptions of skills, gifts and flaws will provide their own definitions from this section, and explain how they work in general.
As a final word of caution, don't stop the game (at least not too long) to look up and read a rule. If you are unsure, make a decision, then look it up later when you're not in the middle of a game. When all is said and done, people play games to have fun and to be entertained, and a roleplaying game is no different.
There are six elements which define the use and effect of all skills, gifts, and flaws. These are type, difficulty, time, duration, range and area of effect. All abilities and flaws will have at least one value for each of these elements. Some may have two or more values for a single element, although this is the exception, not the rule.
An ability's time, range, duration and area may be modified by applying a +/-3 option per level of increase or decrease on the relative-definitions table. Unlike the remaining three elements, time will decrease a skill's karma value if it is increased and increase its value if decreased.
Relative Definitions Time
Duration
Range
Area
Difficulty Actions Total Commitment Touch Self 2 Rounds Committed Meters (m) Obj. / Ind. 3 Minutes Constant 3 Meters Beam or Cone: 45' 4 Hours Second Nature 10 Meters Cone: 90' 5 Days Instant 30 Meters Cone: 180' 6 Months Semipermanent 100 Meters Globe 7 Years Permanent 300 Meters Irregular Volume 8
"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."
I Corinthians 12:4
All of a hero's abilities typically fit within one or more of the eight basic type categories. This allows players to distinguish between abilities when one or more heroes have gifts which effect the use of these abilities (and or flaws).
EXAMPLE: A hero with the gift "transfer psychic gifts" could transfer any gift from another hero, provided that the source of the gift's power is psychic in nature, however, when attempting to transfer a magic gift, the player wouldn't even be allowed a skill roll.
Biological (Bio) abilities are manifested by a living creature's internal physical makeup. Biological abilities and flaws are those which are not obvious physical abilities, such as resistances to various poisons, diseases, allergies, etc. Biological abilities may be affected by surgery, although it is easier to affect them chemically.
Electronic (Trn) abilities are provided to a hero by some form of device which is electrical in nature. Electronic abilities can be tampered with through the use of electronics skill, and or powerful magnetic fields. Simply depriving an electronic device of electricity will also prevent the application of electronic abilities. This may require an electronics skill roll, or be as simple as pulling the plug.
Magical (Mag) abilities are provided to a hero in many ways. Some may be magical devices, while others may be granted by fantastic mythical creatures or deities. Most commonly, magical abilities are a combination of aptitude and experience exhibited by various wizards. Magical abilities are often affected by other magical abilities. Any ability or flaw may be magical in nature.
Mechanical (Mek) abilities include vehicles, firearms, etc. A mechanical ability is a device which the hero possesses which has no complex electrical circuitry, and therefore, is uneffected by electronics skill or magnetic fields. Mechanical abilities can, however, be easily effected by mechanics skills. {1} Any ability provided by a mechanical device will create a sound relative to both the size of the machine and the power of the ability. This can represent the sound of gunshots or the roar of a jet engine, dependant upon the device. Either the device must be given a stealth skill, or the ability must be resistant to listening skill in order to make the ability silent. The Narrator must determine specifics.
Miscellaneous (Misc) abilities and flaws include the types of "powers" seen in four-color comic-books, where there is little or no legitimate rationale for the given abilities. Miscellaneous abilities are usually more flexible than other abilities with respect to the types of abilities they may affect or be affected by.
Physical (Ph) abilities are a matter of a hero's general physical makeup, such as limbs (tails, wings, etc.), claws, epicanthic folds, nictating membranes, webbed hands/feet, etc. Physical abilities are often affected by surgery (or mechanics if the hero is a machine of some kind), or crippling injuries.
Psychic (Psy) abilities are exhibited by an individual's mind. Some individuals may possess brains which are more highly developed than others, or some heroes may simply use more of their brain than others. Psychic abilities are sometimes also genetic (biological as above) and subject to the effects of surgery, and or chemistry. The only other manner in which psychic abilities are usually affected is through the use of opposing psychic abilities.
Social (Soc) abilities have no direct affect on the physical world. Social abilities are possessed by heroes as a direct result of their predecessors' deeds, as well as their own. Social abilities and flaws are usually only affected through the use of guile and social grace.
{1-2} Compound Type: Any ability which consists of more than one of the eight basic types (or a new type) is called a compound-type ability and is affected by any ability which affects any of its basic types. Because of their added vulnerability these abilities are calculated with a -1 option per additional basic type after the first. An ability which only effects a single compound-type ability type, instead of a basic type, is calculated with the same option as abilities of the compound type, due to the reduced number of abilities it can effect.
EXAMPLES: Bionic abilities are biological and either electronic, mechanical or both. Bionic abilities have a -1 to -2 option.Cybernetic abilities are physical and either mechanical, electronic or both. Cybernetic abilities have a -1 to -2 option.
Mutant abilities are a matter of the hero's individual genetic makeup, where it differs from the genetic makeup of their race. A mutant ability must also be defined as either physical or biological. Mutant abilities have a -1 option. Abilities which only affect physical or biological mutations but not both have a -1 option. Abilities which affect both physical and biological mutations have no option value.
"He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper."
- Edmund Burke
An ability's difficulty is a very subjective thing. Often it may be based on range, resistance, mass or a combination, though there are many skills for which the difficulty is based on something else entirely.
Range: To determine the exact difficulty for range, find the range to the target on the relative-definitions table and use the value in the corresponding row of the difficulty column. Range is also somewhat subjective to the ability being used. For instance, a five level ability with a range of 10 meters has a maximum range of fifty meters. It exceeds meters range at six meters, and 3 meters range at sixteen meters. A three-level ability with the same range exceeds meters range at four meters, 3 meters range at ten meters, and has a maximum range of thirty meters. The hero's scale will affect these range values as well.
Passive Resistance | |
---|---|
Resistance Skill Level | Success Penalty |
1-2 | 0 |
3-5 | -1 |
6-8 | -2 |
9-11 | -3 |
12-14 | -4 |
15+ | -5 |
An inanimate object is always considered passive resistance, if it has the applicable skill to resist with. For instance, an inanimate object could passively resist with resolve only if it has the resolve skill. Any inanimate object may resist with build since all objects must have the build skill.
The resolve skill is used to resist psychic and mind-affecting abilities. Biological abilities and other abilities which affect living tissues are usually resisted with stamina skill. The vast majority of standard skills are resisted with other standard skills. Good examples of this are stealth and surveillance which are both resisted by each other.
Mass (3-scale-build): The difficulty for mass is three, minus the scale modifier. In addition, the object's build skill is used as passive resistance.
"O time too swift! O swiftness never ceasing!"
- George Peele
An ability's time describes the amount of game time required for the hero to use an ability. Time is represented as a type of increment, i.e., actions, rounds, minutes, hours, etc. Abilities with actions time are measured in initiative skill levels. Actions and rounds are described in greater detail in the Fight Scenes chapter. The number of increments of time required to use an ability of greater than actions time is equal to the difficulty of the skill roll. This may vary from one use to the next. No ability may ever require less than one action to use, or one round if it is not controlled by conscious thought.
{2} It is usually possible to rush a greater than actions time ability with increased difficulty. A hero who attempts an action with equal to or less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the normally required time suffers a skill level penalty equal to the passive resistance value of the skill. A hero who attempts an action with equal to or less than half of the normally required time suffers a skill level penalty equal to twice the passive resistance value of the skill. Apply an additional -1 option to any greater than actions time ability which may not be rushed.
{2} It is also usually possible to increase one's proficiency with an actions time ability by spending extra time in doing so. A hero who attempts an action with one-hundred and fifty percent (150%) or more than the normal amount of time required gains a skill level bonus equal to the passive resistance value of the skill. A hero who attempts an action with at least twice the normal amount of time required gains a skill level bonus equal to twice the passive resistance value of the skill. A hero who attempts an action with two-hundred and fifty percent (250%) or more of the normally required time doubles their skill level. Apply an additional -1 option to any ability which does not benefit from slow application.
"For ease and speed in doing a thing do not give the work lasting solidity or exactness of beauty."
- Plutarch
An ability’s duration determines how long its affects will last once it has been used. An ability's duration may be converted to the corresponding level for time on the relative-definitions table without modifying the karma value of the ability. If an ability's duration is measured in time, it may be greater than years, each additional level of duration being ten times the length of the previous level.
Total Commitment: An ability of this duration requires nearly all of the hero's concentration to maintain. Any other ability used simultaneously is reduced to a number of skill levels equal to its passive resistance value.
EXAMPLE: Captain acme is running full-tilt (total commitment) and attempting to fire his grappling gun simultaneously. Acme normally has seven levels of marksmanship skill to use with his grappling gun. Since he is totally committed to running, however, his marksmanship skill level is reduced to its passive resistance value, leaving him with only two levels of marksmanship skill (7/3=2).If a hero using a total commitment ability wishes to make a second attempt to improve their results, they must first stop maintaining the current attempt (which requires no time), and spend the time to make a second attempt, however, they must accept the results of the second attempt, for better or worse.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is wrestling with Jimmy the Squid. Jimmy has six arms and is rather difficult to restrain, forcing Acme to use his wrestling skill at total-commitment duration instead of its normal committed duration. This increases Acme's wrestling skill from six to eight. During the last round of the fight, the Captain grappled the Squid and Joe Gamer rolled eight dice (8d10), with a net success of two.Joe Gamer decides that Acme is going to attempt to regain a better hold on the Squid during this round of the fight, which means letting go of the Squid for a moment. Letting go requires no time, however, Acme must spend another two actions to attempt to use his wrestling skill again. Joe Gamer now rolls eight dice again (8d10), and fails. Since Acme was forced to let go to attempt the hold again, he's now stuck with the consequence of the Squid being free to grope him with his slimy tentacles. Yuk!
Committed, Constant and Second Nature: The effects of the ability remain so long as the hero concentrates upon them, however, maintaining the effect may require much of the hero's concentration. While a committed effect is maintained, any other ability suffers a skill level penalty equal to its passive resistance value. A constant ability applies a +1 difficulty penalty instead. Note that this indicates that skills which do not require die rolls (such as movement) will not be affected by concentration for constant abilities. No penalty is applied for the simultaneous use of second nature abilities.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is running (committed duration) and attempting to fire his grappling gun simultaneously. Acme normally has seven levels of marksmanship skill to use with his grappling gun. Since he's committed to running, however, his marksmanship skill level is reduced by it's passive resistance penalty of two, leaving him with five levels of marksmanship skill (7-2=5). If Acme slowed down (running at constant duration) he would suffer a +1 difficulty penalty to his marksmanship skill instead and retain all seven levels of skill for the action.
An ability of committed, constant or second nature duration may be used with less duration in a pinch, increasing the skill level by its passive resistance value for each duration level sacrificed. This modifier effects both the skill level and the maximum range of the ability (for abilities of range greater than touch). Apply a -2 option to any ability which does not receive this bonus for reduced duration, or a -1 option any ability which receives only the skill level bonus or only the range bonus.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is running for his life from the great, slimy terror from planet Evil. Fortunately, Acme is wearing his patented running shoes which provide him with six levels of running skill. Running is a second nature skill, and Acme's really scared, so he reduces its duration by three levels to total-commitment and takes a severe skill level penalty to all other skill rolls for the duration of his sprint. As long as he's a spineless jellyfish, Acme can run twelve miles per hour (12mph) instead of six (level 6+2=8 [constant], 8+2=10 [committed], 10+2=12 [total commitment]). What the lily-livered sap doesn't know is that the great, slimy terror's running skill of level three is purchased with a -6 option for committed duration, allowing it to run no faster than four miles per hour (3+1=4 [total commitment]), with substantial penalties to all other actions regardless of its speed.
Maintaining two abilities of second nature, constant or committed duration will have the same effects as maintaining one ability of the next lower level of duration. For instance, two simultaneously maintained second nature abilities will imply a +1 difficulty penalty to all other actions. Two simultaneously maintained constant abilities will imply the skill level penalties of a single committed ability, and two committed abilities will imply the skill level penalties of a single ability of total commitment duration.
EXAMPLE: Ergo the Spectacular, a powerful wizard, is maintaining several spells, including a constant spell which has paralyzed one of his opponents, a second nature spell which allows him to levitate above the ground, and a second nature protection spell. The two second nature spells require the same amount of concentration as a single constant ability. Since Ergo also has another constant spell active, he must therefore concentrate as hard as if he maintained two constant abilities, or one committed spell. All other feats Ergo attempts must be made with a skill level penalty equal to the skill's passive resistance value.
A hero may make a second attempt at a committed, constant or second nature ability to improve their results while maintaining the effects of the previous attempt, with the normal difficulty penalty for maintaining the previous attempt. The results of the second attempt are substituted for those of the previous attempt only if they are improved. If the player wants the hero to be able to attempt the ability again without the normally associated difficulty penalty for a committed or constant ability, they must first stop maintaining the effects of the previous attempt as they would for a total commitment ability.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is wrestling a bloodsucking lawyer. Wrestling has a committed duration, and Acme has six levels of wrestling skill. Acme decides that he will attempt to improve his hold on the lawyer. Since he's still holding the lawyer, he suffers the normal penalty for maintaining an ability of committed duration, and may only use four levels (6-2=4) of wrestling skill to attempt a better hold. Acme currently has the lawyer held with a net success of two (2) when he makes the second attempt. Joe Gamer rolls four dice (4d10) resulting in a net success of one (1). Since the previous attempt is still being maintained, the net success remains at two (2>1).Later during the struggle, Acme decides to attempt a better hold again, this time reducing the duration of the wrestling skill to total commitment, and recouping the two level skill penalty. Joe rolls six dice (6d10) and achieves a net success of four (4) which is substituted for the original success of two (2). From this point on all other actions Acme attempts during the struggle suffer a much more severe penalty since he is totally committed to wrestling.
{2!} An ability of committed, constant or instant duration may have a cumulative net effect, allowing the hero to maintain the effects of multiple uses of the ability and compound their net success. This is a +5 option. Each cumulative use of these abilities must still be maintained, and the normal penalties for subsequent uses apply to each use, (as described above). The penalties for maintaining the effects of these abilities may be made noncumulative by applying an additional +5 option.
Instant: The effects of the ability are mundane in nature, and once created will act like any natural phenomenon, remaining in motion or at rest until acted upon by an outside force. Instant effects which cause injury will heal normally for the injured hero or villain. If an instant or greater duration ability requires more than actions time, the time spent performing this feat is assumed to be commited duration. This duration may be increased with a +2 option for constant or +5 for second nature, or decreased with a -3 option for total commitment.
{2} Abilities of instant or greater duration may not normally be reduced in duration voluntarily. The ability to voluntarily decrease the duration of an ability of instant or greater duration is a +2 option. If the ability receives a skill bonus for such action, the value of the option is equal to the difficulty for the ability's maximum duration. If only the range or only the skill level are affected, subtract three from this option value.
Semipermanent and Permanent: The effects of a semipermanent ability remain until acted upon by an outside force, however, the duration of any such force is reduced by one level on the relative-definitions table. A permanent ability functions the same as a semipermanent ability, however, forces which resist or are resisted by a permanent ability are reduced by an additional level of duration.
EXAMPLE: Baron Von Frigidaire has cast a semipermanent conjure-ice spell into a cave entrance, sealing the heroes in behind a wall of ice. Fortunately, Thermius has an instant eliminate-ice spell, which he casts on the wall of ice, creating a hole large enough to run through. The ice wall's semipermanent nature reduces Thermius' spell from instant to second nature. One of the heroes manages to run out of the cave before Frigidaire throws a large ice-ball at Thermius, knocking him unconscious. Unfortunately since Thermius must now concentrate to maintain his spell, only one of the heroes is left to face the Baron alone while the rest are still trapped behind the ice-wall which solidifies when Thermius loses consciousness.
Actions: The effects of the ability remain for a number of the target's actions equal to the net success of the skill roll. This duration continues regardless of the mental state of the hero who uses the ability. If the hero who used the ability falls unconscious or dies, the effects remain, and the hero using the ability can't simply “turn it off”.
The ability to abort is an option which may allow the hero to suddenly end the duration of an actions duration ability. The ability receives a -1 option if the effects wear off prematurely if the originating hero falls unconscious or dies.
Rounds, Minutes, Hours, Etc.: The effects of the ability remain for a number of increments of time equal to the net success of the skill roll. Like an actions duration ability, these effects remain, regardless of the mental state of the hero who uses the ability. The same options that may be applied to actions duration abilities may also be applied to any other 'timed' duration ability.
"Or grasp the ocean with my span"
- Isaac Watts
An ability's range determines the maximum distance the hero may be from the target of the ability. Each level of range is roughly three times the length of the previous level.
Touch: A touch ability may be used on any target the hero can make physical contact with. A hero's 'reach' is assumed to be equal to their scale in meters, or no less than one meter.
Meters or Kilometers: This refers to a distance equal to the number of levels of the skill, multiplied by the hero's scale and the range of the ability, measured in meters or kilometers respectively. If the hero's scale is less than one, bulk is substituted for scale.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme has created a device which will allow him to teleport with 10 Meters range. Acme's scale is one (1), and the device has three levels of teleport skill. The maximum range of the device is thirty meters: three levels, multiplied by ten meters, then multiplied by his scale of one (3x10x1=30).
Meters is the range usually associated with abilities which require the hero to throw something. Meters is also the range associated with abilities which require verbal interaction, such as diplomacy, etc. Of course, under most circumstances, this means that the subject must be someone who can hear and usually understand the hero.
{2} The Narrator may choose to allow abilities with greater than 300 meters range, each additional level of range (+3 option) being roughly three times the previous level. Thus, the next level after 300 meters would be kilometers (km), then 3km, 10km, 30km and so on.
{2} The Narrator may allow an ability's range to be increased or decreased by a half-step with a +/-2 option. Thus, an ability's range may be measured in increments of 2 meters, 6 meters, 20m, 60m, 200m or 600m.
Time {1!}: An ability may affect targets forward or backward through time by applying a +3 option per level of the temporal range (on the relative-definitions table) in one direction (i.e. future or past). Being able to reach both directions through time applies a +5 option per level of the temporal range. A minimum temporal range will apply a -1 option per level of the minimum in one direction, or -2 per level of the minimum in both directions. Each level of temporal range beyond years is ten times the length of the previous level.
"Ye Gods! Annihilate but space and time."
- Alexander Pope
Each ability has an area of effect which determines the scope of its effects. An ability of object/individual or greater area of effect receives a skill bonus when used on a smaller area of effect. The ability receives a skill level bonus equal to its passive resistance value for each level of area sacrificed on the relative-definitions table. This bonus increases both the skill level and maximum range of the ability (if it is greater than touch). Any ability which doesn't receive this bonus for reduced area receives a negative option equal to the difficulty for it's maximum area on the relative-definitions table. For any ability which receives only the skill level bonus or only the range bonus, subtract two from this option value.
An ability with its difficulty based on range, requires a skill roll to strike each target within its area of effect. This may result in some targets within the area being uneffected by the ability, however, on the whole it will usually only result in reduced effectiveness on the more distant, and or obscured targets. {2} A hero may have a "selective" ability which allows the hero to select certain individuals within the area to either be effected or not be effected by the ability, applying a +5 option.
Self: A self area ability functions only on the hero who possesses the ability. Skill rolls are usually not required for self-area abilities, assuming a net success equal to the skill level. This makes difficulty modifiers useless, although skill level modifiers are still effective.
Object or Individual (Obj/Ind.): This level of area is assumed to represent abilities which effect the physical world, and thus, will effect any object in it, including living creatures. The ability may be used on any applicable target within the ability's range, and which the hero can locate with an active or targeting sense.
An ability of this area which only effects inanimate objects or living creatures but not both receives a -1 option. An ability which only effects creatures of higher intelligence receives a -2 option. The Narrator must determine what constitutes higher intelligence, allowing for creatures such as dolphins and primates to be effected as well if she deems reasonable for the ability.
An object area ability functions only on nonliving objects, and the difficulty is usually the same as for object/individual area abilities. An individual area ability functions only on living creatures, usually including self. The difficulty for most individual area abilities is resistance.
{1} An obj/ind or individual area ability may normally be used to effect one's self, however the minimum area option may prevent this. If the effects are desirable (increased strength, healing, etc.) then this will reduce the karma value of the ability. If the effects are undesirable, (injury, paralysis, etc.), this will increase the karma value of the ability.
Beam: A beam ability stretches out to the maximum range of the ability, in a cylindric area a number of meters in diameter equal to twice the hero's scale. All applicable targets within this area, friend or foe, are effected alike.
{1} The diameter of a beam area ability may be increased or decreased by roughly threefold with a +3/-3 option. Thus, the diameter could be multiplied by 10 with a +6 option, 30 with a +9 option, 100 with a +12 option and so on. Negative options would divide the beam's diameter by the same values.
Cone: A conic ability stretches out to the maximum range of the ability in a cone in front of the individual using the ability. The cone extends to its full range, increasing in diameter along the way. All objects and individuals within the cone, friend or foe, are effected alike.
{1} Normally, the size of the cone may be any number of degrees, up to the maximum determined by the ability's area. A minimum area option will reduce the amount of variation, as well as the karma value of the ability.
Globe: A globe area ability effects all applicable targets within the maximum range of the ability, in all directions. A globe area ability will not discriminate between friend or foe, and extends to its full range in all three dimensions. All of the rules and options for conic abilities should be applied to globe area abilities in the same fashion.
An ability with global area of effect may be given a second range which determines the maximum range between the hero and the center of the target area. A +3 option must be applied per level of this second range, greater than touch on the relative-definitions table.
Irregular Volume: An irregular-volume area ability may be any shape the player desires, provided it doesn't exceed the maximum cubic volume. The formula to determine the maximum volume is 3.14r3, where "r" is the maximum range of the ability. This area may be a sphere, a cone, a cube, a pyramid, or any other shape the hero desires when the ability is used.
Players may wish to note that the maximum volume is equal to the maximum total volume of a global area ability with the same range. For many abilities, this may be far more space than is necessary, and creating an irregular area ability can suck up quite a few karma points. {1} A player who wishes to have a smaller maximum volume may cut it in half by applying a -3 option. This option may be applied cumulatively as many times as the player feels is necessary, each time dividing the area in half.
EXAMPLE: Captain Acme is developing a force-field generator to protect himself and his compatriots. Joe Gamer decides that he wants to be able to shape the force-field so that he can have more control over who it protects and how, so he gives it an irregular volume area, and decides that three skill levels is a good amount, and it shouldn't need to extend any farther than meters range.Joe multiplies the ability level of three by Acme's scale of one to determine the maximum radius, resulting in a value of three meters (3x1=3). He then cubes this value, resulting in a value of twenty-seven (3x3x3=27). This value is then again multiplied by 3.14 (pi), resulting in a total volume of eighty-five cubic meters (27x3.14=85m).
Captain Acme could now use this force-field to protect a sphere of six meters in diameter, a cube of four meters in all three dimensions, a circle of two meters in height and seven meters diameter, create a force-wall of just over forty meters in height and width, or any other combination of shapes which are no more than eighty-five cubic meters in volume.
Playing Without Dice
Though people have played roles (children playing house or cops & robbers, improvisational theater, etc) for decades without the use of dice or even rules for that matter, it has only recently become a recognized element of the roleplaying hobby. Currently there are very few truly diceless games on the market, and those few that are aren't particularly popular. We're not going to try and explain the significant differences between the two styles of play or explain why diceless gaming hasn't become very popular, or even state that diceless gaming is better. In this book, however, I will present a brief set of optional rules with which In Media Res can be played without dice (or any form of randomizer).
Amazing Feats of Skill
When a hero attempts a given action, the hero's skill level should be merely compared to the difficulty of the given action. If the skill level exceeds the difficulty, the hero succeeds. The net success is equal to the level of the skill, minus the difficulty. Now, this method is rather simple, and given that no other rules are used, would provide for some rather awkward and stilted results during play, especially during fight scenes. In order to maintain some element of wonder and surprise, the system maintains several other situational elements which will alter a character's chances of success at any given task. For instance, skill level, difficulty and success modifiers are still applied as normal. In addition, the players will not know if a hero is successful until the time required for the ability has elapsed. This makes success modifiers especially important in making the world mysterious to the players.
Pools and Reserves
Though initiative and build skills are the only sort of pools or reserves inherent in the basic rules, the Narrator may wish to incorporate other elements of reserve energy in the heroes. For instance, the Narrator may elect to have mentally taxing actions cause a sort of psychic fatigue which acts like normal fatigue in draining the hero of their ability to perform other tasks. The narrator may assume that the hero suffers one level of fatigue per number of hours of intense work or concentration equal to the passive resistance value of their resolve skill.
The Narrator may or may not simply have this fatigue marked along with normal physical fatigue. Of course, knowing that time spent working on a given task is draining the hero of vital energy will make the players less likely to have their heroes spend long periods of time doing such things.
Limited ammunition or ability will also decrease the chances a hero will attempt an action in which they are even confident of their success. A hero is less likely to waste ammunition for a weapon, or use an ability which is limited to one use per day, week or month unless they are more certain of the act's importance than they are of its success.
Timing Is Everything
Timing may be quite important in creating a sense of wonder about the shared world. To help this, the Narrator may wish to modify the amount of time required to use a particular ability. Instead of the number of increments of time being equal to the difficulty of the given action, it should be equal to one increment of the next level of time on the relative definitions table, divided by the net success of the action. Especially for feats measured in minutes, the Narrator may wish to not tell the players how long the attempt will require and merely let them sweat it out. This is the only way to really drive success penalties home without any dice.
It may not be necessary to actually play out the entire time spent in the attempt, though if the other characters can do other things, act and interact in the meantime, it might be plausible. In most cases, the Narrator may merely ask the player how long their hero will work at the given task before retiring their efforts, and remind them that the longer the heroes work on a given task, the more time they allow villains or other unpleasant people and or situations to catch up with them. In this fashion, it would be entirely possible for a hero to work on a given project for quite some time, and then give up assuming they would not be capable of completing it when they are in fact moments away from success. This is much like life, and also creates a random element in the game without the necessity of dice.
Live Roleplaying
While there are quite a few limiting factors to live play (costuming can be difficult and or expensive, no quick and easy system of measuring distance, safely moderated fights are rarely dramatic, etc...), there are numerous advantages to this form of roleplaying as well, not the least of which is the increased role immersion which makes the game much more enjoyable. Certain skills, such as stealth, surveillance, etc., will need to be eliminated along with the dice in order to make the game suitable for live play. Ask the Narrator about any questionable skills. If the game is to take place in a large area, multiple Narrators may also improve the experience allowing each Narrator to arbitrate rules in a separate area. The most important thing about live roleplaying is that it be safe. To this end, we suggest that props which resemble weapons may be carried only for the purposes of costuming and identification.