OSR extras (11) – Kamen Rider Black, rpg character sheet

(Warning:  The original post had a rant about life, since today is my birthday and I'm very grumpy during my birthday. But, because that had little to do with this gaming blog, I transferred it to my other blog. If you are curious to read the rant, just click here)

Since today is my birthday, I would like to post something special: Kamen Rider Black, a character from a show that helped shaping my way of seeing the world. I watched the show when I was very little, hardly understanding anything out of it – but the images clung on me, following me as I grew up. The show was dark, the hero oft had people betray him, walking alone and sacrificing himself for the Greater Good. The villains were perversions of life, aberrations created with evil intent by uncaring beings whose purpose solidified only in domination and profit. Nevertheless, the hero fought, besides the unbelievable odds against him and inevitable failure.

Well, here are the stats for him:

Kotaro Minami, the Kamen Rider Black

HD 8, or 48 hp

At 10 [+10], 2 martial arts attacks for 2d6 damage each

AC 0 [20]

SV 8+

All Neutral Good

Xp 4.000

Observation: In his normal human form, Kotaro has only 1 HD, 4 hp, At 19 [+1], damage 1d6, AC 10 [0], SV 18+ and XP 10.

Introduction: Kotaro Minami was taken by the evil Gorgom cult, transformed into an insect-cyborg and infused with the Black Sun Kingstone (the belt at his waist). However, instead of following the Gorgom's plans and become one of the Century Kings – together with his stepbrother, Nabuhiko, also taken by the Gorgoms – he was able to escape. Now, being able to transform into Kamen Rider Black, Kotaro hopes in rescuing his stepbrother while fighting against the Gorgom's monster army.

- Special attacks:

. Rider Punch: A special energy punch that Black can deliver. Works as a normal attack, unless the creature is below 1/ 2 maximum hp. Then, it must make a saving throw against Death or be destroyed.

. Rider Kick: A special energy kick that Black can deliver. It functions as a normal attack. However, if the creature is below 1/ 4 maximum hp, it must make a saving throw against Death with -4 penalty of be destroyed.

. Kingstone Flash: A very powerful energy surge that can be unleashed by his Kingstone. It makes any creature with 30 HD or less to back up in fear for 1d4 turns, allowing Black to catch up his breath and recuperate. Can be used only once per encounter.

- Special Defenses:

. Multi-eye: His special eyes enable him to see in the dark and also find weakspots in an enemy. If Kamen Rider awaits a whole turn analysing an enemy, his next attack, if hits, will be critical (or 3x damage if it also gets a natural 20).

. Sensoring ears: The triangles on the side of her head are very sensitive ears, enabling him super human hearing.

. Rider Sensor: The antennae on his head gives him another senses, allowing him to perceive enemies too fast or hidden.

. Power Stripes: The stripes on his neck and wrists may blow to protect him from any kind of movement restrainment, be it magical or not. Kamen Rider black acts as if in the effect of a Freedom spell.

Well, I hope you folks liked this. Kamen Rider Black is one very important show for me. Anyway, as my classes at the university resume and I go searching for a job, I don't believe I will be able to continue writing here daily – maybe once or twice a week, I don't know. It's been good doing so and was an interesting experience, I should say. See you people soon.

Until next time,

Valete!

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OSR Extras (10) - Zaheer, from Legend of Korra Book 3, rpg character sheet

SPOILERS ALERT– there will be spoilers in this post about Legend of Korra Book 3. If you did not see until the Episode 11 of the Book 3, then you might want to ignore this post for now.

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There are some great cartoons nowadays – cartoons that create incredibly dense stories, with interesting characters and an art style to match. One of those is the Avatar series – both Aang and Korra. Although Korra have had many problems compared with Aang – specially because the episodes seem, in general, rushed – it is, still, one of the greatest shows to grace TV nowadays and, in my opinion, one of the greatest animated series of all time.

So, today I will bring you the main villain for Korra Book 3 – Zaheer. Before you venture forth, let me tell you that there will be spoilers in his character sheet. So, beware. As always, outside brackets is Old, inside is New.

Zaheer, the one with the void, human fighter 9

HD 9, or 54 HP

At 11 [+9], 2 martial arts attacks for 1d6 damage each (look more at Air Attacks)

AC 7 [13], or -2 [22], look more at 'Great Dodge'

SV 8+, look more at Great Evasion

All Chaotic neutral

XP 5.000

Special:

Mastermind: Zaheer is considered one of the most dangerous persons in the world – even before he got his airbending. The GM is free to invoke impossible escapades and improbable allies appearing wherever Zaheer as in the scene. Also, Zaheer is almost never surprised.

'Enter the Void': Zaheer, after the Harmonic Convergence, became an Airbender. Not only that but, through intense mental training, meditation and control over his body, he attained a state of mastery unmatched in centuries, unlocking the ability to Fly at will and with perfection. However, he is not able to carry much more than his own weight while flying.

Air Attacks: Every time Zaheer strikes, after the attack roll, the target must also make a saving throw against breath weapons/Reflexes, even if the attack missed. If the target fails, it is now prone - losing its action for the turn if not yet acted, or acting last in the next round. If it was successfully attack, then double the damage received – if it was a critical (2x damage), then make it triple damage (3x).

Improved Initiative: Zaheer's keen reflexes and mental acuity allows him to always be the first one to act in a combat round – although extraordinary situations might take it away from him (GM's decision).

Great Evasion: Zaheer can evade impossible attacks. If any attack asks for a saving throw and Zaheer has space for moving around, if Zaheer succeeds, the attack causes no damage instead of half damage. And, even if he fails, he takes only half damage.

Great Dodge: Zaheer is agile beyond imagining. If he is in a place he is free to move around, his AC is -2 [22]. Also, if needed to run away, Zaheer is almost impossible to be stopped from running.

Combat: Zaheer will always try the best tactics possible. He will defeat weak opponents first, he will use hostages as meat shields, he will run if he has to run. When attacking, he will try using his Air Attacks against the strongest melee opponents in order to disable their attacks before they can act.

I hope you guys liked him. He is one of my favorite villains – since I kind of study budhism and taoism and, therefore, I can correlate with some of Zaheer's ideals and state of minds. He is a very powerful foe to use in any campaign, specially because he is a great planner with a chaotic nature to boost his plans. He can easily kill a whole party of adventurers if they are not prepared.

Until next time,

Valete!

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OSR extras (9) – Double Handling, Dual-wielding and Focus tactics, new rules

I would like to present some nifty and simple tactics to be used in OSR games. They are very easy to implement and may give some flavor and variety to attacks.

Double Handling (Full-force attacks): Very common in many games (like Dark Souls), double handling means using two hands instead of one when using a weapon, augmenting its damage output. In mechanical terms, when double handling, your attack suffers -2 penalty, but increase the size of the damage die by 1. So, a dagger (d4) would cause d6 damage, a short-sword would cause 1d8 damage and a long-sword would cause 1d10 damage. Weapons that are naturally two-handed could also be 'double-handled', although what this means is that the user would attack with 'full-force', increasing the dice damage (a great sword would deal 1d12 damage instead of 1d10, fro example).

Dual Wielding: I would like to present some slightly different rules from the main book for dual-wielding. In real life, dual-wielding was an odd style, mostly used in special situations, normally duels and probably never in real army combat. The second weapon functioned also principally as a form of 'shield' instead of a second form of attack. The nature of dual wielding makes effectively using the weapon extremely hard and, specially if the weapons are both big or of the same size. So, to emulate those characteristics in your game, dual wielding function as a shield, giving +1 AC, but you receive a penalty in your attack depending on the size of the weapon used in your off-hand (so, a tiny weapon give 0 penalty, a small gives -1, a medium -2 and a great weapon giver -4). Besides that, if you want to attack with both weapons in a turn, the main-hand weapon receives another -2 penalty and the off-hand weapon receives -2. So, if you are using a small sword in your off-hand, you naturally receives -1 to attack. If you want to attack with both weapons, you will receive -3 in your main hand and -5 in your off-hand.

Focused Attacks: Waiting for striking the right place in order to deliver a critical strike. With that tactic, you suffer -2 to your attack, but increase the critical margin by 1 (normally, this means that the hit is critical on either 19 or 20 instead of only 20) and the damage multiplier by 1 (so, it's 3x damage instead of 2x). This tactic can be used to either ranged or melee attacks.

Weapon proficiency: If you are using the skill rules for weapon proficiency, a character that puts a point in any of those tactics will receive +2 to using them. So, focus and force attacks will have no penalty, for example.

So, what you folks think? I like giving options to my players attacks so everything don't fall into the boring 'I attack' action. I will be posting more tactics eventually.

Until next time,

Valete!

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OSR Extra (8,5) - More about Shields and Blocking, rules

I was surprised in my last post that many people discussed  and commented in the rpg groups about their ideas of using shields and blocking. Since many of those ideas were very interesting, I wanted to present them here in the blog in a concise way and see what you folks think.

Option 1, Bonus to AC and Saving throw: This was the option people talked the most - instead of having another roll for blocking (which would slow the game), have the bonus be applied to AC (+1 Bucklers, +2 Small, +3 Medium, +4 Big) and also to relevant Savint Throws (like, for example, using a shield to block the fire from a dragon's breath or a fireball). This option is faster than rolling for block to every and each attack and I liked it very much. However, some said that the AC bonus should be lower (Bucklers and Small shield +0, Medium and Big shields +1), but the Saving Throw bonus apply normally. That is a rule to playtest and I would be interested in knowing what you folks find of it.

Option 2, Random bonus to AC: Proposed by Lucas in the PT version of the blog, to reflect the nature of blocking one could roll 1d4 for small shields, 1d6 for medium and 1d8 for big and add the number to their AC. That is similar to the rules I said in my last post, but I think it to be too random in the AC department. Nevertheless, an interesting idea to share.

Option 3, 'Combat Options': The AD&D book of combat options gives a lot of possibilities for shields, but most of them are related to spending the action in blocking and whatnots. It is a very interesting read, but I personally don't like it. I prefer 'automatic' and 'always active' effects instead of having to declare your action of blocking. But it is a very interesting read and anyone curious should take a look on it.

Option 4, 'Cover': Shields would offer a cover percentage relative to how much of the body they cover (Bucklers 10%, Small Shields 20%, Medium Shields 50%, Big Shields 75%). Every time it seems that the Shield could block an attack, the GM may roll the cover and, if lower or equal, then the attack fails. Melee attacks reduce the cover to half its normal value.

<<>>

Those were the options to the 'Blocking with Shields'. However, besides that there are also extras that you can apply to every option. 

Extra 1, Shields and Attacking: Using shields greatly hampers one's ability to fight. So, if you apply this extra to one of the options, reduce the user Attack by 1 per level of the shield (so, a buckler would reduce an attack in -1, a medium shield in -3 etc.).

Extra 2, Big creatures and attacks from behind: If a creature is too big, blocking is useless (GM's call for when a creature is too big). If the character is surrounded by many foes, those that surpass the shield (attacking from behind or flanking where the shield does not protect) will not suffer the block effect. That should not be something hard to deal with - no need for a combat grid. Just use common sense, like when the character is surrounded by goblins, some of the goblins will just get through the shield.

'Turtle Formation'

Extra 3, 'Turtle Formation' and hiding behind a shield or barrier: If you are hiding behind an object, you should apply the 'Cover' rules mentioned above, with a percentile chance of the attack being intercepted. Just have the attack be made against you normally and, if it goes beyond your AC, have an approximate value of how much of the body is vulnerable and roll a percentile die. For example, in a turtle formation, you'd have only 10% of your body exposed (the low part of your ankles and the gaps between the shields). This makes very hard for archers to hit well protected and trainned warriors. 

And that is it, folks. This is what was discussed in the many groups, both in PT and EN. I hope yall liked it and, if you use any of those options, tell me how did they fare in your game. I'm specially curious with Option 1 and 4 and I hope to test them myself.

Until next time,

Valete!

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OSR extras (8) - Shield and Blocking, new rules

One of the things that I never liked much in Old School combat is the way Shields are treated. In our world, shields were always extremely important in the ancient battle field, since skirmishing was a very common practice. The armies would trade projectile shots - stones, javelins, arrows - and a single hit on the knee or the head could be enough to take a warrior out. Therefore, shield were very important to impede or halt such conecting projectiles and, not only ranged attack, but melee attacks could also be averted by the proper usage of shields - and I'm not even talking about special tactics, like the turtle formation or the hoplite stance!

But in Old School systems, normally shields make only a very small impact, giving +1 AC for melee combat and +2 for ranged. Such defense does not reflect the way that shields were used in real combat. However, there is a very special old english rpg named Dragon Warrior that had some very interesting rules for shields and, inspired by it, I will discuss now some new rules for Shields and Blocking in OSR systems.

Shields would no longer give bonus to AC, but would have a Block Value. Bucklers would have 1, Small shields 2, Medium Shields 3 and Big Shields 4. Every time  an attack against a warrior using a shield hits through the AC, then the attacking creature should try rolling higher than the block value of the shield. If it is a ranged attack, the attacker rolls 1d6, if it is melee, roll 1d8. If it the roll fails, then the attack causes no damage.

And, although historically people did not use two shields (at least I don't know of it), we may accept something like that in a heroic fantasy game. So, if someone is using two shields, all attackers must roll two times against the block value - once for each shield - and be successful in both in order to damage the opponent.

Remorhazes are awesome!

If the attacking creature is big or too strong, then it rolls 1d12 against the Block Value. If the creature is gigantic (2 size categories bigger) or extremely strong, then blocking is impossible. So, an ogre attacking a warrior would roll 1d12 against the shield's Block Value, but a Remorhaz would just ignore it. However, if the warrior has some magical mean to improve his strength - like a Belt of Hill Giant Strength - then the GM might allow a block chance.

Blocking a fire strike
with a Shield

For different attacks, like rays of frost, fire strikes and whatnots, the GM may allow a block roll too, in the same way as per other attacks, choosing a die size relevant for the situation (a giant flame strike would roll 1d12 agains the Bloc Value, for example). In the end, I hope you guys liked those ideas. I find them more interesting than just adding +1 to AC. It gives the shield a character in itself, and I find more fun this way.

In Resume:

. Shields have a blocking value, from 1 to 4 depending on the shield's size. Any attacker that hits through the character AC will have to roll higher than the block value in order to cause damage.

. The harder it is to block the attack, the bigger the die size is. For normal projectiles (arrows, darts), the attacker rolls 1d6. For melee attacks, 1d8. For big boulders, attacks from big creatures or magical strikes, 1d12. If the attacker is too big, strong, or attacking from behind, it is not possible to be blocked.

Until next time,

Valete!

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PS: The die size idea was given by Rodolfo from the Old Dragon brazillian facebook rpg group

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OSR Extras (7) – Ryu of Street Fighter II, rpg character sheet

I find street fighter, specially Street Fighter II, to be the quintessential fighting game – even beyond Tekken and Mortal Kombat. The fighting mechanics of the game were simple, direct and awesome. Till today people play that game and go on tournaments against one another. So, I'd like to bring today the stats for the most iconic character in Street Fighter: Ryu. As always, outside is Old School, inside is New School.

Ryu, Human Fighter 8

HD 8, or 50 hp

AT 12 [+8], 2 punches 2d4 each or 1 kick 2d6; or special attacks (see below)

AC 5 [15]

SV 10+

AL Lawful Good

XP 2.000

Special attacks: Ryu has some techniques that he may use while fighting. To invoke those techniques, after rolling the damage, you may also make a Saving Throw. If successful, the attack causes more damage - if a failure, the attack causes no damage. His special attacks are Shoryuken, Haduken

. Shoryuken (rising punch): While attacking with his punches, before rolling for damage, Ryu may make a saving throw. If he is successful, double the damage caused. 

. Tatsumaki senpuu kyaku (helicopter kick): When using his Kick attack, Ryu may make a saving throw. If successful, Ryu may either cause damage to everyone near him or cause triple damage to one opponent.

. Haduken: Instead of using his normal attacks, Ryu may use a long ranged energy attack (haduken) with At 10 [+10] and 1d12 damage. This attack does not need a saving throw from Ryu to be activated.

Those stats reflect Ryu during Street Fighter II, so he is not yet as powerful as he will be in other iterations of the game. I find it funny how people say that Old School rpgs are limited – well, I don't think so. I believe that, knowing what to change and how, you can play any game with it – even a Street Fighter one. But that is something to talk another day.

Until then,

Valete!

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Dark Souls OSR Tabletop rpg (3) – Combat Mechanics: Defense rolls

Dark Souls OSR project: Part 0, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Today we talk about one of the most important aspects of Dark Souls – Combat. Maybe the hardest aspect to translate from the electronic game to a tabletop rpg, the combat in Dark souls is skill based. The better the player, the better the chances of the character surviving. So much in fact that there are players able to finish Dark Souls almost without leveling up their characters stats or equipment. But an rpg is made – normally – with random numbers and, if your character stats are bad, no matter how 'good' you understand one system, you will probably still die.

Although it is possible to try emulating skill through a game (for example, Chess is a game based entirely on a person's skill), the main objective here will be trying to translate the 'feel' of Dark Souls. In Dark Souls, you always feel like your way of playing and reacting affect the game – how could we do something similar in a tabletop rpg?

Thus I introduce the 'Defense Rolls'. There are 6 types of defense rolls, one for each main attribute:

. Strength defense: Pushing, Trampling, Smashing.

. Dexterity defense: Dodging, rolling, evading.

. Constitution defense: Resisting, interposing, absorbing attacks.

. Inteligence defense: Foretelling, Feinting, fe

. Wisdom defense: Perceiving, acting on instincts.

. Charisma defense: Intimidating, Luck.

Besides the Saving Throws values, a character would have also Defense values. If you are playing with a classic OSR class, every one of their defense rolls will start at 15 at first level and receive +1 after each even level (so, +1 at level 2, +2 at level 4 etc), and will also receive +1 if the attribute is 13-15, +2 if it is 16 or 17, and +3 if 18. If you are playing with the 'Chosen Undead' special class, then your Defense starts at 20+ and depends entirely on your improved attribute modifiers.

In a manner similar to Saving Throws, defense rolls are defensive maneuvers a character may use wherever it seems plausible for him do to so. Wherever a player receives damage, he may narrate how he would defend from it and roll against the appropriate defense value. If successful, the damage is halved and; if it is a failure, the damage received is doubled. If the damage source already needed a saving throw, then either it is not possible to make a defense roll, or the damage will be nullified if both actions are successful – the GM must decide.

For example, let's suppose your 2 nd level fighter is attacked by a giant rat that hits for 20 damage – enough to kill him at that moment. You then say that the fighter will push the rat back using strength in order to defend from it, but the GM that is not possible – the rat is too big for that. So, instead, the player says that he will try absorbing the attack and Defense roll with constitution. He has Con 14, which gives him a Constitution Defense of 13 (+1 being level 2, +1 constitution modifier). He rolls a 11 – a failure – so the damage is doubled and the character dies, reviving later in the bonfire.

In another time, the same fighter is attacked by a pyromancer's fireball, receiving 30 damage. The attack naturally allows for a saving throw, which the character succeeds, halving the damage to 15. However, he wants to negate the damage – so, he tries rolling. Sadly, the fighter fails and the damage goes back to 30 – killing him again.

And that is the idea with Defense Rolls: the characters are able to narrate how they would defend against an attack and may have some control over what happen to their character. And many different monsters will have different modifiers for each kind of defense, which will give some tactical density for the players to know what kind of monsters they are attacking. But I will explain that in future parts.

Until then,

Valete!

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OSR Extras (6) – The Rains of Castamere music, a new bard song

I love the Rains of Castamere – so much in fact that I made aportuguese version of it. I think that its simplicity and yet somber tones makes for one of the most eerie and intimidating musics out of them all. I've already posted inspired by the Lightbringer song, and today I will bring a new bard song – the legendary Lannister's Song, the Rains of Castamere.

The Rains of Castamere, legendary bard song

The sheet of music which has the song has a magical nature to it, visible through 'Detect Magic', although any Bard can sense it naturally. In fact, a bard can read the 'soul' of the music and, if interested, may study it carefully. If the bard spends 5.000 xp, he may then gain access to its powers.

When the bard has a chance to perform the song, anyone of his enemies will feel the weight of his words a thousandfold. Everyone must make a spell saving throw or become intimidated. Those intimidated will be too afraid to raise arms against the bard or his group, unless directly attacked by the Bard or his companions. In fact, the Bard is capable to even escape otherwise impossible situations – like for example, he may sing the song while in a cell in prison and make the guards free him. Beyond intimidation, if the Bard sings for his troops the song, all who hear him will receive +1 to all attack rolls during the next battle, to a maximum of 1 thousand people.

But there is a price: every time the song is used, the GM must roll a d100 in the open and make the players think that this has something to do with the level of the effect of the music. In fact, if the die rolls 100, what happen is that the spirits of the Rains will appear out of nowhere and try dragging the bard to the afterlife. If the Bard survives, that will not impede the effect to happen again, would he roll a 100 again.

Ghosts of Castamere (3d4)

HD 8, or 40 hp

At 10 [+10], spectral touch for 2d10 damage and save against death +4

AC 0 [20], can only be hit by +2 weapons or better

Sv 9+

All True Neutral

XP 4.000

Special: The spectral touch also have the victim make a +3 saving throw against death or have the soul taken to the afterlife.

Until next time,

Valete!

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OSR extras (5) - Touhou project Marisa Kirisame, rpg character sheet

Touhou is an amazing thing, although very hard to explain. In its core, it's a danmaku game ('curtain of fire', 'bullet hell') where you play as little girls shooting colorful bullets against one another. But saying that is the same as saying that 'Dark Souls is just a game where you play a zombie in a dark fantasy world' or that 'Adventure Time is just stupid cartoon about the adventures

of a boy and a magic dog in a strange world'. All of those stories have such a level of density and complexity that goes beyond the first glances one may have on them.

In the case of Touhou, I find it one of the most endearing works of art nowadays. I love the plural aspect of its expression, where every single detail helps to compose the greater picture: the way the characters talk and clothe, the way they attack, their respective bullets and their patterns, the musics of the game, the way the musics are composed to create a greater arc on themselves and with themselves, the many characteristics correlated to oriental religion and mythology, the subtle criticism of the modern wasted way of life, the heartfelt atmosphere that can make brutal human devouring demons seem so lovely...

With all of that said, today I bring you Marisa! the ordinary magician from Touhou; I was saying that I'd do that for a friend of mine for a few days and now I got to it, ha! Well, as always, outside brackets is Old School, inside is New School.

Marisa, the Ordinary Magician, Human Wizard 7, Druid 3, Fighter 3, Thief 5

HD: 18 (7d4+3d8+3d10+5d6), or 51 hp

At: 11 [+9]; Magic broom 7 [+13], 2d6 damage or Danmaku (see below)

AC: 8 [12] when in the ground; -5 [25] when fighting in the air flying on her broom

SV: 12+ (see below)

All: Chaotic good

XP: 15.000

Special:

. Breaking the law!: Marisa does not follow the classic OSR rules. She has many different classes and does not suffer of any of their restrictions (as, for example, having to be True Neutral to be a druid). Her strong, tireless and hard-working nature makes her adaptable – and she can bend rules to make them fit better to her designs.

. A strange thief!: Marisa's thievery does't seem motivated by greed and desire for money and riches. All in all, she is a very 'balanced' thief, having 60% in all her skills.

. Just an ordinary magician!: Although one of the most iconic personalities in Touhou and with a great deal of power herself, Marisa's magic is truly limited – mostly light and fire based, and almost entirely attack spells. Most of her magic components come from mushrooms – hence her levels as a Druid, focusing mostly on Plant based magic. The GM should keep that in mind, as Marisa would have few utility spells memorized if encountered randomly, having mostly attack based ones. Nevertheless, she can prepare herself if the situation calls for it (look at 'Extreme Effort').

. Ze!: Marisa's quirky temperament is legendary – even though she is known as a burglar, there are not many direct assaults against her from those she steals from. Because of that, Marisa has a +3 reaction roll, and overall can get away of any sticky situation through her charisma – even though sometimes that makes her seem as just a childish human.

. Extreme effort!: Marisa can work tirelessly for hours with extreme dedication. In fact, she can muster new magical effects if needed, and create new items or potions to the GM discretion if she has time for it. And, although extremely hard-working, Marisa goes to great lenghts in hiding that from others – so her magic seem very flashy and very natural, besides the high ammount of dedication she puts into it.

. Danmaku!: Marisa can shoot lasers, fires and other similar attacks based on light and heat. Her shoots are normally focused and powerfull. When attacking with her Danmaku, it has attack 5 [+15] and deals 4d6 damage.

. Agile girl with a tiny hitbox!: Marisa is fast and nimble when on her broom, flying. Therefore, her AC goes to -5 [25] when she's in the air. And, if she is fighting someone, she probably will be in the air.

. Master Spark!: Her ultimate attack, Marisa may use her magic item 'Mini-Hakero' to invoke the Master Spark – a big 'fuck-off' laser cannon. It causes 20d6 damage (breath save for half damage) in a gigantic line of sight (probably hitting anything in front of her). She has very few and random uses of it per day, though. When she uses the Master Spark, roll 1d6, and let the die rest on the table. Then, if she wants to use it again, roll the die and you must get a higher number than before. If you can't, the Master Spark is wasted for today and must be recharged.

. Magic Items!: Marisa has a great collection of strange items in her house – the GM may name some of them as magical if needed. Besides that, she has always by her side her broom – a flying broom that seems to be undestructible – and her Mini-Hakero which is capable to create many different levels of fire.

. Poison Resistance and Cold Vulnerability: Although an almost unknown fact, Marisa is very resistance to poison (the Forest of Magic, the place where she lives, is poisonous by itself and she is fine living there) and she is also weak against cold. Because of that, Marisa is immune to most Marisa receives +2 on saves against poison and -2 on those against Cold attacks. 

. Fight through nihilism!: Marisa has an indomitable spirit. Although 'just a human', and overall pretty weak compared to the foes she encounter, she has an inner strength the sets her appart from others. When completely dedicated to a cause, with the GM's discretion, Marisa gains +49 hit points (going to 100 hps total) and, if she fails a saving throw, she can try again with a 3+, having to have lost those 2 times for the effect to heappen against her.

. Combat strategies!: Marisa goes into combat with gun's blazing. She is not afraid of using superior firepower and mobility. She will be in the air, using her danmaku, casting any spells that seem useful and will not be shy of blasting her Master Spark against her enemies. If things go awry, she will speed off away in her broom – and few creatures would be able to catch up to her in speed.

Hope you guys liked Marisa. I will be talking more of Touhou eventually – I think it would be a very, very interesting setting to try adapting to OSR. Maybe after I finish my Dark Souls one.

Until then,

Valete!.

Image:  Mokku

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Dark Souls rpg OSR (2) – Classes and 'The Chosen Undead' class

In my last post, I discussed the basics of what makes Dark Souls: Souls, Humanity and Death. Now, I'll talk about another fundamental aspect necessary for the game - the classes. I will also talk about a new class for OSR: 'The Chosen undead.

Considering all the basic and specialized classes of OSR (Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, Thief, Paladin, Druid, Ranger etc), I believe all of them can be used without much changing. However, the GM must adapt them to the Dark Souls lore, although much of Dark Souls is still a mistery. Most of the game passes only in a small area of the world, and that leaves a lot of space for the GM to create new things - so, adapting the classes lore should not be a problem and the GM should not be afraid of inventing.

However, there is a very important and specific Dark Souls 'class': The Chosen Undead, the character that the players of the electronic game plays. Although it is possible to choose amongst many different 'jobs' at the start of character creation, those are, in the end, not very much different from one another - all depends on how you are going to level up your character and what equipment you will use. So, basically, there is only one 'class' in Dark Souls, and I would like to propose an adaptation of it to tabletop rpg:

First things to say is that class would be very special and with particular rules, escaping from the OSR normal pattern. All its characteristics would come from attributes improvements and from its level system. Different from other classes, the Chosen Undead would follow the Dark Souls table of progression, which you can see in this link. Every time the Chosen Undead collects enough souls to level up, it may go to the nearest sacred bonfire and spend the necessary souls. With each level, The Chosen Undead gains +1 improvement to add to an attribute (it is interesting that the player notes the main basic value of an attribute and the improved one in sepparate). Different from all other player characters, The Chosen Undead receives a +1 modifier for every 2 points of improvement beyond 10 - similar to d20 system. So, Strength 23 would give +6 modiffier, for example. The maximum you may have at one improved attribute is 50 (a +20 modiffier).

It is important to note, however, that the Improved attributes are not 'absolutes' in the fictional world. What I mean is that, if you have a giant with Strength 19 agains a Chosen Undead with 38 Improved Strength, but only 14 natural strength, the Giant will be stronger. The Chosen Undead is only able to compare against creatures of relative size - so, a warrior with 17 Stength against a Chosen Undead with 19 improved strength, the Chosen Undead would be stronger. 

Besides the different level progression and attributes, the Chosen Undead does not have Hit Dice. Instead, they have HP equal to their improved Constitution value, and receive +1 hp every 10 levels. So, a Chosen Undead level 94 and with 38 Con would have 47 hit points. If it is needed to know how many HD would the Chosen Undead have, divide its level by 20 (divide by 10, then divide by 2). So, a level 380 Chosen Undead would be equivalent to a 16 HD creature.

In resume:

Chosen Undead

HD: None.  Hps = Constitution +1 / 10 levels; equivalent HD equal to level/ 20.

Attack bonus: None, although with Strength improvement it can go as high as +20 in melee attacks and with Dexterity improvement it can go as +20 in ranged attacks.
Weapons and Armor: Any.

Saving Throws: Começam em 20+, e usam os modificadores dos atributos. They start at a 20+ saving throws, but all its saving throws are modified by attributes. I will talk more of that in the next post.

XP progression: Equal to Dark Souls I, being able to reach very high levels (500, 600th etc).

I hope you folks liked it. Next post will be about Mechanics: Saving Throws and Combat Maneuvres, where I will try explainning how to emulate Dark Souls mechanically in a tabletop rpg.

Until then,
Valete!

Image: I did not make it; I only added a little bit of text.

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OSR Extras (4) – Marshall Lee from Adventure Time, character rpg sheet

So, I posted about Marceline – and it is pretty late here Yeah...I would not post more today, but something special happened. I re-encountered an old friend after six long years without knowing of him. So, because of that, here is her favorite character from Adventure Time in OSR stats: Marshall Lee. As always, Old School out of brackets, New School inside the brackets.

HD: 15, or 72 (in other words, 12 times 6), and 100 in Monster form

At: 5 [+15], 1d4 punch/bite, or 0 [+20] in monster form, 4d6 slam damage

AC: 3 [17], or 0 [20] in monster form

Sv: 5+

All: Chaotic Neutral

XP: 7.000

Special:

Shapeshifting: As his female counterpart, Marshall Lee can shapeshift and also has a monster form which he uses in combat and gives him +5 to Attack, +3 to AC and +28 hp.

Necromancy: Marshall Lee can Animate the Dead in a place where suitable corpses are avaliable. 2D6+4 Skeletons will rise by his command. It is possible that more powerful undead can be called to his command.

Other powers: As Marceline, Marshall Lee can fly at will with perfection and probably has a thousand different powers – although they have not yet appeared in the cartoon. Because of that, I will not post them here.

Yeah, Marshall Lee's sheet is way shorter than Marceline's cause I'm basing myself at what we saw in the cartoon until now – and we have seen too little out of Lee. Anyway, I hope you folks liked it.

Valete!

Image 1

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OSR Extras (3) – Optimus Prime from Michael Bay's Transformers, character rpg sheet

So, sometimes I amuse myself with strange ideas – what would be the stats for the Miachael Bay's crazy Optimus Prime? Well, I will not get in the merit of speaking about his new transformer movies – this is not the place to talk about it. I will just add some stats to it; it will be fun, right? As always, numbers out of brackets mean Old School and inside brackets mean New School.

(Bay's) Optimus Prime, gargantuan allien machine

HD: 40, or 240 hps

At: -5 [+25], 1 slam for 10d6 damage

AC: -14 [34]

Sv: Special (look below at 'optimal saves')

All: Lawful evil

XP: 50.000

Special:

. Explody master blaster: We may think that explosions are our allies, but we merely adopted them. Bay's Prime was born in them, molded by them...so, Optimus Prime is immune to explosions damage – unless the GM wants it not (haha!).

. No Mercy: Bay's prime has a very strict code of honor and will have no mercy upon their enemies (hence it's 'lawful evil allignment). When speaking his peace and delivering judgment, Bay's Prime attacks get a critical on a natural 15+ (double damage). Also, 'No, Optimus Primeeee'.

. Giant (what the hell?!) guns: Bay's prime can have giant shotguns. If he is using such artifacts of power (!?), his attacks will cause double damage (although the target may have a saving throw to halve it). And it is cummulative with 'No Mercy!' - so, in theory, Bay's Prime can deal a whooping 40d6 damage in one hit! Yawzeers!

. Gargantuan Hell Machine out of Space: Bay's Prime is a godzilla of machinery doom. His physical attacks will hit entire blocks, so they are able to strike the whole group of unfortunate adventurers that dared to oppose his lawful evil self.

. Optimal saves: Bay's prime is a resilient mofo. He has saving throws on 10+. If he fails, he is able to try again, with a 3+! Only if he fails that second time is when the effects take place. Besides that, divide by 10 all magical and elemental damage that optimus prime take.

. Trucker form: Bay's Prime may take a trucker form. It's usefulness is solely to go faster. Yep.

. Cheesy and pointless monolog: After a climatic battle, Bay's Prime can say a mind-bogging monolog. Everyone that can hear him must make a Saving throw against magic or be charmed by his presence.

So, that is Bay's Prime. I find it funny how over the top in cruelty and lack of mercy he is compared to the classic cartoon ones – that is part of the reason I wanted to make this post. And you folks, what do you think?

Valete!

Image 1

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