HiBRiD Spellslingers Part One: Creating Your Spellslinger

Over the years, I have been asked to write a spell system for HiBRiD. But as I have been focusing my attention between refining and streamlining the rules, editing the final version of the book, and playtesting at the various GenCons, I have not really had the resources to give it the attention it deserves. There are even several people who have taken to working on such a monumental tasks and are still working on the project! 

But you don't wanna wait, do you? You wanna put one or more of your old OSR/d20 game books or issues of Gygax or Dragon magazine to use! You wanna call down the thunder from the skies! You wanna conjure crazy feats of the darkest Chinese Black Magic! You wanna lob a fireball!

In order to help you arcane ass-kickers out, I have decided to take inspiration from the FADAD document by Peter Mikelsons. In that document, he did a really nice set of conversions for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons® for his campaign so that players and directors could use their published materials with the FUDGE® gaming system. In these next few entries, you will find a quick and dirty conversion of your favorite old-school edition of Dungeons and Dragons®- (Basic®- or Advanced®-, any edition) or any of its derivatives (including OSRIC, Pathfinder®-, Hackmaster®-, et cetera) to the HiBRiD game system for all you itching to sling mana HiBRiD-style. O. K., enough with the background...get your game handbook of choice and let's do it! 

So let's begin wIth Part One: Building Your Spellslinger

Step One: Giving Your Character “The Gift”

The first thing you need to do to create a character that can cast spells is purchase the Spellslinging Aspect. The aspect only enables your character to cast spells of a certain level; it does not imbue your character with any specific spell. If you buy 1 Grade of Spellslinging, for example, your character may learn spells of any level but only has the ability to cast first level spells.

Spellslinging

Cost: 10

Graded?: G

Activation: Constant

This aspect imbues your character with the rare ability to cast magical spells of the Wzard/Mage/Sorceror/Illusionist character class. Each grade enables your character to cast spells of a level indicated in the Reference Book required by the game director equal to the grade. This aspect does not have an effect on learning a spell; only your character's ability to cast it.

Providence

Cost: 10

Graded?: G

Activation: Constant

This aspect imbues your character with the rare ability to cast magical spells of the Priest/Cleric class. Each grade enables your character to cast spells of a level indicated in the Reference Book required by the game director equal to the grade. This aspect does not have an effect on learning a spell; only your character's ability to cast it.

Step Two: Picking Spells

Next, you need to pick your character's spells. Each spell is treated as a separate skill in HiBRiD and follows the standard skill rules. In HiBRiD standard rules, each spell is considered a Concept Skill, which allows characters only a few spells that define the character). In certain Genre Descriptions such as Anachronism Whisper that use a more complicated, age and INTL-based  skill system, each spell is treated as an individual skill and costs one Skill Point to purchase for your character

Because spells in the game are treated as separate skills, each spell will have a number of Action Levels associated with it, just like any other skill in the game. The relevant attribute to each spell is determined by the corresponding attribute in the HiBRID system. Mage spells, for instance, use INTL as the relevant attribute, priest spells use the WILL attribute. Spells that use the Charisma attribute default to the WILL attribute, as charisma is treated as a Concept Skill in the HIBRiD game.

Once you have determined the action levels your character possesses in each skill, you are ready to play.

HiBRiD Black and White Character Creation Rules

I was playing around with the Vim editor today and decided to use it to jot down the 10 character creation steps for playing the Junior version of HiBRiD/Ite' Gamine Engine. So for all you who want to get a game up and running in 10 minutes or less (and for all the "cousins" who play every time we have a family get-together), here they are:

Caveat: 

These rules require the Aspect Descriptions Resource document, the Skill Descriptions Resource  document, and a director-designed Campaign Background document to complete. Email me or Message me and I will forward you a copy if you want to give a HiBRiD/IGE game a go.

#BEGIN RULESET=====================

So you wanna play HiBRiD?

OK.

First, get a pencil, a sheet of paper, and a document known as the Campaign Background from your game Director. This will contain all of the values and tools you need to create a character that will adventure in her campaign. These include a list of templates, a number of Attribute Points, a number of Ite' Points, and a Heroic Level.

The list of templates describes a number of types of heroic characters you will find in the game your director will be running. Select one of the templates and write the title of the template on your piece of paper. This paper now becomes your character sheet, which you will use to record all the rest of the details about your character you will select through the rest of the character creation process.

Next you need to write down the names of the six character attributes all characters possess: Strength (STR), Resilience (RSIL), Reflexes (RFLX), Intelligence (INTL), Will (WILL), Perception (PERC). Each of these attributes represents a built-in ability of your character ands starts with a value of 0. Next, you may spend the Attribute pints given to you in the Campaign Background to increase the value of each attribute by +1 for each point you spend. You may also decrease a value below zero, where each point you take makes it a more negative value, and add that point to another attribute. When you are done, each attribute will possess a value ranging from -10 to +10 and the total of all six attributes will equal the number of Attribute Points given in the Campaign Background.

Third, you will need to determine your character's skillsets. The template you select will have six skillsets. Each skillset reflects the amount of time your character has spent learning and practicing certain types of activities. The Academic skillset represents the time your character has spent learning things from books and research. The Athletic skillset represents the time your character has spent performing physical feats and sports. The Combat skillset represents the amount of time your character spends learning how to fight with and without weaponry. The Fringe skillset represents time your character has spent learning to survive either in the wilderness or outside of the law within urban areas. The Social skillset represents time your character has spent learning to meet, interact with, and even manipulate people. The Technology skillset represents time your character has spent learning skills related to tools, vehicles, and technology. The template will rank these skillsets from 0 to +5, where 0 represents little or no time spent learnign a skillset and +5 representing the types of actiivies characters of that template spend the most time doing. List each skillset on your character sheet with its rank next to it.

Fourth, you will need to determine your character's Specialties. Each specialty belongs to a skillset and represents time spend learning a specific task within each skillset. (You can read about the specialites as well as which skillset to which each specialty belongs in the core rulebook) The template you select will list three such specialties. Some of these specialties may be listed with the word (Specific) in parentheses next to it. This means there is more than one type of that specialty that you must choose. The specialties of the template are ranked from +1 to +3. Select and record your character's specialties down on your character sheet as well as their ranks.

Fifth, you need to determine your character's Aspects. Aspects represent the supernatural abilites your character possesses. (You can read about Aspects in the core rulebook. Each Aspect includes a description, an Aspect Point cost, and and indication of whether or not you may upgrade it) The template you select will list the Aspects unique to the template you have chosen as well as a number of Aspect Points you have remaining. These Aspect Points can be used to either upgrade the Aspects listed for your character's template or to buy and upgrade new Aspects. To buy Aspects, you can look up the Aspect cost in the description and spend that many Aspect points to buy the aspect. The Aspect description will also describe if an Aspect can be upgrade an aspect. Each upgrade costs the same amount as it does to buy the aspect. Any points you do not spend will be lost once play begins. (Note for Dungeons and Dragons players: Any effect that creates an effect similar to a spell costs a number of Aspect Points equal to 10 times the level of the spell; You get the spell at Grade 1 and cast it as a 1st level caster; you may increase your level of casting ability for each upgrade. As you can see, it gets prohibitively expensive very quickly!)

Sixth, you will need to determine your character's Action Levels. An Action Level is a number you will use during the game to determine if your character's actions are successful or not. Your character will possess one Action Level for each Skillset and one Action Level for each Specialty. To determine your character's Skillset Action Levels, you will add an Attribute to a Skillset rank as follows:

Academic Action Levels = Intelligence + Academic Skillset Rank

Athletic Action Levels = Strength + Athletic Skillset Rank

Combat Action Levels = Reflexes + Combat Skillset Rank

Fringe Action Levels = Resilience + Fringe Skillset Rank

Social Action Levels = Will + Social Skillset Rank

Technology Action Levels = Perception + Technology Skillset Rank

To determine your character's Specialty Action Levels, you will need to first look in the core rule book and determine which skillset each specialty belongs to. Next, for each Specialty, find the Skillset Action Levels for that skillset you just determined and add the Specialty Rank.

Seventh, you will need to determine your character's Action Values. Action values are used to speed up gameplay, and determine things such as how much your character can lift, how far your character can move, how far your character can see et cetera. The Action Values and how they are calculated are as follows:

Action Range = 10 meters + 1 meter for every point of Perception Attribute

Action Load = 10 kilograms + 1 kilogram for every point of Strength Attribute

Action Move = 20 meters

Ite' = Given in Campaign Background

Eighth, you will need to determine your character's Combat Values. The combat Values and how they are calculated are as follows:

PHYS = 10 + Strength

STUN = (10+ Resilience) x Heroic Factor (from the Campaign Background)

Strength Defense Rating = 10 + Strength

Reflexes Defense Rating = 10 + Reflexes

Resilience Defense Rating = 10 + Resilience

Intelligence Defense Rating = 10 + Intelligence

Will Defense Rating = 10 + Will

Perception Defense Raing = 10 + Perception

Ballistic Armor Value = Dependent on Armor

Nonballistic Armor Value = Dependent on Armor

Ninth, you need to determine your any effects your character's aspects have on any of your character's Action Values and Combat Values

The tenth step is to equip your character. Remember to include two lists: One of trappings on your character's person and those your character has elsewhere. Fr each weapon, you will need to note its damage code on your character sheet. For ranged weapons, you will also need to record the Maximum Effective Range and Extreme Range.

One you have comleted these steps, you will submit the character sheet to your director for approval. She may change certain things on the sheet or require you to redo the whole thing if it is messy and she can not read it or it does not fit in with the campaign background. Once you have her approval, you are ready to play.

Playtest Countdown!

Well, I have 4 of the 5 actions scenes ready for play testing

For this next con, my codirector Matthew C. will be outlining the fifth action scene!  Some of you may remember the scenario he wrote for Jedi and Sith in Canyonside back in 2009, and as many of you know, he has the skillz needed to run it, so it should be fanTAStic!

On a personal note, it's nice to collaborate with someone who cut his chops with HiBRiD/IGE rather than other more conventional games, and it is always fun to watch the looks on his face when he plays other games and people ask him to roll damage or make him follow some action-slowing game mechanic. I guess I ruined D&D for him totally! :)

While I am at it, I would also like to say that it is also awesome to have return players every other year. When I started the Canyonside events in 2001, I had no idea people would be returning to play again and again. If someone had told me back then that people would be coming back every 2 years to play an unpublished game system, I would never have believed it. So thank you all; it would seem that we have started something, and it should be interesting to see where it goes.

Well, the summer is over, so work will begin in earnest, so stay tuned to the blog folks...I will be signing up to run the first playtest at ENWorld Game Day in Mount Prospect IL some time this fall and will keep you all posted!

Have fun, roll 20s, and don't let the rules keep you from having fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Aspect: Freeze Frame

I was playing with my kids yesterday and came across an idea for a new aspect:

Freeze Frame

Initiation: Constant

Grading: N

Modes: N/A

Cost: 1

This aspect enables you to freeze all the action of an action scene and focus the camera on your character, enabling your character to perform one heroic throwaway gesture, make one dramatic facial expression, or make one witty comment without distraction. This action breaks the “fourth wall”, enabling your character to express himself/herself to all the players at the table as well as all the characters in the game.

State of Heroism Redux-Entry Two: Tennyson's Lament

Dr. Marcus Divendre, the narrator of the excerpt in my previous blog entry, met a fellow named Colonel Tennyson along his many temporal journeys, whose story he documented for a number of years. He came to appreciate and respect the once great Colonel and when the Colonel passed, he adopted his surname as a part of his own so as to honor him.

The most interesting thing about the Colonel in Dr. Workman's eyes, was that he abhorred violence yet he had a surprisingly successful (some would say) military career. Dr. Workman was always fascinated by this and many other dichotomies that seemed to infused into the Colonel's being, and was always willing to listen. He would often have to ply Tennyson with herb or drink with gentle reminders that as a historian, it was his duty to listen and record anything Tennyson said.

This second entry, dated 10.25.2004 @ 1427, was to have been one such occasion:

Violence

 

Third Age 20.Mai.1027 nZ

Tennyson once told me that he read somewhere, "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent".

He was 24 when he entered the military as an enlisted man, to "fight for mankind against the tyrants under the mountains who threatened the very existence of human life."

By what many refer to as "luck", he survived to earn multiple field promotions. By way of this same "luck", he found himself the only educated man to survive being stationed in the Heisstisch Garrison and consequently promoted the rank of Colonel. And by this same "luck", he survived the very last battle on record before the end of The War, while all of the men under his command all about him were mercilessly slaughtered.

On numerous occasions in the past when I have talked to him, he has let me know that in no uncertain terms does he consider such events to be "lucky"; that he has never forgiven himself for surviving and actually prospering at the expense of the thousands who died before his eyes as a result of the decisions he has made.

Tonight, however, he confided in me how he would find himself staring at the ceiling of the barracks or officer's quarters each and every night wondering, "Why do we have to fight at all?". And when the Treaty of Ty was signed that ended the war, he found himself asking, "Why didn't we just sign the damned treaty before all these men had to die? What fools these men are who let loose the dogs of war! Violence is...must be... the last refuge of the incompetent!."

After listening to him and seeing the tear fall from the eye of this pained and hardened man, I would have to agree...