HiBRiD Things For Your Game #3: HiBRiD Insect World (A HiBRiD Genre Description)

Hey all!

I know I said I was going to continue with my damage discussion this entry, but...

...I was back from vacation ten minutes when I saw a tweet from @PinkDiceGM asking for a game where players could play bugs. Since I am in the process of writing the Character Creation Guidebook, I decided to take a few minutes to test the new book and wrote the following abbreviated Genre Description for just such a campaign.

Anyone interested in playing this game, let me know and I will send you a character sheet and an abbreviated version of the HiBRiD rules and the Ite' Gaming Engine with which to try it. If anyone is interested, I will publish the first expansion: Arachnids on this blog as well.

Enough with that...Enjoy!

Genre Description: Bug World

The World

The HiBRiD Insect World is a basic rules-light genre where players play standard-sized insects living their lives in and around a small pond in a temperate climate right here in our own little world. There is no magic in this microcosm. Bugs can be squashed or eaten in an instant.

The People

Any player can play any bug they can imagine. Maybe a rhinocerous beetle that escaped from a zoo? Maybe a leafcutter ant that hitched a ride in a baby stroller. Maybe the bug is a a lab-created mutant. Whichever bug the player wishes to play, any special abilities characteristic to that bug must be reflected by purchasing those abilities with aspect points. If a player wants to play a dragonfly, for instance, the Fly aspect will need to be purchased, otherwise the dragonfly character does not have that ability.

The Heroes

CHARACTER STATS

Characters have 6 attributes that default to the following values:

STR     0        WILL   0        LENGTH= 5 cm

RSIL    0        INTL   0        MASS= 5 g

RFLX   0        PERC   0       

The remaining default stats are as follows:

STUN= 10+RSIL X 10

PHYS= PHYS + 10

ARMV= 2

Action Move   = 1 m/round

Action Load   = 10 x STR GRAMS      

Action Range  = 1 m/Extreme = 10 m

ORIGIN TRAITS:

All bugs have the following origin traits:

1. All bugs can all crawl; any other mode of movement must be bought with aspect points.

2. All bugs have an exoskeleton. This means they all have the following traits

• They are immune to falls of any height
• All insects have a default ARMV of 2

3. Perception: Bug characters favor one sense over the others. Players must choose one of the following:

• Compound Eye-Can see opponents 360; never surprised
• Sonic Perception-Can sense sonic disturbances and vibrations outside normal human range
• Smell-Can sense/taste poisons/opponents/toxins/mates at extreme Range

SKILLS

Bugs have the five skills listed below. Characters assign a rank to each of these skills (+5, +4, +3, +2, and +1) and adds the indicated attribute to determine their ACTION LEVELS with each skill.

• Eat = RANK + RSIL (Anything having to do with eating/being eaten)
• Kill = RANK + STR (Anything having to do with killing/being killed)
• Poo = RANK + INTL (Anything having to do with making/managing poo)
• Mate = RANK + RFLX (Anything having to do with mating except resisting pheromones)
• Resist Pheromone = RANK+WILL (Anything having to do with resisting the pheromones of another bug)

POINT POOLS

All players receive the following:

ASPECT POINT POOL

30 Aspect Points to buy “Bug Powers”. Each bug power is listed below using the following format: (Cost) Name (DESCRIPTION). Each power has a grade of 1 (except camouflage, which is ungraded) when bought. Spending additional points equal to the cost on a power upgrades it by 1 and extends the ability of the power as described.(Again, except the camouflage power, which may not be upgraded).

• (2) Armor (1/GRADE)
• (5) Scurry +1m TO MOVE/GRADE
• (5) Fly 1KM/HR/GRADE, must rest each hour and eat body weight in food to continue to fly
• (5) Sting +1D10 (5) + POISON (Buy specific type or poison has no game effects other than disturbing color) 
• (5) Bite         2D10 (10)
• (5) Strength load X 10/GRADE
• (5) Leap 20 x LENGTH/GRADE
• (5) Swim 1m/ROUND/GRADE
• (5) Poison (Burn) inflicts 1d10(5) per grade burns 1 gm of material/GRADE
• (5) Poison (Acid) inflicts 1d10(5) per grade burns 1 gram of material/GRADE
• (5) Poison (Odor) creates odor that nauseates (Opposed TASK ROLL VS TARGET’s RSIL,  Add GRADE to roll)
• (5) Poison (Coagulant/Anticoagulant) inflicts 1d10(5) /GRADE
• (5) Poison (Anaphylaxis) inflicts 1d10(5) /GRADE
• (10) Pheromone-Mental attack to command a bug to do a one word command and nothing else within 1 m
• (10) Pheromone Range Extension (Extends the range 1m/GRADE)
• (10) Call Swarm - can call 1d100 bugs to your aid/GRADE
• (10) Camouflage IMMOBILE CRIT NEEDED TO DETECT (NO GRADE)

ATTRIBUTE POINT POOL

10 Attribute Points (The player spends 10 points between the standard 6 attributes. Each point spent increases an attribute by +1)

ITE' POINT POOL

3 points of Ité. Used during the game, if using the Ité Gaming Engine™

CHARACTER CREATION STEPS

1. Write down your 3 origin traits
2. Spend your Attribute Points (10 points)
3. Calculate your skill ACTION LEVELS (Ranks and add the attributes)
4. Buy Your Bug Powers (30 Aspect points)
5. Calculate your remaining stats
6. Write a description
7. Describe your home

ACTION RESOLUTION

Standard HiBRiD rules apply. To play the game, players roll a d20 and add a single modifier to the roll:

• Add the grade if using an aspect
• Add the ACTION LEVELS if using a skill
• Add the relevant attribute for any other situation

Every character gets 1 action per round. Attacking an opponent counts as a single action. Rounds last 10 seconds, roughly.

• Any opponent may oppose an action taken against them with a task roll unless surprised.
• Ties go to attacker/initiator of an action.
• If damage is scored, average may be take or the number/types of die may be rolled.
• Damage scored is subtracted from STUN. When STUN=0 or less, creature is unconscious and begins to dry up, losing 1 point of PHYS/round until dead or pheromoned (a bug must have the Pheromone-HEAL) power to do this.
• Armor subtracts number of points of damage from wounds equal to the ARMV. For example, if a bug is attacked for 5 points of damage and it has an ARMV of 2, only 3 points are subtracted from the victim's STUN.