CaltropCore stuff
CALTROPCORE:
For a stat-driven game, simply assign a number between 1 and 3 to each stat. When that stat comes into play, roll that many d4s. Take the highest roll.
D4 RESULT
1 Absolute Failure. You don’t get what you want and things get a lot worse.
2 Partial Failure. You don’t get what you want.
3 Partial Success. You get what you want, but things get complicated.
4 Absolute Success. You get what you want — and more.
STATS
Forceful. Roll to resolve risky actions of strength and/or toughness and/or melee combat.
Agile. Roll to resolve risky agility actions and/or ranged combat.
Insightful. Roll to resolve rigorous mental actions.
Charming. Roll to resolve precarious social interactions.
Start out with 1 in each stat. (No stat can go above 3.)
This number represents how many d4s you roll for each stat.
Choose an Upbringing
This overlaps with the idea of traditional fantasy “races,” but applies to any increased attribute as a result of where you’re from. Add 1 to a stat of your choice, relating to your Upbringing.
Choose a Class
Add 1 to a stat of your choice, relating to your Class.
Health
In fantasy RPGs, hit points are a common way to create stakes. Since we’ll have a lot of d4s handy, we can build a system around that die.
Everyone has 4 health to start. Decide what happens when you take damage at 1 health, as well as how characters die (if at all).
COMBAT
A fantasy adventuring game typically features combat. But what kind of combat do you want? Fast? Maybe combat is resolved with a single roll. This lends itself to narrative-first combat, where, for example, a 3 would mean the character wins but things get complicated.
If you want something more tactical, something suitable for a traditional fantasy adventure game, you might try something like this:
D4 RESULT
1 You take 1 damage as the opponent counters your attack.
2 You take 1 damage, OR you take no damage, but you're forced into a worse position (rolling -1 die on your next roll.)
3 You deal 1 damage.
4 You deal 2 damage.
The damage table can be adjusted to your game’s needs.
Classes are always fun, so let’s make some here (although classes aren’t the only way of doing things. You can also develop a “pick list” of abilities that a character can use to build out their own custom kit).
Fighter: Your Forceful increases by 1.
--Armor: Any damage you take can be ignored if you want-- but doing so will damage your armor. Afterward, you'll have to find or buy more armor to use this benefit again.
--Fierce: You do one extra damage for every 4 you roll over the first one.
Rogue: Your Agile or Insightful increases by 1.
--Street Smart. Roll Agile+Insightful to sneak around, pick locks, get information, and steal small items.
--Apothecary: You’ve mastered the use of a recipe for a type of poison or drug. Choose a recipe from the list below; that recipe becomes not-dangerous for you to use (in other words, you're good enough with it that you won't accidentally dose yourself). You also start with three uses of the recipe you choose. Whenever you have time to gather materials and a safe place to brew, you can make three uses of the recipe you choose for free. All of these just need to touch the target, they can even be used on a weapon (but if you apply one to an ally's weapon instead of yours, there's a chance of the ally accidentally dosing themselves instead. (You cannot apply more than one recipe to one weapon at the same time.)
--Oil of Noric: On an attack result of 4 or better, the target is affected by the recipe: the target falls into a light sleep.
--Uglollaweed: On an attack result of 3 or better, the target is affected by the recipe: the target deals -1 less damage in combat for the next 10 to 40 minutes.
--Ossiga's Disapproval: After an attack result of 3 or better, the target is affected by the recipe: for the next hour, anyone attacking the target rolls 1 extra die (no maximum!)
--Swamp's Embrace: After an attack result of 3 or better, the target is affected by the recipe: they become confused and hallucinate for the next 10 to 40 minutes.
Cleric: Your Charming increases by 1.
Heal: Roll Forceful+Charming. Restore an amount of health equal to the number of 4s you rolled to an ally you can see.
--Turn Undead: When you hold your holy symbol aloft and call on your deity for protection, roll +Charming.
✴ On a 3 or better, so long as you continue to pray and brandish your holy symbol, no undead may come within reach of you.
✴ On a 4 or better, you also momentarily daze intelligent undead and cause mindless undead to flee. Aggression breaks the effects and they are able to act as normal. (Intelligent undead may still find ways to harry you from afar. They’re clever like that.)
Order Mage:
Your Insightful increases by 1.
Mage Armor: Roll Forceful+Insightful. For every 4 you roll, an invisible shield will block the next 2 points worth of damage. This will also protect people immediately behind you. You cannot cast this on anyone but yourself, and once you have a shield, you can't cast it again until it's used up. It only lasts about 5 minutes, even if it absorbs no damage.
Enhance: Roll Forceful+Insightful and pick a target (which could be you, yourself).
--If the highest result is 4: Your target rolls as if all their stats are 1 point higher (maximum of 4) for their next two rolls.
--If the highest result is 3: Your target rolls as if one of their stats (your pick after you roll to cast the spell) are 1 point higher (maximum of 4) for their next roll.
--If the highest result is 2: Your target rolls as if one of their stats (your pick after you roll to cast the spell) are 1 point higher (maximum of 4) for their next roll, but you can't cast this spell again until you've had at least an hour of rest.
--If the highest result is 1: The spell fails, and you take -1 on your next roll.
Chaos Mage:
Your Charming increases by 1.
Elemental Bolt. Roll Forceful+Charming to unleash a streak of elemental energy of your choice. You can deal an amount of damage equal to the number of 4s you rolled to one target you can see within 25 yards of you.
Illusion: Roll Insightful+Charming to create an illusion.
--If the highest result is 4: You frighten away or confuse (you choose) 1 target for each for the 4s you rolled.
--If the highest result is 3: You frighten or confuse 1 target.
--If the highest result is 2: You frighten or confuse 1 target, but they'll figure out it's an illusion next round (creating a new illusion next round won't work, either).
--If the highest result is 1: The illusion is immediately seen through. Take -1 die (but not below a minimum of 1) on your next roll.
Add a leveling up system if you’d like. Some options I’ve seen are:
Story-Based Advancement. After a significant narrative milestone, the GM can elect
to award a level up.
Scaling Experience Points. Each level has a fixed, predetermined number of XP required to reach it, and every monster has a fixed, predetermined number of XP it awards upon defeat.
Fail Forward. These systems reward you when you fail a roll. Maybe you get 1 XP every time you fail, and every 5 XP, you level up.
Then you can decide what a character receives upon level up, like +1 HP, +1 to a stat, or a new ability.
STATS FOR Harran the Wise, Wandering Uglolla Spirit Shaman:
Forceful 1
Agile 1
Insightful 2 because of Uglolla cultural heritage
Charming 2 because of Uglolla Spirit Shaman training
Heal: Roll Forceful+Insightful. Restore an amount of health equal to the number of 4s you rolled to an ally you can see.
Elemental Defense: Roll Insightful+Charming to unleash elemental energy of your choice. With one 4, you can block, trap, or push back up to 4 targets, if they are all in one direction from you, or you can just repel everyone/everything in a 10 foot radius around you (but that'll include allies near you too). With two 4s, this also does 1 damage to 1 target you choose. With three 4s, this also does 2 damage to 1 target you choose, or 1 damage to 2 targets you choose, and so on.
CALTROPCORE Hapid Gladiator:
STATS FOR Corma the Long-Eared, Hapid Gladiator:
Forceful 2 Because of Gladiator training
Agile 2 Because Hapid upbringing
Insightful 1
Charming 1
--The Dance. As long as Corma isn't outnumbered, even if Corma's highest roll in combat is 2, he still manages to improve his position. He gets to roll 1 extra d4 for his next combat roll against the same opponent (yes, even if that means he rolls more than 3).
--The Tricks: The first time Corma takes damage in combat, he doesn't. Although his opponent could've sworn they hit him, it was just a trick-- they narrowly missed him. This ability cannot be used again until combat is over and a new combat situation arises.
CALTROPCORE Stormrider:
STATS FOR Vashi the Searcher, Stormrider:
Forceful 2 Because of Waverider upbringing
Agile 1
Insightful 2 because of Stormrider training
Charming 1
Find The Path: Roll Insightful.
--If the highest result is 4: You and each of your allies roll +1 die on your next roll (max of 4). You sense the safest way to your destination.
--If the highest result is 3: You sense the safest way to your destination.
--If the highest result is 2: You aren't sure what the best way forward is. Roll -1 die if you try Find The Path again today.
--If the highest result is 1: You aren't sure what the best way forward is. You and each of your allies roll -1 die on your next roll that you would normally roll more than 1 die on.
Sea Legs: Vashi rolls +1 extra die to Agility rolls at sea or on water, or any Agility roll (on land or sea) that involves keeping her balance.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:26, Mon 27 June 2022.
