RBH Rules
--Constant talents:
These talents are either always on or can be used as many times as you want.
You may have also noticed that some Talents (like most spells) are also marked as Focused Talents - this means that using them in a combat round requires you to be vulnerable for a short while before they take effect.
--Combat talents
Once successfully used in combat, these talents can’t be used again unless you enter a new combat-- or at least a different kind of battlefield (say, you start off being attacked while wading across a river, but then you get onto dry land-- that would be an okay excuse o use it again).
However, spending an Awesome Point lets you use a spent Combat Talent again even though you’re still on/in the same battlefield.
--Rested talents
These talents can only be used once a day, or at least until you get a meal and some decent rest.
If you spend two Awesome Points and roleplay a little explanation how, you can usually recharge a spent Rested Talent outside of combat unless your GM has a good reason why you can’t.
THE FIGHTER:
inherent: Steely-eyed
You’re good at hitting things. Every roll you make to hit something gets a +1 added to it.
Limitation: Are You Not Entertained?
You should never pass up an opportunity to steer the conversation towards yourself and your exploits. When someone isn’t paying attention to you, then you should do whatever it takes to make them pay attention to you.
OR
Limitation: Hard Knocks
You are a simple soul who wants to settle down in the countryside someday. You prefer simple plans to complicated ones, pragmatism to enthusiasm, and are reluctant to get caught up in grand projects or righteous quests.
--ARMOR OF SCARS constant ability
Getting beat up as often as you do has its advantages. You're tougher than most, and can take more punishment because of it. You start off with seven hit points instead of the usual five. Plus you've usually got some old war stories and a don't-mess-with-me countenance that gives you a +2 on any Charming check when trying to talk someone out of violence.
--CHARGER double action, usable once per battlefield
You're an expert at rushing in to attack. Once for every battlefield, you can make both a Move action and an Attack action in the same round, with a +2 bonus to the attack.
--EXPLOIT WEAKNESS focused attack, usable after rested
Practice in fighting means you have a trained eye for an Achilles’ Heel. Every couple of fights, you can carefully observe that a monster or an opponent has a weakness, and if you are able to successfully Focus on it (Insightful roll), subsequent attacks you make against it get a +2 bonus to hit and do an extra point of damage.
--RAIN OF BLOWS: usable once per combat
Once per combat, you can make an attack against every opponent in one battlefield.
--TROPHIES:
When you face and triumph over a danger, you may keep a trophy to remind you of it. You may carry up to three trophies. When you choose, you may discard the trophy to get a +2 bonus to your next roll.
THE MAGE:
inherent: Don't Need It: As long as you wear no armor at all (except for things that act like magical armor) and neither carry nor use any weapon with "heavy" in the name of its weapon type, when you roll to attack a target and get a 10 or higher on your roll result, you can treat one of your spells (if you have any yet) again, even if you already used it once during this combat.
limit: Power Hungry
You wouldn't have the knowledge you have if you weren't ruthlessly passionate about being able to control stuff. Someday time and space will change at your whim, and who knows how that will affect you.
OR
Limitation: Sparker
You suffer from the side effects of being a conduit for powerful energy. Candles and lanterns spontaneously light in your presence and your eyes have a tendency to glow in an unnatural way.
BOOK OF POWER magic item, usable anytime out of combat
You have acquired a magical tome, perhaps found, stolen, or given to you, in which are held a great many secrets, spells and lore. By spending a couple of minutes looking things up, you always know a single important fact about any given subject, either given to you by the DM or made up on the spot (per DM approval).
SLEEP SPELL focused spell, usable once after rested
Your character can make his or her voice take on a particularly somber and restful tone. Doing so, you can make two opponents or any number of Minions in your area that can hear you fall asleep by making a successful Charming test. They’ll sleep through any noise, but a good shake or swift kick is all it takes to wake them.
PUPPET STRINGS focused spell, usable only once per battlefield
By waving your staff, other implement, or just your fingers about, you can make one to three small and light inanimate things begin to float about nearby. They will even dance, if you hum a tune. If you successfully cast the spell in combat, it increases your armor by one point, as if you had a shield or something.
CONTROL PORTAL focused spell, usable anytime
You have the ability to speak to doors of any type. You can make any door unlock itself with a successful Charming check, tell you what has gone through it recently, or you can tell a single door to bar itself against any entry. You can only affect one door at a time in this way.
MAGIC MISSILE focused spell, usable once after rested
This spell shoots out a magical bolt that automatically hits anything in your battlefield or an adjacent one, doing 2 points of damage, no need to roll. By taking a hit point of damage yourself, you can increase the damage to 3 points.
THE CLERIC:
inherent: Divine Favor
You are under the wing of one or more deities, and have their protection. As long as you visibly wear representation of your faith, your Armor increases by a single point.
limitation: Humility
Your are bound by the strictures of your faith, whatever they may be. It is important to you to present the ideals of that faith to others.
PRAYERS OF THE HURT focused spell, usable only once after rested
This spell invokes your deity to close wounds and restore health and energy. By laying your hands on someone who is down to 2 hit points or less-- which could be yourself-- you give them two more hit points, in a quick ritual that lights up the area around you.
BLESS WEAPON focused spell, usable once per battlefield
You can clutch a weapon and imbue it with divine essence at the cost of a little bit of your health. When touching a weapon, you must declare a purpose for its blessing, whether for something quick or for a long-term goal. Any weapon thus touched does an extra point of damage each time a successful attack is made with it, but your character is down a hit point-- their maximum hp is lowered. Once the purpose is reached or is declared unobtainable, the weapon loses its blessed property, and you get your hit point back.
TURN UNDEAD focused spell, usable only once after rested
By invoking your god and displaying your holy symbol, you acquire a holy aura around you and those nearby. Any non-Minion undead must roll to be able to attack anyone in your party, while Minions can't attack you at all. If you remain undamaged for three rounds of concentrating, you can disperse the aura outward, either destroying or controlling any one undead or group of minions in the same battlefield (your commands to them, if controlling, must be simple, and not-evil: "attack the evil wizard" or "go back to your resting places," that kind of stuff)
WORK THE ROOM non-combat talent, usable only once after rested
By making an impassioned speech that lasts at least a couple of minutes, you can inspire people around you (giving them +1 to their Insightful or +1 to their attacks) for the next hour, or convince people of your point of view (+1 to your next Charm check if needed).
CHURCH BRETHREN (AND SISTREN)
Wherever your character goes, there always seems to be someone around who’s part of your church. All you have to do is look, and there they are: a social network you can depend on for help and information, and a place to sleep when things get rough.
THE ROGUE:
inherent: Opportunity Knocks
Every now and then fortune smiles on you and pulls your fat out of the fire. Once every 24 hours (of game time, dawn to dawn), you get an automatic success on any Insightful or Agility test, or on a single attack roll.
limitation: Greedy
Your covetousness and dislike of sharing are constantly at odds with the obvious convenience of having friends and traveling companions.
BACKSTAB special attack, usable once per battlefield
By attacking an opponent that happens to be attacking somebody else this round, you get a +2 to hit them, and do an extra point of damage.
DISTRACTION focused action, usable once after rested
By making a Charming check (with a +2) instead of the usual Forceful check you would use to Throw or Shove an opponent, you can force an opponent to move to another battlefield that they have access to. But-- get this-- you don't even need to be in the same battlefield! You do need to describe how you did it, however. (This is also handy outside of combat, for luring enemies into places you want them to be.)
ENDLESS DAGGERS constant item
You like to always have a cache of sharp things hidden around your person, which you can use above and beyond your main weapon as a secondary Thrown or Melee weapon. Any attempts to disarm you will always result in your having at least one small blade somewhere that
was missed. These daggers do not count towards your total number of weapons.
QUICK REACTION immediate reaction, usable anytime
Whenever you are surprised by something or someone, including traps, you get to add a +2 on the next die roll you make as long as it happens directly afterwards.
PERFECT DISGUISE: usable once after rested
A good spy is one that cannot be seen. You are the kind of spy who can disguise themself as anyone or anything. From the general’s best friend to a potted plant, your disguises are complete and compelling. When your character takes the time to disguise themself properly, you get a +2 to deceive others.
THE ELF:
inherent: Pointed Awareness
You've got a sense of the world around you that seems almost unnatural. You get to increase your Insightful rolls pertaining to noticing things by +1.
limitation: Restless
For whatever reason, you're driven in a way that other elves are not, and you've left your people to go adventuring. You know this sets you apart from your kind, and other elves think of you as strange.
PERFECT ACCURACY delayed attack, usable once per battlefield
Any delayed attack you attempt to make with a Ranged weapon gets a +2 added to the attack roll if it's not interrupted by something first. Outside of combat, as long as you aim for at least a minute at something that you can see, you will always hit it, without having to roll. You can initiate combat this way.
ANIMAL FRIEND constant ability
You can speak with any natural animal of the forest (and a few outside the forest), though they may not want to be friends with you. If you do manage to make friends with an animal, it will travel with you and help you out for at least a day, maybe more.
FOREST STEP
You get a +2 bonus to any roll that a GM requires you to make in order to travel from one battlefield to another. You also happen to be untrackable, and never get lost in the woods.
FEY SPIRIT focused spell, usable only once after rested
You can summon a floating light source that follows your commands, including being able to shine as brightly as a torch or as dim as a candle. Alternately, you can bind the spirit to a single item to light up the same way, specifying what conditions make it glow (goblins being near is a common one).
NIMBLE ATTACK focused attack, usable once per battlefield
By making a Focused attack (you do nothing but focus for the round before), you can attack an opponent in an unexpected way (usually by describing something cool with the environment), doing an extra point of damage as well as some extra sort of Cool Effect if you successfully hit (knocking them down, making them feel foolish, carving your initial, etc).
THE DWARF:
inherent: Fierce & Proud
You're a dwarf, so you cannot be knocked down by an opponent's attack in combat (alas, you can still be Thrown by a large enough opponent). You also get a +1 to resisting magical enchantments.
limitation: Proud & Fierce
You have a hard time forgiving any slight you think is made against you.
REVENGE: Useable once per combat
Add +2 ongoing to your attack rolls if a PC or PC ally has already been knocked out or killed in this combat (if TWO get knocked out or killed, you can't keep stacking for +4, +6, etc.)
SHIELD BASH special weapon attack, usable once-per-battlefield
If you are wielding either a Shield or a Hammer, you can attempt a special attack that also stuns an opponent, preventing them from attacking this round or the next.
MAKE AN OATH focused attack, usable only once after rested (oaths are serious business, after all)
By spending a few moments making some sort of solemn vow ("You shall not pass," "Only you shall feel my axe," etc.), you get a +1 bonus to all attack rolls as long as the vow's conditions are in effect. Once the vow is broken somehow, all your combat rolls suffer a -1 until the combat ends.
UNDER THE MOUNTAIN constant ability
You can never get lost when you're underground, and you're always able to sniff which direction leads up to the surface. Furthermore, any Awareness check you make that relates to searching stonework or deducing qualities thereof is given a +3.
LONG SHADOW:
When you guard someone, you really guard them. As a combat action you may declare your character to be Guarding. While Guarding, whenever anyone in your battlefield is attacked, you may designate yourself as the target instead. Furthermore, while Guarding you may try to prevent anyone from leaving the battlefield with a Forceful roll. If fully successful, this can do damage to an opponent (but it doesn't have to-- say if an NPC you're guarding panics and tries to run for it-- you can attempt to stop them from running off and getting into trouble without you.
THE GOBLIN:
inherent: Dungeon-wise
You are able to see quite well in the dark. You are only about two-and-a-half to three feet tall, so it's very easy to get into places that your fellow adventurers cannot. You can speak to and understand most monsters. You get an +1 bonus to rolls involving tricking others.
CHOMP constant ability
You always have a weapon, even if you've been disarmed, thanks to those sharp teeth of yours.
SHADOWKIN focused action, can do anytime
As long as there's a dark place nearby, you can quickly seem to disappear, and anybody attempting to spot you must successfully roll to spot you first. Once successfully in the shadows, you receive a +2 on your next attack, after which you are once again clearly visible.
SLIPPERY immediate reaction, usable once per battlefield
The first attack on you during a round you've spent Moving automatically misses; but once you Move, you can't choose to Move again in the following round.
UNDERFOOT immediate reaction, usable only once after a rest
You can automatically succeed at Impeding someone, and doing so trips them up enough that their next roll is made at a -1 (don’t forget to remind the GM).
HEART OF GOLD non-combat talent, usable only once after a rest
Every now and then, your normally sinister nature is completely subverted by random acts of adorability. By breaking into a huge innocent smile, no non-player-character will possibly be able to believe that you've done something bad. Your fellow party members may know better, however.
FOX:
inherent: Frenzy
Your character is particularly dangerous when cornered. When you are in a Tight arena you do an additional point of damage on all your attacks.
Limitation: Overwhelming Curiosity
From the mysteries of the universe to the inner workings of a poison needle trap to whether or not Eleanor is really in love with Geoff, or if she’s really just faking it… these are the things your character needs to know about. Leave no stone unturned and no question unanswered.
HUNTER'S LOOK: usable once after rested
An animal or person who meets your gaze cannot move nor look away until you close in on them or the gaze is broken. They can still speak or make noise, though.
BLADE DANCE:
Your character may use a light weapon in each hand, getting two attacks at a time.
BRAVADO:
The cut of your jib is bravery and panache, and everything from the swipe of your blade to the bite of your words reflects that. When you show off, and do something that dazzles your friends and enemies (or just one or the other, if only one of those groups is present), you may spend bravado, 1 for 1, on the following:
--Add your Charming modifier to your next damage roll.
--Add +1 forward to your armor.
--Roll +Charming instead of +Forceful the next time you roll to Defend.
--Add +1 Forward to your next Aid move. (This does not, however, stack.)
You may hold up to 3 Bravado at any one time. When you are no longer showing off, you lose all remaining Bravado.
SPELL DEFLECTION: When a spell targets you and you try to deflect it, roll+Agile. On a 10+ you deflect it safely. On a 7-9, choose 1:
--In the process of deflecting the spell, you drop your weapon or something else you're holding (GM chooses).
--You break the spell but are slightly stunned by the impact; take -1 forward.
--You deflect the spell into something or someone else; the GM will tell you what.
THE SET-UP: When you hit a target with a melee or ranged attack, choose an ally. Their next attack against your target gets +1 to hit.
BEAR:
Inherent: Don't Need One: You don't need a weapon in order to do your damage. You're just as dangerous... with bear hands. You suffer no penalty as a result of dealing your damage without using a weapon.
Limitation: Party Animal
Your character cannot pass up a celebration. If no one else is going to start a celebration, then you’re perfectly willing and able to start one yourself.
A Mighty Grip:
You are able to wield some crazy big weapons. You have five weapon categories available to you that no one else gets. Heavy Reach (2 dam), Heavy Ranged (2 dam), Very Heavy Reach (3 dam, -1 to hit), Very Heavy Ranged (3 dam but -1 to hit), and Very-Very Heavy (4 dam, -1 to hit). You may start with one of these, if you want...
Objet d'Hurlant: You can use any large object that is handy as a thrown weapon. This includes throwing one enemy at another (which, on a 10 or higher, does damage to each). (This does not allow you to throw your fellow PCs, unless they ask you to of their own free will for some crazy "fastball special" reason).
--HIVE WISDOM:
You can call upon the wisdom of the hive. One or more bees appear before you (yes, even underground-- they might be Spirit Bees) and lead you or sign to you towards the direction or course of action the hive thinks you should take, then they fly off elsewhere. The hive is EXTREMELY wise.
YOU'VE BEEN HIT BY:
When you are attacking a standing target (that is smaller than twice your size) with a weapon with the word "heavy" in the name of its weapon type, on a successful hit of 10 or higher, you can choose to do 1 less damage, but knock that opponent backwards or down (your choice). Backwards is good if you are trying to knock them off the edge of a bridge or cliff or whatever. Down is good because it means they can't attack next turn (unless they can somehow attack while knocked down, for example magically).
I AM A BEAR:
When choose I AM A BEAR and you use no armor of any type at all, you still start each combat with 2 armor. That's how tough you are. Also, each time you attack an opponent and you get a 12 or higher on the attack roll, you get +1 armor for the rest of the combat.
Weapon Types
A light weapon is small, easy to wield, easy to conceal and handy for getting between the gaps in your enemy’s armor.
A reach weapon is very long. You can use it to keep your enemies at bay. Your armor class is one higher when you’re wielding a reach weapon.
A ranged weapon can hit foes at great distances. You may attack targets in adjacent battlefields with a ranged weapon.
A heavy weapon takes a big adventurer to wield it. It’s not fancy or elegant, but it hurts a lot when it hits. A heavy weapon does 2 points of damage instead of 1 when you hit your target.
A very heavy weapon makes heavy weapons look meek. It takes a huge adventurer to wield one of these monsters. A very heavy weapon does 3 points of damage when you hit your target.
SOME CROSS-CLASS IDEAS
Fighter with some Cleric talents: Paladin
Fighter plus some Goblin and Dwarf: Barbarian
Some amalgamation of Thief/Fighter/Elf talents: Ranger
Goblin “reskinned” with Thief and Dwarf talents: Gnome?
Goblin meets Elf with a dash of Magic User: Halfling?
Cleric plus Elf or vice versa: Druid
Tight: +1 to light weapons
Narrow corridors, stairs, balconies, back alleys, doorways, tunnels, closets, etc.
Hazardous: +1 to reach weapons-- mostly polearms
Crumbly rooftops, floors next to open pits, thin ledges or planks over precipices, spiky areas, murky swamps, foggy or smoky room with poor visibility, etc.
Open: +1 to ranged weapons
The open sky (for flying), large chambers, big caverns, open water, courtyard or town square, an actual gladiatorial arena, etc.
Dense: +1 to big and really big weapons
The crowded shop, the thick forest, the thatch village, the store room or warehouse, the deck of a ship, the clockwork chamber, etc.
Neutral: no bonus
The can’t-figure-out-which-arena-this-is arena.
VERMICIOUS BRACERS OF COMBUSTION (Charged)
Tapping these bracers together causes a fiery explosion to
erupt and propogate outward, causing 2 points of fiery
damage to anyone else failing a Cunning check in the wearer’s
Arena and potentially setting things on fire.
GRIMTONGUE (Anytime)
This +1 Very Heavy Weapon does not encumber and can be sheathed in flames at the bearer's command. It does an extra point of damage against Lizardkin and Dragons if the wielder shouts “snicker-snack!”
URTRAN’S UNRELIABLE ROPE (Anytime)
This magical rope can be used as a reach weapon that automatically binds an opponent with a successful attack (but causes no damage). However, whether used in combat or not, the rope will invariably untie itself in 1d10 rounds.
STINKLEDINK’S RAVENOUS COOKBOOK (Anytime)
If this +1 Ranged Weapon is successfully thrown at an
enemy, it will continue to bite them through following
rounds unless a successful Daring check is made to get rid of
it, whereupon it returns to the wielder. Any creature killed by
it shows up as an ingredient in a new recipe.
FIDDLE OF FANATICAL DANCING (Charged)
Whenever this instrument is played, anyone in the same
Arena must make a Commitment check or begin dancing
uncontrollably. They can still fight (at a -2 disadvantage),
they just look extremely foolish doing so.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:30, Wed 22 Feb 2023.
