UNIVERSAL
SIMPLE REALITY RPG RULES
For Miniature Wargames and Role Playing Games of Any Genre
INTRODUCTION
These rules are the accumulation of 18 years of research into:
Miniature Wargames
Role Playing Games
Amateur and Professional Marksmanship Statistics
Amateur and Professional Archery Statistics
Amateur and Professional Fencing Statistics
Dice Probability
At last there is a generic RPG System with precise and
realistic combat and skill resolution rules (which still allow a GM and Player
to advance their characters skills to add a cinematic touch) which are neither
burdensome nor reliant on tables. And that RPG System is UNIVERSAL!
WHAT YOU NEED TO USE THESE RULES
TERMS
d6: Six-sided die. A normal die with six sides numbered from 1 to 6. 4d6 means 4 six-sided dice to be rolled.
GM: Game Master-The referee of the game. The GM designs the adventure the characters are to undertake, creates characters and monsters to challenge the player characters in combat, devises non-combative challenges that player characters must use their skills to overcome and help the players create and advance their characters. The object of the game for the GM is to create adventures difficult enough to challenge the players and their characters but not so difficult that the adventure is impossible or even highly improbably to complete. Basically the GM “wins” when the characters have succeeded in an adventure that made them think and rely heavily on their characters various skills.
GMC: Game Master Character-A character created and played the GM. Any character not played by a player who serves as wither a protagonist or antagonist to the Player Characters.
PC: Player Character-A character played by a Player. It is a persona of the Player as alike or unlike the player himself as that player wishes. The Player pretends to be his character going on adventures, gathering experience points and advancing his character’s skills. The object of the game for the Player is to make his character as skilled and in-depth as he can.
ABILITIES
Two abilities exist: Physical and Mental. The sole purpose of Abilities is to determine the number of skill points a character has. For beginning characters, players roll 1d6 for Physical and 1d6 for Mental. As Player Characters overcome challenges in the course of an adventure they will obtain experience points which they can use on a 1:1 basic to increase their Physical and/or Mental Ability Scores (an thus obtain new skills or advance existing skills in level).
SKILLS
A character is made up of a variety of skills. These skills are independent of any other skill, and no physical or mental ability defines them. This is to embrace the reality of a person’s ability to excel in a skill, allowing that skill to guide their physical and mental make up.
Characters are professional people, not generalized persons. In real life a professional marksman studies from a young age, and even if he starts late in life, he devotes all of his physical and mental resources to learning how to professionally fire his weapon. He may have learned biology and Spanish in high school, and may had even obtained good grades. But when adulthood comes about he learns to specialize, and that learning do not become actual skills. On the opposite side of the coin, a person seeking to become multilingual in Spanish would focus on their learning in that language, and continue their education beyond secondary school. So a character with Marksman 1 a character with Spanish Linguist 1 might have a similar education, but they have devoted themselves to learning their specific skills. A Skill at level 1 is at the base professional level.
What skills are available to a character are determinant upon the genre of the campaign and the agreement between a player and his game master. Her are some examples by Genre:
EPIC FANTASY/ SWORD
AND SORCERY SKILLS
Physical (Combat)
Swordsman (Includes other slashing/ piercing weapons)
Archer
Marksman (Crossbow)
Martial Artist
Wrestler
Brawler
Spearman
Pikeman
Knife Thrower (Includes all small thrown weapons)
Monster
Physical (Non-Combat)
Acrobat
Thief
Runner
Equestrian
Mariner (Sailor)
Mental (Combat)
Psychic
Wizard
Sorcerer
Miracle Worker
Mental (Non-Combat)
Alchemist
Philosopher
Physician
Artist
Leader
Theologian
Prophet
MODERN HORROR GENRE
Physical (Combat)
Fencer (Includes other slashing/ piercing weapons)
Archer
Marksman
Martial Artist
Wrestler
Brawler
Knife Thrower (Includes all small thrown weapons)
Pilot (Airplane)
Artillerist
Physical (Non-Combat)
Acrobat
Thief
Runner
Mariner (Powerboat, Sailor, Navy, Merchant Mariner)
Mental (Combat)
Psychic
Sorcerer
Miracle Worker
Exorcist
Mental (Non-Combat)
Philosopher
Physician
Scientist (Choose Field, like Physicist, Biologist, etc.)
Artist
Leader
Theologian
Theosophist
Cultist
Linguist (Choose Language)
Engineer
Tactician
Strategist
Evangelist
Investigator
Lawyer
Technician (Choose Field, like Communicator, Mechanic, etc.)
SPACE OPERA
Physical (Combat)
Fencer (Includes other slashing/ piercing weapons)
Archer
Marksman
Martial Artist
Wrestler
Brawler
Knife Thrower (Includes all small thrown weapons)
Mech Warrior
Pilot (Aerospace)
Artillerist
Physical (Non-Combat)
Acrobat
Thief
Runner
Equestrian
Driver
Mariner (Wet Navy)
Mental (Combat)
Psychic
Miracle Worker
Mental (Non-Combat)
Spacer (Starship Operations)
Physician
Scientist (Choose Field, like Physicist, Biologist, etc.)
Artist
Leader
Theologian
Linguist (Choose Language)
Engineer
Tactician
Strategist
Evangelist
Investigator
Lawyer
Technician (Choose Field, like Communicator, Mechanic, etc.)
Diplomat
Astrogator (Hyperspace, Subspace, Wormhole Navigation)
Time Traveller (Time Machine Operations)
PURCHASING SKILLS AND
LEVELS
|
Skill Level |
Ability Point Cost |
|
1 (New Skill) |
1 |
|
2 |
4 |
|
3 |
9 |
|
4 |
16 |
|
5 |
25 |
|
6 |
36 |
|
7 |
42 |
|
8 |
64 |
|
9 |
81 |
|
10 |
100 |
Example: A staring character has a Physical Ability of 5. She decides to create a Warrioress, so she chooses to put all her skill points to Swordsman. She purchases the Swordsman 1 for 1 point and the remaining 4 points she spends to elevate her skill to Swordsman 2 (which has a cost of 4). If she gains 25 experience points during an adventure she could elevate her Swordsman to level 4, first by purchasing Swordsman 3 for 9 points and then Swordsman 4 for 16 points.
For each level beyond 10 the cost is level^2. At 38th Level a skill’s probability of rolling one 6 is as close to 100% as the laws of probability allow. Characters with a skill of 38th Level (especially if it is a Combat Skill) are “godlike” and should be retired. However the Combat and Task Resolution chapters do contain some optional rules to play Immortal characters.
Game Masters should be warned that as characters’ skills rise up in level the more cinematic the results become. However the exponential skill point cost should help to keep characters in check.
Example Epic Fantasy
Character:
Chanowk the Artificer
Physical 1
Swordsman 1
Mental 5
Wizard 2
Example Sword and
Sorcery Character
Elric the Albino
Physical 9
Swordsman 3
Mental 25 (5 unspent)
Wizard 3
Leader 2
Example Fantasy
Monster
Dragon
Physical 343
Monster 10
Mental 5
Sorcerer 2
Example Modern Horror
Monster
Cthulhu
Physical 46
Monster 5
Mental 343
Psychic 10 (Cthulhu has a dream for you…)
Example Modern Horror
Character
Prof. Dionysus Palmer
Physical 3 (2
unspent)
Marksman 1
Mental 10 (1 unspent)
Scientist-Psychology 1
Scientist-Physics 1
Scientist-Biology 1
Theologian 1
Psychic 2
Example Space Opera
Character
Duke Charles of
Carlogia
Physical 4 (2
unspent)
Marksman 1
Pilot 1
Mental 6
Leader 2
Spacer 1
EXPERIENCE POINTS
Characters in the course of an adventure should be awarded an Experience Point for each major challenge overcome (such as success in combat or crashing an enemy computer). For each experience point gained they may increase an Ability by one point and purchase a new Skill or elevate an existing skill in under that ability (when they have enough unspent points to purchase the next level).
COMBAT
Each Combat Turn is composed of Movement and/ or Attacks. A combat round is about 5 seconds long. There is no initiative determination. Each round a character moves and/ or attacks and at the conclusion of the Turn damage is considered to determine who has survived. During a Combat Turn a character may opt to either:
1.
Move
· 6” for humans, humanoids and regular robots on foot
· 12” for mounted figures and combat robots, and for large monsters on “foot”
· 24” for motor ground vehicles, Battle Mechs and giants monsters
· 36” for airplanes and aerospace vessels (in an atmosphere) which can also Attack that turn
2. Move 1” and Attack (Marksmen and Archers may move 1” per level of their Marksman or Archer Skill and still fire)
3.
or Attack
In order to couple realistic probabilities with quick combat resolutions it is necessary to consider that each Physical Skill (Combat) (or Mental Skills (Combat) for mental combat) includes the talent to defend themselves. The basic premise in physical combat is this:
When attacking with a weapon they are skilled in the Player rolls a number of d6 equal to that skill’s level. Thus to hit an opponent with a blaster pistol, a Marksman 2 would roll 2d6. For each 6 rolled the character makes a potentially successful fatal shot.
Now if the target character has Marksman 1 and Swordsman 2 (Perhaps Gurney Halleck of Dune) that target can take a total number of potential fatal hits equal to all of his Physical Skills (Combat). This simulates the target’s chance to dodge, parry (for melee combat) and or simply “tough out” a nasty wound.
In this example Gurney took 1 potentially fatal hit (which from now on we will simply call a hit for simplicity sake) from the attacking PC (which we will say is a House Harkonnen Assassin). If that Assassin hits Gurney two more times, Gurney is defeated (killed perhaps, or the GM might allow a Physician to save him if he gets there in a turn and makes a successful Physician Skill Roll).
In review, Physical Combat is resolved as thus:
Attacker: Rolls a d6 for each Physical Skill (Combat) he is using to attack with (such as Marksman for a laser pistol).
Hits: For each 6 the
Attacker rolls on his Physical Combat Roll he scores 1 Hit against his
opponent.
Defender: The defender can take as many Hits equal to the sum of all of his Physical Skills (Combat) that he has before he is defeated (thus a Marksman 3, Martial Artist 2 can take 4 hits before he is defeated). Hit are accumulative. They can only be remove with a successful Physician Roll or a Mental Skill (Combat) Roll (e.g. Miracle Worker) , which heals a character 1 hit.
Defender without
Physical Skills (Combat): The maximum number of hits he can take is 1 by
default.
Mental Skills (Combat) are resolved in the same manner as Physical Skills (Combat), except the defender’s maximum hits he can take are equal to the sum of his Mental Skills (Combat). For Role Playing purposes, if a Wizard or Sorcerer (or Psychic) rolls more than one 6 when he attacks the spell (or psychic power) is of a nature of a higher complexity than the common spell (or power). Thus a Wizard 5 casting a spell, which may commonly be a small bolt of magical energy, becomes a fire ball is he rolls three 6’s in one roll.
In review, Mental
Combat is resolved as thus:
Attacker: Rolls a d6 for each Mental Skill (Combat) he is using to attack with (such as Wizard).
Hits: For each 6 the
Attacker rolls on his Mental Combat Roll he scores 1 Hit against his opponent.
Defender: The defender can take as many Hits equal to the sum of all of his Mental Skills (Combat) that he has before he is defeated (thus a Sorcerer 3, Psychic 2 can take 4 hits before he is defeated). Hit are accumulative. They can only be remove with a successful Physician Roll or a Mental Skill (Combat) Roll (e.g. Miracle Worker) , which heals a character 1 hit.
Defender without
Mental Skills (Combat): The maximum number of hits he can take is 1 by default.
For Combat Skills at or above 38th Level, Game Masters might wish to match these characters up against other Immortal Beings. Immortal Beings require a number of Hits in one turn of combat (as opposed to accumulative damage in mortal combat) equal to an identical (or extremely similar) skill as that which the attacker is attacking with. Thus a Sorcerer 38 character defending against a Wizard 40 would only be defeated is the Wizard rolled 38 sixes on hit attack roll (which is extremely improbable). But if a Swordsman 42 is attacking an Archer 50, all the Swordsman would need is one 6 to be rolled.
TASK RESOLUTION
Task Resolution is used to determine is a character is successful undertaking a non-routine task with either a Physical Skill (Non-Combat) or a Mental Skill (Non-Combat). The basic premise is this:
To successfully
complete a non-routine task a character must roll a d6 for each level he has in
the particular skill he is using (such as Technician (Computers) for
someone trying to bring down an enemy battle computer from that computer’s main
console room). If the character rolls a
6 he is successful.
A Game Master may
require more than one 6 to be rolled for more improbably (or impossible) tasks.
But it should be noted that the GM should be very wary of using a difficulty of
more than one 6 due to the exponential improbability of obtaining more than one
6 is a roll, even with a dozen or more dice. For instance, the odds of a
Astrogator 1 rolling 2 dice in order to open a wormhole with a simple
“Traveller-esque” or “Asimov-esque” Hyperspatial Jump Drive (a truly impossible
and well beyond cinematic feat, should you ask me) is 0. The chance of an
Astrogator 2 making the roll is only 2.7%. Even for an Astrogator 3 it is only
7.4% possible. So as you can see, simply raising the success requirement to two
dice still makes it nearly impossible for even higher level characters to
succeed. If you wish to keep your players’ Astrogators, Physicians and
Scientists within the laws of reality make it known to them the extent of their
abilities before they even pick up their dice, and give difficult tasks with a reasonable expected outcome a difficulty of
one 6.
A Mental Skill (Non-Combat) at level 1 is about equal to that of someone with a University Degree (or equivalent) and some “field” experience. A Scientist (Biology) trying to do a field identification of a fungus with a lab kit should not need to roll to succeed. But a Scientist wishing to identify the possible origin of a sophant space fungus from outer space would need to roll a 6 on a skill roll in order to succeed (and devote some decent amount of time to the task at hand).
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