ARCHeForm

The Character Achetype

ARCHeForm — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 17:32:01 +0000

The character Archetype allows a player to quickly define a complex character idea that is rooted in the game’s setting and has a direct influence on the game’s mechanic while preserving enough flexibility to not hinder creativity. The character Archetype is a simple sentence with a rigid structure: Attribute + Affiliation + Title + Location. Each of these components of the character Archetype is provided with a number of options to choose.

Attribute

The Archetype Attribute is simply an adjective that describes some dominant aspect of the character. The Riddance Roleplaying Game provides the following nine Attribute options. Each option modifies one of a character’s Traits or Qualities, as well as providing additional Perks.

Strapping (Might +1)
Rugged (Vigor +1)
Quick (Celerity +1)
Clever (Insight +1)
Smart (Reason +1)
Charming (Personality +1)
Hardy (Health +2)
Graceful (Reflexes +2)
Steadfast (Resolve +2)

Affiliation

The Archetype Affiliation is a broad societal group that a character belongs to, or is associated with. The Affiliations are purposely kept broad to allow a player to develop her own details during character creation. The Riddance Roleplaying Game Provides the following Affiliation options. Each option provides bonuses to a few Traits, as well as providing additional Perks.

Freelance
Veteran
Rogue
Corporate
State
Nomad

Title

The Archetype Title.

Agent
Operator
Asset

Locations

This is copy.

Character Creation

ARCHeForm — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 16:49:53 +0000

This is character creation.

Traits, Qualities, and Talents

ARCHeForm — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 17:14:53 +0000

Each character is constructed by assigning a point value ranging from negative two (-2) to positive five (5) for each of six Traits and a number of selected Talents. Negative point values are Weaknesses, while positive point values are Strengths. Weaknesses, though useful for defining a character, should be used sparingly. Traits represent the general health and aptitude of the character while Talents represent more focused knowledge or abilities the character may possess. Qualities are derived values that are the sum of two (2) Traits. There are three (3) major Qualities (Health, Reflexes, and Resolve) that are used both as passive defenses and as an abstract representation of a character’s heath, both physical and mental. The combination of these three groups of numerical values define the bulk of any character in the Archetype System.

The Strength and Weakness Scale

Each Trait is either a Strength or Weakness. Each Talent, when not Insignificant, is also either a Strength or Weakness. Simply put, a Strength is a benefit to a character and a Weakness is a hindrance to a character. A Strength is any positive value assigned to a Trait or Talent. A Weakness is any negative value assigned to a Trait or Talent. Weaknesses, though useful for defining a character’s shortcomings, should be used sparingly and typically do not exceed negative two (-2). An Insignificant Talent is simply any Talent with a value of zero (0). Traits can not have a value of zero (0) and are–therefore–never Insignificant.

All of this can be represented in a simple scale:

-2 Severe Weakness
-1 Moderate Weakness
0 Insignificant
1 Poor Strength
2 Average Strength
3 Good Strength
4 Exceptional Strength
5 Outstanding Strength

It’s important to note that this scale is not linear. the difference between a Poor Strength (1) and an Average Strength (2) is quite modest, while the difference between a Good Strength (3) and an Exceptional Strength (4) is significant. It’s also worth noting that even a Moderate Weakness has a major impact on a character’s capability. A Severe Weakness is nearly debilitating. This is due to the Two-of-Two mechanic and the averaging of the die pool results. To reflect this, during character creation and advancement, the cost to increase a Trait or Talent is exponential.

Traits

Six Traits, organized into two groups (Mental and Physical), define the natural–genetic–proclivities of a character. The three mental Traits are Insight, Reason, and Personality. The three physical Traits are Might, Vigor, and Celerity.

Might

Might is a physical Trait that represents the muscularity, or brute power, of a character. Might can be abbreviated simply as ‘M’.

Vigor

Vigor is a physical Trait that represents the stamina, fortitude, or doggedness, of a character. Vigor can be abbreviated simply as ‘V’.

Celerity

Celerity is a physical Trait that represents the pure speed, or nimbleness of a character. Celerity can be abbreviated simply as ‘C’.

Insight

Insight is a mental Trait that represents the Intuition, or instinctive knowledge, of a character. Insight can be abbreviated simply as ‘I’.

Reason

Reason is a mental Trait that represents the logic, or analytical nature, of a character. Reason can be abbreviated simply as ‘R’.

Personality

Personality is a mental Trait that represents the social skills, or demeanor, of a character. Personality can be abbreviated simply as ‘P’.

Qualities

Qualities have two game uses.

First, they are used as the difficulty against which other characters or creatures must succeed in order to target the character in some way. This difficulty is called a Passive Defense. Besides the obvious combat uses of the major Qualities (Health, Reflexes, and Resolve), these Passive Defenses can also be used to determine whether a character successfully notices something (Perception), or a character’s allure (Presence).

Second, the three major Qualities (Health, Reflexes, and Resolve) are used as an abstract representation of a character’s health, both physical and mental. As a character is injured, damage is subtracted from the targeted major Quality; and as a character absorbs damage from a major Quality, it’s Passive Defense is reduced in kind–representing fatigue.

Each point in a major Quality grants a character five (5) boxes in a Damage Pool associated with the Quality. The boxes in these Damage Pools are crossed off, or filled, as a character takes physical or mental damage. Every five (5) boxes in a Damage Pool that are crossed off, or filled in, also result in the temporary loss of one (1) point in the associated Quality. This temporary loss of a point, or points, in a Quality make that Quality easier to target.

On a character sheet, these three major Qualities and their associated Damage Pools could be represented as three grids. Something like the example below.

As an example, a character may have a Health of five (5), a Reflexes of four (4), and a Resolve of three (3). This would mean that the character has a Health Damage Pool of twenty five (25), a Reflexes Damage Pool of twenty (20), and a Resolve Damage Pool of fifteen (15). If this character were to be shot at by an opponent, the opponent’s roll might be Celerity + Ranged Weapons vs. Reflexes (Health). Let’s say the Base Bonus for the attack is four (4). That would mean a roll of zero (0) or greater would successfully hit; the character’s Reflexes is four (4). If the weapon in question did 1d6+2 damage and the opponent rolled a four (4), the resulting damage against the defending character’s Health would be six (6). This damage would be tracked by crossing off six (6) boxes from the Health Damage Pool, bringing the defending character’s total Health Damage Pool from twenty five (25) to nineteen (19) and is also enough to temporarily reduce the defending character’s Health score by one (1), from five (5) to four (4).

As a result of the example above, the targeted character’s major Qualities could be represented on the Damage Pools as shown in the example below.

Health

Health represents the physical condition, or vitality, of a character. The Health value is determined by taking the sum of the character’s Might and Vigor Traits (M + V).

Reflexes

Reflexes represents the speed and ease with which a character interacts with, or responds to, his environment. The Reflex value is determined by taking the sum of the character’s Celerity and Insight Traits (C + I).

Resolve

Resolve represents the strength of character, determination, or even mental health of a character. The Resolve value is determined by taking the sum of the character’s Reason and Personality Traits (R + P).

Perception

Perception represents a character’s awareness of his surroundings, knack for detail, or even sensitivity to nuanced behavior. The Perception value is determined by taking the sum of the character’s Insight and Reason Traits (I + R).

Presence

Presence represents the physical appeal, charm, or magnetism of a character. The Presence value is determined by taking the sum of the character’s Vigor and Personality Traits (V + P).

Talents

Talents are organized into four groups: Common, Professional, Systems, and Tactical. Common Talents are, as should be obvious, talents that are frequently used my all manner of character. Professional Talents often require more training, more education, and are often Untrained (more difficult to succeed at without point expenditure). Systems Talents reflect a character’s ability to manipulate, interact with, complex man-made machines, vehicles, and habitats. Tactical Talents are used during combat and reflect a character’s training, or natural ability, in weapons and self-defense.

Each Talent, no matter in which category it falls, is purposely broad in scope. In addition to each Talent either being a Strength or Weakness, as a Talent is developed, a player may choose focuses. When applicable, a Talent Focus provides Advantage to a character’s, or possibly Disadvantage to an opponent’s, Two-of-Two roll. Though each Talent description may suggest a number of focuses, players are encouraged to create their own.

Talent Focuses

A player may create a Focus for a Talent once the Talent in question has a Good Strength (+3). A second Focus may be created for a Talent once it has an Outstanding Strength (+5). A Talent Focus is simply a word or phrase that represents a particular area of expertise. Any resolution in which a Talent Focus could reasonably be a benefit to a character gains Advantage. If the Talent Focus could possible hinder an opponent, the opponent gains Disadvantage.

For example, a character could have a Good Strength (+3) in the Small Arms Tactical Talent and create the Focus “Trick Shots”. If, during a resolution, the player can describe how a focus in “Trick Shots” benefits the character, Advantage may be applied to the player’s Two-of-Two roll. The same character might also have a Good Strength in the Vehicle Operation Systems Talent and create the Focus “Evasive Piloting”. If, during a resolution, the player can describe how a focus in “Evasive Piloting” helps his character avoid being targeted by a chasing opponent, Disadvantage may be applied to the opponent’s Two-of-Two roll.

Common Talents

Analysis
Athletics
Culture
Investigation
Manipulation
Networking
Research
Streetwise
Wealth

Professional Talents

Agriculture
Astronomy
Biology
Electronics
Geography
Mechanics
Medicine
Programming
Psychology

Systems Talents

Vehicle Operation
Targeting and Gunnery
Network and Communication
Security and Surveillance
Diagnostics and Repair
Design and Fabrication

Tactical Talents

Small Arms
Heavy Arms
Close Quarter Combat
Exotic Weapons
Stealth
Survival

Glossary

ARCHeForm — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 02:56:47 +0000

Advantage

Advantage is a positive situational modifier to a Two-of-Two roll in which the higher of the two negative bonus six-sided dice is ignored.

Archetype

a character Archetype is a simple sentence with a rigid structure: Attribute + Affiliation + Title+ Location. Each of these components of the character Archetype is provided with a number of options to choose from that can be customized for any setting or mood imaginable.

Damage Pool

Disadvantage

Disadvantage is a negative situational modifier to a Two-of-Two roll in which the lower of the two positive bonus six-sided duce is ignored.

Guide

Insignificant

a Trait or Talent that has a bonus of zero. A Trait can be insignificant, but this should be rare. Insignificant Talents are far more common.

Passive Defense

Player

Quality

a derived value that is the sum of two (2) Traits. There are three (3) major Qualities (Health, Reflex, and Resolve) that are used both as a passive defenses and as an abstract representation of a character’s health, both physical and mental. In addition to these three (3) major Qualities, there are a number of minor Qualities used for other passive checks.

Strength

a positive bonus on either a Trait or Talent. Strengths are the most common means of defining a character.

Talent

a numerical representation of a character’s learned physical or mental aptitude in a particular activity, depending on the Talent in question. There are a good number of Talents than can be used to define a character.

Trait

a numerical representation of a character’s natural physical or metal aptitude, depending on the Trait in question. There are six Traits used to define a character’s various natural aptitudes: Might, Vigor, Celerity, Insight, Reason, and Personality. Each of these Traits can either be a Strength or Weakness.

Two-of-Two

in the name given to the two sets of two six-sided dice mechanic used for all resolution rolls in the Archetype System.

Untrained

a Talent that does not default to zero (0), but instead has a default bonus of negative five (-5). Once a character development point is spent on the Talent, its bonus increases to positive one (+1) and progression from that point forward is normal.

Weakness

a negative bonus on either a Trait or Talent. Occasionally a character may perform poorly enough at a talent to warrant a Weakness, but these should be rate. Weaknesses in Traits are best reserved for non-player characters and creatures.

System Basics

ARCHeForm — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 02:37:48 +0000

The Archetype System is built around two fundamental concepts: the Two-of-Two mechanic for all challenge, contest, and conflict resolutions; and the character Archetype that encapsulates the essence of a character in one sentence. The combination of these two concepts creates a rather robust and flexible gaming system that is both deep in possibilities and quick in execution.

Character Archetype

Each character is initially defined by a group of words—a sentence—that combined is the character Archetype. This sentence encapsulates the character idea. Though there is a game mechanic attached to a character’s Archetype, it is mostly a way to develop a character idea, or focus on a specific idea, during character creation. Though, in its simplest form, an Archetype has no mandated structure—in order to provide a high level of flexibility to Players and Guides, if pertinent to a particular setting or story a structure of nouns, verbs, and adjectives could be overlaid—in order to provide guidance to Players, introduce additional abilities, or better define a Guide’s desired genre or tone.

The Two-of-Two Mechanic

For every challenge, contest, or conflict that a character must overcome, a player simply rolls two sets of two six-sided dice—four dice in total. The sum of the first set of six-sided dice is a positive bonus while the sum of the second set of six-sided dice is a negative bonus. The negative bonus is subtracted from the positive bonus to determine the outcome of the roll. In shorthand, the Two-of-Two mechanic is represented as 2d6-2d6.

The roll result has a numerical range from negative ten (-10) to positive ten (+10) with a mean of zero (0). The likelihood of a roll result between negative two (-2) and positive two (+2) is very high with the probability curve falling off severely. A roll result, positive or negative, between four (4) and six (6) is unlikely and a roll result of eight (8) or more is highly improbable.

During any challenge, contest, or conflict, a Guide may choose to modify the roll result by granting Advantage or Disadvantage.

Advantage and Disadvantage

At the discretion of the Guide, either Advantage or Disadvantage may be applied to any Two-of-Two roll. With Advantage, the higher of the two negative bonus six-sided dice is ignored. With Disadvantage, the lower of the two positive bonus six-sided dice is ignored. Though this may seem complex on paper, in practice it is quite simple and can be resolved quickly.

The roll result range for a challenge, contest, or conflict with Advantage is negative four (-4) to positive eleven (+11) with a mean result of positive five (+5). The result range for a roll with Disadvantage is negative eleven (-11) to positive four (+4) with a mean result of negative two (-2).

Earning and Using Adrenaline

At the discretion of the Guide, an Adrenaline point may be granted to a character for his involvement in a memorable moment. Players may spend their character’s Adrenaline in order to apply Advantage to one of their rolls or Disadvantage to one of an opponent’s. The use of Adrenaline must be declared prior to a roll.

Resolutions

All resolutions in the game, whether a challenge, contest, or conflict, are resolved in the same manner. The Guide determines a Base Bonus that is then resolved against either: a set difficulty, an apposed Base Bonus, or a Quality. In the case of a conflict resolution, a target Quality may be assigned for damage.

A Base Bonus is simply the sum of a given character’s chosen Trait bonus and a chosen Talent bonus. In shorthand, a Base Bonus is represented as Trait + Talent.

When resolving a challenge—usually a task or other activity undertaken by a character, a set difficulty is typically used. A set difficulty is simply a number ranging from one (1) to twenty (20) that the Player must roll equal to or above in order to succeed at the challenge. A difficulty of one (1) is a fairly easy task even for the most novice of characters, while a difficulty of twenty (20) is virtually impossible even for the most seasoned character. In shorthand, a challenge resolution is represented as Trait + Talent vs. Difficulty.

When resolving a contest—usually between two characters or a character and a creature, a second Base Bonus is used. Whichever character achieved the higher result bests the other at the contest. In shorthand, a contest resolution is represented as Trait + Talent vs. Trait + Talent.

When resolving a conflict—typically an attack against another character or creature, a Base Bonus is used against one of an opponent’s Qualities, and damage—if any—is also applied to either the same or another one of an opponent’s Qualities: the target Quality. In shorthand, a conflict resolution is represented as Trait + Talent vs. Quality (Target Quality).

Succeeding and Failing With Style

For any challenge, contest, and conflict in which a player rolls a result five (5) or more points above the difficulty, the character succeeds with style. For any challenge, contest, and conflict in which a player rolls a result five (5) or more below the difficulty, the character fails with style. In either case, the character’s actions create a memorable moment.

As an example, a character is trying to hack a security camera with a severely damaged hand-held computer. The Guide decides that this puts the character at a Disadvantage and the player must ignore the lower of the two positive bonus dice. If, for the sake of the example, the character has a Base Bonus of six (6) and the difficulty of the task is seven (7), then the player would need to roll a result of one (1) to succeed. With Disadvantage, this otherwise fairly likely result becomes much less likely. The player rolls a -2, -4, +3, and +5 and ignores the +3 giving a result of -1. The character is unsuccessful. Without Disadvantage, the result would have been +2 and the character would have been successful. With Advantage, the result would have been +6 and the character would have succeeded with style.

Thoughts Behind the Archetype System

ARCHeForm — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 20:17:48 +0000

Before delving into the Archetype System or the Riddance Role-playing Game, I wanted to provide a little history of, and personal motivation for, the project and also give credit to the many role-playing systems and settings that have inspired me to take this project on.

The Riddance Role-playing Game has been floating around on my “desk” for quite some time now, though called by numerous working titles. Its origins lay in my desire for a near-future setting that was less fantastic than many already established worlds; a setting with an extreme contrast between dark, crushing, sorrow and the ever optimistic drive for survival, for a better life; and, yes, a setting without an established cannon. Way too many settings, novels, and films have influenced my vision for Riddance to list, but I have been striving for a near-future noir with survival and intrigue themes. More details on the Riddance world will be presented in posts to come. With this post, I wish to focus on the game system.

The Archetype System was born out of a personal interest in role-playing game system design and desire for a skill-based system than was both robust enough to define a character well and flexible enough to allow for fluid game play. Surprisingly, I’ve never been completely satisfied by existing systems. That said, I’ve always loved the simplicity of the Storyteller System, but disliked the ever-growing dice pool. I’m a fan of the Fate System, but want more structure and the ability for character growth. I long for a system that allows for the same depth of character development as GURPS, but without the complexity. The Archetype System is, at its core, an amalgamation of these three gaming systems with a number of innovations that make it wholly its own.

The Archetype System is built around two fundamental concepts: the Two-of-Two mechanic for all resolutions; and the character Archetype that encapsulates the essence of a character in one sentence. The combination of these two concepts creates a rather robust and flexible gaming system that is both deep in possibilities and quick in execution.

The Two-of-Two mechanic is, fundamentally, a dice pool system with a set number of six-sided dice: two positive dice and two negative dice. Though the mechanic benefits from the die roll result averaging typical of dice pool systems, it stays a manageable four dice in size, no matter how skilled, or experienced, a character may be. For those interested in some of the math behind the Two-of-Two mechanic, the roll result has a numerical range from negative ten (-10) to positive ten (+10) with a mean of zero (0). The likelihood of a roll result between negative two (-2) and positive two (+2) is very high with the probability curve falling off severely. A roll result, positive or negative, between four (4) and six (6) is unlikely and a roll result of eight (8) or more is highly improbable.

The character Archetype allows a player to quickly define a complex character idea that is rooted in the game’s setting and has a direct influence on the game’s mechanic while preserving enough flexibility to not hinder creativity. The character Archetype is a simple sentence with a rigid structure: Attribute + Affiliation + Title + Location. Each of these components of the character Archetype is provided with a number of options to choose from that can be customized for any setting or mood imaginable. Two examples, specific to the Riddance Role-playing Game, are: Witty Corp Agent from Nilos or Massive Nomad Operator from Andorra.

Uldierr at a Glance

ARCHeForm — Sun, 22 May 2016 17:02:45 +0000

This is the introduction copy.

ARCHeForm — Sun, 22 May 2016 17:01:25 +0000

This is the introduction copy.

This is the main copy.

This is a test.

Significant Settlements

Adderock

Population: 600 (280 Urdean, 190 Orran, 90 Dworr, 40 Other Bloodlines)

This is a test.

High Hall

Population: 2,800 (1,600 Urdean, 900 Orran, 200 Dworr, 100 Other Bloodlines)

This is a test.

Ithus

Population: 6,600 (3,000 Urdean, 3,000 Orran, 600 Other Bloodlines)

This is a test.

Ordun at a Glance

ARCHeForm — Sun, 22 May 2016 17:00:12 +0000

This is the introduction copy.

Population: 6,900 (5,000 Orran, 1,200 Urdean, 700 Other Bloodlines)

This is a test.

Urdania at a Glance

ARCHeForm — Sun, 22 May 2016 16:58:09 +0000

This is the introduction copy.

This is the main copy.

* Rulers: Her highship, lady Gwendelan of the house of Dedwain, daughter of the Dunthain, mistress of the hall, queen of pearls. Royal chancellor Audelous, the collector, the old, first seat of the ruling council. High lord Sareth Kin Vayne, Warden of Tarnon, keeper of the lakes, bane of the north, second seat of the ruling council. High lord Tellen of the house of Moores, lord govnor of Brynemoor, the ever fair, he of many wives, third seat of the ruling council.

* Government: Hereditary monarchy with a ruling council of three who oversee the commonwealth of lords.

* Capital: Merhaven, with two lower seats: Brynemoor and Tarnon.

* Provinces: Various townships and holds.

* Population: 38,000 (Urdean 63%, Domon 20%, Orran 9%, Other 8%).

* Languages: Urdian, Domish, Orrian, Late Errenaen.

* Religions: The Enlightened, with scattered spiritualists.

* Coinage: silver crown (pp), silver noble (gp), silver groat (sp), copper groat (cp). Gold is not used for coinage due to its rarity. Instead, it is reserved for jewelry and other fineries.

* Imports: Grain, Spices, Technology, Wool, Gold, Horses, Fine Wines and Liquors.

* Exports: Coal, Dyes, Fish, Leatherwork, Lumber, Sea and River Vessels, Jewelry, Metals, Minerals.

* Prominent Allies: Uldierr, Ithus.

Population: 2,100 (2,000 Domon, 100 Other Bloodlines)

This is a test.