[Troubles & Treasures] Class Acts: The Hoplite

Hoplite

Prime Requisite: Strength

Key Skill: Physical

Armed with spear, javelin, and sword, the hoplites of the Mynacean city-states contribute some of the most feared armies in the civilised world. With their heavy armor and shields, they can shrug off nearly any barrage, and be ready to strike back in force with javelins. Hoplites traditionally fight together, in a phalanx of free men, but some use their freedom to take up the life of a travelling adventurer, battling madness and hubris wherever it may arise.

Play a hoplite if you want to...

• Defend your allies and your city with shield and spear.
• Live as a free and honorable citizen-soldier of the Mynacean city-states.
• Be equally dangerous in hand-to-hand and ranged combat.

Class Features

Phalanx Protector

When wielding a shield, you and any adjacent allies gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Javelin Hurler

When you hurl a javelin or spear, add both your Strength and Dexterity bonus to the attack and damage rolls.

Arete

You are not just a solider; you are a hero of Mynacea; perhaps an athlete, a philosopher, or an orator. Add +3 to one of Physical, Knowledge, or Communication, and +1 to the others.

Class Feats

We Will Fight In The Shade

When wielding a shield, you add an additional +1 to AC against ranged attacks, on top of your Phalanx Protector bonus.

Defenders of the Polis

When you stand in solemn defense of a city, town, or village, you will not die or collapse until you have suffered damage equal to twice your hit points.

Agon and Tragordia

When you challenge a foe to single combat and lose, you get experience points as if you had defeated them.

[AW-style move]Recall a Cure

Recall a Cure (d20+Knowledge+Mind)
Roll when a party member is afflicted by some horrible condition (such as a curse, disease, or whatnot), and you need to remember how to cure it.

14-: the GM picks one option from the following list.
15-19: as above, but the player picks instead.
20+: the players gets to pick three.

• The cure is nearby, and won't take a long journey to reach.
• Acquiring the cure will not require spending much money.
• The process of getting the cure will not be overly dangerous.
• The party won't owe anybody any favors in exchange for the cure.
• The process of getting the cure will give the party some other benefit in addition to its restorative properties.
  

AW style movies - Roguish Edition

Pick a Pocket (d20+Subterfuge+Dex)
14-: major failure, pick two results (see below)
15-19: minor failure, pick one result (see below)
20+: success!

Results:

• You fail to pick the target's pocket
• Somebody (50% chance it's the target, otherwise somebody nearby) notices you. If this result is picked twice, everybody nearby is aware of what you did.

Pick a Lock Under Pressure (d20+Subterfuge+Mind)
Performing this move requires a set of thieves' tools.
14-: pick one
15-19: pick two
20+: pick three

• You open the lock
• You don't break any of your tools
• You aren't noisy in the process
• You don't take very long
  

Sneak Past Some Guards (d20+Subterfuge+Dex or Mind)
In some cases, the GM may require a distraction before you have a chance to use this move.
14-: pick one
15-19: pick two
20+: pick three

• You get where you want to go.
• You don't spend much timing waiting for an opportunity/to realize it's not going to work.
  
• The guards don't notice you.
  

Trade on the Black Market (d20+Subterfuge+Mind)
14-: pick three
15-19: pick two
20+: pick one

• The price involved is unreasonable (and not in your favor).
  
• Getting the deal done takes a heap more time than you intended.
  
• You get mixed up in trouble in the local underworld.
• The suspicions of the local law enforcement are aroused.
  

Microlite20/Troubles and Treasures House Rules

I was recently lamenting the fact that, due to all the changes I and my group have made to MicroLite20, I can't just point to a single document and say that that's our rulebook. So, I decided to list the main rules changes we've made as succinctly as possible. Unless otherwise stated, everybody conforms to the original m20 rules available here, or here, by Greywulf.

Races:
In addition to Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Halflings (Gnomes), there are also Half-Orcs (+1 Str, +1 Phys and Sub), Planetouched (+1 Mind, +1 Know and Com), and Constructs (+5 on saves against poison, disease and suffocation/drowning).

Feats:
every odd numbered level opens up a feat slot. What feats you can take are determined by race and class, but you don't get a feat automatically. Sometimes a feat needs to be learned from a teacher, sometimes you pick it up to replicate, long-term, something the GM let you do on a special occasion. A compilation of feats will be forthcoming at some point. Until then, this is an optional rule.

Rogues:
sneak attacks deal an additional 3+level damage (this is not connected to the Rogue's Subterfuge bonus).

Fighters:
no change.

Wizards:
Wizards can use books, wands and staffs as focuses for magical energy, working like ranged weapons (light crossbow, shortbow and longbow, respectively). They get no favoured/signature spells (but spells are cheaper, and they have more hp, see below).

Performers (Bards):
Get 2 + level + Mind bonus uses of their music per day. By default they can use music to charm individuals, hypnotize crowds, and counter other sound-based effects, and can do other things with the right feats. They can wear light armour, and get +2 Subterfuge, Knowledge, and Communication.

Invokers (Clerics):
Get no spells or turn undead uses, but get to pray without any penalties, and with an optional re-roll. They can also tend to another character, allowing them to make a new save against an on-going non-permanent effect, or to spend a healing surge with a re-roll.

Combat Actions:
Use the normal D&D 3.5 system of 1 move action, 1 standard action, or 2 move actions, or one full-round action.

PC Hit Points:
Are rolled using a d8. Every character gets 4 healing surges plus their Strength bonus, per day. They may spend a healing surge as a standard action to heal 1d8 lost hp. Any healing effect will require the usage of a healing surge.

NPC Hit Points:
Are either 5 per level for "mooks", or 10 per level for "boss" monsters/characters encountered on their own. NPCs have healing surges, but most can't use them unless they have some outside effect working on them (such as a cleric). The GM will say when an NPC gets down to half it's hit points (is "bloodied").

Skills:
Skills are equal to the character's racial and/or class bonuses, plus half their level, rounded up.

Attacks and Damage:
Attacks are divided into Strength attack (non-light melee weapons), Dexterity attack (light melee and thrown weapons), and Mind attack (bows, crossbows, firearms and spells). Each is the relevant ability modifier plus the character's level. There are no iterative attacks, although dual-wielding works as in the M20 books. Additionally, characters add half their level (rounded down) to their damage rolls.

Spells:
Adventuring wizards know all the spells in the Adventurer's Spellbook, and can learn/create more, although the highest level of spells that is possible is level 7. Spells cost 2 hp per spell level, minimum of 1 hp. This damage is normal damage, and can be healed by anything that normally restores lost hp. If a spells is experimental, or of a spell level too high for the wizard (greater than character level+1, halved), there is a 50% chance the spell will backfire and do something weird and random. Otherwise that only happens when the wizard rolls a natural 1. Spells cast through prayer work the same way.

Carrying Capacity:
Objects are weighed in Stone (14 pounds, or 6 kilograms), rounding off, with 1000 coins weighing a stone. A character can carry half their Strength score in stone, rounding up, without any trouble. More than that can only be carried for short periods.

XP and levelling:
XP is handed out for fights, carousing, and eXPloration. Characters have to achieve something to go up a level (defeat a worthy foe in a new way, commit a new crime, learn a new spell, spread fandom/religion to new people, or something along those lines).

New Cleric Mechanic/AW-Style Move

Balance issues are yet to be tested...

Pray (1d20+Communication+Mind-10)
A character may only try to do this once per day.

14-: nothing happens
15-19: receive one miracle
20+: receive three miracles

Clerics ignore the penalty, and may re-roll the check, although they must take the second result, even if it’s worse.

Miracles:

• 1d6 damage, + 1d6 per two character levels, damage to all unholy creatures in 30 ft. (save for half). Said unholy creatures may halve the damage they take, but if so they must flee from the praying individual.
• Cast a level 2+ spell as if you were a wizard. (GM may veto spell if it doesn’t seem to match your god of choice, or alternately say that some other power supplied the spell...).
• Ignore the fact you're wearing armour for spellcasting purposes.
  
• All allies within 30ft. may spend a healing surge as a free action, and may re-roll the result.
• All allies within 30ft. may roll a new save against any negative ongoing non-permanent effect they’re experiencing.
• Be given another chance to pray for a miracle today.
  

Flight spells on the Coin

A long time ago the gods made it pretty clear that if the mortal races were supposed to be able to fly they would have been issued wings up front. After some lightning bolts were thrown around, the wizarding community got the hint and gave up on spells that allow humans to soar like birds.

Of course, wizards are smartasses. They've since worked out a myriad of spells that do similar things without breaking the "no flying mortals" rule. Feather Fall will slow your decent, Levitate will allow some vertical movement without actually counting as flight, and finally, the coin version of the spell Fly actually imbues aerial mobility on a broom* which a mortal spellcaster might just happen to sit on...

*or carpet, or staff, or cauldron. Different cultures have different versions with different degrees of speed and stability.

My D&D House Rules

Actually, I won't bore you with them, but suffice to say that in the process of typing up all the house rules I have stored in my head, I discovered the document is nearly as long as the rules they're modifying. Of course, I'm modifying MicroLite20, so that isn't terribly long. Thus, this brought me to the conclusion that it might be best for me to just make a Microlite20 rulebook of my own, with all the house rules included as standard.

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Characters (We hope)

So, say you've got a bunch of PCs in a long tunnel, running away from a boulder which is rolling after them (ala Indiana Jones). How would you mechanically represent that in, say, Microliet20?

That's the question I posed myself 10 minutes ago. Here's what I came up with.

(I'm using the notation squares here for all movement. I assume that a square is 5 feet, but feel free to do whatever you like)

There is a tunnel, which is 60 squares long. At one end is the boulder. 10 squares further along are the PCs. The boulder moves 12 squares every turn. Any PCs it moves over are, most likely, dead, or if not, wishing they were.

However, the PCs get to move first. Each turn, each PC gets a number of movement points. The base is 6, to which they add their Dexterity modifier. Also, every turn, they can roll 1, 2, or 3d6 for extra points. It costs 1 point to move 1 square.

That's the basics. Now, here's where it gets interesting:
If you get a double or triple on your move points roll, your character trips and falls at the end of your movement. On your next turn, you'll lose 2 move points from lost momentum anyway, in addition to having to spend 4 points just standing up.

However, other people can help you up, so long as they're adjacent to you. Helping somebody up costs you 4 movement points, minus your Strength modifier, to a minimum of 1 point.

Example:

Wyfy Cygnet is a rogue with Strength 7 and Dexterity 16. She gets a base movement point allotment of 9 every turn, and it costs her 6 points to help somebody up.

Meanwhile, Power Murderface is a bard with Strength 18, and Dexterity 8. He gets 5 movement points every turn, but it only takes 1 point for him to help somebody up.

Obviously, anybody who gets to the 60-square finish line before the boulder does wins (i.e. doesn't die messily).

Edit: actually you could use much the same process for doing Chased by Wolves, or Outrunning a Tidal-wave of Water, the basic Rolling Boulder is what got me onto the idea.

Abstract-ish d20 Chase mechanic

While walking my dog and humming the Starship Troopers theme tune (my brain is like a broken and expectionally nerdy iPod) today, I started thinking about chase scene. I love them in movies, but I've yet to see very many RPGs handle them in a fun way. While many systems have quite reasonable mechanics for such things, mostly they just boil down to a series of opposed rolls, with little or no choices made on the part of the players. This sucks, because RPGs are really all about making choices. So, here goes a simple mechanic for d20 games (Microlite20 mostly, but it's adaptable) for chases and races.

Step 1: Setup
During the chase, distance between people (or horse, or starships, or whatever) will be determined by points of Lead. Pick some increment of distance that Lead will represent for this chase. For a thief running through the streets chased by guards, 10 feet is good, while an all-day overland chase on horseback might have a point of Lead represent several miles. Generally starting the two parties (pursed and pursers) about 5 points of Lead apart is good, but do whatever fits the situation.

Step 2: Determine Initiative.
Unlike in normal combat, chase initiative is rolled at the start of every round. Each individual or group in the chase rolls a d20 and add their Mind bonus. If the individual or group is being pursued they get +2. If a group is pursuing and outnumbers the pursued party, then they get +2. Highest roll goes first this round.

Step 3: Determine conditions.
Whoever won initiative for this round gets to describe the conditions that the chase will be going through this round. If they choose to play it safe, each participant in the chase must make a DC 10 check (usually Physical + Dex, but whatever suits the type of chase), with failure losing them a point of lead, and success winning a point of lead.

Alternatively, the initiative winner can choose different conditions, increase the DC, and add other effects to winning or losing (such as damage), as suits him.

Example: Claude the Clandestine has stolen a horse from a lord's stables and is fleeing through the woods on it. The lord's men are chasing him. Claude, having won initiative, decides he'll ride through the thickest part of the wood, braving the low-hanging tree branches. He tells the GM that for this round, the DC for the chase will be 17, and failure will deal 2d6 damage, in addition to losing anybody who fails 2 points of Lead from riding into a tree-branch and being knocked off their horse.

Step 3.5: Roll the Dice
Once the initiative winner has worked out the conditions, everybody rolls their check (the GM may choose to roll individually or as a group for grouped creatures), and applies the effects. Additionally, for any such check where the speed of the participants would aid them (i.e. pretty much every check), the faster party gets +2 on their check, or +5 if they're twice as fast, or +10 if they're three times as fast or more. Any party can voluntarily fail their check if they so wish.

Example of being tricky with these rules: Claude has stolen a magical trinket from a dragon's horde and is now being chased by a huge and rather unhappy giant lizard. Claude, having won initiative once again, decides to repeat his old trick and rides into some trees. However, this time, Claude says that the DC will be 10, with failure causing the loss of a point of Lead (like normal), and success causing the gain of a point of lead, and 6d6 damage unless you also make a save to avoid smacking into a tree.

Claude then voluntarily fails his check, and loses a point of lead. The dragon, hoping to catch up to the thief and roast him, decides to roll to succeed (getting a +5 bonus on the roll because dragons are twice as fast as horses). Easily rolling high enough, the dragon slams into the treeline, and now has to make a save to avoid braining itself with a conifer...

Step 4: Are We There Yet?
After Lead points have been lost and gained, work out what happens. If the pursuer has caught up to the pursued, they can they attack or catch their prey, as appropriate. If the pursued have got 10 points of lead ahead of their attacker, they've managed to get away. If neither such circumstance has occurred, go back to step 2 and repeat for the next round.

Optional Variants for Races:
For races, usually everybody starts at the same point, and thus nobody has a Lead point advantage. Additionally, give every participant two extra points of lead every turn, in addition to however many they won or lost form their skill checks, and whoever gets to the finish line (say, 20 points of Lead) first is the winner.

Also, as neither party can really direct the course of the racetrack, use a straight d20 roll for initiative. For added fun, have any players who are just spectating roll as well, and determine the conditions of that round is they win.

Left 1d4 Dead

I love the zombie apocalypse survival horror computer game Left 4 Dead. Which is a bit weird, considering zombies as a whole scare the snot out of me, and I avoid horror movies like the plague.

But Left 4 Dead has such awesome gameplay. Particularly the way it forces the players to work together and help each other out. For those who don't know, in Left 4 Dead, various things can incapacitate you: being mobbed by normal infected, the special attacks of most of the special infected, falling off a ledge, that sort of thing. The only way to cease being incapacitated is for one of your teammates to help you up, or do some similar action. Actually dying in L4D takes, well, a lot of effort, but can happen if the party is stupid and doesn't help each other out.

I love this feature. So, here's a suggestion for how to incorporate it into D&D, or some other game that uses hit points (ans assuming HP represent, in part, luck and ability to dodge, not just structural integrity):

When a character is down to 0 hp, he is incapcitated, and can't do anything. Additionally, he must make a save (vs. Death Ray, or DC 20 Fortitude, or whatever fits the edition) or suffer an ongoing detrimental condition (-2 on all rolls, or perhaps a Negative Level), until the character can rest and get some decent medical attention (takes at least 2 hours and a DC 20 Heal/Treat Injury check, or a Heal spell. Cure spells won't cut it). The effects stack if the character is incapacitated multiple times. Optionally, the third time the effect is applied, the character dies.

If another character gives the incapacitated character a hand up (an attack action), the incapacitated character regains half his lost hit points, although any ongoing conditions remain. Characters cannot be given a hand up in this way until they have been down to 0 hp.

This means that a party can work without a dedicated healer character, but benefits from having one, as the healer can help stave off incapacitation, and thus saves to avoid bad effects, and can help reverse those effects when they occur. Meanwhile, non-dedicated healers will have to, occasionally, help their fellows out.

Similar systems could be applied to paralysis, hypnotism, being chucked off ledges, and suchlike, making each easily fixed by a fellow party member, but forcing a save against some on-going detrimental effect.