This thread will be used to denote the rules players should be aware of (I won't try and explain all of them as I've a couple of handbooks full and that would take forever via this medium), keep an update on characters, and for out of character game discussion.
Players (Note: I will not seek new players to take over the characters of players who drop out, but will instead kill/remove the current character and introduce a new character for the new player):
Players Needed:
0
Player List:
Basic Rules
The FUZIONfantasy system primarily uses d10's. As with CyberPunk and D&D you take a stat add it to a skill rank, roll a die ten, and combine any modifiers and pit the final score against a DC. However, unlike D&D I've put caps on stats based on race, so you can't have a Cidal with a ten strength when that's a tough score for a human to achieve, and you most certainly can't have a fighter running around with the strength of a war horse. Each stat is complimented by derived stats that occur once the main stat is figured, and some are determined by combining multiple stats and dividing by a number. All in all, it keeps things fairly well represented.
Combat is handled by pitting skill against skill. In some game systems you have a single To Hit score that is pitted against an armor class, or difficulty class, and that's the end. You match that number, and you hit. In FUZIONfantasy, you can choose to block or dodge an attack you are aware of. Shields provide you with a bonus to block, but anytime weapons come into contact with weapons, or armor, Structural Point Damage occurs and is subtracted from the item's SDP, or structural damage points. This means that someone can't just come up and "Sunder" your weapon, but if they focus on breaking it, they will eventually. This also means that you have to repair your weapons and armor and that costs.
So let's say your character is wearing chainmail and gets into combat. They are fighting with a longsword and dagger. The enemy attacks (we'll get into actions in a bit) and the character fails to block, taking a blow to the chest. In FUZIONfantasy, the location of the blow matters greatly, because some does regular damage, some does double damage, and some does triple damage. Before determining what damage the character takes damage would be rolled and the Stopping Power of the armor would be subtracted from the total damage. If there's any damage left over, that's when it is applied to the location with the proper multiplier. Seeing how your average character will have between ten and fourteen HITs, and a longsword blow from a strong enemy could cause as much as 4d6+ damage, you can see how a single blow can kill.
The best solution would be to dodge (a skill), but dodging requires room to move, and if you were looking at a grid it would force the character to move to an adjacent five foot square whether or not they dodged successfully. What if they don't have room to move, you ask? Then they'd also have to make an Athletics check to see if they succeed at doing some fancy maneuver to dodge the blow in place...not the easiest thing to perform. This is why blocking with a shield was invented: it is much easier to accomplish.
Character Sheets
I'll be creating your character sheets and placing them online for you to view in a central location. In fact, I'll be tracking the character's gear, etc. on this location as well, so it won't require any special downloads, or anything along those lines. Those of you familiar with me know that I prefer to create my own character sheets, and I've done so with this system as well. I've been asked to provide a summary of skills for character selection, but this would involve posting a long list of skills as well as perks and talents, so rather than overwhelm you with the information, I'll leave you to consider that if you tell me what type of skill in relation to D&D or CyberPunk that you're familiar with, I'll find the match for your character during the creation process.
These characters are established, they've been around the block, and they know each other to some degree or another. Meaning, you'll have decent skill sets, and in some cases, as you share your character ideas with me, I may suggest you take them levels you never thought of before. Like I mentioned previously, I'll not hinder your character creation through indicating what is needed for the adventure. However, some hints pertaining to the relationship of the characters can be of some good:
1) They all don't need to know one another, but they should have connections through to each other at the very least. In other words: Character A and B are childhood friends, have been adventuring together for years, and at one time they joined up as mercenaries with Character C who was an officer in the Corian military and is now a General. They spent one summer campaigning with Character C, who is also the cousin of Character D...see where I'm going with this?
2) It doesn't matter where you begin play. The medium allows for us to split the party and still have it work relatively smooth, so I can start you anywhere on the map, and where you think you might start, may not be the place I locate you, so be prepared.
3) Don't worry about gear and such yet. I'll work with you on that.
4) The characters will be established, with reputations. Some may have homes, some may have responsibilities to their country of origin, some may even have title and land.
I'm looking forward to seeing the remainder of the character ideas so we can flesh these babies out.
Magic Rules
Spellcraft: To begin to understand how to cast spells, one must understand the craft, no matter the profession of the character; a wizard needs this skill to understand the intricacies of the spellcasting necessary to manipulate the Source to their means, a priest needs the skill to understand the machinations of their deity’s preferred venerations and to find the nuances of prayer within the religion’s written word, while a druid would need this skill to understand how the Source works cooperatively with nature and to gain the benefits thereof. Another use of this skill is to write spells to spellbooks, learn new spells/prayers, create new spells/prayers, and to understand spells that have already been cast, to name a few. This skill also effects numerous other aspects of magic detailed within the Skill Compendium.
Spellcasting: There are many avenues of magical spellcasting, and each is unique to itself. The separation between them was deliberate, and designed to illustrate the differences in the methodology, and the differences in acceptance within cultures.
(Arcane)
Arcane spellcasters are defined by their academic approach to magic. They do not derive their magical abilities from a relationship with a divine being, but instead, focus on logic, technique, and theory to create the spectacular. The big catch is that without the touch of a deity backing one’s control over the Source, a person cannot heal the body, or the spirit since that is solely the domain of gods; only divine spellcasters can heal. The arcane spellcaster uses INT, TECH, and the Spellcaster and Spellcraft skills. They have the ability to grow to immense power, but in Audalis, where the magic isn't so strong, they are also greatly hindered in their advancement. Wizards can scribe spells already created to their own books, rent time in extensive libraries within large cities for spell creation, and even, in some of the more daring establishments, rent time in laboratories for other magical research. Spells created and documented using these resources offer much more powerful results than those created on the fly with less stress on the caster. For game purposes, the spells offered in the numerous D&D books will be used for what is available to cast, however wizards who study spells from their spellbook in the morning gain a bonus to their spellcasting check when casting that spell, whereas sorcerers who just rely on memory to cast their spells do not. The very nature of the education and documentation supersedes the rough practice of spur-of-the-moment spellcasting resulting in better resolution.
(Divine)
The relationship between a divine spellcaster and their deity means that so long as they remain in favor of their deity, they can ask for portions of that divine power to be channeled through them. They must maintain and grow their PIETY to be able to benefit, but it is well worth it as this relationship with their god/goddess provides them with additional benefits beyond just the ability to work magic. One such benefit would be with help channeling the Source through holy symbols consecrated to the deity as items of holy worth. Another would be in sharing the power of their deity with those who are devout in their faith causing worshippers of the faith to receive more benefit from prayers said over them. As previously mentioned, divine spellcasters can heal the body and spirit where others can’t, or have very limited abilities to. The requirement of daily prayer, and study of one's prayer book (or scriptures), however, is necessary to even be able to maintain one's PIETY. Divine spellcasters use WILL, PIETY, Expert: Religion, and Spellcraft skills.
Divine Limitation & A Greater Look at Piety
Divine spellcasters are limited in their application of magic by their god's domains. While they can attempt to cast spells outside of the domains, these spells are more difficult to cast and add a modifier to the casting DC of 2 per spell level. If the spellcaster is casting within their god's domains they get a +2 to the Spellcasting check. In addition to this bonus, should the recipient of spell that a divine caster is casting be an avid worshipper of the divine caster's god there is a +2 bonus to spellcasting. The god recognizes the devotion of the individual and makes it easier for the spellcaster to effect his target provided the prayer has benign purposes. Piety itself fluctuates depending on the work of the priest in the god’s favor, and as such a priest may be able to call great power from his deity at one time, but through inactivity or a lack of devotions, lose that right. This must be closely monitored lest the very nature of a divine spellcaster be lost to the less devoted acts of arcane spellcasters.
(Nature)
Then you have the Druids, or breeds of people who venerate, and converse with nature and, when necessary, convince it to do their bidding. Their power is not based in academic pursuit and execution, nor is it based in a relationship with a deity and application of holy prayer, but in their coexistence with Nature itself. To create their magic, druids persuade an element, flora, or fauna to do as they need controlled by their understanding of nature. Those casting within the domain of nature use WILL, Expert: Nature, Botany/Biology/Zoology, and Spellcraft to affect their manipulations. Their biggest downfall is that the elements they wish to manipulate must be present. In other words, they aren’t going to be using water in their spellcasting in the desert, nor would they use fire in a prairie unless they’d manually started one. Just as with the other types of spellcasters, however, the Druidic Orders have been documenting methods of persuasion, and those who have earned the right can access these hidden libraries to learn tried and true methods for more powerful castings than they’d otherwise get on the fly. Note, those who worship a deity of nature are considered a priest of nature, and are a divine spellcaster. Those who fall into the nature category are those who adhere to the philosophies of nature. For this category, ignore all spell lists in Player’s Handbook for D&D and other such addendum that refer to ranger spells and select feasible spells from the domains of any of the elements, sun, moon, weather, animal, plant, etc. Healing is not one of those classifications.
Still, casters of all ilk can only handle so much channeling before their bodies and mind are too fatigued to allow any further spellcasting. This is something that can be increased through practice and an understanding of the Source so spellcasters who have been about it longer can channel more than those who are just starting. A part of the formula for figuring the number of spells/prayers/persuasions an individual can enact in a day follows:
Arcane: INT x 2 + 1/rank of Spellcraft + 1/rank of Magic Intuition
Divine: WILL x2 +1/rank of Expert: Religion +1/rank of Magic Intuition
Nature: WILL x2 +1/rank of Expert: Nature +1/Rank of Magic Intuition
The second part of the formula uses the derived stat RES for defining limitations to what the caster is capable of casting within the amount of spells available. Rather than recreate the wheel, we’re using the spells created for D&D v3.5. These spells are separated into levels, and when a spell of any particular level is cast by the spellcaster, the level is subtracted from the RES pool (e.g. – a character has a RES pool of 24 and casts a 5th level spell. Their RES pool would be reduced to 19). When a RES pool is reduced to zero the caster is finished with normal spellcasting and must either rely on items such as the Source Crystal to increase their available pool, cast less powerful spells to begin with, or start sacrificing life force (see below) to cast more spells. Sure, they can cast 32 spells per day due to the formula above, but without aid they’ll be forced to cast low powered spells to achieve that total. No matter whether the spell is successful, or a failure, you will take points against your RES pool: full points equal to the level of the spell for successes, and half points (rounded up) for failures. There are limitations even in magic.
Each also has their unique method for casting a spell. For the arcane caster to actually cast a spell, the caster must be able to remember the technique used to access the Source and how to manipulate it into the desired effect. This is represented by use of the Technique (TECH) statistic in combination with the Spellcaster skill and a die ten.
TECH + Spellcaster Skill + 1d10
The divine caster must use prayer to ask their god or goddess for the favor of their power. This is done through the use of their WILL, forcing their prayer to be heard through the plethora of other prayers bombarding the deity. The deity then reviews how deserving the characters is through the characters PIETY.
WILL + (PIETY/100) + 1d10
The druid must have the element nearby that they wish to persuade and then enter into conversation with it using the Language of the Ancients, or Druids Tongue as most call it. This is done through the Expert: Nature skill and the WILL stat.
WILL + Expert: Nature + 1d10
Time for the Casting
Each combat phase is 3 seconds. As such, it is normally only possible to get off one spell per phase. In the event that a spellcaster finds the need, or desires, to cast two spells in a single phase he must raise the DC for the second spell accordingly. This adds a 5 to the DC. It just isn’t possible to channel more of the Source than that naturally in that limited time frame making it a limit/max of 2 spells/phase with the difficult modifier.
Spells: What’s Available to Cast?
As previously mentioned, we’re using those spells created for the game Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition, and for the FUZIONfantasy setting. Of course, alterations to these spells are necessary to fit within the limitations of a more realistic gaming system, so there are some rules of thumb that must be taken into consideration with each spell, and ultimately, the GM has final say in how the spells operate within their game.
The following table defines the DC and Damage limit per spell level. This means, for example, that if you were to cast a Fireball, depending on your Spellcraft rank, you’d always only do a maximum of 1d6+5 damage to all within the radius, with half damage for those who successfully save. This also means that no matter the effect of the spell, your DC for casting that Fireball is always going to be 21, unless (isn’t it funny how there’s always an exception to the rule) items, talents, perks, or other spells come into effect changing the DC. What’s more is that no matter whether the spell is successful, or a failure, you will take points against your RES pool: full points equal to the level of the spell for successes, and half points (rounded up) for failures.
Spell Transfer:| Spell Level | DC to Cast | Maximum Damage |
| 0 | 12 | 1d6/2 |
| 1 | 15 |
1d6 |
| 2 | 18 | 1d6+1/rank of Spellcraft up to +5 maximum |
| 3 | 21 | 2d6 |
| 4 | 24 | 2d6+1/rank of Spellcraft up to +5 maximum |
| 5 | 27 | 3d6 |
| 6 | 30 | 3d6+1/rank of Spellcraft up to +5 maximum |
| 7 | 33 | 4d6 |
| 8 | 36 | 4d6+1/rank of Spellcraft up to +5 maximum |
| 9 | 39 | 5d6 |
Durations: Where the duration lists anything to do with a standard action, the standard action is substituted for a phase. Otherwise, the terminology remains fairly standard: a round equals a round, a turn equals a turn, minutes are minutes, and hours are hours.
Spells that are designed with a repetitive action each subsequent phase (such as
Melf’s Acid Arrow) continue based on the spellcraft skill of the caster. The extended effect only works for one additional extension per three spellcraft ranks.
Metamagic and FUZIONfantasy: In D&D there were certain metamagic feats that could be earned to augment the spellcaster’s ability with their spells. These metamagic feats are now talents and must be purchased according to the talent acquisition rules.
Spell Resistance: It would stand to figure that some creatures are better at resisting the effects of the Source when it is pitted against them. This, too, is something that can be trained into an individual and is represented through the talent of Spell Resistance. Spell resistance is very easy to calculate. You take the talent’s rank and add that to the spell’s saving throw. Consider it to be the Stopping Power against the Source. If a spell does damage, spell resistance reduces the spell’s damage on the subject, whatever is left over after the spell resistance rank is subtracted from the totaled die damage is applied to the target’s HITs, or STUN, or RES, whichever applies. If a saving throw is allowed, these are considered before the damage is sustained, and spell resistance is applied to the WILL and CON save, but not the REF save (as this is a measure of one’s ability to get out of the way, not to resist).
The Trick of Increasing a Spell’s Potency: A spellcaster has the ability to increase the potency of a spell, or in other words, increase the save DC. To do this, the spellcaster increases the spellcaster DC by one half whatever total they are raising their spell’s save DC to. The spellcaster can increase the DC of the spell up to the total value of their Spellcraft skill.
Specialization of Function: Spellcasters of the arcane persuasion can choose to specialize in a particular type of spell function. Essentially, the wizard is choosing to focus their attention on one of the eight functions of spellcasting, and in doing so, neglects two others due to the necessary balance of Source application, and the dedicated effort to increase their skill in one area. The benefit to choosing this path is that the wizard gains a +3 bonus to their spellcaster check when casting from the function of their choice. Obviously, the downside to this is that they cannot cast spells from the two functions that they chose to neglect. A wizard character must make this decision while still a rank 1 in spellcraft and once it has been made, may not chose to go back.
Spell Books and Divine Devotions: A spellcaster can use just about any kind of object to record their spells. They could have their spells recorded on rolls of parchment, brass tablets, inscribed on a piece of jewelry, or in a book. To scribe a spell, however, the caster must make a successful Spellcraft check versus the DC of the spell being scribed. Spell books do not hold any magic and as such do not require special materials to hold the spell descriptions. The spell book is nothing more than a set of schematics used to refresh a spellcaster’s memory on casting their spell.
Int + Spellcraft Skill + 1d10
Divine spellcasters follow a different method of recording their casting, using mental devotions in combination with their prayers that allow a divine being to help jog their memory making it easier for them to remember their prayers for the day. This is another advantage divine spellcasters have over their arcane brethren. By performing their devotions for one hour when they are supposed to hold services the divine spellcaster receives a bonus against their casting DC for all spells cast that day from their deity's domains whereas the arcane caster only gains the benefit for spells studied from within their book. Spells created on the fly do not get this bonus. Both methods provide a +2 bonus against the DC.
Spell Focuses: Spell focuses are receptacles that help store RES energy allowing the spellcaster to cast against these receptacles before applying spell levels against their own RES. These cannot be random elements that the caster picks up by the side of the road per se, but they must be crafted by skilled artisans. In other words, if the spellcaster is casting a 5th level spell, they would normally apply 5 points against their RES score, but if they have a Spell Focus, they apply that 5 points against the Spell Focus’ pool instead. When a spell focus’ pool is used up, it becomes worthless until it is recharged once more by a Maintainer. Spell Focuses are different than the talent Spell Focus in that these are tangible objects where that talent is just a method of augmenting casting.
Focuses are created special for the purpose of enhancing spellcasting in a world that is low in magical prowess. Special ingredients, salves, and other archaic devices are used in this complicated procedure that requires Spell Focus Creation talent in order to properly prepare the item. These are the items found in spellcasting shops throughout the world (at least where spellcasting isn’t looked upon with fear and trepidation).
To create a spell focus one must have the Spell Focus Creation talent, a laboratory, and time. The formula for creating the focus is:
TECH + Spell Focus Creation + 1d10
The time spent and the DC are listed on the table below:
| Value of the Spell Focus: | Time Needed to Create | RES Store | DC to Create |
| 5gp | 1 hour | 2 | 10 |
| 25gp | 4 hours | 5 | 15 |
| 100gp | 12 hours | 10 | 20 |
| 500gp | 48 hours | 15 | 25 |
| 1,000gp | 72 hours | 20 | 30 |
Pushing Your Spellcasting/Sacrificing Life Force: In FUZIONfantasy the caster is not limited to just the number of spells per day that the above formula dictates, but to cast beyond this number is costly. The caster can opt to grant themselves an additional four (4) spell castings (meaning either 1 4th level spell, or any combination up to that) for the day by sacrificing one (1) point of Constitution. Essentially, the caster is eating away at their own life force in order to continue to cast. They may continue to do this until they have entirely depleted their Constitution score, but once they have taken the last point of Constitution and dedicated it to the casting of a spell, they have very little time left to live. The GM will roll 1d10 in secret. The result is the number of rounds that the caster has left to live unless they receive immediate care from a physician (DC 30) for one point, or magical restoration of their CON stat.
Recoverying From Life Force Sacrifice: Drawing upon one's life force is no small thing. It takes its toll and should not be used lightly. When a caster has done this they regain one (1) point of Constitution back every two (2) days of regular activity. If the caster is able to spend his time in complete rest they gain one (1) Constitution point per day instead of every two.
Spell Saves: There are three different types of spell saves: REF (Reflex) saves, WILL saves, and CON (Constitution) saves. Of these WILL is perhaps the most complicated as it is pitted against the target’s sense of self. REF saves are quite simply pitted against spells that have an area of effect like a fireball. The GM may even rule that a particular ray attack could result in a REF save to avoid its effects. Simply put, the REF save is put into effect whenever the target has a chance of “jumping to” and avoiding the effects of a spell. CON saves are used whenever a spell is targeting the physique or health of an individual directly. In the case where a spellcaster wants to just snuff the life force of a target out, the target would make a CON save to negate the effects, or receive half damage. As previously mentioned, WILL saves are the most complicated. A person’s Id is defined by their RES (Resistance) derived statistic. This derived statistic represents mental damage, or Hits, and as such, whenever a spell is being pitted against a target’s WILL, it must first overcome the target’s RES, taking the total derived statistic to 0 before it is effective, except in the case of illusions. Illusions are a false sensory representation of what the spellcaster wishes to present. They don’t really exist, but at the same time the recipient of the spell believes they do and as such his belief is enough to believe that the illusion is capable of hurting him. When an illusion does “damage” it is against the target’s RES derived statistic. If the RES derived statistic is reduced to 0 then the individual believes so fully in the fact that they’ve been killed, that they die.
REF Spell Save: 1d10+REF+Dodge & Escape
CON Spell Save: 1d10+CON+Endurance skill
WILL Spell Save: 1d10+WILL+INT
As previously mentioned, Spell Resistance must be overcome before a saving throw is ever required.
To further elaborate on the WILL save we’ll look at an example: Selenberg, the wizard, has decided that it is necessary to charm a guard in order to afford entry to a tower and gain an able-bodied swordarm at his side. Charm Person is a 1st level spell, so the DC is 15, something that Selenberg is more than capable of accomplishing. So, the roll is made resulting in a 25 for Selenberg. Since the score required an 15 there are 10 excess points. These points are then subtracted from the RES score of the target. Once the RES score is reduced to 0 the spell has succeeded, and so long as the spellcasting checks are successful the subject is completely unaware that they are being attacked. This is one reason why an arch-mage is such a feared opponent; for the weaker spellcaster, taking over someone’s mind might take a few tries, but for a skilled practitioner, one spell could completely strip an individual of their willpower.
Piety: This attribute is covered in this section because of its unique aspect on the character and character play. Piety is a representation of how spiritually in-tune with a deity a character is, and directly relates to divine spellcasting. Without Piety, the character cannot invoke divine magic.
This attribute fluctuates depending on the character’s involvement in their religion. Providing that the character is a devout worshiper who follows all of the edicts of his church and seeks to further their deity’s influence, they will advance in Piety earning more privileges from their church and their deity. Should the character fail to follow their deity’s mandates, grow lazy in their pursuit of spreading the religion’s Word, and otherwise neglect their deity, they will lose Piety to the point where they cannot cast divine magic. Even the passage of time effects a character’s Piety. Needless to say, when playing a priest or cleric of a particular religion, a player must pay close attention to the actions and efforts of their character in order to grow in power. Yes, the idea here is to promote role-play through the involvement of the character’s religion in their day-to-day activities; something that is not handled so well in other systems.
So, how does one gain and lose Piety? The following table represents the actions that will both increase, and decrease a character’s Piety score. Of course, like everything else in this system, this is not the end all reference point as the GM may decide that some items would have greater impact in their campaign than what is listed, or feel that not everything is covered. As such, the GM has final ruling on the points, when they are given and when they are taken away, as well as what exactly constitutes an award.
The Piety Table
| Action (Beneficial) | Piety |
| Attend/Hold services pertaining to devoted religion that last at least one hour. (Attainable once/day.) | .5 |
| Attend/Hold services pertaining to devoted religion that last at least one hour at the proper time associated with the deity’s worship preferences. (Attainable once/day.) | 1 |
| Attend/Hold services pertaining to devoted religion that last at least one hour where there are more than 10 worshippers of the same deity in attendance. (Attainable once/day.) | 2 |
| Attend/Hold services pertaining to devoted religion that last at least one hour at the proper time associated with the deity’s worship preferences where there are more than 10 worshippers of the same deity in attendance. (Attainable once/day.) | 3 |
| Pay required tithe. (Attainable once/day.) | 1 |
| Work a notable deed associated with devoted religion’s domain. | 1 |
| Proselyte to new investigators for at least one hour. | 2 |
| Bring new worshippers into the fold on any given day. (Attainable once/day.) | 3 |
| Dedicate a structure to the devoted religion. | 3 |
| Build a structure to the devoted religion of average value. | 3 |
| Build a structure to the devoted religion of great value. | 3 |
| Undertake a holy quest related directly to the agenda of the devoted religion. | 2 |
| Complete a holy quest related directly to the agenda of the devoted religion. | 5 |
| Donate items/property of average value to the devoted religion. | 3 |
| Donate items/property of great value to the devoted religion. | 5 |
| Destroy/thwart rival religion’s influence in a small area. | 2 |
| Destroy/thwart rival religion’s influence in an average area. | 4 |
| Destroy/thwart rival religion’s influence in a large area. | 6 |
| Action (Detrimental) | Piety |
| Failing to attend/hold services pertaining to devoted religion that last at least one hour. (Attainable once/day.) | -2 |
| Failing to pay required tithe at the required time. (Attainable once/day.) | -1 |
| Being accused of a crime against devoted religion. | -4 |
| Being convicted of a crime against devoted religion. | -10 |
| Losing items/property that belongs to the devoted religion. | -5 |
| Destroying, or allowing to be destroyed, items/property that belongs to the devoted religion. | -10 |
| Breaking a vow to the devoted religion. | -5 |
| Acting outside of the Faith. | -10 |
| Allowing a rival religion to flourish unchecked within a small area neighboring your faith’s domain. | -2 |
| Allowing a rival religion to flourish unchecked within an average area neighboring your faith’s domain. | -3 |
| Allowing a rival religion to flourish unchecked within a large area neighboring your faith’s domain. | -5 |
These totals are a “live” pool, meaning that they go up or decrease as the incidents occur unless otherwise stated. For every 100 points of Piety, consider this equal to 1 rank for the sake of die rolling and determining scores against DCs.
More to come...
Shadows of the Empire Q&A
Shadows of the Empire
Neva
