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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mkill" data-source="post: 5643588" data-attributes="member: 55985">Hello everyone,I think every gamer has the crazy idea of writing his own RPG at some point. Old friends of mine really pulled it off, printed and published it and even sold over 2000 copies. What I'm trying here is far more low-key. If I get to the point that I have a complete system for home use and conventions I'm very happy. First things first - I've just started, and many parts are unwritten. However, if there is no feedback, it's hard to know what it missing, so I hope I can drive this forward as the thread progresses.                     IntroductionWhy Fantasy Tales? Who is it for?   Fantasy Tales is an RPG for gamers who like classic fantasy, and want a fast, leight-weight and flexible system for their sessions.  I have been playing Fantasy RPGs for a long time. As I get older, I have less and less time to invest in learning and remembering a complex rules system. As an experienced gamer, I have a good feeling of what works and what doesn't.  As a Game Master, I like to improvise. I need a rules set that gives me freedom to create the world as I envision it, and a flexible but durable tool to judge the player actions.     Game rules - The Abridged VersionCharacter creation Before you read this, have a look at the sample characters - I will explain the elements piece by piece.<a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26790776/fantasy%20tales%20blank%20character%20sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Fantasy Tales Blank Character Sheet (280 kB)</a><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26790776/fantasy%20tales%20sample%20character%20sheets.pdf" target="_blank">Fantasy Tales Sample Characters and Character Sheet (Warning: 15 MB)</a><a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26790776/fantasy%20tales%20sample%20character%20sheets.pdf" target="_blank"></a>(I tried to give credits for the artwork used. If I ever make money on this, I'm happy to pay artists) A quick look at any of the sample characters reveals that characters in Fantasy Tales have only a short list of statistics: the level, three attributes, five abilities, one weakness, a combat role, three attacks, one defense and hit points.    Attributes, abilities, Weakness, Attacks and Defense are measured by assigning a type of die. The higher the die, the better.Attributes   Choose the characters three highest attributes among Strength, Dexterity, Consitution, Intelligence, Perception, Willpower, Courage, Wisdom and Charisma and assign a d12, a d10 and a d8. All other attributes are considered to be d6.Abilities     This is a catch-all section that covers a characters non-combat abilities.  These include internal abilities such as learned skills, supernatural abilities, magical powers, as well as external factors such as allies, resources, items, reputation, pets and mounts.  Fantasy Tales encourages players and GMs to be creative. Come up with whatever fits the character. Guidelines and sample abilities are featured in the abilities chapter. (still being written)  Once you have chosen five abilities, assign one d12, two d10, and two d8. Weakness   Perfect characters don't make for an interesting story, so Fantasy Tales encourages players to come up with a character's defining weakness.  The weakness is assigned a d4.Ability checks     Ability checks in Fantasy tales are handled by rolling two dice against a difficulty set by the GM. The default roll for checks is 2d6. If the character has an attribute or an ability that can be applied to the task, he can replace one of the d6 with the die assigned to the ability. Up to two attributes or two abilities, or one each, can be applied to the roll. The GM is the final arbiter of which ability or attribute can be used.If the GM determines that the PC's weakness applies to the check, one die is set as d4, and the PC can only use one other attribute or ability. For example, a character is trying to steal an apple from a market stall could use his dexterity attribute for quick reaction, perception to tell the right moment, or thievery, pick pocket or sleight of hand to show experience in the task. He could use charisma, bluff or even seduction to distract the merchant for a second. He could also use a pet like a trained monkey, illusion magic or telekinesis.   However, a character with the weakness "righteousness" or "law-abiding" would have second thoughts about stealing the apple, and one die would be set as d4.     In this example, the difficulty of the task is the Perception stat of the Merchant. Usually, NPCs use fixed values rather than dice.Attacks     Unlike ability checks, attacks are only rolled with one die, which, depending on the attack, either a d20 or a d12.  The attack roll is compared to the opponent's defense rating. The attack roll minus the opponent's defense is the damage dealt by the attack, which is substracted from the hit point total.   At character creation, PCs have three attacks: one with a d20 attack roll, and two with a d12 attack roll. The d20 attack is a straightforward attack that deals damage, without other effects. The D12 attack has a secondary effect if it hits, such as throwing the enemy, rendering him unable to attack for a turn, giving the next ally to attack the target a bonus, and so on. More in the chapter Combat. (still being written)Defense   Similar to attacks, characters are assumed to use their best abilities and equipment to defend themselves from attacks. Therefore, each character has a standard defense roll, which is a d12. Defenders (see combat roles below) roll a d20 instead.Note that monsters usually have fixed attack and defense values, while PCs roll for both attack and defense. If a PC's defense roll is equal to or higher than the Hit Points Each PC has three tiers of hit points: Light damage, Heavy damage, and deadly damage. Light damage represents mostly combat fatigue, small scratches and bruises. Heavy damage represents open wounds and concussions. Deadly damage represents broken bones, organ damage and other serious injuries.Each tier has a number of hit points equal to the character's constitution rating. If PCs take damage, they substract the damage from their hit points in order of the tiers: First light damage, then heavy damage, and deadly damage last. A character that has taken deadly damage cannot fight at full potential: His d20 attacks are reduced to d12, his d12 attacks are reduced to d8, and all other checks are reduced from two dice to one die. PCs who fall below zero on deadly damage are dead. HealingThe damage types heal at different speeds: Healing without medical help * Light damage heals completely on a short rest of five minutes (regardless of other wounds)* Heavy damage heals after a rest of one hour, equal to the result of a constitution check.* Deadly damage heals very slowly, at a rate of one point per day. Healing with medical help To heal a PC, the medic makes a roll using the wounded PC's Constitution and his own healing ability. Characters with the healer role can use d12 for this check regardless of abilities.The difficulty for the check is the hit points lost of the current wound tier (heavy or deadly). For every point rolled above the difficulty, the PC is healed one hit point. On a failed roll, the PC takes one point of damage.For a PC with heavy wounds, tending the wounds takes 5 minutes, and can be done once per hour.For a PC with deadly wounds, tending the wounds takes an hour, and can be done once per day.Combat Role      To encourage teamwork, each character in Fantasy Tales is assigned one of five combat roles. (This concept is similar to the D&D 4th edition roles.)Strikers      gain a d6 at the start of each turn to add to an attack roll.Defenders   roll d20 instead of d12 on defense.Leaders   gain a d6 at the start of each turn, which they can give an ally to boost a roll.Controllers   get an extra secondary effect on each attack.Healers   gain a d6 at the start of each turn, which they can use to heal themselves or an ally.Strikers, Leaders and Healers can store these bonus d6 if they participated in combat for the turn but have not used the die. Up to two dice can be stored, and used at once with the die gained in the third round for a total bonus of 3d6. Stored bonus dice are lost at the end of the encounter. Combat rounds and Initiative Combat is staged in rounds. In each turn, first all monsters act, then all PCs. Before the first turn, all PCs involved in the combat roll initiative. This roll is compared to the single initiative value of the monster side, which is usually the perception rating of the leader. The default value is 7. PCs who match or beat the monster initiative act in a surprise round, before the monsters. As with any ability check, initiative uses two attributes or abilities. The attributes Dexterity and Perception are eligible for initiative. For abilities, skills like Alertness, and supernatural / magical abilities like Precognition or Divination can be used for initiative. If the PCs manage to ambush or suprise the monsters, no initiative is rolled, and all PCs act in the surprise round. If the monsters ambush the PCs, there is no surprise round. Player characters are not passive during the monster turn. * They make defense rolls against the monster attacks (most monsters have fixed attack stats)* Leaders can grant their bonus d6 to defense rolls of their allies* Some PCs have immediate attacks (usually d12 attacks) that they can use in reaction to monster actions.LevelThe level is a relative measure of the PCs power. If a monster is of lower level than the party, it suffers a -1 level penalty to all stats. If it is higher than the party, it receives a +1 bonus to all stats. The level does not affect rolls on the PC side.Level up(add XP system here) NPCsNamed NPCs are created like PCs. Unlike monsters, the GM rolls dice for them.   MonstersThe one-stat monster  One-stat monsters are simple cannonfodder enemies like zombies, giant rats or orc grunts. They use one stat for everything: attacks, defenses, hit points, perception, skills and so on. They only have one hit point tier. If they fall below zero hit points, they are dead. ... to be continued ...</blockquote>

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