Table of Contents
D20 Modern-Lite
For the purpose of the one shot adventure, this game is being run under a stripped down version of the D20 Modern system, with a few additions for our own amusement. What does this mean? Well, here's the character creation 'rules'.
Race
Humans are obviously the normal choice, but you can be a supernatural entity! Just note that humans get some benefits to balance things out, like being not considered a monster by the world at large and not having unusual dietary requirements, and that unless you use a Feat or two on some extremely cool powers you are limited in part by your stats and skills.
Human
The good news? Humans rule the planet, quite literally, and while there are things of greater power and danger out there, humans are the ones with the guns, the bombs, and the nuclear weapons, which is why most intelligent monsters fight just as hard as the Keepers to maintain the masquerade that keeps the majority of humanity ignorant of their existence.
- By and large, humanity is not aware that the supernatural exists, or doesn't believe that it exists.
- Fringe elements are all over, but are regularly discredited or removed from the public eye.
- There are also people who actively confront the supernatural, or interact with them… sometimes as enemies, sometimes as friends, and sometimes for exploitative reasons… though who's exploiting who?
- As such, those confronting the supernatural should be aware that humanity can be their biggest threat as well as their best ally.
- Those who actually are human are also more likely to receive trust and support from fellow supernatural-aware humans – have to stick together against those monstrous things, after all.
Vampire
The most common supernatural entity that still maintains a friendship with humanity, vampires – or at least the breed of them commonly found in the United States – have some basic abilities and drawbacks that balance them out with humanity. Let's get to brass tacks:
- Vampires drink blood to live. They must drink blood in the same general frequency that people eat food, in fact. Vampires do not necessarily need to kill in order to survive, but a single individual cannot maintain a vampire's appetite forever for the same reason they can't donate a pint of blood every day.
- Vampires are not big fans of the sunlight. While the American Vampire doesn't burst into flames in sunlight, they do experience a loss of most of their supernatural powers and abilities in sunlight, and have the weakened status in sunlight.
- Vampires often have peculiar powers, but these powers vary widely from fangster to fangster - a fact that drives Keepers crazy, as it means they are difficult to pigeonhole. However, vampiric charisma and mind control are practically expected in some form or another, and they are usually stronger and tougher than their human counterparts.
- Vampires do not leave a reflection, and camera and security systems that rely on mirrors will not detect them. They also tend to be cool to the touch. All of these make the old 'mirror check' a reasonably common way to check for vampires; a handshake will work as well, but that requires being awfully close to them…
- Vampires have a limited number of ways to permanently kill them, but these ways are well known – starvation, a stake through the heart, decapitation, death by fire, or anything that destroys the brain or heart. Furthermore, not being killed by something does not give you immunity to it, as many quadriplegic vampires who died of starvation have discovered.
Other Known Entities
As the PCs are all either humans or vampires, other creatures just get a quick synopsis here:
- Werewolves. The classic man-to-beast incarnate, werewolves are mostly known for savagery when alone, but can become devastating predators when they have a pack to work with. Werewolves tend to prefer territory that is isolated from humanity, and they are known to be most vulnerable to silver, as it leaves lasting injuries. The fact that some European vampires are also vulnerable to silver has sparked gossip that they might be related evolutionary branches, a theory that both vampires and werewolves repudiate. Werewolves and vampires traditionally don't get along, but those that do are even more troublesome, as werewolves can easily clean up the bodies that vampires leave behind.
- Bastet. These are people who can transform into a catlike creature, known as Bastet because they are known to have existed since Egyptian times (then again, so have a lot of things if you read the right heiroglyphics), if not earlier. They were seen as blessed by Bast and responsible for maintaining the pact between feline and humanity, if you believe the legends; even today, cats are quite welcome in human homes, and Bastets are still found in human cities, though their business is their own.
- Ghosts. Supernatural entities typically incarnated from the soul of a person who died in a particularly tragic or horrific manner, and generally not friendly towards humanity at large, being dead and all. Ghosts are typically tied to the scene of their death, or to something else important in their life. Sometimes ghosts can be persuaded to move on to the next life, while others may refuse to let go and must be forced to move on by destroying the object or motive that keeps them clinging to this world. For example, some battlefield remnants can be convinced to move on by proving to them that the war they are fighting is officially over, while others will not be persuaded so easily without destroying the symbol of their command post.
- Outsiders. Commonly referred to as 'angels' or 'demons', outsiders are supernatural entities from outside this world who meddle in the affairs of mortals. It's clear that they have some manner of power structure, as those who meet will occasionally show deference or command, but they don't typically stop to explain their society to mere mortals. They sometimes offer gifts, and sometimes request favors – and may be 'good' or 'evil' in the eyes of humanity, depending on their current ambitions. Many can choose to appear perfectly human, but some don't.
- Unreal. While many things are understood by at least some small portion of humanity, there are others that are less comprehensible; things that distort reality by their very existence. It's unclear whether their intent is such or not, as there seldom seems to be a coherent plan to their behavior – only the strangeness left in their wake is a sign that the Unreal have touched a particular place or person. It is generally assumed, however, that anything that gradually unmakes the world should at least be considered a threat, if not overtly hostile.
- Faeries and Spirits. The natural spirits of the Earth have existed for at least as long as people have been able to give word to their beliefs in the existence of spirits. One has to wonder, though, does humanity's belief give the supernatural strength? What happens when humanity stops believing in the powers of nature? This topic has come up most particularly because these spirits have lost much of their power and presence in recent decades, with many of their best tricks beaten by machines of iron that trample their works and crisscross their lands with bands of metal. Aside from the occasional witch or warlock asking their blessing, or some cultural heritages that are fading away over time, few acknowledge the various spirits of the world, let alone offer them praise and worship.
- Other. There are many things that are said to go bump in the night. Many of them are real. Some are falsehoods created by a bored author. Not a few are both, things given form and shape by the belief of humanity. Be on your guard.
Stats
This is the one section that got slightly more complicated. You have 100 points to divide between the attributes – but I've added three attributes. This means that you can have a character who is equally slightly above average in all things (you're all heroes, so you all get to be better than average), or be awful at a few things and better at most. I've included the list here as well as what various levels mean for various stats.
Strength
As you might guess, Strength is your physical ability to move things, haul things, hit things really hard, and so forth. Physical entities such as humans and vampires tend to need Strength in order to stand, walk, and affect the world.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are simply incapable of affecting the world, and hopefully you are a ghost or otherwise have a very good reason this doesn't simply kill you. |
| 5 | You are particularly feeble by human standards, and probably shouldn't lift heavy packages. You lose in the average bar armwrestling contest. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are as likely to lose as to win against another random armwrestling person of equal skill and average strength. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in physical might. You usually win armwrestling contests, unless a ringer is in the audience. |
| 20 | You are a world-class strongman. You lift as much as, or more than, is thought humanly possible. You are the ringer in an armwrestling tournament. |
Dexterity
Dexterity is a blend of flexibility, grace, and coordination - your physical ability to move things or control things accurately, and so forth. Physical entities such as humans and vampires tend to need Dexterity in order to move quickly and carefully, without clumsiness, and with skill.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are simply incapable of any physical adroitness. Stephen Hawking is on an even footing with you. Hopefully you are a ghost or otherwise have a very good reason this doesn't simply kill you. |
| 5 | You are particularly clumsy by human standards, and probably shouldn't be in charge of driving. You are likely to injure yourself playing darts. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are as likely to lose as to win against another random dart player of equal skill and average dexterity. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in physical grace. You usually win at darts. |
| 20 | You are ridiculously adept and graceful by human standards. Supernaturals that excel at physical grace look at you in envy when you play darts. |
Constitution
Constitution is a blend of stamina, endurance, and general good health - your ability to endure physical stress, keep going when physically impaired, or resist diseases and toxins. Physical entities such as humans and vampires tend to need Constitution to endure suffering, continue exerting oneself for long periods, heal quickly and survive debilitating blows.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are simply incapable of physical resistance and endurance. A cold would quickly kill you. Hopefully you are a ghost or otherwise have a very good reason this doesn't simply kill you such as extreme mechanical assistance. |
| 5 | You are particularly sickly by human standards, and are likely to spend a lot of time in hospitals. You tend to get sick frequently. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are what the medical profession considers an average specimen. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in physical endurance. You tend to outlast others in marathons even if you aren't physically faster. |
| 20 | You are ridiculously tough and enduring by human standards. You don't need a feat to shrug off disease or plod on tirelessly; you are just that tough. |
Intelligence
Intelligence, as one might expect, is one's innate ability to outfox others, understand and plan for situations, and think on your feet. Entities with a sense of consciousness tend to need Intelligence in order to come up with sensible activities, and to think of solutions to problems.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are simply incapable of thought. You are either a completely non-sentient entity like a robot, or in a vegetative coma. You are routinely outwitted by cats. |
| 5 | You are particularly stupid by human standards, and probably shouldn't be in charge of planning anything. You are likely to fall for the ploys of others, including cats. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are neither stupid nor smart, and probably think you know more than your cats. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in knowledge and tactics. You might enjoy trying to teach your cats to play chess. |
| 20 | You are a confirmed genius (or madman) who excels beyond most others' understanding. You could probably invent a way to give cats human intelligence if you wanted to. |
Wisdom
Wisdom serves as one's measure of common sense and ability to interpret the environment. Someone who likes to use Sherlock Scans to explain what he determines about others is using Wisdom to detect and interpret these minor clues. Entities with a sense of consciousness tend to need Wisdom in order to think of the downsides of otherwise 'intelligent' activities, be observant of their environment, and use 'common sense' when figuring out if something is a bad idea.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are incapable of determining cause and effect, and notice nothing that you are not specifically designed to notice. You are either a completely non-sentient entity like a robot, or in a vegetative coma. You will do anything without thinking of consequences. |
| 5 | You are particularly unwise by human standards, and are not terribly imaginative. You are likely to be placed in jobs where independent thinking is strongly discouraged. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are neither foolish nor wise, and have as much sense as anyone else in the bar. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in insight and imagination. You are probably a strong independent thinker who conceives of strategies others struggle to keep up with. |
| 20 | You are a master of inductive reasoning and tend to know what course of action is most likely to give a good or bad result. You can probably pull off a Sherlock Scan in real life. |
Charisma
Charisma serves as a measure of one's presence and ability to influence others rather than be influenced. People with high levels of willpower and self-esteem tend to have high Charisma. Entities with a sense of consciousness tend to need Charisma in order to convince others to agree with their thoughts or assist in their goals.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You have no sense of personality whatsoever. You are either a completely non-sentient entity like a robot, or in a vegetative coma. You have no ability to convince others against their better judgment. |
| 5 | You are particularly weak-willed by human standards, and probably shouldn't organize anything. Others tend to talk over you without even trying. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are neither more or less innately persuasive than average, and may be pushed around by those with stronger wills than yours. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in presence and willpower. You could likely run for President and win if you had the right backers. |
| 20 | You are a master at influencing other people into seeing things your way or buying what you're selling. You could take control of a country with your force of will. |
Luck
Luck is one's ability to countermand the odds and get improbable breaks. People who routinely win the lottery or endure streaks of phenomenal fortune likely have a great deal of luck on their side. Luck tends to be useful when trying to survive things nobody could survive, and doesn't hurt when playing games of chance, either.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are utterly uninfluenced by Luck. You are a statistician's dream as things always go the way one might expect for you. You are as likely to win coin tosses as to lose them, and can't get a Lucky Break at all. |
| 5 | You are particularly unlikely to luck out by human standards. You can only win at poker through skill and talented bluffs, and can't expect the cards to go your way. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are neither lucky nor unlucky, and only infrequently get a lucky break. |
| 15 | You are exceptionally lucky by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in good fortune. You could play the lottery at random and have a good chance of winning more than you spend. |
| 20 | You are incredibly lucky and defy the odds on a regular basis. If there is a chance of something, no matter how slim, it's likely to go the way you expect. You are likely to win the lottery on the one day you buy a ticket. |
Magic
Magic is one's innate ability to use and resist against magical power. Those without magical talent don't necessarily need a score in Magic, but in a world where magic is real, this gives you power over it, and is called upon when you duel another magician or attempt to use magical powers and skills.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You are simply incapable of using magic and have no defenses against it. If someone puts a spell on you, you will always be affected in some way. |
| 5 | You are particularly lacking in attunement to magic, and probably shouldn't try to read spellbooks aloud. You are vulnerable to magic and unlikely to successfully use it yourself. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You could probably practice ritual magic and get it right. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in magical power. You are probably capable of casting spells quickly without difficulty. |
| 20 | You are a magical powerhouse who can easily bend the power of magic to your will. Magic flows through you like water, and you can easily use it or avoid being affected by it as you desire. |
Mentalism
Mentalism is your internal mental strength, and is used when attempting to use or resist psychic powers and mind-affecting effects. Those with no psychic abilities may not need it, but without it they are highly vulnerable to mind control, hypnosis, and anything else that can disrupt the mind.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | You have no ability to use psionic powers or items, and have no resistances against such powers or items used against you. You are unlikely to believe such things even exist until it's too late, as you don't notice them being used on you… |
| 5 | You are particularly weak-willed by human standards. A hypnotist could easily compel you to do anything you weren't strongly opposed to, and marketers can easily target your weaknesses to get you to buy their products. |
| 10 | You are human-average. No benefits, no penalties. You are neither strong nor weak willed, and are not affected by mind control any more or less than most people. |
| 15 | You are exceptional by human standards, or average by the standards of a supernatural race that excels in psionics or mental force of will. You don't tend to fall for marketing, and hypnotists don't like it when you stop pretending to be affected by them. |
| 20 | You are in complete control of your own mind, and anything that wants to conquer it will have a grueling slog ahead. You would be very dangerous with psychic powers, and even without them it is a very bad idea to try to control you. |
So How Do I Spend Them?
When creating a character, I give you 100 points to divide amongst these attributes any way you like that fits your idea of the character's innate capabilities. As a rule, d20 gives you a +0 to rolls using a particular attribute if your score is 10 – so if you are attempting to move a heavy object and your strength is 10, you would receive a d20 roll with no modifiers. Every 2 points above ten results in a +1; every two points or fraction below ten results in a -1, so someone with a Strength of 5 would receive a -3 on their test of strength compared to the Strength 10 person who gets a +0.
This means that it is worth it to have a 12 in attributes you want a +1 to rolls on, a 14 for +2, and so on. Likewise, attributes may have other effects that scale - Strength, for example, controls how much weight you can cart around, while Magic influences the raw power of any spells you cast, ritual or Feat-generated.
Skills
I'm basically using the d20 Modern skill list, with some additions here and there. With that said, you get 40 points to spend on skills, and can spend them any way you like (no 'class skills' versus 'non-class skills' here like in D&D), but you can only spend up to four points per skill. Skills also have an Attribute that they usually depend on – this means that someone who has a +4 in a skill and a +4 from a matching attribute is very likely to succeed where someone with a +0 to skill and -2 from the matching attribute is more likely than not to fail.
This skill list is ripped off mostly from http://www.d20resources.com/modern.d20.srd/skills/ and http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/skills.htm .
You can choose to specialize in a particular component of a skill that doesn't normally force you to focus, or on a specific element of a skill that does require focus, such as Appraise (Wine), Craft (Chemical/Explosives), Knowledge (Civics/Law), or Repair (Mechanical); this gives you a +5 to that aspect at the expense of a -2 on anything not related to your expertise.
The most relevant attribute is what bonus is usually added to your skill roll when making skills against it - for example, Drive usually involves Dexterity. But you might be able to justify using Drive and Intelligence to figure out why your car won't start, or Drive and Wisdom to look for an opportunity while on the road… be creative!
| Skill | Most Relevant Attribute | Description |
| Appraise | Intelligence | The fine art of appraising the relative value of objects. Particularly useful when you specialize in a specific field, such as Fine Art, Wine, or the like, but it's not necessary. |
| Balance | Dexterity | Keeping your balance on precarious surfaces, narrow ledges, and the like. |
| Bluff | Charisma | Convincing people with fast talk. |
| Climb | Strength | Climbing things, whether they be ladders, ropes, trees, or rock faces. |
| Computer Use | Intelligence | The use of computers for things outside of day-to-day activities, like writing your own programs, trawling for unusual files in an unfamiliar computer system, breaking through a computer's security, etc. |
| Concentration | Constitution | Maintaining focus under situations that might be distracting when they need to pay full attention, such as trying to recite a ritual while in a firefight. |
| Craft (Chemical) | Intelligence | Making acids, bases, explosives, and poisons for fun! |
| Craft (Electronic) | Intelligence | Building your own electronic equipment from available parts. More complex items are harder to make and take longer to build. |
| Craft (Mechanical) | Intelligence | Building your own mechanical equipment from available parts. More complex items are harder to make and take longer to build. |
| Craft (Pharmaceutical) | Intelligence | Making your own pharmaceuticals, street drugs, and medical supplies. |
| Craft (Structural) | Intelligence | Designing buildings that can withstand the pressures of modern building codes. |
| Craft (Visual Art) | Intelligence | Higher skill checks result in more accomplished works of art via drawing, photography, videography, or other methods. |
| Craft (Writing) | Intelligence | Higher skill checks result in more accomplished works of literature, journalism, screenwriting, and so forth. |
| Decipher Script | Intelligence | Figuring out the meaning of partial texts, deciphering ancient languages, and breaking complex codes. |
| Demolitions | Intelligence | Designing, setting, and safely detonating complex explosives. |
| Diplomacy | Charisma | Influencing the attitudes of others, preferably in a positive direction. |
| Disable Device | Intelligence | Picking locks, disabling traps, and circumventing security systems. |
| Disguise | Charisma | Disguising yourself to enter places you don't belong. |
| Drive | Dexterity | Driving safely under extenuating conditions. |
| Escape Artist | Dexterity | Escaping from tight situations, restraints, and the like. |
| Forgery | Intelligence | Forging documents, whether as simple as a business card or as complicated as a government ID. |
| Gamble | Wisdom | Gambling for profit, or attempting to outplay others at games of skill and chance. Note that pure chance games will use Luck as their defining attribute. |
| Gather Information | Charisma | Learning local information of interest via the old-fashioned technique of paying (whether direct bribes, buying people lunch or drinks, or doing favors). |
| Handle Animal | Charisma | Getting animals to obey your commands and teaching them new tricks. |
| Hide | Dexterity | Hiding from enemies is far easier than outgunning all of them. |
| Intimidate | Charisma | Scaring others into doing what you want. |
| Investigate | Intelligence | Discover clues and properly analyze them, as well as conduct forensic investigations with proper materials. |
| Jump | Strength | The art of jumping long or high distances, ideally from a running start. |
| Knowledge (Arcane Lore) | Intelligence | Arcane Lore: The occult, magic and the supernatural, astrology, numerology, and similar topics. |
| Knowledge (Art) | Intelligence | Fine arts and graphic arts, including art history and artistic techniques. Antiques, modern art, photography, and performance art forms such as music and dance, among others. |
| Knowledge (Behavioral Sciences) | Intelligence | Psychology, sociology, and criminology. |
| Knowledge (Business) | Intelligence | Business procedures, investment strategies, and corporate structures. Bureaucratic procedures and how to navigate them. |
| Knowledge (Civics) | Intelligence | Law, legislation, litigation, and legal rights and obligations. Political and governmental institutions and processes. |
| Knowledge (Current Events) | Intelligence | Recent happenings in the news, sports, politics, entertainment, and foreign affairs. |
| Knowledge (Earth and Life Sciences) | Intelligence | Biology, botany, genetics, geology, and paleontology. Medicine and forensics. |
| Knowledge (History) | Intelligence | Events, personalities, and cultures of the past. Archaeology and antiquities. |
| Knowledge (Physical Sciences) | Intelligence | Astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and engineering. |
| Knowledge (Popular Culture) | Intelligence | Popular music and personalities, genre films and books, urban legends, comics, science fiction, and gaming, among others. |
| Knowledge (Streetwise) | Intelligence | Street and urban culture, local underworld personalities and events. |
| Knowledge (Tactics) | Intelligence | Techniques and strategies for disposing and maneuvering forces in combat. |
| Knowledge (Technology) | Intelligence | Current developments in cutting-edge devices, as well as the background necessary to identify various technological devices. |
| Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) | Intelligence | Liberal arts, ethics, philosophical concepts, and the study of religious faith, practice, and experience. |
| Listen | Wisdom | Checked, often without your knowledge, to see whether you hear something of importance. |
| Move Silently | Dexterity | Used to sneak up on or sneak past others without drawing attention with noise. |
| Navigate | Intelligence | The art of navigating to a particular unfamiliar destination without a GPS. |
| Perform (Act) | Charisma | The character is a gifted actor, capable of performing drama, comedy, or action-oriented roles with some level of skill. |
| Perform (Dance) | Charisma | The character is a gifted dancer, capable of performing rhythmic and patterned bodily movements to music. |
| Perform (Keyboards) | Charisma | The character is a musician gifted with a talent for playing keyboard musical instruments, such as piano, organ, and synthesizer. |
| Perform (Percussion Instruments) | Charisma | The character is a musician gifted with a talent for playing percussion musical instruments, such as drums, cymbals, triangle, xylophone, and tambourine. |
| Perform (Sing) | Charisma | The character is a musician gifted with a talent for producing musical tones with the voice. |
| Perform (Stand-Up) | Charisma | The character is a gifted comedian, capable of performing a stand-up routine before an audience. |
| Perform (Stringed Instruments) | Charisma | The character is a musician gifted with a talent for playing stringed musical instruments, such as banjo, guitar, harp, lute, sitar, and violin. |
| Perform (Wind Instruments) | Charisma | The character is a musician gifted with a talent for playing wind musical instruments, such as flute, bugle, trumpet, tuba, bagpipes, and trombone. |
| Pilot | Dexterity | Flying an aircraft safely under unusual circumstances. |
| Profession | Wisdom | Your ability to perform well in a particular profession, as well as to answer questions related to that profession. For example, Profession (Janitor) for the mop-handlers of the world, or Profession (Manager) for the people who manage others instead of working themselves. |
| Read/Write Language | Special | You can automatically read and write in your own language. Any other language requires one point each in this 'skill'. For example, being able to read and write Spanish, Italian, and Latin would require three points in Read/Write Language. |
| Repair | Intelligence | Fixing complicated mechanical or electronic gadgets. |
| Research | Intelligence | Conducting research to find information on a topic. |
| Ride | Dexterity | Riding a mount, such as a horse. |
| Search | Intelligence | Searching an area to find hidden objects or traps. |
| Sense Motive | Wisdom | Figure out whether others are trying to lie to you or convince you of something. |
| Sleight of Hand | Dexterity | Palming objects and conducting tricks against someone's Spot score. |
| Speak Language | Special | You know how to speak your native language for free; every extra language requires you spend a point in this 'skill'. With only one of the pair (Read/Write Spanish and Speak Spanish, for example), you are unable to maintain fluent understanding of the part of language you lack (and likely are busy enunciating every word carefully and slowly, or are translating a text one word at a time). |
| Spot | Wisdom | The ability to notice things that aren't immediately obvious, such as people trying to hide. |
| Survival | Wisdom | The ability to keep yourself and others fed and safe in the wild. |
| Swim | Strength | The fine art of swimming, also known as 'not drowning'. |
| Treat Injury | Wisdom | Performing first aid, treating injuries, performing surgery with the proper training, etc. |
| Tumble | Dexterity | The art of weaving past other people, landing safely from a fall, and performing feats of acrobatics. |
| Use Magic Device | Magic | This is the art of using a magical object in a way that doesn't manage to blow up in your face. Yes, they exist. |
| Use Rope | Dexterity | This is the fine art of tying someone up or being really good at knotwork. Often not used thanks to the proliferation of duct tape, zip ties, handcuffs, and the like, but Boy Scouts and sailors still make use of this skill. |
Difficulty Checks
Most things in D20, and thus here, are difficulty checks of some kind. How hard is it for me to hit that guy? Can I convince his friend to let us go? Can I figure out where a good pizza restaurant is? Difficulty checks have a DC number, which basically is the amount you would need to reach on a d20 roll including any relevant modifiers in order to succeed. Note that the examples are tongue in cheek and particularly easy rolls may be skipped because there is no practical way to fail.
| DC | Level of Difficulty | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Very Easy | An Acrobatics check to remain standing during a magnitude 2 earthquake. |
| 5 | Easy | A Treat Injury check to apply a sterile bandage to a small cut. |
| 10 | Normal | A Drive check to pass another driver in difficult traffic. |
| 15 | Hard | A Computer Use check to bypass security measures on a standard library kiosk. |
| 20 | Very Hard | A Bluff check to convince a suspicious person of something fairly ridiculous. |
| 25 | Extremely Hard | A Repair check to fix a car that has been cut apart with welding tools. |
| 30 | Virtually Impossible | A Sense Motive check to figure out the motives of an inscrutable deity. |
Note that, assuming a maxed stat of 20 provides a +5 to your d20 check, and a skill rank of 4 adds +4, something described as virtually possible -is- impossible unless you have other modifiers helping you. Assistance from friends, supporting skill checks, well-placed Research, and good equipment can all add extra bonuses to a specific skill roll. If the skill is one that you can take 20 on, then sufficient modifiers will make anything possible actually doable, if you are willing to spend a very long time working at it. Otherwise, you may have to try, and come back again with more beneficial modifiers if you fail.
It's also good to remember that if you want to be exceptionally talented at one specific thing, you can specialize in it – if you really want to be a master with the guitar, you can take a +5 to it at the cost of a -2 to pick up a violin and use it. This can allow you to achieve the almost-impossible, if all of the stars align right and you have the talents to back it up.
Note also that negative modifiers may make something harder than you would normally expect. Working without proper tools typically gives a -2 to any skill that requires tools, and may be worse if you are especially poorly off (trying to pick a lock with the wire from a twist-tie is going to be even harder than using a normal bobby-pin.)
Success Levels
A few things in D20 work slightly differently. These are things like Research, Knowledge, Perform… things that measure how well a particular, non-repeatable attempt goes. After a day of research you may have all the answers, or have a bad headache; you may be particularly knowledgeable about grotto nymphs or just think the name means they're the girls from the Playmate mansion private pool, you may put on a stellar performance or barely manage an adequate showing. In this case, you are basically making a roll, adding any appropriate modifiers, and comparing it to the following table, using cooking as a descriptive example.
| Roll | Success Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 or less | Incompetent | How did you manage to burn water in a microwave again? This is an utterly incompetent performance, a combination of bad luck and bad skill. |
| 5 | Pathetic | Well, this might technically qualify as food, but if you were served this in a restaurant, you'd ask to be paid for eating it. |
| 10 | Amateur | It's okay and it's edible, but it's not impressive. Fast food cranked out by unexceptional workers is usually about this level of quality. |
| 15 | Routine | The sort of cooking you might expect to find in a good diner or decent restaurant - not exceptional, but at least casual diners will find it appealing. |
| 20 | Great | Whether by blind luck or good skills, this dish is a quality work that would impress most diners. Someone who takes their time and follows a recipe precisely can achieve this level of success even without skill if they are very, very patient (and can 'take 20'). |
| 25 | Memorable | This is what separates the best chefs from amateurs at home – you can produce dishes that would fit into any restaurant's menu. |
| 30 | Masterful | This is the work of a Michelin star chef, or at least someone who cooks like one. Most people would be awed at the level of finesse, flavor, and skill that went into this preparation. |
While the effects of success and failure may vary, in general, higher rolls mean more impressive work. Rolls that provide information in some way will provide more information on a better roll, or allow you to get the same information in a quicker amount of time in situations where that matters. (If you need to know the main characters from Hamlet, only the most incompetent researcher will give faulty information if given enough time to research properly – “I think one of them was, like, Kenneth Branagh…?” – while in most cases the difference between a Pathetic researcher and a Masterful one is that a Pathetic researcher has trouble finding Hamlet to look it up, while most Great or better researchers will know where it's located in the library and give you an answer as quickly as they can look it up, assuming they don't know it by heart already.
Taking 10
Most things that are outside of stressful circumstances allow you to 'take 10' – in short, assume your die roll was a 10. This is also how 'default reactions' are checked in situations where the person in question is being checked on their passive reactions - such as Spot checks from people to see you who aren't actively trying to detect an intruder. This means that anything with a DC of 10 or less will be automatically successful in a non-stressful situation unless you have a penalty to the roll for some reason, and thus that situations that would automatically be successful don't require a die roll.
However, stressful situations generally require a roll – what may be easy in a calm moment may be less easy during a tense confrontation or a pitched battle, and trying to sneak through an office full of distracted people seems easy until you really need to leave work on time…
Taking 20
If you have enough time on your hands, you can eventually work your way through most problems through brute persistence. This is handled in d20 and its derivatives by the concept of 'taking 20'. If you are not in a stressful situation, you can basically try everything (taking 20, or assuming a die roll of 20), by taking ten times as long as normal to do something. For example, if you could take a quick perusal of a room in one minute with a Search check, you can 'take 20' and take ten minutes to effectively make a Search check of 20 plus your normal modifiers. Likewise, by spending ten times the normal amount of resources and time on building something, you receive an effective '20' on your attempt to make something.
Note that this isn't guaranteed to succeed – for example, if you are trying to make a DC of 30, and you have no bonuses to the roll at all, you can't succeed even if you take your time. Better figure out how to get bonuses…
Likewise, this absolutely requires that you are able to take your time in a non-stressful situation. In most cases, stressful situations won't let you take your time. You may be able to cook a passable meal in an hour or two at home with Profession (Chef) or Craft (Cooking) by taking your time to do it right, but if you go into a culinary competition, forget about taking 20 even if the time limit somehow allows it. Most 'stress test' competitive situations are deliberately designed so that you have less than enough time to 'take your time' through them even if you have a feat or ability that makes a particular skill non-stressful.
Assisted Rolls and Modifiers
So how do you get modifiers without changing your skills? You can assist one roll with another, or you can get modifiers that add to the roll. For example, let's say that you were trying to make a DC of 30 to move a really, really heavy object. Not very easy, but other people can assist to add bonuses to that roll until what's impossible for one man becomes relatively easy for ten men. There are limits on how many things can assist a roll, so ask if you are uncertain!
Modifiers are exactly what they sound like - they modify your chances. For example, working with a particularly good set of gear may give you a bonus to your roll, while a particularly bad set of improvised gear might give you a penalty. (Think 'picking a lock with the full Mythbuster garage of equipment to work with' versus 'picking a lock with a bobby pin and a screwdriver' versus 'picking a lock with a stick and a fingernail.')
You will usually know whether your modifiers are positive or negative, but you may not be able to guarantee success until you actually try it!
Feats
Yeah, this could have a fancy name, but really, this is 'Something Your Character Does Well That Doesn't Fit in Skills or Stats'. In short, define something special about your character. This could be anything from Nightvision (you see well in the dark and are generally not affected by it unless blinded) to Nature Magic (you can do immediate awesome things with nature magic) to Gothmother (you can control goths to some extent and blend in)…
There are some caveats, of course. First of all, the more specific you are with a feat, the more powerful it becomes. For example, someone could have Keen Senses, in which case all of their senses are keener than usual, or they could have Bloodhound's Smell, in which case their sense of smell is preternaturally keen. One would basically give them a perception bonus on any sense, while the other would only affect smell but could let them do much more amazing things with it.
Again, since we are taking this easy, this is basically your chance to free-style! It's also your chance to define special talents that aren't dictated by stats – vampires don't get to turn into mist without a Feat, for example. Think of them as somewhere between class powers and, well, feats from D&D or D20 Modern.
Bennies
WTF is a bennie? It's another way of saying 'a point of scoring'. You can earn bennies, or whatever the hell we call them, through good play and good roleplay - defeating the evil, saving the good, and looking damn good doing it, and all that.
In short, you earn them at the end of each session of play, and you can cash them in for things during play.
Earning Bennies
How do you earn a bennie? Well, let's start with the basics.
1) Everybody Gets One. Everyone starts with one Bennie, at the start of the first session. That's yours tax-free.
2) I Showed Up. Everyone who shows up to a session gets one. If you don't show up, I'm sorry, no Bennie for you, nothing I can do.
3) Kicking Ass and Taking Names. Personally triumphing over the forces of darkness tends to earn you a bennie, particularly if you are the one to finish them off, or if it's a difficult encounter that everyone gets credit for surviving.
4) Helping The Helpless. Well, not everyone is helpless, of course, but this is a general catch-all for good karma earned by saving innocents and bystanders, and generally Doing The Right Thing. Again, this can be for a single character if they go out of their way to help, or an entire party if they put someone's wellbeing ahead of themselves.
5) Damn, I'm Good. This one is the most subjective of the lot – if you manage to make the GM and other players laugh, impress them, or otherwise make them think you deserve it, you may get a Bennie out of your actions. Just make sure they're laughing with you, not at you.
6) Railroad Spiked. I try to avoid things like this, as I like to think I'm flexible and this adventure in particular is one of my own, so 'the rails' aren't as set as they might otherwise be. But if I have to insist on something that is more about trying to get the adventure onto the right path again than about it just being a horrible idea to pick a fight with the three-headed dragon while wearing barbecue sauce and a bacon loincloth, then I'm railroading you, and if I'm railroading you, you deserve a Bennie for the trouble. Again, this may apply to a single character or the entire party. I will try not to abuse this feature, so don't expect to earn many points this way unless you are very good at trying to thwart Stage One of evil plans. The introduction to the adventure is an admitted Railroad Spike – you are letting me put your characters on the trail of this adventure so we can hopefully have a good time, and you get a free Bennie at the beginning of the adventure because of this.
Spending Bennies
Okay, that's wonderful. So what can you use them for?
1) Lucky Break: Cash in a bennie, and you get a roll using your Luck bonus as a modifier to try to get a lucky break. This only gives you a minor bit of fortune, though – it won't make the werewolf hunting you suddenly give up humanitarianism and want to be buddies, but it may make him decide to chase someone more interesting for a bit.
2) I Take That Back…: Did you just try something, and it fell flat on its face? Spend a Bennie and you can take an action back – in short, you didn't try that, what you meant to say was that you tried … the same thing and got another shot at rolling well for it, or that you tried something else that might be wiser. In short, it's meant to give you a chance to avoid having one bad impulsive decision or disastrous bad luck get your character or party killed off. “On second thought, no, I don't punch the thing that is steaming and might be acidic. I think I'll run.” Note that you can only take back your own decisions – if someone else makes a bad decision, that's entirely on them.
3) Blaze of Glory: Are you screwed? Do you need to keep fighting? Time to go out in a Blaze of Glory. You can keep going even after the dice say you should be unconscious or dead or worse for one turn by cashing in a bennie. Even better, this negates any penalties you might be suffering from injuries for the turn. Agonizing pain due to your leg being shattered and your ribcage stomped in? Doesn't matter – you get a brief moment to save the day, or just save your ass. However, when you run out of points, or decide to stop, you had better hope you are in a better place… you immediately pass out, and can't use I Can't Die Here to save yourself. You'd better be sure this will make the difference!
4) I Can't Die Here: Really screwed? Really, REALLY screwed? Back to the wall, and certain that even a Blaze of Glory won't save your ass? Hand over your bennies – all of them, in fact – and you will be saved from a fatal blow and will not incur further harm. You've bought your way out of danger! It's not all sunshine and posies, though, as this will NOT protect you from becoming severely injured, knocked unconscious, blasted out of the area, et cetera, and generally will negate your participation in the Scene at hand. Furthermore, until you earn at least one more Bennie, you will have no safety net should things continue to go badly… and just like a Lucky Break, you may find yourself still in a bad situation when you wake up. Surviving doesn't necessarily mean winning, after all…
5) Experience, Dear Boy: Finally, if we do turn this into an ongoing game, remaining Bennies can be converted into experience in some way to make your character better. We'll sort out how and why if things go that far. For now, just know that it's an option.
Items and Equipment
There are three basic things to know about items and equipment.
1) Native characters start with a Wealth bonus just barely over Middle Class, regardless of their background occupation. Aside from keeping things reasonably fair, this means that they have a set general amount to call upon should they feel the need to go out of their way to buy something they don't already have out of their own pockets. Non-native characters will find that any money post-1989 will not be in their possession; they have an effective Wealth bonus of zero (Impoverished) and only have what they can acquire during the adventure for personal funds.
2) Beyond this, however, each character gets to choose one item of decent value that is a personal signature trinket, such as Wes's favorite guitar or Zeke's satellite phone, that dates to 1989 or before. This might be useful, or it might just be nifty.
3) So as not to be completely retentive about 'what else does so and so normally have in their possession', a character can make a quick check to see if they have a mundane item on hand. This check uses the purchase DC of an item (https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=2769 has a general idea of what costs result in what purchase DCs - a $500 item has a DC of 10, for example), plus your wealth bonus, minus ten, but trying it doesn't 'cost' you anything and you can't 'take 10' or 'take 20' on this sort of check.
4) If you need to buy something, your Wealth bonus determines what kinds of items are unlikely to affect your personal finances; natives can generally pick up any item of $30 or less without messing up their finances, whereas they may be unable to afford more expensive items or may temporarily impact their Wealth as a result. Money acquired during an adventure, of course, can be spent normally; this is just an abstraction so we don't need to figure out whether Wes has enough in his bank account to buy that new set of guitar cords or tarps he has his eye on.