Bay 12 Games Forum

Laws:
1. Any being, whether a power, a servant to a power, a mortal, or whatever may be condemned by a 2/3 or greater vote of the organization; a condemned being may be absolved by a simple majority vote.
2. A condemned being which has not subsequently been absolved is subject to any punishments agreed on by a majority of the group.
3. Any rules may be changed by a two-thirds majority vote after a suggestion by a member power. The same process may be applied to alter rather than add laws.
4. No being may be prosecuted for punishing said being's own servants for infractions of the being's laws or orders.
5. If any two members of the Synod wish to go to war, and both agree to it, the Synod will not disapprove and may not act as a body to end the war or punish the members. Any collateral damage which harms nonparticipant parties may still be prosecuted.

Orders:
We will construct an "Alcatraz" to hold the most dangerous of criminals.

Members: (9)
GreatWyrmGold (Draco)
Gman (Jim)
Inithis (Inithis)
Javierpwn (Javier)
Kashyyk (Azaroth)
Rancor (Usael)
Scapheap (Cupitas)
Vgray (Azem)
Wwolin (Alrezar)

The Condemned:
Jebyg, Punished with dAIDS

Proposals:
None

This game will use a modified d20 system. A d20 will be rolled, and bonuses or penalties applied. In general, a modified roll of 10 or higher is a success. Certain tasks will be easier or harder than normal.
There are six Attributes every character has:
Strength, which should be obvious. Affects melee attacks, most damage, and breaking or moving stuff.
Toughness, which should also be obvious. Affects not dying. Also affects hit points, which are equal to 5+your Toughness score.
Quickness, which covers speed, agility, and even manual dexterity. Affects ranged attacks (including some spells), stealth, and not dying.
Cleverness, which covers intellect and the power of spells. Affects spellcasting rolls and certain other ones.
Insight, which covers control over one's self and how aware one is of one's surroundings. Affects spell control rolls, senses, and certain other rolls.
Power, which covers the amount of mana you have available. Certain rolls may be affected, but this is rare.
Attributes other than Power give a modifier to rolls which they affect equal to (x-10)/2, rounded up. (Kinda like D&D.)
Power gives you a maximum Pool equal to half of your Power.

Combat with weapons is usually simple. First, the attacker rolls, adds the appropriate Attribute roll and other modifiers as appropriate, and sees what the result is. If it is at least 5, the defender rolls with his Quickness bonus and other appropriate modifiers to see if he can dodge, and may roll for armor or similar protection if possessed. If neither of these defenses work, damage is dealt--double damage if the attacker exceeded the defender's defense roll by at least 6. Needless to say, once magic gets involved it isn't nearly so simple.
Example Damages:
Longsword--1d10
Dager--1d6
Fist--1d4
Longbow--1d12
Greataxe--2d8
Giant Spider--`1d8 plus poison
Many damaging spells--1d12
When one combatant hits 0 hit points or less, s/he makes a Toughness roll with a penalty equal to his/her current HP. If the result is less than 5, s/he dies essentially instantly, although if the result is positive a brief action may be taken. If the result is from 6-10, s/he has 1d3 turns left to live. If the result is from 11-15, s/he has another 1d8 turns left. If 16+, no change. All actions taken while at 0 or fewer HP will have a penalty equal to current HP, -1. Any strenuous action or attack prompts another roll; on this, anyone with limited time instead loses 1d3 turns of it on a roll of 6-10 or 1 turn on an 11-15.

Needless to say, magic is going to be a major part of this game. It can do many things, from fireballs to sprouting wings to summoning badgers...to accidentally turning your head into a feathered tentacle. It's generally recommended that you be cautious when casting spells.

To cast a spell, you need the following:
1. A wand. Everyone starts with a regulation wand, thankfully. You cannot simply take a stick and call it a wand.
2. An incantation, spoken in a loud, clear voice.
3. Magical energy to burn. You need one point of Pool per syllable; any cost in excess of your Pool is drained from your hit points.
4. Optionally, a stated intent.
5. More optionally, a copy of a pre-existing spell.

There are several steps to casting spells:
1. Say the Words. You need to be holding a properly formed and enchanted wand to cast spells. In your action, you may describe an intent, which may allow your spell to function a bit differently (useful if your attempt at a healing spell is actually a spell to set something on fire, for instance).
2. Hope for the best.
3. Make a Spellcasting roll. This is a basic d20 roll plus your Cleverness modifier. Usually. A 10 or higher is a success; a 15 or higher is a notable success; a 20 or higher is a critical success; and a 25 or higher is an overshot. A 4 or lower is a critical failure.
4. Make a Spell Control roll. This is a basic d20 roll plus your Insight modifier. Usually. A 10 or higher is a success; a 15 or higher is a notable succes; and a 20 or higher is a critical success. A 4 or lower is a critical failure. Note that an exceptionally good Spell Control roll can alter a spell to a much different effect than what the incantation suggests; for instance, trying to use a spell that fires an arrow at someone to protect them might shoot someone trying to harm them, or might create an aura of arrows. This is not at all precise, however; expect things to go badly if you try this.
5. Pay the Price in mana and/or health.
6. Watch the results.
7. Pray for the best.

Pre-existing spells are ones which have been tested and recorded. They give you the equivalent of a +4 bonus to your rolls for determining if you managed to cast the spell successfully, but not for determining how well you cast it or similar effects. Trying to "twist" the spell into something similar yet distinct (summoning a gopher rather than a badger, for example) halves this bonus.

You don't get a lot of control over your character, so use what you have wisely.

Fluff:
You should have a name, a gender, and at least a few words of description. More is always better. Biographies, portraits, personality warnings, and whatnot are all perfectly acceptable. Be as creative as you like.

Attributes:
Arguably the most important part of your character, attributes are also partly random!
You get to choose to modify attributes as you choose, with up to +/-5 to any given attribute. The total of modifiers should not exceed 0.
When your character actually appears in the game, 2d6+4 will be rolled six times for your six attributes. Then, Mitigators will be applied equal to the sum of your modifiers at the time, divided by negative two, to make things fairer. Mitigators will be distributed randomly. Only at this point will your modifiers be applied.

Starting Gear:
Not much.
-Wand: Arguably the most important part of your character, your wand will be randomly generated. Each wand has a couple different special characteristics based on composition and (after character creation) about three in twenty spells cast with a 1 or 20 for the Spellcasting or Spell Control roll. (This adds up to about 3% chance per spell of getting a new trait of some kind, if my calculations aren't off.) These are 100% randomly generated until your character enters the arena.
-Clothes: Pretty much anything which covers at least as much as a swimsuit and protects no more than a trenchcoat, within reason. These don't have any kind of game effect, usually.
-Minor Items: A reasonable number of minor items, such as knives, rats, pieces of chalk, dice, cheese, or coins. Choose no more than you could reasonably carry in whatever clothing you have. You do not need to select any minor items.
-Major Item: A more important item, like a sword, suit of leather armor, or pet cat may be selected as well. You do not need to select any major items.
-Journal: A fairly minor item, this is a 50-page journal. The first several (1d3+5) pages are full of notes used to get here, and include a map of this place. The remainder are your for the writing. You can use a page to record a spell, including a name for it, the word used to invoke it, other little things, and the effect; simply naming it and having an action to write it into the journal the turn after casting works. Doing so lets you duplicate those exact effects more easily if you have a copy of the spell available to consult (requiring an open journal). It's recommended that you also use the journal to record magical lore in general, if only for RP purposes (although note that anything you write about will be recorded by me, and may be read by anyone with access to the journal at any time). The journal comes with a writing implement.

Character Application Summary:
Name
Gender
Description
Attribute Modifiers
Desired Clothes, Minor Items, and Major Item

There are several ways one can increase in power.
Obviously, learning spells is useful.
True to the original source, you can kill other people. Doing so grants Experience Percentages (%). Killing someone of your level grants 100%, sufficient to level up; one level lower gives 50%; two lower is 25%; three lower is 10%; four lower is 5%; and five levels or lower grants no Experience Percentages. Killing someone above your level grants an additional 50% per level above yours. Various monsters may periodically appear, and will grant varying amounts of Experience Percentages. They may also be granted by other methods. Gaining a level grants you one point to put in any Attribute you desire and a special ability determined by me, based on your actions which granted you the %.
Certain spells enhance your mental or physical capabilities. Typically, these are useful.
You can also take wands, whether by diplomacy or force. In addition to granting you a wider array of abilities, depending on the wands, using multiple wands gives you a +1 to the Spellcasting roll for each wand...although holding each wand past the first in a single hand gives a penalty equal to the number of wands up to but not including that one to the Spell Control roll. For instance, two wands in one hand would give a -1 to Control, three in one hand would be -(1+2)=-3, and two in each hand would be -2.
Finally, some equipment may be strewn around the chamber, while others can be created through spells or manual labor. It should be useful.

While none of your maps were complete, you each assembled notes and sketches from disparate sources into one map of the arena, complete with notes. Comparison suggests that all detailed knowledge of this place is originally from a single source.

Wands:
Wand A, Archmage Coolguy's wand. Walnut, delicate, forked, just over 8 inches.
Wand B, Javier C's wand. Mahogany, strong, almost 9.5 inches.
Wand C, Jabe Schandler's wand. Teak, 7.25 inches.
Wand D, Clair Hetter's wand. Rosewood, polished, 16.75 inches.
Wand E, Meus Koelper's wand. Teak, 7.5 inches.
Wand F, Dimi's gag wand.
Wand G, Dimi's real wand.
Wand H, Vikus's wand. Alder, 10.75 inches.
Wand I, Luther Narvaros's wanf. Elm, 10.33 inches.

Journals:
The Journal of Archmage Coolguy
-7 pages filled with notes and maps
-43 blank pages
The Journal of Javier C
-7 pages filled with notes and maps
-Spell: Summon Ursa arcanus.
-42 blank pages
The Journal of Jane Schandler
-6 pages filled with notes and maps
-44 blank pages
Clair Hatter's Diary
-6 pages of notes and maps
-44 blank pages
The Elder's Book
-8 pages of notes and maps
-42 blank pages
Dimi's Tablet
-Document containing the equivalent of several pages of notes
-Large amounts of potential data storage
-Art programs
Ancient Mine Journal
-7 pages of notes and maps
-Daze Spell
-42 blank pages
Smartphone of Luther
-Unnamed

Other:
Living Breastplate
Floating Breastplate of Death
Archmage Coolguy's Magnifying Glass
Archmage Coolguy's Fishtank
Floating Breastplate of Death, Mk II
Green Breastplate of Insanity
Stoning Magnifier
Vikusian Sack of Mist
Flaming Greaves
Tan Breastplate
Helm of Telescopes
Yetanother Breastplate

Large Centipedes: Centipedes about a foot or two long. They are aggressive until defeated and often appear in groups. (Level -1)
Giant Centipedes: Centipedes twelve to sixteen feet long. While thankfully solitary, they are highly aggressive. (Level 2)
Monstrous Spiders: Spiders six or seven feet long and about four or five across, monstrous spiders are hostile and solitary. (Level 1)
Ursa arcanus: First created by Javier C in Turn 2, Ursa a. specimens appear to be bears somewhat larger than grizzlies, with a pair of batlike wings and unusually shaggy fur concealing a swarm of bats with unusual features.

Summon Ursa Arcanus: Created by Javier C, first cast in Turn 2.

TEMPLATE:
Character name (Player)
Experience: 0%
Attributes:
-Strength
-Toughness
-Quickness
-Cleverness
-Insight
-Power
Inventory:
-Items
Effects:
-None
HP:
Pool:

φ Θ ⌂ α ╒ ô

Jane Schandles (Angle)
Experience: 50%
Attributes:
-Strength 3
-Toughness 10 (current 16)
-Quickness 11
-Cleverness 16
-Insight 14
-Power 12
Inventory:
-Fleshy Breastplate
-T-Shirt
-Cargo Shorts
--Belt
---Crowbar
--Multitool
--Smartphone
--Wallet
-"Wand C"
-"Wand E"
-Yetanother Breastplate
Effects:
-Toughness
HP: 19/21
Pool: 6/6

Clair Hatter (scapheap)
Experience: 50%; Level 3
Attributes:
-Strength 11
-Toughness 3
-Quickness 12
-Cleverness 17
-Insight 9
-Power 7
Inventory:
-Bonnet
--Nail File
-Red Dress
--Compact Mirror
--Diary
--4 Tindertwigs
-"Wand D"
-Weighted Umbrella
-Half-Plate
--Tanglefoot Bags (3)
Effects:
-None
HP: 5/8
Pool: 3/3
Powers:
Aura. A slight aura of shimmering energy surrounds you. All attacks take a -1 penalty to hit.
Umbrellomancer: Your ability to use a...unique weapon has benefited you greatly. You get a +2 on rolls to attack with a weighted umbrella and a +1 to damage with it.

Laren (Wwolin) (Level 2)
Experience: 25%
Attributes:
-Strength 10
-Toughness 14
-Quickness 13
-Cleverness 7
-Insight 13
-Power 8
Inventory:
-"Wand B"
Effects:
-None
HP: 6/14
Pool: 4/4
Abilities:
Savage: Your experience in combat has made you good at destroying foes with nothing but your body. All unarmed melee attacks are at +1 to hit and for damage.

Dimi (Tsuchigumo550)
Experience: 50%
Attributes:
-Strength 14
-Toughness 9
-Quickness 9
-Cleverness 12
-Insight 10
-Power 10
Inventory:
-Baggy, Fire-Resistant Clothing
--Deck of Special Playing Cards
--Wallet
--Small Tablet
---Journal Program
--"Wand F"
--Flask
-"Wand G"
Effects:
-None
HP: 4/14
Pool: 4/5
Abilities:
Cool in the Furnace: You take no damage from magical fires started by you, and half damage from all other fire.

Vikus (Unholy_Pariah)
Experience: 0%
Attributes:
-Strength 13
-Toughness 13
-Quickness 15
-Cleverness 13
-Insight 8
-Power 8
Inventory:
-White, cotton shirt
--Ancient Mine Journal
-Leather armor
-Brown, leather pants
-Belt
--Three daggers
--Coin Purse
---20 copper ducats
-"Wand H"
Effects:
-None
HP: 18/18
Pool: 4/4

Luther Narvaros (Onyxjew)
Experience: 0%
Attributes:
-Strength 4
-Toughness 5
-Quickness 9
-Cleverness 14
-Insight 11
-Power 14
Inventory:
-Bifocals
-T-shirt
--Large Bat
-Sweatpants
--Pen
--Screwdriver
--Wrench
--Smart Phone of Luther
--Tin Mini, Hand-painted
-Galoshes
-Watch
-Explosive Pineapple
-"Wand I"
Effects:
-None
HP: 9/9
Pool: 7/7

Waitlist A:
Javier D (reply 1)
Jim (reply 152)
Bareth (reply 217)
Matt Clayton (reply 226)

Waitlist B:
miauw62
(scapheap)
(Remuthra)
(Unholy_Pariah)
javierpwn
gman
Vgray

Turn 0: Up. In which the game was started.
Turn 1: Unexpected Results. In which the first spells fail.
Turn 2: New Creations. In which the Ursa arcanus was invented.
Turn 3: A Mighty Sorry Lot. In which the party was split.
Turn 4: DINGDINGDINGDINGDING! In which the runes were noticed.
Turn 5: First Death. In which two people level up.
Turn 6: Failure Abounds. In which no one succeeds.
Turn 7: Exposition. In which truth was revealed.
Turn 8: Experimentation. In which healing is brought up.
Turn 9: Business. In which weird stuff is made.
Turn 10: Coolness Down, Heat Turned Up. In which battle is won and a room burnt.
Turn 11: Ominous Nothingness. In which hiatus was ended.
Turn 12: Menagerie. In which several neat creatures are created.
Turn 12b: Jane Schandler. In which a mistake is corrected.
Turn 13: Shifdemapp. In which the map is lost.