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ROGUELIKE 2: Sword of Azirkan is a game about storming dungeons with a bunch of other untrustworthy tomb-robbing scum, killing things, and grabbing as much loot as possible before either dying or retreating out of the dungeon to delve another day. Or get wasted by a lich or something.
ROGUELIKE 2 is significantly different from ROGUELIKE 1 in objective. In this game, you have a realistic fighting chance of getting out of the dungeon alive and making return trips instead of just trying to burn out instead of fade away and score as many points as you can before you fall down a razor lined chute that leads to another razor lined chute that leads to a tiny room full of mini-dragons. Not to say that won't happen. No promises.
In the distant past, in an aeon that the great libraries of the world choose not to remember, ruled a powerful sorcerer; a living god of the dead. The dark world was shrouded in his menace, and mysteries both arcane and unclean despoiled the earth. Towering colosseums of skull and bone loomed over boundless funerary plains, and his might was hailed as absolute by all but a chosen few. One day, a band of legendary heroes rose against him, combining the strength of all the peoples of the earth to defeat the god-lich and seal him away inside a magic crystal. They gave their lives to imprison him, and the world was freed from his evil...
The prophecy foretells his return, but also speaks of a legendary artifact capable of destroying the lich forever; the Sword of Azirkan...
This game will use a modified version of Swords and Six Siders, a really simple pen and paper roleplaying game. You can get it for free if you google it. It'll also use a combination of randomly generated dungeons and not-randomly generated dungeons. And not-dungeons.
You have three choices:
Method A: Read the rest of this and maybe the actual rulebook (it's available for free) and make a character.
Method B: Tell me what kind of character you want to play and I'll make it for you.
Method C: Tell me that you want to play and I'll make you a character. Name optional.
Name:
Race:
Class:
HP: HP at 1st level is equal to your CON score. Minimum is 3 (even if you have like 1 CON or something), maximum for elves and wizards and frost sprites is 5.
STR Divide 20 points between these six stats. Maximum 6, minimum 1. Optionally, you can ask for random stats and I'll roll them up instead. On average, you'll get 21 points instead of 20, but it could be more or less.
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Money: (Starts at nothing)
Equipment:
Backstory: Optional but encouraged. You get 15 stat points instead of 20 if you write more than 20 words.Human - A cosmopolitan race that needs no introduction.
- Humans start with Common and one other language of their choice. If a player wants, they can just leave it as a ???Mystery Language??? and choose it during play, when convenient.
- Humans get to distribute 2 extra points into their stats after normal distribution. This can put them over the normal limit of 6.
Dwarf - Short. Usually bearded. Gruff. Kind of like hairy miniature ogres in some ways. Dwarves get:
- When rolling for hitpoints, dwarves reroll all 1s. Dwarven fighters reroll all 1s and 2s.
- Dwarves get +1 AC vs enemies that are bigger than a human. Some humans actually are big enough for this to work on them, too.
- Dwarves get a +1 bonus to saves against poison or magic.
- Dwarves can see in low light, but not in absolute darkness. They're also good at noticing architectural details.
- Dwarves can speak Dwarven, Common, Kobold, Goblin, and Gnome.
- Dwarves are too short to use most larger two handed human weapons, like long bows and greatswords.
- Dwarves apply a -1 penalty to CHA and DEX after distributing stats. This essentially caps them at 5, but can also possibly bring them down to 0.
Elf - Shorter and skinnier than a human. Pointy ears. Ostensibly better than everybody, depending on who you ask.
- Elves have really acute eyesight and other senses.
- When rolling hitpoints, elves reroll all 6s.
- Elves are immune to magic that causes charm, sleep, or paralysis. And the mundane causes of those things, too.
- Elves can speak Elf, Common, Gnoll, Hobgoblin, and Orc.
- Elves apply a -1 penalty to STR and CON after distributing stats. This essentially caps them at 5, but can also possibly bring them down to 0.
Duck - The youngest of the civilized races, ducks were recognized as civilized after one of them numbered amongst the heroes who faced down the god-lich at the dawn of time. They are still considered somewhat barbaric in some circles.
- Ducks speak Quack and Common.
- Ducks get +1 AC in all circumstances due to their small size and plush feathers.
- Ducks are extremely good swimmers.
- Ducks apply a -2 penalty to STR after distributing stats. This essentially caps them at 4, but can also possibly bring them down to -1.
- Because ducks are small, they need both wings to wield a normal sized weapon. They cannot use any human two handed weapons, to include bows and crossbows.
Frost Sprites, courtesy of Glass:
For the most part, they're like elves, at least in body shape; probably a little bit smaller, and with hair and skin ranging from light blues to white and light greys.
The most notable thing would be their inborn ice magic: each and every frost sprite has some degree of ice magic, used for various things, such as imbuing their weapons with cold, slowing their opponents, or even shooting bolts of ice. In addition, rather than being harmed by cold iron, they have an affinity for it, which allows them to better channel their natural magics when in contact with it (it is easy to see why they are disliked and distrusted by other fairies). However, they are vulnerable to heated metals (i.e. any metal that has been put in a fire less than one day ago), which burns not only their bodies (as if it was only just taken out of the flames), but also their ability to use their natural magics.
- In addition, due to their smaller frames, they are unable to use the heaviest of the large weapons (i.e. warhammers are a no), and receive a -1 to using other large weapons.
- They can speak Fae, Common, Elemental, and the languages of animals native to the cold lands.
- Their senses are not quite as sharp as an elf's, but certainly better than a human's.
- They are immune to being frozen, and resilient to any effect that restricts their movement.
- When rolling for HP, they reroll all 6s and half of all 5s (flip a coin for the latter).
Fighter: Fighters fight. Every class in this game is passable at fighting, but fighters are really, really good at it.
- When rolling for hitpoints, fighters reroll all 1s. Dwarven fighters reroll all 1s and 2s.
- Fighters get +1 to attack hit rate with all attacks at each odd level, to include 1st level. This is a 1d6 based game, so that's actually a really big deal. They also get +1 to damage with all attacks at ever even level.
- Cleave: Whenever a fighter lands a killing blow in melee, any extra damage not necessary to finish off the target can go to an adjacent target of the fighter's choice.
- Fighters can drink more healing potions per day without horrible side effects than other classes; up to their level in potions per day without anything bad happening.
- Fighters can use all weapons and armor, except for some magic items like wands, staffs, scrolls, and certain kinds of magic bracers.
Myrmidon: Myrmidons are warriors that can fight and cast spells, and are good at doing both. They can cast spells as long as their hands are empty, without weapon or shield. How you want to manage this is up to you, but weapon lanyards would probably work. They can wear up to medium armor while casting spells. They can use scrolls, but they can't make them. Myrmidons start with a single level 1 spell of their choice.
- Probably the most versatile class.
- Not as simple to play as a fighter, as ninja like as a thief, or as able to cast powerful spells as a wizard.
Thief: Thieves are able fighters, but also stealthy. Other characters are capable of stealth and subterfuge, but not as well as a thief. A fighter might have to roll to pick a lock or scale a wall without a rope, but a thief can do it automatically and only have to roll for particularly difficult tasks, like freeclimbing a towering face of sheer rock or using handholds to climb along a stonework ceiling. Thieves have about as much combat ability as myrmidons. They're basically ninjas, and can wear up to light armor without sacrificing their abilities. They can wear heavier, but they can't use their unique skills with more armor or with a shield.
- Backstab: +1 to hit and bypasses damage reduction when attacking an opponent from behind that is already engaged in combat.
- Fool's Luck: Thieves may reroll one roll each adventure/foray into the dungeon or wilderness, but they must take the second result even if it is worse than the first.
Wizard: Wizards are focused on spellcasting and are significantly more magically powerful than myrmidons. They get two level 1 spells at first level and can eventually learn level 3 spells. When rolling for hitpoints, they reroll all 6s. To cast spells, they must be wearing light armor or less and cannot be holding a weapon or a shield.
- Wizards can make scrolls with spells that they know. It costs 250gp in materials to make a first level scroll, 500gp for a second level scroll, and 1000gp for a third level scroll.
- There are some magic items, like magic staves, that only wizards can use.
6 is the normal limit and is really good; you get a bonus. 1 is the normal bottom limit, and is noticeably bad. You get a penalty to the same thing a person with 6 would get a bonus to. 5-2 are varying degrees of good to bad, and might have situational bonuses and penalties, but aren't as big a deal as 6 or 1.
STR: Physical strength. +1 or -1 to melee damage and all strength tests.
DEX: Dexterity, hand eye coordination. +1 or -1 to missile hit rolls and all dexterity tests.
CON: Constitution. Health. Toughness. +1 or -1 to all HP rolls and constitution tests.
INT: Intelligence. +1 extra language or lose one language. +1 or -1 to intelligence tests and knowledge.
WIS: Wisdom. It's like common sense, but with more dignity. +1 or -1 to saving throws against any kind of magic, and to wisdom tests. If it'd be a wisdom test to resist the magic anyway, +2 or -2.
CHA: How likable you are. +1 or -1 to reaction rolls and charisma tests.
Stats outside of the normal limit (ie, -1, 0, 7, or 8 ) will have their effects determined on a case by case basis. Stats below 1 will be seriously absurdly bad, and stats above 6 will be good, but the bonus will be tailored to the character and won't be as big of a deal as the jump from 5 to 6.
Gear: You start with any mundane gear that you want, but here are some suggestions:
a dagger
an athame
a knife
an axe
a mace
a spear
a sword
a club
a trident
a pick axe
a bow
a crossbow
some darts
a huge ornately decorated bronze scimitar with a skull handle
a war hammer
a claw hammer
a lucerne hammer
a giant wooden mallet
a fauchard
a spetum
a whip
a morningstar
a boomerang
a two handed sword
There are a few broad classes of weapons: small weapons, medium weapons, and large weapons.
Small weapons are easily concealed. Everyone can use them one handed. They are things like slings, knives, iron batons, etc. They do 1d6 damage.
Medium weapons are normally sized weapons like swords, axes, maces, and some spears. Humans, elves, and dwarves can use them normally, but ducks must use them with two hands. They do 1d6 damage and if fighting someone with a small weapon allow you to attack first. They also sometimes have special abilities depending on the weapon.
Large weapons are big, like a giant wooden mallet or a two handed sword. They take two hands to use, and dwarves and ducks cannot use them. They do 1d6+1 damage, and may have potent special features based on their construction.
Fighters can dual wield small or medium sized weapons. When they do this, they roll damage twice and take the better result.
RANGED: Crossbows bypass damage reduction, but can only be fired every other round. Range from longest to short is: Long Bow, Short Bow, Crossbow, Sling, Spear, then the rest of the thrown weapons.
Helmets are available in basically any configuration you want, from plain iron visored to feather creasted and embossed with skull designs. Wearing one gives +1 AC.
Shields are also available. Feel free to describe what kind of shield you want. They offer +1 AC, but you cannot cast spells while holding one, and they interfere with thief skills and some other things requiring finesse.
There are three categories of armor: Light, Medium, and Heavy. Light armor restricts movement very little; Wizards and Thieves can wear it and use their special abilities. It causes a slight reduction in speed. Medium armor causes a greater reduction and impairs climbing and prevents swimming. Myrmidons can cast spells in Medium armor. Heavy armor prevents challenging climbing, swimming, and casting spells. Light armor gives 1 point of DR (damage reduction), Medium 2, and Heavy 3.
Other mundane items are also available. Use your imagination.
Healing potions exist. You can safely drink one per level per day without anything horrible happening. Fighters can drink up to 2 per level per day safely.
Spells: Myrmidons start with one level 1 spell of their choice. Wizards start with one of their choice and one random. SPELLS:
Arcane Portal – Magically opens or locks a door.
Charm Person – Makes one humanoid believe it is your ally for 1 day per caster level.
Darkvision – See in absolute darkness for 1 day/level.
Detection – Detects a broad class of things (like traps, magic, secret doors, true art, etc)
Grease – Makes about a 10ft square area or an object slippery. Preternaturally slippery.
Illusion – Creates an illusion with sound, smell, and what the game calls “thermal effects” but doesn't do any damage. It lasts for as long as you concentrate on it, plus one turn.
Light/Darkness – 60ft r of bright light or absolute darkness.
Magic Eyebeam – Shoot lasers out of your eyes and hit anyone in sight for 1d6+half of caster level damage that bypasses DR.
Mirror Image – Creates 1d6 decoy copies. Any successful hit actually hits one of them, and they disappear, until it's just the real you left behind to get crushed by the dinosaur or whatever.
Sleep – Puts 1d6+half caster level creatures to sleep, only works on things up to 2 HD or a single 3 HD thing.
Tongues – Understand, speak, and read all languages for a day.
Turn Undead – 1d6+half caster level HD worth of undead flee from your presence or fall under your command. It doesn't work on undead of a higher level than the caster.
Want to play something else? A zombie? A sasquatch? A bard? Wish the group could go infiltrate some specific dungeon or that some game mechanic existed or changed? Let me know and we'll work it out.
Current situation: Our heroes begin their quest in Castle Inaluct, a large stone keep nestled in the foothills of the Deathskull Peaks, a mountain range known for unique and unsettled/unsettling vistas. The keep is notable for its sprawling antediluvian basements, and for the fact that it's at this point pretty much a town that all live inside the keep and live off the plunder carted up from the basement by teams of adventurers. The guy who currently runs the show levies a tax on things brought up, but also provides some free basic services and equipment. He has a large cadre of armed thugs and some loyal adventurers keeping the peace and enforcing his rule, but otherwise is totally hands off.
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Topic: ROGUELIKE 2: Sword of Azirkan Turn 8: Our Heroes Beat-Down One of Their Own, heh (Read 18777 times)