Gameplay Rules

This is the page for the gameplay rules

Race
Race is the most important thing to choose, as doing so gives you your bonus for your ability scores and access to your abilities.

Ability Scores
Ability Scores are a numerical representation of your character's skill in 6 cores areas: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Charisma, and Essence. When doing a check that involves these particular skills (like lifting something for Strength, Dodging something for Dex) you add your modifier to the roll. The modifier is equal to: (Your score - 10) / 2. Round down. For every 4 modifiers you have in Essence, decrease your intelligence and charisma modifier by 1 since Essence interferes with your memory and social abilities.

To determine your ability scores, you can use a variety of techniques. One recommended one is:

Roll 4 6-sided die and remove the lowest one. Add these up and there's one score. Once you've done this 6 times, you relegate which one you want to go where. Easy, right?

It's important to think about who you want your character to be and what they do when you choose what ability scores go where.

Skills
Each time you level up, you get skill points equal to your racial Skill Die and your intelligence modifier. You can relegate these skill points towards various skills tree, shown on the character sheet. These can be anything from spells to gear to whatever!

Alignment
Your alignment is whether or not you're good or evil, and chaotic vs lawful. Instead of thinking in traditional values like good is a saint and evil is a murderous bitch, think instead of Good being humane, Evil being Determined, Lawful being traditional, and Chaotic being individualistic.

Health
Health is equal to your LVL times your racial HD + your CON modifier.

Armor Class
Armor Class is equal to protection granted to you from armor or barriers. This list varies, and the armor bonus will be selected at the DM's discretion. One advice is that high armors limit people's dexterity since it's bulky.

Resistance vs Armor Class
Armor Class is the representation of the difficulty it is to do damage to you hit, whether it be landing a hit or piercing your armor. Resistance is how impervious you are to such damage. As a result, if someone has a resistance of fire 5, they take 5 less damage on fire attacks.

Grade
Essence Tools are made at specific grades which determine the damage and strength of their abilities. The grades go from 1 to 5, but you can make them as high as you want. Consider how high quality you want gear to be, and how strong you want your players to become. People with Grade 5 equipment have unique gear that couldn't just be owned with money.

Special Equipment
Since many Essence Tools are powered by organisms or algae, it is possible to get Essence tools that can provide things like resistances or bonus damage. Feel free to make these as you see fit.

Level (LVL)
Level is a representation of a person's experience and power. Doing neat things or beating monsters give people experience points necessary to become stronger. Here's a level chart: This is a basic 5e level chart, so the DM can look one up or make their own at their discretion

Basic Attack Bonus (BaB)
The Basic Attack Bonus is something you add when doing most skills and attacks, and it's a representation of your ability to apply your skill to add a level of certainty.

Feats
Feats are special abilities that are the culmination of knowledge, training, skill and Essence. They allow you to provide exceptions to the rules and special abilities. Since this is a one-shot DM system made by a busy college student, there are no feats listed. Regardless, the DM can add any at their own discretion. It could be things like a third arm allowing you to wield three things at once, or being able to accurately tell how much sugar is in a cup of tea. Literally anything the DM allows and you want to put skill points into.

If the feat is an active ability, like a battle move or a Essence spell, then the player should create a SP chart in the fashion of other abilities like Hack-Saws or Magnetism. If it's an Essence based feat or skill, it should scale of this pattern:

Ess*(a specific die)+ SP

If it's a Essence Tool based feat or skill, it should scale off this pattern:

SP*(a specific die) + GR

These numbers should come to the DM's discretion.

Essence Cores
Essence Cores are tubes of Essence that power most Essence Tools. They have a minimum of 100 CP (Core Points) and can have a maximum to 1000 CP. Players can carry as many Cores as is feasibly possibly, which is realistically like 5, but normally don't get a lot at the get go. They recharge every day.

Number of Turns
Each person get's two turns each round; One Standard Action and One move action. A standard action involves doing anything from attacking to using an item to tossing something. You know, a standard action. A move action is moving. It's not complex. You can turn one type into another so that you can do two standard actions or two movement actions. Feats and special abilities and circumstances can change the number of turns allowed at the DM's discretion

Incentive
Incentive is a number that determines who goes first. You add your DEX modifier to the role and see who goes first. If a person is caught flat-footed or by surprise, they don't receive a modifier when they role and lose the first turn.

Launching an Attack
When you attack someone, you roll to see if the attack landed. If it lands, you roll for damage.

Attack Rolls
are the rolls to see if the attack lands. You create the attack modifier, which is equal to:

BaB + SP + STR/DEX

and add this to a d20 role. If it's a melee attack, you add STR. If it's a ranged attack, you add DEX. If the attack role is greater than their AC, the attack lands

Damage Rolls
are the rolls to see how much damage the target takes. You use the damage roll described by the ability or attack.

Saving Throws
When you cast a skill or ability that could be dodge by strength of will or quick reflexes, you do a saving throw. Saving throws are rolls made by the target to either dodge or minimize the damaging aspects of abilities. The person adds the respective modifier to the roll, and must beat the DC (Difficulty Class). The DC of the ability is equal to the 10 + SP of the skill used by the person.

Combat Maneuvers
Combat Maneuvers are special techniques or strategies used in battle, and include things like disarms, grapples, and throws. When you do this, you make an attack roll equal to:

1d20 + Respective Attributes + SP

You can create SP charts for certain maneuvers, and spend levels into them. For example, if you want your character to become really good at grapples, create a grapple chart and put SP into it. Hooray.

Advantage and Disadvantage
When a person performs or roleplays well, they get Advantage. Next time they roll a d20, they can roll two and take the higher outcome. Advantage is granted at the DM's discretion

Disadvantage means they take the lowest of the two rolls. This is also at the DM's discretion.

Critical Hits
When someone rolls a 20 on a d20, it is considered a critical hit. The attack/attempt is instantly considered a success. If they are rolling on an attack, they are given double damage.

New Content Creation
Since this is an incomplete game set in an incomplete world, it is entirely valid for the DM to create entirely new content on their own. This can include races, abilities, and locations. What's important is to try to create new features that ensure the balance of the gameplay. If the DM and the players are fine with it, they can modify, create and ignore rules as they please. Want to add a race that can create and command gophers and call them the Gopherions? Go for it I guess. Want to create an underwater city controlled by an iPhone? I dare you. Just ensure that the game is a fun one for everyone involved.