CHARACTERS

What makes up a character?

The first thing to decide on when starting a new game is the character you will be playing.

Characters have stats, proficiencies, items and other characteristics that determine how they will best approach solving a problem and how effectively they can perform certain tasks.

It is up to you to decide what your character looks like, their personality, goals, dreams and fears. When creating your character, you will have many choices to make or can randomise parts of the process by not making a choice in the character creator.

This page covers all the rules about your character’s stats, proficiencies and the different conditions your character can have in during the game.

varium rogue

HP, Stamina, mana pool and Wound level represent the current status of your character, while stats represent how effectively your character can perform certain tasks. Stats effect everything from health, stamina and Mana Pool to weapon aim and running speed.

There are 18 stats in total. These are split into 6 different catagories that resemble the traditional ability scores of other TTRPGs.

For example: You don’t roll a check for the Dexterity catagory in general, you would roll using either you Agility, Reflexes or Precision stat.

If your character is performing a task that is accociated with a proficiency (such as lockpicking), you use the value of the proficiency instead of the relevant stat.

Examples of characters you might want to play could be anything from:

  • A swashbuckling duelist
  • A charismatic herbalist
  • A noble diplomat
  • A mad scientist
  • A well travelled musician
  • A battle-hardened soldier

It’s usually a good idea for players to talk to their GM about the sort of characters they want to play and how they fit in with the rest of the player’s characters and style of campaign that the GM is planning.

BASIC CHARACTER PROPERTIES

Keeping track of your character's current state

HIT POINTS (HP)

HP represents your natural capacity to resist damage. HP is like a buffer that is used up when you take damage. Players start with a base of 100 HP with +10 for each point in Constitution their character has. Whenever you take damage you lose HP.

When you lose all of your HP you become incapacitated. Another player must use up a Long Action to stabilise you. Each turn you spend incapacitated and wounded with 0 HP you are dying.

When you are at 0 HP, any additional damage you take is inflicted as wounds.

Wounds and some effects can reduce your maximum HP. If your maximum HP is lowered to 0 you instantly die.

SPEED

Your speed is the number of squares you can move in one run action.

Default Speed = 2 squares + 1 per every 3 Agility. Speed can also be effected by items or magic.

STAMINA

Your stamina pool is equal to 10 + your Endurance. Stamina is an additional resource that you can spend on any Strength or Dexterity skill check or combat check (such as attacking or dodging, but not hit checks). You can also spend stamina to increase your mana.

After 24 hours without sleeping and eating, your stamina drops to 0. Every following 12 hours without eating and sleeping your stamina is reduced by 1.

When your stamina drops below 0 you start suffering negative effects. Each negative effect stacks with the previous one and reduces your HP by 10.

You can spend your stamina pool down to a minimum of -10.

To regain 1 + your Endurance in stamina you must eat, drink and sleep for at least 3 hours. Some spells and consumables also replenish stamina.

STAMINA
EFFECT
-2
Your movement in combat and for travelling is halved
-4
You have disadvantage on skill checks
-6
You have disadvantage on all dice rolls
-8
You become Incapacitated
-10
You fall unconscious

RESISTANCE AND VULNERABILITY

When a character or creature is resistant to something, it takes half as much damage as it normally would.

If the resistance is for a negative time dependent effect (e.g poison) then resistance will make that effect last half as long.

When a character or creature is vulnerable to something, it takes twice as much damage from that source as it normally would or the effect would last twice as long.

WOUNDS

When injuries are inflicted on your character, this is represented by a number that represents your wounds. Wounds can be inflicted without HP being lost.

When your HP goes below 0, any additional damage you take increases your wounds. The lower your HP goes below 0, the more wounds you gain.

Wounds can be reduced using up medical kits and performing successful medicine checks. Some magical consumables can also reduce wounds.

Each wound level you have reduces your maximum HP by 1. If your maximum HP becomes 0 your character dies.

Normal forms of healing do not remove wounds, but can still restore HP. You can have positive HP and wounds at the same time.

ENCUMBERANCE

Your character will have an encumbrance stat that represents how much they can carry. All items have an encumbrance number which takes into account how heavy or large they are to pack up or carry around.

Encumberance is automatically kept track of by the digital character sheet. You cannot carry more than your maximum encumbrance.

Your maximum encumbrance is 100 + Might + any Bonuses from packs, bags and sheaths.

Mana Pool

Your Mana Pool is used up when you cast spells.

You can replenish your Mana Pool the same way as you replenish your HP:

To restore 10 Mana you must eat, drink and sleep for at least 3 hours.

HEALING AND RESTORATION

How to restore HP, stamina and mana

To restore 10 + (10 times your Constitution) in HP you must eat, drink and sleep for at least 3 hours. Some spells and consumables also replenish HP.

When your HP goes below 0 you gain wound levels, a successful medicine check must be performed on yourself and a medical kit used up to remove wound levels (see wound levels).

Food can restore HP on its own once per day. If the type food does not specify how much HP it restores it will restore 10 HP.

You can also heal or be healed by another character.

Each time you use an action to heal a teammate, you must use up a medical kit and make a medicine check. If the medicine check is higher than the total wound level of the character you are healing, you remove a number of wound levels specified by the medical kit you are using.

varium rogue in city

STATS

A breakdown of what all your character's stats are

There are 18 stats grouped into 6 catagories. The catagories are just a way to organise the different kinds of stat checks you can make.

Each stat starts with a value of 0. A character that has 0 in a stat represents them having completely average or mediocre ability with that stat. Negative stat values represent below average and positive values above average ability compared to an average person.

STRENGTH stats

Constitution

Each point of Constitution increases your maximum HP by 10. Constitution also helps with surviving poison or disease.

Endurance

Endurance represents how long you can handle strenuous activities. Each point of Endurance increases your stamina by 1 which increases your capacity to wear heavier armour and perform selective strenuous bursts of extra effort.

Might

Might represents your burst strength. When you need to lift or move a heavy object or break down a door, Might determines how successful you will be. Might determines how much damage heavy melee weapons deal and increases your maximum encumberance.

DEXTERITY stats

Agility

Agility represents general fine motor skills. Agility increases your ability to dodge in combat. Every 3 points of Agility increases your running speed by 1 square (1 metre squared).

Reflexes

Reflexes increase your reaction speed and determine your order for combat or ability to evade traps.

Precision

Precision represents your control during precise physical tasks. Precision is your capacity to aim and guide your weapon.

CHARISMA stats

Charm

Charm represents your natural likability. How easily a character can get others to do what they want, befriend them or convince them of something through raw charisma.

Deception

Deception represents your capacity to convince others through social manipulation, such as telling convincing lies.

Performance

Performance represents your showmanship and confidence for an audience of any size. This stat is used for things like acting, musicianship, dancing and public speaking.

INTELLIGENCE stats

Wisdom

Wisdom represents your knowledge of the world and the things in it. There are many Wisdom proficiencies that can be upgraded with each point of you gain, from Sailing to Chemistry.

Insight

Insight is your ability to interpret other characters feelings and detect if you are being lied to.

Reasoning

Reasoning is your ability to think logically and rationally in an unbiased manner. Reasoning is used when looking for patterns, thinking inductively or when investigating an environment for clues, loot or hidden secrets.

PERCEPTION stats

Vigilance

Vigilance represents your constant awareness of what is going on around you. Will the footsteps of a potential threat wake you as it creeps closer to your tent? The GM can perform secret party Vigilance checks to determine whether anyone in your party detect or notice something.

Acuity

Acuity represents how honed your character’s senses are. Want to try and spy on a private conversation? Can you indentify that shadowy siluette lurking in the distant treeline? Perform an Acuity check to find out.

Focus

Focus represents your abiity to maintain concentration, especially under duress. Focus is useful for preventing actions taking place over multiple turns from being interrupted as well as important for casting some spells or succeeding in tasks that require extended periods of concentration.

ARCANE stats

Mana pool

Each point in mana pool increases your maximum mana by 10.

Potency

Potency increases the maximum effectiveness of some spells. As your Potency increases, so does your chance of being detected as a mage.

Casting

Casting represents your control and finesse of your spellcasting. This will effect different kinds of magic in different ways, from increasing cast range to increasing the minimum effectiveness of some spells.

PROFICIENCIES

A breakdown of your character's more specific skill sets

Sometimes when you perform a skill check, you will need to factor in your proficiency for that skill. Proficiencies are more specific skills that your character has. When you perform one of the particular tasks listed among the proficiencies, You cannot add the relevant stat to your diceroll for a proficiency task unless you are at least ‘Familiar’ with that proficiency.

You can increase your proficiencies from choosing archetypes when levelling up. Increasing your Wisdom stat also gives you points to spend on Wisdom proficiencies.

There are 6 levels of proficiency:

Weakness

Your skill checks have disadvantage

Unpracticed

You cannot add any stats to your skill check

Familiar

You perform a normal skill check with the accociated stat

Competent

+6 skill check bonus for this proficiency

Skilled

+12 skill check bonus for this proficiency

Master

You +12 skill check bonus with advantage for this proficiency

For proficiencies with two different accociated skills, you can use the higher skill with the proficiency bonus (not both skills) for the skill check.

Physical Proficiencies

  • Firearms (Precision)
  • Archery (Precision)
  • Stealth (Agility)
  • Sleight of Hand (Agility)
  • Blades (Agility)
  • Polearms (Agility)
  • Riding (Agility)
  • Heavy Weapons (Might)
  • Unarmed Striking (Might or Agility)
  • Throwing (Might or Agility)
  • Grappling (Might or Agility)
  • Swimming (Agility or Endurance)

Wisdom Proficiencies

  • Intimidation (Might or Insight)
  • Piloting (Wisdom)
  • Sailing (Wisdom)
  • Street Smarts (Wisdom)
  • Languages (Wisdom)
  • Survival (Wisdom)
  • Nature (Wisdom)
  • Medicine (Wisdom)
  • Chemistry (Wisdom)
  • History & Culture (Wisdom)
  • Crafting & Repair (Wisdom)
  • Aesthetics (Wisdom)

CONDITIONS

The various conditions that can be applied to your character

Stunned

When you become stunned you cannot use any actions, move or communicate for the duration of the stun.

You maintain balance, but for the duration of the stun, all attacks, grapples and shoves have Advantage against you.

Incapacitated

If you become incapacitated you can no longer move and become proned.

If you go down to 0 HP you become incapacitated automatically.

You can still perform non-moving actions, but must spend a stamina point everytime you perform an action and have Disadvantage on all checks and actions.

Unconcious

If you are unconcious you cannot use any actions or communicate.

When your character is asleep, they have the unconcious condition.

Proned

When proned, you are on the ground. This could be deliberate to keep a low profile behind cover, or because you have been knocked to the floor.

You must use the get up action to get back to your feet from a prone.

Sick

If you become unwell or poisoned, you gain the sick condition.

Sickness applies wounds and a maximum stamina penaulty until the condition is removed or changes. With a sickness level of 1, you decrease your maximum stamina by 1 and increase your wound level by 1. Each level of sickness increases this effect.

The effects of sickness depends greatly on the cause, with more levels applied for more severe effects that can increase or decrease over time.

Dying

When your character is 0 HP you are dying.

Each turn your wounds increase by 1.

Wounds reduce your maximum HP. If your maximum HP becomes 0, you die.

Outside of combat, Wounds increase at 1 per minute (60 per hour).

In Melee

When two combatants enter the same square they gain the In Melee condition.

Your attacks and dodging work slightly differently.

Combatants targeting you can mistakenly hit the other combatant in the same square as you if they go bust on a hit check by 5 or more above their accuracy.

Your ranged weapons have Disadvantage with this condition applied.

Blinded

When blinded, you can no longer perform Sight checks and have triple disadvantage when performing any combat action or physical skill check.

THE DECK OF FATES

What is the deck of fates?

When you level up you can optionally choose to draw a card from the Deck of Fates. The deck is the same standard deck used for combat, a playing card deck containing 2 Jokers. Red cards (Hearts and Diamonds) will give you a bonus, black cards (Clubs and Spades) will cause negative effects. The higher the value of the card, the bigger the bonus or the worse the negative effect will be.

The deck determines a random fortuitous or unlucky event that happens to your character. The specifics of what actually happens to cause the effect is determined by the GM.

Any cards removed from the deck and given to a player but be return to the Deck of Many Fates after use.

the deck of fates

RED CARDS

CARD EFFECT
Joker
Draw 2 more cards and negate the effect of 1 of those cards.
2
You find a missing gold coin in the bottom of your pocket.
3
Roll a D6. The effect of this card depends on the roll:
  1. You find a mysterious chain of keys
  2. You find a pouch of 3 Gold
  3. You find a potion of Persuasion
  4. You find a potion of Stamina
  5. You find a potion of Resilience
  6. You find a potion of Healing
4
Same effect as a 3.
5
Keep this card. Spend it to restore half of your maximum mana pool at any point.
6
Keep this card. Spend it to fully restore your stamina at any point.
7
Keep this card. Spend it to restore half of your maximum HP at any point.
8
Keep this card. Spend it to swap it in place of any card you recieve in a hit check.
9
Keep this card. Use it to dodge all of the damage you would have taken during 1 round of combat.
10
Keep this card. You can add it to the total of any hit check at any point (including allies).
Jack
Gain a fate die.
Queen
+1 permanent Wisdom
King
+1 permanent Constitution
Ace
Permanent +1 to any stat of your choice.

BLACK CARDS

CARD EFFECT
Joker
Draw 2 more cards and negate the effect of 1 of those cards.
2
You accidentally step on something disgusting and carry a bad smell until you can thoroughly wash your footwear.
3
Roll a D6. The effect of this card depends on the roll:
  1. You step on a rusty nail. You lose 10 HP
  2. Food poisoning. You lose 20 HP
  3. 1 of your gold coins is now missing
  4. You catch an infectious disease. Disadvantage on all Strength and Dexterity checks for the next 3 days
  5. Bad Smell—You have Disadvantage on all Charisma checks for the next 3 days
  6. You sprain your ankle and have -4 Agility for the next 3 days
4
Same effect as a 3.
5
You must use up a fate dice on your next skill check or combat move or it will be lost.
6
Your weapon is now damaged and all of your hit checks with the weapon have Disadvantage until it is repaired.
7
If your party has any magical potions or bottled liquids, 1 of the potions or liquids has leaked out of a damaged bottle and is wasted. Which one is determined by the party.
8
Your stamina is reduced to 0.
9
You are attacked by a flock of flying creatures.
10
Keep this card. The next time you critically fail a skill check, you faint and become unconcious until you can be revived by a successful medicine check.
Jack
Perform a DC 50 Perception check. If you fail you are attacked by a previously hidden foe. If you succeed you become aware of the foe about to attack you.
Queen
Same effect as a 10.
King
You realise that you have been pickpocketed at some point and have lost 50 gold (minimum of 0).
Ace
Permanent -1 to any stat of your choice.