USR Wednesdays: Thor

Now that “Thor: Ragnarok” is coming to theaters, it’s time to take a look at the USR superhero rules and visit Thor and his fellow Asgardians. 

As noted in the superhero rules, the Asgardians are high-powered (Tier 4) characters in a universe with a basic Tier of 3. They get stats of d12, d10 and d8 and a bonus 2 Narrative Points, because they’re just that much more powerful. Note this is Marvel Thor, the noble, sometimes goofy blonde hero, not the quick-to-anger redhead of Norse mythology.

This guy and some of his friends. (image: Marvel Studios)

Thor, God Of Thunder (or as some Marvel media calls him, “Prince Of Thunder” to avoid any religious controversy... didn’t roleplaying leave that behind in the 1980s?)

Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D12, Wits D8, Ego D10

Specialisms: Strength +3, Lunkheaded Charm +2, Nobility +3

Hit Points: 30

Equipment: Armor +2, Mjolnir (hammer) +2

Narrative Points: 5

Loki the Trickster, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D8, Wits D10, Ego D12

Specialisms: Asgardian Magic +2, Deception +4, Loyalty To Asgard When He Has To Be Loyal +2

Hit Points: 28

Equipment: Armor +1, Magic Staff +2

Narrative Points: 6

Odin the All-Father, Level 5, Experience Points 20

Action D12, Wits D10, Ego D8

Specialisms: Leadership +3, Creation +3, Bravery +2, Battlefield Tactics +2

Hit Points: 42

Equipment: Armor +2, Spear +2

Narrative Points: 6

And now, just to change things up...

Jane Foster, Level 1, Experience Points 0 (Tier 1)

Action D6, Wits D10, Ego D8

Specialisms: Astrophysics +2, Medicine +2, Stamina +2

Hit Points: 16

Equipment: none

Narrative Points: 11

All four of these characters have a lot of Narrative Points, beyond the 3 a normal starting USR character has. As noted in the superhero rules, that's to represent their incredible raw power (for the Asgardians) or their ability to survive and contribute in a world that's much bigger than them (for an "ordinary" like Jane).

Which other superheroes need the USR treatment?

USR Wednesdays: Slasher Films

It’s Halloween season, time for a look at this classic genre for role playing. There are many ways to mix horror and gaming — fantasy has plenty of horror-themed beasts, and no game is complete without a nod toward H.P. Lovecraft’s creations. But today we’re going back to the 80s and beyond.

Slasher films feature a supernatural creature attacking a bunch of nobodies. Think “Nightmare On Elm Street” and “Friday The 13th.” This is not about setting the mood for a look into the darkness of the human soul; this is about teenagers having sex and showers of blood!

Time to roll for initiative: good luck. (image: New Line)

It’s a perfect genre for a game like USR, because statistics are less important in a narrative game. No one in the setting can go toe-to-toe with Freddy or Jason; they’re much too powerful. Instead, the protagonists have to out-think or at least out-run their enemy. You could have a game where players are the monsters themselves, but that’s really just a superhero game (without the “hero”), and it’s not what we’re going for here. This idea was inspired by the Slasher Flick RPG.

In a slasher film game, each player creates three characters, using the standard Domino Writing-style USR rules (though without assigning equipment or spending Combat Gear points). Specialisms in this game should lean heavily toward stereotypes, like Cheerleader, Jock, Redneck, Naive, and Rebellious.

You can determine Narrative Points and Hit Points for the characters, but they probably won’t use them. And don’t forget to create a slasher — make sure it’s got a signature weapon (a clawed glove, a chainsaw) and a gimmick (attacks in dreams, possesses the body of a doll).

When the slasher is ready to start its rampage, roll a die to decide which of the characters is the first victim. If there’s three players, that’s nine characters; roll a d10 to decide which one is first. Other characters may be in the scene, but the current victim gets the spotlight.

Create a scenario for that victim: what they’re doing before the slasher shows up and what they do to escape or fight back. The scenario should have three die rolls built into it. Here’s a few examples.

• Run away from the slasher (Action)
• Build a trap from stuff around the campsite (Mind)
• Try to explain the horror that’s just up ahead to the gullible county sheriff (Ego)
• Grab a farm implement and start swinging it at the slasher (Action)
• Summon magical powers you only have in your wildest fantasies to attack the slasher (Mind)
• Talk the slasher out of fighting back (Ego)

Tell a story with those dice rolls mixed in. It’s a “best two out of three” situation: if the character succeeds at two or three of the rolls, he or she survives... for now. After each character has told his or her own little story, count up the number of survivors. If more than half are alive at the end, the players win, but that’s the end of that horror movie franchise — fans are there for the clever kills, after all. If half the survivors, or fewer, remain, the slasher joins the fraternity with Michael Myers and Ghostface.

What does your slasher look like?

Microlite 20: Pathfinder-Equivalent Classes

There's a new edition of the Microlite 20 Collection available, over on RetroRoleplaying, which includes everything from the 2012 version plus updates. My games — Ultimate Fantasy, Ultimate Modern-Day, Ultimate Costumes, Ultimate Mecha, and Ultimate Ultramicrolite — are all on there. So those are the versions I'll be referring to when I write new content for the game, and using the page numbers listed there, even though each game has its own page numbers (in case you're not looking at the whole thing).

All these characters can be yours, even without your Pathfinder books. (image: Paizo.com)

My new Microlite 20 content will look something like this:

While there are Pathfinder RPG versions in the Ultimate Collection (specifically, page 1169), Ultimate Fantasy offers a unique set of classes, which uses the Class Points rules described on page 212. The classes themselves are on page 233.

Here's a list of Pathfinder classes and their Microlite 20 Ultimate Fantasy class equivalents, because one of my goals for Ultimate Fantasy was to cover as many "Fantasy RPG" bases as I could with the game expansion. This includes all the Pathfinder classes to date, as found on PFSRD.com.

Pathfinder Class	Microlite 20 Ultimate Fantasy Class
Barbarian	Barbarian
Bard	Bard
Cleric	Cleric
Druid	Animal Master, Druid, Wanderer
Fighter	Fighter
Monk	Monk
Paladin	Paladin
Ranger	Animal Master, Ranger, Twin Blade
Rogue	Rogue
Sorcerer	Sorcerer
Wizard	Wizard
Alchemist	Alchemist
Cavalier	Knight
Gunslinger	Gunslinger
Inquisitor	Wrathbringer
Magus	Mystic
Oracle	Invoker
Summoner	Summoner
Vigilante	see below
Witch	Warlock
Anti-Paladin	Anti-Paladin
Ninja	Ninja
Samurai	Samurai
Arcanist	Sorcerer, Wizard
Bloodrager	Barbarian
Brawler	see below
Hunter	Ranger
Investigator	Assassin, Rogue
Shaman	Shaman
Skald	see below
Slayer	see below
Swashbuckler	Swashbuckler
Warpriest	Cleric
Kineticist	Warlock
Medium	Cleric
Mesmerist	see below
Occultist	Wizard
Psychic	Psion
Spiritualist	Summoner

There are a few classes that don't have a match in Microlite 20 Ultimate Fantasy.

Vigilante

Class Type: Rogue

+1 Subterfuge, +1 Knowledge, +1 Communication

Improved Initiative, Monster Knowledge, Reputation (Easy To Ignore), Wealth

Brawler

Class Type: Fighter

+2 Physical, +1 Subterfuge

Attack Bonus: Melee/Hand-To-Hand, Strikeback, Unarmed Damage, Wuxia Defenses

Skald

Class Type: Rogue

+1 Physical, +2 Communication

Brute Force, Good Fortune, Medium Armor, Performance

Slayer

Class Type: Fighter

+1 Physical, +2 Subterfuge

Attack Bonus: Melee/Hand-To-Hand, Heavy Armor And Shields, Medium Armor, Monster Knowledge

Mesmerist

Class Type: Wizard

+2 Knowledge, +1 Communication

Lesser Spell List: Illusionist, Quick Thinker, Sneak Attack

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part VII — Villains

Our villains are presented as of the beginning of “Return Of The Jedi” — so they’re all still alive... none of them actually survive the film!

Darth Vader, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Pilot +2, The Force +4, Intimidate +3

Hit Points: 33

Equipment: Lightsaber +2, Body Armor with Breathing System +3

Narrative Points: 3

Is this Polish "Return Of The Jedi" poster the best of all "Star Wars" movie posters? Yes, yes it is. (image: reddit.com)

Jabba The Hutt, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D6, Wits D8, Ego D10

Specialisms: Command +2, Great Wealth +3, Underworld Contacts +3

Hit Points: 24

Equipment: None

Narrative Points: 7

Boba Fett, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Bounty Hunter +3, Pilot +3, Negotiation +3

Hit Points: 33

Equipment: Mandalorian Armor +2, Blaster Rifle +2, Grappling Line, Rocket Pack

Narrative Points: 3

The Emperor works in the background, even during the final showdown at the end of “Return Of The Jedi” (all he physically does is shoot Force Lightning — and fall down a ventilation shaft, of course). He’s better represented as a Power Level VI monster than as a character.

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part VI — More Heroes

Just like last time, this is as of the beginning of “Return Of The Jedi,” except for Obi-Wan).

The new trailer for "The Last Jedi" has been released, but our blog post is a look at "Star Wars" history. (image: vanityfair.com)

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Level 4, Experience Points 15 (note: his statistics are as of the start of “A New Hope” — after that, he becomes a Specialism for Luke)

Action D8, Wits D10, Ego D6

Specialisms: The Force +4, Inspiring +3, Investigation +2

Hit Points: 33

Equipment: Lightsaber +2

Narrative Points: 5

C-3PO, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D6, Wits D10, Ego D8

Specialisms: Etiquette & Protocol +3, Languages +3, Storytelling +2

Hit Points: 26

Equipment: none

Narrative Points: 7

R2-D2, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D6, Wits D10, Ego D8

Specialisms: Computers +3, Repair +3, Deception +2

Hit Points: 26

Equipment: Electric Shock Probe +1 (note: R2-D2 doesn’t use his rocket jets in the original films, so they’re not included here, either)

Narrative Points: 6

Lando Calrissian, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D8, Wits D6, Ego D10

Specialisms: Bureacracy +3, Pilot +2, Gambler +3

Hit Points: 24

Equipment: Blaster +2, Expensive Clothes, Unlimited Line Of Credit (until it’s called in by the bank)

Narrative Points: 5

Yoda, Level 5, Experience Points 20

Action D8, Wits D10, Ego D6

Specialisms: The Force +5, Inspiring +2, History +3

Hit Points: 38

Equipment: none (note: again, as this doesn’t include the Prequel movies, Yoda is simply a wise mentor, not a super-acrobatic military leader)

Narrative Points: 7 

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part V — Heroes

We wrap up our series on the classic "Star Wars" films with the main characters, as of the beginning of "Return Of The Jedi." Note that they have much less adventuring equipment than most RPG characters, since they don't need to carry medical packs for healing, extra weapons, rope, 10-foot-poles, and so much more.

Those robes don't provide any combat bonus. (image: LucasFilm)

Luke Skywalker, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Jedi In Training (The Force) +2, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Force Spirit +1, Fighter Pilot +3, Impulsive +2

Hit Points: 28

Equipment: Lightsaber +2, Blaster +1

Narrative Points: 4

Han Solo, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D6, Ego D8

Specialisms: Millennium Falcon +2, Reckless +3, Quick Reflexes +2, Bargain +1, Loyal +1

Hit Points: 31

Equipment: Blaster Pistol +1

Narrative Points: 6

Leia Organa, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D6, Wits D10, Ego D8

Specialisms: Diplomat +3, Tough In A Fight +2, Galactic Etiquette And History +2, Observation +1

Hit Points: 26

Equipment: Blaster Pistol +1, Data Files

Narrative Points: 6

Chewbacca, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Pilot +3, Repair +2, Intimidate +2, Perception +2

Hit Points: 33

Equipment: Wookee bowcaster +2, Tool kit

Narrative Points: 5

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part IV — Experience Levels

We’ll wrap up our series on the original “Star Wars” trilogy with statistics for the heroes and villains from the films. But first, a note on levels: unlike Dungeons & Dragons, the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPGs, and other professionally published games, USR doesn’t rely on characters adding a host of new abilities as they gain levels. Yes, they may add Specialisms and hit points, but we don’t have a list of special abilities added at each level for each class. We don’t even have classes for characters. So here’s the guideline I’m using for Domino Writing-style USR characters.

As seen in the USR rules, you gain 1 to 3 experience points per adventure, and go up a level every 5 XP. In other words, one level per two to three adventures, or roughly one level for every five or so game sessions (depending on how long your game sessions last). A character can gain unlimited levels, but by levels above 5, most monsters will no longer be a real threat. So let’s say a level 6 character has to “retire” from adventuring, or at least stop gaining XP.

Here’s “A New Hope,” complete with experience point awards.

Read this text box to start the adventure. (image: LucasFilm)

First game session

Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi join Han Solo and Chewbacca (and the droids) in the Mos Eisley cantina, where they have to make a quick escape off the planet Tattooine. They escape to Alderaan, per the “quest giver” Princess Leia hologram. But Alderaan has been destroyed, and their ship is captured. 1 XP for everyone!

Everything before the cantina — the death of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, the escape of C3PO and R2-D2 with the Death Star plans — is backstory, helping develop the personalities of the characters. Obi-Wan and Han (and probably Chewie, too) should be level 2 or 3, really, but RPGs don’t often work with characters of different levels in the same party, so we’ll have to chalk it up to the difference between a movie and a tabletop RPG.

Second game session

In the Death Star, the party frees Princess Leia and Obi-Wan dies (soon to become a new Specialism for Luke). 2 XP for the dramatic conclusion to the game session.

Third game session

The Empire follows the Millennium Falcon to Yavin IV, triggering the dramatic space battle and destruction of the first Death Star. 2 more XP, and everyone goes up a level. The End.

You could define the events of the entire movie as one adventure (so they advance to level 2 at the end of “Return Of The Jedi”), but I want my heroes to gain XP a little more quickly. There are big challenges ahead; they need to be ready.

After “The Empire Strikes Back,” they go up another level. And since we’re only looking at the original films, that’s where we’ll stop. Despite what I said before, to “accurately” portray the characters, they’ll be at different levels. That’s what you’ll see next week, when we provide USR statistics for the heroes of Star Wars.

How many game sessions will it take to play the Harry Potter novels?

VSGMR: Basic Rules

There's a new version of the VSGMR rules up on my website, and as you can see I've kept the rules almost the way they were before, but I've split the document into two parts.

Part 1: Basic Rules is what makes the name "Very Simple" true. It's seven pages from introduction to summary, but as I noted in the rules themselves, you only really need the dice roll summary page once you've played the game once or twice. The idea, as always, is to keep the rules easy to pick up but not so simplified that there's no variety in your troops at all.

Part 2: Rules Options is under development, but it will include most of what came before. I'm going to refine what was already written to include more options and offer things that no other game does. Plenty of games have special abilities for troops, but not VSGMR special abilities. And what makes the game more unique than any other is the rules for super-powered heroes and for characters of different scales. If you have action figures, let's put them to use (well, if you're not using them in a game of Plastic Attack, that is).

That's what's coming for VSGMR. After that, the plan is to generate armies, complete with points values and special abilities. I'd like to see your ideas for armies too!

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part III — Vehicles, Monsters and Equipment

This time we’ll use the Specialism rules for weapons, armor and vehicles.

Vehicles

You can use the “Vehicles as equipment” option, as listed below.

X-Wing +1, TIE Fighter +1, Millennium Falcon +2, Star Destroyer +4

Landspeeder + 1, Speeder Bike +1, AT-ST +2, AT-AT +3

Alternately, because space battles are so important to Star Wars, vehicles can get an entire set of stats, as found in Somnium Void. If you’re using this option, characters who often fly starships (like Han, Luke and Vader) should have a Specialism like Pilot +2.

Star Wars	Sominum Void
X-Wing, TIE Fighter	Attack Ship
Millennium Falcon	Cruiser
Star Destroyer	Battleship
Landspeeder	Skimmer
Speeder Bike	Zoom Bike (add a blaster +1)
AT-ST	Tank

These require their own rules. (image: starwars.com)

AT-AT

Type: Heavy

Maneuver: 8

Hits: 60

Armour: 6

Weapons: Heavy linked blasters +6

Monsters

Power Level I: Mynock

Power Level II: Dianoga, Gamorrean Guard, Stormtrooper, Tauntaun

Power Level III: Wampa

Power Level V: Rancor

Equipment

Bacta tank (heals 5 hit points per hour)

Blaster (light +1 ranged weapon)

Blaster Rifle (medium +2 ranged weapon)

Comlink

E-Web Repeating Blaster (heavy +3 ranged weapon)

Flight suit (light +1 armor)

Lightsaber (medium +2 melee weapon — it can also cut through anything except another lightsaber)

Pike (medium +2 melee weapon)

Stormtrooper armor (medium +2 armor — this also can be used for Mandalorian warriors, like Boba Fett)

Thermal Detonator (heavy +3 ranged weapon)

What other gear and creatures should be available in USR Star Wars?

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part II — The Force

The Force is one of the things that makes “Star Wars”... well, Star Wars. It’s not quite magic or psionics as seen in other works of fiction, but it’s easy to understand, and so well-known it’s even referred to outside of fantasy and science fiction (I can’t count the number of times someone has said “Use the Force” or “Jedi mind trick” without talking about Star Wars).

This is my new favorite meme. (image: youtube.com)

Powers

In the role playing games, novels and the video games they inspired, Jedi, Sith and other Force-users have access to dozens of powers. But since this series is only focused on the original trilogy of films, there’s only about a half-dozen abilities. Most of these names come from the d6 system Star Wars RPG, where they were created.

• Battle Meditation, which Luke does while hiding from Vader in the Death Star throne room at the end of “Return Of The Jedi.” Qui-Gon Jinn does it better in “The Phantom Menace,” but remember, we’re only covering the original trilogy here.
• Enhanced Reflexes, used when Luke leaps out of the freezing chamber on Bespin.
• Force Choke, Darth Vader’s favorite gimmick.
• Force Defense, which Vader used to block Han’s blaster, and Luke used to parry the speeder bike shots on Endor.
• Force Lightning, the Emperor’s signature move.
• Healing, which Obi-Wan does after Luke is attacked by the Tusken Raider.
• Suggestion (the Jedi Mind Trick), Obi-Wan’s favorite for the weak-minded.
• Telekinesis, or as “Weird Al” Yankovic put it, “I picked up a box, I lifted some rocks, while I stood on my head.”
• Telepathy, Luke’s message to Leia shortly thereafter in “The Empire Strikes Back.”

That’s nine Force powers. You could make each one its own Specialism, but let’s take a cue from last week, where I described The Force (or Use The Force) as a Specialism itself. Each power, then, is just a way a character can use The Force. We don’t even need to detail “power levels” or anything like that; in most of the Star Wars RPGs, there are specific rules for how much damage Force Lightning causes, or how far a message sent with Telepathy will reach.

Yoda's player is making a Wits + The Force roll right now. R2-D2's player is eating some potato chips. (image: jediapprentice.tripod.com)

But this is USR, and specifics like that are not Unbelievably Simple. Narratively, it doesn’t matter. How high does Luke leap, on a successful Wits + The Force roll? As high as the game master decides works for the story. The target number is set based on the amount of stress the hero is under, the obstacles in the way of the leap and the need for the hero to succeed (in this case, our game master, George, set it at a 7).

Another example: the Emperor rolled well on his Wits + The Force roll when attacking Luke with Force Lightning, causing enough hit point damage to knock Luke to the ground and keep him sparkling with electricity. He doesn’t need a separate listing of damage caused by Force Lightning. It’s just an effect of this particular Wits + The Force die roll.

Training

Training to gain powers is an important part of The Force in Star Wars. Since there’s only nine powers to choose from, let’s say a hero with The Force as a Specialism starts with two, and gains another after each level. You can increase or decrease that rate, of course, especially if you add more Force powers.

And then there’s the Dark Side. In the other Star Wars RPGs, you collect a number of Dark Side points each time you use a Dark Side power (here it’s Force Choke and Force Lightning), or if you do something else evil. Too many, and you’ve fallen to the Dark Side and become an NPC. You can do the same in USR Star Wars (say, a number of points equal to your Ego die value — 6, 8 or 10), or simply make it part of the story, where a character turns to the Dark Side when it’s dramatically appropriate.

A Kind Of Magic

The rules for The Force can probably be used for any other kind of supernatural power, too; because of the way combat is handled in Domino Writing-style USR, a killer fireball or a summoned mass of strangling vines is just a way to describe a successful Wits + Magic Specialism roll. Or it could be an Ego + Magic roll, to represent those characters who derive their power from their force of will.

What Force powers did I miss from our Original Trilogy list?

VSGMR: Where Do We Begin?

A Very Simple game should have very simple rules, and in an effort to be comprehensive, I'm including everything I can think of in the game's rules. That's a conflict, of course, but here's the solution: a one-page summary of the necessary dice rolls, with detailed information on those rules, and following that a big section of optional rules, like points values, special abilities (one of the things the Yahoo Group really got a lot of enjoyment from), and scenarios.

We start with an introduction and the materials needed to play. I called the miniature figures "guys" because that's what they're most often called, especially when they're not actually hobby gaming miniatures (i.e., LEGOs, action figures, even dolls). The girlfriend of a friend used to call them "your little people," but I'm not going to use that term in the rules.

The current version of the rules also mentioned a measuring tool. As in most miniatures battle games, that refers to a ruler. For VSGMR, where "twisting and turning" the measuring tool is suggested, try a flexible ruler, like the ones used for sewing. It's basically a ribbon.

Like this, but you only need one (mine is yellow). (image: aliexpress.com)

Dice, a playing surface, and markers of some kind should be easy enough to come by. Coins are great markers, though make sure they're all the same size, since using a large coin as an objective marker makes it a little easier for figures to touch.

That leaves terrain, which at its most basic (its Very Simplest), is stacks of books or old boxes, maybe decorated a little bit. There's also print-and-fold terrain out there; finding good resources is the subject of another post.

So here's where we start, with what you need to play. It hasn't changed, and it will be part of the basic rules of the new VSGMR. It's is one of about a dozen games, or game variants, I'm playtesting and revising now. They'll all eventually be on my website, though some have work-in-progress versions available now.

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part I — Classes

Now that we’ve looked at a lot of the basics to help expand your USR games, from Specialisms to vehicles and monsters, let’s turn to settings. And if the sales charts from ICv2 are anything to consider, the most popular genre after medieval fantasy is “Star Wars.”

For Domino Writing-style USR, “Star Wars” consists of the classic trilogy (“A New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Return Of The Jedi”). The prequels and sequels have new ideas to offer the “Star Wars” universe but nothing as indelible as the original films. I won’t be writing much about them, though I’m looking forward to someone providing stats for Qui-Gon Jinn and Kylo Ren.

Everyone in this picture, too. In a few weeks there will be stats for one of them. (image: sonsofcorax.wordpress.com)

In most fantasy RPGs, a character has a race and a class. Despite appearances, that’s not the case for Star Wars, where a character’s species really isn’t that significant. A Wookiee might have Strong +2 as a Specialism, but a Rodian or Ithorian doesn’t have particularly strong “racial” characteristics. Droids, on the other hand, are nothing but special abilities. Consider Multi-lingual +2 or Computer hacking +2 (Specialisms droids from the films might have).

A character’s profession is best described using an archetype, like the ones we’ve seen for modern-day characters and in USR games like Somnium Void.

Scoundrel

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Pilot, Bargain, Hide, Charm

Suggested Equipment: Pistol, Huge debt

Note: “Rogue With A Heart Of Gold” isn’t really a good Specialism, since there probably aren’t many ways to apply the bonus this would provide if it was a Specialism. It’s a great description of the character’s personality, though.

Jedi

Primary Stat: Mind

Suggested Specialisms: Dedication, Leadership, Inspiration, Athletics, The Force*

Suggested Equipment: Lightsaber

Warrior

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Endurance, Military Tactics, Terrain Knowledge

Suggested Equipment: Rifle

Outworlder

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Invent, Survivalist, Riding, Bargain

Suggested Equipment: Droid parts, All-weather clothing

Sage

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Knowledge, Reference Tools, Etiquette

Suggested Equipment: Computer

Diplomat

Primary Stat: Ego

Suggested Specialisms: Negotiate, Leadership, Languages

Suggested Equipment: none

Technician

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Hacking, Computers, Repair, Jury-Rig

Suggested Equipment: Repair tools

*A note on The Force: To simulate the Jedi or other Force-users at the most basic level, the player simply makes a Wits roll against a target number determined by the game master, depending on the complexity of the power. We’ll get into a more involved (but still Unbelievably Simple) version of The Force next time.

What classes need to be added to USR Star Wars?

USR Wednesdays: Monsters

A “monster,” in a role playing game, is any enemy, from the little goblins and huge dragons of classic fantasy, to security guards and ninja in modern games, to little robots and huge mutants in science fiction. They don’t have to be inhuman — even your evil twin is a monster, after all. Since our guiding principle in USR is to be simple and fast, let’s create an entire Monster Manual in one chart.

Like these ones, but all in one blog post. (image: dungeonsmaster.com)

This is inspired by the original monster chart, found in Scott Malthouse’s Halberd Fantasy Roleplaying, page 26. It assigns levels to monsters, to approximate their power and competence. We’ll streamline it here.

Power Level	Main Stat Die	Combat Bonus	Hit Points	Examples
I	D6	+0	5	Giant Rat, Goblin
II	D6	+1	10	Guard, Orc, Thug, Wolf
III	D8	+2	15	Ninja, Security Robot, Soldier
IV	D8	+3	20	Bear, Gang Boss
V	D10	+4	25	Ogre, Super-Soldier
VI	D10 (or D12)	+5	30	Dragon, Vampire Lord

Main Stat Die: The die used for most of the monster’s rolls. In most cases, this will be its Action stat, but a psychic warrior might have its Mind as the main stat, to better use its powers.

You can assign the other stats as needed, based on what’s appropriate for the monster (for example, the guard standing outside the emperor’s throne room has Action as his main stat, representing his fighting skills with that halberd he’s carrying. But if you’re trying to convince him to let you pass, you’ll have to decide what his Wits stat is — probably about the same as his action, a D6). In the same way, Specialisms aren’t listed for monsters, but they can be assigned as needed, probably offering a bonus of +1 or +2, like a starting hero. You might even assign a penalty to a monster’s roll, say -2 if a big, dumb ogre is trying to solve the riddle your hero has posed. And trying to play a riddle game with a normal wolf simply won't work at all, no dice rolls, penalties or bonuses needed.

Combat Bonus: This is used for both the monster’s attacks and defenses, and represents weapons, armor, brute strength, magical ability, and whatever else is needed. It too can fluctuate depending on the specific attack the creature is making: that vampire lord uses a +5 to lure your hero close to him, but only a +2 to throw a punch.

Hit Points: The maximum hit points for the monster, putting Power Level II and III monsters on par with most Domino Writing-style USR heroes. You can take a cue from Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition and decrease a monster’s HP to 1, if you want to have heroes wipe out a half-dozen monsters in just a few turns.

The math here is pretty easy to see, so you can create more mosters easily, though most things will fit somewhere on this scale.

Where do monsters in your game fit on the Power Level chart?

VSGMR: Updating For A New Tomorrow

So, a long time ago my game VSGMR (Very Simple Generic Miniatures Rules — I wanted a placeholder name, and it kind of stuck. Hey, it worked for GURPS) was popular enough that it earned its own Yahoo Group. I was just there this morning; you can still find a number of expansions written by several participants, everything from cavemen to "Star Wars."

Speaking of old miniatures games... (image: Pinterest, uploader unknown)

But time has passed and VSGMR is a little out of date, especially given the growth of simplified miniatures games like One Page Rules and Games Workshop's own "Age of Sigmar" (much, much easier to get into than the older versions of "Warhammer"). There's room for plenty of games in the world, and so I will be bringing VSGMR back. I revitalized my own Domino Writing-style USR roleplaying game with an ongoing series here on this blog, and I'll be doing the same with VSGMR.

First, it needs an update, if only to actually keep to the "Very Simple" part of its name. Every gamer knows how easy it is to keep adding rules to a game, and looking through the most recent version of 2013 I see rules for buildings, for special abilities, for using a sheet of paper to make measurements, and on and on. I'll be streamlining the game, with the basic rules in one place, then some official expansions after that. "Very Simple" needs to mean very simple.

Here's the core rules: 

• Use any figures you have, any size. Their equipment and abilities are whatever you say they are.
• Roll 1 die (a d6) per figure, on a 4 or better (sometimes higher) it's a success.

That's it! Look for the revised rules soon. If you have any suggestions for the revised version, let me know.

USR Wednesdays: Chases

Two weeks ago, we looked at vehicle rules — vehicles as narration, as equipment and as characters. One of the most common uses for vehicles in adventure fiction is in a chase, where one vehicle (the pursuer) is trying to catch up with another (the target), to make an arrest, to get in a shootout, or just to beat the target to the final goal.

Or to make a cool getaway. (image: clockworkmanual.com).

Let’s take a page from the chase rules developed for the 3rd Edition d20 game system and track a chase in Domino Writing-style USR. In addition to the regular rules, you’ll need a piece of paper and a pencil. Draw a line and put a series of evenly spaced marks across the paper, about every inch or so. Put the pursuer at the first mark on the left (write “P” or use a miniature) and the target two marks farther along the paper (write “T” or use a miniature for it too), so there’s a mark in between them. The two vehicles will move across the line from mark to mark until they reach their goal — usually by going off the other end of the paper, or landing on the same mark.

Like this, with a "P" and a "T." Same idea as the picture above, but a lot less interesting, at least on paper.

Decide if the heroes are the pursuer or the target. Choose a target number based on the difficulty of the terrain (empty space is a 2, a crowded city street is a 7, lava flowing around you is a 10). Have the player acting as driver or pilot make a roll to control the vehicle (usually Action + relevant vehicle Specialism), and have NPCs who are pursuing or who are the target make the same roll.

If one group (heroes and/or NPCs) succeed at the roll, move them forward one mark. If the roll fails, the group doesn’t move.

The character who is driver or pilot is usually using his or her turn to control the vehicle, but everyone else in the party who’s in the vehicle can take a normal action, like firing the vehicle’s weapons or shooting their own guns out a window. In a game with more detailed vehicle rules, a character might spend their turn trying to repair the vehicle, or perform a scan for more enemies. If nothing else, a character can spend its turn offering support, providing a +1 to an attack roll or the driver or pilot’s control roll.

What do you do to visualize chases on the tabletop?

USR Wednesdays: Vehicles

Cars, trucks, tanks, spaceships, pirate sloops... there are dozens of kinds of vehicles in adventure fiction, and given their size and their power, it may be a challenge to see where vehicles actually fit in a role playing game setting. Here are three ways of looking at vehicles in your Domino Writing-style USR game.

1. Vehicles as narration: In most settings, a vehicle is just a means to an end, a way to get from one place to another. In a modern-day action story, the characters drive fast cars or ride in helicopters, but only because it gets them across the city quickly, and to the next story point. There’s no game rules when using a vehicle as narration; you can just say, “The heroes hop in their cars and get to the police station,” or even “The heroes get on horseback and arrive at the entrance to the dungeon in about an hour.” It doesn’t matter how fast they’re traveling, or what happens on the trip, only that they are traveling.

2. Vehicles as equipment: The flexibility of Specialisms in USR means it’s easy to make a vehicle a piece of gear, just like a weapon or a special tool. Some characters who are closely linked to their vehicles might include the vehicle as one of their Specialisms (for example, Han Solo with his Millennium Falcon +2, or Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl +2). A game master could provide a vehicle as equipment if it’s going to be integral to the story, and more than just narration; for example, the Enterprise could be a +2 Specialism to everyone on the “Star Trek” crew. It wouldn’t be a Specialism just for Kirk or Picard, because all of the heroes in the adventure make use of the Enterprise — as a weapon, as a research station, as a place of healing, and so on. Of course, Han Solo and Jack Sparrow have plenty of adventures not on board their ships, but no one else in their stories is so connected to those ships as they are.

There it is, the classic starship the "+2." I mean Millennium Falcon. (image: wookiepedia.com)

Like weapons and armor, vehicles can be classified as “light” +1, “medium” +2 or “heavy” +3. A +1 vehicle could be a motorcycle or a horse, while a +2 would be a car or space fighter (an X-Wing or Viper), and a +3 vehicle could be something massive, like a semi-truck, a tank or the Enterprise itself.

Also like weapons or armor, you don’t need a separate Specialism for Pilot, Driver or Vehicle Gunner, unless that’s really a core element of a character. The vehicle Specialism includes its flying and shooting capabilities.

The Specialism would be used in any situation the vehicle could provide help — winning a race, carrying a heavy load, or firing its on-board weapons. If the vehicle is seriously damaged, it ceases to be a usable Specialism, until it’s repaired.

3. Vehicles as characters: Some settings are all about their vehicles: Mad Max, Mobile Suit Gundam, even Transformers. In those settings, the single bonus a Specialism provides doesn’t really offer enough to accurately represent the vehicle. So you can add more statistics to a vehicle, like top speed, armament, and maneuverability. Rules for that are in Somnium Void, starting on page 23.

We’re taking a week off from USR Wednesdays next week, but we’ll be back after that for a look at more genres.

How do you use vehicles in your game?

USR Wednesdays: Settings

By my count, USR has led to more than a dozen separate games, many found on RPGnow or on the creator’s own website. Here’s the list I have:

• Anthropomorphic by Jay Murphy (animal people)
• Beyond Fear by Scott Malthouse (cosmic horror/Cthulhu)
• Blood And Silk by Shenron (samurai)
• Ghostbusters by Shenron (um... Ghostbusters)
• Go Wherever by Scott Malthouse (stonepunk among other ideas)
• Halberd by Scott Malthouse (fantasy)
• Halcyon Fantasy by Scott Malthouse (old school fantasy)
• It Came From VHS! by Scott Malthouse (80s action)
• Masquerade of the Sundered Sky by Scott Malthouse (gothic horror)
• Sominum Void by Scott Malthouse (space opera)
• Swarm Of Barbarians by Peter Segreti (Ancient Rome)
• Tequendria by Scott Malthouse (Dunsany fantasy)
• Fear & Loathing by Jay Murphy (gonzo adventure)
• Sword & Sorcery by Jay Murphy (Conan-style fantasy)
• Cyberpunk by Scott Malthouse (cyberpunk)
• Moldvay Era by John Yorio (old school fantasy)

I also have a Western game that I don’t have an author credit for, and there’s a character sheet for USR Traveller farther down the USR Google+ page.

Rabbit bodyguards, Drakkar cage fighters, drug-addled journalists... they're all possible with USR.

It’s exciting thinking about all the opportunities for games that are in these rules sets — combining them, too, gives us Shadowrun (Cyberpunk plus Halberd) or Usagi Yojimbo (Blood and Silk plus Anthropomorphic). I wanted to create this list to have a running total of all the USR rules sets in one place, and to spark ideas for settings that are “missing.” I’ve touched on superheroes in my last few blog posts, but haven’t created a full setting. We have Ghostbusters, but what about Star Wars (including all the eras of the story)?

I hope this list is an inspiration to you to find these games, try them out, and offer your own contributions to a future edition of the list. I’ll be working on some settings, too...

What genre should be developed into a new setting next?

(image: usagiyojimbo.com)

USR Wednesdays: Superheroes part 2: Super-Specialisms and hit points

Specialisms for superheroes can be powers - which can be used as weapons and armor, unlike most specialisms – but also personality traits (“billionaire philanthropist,” “mild-mannered reporter”). Because they’re so free form, super power Specialisms don’t have particular damage amounts or limits (for example, how many people are mind-controlled at one time?). Turn to the comics, animation and movies: if you can find an example of the power being used in the media, you can use it, though maybe with the use of a Narrative Point.

Almost every rules-moderate to rules-heavy superhero RPG (including my own Microlite 20 Costumes) has a catalog of super powers for characters to purchase, and which count as Specialisms in superhero USR. As with any Specialism, though, the descriptions that allow for more narration are often more interesting in play. The Punisher’s Lots Of Guns is kind of boring as a Specialism, but the Flash’s Runs Fast Enough To Access The Speed Force is a simple to understand power with a unique twist (lots of heroes have Super-Speed, but don’t also get access to the Speed Force). With the Ice Control Specialism, Iceman of the X-Men can fire ice darts at a villain, but he also creates ice slides to move quickly, duplicates of himself in ice form, and so much more.

A Specialism of Magician means you can do just about anything in a superhero setting. (Also, you were expecting Dr. Strange or Zatanna, right?) (image: King Features Syndicate)

Another superhero-specific element is hit points. Heroes can take a beating, and shrug off most ordinary damage. Boosted Action and Wits stats help represent that, and so does increasing hit points, to (maximum Action die value + maximum Wits die value) x2. Alternately, heroes can be delayed in the hospital, or outright killed, only to return dramatically in the next adventure.

The superhero card game Sentinels of the Multiverse keeps defeated characters in the game until the end with one simple rule. Characters that lose all their hit points can only take one action on a turn, and it has to be used to help another hero who is still in the game. It’s described as inspiring the surviving characters to fight harder. The same concept can be used in USR, with knocked-out heroes offering a +1 to certain kind of die rolls, or a once-per-battle reroll to their surviving allies.

What are your favorite superhero Specialisms?

USR Wednesdays: Superheroes part 1: Tiers

There are some basic superhero rules in Domino Writing-style USR, mostly to emulate "elite" characters, like demigods in a fantasy world, or comic book super characters in a setting where most costumed heroes are a little more down to earth (think of Batman in Batman or Detective Comics). But with a few alterations, USR works just find for a bigger variety of superheroes (think of Batman in Justice League of America).
There are five tiers of characters in super hero comics:

1. Non-powered characters, the supporting cast of superhero comics (Mary Jane Watson, Jim Gordon).
2. Street-level heroes without many powers, like the 1930s/1940s pulp heroes (the Shadow, the Phantom) or characters like the Punisher or Luke Cage.
3. Standard superheroes, which range from the low end (Robin, Dazzler) to the "average" hero (Spider-Man, the Flash)
4. High-powered heroes, like Superman and Thor
5. Cosmic entities that have power beyond what a USR character normally would have (Bat-Mite, Silver Surfer).

So, how to show that difference in the USR rules? First, select your basic character tier, then allow everyone at that tier and above to use the superhero rules (stats of d8, d10 and d12, and rolling twice, using highest result).
For each tier above or below the basic tier, award an additional 2 Narrative points.

A nice variety of heroes: Tier 2, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 3, Tier 4, Tier 2. In the back? Probably Tier 4.

Let's take the Avengers, specifically the movie version that's pretty close to the comics, and is really well-known. They're standard superheroes, so they start with stats of d8, d10 and d12. We've already stated that Thor is high-powered, so he starts with those high stats, and an additional 2 Narrative Points to represent his additional Asgardian awesomeness.
On the other end, Nick Fury fights with the good guys, but he's no match in terms of raw power. We'll make him a street-level hero. His stats are d6, d8 and d10, but he also gets 2 additional Narrative Points to help bring him level with Captain America and the rest.
Next week, we'll look at Specialisms and other elements of the genre you can bring to your USR superhero gaming.

(image: screenrant.com)

USR Wednesdays: Miniatures Rules

Rules light games are known for being played "theater of the mind" style: everything is described by the GM and the players, including the stuff more crunchy rules sets use miniatures and maps for, like combat positioning and movement. Instead of moving a small plastic figure six spaces, then counting another few spaces to make sure your character is in range of a target, you just say, "I'm near the door, can I hit him?"

But if you're like me, and you want to use all the miniatures and maps and terrain and stuff you use in other games and have spend years collecting — and at the same time you want to play USR — you need another option. So I'm borrowing from my own Microlite 20 rules for USR miniatures rules.

A recent game - elves and humans vs wolves and rats standing in for wolves.

If you have miniature figures (about 1 inch or 25 to 28 mm tall) to represent the characters and their enemies, you’ll need a ruler or a battle map covered in spaces (squares, hexes or 1 inch measurements). One space equals 5 feet or 2 yards, and the average human-sized character and monster moves 6 spaces per turn, even diagonally. This is the character’s movement rate.

Small characters (like halflings or gnomes) move 5 spaces per turn, while characters wearing heavy armor (splint mail, banded mail, half-plate, full plate) move 1 space less each turn. On older-style (i.e. OSR) maps, where one space equals 10 feet, the average character moves 3 spaces per turn.

Characters can move through the same space as another character or enemy, but cannot end movement in the same space as another figure. Rubble, darkness, heavy growth and other difficult terrain “costs” 2 spaces of movement per space moved by the character. Moving up and down is the same as moving horizontally (a character does not have to “spend” extra movement to climb or fly). Moving just 1 space is considered a “free” action, as long as the character does not move any farther that turn.

If there’s a question whether a character could see an enemy to hit it, draw an imaginary straight line from the center of the attacker’s space to the center of the target’s space (or one of its spaces, if it takes up more than one space on the map). If there is no major obstacle or enemy in the path, the character can make the attack. Allies of the attacker do not block its path. Characters can attack through windows and other partial obstacles at a -1 penalty to hit.

To avoid calculating attack ranges each turn, melee attacks must be made against an enemy in a space adjacent to the character. Thrown and short-range weapon attacks can be made against an enemy up to 10 spaces away. Long-range weapon attacks can be made against an enemy up to 25 spaces away.

There you have it, simple rules for miniatures. I've used them in several games I've written over the years, and they seem to be a good starting point. A character with a high Action stat or Specialisms related to agility and dexterity might move a space faster, and the difficult terrain and obstacles rules could get much, much more detailed (Action rolls to move through terrain? 1/4 cover?).

Do miniatures play a part in your USR games?