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MechanikaEmpires of Blood & steam
Core RulebookPlayer & Game Master
ver. 1.1
©2014 Xaos Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction or posting without the written permission is expressly forbidden. This is a work of fiction. The work contained here are those of a fictitious alternate universe. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and does not reflect the actual historical progression of our inhabited universe. Warning: Intended For Mature Readers Only. This book contains detailed accounts of drug & alcohol use. Xaos Publishing does not encourage any person to try any intoxicating substance. Xaos Publishing does not condone the use of any intoxicant legal or otherwise. Xaos Publishing does not endorse or condone violence as portrayed in this or any of our works. Should you happen upon any elder god during your time playing our games tell them we said hi but don’t mention where to find us.
Xaos World & Game design by M.P. YortyCover design by Dustin Finnicum
Book design and production by Joshua BakerEditing by Joshua Baker
Book illustrations by Joseph DufresneTechnical Writing by Josh Sutten
Illustrations ©2014 Xaos Publishing
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Mechanics
Basic Mechanics of the Xaos System ....................... 14What you will need to play. .......................................... 15
The Basics .................................................................... 15
Basic Die Rolls ....................................................... 15Modifiers .............................................................. 16Degrees of Success and Failure .............................. 16Critical Success and Failure .................................... 17
Actions ......................................................................... 17
Encounters ................................................................... 17
Mental or Physical Combat ...................................... 18
Combat Terms ....................................................... 18Combat Order ....................................................... 19How combat works ............................................... 19Additional Combat Terms and Actions ................... 19Damaging an Intimate Object ................................. 20
Social Combat ............................................................. 20
Terms ................................................................... 20Social Combat Breakdown ..................................... 21Examples of Social Combat .................................... 21Leaving Social Combat ........................................... 22
Movement ................................................................... 22
Size ............................................................................... 23
Attributes ..................................................................... 23
Strength ................................................................ 23Agility .................................................................. 24Fortitude ............................................................... 24Intellect ................................................................. 25Willpower ............................................................. 25Perception ............................................................. 25Presence ................................................................ 26
Destiny ......................................................................... 26
Healing and damage.................................................. 27
Poisons ......................................................................... 29
Drugs............................................................................ 30
Disease ......................................................................... 31
Mental Illness .............................................................. 32
Elemental Effects ........................................................ 34
Templates .................................................................... 34
Creature Templates ................................................ 34Combat Templates ................................................. 38Scene Templates ............................................................... 38Item Templates ................................................................. 40
Chapter 2: Character Creation
Character Development ............................................ 441) Create a Persona .......................................................... 442) Select a Race ................................................................. 453) Assign Attributes & Wounds ..................................... 454) Assign Actions & Wealth ............................................ 465) Select Skills ................................................................... 476) Select Perks ................................................................... 477) Select Flaws .................................................................. 488) Spend remaining Experience points ......................... 489) Gear up, & select Character Bonds ........................... 49
Skills ............................................................................. 50
Supernatural Skills ................................................ 52
Perks ............................................................................. 53
Regular Perks ....................................................... 53Supernatural Perks ................................................ 57
Flaws ......................................................................62
Regular Flaws ....................................................... 62
Chapter 3: Races
Humans ....................................................................... 68
Goblins ......................................................................... 70
Dwarves ....................................................................... 72
Moreauvians ............................................................... 74
Sylvans ......................................................................... 76
Dhampyr ..................................................................... 78
Chapter 4: Magic
Magi ............................................................................. 85Mechanics of a Magister ................................................. 85Incantations ...................................................................... 86
The Tier Of The Incantation ..................................... 86The amount of flux in the area ................................... 86Combat .......................................................................... 86
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Stress .............................................................................. 86Time and Material components. .............................. 86Incantation difficulty ................................................... 86Incantation Failure ....................................................... 87Known Paradoxes ........................................................ 87
The Mystery of Fonts ...................................................... 87Fae Tomes ......................................................................... 88
Warlocks ...................................................................... 89Mechanics of Warlocks ................................................... 89
Spell creation ................................................................ 90Spell casting and difficulty ......................................... 90Spell Failure .................................................................. 90Known Abscesses ......................................................... 91
The Disturbing Use of Loa ............................................. 91Sanguine Stone ................................................................. 92
Wyrds ........................................................................... 93Wyrd Mechanics .............................................................. 94
Crafting A Totem ....................................................... 94How to create a totem. ................................................ 94Known Echoes .............................................................. 96
Conduits: Alien Treasures ............................................. 97Sigils .................................................................................. 97
Magical Schools .......................................................... 98The Twelve Great Schools .............................................. 98The Elemental Schools .................................................... 98
The School of Fire ............................................... 98The School of Earth ............................................. 99The School of Air ...............................................101The School Of Water ..........................................103
Schools Of Matter .......................................................... 105Transmutation ...................................................105Conjuration .......................................................107
The Three Principles Of Conjuration ................107Translocation ....................................................109
Schools Of Energy ......................................................... 110The School of Arcana .........................................111The School of Biomancy .....................................112The School of Phantasms ....................................114
The Schools of Life and Death ..................................... 116The School of Necromancy .................................116The School of Plants ...........................................119
Aberrant Schools ........................................................... 121The School of Daemonics ...................................121The School of Shadows ......................................128
Conduits .................................................................... 134
Artifacts ..................................................................... 135
Bound flux ................................................................. 135
Displays of Power .................................................... 136
Chapter 5: Machina
Gizmos ....................................................................... 141
Malfunctions ............................................................. 141
Artificer ...................................................................... 142
Artifice Systems ....................................................142
Creating Machina ..................................................... 142
Malfunction Rating ...............................................143
Tinkerer ..................................................................... 143Tinkerer Prerequisites ................................................... 144
Artifice houses .......................................................... 145Alchemy .......................................................................... 145Clockwork ...................................................................... 149Electricity ........................................................................ 153Explosives ....................................................................... 157Marksmanship ............................................................... 160Resemble ......................................................................... 163Steamworks .................................................................... 166
Chapter 6: Settings
Governments, Daily Life & The ... World ............ 173
Nouveau ..............................................................174The State of Technology ........................................174The State of Magic and the Ministry of Supernatural Governance ..........................................................175Organizations that span the globe ..........................176Flora Fauna And The Monsters In The Shadows .....177Those That Were Left Behind .................................177
Calling To The Gods ................................................ 181
Petitioning ...........................................................181
The Empires And Remnants ................................... 181Atlantica .......................................................................... 183Bohemia .......................................................................... 184The American Empire ................................................... 186The Celtic Empire .......................................................... 188 The Empire of Men ....................................................... 191The Empire Of The Congo ........................................... 192The Empire Of Stone .................................................... 194The Empire Of The East ................................................ 196The Empire Of The Eclipse .......................................... 197The Empire Of The Rising Sun .................................... 198The Grey Wastes ............................................................ 199
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The Napoleonic Empire ................................................ 201The Northern Hordes .................................................... 203The Russian Empire ...................................................... 205The Sovereignty ............................................................. 207
Other areas of interest ............................................. 209
Bestiary ...................................................................... 210
Mundane Creatures ...........................................224
Equipment ................................................................. 226
Currency ..............................................................226Player Wealth .......................................................226Weapons and Armor .............................................226
Blunt Weapons .............................................. 227Edged Weapons .......................................................... 228Ranged Weapons ....................................................... 229Ammunition Types .................................................... 231Ammunition .....................................................231Exotic Weapons .......................................................... 231Armor .......................................................................... 232
Arcane Batteries ............................................................. 233House of Electricity ...........................................233House of Steamworks ........................................233House of Clockworks .........................................233House of Alchemy .............................................233House of Explosives ...........................................233House of Resemble ............................................233House of Marksmanship ....................................233
General Equipment ....................................................... 233Potions and Curatives ............................................... 235Drugs and Poisons ..................................................... 236
Exotic Items .................................................................... 236
Lodging And Transport .......................................... 237Renting and Buying Property ...................................... 237Level of Difficulty Examples ........................................ 240
Chapter 7: Examples
Level of Difficulty Examples...................................240
Combat Examples .................................................... 241
Action examples ....................................................... 241
Magic Examples ....................................................... 242
Artifice Examples ..................................................... 243
Template Examples .................................................. 244
Tables & RollsSuccess & Failures.......................................................246Creature Size................................................................246Overview of Available Races.....................................246Wound Adjustment Based on Type.........................246Petitioning....................................................................246Actions Gained............................................................246Attributes......................................................................246Encumbrance...............................................................247Malfunction Rating.....................................................247Player Wealth...............................................................247Ammunition.................................................................247Curatives.......................................................................247Exotic Items..................................................................247Fares/Lodgings............................................................247Property........................................................................247Known Echoes ............................................................ 248Known Abscesses ....................................................... 249Known Paradoxes ...................................................... 249Malfunctions ............................................................... 250Kaos Matrix ................................................................. 250Blunt Weapons............................................................ 251Exotic Weapons........................................................... 251Armor........................................................................... 251Ranged Weapons........................................................ 252General Equipment.................................................... 252Edged Weapons.......................................................... 253
IndexIndex............................................................................ 254
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Chuck WentzellTimothy GrassBrianna BellAndrew AnforaRangerRicoAdam EvermanBrett EasterbrookPineapple SteakRagnar McRyanShannon WolcottWyng’d Lyon CreationsSean MillerMorgan WeeksRobert HaubenstrickerDarren BuckleyValdimir ShottonScott JensenhmxFrank RobertsJeremy KearJason LundCarlos FigueroaDaniel NissmanFaithunashamedDerek LynchMichael HicksChris SnyderJozsef LorinczJR Geronimojames spinnerDeanna Uutela (Dead Bettie)Yuki HyouSara PetersCharles S. WallaceWarren NelsonJohn RuddKenneth J. WeirSean O’DellLee RickerClara BushNikhil MajumdarNathaniel ColeGlenn MochonGeoffrey Fordstephanie wagnerSean Kennedy-BrennanPhillip W JuffsAnthony DiNovodeadairisDante EleraJoseph FerrillRaythianNathaniel Bartos
Bradford T ConeJay KantaDiana Kristin HoffmanAsagiri KendaiKate MorrisBrad OsborneAngela GembolisSean Parsoneric priehsSleetDinkPhillip HartzogJames BealJohn MionJames CootePatrick GrayRon WilhelmJohn GTAndrew ChangLiz SpainBill StilsonSimon CarterAidan DeggMorten JørgensenKylechrisinpmTinderbox Entertainmentkyle mclaughlinDaniel KepplerNancy FeldmanD-ASIDE-Braden CooperAdam BoisvertAntonia SchmalstiegTed SwalwellSchnuffelDavid MorganMatt LeitzenJohn R BlakerJohn D BensonDonald FerrisMichael BellMatthew OrwigAna SilvaTekwychMorganTy Kendallconan brasherIgnacio Rodríguez ChavesJesse ButlerJohn ScheibChristopher CorvusWesley Dryden
CardinalMichael HitchcockRichard LighthiserCeegee ParfoisBen HutchisontristanJay WatsonRaechel CoonozymandiasKevin D FreemanDennis S.Erik BerglundAlex NeilsonKristian A. BjørkeloP-A BeaulieuBrian HobgoodCookie!Charles Gordon PikeBrady Cooperamaurigrimjack0211Ed KowalczewskiDamon GallatyKatie SesslerMichelle SuttenCary Renee WattsBenjamin RosenthalMastionCraig HuberNick JamesSteven MillerAlicia Van De KopSabrina McCoyJasmine GAaron ClarkDavid GordonLin LirenMarc MargellichapelJosh BuschbacherMichael Mossjohn hayholtKen GatzemeyerNortonDiogo MaiaBill “Wystan” C.Von QuirozChris LaGardeAnders OlsenTyler DoyonRon SuttenKenneth ‘Professor’ Thronberry DavidMumaw
Andrew LaliberteThomas PhinneyManuel SiebertadumbratusNicholas AhlhelmMax ReinhartJussi HytönenJmpTanya StevensJeremy CorkeJudd M. Goswickscott parksOliver KorpillaFrederic FleuryShoreTeppo PennanenJohn RyanIan WhiteheadGibbergeistMark KilfoilIan BorchardtFelix PopeMike BroduCraig QuertermousTesh of Project KhopeshStephan SzaboTim WatkinsKevin MonkhouseDonald F. Ferguswraith808Sergio Silvio Herrera GeaMorgan CrooksChristian DobsonAngus Abranson / Chronicle CityKjetil KverndokkenTomasBrett RitterMarkMichael Dean BrownMichael LawsonColin NashSimon Huntroyce goodmanJeff WorkmanCascade ChainCal PrattDaniel AmiraultRyan KentJoeyRxzlostzx
Saying our thanksWe wanted to use this spot to thank all of those groups that helped beta test the game and to all of our Kickstarter people that offered up their support and their patience along side it while we brought the game from raw text to this book you’re reading. Thank you and we hope you find yourself wanting to play this game as much as we do.
Kickstarter Backers
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First off thank you so much for buying this book. It has taken me five years to complete it with help from a few very talented people. This book is a unique look into my imagination and a world that I have great hopes to flesh out more and more in the coming years. I hope you enjoy it and make it your own, please have fun and explore Mechanika.
~M. P. Yorty
I wanted to make use of this space to thank everyone that waited patiently throughout this process. I have learned a lot in this journey of bringing Mechanika from raw thoughts to this finished book. Many thanks go out to Jason Rhoades for all his help editing, reading the book, and checking my latest design for the 90th time. Thanks as well to the other Josh & Joe for helping create & add to the Mechanika world before I could get my hands on it. Thanks to Jye for the great amount of work she put into helping to find edits we’d become blind to in the book.
To those of you that have bought the game; I thank you and hope that our first offering keeps you playing and happy. I can’t wait to show you what else comes after this book.
May all your malfunctions be spectacular!
~Joshua Baker
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10 Introduction
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Mechanika: Empires of Blood and Steam 11
Who, where, when, what?
What is this place? Where am I? When am I? Who are you? These questions echo in all
time, in all space, in every world I’ve travelled. I am known as the Traveler, and this is my
almanac, a compendium of the knowledge and experience I’ve gathered about this world, and
its inhabitants. You may not know me, but I know you, I’ve watched this Earth develop since
time began. As punishment for my transgressions, I am forever tied to this place; however, I
was never bound to a specific time or reality, and this version of my prison intrigues me. Due
to its conflict and madness, I am drawn here often. The time space I cannot help but return to
is a dark time of misery, wonder, and constant change. This time is known as The Age of Blood
and Steam.
I have written this book as I await the call to my next world, my next prison. In this tome,
I will detail all I know of Earth, and the fabled city of Mechanika. What I have experienced
differs wildly from your version of Earth. The world of peace and normalcy you exist in is a far
cry from the darkness of my limbo. This world is a dark parody of yours; where cosmic horrors
have arrived, horrors beyond understanding, horrors that would rip your mind to shreds if you
encountered them. Many things are different in this world, yet many still are similar. I hope
you enjoy this almanac of my journey, and I sincerely pray that you can use this information
to survive in this dark place of terror and madness.
~The Traveler
Introduction
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Glindom Tepp
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He was in the lab somewhere. She knew it; somewhere in the dimly lit labyrinth of tunnels below the scrap yard he was lurking, drawn by some strange and alien whispers. He was finishing – something. Something she didn’t want to think about, for the thought of it caused her gorge to rise, and her head to erupt in a splitting headache.She had operated the clinic in the scrap yard for over ten years, providing a crucial service to the dangerous, the desperate, and the depraved. The endless wastes may not show mercy, but here, in her clinic, she fostered an environment of compassion, and second chances. She has seen hundreds of cases walk, stumble, or shamble in through those ramshackle doors. It was not in her nature to turn a creature away, it wasn’t her place to judge them. She cared deeply for each and every body entering her clinic; nothing scared her, not until the incident with the Tepps, and the nightmares that ripped through her dreams each night since taking on the strange boy, Glindom. Ever since his family was found slaughtered in their ramshackle hut, leaving the youngest of the Tepp family as the sole survivor, she’d worried about the strange young Sylvan. She was more worried however, when he confided in her that his pet Khyber newt was whispering stories to him, stories of a dark, empty world where burning violet stars shone down on a world of screaming shadows forever trapped in grimaces of misery and torment.As if these stories weren’t disturbing enough, whenever he told them, he did so with a manic grin, a grin that never quite reached his eyes. No matter how excited or angry or passionate he got, his eyes always seemed dead – cold and hollow like a porcelain doll.Now, after his departure from her clinic, she needed to find him. She didn’t know why, but she knew it was of paramount importance. She’d heard the complaints from residents of the community about him, complaints of him lurking outside windows at night, stories of him screaming for hours at nonexistent enemies. Perhaps most disturbing of all were the rumors of him exhuming corpses from their graves, or stealing various body parts from the strange beasts the hunters brought in from the endless wastes.Two months ago, she found him crouched in a bog near the scrap yard. He was horrifically scarred, cut and stitched back together. His plant-like body, resembling that of a deep cave fungus now spliced with scales, fur, and claws. For a brief moment, it looked as though he would speak to her, just before he leaped away as if he was an animal startled by a predator, disappearing into the night. Most recently, she found his labs, tunneled out from the earth below the scrap yard community. In this place, body parts in jars floated and bobbed as the strange, eerie sound of unknown machinery surrounded her. She was scared – terrified – but determined she would find what had become of this young sylvan.If only she were more fearful. If only she had known the whispers weren’t madness, but echoes from an alien world of horror and agony. If only she had turned around. If only. Now, stitched together, heart barely beating, he was the monster the whispers needed. After he was done here, he would head to the floating city to fulfill their desires. At the same time, he would try taking control of the secrets, to seize the incredible power in them, making it his own. So, if a few should die for him to gain that understanding, it was a small price to pay. After all, the whispers had chosen him to fulfill their work.
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Chapter One: Mechanics14
Basic Mechanics of the Xaos System
The Xaos system is compiled from bits and pieces of many different role playing systems you may or may not be familiar with. We have taken apart these systems: discarding some ideas, keeping others, and throwing in a whole heap of new ones. This has allowed for a whole new role playing system, built from the ground up. This system is designed to be fun and easy to grasp for people who have never played a role playing game before. At the same time, it offers rich tools for customizing and robust ways to personalize the game that should prove to be equally rewarding for those of you have been gaming, much like me, for years and years.
We welcome you to the Xaos system. Please feel free to truly make this system your own, use what works for your game, and disregard what doesn’t. We want you to be comfortable with the Xaos System and we encourage tweaking, testing, and building upon the system. After all, that’s what Steampunk is all about. A quick note: This system has been developed with balance in mind, as some of the abilities are truly powerful and while changing parts of the system can be a joy for experienced GMs, it may cause difficulty with balance or game play. That being said: Enjoy the system! We are very happy to finally be able to bring it to you.
Yours truly,
M. P. Yorty
MechanicsOh hell yeah I’m going to look behind the curtain for sure!
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What you will need to play. In order to play a game of Mechanika you will need the following.
A set of percentile dice - These are two 10 sided dice. One die represents “ones” while the other represents “tens.” If your group does not have percentile dice you can use two 10 sided dice (d10’s) of different colors, just make sure your group is clear which color represents the 10’s and which represents the 1’s. Your group could also purchase a d100 or 100 sided die if this works better for you.
A set of FUDGE dice - You will need a set of four FUDGE dice. FUDGE dice are 6 sided dice (d6) with 2 of each of the following faces a (-) sign a (+) sign and a blank side. Ideally, you should have one set for each player, and then one set for the GM. If that is not possible, the group can share one set; it will just make the game run a bit slower. If your group does not have FUDGE dice you can use a set of four regular d6’s. You simply use the 1 and 2 faces as the minus signs, the 3 and 4 faces as the blank sides, and the 5 and 6 faces as the plus signs. This approach will work, but it may be slow going at first. You can also buy our FUDGE dice at our website.
Character sheets - You will need one sheet for each player, these can be printed from our website or copied from the back of this rulebook.
Scene sheets - The GM should have about five of these to catalogue the scenes and scene changes. These can be printed from our website or also copied from the back of this rulebook.
Machina/Magic sheets (Optional) - Useful for players that are using perks that allow for these items and abilities. These can be printed from our website or copied from the back of this rulebook.
Pencils - You should have one for each player and GM. Or less, or more, it’s all up to you.
A copy of this rulebook - It contains all the game information for players and GM’s alike.
The BasicsThe Xaos system is built to run a fast paced and cinematic game that can cover all manner of play styles and events. The basics of this system will start with the different roll types and then go over the rules regarding encounters, actions, and templates. These rules will remain stable and consistent regardless of the type of encounter you are playing, action you are attempting, or statistic you are rolling. These four rolls will cover everything from social debates to mental stress, to the physical battle itself, as well as their variables.
This allows for a system with fewer types of dice, and fewer rules and terms to follow. The types of rolls you will
experience are explained below. As with all mechanics, both basic and advanced, you can find examples of rolls and systems in Chapter Seven: Examples.
Basic Die RollsRaw Roll – This is a roll where a player or GM rolls 4 unmodified FUDGE dice and adds together their total. This roll is “Raw” and is not affected in any way by attributes, skills, or perks. An unmodified roll also cannot be affected by Destiny points.
Example: Player 1 must roll a raw roll. He rolls 4 FUDGE dice, and gets +, +, -, and a blank face. This is a total roll of +1 (Two positives make 2, minus one for the minus sign makes 1. The blank face neither adds, nor subtracts.)
Modified Roll – This is the most common type of roll in Mechanika, or any other Xaos game. This is a raw roll modified by a character or creature skill or attribute.
Example: If Player 1 wants to strike Player 2 with his fist, he rolls a raw roll and gets (+), (-), (-), and a blank face. If this was a raw roll, his total would be -1, but for this example we’ll say Player 1 has a +2 Brawl skill. With the addition of this skill that roll gives him a total of +1 (-1 raw roll, and +2 Brawl skill equals +1).
Percentile Roll – This is the least used roll in the Xaos System. It consists of simply rolling the two percentile dice and adding together the amount.
Opposed Roll – This type of roll is made when two or more creatures are attempting actions against one another, such as one creature attacking the other, two people having a heated argument, or creatures facing off in a battle of wills. This roll is made by each character simultaneously; the rolls may be either raw or modified roll types. The result determines who wins the roll, and the degree of the winner’s success, as well as the degree of failure for the loser.
Example: Player 1 wants to shoot a Dire Rat with his derringer. Player 1 rolls his Marksmanship (Derringer) skill of +2 and gets a +, +, -, -. Combined with his modifier the total result of his roll is +2. At the same time the Dire Rat tries to dodge. It rolls its Athletics skill of +2, and gets a +, -, -, and blank. Combined with its modifier, the total becomes +1. This is not enough to outweigh the players +2 roll, so the Dire Rat takes a bullet.Sam
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ModifiersThere are four different ways that rolls are modified in the Xaos system. Three of these are static modifiers, the final one is random.
Attributes – The Xaos system games all share the same seven attributes. Strength, Agility, Fortitude, Intellect, Willpower, Perception, Presence. These can be imagined as the skeleton that supports your character; and really all creatures in the game world, from the smallest worm to the greatest dragon. These stats can modify a roll if a character lacks the skill that is associated with it. Characters using an attribute to modify a roll, but lacking the finesse of an associated skill, if one is required, take a -1 penalty to that roll. This is known as a split difficulty. Here are two examples of modifying a roll with an attribute.
Example 1: A character needs to lift a heavy gate with a difficulty of +2. The player is a big guy and he has a Strength of +1. The GM states that he must make a Strength roll to lift the gate. This is an attribute roll, and he simply rolls a raw roll plus his Strength modifier to discover the result.
Example 2: The player wishes to hold up a heavy descending gate from crashing down on his party. The GM states that he must make an Athletics/Strength roll. He has no points in Athletics but he does have a +1 Strength modifier. This is a split roll, and he would make a raw roll -1 to resolve the outcome.
Skills – These are the main building blocks of a creature in a Xaos game. You can think of skills like the muscles that give movement and purpose to the skeleton of the creature. Skills can never be raised higher than its accompanying attribute. Skills sometimes have multiple attributes associated with them. These skills are known as multiple attribute skills. These skills may be raised as high as the greater of their accompanying attributes, but one attribute may not be useful in some situations.
Example: Player 1 has an Intellect modifier of +0 and an Agility modifier of +2. The player has spent points in Mechanics, which is a multi-attribute skill (Agility/Intellect); His Mechanics skill is +2. When he tries to dislodge a loose piece from a complex engine, the GM rules that he can roll Mechanics and add his Agility modifier of +2, as this problem requires deft precise hands.
Later when he is trying to diagnose a problem with an ancient Old One machine, the GM dictates that this will require his Mechanics skill, but the Agility bonus will not apply due to the nature of the problem. Instead the player must use his Intellect bonus, which in this case would be +0.
Perks and Flaws – Perks and flaws can give bonuses or penalties depending on which ones are selected. Think of perks and flaws like ways to flesh your character out and give him or her life.
Destiny Points – Destiny points can be spent to alter or change a roll, or give bonuses to it. Think of it as your characters’ good luck. Destiny is detailed later in this chapter (Page 26).
Degrees of Success and Failure The Xaos System uses degrees of failure and success; as opposed to a simple pass or fail system. When a character makes a FUDGE roll it will illustrate how well or how poorly he succeeds or fails in an action. This type of graded system allows GM’s to make judgments on an action. This system provides for great variety in both actions and role playing.
Example: Player 1 wants to jump over a wall and needs a +2 Athletics roll to jump it. If the player rolls a +1 the GM may state that he can make an Athletics (Strength) roll to grab the edge and pull himself over.
The table for success and failure is provided below. They range from the worst failure you can get – Atrocious - to the greatest success you can imagine - Legendary. Actions may be higher or lower than those on the chart, but those are very unlikely.
Success & Failure
-6 Atrocious
-5 Abysmal
-4 Horrid
-3 Terrible
-2 Poor
-1 Trivial
0 Average
+1 Fair
+2 Good
+3 Great
+4 Superb
+5 Outstanding
+6 Legendary
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Critical Success and FailureSometimes a character will roll exceedingly well or horrifically poor. The following rules explain what happens in these most extreme of events:
Critical Failure – A critical failure is determined when a player rolls all (-) on their FUDGE dice. This always results in their action failing in a spectacular and terrible way as determined by the GM. Perhaps a bow string breaks, a fuse has gotten too damp to light, or you trip over a chair while sneaking around and alert every guard in 100 miles to your presence.
Critical Success – A critical success occurs when all 4 of a player’s FUDGE dice are (+). This activates any critical effect an attack may have, and also allows a player to reroll their FUDGE dice, adding the new total to the original roll. The second roll is a raw one, and no modifiers are added to it. This additional roll ignores any (-) dice.
ActionsActions dictate what a character can do in a turn, and how often they can do these things. There are a multitude of different actions available to a character, and we will go through them below. The number of actions and how much he can act is determined by his Agility modifier as determined by the Agility chart (Page 24). A character always begins with 1 Combat Action 1 Movement Action, 1 Defensive Action, and 2 Free Actions each round.
A character can do the following with an action and may trade actions for separate actions as detailed below.
Free/Quick Actions – A Free/Quick Action can be used at any time during your players initial phase. They can be used to do simple and Quick Actions like drawing a weapon, reloading a weapon, drinking a potion, or using an ointment. Free Actions may not be traded for any other type of action without the help of Destiny points.
Movement Actions – A character can move his Speed a distance equal to his movement in feet or less by spending a Movement Action. Movement Actions may not be traded for any other type of action without the help of Destiny points. Movement Actions must be used during your characters initiative phase.
Defensive Actions – Defensive Actions can be used to initiate a Parry, Block, or Dodge Action during your current turn. Defensive Actions may be traded for Combat Actions on a 1 for 1 basis. Defensive Actions are further explained in the Combat section (Page 18).
Combat Actions – Combat Actions may be used to initiate an attack with a weapon, a Mental Attack or a supernatural attack or ability. Combat Actions can be traded for Defensive Actions on a 1 for 1 basis. Combat Actions are further explained in the Combat section (Page 18).
Interrupt Action – These actions may only be used if an item or ability states it has the Interrupt ability. This is an action that plays out before the action that is being interrupted, and may be played at any point in the opposing creatures’ combat turn. A character can never interrupt more times in a combat turn than his Agility modifier. If a character has an Agility modifier of 0 or less he may only interrupt once per combat turn. An Interrupt Action always adds +1 to the difficulty of an action.
Sustained Action – A Sustained Action is an action that must be maintained for several rounds/minutes. These can be anything from physically taxing tasks, to concentrating on keeping a spell active. A Sustained Action is maintained for a number of rounds/minutes equal to the success of your actions’ roll, and then must be rerolled if the action is continued, adding a +1 difficulty with each attempt to maintain the action.
Example:If the original difficulty of the action is +2 and the player rolls a +4 the action is maintained for an additional two rounds; making three rounds total. After the additional two rounds he must roll again, this time the difficulty is +3. If he gets a +3 it is sustained for this round. If it’s to be maintained after that the difficulty is raised to +4 and so on.
EncountersThese could be anything from fast paced gunfights in abandoned alleyways, to heated social arguments about the characters’ political alliances. The type of encounter you design is completely up to you, the sky is the limit. Practically any encounter you create will fall into one of three different types, or a combination of the three: Non-Combat, Social, or Combat.
Non-Combat Encounter – This type of encounter usually occurs during periods of a game session where the players are gathering information, exploring an area, preparing for a job, or completing some mundane task. These types of encounters are the easiest to run because they usually require only modified rolls while the party attempts to complete a task, find clues, or travel around the area. These types of encounters do not deal in actions and players may take an action at any point. If players cannot agree on an order of play, the party should roll initiative as in a combat encounter.
Social encounter – This type of encounter takes place between multiple creatures involved in a social issue. This shares many aspects with a combat encounter as it takes place in rounds and requires the use of actions. Fortunately social encounters usually do not lead to the death or permanent injury of a character, although they may lead into a combat encounter. This type of encounter will be detailed under the Social Combat heading.
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18 Chapter One: Mechanics
Combat Encounter – These encounters involve either mental or physical combat between multiple combatants. Combat encounters are, by far, the most complex of all encounters in the Xaos system, with the potential to use all the different types of rolls. This type of encounter is strenuous, and changes the flow of a scene from minutes to actions. Actions are tiny increments of time, and were just covered previously. This reflects the nuances of combat, as well as shortens the effects of Machina and Magic, as the user has a harder time controlling it in the pitch of battle.
Mental or Physical CombatCombat in the Xaos system is easy to understand, while still being capable of delivering great depth and complexity. Both mental and physical combat will be explained here, and aside from a few differences the two operate in almost exactly the same fashion. This section will explain the steps of combat, and detail the different types of Combat Actions a character can take.
Combat TermsInitiative – This is the order in which the characters involved in a combat encounter take their turns. Initiative is determined by a modified Agility roll (FUDGE roll + Agility modifier). The highest Initiative roll goes first, followed by the second highest, and so on, progressing to the lowest. Initiative is only rolled once per combat encounter, unless a Surprised action has occurred.
Round – This is the time it takes a character to complete its Movement, Combat, and Defensive Actions. Each character gets one round to take action in a combat encounter.
Turn – This is a series of rounds where each participant in the combat has had their round; the turn ends after the last participant in the initiative order finishes its round.
Combat Action – These are almost always used to attack with a melee, ranged or supernatural attack. Every character has a certain number of these dictated by their Agility bonus. A Combat Action is nearly always a modified roll, and is modified by the skill associated with the attack. To shoot someone, you use the corresponding Marksmanship skill; to set someone’s head on fire, you use Incantation; etc.
Defensive Action – These oppose Combat Actions and are used to resist or evade the Combat Action and hopefully take less damage. Defensive Actions come in four types:
Parry – A character that has a melee weapon or another type of parrying item may attempt a parry action. A parry action is a modified roll that adds the weapon’s parry bonus to a FUDGE dice roll. A character can make a number of parry actions equal to its Agility modifier - as long as it has a Defensive Action.
Block – A character with a shield or protective item may use it to attempt a block action. This is a modified roll adding the item’s block bonus to the FUDGE dice roll. A
character can make a number of block actions equal to its Fortitude modifier, as long as it has a Defensive Action.
Dodge – A dodge action is when characters can attempt to jump or move out of the way of an attack. A dodge action is a modified roll that adds either the characters Athletics skill, or Agility modifier (whichever is higher) to the FUDGE dice roll.
Guard – If a character is out of Defensive Actions he may still guard, trying his best to resist the attack. In this case he rolls an unmodified roll.
Armor – A character often wants to find their best ways to shrug off damage. In the Xaos system this is most frequently done with armor. Armor is split into two distinctive types. Each type has its own advantage, and will be discussed below. Their similarity, however, is the ability to mitigate damage done to a character. No armor is completely invulnerable, not even the master crafted suits of Dwarven juggernaut armor, or the thick chitinous scales of the fire drakes. Some weapons are made to pierce armor, or sometimes too many opponents can overwhelm a character making his armor useless as they target its weak points.
To represent that, an Armor bonus may only be used a number of times per turn equal to its related attribute modifier, with a minimum of once per turn. Armor has flaws as well; from seams to missing scales. Each round, the Armor bonus is reduced per point of damage absorbed until it reaches zero, as the attacker feels out the weakness or overpowers its bonus. Armor provides no protection against bullets and projectiles fired from firearms.
Bullet Resistance – This is identical to Armor except it provides its damage reduction against bullets and projectiles fired from firearms.
Heavy Armor – This armor is cumbersome at best huge plates and chain protects its wearer but is exhausting and difficult to master. Those with the greatest Fortitude modifiers find they make the best use of such weighty armor. With Heavy Armor the Fortitude modifier aids in the Heavy Armor bonus.
Light Armor – Due to the small weight of Light Armor and the thinness of its build it takes great agility to make proper use of it.. One trains their body to twist and move to allow the thickest or most advantages portions of their armor take the brunt of the blow. Therefore the higher the Agility modifier the better as it aids the Light Armor bonus.
Mental Attack – Any action that targets a character or creature’s Stress.
Casting – Term used for those who manipulate flux. A casting roll refers to either an Incantation or Channel in roll depending on the the casters ability to control flux.
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19Mechanika: Empires of Blood and Steam
Combat orderInitiative – Players and NPC’s roll initiative (Modified Agility roll)
Combat Action – The character or creature with the highest initiative gets to act first, and takes his first action. This is usually a Combat Action. (Modified skill roll)
Defensive Action – The defending creature or player rolls its Defensive Action simultaneously (Modified skill/attribute roll). The two results are compared and damage is determined. If Armor is applicable, this is where it is applied.
Play moves to the next person or creature, until the turn is resolved.
Once the turn is resolved, a new turn begins. This sequence continues until the combat ends. Combat ends once all the opponents are dead, the players flee the scene, or an agreement is reached between the dissenting parties.
How combat worksA player rolls an attack roll against an opponent at the same time that the opponent chooses what Defensive Action he would like to take. This is your roll "to hit".
Example:Virgil has Weapon Skill: Short Sword +2. He spends his Combat Action to attack Bethany. Bethany has a small shield with a +2, and she decides to spend a Defensive Action to use her shield to block. Both players roll their respective rolls simultaneously. Virgil rolls a total of +5 for his short sword attack, while Bethany rolls a +3 block roll to defend. Virgil’s attack gets through, and he hits his enemy with a strike of +2.
After the combat and defensive rolls have been made and it’s been determined if the attack gets through, the damage is then assessed. This is done by adding the damage of the weapon being used to the "to hit" roll, and then subtracting any Armor bonus that the defensive character has.
Continuing Our Example: Virgil has struck Bethany. In order to determine the damage that Virgil has done we simply add the damage of his short sword (+1) to his attack roll (+2) for a total of +3. This means he deals 3 points of damage. Bethany is wearing a leather trench coat (+2 Armor) and it absorbs 2 wounds, meaning Bethany only suffers one Constitution wound.
When a player takes a Defensive Action, it’s a risk. A badly timed dodge or a bad call on when to parry can in fact cause more harm than good. If a player rolls a negative on their defensive roll, it only adds to the amount of damage that’s done.
Example:Bethany shoots at Virgil with her pistol (Marksmanship +2), she rolls a +1 for a total of +3. Virgil attempts to roll out of the way by making a dodge roll. Virgil rolls and gets a -2. This adds to Bethany's success of +3 making the total roll for Bethany's attack +5. This is before the damage has been assessed. Bad news for Virgil, hopefully he invested in some good armor!
The system is designed this way on purpose, and we believe it makes the overall game more visceral and rewarding, while the style and feel that thrived in the works of the late H.P. Lovecraft continues to live on. If a GM wishes however they may run a game that is less risky by applying an optional rule that states that a Defensive Action can never add additional damage.
Once damage is assessed, play simply continues onwards to the next person in the initiative order.
Additional Combat Terms and Actions
Charge – A character who runs full speed at his opponent can deal an immensely powerful attack at the cost of accuracy. A character that is sprinting can choose to spend a Combat Action to charge. A charge takes a -1 penalty to hit, but allows the character charging to add his Strength or Agility modifier to his attack when determining damage.
Disoriented – A disoriented character takes -1 on any melee or ranged attack until the character heals at least one Bruised wound. If a disoriented character takes additional non–lethal damage he will fall unconscious for 1 round/minute per Bruised wound he has taken, or until his Bruised wounds are healed. A character can take a number of wounds while disoriented equal to his Fortitude modifier before falling unconscious. Any nonlethal damage dealt to an unconscious character is considered lethal damage.
Engaged – A character that is engaged is within melee range of one or more characters. An engaged character must spend a Defensive Action to leave combat. If he doesn’t, then any character he’s engaged in melee with will receive one free attack against him as he tries to escape.
Feigning – A character can try to fool an opponent into leaving an opening by feigning an attack. A character feigning must spend 1 Combat Action and roll a Subterfuge roll against the opponent’s Deduction. If he succeeds, the opponent will leave himself open from the feigned attack, and the next attack made on the opponent that turn will have a +1 to hit, and the opponent cannot make any Defensive Action against it, except for guard.
Flanked – A character that has two or more hostile characters surrounding him in melee is considered flanked. A flanked character takes -1 to any defensive roll he makes while flanked.
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