Sandbox: Manual Revision

Mechanics of Play

Fudge Dice

The fudge die is a three-sided die that can come up +, -, or 0. A + adds one to the roll, a - subtracts one, and a 0 makes no change. For example, rolling the set (0,-,+,+,-,+) equates to three +1s and two -1s, for a combined roll of 1 to be added to the character's base skill. The basic command for rolling dice within the IRC is "6df+X", where X is the combination of your skill and situational modifiers, both concepts which will be explained later on in this document.

Resolving Skill Rolls

Most uses of skill within the RP are resolved as an opposition between your character's skill and either the skills of another character or a difficulty check imposed by the GM, depending on the situation. The exact degree of the difficulty check may or may not be known to the players.

To resolve a skill conflict, the players involved roll fudge dice, with their rolls being modified by the characters' skill in the field being rolled. For example, if Alice wanted to sneak past Bob, Alice would roll her Stealth skill against Bob's Perception. If Alice's roll is higher than Bob's, or if the rolls are tied, then Alice would win the conflict and succeed at sneaking past Bob.

Degrees of Success

The amount by which one roll exceeds the other may have an effect on the result. In combat, beating the opposing roll by one point is equivalent to a flesh wound, not very serious unless you're already heavily damaged, and inflicting one point of Body damage. A success by a margin of four points upgrades this to a more severe wound, inflicting double the Body damage of a lower-degree success. This pattern repeats for every four points, so a success by eight points would inflict three damage, and beating the opponent by twelve points (!) would inflict four.

Action Points

Action Points are a sort of character currency, representing those moments of inspiration and bursts of energy that can turn a bad situation around or cement a victory for good. All new characters begin with a pool of three AP; this pool is reset to full at the beginning and end of a run. This pool can be tapped for various actions during the course of a run: one AP is sufficient to tap an Aspect, while three can be spent to force a success on a single non-combat roll. Replenishing the pool during runs is a rare event, only possible via accepting compulsions, so any AP expenditures should be carefully considered.

Healing

The Medical skill allows lost body points to be regained while in the field, allowing a wonded character to get back in the fight after being injured. The character performing the medical treatment will roll his or her Medical skill against the amount of damage the patient has suffered, multiplied by two: a patient who has lost one point of Body will roll 6df+2, and so on. A success on this roll, however, is insufficient to restore Body. An Action Point must also be expended by the doctor to heal. If the doctor does not have or does not wish to spend an Action Point, the patient may also spend one. Regardless of success, an Action Point must be spent. Neither doctor nor patient may take any other action during the procedure, which takes up two turns of combat unless otherwise specified by the GM.

Maneuvers

Maneuvers allow a character to take advantage of proficiency in one skill to improve their rolls with other skills. To call a maneuver, you must roll the skill in question and state the skill or situation to which the maneuver will be applied (along with whatever explanation is necessary to justify the maneuver). The maneuver rolls are either made against a DC of 6, or against a skill roll by the target, depending on whether the roll is directly opposed.

Should the roll succeed, the maneuver may be applied to subsequent rolls, as befitting the nature of the maneuver. For example, a Perception maneuver could be used to scan an enemy for weaknesses, and if successful could provide a +4 bonus to attack rolls against that enemy. Setting up a maneuver takes up your turn, meaning you will have to wait until your next turn to perform the boosted roll yourself. If the maneuver is of a sort transmissible to others, however, those others may make use of it in the same round as it was rolled.

While maneuvers are similar in function to Aspects, they do not normally require the expenditure of AP for their use. However, if characters are attempting to maintain maneuvers across multiple rounds of combat, they may be required to spend AP to do so. If, for example, a character was using a Perception maneuver to focus fire on a specific enemy, but was attacked or otherwise distracted in between turns, they would be required to either spend one AP in maintaining the maneuver, or lose the maneuver bonus while keeping the AP.

Example Maneuvers

Load Limit

Load Limit is a measure of a char's carrying capacity, derived from the sum of Strength and Body. As a character takes damage during a mission, they become weakened, causing their Load Limit to decrease one point for every point of Body lost. Furthermore, should their current Load surpass the Load Limit, certain penalties are inflicted.

Load Limit surpassed by X points Penalty
1 Agility -1
2 Agility -2, Pdef -1
3 Agility -3, Pdef -2, Strength -1
4 Agility -4, Pdef -3, Strength -2
5 or more Agility -5, Pdef -4, Strength -3

When determining a chars equipment layout, assign one point for miscellaneous objects and small weapons (pistols, knives, and the like), two points for larger weapons (rifles, swords), and three points for exceptionally large or cumbersome weapons (sniper rifles, grenade launchers, battle-axes). All unlockables and equipment, unless otherwise specified, add one to the character's load.

On the character sheet, possessions and equipment should be separated into items carried by the character on missions and those left at the base.

Character Mechanics

Aspects

Aspects are personality traits or skills of your character. For an Action Point, a situationally-relevant Aspect may be tagged for a +4 bonus. Aspects may also be compelled by a GM to impose some form of penalty, influence behavior, etc. If the player accepts the compulsion, they gain an Action Point. If the player wishes to resist the compulsion, they must spend an Action Point to do so.

Example Aspects

Natural Rhythm: Saul has a natural sense of rhythm that he uses to coordinate his movements and thoughts inside and outside of combat. Disturbances and unexpected situations can knock him out of his groove rather easily.

Next Time on Hoarders: James loves collecting things, so much so that when he sees something he wants he will lunge for it and never let go. Even if it's burning his hands.

That's a Paddlin': In Betty's mind, nothing solves problems like a good ass-kicking. Seriously. Nothing.

Control Freak: Gretchen has an overriding need to be in control of any given situation, and will do whatever's needed to get and maintain power. If something makes her feel powerless, however, she's almost completely ineffective.

XP/LP

XP

XP, or experience points, are awarded at the end of a run or at the discretion of a GM. XP is granted along a few guidelines:

  • In a run, the player showed effort to complete their goal
  • The character was played convincingly or in an entertaining manner and helped keep the run focused, scary, or in some cases jovial
  • The player provided an extra service for the GM that helped the run along (No handjobs)

XP will NOT be awarded for the following actions:

  • The character swept through all enemies with little effort
  • The player added in something that, although entertaining, did not assist with the run (This is at GM discretion)
  • The character succeeded well, but only due to GM assistance

GMs are recommended to dish out 1 XP for 1-3 people on a run, 2 XP for 4-5 people on a run, 3 XP for 6-8 people on a run, and 4+ for any more. XP is limited to 1 XP per character per run, unless it's a special occasion.

LP

LP, or Legacy Points, are awarded to players based on their performance by GMs. They are awarded on the following guidelines:

  • The player shows a fair amount of creativity in their actions (For instance, the player's character is fighting a mime that puts up an invisible wall. They make their character walk over and open an invisible window, then punch the mime.)
  • The player leads a run of good quality, with LP awarded at admin discretion (GMs in this case would need to lead an excellent run)
  • The player creates and plays out an epic or entirely hilarious situation with their character
  • The player shows exceptional cooperation with GMs
  • The player shows exceptional dedication to an event or plot arc
  • Going above and beyond the call of duty
  • Character death (Note that LP for the character's death will not be awarded if the next character dies within one month of their creation) - worth 2 LP

LP will not be awarded for the following actions:

  • Simply "standing out"
  • Using actions, which although creative, are suggested by other people
  • Killing everyone

NOTE: These guidelines are not set in stone, and admins or GMs may also give extra LP or XP for other reasons. Please be aware that this is a rarity.

NOTE: To clarify, XP is specific to the character. LP is specific to the player. For your LP ranking check the LP Tracker. Not in it? Ask an admin to add you.

Birthday Points

Is it your birthday? Tell the GMs. They'll let your roll either 1d3 for LP or 1d5 for XP. The number you get will correspond to the number of points rewarded.

Using XP and LP

So you have all your precious points. Now what? Well, XP and LP can be used to boost your character. How is that, you ask? You unlock and purchase equipment.

LP is used to unlock equipment. For instance, Bobby has 2 LP and he wants to unlock these cool new boots that give his character a +2 in athletics. He spends the LP and bam, he has the boots unlocked. The boots will remain unlocked for Bobby forever.

But wait, his character doesn't actually have the boots. Bobby's character needs to spend 3 XP to buy the boots for himself. So Bobby spends some of his character's XP and now his character owns the boots. His character will keep these boots until it dies.

When Bobby's character dies and he makes a new one, he can transfer one piece of equipment from his old one to his new one. That way he doesn't loose that 15 XP telekill armor he worked so hard to gain.

Check out our Unlockable Equipment page to see what you can get.

Death

Yep, sometimes you're gonna die. As stated above, if your Body or Mind slip below 0, your character will die by the end of the combat turn in which it occurred. Is this the end of your involvement with FR? Hell, no. You're perfectly free to make a new character, and you'll get some Legacy Points for the valiant sacrifice of your character in the line of duty. You'll also get to transfer one piece of equipment from your last character to the next.

Character Leave and Retirement

Sometimes, if you play the same character for a while, you'll crave a bit of a change of pace. You can put your character on leave, allowing you to play a new character while your old character is off-base for whatever reason. If you tire of playing this backup character, however, you cannot bring in a third character: you must return to your old character or keep this one around. Characters put on leave do not transfer equipment to their replacements, nor vice versa.

If you've played the same character for at least three months (discounting any significant absences on the part of the player), you may retire that character: they're taken off-base permanently and you get to make a new character. If your new character dies or is put on leave, you don't have to bring your old character back. Retired characters may transfer one piece of equipment to their replacement.

If the GMs agree that a retired character was played well and the player RPed fairly often over the course of the three months, they may choose to award up to 2 LP to the player for their commitment.

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