@tanndev/maelstrom

# Rules The following rules provide a framework to help storytellers and players build their characters, take challenging actions, and get in fights. As with other roleplaying games, it's important to remember that the rules are only there to support the story and not to get in the way of it; storytellers are encouraged to adjust the rules where necessary to make things more fun, cinematic, and engaging.  ## Characters Characters make up the core of any roleplaying game. Your character is your avatar in the game world and they will define who you are and what you are able to do. They are how you interact with the story and with other players. Because of this, the characters in Maelstrom are designed to be flexible. When you [create your character](#character-creation), you'll select a set of backgrounds, traits, and equipment that will help you play the _person_ you want to play. ### Backstory Everyone comes from somewhere and everyone has a story to tell; your character is no exception. Your character's backstory helps you flesh out that story and add depth to their personality and experience. It provides insight into your character's life before you came to inhabit them and before the campaign. This insight is helpful to you as a player, so you can develop a sense of who they are and what they would do or say, but also to the storyteller who will be building worlds for them to explore. All characters should begin by describing their backstory because _who your character is_ matters a lot more than _what they can do_. ( _Unfortunately, this section seems to have gone missing. So, uh... write a story or something!_ )  ### Traits Traits define what your character is capable of and are divided into [attributes](#attributes), [abilities](#abilities), [specialties](#specialties), and [Willpower](#willpower). These are what you'll use to [perform actions](#performing-actions). #### Attributes Attributes are the intrinsic traits that broadly define the overall capabilities of a character. All characters have at least one dot in all attributes -- except under extreme exceptions -- with two dots being the human average. Almost all player characters will have 3-4 dots in a few attributes and some characters may have fewer than two dots in one or more attributes. ##### Physical The physical attributes define the physical capabilities of a character. ###### Strength Strength is pure muscle power and endurance. It's used for running, lifting, carrying, punching, and other activities where the limiting factor is the raw amount of physical effort the character is able to exert. It is also used to safely absorb certain types of damage. - **0**: Abysmal. You can barely even move under your own power. (Lift 20lbs) - **1**: Poor. You're a couch potato. (Lift 40lbs) - **2**: Average. You can probably do a couple pushups. (Lift 100lbs) - **3**: Good. You work out or do heavy work for a living. (Lift 250lbs) - **4**: Exceptional. You win Strong Man competitions. (Lift 400lbs) - **5**: Outstanding. You are the Mountain that Rides. (Lift 600lbs) ###### Precision Precision is hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity. It's used for acrobatics, parkour, thrown weapons, aimed shots, driving, and other activities where the limiting factor is the precision and accuracy of the character's motions. - **0**: Abysmal. Walking is hard. Falling down is easy. - **1**: Poor. You sometimes trip over perfectly smooth floors. - **2**: Average. You usually at least hit the dart board and you can probably cross a balance beam. - **3**: Good. You get bullseyes regularly and can cross a tight rope. - **4**: Exceptional. You win dart competitions and parkour across rooftops. - **5**: Outstanding. You're Deadshot, if he was in Cirque du Soleil. **Note:** Precise movements usually require a small amount of planning, so sudden or unexpected actions usually cannot be performed with Precision and require Reflexes instead. ###### Reflexes Reflexes is reacting and taking actions quickly. It's used for quickdraws, dodging, unaimed shots, evasive maneuvers, and other activities where the limiting factor is reaction time. - **0**: Abysmal. You're even surprised by your own actions. - **1**: Poor. Sloths respond faster than you. - **2**: Average. You can dodge a wrench (or a ball) if it's slow enough. - **3**: Good. You can shoot from a holster and handle a fighter. - **4**: Exceptional. You win speed shooting and drone racing competitions. - **5**: Outstanding. Your quickdraw is better than Wyatt Earp. **Note:** It's harder to do things in a hurry, so actions will usually carry a higher difficulty when performed with Reflexes instead of Precision. ##### Mental The mental attributes define the mental capabilities of a character. ###### Perception Perception is the capacity to take in and process stimuli. It's used for searching, keeping watch, spotting threats, and other activities where the limiting factor is the ability to see, hear, feel, or smell. - **0**: Abysmal. A fire alarm can go off without you noticing it. - **1**: Poor. People sneak up on you without meaning to. - **2**: Average. You lose your phone occasionally, but usually find it again. - **3**: Good. You could be a detective or guard. - **4**: Exceptional. Where's Waldo is too easy. - **5**: Outstanding. Nothing escapes your notice. You see all. ###### Intelligence Intelligence is the capacity to learn and apply information. It's used for research, mathematics, logical problem solving, and other activities where the limiting factor is education or reasoning. A character with high intelligence is good at reasoning through problems and will tend to figure things out slowly and methodically. If successful, they will usually fully understand the situation and be confident in their solution. - **0**: Abysmal. Ogg not know how make pointy stick. (Illiterate) - **1**: Poor. You ain't much fer book learning. (High school or Less) - **2**: Average. You can do your own taxes more or less correctly. (College/Trade School) - **3**: Good. You can do other people's taxes correctly. (Post-Graduate/Master) - **4**: Exceptional. You're a well known and respected thinker in your field. - **5**: Outstanding. Hawking, Einstein, Tesla, Faraday... and you. ###### Wits Wits is the capacity for cleverness and intuition. It's used for trial-and-error experimentation, intuitive problem solving, out-of-the-box thinking, and other activities where the limiting factor is the ability to think quickly or creatively. A character with high wits is good at thinking on their feet and will tend to figure things out quickly but imprecisely. They may be prone to flip switches without fully understanding what they do. - **0**: Abysmal. There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. - **1**: Poor. Even with a map, you always get lost. - **2**: Average. You can usually navigate a grocery store. - **3**: Good. You're pretty decent with a crossword puzzle. - **4**: Exceptional. Your innovative ideas revolutionize small industries. - **5**: Outstanding. The Enterprise crew doesn't come up with solutions as clever as yours. #### Abilities Abilities are the learned or developed traits that define the specific things a character knows how to do. Many player characters will have 3-4 dots in a few abilities and almost all characters will have a couple dots in many different abilities. Most abilities have lists of [attributes](#attributes) and [specialties](#specialties) which are commonly used with that ability. ##### Talents Talents represent abilities that come naturally to characters, but which may have been honed and trained over the years. When rolling for talents, there is no penalty for having zero dots -- just use the base attribute alone. ###### Alertness Alertness represents a character's passive talent for being aware of their surroundings and noticing threats or items of interest. It's used to do things like set watch around a camp, look for followers, spot an ambush, etc. - **Common Attributes:** Perception - **Advanced Specialties:** Night Vision, Vacuum - **General Specialties:** Terrain (Urban, Forest, Plains, etc), Followers, Ambushes. ###### Athletics Athletics represents a character's talent for physical agility. Where the physical attributes define a character's raw physical capabilities, their athletics defines their level of training and practice. This could be from physical training, sports, or other physical activities. It is used to do things like jump, climb, throw, and run, as well as for thrown weapons such as knives and grenades. - **Common Attributes:** Strength, Precision, Reflexes - **Advanced Specialties:** Grenades, Power Armor, Zero-G, Acrobatics, Parkour, Specific Exotic Thrown Weapon - **General Specialties:** Run, Jump, Dodge, Thrown Weapons, Surprise Attack ###### Investigation Investigation represents a character's talent for gathering evidence, making connections between events, and finding hidden information. It's used to conduct research, process crime scenes, analyse forensics, searching records, and other general skills that might be used to locate information. Most investigation methods require access to people, databases, or other information sources. This can often be acquired lawfully or with proper authorization. But, if not, it can sometimes be obtained via [Tradecraft](#tradecraft). - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence, Wits, Perception - **Advanced Specialties:** Forensics, Missing Persons - **General Specialties:** Research, Computer Records, Crime Scenes ###### Melee Melee represents a character's talent in a close range fight. It includes both armed and unarmed combat and is used for fists, brass knuckles, swords, hammers, polearms, riot shields, and even the occasional wrench. - **Common Attributes:** Strength, Precision, Reflexes - **Advanced Specialties:** Power Armor, Energy Weapons, Swords, Specific Exotic Melee Weapon - **General Specialties:** Clubs, Grapple, Shields, Spears, Brawling, Surprise Attack, Specific Martial Art ###### Performance Performance represents a character's talent for the performing arts. It's used to sing, dance, act, play an instrument, or give a speech. While this ability can determine the quality of a performance, it does not influence the content. As with all social actions, only roleplaying will determine whether or not your speech, lie, etc is believable. Without a good reason or story, even the best actor in the galaxy won't convince a guard to let them into a restricted area. - **Common Attributes:** Precision, Wits - **Advanced Specialties:** Specific Musical Instrument (Piano, Guitar, Drums, etc) - **General Specialties:** Dancing, Singing, Acting, Speeches ###### Stealth Stealth represents a character's talent in hiding, moving silently, and otherwise keeping out of sight. It's used to avoid detection in a crowd, find good hiding spots, or move silently. - **Common Attributes:** Wits, Precision - **Advanced Specialties:** Power Armor - **General Specialties:** Terrain (Urban, Forests, Plains, etc), Surveillance ###### Streetwise Streetwise represents a character's talent for surviving and navigating urban environments. It is used to safely navigate unfamiliar places, find people to buy or sell illicit goods, locate information brokers, and avoid getting mugged. - **Common Attributes:** Wits - **Advanced Specialties:** Black Markets, Criminal Networks, Megacities - **General Specialties:** Colonies, Outposts, Research Stations, Industrial Stations, Docks, Shipyards ###### Technology Technology represents a character's talent for using modern technology. It's used to interact with computer systems to retrieve information, recover lost data, and gain unauthorized access. It is also used with other consumer technology such as communications, security, and navigation systems. While Technology may be used to gain access to insecure systems, or use pre-written exploits against secure ones, proper software development and hacking requires [Computer Science](#computer-science). - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence, Wits - **Advanced Specialties:** Hacking, Data Recovery, Data Forgery, AI Modules, Remote Access - **General Specialties:** Data Storage, Communications, Security Systems, Navigation Systems ##### Skills Skills represent abilities that characters have learned through training and practice. When rolling for a skill in which you have no dots, the difficulty is increased by 1. Then, use the base attribute alone. In some cases, the storyteller may allow an alternate roll or action to allow a character to "figure it out" and avoid the penalty. ###### Artistry Artistry represents a character's skills at creating things via drawing, sculpting, sewing, etc. Unlike [Manufacturing](#manufacturing), the Artistry ability doesn't usually result in useful, precisely-engineered items. However, it can still be used to create useful soft goods such as textiles, maps, documents, and even forgeries. - **Common Attributes:** Varies - **Advanced Specialties:** Forgery, Electronics, Metalwork - **General Specialties:** Sketching, Painting, Sculpting, Photography ###### Driving Driving represents a character's skill operating cars and other ground vehicles. It's primarily used to maneuver ground vehicles but also includes fundamental user-serviceable tasks like refueling and changing tires. However, proper maintenance usually requires [Engineering](#engineering). - **Common Attributes:** Precision, Reflexes - **Advanced Specialties:** Motorcycles, Transport Trucks - **General Specialties:** Gravitic Vehicles, Cars, Trucks, Buses ###### Firearms Firearms represents a character's skill with pistols, rifles, shotguns, and other similar weapons. It's primarily used to perform attacks with these sorts of weapons as well as to safely handle, reload, maintain them. - **Common Attributes:** Strength, Precision, Reflexes - **Advanced Specialties:** Power Armor, Energy Weapons, Extreme Range, Advanced Maintenance - **General Specialties:** Pistols, Shotguns, PDWs, Battle Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Surprise Attack ###### Heavy Weapons Heavy Weapons represents a character's skill with grenade launchers, RPGs, missile launchers, mortars, cannons, and other large, physically-operated weapons. It is also used to reload, disarm, and maintain these weapons. - **Common Attributes:** Strength, Precision - **Advanced Specialties:** Power Armor, Mortars, Artillery, Advanced Maintenance - **General Specialties:** Grenade Launchers, Missile Launchers ###### Piloting Piloting represents a character's skill at operating both aircraft and spacecraft. With the ubiquity of high-efficiency aerospace thrusters, these craft are often quite similar and any character who is able to pilot one is also able to pilot the other. However, atmospheric flight -- along with some other types of maneuvers -- are generally more difficult. Additionally, is only used to follow a pre-set flight plan or travel within a small local area; plotting a new route to a distant location requires [Navigation](#navigation). - **Common Attributes:** Precision, Reflexes - **Advanced Specialties:** Atmospheric Flight, Close Quarters, Fighters, Freighters, Power Armor - **General Specialties:** Space Flight, Shuttles, Frigates, Cruisers ###### Remote Weapons Remotely Weapons represents a character's skill operating remotely-operated fly-by-wire weapons systems such as those mounted on vehicles, space stations, buildings, etc. It includes both the turreted and fixed weapons of vehicles, as well any weapon which is controlled via keyboard, joystick, or other indirect control mechanism. Firing remote weapons is usually a mental task, but quickly responding to and shooting down threats can require reflexes instead. - **Common Attributes:** Wits, Reflexes - **Advanced Specialties:** Defensive Fire, Power Armor, Mining Equipment, Advanced Maintenance - **General Specialties:** PDCs, Missiles, Torpedoes, Rail Guns ###### Survival Survival represents a character's skill at surviving in harsh or austere environments. It's used to build shelters, find food, decontaminate clothing, manage oxygen tanks, etc. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence, Wits - **Advanced Specialties:** Extreme Temperatures, Radiation, Biochemical Agents - **General Specialties:** Terrain (Urban, Forests, Plains, etc), Vacuum, Non-Breathable Atmosphere ###### Tradecraft Tradecraft represents a character's skill at breaking into placing, stealing things, and conducting espionage. It's used to pick locks, disable alarms, hide weapons, set traps, disarm traps, and carry out other clandestine activity. Conducting a heist or breaking into a records vault will usually require some level of Tradecraft. However, making useful sense of the information stolen will usually require some level of [Investigation](#investigation). - **Common Attributes:** Wits, Precision - **Advanced Specialties:** Lockpick, Pickpocket, Disarm Traps - **General Specialties:** Weapon Concealment, Dead Drops, Set Traps, Surveillance, Alarms ##### Knowledges Knowledges represent things that characters have learned through research or training. If you would roll for a knowledge in which you have no dots, you cannot even attempt the action. In some cases, the storyteller may allow an alternate roll or action to allow a character to "figure it out" and use the base attribute alone with a penalty. ###### Computer Science Computer Science represents a character's knowledge of computer hardware and software development. It's used to create new programs, modify or build computer systems, create algorithms, train AI, find exploits, etc. However, interacting with existing tools and systems as an end-user usually requires [Technology](#technology) instead. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence - **Advanced Specialties:** Hacking, AI Research, Quantum Computing - **General Specialties:** Encryption, Programming, Data Processing ###### Engineering Engineering represents a character's ability to maintain, repair, and upgrade all the various systems usually found on a ship or space station. Similar to a vehicle mechanic, ships' engineers are able to install new parts or jury rig systems to bypass damaged parts. However, creating new parts usually requires [Manufacturing](#manufacturing). However, this trait can also be used to service ground vehicles, aircraft, power armor, outposts, and other mostly electromechanical objects. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence, Wits - **Advanced Specialties:** Jury Rigging, Power Armor, Weapon Systems, Reactors, Gravitics - **General Specialties:** Spacecraft, Aircraft, Stations, Ground Vehicles, Life Support, Electrical, Mining Equipment ###### Humanities Humanities represents a character's knowledge about human societies, culture, history, languages. It is primarily used to understand the political, social, historical, or cultural context of past events. It's also used to understand specific languages or to study linguistics in general. (All characters are assumed to be fluent in a common language.) Historical politics and laws are covered by Humanities but current events, politics, laws, and contracts require [Statecraft](#statecraft). - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence - **Advanced Specialties:** Linguistics, Specific Language (Chinese, Russian, etc) - **General Specialties:** History, Philosophy, Religion, Literature, Anthropology ###### Manufacturing Manufacturing represents a character's ability to create hard goods out of metals, plastics, ceramics, composites, etc. It includes both the knowledge required to properly operate manual manufacturing equipment and to create toolpaths and blueprints for autofabricators. While the goods produced by Manufacturing can be precisely machined parts and tools, they usually lack an artistic flair. For that, [Artistry](#artistry) is often used instead. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence, Wits - **Advanced Specialties:** Mechanical Design, Electronics, Explosives, Textiles - **General Specialties:** Autofabrication, Manual Machining, Metals, Plastics, Ceramics, Composites ###### Medicine Medicine represents a character's knowledge about the human body, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. It's used to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury or disease. It's also used to operate all non-automatic medical equipment and to use automatic equipment more effectively. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence - **Advanced Specialties:** Surgery, Battlefield Medicine, Zero-G, Prosthetics - **General Specialties:** First Aid, Wound Management, Poisons, Radiation ###### Science Natural Science represents a character's knowledge of the physical and social sciences. It's primarily used to provide information or develop solutions from a theoretical basis. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence - **Advanced Specialties:** Astrophysics, Quantum Theory, Gravitics, Jump Technology - **General Specialties:** Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Astronomy, Economics, Psychology, Sociology ###### Statecraft Statecraft represents a character's knowledge of the modern political landscape, governments, corporations, and jurisdictions. It's used to understand the relationships between the myriad governments and corporations, navigate complex jurisdictional boundaries, negotiate interplanetary or corporate deals, find legal loopholes, and cut through bureaucratic red tape. Statecraft only provides information about current and recent events, [Humanities](#humanities) is required for a true historical perspective. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence, Wits - **Advanced Specialties:** Statutory Law, Contracts - **General Specialties:** Corporate Politics, Government Politics, Specific System (Sol, Maelstrom, etc) ###### Navigation Navigation represents a character's knowledge orbital mechanics, trajectories, and maps. It's used to plot routes which are faster, use less fuel, avoid certain areas, limit visible engine burns, or approach the destination from a certain direction. This primarily applies to interplanetary routes, but can also be used for any planetary route long enough to warrant an aircraft. Once a satisfactory route is generated, [Piloting](#piloting) is usually required in order to correctly follow it. - **Common Attributes:** Intelligence - **Advanced Specialties:** Stealth, Close Approach, Precise Arrival, Jump Plotting - **General Specialties:** Gravity Assists, Low Energy Transfers, Constant Thrust, Suborbital Routes #### Specialties Specialties represent areas where characters have focused their training or experience. Each specialty is connected to a single ability, but characters can unlock multiple specialties for each ability. There's no limit on the number of specialties which can be acquired for a given ability, but the amount which can be used in a given roll is limited by the number of dots in that ability. You can even have a specialty in an ability which has no dots, but this will have no in-game effect until you purchase the ability as well. Each ability is listed along with a number of suggested general and advanced specialties. However, these lists are not exhaustive. Work with the storyteller if you'd like to specialize in something not listed; they will determine if it's a reasonable specialty and whether or not it's general or advanced. ##### General Specialties General Specialties represent focus in areas that are not otherwise considered exceptionally challenging. Characters with these specialties will generally perform better at related tasks, but characters without them are assumed to at least some general familiarity from the attribute and are not penalized. ##### Advanced Specialties Advanced Specialties represent focus in areas that are more challenging or require specialized knowledge and practice. Characters with these specialties will perform better at related tasks, similar to general specialties. However, characters without them are at a significant disadvantage. Attempting an action without an appropriate advanced specialty usually adds a [threshold](#threshold) to the roll. (See: [required specialties](#required-specialties)) #### Willpower All characters have a willpower trait which represents their capacity to push through pain, withstand mental or emotional stress, resist torture, and remain productive in the face of impossible odds. Willpower is commonly used to temporarily resist the effects of things like tear gas, drugs, alcohol, hypoxia, intense fear, and even wounds. It's also used to more quickly recover from the incapacitating effects of tasers, flashbangs, electrocution, etc. Unlike other traits, willpower is on a scale from 1 to 10 and is always rolled alone. Additionally, willpower has both permanent and current ratings. A character's current dots can never exceed their permanent rating, but can be reduced and recovered through gameplay. When rolling or spending willpower, always use your character's _current_ dots, rather than their permanent rating. After making a willpower roll, you may choose to [spend a willpower](#spending-willpower) dot to cancel your roll and succeed automatically. Your number of successes is set equal to your remaining willpower dots. (You may not spend your final willpower dot in this way, as doing so would result in zero successes and fail.) Botching a willpower roll reduces your character's current willpower by one dot per uncancelled botch. In addition, you cannot spend willpower dots to cancel a botched roll.  ##### Spending Willpower Spending a willpower dot reduces your current willpower rating by one until you recover it. This allows you to ignore wounds or guarantee success on willpower rolls, but comes at the cost of reducing the dice pools for all future willpower rolls. Spent dots can be recovered, and the dice pools increased again, but only slowly and outside of combat. In addition to spending dots to automatically succeed willpower rolls, you may also spend them to ignore wound penalties. Once per turn, a character may spend one willpower dot to ignore their injuries and roll their next action without a [wound penalty](#wound-penalties). (Note: Crippled limbs cannot be used to perform actions and willpower does not remove this effect.) If a character spends their last willpower dot in this way, they don't suffer the effects of [zero willpower](#zero-willpower) until after they complete the action. ##### Recovering Willpower Characters recover willpower by resting in a safe, comfortable environment. If a character feels threatened or in danger, or if they are particularly uncomfortable, they are not able to recover willpower. This is up to the discretion of the storyteller but generally requires being in a place with little to no risk of being attacked, no significantly adverse environmental conditions, etc. Once a character is able to recover willpower, if they are at zero dots, they may immediately recover the first dot. Otherwise, they will regain 1 dot every 12 hours. If they actively rest or relax for that time, they may regain 1 additional dot per success on a difficulty 8 willpower roll. ##### Zero Willpower If a character is reduced to zero dots in willpower, either by botching a willpower roll or spending their last dot to resist their injuries, they no longer have the will to carry on. Characters in this state may not make any actions and are considered incapacitated. However, they will continue to act passively to keep pressure on their own wounds, hide, crawl away from danger, cooperate with other characters carrying or dragging them, etc. If another character is sufficiently motivating or encouraging, they may spend one dot of their own willpower to restore nearby incapacitated characters to one dot. This can only be done at the discretion of the storyteller and will usually require roleplaying the manner in which the character convinces their companions to carry on the fight. Once a character is longer directly threatened, even if their overall situation is still tenuous and stressful, they can recover by themselves and act normally. This requires being fully out of combat for at least one turn and can usually be accomplished by finding a decent hiding spot, being fully behind sturdy solid cover, or fleeing. However, this only resolves the incapacitation and does not recover a dot of willpower. In order to recover a dot, they need to find safe place to rest. ### Health ( _This section isn't ready yet. There's [an open issue](https://github.com/Tanndev/Maelstrom/issues/11) to add it_ )  ### Character Creation It's important to take the time to flesh out your [character](#characters)'s backstory and personality before you even start considering the numbers on you character sheet. Having an interesting character design before you start will make it a lot easier to pick out an interesting and varied selection of attributes, abilities, and specialties. Try to resist the urge to "min-max" your character and, instead, select the traits that most fit the personality and history of your character. Even if your character is going to be primarily a gunslinger, consider putting a couple dots in Artistry to reflect their sculpting hobby, or some dots in Law and Academics from back when they dropped out of law school. Remember, your storyteller will be able to weave those sorts of backgrounds into story hooks and challenges, but only if you have the traits to actually face them. Because of this, diverse and varied characters make the game more fun for everyone. Once you're ready to sit down and start filling out a character sheet, you'll go through a few steps: 1. Select [starting attributes](#starting-attributes) 1. Select [starting abilities](#starting-attributes) 1. Spend [starting experience](#starting-experience) 1. Purchase [starting equipment](#starting-equipment)  #### Starting Attributes Your character automatically starts with one dot in each of the six [attributes](#attributes). This is the minimum number for normal, healthy characters but almost all of your attributes will end up being higher than that. Start by selecting either Physical or Mental as your characters's primary attribute group; the other is their secondary attribute group. (Don't bother writing this down; they're only used for this step.) You'll get more dots in your primary group than your secondary one, so consider whether your character should be more brains or more brawn. You can arrange these dots however you want. - In your primary group, allocate 6 additional dots. - In your secondary group, allocate 4 additional dots. Keep in mind that attributes are very expensive to increase, so you'll be stuck with your starting allotment for a while. #### Starting Abilities Unlike attributes, all [abilities](#abilities) start with zero dots. Assign dots to your character's abilities with the following rules: - Choose 2 abilities and assign each of them 3 dots. - Choose another 4 abilities and assign each of them 2 dots. - Choose another 6 abilities and assign each of them 1 dot. - You may not combine these dots; you must select twelve different abilities. When assigning dots, keep in mind that there is a penalty to use [skills](#skills) and [knowledges](#knowledges) are more difficult or impossible to use without any dots in them. So, while it can be tempting to put as many dots as possible into [talents](#talents), it's usually better to spread out your dots somewhat evenly. Of course, the most important thing is to make sure your character's abilities match their backstory and your style of play. #### Starting Willpower All characters start with 3 dots in [Willpower](#willpower). #### Starting Specialties Characters don't start with any [specialties](#specialties) automatically. #### Starting Experience Your character always begins with a certain amount of [experience](#character-progression) which can be [spent](#spending-experience) immediately to improve their traits further. When deciding how to spend your starting experience, consider picking up several [specialties](#specialties). These can be a very cost-effective way to improve your character's capabilities significantly. This is especially true for [advanced specialties](#advanced-specialties) because it's significantly more difficult and dangerous to perform tasks which [require](#required-specialties) them. Also consider increasing [Willpower](#willpower) by a couple points, since this too can only be increased via experience. Of course, you can also just increase attributes or abilities if you prefer. Or, hang on to the points and spend them later. This is a reasonable option if you're not yet sure exactly how you want to fine-tune your character's stats.  When creating characters for a new campaign, the storyteller should provide an equal amount of starting experience to all players. The exact number can vary depending how experienced the storyteller wants the starting characters to be, but 30 points is reasonable for a normal game. If a character is joining an existing campaign, the storyteller should provide a reasonable amount of starting experience to match the existing characters. This can be the average experience earned by the party so far or, if replacing a dead/missing character, the total amount earned by that previous character. (Storytellers, remember: losing a character can be traumatic enough, especially in a long-running game, so don't add insult to fatal-injury by making players start over with weaker characters. Death may be an unavoidable part of life, but game must go on and the point of the game is to have fun.) #### Starting Equipment [Equipment](#equipment) will vary from campaign to campaign. Work with your storyteller to determine reasonable starting equipment.  #### Merits and Flaws ( _This section isn't ready yet. There's [an open issue](https://github.com/Tanndev/Maelstrom/issues/12) to add it_ )  ### Character Progression Throughout the course of the campaign, your character will earn experience which can be used to improve their traits. Experience points are earned for facing challenges, overcoming obstacles, roleplaying, finding interesting solutions, and participating in the story. #### Earning Experience The rate at which you earn experience will can vary significantly between campaigns and will usually depend on how often you play, how long the campaign should last, etc. Too much experience means that characters progress too quickly and no longer face any meaningful challenges, while too little can feel slow and unrewarding. It's the storyteller's job to find a happy balance where experience feels meaningful but which lets the players experience the full story without becoming superheroes. (Unless, of course, they're supposed to become superheroes.) Experience should always be given at the end of a game session in order to avoid disrupting the story. Storytellers are encouraged to use the suggested awards listed below but are free to use whatever awards best suit the needs of the campaign and the players. ##### Chapter Experience Awards A chapter is a relatively small but independent part of a larger story. They're usually told in a single session but some sessions may involve more than one. Each chapter might consist of a single mission or contract, the events on a particular planet, or some other relatively self-contained chunk of activity. They'll usually contain several different scenes, interspersed with downtime, but should culminate in a natural break in the story. Consider television episodes as an example of the sorts of timescales and events which should be involved in a chapter. At the end of each chapter, storytellers should consider the following experience point awards. (If there are multiple chapters in a session, make notes and award them at the end.) ###### Participation Award Each character should automatically gain a little bit of experience just by being there. Award one point to all players who completed the chapter. ###### Creativity Award Characters learn more from creative problem solving. Award one point to each player who had a clever, unique, interesting, or out-of-the-box solution to a problem. ###### Roleplaying Award Stories are more interesting with rich, engaging characters. Award one point to players who make a special effort to portray the complexity, quirks, and personalities of their characters. This reward is not intended to be a competition between players. Instead, reward progressive improvement from session to session. The standards for the reward should increase each time it is given to a particular player. ###### Heroism Award Bravely staring down death, and living to tell the tale, brings growth to even the most hardened characters. Award one point to players who selflessly risked their character's life and limbs for their companions, allies, or the good of the story. (If a character fails to survive the ordeal, consider awarding this posthumously as part of the player's new character creation.) ##### Story Experience Awards A story is a larger adventure, usually containing several chapters. Though, occasionally, a story might involve just one particularly epic chapter. Stories should build up to a significant, satisfying conclusion and tie up many of the loose ends between chapters. Because stories can vary so much, it's difficult to say exactly what a single story should contain. But, if chapters are episodes, consider each story like a season or miniseries. At the end of each story, storytellers should consider the following experience awards. ###### Victory Award We learn more in victory than in defeat. Award one point to all players if the party achieved their goals or accomplished their mission. ###### Hazard Award What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Award one point to all players if the story was particularly dangerous or harrowing. ###### Ingenuity Award No plan survives contact with the enemy, but we can still learn from them. Award one point to each player who came up with a brilliant Plan B, adapted quickly to changing circumstances, found a new and clever way to their resources, or just flawlessly executed Plan A. #### Banking Experience ( _This section isn't ready yet. There's [an open issue](https://github.com/Tanndev/Maelstrom/issues/13) to add it_ )  #### Spending Experience Experience points can be spent between chapters to gain new traits and improve existing ones. The cost to purchase a dot varies depending on the type of trait, but generally increases based on the number of dots you already have. The more dots you have, the more expensive getting another one will be. When you purchase a dot in a trait, the cost of that dot depends on the **new** rank in the trait according to the following table: | Trait | Experience Points | | ------------------ | ------------------- | | General Specialty | 2 Points | | Advanced Specialty | 3 Points | | Willpower | New Rank x 1 Point | | Ability | New Rank x 2 Points | | Attribute | 15 Points |  ##### Practice Makes Progression Most of the time, characters need have some in-story opportunity for learning in order to improve a trait. Characters might accomplish this by practicing during downtime, learning from a mentor, doing research, or just using the trait to take actions in game. The exact requirements will vary based on the trait and how difficult it should be to learn. For example, a character might be able to learn the Melee: Swords specialty after practicing with a teacher for a week, but the Humanities: Mandarin Language specialty might take months. How strict or loose the storyteller wants to be on this will usually depend on the needs of the story, the party, and the type of game. They may even choose to ignore this rule entirely. In any case, banked experience should almost always be considered as sufficient practice for new dots in attributes and abilities, as it shows the trait was actively used. Finally, this rule doesn't apply to a character's [starting experience](#starting-experience), as it's assumed that the character has had opportunities to learn before they joined the campaign. After all, every character has a [backstory](#backstory). #### Modifying a Character Sometimes a character just isn't quite working out as expected. Maybe they've got the wrong traits, or they're too strong, too weak, or they just don't work well with the party. Whatever the cause, the character just isn't fun to play or is hurting players' enjoyment of the story. This is especially common for new players, where the in-game uses of different abilities and specialties might not have been clear when they first made up their sheet. In these cases, it's important to remember that the first goal of any game is to have fun. The storyteller should work with the player to make whatever adjustments are needed to sort out the issue and bring the character back into alignment. Try to disrupt the story as little as possible while doing this, and find reasonable in-game reasons for changes, but don't sacrifice fun just for the sake of rules. Changes to characters might be as small as moving a couple dots around or swapping out some specialties. Or, they might be larger changes in backstory and personality. In the most extreme cases, it may even be necessary to kill off or retire the character and create a new one to replace them. Whatever the case, try to make sure it's fair to all players as well; keep point costs in mind and try to avoid changing the total experience cost of the sheet. Finally, there can sometimes be a problem which is totally the storyteller's fault. Maybe they gave too much experience, or some over-powered gear, or maybe they adjusted a rule and it's not working out. Whatever it was, it's important for the storyteller to be honest about their mistake and work with the players to correct it. Remember that getting an ability or item nerfed can be unpleasant for players, so make sure the correction will be better for everyone in the long run. When possible, try to make adjustments which give things rather than take them away - just be careful to avoid making the whole party too powerful for the story. ## Actions Characters do many things in the world; they drive cars, fly spaceships, shoot guns, investigate crime scenes, and so much more. Many of these actions are mundane or trivial and only require saying what your character is doing. (Nobody wants to roll dice to eat breakfast or drive their car through normal traffic.) For everything else, characters use their attributes and abilities, along with some dice, to determine if they succeed, fail, or royally screw things up.  ### Performing Actions The first step of performing an action is to decide what your character is going to do and announce it. You might say, for example, "I hop on the motorcycle and fire it up." For many actions, this is all that's required. But for some actions, the storyteller may have you roll for it. The storyteller should take the situation into account as well when deciding whether players should roll. After all, it's really easy to start a motorcycle in your driveway for a lazy drive but it's a whole other thing to start it while under fire and trying to escape with your life. Some actions are also just straight up impossible. No matter how much you say "I fly like a bird!" the only thing your character will end up doing is flapping their arms like a lunatic. Generally, the storyteller won't have you roll for these and just tell you that you fail or suggest that your character would know it was impossible before you even attempt it. However, a particularly mean storyteller may have you roll anyway, purely to determine exactly how hilariously you screw up. While most things your character does are technically actions, you generally don't need to think about them individually. Outside of combat, players should just roleplay their characters, decide what they want to do, and do it. Try to avoid things like "Can I make a stealth check?" or "What do I need to roll to search the room?" Instead, describe what your character is doing: "I blend into the crowd and try to get out the back unnoticed" or "I grab my forensics kit and search the room, looking for anything that might be relevant to the case." When a roll is needed, the storyteller will say so. #### Dice Pool When you announce an action that your storyteller wants you to roll for, they'll decide which traits you'll need to use. Usually, this will be an attribute and an ability. However, occasionally be one or two attributes will be used instead. While there may sometimes be only one trait used, there should never be more than two. The number of dice you'll roll, called your dice pool, is determined by how many dots you have in each of those traits: one die per dot for each trait. > **Example:** A character is taking fire and the player decides to start his motorcycle and try to get away. The storyteller thinks that getting the key in the ignition and driving off without stalling is going to require precise movements and familiarity with the bike. She says to roll Precision + Drive. The player has three dots in Precision and two dots in Drive, so his dice pool contains a total of five dice. Many actions can be accomplished in many different ways and with many different traits. Rather than just stating which action you'd like to perform, it's usually better to describe how you're trying to go about it. This will help the storyteller determine which traits to use and makes sure that your character performs the action in the way you intended. This also helps build your character's personality and demeanor in the minds of other players and leads to a richer roleplaying experience for everyone. After you declare an action, the storyteller may offer a choice of different ways of performing it. They may also tell you which traits would be used for each option. While it can be tempting to just use whichever option gives you the larger dice pool, it's important to consider your character's personality and what their objectives are. Just because you're better at doing something a certain way doesn't necessarily mean that's the right way to try and do it. Keep in mind that different approaches may have different difficulties as well, so just having more dice doesn't mean it's going to be easier. > **Example:** "I'm going to make my way through the crowd and follow the target." announces a player. The storyteller asks him if he'd like to push and shove people out of the way with Strength + Brawling or slip through gaps in the crowd with Precision + Streetwise. He knows he'd have more dice if he brute forces his way through, but he also knows that his character wouldn't want to make a big scene and draw attention. Ultimately, he decides to take the smaller dice pool and slip through the crowd instead. #### Difficulty Once you've decided what you're going to do and gotten your dice pool, the storyteller should specify a difficulty. Some storytellers will use the default difficulty for most actions and only mention it when it's different, rather than saying it every time. Your storyteller should make it clear how they intend to do this. While the difficulty can be set anywhere between two and ten, it will usually be between four and eight with most actions having the default difficulty of six. When you roll your dice, you will get one success for each die which shows the difficulty number or higher. Additionally, you'll also get a botch for each die which shows a one. You lose one success for each botch and the total number of successes remaining then determines how well your character does. If manage to roll more botches than successes, you botch the roll and fail spectacularly. >**Example:** A player is taking an action with a dice pool of five and a difficulty of six. He rolls and gets 1, 3, 4, 6, 7. Two dice are showing a six or better, so he gets two successes. But he also rolled a one and loses a success, for a total of one success remaining. Had the difficulty been higher, he would have wound up with zero successes and potentially botched the roll entirely. #### Threshold For particularly challenging or dangerous actions, the storyteller may specify a threshold. This represents how much effort it's going to take just to have a chance to succeed. Having a threshold means you are much more likely to fail and dramatically increases the chance of you failing catastrophically. When you have a threshold, any successes you get up to that amount are removed immediately. Not only do they not count towards your total successes, they don't even count for avoiding botched rolls. > **Example:** A player rolls for their action with a threshold of two. They roll two successes and a botch. The two successes are then immediately removed by the threshold, leaving zero successes and a botch. This is a botch, even though the roll would have been pretty okay without the threshold. ##### Required Specialties In addition to the base threshold, the storyteller may specify one or more [advanced specialties](#advanced-specialties) which are required for the task you are attempting. For each required specialty, increase the threshold by one unless you use that special