Setting
This game takes place on an alien world that is similar to but different from Earth. The planet has an atmosphere, oceans, forests, and diverse life-forms. There are six distinct, human-like, alien species with behavior much like our own. Each of these species has adapted to their environment in different ways.
The six playable species are civilized and rely on one another for trade and mutual protection from greater enemies. They have common ground in that regard. There are internal struggles and in-fighting amongst various tribes, classes or guilds. The known world is filled with ruins of older civilizations. These ruins contain great treasures, artifacts or knowledge to be sought after.
The level of technology in Elsewhere is comparable to the Medieval Era. In this sense, the setting would be best described as Medieval Science Fiction. Society is on the cusp of a cultural and technological Renaissance but is held back by ancient tradition. Primitive firearms exist but are expensive to produce and unreliable. The most common mode of travel is by ship or boat, due the vast network of rivers and the surrounding waterways of the continents. Wagons pulled by animal are the primary form of transport over land.
There are forms of knowledge rooted in realism (explosives, chemistry, medicine, etc.) similar to spell casting in the traditional Fantasy RPG. The knowledge to make and use these are highly guarded secrets and only taught to proven students. Not only to protect the knowledge from being misused but also because they are inherently dangerous. These technologies are often viewed as magical and other-worldly by commoners.
There are also exaggerated naturalistic abilities that are based on the actual abilities of animals on Earth. These include heightened senses, night vision, and gliding. Each species has its own unique adaptations, culture, strengths and weaknesses.
Species
Canidae
Appearance: Wolf-like.
Abilities: Retractable claws, Heightened Senses, Wall Running. Can withstand extreme cold, excellent hunters.
Habitat: The cold north. Most are nomads and travel in packs.
Religion: Worship a solar deity. Burn dead in bonfires.
Politics: Republic. Council of Elders consists of one representative from each clan, normally the eldest. Votes are taken by the representatives although the highest ranking elder has the final say.
Varanidae
Appearance: Reptilian. Scaly skin, large yellow-orange eyes, forked tongue, small horns.
Abilities: Venom, Heat Perception, Chameleon
Habitat: Live in bayou, capital city similar to New Orleans, French Quarter.
Religion: Secular for the most part although remnants of polytheism remain.
Politics: Monarchy.
Vespoidea
Appearance: Insect-like.
Abilities: Sting, Super Strength, Exoskeleton
Habitat: Large hill/mound cities.
Religion: Ancestor worship, ancient queens and legendary warriors. Bury dead in tombs.
Politics: Monarchy. Ruled by a queen. Class system consisting of nobles, warriors, artisans and laborers. Often heredity determines ones social standing although wealthy merchants can "ascend" to the noble class.
Talpidae
Appearance: Mole-like. White pupils, fur, whiskers.
Abilities: Precognition, Supersensitive Hearing, Burrow
Habitat: Underground labyrinth of chambers and tunnels. Poor eyesight, use other senses to form a mental image of their surroundings. The libraries are well guarded and contain valuable knowledge in the form of books and scrolls. These are written with a system of raised symbols and read by touch. Females carry young in pouches.
Religion: Monotheists. Believe in powerful force that resides in the center of the planet.
Politics: Theocracy. Ruled by an elite class of priests.
Chiroptera
Appearance: Bat-like. Membrane stretching from lower arm to side. These do not function as wings but still allow the creature to glide.
Abilities: Glide, Leap, Echo Location
Habitat: Live in huge open cave colonies, structures suspended from the roof and walls. Series of ropes power vertical platforms. Homes have doors in the bottom for gliding down. Mostly nocturnal, follow a lunar calender.
Religion: Polytheists. Worship the three moons.
Anguilla
Appearance: Amphibian. Dark eyes, tentacle hair, patterns of light on skin that shift and move.
Abilities: Shock, Breathe Underwater, Telepathy
Habitat: Venice like cities with portions underwater.
Religion: Monotheists. Believe in a powerful sea deity that sleeps in the depths of the ocean.
Politics: Quasi-Republic, Theocracy. "Representatives" vote on law but are appointed by the ruling priest.
Professions
Mercenary – You are a fighter for hire, you owe no allegiance to any nation.
Talents: Medium Armor, Edged, Blunt, Dual Wield, Charge, Whirlwind
Favored Attributes: Strength, Agility
Knight – You are well equipped warrior, loyal to a nobleman or king.
Talents: Heavy Armor, Two-handed Weapons, Blunt, Edged, Toughness, Shield Bash
Favored Attributes: Endurance, Strength
Ranger – You are a woodsman, hunter of game and master of the bow.
Talents: Stealth, Ambush, Tracking, Traps, Ranged Weapons, Light Armor
Favored Attributes: Agility, Knowledge
Assassin – You are a stealthy killer, striking from the shadows.
Talents: Stealth, Ambush, Thievery, Poisons, Daggers, Light Armor
Favored Attributes: Agility, Awareness
Monk – You are a devout scholar, trained in the arts of healing and master of self-disipline.
Talents: Medicine, Hypnosis, Linguistics, Persuasion, Diplomacy, Martial Arts
Favored Attributes: Personality, Knowledge
Scientist – You are a tinkerer and inventor, skilled with explosives and chemistry.
Talents: Chemistry, Explosives, Investigation, Observation, Invention, Learning
Favored Attributes: Knowledge, Awareness
STR
1 – Swimming – Swim longer and dive deeper.
2 – Climbing – Climb sheer surfaces.
3 – Specialty: Blunt Clubs, staves, maces.
4 – Specialty: Edged Swords, axes.
5 – Specialty: Two–handed Great sword, great axe, great hammer.
6 – Specialty: Medium Armor - Reduces the movement penalty for wearing medium armor and allows you to repair damaged medium armor.
7 – Charge – Run into a single enemy knocking them down, causing them to lose a turn. You must be running at maximum movement speed.
8 – Whirlwind – Attacks multiple enemies in area of effect.
9 – The Bleeding - Causes damage over time.
10 – Decapitation – Req. Bleeding R4. Instant kill, severing the head from the body. Can only be used once per encounter.
AGI
1 – Specialty: Light Armor - Allows you to repair damaged leather armor.
2 – Dual Wield Eliminates weapon speed penalty for wielding two weapons.
3 – Specialty: Daggers
4 – Specialty: Ranged Weapons
5 – Martial Arts – Improved hand–to–hand. Disarm opponent at R4.
6 – Stealth – Move silently and undetected.
7 – Thievery – Open locks, Craft lock picks, Pick pockets, Escape
8 – Ambush – Provides a bonus when attacking enemies from stealth.
9 - Sniper - Req. Ranged R.4. Instantly kills enemy with ranged weapon in one shot.
10 – Assassination – Req. Ambush R4. Instantly kills an enemy while attacking from stealth with melee weapon.
END
1 – Increased Lung Capacity - Hold your breath longer.
2 - Marathon Runner - Run longer distances without tiring.
3 - Soft Landing - Fall farther without taking damage.
4 - Survival - Live longer without food or water.
5 – Toughness - Decreases amount of damage taken.
6 – Resist Poison - Allows you to resist the effects of poison.
7 - Specialty: Heavy Armor - Reduces the movement penalty for wearing heavy armor and allows you to repair damaged heavy armor.
8 – Fast Healing - Increases your rate of healing.
9 - Shield Bash - Stuns an oppnent for two turns, causing critical damage.
10 – Adrenaline Surge - Req. Fast Healing R4. Makes you impervious to pain, you take no damage for two turns.
KNO
1 – Sewing – Craft clothes, repair clothes.
2 – Camping – Reliably start a fire and create shelter.
3 – Fishing – Catch more and bigger fish.
4 – Artistry - Draw, paint, play an instrument.
5 – Linguistics - Speak multiple languages and interpret ancient symbols.
6 – Traps – Disarm a trap, set a trap.
7 - Poisons - Create deadly poisons and apply them to weapons.
8 – Medicine – Set broken bones and heal injuries. Create remedies to common ailments.
9 – Explosives – Create powerful explosives with the power to destroy, blind and confuse the enemy.
10 – Chemistry – Create acid, liquid fire, sleeping gas, and other chemical weapons.
AWA
1 – Sense of Direction - Be aware of landmarks and study the skies.
2 – Stalk - Trail someone, learn their routines.
3 – Camouflage - Blend in with your surroundings.
4 – Listening - Detect faint noises and recognize audible clues.
5 – Fast Reflexes - Respond quickly when in danger. Dodge incoming attacks.
6 – Tracking – Identify and follow the tracks of animals or humanoids.
7 – Observation – Let's you find things that are hidden and detect stealth.
8 – Investigation - Discover clues and decipher riddles.
9 - Invention - Can improvise devices and create mechanical solutions.
10 - Intuition - Req. Observation R4 - Let's you re-roll one failed roll. Can be used once per day.
PER
1 – Haggle – Bargain for a better price and receive more for sold goods.
2 – Entertain – Sing a song, dance, tell a story, make jokes.
3 – Intimidate – Convince someone to follow your orders through fear.
4 – Seduction – Seduce someone into following you or doing what you ask.
5 – Disguise – Convince someone you are someone else with props and through acting.
6 – Animal Ken – Befriend animals, train them.
7 – Persuasion – Persuade someone to do what you ask of them. Bluffing.
8 – Diplomacy – Create peace between active enemies, interact with nobles and dignitaries.
9 – Interrogate - Req. Persuasion R4. Extract information from unwilling participants through psychological torture.
10 – Hypnosis – Plant a suggestion into the victim's mind.
The System
You will need at least two ten-sided die of different colors to play. Assign one color to be the “tens” place and the other color to be the “ones”. When rolling both at once, this will give you a result of 1-100, also known as a percentile roll. It will be referred to as 1d100 in this text.
Character Creation Summary
1. Choose a Species. This will determine your Base Attributes and Abilities.
2. Customize your character. You have 100 points to divide among your attributes, add these points to the Base Attribute scores. During character creation no attribute can exceed 70.
3. Determine your starting Health, Initiative, Encumbrance, and Movement Speed from your Attribute scores.
4. Choose a Profession. This determines which Talents you start with and the role you will play.
5. Purchase weapons, armor, and equipment.
6. Name your creation, describe his/her physical appearance and any background information.
Attributes
Physical
· Strength (STR) – Determines your chance to hit with most melee weapons.
· Agility (AGI) – Determines your chance to hit with ranged weapons and daggers.
· Endurance (END) – Determines your maximum health and damage resistance.
Mental
· Knowledge (KNO) – Determines your chance to succeed when using explosives, chemistry, or medicine.
· Awareness (AWA) – Influences your initiative score and chance to detect hidden enemies.
· Personality (PER) – Determines your degree of social standing and hypnosis modifiers.
Attributes range from 20-80. Each species has it's own base attributes indicating the strengths and weaknesses of that species. After deciding on a species, you have 100 additional points to further customize your character. Your initial attribute scores cannot exceed 70.
Base Attributes
Species STR AGI END KNO AWA PER
Canid 50 30 40 30 30 20
Varan 30 50 30 20 40 30
Vespoid 40 30 50 30 20 30
Talpid 30 20 30 50 30 40
Chiro 20 40 30 30 50 30
Anguil 30 30 20 40 30 50
Your total attribute score determines your chance of success when attempting to perform an action. This can be expressed as a percentage. You must roll equal to or under your attribute score on 1d100 to succeed. This is known as a "roll-under" system. If you roll higher than your attribute score the action fails. If you roll the same number as your score it is a critical success. In combat a critical success results in 2x the normal damage for your weapon. If you roll two zeros it is a critical failure, you cannot roll 100.
Ex. Joe wants to throw an object at a target. Assuming his Strength is high enough to lift the object Joe would use his Agility score to determine the outcome. Joe's Agility is 70, giving him a 70% chance to succeed.
There are four possible outcomes:
1. Normal success. Ex. Joe rolls 37, he hits the target.
2. Critical success. Ex. Joe rolls 70, he hits the target and breaks it into pieces.
3. Normal failure. Ex. Joe rolls 85, he misses the target.
4. Critical failure. Ex. Joe rolls 00, he misses the target and falls down in the process.
Optional Rule:
Some actions can require multiple successes. The GM can have you roll more than once, with the number of “wins” determining the degree of success.
Ordinary actions do not require a roll. These include things like walking, running, picking up an object, talking, etc. These are considered to be automatic successes.
Movement
The average of your Strength and Agility (STR+AGI/2) is your movement speed. This is the number of feet per turn you can run at maximum speed (40'-160'). Half of this number is your normal run speed (20'-80'). Round fractions down. You must run at normal speed for one turn before reaching the maximum rate. You can then run at full speed 4 turns before needing to stop and rest.
Penalties:
Rough Terrain – Reduces running speed by 5.
Medium Armor – Reduces running speed by 5.
Heavy Armor – Reduces running speed by 10.
Over Encumbered – Reduces running speed by 10.
Running Uphill – Reduces running speed by 15.
Seriously Injured Foot/Leg – Reduces running speed by 20.
Encumbrance
The average of your Strength and Endurance (STR+END/2) determines how much weight you can carry before becoming over encumbered.
20-40: 1/4 body weight
41-65: 1/2 body weight
66-80: 1x body weight
Optional Rule:
Instead of calculating the weight of each individual item you can rely on some common sense. Anything that won't fit in your backpack or a pouch like a large weapon or heavy armor must be strapped on, resting in a scabbard, or carried in your hands. There are obvious limits to how much you can carry.
Life and Death
A character's Endurance times 5 equals their starting amount of health (100-350). Additional health is awarded when a character levels up, the amount being determined by class.
Any character can heal a minor wound by successfully making a Knowledge roll. More serious injuries require someone with the Medicine skill. Healing does not happen instantly, it takes a number of turns or a period of rest to get the full benefit. When your character drops to 10 health he/she is dying. The character falls unconscious and cannot perform any actions. You will continue to lose 1 point of health every turn unless you receive medical attention. If your health falls to zero your character is dead and cannot be brought back to life.
Optional Rule:
In a group, the GM can allow you to create a new character that is only one or more levels below that of your original character and then reintroduce you to the group through role–playing. An unfortunate side–effect of using this rule is that a character may commit suicide because they are unhappy with their current role, the same penalty applies though, you cannot get the character back and the new one will suffer some experience and equipment loss.
Thirst, Hunger and Fatigue
A character can only go so long without food, water, and sleep.
If you're healthy you can survive without water under ideal conditions for up to 6 days. You would take a -10 penalty to all rolls starting on the second day and an additional -10 for each day thereafter. On the sixth day you would begin to die and lose health at a rate of 100/hour. In extreme heat while performing strenuous physical activity you can die from dehydration in under 4 hours.
If you're healthy and drink water you can go up to 8 weeks without food. You would suffer -5 after the first two days and an additional -5 for each day thereafter. A larger character with more fat reserves will survive longer than a small one. In extreme cold your body will use up energy at a faster rate to keep you warm, increasing the penalty to -10.
You can go up to two weeks without sleeping. After 24 hours you would need to make an Endurance roll to stay awake, and another every 12 hours thereafter. If you fail the roll, you fall asleep wherever you are at the time.
Combat
The average of your Awareness and Agility (AGI+AWA/2) determines your Initiative score.
When both parties are prepared for a fight, the player or NPC with the highest Initiative goes first. Then the next highest would attack and so on until combat is resolved. In the instance of a surprise attack or ambush the player or NPC being attacked would need to make a successful Awareness roll to avoid being caught off guard.
Weapons have a set amount of damage depending on the quality and type of weapon. They also have a speed rating from 1-3. This rating determines how many times one can attack with that weapon in a single turn. A large cumbersome weapon would only yield one attack per turn whereas a small one may provide more chances to strike. Armor has a set damage reduction (DR) amount depending on the quality and type of armor and whether the armor is damaged or not. A number of critical hits can damage armor and reduce it's effectiveness. The number of critical hits required is dependent on the quality of the armor. Armor can be repaired with the requisite talent.
When a player or NPC is hit, you take the damage number of the weapon and subtract the DR of the armor to determine the amount inflicted. You then subtract this number from the victim's health.
Ex. Joe hits a monster with a sword that does 40dmg. The monster is wearing armor that provides 10dmg reduction. The monster loses 30 health.
Talents
When using a talent it effectively increases your attribute scores giving you a better chance to succeed than normal. Most talents have bonuses that increase by rank. Typical bonuses are scaled to the rank of the talent as follows.
Rank 1: +5%
Rank 2: +10%
Rank 3: +15%
Rank 4: +20%
Players begin with one rank in each talent of their chosen profession. You improve talents by spending points, these are awarded when you advance in level. A talent can only be improved one rank per level. Some have a prerequisite talent that must be learned first as well.
Update 10/28/2015: The system here has never really been playtested, the few times it has the results were wonky, so it does need some tweaking. It was my attempt at creating a whole new rule system from scratch. Some are not fans of this roll under approach to RPGs but I think the setting, races, class, and skill system is worth looking into further at some point. It would be interesting to see a D20 conversion.
