A Very Short Overview of Passages and Perils (P&P)
for Experienced FRP Gamers
2013-01-30
Characters
Think of an undefined Character. It has 6 Attributes:
Strength, Fortitude, Nimbleness, Intelligence, Volition, and Luster. These represent
the usual capabilities. For instance Nimbleness gives Coordination and Agility,
Volition gives Willpower and Perception.
It has a Level: 1. It has no training. Certain capabilities
are computed from these, such as the Hit Number, which depends on Nimbleness, Level
and amount of Combat Training.
But actual, playable Characters are not undefined, they have
Species and Types. And Augments.
Augments
Augments are additional characteristics which add to various
capabilities. For instance, Sharp Senses gives a bonus to Perception, Major Combat
improves Hit Number, Furtiveness improves Stealth.
Species and
Types
A Character's Species determines the characteristics they
were born with, which usually includes Augments. For instance, Elf
automatically adds Sharp Senses. A Character's Type determines what abilities
they've acquired, which usually includes Augments. For instance, Thief
automatically adds Furtiveness.
Augments chosen singly usually have some restrictions. For
instance, in most settings you can't add something that would make your
Character an obvious mutant. Then again, there are settings where it doesn't
matter.
Cost
Every Augment has a Cost, measured in Ticks. Augments
included in a Species or Type are cheaper for being bundled. When a new
Character is created, the GM will tell the Player how many Ticks they have to
spend. In this case, Ticks are equivalent to what other games call Build
Points. The total number of Ticks spent is called the Character's Primary
Experience.
Level
Level refers to the Character’s advancement through
experience, training and practice. As Level Increases, so do some of their
capabilities. Characters Normally start at Level 1.
Die Rolls
Most die rolls use 1D20, plus or minus any adjustments, plus
the Character's relevant capability. 21 or better succeeds. Each appropriate
Augment adds 1D4. Unallocated Ticks can also be used to alter the results. In
this case, Ticks are equivalent to what other games call Action or Luck Points.
Gaining Ticks
The GM awards Ticks to the Players based on their success
and ingenuity in facing challenges in the game. In this case, Ticks are
equivalent to what other games call Experience Points.
Advancement
Periodically, the GM will allow the Players to spend Ticks
on advancement. Ticks can be used to add Augments, raise Levels, or make
acquisitions.
Raising a Character's Level requires that the total Ticks spent
(or Current Experience) be equal to a multiple of the Character's Primary
Experience. Specifically, each Level gained requires that Level times the
Primary Experience. Hence, each Character starts with their Current Experience
equal to their Primary Experience, and getting to Level 2 requires an
additional 2 times that number for a total of 3 times. More technically, to
reach Level N requires a total Current Experience of the sum of 1 through N
times Primary Experience.
Bottom line: the greater your Character's starting
capabilities, the slower their advancement will be.
Adding an additional Augment increases a Character's Primary
Experience, hence adding one after Level 1 requires adding enough Ticks to
cover the difference.
Note that Ticks are
given to Players, not Characters. Hence, a Player with multiple Characters is
free to spend unallocated Ticks on any, not just whichever ones were involved
in the activity that produced the Ticks. And yes, Ticks can be given or traded
to other Players.
Spells
I use the spell point concept. Also, Magic, the power used
by Magicians, is different from Dynamis, the power used by Clerics.
Alignment
I use the old one dimensional alignment system. Plus, all Characters
start as Neutral. To achieve a Lawful or Chaotic designation, you have to
behave that way.
Numbers
If you don't like calculating, you can look up the numbers
in tables. If you don't like looking things up, you can calculate the numbers
from formulas. If you don't like either, ask the GM to do it.
