riftsaga rpg- core document

8/8/2019 Riftsaga RPG- Core Document

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Riftsaga RPGA pulp fiction fantasy game set in the Jazz Age of another world

Core Rule Document, part 1

Table of Contents:

I. DisclaimerII. Foreword

III. How to Play

IV. Character Generation Basics

V. Races

VI. Vitals and Vitality

VII. Callings

I. Disclaimer

Though this is a game made of my own creation, I myself confess much has been takenfrom other game systems. The most prominent thing that worries me is the fact that this

games main style and mechanics are borrowed and modified from White WolfsWerewolf: The Apocalypse game. Therefore, I feel the need to state that I do not ownWerewolf or any other tabletop games from which I take my information and game

mechanics from in any way, shape or form, and under the reasoning that this will be a

free indie game, I will not be making any profit on it whatsoever and therefore I hope I

will not be sued by White Wolf because I am not making money off of their mechanics.

Furthermore, because I am just a 19-year-old who has no knowledge of how to write a

text version of a gaming book, I apologize in advance if anything in here doesnt makesense or is not explained to its fullest potential. In my defense, I intend to have my much

more intelligent friends (AKA the members one of my tabletop gaming groups Im in)

look this over and proofread it, so hopefully I wont royally screw this one up too bad.

II. Foreword

I have, ever since the age of the Pokemon video games, been a fan of roleplaying games.

Pokemon and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars would introduce me to theworld of RPGs, even if they were console games. I had always made my own tabletop

RPGs without ever realizing that they were what I call them today since my Middle

School days. RPGs are a big part of my life, needless to say.

So, youre probably wondering: why a game based on the Jazz Age? To be honest, I must

confess: every other time period seems to be taken already. Late Medieval/EarlyRenaissance? Theres D&D for that. Old West? Deadlands. Modern day? D20 Modern.

The future? A supplement to d20 Modern.

I wanted to make a game that was different. Something set in a time that few people had

thought to venture in. For whatever reason, I am a fan of post-World War One to World

War II times. Why? Well, I can blame pop culture for that. Ever read The Great Gatsby,

or been forced to read it because of school? Ever watch the original All Dogs Go to


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Heaven? Ever play Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin? All three examples, as different as each

one is, have one thing in common: their stories exist in post-WW1 to WW2 times.

The Jazz Age, the Golden Twenties, the Roaring Twenties. Whatever you may call 1920

to 1929, the time was quite a unique one indeed. It was after World War One, which was

a truly harsh time for the entire world. The 1920s themselves were a time when theeconomy would rise up due to such a harsh war. Yes, the commies and the fascists began

to manifest in this time, and yes, the Wall Street crash leading to the Great Depression

happened in 1929. I know this. I have access to Wikipedia, which I need since I haventbeen in school for two whole years at the time of my writing this. But come on. Lets

think of the good things that came of the Jazz Age.

The first televisions were made in 1925. Color TVs were then created in 1928. WarnerBrothers made its first motion picture with a soundtrack in 1926. Also in 1925 was the

invention of the freezing process for foods, and, but of course, the jazz genre of music

was born in the 1920s. In 1920, the first commercial radio station in the US was created,

and King Tuts tomb was discovered in 1922. On top of this there were more things thanmentioned here, but I think you get the point: the problems arising during and after the

Roaring Twenties be damned, this age had some good things that came of it.

So dont knock this game before you try it. Who knows? You might have some fun. You

might not, but hey. You might indeed have fun playing this game. Joseph Maxwell

III. How to Play

Riftsaga is a tabletop roleplaying game set in a fantasy world where, in-game, thetimeline is within its own era that is comparable to real-world years between the end of

World War I and the end of World War II. The goal of the players is to take on the

personas of people within this world and to adventure within the daily lives of thesepeople. Maybe one session will be strictly combat-oriented. Maybe another will be more

storyline-based. A happy medium for both is what I, the writer, like to achieve. The one

presenting the story, the additional characters within the story, and the challenges withinis known as the Game Master, or GM. The fate of the intrepid stars of this story rests in

the hands of the players, the GM, and even in luck itself, as represented in the rolling of a

six-sided die, or d6 as it is often called in RPGs that utilize more than one type of die.

In order to play this game, the GM and players will need various resources, but of course.

In addition to the information doled out by this Word document, a GM can make use of a

companion document that explains information that is best left to GMs only. Butarguably the most important thing needed to play is the d6 die. The roll of this die will

make or break any situation that calls upon it, and trust me, many situations will arise

when one needs to use a d6.

In addition to the information of this and its companion document, alongside a d6 or a

dice rolling simulator of some sort, players will need a specialized record sheet known as

a character sheet. This character sheet will house the information of ones character,


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and defend the beast. If rolling in to affect another being in-game, there will always be an

opposing talent to try and protect that being from the effect, unless the effect is harmless

or even beneficial. If rolling against challenges presented as opposed to rolling againstbeings, there will be a preset number of successes a being must beat in order to have

things go their way.

In this case, the Leggins must rely on its Reflexes talent, which is used to defend against

weapons or projectiles of some sort (i.e. a falling piece of debris from a damaged ceiling).

The Leggins is not the fastest of beings, possessing only a single rank in Agility, but ithas surprisingly good reflexes, having three ranks in it. The DM rolls her six-sided die

four times, once for the Agility and thrice for the Reflexes. She ends up rolling one 2, two

4s, and one 5. This equals three successes for the Leggins, and it ducks under the

lightning-fast bullet with superhuman speed. Things arent looking too good for Cliffthus far

And that, my friends, is an example (if not a bit of a lengthy one) of how the games main

mechanic works. On top of this, though, there are perhaps the most important necessitiesto this game that a player or GM must possess. Those are to have fun and to use ones

imagination. After all, this IS a game, not a chore or something else of the sort. The goalof any roleplaying game is to entertain and reward both player and GM alike for their

efforts.

Furthermore, let me remind you, the reader that the purpose of Riftsaga is indeed to havefun while playing it. The rules presented in this document are there to provide fair

structure and help one come up with ideas for creative character ideas. They werent

intended to hold back any sort of creativity or to limit one can and cannot do. If need be,a GM and his/her players may come to an agreement on what rules should be reinforced

and what can be ignored. For a cleverer player or GM who understands the rules, even

homebrew things can be added to a game with permission from the GM, like new races,callings, or whatever ones heart desires!

Ultimately though, at least in my opinion (the opinion of someone whos been both aplayer and a GM), a GM needs to realize the goal of the game is not to overpower and

utterly destroy the characters of his or her players, but to instead provide a fair challenge.

After all, this game is to be enjoyed by ALL involved with a session of it, not just one

particular party. On that same breath though, it is also not the duty of a player to hog thespotlight in his or her group, but for the players to band together as a team to overcome

the dire straights presented in front of their characters. At the end of the day, just

remember the Golden Rule: do unto others and you would wish to be done unto you.

And so, without further ado, let me begin to explain how to play Riftsaga.

IV. Character Generation Basics

No one said making your dream character was going to be easy, but in this section of the

document, with any luck, I the writer will be able to assist you, the player (or the GM


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trying to make NPCs Non Player Characters based off of the games character

system), in doing so.

There are a few different steps that may be taken in any order. As a suggestion, here is an

available order of the steps to making your character for Riftsaga:

1. Come up with a main theme for the character2. Figure out their Cosmetics and Descriptors: their physical traits that may or

may not, depending on the specific cosmetic, determine their abilities; perhaps the

most important of the cosmetics are a characters Calling and Race, withhonorable mentions going to their Alignment and possibly even Creed, whereas a

characters descriptors are, well, cosmetic

3. Choose their Calling and their Blessings: ones calling determines what kind

of hero (or villain) they are, which can also affect what they can and cannot do;ones blessings are special abilities or perks given by the selected race and calling.

When creating a character, one chooses one of two racial blessings and two of

three calling blessings

4. Fill in their ranks for their Vitals and Talents: a characters vitals determinetheir raw physical, mental and skill-based talents, whereas a characters talents

determine, most specifically, what they can and cannot do well in game terms5. Figure out a characters Vitality: not to be confused with their vitals, a

characters vitality measures their physical health as well as their potential for

using supernatural powers (if they possess any)

6. Buy a characters gear and choose their Psychokinesis powers (if their callinghas any to choose from)

7. Use any Experience Points given by the GM to buy extra things

8. Polish up your characters concept, and start playing!

Confused still? Not to fret; much of this document is to help explain things necessary to

character creation. First, lets start with your characters Cosmetics and Descriptors.

COSMETICS

Name: This, obviously, is where you would write your characters name. Itdoesnt necessarily need to be anything specific: it can be a full name (with or

without a middle name), a nickname, just a first or last name, or whatever you

wish.

Gender: Characters can be male or female. Unless playing a game with sexualityin it, its wise to just leave gender as to how they look, not what they have in their

pants

Race: A characters race or species of sentient being. More on that later. Calling: A characters class, if you will, that describes what kind of hero or

villain he or she is. For more information, consult the next chapter.

Saga: The current game or campaign, the latter being a particular mission oradventure a group of characters, or a party, is in. It can be as simple as (GM

name)s Game or even have a particular title to it like The Rifts Revenge or

something to that degree.


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Alignment: Characters can choose from three alignments Good, Neutral, or

Evil. As morality and ethics are arguably relative, this games alignment system isthus simple and indicated a characters general intentions.

Organization: Is your character part of a group of heroes or villains, or working

for a particular company where he or she gets adventures from? If so, this is

where you would write the name of the adventuring group or company.

DESCRIPTORS

Age: Most humanoid adventurers usually begin at the age of 18 at the youngestand retire when they are too old to adventure, but this is not always the case. Try

to pick a reasonable age depending on a characters skill ranks; if a character is

starting out with many skills, it would be most logical for them to be older, but ifthey do not possess many, try to have their age be younger.

Hair Style: Use this space to write about a characters hair style in anywhere from

one to three words.

Hair Color: Depending on the race, each character might have different hair

colors than the conventional ones for humans. Eye Color: As with hair color, depending on the characters race, one character

might have different eye colors than your typical human.

Skin/Fur Color: You read this right there are humanoids that will have a more

prominent fur color than a skin color.

Creed: This space is used to describe a characters particular religion or a causethat they support (if any). The various religions of the world of Riftsaga will be

revealed later.

Nationality: As with creed, the various nations of Riftsagas world will also bedescribed later, in the The World of Riftsaga chapter.

Height: A characters height.

Weight: A characters weight.

Description: This space is used to describe what your character is like, what they

wear, and/or anything else immediately important about the character.

With that settled, it is time to refer to what perhaps are a characters most specific traits

of these: their race.

V. Races

In the world of Riftsaga, there are more than just one specific sentient species. In addition

to human beings, various other creatures have evolved to the state of being humanoid.From the cat-like Bastians to the psychokinetic Sophiats, humans arent the only sentient

race to occupy Riftsagas planet.

Unlike most tabletop RPGs, a characters race isnt of drastic importance in Riftsaga.

Sure, one can imagine the coyote-like Coyoten to be more proficient as a spiritual Psion

than a ruthless Scoundrel, but it is truly dependant mainly on the racial-based blessing

that is chosen.


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This section is not only to provide the list of sentient races in Riftsaga, but also to help

one choose a character based on the natural inclinations of a race. Want an adventurouscharacter? Try a human, or even a bastian. Want a more graceful, wise race? Theres the

sophiat for that, or perhaps a coyoten is more to your liking? Its all up to you. Each

races main inclinations are described in their particular section to further help youchoose. So, without further ado, its time to meet the humanoids.

HUMANS (Homo sapiens)

Description: Since the dawn of time, humans have been the most prevalent of the

sentient races in the world of Riftsaga. To the worlds present day, they are still

the most common race worldwide. Known for their indomitable spirit and will,humans have always been the pioneers of more secular and technological

thinking. Unfortunately for the race of humans, they also seem to be the easiest to

be converted to the ways of evil.

Physical Appearance: A humans physical characteristics vary greatly based on

their climate; in warmer locales close to the equator, humans have evolved darkerskin, whereas in the cold northern lands humans skin is paler. But as a single

snowflake in a blizzard is different from the next, so are humans in terms ofbodily shapes, sizes and faces. Humans eye colors tend to be brown, hazel, blue,

purple or green. Their hair colors are typically in shades of brown and gold, from

light to dark to even pitch black.

Innate Qualities: Humans do not possess any specific qualities that set them aside

from other races. Perhaps, in a way, this lack of special biological traits does

indeed separate them from other races.

HUMAN BLESSINGS

Adaptability: Select one of a humans Vitals. That human gains a permanentrank in that particular vital. Once selected, a human cannot change the chosen

vital bonus.

Natural Talent: Select one of a humans Talents. That human gains a

permanent rank in that particular talent. Once selected, a human cannotchange the chosen talent bonus.

BASTIANS (Panthera sapiens)

Description: Hailing from the desert and jungle lands of the world, bastians are so

named after the continent where they are most populated: Bastia, which in turn is

named after the patron goddess of most bastians, Bastet. By nature, the bastians

are typically a curious but intelligent and clever race. When problems come theirway, a bastians curiosity will either get them in over their heads or they will

come up with a sagacious solution to their problems.

Physical Appearance: The first image that comes to mind with a bastian is an

anthropomorphic big cat. Their fur, which covers all their body, has the same

colors and markings of lions, tigers, or spotted big cats such as leopards and

jaguars. A bastian possesses plantigrade (human-like) limbs, hands and feet, buttheir fur, cat-like muzzles, cat-like ears, and tails are clearly animalistic. Because


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of the thickness of skin and lower amounts of nerve cells in the soles of their feet

in comparison to other sentient races, a bastian is known to go barefooted more

than any other race. Their hair styles are generally exotic, in colors pertaining towhat kind of big cat they are related to. Lion, leopard or jaugar bastians hair are

usually shades of blonde or brown like a humans, but a tiger bastians hair is

usually orange, black or white. A bastians eye colors typically are greens andyellows, but sometimes even pale oranges and beautiful blues have been known to

exist as bastian eye colors. Finally, of any other animal-like race, a bastians

claws are more prominent than that of other races, extending more out of the toesthan out of the fingers, and are retractable.

Innate Qualities: Bastians possess one specific biological quality that separates

them from humans they can use their claws for unarmed attacks as opposed topunches, kicks, etc. When ones claws are used as an unarmed strike, they deal

Slash damage as opposed to Bludgeon damage.

BASTIAN BLESSINGS

Bastets Favor: If chosen, a bastian gains a permanent bonus rank in unarmed that

only applies when using their claws to deal damage.

Razor-Sharp Mind: Select either IQ or Wits. The bastian gains a permanent bonusrank in that particular vital. When chosen, a bastian cannot change which of the

two gets the free rank.

COYOTENS (Canis sapiens)*Also known as Rolvens (wolf coyotens), Anubans (jackal coyotens), and Canians (dog coyotens);

the term Coyoten refers to coyote and dingo coyotens.

Description: Found in almost as many different locales as the human race, the

Coyoten peoples go by many different accepted racial names, depending on what

species of canine they evolved from. They are usually down to the earth, and as awhole possess ingenuity and inventiveness that sometimes can even surpass that

of the human race. On top of that, the coyoten are also on the whole a spiritual

race, and you will not find a more accepting and fun-loving person than the

coyoten.

Physical Description: Like the bastians, coyoten are an anthropomorphic animal

race that has evolved into what they are today from members of the canis genus ofanimals, as opposed to primates (like humans) or big cats (like bastians). Unlike

bastians, their claws are blunter and are less keen, better for digging than for

fighting. A coyotens hair styles are often more conservative, and are typically

short even on females, the pigments being either lighter or darker than their fur

color. Their eye colors tend to be yellow, blue, bluish-tan or even silvery. Innate Qualities: A coyoten possesses a major biological trait that, unlike the

night vision that was dropped by evolution, still remains to this day an acutesense of smell. When used to detect a specific being within a 50-foot radius from

the coyoten, that coyoten is treated as having an extra rank in their Notice talent.

However, their noses are sensitive to ANY scent, and if there is an particularly

disgusting or nauseating odor within a 10-foot radius from a coyoten when theytry to use their acute sense of smell, they must make a Toughness save with a


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difficulty of 3 successes to avoid suffering the nausea condition. For more

information on nausea, consult the Combat chapter of this document.

COYOTEN BLESSINGS

Strife-Cutting Peace: If chosen, whenever the coyoten would suffer a vexation

due to a failed Willpower save, the player may choose to take another attempt atthe save. If this second attempt is failed, then the coyoten will be forced to obtain

the vexation. This blessing can be used only twice per day (Note: for more

information on vexations, consult the next chapter, Vitals and Vitality).

Great Spirits Hand: If chosen, this gives the coyoten access to being able to use a

Blesseds Lay on Hands power in this case, it is treated as a Level 2 version

of such a power and, while this blessings use does not cost any PKE, it can only

be used once per day.

SOPHIATS (Homo spiritus)

Description: The sophiats are a more human-like race that, in ancient times had

originated in the lands surrounding and within the great lakes of the continentknown as Albayten. They, according to the folklore of their people, were humans

who had been transformed by an ancient hero, a female psychic once known asAella of Hearthshire and who is now revered as a demigoddess called The

Sophia. Regardless of the validity of these legends, the sophiats still exist to this

day and age in the world of Riftsaga. As a whole, they tend to be more focused onunderstanding the world around them than any other race. In addition, they are

often a more stern and serious people than most, preferring to be to the point.

Though this means they tend to me adamant and stick to whatever plan theypossess, it also means they are considered by some to be too rigid or even

emotionally cold.

Physical Description: Sophiats tend to be just a couple inches taller than mostraces on average. In addition to being lither in comparison to humans, there arealso very striking or even disturbing qualities that set them apart from what they

allegedly once were. Their eyes do not possess irises, for one; they are one big

pupil amongst the whites of their eyes. Their hair is usually in strange colors frombirth, as well as opposed to the usual browns and blondes of humans, a sophiat

is known to have sapphire blue, deep purple, or even dark grey hair. Finally, a

sophiats skin tones are usually a very pale and pastel tint of lavender. Despitehow much their skin color seems to be similar (if loosely) to an albinos, however,

they seem to not possess a vulnerability to the harmful UV rays of the sun like

that of an albino. In many ways, some more paranoid peoples have wondered if

the sophiats are even of the planet itself, or if they instead hail fromextraterrestrials.

Innate Qualities: For whatever reason, a sophiat has a very uncanny amount of

luck in regards to getting hurt. Though all sophiats start with less HP than the HPof any other races calling (for a specific amount, refer to each calling in the

Callings chapter), they, regardless of their calling, will start with an additional 2

PKE points. This applies even if the calling in question does not possess ANYamount of PKE. At the cost of 1 PKE, a sophiat character can increase their one


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Adonis, if they have no Endurance then, as big as their muscles may be, the muscles will

still be useless. All callings can benefit from Endurance as it will help them survive in

combat situations or situations where physical harm is a threat. An Endurance of zeromeans a character is physically exhausted and cannot act at all; they are thus treated as

having the unconscious condition until they recover. An exception applies to the living

dead such as zombies.

Endurance is used by the following talents: Athleticism (if Might is higher, it is used in

place of Endurance), Acrobatics, and Toughness.

IQ (Mental)

IQ, short for Intelligence Quotient, is literally a measurement of the raw IQ of a

character, which refers to how well a character can understand, learn, solve problems, orperform other such tasks using the mind. Both roguish and smart callings such as the

Scoundrel and Psion rely on their IQ to come up with solutions and learn or recall vital

information. An IQ of zero means a character has literally become stupefied; they cannot

think rationally and can barely concentrate, causing them to be treated as if they had aHigh level of vexations. An exception applies to creatures that cannot act or think on

their own accord, such as a zombie or a golem.

IQ is used by the following talents: Intimidation (if Charisma is higher, it is used in place

of IQ), Know-How, and Paranormal.

WITS (Mental)

While IQ refers to a characters raw intellect, a characters Wits refer to their ability to

apply rational thought and mental strength. Like the example of a super-muscledcharacter with no Endurance, a person with a high IQ and no Wits are often no better than

know-it-alls, IQ and Wits going hand-in-hand. The same roguish or smart characters can

benefit from a good amount of Wits as well as a good IQ, for at times an unwise andunaware hero is a dead hero. An amount of Wits equal to zero means a character has

become too emotionally unsound and too indecisive to act, causing them to be considered

stunned until they recover. There is no such thing as a creature in-game with a Witsscore of zero that is not affected by this type of stunning.

Wits are used by the following talents: Notice, Smooth-Talk (If Charisma is higher, it is

used in place of Wits), and Willpower.

AGILITY (Skill)

Agility is a measurement of a characters raw speed and accuracy, be it in the form ofdexterity, footwork, or whatever the case may be. Typically, Agility tends to aid more

modern skills such as medical procedures, the operation of guns, and driving a car or

other automobile. A character with an Agility of zero becomes especially clumsy andslow; this is especially dangerous to the well-being of a character as it will treat ALL

talents that would use Agility as being only ONE skill rank! This is even more lethal to a

character as Agility has the most talents linked to it than any other vital. Like with Wits,


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hindered by it, either through sheer pain, weakness caused by blood loss, or fatigue due to

loss of energy. Because this pain, weakness or fatigue, a characters effective Toughness

rank will be reduced. There are three levels of Injuries: none, some, and high. A characterwith no debilitating injuries will not suffer a penalty, whereas some injuries will result

in a -1 to Toughness and high injuries will result in a -2. Injuries progress in order: a

character starts with no injuries, and can be risen to either some or high injuries. If acharacter with some injuries is affected by another effect that causes some injuries, his

or her Injuries rank will rise to high.

When a characters HP reaches exactly zero HP, they are under a condition known as

being staggered. When staggered, a character can only take one action on their next

turn. Afterward, a character is instantly dropped to -1 HP and is considered unconscious

and dying. When a character is unconscious, any and all turns in any round duringcombat or during a scenario is skipped until they come to. When a character is dying,

however, they must make a Toughness save each turn. Failing this Toughness save will

cause them to lose one HP every turn they fail the Toughness save.

Success at the Toughness save will cause the character to stop dying. However, if they

are not treated within an hours time by the successful use of the Medicine talent, theywill begin to start dying once again. An exception typically applies to enemy characters,

however; in almost all cases, an enemy controlled by the GM is considered dead upon

their HP reaching zero or less. The lowest any player-controlled characters HP can reach

is a -10.

Outside of using some applications of the Medicine talent or HP-restoring powers, a

character can regain HP over time as long as they are not at -9 or -10 HP. The specifics toregaining lost HP will be covered later in this chapter, along with how to regain lost PKE

over time.

DEATH AND DYING

A character whose HP reaches -9 HP will be considered clinically dead. When this

happens, a characters body is beginning to shut down, their breathing and circulationstopping. In this state, a character can no longer stabilize, but is technically not dying in

game terms. However, if a character is not brought back up to -8 HP or more within five

in-game minutes, a character will go brain dead, their bodily organs ceasing to function

completely; when this occurs, that character will suffer one final point of health/hit pointdamage is now officially dead.

Death occurs when a characters HP reaches -10, whether it occurs due to completebodily organ failure or due to an instant death (i.e. decapitation, being immersed in lava,

disintegration, etc). When this happens, thats it; he or she can no longer act, or do

anything ever again. Because this is a fantasy game, and because, though experience,players tend to grow attached to their characters, there are rules to give even a deceased

character another chance to live again.

RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD


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Spirits or souls bound to the world of the living, known respectively as ghosts and

shades, can give themselves visible forms by absorbing PKE and emitting as ectoplasm in

its gas form. For the living, however, the natural absorption of PKE by their spirits can,with the proper application of spiritual training and mental focus, perform superhuman or

even supernatural feats by expending PKE.

To determine a characters maximum PKE measurement in their body, they, like finding

out their max HP, need only turn to their calling and their vitals. Adding on a characters

Wits or Charisma, based upon what their calling specifies, to the default amount of PKEfor that calling will determine a characters max PKE. Note, however, that not all callings

have the power to manifest psychokinetic phenomenon and thus might not possess any

PKE at all. Also note that, regardless of the calling chosen, a sophiat character starts with

a two-point PKE bonus (or three if their Aellas Aegis blessing is chosen).

A character who would apply their Wits to their callings default PKE manifests their

powers through sheer focus, their powers coming primarily from their intentional

thoughts. On the other hand, one who would apply their Charisma to their callingsdefault PKE instead manifests their powers through sheer force of will, their powers

controlled by their emotions. Either way, both types of characters perform a paranormalfeat known as psychokinesis. Psychokinesis is the uncanny power of using ones mind to

briefly manipulate a physical system without the sole use of physical energies. In short, it

allows one to bend the laws of physics to their will.

Depending on how many ranks one has in a particular power, one can choose to spend

more than the normal amount of PKE on that power. For every rank past a rank of one, a

character can choose to expend an extra PKE point per extra rank to increase its effectstrength. For instance, a character who has a power with a rank of three can choose to

manifest that power as a Level 3 power, adding on an extra 2 PKE to its cost but

having a stronger effect than, say, a Level 1 power.

When rolling for successes in using a power, one adds the powers Level to the vital

which influences ones max PKE. Just having ranks in a power past one is not enough;one needs to expend extra PKE and increase the manifested powers Level to add the

number of dice to the roll.

For instance, say Holly, whom her player had made into a Seeker, is trying to manifest ahealing power known as Regeneration. At this time, Holly has effective Wits of two,

and a Seeker uses Wits to influence its max PKE. In addition, Holly has two ranks in

Regeneration. Hollys player decides to bite the bullet and expend an extra PKE point onRegeneration. After all, her friends character Jay is seriously wounded and will need as

many successes (which will, in this case, restore more HP to Jay) as possible. Because

Holly has a Wits score of 2 and is manifesting Regeneration as a Level 2 power, Hollysplayer now is able to roll 4d6 to try and restore Jays HP with the power.

Like an Injury, certain kinds of harm can affect even ones connection with PKE. These

particular inflictions are known as vexations. A vexation in game terms is a lingering


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doubt in the supernatural caused by unnatural emotional strife. Due to this doubt, it,

based on how bad the vexation is, becomes harder and harder to normally manifest a

power. Like Injuries, vexations work exactly the same way in terms of penalties andranks of vexation, but the effect itself is different. For having some vexations, a

character tacks on an extra 1 PKE to manifest a power, and for having high vexations, a

character must tack on 2 PKE. What makes this even more of an inconvenience is the factthat this extra PKE cost does NOT influence a powers Level!

For instance, lets pretend Holly had a some level of vexations in the above example.Normally, Regeneration costs just one PKE for making it a Level 1 power, two for a

Level 2 version, and so on. In this case, though, Holly would need to use up 2 PKE for a

Level 1 version of Regeneration, or 3 PKE for a Level 2 version!

When a character runs out of PKE, they do not suffer any particular ill effect. However,

this also means that they cannot use any ability that consumes PKE until they gain at least

one more PKE point. A good strategy is to make sure a character only uses extra PKE

when need be, and to have backup plans for when a character runs low or out of PKE. InHollys case, she always can use healing items or try to prevent herself from being

harmed by killing those who would harm her with her unarmed strikes.

SO WHY DOESNT EVERY CALLING USE PKE?

In the world of Riftsaga, these arts were once practiced in ancient times by whoever had

the innate skill to do so. In the modern day of Riftsagas world, however, it has becomesuch a triviality that many doubt that true psychokinetic powers even exist. Granted, there

are quasi-supernatural effects existent in the world such as alchemy, but they are mostly

based off of sciences of already-supernatural things. One such example is the Wellplant,a plant that exists in wild forests, that actually sustains itself off of both PKE and

sunlight, and whose berries extracts can miraculously heal wounds to a certain degree.

In Riftsagas world, the fact that the Wellplant lives off of nutrients metabolized from

sunlight through photosynthesis is known through science. What is not known because

physical equipment cannot detect or measure it is that the plants amazing restorativeproperties are a direct result of it also creating nutrients from PKE. Modern sciences in

Riftsagas world cannot prove or disprove the existence of the supernatural, but trust me:

the supernatural does, at least in Riftsaga, exist.

Ultimately, because of the disbelief in psychokinesis, a lack of legit practitioners

worldwide, and the inability of modern science to prove psychokinesis existence, despite

the number of callings that can use psychokinesis, not every calling can use it.Remember: in most tabletop RPGs, your character(s) are generally not a member of the

norm either way, sometimes in more ways than one.

BIOLOGICAL HARM

Even with the dangers of HP loss and sustaining Injuries and Vexations, there are still

more ways than even those for your characters adversaries to slay them. One such way

to do so is to impair their skills. This is where Biological Harm comes into play.


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When looking over the character sheet, you will notice under the biological harm section

of vitality a quickly-drawn, sectioned-off body and the cryptic instruction next to it to(shade in damaged body parts). What does this mean, you may wonder?

Well, this means that specific body parts can be chosen as targets for specific harm.Sometimes its a foe targeting a specific body part (rules of which are covered in the

Combat chapter), or other times its due to a power specifically targeting that part. At

times, it can even be caused by some kind of hazard, like a barbed tripwire. When thesebody parts are to take damage, one must roll a save depending on what would be

targeting that body part. If failed, a character will take damage, not only to their HP but to

that body part.

Having specific body parts take damage is not even remotely a good thing if it happens to

your character. Though its more indirect than HP damage, it means that your characters

talents and even non-talent-related actions will take a hit until that body part is healed.

For arms or legs, if a single limb is hurt then you will take a -1 to the effective ranks oftalents that need those limbs. Furthermore, when roleplaying, it will be harder to perform

tasks that dont rely on in-game talents but require those limbs. If both of the same typeof limb is damaged however, or if the central body mass or head is damaged, a character

will sustain a -2 effective rank penalty to any talents related to the damaged limbs or

body parts.

Luckily, even though the central body mass and head are the most vital body parts,

characters can wear body armor and helmets which, when worn, will add two additional

dice rolls when trying to save against damage to the CBM or head, depending on what isworn and what is targeted. Below are the four targets and what talents rely on them to

work.

Head: Certain uses of Athleticism (i.e. ones ability to balance), Notice, Smooth-

Talk, Intimidation, Know-How, Willpower, Deception, and Driving. Head

damage will result in a severe headache or migraine due to brain trauma whichwill impair skills that require quick thinking or a focused mind. Furthermore,

ANY damage to the head that involves a physical damage type (Slash, Pierce,

Bludgeon, or Ballistic) will be doubled if taken and, if the characters HP isreduced to zero or less, they will instantly die. The use of a helmet negates this

side-effect. This especially dangerous rule is enforced due to the sheer lethality of

harm to ones brain; however, attacking the head specifically is a difficult task

because it is a smaller target than the rest of ones body. Arms: Certain uses of Athleticism (i.e. swimming or climbing), Unarmed, Melee,

Firearms, Medicine, and Driving. Note that the penalty will only apply when the

arm used for such tasks is damaged (i.e. a character with two weapons who isonly damaged in one arm can still use the other arm to fight). Arm damage will

result in a severe ache or even the inability to use the arm, impairing skills that

require one to use their arms or hands.


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Central Body Mass: All Talents that rely on Might, Endurance or Agility are

affected. Because the CMB is where most vital organs are, damage to it willimpair a characters physical abilities. In addition, a character who is damaged in

the CMB will suffer from the bleeding condition for the same reason.

Legs: Certain uses of Athleticism (i.e. running and swimming), Acrobatics,

Stealth, and Reflexes. Leg damage will result in a severe ache or even theinability to use a leg, impairing skills that require both legs. In addition, a

character that has damage in both legs is considered immobile until at least one

leg is healed.

HEALING HP, PKE AND BIOLOGICAL HARM OVER TIME

A character, first off, must be properly treated with use of the Medicine skill in order torecover much of the time. The exception lies if the characters HP damage is not more

than half of their max HP rounded down, or if trying to recover PKE. Note that natural

HP recovery works in stages; when one reaches a certain stage, their treatment from the

use of Medicine is reset (i.e. it is as if they did not receive a Medicine treatment for thatstage of recovery), and the recovery rate will be different depending on what stage they

are in. To recover as quick as possible naturally, one must be tended to in each stage by asuccessful Medicine treatment.

HP Recovery over Time Rules

For HP damage that is not more than a characters max HP rounded down, a

character will naturally regain 1 HP for every 4 hours in-game. The successful use

of Medicine, however, will increase the regained HP by 1 for every two hours.For all intensive purposes, this is how a character recovers HP normally in

comparison to other states.

If a characters HP damage is more than their max HP rounded down, they willonly recover 1 HP for every 12 hours in-game. If Medicine is successfully used,however, they will heal 1 HP for every 6 hours naturally. Once their HP has been

recovered to half of their max HP or more, they will recover normally. This is

because of a persons body being in a worse state than if their HP was more thanhalf. For all intensive purposes, this is a delayed recovery.

If a characters HP is at zero or in the negatives but is not -9 or -10, they MUST

receive a Medicine treatment to regain HP if dying. If they have stabilized eitherby themselves and have been treated after, or if by treatment they have stabilized,

they will begin to recover 1 HP per hour until they are at 1 HP. From that point

on, they are in the delayed stage of recovery.

PKE Recovery over Time Rules

As long as a character gets at least so much as one second more than a full

five hours of sleep, their bodies will have enough strength left in them tostart regaining PKE at an accelerated rate. If this occurs, when the

character awakens, they will be back at their max amount of PKE.

If a character gets less than at least six full hours of sleep, their bodies willhave regained some of its strength but not all of it. If this occurs,


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depending on how many hours were slept away, a character will regain a

certain amount of PKE. If a character sleeps for at least three to five full

hours, they will awaken to find that they have recovered half of their maxPKE rounded down.

If a character does not sleep for more than two hours, they will regain

none of their PKE through sleep. If they sleep for an amount of timeexactly more than two hours and less than three, even if off by a second,

they will recover of their maximum PKE, rounded down, upon

awakening. The easiest way to figure out this amount without a calculatoris to take half of that characters max PKE, cut it in half (rounded down),

and cut that half in half (rounding down, of course).

Injuries and Vexations Recovery over Time Rules

Any Injuries or Vexations will be recovered in stages; a character who takes at

least five minutes of rest will be cured of a some level of both injuries and

vexations. Those who do not take rest will require 10 minutes to cure both

instead. Those who are afflicted with high amounts of injuries or vexations will need to

take at least 25 minutes of rest to have their state be lowered to a some level; ifthey do not take rest, it will take them 50 minutes to cure both.

Injuries and Vexations are healed separately; the above rules apply literally only if

a character has attained both injuries and vexations in a short period of time afterthe other, AND they are at both levels of severity. For instance, a character who

rests for 25 minutes who has both high injuries and some vexations will have

only some injuries but no vexations.

Body Part Recovery over Time Rules

Depending on the severity of the injury (as dictated by the GM), one may or maynot need medical treatment to start healing their afflicted body parts.

If the GM does not consider that injury to be too severe, one will regain use of

their damaged limb within 2 hours (or one if medical treatment is applied).

If the GM does indeed consider the damage done to be serious, that character will

not be able to naturally heal that body part until medical treatment is applied.

Even so, a body part will require 24 hours to function again even if treated.

But of course, the use of supernatural powers or items can invalidate natural healing and

can recover ones injuries within a very short period of time, from a matter of minutes to

the matter of a single second. But, either way, these rules are written on the off-chance

that these speedy forms of healing are not accessible for whatever reason.

VII. Callings

Whew! That last chapter was pretty dang long, huh? At the point of writing this, I

sincerely hope the other chapters wont be this long.


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This section of the document covers the meat-and-potatoes of your character. At first

glance, a calling is merely what kind of adventurer your character is. But it is much more

than that. A calling defines how easy or hard it is to raise specific talents ranks. A callingdefines how much HP and PKE a character has by default. A calling determines whether

or not a character has psychic powers and, in addition, which ones they can use. A calling

determines how heavy of armor a character can handle properly. And finally, a callingwill give a character two more blessings out of three to choose from, allowing a character

further individuality and special talent.

When choosing a calling, try to remain faithful to your characters original concept.

When all else fails, and you are trying to make a character from scratch, one can easily

look over one of the nine default callings and say Ooh, that sounds cool, I want to make

one of those.

When choosing a calling, one of the least obvious things included is what their Talent

Masteries are. This refers to, as hinted above, what talents will cost less Experience

Points to improve in comparison to talents that are not part of a callings TalentMasteries.

Without further ado, here are each of the nine default callings of Riftsaga.

-----

DUELISTIn a modern era where firearms dominate the battlefield, there is often not much room for

the traditional arts of combat. Whereas most people would reach for a handgun or

revolver to defend themselves in an urban setting, a duelist would scoff at suchindividuals. As living proof of the deadly power of melee weapons, a duelist feels most at

home taking on muggers with a dress sword or a bowie knife than a gun. Not to say he or

she would not use a gun in a last resort; even a duelist knows that firearms are easy to useand are especially lethal. But no matter which way you slice it, a duelist prefers to fight

with up-close and personal weapons, and such are indeed their forte. Years of intense

physical training have left them with durable bodies, and years of mastering the art offighting with melee weapons have made them dangerous even to a gun-toting foe.

Default HP: Endurance +5

Default PKE: N/ATalent Masteries: Athleticism, Melee, Toughness, Intimidation, and Reflexes

Armor: All

Blessings:

Body Resilience: If chosen, whenever a duelist fails a save against taking

biological harm, the duelist may make one more attempt. Failure on this secondattempt results in them suffering the biological harm.

Quick Recovery: If chosen, a duelist is always considered to have a normal HP

recovery rate as long as their HP is not at zero or less, regardless of remaining HPotherwise.


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All or Nothing Strike: If chosen, a duelist, when attacking with a melee weapon,

may choose to decrease the dice roll bonus from his or her Might vital by as manydice as can be rolled from Might. If this is done, if the duelist in question is able

to strike the target, the number of dice he or she forgoes will be added to the

damage dealt from the weapon +2. For instance, forgoing two Might dice will

result in a +4 to damage if the attack still lands. In this, a player chooses to reducethe possibility to hit with the incentive of causing more damage than normal.

Powers: None-----

GUNNER

While the Duelist relies on his or her talents at melee combat, the Gunner takes the roadof using firearms to fight. Perhaps one of the deadliest categories of practical weapons

known to man, the gun can be mastered with much less time than an archaic weapon such

as a sword or a bow and arrow. As the saying goes, things change when youre staring

down the barrel of a gun. It is because of this simple fact that guns are easy to use and

highly dangerous that gives the gunner an advantage over many of its opponents in acombat situation.


Default PKE: N/A

Talent Masteries: Toughness, Notice, Smooth-Talk, Firearms, and Medicine.Armor: All

Blessings:

Deadeye: If chosen, a gunner, when handling a firearm-category weapon, maychoose to delay his or her turn for up to three turns. In doing so, each turn

sacrificed adds a +1 each to his or her dice bonus in Firearms. This bonus is thenapplied as, at the end of the delayed turns, the Gunner immediately makes anattack using the firearm against an opponent. Once used, even if the attack

missed, this bonus is reset. After this changing of turn order, the Gunner is

question skips his or her next turn.

Bullet Time: If chosen, a gunner is treated as having an extra rank in Reflexes,

even if Reflexes is already maxed out, when being attacked with a firearm-

category weapon.

Quick Reflexes: If chosen, the Gunner in question gains a bonus rank in Agility.

Powers: None

-----SCOUNDREL

A roguish gambler, a secret agent working for the government, a private detective, and a

cold-hearted criminal. These four all have one thing in common: they can all beconsidered Scoundrels. In the world of Riftsaga, the Scoundrel is one who uses their wits,

slyness, and raw talent to get themselves in and out of trouble for various causes.

Whether for a heroic or sinister cause, or just looking out for number one, a knownScoundrel keeps his or her enemies and allies alike guessing. After all, what someone


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doesnt know cant hurt them or the one keeping secret information hidden, for that

matter.


Default PKE: N/A

Talent Masteries: Smooth-Talk, Know-How, Firearms, Deception, and DrivingArmor: Light and Medium only

Blessings:

Follow Your Gut: If chosen, a Scoundrel gains two boons. First, they receive a

bonus rank in their Notice talent. Second, once per day, they may immediately

increase their Wits, IQ and Agility by one rank each for 1 minute in-game.

Thieves Tricks: If chosen, a Scoundrel gains a new Talent that is not listed on thecharacter sheet. Under Miscellaneous Talents, add the talent known as

Thieves Tricks (the modifier being Agility) and start out the Scoundrel at one

rank with it. For more information, look up the Miscellaneous Talents section

of the Talents chapter. Agent Talents: If chosen, a Scoundrels Talent Masteries are expanded to include

any two of the following -- Unarmed, Melee, Intimidation, Medicine and Stealth.Once chosen, these selected bonus talents cannot be changed.

Powers: None-----

SEEKER

Respect, keeping of oaths, perseverance, self-control, an indomitable spirit, and a positiveattitude are not just nice ideals. For honor-bound warriors, it is everything they intend to

live by. In ancient times, when psychokinesis and even magic were prevalent in the

world, there existed many warriors of Bastia who fought with the powers of their body,mind, soul and spirit as opposed to doing battle with weapons of metal and wood. Thesewarriors referred to themselves as Seekers, their true goal in their mortal lives being to

seek a state of perfection in all of their being. Though the ages where PK was commonly

believed in and fear are over, the arts of the Seeker live on. And even though their martialarts are the most common form of expressing oneself as a Seeker today, there are still a

chosen few who can employ the arts of PK through their spiritual strength.


Default PKE: Wits +3

Talent Masteries: Athleticism, Unarmed, Acrobatics, Willpower, and Reflexes

Armor: Light only

Blessings:

Will of the Soul: If chosen, a Seeker can, once per day, use up their actionduring a round of a situation or in combat to recover 1d6 PKE. In doing so, they

must then make a Toughness or a Willpower save (whichever has the least

number of ranks) against a Challenge Level of 5. If failed, the Seeker then gainsone rank of vexations (i.e. if none, then to some; if some, then to high).


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saves against this power, they do not suffer deep enough wounds from the vacuum

blades to start bleeding.

*Effects by rank6. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +1, and the target is bleeding for

one round

7. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +2, and the target is bleeding forone round

8. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +3, and the target is bleeding for

two rounds9. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +4, and the target is bleeding for

two rounds

10. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +5, and the target is bleeding for

three rounds

-----

PSION

A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and by far, a Psion knows this more than any otherperson on the planet. While most Psions lack in the physical might department, they more

than make up for it with the power of their minds. Using ancient techniques from a timewhen PK and even magic was commonplace, these psychics can employ real power,

making them dangerous to any who dare have disbelief in the powers of the supernatural.

Default HP: Endurance +3Default PKE: Charisma +5

Talent Masteries: Notice, Smooth-Talk, Know-How, Paranormal, and Willpower

Armor: Light only

Blessings:

Power of Suggestion: If chosen, by using 1 PKE, the Psion may increase theeffective ranks of his or her Smooth-Talk, Intimidation, and Deception Talents by

one rank each for 5 minutes. This blessing can be used up to twice per day.

Ectoplasm Strike: If chosen, any physical attacks a Psion makes can affect aspirit category target.

Ectoplasm in the Blood: If chosen, the Psions natural PKE recovery is treated as

taking one hour less than normal (i.e. to recover even the minimal amount of PKEthrough sleep, a Psion with this blessing need only sleep for a minimal of over

one hour).

Powers:Aestuo

Range: 120 ft.

Duration: Instant

Base PKE Cost: 1

Save: Reflexes negate

The aestuopower launches a burning fireball about the size of an orange at the targetfrom the hand of the user. On impact, the fireball will burst into an explosion about


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the size of a beach ball, scorching whatever is struck. The force waves from this

explosion are not very strong at all; if anything, one close to the explosion (or in it)

might feel the shockwaves as a slight gust of wind, nothing more and nothing less.*Effects by rank

1. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +1

2. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +23. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +3



Algor

Range: 25 ft.

Duration: Instant

Base PKE Cost: 2

Save: Toughness partial

When manifested, algorcauses the molecules of water in the air around the target to

slow down to the point of freezing over; as much, the damage caused by this power isdue to frostbite from the sudden exposure to the super-chilled water vapor in the air.

Upon a successful Toughness save, the target is able to shrug off the slow statusfrom body heat dropping due to this power. They still, however, suffer from some of

the frostbite, and thus take half damage rounded down from this power.

*Effects by rank1. 1 Cold damage per success +1, and the target is slowed for one round

2. 1 Cold damage per success +2, and the target is slowed for two rounds

3. 1 Cold damage per success +3, and the target is slowed for three rounds

4. 1 Cold damage per success +4, and the target is slowed for four rounds5. 1 Cold damage per success +5, and the target is slowed for five rounds

Frendo

Range: All targets within 50 ft.

Duration: Instant

Base PKE Cost: 3

Save: Toughness negates

Upon manifestingfrendo, the user and all non-targeted beings within 50 feet of the

user will feel as if their legs were made of lead and as if some unseen force waspulling them to the ground. For those who are targeted (mainly enemies of the user),

however, they will feel a much more harsh sensation; they will feel as if their insides

are collapsing in on themselves. The result of this is due to gravity itself growing

stronger and stronger around the victims, crushing their bodies tightly for a fewseconds upon manifestation. If able to endure the beginning pain of this power, one

will be rendered unaffected by it; otherwise, the gravitational hold on the victim will

crush them so much that their internal organs can rupture and their breath can besqueezed from their lungs. At higher Levels, the gravitational hold on a victim can be

so great that it pins their feet to the ground for some moments after the crushing ends.

*Effects by rank1. 1 Force damage per success +1


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2. 1 Force damage per success +2

3. 1 Force damage per success +3, and the target is immobile for one round

4. 1 Force damage per success +4, and the target is immobile for two rounds5. 1 Force damage per success +5, and the target is immobile for three rounds

-----

riftsaga rpg- core document

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