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View Full Version : LEEP: A system built from the ground up to work with PbP and Tabletop



Feirgon
2013-04-02, 10:54 AM
A while ago, I had become frustrated with all the smaller details that were needed in order to start a PbP RPG. While house rules could alleviate some of the minutia, the systems then started feeling restrictive. Also, combats often left me bored, wanting more, or at least feeling like I was not helping. How often have you been in combat and missed four or more times in a row? Even at the higher levels this happens and it infuriates me. Not to mention the very slow scaling of damage for some weapons (in d20 and its earlier derivatives).

So, I wanted to make a system that had fewer restrictions, had a combat system that made you felt like you were accomplishing something every round, and have it accessible; easy to pick-up and start a game (this really helps in PbP games).

Basic LEEP (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VNxywZ3susUUhlCqkkKss6ihV7NwXXMK680dAmKrMs0/edit?usp=sharing) is what I have come up with.

I haven't had the chance to play test this game in a group setting, so there may be some mechanical issues. I'm hoping you guys here would be willing to look it over and provide some feed-back.

Thank you :smallsmile:

Feirgon
2013-04-03, 11:49 AM
In case people are unable to open the google doc (I didn't think about that until today), here is a copy of the text:


LEEP - Level of Effort Equates to Progress

Every character has dice pools that can be used to accomplish tasks. All dice are 6 sided. Dice rolls are summed to determine effectiveness. Dice pools can be used partially or fully in any chosen action. Some dice pools can be combined with others to allow a bigger roll.

Attributes and Stats
There are three main attributes: Body, Mind, Spirit.

Body represents physical actions and affects hit points and how much can be worn.
Mind represents mental actions and affects skills and weapon power.
Spirit represents magical actions and affects spells and weapon power.

Derived Stats:
Hit Points (HP) = (Body+Level)*6
Skill Points (SP) = (Mind+Level)*2
Spell Count (SC) = (Spirit+Level)/2 (round-up)
Equipment Level (EL) = Body+Level
Weapon Strength (WS) = Mind+Spirit

At first level all three attributes start at 1. And the player is given 6 additional attributes that he can distribute freely. However, no attribute may be above 4 at first level.

Hit Points
This is a measure of a character’s ability to continue fighting. If a character’s HP drops below 0 (all negative HP is tracked), the character is knocked unconscious and becomes scarred (see section on Scars below). This can be mitigated by sacrificing a piece of equipment. Doing so will also restore the character to 50% health.

An unconscious character must be restored to HP above 0 in order to rejoin an existing combat. Outside of combat, HP is restored at a rate decided by the GM, usually 100% for the victors.

Death of a PC is at the discretion of the player and the GM.

Skill Points
This is used to add ranks to skills and spells. There are only six basic skills to chose from when spending SP: Move, Attack, Defend, Calm, Focus, and Recharge. These skills restore 1 die to their dice pools each round. Limits imposed on Skills can be exceeded by equipment only.

Move is the dice pool used to determine turn order and escaping/hiding from combat. When determining turn order, highest roll goes first and all players must roll a number of dice equal to the unexhausted dice in Move. This does not exhaust dice from this dice pool. Turn order ties are broken by Move, Mind, Level, then reroll. No other dice pools can be used with this skill. Move starts at rank 2.
Attack is the ability of the character to perform offensive maneuvers. The weapon power dice pool can be added to an attack roll. However, only one attribute type can be added to added to an attack roll per action. This dice pool starts at rank 2.
Defend is any form of defense. The weapon power dice pool can be added to a defend roll. However, only one attribute type can be added to a defend roll per action. Defend acts as temporary HP that lasts until the start of your next turn. Defend starts at rank 2.
Calm is used to restore attribute dice pools: Body, Mind, Spirit. This skill is limited to a rank equal to Level. Calm starts at rank 0. This skill can also be used to restore dice to the weapon dice pool.
Focus is used to restore skill dice pools: Move, Attack, Defend. Focus starts at rank 1. This skill can also be used to restore dice to the weapon dice pool.
Recharge is used to restore spell dice pools. This skill is limited to a rank equal to Level. Focus starts at rank 0. This skill can also be used to restore dice to the weapon dice pool.

{table]Skill Name|Starting Rank|Rank Limit
Speed|2|None
Attack|2|None
Defend|2|None
Calm|0|Level
Focus|1|None
Recharge|0|Level[/table]

Spell Count
This determines how many unique spells/special powers a character knows. All spells start at a rank equal to spirit and can be added to by SP. Spells come in three main types, Restorative, Destructive, and Affective. Restorative spells are used to restore health and remove negative statuses. To remove a negative status from a single target, two dice must be exhausted from the Restorative Spell’s dice pool. Destructive Spells are used to cause damage. Affective Spells are used to add statuses to characters. Each spell also has one of six elements: Light, Dark, Fire, Water, Earth, Air. Each element has an opposite and some characters will have a defense against certain element types. A spell’s dice pool does not need to be exhausted in a single action. No other dice pools can be combined with spells. ice pools do not naturally restore during combat.

Below is a list of available statuses the Affective Spells can have. Each of these spells has a minimum number of dice that must be exhausted to cast the spell. Furthermore, these spells can be augmented by spending additional dice from the dice pool (this is in addition to selecting more than one target). Additional damage is only applied at the time of casting.

{table]Statuses from Affective Spells|Minimum Cost|Description|Dice Pool Options
Stun|1 die|Cannot use any defensive Actions for one round.|Exhaust 2 dice to add 1d6 damage. Exhaust 1 die to increase duration for a single target by one round.
Daze|1 die|Cannot use any dice pool restoring Actions for one round.|Exhaust 2 dice to add 1d6 damage. Exhaust 1 die to increase duration for a single target by one round.
Mute|1 die|Cannot use any spells/special powers for one round.|Exhaust 2 dice to add 1d6 damage. Exhaust 1 die to increase duration for a single target by one round.
Frighten|2 dice|Cannot attack for one round.|Exhaust 1 die to add 1d6 damage. Exhaust 2 dice to increase duration for a single target by one round. Spend an additional die when adding targets.
Slow|1 die|Get one less action on next turn.|Exhaust 2 dice to add 1d6 damage. Exhaust 1 die to increase duration for a single target by one round.
Poison|2 dice|Deal damage equal to the rank of this spell for two rounds.|Exhaust 1 die to add 1d6 damage. Exhaust 2 dice to increase duration for a single target by one round. Spend an additional die when adding targets
Protect|1 die|Create a magical barrier around a target that provides 1d6 protection.|Exhaust 1 die to add 1d6 protection.[/table]

Equipment Level
This is used to determine the number of bonuses a character’s equipment can provide. Some bonuses will cost two levels, while some will cost three levels. Any number of bonuses can be placed on a single piece of equipment. For every two bonuses on a single piece of equipment, another bonus can be added without counting against a character’s EL. Any free bonuses added to a piece of equipment do not provide extra bonuses.

Equipment without any bonuses does not count as a piece of equipment for the purposes of this system. Equipment Level can never be exceeded by a character. A single piece of equipment can be sacrificed to prevent scarring and keep a character from going unconscious. Note that if you place all of your EL onto a single piece of equipment, sacrificing it will become highly undesirable.

{table]Equipment Bonus Types|EL Cost|Notes
+5 HP|1|Can stack.
+1 to any Skill|1|Can stack.
+6 resistance to a single Element|1|Can stack. This reduces the total damage from damage of the chosen element type to a minimum of 0.
+1 Elemental damage|1|Can stack. This applies to any kind of attack.
+3 resistance to all Elements|2|Can stack. This reduces the total damage from damage of all element types to a minimum of 0. If an attack has multiple elements, the resistance applies to each element.
+1 New Spell|2|Cannot stack (two of the same spell will not give the spell twice or double the spell’s power). This spell is treated as if it is part of the character’s spell library but does not count against SC. SP can be spent on this spell. If the equipment is lost, the spell is lost but any ranks gained from spent SP remain (character can relearn the spell at a higher level).
+2 resistance to all damage|3|Can stack. This reduces the total damage from damage of all types to a minimum of 0. If an attack has multiple elements, the resistance applies to each element.
+1 to any Attribute|3|Can stack. Adding or removing this equipment will immediately alter derived stats. Note any changes to skill ranks or additional spells gained from this bonus attribute. If this equipment is lost, these are lost as well.[/table]

Weapon Strength
This is the dice pool for a character’s unique weapon. It can have a name and cannot be removed from the character. A weapon can be used for attack or defense. Every weapon has an element (Light, Dark, Fire, Water, Earth, Air) and a distance (either Melee or Range). Using a weapon to target an enemy at a distance that is not the same as the weapon requires 2 dice to be exhausted for each die rolled from this dice pool. This dice pool restores 2 dice at the end of each round and can also be restored by any dice pool restoring skill.

Combat
Combat is broken up into rounds. At the beginning of each round, characters roll from their Speed dice pools. The highest roll will go first. During the first round, characters will only get one action. During subsequent rounds, characters will get two actions. Actions include attacking, defending against attacks, restoring dice pools, casting magic, and moving.

Attacking
Attacking is done using any of these four dice pools: Body, Mind, Spirit, and Weapon. A character can choose to use some or all of any combination of the four dice pools. Once this decision is made, the player will roll the dice. Damage is the sum of the dice rolled.

You can target multiple characters with a single attack or spell at the cost of one die from the dice pool for each target beyond the first. The remaining dice pool must be divided between all targets before rolling. With an attack, all targets must be in the same field. Spells can target across fields (except hidden).


Example: A character has a dice pool of 10 for an attack spell. He wishes to attack all three enemies with the spell. He spends two dice and has 8 left. He then decides to roll only 6 of the remaining 8 and assigns two dice to each enemy. Later, if still in the same combat, he can recast the same attack spell, but he will only have 2 dice left.

Defending
Defending is done by rolling from the defend skill and optionally adding from a single Attribute and/or Weapon dice pools. The amount rolled will act as a Temporary HP that must be hit first before any damage will be applied to a character’s HP. This disappear at the start of the character’s next turn.

Restoring Dice Pools
When restoring dice pools, a character can only roll dice from one regenerative dice pool. The amount rolled is the number of dice restored in the corresponding dice pools.

Moving
Combat has three fields: center, outer, and hidden. All combatants in the center field are considered to be in melee of each other. Characters in the outer field are considered to be in range of all other characters unless a character has specifically made a move action to get in melee with them. Only a single move action is required to get in melee with any character in the outer field.


Example: Bob the Archer started combat in the outer field. His opponent has an archer in the outer field as well as two fighters in the center field. The other archer notices that Bob has no melee weapon so takes a single move action to get in melee with Bob and then strikes him with a sword. On Bob’s turn he makes a single move, staying in the outer field and uses a powerful range attack on the other archer, killing him. One of the two fighters in the center field notices this and makes a single move action to get in melee with Bob. He swings his club and knocks Bob to the ground.

Attacks and spells can only target a character in the hidden field if the targeting character is in the outer field and is chasing the hiding character. A single action will move a character between center and outer. However, to move to hidden (escape) a character must roll from their Move dice pool. Attacks and spells can only target a character in the hidden field if the targeting character is in the outer field and is chasing the hiding character. Any character that is chasing will also roll from their Move dice pool to keep them in sight. If a character is not chased, he may chose to leave the combat or simply hide. Hiding allows a character to rejoin combat with a single move action (moving from hidden to outer). Characters that are in the hidden field and those that have left the combat cannot attack or cast spells.

Chasing is handled by simply comparing the difference between the chaser’s move roll and the hider’s move roll. If a character is attempting to hide he can only be attacked by ranged attacks from characters in the outer field. In order to attack a character that is hidden, a chaser’s move roll must exceed the hider’s move roll. If it does not, the hider may leave combat or become hidden.


Example: Carry has a Move of 4 and Greg has a Move of 5. Greg rolls [5d6]19 move on the first round and Carry only rolls [4d6]18. Greg goes first and defends, but underestimates Carry’s attack power. Carry has severely damaged Greg in melee combat in the Center Field. Greg goes first the following round. Greg conjures a protective spell then moves to the outer field. Carry follows and attacks, his spell deflects all of the attack. Next round, Greg goes first again. Realizing his spell won’t hold much longer he defends and makes a move action and decides to roll three dice from his Move, [3d6]12. At the start of the next round, Greg only has 3 in his move dice pool (5-3+1) and rolls poorly, which allows Carry to go first. Seeing as she has to catch-up with Greg, she rolls all four dice [4d6]16, which is good enough to keep Greg in her sights. She uses a spell in hopes that it will bypass his magical defense. While it is powerful enough to break through, it does not drop Greg below 0 HP. Greg, thankful that he is still standing, uses all his Move to attempt to escape Carry [3d6]13 and then uses Focus which he uses to insure that he has full Move next round. At the start of the next round Carry’s Move is only 1 while Greg’s is 5, so he ends up going first and rolls all of his Move, [5d6]23, and uses Focus. Greg’s total Move value since Carry’s last turn is 13+23=36. This must be exceeded in order for Carry to keep him in his sights which is not possible even with a maximum Move roll of 24.

Scars
When a character falls below 0 HP and does not sacrifice a piece of equipment to prevent it, that character will gain a scar. All scars are permanent and cannot be remedied. Scars stack.

When gaining a scar, roll 1d6: 1-Elemental Weakness, 2-Weakened Immune System, 3-Injured Limb, 4-Head Wound, 5-Internal Injury, 6 Player/GM choice. A possible house-rule that can be used is to have the GM or the affected player choose a Scar without rolling. Regardless of which scar is gained, there should be physical evidence of this scar on your character.

{table]Name|Effect|Notes
Elemental Weakness|+1 to damage from attacks with this element|Choose only one element each time this scar is chosen. This damage is added after applying resistances.
Weakened Immune System|+1 round to duration of all negative statuses|Choose only one status, except protect, each time this scar is chosen.
Injured Limb|Exhaust an additional die to attack targets that are Defending|This must be paid for each target that is defending. Applies to both spells and attacks.
Head Wound|-1 to the total rolled from skills|This applies to Move, Attack, and Defend
Internal Injury|-1 to the total rolled from dice restoring skills|This applies to Calm, Focus, and Recharge

Status Weakness|+1 round to duration of all negative statuses|Choose only one status, except protect, each time this scar is chosen.
Weak Attack|Exhaust an additional die to attack targets that are Defending|This must be paid for each target that is defending. Applies to both spells and attacks.
Slow Attack|Exhaust an additional die to attack targets that are Dodging|This must be paid for each target that is dodging. Applies to both spells and attacks.
Feeble Attack|Exhaust an additional die to attack targets that are Deflecting|This must be paid for each target that is deflecting. Applies to both spells and attacks.[/table]

Role-playing
Role-playing is highly encouraged. Despite the rules being heavily combat driven, role-play should be an important part of any campaign. NPCs should be a source of information and rewards. PCs should have backgrounds that indicate how they may react to situations and even other characters. In the course of role-playing, a GM may decide to have some dice rolling to randomize outcomes. He may derive a what is rolled based on attributes, background, and/or role-playing.

Role-playing should also be active in combat. Adding dice pools to an attack should add a visual flare to the attack to correspond the additional dice pools. Sacrificing pieces of equipment should include visuals that help portray how the equipment saved your life. Gaining scars should tie into the battle that provided the scar.

Non-combat encounters may sometimes befall a party. These should be treated like encounters in that dice pools need to be used and replenished. Dice pools should be known and have a derived attribute, both of these are at the discretion of the GM.

Rewards
Completing tasks should not be rewarded with only the satisfaction of a job well done. There are the two main forms of rewards: loot and power.

Loot rewards include both equipment and money. Money can be used to purchase equipment or other non-combat related items. Note that a character’s EL can never be exceeded.

Power rewards include both levels and other stat bonuses. A new level will automatically come with a new attribute point that can be used as the character wishes. Stat bonuses can include a free SP, a new spell that does not count against SC, bonus HP, a point in a specific skill, etc.


Also, here are some example characters built using this system:


Level 1 “Sword Master”

Body: 4
Mind: 2
Spirit: 3
HP: 30
Bonus Damage: 1 Light

Weapon:
{table]MegaSlash!|Power 5|Light|Melee|A steel broadsword that has a wing design on the cross-guard and a skull with glowing eyes for the pommel.[/table]

Skills: SP = 6
{table]Name|Base Rank|Spent SP|Bonus from Equipment|Total Rank
Move|2|0|2|4
Attack|2|2|1|5
Defend|0|2|1|3
Calm|0|1|0|1
Focus|1|1|0|2
Recharge|0|0|0|0
Murderous Smite (spell)|3|0|1|4
Healing Strike (spell)|3|0|1|4[/table]

Spells: SC = 2
{table]Name|Type|Element|Rank|Notes
Murderous Smite|Affective|Dark|4|Poison
Healing Strike|Restorative|Light|4|[/table]

Equipment: EL = 5
{table]Name|EL Cost|Bonuses|Free Bonuses
Headband of Understanding|2|+1 Murderous Smite, +1 Healing Strike|+1 Attack
Boots of Sweet Movements|2|+2 Move|+1 Defend
Cape of Awesome|1|+1 Light Damage|[/table]


Level 1 “Fire Mage”

Body: 2
Mind: 3
Spirit: 5 (+1 from equipment)
HP: 18
Bonus Damage: 1 Fire

Weapon:
{table]Devil’s Gloves|Power 8|Fire|Range|A pair of red, fingerless, leather gloves that are constantly ablaze.[/table]

Skills: SP = 8
{table]Name|Base Rank|Spent SP|Bonus from Equipment|Total Rank
Move|2|1|0|3
Attack|2|0|0|2
Defend|2|0|0|2
Calm|0|0|0|0
Focus|1|0|0|1
Recharge|0|1|0|1
Rain of Fire (spell)|4|3|1|8
Magma Shield (spell)|4|3|1|8
Blue Fire (spell)|4|0|1|5[/table]

Spells: SC = 3
{table]Name|Type|Element|Rank|Notes
Rain of Fire|Destructive|Fire|7|
Magma Shield|Affective|Fire|7|Protect
Blue Fire|Restorative|Fire|5|[/table]

Equipment: EL = 3
{table]Name|EL Cost|Bonuses|Free Bonuses
Splendorous Robe|3|+1 Spirit|+1 Fire Damage[/table]


Level 1 “Sniper”

Body: 4
Mind: 4
Spirit: 1
HP: 35 (+5 from equipment)
Resistances: 6 Earth, 6 Air
Bonus Damage: 1 Water

Weapon:
{table]Sweet Julia|Power 5|Air|Range|Can manifest as either a long bow or a crossbow. The wood is a dark mahogany. Metal pieces and grips are a metallic blue. And the bow string is a bright blonde.[/table]

Skills: SP = 10
{table]Name|Base Rank|Spent SP|Bonus from Equipment|Total Rank
Move|2|2|0|3
Attack|2|0|0|2
Defend|2|0|0|2
Calm|0|1|0|1
Focus|1|1|0|2
Recharge|0|1|0|1
Barrage (spell)|1|5|0|6
Nature's Bounty (spell)|1|0|1|2[/table]

Spells: SC = 1
{table]Name|Type|Element|Rank|Notes
Barrage|Affective|Air|6|Fear
Nature's Bounty|Restorative|Earth|2|From Equipment (Muddied Boots)[/table]

Equipment Bonuses: EL = 5
{table]Name|EL Cost|Bonuses|Free Bonuses
Muddied Boots|2|Nature’s Bounty (spell)|+1 Nature’s Bounty
Camouflage Belt|2|+6 Earth Defense, +6 Air Defense|+5 HP
Tear Drop Necklace|1|+1 Water Damage[/table]



Thanks again for looking it over and feel free to provide any input or suggestions.

SamBurke
2013-04-03, 12:04 PM
Opened and reading.

Feirgon
2013-04-12, 01:40 PM
I recently play tested this and made a few modification to the rules based on player input:

1. Reworked the skills: added Attack, consolidated the defensive skills into Defend, and overhauled the dice pool restoring skills
2. Edited Initiative to not exhaust the Move dice pool
3. Edited Combat fields and movement between them
4. Clarified movement rules and added examples
5. Added more Scars and a dice mechanic to gaining them

I updated the second post with the new rules and corrected characters.