Aniikinis
2023-11-09, 03:27 PM
Hey there, long time no post. I've been busy with life, moved across the country, and have been working on my own game system for a few years now. I've recently published it on itch.io for free and have been taking time off from working on it to settle into my new home and get things stabilized. I was recently working on the basics of the biotics/biomancy subsystem and would like some feedback on what notes I have so far. If necessary, I can clarify things.
Background info
The system is a d10 dice pool system similar to Vampire with uncapped stats and uses a hex grid for movement and to help limit melee.
The stats are similar to DnD's stat's with an additional stat that shows organization and cooperation ability (useful as the main premise is the players control a hive mind).
The system allows for a massive degree of customization including body plan, physiology, diet, perks, and even entire new castes for the hive.
In order to use Magic, Biotics, or Psionics you have to take the relevant perk and skill which has a cap based on your level. You can have all of them at once, but there is a major investment of Build Points needed to obtain all three.
Biotics
Biotics can only affect creatures with a physiology of Flesh, Fungus, Plant, or Slime.
All creatures with those physiologies have a Bio Pool similar to mana with an amount equal to Physique+Size+misc.
Bio regenerates at a rate of 1 point per 4 hours. Bio regenerates at twice the speed while resting.
Any creature of a different physiology must find a way to generate bio if they wish to use Biotics. If they have a way to use the bio of other creatures, they take a -2 success penalty on their rolls and a -2 dice pool modifier due to the difference in their very existence.
If a creature attempts to use more bio than they have it is automatically taken from their Maximum Health at a 4:1 ratio.
Health reduced this way is called Scar Damage and cannot be healed but regenerates one point at a time at half the rate that bio does.
This regeneration takes place before bio begins to regenerate and the creature does not regain the health lost once the scar damage is removed, only the ability to heal back what was lost as the maximum health limit is regained.
Bio can be Spent, Burnt, Bound, and Unbound.
Bio is Spent to produce effects that do not last or are not controlled after being produced, similar to magic.
Bio is Bound to produce lasting effects such as Biowarping and Unbound when removing them. When bio is unbound it is treated though it is spent and as such must be regenerated before it is able to be used.
Bio can be Burnt to produce bigger effects but burnt bio recovers as though healing attribute damage and reduces maximum bio until recovered.
Without an ability or perk, you can only use bio from your pool and cannot use bio in your target's pool for any reason.
A creature can have a number of effects bound to them equal to their Physique+Hexes. (A creature takes up one additional hex of space at Size 5 and every 2 Size points above that
Adding more than this forces a % check every turn to see if the creature is fine (00-39), mutates into an abomination (40-69), or dies (70-99)
Each additional bound biowarp adds a +10 to the check.
Biowarping may use up item slots of the target and, unless certain abilities or perks are used, binds the bio that the Biote used to make the change, not the target's bio if used on another creature.
Biotic Methods (subskills)
-Manipulation (controlling the bodies of others and yourself)
-Mutation (changing the bodies of others and yourself)
-Healing (fixing or breaking the bodies of others and yourself)
Biowarping Rules
To give a creature a body part, you must bind 1 point of bio per body part and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to the number of body parts. If successful each body part counts towards the maximum number of biowarps the target can have. Once bound you may choose to burn an additional point of bio to allow them to buy the body parts with BP on their next level up but the body parts cannot be unbound until then. Once the body part is bought, the bio is automatically unbound and the biowarp no longer counts towards their biowarp count.
To give a creature a perk, you must bind an amount of bio equal to 1/5th the BP cost of the perk and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to 1/5th of the BP cost of the Perk. If successful it counts towards the maximum number of biowarps the target can have. Once bound you may choose to burn an additional amount of bio equal to the cost paid to allow them to buy that body part with BP on their next level up but the body part cannot be unbound until then. Once the body part is bought, the bio is automatically unbound and the biowarp no longer counts towards their biowarp count. One Bio is equivalent to 5 BP
To force a creature to do something, you must spend a number of bio equal to the AP cost of the action and the target may make a Mental save to resist with a TN equal to the bio spent. You may spend an additional amount of bio to increase the TN by the same amount.
To graft an item into or onto a creature, you must bind 1 point of bio per size of the item and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to the size of the item. If successful, the item takes up an item slot and cannot be removed unless directly sundered. If the item was a weapon and it was grafted in a way that the creature is capable of using it, the creature may treat it as though it were a natural weapon for the benefit of perks or abilities as long as it is grafted.
Creation of monsters and items
Raising a wall made of biological matter costs 1 Bio for each hex occupied and takes 5 minutes per hex. The wall is not considered a creature, though you can burn 1 Bio to make the entire wall animate and alive. An animate Bio Wall is not under your control unless you spend 1 bio and roll a Manipulation+Synchronicity check against the Wall's Mental save. If successful, the wall remains under your control unless you release it. You may then modify the wall as though it were a normal creature and may spend your own XP to level up the creature as long as it is under your control.
You must burn Bio in order to make a constructed creature animate.
Disease Rules
You must have a host. Once you have selected a host, you may spend an amount of bio and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to the Bio spent to create a disease. The host creature is then forced to roll a Physical save against the disease with a TN equal to the bio spent. If the host succeeds, you cannot create the disease and the bio spent is wasted. If the host fails, continue:
Choose a biological physiology that the host has. This will be the physiology the disease is capable of infecting.
Roll 1d10 for number of days the disease must incubate for. Once a disease has finished its incubation time, the host must make another Physical save at the same TN as before or be afflicted with the effects of the disease.
Roll 1d10 for number of hours before the host must reroll the save against the disease. Failure means the effects are applied again, but the host gains a +1 bonus to all future saves against that disease. Success means the host has fought off the disease and is not longer affected by it, but any conditions last until their next rest and any damage sustained must be healed off as normal.
Choose a transmission (Airborne, Contact, Ingestion, Injury. If the biote also has Magical ability they can choose to also use Mana as the transmission)
Choose a condition to inflict, if that condition has multiple levels it does not stack with itself. Some conditions have requirements in order to inflict with diseases. The conditions that can be chosen are:
Blinded [Mutation 2]
Charmed [Enchantment 4]
Confused
Dazed
Deafened [Mutation 2]
Enraged [Enchantment 4]
Euphoric [Enchantment 4]
Exhausted
Fascinated [Enchantment 4]
Fear
Inflated [Mutation 2] (buoyant and able to float on water and possibly air, makes the target helpless and effectively paralyzed but with a small chance at movement)
Intangible [Transmutation 4]
Paralyzed
Petrified [Transmutation 4]
Sickened
Stunned
Unconscious
Some conditions have an additional skill requirement to choose them.
After the disease infects another creature, you may, for an additional Bio cost, add a single modification. You may only add one modification each time a creature is infected and it only applies to the new strain of the disease created by adding the modification, meaning older hosts may catch the new strain but if already infected with an older strain they will not have the new effects added by the modification. Additionally, some modifications have requirements that must be fulfilled in order to use them. These modifications and their costs are:
1 Bio - Choose a single condition that the disease inflicts which has multiple levels. The condition can now stack with itself if reapplied to increase the level of the effect. This does not increase the maximum level of the effect capable which is still at level 1.
3 Bio - Increase the maximum level of any condition with levels that can stack by 1.
5 Bio - Add one point of damage to a single primary attribute.
2 Bio - Add an additional condition.
4 Bio - Add an additional transmission.
1 Bio - Add an additional day of incubation time.
5 Bio - Reduce the incubation time by 1 day. (Minimum 0 days)
1 Bio - Add 1 hour to the affliction time.
3 Bio - Reduce affliction time by 1 hour. (Minimum 1 hour)
8 Bio - Add an additional physiology you can select.
3 Bio - Add a +1 to the TN of the disease.
3 Bio - Choose a single attribute. The disease also deals 1 point of damage to that attribute.
10 Bio - When failing a save against the disease, the infected creature does not gain a bonus to future saves against the disease.
5 Bio - Make the disease capable of being transmitted during the incubation period.
10 Bio and must make a Transmutation check with a TN equal to the disease TN - The disease now counts as a curse as well and can be spread to Spiritual beings. You may now choose undead and any spiritual physiology for the disease. This option does not grant you an additional physiology when taken. [Transmutation 4]
10 Bio and must make a Technology check with a TN equal to the disease TN - The disease can somehow now infect technology. You may now choose synthetic physiologies for the disease. This option does not grant you an additional physiology when taken. [Errorcasting 1 or Synthetic physiology] (Errorcasting is a corrupted form of technomancy which eventually may become its own subsystem inspired by the Missingno class here on the forums)
You may bind one bio and make a Manipulation roll with a TN equal to the Physical save TN of the disease to freeze a disease.
Once frozen, a disease goes dormant and does not continue incubating or affecting the host until unfrozen. Unbinding the bio of a frozen disease causes the disease to become unfrozen. While a disease is frozen, a biote can roll a Healing check with a TN equal to the TN of the disease to learn what it does and how to best counteract it. If a disease is frozen and introduced to a host, the host gains a +2 automatic success bonus and a +3 dice pool bonus to its' physical save against the disease. A biote can make a mutation check on a frozen disease to copy said disease and apply it to another host later using the same rules as above, though unless bio is bound to the new infection it will not be frozen when applied.
Poison rules (None written yet)
Background info
The system is a d10 dice pool system similar to Vampire with uncapped stats and uses a hex grid for movement and to help limit melee.
The stats are similar to DnD's stat's with an additional stat that shows organization and cooperation ability (useful as the main premise is the players control a hive mind).
The system allows for a massive degree of customization including body plan, physiology, diet, perks, and even entire new castes for the hive.
In order to use Magic, Biotics, or Psionics you have to take the relevant perk and skill which has a cap based on your level. You can have all of them at once, but there is a major investment of Build Points needed to obtain all three.
Biotics
Biotics can only affect creatures with a physiology of Flesh, Fungus, Plant, or Slime.
All creatures with those physiologies have a Bio Pool similar to mana with an amount equal to Physique+Size+misc.
Bio regenerates at a rate of 1 point per 4 hours. Bio regenerates at twice the speed while resting.
Any creature of a different physiology must find a way to generate bio if they wish to use Biotics. If they have a way to use the bio of other creatures, they take a -2 success penalty on their rolls and a -2 dice pool modifier due to the difference in their very existence.
If a creature attempts to use more bio than they have it is automatically taken from their Maximum Health at a 4:1 ratio.
Health reduced this way is called Scar Damage and cannot be healed but regenerates one point at a time at half the rate that bio does.
This regeneration takes place before bio begins to regenerate and the creature does not regain the health lost once the scar damage is removed, only the ability to heal back what was lost as the maximum health limit is regained.
Bio can be Spent, Burnt, Bound, and Unbound.
Bio is Spent to produce effects that do not last or are not controlled after being produced, similar to magic.
Bio is Bound to produce lasting effects such as Biowarping and Unbound when removing them. When bio is unbound it is treated though it is spent and as such must be regenerated before it is able to be used.
Bio can be Burnt to produce bigger effects but burnt bio recovers as though healing attribute damage and reduces maximum bio until recovered.
Without an ability or perk, you can only use bio from your pool and cannot use bio in your target's pool for any reason.
A creature can have a number of effects bound to them equal to their Physique+Hexes. (A creature takes up one additional hex of space at Size 5 and every 2 Size points above that
Adding more than this forces a % check every turn to see if the creature is fine (00-39), mutates into an abomination (40-69), or dies (70-99)
Each additional bound biowarp adds a +10 to the check.
Biowarping may use up item slots of the target and, unless certain abilities or perks are used, binds the bio that the Biote used to make the change, not the target's bio if used on another creature.
Biotic Methods (subskills)
-Manipulation (controlling the bodies of others and yourself)
-Mutation (changing the bodies of others and yourself)
-Healing (fixing or breaking the bodies of others and yourself)
Biowarping Rules
To give a creature a body part, you must bind 1 point of bio per body part and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to the number of body parts. If successful each body part counts towards the maximum number of biowarps the target can have. Once bound you may choose to burn an additional point of bio to allow them to buy the body parts with BP on their next level up but the body parts cannot be unbound until then. Once the body part is bought, the bio is automatically unbound and the biowarp no longer counts towards their biowarp count.
To give a creature a perk, you must bind an amount of bio equal to 1/5th the BP cost of the perk and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to 1/5th of the BP cost of the Perk. If successful it counts towards the maximum number of biowarps the target can have. Once bound you may choose to burn an additional amount of bio equal to the cost paid to allow them to buy that body part with BP on their next level up but the body part cannot be unbound until then. Once the body part is bought, the bio is automatically unbound and the biowarp no longer counts towards their biowarp count. One Bio is equivalent to 5 BP
To force a creature to do something, you must spend a number of bio equal to the AP cost of the action and the target may make a Mental save to resist with a TN equal to the bio spent. You may spend an additional amount of bio to increase the TN by the same amount.
To graft an item into or onto a creature, you must bind 1 point of bio per size of the item and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to the size of the item. If successful, the item takes up an item slot and cannot be removed unless directly sundered. If the item was a weapon and it was grafted in a way that the creature is capable of using it, the creature may treat it as though it were a natural weapon for the benefit of perks or abilities as long as it is grafted.
Creation of monsters and items
Raising a wall made of biological matter costs 1 Bio for each hex occupied and takes 5 minutes per hex. The wall is not considered a creature, though you can burn 1 Bio to make the entire wall animate and alive. An animate Bio Wall is not under your control unless you spend 1 bio and roll a Manipulation+Synchronicity check against the Wall's Mental save. If successful, the wall remains under your control unless you release it. You may then modify the wall as though it were a normal creature and may spend your own XP to level up the creature as long as it is under your control.
You must burn Bio in order to make a constructed creature animate.
Disease Rules
You must have a host. Once you have selected a host, you may spend an amount of bio and roll a Mutation check with a TN equal to the Bio spent to create a disease. The host creature is then forced to roll a Physical save against the disease with a TN equal to the bio spent. If the host succeeds, you cannot create the disease and the bio spent is wasted. If the host fails, continue:
Choose a biological physiology that the host has. This will be the physiology the disease is capable of infecting.
Roll 1d10 for number of days the disease must incubate for. Once a disease has finished its incubation time, the host must make another Physical save at the same TN as before or be afflicted with the effects of the disease.
Roll 1d10 for number of hours before the host must reroll the save against the disease. Failure means the effects are applied again, but the host gains a +1 bonus to all future saves against that disease. Success means the host has fought off the disease and is not longer affected by it, but any conditions last until their next rest and any damage sustained must be healed off as normal.
Choose a transmission (Airborne, Contact, Ingestion, Injury. If the biote also has Magical ability they can choose to also use Mana as the transmission)
Choose a condition to inflict, if that condition has multiple levels it does not stack with itself. Some conditions have requirements in order to inflict with diseases. The conditions that can be chosen are:
Blinded [Mutation 2]
Charmed [Enchantment 4]
Confused
Dazed
Deafened [Mutation 2]
Enraged [Enchantment 4]
Euphoric [Enchantment 4]
Exhausted
Fascinated [Enchantment 4]
Fear
Inflated [Mutation 2] (buoyant and able to float on water and possibly air, makes the target helpless and effectively paralyzed but with a small chance at movement)
Intangible [Transmutation 4]
Paralyzed
Petrified [Transmutation 4]
Sickened
Stunned
Unconscious
Some conditions have an additional skill requirement to choose them.
After the disease infects another creature, you may, for an additional Bio cost, add a single modification. You may only add one modification each time a creature is infected and it only applies to the new strain of the disease created by adding the modification, meaning older hosts may catch the new strain but if already infected with an older strain they will not have the new effects added by the modification. Additionally, some modifications have requirements that must be fulfilled in order to use them. These modifications and their costs are:
1 Bio - Choose a single condition that the disease inflicts which has multiple levels. The condition can now stack with itself if reapplied to increase the level of the effect. This does not increase the maximum level of the effect capable which is still at level 1.
3 Bio - Increase the maximum level of any condition with levels that can stack by 1.
5 Bio - Add one point of damage to a single primary attribute.
2 Bio - Add an additional condition.
4 Bio - Add an additional transmission.
1 Bio - Add an additional day of incubation time.
5 Bio - Reduce the incubation time by 1 day. (Minimum 0 days)
1 Bio - Add 1 hour to the affliction time.
3 Bio - Reduce affliction time by 1 hour. (Minimum 1 hour)
8 Bio - Add an additional physiology you can select.
3 Bio - Add a +1 to the TN of the disease.
3 Bio - Choose a single attribute. The disease also deals 1 point of damage to that attribute.
10 Bio - When failing a save against the disease, the infected creature does not gain a bonus to future saves against the disease.
5 Bio - Make the disease capable of being transmitted during the incubation period.
10 Bio and must make a Transmutation check with a TN equal to the disease TN - The disease now counts as a curse as well and can be spread to Spiritual beings. You may now choose undead and any spiritual physiology for the disease. This option does not grant you an additional physiology when taken. [Transmutation 4]
10 Bio and must make a Technology check with a TN equal to the disease TN - The disease can somehow now infect technology. You may now choose synthetic physiologies for the disease. This option does not grant you an additional physiology when taken. [Errorcasting 1 or Synthetic physiology] (Errorcasting is a corrupted form of technomancy which eventually may become its own subsystem inspired by the Missingno class here on the forums)
You may bind one bio and make a Manipulation roll with a TN equal to the Physical save TN of the disease to freeze a disease.
Once frozen, a disease goes dormant and does not continue incubating or affecting the host until unfrozen. Unbinding the bio of a frozen disease causes the disease to become unfrozen. While a disease is frozen, a biote can roll a Healing check with a TN equal to the TN of the disease to learn what it does and how to best counteract it. If a disease is frozen and introduced to a host, the host gains a +2 automatic success bonus and a +3 dice pool bonus to its' physical save against the disease. A biote can make a mutation check on a frozen disease to copy said disease and apply it to another host later using the same rules as above, though unless bio is bound to the new infection it will not be frozen when applied.
Poison rules (None written yet)