Pandora’s Abyss
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 12:08 pm
by ShadowSpectre
In lieu of SK's Dragon Hunters, now this exists.
Amongst the stats, you have 24 SP to spend.
There’s something to be said about myths. People disregard them so often, scoffing at their content and assertions. But how do myths come to be? What gave early civilisation such ideas? The answer is below you. Beneath the very ground, where men seldom wander.
For centuries, there have been countless monstrosities emerging from the depths of the Brindisi Gap in the land of Leccenia, a huge gash in the face of the land, spewing forth creatures and fiends, weird and not at all wonderful. For the most part, the natives have managed themselves well, but in recent decades, the villages nearest the Gap have begun to disappear; travellers hoping for a brief respite come across ashes and rubble, villages razed to the ground. The luckier travellers continued onwards without further event. The rest were never heard of again.
In the year 1413, a massive group of monsters emerged from the depths of the Gap and began attacking towns and cities. Several years of conflict resulted in civilisation barely fending them off and moving into a period of uneasy peace.
It is now 1432. Nineteen years have passed since the First Excursion. Attacks are beginning to pick up pace again, and your town is the first in the line of fire.
For centuries, there have been countless monstrosities emerging from the depths of the Brindisi Gap in the land of Leccenia, a huge gash in the face of the land, spewing forth creatures and fiends, weird and not at all wonderful. For the most part, the natives have managed themselves well, but in recent decades, the villages nearest the Gap have begun to disappear; travellers hoping for a brief respite come across ashes and rubble, villages razed to the ground. The luckier travellers continued onwards without further event. The rest were never heard of again.
In the year 1413, a massive group of monsters emerged from the depths of the Gap and began attacking towns and cities. Several years of conflict resulted in civilisation barely fending them off and moving into a period of uneasy peace.
It is now 1432. Nineteen years have passed since the First Excursion. Attacks are beginning to pick up pace again, and your town is the first in the line of fire.
All players begin at Rank 0. They may spend Skill Points to improve their stats; you start with 24 SP and receive 12 SP every time you are promoted to a new level, so by Level 3, you should have 60SP. (N.B. rank and level are used interchangeably throughout PA) The maximum level that can be reached by any character is 20.
You distribute SP amongst these characteristics:
HP: Health Points
MP: Magic/Mettle Points
STR: Strength, which is fairly self-explanatory.
REF: Reflexes, synonymous with speed.
INT: Intellect, which signifies your ingenuity and intelligence.
PSY: Psychic Talent, representing how adept you are at resisting magic and mind tricks.
These basic characteristics give you a basic skill sheet. I will provide a separate topic for these, and I'll treat it as a Bestiary of sorts.
HP
MP
REF
Attack (ATK)
Defence (DEF)
Magical Attack (MA)
Magical Defence (MD)
The conversion of SP to stats is similar to DH. This applies after you level up to Rank 1. At Rank 0, there will be a couple of adjustments should you choose to favour one stat over another, for example, a character with low STR will have a permanent reduction to ATK and DEF. Likewise, a high STR gives them a permanent boost to both.
1SP HP: +1HP
1SP MP: +1MP
1SP STR: +0.5ATK, +0.5DEF
1SP REF: +1REF (Reflexes equates to an SPD stat)
1SP INT: +0.5MA
1SP PSY: +0.5MD
The initial SP you spend is actually only used once, and that's for the adjustments. After that, they are dead weight; it's the SP you spend level on level that makes the difference.
Levelling up disregards the starting stats each character gets. Just say where you want to sink the SP, and I'll update your character entry in the relevant topic. An example is below.
HP +2
MP +1
STR +0
REF +3
INT +4
PSY +2
Each class has a different initial stat set based on their personal areas.
You distribute SP amongst these characteristics:
HP: Health Points
MP: Magic/Mettle Points
STR: Strength, which is fairly self-explanatory.
REF: Reflexes, synonymous with speed.
INT: Intellect, which signifies your ingenuity and intelligence.
PSY: Psychic Talent, representing how adept you are at resisting magic and mind tricks.
These basic characteristics give you a basic skill sheet. I will provide a separate topic for these, and I'll treat it as a Bestiary of sorts.
HP
MP
REF
Attack (ATK)
Defence (DEF)
Magical Attack (MA)
Magical Defence (MD)
The conversion of SP to stats is similar to DH. This applies after you level up to Rank 1. At Rank 0, there will be a couple of adjustments should you choose to favour one stat over another, for example, a character with low STR will have a permanent reduction to ATK and DEF. Likewise, a high STR gives them a permanent boost to both.
1SP HP: +1HP
1SP MP: +1MP
1SP STR: +0.5ATK, +0.5DEF
1SP REF: +1REF (Reflexes equates to an SPD stat)
1SP INT: +0.5MA
1SP PSY: +0.5MD
The initial SP you spend is actually only used once, and that's for the adjustments. After that, they are dead weight; it's the SP you spend level on level that makes the difference.
Levelling up disregards the starting stats each character gets. Just say where you want to sink the SP, and I'll update your character entry in the relevant topic. An example is below.
HP +2
MP +1
STR +0
REF +3
INT +4
PSY +2
Each class has a different initial stat set based on their personal areas.
Each profession or class has a specific bonus unique to that class. Stats are different per given class, and you can use certain equipment in those classes (for example, only archers can use all types of firearm, and only sorcerers can use all types of magical weapon). Choose wisely; it may be prudent to put more emphasis on one stat than another. You cannot cut and change between classes once you’ve chosen them, so be warned.
Knight
Emphasis on melee and defence. Soldiers may not be the fastest on the field, but they’re certainly the most painful, and are the mainstay of most parties.
Archer
Emphasis on ranged offence. Trained to use anything that can fire a projectile, veteran archers can cut down entire squads in seconds. While highly disadvantaged in close combat, most enemies will never get that far.
Sorcerer
Emphasis on magical ability. Given time and concentration, sorcerers may gain control of the magical arts and turn tides of battle whichever way they please. Most are frail as people when compared to their counterparts, such as soldiers, but if a foe can reach them at all, that opponent has done well.
Rogue
Emphasis on speed and evasion. Advanced Rogues can perform pinpoint raids with frightening speed. Though their armour is traditionally light, the majority of Rogues never need anything more.
Knight
Emphasis on melee and defence. Soldiers may not be the fastest on the field, but they’re certainly the most painful, and are the mainstay of most parties.
Archer
Emphasis on ranged offence. Trained to use anything that can fire a projectile, veteran archers can cut down entire squads in seconds. While highly disadvantaged in close combat, most enemies will never get that far.
Sorcerer
Emphasis on magical ability. Given time and concentration, sorcerers may gain control of the magical arts and turn tides of battle whichever way they please. Most are frail as people when compared to their counterparts, such as soldiers, but if a foe can reach them at all, that opponent has done well.
Rogue
Emphasis on speed and evasion. Advanced Rogues can perform pinpoint raids with frightening speed. Though their armour is traditionally light, the majority of Rogues never need anything more.
Each class has its own set of skills and abilities. This will be revealed as a list soon, I have yet to balance them. All classes except Sorcerer learn one new skill every two levels. Sorcerers learn one skill every time they level up.
All abilities cost MP, mana points for magical abilities and mettle points for physical skills. You gain a set amount of MP per turn in battle; Xd6, where X corresponds to the Tens digit in your level +1. Thus, a player of level 0-9 gains 1d6 MP per turn in battle, 10-19 2d6, and a Rank 20 player 3d6. Outside of battle, per update, you receive your rank+d10 in MP. If you level up, your MP is restored to its maximum after you spend SP. In addition to this, certain opponents yield MP as well as XP; defeating them will restore this amount immediately. You will find that using more powerful abilities often depletes you of MP faster than you can regenerate it; sorcerers are especially susceptible to this problem. Consider improving physical prowess or using weaker staple abilities to counteract this.
Unless otherwise stated, you may only use one ability per turn in battle. If you use an ability, you cannot attack in the same turn. There are named exceptions, where the ability states that you may attack in conjunction with using the skill.
All abilities cost MP, mana points for magical abilities and mettle points for physical skills. You gain a set amount of MP per turn in battle; Xd6, where X corresponds to the Tens digit in your level +1. Thus, a player of level 0-9 gains 1d6 MP per turn in battle, 10-19 2d6, and a Rank 20 player 3d6. Outside of battle, per update, you receive your rank+d10 in MP. If you level up, your MP is restored to its maximum after you spend SP. In addition to this, certain opponents yield MP as well as XP; defeating them will restore this amount immediately. You will find that using more powerful abilities often depletes you of MP faster than you can regenerate it; sorcerers are especially susceptible to this problem. Consider improving physical prowess or using weaker staple abilities to counteract this.
Unless otherwise stated, you may only use one ability per turn in battle. If you use an ability, you cannot attack in the same turn. There are named exceptions, where the ability states that you may attack in conjunction with using the skill.
Equipment is generally standard and self explanatory. A word on armour; normal (that is, non-magical) armour has an armour class ranging from 1-6. Wearing no armour gives you a class of 0.
Hardened Leather (2)
Chainmail (4)
Weapons in Pandora's Abyss work differently to the way they worked in DH. In Dragon Hunters, the weapons gave specific boosts to ATK, DEF, etc. In this game, they don't; the damage each weapon deals is set, and basic weapons make no difference to how likely you are to hit the target. For example, you could use a dagger or a broadsword, but you are just as likely to score a hit with both.
The weapons differ by damage dealt and armour bypass. The armour bypass is what is rolled when you score a hit. If the die (or dice) reads above armour class, the damage is dealt in the normal way. If you hit under the AC, damage is reduced to 0.
Dagger (Damage 3/AB d4)
As a result of this, certain weapons will not ever damage targets with decent armour. Using the dagger against a target with Chainmail (AC 4) will never deal damage; the highest you can get with a dagger is a roll of 4, which isn't high enough.
Ranged weapons are much the same in terms of damage and armour bypass. Generally, they have a higher armour bypass die than melee weapons, but a lower damage dealing rate.
Hardened Leather (2)
Chainmail (4)
Weapons in Pandora's Abyss work differently to the way they worked in DH. In Dragon Hunters, the weapons gave specific boosts to ATK, DEF, etc. In this game, they don't; the damage each weapon deals is set, and basic weapons make no difference to how likely you are to hit the target. For example, you could use a dagger or a broadsword, but you are just as likely to score a hit with both.
The weapons differ by damage dealt and armour bypass. The armour bypass is what is rolled when you score a hit. If the die (or dice) reads above armour class, the damage is dealt in the normal way. If you hit under the AC, damage is reduced to 0.
Dagger (Damage 3/AB d4)
As a result of this, certain weapons will not ever damage targets with decent armour. Using the dagger against a target with Chainmail (AC 4) will never deal damage; the highest you can get with a dagger is a roll of 4, which isn't high enough.
Ranged weapons are much the same in terms of damage and armour bypass. Generally, they have a higher armour bypass die than melee weapons, but a lower damage dealing rate.
MELEE AND RANGED
Attacking: Your ATK-their DEF. Roll d20 equal to or lower than this to hit.
Damaging: Weapon Armour bypass roll above their Armour class to damage by weapon standard. Equal to or lower than Armour class reduces damage to 0.
MAGIC
Attacking: If you use a physical attack (e.g. Dragonsbreath, where you spew a jet of flame at your opponent), roll d20 under your MA-their DEF. For a supernatural attack (e.g. Petrify, where your opponent is turned to stone), roll d20 under your MA-their MD.
Damaging: Unless they're wearing magical armour or have an ability, the spell's damage or effect applies immediately.
Attacking: Your ATK-their DEF. Roll d20 equal to or lower than this to hit.
Damaging: Weapon Armour bypass roll above their Armour class to damage by weapon standard. Equal to or lower than Armour class reduces damage to 0.
MAGIC
Attacking: If you use a physical attack (e.g. Dragonsbreath, where you spew a jet of flame at your opponent), roll d20 under your MA-their DEF. For a supernatural attack (e.g. Petrify, where your opponent is turned to stone), roll d20 under your MA-their MD.
Damaging: Unless they're wearing magical armour or have an ability, the spell's damage or effect applies immediately.
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Profession:
Rank:
[spoil="Characteristics"]
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