Variant Rules: R
3 variant rules, from Reputation to Rolling Ability Scores.
Reputation · Research · Rolling Ability Scores
Reputation
Sometimes it's crucial to know how groups of people feel about the PCs. That's where reputation comes into play. The reputation subsystem is a simple way to use Victory Points to determine how the PCs stand with such groups.
Reputation is a mid- to long-term subsystem wherein the PCs accumulate or lose Reputation Points with a particular group of people, whether it be a guild, a government, a church, a village, or anything else you can think of. The PCs gain Reputation Points by performing favors for the organization, to a maximum of 50 Reputation Points, and lose Reputation Points by doing disservices, to a minimum of –50 Reputation Points.
Favors
Each favor the PCs perform for a group normally grants the PCs Reputation Points with that group.
- Minor favors are simple, basic tasks that don't take too much effort for a PC to perform or much time at the table. Minor favors grant 1 Reputation Point.
- Moderate favors require a significant amount of effort and often take up a session or a noticeable chunk of a single session to complete. Moderate favors grant 2 Reputation Points.
- Major favors are a sizable endeavor, typically an entire quest involving several sessions. Major favors grant 5 Reputation Points.
Disservices
On the flip side, disservices are a catchall for ways the PCs might make a group angry, whether it's through actual malice and planning on the PCs' part or simply by accident. Unlike favors, disservices don't have as easy a correspondence with in-game time; a quick but particularly egregious action could easily still be a major disservice. Disservices normally lose the PCs Reputation Points.
- Minor disservices could be small but significant missteps, or accumulated slights and inconveniences. Minor disservices take away 1 Reputation Point.
- Moderate disservices are more than just a nuisance or annoyance, generally significantly hindering the group's efforts or violating a fundamental tenet of the group's beliefs in a significant but not egregious way. Moderate disservices take away 2 Reputation Points.
- Major disservices are incredibly antagonistic to a group, usually a single brazen act, such as thwarting a cabal's apocalyptic doomsday plan. Major disservices take away at least 5 Reputation Points, or more if they are particularly egregious. They might be so terrible that the PCs immediately lose all their Reputation Points and then lose 5 more Reputation Points.
Reputations
PCs generally start with a reputation of "ignored" with most groups, as most groups have never heard of them.
If they are particularly famous or infamous among related groups, the PCs might start at a different reputation of your choice. The reputation is generalized to the whole group—an individual NPC can hold a different opinion.
Ignored
The PCs either aren't on this group's radar or the group knows about the PCs but is generally ambivalent to them.
This is the default for most PCs with most groups, and it carries no special benefits or detriments.
Liked
The PCs have gained this group's favor. Many members of the group know about the PCs, and those who do are usually friendly to them. At this reputation, only moderate and major favors accrue Reputation Points; it takes more to impress the group further.
Admired
The PCs have earned this group's admiration. The majority of the group knows about the PCs and have an extremely favorable opinion toward them. Many members of the group are helpful toward the PCs, and those who aren't are friendly. Only major favors accrue Reputation Points.
Revered
The group reveres the PCs as heroes and celebrities. Every member has heard of the PCs, is helpful toward them, and would take major risks to assist them. Only major favors accrue Reputation Points, and only moderate or major disservices can reduce them.
Disliked
The PCs have a poor reputation among members of this group. Many members of the group know about the PCs, and are usually unfriendly to them. At this reputation, only moderate and major disservices reduce Reputation Points.
Hated
The PCs have earned this group's ire. The vast majority of the group knows about the PCs and have an extremely unfavorable opinion toward them. Many members of the group are hostile toward the PCs, and those who aren't are unfriendly. When presented an easy opportunity to hurt the PCs, the group will jump at the chance. Only major disservices can still reduce Reputation Points.
Hunted
The group actively hunts the PCs as scapegoats or nemeses, even at significant cost to itself. Every member has heard of the PCs, is hostile toward them, and would take major risks to thwart or destroy them. Only major disservices can still reduce Reputation Points, and only moderate or major favors can increase them.
Running Reputation
Using Reputation Points in the background allows you to track the PCs' status with a variety of groups or factions in your campaign based on the PCs' actions and choices. This is especially useful for a sandbox campaign or other structure with numerous possibilities, helping you build a reactive structure and track how PCs are doing with groups they interact with only occasionally. When the point totals don't fit the story, use common sense. For instance, if the PCs are hunted by the town guard due to a corrupt mayor, but then perform a major quest revealing the mayor's wrongdoing and saving the town, that might jump them from the worst negative reputation to a much more positive reputation. Similarly, the PCs' foes could frame them, harming the PCs' reputation though they've done no disservice.
Trovousun Society Organized Play uses a version of the reputation subsystem with various factions to offer unique benefits for different characters, with different Reputation Point thresholds that adapted to the Organized Play structure. Check it out for inspiration for reputation in your own game!
Gamemastery Guide, page 164.
Research
When the PCs are trying to discover important information while challenged by a time limit or other interesting twist, the research subsystem is just the right thing to lend their efforts more urgency and weight.
In the research subsystem, PCs accumulate Research Points and learn new information or gain other benefits upon reaching specific thresholds. Use this subsystem if the PCs face a time constraint, rival research group, or other form of external pressure or condition that could end the PCs' efforts early. Otherwise, you can simply use the rules in the Core Rulebook, since the PCs are free to keep rolling until they uncover everything there is to find.
In this subsystem, time passes in rounds spanning several hours to a day of research. Each round, the characters use the Research exploration activity to gain Research Points (RP). As time passes and the party earns more RP, they gain knowledge and rewards, but also might face consequences or events. Some of these events might interrupt the round with a different kind of encounter (disrupting the Research activity), such as a social encounter with an intelligent book or a combat encounter with a guardian.
Research
You comb through information to learn more about the topic at hand. Choose your research topic, section of the library, or other division depending on the form of research, and attempt a skill check. The skills to use and the DC for the check depend on the choice you made.
Critical Success You gain 2 RP.Success You gain 1 RP.Critical Failure You make a false discovery and lose 1 RP.Building a Library
"Library" is the general term the research subsystem uses to designate the setting of the PCs' research. Despite the name, the library doesn't necessarily consist of a quiet hall full of books. It could be an Astral memory palace, a collection of iconographic artwork, or even a group the party is questioning. In most cases, to engage the whole party and add a little decision-making to the research, you'll want to give your research topic or library at least one variable or subdivision that the PCs need to decide how to handle. For instance, you might give the PCs three different research topics to study, each using different skills and providing different rewards. The library might have several rooms or sections with different challenges to research, allowing you to reward PCs with skills that aren't typically associated with research; perhaps the books on aeromancy are all flying above the top shelves of towering bookcases, requiring a round of Athletics checks to represent climbing up and down ladders to retrieve them and reach the first threshold. A variety of skills and decisions, along with vivid descriptions, are the key to an engaging and memorable research session, rather than just a string of die rolls by the wizard.
Choosing Thresholds
Once you've decided what your library looks like and how the library and research options are structured, it's time to set the research thresholds for each topic. Thresholds are your opportunity to reveal intriguing new information and introduce different types of challenges. Each threshold should provide interesting information; if it doesn't, you should probably have fewer thresholds.
Thresholds can change the state of the library (perhaps the first threshold is simply cleaning and organizing the library so the PCs can find the tomes they need), reveal information, give the PCs a reward (like access to an ancient uncommon or rare feat or spell they discover in library's depths), trigger an encounter, alter the skills or DCs for further research, or anything else you can imagine, but they should always do something.
If your library covers multiple topics, each has its own set of thresholds. You'll typically want to require fewer Research Points to reach each one and use fewer thresholds per topic.
Think about the constraints preventing the PCs from researching as long as they want, and use those constraints to determine how many Research Points they must earn to reach each threshold. You don't need to evenly space thresholds—you could require very few Research Points to learn crucial clues you want to ensure the PCs receive and a much larger number to reach the final threshold that grants a special reward.
Library Stat Block
When you build a library, you can use a stat block to organize the information. In a published adventure, you'll find libraries presented in the format below. There's no need to include entries that aren't applicable for your library.
Division Name and Description Whether it's a section of a physical library, one of several research topics the PCs are studying, or something more creative, this is the name of one of the library's divisions. If the divisions are separate topics, they'll each have their own thresholds, but if the divisions are separate areas all related to the same topic or topics, they might have RP maximums instead, after which the PCs have exhausted the information in that area. Repeat these sections for the library's other divisions; if using RP maximums, make sure the divisions provide enough Research Points to reach the final threshold.
Research Checks The skills or other checks the PCs can attempt to Research the division are listed here with their DCs, in order from the lowest DC (the skill that works best) to the highest DC. If a skill isn't listed but a player provides a strong narrative explanation for using it, you can add it at an appropriate DC (usually the highest listed DC). Academia Lore and Library Lore will often be listed in these entries.
Research Thresholds Each threshold lists the number of RP required to reach it, followed by the effects for meeting that threshold. Thresholds are listed in order from first (requiring the fewest RP) to last (the highest threshold).
Beneath the stat block, you can list any events that occur based on timing rather than the PCs' RP total (such as a threatening message arriving on the third day), as well as any other important details.
Running Research
When running the research subsystem, think about the two factors that set the pace of the research and allow you to break it up: the length of each round of research, and the thresholds in the research. Use both of these in tandem to breathe life into the session and draw the players into the game. Ideally the PCs are aware of whatever pressure requires them to finish the research, so as rounds pass, the tension increases. As long as the PCs are able to get the information they came for, it's fine if they don't learn everything the library has to offer; in fact, you might intentionally create a situation allowing the PCs time to glean only some of a list of special rewards, forcing them to prioritize their favorites.
In this example, the PCs are trying to research hidden occult secrets about hags known only to the fey of a strange sylvan library. It's a 7th-level challenge. If you'd like to use this sample library for a different research topic, just change the results of each threshold and replace any Occultism Research checks with checks appropriate to the new topic!
Field of Tomeflowers Five-foot stems open up into colorful petaled tomes; Maximum RP 10
Research Checks DC 18 Academia Lore or Library Lore, DC 23 Occultism
Loremother Tree A powerful intelligence slumbers deep within this ancient oak, awakened by communion or music; Maximum RP 15
Research Checks DC 21 Performance, DC 23 Nature, DC 25 Occultism
Sprite Swarm Thousands of iridescent sprites flit about, eager to offer tidbits of information, though it is not always reliable; Maximum RP 5
Research Checks DC 23 Diplomacy, DC 23 Occultism, DC 25 Society, DC 28 Perception
5 Research Points The PCs learn apocryphal fey legends that the first hags were once cruel fey queens twisted by inner corruption. They learn details about hag reproduction, changelings, and the hag mother's Call.
10 Research Points The PCs learn the location of an ancient, twisted grove in the Kaineizex rumored to hold a secret treasure connected to hags. Attaining this knowledge comes at a cost: hag malice solidifies into two will-o'-wisps and animates some of the glade's plant matter into a shambler. The three creatures attack the PCs together.
15 Research Points The PCs learn a variety of occult folk divinations said to detect the presence of nearby hags. Among them is a functioning uncommon spell: read omens.
20 Research Points The loremother tree stirs and partially awakens, issuing the PCs a dire warning about danger in the knowledge they seek. Replace the loremother tree's Performance Research check with a DC 28 Diplomacy check to convince the tree to share further knowledge.
25 Research Points The whole glade goes quiet, and the PCs feel a pall fall over their hearts. The PCs are close, but all Research check DCs increase by 2.
30 Research Points The PCs learn even more esoteric wisdom about hags. However, they have drawn the attention of a coven of annis hags, who materialize to destroy the party and their newfound knowledge. If the PCs run out of time before reaching this point, the coven erases any further information before attacking the PCs out of spite.
Gamemastery Guide, page 154.
The standard method of generating ability scores that's described above works great if you want to create a perfectly customized, balanced character. But your GM may decide to add a little randomness to character creation and let the dice decide what kind of character the players are going to play. In that case, you can use this alternative method to generate your ability scores. Be warned—the same randomness that makes this system fun also allows it to sometimes create characters that are significantly more (or less) powerful than the standard ability score system and other rules assume.
If your GM opts for rolling ability scores, follow these alternative steps, ignoring all other instructions and guidelines about applying ability boosts and ability flaws throughout the character generation process.
STEP 1: ROLL AND ASSIGN SCORES
Roll four 6-sided dice (4d6) and discard the lowest die result. Add the three remaining results together and record the sum. (For example, if you rolled a 2, 4, 5, and 6, you would discard the 2 and your total would be 15.) Repeat this process until you've generated six such values. Decide which value you want for each of your ability scores.
STEP 2: ASSIGN ABILITY BOOSTS AND ABILITY FLAWS
Apply the ability boosts your character gains from their ancestry, but your character gets one fewer free ability boost than normal. If your character's ancestry has any ability flaws, apply those next. Finally, apply one ability boost to one of the ability scores specified in the character's background (you do not get the other free ability boost).
These ability boosts cannot raise a score above 18. If this would happen, you can put the ability boost into another ability score instead, as if it were a free ability boost, or you can put it into an ability score of 17 to reach 18 and lose the excess increase.
STEP 3: RECORD SCORES AND MODIFIERS
Record the final scores and assign the ability modifiers according to Table 1–1. When your character receives additional ability boosts at higher levels, you assign them as any character would.
Core Rulebook, page 20.