Information on Rogue Mage as a d20 Game

Role-playing in the Faithverse

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Information on Rogue Mage as a d20 Game

Postby Christina » Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:14 pm

Rogue Mage is a d20 game. It’s based off Mutants & Masterminds 2e, though it has some differences. Anyone familiar with Pathfinder or 3.x versions of D&D can easily begin to play it, as the mechanics are very similar. Only one 20-sided die is needed to play.

Characters start with 120 character points. They choose a racial template, thereby expending a certain amount of character points—or gaining them in the case of humans. From there, players buy abilities, skills, and talents (basically feats) for their characters, and they may receive more character points by adding drawbacks. Unlike M&M 2e, characters buy combat skills (offensive and defensive) rather than an attack bonus. Saves are purchased and can be affected by talents. The game has allowable range limits on abilities and skills. Only the greater beings of Light and Darkness can exceed those limits.

The magic system runs on creation energy (akin to mana), and so is tracked with points—we use glass beads at the gaming table for such tracking. Spellcasters (like neomages, kylen, daywalkers, seraphs, and seraph-touched) have an affinity to a certain element (air, fire, water, etc.), and whenever they attempt to cast magic, they must roll Spellcraft checks to produce conjures (spells), meeting or exceeding a target number derived from the conjure’s base cost and the cost of added features; spellcasters can add options to the conjures they cast, meaning they can increase duration, range, potency, and the like on most any conjure. Adjusting the conjure beyond the basic one listed costs more CE, and it is harder to cast—but the option is there.

Finally, the damage system is a wound system, so characters do not have hit points.


Here’s some info direct from our Rogue Mage Player’s Handbook that is going into art/layout:



Differences From Other D20-Based Games

Experienced gamers will notice differences between Rogue Mage and other popular d20-based RPGs using the Open Game License. The most important differences are outlined here, but experienced d20 gamers should read the rules in this book carefully, as they may differ slightly in other ways from what they’re used to. Differences include:

No classes: Characters are not defined by classes or set packages of traits. A character can have just about any combination of abilities, as long as he has the character points to buy them.

One die to resolve them all: The game uses only a 20-sided die (d20) to resolve all actions and checks. No other dice are needed.

No attacks of opportunity: The combat system is simplified for fast-paced action, so there are no attacks of opportunity. Instead, characters are encouraged to try maneuvers that would normally be quite dangerous (such as an unarmed character taking on a number of armed opponents).

No tactical movement: Combat is meant to be fast-paced and simple, so the game doesn’t use systems of tactical movement.

No hit points: Characters do not have hit points. Rogue Mage uses a graduated wound system instead.

Luck points: Characters have a resource called luck points, allowing them to temporarily increase their abilities and influence the outcome of die rolls.

Target Number: What is called a Difficulty Class in other games is called a Target Number in Rogue Mage.

Attack rolls: In Rogue Mage, attack rolls are based on combat skills, not a basic attack bonus.

Talents: What is called a feat in other games is called a talent in Rogue Mage.

No levels: Abilities are purchased with character points. The PCs start the game with a large number of CPs and can gain more over the course of play to spend as the players like.

Intelligence: Unlike other d20-based games, your Rogue Mage character’s Intelligence modifier doesn't alter the number of skill points your character gets. In Rogue Mage, skill ranks are purchased with character points, just like everything else.
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