The Forge Reference Project

 

Topic: Giant Transforming Robo-Team, GO! Lite (Playtest Rules)
Started by: BrennaLaRosa
Started on: 5/8/2005
Board: Indie Game Design


On 5/8/2005 at 5:50pm, BrennaLaRosa wrote:
Giant Transforming Robo-Team, GO! Lite (Playtest Rules)

Giant Tranforming Robo-Team, GO! Lite:
All the Sugar and None of the Finesse
A Sentai Team Roleplaying Game Beta
By
Brenna “La Rosa” Beattie

The mayor’s daughter has been kidnapped by an evil wizard.
Zombies are swarming the mall.
The aliens have landed and they DON’T come in peace.
It’s two weeks until prom and you don’t have a date yet.
You have an Algebra Test on Monday and it’s Sunday night.
Your little sister dropped your Henshin Device down the toilet.
You have no car, no job and no hope.
…No Problem.
Welcome to the life of a Superhero. Leave your sanity and you social life at the door.


3-7 players, one Gamemaster (Mentor)

Needed:
Paper
Pencils/Pens
4d6
2d10
Calculator
Beads/Chips/Tokens of two different colors

Rules:

Players are teenagers who have become part of a Sentai team. They must fight the forces of evil while helping each other and overcoming fears and shortcomings.

Basic Idea:
Each player begins with ten points: five of one color (Fate) and five of another (Booster).
The players then roll 4d6 and drop the lowest roll. Each roll is placed in one of six stats.
Muscle (Strength)
Grace (Speed and Agility)
Brains (Intelligence)
Wits (Wisdom)
Charm (Charisma and Appearance)
Spirit (Willpower and Stamina)

Then the players choose their archetype-

The Leader- Merit= Courage: +1 to Spirit, Flaw= Uncompromising: -1 to Charm.
The Rogue- Merit= Playful: +1 to Charm, Flaw= Insecure: -1 to Spirit
The Sage- Merit= Old Soul: +1 to Wits, Flaw= Willing Spirit, Weak Flesh: -1 to Muscle
The Popular Kid- Merit= Social Butterfly: +1 to Charm, Flaw= Featherhead: -1 to Brains
The Jock- Merit= Strong like Bull: +1 to Muscle, Flaw= Dumb like Rock: -1 to Brains
The Genius- Merit= Honor Student: +1 to Brains, Flaw= Uncoordinated: -1 to Grace
The Kid- Merit= Cute: +1 to Charm, Flaw= Young: -1 to Wits
The Dreamer- Merit= Walking on Air: +1 to Grace, Flaw= Fragile: -1 to Spirit
The Enigma- Merit= Brute: +1 to Muscle, Flaw= Outcast: -1 to Charm

Add or subtract from stats accordingly. Colors, power animals, weapons and other things may be chosen at this point. Players should discuss before hand to know what the theme will be. Last is the Friendship Stat. This starts at 11 unless the Mentor says otherwise.

Now that characters have been created, players may begin play. The Mentor aids them until such time as the “Mooks” are deployed. Mooks are low-powered creatures made to wear the heroes down.

Combat and Stat Checks:

Each stat check is a Test and has a rating with a corresponding difficulty.

Kid Stuff- 1x the stat value, no fatigue taken
Easy- 1.5x stat value, 1 fatigue taken
Average- 2x stat value, 2 fatigue
Hard- 2.5x stat value, 3 fatigue
Ludicrous- 3x stat value, 4 fatigue

The player must roll 2d10 and reach or exceed the number determined by the rating. Example: If a player has a Strength stat of 12 and is attempting an Average Strength Test, the player must roll 24 or higher. If the player fails, they take the fatigue noted for the Test and subtract it from the stat Test

Mooks Test all stats except Friendship. Each roll is made in succession, although they can be chosen at random by the Mentor.

Monsters of the Day are made to attack one player in specific but will attack the whole team. The player in question is the Target, however. These are two test creatures. The first is always a Spirit Test. The second is dependant on the Mentor’s choice of player. If the player is low on Strength, the Strength stat is tested.

Fate Points and Booster Points-

At the beginning of each game, the Mentor hands out 10 points. Five are Fate points and five are Booster points.

Fate points allow “do-overs”. By discarding a Fate point, you may re-roll for a more-favorable score. This can only be done twice per test. These can’t be donated.

Booster points raise a Test score to a favorable number. By discarding a Booster point, you raise your score by one. You may not raise the score above the required number. These can be donated.

Multi-PC Tests and Pep Talks-

If a PC aids another PC in a Test, the Friendship Stat decreases or increases the Test Rating. No Test Rating can go below Kid Stuff or above Ludicrous. Any stat below 11 increases the Rating, 11 and above decrease the rating.

3-5- 3 step increase
6-8- 2 step increase
9-10- 1 step increase
11-12- 1 step decrease
13-15- 2 step decrease
16-18- 3 step decrease

The Target player is the one who sets the required roll by their stats. All the players involved try to reach the roll set by that player, giving the PC a boost towards the goal.

Pep Talks are where a player tries to donate Booster points to another player. The player donating the points, declares a “Pep Talk” and roleplays cheering their friend on. The Mentor decides whether the attempt is sufficient to donate points and how many.

Resting-

Stat fatigue can be replenished by Resting. After a fight, the team takes a break. All Stat damage is healed by 1 point except Spirit Damage taken by an Oathbreaker (someone who breaks the Code of Honor). Normal Spirit Damage recovers as Normal Stat damage.

Redemption and the Code of Honor:

A Sentai team is a heroic group. They follow a Code of Honor that cannot be broken without severe consequences.

A sample Code-
Never reveal your true identity. Doing so puts innocents in danger.
Do no harm to innocents.
Never use your powers for personal gain.
Fight a fair fight.
Your team is your second family, your Mentor, your father/mother. Honor and defend them as such.
Never betray a Team secret.
Uphold the Code of Honor, it is your spiritual shield.

If any of those rules is broken or even bent, the PC takes Spirit fatigue as thought failing a Ludicrous Test. They must now live with themselves being murderers, traitors, or other Oathbreakers. The only way this damage can be healed is through a Redemption Test. Once per game, a player declares a “Redemption Test”. The Mentor decides whether this is a valid test. If it is not valid, the player does nothing. If it is valid, the player pushes all their Fate points to the center of the table. They must roleplay with the Mentor the whole scene as the PC attempts to make up for his crimes. The Mentor makes all calls as to whether an action is “noble”, “foul”, or neither. The Mentor returns a point when they do something “noble”, takes a point away when a deed is “foul” and leaves the points alone when the action is neither. At the end of the Test, the Player keeps only the points in front of them. The rest are discarded.

Ronins, Going Solo and Character Death:

A Ronin is a solo Warrior who is not affiliated with a Sentai Team. His is a lonely path. He has no Friendship Stat and thus cannot take aid from other players. He can, however, choose to join a Team, thus gaining a Friendship Stat. They are now a Team member and the consequences for leaving are dire.

Once a Team member goes solo, there is NO TURNING BACK. He has abandoned his team, his code, and his safety. Neither Team nor Mentor can help him now. The villains declare open season on him or her and the Player can’t try to save themselves. The PC is now a bargaining chip, or worse, a harbinger of doom. If the Mentor decrees them a bargaining chip, they are used to trap the other PCs; i.e., “Deliver the Sword of the Archangel or I’ll kill Chris.” The PC is then handed over, already dead, and the Villain has what they want. If the Mentor decrees they will be used as a threat, they are usually found dead and made very public.

If a character’s Spirit stat reaches zero, they are dying. The Team must make a Hard to Ludicrous Spirit Test to save their fallen friend. Failure means the PC is dead. Success means the PC lives, but only just. They must take twice the normal rest period to recover.

Message 15349#163922

Previous & subsequent topics...
...started by BrennaLaRosa
...in which BrennaLaRosa participated
...in Indie Game Design
...including keyword:

 (leave blank for none)
...from around 5/8/2005