This may look familiar, but bare with me, I have some questions to ask at the end of this post. I intend to have a setting specific game to playtest by December and any help I can get towards that end would be greatly apreciated.

Eternal Struggle
A Quick & Dirty Cinematic Action Adventure Roleplaying Game

Glossary of Terms
Eternal Struggle uses the following film and television-related terms to give it the feel of an action series.

Actor
An Eternal Struggle player is called an actor.

Character
A character is the fictional role portrayed by an actor.

Director
The person who leads the action is called the Director.

Episode
An Eternal Struggle adventure is called an episode.

Scene
Episodes are divided into smaller parts called scenes.

Season
A series of linked episodes is called a season.

Traits
Traits represent a character’s natural aptitudes. Traits are indicated by the rating assigned to them. A Trait’s rating corresponds to a number (1-5) of 10-sided dice (d10) that an actor rolls when his or her character uses a Trait. To determine your character’s Trait ratings, assign 18 points to his or her Traits. Each point assigned to a Trait is worth 1 die. No Trait can have a rating greater than high at character creation and no Trait can have a rating less than Low at any time.

Table 1: Traits

Trait Trait Starting Fortune
Rating Dice Cost Cost
Low 1d10 1 --
Below Average 2d10 2 20
Average 3d10 3 30
Above Average 4d10 4 40
High 5d10 5 50
Exceptional 6d10 -- 60
Incredible 7d10 -- 70
Awesome 8d10 -- 80
Superhuman 9d10 -- 90
Godlike 10d10 -- 100

Trait Descriptions
Following is a list of the 5 Traits and descriptions of each one.

FITNESS
Fitness measures physical strength and toughness.

COORDINATION
Coordination measures aim, balance, and equilibrium.

INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence is the measure of a character’s mental aptitude, and capacity for learning and abstract thought.

PERCEPTION
Perception measures a character’s wisdom and ability to notice things, such as changes in his or her surroundings, hidden opponents, concealed objects, and even the threat of danger.

GUILE
Guile measures a character’s physical attractiveness and ability to influence or manipulate others.

Skills

Skills indicate the specific tasks a character can perform and subjects of which he or she has knowledge. A Skill’s rating reduces the number required to roll a success on each die (d10) that an actor rolls when his or her character uses a Skill. To determine your character’s Skill ratings, assign 12 points to his or her skills. Each point assigned to a Trait reduces the Target number by 1.

Table 2: Skills

Skill Target Starting Fortune
Rating Number Cost Cost
Untrained 7 0 5
Novice 6 1 10
Expert 5 2 20
Master 4 3 30

Skill Descriptions
Following is a list of the 50 Skills and descriptions of each one.

FITNESS Skills
Following is a list of the 10 Fitness-related Skills and descriptions of each one.

Brawling
You can make basic unarmed attacks (Punch and Kick).

Climbing
You can climb trees, ropes, walls, and other difficult-to-climb objects or surfaces on a success. You make no progress on a failure. Your climbing speed is 1/4 your walking speed.

Endurance
You can increase the amount of time for which you can spend engaged in a prolonged activity such as running or swimming by one time period per Endurance rank.

Jumping
You can make vertical jumps, horizontal leaps, and combinations of both.

Lifting

Martial Arts
You can make advanced unarmed attacks.

Melee Weapons
You can make attacks with any melee weapon, such as a Sword, Club, or Staff.

Resistance
You have the ability to resist adverse physical conditions.

Running
You can increase your running speed by 1 meter per Running rank.

Swimming
When you attempt to swim, your swimming speeds are half your land speeds in calm water or one quarter those speeds in rough water, but the times for which you can swim remain unchanged.

COORDINATION Skills
Following is a list of the 10 Coordination-related Skills and descriptions of each one.

Acrobatics
You can execute dives, rolls, flips, somersaults, and other extraordinary feats of agility.

Dodge
You can avoid ranged attacks.

Hide
You can avoid visual detection by positioning yourself behind cover, around a corner, under a table, etc.

Open Locks
You can pick locks.

Piloting
You can operate any vehicle appropriate to the setting.

Ranged Weapons
You can make attacks with ranged weapons, including archaic weapons (flintlock pistol, musket), artillery pieces (Howitzer) energy weapons (laser pistol, laser rifle), firearms (pistol, rifle, stun gun), heavy weapons (missile launcher, law rocket), thrown weapons (dagger, grenade), vehicle weapons (tank cannon, chain gun, and missile weapons (bow, crossbow, sling).

Reflexes

Riding
You can ride any living mount.

Sleight of Hand
You can conceal objects, such as weapons, on your person.
You can also use Sleight of Hand to remove items from someone’s person without their knowledge.

Sneak
You can move without being heard.

INTELLIGENCE Skills
Following is a list of the 10 Intelligence-related Skills and descriptions of each one.

Bureaucracy
You know how to handle all aspects of dealing with and running businesses, companies, governments and organizations.

Craft
You can build and repair things. You can use Craft to make explosives. Failure often results in detonation. You can use Craft to create false copies of documents, forms, licenses, identifications, signatures, personal seals, and so on.

Devices
You can use or operate any device that is appropriate for the setting (modern day computers for example).

History
You have knowledge of past events.

Knowledge
You have general knowledge, book smarts.

Languages
You can speak, read, write, and comprehend non-native languages.

Lore & Culture
You have knowledge of myths and legends and relative cultures.

Science
You have practical knowledge and of the sciences.

Survival
You can survive for a limited amount of time, but longer than anyone without this skill, in any environment.

PERCEPTION Skills
Following is a list of the 10 Perception-related Skills and descriptions of each one.

Analysis
You can analyze data, tactics, and forensics. Analysis can also be used as a , Spellcraft-like skill.

Appraise
You can evaluate the true value of saleable objects, such as books, real estate, collectables, ship parts, weapons, gear, etc.

Awareness
Awareness can be described as passive observation. It represents your ability to notice things.

Innuendo
You can send and interpret hidden signals or messages.

Intuition
You seem to have a sixth sense. You can use it to sense danger, estimate the strategies of others (tactics), a criminal’s MO, the possible outcome of a situation (predictive modeling), etc.

Medicine
You have extensive training in the fields of medical practice, from first aid to major surgery.

Navigation
You can orient yourself by terrestrial landmarks, such as the stars. This skill also includes the ability to plot space/star travel courses (Astronavigation).

Observation
Observation can be described as active awareness. It represents your ability to make observations.

Profile
By observing behavioral patterns in others, you can judge a person’s emotional state, intentions, motivations, truthfulness, etc.

Search
Your ability to actively search for and find what you are looking for is determined by the Search skill.

GUILE Skills
Following is a list of the 10 Guile-related Skills and descriptions of each one.

Animal Handling
You are adept at the handling, and training animals.

Bluff
You can deceive others.

Command
You can lead others, such as military troops, construction teams, college students, etc.

Diplomacy
You can make deals, negotiate contracts, settle disputes, etc. You can use Diplomacy to haggle over the price of almost any item. You can use Diplomacy to use the proper patterns of behavior in any given culture, organization, or society.
You can use Diplomacy to deal with the darker aspects of society. This allows you to use illegal means to find unsavory people, acquire weapons, stolen items, or drugs, and get things done illegally.

Disguise
You can disguise yourself as someone else, not only in appearance, but in mannerisms, voice, etc.

Gambling
You may attempt to try your luck, so to speak, by engaging in activities that have a risk of great monetary loss, but a possibility of an even greater monetary gain.

Interrogation
You can get information out of unwilling subjects through such techniques as “good cop bad cop,” temptation, coercion, making deals, the threat of physical violence, or anything else you can think of.

Intimidation
You can make others do what you want them to do out of fear.

Perform
You are particularly talented in the Performing Arts (Dancing, Oratory, Playing a musical instrument, Singing, Storytelling).

Willpower
You can resist adverse mental conditions, such as temptation, the power of suggestive drugs, unconsciousness caused by mental weakness or extreme pain. Willpower is used to resist the use of Presence skills by others against you.

Other Statistics

Life
Life represents the amount of damage that a character, creature, or object can endure before being killed or destroyed. If a character, creature, or object’s Life is reduced to 0, the character or creature dies, or the object is destroyed.
A character or creature has an amount of Life equal to 10 x (FITNESS dice).

Luck
Luck is used by a character to exceed his or her normal limitations. Luck may be spent after you make the roll but before the Director announces the result. 1 point of Luck may be spent to increase a die roll by 1 point.
A character has an amount of Luck equal to the result of a 10 x (COORDINATION dice).

Beating the Odds

Whenever a character attempts to complete a task, his or her Actor rolls a number of dice equal to the character’s rating in the appropriate Trait. The difficulty of a task (chosen by the Director) determines the number of successes an Actor must roll in order for his or her character to succeed.
Each roll of 7 (-1 per Skill rating) or higher grants one success. If an actor rolls an equal or greater number of successes than he or she is required to roll, his or her character beats the odds and succeeds. Otherwise, the character is beaten by the odds and fails.

Table 4: Difficulty

Difficulty Successes
Rating Required
Low 1
Below Average 2
Average 3
Above Average 4
High 5
Exceptional 6
Incredible 7
Awesome 8
Superhuman 9
Godlike 10

Degree of Success or Failure (DoSoF)
Sometimes it is not enough to know whether or not a character succeeds or fails. Sometimes it is important to know how well a character succeeds or how badly he or she fails. It can add drama and realism to a situation.
Whenever this rule comes into play, the difference between the number of successes rolled by a character and the Director determines the DoSoF. The more successes you roll above the Director’s number of successes, the more complete your success. The more successes you roll below the Director’s number of successes, the more horrible the fate the Director inflicts upon you.
For example, if a character tries to jump over a chasm and only equals the Director's number of successes then he or she might only grab the ledge, but if he or she rolls more successes then the Director, he or she might actually land on the other side. If the character fails the jump by 10 successes less than the Director, he or she probably slips and hits the back of his or her head on his or her side of the chasm as he or she falls in. Ouch!
The choice of when this rule is appropriate is up to the Director. However, that doesn’t mean that an Actor can’t ask for the application of the DoSoF rule, but be careful what you wish for. The resulting effect is up to the Director.

Table 5: Degree of Success or Failure (DoSoF)

# of Successes Degree of
Rolled Above or Success or
Below Director Failure (DoSoF)
1 Low
2 Below Average
3 Average
4 Above Average
5 High
6 Exceptional
7 Incredible
8 Awesome
9 Superhuman
10 Godlike

Contested Actions
Whenever two characters act in opposition to each other, they make a task roll, but the outcome depends on the number of successes rolled by each opponent instead of a single character. The character that rolls the greater number of successes than the other wins the contest.

Combat

Since this is a quick and dirty action adventure roleplaying system, the combat rules are intentionally simplified. It is up to the actors and the Director to add descriptive flair to any combat scene. Combat in Eternal Struggle works as follows.

Initiative
Initiative is a contest of ability that is made to determine the order in which combatants act. Each character involved in combat rolls PERCEPTION + Intuition.
The character that rolls highest announces his or her action last, but acts first. If two or more characters roll the same number, they each roll again to determine their initiative order.

Attacking & Defending
Attacker and Defender each roll their Fitness (if in melee combat) or Coordination (if in ranged combat) dice. If the attacker rolls more successes than the defender, the attacker successfully attacks the defender. Each successful attack opens the defender to another attack attempt while he or she is caught off-balance. Each failed attack reverses the rolls of attacker and defender as the defender takes the opportunity to strike back while the attacker is caught off-balance.

Damage
Each successful attack inflicts an amount of damage depending on the weapon used to make the attack. An unarmed attack inflicts 1d10 damage per Fitness die. Weapons each have a damage rating which determines the number of dice worth of damage they inflict depending on the type of weapon. The defender rolls his or her Fitness + Armor dice to attempt to reduce the damage. Each success rolled by the defender reduces the attacker’s number of successes by 1. The remaining successes each reduce the defender’s Life by 1.

Table 3: Damage

Damage
Rating Dice
Low 1d10
Below Average 2d10
Average 3d10
Above Average 4d10
High 5d10
Exceptional 6d10
Incredible 7d10
Awesome 8d10
Superhuman 9d10
Godlike 10d10

Death
Once all of a character’s Life is reduced to 0, he or she is incapacitated and will die in 1 hour per starting FITNESS + Endurance die if his or her injuries are not treated within that time.

Healing
An injured character recovers lost Life at a rate of 10 points per hour of complete rest or 2 hours of light activity.

Range
Ranged weapons each have a range given in meters per Perception die. Thus, the higher a character’s Perception, the greater the distance at which a character can make accurate attacks with ranged weapons. The weapon is useless at greater distances with a scope or rangefinder.
Unarmed attacks have a range of 0 meters, which means that an unarmed attack can only be made when there are 0 meters away from each other.
Most melee weapons have a rage of 0 meters, but reach weapons (pole arms, etc) have a range of 1 or 2 meters.

Special Effects (SFX)
Special Effects (SFX) are extraordinary abilities that set the heroes above the rest of humanity.

Blanks – take a licking and keep on ticking
Bullettime – Move and act so quickly that time seems to slow around you.
Car-Fu – vehicle stunts
False Punches – make attacks without actually hitting opponents.
Gun-Fu – fancy tricks with ranged weapons
Pulled from the Air – always have access to your equipment even if you’re not carrying it
Pyrotechnics – make things explode
Stunt Double – instantly recover from injury
Wire-Fu – high-flying martial arts

#1) I have an idea for the setting, but I’m not sure if it works. This idea came to me while playing RISK last night. If you look at a RISK board, you can see that the map is of 6 continents, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Each of these continents is divided into several territories from Alaska to Western Australia. My idea is to create an alternate reality (DarkEarth) in which each of the aforementioned continents is a city and each territory is a municipality. Each city has an Ivory tower at its center from which immortal beings called the 6 Eternals. My question about this. Can Urban Sprawl of this magnitude work in a modern setting (if so, how?) or should this kind of thing be reserved for Cyberpunk or Utopian settings?

#2) I want to use archetypes to help define the heroes. My question here is 5-fold. What are some good urban action hero archetypes based on Occupation, Social Status, and Motivation and what should their Traits and Skills look like?

jammmer81 wrote: #2) I want to use archetypes to help define the heroes. My question here is 5-fold. What are some good urban action hero archetypes based on Occupation, Social Status, and Motivation and what should their Traits and Skills look like?

jammmer81 wrote:
Death
Once all of a character’s Life is reduced to 0, he or she is incapacitated and will die in 1 hour per starting FITNESS + Endurance die if his or her injuries are not treated within that time.

Just for the future, when posting tables with fixed width columns, use the "code" tags to make them display correctly.

Is it your intent to keep the system generic, and just apply it to this genre here? Or are you trying to make one actoin genre system? Important differences.

Mike

Hi jammmer81,

I suspect answering Mike's question above will be an important step for your developing your game. It'll help put things in perspective.

If it hasn't been recommended already, you may want to take a look at Extreme Vengeance. Although I haven't myself seen the game, living as I do where I do, it's been reccomended to me more than once as an "action genre " game worth looking at in detail. When you mentioned "Episode" and "Eternal Struggle", Extreme Vengeance was the game that popped into my mind first.

- W.

Mike Holmes wrote: Is it your intent to keep the system generic, and just apply it to this genre here? Or are you trying to make one actoin genre system?