Storyteller House Rules

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Storyteller House Rules

Version 6.0 (?) (Post Exalted & Adventure) Updated: August 16, 2001

Target Numbers and Botches

Ok, this is probably the biggest variation. The Revised System (Exalted, Aberrant, Adventure, etc.) uses a default of 7, and the number of successes determines the difficulty. The "old" system uses a sliding difficulty, with an "Average" task requiring 1 success at target number 6 for a "Minimal" success. For the most part, I'm going to stick with the "Old" system of a sliding difficulty rating (anywhere from 2 to 10), with extra successes needed for certain tasks. One success, however, is a "Standard" success, rather than a minimal success. I am also making the change to the Botch rule from the revised system. Now, you only botch if you roll no successes, and have ones showing on the dice. Ones do not take away successes. If you need multiple successes, and get only one, you do not succeed, but do not botch either, no matter how many of the other dice show ones.

Specialization:
Any attribute, ability, or sphere may be specialized, but a character may not have more than three specializations per trait. Characters may take a single free specialization whenever a trait reaches 4. Other specializations may be purchased for the same number of xp as the multiplier to raise that trait.

Lore:
Lore is an exception to the Specialization rule. Each Lore is it's own skill, which can have it's own Specializations. For Example: Lore, Vamprire (Camarilla); Lore, Werewolf (Fianna); Lore, Changeling (The Courts). Lore is what is needed to know the "truth" about a given supernatural group. Occult gives a more "popular" version of the critter's strengths and weaknesses.

Secondary Abilities:
I'm dropping any special features of Secondary abilities. I may continue to adjust target numbers if you have a secondary ability that better covers the ability I originally called for, or a more generalization of an ability I call for, but beyond that, Secondary abilities have no special benefit, beyond being a more concentrated and specific ability, as compared to many of the primary abilities.

Other Stuff:
I'm scraping my previous rules on how the world works, and such, because I want to start "My" storyteller world over again. I'm going to make calls on things, developing new house rules, as the game progresses. I will make every effort to note these and put them in a new edition of these rules as the game progresses. There are probably some house rules that I will be using that I've used so long, it's almost unconcious. Most of these have to do with combat, and they are listed on the next three pages.

Official Disclaimer:
This is not White Wolf's World of Darkness, although it takes many of it's cues from there. This is My World of Twilight. "Signature" characters, in fact any characters, may or may not appear as written, if they appear at all. I am not at all above changing the reality of a given critter type's Official history for purposes of my story. For those unfamiliar with the published

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material, this won't have any impact. For those very familiar with published material, this could shake some of what you are used to. I don't think anyone in the current group will have significant problems with it though. I just wanted it on the Record.

Combat
Yes, here we go again. With Exalted and Adventure in hand, I once again revise my combat rules.

Initiative
A. B. C. D. E. Declare Spirit of the Fray or other "I go First" effects Declare Rage, Celerity, or other Extra Action effects Roll 1D10, add Wits & Dex Extra Actions take place after everyone has acted once in Initiative Order Actions may be held from earlier to allow multiple actions to be taken at the same time. Extra actions MUST be taken in the same turn they are declared. Use them or loose them. F. Split Dice Pool actions follow each other Immediately.

Attack
A. Select Combat Maneuver (not Applicable to use of Advantages) B. Determine Base Dice Pool 0. Firearms: Perception + Firearms 1. Archery: Perception + Archery 2. Thrown Weapons: Perception + Melee or Throwing 3. Melee: Dexterity + Melee 4. Brawl: Dexterity + Brawl 5. Martial Arts: Dexterity + Brawl or Martial Arts 6. Do: Dexterity + Do (left here for sake of continutiy. Not for use) 7. Athletics: Dexterity + Athletics 8. Advantages (Gifts, Spells, Rotes, Cantrips, etc.): As per the Advantage used. Effects may be delayed by 0-3 "actions" depending upon Bunk, Ritual, or description of Coincidental Effect at the Storytellers discretion a. Vampires add Celerity to any Dexterity based dice pool. C. Modify by Accuracy rating of Maneuver D. Movement, if desired, of up to Dexterity + movement Modifier of Maneuver in Hexes. Multiply by 5 for movement in feet. E. Roll Dice pool against a target of 6 (7 for Kicks) or by Weapon Type (see Weapons Chart) or by Advantage target number (Banality +4 for Cantrips, others vary by what you are doing and how you are doing it)

Dodge
A. Before First Action: Full Dodge pool against all Attacks B. After First Action: Half Dodge pool, unless extra Action is used, in which case full dodge pool is used. C. Defensive advantages, Countermagic and Counterweaving count as "aborts" and use your first action, even if done early. May not be done after first action, except at the expenditure of an extra action. D. Mind Magic(k) can be "dodged" with a Wits + Dodge roll (Soaked with Willpower Roll) E. Dodge success are a target number of 6 (Base) for Melee and Brawl, and 8 (base) for ranged attacks. F. Dodge Successes subtract directly from attack successes.

Damage
A. Four "Types" of Damage 0. Stun: Damage is healed quickly, but "shuffles" up the chart as other types of damage are taken. (see Damage example at end of damage types) mark with "/" Once the character has reached incapacitated

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due to Stun damage, any further stun damage starts at the highest stun level doing normal damage. Also Bashing Damage. 1. Normal: Also known as Killing damage. Only "shuffled" by Aggravated Damage. Mark with " " 2. Aggravated: the stuff thats harder (or impossible) to heal any way but with time (not the Sphere). Mark with "*" a. Claws, Fangs and Horns of Supernaturals are always Aggravated, as is Fire b. Silver is Aggravated to Shapechangers (except Nuwisha, Corax, and Mokole) c. Gold is Aggravated to Corax and Mokole d. Iron is Aggravated to Changelings e. Some other forms of damage are defined as Aggravated, see the individual attacks description. 3. Chimerical: Done in the dreaming or to enchanted beings by creatures of the dreaming, some cantrips, the Chimeristry Discipline, and Chimerical weapons. Does not Shuffle, but always "normal" damage. Mark however you like ("\" or " " recommended)

Explanations and example of Damage:

Aubry, a Sidhe, has taken 1 level of Stun damage from a discussion with a guard, marked with a "/" in the Bruised box on his health chart.

Choosing the better part of valor, Aubry is high tailing it down the hall when the guard comes to and shoots at him. The guard hits and does 2 levels of normal damage. Aubrys player marks the bruised and hurt levels of his health chart with "X" and the injured level with a "/" effectively shuffling the stun damage down the chart.

Aubrys day goes from bad to worse when he rounds the corner and runs into a thug with a tire iron. Aubry takes another level of damage, this time Aggravated. The player marks the bruised level with "* ", leaves the hurt level alone, changes the Injured level to "X" and marking the Wounded level with "/"

After Stumbling out of there, Aubry runs into a chimerical guard dog. However, unless the Chimera can do more than 4 levels of damage, Aubry can ignore the damage. If it does a fifth level of damage, Aubry has to mark the Mauled level with a "\" to keep track of the Chimerical Damage, although a "C" or a check mark " " would work as well.

a. Everyone Confused now? A. Damage pools are either by weapon type (for Firearms) or Strength + Maneuver (if any) + Weapon (if any, claws, teeth and horns are weapons, although they dont use weapon maneuvers). Do has a base damage of 3 instead of Strength. B. Extra successes add to Firearms and Do. One half of extra successes (rounded down) adds to all other damage. C. Target Number is 6. Damage rolls cannot be botched. D. Potence adds directly to number of successes achieved for damage

Soaking
A. Soaking now is no longer rolled. The Target's Soak value is subtracted from the dice rolled for damage.

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B. Bashing/Stun damage is soaked with Stamina (+Fortitude) + Armor by everyone. C. Normal/Killing Damage can be soaked by anyone except mortals. (Changelings and Mages dont count for this). Killing damage is soaked the same as Bashing/Stun damage, but with a value of 1/2 the target's stamina, rounded down. Mortals can only soak Killing damage with Armor. D. Aggravated Damage is a bit trickier. While the normal source of Aggravated damage (Super Natural weaponry) may be soaked as Normal/Killing, some other forms may not. 0. Vampires need Fortitude to soak Fire or Sunlight damage. They may not soak Faith Damage 1. Everyone else soaks fire on a variable table depending upon the size of the fire, using half of their normal soak pool (round up) 2. Garou may soak silver with the expenditure of a Gnosis Point 3. Changelings may soak Iron with the expenditure of a Glamour point. E. Chimerical damage is soaked as per Stun Damage

Recovery and Healing

A. Stun Damage heals much faster than other forms of damage. Up to Wounded, Stun damage requires no medical attention. Maimed, crippled and Incapacitated could have lasting effects at the storytellers discretion. Stun healing rate is cumulative, but may be modified for dramatic purposes. So without dramatic licence, it takes about one day to recover completely from incapacitating Stun levels. B. Normal and Aggravated Damage heal at the same rate if left alone or healed in a hospital or under other medical care. If advantages are used to heal the damage, however, that is where the change is apparent. Magical healing (including gifts) may not, generally, be able to heal Aggravated damage. Refer to the individual method of healing to determine if it can be used to heal Aggravated damage. a. Normal and Aggravated Damage requires medical treatment of some type after Hurt, or further damage may be done. Untreated Normal damage after Hurt worsens by 1 level per day. If normal damage takes someone down to Incapacitated, the next level he takes will kill him. b. Crippled and Incapacitated damage requires Medical attention of some type, or healing is not possible. c. Some Supernatural types (notably Garou) have innate ways to speed healing Normal Damage. d. The time on the healing rate indicates the healing time for that level. Someone who is Injured requires 11 days to completely heal. Incapacitated takes almost a year.

Healing Rates
Health Level Bruised Hurt Injured Wounded Maimed Crippled Incapacitated Normal Or Ag. one Day Three Days One Week (7 days) One Month Two Months Three Months Five Months Bashing one hour per level one hour per level one hour per level one hour per level Three hours Six Hours 12 Hours

Chimerical Damage heals at the same rate as Normal Damage, but time spent in a freehold reduces this time to one health level per night

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