Sorcerer dice rules
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The Cardinal Rule
- Dice are only rolled if there's an important conflict or risk at stake. If you are doing something your character can normally do, it's done. This is true even if there's "conflict" in the fiction, but it doesn't matter. Morgan Blackhand, bad-ass Solo, can mow down whole rooms of mooks without rolling a die. It's only when he gets to the cyberpsycho holding his boyfriend hostage that the dice come out.
The basic way dice work
- All rolls are opposed. You roll a number of dice equal to your appropriate stat (plus any bonus or penalty dice). Your opposition rolls the same, or an appropriate number of dice for GM opposition.
- Compare the highest die on each side. The higher one wins. If any dice are tied, ignore them and go to the next highest.
- The winner has a margin of success equal to the number of dice she has that are higher than the loser's highest die. So, e.g., 10 9 8 5 5 beats 6 4 3 with three successes.
Special cases
- If all dice are tied, the side with more dice wins with 1 success. If both sides have the same number of dice, throw your hands up in despair and re-roll or something.
- If all the winner's dice beat the loser's highest die, it is a Total Victory and gets some special sauce in the fiction.
The rule of currency
- 1 success = 1 stat point = 1 bonus = 1 penalty
- Use this rule to "roll over" successes from one action into a related and immediately following action.
- Example: I punch my demon in the face (2 successes). That will give me 2 bonus dice to command it to fall into line.
- Example: My demon rips a guard's face off and eats it (5 successes). Its power now counts as +5 for how long it can Shapeshift into her form.
- Make stuff up to exploit this! "Before I attempt to blackmail the president, I want to hack into the mainframe and see if I can turn up the name of that intern he slept with." That info was in the mainframe? It is NOW (unless Adam says 'no.'). And now you're rolling Interface for bonus dice on that Will roll.
- Currency doesn't hang around. No "I punched you in the face last week, so -2, mofo." Use it or lose it. Currency needs to be applied to a clearly connected and immediately following action.
Actions
- Before a round of conflict, there is a "free and clear" phase in which everyone declares their intentions. Until dice hit the table, it is totally kosher to change your intent in response to someone else's.
- Dice all hit the table at the same time. Actions are resolved in order of highest die to lowest.
- Generally speaking, you can only make 1 roll and do 1 thing per action
- If you are taking an action that is relevant both to Passion and another stat, you can roll your Passion first and then use successes on that roll as bonus dice to the main stat roll (e.g., your Passion is Solo and your Stamina is Military Training [yawn] - roll Passion first and then Stamina to shoot someone with extreme prejudice)
- If you have been conferred the Fast ability by your Demon, you can do an unspecified amount of extra stuff in one action
- Will rolls to Stand Up (see below) don't count as actions
- If someone's action is against you (they are trying to stab you in the face), and...
- ... you have already acted. Good for you! Describe a defense and roll your full appropriate dice ((e.g., if you dodge, roll your full Stamina + bonuses)
- ... you have not acted yet. You suck. You have two options:
- Sacrifice your planned action and declare a defensive action, at full dice. Note that some of your currency dice may not apply! Also, you're done for this round.
- Suck it up. You have balls/ovaries of steel. Roll 1 die (with no bonuses) for defense. If you're still standing when your action comes around, you can still do your planned action.
- Yes, rolling high lets you dominate the action for this round.
- Remember: commanding your Demon to do something is an action! If you don't issue a command, or if the Demon acts before you (and isn't still covered by a command from an earlier moment), the GM will decide what the Demon does. Let's hope it's happy with you.
- There is no such thing as "holding" an action. If you want your buddy to bumrush the guard so you can stomp on his neck with bonus dice, hang tight this round and get stompy the next, or hope for the best.
- All of this makes Boost timing finicky. If your Demon has Boost, just... ugh, just ask me about it.
Bonus/Penalty Dice
- Always angle for bonus dice. They are how you avoid getting creamed. Currency (above) is a good way to get them.
- Good dialogue +1
- Boring description -1
- Repeating a task after failing -1
- Especially clever description of what you're doing +1-2
- Stupid move, or outside the idiom of your descriptors (e.g., shooting a gun when you have no military descriptors) -2
- Action moves the plot along significantly, or seriously impacts relationships (e.g., "Fuck it, I shoot my lover.") +2
- Cool tactics +1
- Situational advantages - generally handled through Currency, but +1-2 if not
- Totally defensive (opposes no one) declared action (e.g., "I dive under the couch!") +2
- Bad-ass weapons, +1-2, or may change damage type (see below)
No one can force you to do anything
- There is no "mind control" in this game. No one can say, "if you lose this roll, you do X." This goes for most NPCs as well (though the GM may yield if it's not that important).
- The worst that can happen is that they can use Currency to punish you for non-compliance. "I seduced you with 2 successes. If you want to walk out that door, I'm grabbing you, and you're at -2 to escape."
- Really want someone to do something? Set yourself up, then try destroy something they care about - and make them eat penalties to protect it unless they do what you want.
- DEMONS ARE AN EXCEPTION. If you win a Will roll against a Demon, you make it do what it's commanded to do (note that, in conflict, this is an action).
- I didn't say YOUR Demon, I said A Demon. You can command other Sorcerers' demons. If you try, though, they get the Binding Strength as a bonus.
- Oh, shit. Other sorcerers can command my demon. I better keep it happy.
Except bleed
- Normally, if someone wins a conflict against you, the basic consequence is die penalties. Physical injury is a bit different. There's a special table for it (where X is the successes on the attack roll):
- Fists/blunt weapons: X next, 1 lasting
- Blade: X next, X lasting
- Small handgun (Federated Arms X-22): X next, X lasting
- Big handgun (Armalite 44): 2X next, X lasting
- Rifle (FN-FAL): 2X next, X lasting
- Big, big gun (Arasaka 20mm cannon): 3X next, 2X lasting
- Demonic power, lethal (laser eyes): 2X next, X+Power lasting
- Demonic power, non-lethal, temporary (mighty throw): X+Power next, 0 lasting
- Demonic power, non-lethal, lasting (taser eyes): X+Power next, X lasting
- So, if Jesse punches you with 1 success, you have 1 penalty to your next roll, and 1 lasting penalty. If Lydia fries you with her laser eyes with 2 successes, you are eating 4 penalties to your next action, and 9 lasting penalties. Ouch!
- Penalties apply to ALL actions, not just physical ones (hard to seduce someone with your intestines hanging out your nostril)
- "Next" penalties apply only to your next action. Lasting penalties apply until you rest and seek appropriate treatment. Your total penalties to an action are equal to your next + lasting penalties. So, if you got fried by Lydia, your next action has a whopping -13 dice.
- How badly are you fucked up in the fiction?
- Penalties <= Your Stamina: banged and bruised but basically OK
- Your Stamina < Penalties <= 2x Your Stamina: in serious pain, injuries requiring medical attention, broken bones, serious cuts/burns, etc.
- Penalties > 2x Your Stamina: shocked/stunned/guts hanging out. Depending on nature of injury, may die without medical attention.
- The good news: at the end of a conflict, your lasting penalties are halved (round up). Then see above to find out if you'll make it.
Stand Up
- If you're suffering penalties greater than your Stamina, you can't act.
- Of course you can, you're a Sorcerer, dammit!
- To stand up, roll your Will (without penalties) vs. the number of dice you'd like to use for your action, up to your score. So, if you've been fried by laser eyes, but need to kick ass, and want to use your whole 3 Stamina to do so, roll Will vs. 3.
- This roll only applies to your next action. If you're still holding your guts in with one hand by next action, you need another Will roll.
- You can rack up bonus dice on this roll (spit blood, stomp on your friends, etc.)
- This roll does not take an action.
- You can roll success from this roll as bonus dice to your action! When sorcerers are beaten down is when they start to get DANGEROUS.
- You can't do this if your penalties are > 2x your stamina. Seriously, you need a hospital.
