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The System
We are using an adaptation of the table top game Over The Edge by Jonathan Tweet with Robin D. Laws. The game, published by Atlas Games, has a diceless and fairly free form character creation process. There are experience points (XP) awarded so your Character can advance in skill, and easy combat rules, but don't go running off just yet! Trust me. ;-D
This system uses only six sided dice, noted in game play and on the Warp1.net's dice roller as d6. The most dice you can pool into any single Trait is 5d6, with a bonus/penalty die taking it to 6 if it applies. Exceptions are very old characters, see the Staff for details. Also, do not be put off by the dice involved. There is no real anal dice rolling for everything. Rolls are mainly used for the following things: Learning a new spell, using a skill when you are a student, checking to see if your character reacts in a specific way (like if they get scared into their animagus form), or combat/Quidditch. The Difficulties are target numbers to reach. Combat Roles are compared result to result directly. Intrigued or confused? All will be made clear to you.
The System page is set up in three parts:
One: Character Creation including Character Sheets, Example Sheets and a section on creating your Character's Traits to help you develop the character you are playing within the J.K. Rowling universe. Please note that Avatars (pictures) are reserved for this room so look to see of it's taken here. There is also an explanation of how to spend the Experience Points (XP) to up a Trait or add a Learned Trait.
Two: An explanation of how the Difficulties for the dice roles work. This will include all you need to know to be able to use or test your Character's Traits.
Three: Combat is explained and is easy to learn!
Character Creation
There is one restriction we must insist upon. You can create any Character you wish with the following exceptions:
- Albus Dumbledore
- Lord Voldermort/Tom Marvolo Riddle
- Harry Potter
- Something that is completely out of the genre (An alien for example). There are unusual characters allowed, but they are reviewed on a Csheet-by-Csheet basis. These may include Vampires, Werewolves, dragons with human forms, phoenix with human forms, asian demons, mindwalkers, Cs with heavy psionics. If it is unusual, even if you see something similar in play always run the idea by Staff first.
Here is an Example Character sheet (the downloadable blank version is here.)
Some character types and groups you should be aware of that you can make or ask about:
- Death Eater: Follower of Lord Voldemort
- Unforgiven: Elite death eaters, masters of one of the Unforgivable curses.
- Professor: Someone who teaches at Hogwarts, or one of the other schools.
- Azkaban Guard: This is a street gang of squibs -- or are they? Reside in Hogsmeade.
- Reporter: For the Daily Prophet, or make up a magazine if you like. Students have their own paper so there can be a student reporter.
- Student Run School Protection: There is an unofficial and secret group of students recruited to help protect Hogwarts. They are called The New Marauders and a Character must be asked in. Their current Captain is Gypsy Penn (Sandra).
- Ghosts: People who are dead who have not moved on.
- Animagi: Someone who turns into an animal.
- Metamorphamagi: Rare, but doable by storyline. Someone who can shift their appearance.
- Vampires, Werewolves, Shadow Creatures.
- Hunters of Vampires, Werewolves, Shadow creatures
- Auror: Someone who hunts dark wizards and death eaters exclusively. The best of the best.
- Mindwalker: Someone who has so much mental power they can walk into a person's mind and do whatever they like. This person is usually bonded and as a matter of course, will be sought by both the ministry and the death eaters alike as a tool or weapon. Email Sandra for details.
- Member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors:Usually a pureblood family that has lots of money, not necessarily deatheaters.We have several positions open.
- Royal Air Navy: Their ships are transfigured to look like clouds.
- Air Pirates: Every Navy needs an nemesis.
***************************************** TALES FROM THE DAILY PROPHET CHARACTER SHEET ***************************************** Experience Points: Points earned in play ***************************************** Player Information ***************************************** Player Name: Your Name Here MUN Handle: Your Mun Handle Here Player Email: Your Email address listed with Warp1.net. If you have an alternate you use, you may list it here as well. Player IM Information: List any IMs you use so that we have a way of reaching you if your email bounces. ***************************************** Character Information ***************************************** Character Name: The name you've chosen for your Character. Character Avatar (Please include URL of at least one picture): Please provide the name of the person or anime character that will visually represent your Character in the chat room on Warp1.net. Make sure it hasn't been reserved first. If it is a dolly, no reservation is needed, but please provide the URL. Character Home Page(if any): Here is where you put the URL of your Character's site, if you have one. Wizard, Witch or Other?: What your Character is. Other includes Muggle, Magical Animal, Squib.... Wand Info(optional): Here goes the description of your wand, if your Character has one that is specific. (Britta took eight months to tell me she had a specific kind of wand. Don't worry if your Character doesn't tell you or if you can't think of one.) Character's Familiar: Most wizarding folk have an animal companion. The traditional ones for students are owls, toads, cats or rats. Main Trait (4d6): This trait is either Magical or something your character excels at that is foremost for your Character. Make it something they are good at now. Something they would be known for. Side Trait #1 (3d6): This trait is either Magical or something your character excels at that your Character has and is a lesser Trait from the Main Trait. However it will be obvious still in Role Play. Side Trait #2 (3d6): This trait is either Magical or something your character excels at that your Character has and is a lesser Trait from the Main Trait. However it will be obvious still in Role Play. This Trait holds the same position as Side Trait #1 Disadvantage/Flaw: This is very important for your Character. It can be an attitude, a curse, anything that makes a disadvantage. It does not have to impact your Traits directly. If it does, you might be in for a penalty die which will make your use of the Trait it effects more interesting. List Learned Traits (if any): Everyone gets Basic Magic at 3d6 free to start with unless they are under school age. If you are making a 3rd year, the Character gets either a 4d6 or a 5d6 in Basic Magic and Intermediate Magic at 2d6 at the beginning of term. A 4th year would have Intermediate Magic upped to 3d6 and a 5th year, if studious, would have a 4d6 to start the term off. A 5th year would get Basic at 4d6 or 5d6, Intermediate at 4d6 or 5d6 and starts Graduate at 2d6. A Character who has just graduated school gets all of the above at 4 or 5d6 plus Advanced Magic at 2d6. Be conservative with older Characters. A 5d6 indicates mastery and the Character would have to have concentrated solely on their art and the study of it and nothing else for a very long time. Very old characters, those that have been around for 100 years or more might have much higher dice pools, but they need to be shown to Staff for prior approval of the dice pools. Generally a Character Sheet for a new Character would not have anything above a 5d6 as that indicates mastery in a subject. I cannot emphasize enough that if you are unsure, ask Staff. If your Character has a Specialty, that is listed under Learned Traits as well. This is also where Students list the electives that they are excelling at. Britta, for example, has Basic Vocal Magic at 5d6 because she studied for 6 months and was tutored one-on-one with the Professor in order to help her train other students. Britta also, in Role Play, picked up self-defense moves from Bodhi Unreal so she has Basic Self-Defense listed at 3d6. Harmony Welkins has her mastery of Vocal Magic listed at 5d6 with a Bonus die added to give her that extra advantage when rolling for anything. Character Bio (Please include House or School affiliation, occupation, parents' names and whether they were muggle or wizarding folk, and personal story.): Make this as detailed as possible. Your Character Sheet won't get rejected if it is -not- detailed, but it will help inform you as a Player and make your Role Play better. If you start with a minimal Bio, that's fine, but as you Play and discover more about your Character, please update the Bio portion of the sheet. This does not have to be a long running commentary on all your Character has been through, but at least note something important or change the status of what year they are in school, or if they change occupations.
Traits
Traits are what make your Character who they are, the things they do well or an important part of their personality. Instead of a list, this game system has a self-defined Trait. If you wanted your Character to have the Trait of Beautiful and there are others that have it, don't worry! You get to define what beautiful means to your Character. Beautiful can mean any of the following:
- Has style, grace and fashion sense and always looks good
- Has lovely features and appearance.
- Has a radiant smile and manner that is attractive to most everyone.
Example: Britta Pennick is a good cook and is also doing pretty well at potions. On her Character Sheet I gave her the main trait of Recipes and defined it myself as the ability to combine ingredients together to perfection.
And that's how you get a trait. You pick what you think the Character is like and make a trait that fits them. Remember, there are no set Traits in this particular game. Let me give you another example Trait: Glydon "Bodhi Unreal" Elphick has the trait the Player named The Bodhiness, something specific to his Character's personality that encompasses an important set of factors that completely blend together into one Trait. Here's Ashe's definition:
The Bodhiness
This trait represents his natural charisma, his good looks, his style, his way with people. It also features his personality in many ways. He can run himself down in ways where he makes himself sound like Satan, then turn around a sentence later and say "Of course I rule, I'm Bodhi Mother F'n Unreal...". He seems to be able to get away with things that would annoy most people and have it be charming.
Here are example Character Sheets to look at :
Britta Pennick : Experienced (Played) Student
Glydon "Bodhi" Elphick: Experienced Student
Harmony Welkins: Experienced Adult
Chrystopher Baker: New Older Student
Delcia Sureh: New Adult
A Disadvantage/Flaw is also a Trait, it is just an interesting part of your Character. Everyone has them, and so should the Character you run.
Now that you are done, email the Character Sheet to ashe@the-daily-prophet.org.
Experience Points and Learned Traits
Experience Points (XP) are awarded for role playing either the things you want your Character to learn, or for a well played adventure. If you play a professor at Hogwarts you as a Player can give the Players with student Characters XP when they Role Play their studies. A Player may award 5 points or 10 points at a time to a student for good behavior or getting something right. These points will be awarded the House the student Character is in. This will translate to 1 XP per 5 points given to a House.
Example: Britta does something really well in Potions and Snape gives Slytherin 10 points. The Player is given 2 XP for that part of the Role Play and 10 points go toward Slytherin House for the end of term total for the House Cup.
In general the more your Character is played, the more experience points they get. If you play your Character fairly regularly (10 to 14 days in a 30 day period) in Tales From The Daily Prophet, you will be awarded monthly with 2 XP. Players will be notified by either email or message board when their Character Sheet has been updated, their choice. It is always suggested at this time that you go over your bio and any possible new traits you may have gotten from a large RP experience and add them and send the changes to Staff.
Spending XP: Learned Traits
Learned Traits are acquired by a combination of Role Play and spending XP. The only Learned Trait that any Character gets automatically is Basic Magic at 3d6 level. When a rising third year gets their first lessons they are learning Intermediate Magic. The Player notes on their Character Sheet that the Character now has Intermediate Magic, but at 2d6, which is the dice pool for the average Character. It will take about 6 months of actual role play as well as 10 XP to raise the Learned Trait by one die.Example: Emlyn is just beginning his third year, so he starts with Intermediate Magic at 2d6. He will role play his classes, practices and general use of magic and at the end of term (about 6 to 9 months of role play) he will have the opportunity to add one die to his Intermediate Magic dice pool making it 3d6, if the Player feels he's done well enough. It will take just as much time to get the fourth and fifth dice added in the dice pool.
Difficulties
The way you determine if you have successfully completed an action is to determine the level of difficulty, then roll the number of dice in your dice pool for the appropriate trait.
Example: Britta is trying to transfigure a Prefect's badge to say 'Pushy' instead. The Player determines that this is from the Intermediate Magic level and that it would be a Moderate difficulty with a target of 11 or higher. Then she roles her dice pool for Intermediate Magic which is 4d6 and if the result is 11 or higher, she has successfully transfigured the badge.
When you choose the difficulty level, take into consideration the type of magic being done and how advanced it is to the Character. Preparing a Polyjuice Potion, something listed in a book in the restricted section of the library, is going to be much more difficult than the most basic hover charm, Wingardium Leviosa.
Difficulties are listed as follows:- Easy 4
- Moderate 7
- Difficult 11
- Really Hard 14
- Nearly Impossible 18
Combat
Combat is actually very easy. Three types of Combat: Attack/Counter Attack, Attack/Resistance (aka Saving Throw) and Attack/Dodge. I want to note that while examples used here are magical attacks, the same things apply for physical attacks and Quidditch. play as well.
Attack/Counter Attack: Opposed Rolls are simple. You roll for your skill and the other Player rolls for their's. Whomever has the highest roll wins the round. That's it.
Example: Delcia sends the Impedimentia curse at Bodhi and he whips off a counter-curse. Delcia rolls a 17 and Bodhi rolls a 20. Bodhi wins the round.
Attack/Resistance (Saving) Rolls are nearly as simple. One Character is putting a spell or curse on your Character and you wish to resist. This is done mostly if there is no counter-curse or it is not a magic art that can be dodged. To determine your resistance you look at your Intermediate Magic skill die pool and add a Penalty die. This is done by rolling one more d6 than is in your dice pool and then taking away your highest die from the total of the roll. If the number is higher than the other Character's roll you have resisted completely. If it is a tie, you have just barely resisted. If your die roll is lower you still resist but the greater the difference between the Resistance Roll and other Character's roll, the less the resistance of the spell your Character has. If your die roll is less than half of the other Character's die roll you are completely under the spell.
Example: Jai'Cye is putting a voice seduction spell on Britta. Since it cannot be blocked or dodged she decides to resist or save herself. Jai'Cye rolls for his power and gets a 15. Britta's Intermediate Magic dice pool is 4d6, so to resist or save she would add one and roll 5d6. Her roll is 4, 2, 4, 6 and 6 for a total of 22. She takes away the highest roll, in this case a 6, and subtracts it from 22, leaving her a new total of 16. She is able to resist or 'save' herself.
Attack/Dodge is used when the attack is avoidable through movement. If you do not have a specific physical skill (a sport, martial art, dance, or something similar) that would help you avoid an attack you use what would be the average skill roll for the average NPC, which is 2d6. It is still an opposed roll.
Example: Britta finds herself being attacked by a Deatheater who is trying to put the Imperious on her. She decides to sidestep the move. She has dance under her Side Trait of Performance, or she can use her Basic Self-defense under Learned Traits. Both carry a die pool of 3d6. Either way, it works like an opposed roll, the highest winning.
Another example is Chrystopher Baker trying to sidestep the curse. He has no physical skills and would have to use 2d6, the dice pool for non-trait. Since he has a good chance of not dodging a high roll, he just has to pray that the opposing roll is low.
What If I Don't Have A Trait?
Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where your Character doesn't have the required skill to help them deal best with what the game has handed them. The best thing to do in this case is muddle through by attempting to do something you want to do. Just because it isn't a Trait on your Character Sheet doesn't mean that you cannot do it, it just means that you are no better than the average person at that skill. Simply roll 2d6 and hope to hit the difficulty. Obviously, your Character will not be able to do anything above anything of Moderate difficulty.