2: Design the Game Mechanics - Basics
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Dear Student,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all
necessary rules and dice. The term begins on January 27th. We await your owl by
no later than January 26th.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Uniform
First Year students will require:
1. One Name, pedestrian or punning for the identification of
the character. Siblings, please consult with family members. For a list of
actual common and rare surnames go to http://www.dolltoy.com/uk2.html
2. One Birth, be it Pureblood, Half Breed or Muggle Born, to
influence the character's starting skills.
2. Six Statistics for the character's mechanical basis
(Ambition, Bravery, Fortitude, Intellect, Agility, Size). These range from 1
(the worst) to 7 (best), with 3 being average (and average size for a First
Year).
3. One to Three Advantages based on your family, objects or
aptitudes to differentiate the character. All start with at least one, and can
take up to two more by defining additional Flaws.
4. One to Three Flaws, based on family, psyche or a natural
ineptitude in some area of magic. Again, all start with one, and can take more
for extra Advantages.
5. Fifteen points in Skills. Purebloods can spend up to 6
points in Magical skills but no points in Muggle skills. Muggle Born are the
reverse. Half Breeds can spend up to 3 points in both Magic and Muggle skills.
6. Seven points in Youth. Youth lets you manipulate dice
after they are rolled. This number diminishes by 1 point per year you age, (a
Fifth year student 3 Youth).
Other Equipment
1 Notepad for character sheet and notes.
1 Pencil or Pen
3 Dice - 1d20 and 2d6.
Any little knickknacks such as wands etc. at the table won't
matter to play, but will be fun.
Names Notes
One of the joys of the early books is wordplay in the names
- Diagon Alley, the transfiguration book being written by Emric Switch &
the herbology book penned by Phyllida Spore. I hope to continue this tradition,
but I understand that what might be a funny joke in a throw away could get
irksome as a character name. I suspect the process will work best if you have a
character aptitude in mind - Rex Jurassic works if you are gifted in the care
of magical creatures and a dragon lover. Otherwise, well, not so much. Use
caution.
Birth Blather
Birth and blood means more as the books progress, but in the
year immediately after Voledemort's failure to kill young Harry it is something
people are shying away from - fear of what pureblood supremacists wrought has
made everyone more tolerant (superficially at least). Therefore there is no
special advantage to birth type. Having
the Advantages of Wealthy or Famous makes more sense if you're a Pureblood, but
any benefits come from the Advantage, not the birth type.
The only time it matters is with skills - Muggle Born can't
start play with magical skills, while Purebloods can't start with Muggle
skills. Both, however, can start with more points in skills they grew up with.
Mixed blood born split the difference, able to spend a little in each area.
Much of this is free-form: Harry is a pureblood raised by Muggles and suffers
the Muggle Born problems, while Hermione is a Muggle Born but aggressive
pre-school studies let her be treated as a Half Breed with points in Magic
skills.
As play goes on characters will look like slack jawed yokels
when they try something outside their idiom (Harry's first use of flue powder,
or Ron trying to use the telephone). After that first moment of humor they can
use it normally and even master it (Fred and George picking Muggle locks with
Muggle tools).
Setting Statistics
All characters are defined by six statistics: the four house
Qualities, Agility and Size. Your character will have scores of 1 to 8 (or
slightly higher for Size). Once set these do not change (again other than
Size).
1 Indicates that the character is notably inept in the field
- they are cowardly, slothful, obtuse, clumsy, small or lack all conviction.
2 Means that the character is average or slightly below
average, but it’s not terribly notable.
This is also the base size for a First Year.
3 Means the character is average or slightly above in the
area; this is as low as you can expect a house quality to be without some
disadvantage.
4 Is above average when compared to the mass of humanity. A
4 Agility means the character is mildly athletic.
5 Is exemplary, standing out to the teachers as being
exceptional - at a 5 or higher expect people to start grooming your future. A 5
agility character is athletic and graceful.
6 Is heroic drawing attention from fellow students and
people outside Hogwarts as well as teachers. A 6 agility character is clearly a
physical prodigy. This is as good as it gets, and the character is quickly
noted for great things. Voldemort had 6 Ambition; Dumbledore has 7 Intellect.
7 and higher are only available for Size. A size of 7 is
average for an adult, and is the size of an average 7th year.
Most Characters have scores of 2-3 in all stats except their
House quality, which is a 3-4, and Size, which will be 1+their class year.
There are two options for setting your statistics: random
rolls or points. Both make use of this table (which includes numbers for NPCs
for reference).
For random, roll 2d6 six times, find rolls the PC Roll
column and reference the Stat Score column. Record the numbers in the desired
Statistics - you do not have to keep them in the order you rolled them!
Stat Score NPC Roll % chance PC
Roll % chance Point Cost
1 2-4 17% 2-3 8% 0
2 5-7 42% 4-6 33% 1
3 8-9 25% 7-8 31% 2
4 10-11 14% 9-10 19% 4
5 12 3% 11-12 8% 6
For point build, you have 10 points to spend on the four
House Qualities & Agility, at the point costs given above. You can select a
size between 1 and 3, but it is not a factor in points as it is subject to
change in play.
There are some other rules for statistic placement:
1. You sorted house quality MUST be your highest of the four
qualities, but can be exceeded by Agility or Size. If you plan the character to
be in Hufflepuff, Fortitude must be your highest stat. It can be tied with
other stats (such as Ambition 1, Bravery 2, Fortitude 4, Intellect 4, Agility
1), but no stat can exceed it. (However, see Mis-Sorted in Advantages).
2. If random rolls produce a character that would cost more
than X points on the point build method you cannot pick any Statistic-altering
Advantages. You have advantages enough.
3. If random rolls produce a character that could cost less
than Y points on the point build method you can start over. There is some risk
in random rolls, but as the characters are meant to be heroic they shouldn't
start too far below average.
But what do the statistics mean?
Ambition is the character's drive and ability to manipulate
things to reach goals. In play Ambition is added to any attempt to manipulate
things or people. It could be in intimidation, connections or camaraderie in a
social setting - having something you want and getting others to help do it. In
magic it's good for both subtle spells requiring delicate handling or huge
spells where only the ambitious would dare to direct such power.
Bravery measures the character's strength in the face of
fire. In play Bravery is added to any task when the character is in jeopardy,
taking a risk or resisting an immediate (or looming) shock. Most often used in
physical tests, but social tasks can be high risk it means you're challenging
your sense of self. In magic Bravery covers mid-range reliable spells or
potent-but-volatile ones: the ones cast when in danger.
Fortitude is the character's willpower and ability to stick
to a task. In play Fortitude is added to extended tasks or to overcome mental,
social and physical effects to return to their original course of action. In
magic Fortitude is best for long term castings and rituals that patiently build
up power. Herbology, for example, relies on Fortitude, as it calls for patient
cultivation.
Intellect is the character's ability to process data and
invent new things. In play Intellect is added to any task to learn (especially
in a controlled setting), to process data in the solving of mysteries or
creating/adapting spells. In magic Intellect covers rare magics based on arcane
concepts; high intellect wizards and witches will master a lot of reliable
spells because they learn quickly.
Agility is the character's physical grace, deftness and
coordination. It has no impact on magic and is in many ways a fall back stat: if
state of mind has nothing to do with a physical task then Agility is added to
the roll. A character climbing a cliff for fun would add Agility to the task.
One climbing a cliff to escape a hell-hound would add Bravery instead, finding
his courage to make the climb or having his hands slick from sweat and limbs
tremble as his nerve fails him (depending on whether his Agility is worse or
better than his Bravery). A dancer with no goals adds Agility; one who is
trying to woo a paramour would add Ambition, either shifting the dance for the
correct effect or being so charming that their footwork flaws are overlooked.
Size is a combination of the character's mass and strength.
A First Year student has a size of 2, equivalent to the mass and muscle of an
11 year old. A character will, on average, gain 1 point of Size per year. A
size of 7-9 is an average adult. There's a rough trade-off between muscle mass
and fat - a Size 8 man may be tall and lithe or mid height and corpulent, but
their ability to take damage and deliver force is about the same. Obviously
some characters have higher Sizes, but Size higher than 12 is only allowed with
an appropriate Advantage. Size is not added to skills on any task checks.
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