Original Fantasy Battle Tabletop Game

***This is a work in progress, I am currently playtesting this build. Any help in this area is appreciated, comments can be made in the message board.***

This game is designed to be a simple, quick game that can be played very easily with differing numbers of players. It started out as a very simplified take on the Dungeons and Dragons system, but has since become very much it's own game. The main thing I sought to stress in this system was ease of play; I wanted someone new to be able to walk in and be ready to play with a minimal amount of time spent learning the system rules.

I also wanted to make use of materials that anyone could easily attain, or even already have in their home. It is for this reason that I designed my system to use only 6 sided die. I want this game to be no more intimidating to a new player than a board game, and have taken steps to make sure that this is the case. There will be a large set of pre-made characters from which to choose, but will also allow for custom-built characters for those who wish to delve into the design of their own characters.

With that said, allow me to introduce the game system.

I.: Character Attributes

The range for each attribute is 1-10.

Strength : Strength modifies physical damage dealt. You gain +1 damage for every 2 points in strength. Strength also determines how many dice you will roll when determining damage dealt. Any strength lower than 6 rolls a single die, 6-8 rolls two dice, and 9 or more rolls three dice to determine damage in the case of a successful hit. The bonus to damage given by your character's strength score is then added to these rolls. Use of bows requires a minimum strength of 6, and gain the damage modification due to strength, but only roll 1 die for determining damage.

Agility : Agility modifies armor class and chance to hit. You gain a stackable bonus of +1 to armor class at 6, 8, and 10 agility. You also gain a stackable bonus to chance to hit at 6 and 9 agility. Use of bows also requires a minimum of 6 agility.

Endurance : Endurance modifies your base hit points, every point of endurance adds +2HP.

Intelligence : Intelligence modifies your base mana pool, as well as increases your chance of a critical hit.

Wisdom : Wisdom modifies miracle count for the Priest class, as well as adds a saving throw bonus vs. attack magic. The stackable saving throw bonus of +1 is gained at 3, 6, and 9 wisdom.

When creating a character, you may spend no more than the maximum of 30 points total. The minimum for each attribute is 1, which counts towards the total, so there is really only 25 points left to freely dispurse amongst the 5 attributes for each character. All classes benefit from every attribute in some way, so careful allotment is key to a successful character of any class.

II.: Classes

Fighter : Fighters are always ready for combat, and are often the backbone of a solid party. They excel with a wide variety of weapons, and usually equip the most durable of armors. Fighters have the highest base hit point score, and greatly benefit from high strength, endurance and agility.

*Shields: Fighters can equip shields, which grants a bonus +1 to their armor class, and an additional +1 vs. ranged attacks. They cannot use two weapons if using a shield.

*Dual Wield: Fighters can wield a weapon in each hand, and can attack with both each turn, but suffer a penalty of -3 to attack rolls for both weapons.

*Feats: Fighters can do special moves with their weapons, these cost mana to perform. There is a table of feats in the table section below.

*Parry: Fighters and thieves are able to parry some attacks made against them. Any left over action points after ending his turn are added to the fighter's armor class until his next turn.

Mage : Mages are the arcane spellcasters of the party. They employ a variety of magic that they have learned to cast through extensive study of ancient tomes of knowledge. The extensive time required in study means that no mage is able to learn all the spells contained in these tomes, and so mages must choose which tomes they wish to devote their time to. All mages begin their study by learning how to manipulate the elements, as the Book of Elements contains rather simple means of inflicting damage. A mage must then choose their specialty from the remaining three tomes. They choose both a primary and secondary book to specialize in. They may cast any spell from their primary book, but are restricted from casting third level spells from their secondary book of magic. Spells will also deal damage to any allies that would be unfortunate to find themselves in their path, so it is wise to bear that in mind when casting. A mage's spellcasting ability is greatly improved with a high intelligence score.

*Magic Resistance: A mage rolls one die when hit by enemy arcane magic to determine the effect of his aquired magic resistance. He may subtract 1-5 HP of damage on corresponding rolls of the die; a roll of 6 results in only half damage being taken. Divine magic always hits for the full effect, but can be resisted with a save vs. spell roll, an unrelated ability that is granted through your character's wisdom score.

*Spellcasting: All mages start with the Book of Elements, and may choose both a primary and a secondary book as well. They may not cast any spell from a book they do not possess. Mages can cast spells up to third level in the Book of Elements, all spells in their primary book, and up to second level spells in their secondary book of magic.

*Elementalist: Mages may elect to devote their study to a single element of nature, forgoing all other elements, to unlock the awesome power of the fourth level spells in the Book of Elements. They may not cast any of the other spells in the Book of Elements other than the two spells of their chosen element. In addition, they may not take a secondary book to study, however they may cast any spell from their chosen primary book of magic. Each element has two fourth level spells that can only be cast by elementalists; a defensive shield spell and an offensive spell of great power.

Thief : Thieves rely on their quick reflexes and cunning to survive. They are no match for a fighter in a fair fight, so it is up to the thief to ensure that the fight is not fair. A good thief is a master of trickery; spending considerable amounts of time preparing various risky maneuvers to outwit stronger foes. Thieves also have been known to dabble a bit in arcane magic to aid in their adventures, though they lack the studious discipline of the mage required to master the art.

*Backstab: A thief rolls a die when hit in melee combat for a chance to avoid taking damage and appear behind his attacker, performing a free backstab attack. A backstab attack rolls as if where a critical hit.

*Evasion: A thief gains a +2 bonus to armor class vs. opportune strikes and ranged attacks.

*Cheat Death: On a killing blow, a thief can attempt to roll a 6 to stay alive, retaining 1 hit point.

*Spellcasting: A thief can take one book of arcane magic from which to draw spells, but is restricted from casting spells of third level. A thief may not choose to take the Book of Elements as his spellbook.

*Parry: Fighters and thieves are able to parry some attacks made against them. Any left over action points after ending his turn are added to the thieve's armor class until his next turn.

Priest : Priests are travelling men of faith, on missions for their diety. There is great variety among them, as there is a great variety of gods. They often pair up with adventuring parties, seizing the opportunity to spread their faith and gain the favor of their god. They are granted divine magics as reward for their servitude, and can even perform miracles to aid their allies and make them believers.

*Miracles: Priests are able to call upon their diety to perform miracles. Miracles act much like spells, except that they take no mana to cast, and are finite in number. A priest must choose what miracles he wishes to have ready before the battle starts, and can only use what he has selected. Once all miracles have been used, there is no way for the priest to get more. Miracles are broken up into three tiers, and the number of available miracles in each tier is determined by the priest's wisdom score. Healing miracles have additional restrictions; a priest can take only two Mended Wounds miracles in first tier, and only one each of both the Heal and Resurrection miracles in the second and third tier, repectfully. A table of the miracle tier availability can be found in the table section below.

*Spellcasting: Priests are granted limited use of Divine magic, which functions much like a mage's arcane magic, although the spells are much less offensive in nature.

*Druids: Druids are earth-bound priests who worship nature instead of a greater diety. They have no Divine magic, and instead can cast spells from the first two levels of the Book of Elements. They can still perform miracles as dictated by their wisdom score, however they recieve a penalty of one miracle per tier.

III.: Combat Feats (Fighter class)

Melee Combat Feats

MP Cost Feat (All feats must make successful attack roll to hit)
5 Power Attack: Adds +10 damage. Must be made with a -2 penalty to attack roll
10 Frenzy: Halves the action points needed for melee attacks, results in a -2 armor class penalty for a turn
15 Whirlwind*: Hits all adjacent targets
15 Crushing Blow**: Target bleeds 3 HPs a turn for one die roll of turns. A 6 will bleed 6 HP a turn for 5 turns.

* Whirlwind attack requires a fighter to equip two weapons.

** Crushing Blow cannot be performed with two weapons equipped.

IV.: Arcane Spells (Mage class)

Book of Elements

Level One

Cost: 5 MP

Fire

Lightning

Ice

Firebolt: Single target, cannot hit allies

DMG roll: 2 die (2-12 DMG)

Static Bolt: Single target, cannot hit allies

DMG roll: 1 die+2(+4*) (3-8 DMG; 5-10 DMG)

Icebolt: Single target, cannot hit allies

DMG roll: 1 die+1 (2-7)

Level Two

Cost: 10 MP

Fire

Lightning

Ice

Fireball: Area of effect

Lightning Bolt: Passes through target

Ice Blast: Limited range arc sweep

Level Three

Cost: 20 MP

Fire

Lightning

Ice

Flame Wave: Travelling arc wave

Nova: Ring around castor

Blizzard: Area of effect

Level Four*

Cost: 25 MP

Fire

Lightning

Ice

Fire Shield: Damaging aura (duration)

Hellfire: Large area of effect

Static Field: Repelling surge

Chain Lightning: Hits multiple targets in series

Frost Armor: Bonus to armor class (duration)

Frostbite: Freezes an enemy, melee critical hit will shatter

* Only an Elementalist in a particular element may cast fourth level spells of that branch.

Book of Illusions

Level One

Cost: 5 MP

Confusion: Lowers target's attack roll by 1-6 for 2 turns

Blur: Bonus to armor class based on roll (1/2 of die value, rounded down) for 3 turns

Level Two

Cost: 10 MP

Haze: Castor gains +1 to armor class and -2 to damage taken for 2 turns

Deception: Castor reappears instantly anywhere within a range of 2

Level Three*

Cost: 20 MP

Mass Confusion: Lowers attack of area of effect by die roll for 3 turns

Invisibility: Allows movement without enticing opportune strikes for 3 turns or until castor attacks

* Third level spells only available to mages who have taken Book of Illusions as their primary book.

Book of Curses

Level One

Cost: 5 MP

Feeble Arm: Lowers target's damage by -2 for 2 turns

Minor Drain: Damage target by one die roll and add same to castor HP

Level Two

Cost: 10 MP

Dim Vision: Lowers target's attack roll by -2 for 2 turns

Poison: Damage target for one die of damage per one die of turns

Level Three*

Cost: 20 MP

Enfeeblement: Lowers attack roll and damage by -2 for 4 turns

Major Drain: Target takes 5 damage + die roll, castor gets it in HP, and target gets poisoned

* Third level spells only available to mages who have taken Book of Curses as their primary book.

Book of Charms

Level One

Cost: 5 MP

Agile Charm: Castor gains +2 agility for 2 turns

Protection: Castor gains +1 armor class and +1 spell saving throw for 2 turns

Level Two

Cost: 10 MP

Ox Strength: Castor gains +4 strength (no higher than 10) for 2 turns

Protection from missiles: Castor is immune to all non-magical missile attacks except for critical hits

Level Three*

Cost: 20 MP

Combat Charm: Castor gains +4 strength and +2 agility(each no more than 10) for 4 turns

Teleport: Castor instantly appears anywhere within range(action points remaining = 1/2 the number of spaces moved)

* Third level spells only available to mages who have taken Book of Charms as their primary book.

V.: Divine Magic (Priest class)

Level One

Cost: 5 MP

Push: Knocks target back 2 spaces

Silence: Target is unable to cast spells for duration, which is half an even die roll. Odds have no effect.

Level Two

Cost: 10 MP

Ring of Repulsion: Knocks all enemies within a range of 2 back an additional 2 spaces.

Stun: Stuns target for die roll up to 3 turns. A roll of 4-6 deals double the roll in damage as well.

VI.: Combat

Action Points : Each turn, each character rolls two dice to determine the number of action points available. A roll of 2 results in a lost turn, but the 2 counts towards a character's parry in the case of a fighter or thief. All actions in the game take action points to execute. It takes 3 points to shoot a bow, 5 points to attack in melee, and 7 points to cast a spell. A priest's miracles always take all remaining action points, but require a minimum of 6 to use.

Attack Roll : When attacking, you must make a roll of two dice and get a value that equals or exceeds the target's armor class with any modifications factored in. A roll of 2 ends your turn and forfeits all remaining action points; there is no chance of parry in the case of fighters or thieves. A roll of 12 results in a critical hit, and you recieve a bonus of one additional die for the purposes of determining damage dealt to the target. A critical hit always hits, and the target is stunned, losing their next turn.

Damage : The character's strength score determines how many dice are to be rolled to calculate damage done to the target. Less than 6 strength rolls one die, 6-8 strength rolls two dice, and 9 or 10 strength rolls three dice. If a critical hit has occured, a bonus of one additional die is added to these figures. Bow damage is always calculated by a single die roll, and adding the applicable damage bonus due to strength.

VII.: Tables

Base hit points and mana pool by class :

Fighter Mage Thief Priest
80 HP 40 HP 60 HP 60 HP
10 MP 40 MP 30 MP 20 MP

Armor Selection :

Armor Type Armor Class Damage Reduction STR Requirement
1) Tunic 1 0 0
2) Leather 2 0 2
3) Studded Leather 3 0 4
4) Chainmail* 5 -1 6
5) Plate* 6 -2 8
6) Full Plate* 7 -3 10

* Indicates that the armor type is metal armor, which takes additional damage vs. lightning spells.

Priest miracle count by wisdom :

WIS 4 6 8 10
Tier 1 1 2 3 4
Tier 2 0 1 2 3
Tier 3 0 0 1 2