User blog:SensibleCenobite/Quick house rules in a pinch.

This is just a story. Please take and re modify for any campaign, vacation, or bed time story.

'''WARNING: I have some custom rules I use for the kids and adults that can’t read or don’t have time to. These are a mix of ALL the games I’ve ever played. Sometimes you’re out in the Forest without ten ten-sided dice, mounds of character sheets, and more than one writing instrument. '''

'''It’s kind of hard to get all my players to buy the core book and one supplement. It pisses me off to no end. I just bought the 5th edition and plan on buying every book in the 5th edition, given enough time. Yes I know I just swore off books and learning, but I just got accepted into the pack. Thanks!'''

'''I don’t expect all of you to be able to afford every book White Wolf publishes. Please at least buy the core book! If White Wolf like these ideas for a slimed down version, please take them and make a Trillion dollars in net profits. '''

PLEASE BUY WHITE WOLF PRODUCTS AND DO NOT STEAL THEM!

Character Creation: Give each of your players 6 points to put into any thing they want called a knack. This could be a skill/spell/item/resource/contact/servant/follower/ability/title/attribute/etc. If it’s specific, give them a +1 to +6 modifier. If it if very general/vague/broad in scope, give them a -1 to -6 modifier. If they don’t have a skill marked down they are considered below average, -1 modifier. If their character really wouldn't know it or you would need to be trained, no roll is allowed. Just like knacks, give the characters up to -3 points in flaws to reinvest back into knacks. Then laugh maniacally before you use their new flaws against themselves.

Example Knacks From Broad to Specific: Programming +3 (-3 very broad) Computer Programming +3 (-2 broad) High Level Language Programming +3 (-1 slightly broad) Iron Python/C/C++/C# Sharp Programming Languages +3 (+0) C/C++/C# Programming Languages +3 (+1 kind of specific) C/C++ +3 Programming Languages (+2 specific) C Programming Language +3 (+3 very specific)

Example Items: Weapons cache +3 (-3 very broad) Gun cache +3 (-2 broad) Pistol cache +3 (-1 slightly broad) 9mm pistol +3 (+0) Custom made 9mm pistol +3 (+1 for you only) Custom made 9mm pistol w/ silencer +3 (+2 for you only) Custom made 9mm pistol w/ silencer and extra clip of ammo +3 (+3 for you only)

WOUND TRACK: 1. 2. 3. Lucky number : Get one re-roll, keep re rolled result. Lasts until end of current session. 4. Death as decay : Character passes out/goes into shock unless they roll VS a target number, but may be revived easily if they fail. 5. 6. 7. Lucky number : Get one re-roll, keep re rolled result. Lasts until end of current session. 8. Death as decay : Character dies, but may be revived with trauma care. 9. 10. 11. Lucky number : Get one re-roll, keep best result. Lasts until end of current session. 12. Death as decay : Character dies, but may be revived with trauma followed by long term care. 13. Death as Rebirth : Character put to final death. Make new character. Don't worry it'll be OK. The next one is always better.

All modifiers are subjective and agreed upon with the group and story teller during creation.

Example Character:  Name: How do people get your undivided attention? Age: How many times has the Earth gone around the Sun since you were born? Description: How does the character look, sound, act, etc? Location: Where is the character currently located? Back Story: How did the character develop or grow up? Motivation: What is your underlying reason for your mission/goals? Maybe your player knows, but your character doesn't. Mission/Goals: What are you currently working toward? Knacks(6pts + 1pts): Knowledge : 1st and 2nd semester astronomy +1 (+0) Skill : Penguin wrangling in a clown suit on the weekends +2 (+3 very specific) Item : four door sedan +1 (+0) Skill : Fighting +3 (-3 very broad) Flaws(1pt): Bad Health -1

Primitive Rule Set: Use 2D6 or 3D6 to model a bell curve. It doesn't matter if you go above or below a target number, pick one that makes the group happy. I like to roll 2D6 above a target number set to 7 permanently and that's what I'll use for all my examples.

Modifiers:

Sometimes circumstance and those pesky players are too creative and smart for their own good. Reward them with a +1 - +6 bonus on any roll for a truly good idea. Opposite applies. Sometimes circumstance and actions are less than optimal. Some ideas are really dumb. Punish them with a -1 to -6 penalty on a roll for a really bad idea. Use modifiers instead of changing target numbers. Changing the target number from 7 to 10 is the same as adding a -3 modifier.

'''Suggested resolution methods.  1).'''  Unopposed test equal to or greater than target number. Roll the dice, add them together, and subtract the target number. A negative number means failure, but not always with a BAD consequence. 0 means bare minimum and anything above 1 means an actual success. The story teller and group interpret results. Higher is better. Lower is worse. If a character fired a gun for instance and failed by -4, that could mean 4 bullets were used up with no hits. If he hit with 0 successes maybe they hit the targets armor or something. If they hit with +4 SUCCESSES that could mean the target got hit by all four bullets and takes 4D6 on the wound track.

Example: Bob the barbarian needs to climb an easy ridge. The story teller and group don't think any modifiers should apply, so no bonuses or penalties. Bob rolls 2D6 +2 Very Strong Knack and gets 5 roll + 2 knack = 7 (result) - 7 (target number) = 0 Successes. Bob barley gets to the top as one of his foot holds caves in and he is left there holding on with one hand. Bob rolls again getting 2 + 2 = 4 - 7 = -3 FAILS. Bob falls three feet abruptly as the mountain begins to collapse. The story teller and group think bob should get one more chance and at a -1 penalty for falling a little. Bob makes his last roll and gets 10 + 2 = 12 - 7 = 5 SUCCESSES. Bob easily re-climbs the lost 3 feet and clears the ridge.

2).  Extended test with a time frame and total successes needed: Say you're character has to continually want to do something over a period of time like building a house. The story teller and the group agree on a decent time frame like seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years. Next come up with a total number of success. Have the player roll vs a target number and subtract the total rolled from the target number. That's how many successes are added OR subtracted from the total needed and 1 unit of time passes. Keep going as long as story teller permits this session. The character may have to continue next session. If the total successes start to become negative, the project becomes over budget and will eventually fail after you get to negative total successes needed.

Example: Karen is playing a spell caster that wants to research a new spell. The story teller and the group decide that it's an easy spell that should only take a few weeks to create. They set the time frame to weeks with 10 total successes needed. Since she has a fully equipped lab in her house, the group decides to give her a +2 bonus for each set of rolls. Karen starts off by rolling 2D6 and adding her Spell Creation Knack of +2 to each roll along with the +2 bonus. Week 1: 9 + 2 knack + 2 bonus = 13 - 7 = 6 SUCCESSES!!! Karen starts off nice and is already half way through. Week 2: 3 + 2 + 2 = 7 - 7 = 0 SUCCESSES. Karen made no progress week due to a tough formula. Week 3: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 - 7 = 1 FAILURE!!! Karen goes back a little to five total successes after she gets held up on the same tough formula. Week 4: 8 + 2 + 2 = 12 - 7 = 5 SUCCESSES!!! Karen finishes her work after a month a little behind schedule, but with a new spell knack to use.

3). Opposed test vs another : If two forces are competing then they roll vs one another. Take whoever rolled the most and subtract the loser's result. On a tie, both parties cancel each other out, suffer mishap, or do damage. If a winner came out on top, the loser suffers the difference between rolls in side effects.

Example: Bob the barbarian gets over the ridge and lol and behold, it's Gark-Nax the barbarian. They've had a friendly feud for ages and like to resolve them with a simple dance off. Bob is good at cutting lose and has a knack in dancing at +2. Gark-Nax has been working on his routine and recently got his dancing knack up to +3. Bob rolls 7 + 2 and Gark-Nax rolls 6 + 3. 9 - 9 = 0. Their dance off is inconclusive. For now...

Combat: 

Roll initiative for group if large, else individual when small or boss oriented. Use some Youtube videos and see what you're weapons and armor can do and use inference. No it's not a proofing mechanism, but it can key into the right answer. Describe what your character does then roll an open/extended/opposed test. The better you do the more you can embellish the effects in story.

Magic/Sorcery/Psionics/Mutant Powers/Whatever: I like when abilities have line of sight (LOS) to determine their range. It makes it easier. Maybe cap spells radius by the amount invested in the knack added to the successes after casting the "spell". The more powerful you allow spells to be the more powerful the consequences of a failed roll should be.

Story Teller Stuff: Try to tell a story more than read four hundred page reference books for things you could have invested a little creativity into. Listen to what your players are saying and try to give it to them. You can always say "yes, but..." or "yes, and..." to keep requests in check. You're not there to be a professional. You're there to have fun.

Make laughter and enjoyment your currency. Most importantly, all the story tellers I talk to agree that it's better to cheat and have fun. If you know it would upset the players to lose to the boss who just cast a critical level thirteen fireball that accidentally kills them all, it didn't ;) One last thing, I hate dividing dice into multiple actions, it’s cumbersome and slow.  Do the math. Splitting most dice pools by above two almost always spells doom.

'''Once again, I love White Wolf products. Please don’t steal from them. Buy the core book and read!,''' Sensible Cenobite