Post by AlleyCat on Aug 20, 2012 18:56:27 GMT -6
Character stats and combat are both very important elements here at SHFR. Because of this, this is bound to be a bit of a lengthy post. So hang on to your hats, folks, as we plunge into SHFR's combat system!
About Character Stats
If you haven't noticed already, each character has a set of stats which is accessible through their profile. These stats are what determine how your character fares in certain situations. The following is a guide to character stats:
Strength (STR): Strength is your character's physical ability. Pushing and lifting heavy objects, unarmed fighting-- all this is what STR factors into. STR is an especially important stat for Attackers, specifically Brawlers.
Dexterity (DEX): Dexterity is your character's agility. Are they quick on their feet? Can they maneuver around obstacles well? This is dexterity. DEX is an especially important stat for Attackers and Technicians, specifically Assassins and Agents.
Endurance (END): Endurance is how well your character can withstand tough situations before falling vulnerable to them. Immunity to illnesses, stamina during battle, and perseverance when faced with a problem-- that's endurance. END is an especially important stat for, well, everyone!
Perception (PER): Perception consists of your character's aptitude at sensing what's going on around him/her. Detecting things from far away and noticing little details are important in Perception. PER is an especially important stat for Attackers and Techinicians, specifically Assassins and Agents.
Charisma (CHA): Is your character very good at diplomacy? Or maybe they can manipulate others easily? Then they must have a high Charisma! CHA is an especially important stat for everyone-- but specifically Chemists, Assassins, and Agents.
Intelligence (INT): Intelligence refers to the general background knowledge you've collected through studies or experience. INT comes in handy when doing mental feats, such as cracking a cipher, identifying the time of death of a corpse, or recalling how to mix a certain solution. INT is an especially important stat for all classes, but specifically Assassins, Chemists, Mechanics, and Cyberscouts.
Armor Class (AC): Your Armor Class is a bit different than regular stats. Your AC represents how difficult it is for an opponent to land a blow on you. To figure out your AC, use the following formula: 10 + armor bonus + DEX stat. So for example, if I had a vest that granted me +2 armor and a DEX stat of 3, my Armor Class would be 15. AC is an especially important stat for Attackers, specifically Brawlers.
Health Points (HP): Health Points represent how much damage your character can take before they fall unconscious. Your HP changes during battle as you are harmed or healed, but your base HP will always be constant. HP is an especially important stat for Attackers, specifically Brawlers.
Great! So now that you know what each stat applies to, we can move on to how to increase your stats.
Everyone starts out with all their stats at 0, and 3 additional points which they can assign to any stat they wish (including upping the same stat twice.) But once that's said and done, how do you increase your stats? The answer is with levels.
Every time you level up, you get 2 more points to spend on your stats. It's your job to keep track of your level and add the stat points whenever you do level up. Please note that you cannot spend these points on your Armor Class or Health Points. It just doesn't make sense. To increase those stats, use a variety of armor or abilities.
Great, so now that we have stats all cleared up, we can go to our next topic of discussion.... combat!
About Combat
SHFR uses a combat system similar to older, tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons. This combat system is turn-based, and involves rolling dice to determine hits, misses, and damage. The first thing to cover is turns.
Each round consists of every battle participant making one post. Once the set posting order is established, all following rounds must go in that same order. (For example, if Bill starts with an attack, then Joe responds, and then Sally responds, Joe cannot post again until Bill posts.)
At the beginning of each turn, you must post your HP. This helps keep track of how everyone is faring. Once your HP reaches 15 or lower, you are considered hindered and must subtract 2 from each attack roll you make. Once your HP reaches 0, you become unconscious and can no longer battle.
The next thing to cover is attacks.
Every character can make a basic attack (which is basically just going at someone with your bare fists or whatever you happen to have at hand.)
To make an attack, you have to do 3 things: first you announce your attack in italics, second you roll a 20-sided die and add your attack bonus, then compare it to your opponent's AC to see if you hit them successfully. Then, you'll roll a die and add things according to which attack you're using to determine how much damage you dealt.
Now, you may be wondering what an attack bonus is. The term "attack bonus" just refers to whatever stat comes into play-- STR for a melee attack and DEX for a ranged attack.
Once you've rolled your dice, you just roleplay out the result. Let's give it a go. Here is an example post of a Brawler, Alex, using an attack called Sword Strike, which instructs you to roll a d10 for damage. Alex has a STR stat of 4, a max HP of 50, and his opponent has an armor class of 11.
HP: 25/50
Alex takes a step closer to his opponent, his grip tightening around his sword as he brings it around in an attempt to plunge it into his enemy's chest.
Alex uses Sword Strike.
[dice=20+4][dice=10]
The sword hits the man, but slightly off to the side-- nicking him in the shoulder instead of its intended target.
Since Alex rolled an 11, the exact AC of his opponent, he managed to land a hit, but since he only cause 3 damage out of 10, I had to play down the attack to fit the damage caused. Now I'd give my opponent a chance to react before posting again.
Healing is done in a slightly different way. If you have an ability which allows you to heal yourself or a nearby ally, you'd announce your heal, then roll a die corresponding to the type of heal you used to determine how many HP your target regains. Note that some heals may only be used under certain circumstances (not in battle, for example.)
So let's say Alex has a Chemist friend, Kathy, who is standing 2 feet behind him. She decides to heal him, as his health is dwindling. She wants to use a heal called Basic Heal, which instructs you to add your INT stat to a d15 roll. The heal requires her to be within touching distance of Alex. Let's assume she has an INT stat of 3. This is what her post would look like:
HP: 47/50
Kathy quickly snatches up her bandages and wraps them around the wound in Alex's arm.
Kathy uses Basic Heal.
[dice=15+3]
There's no real need to roleplay the results unless the heal failed. Heals will specify their success rate. Basic Heal might have a 100% success rate, while Advanced Heal may only succeed if the roll result is over 4. In the following post, Alex would update his HP by adding 14 points.
Congrats! You've learned the basics of attacking. We're almost through, I promise!
Weapons and armor will modify your stats further. Weapons will usually add to your attack bonus, but some may detract from your other stats (such as your Endurance due to heavy weight.) Similarly, armor will usually add to your AC, but may detract from your other stats (such as Perception due to a constricting helmet.)
This is how combat is conducted here at SHFR. I know it may seem a bit complicated at first, but that's what Training is for-- to help you get the hang of things! I promise, it'll soon become second nature to you.
Still have questions? Just ask![rand=327056645415723314652050170116127218399942619726067769804846029729]
About Character Stats
If you haven't noticed already, each character has a set of stats which is accessible through their profile. These stats are what determine how your character fares in certain situations. The following is a guide to character stats:
Strength (STR): Strength is your character's physical ability. Pushing and lifting heavy objects, unarmed fighting-- all this is what STR factors into. STR is an especially important stat for Attackers, specifically Brawlers.
Dexterity (DEX): Dexterity is your character's agility. Are they quick on their feet? Can they maneuver around obstacles well? This is dexterity. DEX is an especially important stat for Attackers and Technicians, specifically Assassins and Agents.
Endurance (END): Endurance is how well your character can withstand tough situations before falling vulnerable to them. Immunity to illnesses, stamina during battle, and perseverance when faced with a problem-- that's endurance. END is an especially important stat for, well, everyone!
Perception (PER): Perception consists of your character's aptitude at sensing what's going on around him/her. Detecting things from far away and noticing little details are important in Perception. PER is an especially important stat for Attackers and Techinicians, specifically Assassins and Agents.
Charisma (CHA): Is your character very good at diplomacy? Or maybe they can manipulate others easily? Then they must have a high Charisma! CHA is an especially important stat for everyone-- but specifically Chemists, Assassins, and Agents.
Intelligence (INT): Intelligence refers to the general background knowledge you've collected through studies or experience. INT comes in handy when doing mental feats, such as cracking a cipher, identifying the time of death of a corpse, or recalling how to mix a certain solution. INT is an especially important stat for all classes, but specifically Assassins, Chemists, Mechanics, and Cyberscouts.
Armor Class (AC): Your Armor Class is a bit different than regular stats. Your AC represents how difficult it is for an opponent to land a blow on you. To figure out your AC, use the following formula: 10 + armor bonus + DEX stat. So for example, if I had a vest that granted me +2 armor and a DEX stat of 3, my Armor Class would be 15. AC is an especially important stat for Attackers, specifically Brawlers.
Health Points (HP): Health Points represent how much damage your character can take before they fall unconscious. Your HP changes during battle as you are harmed or healed, but your base HP will always be constant. HP is an especially important stat for Attackers, specifically Brawlers.
Great! So now that you know what each stat applies to, we can move on to how to increase your stats.
Everyone starts out with all their stats at 0, and 3 additional points which they can assign to any stat they wish (including upping the same stat twice.) But once that's said and done, how do you increase your stats? The answer is with levels.
Every time you level up, you get 2 more points to spend on your stats. It's your job to keep track of your level and add the stat points whenever you do level up. Please note that you cannot spend these points on your Armor Class or Health Points. It just doesn't make sense. To increase those stats, use a variety of armor or abilities.
Great, so now that we have stats all cleared up, we can go to our next topic of discussion.... combat!
About Combat
SHFR uses a combat system similar to older, tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons. This combat system is turn-based, and involves rolling dice to determine hits, misses, and damage. The first thing to cover is turns.
Each round consists of every battle participant making one post. Once the set posting order is established, all following rounds must go in that same order. (For example, if Bill starts with an attack, then Joe responds, and then Sally responds, Joe cannot post again until Bill posts.)
At the beginning of each turn, you must post your HP. This helps keep track of how everyone is faring. Once your HP reaches 15 or lower, you are considered hindered and must subtract 2 from each attack roll you make. Once your HP reaches 0, you become unconscious and can no longer battle.
The next thing to cover is attacks.
Every character can make a basic attack (which is basically just going at someone with your bare fists or whatever you happen to have at hand.)
To make an attack, you have to do 3 things: first you announce your attack in italics, second you roll a 20-sided die and add your attack bonus, then compare it to your opponent's AC to see if you hit them successfully. Then, you'll roll a die and add things according to which attack you're using to determine how much damage you dealt.
Now, you may be wondering what an attack bonus is. The term "attack bonus" just refers to whatever stat comes into play-- STR for a melee attack and DEX for a ranged attack.
Once you've rolled your dice, you just roleplay out the result. Let's give it a go. Here is an example post of a Brawler, Alex, using an attack called Sword Strike, which instructs you to roll a d10 for damage. Alex has a STR stat of 4, a max HP of 50, and his opponent has an armor class of 11.
HP: 25/50
Alex takes a step closer to his opponent, his grip tightening around his sword as he brings it around in an attempt to plunge it into his enemy's chest.
Alex uses Sword Strike.
[dice=20+4][dice=10]
The sword hits the man, but slightly off to the side-- nicking him in the shoulder instead of its intended target.
Since Alex rolled an 11, the exact AC of his opponent, he managed to land a hit, but since he only cause 3 damage out of 10, I had to play down the attack to fit the damage caused. Now I'd give my opponent a chance to react before posting again.
Healing is done in a slightly different way. If you have an ability which allows you to heal yourself or a nearby ally, you'd announce your heal, then roll a die corresponding to the type of heal you used to determine how many HP your target regains. Note that some heals may only be used under certain circumstances (not in battle, for example.)
So let's say Alex has a Chemist friend, Kathy, who is standing 2 feet behind him. She decides to heal him, as his health is dwindling. She wants to use a heal called Basic Heal, which instructs you to add your INT stat to a d15 roll. The heal requires her to be within touching distance of Alex. Let's assume she has an INT stat of 3. This is what her post would look like:
HP: 47/50
Kathy quickly snatches up her bandages and wraps them around the wound in Alex's arm.
Kathy uses Basic Heal.
[dice=15+3]
There's no real need to roleplay the results unless the heal failed. Heals will specify their success rate. Basic Heal might have a 100% success rate, while Advanced Heal may only succeed if the roll result is over 4. In the following post, Alex would update his HP by adding 14 points.
Congrats! You've learned the basics of attacking. We're almost through, I promise!
Weapons and armor will modify your stats further. Weapons will usually add to your attack bonus, but some may detract from your other stats (such as your Endurance due to heavy weight.) Similarly, armor will usually add to your AC, but may detract from your other stats (such as Perception due to a constricting helmet.)
This is how combat is conducted here at SHFR. I know it may seem a bit complicated at first, but that's what Training is for-- to help you get the hang of things! I promise, it'll soon become second nature to you.
Still have questions? Just ask![rand=327056645415723314652050170116127218399942619726067769804846029729]
