Table-top Roleplaying
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.


A roleplaying website designed for forum based table-top roleplaying games, but applicable to other forms of roleplaying as well.
 
HomeLatest imagesSearchRegisterLog in

 

 Merits and fighting styles

Go down 
AuthorMessage
Admin
Admin



Posts : 115
Join date : 2018-01-13

Merits and fighting styles Empty
PostSubject: Merits and fighting styles   Merits and fighting styles I_icon_minitimeSun Dec 30, 2018 6:37 pm

Merits
Since the game is essentially based on the God machine, there are a plethora of new merits and other options available to your character. Despite this, some options are not available, as they do not fit the game very well. While some social merits, such as inspiring, are widely available and easily interpreted as applying to many situations, others, such as resources, have little if any practical value, as obtaining resources it not as simple as having money or cash on hand, due to the collapse of civilization. Additionally, while some merits may be less than useful, others may be more important. Retainers are allowed, but only for small children or with animals.

Some merits have inherent limitations; it's generally implied that merits that don't fit with the theme or that effectively would be useless won't be allowed. Some merits will only work within the specific context of this game. As a result, not every aspect or every banned or changed merit is added, but the general rule of thumb is that is needs to fit within the game logically to function, or need to be applied in such a way. You could have the library merit for instance, but it wouldn't count as, a library in the traditional sense, more or less a collection of books you own, perhaps survival books. For specific questions, you can ask me about them, but more or less most pertinent changes will be listed below to save you the head ache and time.



Generic Merits
-Allies
-Contacts
-Resources
-Status
-Staff
-Professional Training
-Encyclopedic Knowledge
-Eidetic Memory
-Technical Specialty
-Indomitable
-Iron Will
-Retainer


Fighting Style Merits
-Combat Marksmanship and Firefight (GMU)
-Close Quarters Combat
-Sniper and Marksmanship (GMU)
-Boxing and Martial Arts (GMU)


Last edited by Admin on Sun Dec 30, 2018 6:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top Go down
https://tabletoproleplaying8.board-directory.net
Admin
Admin



Posts : 115
Join date : 2018-01-13

Merits and fighting styles Empty
PostSubject: Re: Merits and fighting styles   Merits and fighting styles I_icon_minitimeSun Dec 30, 2018 6:37 pm

Status
The merit applies as usual, but has specific benefits when getting a higher Status in Task Force: Valkyrie status. As well, it is specific only to local areas, such as local police or medical personnel, and status merits should be relegated to merits that will impact the story, as opposed to status in a corporation for example which is not even in New York.

Resources
Immediate personal financial sources will be largely irrelevant, given Task Force Valkyrie's funding of virtually all your resources or the scavenging required. Canteen credits can be used for trading and bartering, but this is an item within the game, rather than a merit.

Staff
This merit largely does not exist given the inherent limitations of the environment, but as the game progresses you may build up enough of a following to gain access to this merit, such as if hooking up with a team of survivors who are willing to work with you.

Professional Training
The professional training merit is more or less identical to that in the God Machine, with some restrictions, primarily to attack rolls. Any skill that is effected by the 9 again quality granted by the level 2 ability "Continuing Education", that already has the 9 again quality as a result of another ability or equipment, is instead changed to possess the 8 again quality (so as to not be redundant and to provide an additional advantage). The ability "Continuing education" does not however, apply to attack rolls of any kind.

Encyclopedic Knowledge
Despite being changed in thew updated rules of the God machine rulebook, the merit from the original book is included in the game, in addition to the new God machine merit; Encyclopedic knowledge like in the original can only be gotten at character creation, and it costs 4 merit points. The New God machine merit that rewrote the original Encyclopedic knowledge merit instead has had it's name changed to "Technical Specialty", and is described below. Encyclopedic Knowledge provides the same bonus as in the original merit in the world of darkness game, allowing an intelligence + wits roll to remember some relevant factoid on the subject, providing a bonus to a roll equal to this if relevant. An example would be with a survival roll, and suddenly remembering survivor man show how to start a campfire successfully from a string and a piece of bow, or how to hot wire a car from a criminal justice book you read). This bonus, story wise, is related to information, and provides no equipment bonus. So, it would not apply to a firearms attack roll; however, a firearms roll to resist being detected by an enemy sniper, or to help fine tune the rifle would apply. This ability however takes a turn to use, and adds it to the next roll you make. On a dramatic failure, you lose the loss of this ability for an entire scene. Concurrent dramatic failures lead to losses for a day, week, and even up to a month.

Technical Specialty
Essentially identical to the encyclopedic knowledge merit in God Machine with only a name change, and it provides a bonus to the roll equal to your intelligence + wits roll to any specific skill. The merit does not have to be taken at character creation.

Eidectic Memory
Eidectic Memory functions as normal, and it also provides a +2 to ALL memory rolls. It allows the user to ignore all penalties normally incurring for remembering things that would be otherwise difficult to remember, such as while under fire, or trying to remember the color of shirt a person was wearing at a party when you four. In general, it takes no roll to remember life experiences or small details (but it does take rolls to remember very specific things within them, such as if a specific person was wearing a red shirt).

Indomitable
This merit functions as normal in the GMU, except that it applies to ALL forms coercion, including ordinary coercion roles (such as manipulation + persuasion) and applies the 9 again quality. Your devotion and will is as such that it is extremely difficult to convince you, you are wrong. It is however, worth three merit dots, instead of 2.

Iron Will
Same as in GMU, although it also provides the added bonus of making the roll a rote action if a willpower point is spent, in addition to the 8 again quality.

Retainer
The retainer merit only applies to pets and small children. This allows access to one of their skillsets for each dot you have in retainer. So, a hunting dog with 3 in wits and 3 in survival, with a specialty in tracking, would allow for 7 die when tracking by scent. Using a dog or pet successfully requires a successful animal ken specialty role, or empathy roll, while deploying a child also requires an empathy roll, and often times a persuasion role. Dramatic failures cause the loss of the use of the retainer for a scene. Continued dramatic failures can cause you to lose their use for up to a day, and even up to a week.
Back to top Go down
https://tabletoproleplaying8.board-directory.net
Admin
Admin



Posts : 115
Join date : 2018-01-13

Merits and fighting styles Empty
PostSubject: Re: Merits and fighting styles   Merits and fighting styles I_icon_minitimeSun Dec 30, 2018 6:38 pm

Fighting Styles
The following have been incredibly reworked, largely to allow for greater balance within the game and for the system. Some of them have been mish mashed to simplify them and remove certain abilities that could be troublesome in terms of game balancing. Some of the capabilities don't really provide anything outside of other merits (A lot of sniper abilities cross with iron stamina) or don't provide enough variation on the capabilities. As a result, I have changed them! These merits, both due to story and mechanics purposes, cost a single dot higher than normal. So, to get the first level of Combat Marksmanship and Firefight would cost 2 merit dots, or the equivalent of 3 exp. To get the second ability would cost 6 exp total, or 3 dots, and so on. Some of these abilities rely on new mechanical combat features, such as flanking, reaction fire, or suppressive fire.



Combat Marksmanship and Firefight (GMU)

Composure: •••, Dexterity: ••


(•) Shoot First- Your character’s trained reflexes give her a split-second edge in a gunfight. Whenever she begins a combat with a firearm already in her hand, she gains a bonus to her Initiative roll equal to her Combat Marksmanship's Merit points. If she also has the Quick Draw Merit for firearms (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 113) and draws a firearm during the first turn of combat, this bonus is added retroactively, starting with the turn.

(••) Suppressive Fire: Sometimes, the purpose of a shot is to distract the target, not necessarily to hit. Your character is trained to fire off a handful of rounds with the intent to startle opponents and force impulse reactions. When you make a covering fire maneuver, you may modify the attack with the following; like usual, the target takes no damage. However, the attack is so distracting and unsettling that it provides an additional -1 modifier to all of the enemy's dice rolls, in addition to any success you make on the attack roll. So, if you rolled 3 successes on an attack roll, your target would take a -4 penalty to all of their actions, and not just attack rolls. In addition, if the primary target moves and is in your line of sight, you can take an immediate reaction shot against them, or a firearms attack roll, with a -3 modifier to the roll. As well, your attack can effect an area as large as your automatic fire ability used; thus the maneuver can effect areas as large as a small, medium and long burst if you perform such a maneuver; you in addition, gain the bonus granted to the firearms rolls by automatic fire (+1, +2, or +3, respectively), without successive penalties for targeting multiple targets.

(•••) Double Tap: When using a lever-action, revolver, pump-action or semi-automatic firearm, your character may make short burst attacks as if her gun were capable of autofire. In addition, with any weapons firing in bursts, your allies gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls against the same targets.

(••••) On Edge: Your character has such sufficient training and composure that they are always prepared for combat, having a heightened sense of awareness constantly active. You possess an inherent +2 bonus to resist surprise rolls, and can ignore all penalties to surprise rolls, under all conditions, unless unconscious. When making a reaction fire shot, you gain an additional +2 bonus to the attack roll. If you spend a willpower point, you can make a reaction fire move reflexively, essentially applying this ability retroactively, gaining the effects without having had to make the move beforehand.

Drawback: Spend one Willpower per attack. Note that this Willpower expenditure does not add three dice to the attack.

(•••••) Rapid Fire: Your character’s concentration is such that she can unleash a hail of bullets. If you spend a willpower point, in a single action, she may make one extra Firearm's attack. You must declare the targets of your attacks before rolling for each one. Each attack suffers a –1 penalty. All attacks made with this maneuver must be single shots or short bursts.

Drawback: Spend one Willpower per attack. Note that this Willpower expenditure does not add three dice to the attack. Your character cannot use her Defense against any attack in the same turn in which she intends to use this maneuver. If she uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before she can perform this maneuver, she cannot use the Rapid Fire attack maneuver this turn. In addition, your character may not use this maneuver with bolt-action or break-action firearms.





Close Quarters Combat
Dexterity: •••, Strength ••, Athletics ••, Brawl or Weaponry ••


Firing Lines (•): In some situations, your best option is a tactical retreat — especially if you’ve inadvertently brought a knife to a gunfight. You can run for cover as a reaction to a ranged attack instead of dropping prone (see “Going Prone,” pp. 164–165 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). You give up your action for the turn but can get to any cover that’s within twice your Speed, in addition to the -2 penalty to the attacker's attack role that would ordinarily be present by going prone. In addition to the previous abilities, if you have concealment or cover (of any level), your character can apply their defense to any incoming firearms attacks up to their rating in "Close Quarters Combat" (as a negative modifier to the firearms attack roll).

Run and Gun (••): Being successful in close quarters combat hinges on a handful of premises, one of the most prevalent of which is speed, or violence of action. Your character can move their twice their speed, or as if they were sprinting, and make an attack roll in the same turn. However, this is the only other action that can be taken.

Threat Range (•••): With this level of skill, being in close quarters is an advantage, and confers benefits to your attacks. You gain a +1 to all firearms rolls made at the close range of your weapon. If this weapon is a pistol, shotgun, or submachine gun, you gain this bonus roll out to the weapon's maximum range. In addition to the previous ability, your character can maintain accuracy and control even when facing an opponent at arm’s length. The target’s Defense does not apply to any attacks your character makes within the close range of your weapon.

Bayonet Range (••••): Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. If the target moves within 5 meters of you and is visible to you during combat, you can make an automatic attack against them of any type, at a -3 penalty to the attack roll.

Close Quarters Specialist (•••••): Your character is so well versed and so well trained that that he is an expert at close quarters Combat; it isn't just an art to them, it's a science. Honing their capabilities and reaction time to a maximum, being in close ranges or tight quarters is actually an advantage when using ranged weapons, in this case allowing them to do more damage. Within the close range of your weapon (or full range with sub-machine guns, pistols, and shotguns), you can spend a willpower point to not add the weapon's Damage rating to the attack dice pool (though modifiers such as “9 again” or “8 again” still applies if it would normally). Instead, if the attack succeeds, add the weapon's Damage rating as automatic extra successes, essentially increasing the damage done to the target. In addition to the previously ability, the first reaction fire made against your character in your turn automatically misses.

Drawback: Spend one Willpower per attack. Note that this Willpower expenditure does not add three dice to the attack.




Sniper and Marksmanship (GMU)
Intelligence ••• Resolve: ••, , Stealth ••


Through the Crosshairs (•): Your character is a competent sniper, able to sit in position and steel her wits. Usually, the maximum bonus from aiming is three dice. With Through the Crosshairs, it’s equal to her Resolve + Firearms. In addition, instead of moving, you may use that action to aim, or essentially add +1 dice to your roll plus any special sniper ability.

Battlesight Zero: A shot Rings out (••): Once your character is familiar with the capabilities of a rifle, she can wring unparalleled performance from it. Whenever your character sights in a rifle (see “Sighting Tools,” p. 164), she doubles the number of attacks that receive the bonus from this process. In addition, whenever she makes an attack with a rifle that receives this bonus, the weapon’s short range is increased by five yards times her Intelligence, medium range by twice this amount and long range by three times this amount. Your character will also never hit an unintended target with a firearms roll (such as a nearby civilian), even without the sighting tools.

Ghost (•••): Your character has trained to shoot unseen and vanish without a trace. Her Intelligence score acts as a penalty on any roll to notice her vantage point, or any Investigation or Perception roll to investigate the area from which she shot.

Precision Shot (••••): You character can add their intelligence to any firearm attack roll in which they aim.

One Shot, One Kill (•••••): When your character picks up her rifle, people fall down. It’s just that simple. When making an aimed shot, you can spend a willpower point to gain the rote action quality for a single firearms attack roll (other modifiers still apply).  In addition to the previously ability, with this level of training, your character knows how to focus on specific targets; When attacking a specified target, you may reduce your weapon’s damage one-for-one to ignore penalties for shooting a specified target (see p. 203). For example, if you’re using a sniper rifle (2 damage weapon), and attacking an arm (–2 to hit), you could choose to reduce your automatic successes to 1 to reduce that to –1, or 2 automatic successes to eliminate the penalty entirely.

Drawback: Spend one Willpower per attack. Note that this Willpower expenditure does not add three dice to the attack.
top



Boxing and Martial Arts (GMU)
Prerequisites: Strength •••, Stamina •• and Brawl ••

Body Blow (•): Your character can deliver powerful blows that leave opponents reeling and gasping for air. If successes inflicted in a single Brawl attack equal or exceed the higher of the targets composure, resolve, or stamina, the victim loses his next action.

Duck and Weave (••): Your character is trained to instinctively duck and evade an opponent's blows. Use the higher of your character's Dexterity or Wits to determine his defense, against all attacks. In addition, you character does not suffer penalties for multiple attacks staged against them in a single turn.

Whirlwind Strike (•••): When engaged, your character becomes a storm of threatening kicks and punches; nothing close is safe. As long as your character has her Defense available to her and is not Dodging, any character coming into arm’s reach takes 1B damage. This damage continues once per turn as long as the enemy stays within range and occurs on the enemy’s turn. If you spend a point of Willpower, this damage becomes 2B until the end of the scene in which the power is activated. 

The Hand as Weapon (••••): With this degree of training, your character’s limbs are hardened to cause massive trauma. Her unarmed strikes cause lethal damage, if you choose. As well, your character can deliver powerful, accurate blows capable of knocking an opponent unconscious with a single punch. A single Brawl attack that equals or exceeds the highest of the target's stamina, composure, or resolve, in damage it might knock him unconscious. A Stamina or composure roll is made for the victim. If it succeeds, he is conscious but he still loses his next action due to the Body Blow (see above). If it fails, he is unconscious for a number of turns equal to the damage done.

Drawback: Your character cannot use his Defense against any attack in the same turn in which he intends to use this maneuver. If he uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before he can perform this maneuver, he cannot perform the maneuver in the turn. He is too busy bobbing and weaving out of the way of attacks.

The Touch of Death (•••••): Your character’s mastery has brought with it the daunting power of causing lethal injury with a touch. If she chooses, her unarmed strikes count as weapons with 2 damage rating, either lethal or bashing damage depending on the choice of the player before the attack is made. This stacks with other merits and weapons, such as brass knuckles or sap gloves.
Back to top Go down
https://tabletoproleplaying8.board-directory.net
Sponsored content





Merits and fighting styles Empty
PostSubject: Re: Merits and fighting styles   Merits and fighting styles I_icon_minitime

Back to top Go down
 
Merits and fighting styles
Back to top 
Page 1 of 1
 Similar topics
-
» Merits and fighting styles

Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Table-top Roleplaying :: Active Roleplaying Games :: Task Force 252: Contagion :: Game Mechanics-
Jump to: