Liminal Rites P.I - Overview/Characters/RPing

Liminal Rites

The Age of Enlightenment, a revolution in human thought. Encouraging us to challenge the old ideas of tradition and faith, to be rational.
Coming in on the heels of the Salem Witch Hunts, a manic frenzy of blood against that terrifying and timeless enemy, the Others, Them.
The Industrial Revolution, the pinnacle of scientific progress. Company towns, smokestacks. The Triangle Shirt Factory Fire, the Jungle.
We had forgotten the old ways, but they hadn't forgotten us. Their practitioners driven underground, brooding and biding their time.
The Great War, destruction on a scale never seen before. Stirring the earth, artillery shells knocking on the Devil's door.
And now it's happening all over again. What better time for revenge?

TERMINOLOGY AND GROUND RULES
	A PC is a player character.
	"X" means a variable value in-game.
	When dividing, always round up.
	All mathematical operations occur in the following order (first to last):
	Replacement, multiplication/division, addition/subtraction.
	A d3 is dividing the result of a d6 by 2.

BASIC MECHANICS
	Most of the time, when you need to roll dice, you'll roll two six-sided die (or 2d6) and add the results. Since this is by far the most common method of rolling dice, it is known as a "roll". If you ever have to roll a different number of dice, it will be specifically noted as "roll C+XdY", Y is the type of dice to use, X is the number to roll, and C is an added constant.
	Often, one of your character's modifiers will be added to a roll. If so, it will be noted as a "[modifier] roll", and you'll add that modifier to the result. In the above notation, a "strength roll" would be "Strength + 2d6".
	Usually, when making a roll you are attempting to overcome a task of a certain difficulty. That difficulty will be noted in the form of "DC X [modifier] check". Higher numbers represent more difficult tasks. If your roll is higher than the DC, you've succeeded.
	An "opposed [modifier] roll" is when two creatures compare rolls. Essentially, the DC of a task is set by a roll made by another.
	Sometimes it's enough to know whether you've succeeded or not. Other times you need to know your success rate, which is how much higher your roll was than the DC.
	"[modifier] X check" and "[modifier] X save" mean the same thing as "modifier [x] roll".

	Putting it all together:
	Say you're confronted with a locked door. Smashing it open is a DC 20 Strength check. Your character has a Strength modifier of 12. You roll 2d6 and get a 3 and a 6, for a total of 9. Your roll totals 21, meaning you've successful busted down the door. Your success rate was 1, although in this case, anything greater than 0 gives the same result.

	Here are some sample DCs for an average (ie, modifier of 12) character:
	5 - unconscious, like breathing
	10 - automatic, like climbing stairs
	15 - routine, like catching a ball
	20 - bit of a reach, but definitely possible
	25 - outside your comfort zone, like an unlearned skill
	30 - unthinkable, at least under normal circumstances
	40 - monumental, something an idol would do
	50 - miraculous, out of a story

	Some of those DCs are impossible for the average modifier of 12, as the maximum roll you could score is 24. Fortunately, your characters are not average (and even if they were, it's always possible to stack the odds). On the other end, some of them are less than the modifier of 12, and thus automatic. Why bother including them, then? Well, it's always possible that your enemies will stack the odds in their favor, too.

	Of special note is another type of roll known as a "chance roll". This is when you roll 2d6 and compare them to your character's Luck trait (not modifier). It's unusual because a higher Luck trait corresponds to being luckier; therefore, in a chance roll you succeed when you roll under your luck trait, and fail when you roll over.

TRAITS
	Every creature has the same 4 basic traits - Strength, Speed, Intelligence and Intuition.
	From them are calculated 8 modifiers. The first four of these are named identically and found by doubling a basic trait. The latter four are called Body, Mind, Will, and Wit, and are calculated by adding two basic traits. Again, all creatures have the same set of modifiers.
	Finally, Luck and Heart are called "inherent" traits. Technically, all creatures have them, but they are generally only used by PCs.

	A brief overview of the modifiers and their use in-game (as far as PCs are concerned):
	Strength	-	-	How strong and enduring your character is. You can guess what it's for.
	Speed	-	-	-	How fast, mobile, agile, and reactive your character is. Primarily used for reflex saves and acrobatic feats.
	Intelligence	-	How able your character is thinking critically and analytically. Mostly serves in learning new skills.
	Intuition	-	-	How perceptive, insightful, and aware your character is. Mostly used for hearing and seeing.
	Body	-	-	-	Overall physical power and ability. Mostly used for physical combat.
	Mind	-	-	-	Overall mental capability and sharpness. Mostly used for psychic combat.
	Will	-	-	-	Overall fortitude and determination. Mostly used for resisting pain and temptation.
	Wit	-	-	-	-	Basically, how much of a tricky bastard you are. Used for improvising and charming the unwitting.

CHARACTER CREATION
	a)	Fill out basic information like your name, a short description of your appearance, and your age. Karma starts at zero.
	b)	All traits automatically start at 5 points. Additionally, you may allocate an 4+d3 points as you see fit.
	c)	Choose a totem, which is a small item of emotional significance to your character. It should also have a function, which could range from something as simple and abstract as comforting your character (for example, a stuffed animal) to starting a fire (as in a lighter).
	d)	Choose a value from 3 through 9 and record it under "Heart".
	e)	Roll 2d6 and record it under "Luck".
	f)	Grab a random backstory event. These can be empowering or traumatic, serious or slight, and are primarily there to remind you that you are not the sole controller of your character's fate - the world will do things to them that you may or may not like.

	A note on allocations: A balanced character is important to face a variety of challenges. However, being too balanced leads to having no particular strengths, and many weaknesses.
	A note on Heart: Heart and karma (and roleplaying) determine how your character affects, and is affected by, other characters. A low Heart means your character is almost emotionless, a high Heart means s/he is very emotional. Karma represents what kind of emotion that is.

REVELATIONS
	Revelations are mechanically-reinforced storytelling. Essentially, they allow you to flesh out your character on the spot in ways that reward in-game. Once the game starts, any player may make a revelation at any time. However, once that player does, they can't until every other player has also made a revelation. Once everyone has done so, the restriction lifts and, again, anyone can make a revelation.
	Why bother? Besides the actual in-game events, they are the primary method of story telling and revealing backstory in characters. You develop the character you like in a way that combines whatever vision you have in your head with the events of the world, without slowing down or burdening the game.
	Example: Say the party is in a meadow eating berries when you reveal that your character has spent a lot of time in gardens, and you know that this particular plant would make a good salve to cure burns, or that one is poisonous and so-and-so definitely shouldn't eat it. Boom, you've got yourself the basis of a nice little remedy, and/or you saved someone's life. Not only that, write down "botanist" or something on your character sheet under "Revelations", and every time something like that comes up in the future, you can use your knowledge to your benefit - plus you get +1 to related rolls.
	Time your revelations carefully, though. In the above example, if you just casually dropped that on a bus ride or something mundane like that, you'd get the +1 but not necessarily the other benefits. Players are supposed to inject their own ideas into the world, and feel free to make assumptions or tell part of the story itself. Once again referring to the above example, if the DM didn't make a note of any particularly interesting plants, you can still invent them yourself (within reason). You couldn't invent them on a bus though, hence the importance of timing.

EXTRA INCENTIVE
	In an effort to encourage speed and roleplaying, there are two ways you can earn bonuses on your rolls. One is by taking action quickly - saying whatever action you're going to take in ~10 seconds or less when asked nets you a +1 bonus to your roll. If you can do that while using some descriptive and engaging language, that's another +1. For instance, an immediate "I charge towards the door and smash into it with my shoulder" would earn you +2, "I try to break the door" after two minutes of deliberation would give you no bonus. Nothing too fancy, just a little bit of character.
	Also, if you feel like a certain roll would be better put against another trait - for instance, your very strong but not-so-smart character has been sucker punched, and you want to recover based on Strength alone, not Will - some colorful language may sway the DM.