LoZ RPG Revival² Skype Progress 7/21-8/2

*Stats overhaul
 - Rename Strength to Brawn
 - If you have Agility 3, your speed increases by 1 space; if you have Agility 5, your speed increases by an additional space (for a total of +2). This does not apply when wearing heavy armor or encumbered by a heavy object.
 - Instead of Wits and Mysticism, use Wits and Smarts
 - Wits is innate/intuitive mental capacity; used to determine MP and for Instruments, Perception, and certain social actions (such as bluffing)
 - Smarts is learned/rational mental capacity; used for Spellcraft, Lore, and certain social actions (such as reasoned arguments)

*MP/Stamina
 - Base MP = 1+Wits; base stamina = 1+Guts
 - Sages should give out additional chunks for both meters in-game, but no more than 2 chunks gained in-game per point in the relevant stat for calculating base values. Extra chunks may be distributed to the party as a whole (in which case the amount of chunks given should be determined by the average base stat value of all party members) or individually (in which case the number of chunks given can be determined on a character-by-character basis). If using individual distribution, characters should not be permitted to give bar increases with party members. The pace at which bar increases are given out is up to Sage discretion -- some may find it easier to give out lots of chunks at once, but sparingly (a la the Mad Batter's "curse" in LttP effectively doubling your mp capacity, or the Great Fairy's blessing doubling your mp in the 3d games), but others may prefer a smoother pace of advancement, with single chunks given out at regular intervals (more similar to how hearts are gained).
 - Both mp and stamina bars cap at 60 points (15 chunks).

*Some ideas for a standardized system for creating spells:
 - Range: Self (centered on/affecting caster)/Touch (melee range)/Ranged
 - Offensive spells: Target/Line/Burst
 - Defensive spells: Shield/Healing/Mental (which can also be offensive - ie, mind control?)
 - Utility spells: Boost/Movement/Other

*Magic use:
 - No functional difference between learned/innate magic and magic from items
 - If using learned/innate magic (as opposed to magic invoked from an item), you need a focus of some sort. Your focus can be any object you like that fits your character's concept. You must have your focus on-hand to cast learned/innate spells.
 - Spells can be classified as either "simple" or "advanced". No clear decision yet on how this distinction will be made -- perhaps MP cost, perhaps some factor stated in the spell description. Would be nice to have the classification depend on the user's Spellcraft and/or Smarts. Simple spells can be used as an off-hand attack (including the standard -1 penalty for off-hand attacking) and also for counterattacks; advanced spells cannot.

*Weapon size:
 - Categories as follows: 1/4H, 1/2H, 1H, 1&1/2H, 2H, 3H, 4H
 - Effort depends on your size (items like Golden Gauntlets/Power Bracelets can modify this); weapons matching your category are one-handed Melee (1H for standard Hylian), weapons one category up are two-handed Melee (1&1/2H for Hylians), weapons two categories up are Heavy (2H for Hylians). The maximum size you can use as an off-hand weapon is that one rank below your own (1/2H for Hylians).

*Ranged weapons:
 - Firing a ranged weapon takes an additional action to aim
 - You can fire without taking an action to aim, but doing so cuts your dice pool for the attack in half (rounded down to a minimum of 1 die)
 - Crossbows additionally take an action to load, but unlike aiming this need not happen immediately prior to firing. In compensation for the extra action, crossbows deal huge damage -- essentially like Heavy weapons (though without the stunning).

*Lifting/carrying:
 - Each creature and object has a weight category. Weight categories are Negligible, Light, Medium, Heavy, and Massive, with numeric values of 0-4, respectively. PC races fall within the range of Light to Heavy (eg, Kokiri are Light, Hylians are Medium, Gorons are Heavy), but items or other effects may modify this. Very large or dense enemies or objects may have weights heavier than Massive, which are simply indicated with a "+" after the word Massive for each point of Weight beyond 4. For instance, a large monster or object with Weight 6 would be described as "Massive++"
 - If your Brawn exceeds the Weight of an object, you can lift and carry it without penalty. If your Brawn is exactly equal to the Weight of an object, you can lift it, but lose one action per round due to encumbrance. You cannot lift anything with Weigth greater than your Brawn.
 - Items like the Power Bracelet increase your effective Brawn for the purposes of lifting and carrying; items like the Iron Boots increase your Weight.
 - Should there be similar mechanics for pushing/dragging?

*Armor weights
 - Each armor has a weight rating (distinct from its actual Weight as an object; probably should be renamed). If your Brawn is not greater than the armor's weight rating, it is considered heavy armor for you, and you lose an action each turn while wearing it, just like if you were carrying a heavy object.

*Knockback:
 - Any knockback effect (whether from a tech, spell, or other source) involves a comparison of the effect's knockback rating to the target's resistance rating. If your knockback rating exceeds the target's resistance rating, the target is knocked back. If your knockback rating exceeds the target's resistance by a certain margin (twice their resistance?) the target is knocked back even further.
 - Knockback and resistance ratings are a little fuzzy right now, but should at the very least take into account Weight. Probably also Brawn for knockback ratings at least, and perhaps resistance ratings as well.

*Grappling:
 - To initiate a grapple, make a Melee attack. If you hit, you don't deal damage, but you do start grappling the enemy, and move into its space.
 - If you initiated the grapple, you can release the grapple as a free action
 - If you did not initiate the grapple, you must either break out or escape your opponent's hold. To break out, make a Brawn check. To escape, make an Agility check. In either case, the attempt takes 1 action, and your opponent opposes with a Brawn check.
 - While grappling (whether you initiated the grapple or not), you can make an opposed Brawn check against the opponent as a double action to attempt to move. If you and your opponent have different Weights, the heavier individual gets +1 to their dice pool for each point of Weight they have over the lighter one. If you win the check, you and the opponent each move 1 space for each success you scored over the opponent's number of successes. You may not move more than half your Movement in this way, nor may you attempt this action against a creature that is significantly larger than you (needs clearer definition).
 - While grappling (whether you initiated the grapple or not), you cannot use reactions, songs, magic, or any item or weapon requiring the use of both hands. You have access only to those items you were wielding when you became grappled, and can't store or retrieve items from your inventory. You can't attack any creatures other than the one you're grappling, and can only use unarmed attacks or certain weapons (needs defining) for this purpose. You can't move normally, but you can attempt to move both yourself and your opponent using an opposed Brawn check as described above. A creature that is significantly larger than the creature it's grappling is exempt from the above restrictions, but instead simply adds its opponent's Weight to its own and reduces its Speed by the same number of spaces. However, it can't attack any such creature grappling it unless it initiated the grapple against that creature (though special circumstances may still allow the large grappled creature to damage the grappling enemy). (Eg: Gels and Morths are small enough that they do not prevent a Hylian or even a Kokiri from acting more or less normally when grappled; however, they still impede movement, and because they are so small, they can't properly be attacked when latched onto an enemy's body.)

*Close quarters:
 - You can share a space with a willing ally, but both of you take penalties (unspecified as of yet) when doing so.