DARK SUN pbp Rules & Chargen

DARK SUN
RULES AND CHARACTER GENERATION

[00] - TABLE OF CONTENTS
[01] - BACKGROUND
[02] - RULES
[03] - ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS
[04] - RACES
[05] - EQUIPMENT
[06] - ADDITIONAL BONUSES AND PENALTIES
[07] - FOLK MAGIC


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[01] - BACKGROUND

Map
	https://i.imgur.com/QqFjknM.png
Heiroglyphs
	https://i.imgur.com/xEZEUK2.png

THE LAW

	1.  One shall not bring harm to any CAT.
	2.  Through conspiracy, inaction, or negligence, one shall not allow a CAT to come to harm.
	3.  One shall not look upon the visage of the PHARAOH.
	4.  One shall not worship the DARK SUN.
	5.  One shall not do commerce under the presence of the DARK SUN.
	6.  One shall do the bidding of a mage.
	7.  One shall not own iron without the permission of the PHARAOH.
	8.  One shall not steal water.
	9.  One shall not free the slave of another man, nor harbor an escaped slave.
	10. If one leaves the limits of the city walls, that one shall never return.

	You eke out a miserable existence in the Great City.  You have never been outside its walls; those that do, never return.  The river dried up centuries ago, and you don't even know what rain is.  The Law is interpreted at the whim of the nobles or mages who are standing as judges in court.  If there exists some precedent format or clarification, you sure aren't privy to it.
	After the First Divine War, the archangels scorched the world with heavenfire cast down from black chariots.  This awoken old, hidden things that had been sealed away since the creation of the world, and the greatest of those things was DARK SUN.  When the sun sets, the DARK SUN rises.
	If you do any financial transactions underneath the antilight of the DARK SUN, then you become mutated.  Any financial transactions, where wealth is transferred.  And you don't know what kind of mutations since they're executed on sight, or keep them well hidden.  Custom is to conclude or suspend any financial business at dusk. Some Dark Sun rituals can grant you great power.  Some people defect from the Pharoah to the Dark Sun.  These people usually do not live very long.
	The Pharoah employs the city to build the Great Tower, so the Second Divine War can commence.  On that day, eight centuries of building clay soldiers will come to fruition, and the vast legions of terracotta squirreled away in endless catacombs will come to life, and Heaven will fall.  The first time, the Old Dynasty wasn't ready.  The New Dynasty is.


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[02] - RULES
	This game operates on a dice pool system.  To succeed at a certain roll, a certain number of successes must be rolled.  On a 1d6, a 1 is a failure, and a 5 & 6 are successes.  In addition, 6's explode, allowing you to roll an additional dice.  Favourable conditions may grant you an extra dice, while unfavourable conditions will take one away.  If as many or more failures are rolled than successes, and the target number is NOT reached, the attempt not only fails but fails spectacularly in some manner.  If as many or more failures are rolled than successes, and the target number IS reached, then the attempt succeeds, but at some great cost.

Target Successes Examples:
	1:  Traversing a narrow ledge, picking a lock, sneaking past a common guard, killing a Dredge Zombie with a bronze sword.
	2:  Running across a tightrope, getting through a reinforced door, hiding from a Set animal, completing a Dark Sun ritual.
	3:  Running up a greased inclined tightrope, inciting a riot, resisting a Mage, killing a Giant Scorpion with a stone spear.
	4:  Acquisition of an Iron permit, cowing the Imperial Guard, killing a Bronze Colossus with anything, successfully cursing the Gods.

	A player has both Attributes and Skills.  Attributes may never be increased after character generation, while skills can.  Two of the attributes are meters - Health and Sanity.  If Health reaches 0, then the character dies, and may not be revived or recovered in any way.  If Sanity reaches 0, then the character becomes irrevocably mad, and is an NPC under the control of the GM.  In addition to any other effects, Sanity and Health recover by 1 point every day, provided the character has had sufficient rest, food, and water.  The other 4 attributes are rolled in certain situations, like Skills are.
	Players are given 30 Skill Points to start, to spend on Skills.  There exists two varieties of skills:  General Skills and Learned Skills.  All general skills start at rank 1, meaning you roll with a dice pool of one, and anyone can use them.  Learned skills start at rank 0, meaning that to be used, they must be specifically trained first.  To increase a skill from level 0 to level 1, spend 1 skill point.  To increase it to level 2, spend 2 skill points, level 3 requires 3 skill points, ad infinitum.  Learned and General skills cost the same number of points.
	In addition, each character is given given 20 Character Generation points, that they can spend on starting equipment, buying their race, or on other various bonuses or penalties.  Attributes are handled a little differently, and are described below.


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[03] - ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

	Attributes

Health 			-		Sanity  (The player has a total of 10 points to distribute between the 2 attributes)
Constitution	- 		Reflex  (The player has a total of 5 points to distribute between the 2 attributes)
Luck			-		Spirit  (The player has a total of 5 points to distribute between the 2 attributes)

	General Skills

Athletics			-	Feats of physical skill and prowess.
Breaking & Entering -	The methods by which a sealed door may be passed.
Deception			-	Bluffing, lying, deceiving.
Intimidate			-	Cowing your opponent by force of presence.
Investigate			-	Research, examination and study of a scene, interrogation & inquisition
Melee				-	All hand weapons, and unarmed combat
Perception			-	Acuity of sight, hearing, and smell.
Persuade			-	Convincing the other of your words.
Ranged Weapons		-	Any weapons that strike from afar.
Stealth				-	Be quiet, unseen and unheard.
Streetwise			-	Knowing the streets, danger zones, safe areas, whereabouts of the City.

	Learned Skills

Alchemy				-	The science of potions and transmutation.
Astrology			-	Divining prophetic and secret knowledge from the stars.
Craft				-	Pick a specific, like Brickmaker, or Salvager, or some variety of Artisan.
Explosives			-	Black powder, cannon, or other weapons of the Dark Sun
Healer				-	Stitching, setting bones, and poultices.  Restores Health.
History 			-	Knowledge of the past of both City and world.
Occult				-	Dark Sun rituals, black arts.
Oratory				-	Speaking persuasively and effectively before a crowd.
Religion			-	Imperial rituals, white arts.
Soother				-	Familiarity with Sahuelic arts & meditation.  Restores Sanity.


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[04] - RACES

Players may change their Character Generation points total by selected a meager race, or a robust one.

+3 points:  Copt
+2 points:  Slave
+1 points:  Ashling/Dustling
=0 points:  Human
-3 points:  Wraith
-5 points:  Broken bronze golem
-20 points: Noble

Copts:  Vulgarly, the rag-eaters. Small, stilt-legged, you spend your lives collecting, processing, reselling and living in the vast piles of garbage and refuse the city produces. At once the most wretched and blessed of those within the walls: though you are beneath even common slaves, you are forever free of the curse of thirst.
		A.  Athletics, Melee, and Persuade pools have one less die in them for you.
		B.  You may not use the skills Intimidate or Oratory.
		C.  Your Health score is reduced by 2 points.
		D.  You suffer not from thirst.

Slaves:  You have surrendered your claim to any human decency, whether it was due to past crimes or sins, to debts, to crossing the wrong noble or mage, or just having the ill luck of being born into a slave family.  Choose a master; your will is forever subject to his.
		A.  Select a master.
		B.  You may not purchase any equipment, or own any material.  Convert 10 of your Character Generation points into Skill Points.

Ashling or Dustling:  Once, you were a proud paper or rock golem, skilled in literary arts or a valuable labourer, but succumbed to raging fire or the crushing abrasions of time countless years ago.  Now, your spirit tenaciously clings to the remnants of your physical body.  Your previously life is but a shadow of a dream.  How many years have you been like this?
		A.  You may not use the skill Athletics, or Melee.
		B.  Your Sanity score is reduced by 1 point.
		C.  As a golemsoul, you need not eat, drink, or sleep.  However, if you spend a day underneath the sun--the normal one--instead of healing an HP, you lose one.

Human:  You eke out a miserable existence in a torturous dustbowl, avoiding mages, struggling to attain sufficient water to survive, and avoiding the pernicious influence of the Dark Sun.
		A.  No special effects.

Wraith:  You were a man, a long time ago.  But when your body died, Death did not take you to the world beyond.  Instead, you wander this land, a black spirit that inhabits a corpse that refuses to decay.
		A.  Your Health increases by 6 points.
		B.  Your Sanity decreases by 2 points.
		C.  Set aside one die before rolling Intimidate.  This one is automatically a 5.
		D.  You take damage from touching iron.

Broken bronze golem:  An ancient being, now green with verdigris and forgotten by its creators.  Your joints creak and ache, but the secret fire in your veins still burns bright.
		A.  If you would be reduced to 0 hitpoints, recover in 8 hours at 1 hitpoint instead (unless you are mangled or
			destroyed utterly).
		B.  Set aside one die before rolling Melee.  This one is automatically a 5.
		C.  As a golemsoul, you need not eat, drink, or sleep.  However, if you spend a day underneath the sun--the normal one--instead of healing an HP, you lose one.

Noble:  You belong to the upper echelons of society.  Most laws do not apply to you.  Most likely, you hate and fear the Mages, your rivals.
		A.  You may select any items that you fancy, whether it's on the list or not.
		B.  You are automatically literate.
		C.  You only have 24 Skill Points to start, not 30.  You useless parasite.


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[05] - EQUIPMENT

The player may spend Character Generation points on equipment.
-1 points:  Club
-2 points:  Stone knife
-3 points:  Stone Spear
-5 points:  Bronze knife
-8 points:  Bronze Sword
-4 points:  Bow
-2 points:  Six arrows
-3 points:  Hide Shield
-2 points:  Woven Cloak
-1 points:  Candle
-4 points:  Astrolabe
-3 points:  Musical Instrument
-3 points:  Mirror

Clubs deal 3 damage, and may only be used in close quarters.
Stone weapons deal 2 damage.
Bronze weapons deal 4 damage.
Bows deal 3 damage and may be fired from a range.
Knives can be used normally in close quarters, or thrown at a penalty of -1 damage.
Spears can be used normally in close quarters, and the pool receives 1 automatic success if the spear is used against someone wielding a club or knife.  They may be thrown at a bonus of +1 damage.
Swords can only be used in close quarters.  They grant the wielder 2 extra dice in their pool.
Shields reduce the successes of the enemy by 1 on their combat roll.
Cloaks and candles are handy possessions.
Astrolabes grant one automatic success in Astrology rolls.
Music is the soul of life.
Mirrors can be used against some enemies.


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[06] - ADDITIONAL BONUSES AND PENALTIES

The player may spend or gain Character Generation points on other miscellaneous qualities.

+3 points:  Missing Hand - If not a work accident, you stole something, resulting in this punishment.
	(cannot perform certain actions, performs others at 1 or 2 dice penalty)
+1 points:  Missing Eye - If not a work accident, you in some manner slighted a Mage, resulting in this punishment.
	(-1 dice at Ranged weapons)
+4 points:  Mutation - You conducted a financial transaction under the Dark Sun.  Now, you are marked forever.  If you're found out, you'll be killed.
	(Will be randomly assigned to you.  Not beneficial.  Can be hidden.)

-4 points:  Friendship with a cat.  Mutually exclusive with a mutation; cats will not associate with those subjected to the pernicious influences of the Dark Sun.
-2 points:  +1 silver coin.
-3 points:  +1 liter of water.  Not cactus juice, or sewer brew.  Pure water.
-2 points:  Knows the Ancient language.
-3 points:  Can read & write in the vernacular.
-4 points:  Knows a Folk Magic spell (which one is randomly determined).  Also you have some familiarity with sorcery, your holiness was deemed insufficient to join the elite class of Mages--if you were ever detected or tested at all.


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[07] - FOLK MAGIC

All magics cost 1 point of Sanity to cast.
If the spell has the Resist tag, then the caster makes always a Spirit check, while the target makes a check with the attribute indicated by the Resist tag (most commonly Spirit as well, but sometimes some other attribute.)

Alarm
Special Duration
Casting Alarm on a location such as a room or small clearing creates a temporary psychic bond between the area and the caster. If the area is accessed by a living creature, the caster is automatically made aware that something has transgressed no matter how great the distance. The Alarm is usually a distinct tingling sensation or mental twinge which will awaken the caster. Alarm can also be used on an individual object, triggering when touched or moved.  The spell does not determine who or what has crossed the alarmed threshold and neither does it prevent ingress. It lasts until triggered, but the Sanity used to cast it does not recover until the spell is dismissed or concludes naturally. Once activated Alarm must be cast again.

Avert
Instant, Ranged, Resist (Spirit)
Avert is used to dismiss another spell within range. Avert can be cast reactively to neutralize offensive spells.  The two parties make a contested Spirit check; whoever has the greatest number of successes wins, to determine if Avert is successful.

Befuddle
Ranged, Resist (Spirit)
Befuddle causes confusion within the mind of a corporeal target. The subject of the spell has difficulty thinking straight, forgetting where it is, what it is doing and why – often lapsing into disassociated lines of thought. Befuddled targets can still act in self defense, but cannot initiate any constructive activity until the spell ends. Any sort of attack or threatening action instantly breaks the spell, whether or not it was directed specifically at the befuddled target.

Breath
Touch
Breath permits the recipient to hold their breath for an extended period, so that they can temporarily venture into harmful environments, such as underwater; or atmospheres tainted by rock dust, gases, smoke or poisons. The spell lasts for a maximum of the caster’s Spirit in minutes, during which time the recipient cannot speak or the breath is lost and they immediately begin to asphyxiate (or become poisoned).

Cleanse
Instant, Touch
Cleanse is used to rid an object, person or small area of dirt, grease, grime, bad smells and so on. It does not organize or tidy the tar- get or area; merely cleans them to a spick-and- span state. This spell is often used to launder clothes.

Chill
Instant, Touch
Chill dramatically reduces the temperature of small objects down to well below freezing. Useful for rapidly cooling hot items, chilling drinks, and so forth. The spell can freeze an object, but not so much than a normal object would become surpassingly brittle or damaged.

Darkness
Concentration, Ranged
Darkness creates an area of shadow, equal to 10 * Spirit in square metres, which suppresses all light within it. This is enough volume to fill a modest room, a length of corridor or form a small cloud if cast outside. All non-magical light, including sunlight, passing into or present within the boundary is reduced to the equivalent of a dim glow.

Deflect
Touch
Deflect wards the recipient against tiny impacts of foreign material, such as rain drops, a cloud of midges or even flying grains of sand. The protection is limited to individual objects smaller than a child's fingernail and thus cannot prevent normal missile weapons from striking a character.

Disruption
Instant, Ranged, Resist (Endurance)
Disruption is used for damaging or disassembling physical objects without the need for tools. It is commonly employed to drive off or kill living creatures, such as birds or vermin. When successfully cast, Disruption inflicts 1d3 damage to target. In both cases the damage ignores any armour or natural protection.

Dry
Instant, Touch
Dry removes all extraneous moisture from an object or person, either slicking off to form a puddle or evaporating in a cloud of vapour. It is normally used to dry off after heavy rain or help protect equipment from rotting, but has a number of other versatile uses.

Extinguish
Instant, Ranged
Extinguish immediately quenches flames and small fires of modest size and heat. It is useful for dousing candles, lanterns, torches or small cook fires, but it will not work on magical or larger, more ferocious conflagrations such as pyres, burning houses or dragon flames.

Glamour
Concentration, Ranged, Resist (Willpower)
Glamour makes the target alluring so that people are naturally attracted to them. The particular nature of the glamour must be chosen when cast and can be anything from increased natural beauty, a softer more sultry voice or even a seductively perfumed body scent. Whilst the spell grants no mechanical benefits, it does ensure that the recipient will gain a chance to gather themselves an audience, engage the attention of someone they wish to make contact with, or provide a distraction enabling accomplices an opportunity to perform nefarious deeds.

Glue
Touch
Glue cements together two solid, inanimate objects for the duration of the spell, for example a cart wheel to its axle or a door to its frame. Whilst under the effects of the spell the items, no matter how disparate, cannot be parted unless something actively tries to wrench them apart. In this circumstance the caster rolls Spirit, and the one trying to break it rolls Athletics. Once the spell concludes or fails the items part completely unharmed.

Heal
Instant, Touch
Heal has several different effects depending on the nature of the ailment it is being used on. If the subject is suffering from a minor complaint such as a headache, back pain, hangover, cold, warts and so on, then the symptoms are immediately lifted.  It can also be used to restore 1d4 Health to a target.

Ignite
Instant, Ranged
Ignite only works on flammable nonliving matter, causing a small object or hand-sized area to burst into flame. Depending on what was set alight, once burning, the flames may then spread unless quenched or countered in some way. This spell is normally used to light candles, torches or lanterns from afar. It can also be used to start a camp or cooking fire in adverse conditions, such as using damp kindling or in strong winds.

Incognito
Resist (Perception), Touch, Trigger
Incognito alters the facial features of the recipient to a bland, unmemorable countenance. It does not affect the voice, mannerisms or physical size/presence of the recipient, but ensures that visually they do not stand out from the crowd.Anyone under the effects of Incognito is actively ignored by those who might otherwise be searching for him; he is simply overlooked and discounted.

Knock
Instant, Touch
Knock magically unfastens any device that is currently secured with a mechanical bar or lock. It does not work on magically locked objects, only mundane ones. The spell only affects a single fastening, so if there are several locks and bars securing the object, the spell will need to be recast for each one.

Light
Concentration, Ranged
Light must be cast on an inanimate object (this could be a branch, sword blade, spear point, torch and so on). It produces enough light to illuminate an area as though with a lantern. It can also be cast directly against a Darkness spell to counter it. In this case both spells are consumed, leaving the ambient light to illuminate the area.

Lock
Special Duration, Touch
Lock magically secures any device that already has a mechanical bar or lock present. A Locked device can be opened only by the caster and cannot be picked by mundane means (such as by a thief using lock-picks) since the magic renders the mechanism immobile; however it could still be forced open by breaking the object the lock is set into. The magic remains in place until opened by the caster, after which the device must be subject to a further casting of Lock to restore the enchantment. The Sanity used to cast Lock does not recover until the spell is dismissed or concludes naturally.

Mimic
Touch, Trigger
Mimic allows the recipient to perfectly mimic the voice and mannerisms of someone the caster has seen and heard personally. It does not affect their physical appearance.

Mindspeech
Concentration, Ranged, Resist (Spirit)
Mindspeech allows telepathy between the caster and a target, enabling verbal intercourse without needing to speak aloud.

Preserve
Instant, Touch
Preserve prevents a small amount of organic matter, both vegetable and animal, from bacterial decay and putrefaction for 1d3 months, by sterilising it. If the material is later smoked, pickled or salted it is preserved indefinitely. The spell can halt decay that has begun, but not reverse it.

Protection
Touch
Protection is useful in a wide range of tasks where there is a risk of accidental injury such as working in a foundry or mine. The first time the character would normally take damage that penetrates protective clothing or armour, the Protection spell will trigger and reduce the damage taken by 1d3 points. The spell then dissipates. The spell only protects against physical damage so won’t help against events such as fire, choking and so on.

Repair
Instant, Touch
Repair fixes physical damage to an inanimate object.

Repugnance
Concentration, Ranged, Resist (Constitution)
Repugnance twists the appearance of the target so that they cause distaste in all those that see, hear or smell them. The particular effect must be chosen when cast and can be anything from a great wart on the end of a nose, a high pitched nasal voice or even pungent body odour. Whatever is chosen, it will cause people to turn away from the victim or make excuses so as to leave their presence as quickly as possible.

Shove
Instant, Ranged, Resist (Reflex)
Shove allows the caster to telekinetically move an object by giving it a single crude push. The item is not moved with enough force to inflict damage and is still subject to gravity.

Tire
Ranged, Resist (Constitution)
The fatigue induce by this skill dulls the mind and the body of the target; all dice pools are rolled with one less die for the next hour.

Ventriloquism
Concentration, Ranged, Resist (Spirit)
Ventriloquism allows the caster to project their voice anywhere within range. The caster needs only to think the projected words, not actually to speak them physically, which can disconcert those unaware of what is going on.  If cast upon a living creature, the caster can take control of their vocal cords and speak through them instead.

Vigour
Touch
Vigour makes the recipient feel alive and energetic, granting them increased abilities across the board.  For the next hour, all dice pools are rolled with one extra dice. It negates the effects of a Tire spell.

Voice
Concentration, Ranged, Resist (Spirit)
Voice amplifies the recipient’s intonation and delivery so that it becomes compelling when issuing verbal commands. All who can hear the speaker are forced to listen. Their vocalisation also carries across and through even the loudest background noise, such as howling gales, the roar of a waterfall, or the clash of arms on a battlefield.

Witchsight
Ranged, Resist (Spirit)
Witchsight allows the caster to see active magic, enchanted items and invisible entities (although such things are simply shadowy representations) that lie within range and line of sight. It can also penetrate illusions or discern the true guise of shapeshifted creatures. Beings which wish to remain hidden or disguised must win an opposed test of their Willpower versus the casting roll.