Deadrock has expanded into new territory, including leveling, combat, and items. Instead of spamming to OP with needless explanation, if more serious players would like to get a gist of the rules in the world of Deadrock, then read no further, as this is the Official Rules Book for the Deadrock Adventure! Revisions in 1.1: Added Voodoo Revisions in 1.2: Added Magic system (current version 1.2) OVERVIEW ------------------ You have the power to control everything. I, as the DM, or Dungeon Master (of sorts), have control over the art and general story. However, side missions, actions, and out-of-the-box commands are entirely up to the player. While some events are scripted, practically all of the story itself revolves around player participation. How do you play? Simple: go to the forum topic with the most recent actions having been done and post what you think should happen next. Remember. this is an adventure game. Think the likes of MSPaint Adventures and you\'re on the right track. If you\'re not familiar with DnD like games or basic RPG systems, then this guide will explain the (albeit basic) concepts behind the workings of Deadrock. ROLLING -------------- Every action that is usually left up to chance (or in-game skill) requires a d20 roll. I will roll the d20 personally and do all math regarding modifier skill points *see leveling*. Rolling a d20 means that if you get a number lower than 10 the action fails, if it\'s higher than 10 (or is 10) the action succeeds. DIALOGUE ---------------- In conversation, you are the one who initiates it and thus gives the first thing to say. If you want to start off with a lie, for instance, you\'ll roll a bluff check (aka, me rolling a d20, I promise to be fair). Depending on your current level in bluff, you\'ll either achieve or fail that lie. You have access to the following known conversation skills (more potentially unorthodox skills will be added when needed): BLUFFING - Telling a lie. CHARM - Seducing your lady (or even foe). INTERROGATE - How well you can get information from someone (doesn\'t always need a roll). HAUNT (undead skill) - How well you scare the pants off of the living. TELEPATHY (undead skill) - Communicating without speaking. LEVELING ---------------- Any other action requires a skill (besides basics such as walking or talking). If you need to exert yourself or be educated in doing something, your level determines how better off you will be at doing at that particular thing. When you first acquire a skill you will have no modifiers as you start at level zero in everything. New skills will be added to the main post under the HP as they are experienced (i.e. if you run into a locked door and try to unlock it, lock picking will then be a new skill you\'ll have under your mugshot). Leveling up is simple. Every time you do something to related to that skill, whether you succeed or fail, you get an experience point. To reach level 1 you must gain three experience points. Each new level will add one more point required, so level 2 will take four points, level 3 will take five points, etc (and after you\'ve gained the amount needed for a level, the counter starts over). The modifiers work where whatever level you are in that specific skill, you can add that many points to the dice roll. So if you\'re a level three, and you roll a 9, you still succeed in the action as you have a +3 modifier, so you would technically roll a 12. Your levels max out at 20, as that means even if you rolled a zero (which is impossible) you\'d still succeed. Oh, and if you roll a natural 20 (or rather, if I roll you one) you get two experience points added to your leveling rather than just one. You have access to the following known skills (more potentially unorthodox skills will be added when needed): STRENGTH AGILITY SPEED MARKSMEN LOCKPICKING PASS-THROUGH (undead skill) POSSESS (undead skill) POLTERGEIST (undead skill) COMBAT -------------- Attacking a foe who is corporeal (aka not undead) can be done by simply using a weapon on them. An undead foe requires a special kind of weapon (which for story reasons will be left out for now until v 1.1 of this guide). To attack someone using nothing but your fists, you need only roll a d20 and use your strength skill. However, using weapons are a bit different. If a melee weapon is used, roll a d20 on strength. If the action is successful, then you must roll a d10 to determine the level of damage it will do. The weapon itself, after being used, will gain usage points. These act identically to experience points and will level up your weapon (as such Level 1 takes 3. Level 2 takes 4, Level 3 takes 5, etc). The level of the weapon adds an attack bonus of whatever the level is. As such, a Level 6 ax will do whatever damage the d10 rolled +6 bonus. As weapons reach certain levels, certain modifications can be made to them if the right materials (or in some cases, currency) are available to you. The modifications, when found, will have a level themselves (they never upgrade, and are at full use as soon as activated) and if your weapon is at or exceeds the level of the modification, then it can use it. Ranged weapons (such as pistols and the like) use the same mechanic as above but are not unlimited in usage. Ranged weapons require ammunition, and it can be depleted, so remember to either stock up before you go looking for trouble, or be scarce and cautious when using them. Ranged weapons, when leveling, additionally will be able to hold + the amount of their current level in ammunition. Meaning if you have a rifle that holds 4 rounds at Level 0, when it reaches Level 1 it will hold up to 5 rounds, Level 2, 6 rounds, etc. After every encounter (an encounter is classified as attacking a foe who is given a chance to fight back, even if it does no damage; meaning you can\'t just grind by insta-killing wolves or birds or whatever to level up) your HP won\'t be restored, but the maximum amount will be brought up by +5. You can restore health either with items or magic, or by visiting doctors or psychics. TAROT CARDS ----------------------- Blank tarot cards hold a magical enchantment on them, giving the wielder the ability to capture the image of an object and store it away in the Ethereal Realm in the form of said image. The tarot cards you have contain your items in one simple deck and you can summon your items from the Ethereal Realm to the Corporeal Realm at any time. Make sure to be on the look out for more blank cards. They may be dropped by enemies or be scattered about. The more cards you have, the more items you can hold. VOODOO -------------- Not much is known about the mysterious object we found in the prologue, and (for story purposes) not much will be known soon. Check back in v 1.2 to learn more about Voodoo. MAGIC --------- If you are playing as a character with known magical properties or has taken a skill in performing magic, then you're going to want to know how to properly use it. First, you have a point system in Magic, just like you do for Health. MP, or Magic Points, is how capable your spell casting is. Magic is an energy and as such can't be created from just anything. You need to replenish your magic and have enough, else a spell won't get cast. Unlike HP, MP will regenerate each turn (each new post update) automatically until its full. Your MP is not a level, you must roll a d20 for every action and the desired spell will cost however many magic points it costs. Each spell will have a base amount of MP required to perform it and any additional MP for attack or regenerative spells to make the HP loss of your opponent or gain of your ally higher (e.g. You want to attack an opponent and do -20 HP damage, and the spell costs 10 MP to perform, you will require at least 20 MP to use the spell). When you use magic it does not count as a skill but rather towards more MP. Your MP is based entirely on experience and upgrades as such. If you have 10 MP and you perform 10 spells in an encounter, you will have 20 MP when the encounter is finished. Certain NPC characters will have whatever MP they start with as their max MP levels for scripted purposes. Deadrock will be using the DnD system for spells, so if you wish to learn a new one or see if a character has a spell, check the DnD guide first to see if it exists: DnD List of Spells: http://dndtools.eu/spells/ For our current encounter (as of 6/18/13), Erzulie uses Necromancy as her primary form of Magic, refer to the Libris Mortis for feats and spells: Book of the Dead DnD: http://dndtools.eu/feats/libris-mortis-the-book-of-the-dead--71/