INTRODUCTION
Darken Vale Table Top was designed originally as a primary aid to help the Live Action Players to learn the skills and abilities of their characters in the live games from the comfort of their own homes, in order to enhance their knowledge and skills during Live events. In order to make the table top version as close to a live game as possible we adopted the Fighting Fantasy style of table top games and developed it into a simple system that did not need lots of table and charts to learn in order to play. All skills and abilities found in the DVTT system are the same as those in the Live Action game mechanics. Unlike many of the role play games your character does not start out as a Hero, a cut above the rest, but as a normal commoner with ideals to be better than they are and seek out action and adventure to find their place in the world and their fortunes.
As in the Live games all players start with 5 STAMINA (health) points, though some races and classes gain more as they progress. Though Players are able to play and make their adventures however they choose there is the ability to play OFFICIAL sanctioned adventures that mean they are able to seamlessly play their LIVE ACTION Characters. This means that they gain knowledge and experience of the world outside the live play area centred around The Hangman's Rest. Once they return to a Live Action format they have stories to tell in the tavern and perhaps information that will aid the Live adventures.
RULES OF TABLE TOP
All Characters have four main Characteristics. SKILL reflects your general fighting ability, physical prowess and agility. Your STAMINA is your general constitution, toughness and is also a measure of how long you can stand up in a fight. The LUCK characteristic is simply a natural indicator of how fortunate your Character is. Some Characters also have the ability to cast magical spells, and these Characters also have a MANA characteristic and a MANA POINTS score. Mana points are the measure of a Characters magical potential and these are expended when spells are cast. Some Characteristics can be tested; Namely SKILL and LUCK. Testing a Characteristic is used to find out if a Character or monster can achieve something. To test a Characteristic, simply roll a 12 sided dice (also written as 1D12). If the total is equal or less than the value of the Characteristic, then the action succeeds.
In some cases, the Game Master (GM) may add a small modifier to the value of the Characteristic to represent a task being easier or harder. Trying to climb a tree, a fairly easy task, may have a modifier of +1 or +2 added to their SKILL for that roll, whilst climbing a sheer wall may have a modifier of -2 or even more again subtracted from their SKILL for that roll. A roll of 1 will always succeed, and a roll of 12 will always fail, regardless of the target number. In addition to the standard roll, on a result of a 1 or 12 then the dice is rolled a second time to find out if it is a CRITICAL SUCCESS (a second 1 rolled) or CRITICAL FAIL (a second 12 rolled). On CRITICAL rolls the GM will probably describe epic scenes depending upon the situation. The Game Master is the final arbiter of whether a skill can be used, although most are self explanatory.
STARTING A CHARACTER
As with Live Action all characters start out with a character concept. Race and Class are chosen from the Live format. To determine your characters starting characteristics Players will need 3x 6-sided dice (3D6).
SKILL - Role 3D6 and add the 2 highest together.
Example - Player roll 3D6 = 3, 4, 6, 6 and 4 added equals a skill of 10
The average SKILL characteristic is 9 points. If in the event a player rolls badly for their SKILL they are able to burn up to 3 LUCK points to increase their SKILL score up to 9 but no more. This is done at Character creation ONLY.
STAMINA - 5
All Characters of Darken Vale Table Top start with 5 STAMINA the same as Live Action. This score may increase depending upon Level, Race and Class of a character. A Character may restore STAMINA lost in combat either through drinking a Potion, Magical Spells or sleeping.
LUCK - Role 3D6 and add the 2 highest together.
Example - Player roll 3D6 = 2, 2, 4 , 2 and 4 added equals a Luck of 6
All Characters have a LUCK Characteristic. This, quite obviously, reflects how fortunate the Character is. A Player may test their Characters LUCK when requested to by the GM, although they do not have to. A GM may ask for LUCK to be tested to see if a Character is caught by a trap, affected by a magical spell, or indeed any other situation that is not governed by SKILL. If the test for LUCK is successful, events go the way of the Character, and if the test for LUCK is unsuccessful, events go against the Character.
A Player may also SPEND their LUCK points throughout a game to change the outcome of an event or effect.
Example: Othrim the Necromancer prepares a paralysis spell, this his last remaining mana and casts it at the Ogre bearing down on him. Othrim's Player rolls 1d12 (11) and checks his SKILL(9) to see if the spell hit it's mark. The spell fails to hit at this critical point so Othrim's Player decides to SPEND one of Othrim's LUCK points to change the miss and to re-roll the attack. The second roll scores a 3 therefore the spell hits and the Ogre is paralyzed.
Whether the re-roll succeeds or not, the Player must reduce his current LUCK score by 1. This new value is used for the next test. A Character will restore his LUCK score at the end of the adventure or Points may be gained as a reward from the GM for heroic actions. Players may only spend their LUCK once on any specific task. You cannot spend another LUCK if the first try fails.
MANA - Mana is only gained when 'Mana Bands' skill is taken by magical spell casters.
Some Characters have the ability to cast magical spells and cause some truly spectacular effects. These Characters also have a MANA Characteristic, which represents the ability of the Spellcaster to cast magical spells (in Live Games these are represented by the Blue Mana Bands). These will replenished at one MANA point every 10 minutes of rest in game time (More for some races and skills), these points are expended when a spell is cast. Casting Spells takes time so it will cost a Character 1AP to prepare the spell (2AP if the spell is a powerful level 3 or level 4 spell) and 1AP to fully cast the spell. During this prep - cast time if the Spellcaster is distracted, either by combat, spell effect from another or environmental effect the spell is lost. The Mana spent preparing the spell is also lost.
Every Spellcaster will have a list of spells on their Character sheet, detailing the effects and MANA points required to cast. When a Spellcaster attempts to cast a spell, the player must declare the fact at the beginning of the round. The Spellcaster must deduct the appropriate number of MANA Points from their temporary total
COMBAT
Characters will often face foul creatures and evil monsters in combat, This is when the free flowing action of the game becomes "Turn Based".
Battles are broken down into rounds (of approximately 10 seconds in game time). Each Character upon their TURN will have the ability to make 2 actions ( 2AP) per turn. See examples of Actions and their AP costs below:
Move 1AP
Ready a Level 1-2 Spell 1AP
Ready a Level 3-4 Spell 2AP
Attack/Cast Spell 1AP
Simple Action 1AP
A Battle is resolved as follows:
1: All Characters involved in the combat will role 1d12. The Player who rolled the highest goes first in the round followed by the player who rolled the next highest and so on. This process is called the Initiative roll. In the result of a tie the player with the highest SKILL value goes first.
2: The Player rolls a 12-sided dice (1D12) and checks the result against their SKILL. If the roll is equal to or less than their SKILL then the attack is a success.
Example: Rask Torn-ear is fighting an Orc in a dungeon room. Rask has a SKILL of 9. Rask’s Player uses an ACTION POINT (AP) to attack with his axe, rolls a 4, which is under his SKILL and so his attack hit his mark.
The Games Master rolls a 12-sided dice (1d12) and checks the result against the monsters SKILL. The Orc has a SKILL of 5, and the GM rolls a 5. The Orc has successfully managed to block Rask's attack with his own axe.
Rask's Player chooses to attack again expending his second ACTION POINT. He rolls a 3 and checks it against his SKILL. It's under so the attack again hits it's mark.
The Orc has to defend against a second attack so again the GM rolls 1D12 and checks it against the Orcs SKILL of 5. He rolls an 8. The Orc FAILS to stop Rask's attack and so takes 1 Point of damage which is deducted off the Orcs STAMINA.
3: In turn the other Characters involved in the combat will each take their turn and use their actions how they see fit, including the GM who will always control the Monsters and other None Player Characters (NPC's) until everyone has taken their turn for that round.
4: Progress to the next round of combat and repeat! If any of the combatants reach 0 STAMINA, they will fall unconscious, and a monster can be considered to be dead. This process will apply to combats between two opponents. If more than one enemy fights a single combatant, then the single combatant must declare which of his opponents he will attack.
Example: Daria is fighting two goblins. Daria's Player decides to spend 1AP attacking one goblin and the 2nd AP to hit the second goblin. When the Goblins fight back, because she is outnumbered 2 - 1 the Games Master decides that Daria will take a -1 penalty to her SKILL when defending against the goblins attacks until she is either able to kill one of the goblins or until a friend comes to distract one of Daris's opponents.
EQUIPMENT
A Character will start with various pieces of equipment, detailed on their Character sheet. A Character will almost certainly find new equipment and treasure during the course of an adventure, and these should also be recorded on the sheet.
ARMOUR
During their adventures characters will be able to buy and equip Armour. As with the Live games these come in 3 types. Light, Medium and Heavy. Each Armour will grant the character ARMOUR POINTS: Light 5 (leather/hide/banded leather), Medium 10 (chain/ring/scale mail) and Heavy 15 (plate mail). When a character is hit in combat, damage allocated by rolling 2x 10-sided dice (2d10 or percentage dice). This will show where a character has been hit in the whirlwind of combat. If a character has armour on that location, it is the Armour that is damaged, thus saving the Character from injury. Once the armour has lost All it's points the armour is considered unusable. Armour can be repaired by Leathersmiths and Blacksmiths for a cost of either coin or materials.
If armour is only worn on arms or legs, but without the torso, then the armour will only provide minimal protection, Light 1, Medium 2, Heavy 3.
Once Armour is written on the Players Character sheet the number of armour points it has is also recorded in the boxes next to it.
HIT LOCATION CHART
Darken Vale Table Top was designed originally as a primary aid to help the Live Action Players to learn the skills and abilities of their characters in the live games from the comfort of their own homes, in order to enhance their knowledge and skills during Live events. In order to make the table top version as close to a live game as possible we adopted the Fighting Fantasy style of table top games and developed it into a simple system that did not need lots of table and charts to learn in order to play. All skills and abilities found in the DVTT system are the same as those in the Live Action game mechanics. Unlike many of the role play games your character does not start out as a Hero, a cut above the rest, but as a normal commoner with ideals to be better than they are and seek out action and adventure to find their place in the world and their fortunes.
As in the Live games all players start with 5 STAMINA (health) points, though some races and classes gain more as they progress. Though Players are able to play and make their adventures however they choose there is the ability to play OFFICIAL sanctioned adventures that mean they are able to seamlessly play their LIVE ACTION Characters. This means that they gain knowledge and experience of the world outside the live play area centred around The Hangman's Rest. Once they return to a Live Action format they have stories to tell in the tavern and perhaps information that will aid the Live adventures.
RULES OF TABLE TOP
All Characters have four main Characteristics. SKILL reflects your general fighting ability, physical prowess and agility. Your STAMINA is your general constitution, toughness and is also a measure of how long you can stand up in a fight. The LUCK characteristic is simply a natural indicator of how fortunate your Character is. Some Characters also have the ability to cast magical spells, and these Characters also have a MANA characteristic and a MANA POINTS score. Mana points are the measure of a Characters magical potential and these are expended when spells are cast. Some Characteristics can be tested; Namely SKILL and LUCK. Testing a Characteristic is used to find out if a Character or monster can achieve something. To test a Characteristic, simply roll a 12 sided dice (also written as 1D12). If the total is equal or less than the value of the Characteristic, then the action succeeds.
In some cases, the Game Master (GM) may add a small modifier to the value of the Characteristic to represent a task being easier or harder. Trying to climb a tree, a fairly easy task, may have a modifier of +1 or +2 added to their SKILL for that roll, whilst climbing a sheer wall may have a modifier of -2 or even more again subtracted from their SKILL for that roll. A roll of 1 will always succeed, and a roll of 12 will always fail, regardless of the target number. In addition to the standard roll, on a result of a 1 or 12 then the dice is rolled a second time to find out if it is a CRITICAL SUCCESS (a second 1 rolled) or CRITICAL FAIL (a second 12 rolled). On CRITICAL rolls the GM will probably describe epic scenes depending upon the situation. The Game Master is the final arbiter of whether a skill can be used, although most are self explanatory.
STARTING A CHARACTER
As with Live Action all characters start out with a character concept. Race and Class are chosen from the Live format. To determine your characters starting characteristics Players will need 3x 6-sided dice (3D6).
SKILL - Role 3D6 and add the 2 highest together.
Example - Player roll 3D6 = 3, 4, 6, 6 and 4 added equals a skill of 10
The average SKILL characteristic is 9 points. If in the event a player rolls badly for their SKILL they are able to burn up to 3 LUCK points to increase their SKILL score up to 9 but no more. This is done at Character creation ONLY.
STAMINA - 5
All Characters of Darken Vale Table Top start with 5 STAMINA the same as Live Action. This score may increase depending upon Level, Race and Class of a character. A Character may restore STAMINA lost in combat either through drinking a Potion, Magical Spells or sleeping.
LUCK - Role 3D6 and add the 2 highest together.
Example - Player roll 3D6 = 2, 2, 4 , 2 and 4 added equals a Luck of 6
All Characters have a LUCK Characteristic. This, quite obviously, reflects how fortunate the Character is. A Player may test their Characters LUCK when requested to by the GM, although they do not have to. A GM may ask for LUCK to be tested to see if a Character is caught by a trap, affected by a magical spell, or indeed any other situation that is not governed by SKILL. If the test for LUCK is successful, events go the way of the Character, and if the test for LUCK is unsuccessful, events go against the Character.
A Player may also SPEND their LUCK points throughout a game to change the outcome of an event or effect.
Example: Othrim the Necromancer prepares a paralysis spell, this his last remaining mana and casts it at the Ogre bearing down on him. Othrim's Player rolls 1d12 (11) and checks his SKILL(9) to see if the spell hit it's mark. The spell fails to hit at this critical point so Othrim's Player decides to SPEND one of Othrim's LUCK points to change the miss and to re-roll the attack. The second roll scores a 3 therefore the spell hits and the Ogre is paralyzed.
Whether the re-roll succeeds or not, the Player must reduce his current LUCK score by 1. This new value is used for the next test. A Character will restore his LUCK score at the end of the adventure or Points may be gained as a reward from the GM for heroic actions. Players may only spend their LUCK once on any specific task. You cannot spend another LUCK if the first try fails.
MANA - Mana is only gained when 'Mana Bands' skill is taken by magical spell casters.
Some Characters have the ability to cast magical spells and cause some truly spectacular effects. These Characters also have a MANA Characteristic, which represents the ability of the Spellcaster to cast magical spells (in Live Games these are represented by the Blue Mana Bands). These will replenished at one MANA point every 10 minutes of rest in game time (More for some races and skills), these points are expended when a spell is cast. Casting Spells takes time so it will cost a Character 1AP to prepare the spell (2AP if the spell is a powerful level 3 or level 4 spell) and 1AP to fully cast the spell. During this prep - cast time if the Spellcaster is distracted, either by combat, spell effect from another or environmental effect the spell is lost. The Mana spent preparing the spell is also lost.
Every Spellcaster will have a list of spells on their Character sheet, detailing the effects and MANA points required to cast. When a Spellcaster attempts to cast a spell, the player must declare the fact at the beginning of the round. The Spellcaster must deduct the appropriate number of MANA Points from their temporary total
COMBAT
Characters will often face foul creatures and evil monsters in combat, This is when the free flowing action of the game becomes "Turn Based".
Battles are broken down into rounds (of approximately 10 seconds in game time). Each Character upon their TURN will have the ability to make 2 actions ( 2AP) per turn. See examples of Actions and their AP costs below:
Move 1AP
Ready a Level 1-2 Spell 1AP
Ready a Level 3-4 Spell 2AP
Attack/Cast Spell 1AP
Simple Action 1AP
A Battle is resolved as follows:
1: All Characters involved in the combat will role 1d12. The Player who rolled the highest goes first in the round followed by the player who rolled the next highest and so on. This process is called the Initiative roll. In the result of a tie the player with the highest SKILL value goes first.
2: The Player rolls a 12-sided dice (1D12) and checks the result against their SKILL. If the roll is equal to or less than their SKILL then the attack is a success.
Example: Rask Torn-ear is fighting an Orc in a dungeon room. Rask has a SKILL of 9. Rask’s Player uses an ACTION POINT (AP) to attack with his axe, rolls a 4, which is under his SKILL and so his attack hit his mark.
The Games Master rolls a 12-sided dice (1d12) and checks the result against the monsters SKILL. The Orc has a SKILL of 5, and the GM rolls a 5. The Orc has successfully managed to block Rask's attack with his own axe.
Rask's Player chooses to attack again expending his second ACTION POINT. He rolls a 3 and checks it against his SKILL. It's under so the attack again hits it's mark.
The Orc has to defend against a second attack so again the GM rolls 1D12 and checks it against the Orcs SKILL of 5. He rolls an 8. The Orc FAILS to stop Rask's attack and so takes 1 Point of damage which is deducted off the Orcs STAMINA.
3: In turn the other Characters involved in the combat will each take their turn and use their actions how they see fit, including the GM who will always control the Monsters and other None Player Characters (NPC's) until everyone has taken their turn for that round.
4: Progress to the next round of combat and repeat! If any of the combatants reach 0 STAMINA, they will fall unconscious, and a monster can be considered to be dead. This process will apply to combats between two opponents. If more than one enemy fights a single combatant, then the single combatant must declare which of his opponents he will attack.
Example: Daria is fighting two goblins. Daria's Player decides to spend 1AP attacking one goblin and the 2nd AP to hit the second goblin. When the Goblins fight back, because she is outnumbered 2 - 1 the Games Master decides that Daria will take a -1 penalty to her SKILL when defending against the goblins attacks until she is either able to kill one of the goblins or until a friend comes to distract one of Daris's opponents.
EQUIPMENT
A Character will start with various pieces of equipment, detailed on their Character sheet. A Character will almost certainly find new equipment and treasure during the course of an adventure, and these should also be recorded on the sheet.
ARMOUR
During their adventures characters will be able to buy and equip Armour. As with the Live games these come in 3 types. Light, Medium and Heavy. Each Armour will grant the character ARMOUR POINTS: Light 5 (leather/hide/banded leather), Medium 10 (chain/ring/scale mail) and Heavy 15 (plate mail). When a character is hit in combat, damage allocated by rolling 2x 10-sided dice (2d10 or percentage dice). This will show where a character has been hit in the whirlwind of combat. If a character has armour on that location, it is the Armour that is damaged, thus saving the Character from injury. Once the armour has lost All it's points the armour is considered unusable. Armour can be repaired by Leathersmiths and Blacksmiths for a cost of either coin or materials.
If armour is only worn on arms or legs, but without the torso, then the armour will only provide minimal protection, Light 1, Medium 2, Heavy 3.
Once Armour is written on the Players Character sheet the number of armour points it has is also recorded in the boxes next to it.
HIT LOCATION CHART
WEAPONS
In these dark and dangerous lands everyone has some skill at using a weapon whether it is a farm hand who uses a dagger to cut bale twine or a noble knight trained in the use of large two handed swords. As such (just like "Live" all characters gain the use of One Handed Short weapons. Weapons however are not indestructible and there are skills out there that can if used properly even shatter the strongest of blades. To reflect this each weapon class has it's own "shatter" points. A successful parry against a "CLEAVE" attack will result in the weapon taking damage. Once these points are used up the weapon breaks and is useless. Again this damage can be fixed with the right skills.
One Handed Weapon
Knife (throwing or otherwise) Has 0 shatter points.
Dagger = 20" max Has 1 shatter point.
Short Weapon = 32" max Has 2 shatter points.
Long One Handed Weapon
What it allows you to do: Use of Long one-handed weapons.
Long Weapon = 32.1" Has 2 shatter points.
Bastard Weapon
What it allows you to do: Use of Bastard-length weapons.
Bastard Weapon = 39.1" Has 2 shatter points.
Two-Handed Weapon
What it allows you to do: Use of Two Handed weapons.
Two-Handed Weapon = At least 45” Has 4 shatter points
Two-handed Weapons can be used to perform a "cleave" attack. For more information on Cleave, see the Professions chapter. Two hands are required to use a two-handed melee Weapon. You must keep both hands on a 2 handed Weapon in order to use it for cleaving. This is a safety requirement that Elders will watch closely. If you lose an arm you can still fight with a two-handed Weapon, but you will not be able to cleave and you must role play fatigue when playing this way.
Small Polearm
What it allows you to do: Use a Staff or similar smaller polearm.
Small Polearm = Over 58" but not over 77" Has 4 shatter points. Striking surface must be made entirely of metal in order to cleave.
Large Polearm
What it allows you to do: Use large Staff, Halberd or similar polearm.
Large Polearm = Over 77" but not over 90" (229 cm) Has 5 shatter points . Striking surface must be made entirely of metal in order to cleave.
Once a weapon is written on the Players Character sheet the number of shatter points is also recorded in the boxes next to it.
SHIELDS
Simply put shields can take unlimited strikes from any weapon unless your opponent has the ability to "Cleave". Shields can take limited cleave hits according to the shield point values in the chart below. Once a shield has no hit points left, that shield is considered "broken" and will not be able to defend a blow if struck.
There are 4 sizes of shields that a character can learn to use. Below are the descriptions of each shield type.
Level requirements are located on your class (since many things have cross-class abilities so values will fluctuate).
If you don't see the skill listed in your class, then that class can't learn said skill.
You must have the ability to use each type of shield listed, you can't simply get a big shield skill and use all shields smaller than the skill you have.
Shield Definitions
Buckler
Cleave Point Value: 1
Size - Up to 14" in diameter (36 cm) from edge to edge
*Bucklers can be handheld or strapped to the arm. If strapped to the arm, you may still wield a weapon in the same hand that the shield is strapped to. This is not the same as putting your arm through one strap and gripping the other, this means the buckler is independently strapped to your forearm.*
Medium Shield
Cleave Point Value: 2
Size - From 14.1" in diameter Up to 20" in diameter (40.89 cm) from edge to edge
Large Shield
Cleave Point Value: 3
Size - From 20.1" in diameter Up to 34" in diameter (86 cm) from edge to edge
Tower or XL Shield
Cleave Point Value: 4
Tower - MAX length 48" (122 cm) MAX width 36" (91.5 cm)
(ANY shield larger than 34" (86 cm) in diameter, length, or width, is considered an extra-large shield.)
When a character with a shield successfully blocks/parries a "Cleave" attack they may choose to allocate the damage to the shield or the weapon. Some skilled warriors are so well trained with the use of their shields that they may even be able to use it to effectively block more "cleave" attacks than stated above.
RANGES & DURATIONS IN TABLETOP
Many of the skills and spell like abilities will designate a certain range and duration for it's effect. When converting it to a table top format we follow this formula:
Gridded play - 1sq = 5ft,
Grid-less play - 1 inch = 5ft,
10 meter range - 30ft = 6sq = 6 inch
A simple move action - 15ft = 3sq = 3 inch
10 second duration = 1 round
THE GAMES MASTER
Central to the action, the GM is responsible for describing the action, making all rolls for the enemies and indeed playing the roles of the enemies. The GM should first make sure that he has read through the basic rules presented here. Above all, the game should be fun for all concerned:
GM and players alike. This is rule number 1! Then, get some friends together, with each player create a Character sheet, grab some dice and have some fun!
In these dark and dangerous lands everyone has some skill at using a weapon whether it is a farm hand who uses a dagger to cut bale twine or a noble knight trained in the use of large two handed swords. As such (just like "Live" all characters gain the use of One Handed Short weapons. Weapons however are not indestructible and there are skills out there that can if used properly even shatter the strongest of blades. To reflect this each weapon class has it's own "shatter" points. A successful parry against a "CLEAVE" attack will result in the weapon taking damage. Once these points are used up the weapon breaks and is useless. Again this damage can be fixed with the right skills.
One Handed Weapon
Knife (throwing or otherwise) Has 0 shatter points.
Dagger = 20" max Has 1 shatter point.
Short Weapon = 32" max Has 2 shatter points.
Long One Handed Weapon
What it allows you to do: Use of Long one-handed weapons.
Long Weapon = 32.1" Has 2 shatter points.
Bastard Weapon
What it allows you to do: Use of Bastard-length weapons.
Bastard Weapon = 39.1" Has 2 shatter points.
Two-Handed Weapon
What it allows you to do: Use of Two Handed weapons.
Two-Handed Weapon = At least 45” Has 4 shatter points
Two-handed Weapons can be used to perform a "cleave" attack. For more information on Cleave, see the Professions chapter. Two hands are required to use a two-handed melee Weapon. You must keep both hands on a 2 handed Weapon in order to use it for cleaving. This is a safety requirement that Elders will watch closely. If you lose an arm you can still fight with a two-handed Weapon, but you will not be able to cleave and you must role play fatigue when playing this way.
Small Polearm
What it allows you to do: Use a Staff or similar smaller polearm.
Small Polearm = Over 58" but not over 77" Has 4 shatter points. Striking surface must be made entirely of metal in order to cleave.
Large Polearm
What it allows you to do: Use large Staff, Halberd or similar polearm.
Large Polearm = Over 77" but not over 90" (229 cm) Has 5 shatter points . Striking surface must be made entirely of metal in order to cleave.
Once a weapon is written on the Players Character sheet the number of shatter points is also recorded in the boxes next to it.
SHIELDS
Simply put shields can take unlimited strikes from any weapon unless your opponent has the ability to "Cleave". Shields can take limited cleave hits according to the shield point values in the chart below. Once a shield has no hit points left, that shield is considered "broken" and will not be able to defend a blow if struck.
There are 4 sizes of shields that a character can learn to use. Below are the descriptions of each shield type.
Level requirements are located on your class (since many things have cross-class abilities so values will fluctuate).
If you don't see the skill listed in your class, then that class can't learn said skill.
You must have the ability to use each type of shield listed, you can't simply get a big shield skill and use all shields smaller than the skill you have.
Shield Definitions
Buckler
Cleave Point Value: 1
Size - Up to 14" in diameter (36 cm) from edge to edge
*Bucklers can be handheld or strapped to the arm. If strapped to the arm, you may still wield a weapon in the same hand that the shield is strapped to. This is not the same as putting your arm through one strap and gripping the other, this means the buckler is independently strapped to your forearm.*
Medium Shield
Cleave Point Value: 2
Size - From 14.1" in diameter Up to 20" in diameter (40.89 cm) from edge to edge
Large Shield
Cleave Point Value: 3
Size - From 20.1" in diameter Up to 34" in diameter (86 cm) from edge to edge
Tower or XL Shield
Cleave Point Value: 4
Tower - MAX length 48" (122 cm) MAX width 36" (91.5 cm)
(ANY shield larger than 34" (86 cm) in diameter, length, or width, is considered an extra-large shield.)
When a character with a shield successfully blocks/parries a "Cleave" attack they may choose to allocate the damage to the shield or the weapon. Some skilled warriors are so well trained with the use of their shields that they may even be able to use it to effectively block more "cleave" attacks than stated above.
RANGES & DURATIONS IN TABLETOP
Many of the skills and spell like abilities will designate a certain range and duration for it's effect. When converting it to a table top format we follow this formula:
Gridded play - 1sq = 5ft,
Grid-less play - 1 inch = 5ft,
10 meter range - 30ft = 6sq = 6 inch
A simple move action - 15ft = 3sq = 3 inch
10 second duration = 1 round
THE GAMES MASTER
Central to the action, the GM is responsible for describing the action, making all rolls for the enemies and indeed playing the roles of the enemies. The GM should first make sure that he has read through the basic rules presented here. Above all, the game should be fun for all concerned:
GM and players alike. This is rule number 1! Then, get some friends together, with each player create a Character sheet, grab some dice and have some fun!
| dvtt_character_sheet.pdf |