From Dreamstasis

GameSystem: Trinity

Domains

The fundamental underlying concept behind Trinity is that there are three domains in which subjects can influence other subjects. These are: the physical domain or the contest of objects, the magical domain or the contest of minds, and the spiritual domain or the contest of wills.

Attributes

In accordance with the three domains each character has three sets of capacity attributes and ability attributes. They also have resource pools that refill every turn according to the corresponding capacity attribute and can be utilized according to the corresponding ability attribute. These form the basis of your character.

• Physical attributes involve the use of the physical body and devices such as weapons.
• Magical attributes involve the use of the faculties of the mind in processing information.
• Spiritual attributes involves belief and motivation in both oneself and others
• Capacity attributes indicate the impact of the associated action assuming a hit and also determine damage mitigation.
  • Strength is physical power, the capacity to apply the body to move things effectively.
  • Intelligence is magical power, the capacity to apply the mind to create and combine ideas and thoughts.
  • Passion is spiritual power, the capacity to generate emotions and motivate oneself as well as others.
• Ability attributes affect the competency to successfully hit or avoid being hit with the associated actions.
  • Dexterity is physical control, the efficiency in coordinating body movements to achieve tasks.
  • Wisdom is magical control, the efficiency in coordinating ideas and thoughts to achieve tasks.
  • Charisma is spiritual control, the efficiency in coordinating oneself and others in achieving tasks.

Each domain has its own resource that is replenished at the beginning of your turn up to your relevant capacity multiplied by your relevant ability. During your turn you can convert these resources into actions of the appropriate domain. When it is not your turn any remaining resource functions as a defensive buffer that can absorb damage in a particular domain before it decreases your capacity in that domain. At the beginning of your turn any remaining resource from the previous turn is converted into a common resource called initiative, before the resource is replenished for the turn. Initiative can be spent on your turn to take additional actions.

Property

Property can be devices or equipment. Devices are actively wielded and associated with a skill, while equipment is carried and works passively.

Power

The power of devices determines the multiplier to be applied to attack rolls and damage, while the quality of equipment determines the multiplier to be applied to defence rolls and resistance.

Ranges

Ranges are based on the power of the property.

Force

• Force determines how far in a line attacks are effective. Zero means you can target only yourself. One is considered the melee combat range. Two and longer extends the attack in a line of hexagons based on the direction chosen for the attack.
• The attack hits the first non-empty hexagon with an opponent. This allows opponents in front to block attacks.
• If the distance to a target is greater than your reach the attack multiplier is reduced by one for each hexagon beyond your reach, until it reaches zero.

Focus

• Focus determines how far away in hexagons you can target the action from your hexagon.
• Focus also determines how many hexagonal rings surrounding the target of the action can be affected by it.
• The multiplier is reduced by one for every ring away from the centre ring, until it reaches zero.
• When you take the action, you can choose how many rings to actually utilize.

Favour

• Favour determines how far away in hexagons a target can be from any ally's hexagon.
• Favour also determines how many targets can be influenced by the action.
• The multiplier is reduced by one every time the number of targets influenced is doubled.
• When you take the action, you can choose how many targets are actually influenced.

Skills

Skills allow actions, the success of which is determined by what is called a challenge roll. This involves rolling a die, and multiplying the resulting number with the relevant attribute and any bonus from the mastery level of the skill. Actions that affect others can be opposed by a relevant skill of their own.

Assuming that an action succeeds, the effect of the action is determined by its impact, which is the difference between the sums of the relevant attributes and equipment bonuses of the actors. All skills have a domain and a device. The domain can be physical, magical, or spiritual. The domain determines what attributes are involved in the use of the skill. The device is the form that the skill takes when used.

For instance, Darsic has the skill Swordsmanship. This allows him to make attacks on foes with a sword (as well as perhaps parry with it). A particular foe, Goblin, has the skill Dodge, and can attempt to challenge the effects of Swordsmanship with it. When Darsic attacks Goblin, they make opposed challenge rolls with their skills. If Darsic rolls higher than or equal to Goblin, then the attack deals damage, otherwise it misses. In the first case, Darsic and Goblin calculate the impact to see the resulting effects.

Skill levels between 0 and 4 are considered training levels. At these levels, you're still learning the fundamentals of the skill. Skill level determines the type of dice you can roll. At skill level 5 you are considered to have mastered the skill and subsequent levels provide a mastery bonus to your rolls. Whenever you roll the maximum possible dice roll, regardless of success or failure, you increase the skill level by 1.

Your level is the sum total of all your skill levels combined together.

Actions

To quantify turn-based actions, we use an action cost system where different actions have values assigned to them. Each turn, you can spend either resources of the appropriate domain, or initiative, to complete actions.

Any discrete motion that takes less than a second is considered to cost one action. For instance, taking a step forward or backwards costs 1 action. Attacking with a drawn weapon also costs 1 action. Thus the combined motion of stepping forward, attacking, and then stepping backward to avoid the threat range of a still standing opponent is a total of 3 actions. Similarly, flipping to a page of a spellbook, concentrating on the spell, and casting it should cost 3 actions.

Thus, most standard actions such as attacking cost 3 actions. This can allow unique situations if you manage to for instance get more than the average of 5 actions. For instance, with 6 actions you can attack twice a round if you don’t move, or you could move, attack, and then leave 1 action to block or parry. A few spells cost so many points they can effectively take multiple turns to cast.

Counters are made in response to attacks to a character, and are designed to disrupt them.

Opportunities are made in response to any adjacent movement, ranged attack or magic cast.

• Move
  • Places the piece in the targeted empty hexagon that is no further away than its speed. Pieces may only pass over an opponent’s pieces if they have a speed higher than any of those pieces.
• Attack
  • Pieces may only attack hexagons that are within range. If the attack occurs after a move it is considered a charge and the attack multiplier is modified by the difference between the distance moved in hexagons and the range of the attack. This generally is advantageous to melee type pieces, representing the power of a melee charge, and disadvantageous to longer ranged pieces, representing the difficulty of aiming while moving.
• Fix
  • Pieces may only fix pieces in adjacent hexagons. Depending on the amount of resources or initiative spend, this actions allows the targeted piece to recover lost points in an attribute. Self-targeted fixing costs double.
• Train
  • Pieces may only train pieces in adjacent hexagons. Depending on the amount of resources or initiative spend, this action allows the targeted piece to gain points in an attribute that it has fewer of, or if the training is self-targeted, to gain points in any attribute, albeit at double the cost.

Stance

A piece may be assigned a stance, which determines its behaviour when it is not your turn.

• Engage
  • The default stance. A piece is visible and actively participates in nearby combat.
• Evade
  • A piece in this stance is invisible when it is not your turn. It is temporarily revealed whenever it interacts with another piece, such as if a piece attempts to enter or attack its square.

Support

Pieces that are next to a defender can provide combat support.

• Walls
  • A wall is a multiplier to defence and resistance based on the number of visible allied pieces that are adjacent to the allied defender and also the enemy attacker.
• Flanking
  • A flank is a multiplier to attack and damage based on the number of visible allied pieces that are adjacent to the enemy defender but not adjacent to the allied attacker.

Reactions

On your opponent’s turn, if a piece has unspent energy of the relevant domain from your previous turn, it may react.

Stance: Engage

• Block
  • When the piece is attacked, if it can react and is equipped with equipment that has a higher relevant quality than that of the device of the attack, the piece can make that attack automatically miss.
• Counterstrike
  • When the piece is attacked, if it can react and both attacker and defender have a range of one, the piece will automatically make an attack after the attacker has attacked, assuming the piece is still alive.
• Interception
  • Whenever an opponent’s piece attempts to move out of a targetable square, if a piece can react it will automatically attack the piece.

Stance: Evade

• Dodge
  • When the piece is attacked, if it can react and there is an adjacent empty hexagon that is not within the range of the attacker, it will move there and the attack automatically misses.
• Parry
  • When the piece is attacked, if it can react and the attacker is adjacent, the piece will automatically make an attack that if it hits will do no damage but instead negate the attack.

Costs

0 Actions

• Move
  • Drop Item

1 Action

• Magic
  • Instant <Spell Name>
• Move
  • Step: Move one step
  • Draw Item
  • Fall Prone
• Counter
  • Dodge: Chance to evade attack.
  • Block: Chance to avoid damage with shield.
  • Parry: Chance to avoid melee attack.
  • Counterattack: Strike back.
  • Instant Magic Barrier: Chance to avoid damage with magic.
• Opportunity
  • Interrupting Strike: Hit enemy with quick melee response to action.

2 Actions

• Attack
  • Quick <Attack Type>: A quick attack with less accuracy/damage.
  • Feint: Misdirect to increase accuracy on next attack.
• Move
  • Rush: Move twice as far as normal.
  • Shift: Move half as far as normal. Do not provoke opportunity.
  • Use Item
  • Pick Up Item
  • Stand Up
• Counter
  • Parry Riposte: Chance to avoid melee attack and make attack in response.
  • Negate Spell: Chance to negate enemy attacking spell completely.
• Opportunity
  • Strike Out: Hit enemy with calculated melee response to action.

3 Actions

• Attack
  • Aimed <Attack Type>: A basic attack.
  • Double Quick <Attack Type>: Two quick attacks in succession.
  • Triple Flurry <Attack Type>: Three attacks at much less accuracy/damage.
  • Charge: Move your speed. Strike at end of move.
• Magic
  • <Spell Name>: Basic spell cast.
• Move
  • Sprint: Move twice your speed.
• Opportunity
  • Counter Spell: Chance to negate enemy spell cast.
  • Readied Interrupt: Make a delayed Attack or Magic.

4 Actions

• Attack
  • Power <Attack Type>: Single solid attack with more damage.
  • Double <Attack Type>: Two coordinated attacks.
  • Feint and Strike: Distract then hit with greater accuracy.
  • Precise Shot: A ranged attack with greater accuracy.
• Magic
  • Complex <Spell Name>: Slower spell cast.

5 Actions

• Attack
  • Triple <Attack Type>: Three coordinated attacks.
• Magic
  • Intricate <Spell Name>: Very slow spell cast.

Combat

Combat is essentially dealt with by making rolls with relevant skills. When initially creating a skill that can be used for combat, make sure to indicate their domain and device. Combat occurs whenever a piece makes the attack action against an acceptable target. First, the attacker makes an attack roll and the defender makes a defence roll. If the attack roll meets or exceeds the defence roll, it is a hit. On a hit, the targeted piece loses resources equal to the difference between the attacker’s damage and the defender’s resistance. If the resource is insufficient to cover all the damage, then the defender loses the relevant capacity equal to the shortfall.

Critical Effects

A critical hit occurs on when the attacker’s roll is a natural 20 or the defender’s roll is a natural 1. On a critical hit the damage is calculated as if the resistance was zero. This should better reflect the idea of critical hits as hitting weak points (chinks in armour, holes in defenses) as well as allowing a chance for characters to damage even high defence opponents.

A critical miss occurs when the attack roll is a natural 1, or the defence roll is a natural 20. This is an automatic miss that does no damage. If the attacker is in a position vulnerable to an opportunity, they automatically provoke one.