PLAYER’S BOOK: CHARACTER CREATION



Introduction

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF XONNIS. THE PLAYERS BOOK WHICH YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING—CONTAINS ALL THE INFORMATION YOU WILL NEED TO CREATE AN ADVENTURER AND PLAY WITHIN THIS WORLD OF FANTASY. THIS CHAPTER IS LARGELY TAKEN FROM RUNEQUEST III (“INTRODUCTION”, PP 5 TO 9) WITH SOME ADDITIONS AND MINOR MODIFICATIONS.

RuneQuest, XonnisQuest,

and Issues of “Borrowing”

The rules presented here—called XonnisQuest—borrow and copy liberally from the core RuneQuest III system (once published by Avalon Hill) and graft on numerous "extensions". Most of the materials and ideas contained within have been inspired by various published RPGs, especially Ars Magica (published by Atlas Games), Pendragon, Elric, and Stormbringer (all published by Chaosium), Celtic Legends (published by Jeux Descartes), Chivalry & Sorcery (published by Highlander Designs), Harn (published by Columbia Games) and Aria (published by Last Unicorn Games). Information and passages from these sources are used without permission, and does not constitute a challenge to the respective ownership of those properties. This entire document is intended for the private use of those who participate in my campaign and not intended for public distribution.

Roleplaying and XonnisQuest

As a player in XonnisQuest you will create and take on the persona of one (or possibly more) adventurers who live on the world of Xonnis. The adventurers you create do not need to be like you; in fact, it is likely that they will very different than the real you. Creating and exploring different personalities and “characters” is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of a roleplaying game.

As Gamemaster (or GM), I operate the broader world of Xonnis. You will encounter and interact with characters and settings that I create and, in turn, participate in the ongoing creation of the world.

This book, the Player’s Book, is primarily directed towards the rules or game mechanics used to portray your adventurer(s) and the world. These rules form a basis for the reality of how the world operates. They also provide you with an understanding of the types of actions your adventurers can perform and for estimating the likelihood of their success or failure.

Suppose that your adventurer is living on a farm that is raided by Orks (a common nasty) late at night. To defend herself and the farm, she picks up a spear and attacks the nearest Ork. Did she successfully skewer the onrushing brute? Or did the creature overcome her? Without rules to govern combat it would be difficult to determine the exact outcome; rules govern how game situations are resolved.

In many cases, dice rolls are used to determine the outcome of an action. Dice are used when there is some doubt regarding the outcome (such as attacking an Ork with a spear). The player or GM rolls the appropriate dice to determine if the action succeeds and, if necessary, how well it succeeds (or fails). In cases where there is no real chance of failure, the action is thoroughly routine, or the GM rules that a certain level of Skill is all that is necessary, no dice are needed.

Your adventurer’s Skills will give a general idea of what she can accomplish. However, you will rarely know what your adventurer’s exact chances are at a specific task. Risks must be taken and it is up to you to determine if the risk is worth taking or not.

Rules are guidelines and not strict laws. Many situations may not be adequately covered by the rules. Sometimes it may be better to break or bend a rule, or it may simply increase gaming enjoyment to overlook or bend a particular rule. In other words, don’t let the rules get in the way of good roleplaying. Remember, however, that as GM, the last word on rules is mine (see Cooperation and Competition below).

The Player

As a player, your first duty is to play within the limits of the character you generate. You may have an extensive knowledge of chemistry or engineering, for instance, but your shepherd character cannot simply stroll into town and open up an alchemy shop or design seige weapons.

Operating within your adventurers’ limits will challenge your imagination. How well you act out the roles you create defines how well you roleplay. Participating in the mutual creation of both the setting and the stories told through roleplaying is as demanding and as satisfying as any dramatic art.

Cooperation and Competition

Gaming is social. Cooperation is essential to enjoying roleplaying games. A group of adventurers will not survive long if they are unwilling to aid each other, heal each other, and guard each other. You can play a back-stabbing thief, but if everyone plays such a character, then there will be no incentive to play together. There is honor even among thieves.

Players must work together and the players and GM must also work together. Even though the GM creates the world, manipulates its details, and plays the major antagonists, the players and the GM are cooperating to tell the story. Players should pit their ingenuity against the game world and not against the GM. Competing against each other to win is not the goal of roleplaying. Winning in roleplaying games is only what happens when the group—players and GM both—tell a satisfying story and enjoy the game. You can look upon losing as what happens if the adventurers fail or perhaps die. However, even death for an adventurer can either be a great story in itself or lead to future stories.

Materials for the Game

XonnisQuest uses a number of different dice. During play, you will need at least one twenty-sided die, some percentile dice, at least one eight-sided die, a few six-sided dice, and at least one four-sided die. These dice are used for determining different outcomes during the game.

Dice have standard abbreviations. The letter d always stands for the word “die” or “dice”. The letter d will be followed by a number denoting the type of die being used. Thus d20 always indicates a twenty-sided die. A d6 always indicates a six-sided die and d100 always indicates percentile dice.

Dice designations may be preceded by a number. The preceding number instructs the reader to roll a specific quantity of that kind of dice. For instance, 2d6 requires that two six-sided dice be rolled. If you don’t have the right quantity of a type of die, roll the one you do have for the number of times indicated. When a result of more than one die is called for, add the results of the dice together to form a single total.

Sometimes modifications must be made to die rolls. You might see 1d6+1 or 2d4-1, for instance. Always add or subtract the number following the plus or minus sign to the result of the die roll. A 1d6+1 means that the final result will be between 2 and 7.

Occasionally specified die rolls require that different dice be rolled at one time. If a weapon does 1d6+2d4 damage, for instance, the actual damage will be found by rolling the three requested dice and summing their results.

Colm’s Saga: Throughout this book you’ll find rules examples starring Colm and his companions. These examples illustrate the way that the rules are used and some insights into the world setting as well.

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