Two of my players weren't available this session. That did give me time to discuss some house rules with my player who most cares about rules. I started with a draft that I shared and we walked through each of the rules, he provided some suggested improvements and then we finalized the changes and I reposted the rules on the Google Drive folder I set up for the players.
Some of the house rules may be of interest to other folks who play H+I or BoL or who just like kibbitzing about rules. My rules are intentionally terse and assume some knowledge of H+I, Flashing Blades, and of some other gaming notions such as "Let it ride."
AP Improvements and Time
When spending Advancement Points for character improvement,
time must be spent for training, practice, and research in the specific
Quality, Ability, Career, Maneuver, invention, or craft. Any requirement is
ultimately determined by the GM, but here are several rules of thumb.
Each Advancement Point spent requires one day of time. For
convenience this will usually be treated as 1 week of game time per 5 APs spent
on improvements.
Learning a new career typically requires at least 1 month of
game time. Some careers may require more time.
Some improvements, e.g. a new career, dueling style, or
Final Secret require a teacher or master. Before agreeing to provide training
and oversight, a master may require proof of the student’s potential, existing
ability, or dedication. Many will require some form of financial or other
compensation.
Bleeding and Negative Lifeblood
When Lifeblood is ≤0
characters fall consciousness. If Lifeblood is negative, characters are bleeding
to death and must roll on the Bleeding Table to see if they lose additional
lifeblood.
Bleeding Table
2d6 Result
9+ No
Loss; if the roll is a Mighty Success bleeding stops without external
assistance and the character regains +2 LB.
8- Lose 1 LB; unless roll is a Calamitous
Failure, in which case lose 2 LB.
Characters with the Boon: Hard-to-kill gain a bonus die for rolls on the Bleeding Table.
Death
Death occurs once negative lifeblood is below ½ Lifeblood
(round down).
EX: A character with a maximum of 10 Lifeblood dies when
their Lifeblood falls below -5, while a character with a maximum of 16
Lifeblood dies when their Lifeblood falls below -8.
Brawling
Brawling Damage:
characters reduced to 0 Lifeblood or below by damage from Brawling are knocked
unconscious. Unconscious characters can be awakened by the usual swashbuckling
methods such as a bucket of water poured over their head, a mug of beer poured
over their face, a romantic kiss, smelling salts, etc. Characters who are
unconscious for a significant time count as having rested. After a rest a
character regains all Lifeblood lost from ordinary brawling damage.
Negative Lifeblood
from Brawling: if a character’s Lifeblood goes below 0, any damage beyond 0
is treated as killing damage. Such may result from massive brawling damage or
from an opponent continuing to stomp on an unconscious target. Normal rules for
regaining Lifeblood after combat from healing or a rest still apply. Example: a
character reduced to -6 Lifeblood through brawling would, when awakened have 6
points of Damage. A further rest after regaining consciousness would, as
normal, return half the lost Lifeblood. So after returning to consciousness and
resting the character would end up with 3 points of lost Lifeblood that will
require normal healing to recover.
Knockback: this
is an optional rule. When a character is hit during brawling, GM rolls 1d6 and
add the damage taken from the brawling attack. If the total is equal to the
target’s Might+6 the target is knocked back possibly crashing into furniture,
walls, or other brawlers. This is purely for color and, unlike the Shove/Trip
maneuver, this knock back does no extra damage unless a character is knocked
back over a wall or down a stair. But allow characters a chance to catch an
edge, railing, or roll to reduce any extra damage. The Shove/Trip maneuver
works normally.
Duelist Career
Duelists use their reputation and expertise to intimidate an
opponent. In circumstances where reputation as a duelist could intimidate, add
the ranks in their career: Duelist as a bonus to the Intimidation roll. In
addition a Master Duelist can add +1 point for each style they mastered up to a
maximum bonus of 2x Duelist Career.
EX: A Duelist 2 who has mastered 3 styles can add 2 for his
career and 3 for styles mastered to a maximum of 2 x Duelist Career or +4 to
Intimidate.
When a character with the Duelist Career is in a 1-on-1
combat with swords, then one time during the combat, and after the die is
rolled, they may choose to add their points in their career to attack, defense,
or damage.
Fortune Points in Play
Players can use 1FP to have a character be rendered out of
action but not dead. This is equivalent to having Advantage go to 0 but with
the certainty of not dying…though the character may end up captured or left for
dead, etc.
Seduction, Patronage, and Friendship
Seduction
The Look (Difficulty: +2)
Opening Line (Difficulty: +1)
Witty Conversation (Difficulty: +0)
Beginning Intimacies (Difficulty: -1)
When and Where? (Difficulty: -2)
NOTE: Five die roll successes is problematic. This would be
a good place to use LET IT RIDE up to the step of "When and Where?"
To determine success, compare the Seducer’s roll+Career+Flair vs. the Target’s
resisting Quality (Savvy or Flair).
Roll Result
12 Mighty Success
9+ Successful
6-8 Uncertain
3-5 Failure
2 Calamitous Failure
Optional Opposed Roll:
Instead of only rolling for the seducer, instead make a resistance roll for the
Target with a Bonus/Penalty based on the Seducer’s roll – 9 i.e. by how much
the Seducer exceeded a success result. Treat a Seduction result of a Mighty
Success as minimum penalty of -4 and a Calamitous Failure as minimum bonus of
+4.
Patronage and Friendship
Gaining the notice, interest, and patronage of an important
person is a key aspect of social climbing and intrigue in the period. It can be
played out in a similar manner as seduction by using a set of five steps of
increasing closeness to the perspective Patron.
The Notice (Difficulty: +2)
Entry Line (Difficulty: +1)
Witty Conversation (Difficulty: +0)
Beginning Acquaintance (Difficulty: -1)
Close Association (Difficulty: -2)
Use the same determination for success as for Seduction.
Similarly, the same five step approach can be used for
developing friendships.
Source: Victory Games RPG: James Bond 007
Social Rank (SR)
Social Rank as used in Flashing Blades is added. Instead of
using the full difference in social ranks as a bonus or penalty, use ½ the
difference in social ranks.
Wealth
Abstract Wealth is not used. Instead Wealth level is used
to determine a base quarterly income. Monthly Maintenance Costs and Career
Salaries based on Flashing Blade Social Ranks are also added.
Here's a link to a PDF of my house rules.
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