Dynamic RP: An Example of play...

For the purposes of understanding how the rules work 'in-game' before a game session starts, what follows are two examples of gameplay, one being out-of-combat and the other involving combat. Following each example will be a breakdown of all of its parts so that you, the reader, can go through it at your own pace.

NON-COMBAT EXAMPLE:

EPOCH Chatroom wrote:

{Storyteller} Toriis and Gerlrus look around at their surroundings, the large reception hall of the Senatorial building was filled with several expensive pieces of art and furniture and had they still been in their old line of work as petty thieves it would have been a great opportunity.
The majority of the room was spacious and empty, with large elaborate seating couches around the sides and the large reception desk at one end. Nobody was currently behind it, since the Administrator had left to validate their ident-pads. There were large windows which looked out over the city skyline and only two doors existed in the long corridor-like room; the one they came in and the other, to the right of the recption desk. Cameras sat in the top corners, moving in a set pattern covering the room...

{Storyteller} (Your characters are alone in the room. What do you want to do?)
{Toriis} Toriis looks around the room to make sure they're alone.
{Toriis} "I'm gonna check the place out, Gerlus. Anything you can do about the Cameras?" (Toriis will watch the trail of the cameras to look for blind-spots in their field of vision)
{Gerlus} "Sure, give me a moment..." (Gerlus will try to sneak round to the other side of the desk)
{Storyteller} (OK, Toriis you make a Perception check to see if you can see where the cameras track to. Its not too hard, your TN is 10.)
{Storyteller} (Gerlus, your task is harder because you're trying to bypass the cameras without being spotted. Make a Reflexes check, TN is 15.)
{Toriis}(My Perception skill is 6 and its tied to AWA. My AWA is 1. I have a +7 Modifier to my perception roll)
{Gerlus}(My Reflexes skill is 3 and its tied to AGI. My AGI is 3. I have a +6 Modifier to my reflexes roll)
{Toriis} (d20 Roll = 8. With my +7 thats 16. Success!)
{Gerlus} (d20 roll = 20! Thats a critical!!)
{Storyteller} (Nice rolling guys!)
{Storyteller} As Toriis carefully watches the camera's movement cycle, he nods to Gerlus at the precise moment he needs to move, which he does expertly. With a back sumersault he passes through a blind-spot between the two cameras and lands on the other side of the reception desk. Looking down, he sees the data-screen is still active, and not only that it seems the administrator left without shutting down his current program. With a grin Gerlus realises he has access to the security mainframe and that he can slice into just about any subsytem with ease....."
{Gerlus} "Hey Toriis....you're not gonna believe this...."

BREAKDOWN OF THE SCENE:

Logging In
There are 3 Players involved here. The Storyteller controls what's going on around the characters, and all npcs (of which there are none in this case). 'Toriis' is played by a player, and 'Gerlus' by a second player. The storyteller has logged in as 'Storyteller' in the chat and the first player has logged in as 'Toriis'. The second player has logged in as 'Garlus'.

In D-RP you always log in as the name of your character.

Opening Description:
You'll notice that the Storyteller begins a scene with an introductory bit of text, describing the scene. This is usually the longest bit of writing in each scene because it needs to set up the area in the imagination of the players, describe important points and also highlight anything specific to the plot. Storytellers can also write other 'descriptive text' throughout a scene, especially to describe something important, but it will usually be shorter. All Storyteller Descriptive text is written in italics so it reads more like a story.

'In-Character', 'Out-Of-Character' and the use of (Parenthases)
In D-RP we use the terms In-Character (IC) and Out-of-Character (OOC) and these are exactly the same as in any other RP enviroment. IC means to 'act as the character'. Anything said IC is said by your Character, in the game. Any actions done IC will actually happen in-game and involve your character.
OOC means to 'act as the player.' Anything said OOC is said by you, the player. It is not considered to be something said by your character. 'Did you get that new game off STEAM?' would be OOC for example. If you say you want your character to attempt something in-game, this is OOC.

To be able to tell these apart in game, we use parenthases to write OOC - (Like this). Any thing written in parenthases - or 'brackets' - is OOC.

Take a look at these lines:

EPOCH Chatroom wrote:

{Storyteller} (Your characters are alone in the room. What do you want to do?)
{Toriis} Toriis looks around the room to make sure they're alone.
{Toriis} "I'm gonna check the place out, Gerlus. Anything you can do about the Cameras?" (Toriis will watch the trail of the cameras to look for blind-spots in their field of vision)

In the first line, the storyteller is talking directly to the players, asking what they want their characters to do. He is aking them in parenthases - because it is OOC.
On the 2nd line, the player of Toriis decides to answer IC, saying that Toriis 'looks around the room'. Because this is IC, there are no parenthases around his typing. In the game, Toriis will 'look around the room'.
The 3rd line is a mix of IC and OOC - this happens quite often in D-RP. In the first part of the sentance, Toriis is actually speaking (hence the "I'm gonna..."), and this is IC. In the second part of the sentance the player of Toriis says he wants Toriis to search the cameras. This is OOC so it goes in parenthases.

Summary:

IC = Just type, if talking use " "
OOC = (Put it in brackets)

Making Skill Checks[:
One of the most common use of rules outside of combat is the 'Skill Check'. A skill check is required whenever luck is involved, and how good (or bad!) a character is at a certain skill helps/hinders the result.
* In this example the Storyteller asks for 2 Skill checks to be made.
* He asks Toriis' player to make a Perception check and he asks Gerlus' player to make a Reflexes check.
* Both players work out what their total 'Modifier' is to this check.
* The player of Toriis looks at their character sheet and sees they have Perception (6). Looking up 'Perception' in the "Skills & Feats" section, they see Perception is tied to AWA. Looking again at the character sheet, the player sees Toriis has an AWA of 1. So, adding these together, they have a total Modifier of +7.
* Because all Skill checks are made on a d20 roll, they use the Dice Roller and get an 8.
* Adding the +7 Modifier to this they get a total of 16, which beats the TN (Target Number) of 10.
* Toriis succeeds in his Perception check.

The same happens with the player of Gerlus, only they roll a 20 on the Dice Roller which means they got the best they possibly can (see 'Critical Success and Failure' in the Game System section). Because of that the character does really well (or in this case was really lucky) and finds all the computers unlocked!


Example of Combat coming up next....

Combat is, with all its variables and modifiers, easily the most complicated part of D-RP.
literally hundreds of combinations of different things can happen and there is no way even a fraction of them can be explained here. Instead, what we're going to do is look at one of the most common examples: a good old-fashioned "Shoot Out"

EPOCH Chatroom wrote:

{Storyteller} Toriis and Gerlus take cover behind the cargo crates as blaster-fire whizzes over their heads..
{Toriis} "I told you they would take it personally if you stole the data!"
{Gerlus} "Yeah? well it was your frakkin' idea. What we gonna do?"
{Toriis} "I'll see how bad it is.." (Toriis will peek around the corner to get an idea of numbers)
{Storyteller} (Whats your Reflex Defense?)
{Toriis} (Seriously? you're shooting me? hell. Its 16.)
{Storyteller} (You're in cover. That adds +5 to your Reflex Defense. For now, your Reflex Defense is 21. )
{Storyteller} (d20 roll = 14 + 4 = 18. Miss.)
{Storyteller} As Toriis pokes his head round the corner he is narrowly missed by a blaster bolt but counts - he thinks - at least 6 Mercenaries.
{Toriis} "There's six of 'em. Maybe more."
{Gerlus} "Awesome." (Gerlus is going to throw a stun grenade) "Maybe this'll make them think twice.."
{Storyteller} (Ok, that's initiating combat. Roll to hit for Gerlus and then we'll start the combat round with Initative. Do you want to leave cover to aim or throw blind?)
{Gerlus} (I don't wanna risk getting my face blown off, I'll just throw it over the crates without looking and hope I hit something)
{Storyteller} (Fine. Your TN to hit anything is 14)
{Gerlus} (Fair enough - I've got Demoltions (6) and Dex (0) so my Modifier is +6. Rolling now)
{Gerlus} (d20 roll = 8. Total of 14.)
{Storyteller} The grenade flies over the box and you hear the paniced voiced of the mercs as they scatter. There is a loud booming noise and you hear at least one body slump to the floor, maybe two. (What you doing, leaping out guns blazing?)
{Toriis} (Hells yeah.)
{Gerlus} (I am too)
{Storyteller} (Okay - combat, 1st Round. Roll Initiative please folks, d20 + your AGI score)
{Toriis} (d20 roll = 3. Total of 5. Crap.)
{Gerlus} (d20 roll = 18, total of 18.)
{Storyteller} (Group d20 roll = 12, total of 13. Gerlus first, then the mercs, then Toriis)
{Toriis} (meh. Go me. -.-)
{Storyteller} As the two of you emerge from cover you can see that in fact only three mercs are left standing, and they're right between you and the exit. Two are carrying blaster pistols and the other a blaster carbine. They look like they're all wearing Weave armour.
{Toriis} "Blast 'em!" (heh - I've been waiting for an excuse to say that!)
{Gerlus} (Sound advice....I'm gonna shoot the one with the carbine first, he looks like the biggest threat. I've got a total +8 To Hit. What's his TN?)
{Storyteller} (TN 12)
{Gerlus} (d20 roll = 16, 24 total)
{Storyteller} (That's a hit, roll damage please,,,)
{Gerlus} (This blaster rifle is 3d8+2d8 stun. 3d8 roll = 17, 2d8 roll = 11)
{Storyteller} (OK, rolling Soak... d20 roll = 5, total of 8. Fail. He takes 28 HP damage.)
{Storyteller} The blast from Gerlus' rifle hits the first merc square in the chest causing him to stumble but not fall *1st Merc* "Argh, you frakker! You'll pay for that!"
{Storyteller} (Mercs turn. Merc #1 goes to return the favour with Gerlus. What's your Reflex Defense?)
{Gerlus} (16)
{Storyteller} (d20 roll = 4, total 10, miss) Firing wildly in anger, the merc is not able to land a successful shot against the nimble Gerlus..
{Gerlus} (hahaha, gutted.)
{Storyteller} (Merc #2 decides to take cover behind some boxes, he can't attack but his TN goes up by +5 due to cover)
{Storyteller} (Merc #3 decides to shoot you Toriis. What's your Reflex Defense?)
{Toriis} (its 14)
{Storyteller} (d20 roll = 10, total 16. That's a hit. Do you have any personal shields?)
{Toriis} (Nope.)
{Storyteller} (OK then roll to soak)
{Toriis} (How do I do that again?)
{Storyteller} (Roll a d20 and add your Fortitude Defense, TN is 15. Success = you can knock off points equal to your armour's FORT bonus from your enemies' damage.)
{Toriis} (cool. d20 roll = 13, total 19. Woot! My armour has FORT bonus of +4 so he does -4 damage, right?)
{Storyteller} (Exactly right. Rolling now... 3d8 roll = 9, 2d8 roll = 16, total of 25 damage, -4 so 21 HP to take)
{Toriis} (bloody hell, that only leaves me with 2 HP!)
{Storyteller} (Don't worry, you're not out of the fight yet...)
{Storyteller}Toriis is not so lucky, a well-placed Blaster bolt from one of the mercenaries hits him square in the shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain and almost drop his blaster.
{Toriis} "arg! you pond-suckin'...." (Toriis will return fire)
{Storyteller} (go right ahead - the TN to hit him is 12)
{Toriis} (d20 roll = 20. 20! a crit! IN YOUR FACE, MERC! Thats like, double damage; right?)
{Storyteller} (nope, double MAXIMUM Damage....)
{Toriis} (well then he can take 60 HP!!!)
{Storyteller} (lol he is SO dead. I'm not even gonna roll to soak because even if he succeeds he's still dead)
{Toriis} (booyah!)
{Storyteller}Undeterred, Toriis takes careful aim and sends a blaster-bolt right between the mercenaries' eyes. He slumps to the floor, dead.
{Storyteller} (Everyone's had their turn? on to Round 2 then....)

BREAKDOWN OF THE SCENE:

The usual suspects...
Notice how even though the story has moved to combat, the same rules of chat apply: Character still "talk in quotation marks" when they speak, players still (talk in parenthases) when they say something OOC. The Storyteller still writes descriptive text in italics. Although its suddenly got a lot more complex, everyone sticks to these same rules.

Take Cover!
Getting in cover is always good if you can. It often offers you +5 (or more) to your Reflex Defense which makes you harder to hit. Always try to get your characters into cover in a firefight. Notice how even though the main characters leave their cover to enter combat, one of the NPCs (Merc #2) decides to make use of the available cover and gets through Round 1 unharmed...

Reflex Defense and getting hit
You'll notice people asking what each other's 'Reflex Defense' is a fair amount. This is because your Reflex Defense = the TN your opponent has to hit you. If you have a Reflex Defense of 15 then the TN to hit you is 15. Therefore its a good idea to get your Reflex Defense as high as you possibly can or, if you can't do that, make sure you have a high AGI score so that you have a higher chance of going first in combat - people can't hurt you if they're already dead

....and speaking of Initiative
Its explained in the combat section but at the start of each round, everyone rolls an Initiative check (roll a d20 and add your AGI score). The highest result goes first and the lowest goes last. Don't worry if your Initiative roll is crappy, Initiative is re-rolled at the start of every Round so you might go quicker in the next Round.

****'s in their eyes
When you log into the chat, you chose a login name and as a player with 1 character, thats absolutely fine. The Storyteller, however, has to play many roles but he can't change his login from 'Storyteller' to 'jim' or whatever for every character. Instead, to show he is controlling a certain NPC at a certain time he will put them inside asterisks, like this:

{Storyteller} *Nolack* "Aye, we've seen them, but what's it worth?"
{Toriis} "Well we have credits..."
{Storyteller} *Nolack* "How much? if its less than 200 you can just turn back around..."
{Storyteller} *Eteela* "Nolack, please! these people are our guests...."

Ask Questions
Never be afraid to ask questions. Not everything will be clear, especially at first; and Storytellers are paid well (or, you know...not paid at all ) to answer all your questions. There are lots of rules to learn and nobody expects you to remember them off the top of your head - otherwise there would be no real need writing them on the forum for people to read!
Consider these lines...

EPOCH Chatroom wrote:

{Storyteller} (OK then roll to soak)
{Toriis} (How do I do that again?)
{Storyteller} (Roll a d20 and add your Fortitude Defense, TN is 15. Success = you can knock off points equal to your armour's FORT bonus from your enemies' damage.)
{Toriis} (cool. d20 roll = 13, total 19. Woot! My armour has FORT bonus of +4 so he does -4 damage, right?)

There is no problem whatsoever asking questions about the rules but notice how this was done entirely OOC - everything was written (in parenthases) because Toriis wouldn't be speaking to himself during a gunfight asking sone disembodied voice 'how to soak', but the Player is asking the Storyteller how this is done; therefore it is all OOC.

Turning Tables
Things can go from good to very, very bad to excellent all within the blink of an eye in D-RP. Make sure you can keep track of it! If not, ask people to slow down a little.
Consider Toriis' situation: he came out from behind the boxes and before he knew it he'd taken some major damage and was almost knocked out of the fight before it began. With only 2 hp left a single successful attack would have wiped him from the game session. Luckily, he rolled a 20 for his next attack, doing a critical and killing his opponent in a single shot. This can work the other way too - be careful!

There are two examples of typical common gameplay. If you have any questions / suggestions please leave them in the 'Dynamic RP: F.A.Q." section.

- LW

we're not doing a fort save then for over 1/2 damage in one attack then?

eg - Bob has 20hp and gets hit by a saber doing 10 damage to him since its at least half of his health done by one strike he has to take a raw fortitude check dc 10 or fall unconciouse from the pain of such an intense blow. (raw fort would just be w/e natural fort the char has, so no armor or stuff )

Randomfest wrote:

we're not doing a fort save then for over 1/2 damage in one attack then?

eg - Bob has 20hp and gets hit by a saber doing 10 damage to him since its at least half of his health done by one strike he has to take a raw fortitude check dc 10 or fall unconciouse from the pain of such an intense blow. (raw fort would just be w/e natural fort the char has, so no armor or stuff )

Gold star for Randomfest!
I honestly thought nobody would spot that (There are two such 'errors' in the examples, and that's one of them)

Thanks Random, it makes me realise people do actually read this stuff

Yes you're quite right... with this line:

EPOCH Chatroom wrote:

{Toriis} (bloody hell, that only leaves me with 2 HP!)

We can surmise that being shot REALLY hurt. If the attack did 21 Damage, leaving him with only 2HP, it means he only had 23 HP in the first place. So yes, after taking that 21 HP he would make a 2nd Fortitude roll due to shock. If he failed, he'd fall unconcscious.

GOOD NEWS: If you're a wily player like Random here, don't say anything. Its the job of the Storyteller to notice things like this, so if he/she misses it, just move on and count your blessings

lol we usually do a dc of 10 + the additional damage xP so his dc would be like 10+11 so total would be a dc of 21 just using akra as an example he has +1 for his own rawr fortitude, so he'd have to roll a 20 xP

we always did that though because the npcs are usually at such a disadvantage especially at low level so this buffs them up a little xP

Its pretty similar in D-RP, yeah. Though this rule has not yet been introduced because D-RP doesn't use the Damage Threshold rules that Saga Edition does.

Essentially in D-RP what happens is if you take over 1/2 your total maximum HP in one strike there is a possibility you will go into shock.

You roll a d20 and add your Fort Defense vs a TN of 20.

If you succeed your character is fine and suffers no further adverse effects.
If you fail your body goes into shock and you lose consciousness for a number of rounds equal to 5 minus your PHY score. (or unless someone revives you with the Medicine Skill)

In the game this is called 'Massive Damage'

For example if Akra (with 22 HP) took suffered 11 or more HP damage from a single attack you would need to roll a d20 and then add +11 to that roll (Akra's Fort Defense). If you add up the roll and that +11 and it comes to 20 or more, there's no problem.

k gotcha

Lunarwolf wrote:

took suffered 11 or more HP

Wow - fear my L33T writing skillz

i read it all

Yeah similar to Praxs really looking forward to it

Quote :

The Storyteller, however, has to play many roles but he can't change his login from 'Storyteller' to 'jim' or whatever for every character. Instead, to show he is controlling a certain NPC at a certain time he will put them inside asterisks

it that chat is the same like prax has, so you can login in several different names just making new login windows for all seprate character name he wants to have....

How is writen characters thoughts? also like dialog?

Dy wrote:

Quote :

The Storyteller, however, has to play many roles but he can't change his login from 'Storyteller' to 'jim' or whatever for every character. Instead, to show he is controlling a certain NPC at a certain time he will put them inside asterisks

it that chat is the same like prax has, so you can login in several different names just making new login windows for all seprate character name he wants to have....

How is writen characters thoughts? also like dialog?

Yes it's the same as prax but I suggest just using one login for now.

For character's thoughts I would suggest writing it in italics