Block¸ Dodge¸ Parry - A Levelless¸ Classless Expansion of Cairn
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Block¸ Dodge¸ Parry aims to be somewhat of an 'Advanced Edition' to Yochai Gal's Cairn. It is playable as an entirely standalone game¸ or as an 'expansion pack' to Cairn¸ Into The Odd¸ Electric Bastionland¸ or any other Mark of the Odd-type games.
I hope it also proves helpful as a toolbox: a collection of ideas that hopefully inspire you to use what you like¸ tweak what you want¸ and expand where you find it lacking.
The main concepts behind its contents are
To integrate 'fiction' into OSR-style play. If you are a wizard¸ it should be fun and easy to do wizard stuff¸ without causing major balancing issues. To make any fantasy character concept a player might have¸ easy to 'build' and play. The backstory is the character building. To provide players and Wardens with meaningful¸ impactful choices that emerge naturally during play. To organically create 'prompts' for new adventures from play itself. Do you want to master a new weapon? Use it! Do you want to learn how to master a particular skill? Find someone who can teach you!
Block¸ Dodge¸ Parry has 37 pages¸ and contains the following:
Time¸ Gear & Skill; a system for 'skill checks' without requiring a whole list of skills¸ that rewards the character's background and preparation. Fantasy Species; a simple framework to play as non-humans with unique properties. Extended rest rules¸ rewarding more comfortable places of rest with more rejuvenation. Social Conflict; an alternative to physical combat¸ allowing for tense negotiations. It straddles the line between "complete abstraction” and "having the players actually argue with the Warden” by using dice rolls as prompts. Blocking¸ Dodging & Parrying¸ the namesake of the system¸ giving players more tactical options during combat while maintaining its overall flow and simplicity. Location-based critical damage; an optional system to add a bit of impact to your blows. Weapons; wherein each weapon can deal one of three types of damage¸ combined with fast¸ balanced¸ and heavy attacks and different special properties¸ which characters master by using. Careers: 16 careers¸ each with a description¸ related skills¸ and "common knowledge" (things any person of that career would know) Skills: 97 skills¸ which give you tangible new options during play. These skills can be picked at character creation¸ or learned along your travels. Training: A system to learn new skills by studying¸ doing¸ or finding the right trainer. Magic; a free-form magic system inspired by GLOG¸ allowing you to freely sculpt energy¸ hinder opponents or alter reality. To inspire the free-form system¸ 12 common magic effects are expanded upon¸ and the offensive magic section has more than 15 tags to start with. Miracles; divine magic allowing you to banish your foes or aid allies. Compose your own Higher Power using one of the 100 domains¸ and dedicate your actions to your Higher Power to receive healing and bonuses. Please Note:
On Monday¸ the 29th of May¸ the SRD for Block¸ Dodge¸ Parry will be released. The full book version of Block¸ Dodge¸ Parry will go from $5 to $10. This is your last chance to get the full version for $5!