Grimstone - Core Rules

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GRIMSTONE - TACTICAL COMBAT RPG
SET IN THE AGE OF PISTOL & MUSKET
GRIMSTONE is a Tactical Combat - Tabletop Roleplaying Game written and developed by Angelos Kyprianos. The game features original artwork by Charidimos Bitsakakis who was asked to design gravure-like illustrations to truly capture the essence and the atmosphere of this dark fantasy¸ flintlock RPG project. Supplementary artwork has been used and credited within the book.
Grimstone takes place in a small but ancient fantasy world called "Mea"¸ a dimension that belongs to the universe of Radrum. Mea's two Gods¸ Vestia and Berikan¸ represent the Moon and the Sun¸ two important symbols of Mea's history. And so¸ Mea¸ is a world ever divided between Light & Darkness¸ Sunborn and Moonborn Tribes¸ Science and Magic¸ Religion and Paganism.
GAMEPLAY
Grimstone was designed to offer an immersive and lethal combat system. Its mechanics focus on the environment and the skills of each character so that gunfighting¸ melee combat or magic can be equally exciting!
Grimstone has a simple system that requires a combat grid and miniatures or tokens. it features a classless system that allows free development of characters that may choose among Domains such as: Traditional Weapons (swords¸ axes etc.)¸ Advanced Weapons (pistols¸ muskets etc.)¸ Unarmed Combat¸ Magic and Science (medicine¸ alchemy¸ mechanic etc).
During combat¸ you will be able to perform attacks by quickly calculating Distance¸ Obstacles and other environmental parameters that modify your Rolls. It is a game where each player must hurry and make good use of the terrain and the environment by utilizing the most advantageous spots offered.
Guns and spells are equally affected by physics and melee weapons require characters to cover long distances to reach their opponents or make use of stealth.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Characters are free to choose Domains¸ Variations¸ Feats and other traits to customize their characters. Each Tribe offers default Attribute settings that include "Body"¸ "Instinct" and "Mind" as well as Senses that include "Sight"¸ "Scent"¸ "Hearing".
Experience is not offered by the Story Teller but each player can either practice to harvest experience points or receive them due to combat.
SOLAR & LUNAR ENERGY
The Sun & The Moon are referenced throughout many aspects of the game. Each Tribe is either Sunborn or Moonborn or both mixed. You will find that the Abilities of each Tribe might be affected by the Sun & the Moon accordingly. For example¸ instead of a character using an ability once per day¸ you will see a calendar that features the phases of the moon and as a result¸ certain abilities can be used when the moon is High or Full etc.
LETHAL SYSTEM
Grimstone features a lethal system where each attack requires a separate Anatomy Roll. Each character can sustain up to X number of wounds which may require just one shot from a gun or a spell if precautions are not taken and tactics are ignored. Science allows the use of healings¸ surgeries and other methods to deal with critical wounds and severe injuries.
Playable Tribes Aran: Sunborn tribe¸ war oriented¸ technologically undeveloped. Atheym: Moonborn tribe¸ close to nature¸ mixed societies. Lyva: Sunborn tribe¸ werewolves¸ primal. Rava: Moonborn tribe¸ nomadic¸ artistic¸ marginalized. Sinkta: Hybrid tribe¸ travelers¸ technologically advanced. Verun: Moonborn tribe¸ firstborns¸ vampires. KEY ELEMENTS Tactical Combat utilizing environment and physics.
Weapons from older to more modern technologies¸ from sword and axe to pistol and musket.
Classless system that allows you to develop Domains such as "Traditional Weapons"¸ "Unarmed Combat"¸ "Advanced Weapons"¸ "Magic" and "Science".
Lethal System with Anatomical Hits and Low Threshold for Wounds that does not change with "Levels".
Autonomous Development for characters based on "Practice hours" and "Real Combat". TRIBES
Alright¸ so Tribes are all Humans. Or at least as close to Humans as possible. The Verun are vampires and the Lyva are werewolves but in Grimstone¸ they are considered as tribes of Humans. I didn't want to have a variety of different high fantasy humanoids in this setting. However¸ there is a lot of lore and culture related to the Tribes that has resulted in conflict¸ providing interesting historical events that can inspire roleplaying.
COMBAT SYSTEM
I started developing this game having gunfights in mind. I created a simple formula of additive pool dice that allows you to roll more dice if you are experienced in a certain Domain (Traditional Weapons¸ Advanced Weapons etc.) and then subtract points from your Effectiveness Roll for Distance (measured in Tiles)¸ Obstacles (trees¸ rocks walls etc.) and other factors.
Grimstone is a tactical and a lethal game. The concept is¸ that at the start of each battle¸ all characters should strive for the Advantage Point that the terrain they are fighting¸ in offers. This will give them advantages such as: Higher Ground¸ more Obstacles that provide cover¸ Stealth bonuses etc.
MAGIC
I wanted to keep Magic minimal but effective. Magic is one of the Domains available and allows the selection of Grimoires. Most spells within these Grimoires are subject to Physics¸ just like weapons. Which means¸ that projectile spells like Bolts are affected by Distance¸ Obstacles etc.
Magic increases a character's blood Toxicity so they ought to be careful with the amount of Spell Casting they use.
SCIENCE
I am very happy that i managed to add "Science" as a Domain. It gives access to Medicine¸ Alchemy and Engineering and allows amazing options in and out of combat. Medicine grants a character off combat options such as "Surgery"¸ which is vital for treating characters that have suffered "Critical Hits". Engineering allows the repair and maintenance of "Jammed" weapons that occurs regularly and throws off gunfighters that are otherwise forced to switch to melee or other forms of combat.