How-to-Play Libra: World of Balance
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worldofbalanceThis is the section that explains how to play the game.
How-to-Play Libra: World of Balance
The Libra system is a [Stat + Skill] based system, and every percentage-based roll you make consists of these two parts. Making this roll is as simple as picking up a d100 (which is actually two dice) and rolling. Results are a simple hit/miss (or pass/fail) system.
The mechanics are as follows:
Determine the appropriate [Stat + Skill] for the test.
Roll 1d100
If the roll is under or equal to the skill being tested, you succeed.
If the roll is greater than the skill being tested, you fail.
If the roll is 01-05, you critically hit.
-- You multiply your damage roll by x2.
-- If you were making a non-combat based roll, you 'magnificently succeed', which may have no real mechanical benefit, but sound cool.
If the roll is 96-00 you always fail.
-- You will always fail on a 96+, even if your skill is actually higher. Only abilities that indicate they 'auto-hit', will hit 100% of the time.
Your rolls fall under one of two categories:
Combat Rolls
Any roll you make in combat is a 'Combat Roll'. For the most part, there are three skills you will use in combat:
Arcana – This is the skill that Mage-Clade classes use to attack in combat. It combines with Will.
Melee – This is the skill that Warrior-Clade and often Shadow-Clade classes use to attack in combat. It combines with Strength.
Ranged – This is the skill that Ranged-Clade classes use to attack in combat. It combines with Agility.
Further, there are some other skills you may use in combat.
Diplomacy – You may get the opportunity to talk someone down in combat. If so, you will combine Diplomacy and Will.
Larceny – If your class has a Steal option, they must do so using Larceny and Agility.
Performance – Bards, and a few other classes, will have to activate certain abilities via Performance and Will.
Additionally, you have two standard Reaction abilities:
Dodge – When you are hit by a physical attack, you may dodge, using your [Agility x 10]. Should you succeed in Dodging, you take half damage from the attack.
Resistance – When you are hit by a magical attack, you may resist, using your [Will x 10]. Should you succeed in Resisting, you take half damage from the attack.
You will also have reaction abilities related to your Class.
Non-Combat Rolls
When you are not in combat, you may use the remaining skills as part of skill challenges and puzzle solving. Some Combat skills, like Arcana, have a second role out of combat, which is that it represents a character's general knowledge about magic.
Roll Difficulty
Roll difficulty will only apply in out-of-combat situations, or when using skills like Diplomacy in combat. While there are modifications that can be made to attack rolls, these are always related to debuffs on a character instead of an imposed penalty.
Assistance
You may assist another character while making a non-combat roll (or when using Diplomacy in combat). To assist a character, you must at least have 30 in the same skill they are using. If you succeed in your roll, the person you are assisting gains +10 to their roll, to a maximum of +20 for two assistants. If you fail your roll, you do not impede their progress.
Actions
Actions are things that you can do while in combat. Each Action has a Speed. When you are taking an Action, you subtract the Action's Speed from your Initiative. You must have at least 1 Speed to take an Action. The Action's Speed determines how many actions you may take in a single Round of combat.
Here are some Actions you may take:
Change Equipment: Speed 10 – You may unequip a single weapon or piece of armour and replace it with another.
Use Item: Speed 10 – You drink a single potion or use a consumable item to gain its effects.
Wait: Speed -- - You hold your action until a lower Initiative number. When you choose to act, you will be the last person to act on that tick. There is no penalty to waiting other than lost Initiative.
Break Free: Speed 6 – When under the power of an effect that prevents you from acting, you will automatically attempt to Break Free as often as possible. Break Free represents you 'losing an action to not being able to move' and does not require a roll. If you are “Don't Move” for 3 turns, and you roll Initiative 18, on 18, you 'Break Free', go down to 12 and 'Break Free' again, going down to 6, where you 'Break Free' for a final time, which means your Initiative is now 0, but you may Move again on your next turn.
Centre: Speed 4 – You remove the effects of all enemies Advantage when not created by weapon type.
Combat Positioning: Speed 10 – You may alter your Combat Position. You may move freely between the Front and Back Rows when in Column or Staggered Column Formation. When in Row Formation, you must switch with the person in front of you or behind you.
Run: Speed (Varies) – You attempt to flee from combat by Running Away. You use up the remainder of your Initiative to do so. If you are Running Away, you cannot take any Actions at all, including Dodging or Resisting. If you Run Away from combat, you do not gain XP, money, or items.
Class-Related Actions: Speed (Varies) – You use one of the Powers related to your class. These Powers have varying speeds and consequences.
Combat Positioning and Movement
When characters are in combat, they can be visualized as being in a column, facing their enemies that are also in a column. As such, characters do not "move" in combat.
Outside of combat, characters possess 'cinematic movement' which means they will move as quickly or as slowly as the plot requires.
Characters within a group may choose one of the following Combat Formations:
Front Row: When a character is in the front row, they make Melee attacks (and take Melee damage) at a 1.0x damage rolled. You must have at least one character in the Front Row to be considered to have a 'Front Row' and a 'Back Row'.
Back Row: When a character is in the back row, they make Melee attacks (and take Melee damage) at a 0.5x damage rolled.
Flying: Regardless of which row you are in, if you are flying, you may not be hit by Melee attacks.
Column: If you are standing in a column, you are standing next to each other. Utilizing the Front Row and Back Row is considered to be a 'Staggered Column' formation.
Row: If you are standing in a row, and in different columns, you are standing one behind the other. When the front row is eliminated, the next person in line becomes the new front row. The second person in line is considered to be in the back row. The third person in line is considered unreachable by Melee (but not Ranged or Magic) attacks.
If you choose not to use a Combat Formation, you are automatically considered to be all in the Front Row. You may choose your Combat Formation at the beginning of a session, before the first combat starts, and alter it automatically between combats, or using an Action (see Action list) during combat.
Combat, Attacking, and Damage
Step 0: Ambush!
There are occasions when characters can be ambushed into starting combat. These situations are rare, and grant an enemy special positioning (such as 'Back Attack' and 'Pincer Attack').
Back Attack: If you are Back Attacked, anyone in your Back Row is considered to be in your Front Row.
Pincer Attack: If you are Pincer Attacked, everyone is considered to be in the Front Row.
Step 1: Roll Initiative
At the beginning of each combat round, players roll Initiative. Initiative is calculated based on the following formula:
1d10 + Agility + Will
Once Initiative has been rolled, the highest numbered person goes first, and turn order is made in descending order.
Step 2: Taking Your Turn
On your Turn, you may take one Action, subtracting the Speed of your Action from your Initiative score. You may continue to act in the Initiative order so long as you have 1 Speed remaining to take your action.
See the Actions list for details about what actions you can take.
Step 3: Attacking and Dealing Damage
a) Determine what kind of attack you are making.
Your character's Spellbook will list all of the Class-based actions you can make, including attacks. These consist of Resource Builders and Resource Spenders. You may not use Resource Spender abilities until you have a resource to spend. You should use one of these to make your attack.
b) Determine your target number.
In this case, your target number is the value of the equation of [Stat + Skill]. For your attack stat, it will be one of the following: [Melee + Strength], [Ranged + Agility], or [Arcana + Will].
c) Rolling and Hitting
You roll 1d100, aiming for below your target number. If you roll 01-05, you have critically hit. If you roll 96-100, or above your target number in general, you miss.
d) Reactions
An enemy may choose to Dodge, Resist, or use another Reaction ability in response to being hit by your attack. Usually, only boss monsters will have any ability other than to Dodge and Resist.
f) Rolling Damage
You must roll damage in accordance with the ability you used to attack, then apply all modifications based on the next step.
g) Dealing Damage
When you have completed the 'Rolling Damage' phase, make note of that number, because there are many modifiers that can potentially be attached to a damage roll:
Critical Hits: If you critically hit, you deal 2.0x damage rolled.
[Creature] Killer: If you posses a relevant Killer, you deal 2.0x damage rolled.
[Element] Weakness: If your target possesses a relevant Weakness, you deal 2.0x damage rolled.
Weapon Advantage: If you have an advantage over their weapon type, you deal 1.5x damage rolled. This also applies if you have achieved Advantage in another way, due to an attack or ability that grants it.
All damage bonus multipliers are additive rather than multiplicative. If you critically hit a monster upon which you have a Killer, and it possesses a weakness to your element, and you have Advantage, your total damage multiplier is: 5.5x damage rolled.
Once you have dealt damage, your enemy may reduce damage in the following way:
Dodge: If your opponent dodges your physical attack, reduce damage to 0.5x damage rolled. When you are applying reductions, apply this first, then calculate the remaining damage dealt.
Resistance: If your opponent resists your magical attack, reduce damage to 0.5 damage rolled. When you are applying reductions, apply this first, then calculate the remaining damage dealt.
You may then further reduce damage in the following way:
If you have Disadvantage with regards to your opponent, you deal 0.5x damage rolled.
If your opponent can resist your element type, you deal 0.5x damage rolled. Opponents will never be resistant and weak to the same element.
If you are in the Back Row, making a Melee attack against someone, you deal 0.5x damage rolled. You may use abilities that gain Advantage on targets to knock them into the Front Row.
If you are making a Melee attack against someone in the Back Row, you deal 0.5x damage rolled.
Save for Dodge and Resistance, you may negate damage reduction with damage multipliers. A 2.0x damage bonus negates a 0.5x damage bonus. If you have Disadvantage against a monster, but critically hit, you will equal out to doing 1.0x damage rolled.
Once you have a finalized damage total, there is one other factor that reduces damage: Your Armour/M.Armour. This is a flat number that you subtract from the damage total. It should be noted that many monsters simply do not have Armour or M.Armour, even if they do have other Weaknesses or Resistances.
Remember that you and your enemies take damage and deal damage in the same way.
Step 4: Your Enemies' Turn
On your enemies' turn, you may do the following:
Roll to Dodge their physical attacks.
Roll to Resist their magical attacks.
Use a Reaction ability from your Class.
Step 5: Using Remaining Initiative
Due to the speed of your Actions, it is possible for you to have more than one Turn per Round. If so, you should continue along the Initiative order until everyone involved in the combat has Speed 0, which means it's time to start the next Round.
This step simply repeats Steps 2, 3, and 4.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 until Combat Ends
The balance of battle may change from round to round, as you must roll Initiative at the beginning of each Round.
This step simply repeats Steps 1-5 until all enemy opponents are KO'd, or all allies, including yourself, are KO'd.
If combat ends with all allies being KO'd, you exit combat and revive at 1 HP and 0 EP/TP. You then experience a negative consequence for your combat failure, such as capture, physical injury beyond the scope of Hit Points, etc.
If combat ends with all enemies being KO'd, you gain XP, currency, and a chance of items, assuming you have not stolen them all. All monsters are considered dead. Elemental creatures are considered harmlessly dissipated into the Ether. All human opponents are considered “Knocked Out” and suffer the same consequences as Player Characters, though Player Characters may then choose to Kill them. Players gain no bonus XP, money, or items from doing so, but may consider killing their enemies to be strategically sound. If players do not mention whether or not they kill or KO their enemies, they are automatically considered KO'd, but will not return for further battle.
Some boss level monsters may choose to escape. If they flee, they yield XP, money, and any stolen items.
Running From Combat: You may choose to run from combat if you believe you cannot win (and enemy humans may choose this option as well, though not monsters or elementals). See the Run Action for details.
If you are KO'd while Running, you are considered to be a part of the combat when it ends.
Down Time
Characters may enjoy down time between sessions (unless a combat has spanned over two sessions). During Down Time, characters go back up to full HP, back down to 0 EP/TP, and may make AP purchases and Equipment purchases. Down Time will also cover significant periods of travel and investigation, and sometimes cover reporting in to a superior and receiving new orders.
How-to-Play Libra: World of Balance
The Libra system is a [Stat + Skill] based system, and every percentage-based roll you make consists of these two parts. Making this roll is as simple as picking up a d100 (which is actually two dice) and rolling. Results are a simple hit/miss (or pass/fail) system.
The mechanics are as follows:
Determine the appropriate [Stat + Skill] for the test.
Roll 1d100
If the roll is under or equal to the skill being tested, you succeed.
If the roll is greater than the skill being tested, you fail.
If the roll is 01-05, you critically hit.
-- You multiply your damage roll by x2.
-- If you were making a non-combat based roll, you 'magnificently succeed', which may have no real mechanical benefit, but sound cool.
If the roll is 96-00 you always fail.
-- You will always fail on a 96+, even if your skill is actually higher. Only abilities that indicate they 'auto-hit', will hit 100% of the time.
Your rolls fall under one of two categories:
Combat Rolls
Any roll you make in combat is a 'Combat Roll'. For the most part, there are three skills you will use in combat:
Arcana – This is the skill that Mage-Clade classes use to attack in combat. It combines with Will.
Melee – This is the skill that Warrior-Clade and often Shadow-Clade classes use to attack in combat. It combines with Strength.
Ranged – This is the skill that Ranged-Clade classes use to attack in combat. It combines with Agility.
Further, there are some other skills you may use in combat.
Diplomacy – You may get the opportunity to talk someone down in combat. If so, you will combine Diplomacy and Will.
Larceny – If your class has a Steal option, they must do so using Larceny and Agility.
Performance – Bards, and a few other classes, will have to activate certain abilities via Performance and Will.
Additionally, you have two standard Reaction abilities:
Dodge – When you are hit by a physical attack, you may dodge, using your [Agility x 10]. Should you succeed in Dodging, you take half damage from the attack.
Resistance – When you are hit by a magical attack, you may resist, using your [Will x 10]. Should you succeed in Resisting, you take half damage from the attack.
You will also have reaction abilities related to your Class.
Non-Combat Rolls
When you are not in combat, you may use the remaining skills as part of skill challenges and puzzle solving. Some Combat skills, like Arcana, have a second role out of combat, which is that it represents a character's general knowledge about magic.
Roll Difficulty
Roll difficulty will only apply in out-of-combat situations, or when using skills like Diplomacy in combat. While there are modifications that can be made to attack rolls, these are always related to debuffs on a character instead of an imposed penalty.
Assistance
You may assist another character while making a non-combat roll (or when using Diplomacy in combat). To assist a character, you must at least have 30 in the same skill they are using. If you succeed in your roll, the person you are assisting gains +10 to their roll, to a maximum of +20 for two assistants. If you fail your roll, you do not impede their progress.
Actions
Actions are things that you can do while in combat. Each Action has a Speed. When you are taking an Action, you subtract the Action's Speed from your Initiative. You must have at least 1 Speed to take an Action. The Action's Speed determines how many actions you may take in a single Round of combat.
Here are some Actions you may take:
Change Equipment: Speed 10 – You may unequip a single weapon or piece of armour and replace it with another.
Use Item: Speed 10 – You drink a single potion or use a consumable item to gain its effects.
Wait: Speed -- - You hold your action until a lower Initiative number. When you choose to act, you will be the last person to act on that tick. There is no penalty to waiting other than lost Initiative.
Break Free: Speed 6 – When under the power of an effect that prevents you from acting, you will automatically attempt to Break Free as often as possible. Break Free represents you 'losing an action to not being able to move' and does not require a roll. If you are “Don't Move” for 3 turns, and you roll Initiative 18, on 18, you 'Break Free', go down to 12 and 'Break Free' again, going down to 6, where you 'Break Free' for a final time, which means your Initiative is now 0, but you may Move again on your next turn.
Centre: Speed 4 – You remove the effects of all enemies Advantage when not created by weapon type.
Combat Positioning: Speed 10 – You may alter your Combat Position. You may move freely between the Front and Back Rows when in Column or Staggered Column Formation. When in Row Formation, you must switch with the person in front of you or behind you.
Run: Speed (Varies) – You attempt to flee from combat by Running Away. You use up the remainder of your Initiative to do so. If you are Running Away, you cannot take any Actions at all, including Dodging or Resisting. If you Run Away from combat, you do not gain XP, money, or items.
Class-Related Actions: Speed (Varies) – You use one of the Powers related to your class. These Powers have varying speeds and consequences.
Combat Positioning and Movement
When characters are in combat, they can be visualized as being in a column, facing their enemies that are also in a column. As such, characters do not "move" in combat.
Outside of combat, characters possess 'cinematic movement' which means they will move as quickly or as slowly as the plot requires.
Characters within a group may choose one of the following Combat Formations:
Front Row: When a character is in the front row, they make Melee attacks (and take Melee damage) at a 1.0x damage rolled. You must have at least one character in the Front Row to be considered to have a 'Front Row' and a 'Back Row'.
Back Row: When a character is in the back row, they make Melee attacks (and take Melee damage) at a 0.5x damage rolled.
Flying: Regardless of which row you are in, if you are flying, you may not be hit by Melee attacks.
Column: If you are standing in a column, you are standing next to each other. Utilizing the Front Row and Back Row is considered to be a 'Staggered Column' formation.
Row: If you are standing in a row, and in different columns, you are standing one behind the other. When the front row is eliminated, the next person in line becomes the new front row. The second person in line is considered to be in the back row. The third person in line is considered unreachable by Melee (but not Ranged or Magic) attacks.
If you choose not to use a Combat Formation, you are automatically considered to be all in the Front Row. You may choose your Combat Formation at the beginning of a session, before the first combat starts, and alter it automatically between combats, or using an Action (see Action list) during combat.
Combat, Attacking, and Damage
Step 0: Ambush!
There are occasions when characters can be ambushed into starting combat. These situations are rare, and grant an enemy special positioning (such as 'Back Attack' and 'Pincer Attack').
Back Attack: If you are Back Attacked, anyone in your Back Row is considered to be in your Front Row.
Pincer Attack: If you are Pincer Attacked, everyone is considered to be in the Front Row.
Step 1: Roll Initiative
At the beginning of each combat round, players roll Initiative. Initiative is calculated based on the following formula:
1d10 + Agility + Will
Once Initiative has been rolled, the highest numbered person goes first, and turn order is made in descending order.
Step 2: Taking Your Turn
On your Turn, you may take one Action, subtracting the Speed of your Action from your Initiative score. You may continue to act in the Initiative order so long as you have 1 Speed remaining to take your action.
See the Actions list for details about what actions you can take.
Step 3: Attacking and Dealing Damage
a) Determine what kind of attack you are making.
Your character's Spellbook will list all of the Class-based actions you can make, including attacks. These consist of Resource Builders and Resource Spenders. You may not use Resource Spender abilities until you have a resource to spend. You should use one of these to make your attack.
b) Determine your target number.
In this case, your target number is the value of the equation of [Stat + Skill]. For your attack stat, it will be one of the following: [Melee + Strength], [Ranged + Agility], or [Arcana + Will].
c) Rolling and Hitting
You roll 1d100, aiming for below your target number. If you roll 01-05, you have critically hit. If you roll 96-100, or above your target number in general, you miss.
d) Reactions
An enemy may choose to Dodge, Resist, or use another Reaction ability in response to being hit by your attack. Usually, only boss monsters will have any ability other than to Dodge and Resist.
f) Rolling Damage
You must roll damage in accordance with the ability you used to attack, then apply all modifications based on the next step.
g) Dealing Damage
When you have completed the 'Rolling Damage' phase, make note of that number, because there are many modifiers that can potentially be attached to a damage roll:
Critical Hits: If you critically hit, you deal 2.0x damage rolled.
[Creature] Killer: If you posses a relevant Killer, you deal 2.0x damage rolled.
[Element] Weakness: If your target possesses a relevant Weakness, you deal 2.0x damage rolled.
Weapon Advantage: If you have an advantage over their weapon type, you deal 1.5x damage rolled. This also applies if you have achieved Advantage in another way, due to an attack or ability that grants it.
All damage bonus multipliers are additive rather than multiplicative. If you critically hit a monster upon which you have a Killer, and it possesses a weakness to your element, and you have Advantage, your total damage multiplier is: 5.5x damage rolled.
Once you have dealt damage, your enemy may reduce damage in the following way:
Dodge: If your opponent dodges your physical attack, reduce damage to 0.5x damage rolled. When you are applying reductions, apply this first, then calculate the remaining damage dealt.
Resistance: If your opponent resists your magical attack, reduce damage to 0.5 damage rolled. When you are applying reductions, apply this first, then calculate the remaining damage dealt.
You may then further reduce damage in the following way:
If you have Disadvantage with regards to your opponent, you deal 0.5x damage rolled.
If your opponent can resist your element type, you deal 0.5x damage rolled. Opponents will never be resistant and weak to the same element.
If you are in the Back Row, making a Melee attack against someone, you deal 0.5x damage rolled. You may use abilities that gain Advantage on targets to knock them into the Front Row.
If you are making a Melee attack against someone in the Back Row, you deal 0.5x damage rolled.
Save for Dodge and Resistance, you may negate damage reduction with damage multipliers. A 2.0x damage bonus negates a 0.5x damage bonus. If you have Disadvantage against a monster, but critically hit, you will equal out to doing 1.0x damage rolled.
Once you have a finalized damage total, there is one other factor that reduces damage: Your Armour/M.Armour. This is a flat number that you subtract from the damage total. It should be noted that many monsters simply do not have Armour or M.Armour, even if they do have other Weaknesses or Resistances.
Remember that you and your enemies take damage and deal damage in the same way.
Step 4: Your Enemies' Turn
On your enemies' turn, you may do the following:
Roll to Dodge their physical attacks.
Roll to Resist their magical attacks.
Use a Reaction ability from your Class.
Step 5: Using Remaining Initiative
Due to the speed of your Actions, it is possible for you to have more than one Turn per Round. If so, you should continue along the Initiative order until everyone involved in the combat has Speed 0, which means it's time to start the next Round.
This step simply repeats Steps 2, 3, and 4.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 until Combat Ends
The balance of battle may change from round to round, as you must roll Initiative at the beginning of each Round.
This step simply repeats Steps 1-5 until all enemy opponents are KO'd, or all allies, including yourself, are KO'd.
If combat ends with all allies being KO'd, you exit combat and revive at 1 HP and 0 EP/TP. You then experience a negative consequence for your combat failure, such as capture, physical injury beyond the scope of Hit Points, etc.
If combat ends with all enemies being KO'd, you gain XP, currency, and a chance of items, assuming you have not stolen them all. All monsters are considered dead. Elemental creatures are considered harmlessly dissipated into the Ether. All human opponents are considered “Knocked Out” and suffer the same consequences as Player Characters, though Player Characters may then choose to Kill them. Players gain no bonus XP, money, or items from doing so, but may consider killing their enemies to be strategically sound. If players do not mention whether or not they kill or KO their enemies, they are automatically considered KO'd, but will not return for further battle.
Some boss level monsters may choose to escape. If they flee, they yield XP, money, and any stolen items.
Running From Combat: You may choose to run from combat if you believe you cannot win (and enemy humans may choose this option as well, though not monsters or elementals). See the Run Action for details.
If you are KO'd while Running, you are considered to be a part of the combat when it ends.
Down Time
Characters may enjoy down time between sessions (unless a combat has spanned over two sessions). During Down Time, characters go back up to full HP, back down to 0 EP/TP, and may make AP purchases and Equipment purchases. Down Time will also cover significant periods of travel and investigation, and sometimes cover reporting in to a superior and receiving new orders.
