War Mages: Battle for the College (calling all RP geeks!)

Users who are viewing this thread

Okay so I made a little pen, paper and D6 die roleplay game yesterday. It should be fun. It is designed to be quick and straightforward to play so don't expect D&D! Anyway below in the spoiler I have included the rulebook which I lovingly typed this morning. So play it, don't play it, enjoy and feedback of any kind is very welcome!

War Mages: Battle for the College

1. Getting Started
1.a. Character Creation

Creating an in-game character is incredibly simple. First things first your character will need a name. The name itself can be as simple and down to earth or, conversely, as complex and fantastical as your own imagination sees fit. For the purposes of this example we will name our first mage, 'Albus Albecore'.

Now as all starting characters are Level One (Lvl 1) Initiates, all new starting characters generate their Health Points (HP) in the same way. Health points determine how much damage a mage can take before the duel is over and when a character reaches 0HP they must roll to survive. Their are no ressurections in War Mages: Battle for the College, so once your character is dead it is dead!

Generating the starting number of HP is relatively easy. All new characters begin with 3D6+7 HP. So to generate HP take a six-sided die, roll and total the sum of three rolls then add 7. For example:

'Albus Albecore' [2+3+6+7=18]; so Albus Albecore takes the HP tag of:
'Albus Albecore (18HP)'

This then means that this mage can take eighteen points of damage before the battle is finished.

Next it is time to acquire the spells for this character. As Albus Albecore (18HP) is only a level one Initiate he can only choose spells from the Initiate's Spell Book. As this character develops and increases in levels different spells and spell book sources will be made available.

The Initiate's Spell Book (4+ to cast)

1. Firebolt; D6+2 damage
2. Shield; Absorbs D6 damage from the opponent's next turn
3. Frostbolt; D6+2 damage
4. Lightningbolt; D6+2 damage
5. Lifebolt; D6+4 damage, casting character loses 2HP everytime this spell is cast
6. Heal Self; Heals character D6HP up until the player's HP cap [i.e. Albus Albecore (18HP)]



The spell choice for each character is random depending on the result of a D6 roll. If a character rolls the same value, and therefore effectively chooses the same spell, twice then that choice roll is lost. It is therefore possible for early characters to progress several levels with only one spell.

Spells acquired stay with the character forever, wizards tend to remember most things!, unless they are magically removed and are logged with the character in their records.

Level one initiates can only acquire two spells initially. So below is an example of Albus Albecore (18HP)'s spell choices:

Roll 1 (D6): 5. Lifebolt
and
Roll 2 (D6): 2. Shield

Now then these spells are logged with the character forever:

Albus Albecore (18HP)
Lvl 1 Initiate
Spells: Lifebolt; Shield

As the character progresses the range and number of spells available to them increases as will their HP.

1.b. Increasing levels

As your character engages in more and more duels they will have the opportunity to increase in level should they win the battle. With an increase in levels comes and increase in HP and the number and range of spells available to the mage.

Each level has a necessary roll value that the player must accomplish if their character is to increase in level. In the early intiate stages this roll value is quite low (D6 3+). Naturally as the player goes from stage to stage this value becomes harder to achieve and therefore the level benefits match this.

If the required levelling up value is not achieved then the character remains with the same spells and HP until they successfully level up another time.


Let us assume then that our example character, Albus Albecore (18HP), has won a duel and is therefore attempting to increase from level one to level two. The requirements to achieve level two are that the player successfully rolls a 3+ on a D6 die.
Example: Albus Albecore attempts to gain level two. Roll result (D6: 5). Level successfully achieved.

With this success come the benefits of living to achieve level two. Firstly there is a D6 value addition to the character's HP. Therefore with a roll of D6: 4, Albus Albecore (18HP) increases to Albus Albecore (22HP).

Also with the increase in HP an additional randomly chosen spell can be taken from the Initiate's Spell Book.

Albus Albecore (22HP) rolls D6: 6 and gains the spell 'Heal Self'.

Now that all the bonuses are accounted for Albus Albecore (22HP)'s record must be updated from:

Albus Albecore (18HP)
Lvl 1 Initiate
Spells: Lifebolt; Shield

to,

Albus Albecore (22HP)
Lvl 2 Initiate
Spells: Lifebolt; Shield; Heal Self

Now in all future duels with this character the new statistics and spells will be used.

2. Fighting a duel
2.1. Starting a duel

War Mages: Battle for the College is fortunate enough to be either a single-player or multi-player tourney game. As such rules for both game types are identical but for ease and understanding in this description it is presumed a multi-player game will be used.


First things first it is important to keep an accurate record of your character which should be updated continuously. There is nothing more annoying than losing a duel because you forgot that you had recently learned a new powerful spell, well the only thing more annoying would be that your opponent *****es that it wasn't fair because he forgot that he was a level eight wizard not a level four novice.

As such before a duel you should openly present all the relevent information about your character to your opponent and he/she should do likewise.

For example:

Albus Albecore (22HP)
Lvl 2 Initiate
Spells: Lifebolt; Shield; Heal Self

This ensures that there can be no accusations of cheating about players casting spells that they haven't learned yet or that they actually have another 5HP when they don't!

After this presentation is finished players should roll to see who begins first. Simply this is a singe D6 die and the highest score wins. In the event of a tie players continue to roll until there is a clear winner.

2.2. Casting a spell

Casting a spell is particularly easy. Firstly all spells of the same level descriptor to the character (i.e. if your character is a Novice and casts a Novice spell) require a roll of 4+ to successfully cast. Anything less would be a failed cast attempt and should be noted.

Should your character successfully cast their chosen spell then they must follow the instructions within the spell descriptor.

For example:

Albus Albecore (22HP) wishes to cast his Lifebolt spell. First he rolls his spell attempt and gets a result of D6: 5. He has therefore successfully cast the spell. As Lifebolt requires further rolling to determine just how much damaged is caused Albus Albecore rolls for spell damage and gets a D6: 3 to which he adds the bonus of +4 to get a total of 7 damage points. His opponent will therefore take -7 HP, presuming of course that he has not cast a shield spell previously, and remove this value from his HP tag.

However the Lifebolt spell carries a penalty of -2HP to the caster everytime it is cast so Albus Albecore himself must change his HP tag to match. From Albus Albecore (22HP) to Albus Albecore (20HP).

This then is the end of Albus Albecore's turn and play now passes to his opponent. Play continues like this until one player is reduced to 0HP.

2.3. Death

Death is a very real and permanent thing in War Mages as such if a character loses a duel, and is therefore reduced to 0HP, they must make a saving roll to see if they will be spared. Regardless of level or standing the saving roll for any character is D6: 6. There are no resurrections and once your character is dead it is dead for all time.

Should a character successfully roll a save then their HP is restored entirely for the next bout.

2.4. Winning a duel and levelling up

Should a character win a duel they will be instantly restored to full health and have the opportunity to advance their level. Each level has its own rolling requirement for advancement and a number of bonuses to accompany it. The most obvious bonus is the increase in the number of spells by a character, however likewise with character creation the spell choice for each character is random depending on the result of a D6 roll. If a character rolls the same value, and therefore effectively chooses the same spell, twice then that choice roll is lost. It is therefore possible for early characters to progress several levels with only one spell.

3. Level Guides and Spell Books

Initiate Levels (Roll to progress levels D6: 3+)

Level One
HP (3D6 + 7)
2 Spells chosen randomly from Initiate's Spell Book

Level Two
HP (Lvl1 + D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from Initiate's Spell Book


Level Three
HP (Lvl2 + D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from Initiate's Spell Book

Novice Levels (Roll to progress levels D6: 3+)

Level Four
HP (Lvl3 + 2D6)
+ 2 Spells chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Level Five
HP (Lvl4 + D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Level Six
HP (Lvl5 + D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Level Seven
HP (Lvl6 + D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Wizard Levels (Roll to progress levels D6: 4+)

Level Eight
HP (Lvl7 + 3D6)
+ 2 Spells chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's/Wizard's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 2+ to cast
Spells from Novice's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Level Nine
HP (Lvl8 + D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's/Wizard's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 2+ to cast
Spells from Novice's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast


Level Ten
HP (Lvl9 + D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's/Wizard's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 2+ to cast
Spells from Novice's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Battle Mage Levels (Roll to progress levels D6: 5+)

Level Eleven
HP (Lvl10 + 4D6)
+ 2 Spells chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's/Wizard's/Mage's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 1+ to cast
Spells from Novice's Spell Book now only require a roll of 2+ to cast
Spells from Wizard's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Level Twelve
HP (Lvl11 + 4D6)
+ 1 Spell chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's/Wizard's/Mage's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 1+ to cast
Spells from Novice's Spell Book now only require a roll of 2+ to cast
Spells from Wizard's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Sorcerer Levels (Roll to progress levels D6: 5+)

Level Thirteen
HP (Lvl12 + 5D6)
+ 2 Spells chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's/Wizard's/Mage's/Sorcerer's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 1+ to cast
Spells from Novice's Spell Book now only require a roll of 1+ to cast
Spells from Wizard's Spell Book now only require a roll of 2+ to cast
Spells from Mage's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast


Master Mage Levels (Roll to progress levels D6: 6)

Level Fourteen
HP (Lvl13 + 6D6)
+ 3 Spells chosen randomly from any Initiate's/Novice's/Wizard's/Mage's/Sorcerer's/Master's Spell Book
Spells from Initiate's Spell Book now only require a roll of 1+ to cast
Spells from Novice's Spell Book now only require a roll of 1+ to cast
Spells from Wizard's Spell Book now only require a roll of 1+ to cast
Spells from Mage's Spell Book now only require a roll of 2+ to cast
Spells from Sorcerer's Spell Book now only require a roll of 3+ to cast

Spell Books

Initiate's Spell Book
1. Firebolt; D6+2 damage
2. Shield; Absorbs D6 damage from the opponent's next turn
3. Frostbolt; D6+2 damage
4. Lightningbolt; D6+2 damage
5. Lifebolt; D6+4 damage, casting character loses 2HP everytime this spell is cast
6. Heal Self; Heals character D6HP up until the player's HP cap

Novice's Spell Book
1. Fireball; D6+4 damage
2. Shield Wave; Absorbs D6+6 damage from the opponent's next turn
3. Frostball; D6+4 damage
4. Lightning Flash; D6+4 damage
5. Sanguine Fire; 2D6 damage, casting character loses 5HP everytime this spell is cast
6. Restore Health; Heals character D6+4HP up until the player's HP cap

Wizard's Elemental Spell Book
1. Freeze; opponent misses either one or two turn/s depending on a D6 roll.
One turn = D6: 1-3; Two turns = D6: 4-6
2. Decay; opponent loses 2HP per turn unless sucessfully Healed with a healing spell
3. Lightning Strike; D6x3 damage
4. Firewall; 2D6x2 damage
5. Icewall; Absorbs 2D6 damage from the opponent's next turn
6. Fireblast; 2D6 damage


Wizard's Astral Spell Book
1-2. Starlight; opponent misses one turn as he is blinded by intense light
3-4. Displacement; caster completely avoids the damage from their opponents last attack
5-6. Orbit of Protection; caster conjures orbs of power to absorb 3D6 damage from the opponent's next turn

Battle Mage's War Spell Book
1-3. Powerblast; 4D6 damage
4-5. Battle Shield; Absorbs 3D6 damage from the opponent's next turn
6. Reflect; Cast after opponent's last attack any damage cast against player is reflected to their opponent

Battle Mage's Book of Death Spell Book
1-3. Deathbolt; 4D6 damage, casting character loses 5HP everytime this spell is cast
4-6. Rejuvination; 3D6 damage which is transferred from opponent's HP to player's HP.

Sorcerer's Book of Enchantment Spell Book
1-2. Memory Loss; opponent loses one spell for the duel only chosen by player.
3-4. Avatar; Absorbs all damage from previous opponents attack
5-6. Teleport; opponent misses one turn as he loses sight of player's character

Sorcerer's Mastery of Elements Spell Book
1-2. Fireblast; 5D6 damage
3-4. Frostblast; 5D6 damage
5-6. Lightning Storm; 5D6 damage

Master Mage's Book of Power Spell Book

1-3. Powerbolt; 6D6 damage
4-6. Doombolt; 7D6 damage


4. Items

Should a character reach the lofty heights of a Sorcerer then they are entitled to increase their armoury with an addition from the Sorcerer's Item list. Characters may only roll once to make their selection and items must appear on the character descriptions at the start of every duel.

Sorcerer's Items:
1-2. Wand; Increases roll to cast spell result by +1
2-3. Staff; Increases spell damage by +3
4-5. Cloak; Absorbs spell damage by 2D6. Used only once per duel.

5. Legal Stuff

War Mages: Battle for the College was created by IMissTheMBRankingSystem! for the Taleworlds Forum. Please feel free to circulate. Not to be sold. To my knowledge I have not had any copyright infringements during the creation of this game but should I have I am very, very, very sorry.

With thanks to:

Angband, Games Workshop, a crazy mid-to-late '90s childhood heavily involving wizards, dragons, magic, etc...for the influence.


Have Fun!
 
Back
Top Bottom