The Campaign Builder's Guild

Michael Caine

Name a movie fulfils the following requirements:
1) You own the movie.
2) You really like the movie, possibly one of the movies on your 'top 10' list.
3) You haven't watched the movie in an incredibly long time.

I love building campaign settings, but I find it very difficult to come up with names for them. This results in a lot of documents on my computer full with very unimaginative titles.

I'm sure I'm not the only person with this problem, so I'd like to ask the following questions, in hopes that it will help erode the writer's block that world-builders like myself have been having.

1) How did you develop the name for your campaign world?
2) Do you have any advice on naming a campaign setting?

My theory is by learning how other world-builders named their settings, I can get a better feel for how I can name my own.

Pepsi. (Actually I don't really care for drinking soda, but I do so on occasion).

Cake or Pie?

Sample Characters & Example of Combat
(coming soon!)

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Flavor Text? In CARPS, there is as little flavor text as possible. CARPS provides the rules for the game, and it is up to the GM and players to describe what everything looks like. Mechanically two characters can be exactly the same, yet have completely different character descriptions. Their fighting styles would share the same mechanical effects, yet would have different appearances. This allows players and GMs the ability to create the characters and settings they have always wanted without the rules getting in the way.

 Why do levels only go up? Imagine a combat scene where Hiroshi and Tetsuko are fighting each other. If Hiroshi throws a fireball at Tetsuko and succeeds, then Hiroshi would look more awesome then Tetsuko (thus Hiroshi gains an increase in levels). On the other hand, if Tetsuko evades the fireball, then Tetsuko suddenly looks more awesome than Hiroshi (thus Tetsuko gains an increase in levels).
A character's level truly represents how awesome he or she is, and 'being awesome' is always a positive thing. Levels are given to whoever is being the most awesome at the moment (or in more technical terms, levels are given to the character with the most 'screen time').

What increases with encounter levels? A character's encounter level improves the following game effects:
--How many levels are gained with a Standard Attack (as well as how many levels an opponent gains on a miss).
--Access to higher-level Special Attacks.
--How many levels are gained with an Ultimate Move (as well as how many levels an opponent gains on a miss).

Abilities (continued)

Talents
Talents are passive abilities that provide a small bonus to the character.

T1: (cost 10) Whenever your Reserve Point roll results in a 1, reroll the die until the result is a 2 or higher and use the new result.

T2: (cost 10) If either you base level or encounter level is 5 or higher, roll a d10 instead of a d6 when rolling for Reserve Points.

Escape Artist: (cost 2) You gain a bonus die to escape rolls made to leave a combat encounter.

Pursuer: (cost 2) You gain a bonus die to rolls checks made to prevent an opponent from leaving the combat encounter.

Line Breaker: (cost 6) Whenever you make a successful attack roll against a protected opponent, increase your level by 1.

Stalwart Defender: (cost 6) Whenever you make a successful defense roll against an assisted opponent, increase your level by 1.

Swift Opportunist: (cost 8 ) Whenever your attack roll results in a 10, you gain 1 temporary AP after the attack resolves.

Swift Reversal: (cost 8 ) Whenever your defense roll results in a 10, you gain 1 temporary AP at the beginning of your next turn.

[note=T9]I know I want a Talent that improves a character's Power Threshold, but I am unsure as to how big the bonus should be. The problem here is not to make it too powerful at low levels, while at the same time it should be desirable at higher levels as well (so the bonus should be helpful for a character with base level 21).[/note]
T9: (cost ?) Increase your Power Threshold by ___?

T10: (cost 10) The first time you use the Protect action on your turn, you grant two bonus dice to the next defense roll, instead of only one bonus die.

T11: (cost 10) The first time you use the Assist action on your turn, you grant two bonus dice to the next attack roll, instead of only one bonus die.

Spotlight Entrance: (cost 6) You gain +1d10 levels whenever you enter the combat late.

Assassin: (cost 6) You deal lethal damage with all attacks you make on a turn in which you enter the combat late (lethal damage means that if the attack results in your encounter level exceeding the target's damage threshold, the target is defeated).

T14: (cost 10) Increase your attack score by 1.

T15: (cost 10) Increase your defense score by 1.

T16: (cost 8 ) Whenever you roll two or more dice, you gain 1 RP for each die that shares the same result beyond the first. This means you gain 1 RP when two dice share the same result, and 2 RP when three dice share the same result, and so on.


Ultimate Moves
An Ultimate Move is a character's most powerful attack. All Ultimate Moves work the same way, and they only differ by what sort of additional effect they provide (thus only the additional effects are described below). A character can have more than one Ultimate Move, but can only perform one Ultimate Attack at a time. Unless otherwise noted, you cannot perform an Ultimate Move that has multiple effects '" only one effect per use of an Ultimate Move is permitted.

Ultimate Move:[/u]
Level: 1
AP: 3
RP: 15
Target: One opponent.
Special: You gain 4 levels, and you gain the additional effect based on the type of Ultimate Move you performed.
Effect: Make an attack roll against the target. If the attack hits, the Ultimate Move deals lethal damage to the target (see spoiler, below). If you miss, the target gains 1 level.
Advancement:
Level 6: As above, except you gain 6 levels when you perform the Ultimate Move.
Level 11: As above, except you gain 8 levels when you perform the Ultimate Move, and the target gains 2 levels if you miss.
Level 16: As above, except you gain 10 levels when you perform the Ultimate Move, and the target gains 2 levels if you miss.
Level 21: As above, except you gain 12 levels when you perform the Ultimate Move, and the target gains 3 levels if you miss.
Level 40: As Level 21, except the additional effect lasts until the end of the encounter (unless otherwise noted in the additional effect's description).

[spoiler=What is Lethal Damage?]Lethal Damage: An attack that deals lethal damage means that if the Ultimate Move results in your encounter level exceeding the target's damage threshold, the target is defeated.[/spoiler]

Example 1: n
Example 2: n

Ultimate Move Additional Effects

Attack Builder: (cost 14) Gain a bonus die to all attack rolls you make on your next turn.

Defense Builder: (cost 14) Gain a bonus die to all defense rolls you make until the beginning of your next turn.

Momentum Builder: (cost 13) Gain 1 temporary AP at the beginning of your next turn.

UM4: (cost 8 ) On your next turn, increase your level by 2 every time you hit the target with an attack.

Attack Breaker: (cost 14) The target receives a penalty die to all attack rolls he or she makes on his or her next turn.

Defense Breaker: (cost 14) The target receives a penalty die to all defense rolls he or she makes until the end of your next turn.

Beatdown: (cost 11) The target receives a '"1 temporary AP penalty at the beginning of his or her next turn.
Special: This Ultimate Move does not improve at 40th level. Instead the target receives a '"2 AP penalty at the beginning of his or her next turn.

Reserve Breaker: (cost 7) The target must spend twice as much RP to perform a Special Attack on his or her next turn. Ultimate Moves are not affected by this ability.

UM9: (cost 14) All allies gain a bonus die to all attack rolls made against the target until the beginning of your next turn.

UM10: (cost 7) All allies gain a bonus die to all defense rolls made against the target's attacks until the beginning of your next turn.

UM11: (cost 8 ) Until the beginning of your next turn, any ally who hits the target with an attack increases his or her level by 2.

Collaborated Assault: (cost 10) All allies gain a number of levels equal to half the number of levels you gained from this Ultimate Move.
Special: This Ultimate Move does not improve at 40th level. Instead each ally gains an additional 2 levels every time you perform this Ultimate Move.

Aura of Invincibility: (cost 15) Your Power Threshold increases by 5 points until the beginning of your next turn.
Special: This Ultimate Move improves as normal at 40th level, however each successive use of it increases your Power Threshold by +1 until the end of the encounter (instead of +5 each time).

Abilities (continued)

Special Attacks
Special Attacks are activated abilities that always have an RP cost. Most Special Attacks can only be used in certain situations, thus many (but not all) Special Attacks cost 0 AP to use. Whenever a Special Attack modifies a Standard Attack (or triggers when you make a Standard Attack), any levels gained from the Special Attack are in addition to the levels gained through the Standard Attack.
[spoiler=Reading a Special Attack]Reading a Special Attack[/u]
Level: This is the minimum level a character needs to be in order to use the attack.
Cost: The amount of XP you need to spend in order to purchase the Special Attack.
AP: The amount of AP required to perform the attack.
Trigger: Some attacks react to another action. Attacks that have a trigger can only be performed while the triggered action is taking place (usually interrupting the action).
Target: Who gets hit by the attack. Harmful techniques are typically against opponents, while helpful ones can target you or an ally.
Effect: What happens when you use this attack.
Advancement: Attacks sometimes improve if your encounter level is at a much higher level. The Advancement section rewrites the original Hit, Miss, or Effect sections.[/spoiler]

Extra Effort:[/u]
Level: 5      Cost: 1
AP: 0          RP: 5
Trigger: You are about to make an attack roll.
Effect: If the attack hits, increase your level by 1.
Advancement:
Level 15: If the attack hits, increase your level by 2.

Provoke:[/u]
Level: 5      Cost: 2
AP: 1          RP: 5
Target: One opponent.
Effect: The target can not attack any of your allies on his or her next turn. Until the beginning of your next turn, increase your level by 1 each time the target misses you with an attack.
Advancement:
Level 15: As above, except you increase your level by 2 each time the target misses you with an attack.

Take The Hit:[/u]
Level: 1      Cost: 2
AP: 0          RP: 5
Trigger: An opponent attacks an ally.
Effect: You become the target of the attack. If the attack misses, increase your level by 1.
Advancement:
Level 11: As above, except you increase your level by 2 if the attack misses.

Disengage:[/u]
Level: 1      Cost: 4
AP: 0          RP: 8
Trigger: An opponent misses you with an attack.
Target: The triggering opponent.
Effect: The target can not attack you for the rest of the turn. In addition, you may immediately make an escape check with a bonus die to the roll.

Disrupt the Assault:[/u]
Level: 1      Cost: 4
AP: 0          RP: 8
Trigger: An ally is hit by an attack.
Effect: Negate the attack (it neither hits nor misses), and you gain 1 level.
Advancement:
Level 11: As above, except you gain 2 levels.
Level 21: As above, except you gain 3 levels.

Evasive Maneuvers:[/u]
Level: 1      Cost: 4
AP: 0          RP: 8
Trigger: You are about to make a defense roll.
Effect: You gain two bonus dice on the triggering defense roll.

Inspire Allies:[/u]
Level: 1      Cost: 5
AP: 1          RP: 10
Target: All allies that have a lower level than you do.
Effect: The target gains 2 levels.
Advancement:
Level 6: The target gains 4 levels.
Level 11: The target gains 5 levels.
Level 16: The target gains 6 levels.
Level 21: The target gains 7 levels.

Perfect Defense:[/u]
Level: 10      Cost: 4
AP: 0          RP: 10
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: The attack misses, though you do not gain the normal 1 RP awarded for a successful defense roll. In addition, You take a '"1 AP penalty on your next turn.
Special: If an opponent uses the Unstoppable Force special attack your Perfect Defense, then the attack is instead negated (it neither hits nor misses). You still spend RP, and you still take the AP penalty for using this special attack.

Sure Strike:[/u]
Level: 1      Cost: 4
AP: 0          RP: 8
Trigger: You are about to make an attack roll.
Effect: You gain two bonus dice on the triggering attack roll.

Unstoppable Force:[/u]
Level: 10      Cost: 4
AP: 0          RP: 10
Trigger: You miss with an attack roll.
Effect: The attack hits, and you take a '"1 AP penalty on your next turn.
Special: If an opponent uses the Perfect Defense special attack your Unstoppable Force, then the attack is instead negated (it neither hits nor misses). You still spend RP, and you still take the AP penalty for using this special attack.

Combo Finisher:[/u]
Level: 5      Cost: 7
AP: 0          RP: 10
Effect: You gain a number of levels equal to the number of successful attacks you made this turn.
Advancement:
Level 15: As above, except you gain 2 levels for every successful attack.

Counter-Tactics:[/u]
Level: 5      Cost: 8
AP: 0          RP: 10
Trigger: An opponent hits you with an attack.
Target: The triggering opponent.
Effect: You gain a number of levels equal to the number of levels the target gained this turn.

Dynamic Entry:[/u]
Level: 5      Cost: 7
AP: 2          RP: 10
Special: You can only perform this special attack on a turn in which you have entered combat late.
Effect: Make a Standard Attack with two bonus dice to the attack roll. If you succeed, you gain double the number of levels.

Perfect Teamwork:[/u]
Level: 5      Cost: 8
AP: 0          RP: 10
Trigger: You hit an opponent with an attack roll that was assisted by an ally.
Target: All allies that assisted the triggering attack.
Effect: The target gains 2 levels.
Advancement:
Level 15: The target gains 3 levels.

Combo Breaker:[/u]
Level: 10      Cost: 12
AP: 0          RP: 15
Trigger: An opponent hits you with three or more attacks on the same turn.
Effect: You can perform an Ultimate Move against the triggering opponent, and you receive a '"1 AP penalty at the beginning of your next turn. In addition, all temporary AP carried over from your previous turn is lost.

Diehard:[/u]
Level: 1      Cost: 12
AP: 0          RP: 15
Trigger: An opponent defeats you.
Effect: You are not defeated by the opponent's attack, and you gain 5 levels. The triggering opponent then continues his or her turn.

Give It Your All:[/u]
Level: 20      Cost: 12
AP: 6          RP: 15
Target: All opponents.
Effect: You perform an Ultimate Move against the target.

Abilities
[note=Naming Abilities]At this point in the development of CARPS, not every ability has a name yet. To keep track of abilities, unnamed abilities are labeled with an abbreviation based on the type of ability it is (CS for Combat Stance, SA for Special Attack, and so on) followed by a number. The numbers only refer to the order in which abilities were written down, so a name like 'UM1' literally means that this was the first Ultimate Move written down, while 'UM12' was written down more recently. I should also note that these abilities are not in alphabetical order yet, but instead remain in the order in which they were created (with Special Attacks being the only exception '" they are somewhat in the order of least powerful to most powerful).[/note]
Combat Stances, Special Attacks, Talents, and Ultimate Moves are the four different types of abilities characters have. You cannot purchase the same ability more than once.

Combat Stances
Combat Stances are passive abilities that grant a bonus die to attack rolls or defense rolls during combat. Characters typically start out with only one stance, but characters can purchase additional stances with XP. If a character has multiple stances, all bonuses stack.

CS1: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all defense rolls against opponents who have a lower encounter level than you do.

CS2: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all defense rolls against opponents who have a higher encounter level than you do.
CS3: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all attack rolls against opponents who have a lower encounter level than you do.

Underdog Stance: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all attack rolls against opponents who have a higher encounter level than you do.

Lone Wolf Stance: (cost 20) You gain a bonus die to all attack rolls and defense rolls made while fighting without any allies.

Aggressive Teamwork Stance: (cost 20) You gain a bonus die to all attack rolls while fighting alongside allies.

Defensive Teamwork Stance: (cost 20) You gain a bonus die to all defense rolls while fighting alongside allies.

CS8: (cost 10) Whenever your Reserve Point check results in an even number, you gain a bonus die to all attack rolls and defense rolls until the end of your next turn.

CS9: (cost 16) Whenever a combat encounter reaches the fourth round, you gain a bonus die to all attack rolls until the end of the encounter.

CS10: (cost 16) Whenever a combat encounter reaches the fourth round, you gain a bonus die to all defense rolls until the end of the encounter.

Punisher Stance: (cost 10) You gain a bonus die to attack rolls against an opponent who hit an ally with an attack since the end of your last turn.

CS12: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to attack rolls against an opponent who hit you with an attack since the end of your last turn.

Eternal Rivalry Stance: (cost 8 ) Whenever an ally spends Reserve Points, you gain a bonus die to all attack rolls and defense rolls until the end of your next turn.

Spotlight-Catcher Stance: (cost 8 ) Whenever you spend Reserve Points, you gain a bonus die to all attack rolls you make on your next turn.

Sustained Spotlight Stance: (cost 8 ) Whenever you spend Reserve Points, you gain a bonus die to all defense rolls until the end of your next turn.

CS16: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all defense rolls against opponents who have more Reserved Points than you do.

CS17: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all defense rolls against opponents who have fewer Reserved Points than you do.

CS18: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all attack rolls against opponents who have more Reserved Points than you do.

CS19: (cost 16) You gain a bonus die to all attack rolls against opponents who have fewer Reserved Points than you do.

Character Creation
Building a character in CARPS is relatively simple. All characters choose a Fighting Style, and then purchase Combat Stances, Special Attacks, Talents, and Ultimate Moves. There is no limit as to how many abilities a character can have, though you must have enough Experience Points (XP) to purchase the abilities you want.
All characters begin at base level 1, and have 40 XP to spend on abilities.

Fighting Style
A Fighting Style represents how much emphasis a character applies to attacking versus defending. During character creation, choose one of the following three styles. You gain this Fighting Style for free, though after character creation you cannot change to a different style.

Offensive: Offensive characters are skilled at assaulting their opponent, but as a result pay little attention to guarding against an opponents attacks. Thus, your attack score is 2 and your defense score is 0.
Centered: Centered characters put as much attention into offense as they do into defense. You begin the game with an attack score of 1 and a defense score of 1.
Defensive: Defensive characters focus on dodging and blocking an opponent's attacks, but this results in a weaker offense. Thus, your attack score is 0 and your defense score is 2.

Purchasing Abilities
At character creation, you have 40 Experience Points (XP) to spend on Combat Stances, Special Attacks, Talents, and Ultimate Moves. When it comes to purchasing abilities, every character must purchase at least one Combat Stance and one Ultimate Move. With the remaining points, you can choose to purchase whatever abilities you want your character to have. For example, you could choose not to purchase any Talents or Special Attacks if you wanted to (or purchase all Talents and no Special Attacks, or all Special Attacks and no Talents).
   Combat Stances, Special Attacks, Talents, and Ultimate Moves are described in detail in the Abilities section.

Character Advancement
(in the works)

Combat
Combat in CARPS is quite the roleplaying endeavor. This is because combat in the CARPS does not make use of a battle grid (or miniatures), but rather all combat is performed much like someone describing a combat scene. Each player is in charge of describing the action of what his or her character does in combat, though other players and the GM can suggest some ideas. Players and GMs alike can work together to make every combat a unique and memorable scene.

Action Points
Action Points (AP) govern how many actions you can make in a single turn. In combat, you have 3 AP to spend on your turn. Most actions require 1 AP, though some actions use more.
If you have AP remaining when you end your turn, the unspent AP carries over to your next turn in the form of temporary AP. Temporary AP is just like normal Action Points, except it does not carry over to your next turn if unspent.

[note=Reserve Points]There has to be a better name than 'reserve' points. It works for now, but I really want to change it to something else.[/note]
Reserve Points
Reserve Points (RP) are spent to perform Special Attacks and Ultimate Moves. When in combat, you gain 1d6 RP at the end of your turn. In addition, every time you roll a successful defense roll against an opponent's attack, you gain 1 RP. Though RP is gained in combat, it is not lost when combat ends. These points can only be lost by spending them.

Actions in Combat
The following list describes the various things you can do on your turn, including the amount of AP and RP required to perform the action.

Attack: (1 AP) You perform a Standard Attack against an opponent, which is written below in the form of a Special Attack (guidelines for reading a Special Attack are described below).
[spoiler=Standard Attack] Standard Attack[/u]
Level: 1
AP: 1; RP: 0
Target: One Opponent
Effect: Make an attack roll against the target. On a hit, increase your level by 2. On a miss, increase the target's level by 1.
Advancement:
Level 6: Increase your level by 3 on a hit. Increase your target's level by 1 on a miss.
Level 11: Increase your level by 4 on a hit. Increase your target's level by 2 on a miss.
Level 16: Increase your level by 5 on a hit. Increase your target's level by 2 on a miss.
Level 21: Increase your level by 6 on a hit. Increase your target's level by 3 on a miss.

Reading a Special Attack[/u]
Level: This is the minimum level a character needs to be in order to use the attack.
AP: The amount of AP required to perform the attack.
Trigger: Some attacks react to another action. Attacks that have a trigger can only be performed while the triggered action is taking place (usually interrupting the action).
Target: Who gets hit by the attack. Harmful techniques are typically against opponents, while helpful ones can target you or an ally.
Effect: What happens when you use this attack.
Advancement: Attacks sometimes improve if your encounter level is at a much higher level. The Advancement section rewrites the original Hit, Miss, or Effect sections.[/spoiler]

Assist: (1 AP) The Assist action means you are using an action in order to improve the likelihood of your next attack, or to help an ally attack an opponent. When you use the Assist action, choose either yourself or an ally: you grant the target a bonus die to the next attack roll he or she makes before the beginning of your next turn.
You can use the Assist action multiple times, either selecting a different target each time or choosing the same target more than once. If you choose to assist the same target multiple times, the bonus die to attack rolls do not stack '" instead you provide the bonus to an additional roll. However, the bonus die provided by the Assist action stacks if the target is being protected by more than one ally.

Example 1: Hiroshi uses the Assist action twice on his turn, each time targeting Tetsuko. This means that the next two attacks Tetsuko makes before the beginning of Hiroshi's next turn will have a bonus die to the roll. If Tetsuko uses the Assist action at the beginning of her turn and targets herself, then the next attack roll she makes will have two bonus dice to the attack roll (one from Hiroshi's Assist action and one from Tetsuko's Assist action), while the second attack roll Tetsuko makes on her turn will only have one bonus die added to it (from Hiroshi's Assist action).

Protect: (1 AP) The Protect action means you are using an action to help defend yourself or an ally from harm. The Protect action is almost identical to the Assist action, with the only exception being that the bonus die is given to defense rolls or escape rolls (instead of attack rolls). All other rules remain the same.

Escape: (1 AP) The Escape action means you are using an action to attempt to leave the combat encounter (which is usually better than being defeated). When you use the Escape action, make a defense roll against your opponent's attack score. This roll is referred to as an escape roll, and does not benefit from abilities that provide bonuses or penalties to defense rolls.
If you succeed the escape roll, you are able to leave the field of battle without your opponent being able to stop you. A failed roll means you did not manage to leave the combat encounter, and your opponent increases his or her encounter level by a number of levels equal to what the opponent would have gained if you missed them with a Standard Attack.
If you are fighting against multiple opponents, your escape check needs to pass the highest TN amongst all of your opponents. A failed escape check grants a level increase to all opponents.

Special Attack: (AP varies; RP varies) Special Attacks are purchased attacks that require Reserve Points in order to perform them. Most Special Attacks have a 0 AP cost, yet can only be used in certain situations.

Ultimate Move: (3 AP; 15 RP) An Ultimate Move is your most powerful attack. Whether it hits or misses, you always gain levels just by simply performing it. Ultimate Moves are described in more detail below.

Movement
In CARPS, characters can move as much as they like. No matter how much a character travels on his or her turn, it is assumed that all combatants are within the range of all other combatants attacks. The only way to 'run away' from an opponent's attack is by using the Escape action.

Example 1: In one combat encounter, Hiroshi is on top of a building with a sniper rifle. He makes a few Standard Attacks against Tetsuko who is at the far end of the plaza. On Tetsuko's turn, Tetsuko can choose to use a firearm to return fire at Hiroshi, or she can choose to run across the plaza and jump onto the roof of the building Hiroshi is on in order to attack Hiroshi in melee combat (using a Standard Attack). On Hiroshi's turn, he may choose to remain in melee combat with Tetsuko, or he could just as easily put some distance between him and Tetsuko and take some more shots with the sniper rifle again. No matter how far Hiroshi and Tetsuko are from each other, they are always considered to be able to attack each other (using whatever weapons they choose).

Entering Combat Late
Sometimes characters enter a combat that is already in progress. If you enter the combat late, your turn can be at the beginning of the initiative order, at the end of the initiative order, or anywhere in between '" all depending on when you want to enter the combat. You cannot enter combat during another character's turn. At the beginning of your first turn after entering combat late, your encounter level equals the average encounter level amongst all combatants or is equal to your base level, whichever is higher.

Example 1: Chiaki decides to enter a combat encounter between Hiroshi and Tetsuko. Chiaki decides to enter combat after Tetsuko's turn. Chiaki, Hiroshi, and Tetsuko are all base level 1 characters, but Hiroshi's encounter level is 17 and Tetsuko's encounter level is 19 at the time of Chiaki entering combat. This means that Chiaki enters combat with an encounter level of 18.

Describing the Action
(coming soon!)

CARPS is a roleplaying system designed to translate cinematic combat into a tabletop roleplaying game. Instead of more traditional methods for combat, the combat in CARPS is limited only by your imagination, and the victor of every battle is the character who gets the most 'screen time' (just like in the movies).

While CARPS was originally created to represent combat in anime, it is no longer limited to that genre. As a universal system, it can easily be used for any role-playing game that involves the outlandish action often seen in movies, television, or even video games.

Quote from: 20pxThe Core Mechanics[/size]
The following rules provide the foundation of how the CARPS works.

Attack Rolls and Defense Rolls
Every character has an attack score and a defense score. These two scores are the most important aspect of a character, as they govern how a character fights in combat.

In CARPS, all attack rolls and defense rolls use a d10. These rolls are made against a Target Number (TN). The TN always represents the lowest number you need to roll on a d10 in order to succeed on a roll.
For example, a TN 6 means that the result of a d10 roll needs to be equal to 6 or higher in order to succeed on the check.

To find the TN of an attack roll, you compare your attack score with the opponent's defense score. If both scores are equal, then the TN of the roll is 6. If the two values are different, then for every point that your attack score is higher than the opponent's defense score, subtract that many points from TN 6. However, For every point that the opponent's defense score is higher than your attack score, you add that many points to TN 6.
Finding the TN for a defense roll are made the same way, except you compare your defense score against the opponent's attack score.

Example 1: Hiroshi makes an attack roll against Tetsuko. Hiroshi's attack score is 1, and Tetsuko's defense score is also 1. Since both scores are equal, this is a TN 6 roll: Hiroshi needs to roll a 6 or higher on a d10 in order to succeed on the attack.
Example 2: Chiaki is attacked by Benkei, requiring Chiaki to make a defense roll. Chiaki's defense score is 2, and Benkei's attack score is 1. Since Chiaki's defense score is 1 point higher than Benkei2's attack score, the TN is reduced by 1 to result in a TN 5 roll: Chiaki needs only to roll a 5 or higher on a d10 in order to succeed.
Example 3: Seiji makes an attack against Akemi. Seiji1's attack score is 0, and Akemi's defense score is 2. Akemi's defense score is 2 points higher than Seiji's attack score, the TN is likewise 2 points higher, resulting in a TN 8 roll: Seiji needs to roll an 8 or higher on a d10 in order to succeed on the attack roll.

Additional Rules:

You always succeed if you roll a 10, and you always fail if you roll a 1. This does not mean that a 10 is a critical success and a 1 is a critical failure. Instead it just simply means you succeed or you don't, and nothing more. On a roll of TN 6, a result of 5 will be exactly the same as rolling a 1, while at the same time a result of 6 will be exactly the same as rolling a 10. This rule exists purely to give anyone a chance to succeed/fail a check that is very one sided (allowing for the 'lucky hit' or 'unlucky miss' to occasionally happen). This also means that a TN can never fall below 2, nor exceed 10.

If you gain a bonus die to the roll, you roll an extra d10 and take the higher result of all d10's rolled. Multiple bonus dice stack. If you roll a 1 or a 10 on any of these dice, then you automatically fail or succeed the check (depending on the result). If you roll both a 1 and a 10, then the check automatically succeeds.

If you receive a penalty die to the roll, you roll an extra d10 and take the lowest result. Multiple penalty dice stack. If you roll a 1 or a 10 on any of these dice, then you automatically fail or succeed the check (depending on the result '" rolling a 10 in this way lets you succeed, even though it isn't the lowest number). If you roll both a 1 and a 10, then the check automatically succeeds.

If you have both bonus dice and penalty dice to the same roll or check, the bonus dice and penalty dice cancel themselves out. Each die of one type cancels out only one die of the opposite type until you only have one type of dice remaining. If the number of bonus dice and penalty dice were the same, then you make a normal roll.

Example 1: Hiroshi makes an attack roll against Tetsuko with two bonus die and one penalty die to the attack roll (the dice all come from separate abilities). The penalty die cancels out one of the bonus die, which results in Hiroshi gaining only a single bonus die to the attack roll.
Example 2: Chiaki makes a defense roll against Benkei with one bonus die and three penalty die to the defense roll (the dice all come from separate abilities). The bonus die cancels out one of the penalty die, which results in Chiaki making a defense roll with two penalty dice.

Players roll all the dice. This means that when a player attacks an opponent, the player makes an attack roll against the opponent's defense. When the opponent attacks a player, the player makes a defense roll against the opponent's attack. A bonus die to a GM controlled opponent translates to a penalty die to the player's roll, and a penalty die to a GM controlled opponent translates to a bonus die to the player's roll. When a player attacks another player, both players only make defense rolls (players never make an attack roll against each other).

TNs, bonus dice, and penalty dice are all calculated before any roll is made. Once a player declares an action (such as attacking an opponent), he or she cannot choose to do something else after hearing the TN of the roll, or how many bonus dice / penalty dice they receive on the roll. GMs are free to ask, 'Are you sure you want to do that?' to make sure the player is committed.

Law of Opposites
(coming soon!)

Levels and Victory Conditions
All characters have a Base Level (beginning characters start at base level 1). Your actions in combat may increase your level. This temporary level increase is called an Encounter Level. All encounter levels are lost at the end of a combat encounter. During character advancement, your base level can be improved.

Example 1: Hiroshi has a base level of 1. During a combat encounter, he makes a successful attack that increases his level by 2. Hiroshi's encounter level is now 3, but his base level is still 1. When combat ends, Hiroshi's loses all encounter levels and reverts back to being level 1.
Example 2: Tetsuko has a base level of 5. No matter how high her encounter level becomes during combat, her level always reverts back to level 5 when combat ends. In a sense, she is more powerful than Hiroshi in Example 1 because she begins every combat at higher level than he does.

Whenever you successfully hit an opponent with a technique, you increase your level. Whenever you miss an opponent with a technique, the opponent increases his or her level.

Defeat
You are defeated if you are hit by an attack from an opponent whose level is equal to or grater than your encounter level plus your Power Threshold.

Your Power Threshold is equal to 5 + one half your base level (rounded down).

Example 1: Chiaki has a base level of 1, and a Power Threshold of 5. This means that no matter what Chiaki's encounter level is, she can only be defeated by an attack from an opponent whose encounter level is 5 levels higher than her current encounter level.
Example 2: Benkei has a base level of 8, and a Power Threshold of 9. This means that no matter what Benkei's encounter level is, he can only be defeated by an attack from an opponent whose encounter level is 9 levels higher than his current encounter level.

Keeping Track of Defeat: Keeping track of when a character is defeated seems like a bookkeeping nightmare, but here is a simple way to keep track of it: On a sheet of paper, make two columns. In the first column, write the character's base level, while in the other column write the character's power threshold plus their base level (so a base level 1 character would have a '1' in the first column and a '6' in the second). Whenever the character gains levels, add that many levels to both columns. This way, you always know the character's encounter level (the first column) as well as what level an opponent must be in order to defeat the character (indicated in the second column).

It's been a while since my last post, but I've been talking with Freakin' Awesome Horse and he has been a huge help with this project.

The following calculations were based off of this model: The campaign setting's planet is equal to Saturn, the moon's size is equal to Earth's, and the distance between the planet and the moon is the same as the distance between Saturn and Titan. The setting's moon rotates on it's axis once every 24 hours, and makes a single orbit around the planet in 30 days.

Calculation #1: If you were standing on the setting's moon, how big would the planet appear in the sky? For this calculation, I'm going to compare the planet's size to our moon, since the moon is something we can all relate to.

Our moon is 384,400 km away from the Earth, and Titan is 1,200,00 km away from Saturn. This means that Titan is roughly 3.2 times further away from Saturn than our moon is from Earth (384,400 x 3.2 = 1,230,080).

Our moon's diameter is 3,474 km, and Saturn's diameter is 120,000 km. This means that Saturn is about 35 times bigger than our moon is (3,474 x 35 = 121590).

So if Saturn was the same distance away from the Earth as our moon is, it would look 35 times bigger than our moon. However, if we place Saturn 1,200,00 km away from Earth, it would look 3.2 times smaller than it would at 384,400 km away. So 35 divided by 3.2 = 11.

This means that if Saturn was 1,200,00 km away from Earth, it would look 11 times bigger than out moon. So how bug is 11 times larger? It would be about the size of your hand with outstretched fingers at arm's length.

Calculation #2: The following quotes were taken from emails:

Quote from: Samurai ChickenThanks for the calculations update. Ultimately, I'd like the eclipse to last at least a day, or a little over (but probably no more than 3 days). With your recent calculations, a day-long eclipse seems the most realistic goal to aim for. Adjusting the orbit period is probably the easiest way to do so, and I'm still deciding on how long it should be. 30 days worked because it was close enough to a month on earth. The 60-day orbit period would be my next favorite candidate. I feel that anything longer than that would make it harder to involve eclipses in the campaign setting - I'd like the eclipse to happen often enough to be a very significant and common even to the cultures and creatures living on the moon.

Again, not a problem. 60 days will get you an "accurate" day based on the most recent method. However the original calculations, based on a ratio of lunar eclipse time to total orbital period for the Earth's moon could also work. I think I can safely recommend the new method over the old one simply for that fact that it'll allow more hand-waving in terms of exactly how long you want the eclipse to last. There are certainly a lot of things that could complicate duration and calculations that we've taken ideal cases for if only to avoid tedious and messy calculations, such as the eccentricity of the orbit and variable orbital velocity because of it.[/quote]

So there you have it: a 60 day orbital period will result in each eclipse lasting about a day.

I wanted to post this as a suggestion first before making it into an actual thread because I don't know if anyone else is interesting in participating in such a project, and I didn't want it to conflict with the Community Projects already on the forums (CeBeGia & Fantaseum).

So what am I talking about? The 'Everything is Canon' is a community world-building project that originated from the Wizards of the Coast D&D forums (links provided below). Unlike other community projects, the 'Everything is Canon' isn't a place for random ideas: everything that is posted on the thread becomes canon for the setting. There is no debate or discussion, unless if it conflicts with a previous post (even then, a new idea is likely to be slightly adapted to fit in with the setting rather than being harshly rejected).

The campaign settings that were created with this style of world-building turned out well, even if they were never truly completed. I honestly don't think anyone has ever ran a game using a world created in this way, but that doesn't matter. To me, this sort of project is really just a place to pool together a lot of little ideas that were floating around in your head that never fit in with other settings, as well as a place to expand upon other people's ideas and make it all work together.

So why am I proposing that we make a similar thread here? The way I see it, such a project on these forums would not be limited to a single rules system like D&D. A world that we make could be about anything. D&D has the problem of too many races, monsters, and diverse forms of magic '" finding a place in a world for all of them gets a little tedious. A project posted here would be radically different: each race, monster, form of magic, and religion will be entirely unique.

Here are the links to the original Everything is Canon threads for anyone who is interested:
Everything is Canon!
Everything is Canon 2

It's been a while since I last posted on this thread. The first reason being that I was working on a lot of other projects. The second reason is that I recently began working on this project with a friend, and began to make some major changes to the system (though combat runs almost the same). Due to all these new changes, I'm going to make a new thread (with a proper title and everything), but I'll continue to use this thread for all combat-related ideas that I have as well as for general brainstorming for the system. I'll write up the new thread as soon as I make some time, so stay tuned!

I find that I frequently listen to music while I work on projects. When I brainstorm or hit a lull in inspiration, the music provides some nice background music (similar to when you get put on hold). When I get a great idea and start to write it down (or in other cases when I put all my focus into a project) I find that I hardly ever 'hear' the music in the background, even though I know it's there.

Sometimes the music provides inspiration or helps me develop ideas better if the music is similar to what theme or genre I have in mind. The problem is that I have a wide taste in music, so the chances of a song matching the theme/genre of what I'm writing about is pretty small simply due to my habit of listening to my entire musical collection on random (and when I say I have a wide musical selection, I mean it).

As for the words/no words aspect, I find that I have slightly more non-lyric songs than songs with lyrics, but I happen to be one of those people who hardly pays attention to what the lyrics in a song are anyways. To me, the human voice is simply an additional instrument to the song, and if it sounds nice, I like the song. If the voice doesn't sound very good, or doesn't match with the rest of the instruments very well, then I don't like the song. This is why I don't mind listening to songs sung in languages that I don't know. In fact, the number of songs in my collection with non-English lyrics that I have outnumber the songs with English lyrics.