The Campaign Builder's Guild

Fair enough. My thinking was that it'd provide a good basis for inspiration, but lack of imagination has never been an enormous problem on these boards. Since I have the cypher and gear tables at hand, can I use those as a basis for inspiration?

Also, one question that's been bugging me with the character creation example: where did Bartleby get the extra 50 obeloi to afford his Affluent lifestyle?

Yes, you can absolutely review said tables for inspiration.

As for Bartleby, I apologize for not stating this on the line-by-line explanation post. Bartleby (or his hypothetical player) asked to 'cash' in the starting gear armor. For a warrior, that's about 100 pence. As a GM I could have given him more, since he also forewent upgraded armor from his disposition, but it didn't seem to matter.

Assassination is up.

Thievery is up. Let me know if there are other foci that people would like to see. Otherwise, I might take a break from developing them.

I just remembered that I forgot to post an actual stat-block template. Here it is. Let me know if you see any issues with the format or places where it could be improved.

[ic=Inserted snappy title]Optional in-character narrative[/ic]

Character description, background, personality, etc.

[ooc=Character Name]Disposition gender race archetype tier# (focus)
XP: #; Benefits Gained: category (specifier)
Grit: #
Pools (Edge): Might # (#), Agility # (#), Intellect # (#); Damage Track: 

Defenses: type (degree); AC: #; Might Cost: #; Agility Penalty: #
Recovery Rolls: 1d6+#; Rolls Left: #

Languages: list alphabetically
Lifestyle: list
Senses: type (degree)
Skills: type (degree), type (degree), etc...

Weapons:

• Weapon 1 (category)

• Weapon 2 (category)

Combat Maneuvers/Tricks/Esotiers: 

• Ability 1(point cost): Description. Action/enabler.

• Ability 2 (point cost: Description.

• Ability 3: etc...

Flaws: 

• Weakness 1: Description.

• Weakness 2: Description.

• Weakness 3: Description.

• Weakness 4: etc...

Items:

• Eldritch Oddities: 
  
  • Name: Description.

• Theurgic Devices:
  
  • Name: Description.
  • Name: Description.
  Mundane Possessions: weapons (ammo), armor, other gear, clothing, coins

[/ooc]

I have a question: I was looking though and I noticed the mentions of "Agility Defense," "Intellect defense" and so forth, and wondered how that functioned.  Do the relevant stat pools have any bearing on that?  For instance, is having an Agility pool of 14 any advantage over having a pool of 7 when making an agility defense roll?  If I understand them correctly, damage from these specialized attacks deplete that pool first (rather than following the Might-->Agility-->Intellect path).  Having to spend points do defend against them wouldn't make any sense, since you'd be voluntarily "damaging" yourself to avoid taking other damage--unless you stood to lose a lot more.

Or is "Intellect defense roll" just a generic term for any time you have to roll for a task against a threat of taking intellect damage?  And with it being a task, something that would function as a skill you could take?

Glad you asked. Yes, the specified stat pool can influence the defense roll. The biggest way this can happen is if you apply Grit to a defense roll. The 'cost' of doing so comes from the specified Pool (e.g., Might for a Might defense roll). However, different characters, due to their archetype and tier, have different Edges in different Pools. For example, if Mr. Nix gains 4 XP and uses it to improve his Intellect Edge, then he would have an Intellect Edge of 2 -which means he could apply 1 level of Grit to any Intellect roll (including defense) at no cost. But his Might & Agility Edge would remain 0 and 1, respectively. But even if he was dodging a 1st level piranha rat's bite, spending an Agility point (because the other is absorbed by his Edge 1) to apply a level of grit would be less damage than a bite (2 damage). And that's against a level 1 foe. Against higher level threats, the incentives can quickly increase.

Consider, for instance, Phrixia dodging a level 3 Watchman's spearsword (which does 6 damage). She has an Agility Edge of 1. Let's say she was already wounded, and so she has only 4 points left in her Might Pool. She could just roll, as her Agility defense expertise means she reduces the DC from 3 to 2 to dodge the Watchman's attack. So, she has a 66% chance of not taking any damage, but a 33% chance of taking 4 damage (she has AC 2), and dropping down an entire step on the damage track, which increases the DC by 1 of all future rolls and increases the cost of applying grit by 1 per level applied.  

However, if she applied a level of Grit to her dodge roll, she would only spend 1 Agility point (she has 14 points, so she can spare Agility points more than Might at this point), and reduce the DC from 2 to 1. So now, she has a 83% chance of taking no MIght damage, and only a 17% chance of taking 5 damage. If she wanted to, she could as a human apply 2 levels of Grit, dropping the DC down to 0, thus automatically succeeding and taking no Might damage, in exchange for 3 Agility damage.

This option might be especially attractive if she is wanting to spend a Might points during her next attack as part of a trick or application of Grit.

Hopefully those examples help illustrate how defense rolls function, how they specifically interact with stat Pools, and why you would want to spend points on a defense roll.

Also, it's important to recognize that certain archetype abilities, dispositions, races, etc., grant expertise in certain kinds of defense rolls.  

Newest focus is up: Phytology. Here's looking at you, MeanestGuest!

I'll take it! I believe my character sheet just needs reviewing now, once the focus is added.

Excellent!

So, in recent gameplay, a question arose: what happens you when you roll a "natural 1" and the DC is 1? Relatedly, what happens when you decrease a DC to 1, then roll a natural 1?

Since Penumbra uses a d6 rather than a d20 for rolls (skills, attack, etc.), the chance of rolling a 1 is much higher (i.e., 17% vs 5%). Consequently, rolling a natural 1 is not an automatic failure. You fail a task if you roll lower than the DC. Period. However, if you roll a natural 1, the GM imposes a complication to the scenario. This is regardless of the DC, and regardless of whether you succeeded or failed to meet the DC.

The nature of the complication is task- and context-specific. Thus, in trying to dodge a DC 1 thug's sword-swipe, you might dodge it, but barely, and have your scabbard sliced off. Or, you might have a gun jam after it fires (or before if you fail to hit the DC). You might succeed (or fail) at balancing across a rooftop, but also cause a shingle to break off and fail to the ground, perhaps alerting people to your presence. You might manage, or fail, to unlock a simple door, but get your pick stuck in the lock. You might manage to dodge a blast of hellfire, but only do so by falling prone.  And so forth.

Generally, complications in and of themselves do not cause damage, but may impose hindrances or other events that make future tasks more difficult.

So, to use Xavier's recent case of 1s, he tried to run away from a guard. He not only failed the DC, but rolled a natural 1. Consequently, I imposed that he not only failed to flee the guard, but described him tripping and falling flat. Being prone imposed a hindrance to certain rolls.

Thus, one of the advantages of decreasing a DC to 0 is that you don't run the risk of rolling 1 and creating a complication. In many cases, you might not be able to reduce the DC to 0. Even when you can though, you may choose not to, as forgoing rolling also means you don't have a chance of rolling a 5 or 6 and getting a minor or major benefit respectively.