This is the bread and butter of CaPh/TBC!

Note that the Mirstone Mechanic is just an alternative dice system since the stats available on their DTV don't typically follow into their normie human form! For all other aspects, we will be using the mechanics listed on this page.

1.) Skill Checks

Skill checks are used when attempting significant tasks during RP such as attempting to glean information from your surroundings, handling an animal, charming an NPC, or performing a feat of athletics.

As a player you may ask the DM when you want to try a skill check and as a DM, you may ask your players to make checks when needed.

Note that our system doesn't use specific skill proficiencies like 5e does. Instead, we lump everything under their needed ability modifiers. When you roll for an ability check, you roll a 1d20 and add or subtract the corresponding ability's modifier if you have one.

Here's a quick rundown of which skills are lumped under which abilities!

STR - Strength

Skill Checks: Athletics, Intimidation

DEX - Dexterity

Skill Checks: Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth

CON - Constitution
Skill Checks: Endurance, Focus, Sickness

INT - Intelligence
Skill Checks: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion

WIS - Wisdom
Skill Checks: Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Survival

CHA - Charisma
Skill Checks: Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion

2.) Setting a Difficulty Class

When making skill checks, a difficulty class (DC) will need to be set, a DC is a specific number a player must roll on or above in order for the skill check to be successful. The higher the number, the trickier it is to beat.

Here's a quick list below that shows the usual different difficulty levels!

Very Easy = DC of 5
Easy = DC of 10
Medium = DC of 15
Hard = DC of 20
Very Hard = DC of 25
Nearly Impossible = DC of 30

You can always set your DCs in between these numbers too!

3.) Advantage, Disadvantage, and Criticals

Sometimes you can get lucky (or unlucky) and will be able to make your skill checks or attacks with advantage or disadvantage, even more, you might roll really well with a natural 20, or you might roll really bad with a natural 1, here's a rundown of what all this means.

Advantage:

If you're really good at something, or you have someone assisting you in a task, you can roll with advantage! This means that you can roll twice and take the higher number from the two rolls as your result, hopefully allowing you to succeed your skill check.

Disadvantage:

If you're attempting something in not-so-great conditions, or trying something you've never done before, you may be asked to roll with disadvantage. This means rolling twice, and picking from the lower number of the two rolls as your result, making it more difficult to succeed your skill check.

Natural 20 / Critical Success:

If you roll a natural 20 (which is, rolling 20 on a 1d20 before adding your ability modifiers) that's considered a crit, or a critical success. For skill checks, this usually means you succeed with flying colours and during combat, it means you get to double your damage.

Natural 1 / Critical Failure:

If you roll a natural 1 (which is, rolling a 1 on a 1d20 before adding your ability modifiers) that's considered a crit fail or a critical failure. For skill checks, this usually means you completely tank and do not succeed, likely causing some sort of bad consequence. Sometimes, if a DM is kind enough, they may have you 'fail upwards' where you still succeed the check, but maybe not in the way you would've hoped. During combat, you may end up losing your weapon, or completely whiffing your shot.

4.) Contests (aka Rollies)

Contests (or affectionately called 'rollies') are skill checks that, rather than using a DC set by a DM, you're rolling against another player or NPC. You roll a 1d20 plus or minus whatever ability modifiers you might have.

You both perform skill checks. Depending on the situation, you may be rolling the same check (ie. performance vs. performance) or opposing (ie. deception vs. insight).

Whoever rolls higher in a contest wins.

5.) Saving Throws & Death Throws

5.1.) Saving throws

Saving throws happen when you or an opponent are rolling to try and avoid or minimize the damage from a spell, force of nature, disasters, or attempting to come back from the brink of death.

If you're asked to roll a saving throw, you'll roll a 1d20 and add or subtract whatever ability modifiers that might be called on. For example an opponent might cast Fireball, and you'll need to roll a dexterity saving throw in order to halve the damage you receive from it.

If you cast a spell that requires a saving throw, then the opponent will have to roll against your Spell DC, which is always 8 + your spell casting modifier unless your spell states otherwise. If the spell DC isn't listed, we default to this.

5.2.) Death-Saving Throws

Death saving throws occur when your character drops to 0 hit points! This requires you to roll a 1d20. The DC is always 10, and you don't add any modifiers - you are completely at the mercy of RNG for this. You get three death saving throws before your character is officially dead.

You roll your first death save immediately when you drop, no matter who's turn it is.

• If you succeed your first death save, your character is stable but unconscious.

• If you fail your first death save, your character is unstable but also unconscious.

If you haven't been healed yet by your next turn, you can roll your second death save.

• If you succeeded twice in a row, then your character will wake back up with 1 HP.

• If you failed your death save, your character remains unconscious and unstable.

The third is a back-up in case you fail one of those first two.

If you fail all three or exhaust all three of your allotted death saves and die again, then your character dies. Don't worry, in-canon, it's just the DTV that dies, the character piloting it gets shunted back to the hospital at Beacon HQ to be promptly looked after.

5.3.) Additional Notes

• Rolling a 1 is still considered a crit fail and you lose 2 death throws.

• Rolling a 20 is still considered a crit success and you get up with 1 HP.

• You can still be attacked while down. If you take a considerable amount of excess damage while unconscious (at least half your HP), you'll lose a death saving throw.

• You get only three saves per long rest, they no longer reset between getting back up during combat. If you go down and burn through your three saves and are healed subsequently after, the fourth time you are prompted to roll a death save will be an automatic death.

• Spells like Revivify will work by bringing a player back from Beacon. Being dead does not count as a long rest. Therefore, when you are revived, it is still an automatic death if you are downed again.

6.) Combat

Combat happens when a fight breaks out during an RP session. Usually this is started by the DM stating that it's time to roll initiative.

6.1.) Initiative

Initiative determines the turn order during combat. Everyone (including the DM for the creatures you're about to fight) rolls a 1d20 and adds or subtracts their character's DEX (dexterity) modifier. The person who rolls the highest number goes first, then the second highest after them and so on with whoever rolled lowest going last in the turn order.

If two or more people roll the same number for initiative, whoever has the higher DEX modifier goes first. If they both have the same modifier, the players can choose who amongst them goes first, or they can roll another 1d20, with whoever gets the higher number going ahead of the person who rolled lower.

Once the turn order has been figured out, it's time to move on to combat proper. There's a lot you can do, so lets begin!

6.2.) On Your Turn

You have three options during your turn: Action, Bonus Action, and Movement, which you can use in any order.

• ACTIONS:
  You may attack/cast a spell among other things!

  • • (NEW, but not really) MOVE
      Your bread and butter. By default, everybody has 30 ft. of movement. You may have active/passive abilities that either increase/decrease your movement speed or change the terrain you travel on (ie. climbing, swimming, flying, and so on).

    • MELEE ATTACKS
      Roll a 1d20 +/- your STR (strength) modifier. Rolling above your opponent's AC (armor class) is considered a success and allow you to roll your damage.

      • • When rolling for damage, use your weapon's damage dice (ie. a dagger is 1d4 piercing/slashing) and +/- the required ability modifiers for it.

        • Rolling a natural 20 will get you a critical hit. This allows you to roll double dice for your damage (but only add your modifiers once).

    • RANGED ATTACKS
      Roll a 1d20 +/- your DEX (dexterity) modifier. Rolling above your opponent's AC is considered a success and allow you to roll your damage.

      • • The same concept applies when using a weapon and rolling a natural 20 from MELEE ATTACKS.

    • CASTING A MELEE/RANGED ATTACK SPELL
      Roll a 1d20 +/- your spell casting ability. You can find out which one your class uses here. Rolling above your opponent's AC is considered a success and allow you to roll your damage.

      • • The same concept applies when rolling a natural 20 from MELEE ATTACKS.

    • CASTING A SUPPORT SPELL
      Roll the required dice (usually a 1d8) and work out the effects as described.

    • OTHER ACTION OPTIONS

      • • DASH
          Move farther. It doubles your movement speed for that turn.

        • DISARM
          Knock a weapon out of your target’s grasp. Contested by target’s STR or DEX. 

        • DISENGAGE
          Allows you to move without provoking an opportunity of attack for the rest of the turn.

        • GRAPPLE
          Climb onto a larger creature. Uses your STR or DEX. Larger creature’s space is treated as difficult terrain.

        • HELP
          Lend your aid to another creature in completing a task. The creature gains advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform the task you are assisting with.

          • • Alternatively, you can stabilize a downed teammate if you pass a medicine (INT) check so that they do not have to perform a death save.

        • HIDE
          Make a stealth (DEX) check to hide. Depending on the terrain, you get the respective type of cover.

          • • ROGUE SPECIALTY: Sneak Attack - Attacking while hidden will allow you to attack with advantage, but you sacrifice your hidden status.

        • SEARCH
          Devote your attention to find something. Perform a perception (WIS) check or investigation (INT) check.

        • SHOVE
          Move the target to the side rather than away. Rollies, your STR vs. the target’s STR or DEX.

          • • You automatically win if the target is incapacitated.

            • If you win, you either knock your target prone or shove your target 5 ft. in any direction.

        • IMPROVISE / INTERACT WITH YOUR ENVIRONMENT
          You got a coconut in your head. Ask and maybe your DM will allow it.

• BONUS ACTIONS:
  You may cast any spells or make a second attack if you have an ability that allows for it! (Must be directly stated in your description to be applicable.) Additionally, you may:

  • • PERFORM SKILL CHECK(S)

    • USE AN ITEM
      Got shit in your pockets?? Use it.
      *Unless the item specifies otherwise.

• MOVEMENT:
  You may move around the battlefield as you're able. The basic movement for all travelers is 30 ft unless you have traits/abilities that permit otherwise. The general rule of thumb for our maps are that each square represents 5 ft.

• FREE ACTIONS:
  You have a variety of options for this one and what's permitted may vary between your DMs! Generally, these are the options allowed:

  • • SPEAK / COMMUNICATE
      You can speak to your allies or your enemies. Some DMs may limit how much you're able to speak during combat.

    • RESOLVE SAVING THROWS
      If you are affected by any spells that requires saving throws, this is your time.

    • CONCENTRATION
      Alternatively, if you are casting a spell that requires your attention, this is when you perform it.

      • • Whenever you take damage, you must make a CON saving throw to maintain concentration. The DC is equal to 10 or half the damage you take, whichever nuymber is higher. If you take damage from multiple sources, you make a separate saving throw for each source of damage.

    • PERCEPTION / INVESTIGATION
      It is free to use your eyeballs. Ask your DM to inspect your surroundings or the status of your allies/enemies.

6.3.) NOT On Your Turn

You're not a complete sitting duck while you're waiting for your turn! You are still a part of the fight.

• REACTIONS:
  These can be used during someone else's turn, but only once per round.

  • • ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY
      This happens when an opponent tries to flee melee range (within 5 ft. of you) without attacking or disengaging.

    • If you have any traits or abilities/spells that allow you to perform any other reactions, you can do so!

• FREE ACTIONS:
  You have a variety of options for this one and what's permitted may vary between your DMs! Generally, these are the options allowed:

  • • SPEAK / COMMUNICATE
      You can speak to your allies or your enemies. Some DMs may limit how much you're able to speak during combat.

    • RESOLVE SAVING THROWS
      If you are affected by any spells that requires saving throws, this is your time.

6.4.) Your ENEMY'S Turn

Anything you can do, your enemies can do too.

7.) Short Rest & Long Rest

We all need some good ole rest. Your travelers do, too!

7.1.) Short Rest

In-game, a short rest time-wise is considered 1-7 hours long. During a short rest, you may...

• REGAIN SOME HEALTH
  Roll a number of hit dice corresponding to your class to heal your HP. The number of dice you roll will correspond to your traveler's level, so if you are Lvl. 7, you roll 7 hit dice.

• REGAIN AS MANY SPENT ABILITY/SPELL SLOTS AS YOUR TRAVELER'S LEVEL
  ie.) If your traveler is Lvl. 7, then you can regain 7 spell slots.

7.2.) Long Rest

In-game, a long rest time-wise is considered 8+ hours long. During a long rest, you may...

• REGAIN ALL HEALTH
  You gain all your health back! Yippee!

• REGAIN ALL SPENT ABILITY/SPELL SLOTS
  Also yippee!

8.) Time Management

Just some things to note!

• 10 rounds of combat = 1 minute going by in-game

• TURNS means each individual character's/enemy's turn in combat.

• ROUNDS means everyone in combat has taken their turns int he initiative order.

• If you have support spells that last several rounds, please keep track of their length!

9.) Character Management

It's always a good idea to have a notepad, calculator, and your character sheet handy during RP sessions.

• You can keep track of:

  • • their HP

    • ability usage

    • inventory

For sessions, we have the #📝┊player-notes channel to log used items or a temporary place for you to write down what spells your traveler casted. We will provide an overall spreadsheet that can keep track of your party's HP, temporary HP, and death saves.

10.) Insanity

*This won't always be in play, but it may show up in some RPs.

One needs to be careful when diving into the occult and esoteric, sometimes you might run into things that strains the mind to try and comprehend. This is where the sanity mechanic comes in! 

• SANITY POINT POOL
  Start with 100 + your INT and WIS modifiers.

• INSANITY CHECKS
  They can occur during particularly stressful moments in an RP. Usually, the DM will be the one asking you to roll them.

  • • HOW TO ROLL
      Start with a 1d20. If you have a positive modifier in INT and WIS, subtract them from your roll. If you have negative modifiers in either of those stats, add them to your roll.

    • The higher the roll, the worse you are doing.

• CRITICALS
  You want to roll as low as possible on the d20.

  • • A natural 1 is considered a critical success, because you won't lose any sanity points.

    • A natural 20 is a critical failure, and you take double the points off your sanity pool.

• STRESS TICKS
  Losing a significant number of points in your sanity pool can cause stress ticks to happen to your character for the remainder of the RP. If you want to carry them on afterwards, feel free! However, it is not considered necessary or will be kept track of.

  • • IF YOUR TRAVELER DROPS BELOW 20 SANITY POINTS...
      ...and you enter combat, you'll need to roll a WIS saving throw (DC: 15) at the start of your turns to determine if you can still identify between friend and foe.

      • • If you fail, you attack the closest person to you - which may be an enemy or may be an ally depending on where people are standing.

    • IF YOUR TRAVELER DROPS BELOW 10 SANITY POINTS...
      ...they are considered 'crazed' and will automatically attack whoever is closest to them (in or out of combat).

    • IF YOUR TRAVELER DROPS BELOW 5 SANITY POINTS...
      ...you become incapacitated, a muttering mess of nerves and fear.

    • IF YOUR TRAVELER DROPS TO 0 SANITY POINTS...
      ...their mind is broken, and its time to begin death saving throws.