Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - GURPS: Remnant: Fan-made rules for adventuring in the world of RWBY

GreatWyrmGold · 08-13-2015, 08:10 AM

aurThe following is a nonprofit fan-based game system. RWBY, Red versus Blue, and...something are owned by whoever's doing the Japanese dub, RoosterTeeth, and Monty Oum. Please support the official release.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Scroll down. Footnotes: Post 3.
Aura: Scroll down. Semblances and Aura Estimates: Post 2. Footnotes: Post 3.
Dust: Post 14.
Faunus: Post 13.
Grimm: Post 17. Grimm Species: Post 18. Custom Grimm and Footnotes: Post 19.
Skills, Techniques, and Styles: Post 20.
Technology: Post 22 and Post 23.
Training: Post 21
Weapons: Post 15 and Post 16.

Credits and Kudos

Monty Oum, Steve Jackson, and others who created the material responsible for this thread.
EnderofThings of Reddit, for introducing me to the RWBYtabletop subreddit and even making me a moderator!
Wavefunction of these forums, for alerting me to Vitality Reserves and a couple minor omissions.

Related Links

Mostly other places where I ruminate on the nature of Remnant.
Me on Semblances
Me on the mechanisms of Aura and Grimm biology
Me on Grimm: An Index
A thread where I discuss Grimm in more, infuriating detail than I initially intended in a thread about my fanfiction
History Headcanon

Introduction

For those who don't know, RWBY is a web series originally created by the late Monty Oum and produced by Rooster Teeth, who are respectively an animator and the producer of prior web hit Red versus Blue (among other things). It follows Ruby Rose, a young Huntress(-in-training), as she learns to fight the monstrous Grimm which threaten civilization and also deals with the machinations of Roman Torchwick, the White Fang...and the mysterious figure behind them.
The is the work of a RWBY fan[sup]1[/sup] who looked at a few independent RWBY RPGs and found them lacking. He had been considering how Huntsmen might work in GURPS, an RPG that—while obviously not perfect—had always risen to his needs before. And thus, he decided to make a post where he would describe his actions in third person! Oh, and also work out and post the rules of a RWBY game run in GURPS.

I will start with one of the most fundamental facts which makes Remnant—and combat on Remnant—so different from the like on Earth:

Aura

I'm trying to be all formal and scholarly-like with parts of these entries, because I'm thorough like that (and I want to get into the habit for when I make proclamations which aren't widely-accepted by the RWBY community). On that note, for all citations not otherwise noted, see [sup]2[/sup].
Aura is a manifestation of a soul, possessed by humans and animals alike—though not the monstrous Grimm. In an unawakened human, it only provides minor benefits (for instance, it is credited with sensing someone is watching when you can't see them). Once one's Aura is awakened, it can "deflect harm" from a person (while I find the apparent mechanics fascinating, they have no place here). This is apparently something Scrolls (fantasy/sci-fi smartphones) can detect[sup]3[/sup], and their display is more than a little reminiscent of video game health bars. The analogy is apt; Aura can run out if you take too much damage, but no apparent signs of impairment are present before that point[sup]4[/sup]. Aura protects one's equipment as well as oneself[sup]5[/sup].
When a user of Aura trains enough, they can unlock their Semblance[sup]6[/sup]. This is essentially a superpower[sup]7[/sup], apparently based on one's personality[sup]8[/sup]. It is generally accepted that Aura powers Semblances, though some Semblances lack an obvious time to "drain power," so to speak.
Aura can be awakened in animals[sup]9[/sup], though it is uncertain whether they can have Semblances.
Aura is recovered surprisingly quickly[sup]10[/sup].

The original system for Aura was somewhat clunky. I've been alerted to a new, simpler system: Vitality Reserve. Essentially, these are Hit Points without messy drawbacks like shock or crippling, with a few other features. The first is that it protects one's equipment as well as one's body. Then one must consider the exhausting effects of Aura use. Shock, knockback, and knockdown (see B419-20 and B378) apply to Aura loss, as they do for normal damage; this represents pain and the enervating effects of spending Aura. Knockdown works differently; it occurs on any wound dealing more damage than one-third of your current Aura, although stunning only leads to falling prone and dropping weapons when the Aura loss is due to an enemy attack and deals damage greater than 1/3 of the target's full Aura. On paper, far more common than knockdown from normal wounds, but given that Huntsmen students having over 100 points of Aura seem to be the norm (see below), reducing the threshold seems like an important step.
Vitality Reserves are two character points per VR point. The first consideration is represented by the Force Field enhancement, increasing the cost by 20%. The rest of the modifiers are outside the realm of the written rules, sadly. Given that not taking shock, knockdown, and such are among the major benefits of Vitality Reserve compared to normal Hit Points (to counteract, for instance, not gaining the higher death threshold), adding those considerations back in should reduce the price of Vitality Reserve significantly—say, by 50%. Making the knockdown rules more vicious reduces cost further, perhaps by 20%. The final cost of Aura is one character point per Aura point.

Aura regeneration is swift enough to allow a Huntsman student to be ready to fight again within a few minutes of being knocked unconscious (as seen in the last two episodes of Volume 2 with both Weiss and Yang). Considering likely Aura numbers, it is likely that this is Fast regeneration (10%/minute) with the limitations Aura Only (ad hoc -25%) and Accessibility (Only when conscious) (ad hoc -10%), for 33 points.

Old System:

Spoiler:

08-13-2015, 08:10 AM	#1
GreatWyrmGold Join Date: Oct 2011	GURPS: Remnant: Fan-made rules for adventuring in the world of RWBY aurThe following is a nonprofit fan-based game system. RWBY, Red versus Blue, and...something are owned by whoever's doing the Japanese dub, RoosterTeeth, and Monty Oum. Please support the official release. Table of Contents Introduction: Scroll down. Footnotes: Post 3. Aura: Scroll down. Semblances and Aura Estimates: Post 2. Footnotes: Post 3. Dust: Post 14. Faunus: Post 13. Grimm: Post 17. Grimm Species: Post 18. Custom Grimm and Footnotes: Post 19. Skills, Techniques, and Styles: Post 20. Technology: Post 22 and Post 23. Training: Post 21 Weapons: Post 15 and Post 16. Credits and Kudos Monty Oum, Steve Jackson, and others who created the material responsible for this thread. EnderofThings of Reddit, for introducing me to the RWBYtabletop subreddit and even making me a moderator! Wavefunction of these forums, for alerting me to Vitality Reserves and a couple minor omissions. Related Links Mostly other places where I ruminate on the nature of Remnant. Me on Semblances Me on the mechanisms of Aura and Grimm biology Me on Grimm: An Index A thread where I discuss Grimm in more, infuriating detail than I initially intended in a thread about my fanfiction History Headcanon Introduction For those who don't know, RWBY is a web series originally created by the late Monty Oum and produced by Rooster Teeth, who are respectively an animator and the producer of prior web hit Red versus Blue (among other things). It follows Ruby Rose, a young Huntress(-in-training), as she learns to fight the monstrous Grimm which threaten civilization and also deals with the machinations of Roman Torchwick, the White Fang...and the mysterious figure behind them. The is the work of a RWBY fan[sup]1[/sup] who looked at a few independent RWBY RPGs and found them lacking. He had been considering how Huntsmen might work in GURPS, an RPG that—while obviously not perfect—had always risen to his needs before. And thus, he decided to make a post where he would describe his actions in third person! Oh, and also work out and post the rules of a RWBY game run in GURPS. I will start with one of the most fundamental facts which makes Remnant—and combat on Remnant—so different from the like on Earth: Aura I'm trying to be all formal and scholarly-like with parts of these entries, because I'm thorough like that (and I want to get into the habit for when I make proclamations which aren't widely-accepted by the RWBY community). On that note, for all citations not otherwise noted, see [sup]2[/sup]. Aura is a manifestation of a soul, possessed by humans and animals alike—though not the monstrous Grimm. In an unawakened human, it only provides minor benefits (for instance, it is credited with sensing someone is watching when you can't see them). Once one's Aura is awakened, it can "deflect harm" from a person (while I find the apparent mechanics fascinating, they have no place here). This is apparently something Scrolls (fantasy/sci-fi smartphones) can detect[sup]3[/sup], and their display is more than a little reminiscent of video game health bars. The analogy is apt; Aura can run out if you take too much damage, but no apparent signs of impairment are present before that point[sup]4[/sup]. Aura protects one's equipment as well as oneself[sup]5[/sup]. When a user of Aura trains enough, they can unlock their Semblance[sup]6[/sup]. This is essentially a superpower[sup]7[/sup], apparently based on one's personality[sup]8[/sup]. It is generally accepted that Aura powers Semblances, though some Semblances lack an obvious time to "drain power," so to speak. Aura can be awakened in animals[sup]9[/sup], though it is uncertain whether they can have Semblances. Aura is recovered surprisingly quickly[sup]10[/sup]. The original system for Aura was somewhat clunky. I've been alerted to a new, simpler system: Vitality Reserve. Essentially, these are Hit Points without messy drawbacks like shock or crippling, with a few other features. The first is that it protects one's equipment as well as one's body. Then one must consider the exhausting effects of Aura use. Shock, knockback, and knockdown (see B419-20 and B378) apply to Aura loss, as they do for normal damage; this represents pain and the enervating effects of spending Aura. Knockdown works differently; it occurs on any wound dealing more damage than one-third of your current Aura, although stunning only leads to falling prone and dropping weapons when the Aura loss is due to an enemy attack and deals damage greater than 1/3 of the target's full Aura. On paper, far more common than knockdown from normal wounds, but given that Huntsmen students having over 100 points of Aura seem to be the norm (see below), reducing the threshold seems like an important step. Vitality Reserves are two character points per VR point. The first consideration is represented by the Force Field enhancement, increasing the cost by 20%. The rest of the modifiers are outside the realm of the written rules, sadly. Given that not taking shock, knockdown, and such are among the major benefits of Vitality Reserve compared to normal Hit Points (to counteract, for instance, not gaining the higher death threshold), adding those considerations back in should reduce the price of Vitality Reserve significantly—say, by 50%. Making the knockdown rules more vicious reduces cost further, perhaps by 20%. The final cost of Aura is one character point per Aura point. Aura regeneration is swift enough to allow a Huntsman student to be ready to fight again within a few minutes of being knocked unconscious (as seen in the last two episodes of Volume 2 with both Weiss and Yang). Considering likely Aura numbers, it is likely that this is Fast regeneration (10%/minute) with the limitations Aura Only (ad hoc -25%) and Accessibility (Only when conscious) (ad hoc -10%), for 33 points. Old System: Spoiler: In short, Aura is abative DR crossed with an Energy Reserve. While this doesn't seem to have been something that the developers of GURPS considered when they created the core rulebooks, or even GURPS: Powers, it should be covered fine by the Alternate Abilities rule—which grants an 80% discount on all but the most expensive ability, in exchange for them all being the same ability for all intents and purposes. Let's go over how this works in game terms. (While Aura seems to be relatively easy to awaken, this will not be covered as part of the advantage; few people you encounter will need their Auras awakened[sup]11[/sup].) Part the First: Damage Resistance (Ablative, -80%; Force Field, +20%) [2/level] Part the Second: Energy Reserve (Aura) (Can pay FP costs[sup]12[/sup], ad hoc +30%) [4/level] Total: 5/level ALSO: Regeneration (Very Fast[sup]13[/sup]) (Aura only, +0%) [100] In layman's terms, you have a number of points of Aura (which you buy for five a pop), which are lost before hit points and can be spent in place of fatigue points and/or to power Aura-based abilities. Last edited by GreatWyrmGold; 09-25-2015 at 06:34 AM. Reason: Fixed regeneration rules (see B424)