This devlog contains the three previous iterations of UMBRA before the finalized copy. It shows our general planning and what ideas we added then cut from iteration to iteration. I hope it proves insightful. 

Version 1

[Proposal]

Intent:

To design a combat system based on LUMEN, with integration of unique resources/classes. The goal is to have a system that is immersive, have a sense of progression and appeal to various fantasy. Players have the ability to customize, fit their characters to their playstyle.

LUMEN: https://gilarpgs.itch.io/lumen

CORE MECHANIC

Preparations:

1 GM.

D6 dice(s)

Any amount of players.

Dice roll system functions like LUMEN’s

Attributes:

PLACEHOLDER NAMES DUE TO CHANGE TO FIT LORE THEMATIC

STRENGTH: HITS HARD

DEXTERITY: HITS FAST

INTELLIGENCE: HITS CRITICALLY

RESOURCE:

HEALTH: TAKES HITS

ENERGY: SPEND TO DO COOL HITS/ MOVE

CURRENCY: A unit used to track player performance, can be used to acquire upgrades/ items/ create player competition.

CLASSES:

OPTION 1:

7 CLASSES: [PLACEHOLDER NAME]

BRUTE: HIGH STR, LOW DEX, LOW INT

Example: Berseker, Tanks, Greatsword

Frontline, hits hard, durable, simple yet effective. HULK SMASH

SPEEDSTER: LOW STR, HIGH  DEX, LOW INT

Example: Archer, Rouge, Dualblades

Mid-range-Close. High evasion, thousand hits, highly mobile, adapt to any situation.

TACTICAL: LOW STR, LOW DEX, HIGH INT

Example: Sniper, Mages, HEALER

Long range. Imobile, slow, hits hard, positioning.

MELEE: MID STR, MID DEX, LOW INT

Example: Monk, Sword n shield.

Close range, mobile, evasive, adaptability, excels in 1v1 combat.

ASSASSIN: LOW STR, MID DEX, MID INT

Example: Ninja, assassins.

Close range, Goes in and out, sneaky, calculative timing. Burst damage then retreat to safety.

MARTIAL ARTIST: MID STR, LOW DEX, MID INT

Example: Samurai, Grappler

Patient, trained, goes in to deal big damage, strike when it’s right.

VANILLA ICE CREAM: BELOW AVERAGE AT EVERYTHING

This can be a custom character created by the player

EVERYTHING but not that good at one thing.

(probably shouldn’t have this)

This option is great for multiple pre build skill sets

OPTION 2: 3 main CLASSES that already excels at one thing but can be customize to fit a playstyle

EXAMPLE:

Extremist character that only opts into their core attribute

STR char that can opt into more dex to be an evasion tank

DEX char that opts into more INT to be a shadowy assassin

INT char that opts into more DEX to be a run and gun marksmen.

For a more cooperative experience, consider adding more support class/ ability to the game. Class that can heal others/ inflicts debuff on the enemy, power up others.

DEATH penalty: depends on the difficulty of the game.

Can be as light as loosing some currency resource

Can be medium like having debuffs: damage down, slow, less d6 rolls, lock access to skills.

Can be as hard as having a down: require an item/ a teammate with the proper skill to revive.

Powers:

3+ powers each class:

For class options 1 have a preset of 5 skills for each class.

For class options 2 a class has 3 base skills and 2 more skills that’s up to user to customize

[CONSIDER] 1 ULTIMATE- 1 use power unlock at later stages.

Resource:

Energy: Powers have variable cost

I believe by doing this, there should be more powerful skill that’s exciting to use and more simpler but effective skill that’s more often used.

Power list should be:

1 simple often used power

1 passive

1 powerful move

Example:

BRUTE:

REGEN(P):

At round start, restore 1 health to self.

BLOCK (1):

Negate 100% damage of next enemy attack onto yourself

HULK SMASH(3):

Deal 3 damage and stun all enemy around you for one round

ULTIMATE: THE UNDYING(One time use):

Negate all negative effects for the next 3 rounds, players cannot go below 1 health.

Turn and round system:

Follow the default LUMEN setting

GM turn:

Because our game is mission based, the power/ the twist that the GM can bring to the table is limited within a rule set of that stage.

Enemy drop: should be the game’s currency, as restoring health and resource is a class unique things, some class may have more resource, some can restore more health, I feel that by having enemies only dropping currency, there should be more power differences between different classes. Some class will excel in some areas more than others

But then would this limit player’s enjoyment? For now, for our system, I think restoring 1 energy every turn should make players still have that power fantasy.

Enemy:

Lumen’s system but i suggest our game, every stage has a boss or every 2 stages.

Loot

At the moment, I dont think a looter shooter’s loot system is a good idea

Weapon:

In our game, I believe weapons should take a backseat to the character power fantasy.

Weapon should be utility-based, as in itself doesn’t have any damage stats, but its power compliments the user’s stats. Since we don’t have a full fledge loot system (yet, maybe, yes/no ????)

I.e

Warhammer

[Melee][Aoe]

Shortsword

[Melee][Parry]

+1 DMG

Dagger

[Melee][Mid]

+1 DMG

Longbow

[Long][Aim]

+3 DMG

TAGS

[Melee]: Use STR as DMG, Range: 1

[Long]: Use INT as DMG, range: 3

[Mid]: Use DEX as DMG, Range: 2

[Parry]: Take no DMG from enemy attack if roll is 4-5.

[Aoe]: Deal DMG to all targets within attack range.

[Aim]: Requires 2 action to use

Progression:

As stated before, the player should be progressively powerful through the game, maybe with our mission-based system. Every round the player gets the option to level a skill/ unlock/ augment/ level an attribute

May 24th update

As discussed with the group, we’re planning to integrate a DRPG aspect into the game, this will make combat more strategical and easier to keep track off, this is helpful for newer players into TTRPG, GM to make more purposeful maps. This may risk slowing down the fast pace that LUMEN was intended to be at, but we think we may smoothen out system to speed up the game.

 Version 2

[ACTUAL GAME]

NAME

Based on LUMEN’s system. EVERYTHING IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

CORE MECHANIC

Need:

4 players (1 GM, 3 players)

D6 dice(s), many is preferable, but if lacking, may reroll one dice many times and track the result.

Pen and papers to keep track of stats.

Attribute:

Determines how a player acts in certain situation, influence some aspect of combat

Strength (STR): Powerful, straight forward, simple.

Dexterity (DEX): Speed, skillful, adaptive.

Intelligence (INT): Knowledge, planning, perceptive.

Health Points(HP): How much damage (DMG) can a character take.

Mana Points (MP): Resource for using power.

Speed (SPD): How far a player can move, the higher the more tiles. Attribute unique to our system, only move actions require SPD.

$oul ($): Our in-game currency system that streamlines the loot system.

Example: When met with a fence that has a locked gate

-STR: Smashes down the fence.

-DEX: Leaps through the fence.

-INT: Use a lockpick to open the gate.

When performing an action that has a risk to it (attack, disarm trap…) players use an attribute to perform that action. Players roll nd6, with n being the attribute chosen, then take the highest d6. (THIS IS LUMEN’S)

1-3: Failure with consequences

4-5: Success with consequences

6: Success without consequences.

Dungeon RPG:

Differentiating from LUMEN, our game’s distance and positioning is decided by a system of tiles and maps.

Combat

Turns and Rounds:

In combat, players take turns to deal points of Damage (DMG) that will reduce a target’s Health Point (HP). When an NPC’s HP drops below 0, they die. NPC can also deal DMG to players in various ways. Basic stuff if you’ve played any combat games before.

Like LUMEN’s, a round consists of every player’s turn. Players can decide amongst themselves who to move first.

A player turn consist of:

2 Actions that can be:

Move

Weapon attack

Ability use

Item use

World interact

GM’s turn:

When a player performs an action that involves risk, by rolling 1-4, the GM gets an action using the enemies, activating one of their moves or just a simple attack.

At Round end, the GM:

Choose 1 enemy per player and activate a power or deal DMG. Then the GM describes a meaningful change. Enemies may change tactics/ new reinforcements arrive. Basically anything that shakes up players’ gameplay. Any change announced must be reflected onto the map (Place an enemy).

Enemies defeated grants $oul shared upon the party.

DEATH:

Movement:

Movement is measured by tiles, characters use SPD to determine how many tiles can they move, both horizontally and vertically (NOT DIAGONALLY) multiple characters can be within a tile.

Range:

Attack range (RG) is measured also by tiles.

RG is calculated similarly to movement, if an enemy is within 2 tiles of walking distance, they are within 2 RG of attack

If you ever get confused, consult this tile: Where 0 is where your character is, 1 is 1 tile from your character and so on.

A RG of 0 means you can only attack enemies within the same tile as you.

Hitboxes: Some powers will have a hitbox indicator. This will indicate how much tile the power can affect. This is in the format of width x height (W x H). An attack with a hitbox of 3 x 2 affects a cone of 3 tiles width and 2 tiles high.

3 x 2:

Sinners

In this world, you control notorious villains called sinners, they have some attributes to fight and to interact with the game.

Some HPs to take hits.

Some MPs use their powers.

A 3 slot weapon inventory.

A 2 slot item inventory.

All characters start with an amount of base stats and 1 free attribute point to put into any attribute. They also are equipped with some free weapons.

All characters restore 1 MP at the start of each round

FRANKY (and frankenstein herself) -

Frankenstein’s monster, a blob of zombified human flesh that feels no pain, nor emotions, only obeys command and can be modified by Dr. Frankenstein’s will.

STR: 2 DEX: 0 INT: 0

HP:10           MP: 5            SPD: 1

[Muh Hands][Battle-ax]

I’m a doctor you know! (P): Heal yourself 2 HP every round start.

BONK (0): You smash your target on the head, stunning your target for one turn. Deal STR DMG.

Face smasssshhh (3): Move 3 tiles forward, deal 2 DMG to all enemies caught in the way.

DRACULA

Infamous Vlad Dracula. Bloodthirsty vampire that wields dark magic, stalks his target, goes in quickly as he goes out.

STR:0 DEX: 2 INT: 0

HP: 6 SPD: 2

Bloodthirsty (P): You use HP as a resource instead of MP.

You can spend 1 HP to gain an action. (once per turn)

Bite (1): Dash to a target within 2 tiles. Deal DEX DMG and heal for that amount.

Bloodletting (3): Drain 2 HP from all targets within 2 tiles.

PROF. MORIARTY

Sherlock Holmes’s archnemesis. Genius, devilish schemer, always one step ahead.

STR: 0 DEX: 0 INT: 2

HP: 7 MP: 7 SPD: 1

One step ahead (P): You detect and reveal all hidden traps and enemies within 3 tiles, including their attributes and power. Every turn you spend not dealing DMG, your next attack gains +1 DMG.

Rat-trap (1): Set a trap onto a tile next to you. Enemies who step on a trap can’t move or use power for 1 turn. Victims take +1 DMG on their next hit.

London bridge is falling down… (3): Throw a dynamite within 3 tiles. You can choose to set it as a trap or activate it immediately. Dealing INT DMG to all enemies within 1 tile. Can damage yourself.

LOOT

Most enemies drop $oul on defeat (will be indicated on the enemy page).

Minibosses when defeated, the GM rolls a d6, if 1-3 the player acquires a weapon, if 4-6 an item. Players must decide upon themselves who has what. Boss are the same, but have a change of dropping a Legendary weapon:

1-3: Weapon 4-5: Items 6: Legendary

When dropping a weapon, roll 2d6, one by one, you now have a code to redeem it:

Each of these weapons have a base stats.

After determining the type of weapon, roll d6, if you land 5-6, acquire a random tag for the weapon. For more information, see weapon.

Progression

After each stage, all players gain 1 skill point to upgrade their character, they can use this to increase an attribute (STR,HP,MP…), unlock a new skill or upgrade a preexisting one.

In between stages, players may give an Offering to God of the forge, Hephaestus. This allows the player to spend $oul to choose from:

Random weapon (1)

Custom built weapon (2)

Add a random tag to your weapon (2)

Reset all tags on your weapon (1)

Item (2)

Skillpoint (2)

Summon a random legendary weapon (5) (THERE MAY BE A BOSSFIGHT ACCOMPANYING THIS)

Or if they choose to, players can sell weapons, items or skill points to acquire $ouls themselves:

Weapon: $0.5

Item: $1

Skillpoint: $2

That’s it, that’s how the basic structure of our game works! Like Spencer Campbell’s other games made in LUMEN, the following systems are modular, you may add them to your game or not. Even consider creating your own (we are not responsible for any death, injury from excessive salt due to poor balances of your own creation)

Enemy

Redeemed warrior

HP: 3

Spartan’s blade: 2 RG: 0

Move:

Charge: Move 2 tiles

Battlecry: Gain +1 DMG

Fearless: Will never retreat.

Weapon

Weapons are prebuilt, that is the type of weapon come with a set off tags that determines what they do. But a weapon is not limited to these tag and can be add any amount.

BASIC

Dagger

[Melee]

DEX+1 DMG, when attacking, if you land a 5-6, deal double DMG

Battle-ax:

[Mid][AOE]

STR DMG

Sniper Rifle

[Long][Aim]

INT + 2 DMG. RG + 1

LEGENDARY

Very rare weapons with cool big effects.

ROCKET ON A STICK

[Mid][AOE]

Deal 2 DMG to a 3x3 tile around yourself. CAN HURT YOU TOO.

TAG

[Melee] 0 RG

[Mid] 1 RG

[Long] 2 RG

[AOE] Deal DMG to all target within tile

[Aim] An attack takes 2 actions.

Weapons:

Starter Weapons

[A Worn Cleaver]

[Melee] [STR] [1 DMG]

[A Wooden Stake]

[Melee] [DEX] [1 DMG]

[A Simple Dagger]

[Melee] [INT] [1 DMG]

Early Weapons:

Enemies:

Village Guard

[Melee]

HP: 3

Consequence: 1 DMG

DMG: 1 x 2 time(s)

Knight Trainee

HP: 10 Consequence: 2 DMG DMG: 2 x 2 time(s)

Knight

HP:15

Consequence: 3 DMG

DMG: 3 x 3 time(s)

Captain Knight HP: 25

Consequence: 3 DMG

DMG: 3 x 5 time(s)

Mage

HP:15

Consequence: 5 DMG DMG: Can only attack through consequences.

Torin’s concept loot

(later scrapped due to incompatibility issues with game mechanics.)

LOOT

Ring of Ascension

•         Grants user +100% succession rate for next two moves.

(attack, movement, interact, etc.)

•         Costs 3 HP from all players.

•         One use per player.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

•         Two teammates must sacrifice one item from inventory, if they choose not to, they must lose 1MP.

Phoenix Ashes

•         If a player has this in their inventory, upon receiving a lethal amount of damage, they are immediately granted full health, but must sacrifice two items in inventory.

•         If no items in inventory to sacrifice, all teammates can sacrifice 2HP to bring back teammate.

•         Player can only carry one at a time.

•         Only one per team.

Blood of Rinn

•         Can be used as a weapon and throw at enmies causing immediate death to enemy but costs user 2 MP and 1 HP.

•         If user chooses not to throw at an enemy, they can use it to gain +2 HP for 3 rounds.

•         Provides user with invincibility for one round, 3 rounds after initial usage.

•         If used with Chalice of Hate, provides user with +1 HP for 6 rounds and +2MP for 2 rounds.

•         If used as a weapon, combined with the chalice of hate, it can cause immediate death to up to 2 enemies but costs 3 MP and 1 HP. 

Blood of Minh

•         Provides user with +2 HP and +3MP for 3 rounds.

•         Costs two teammates 1 MP, and initial user 1 MP.

•         After initial 3 rounds, teammates gain permanent +1 INT.

•         Can be used with Chalice of Hate to provide user only +1HP instead of +3, also without the cost of teammate MP and user MP.

Blood of Zhao

•         Provides user +1 STR Permanently.

•         Costs 2MP and 1HP.

•         Can only be carried by one teammate at a time.

•         Can only be used once.

•         After a player uses this item, it turns into 1 Blood of God which they must give a teammate.

•         If combined with Chalice of Hate when used, it grants user an additional 4 HP and costs only 1 MP and 0 HP. Alongside providing a single teammate +1HP.

Blood of a fallen Valkyrie

•         Permanently provides player with +1 DEX and +1SPD.

•         Costs 1 MP and HP for two rounds.

•         Can only be used once per player.

•         Players may only carry one at a time.

•         If usage is combined with Chalice of Hate, players also gain permanent +1 SPD without any loss of MP or HP.

Cthulhu Corpse Summoning Scroll

•         Summons the corpse of Cthulhu to be dropped onto the battlefield, destroying all traps and reducing all enemies HP by 50%.

•         All players initially take 2 HP Damage and lose 2 MP, but regain it after 2 rounds.

•         Cost’s initial user -1 to either INT, DEX or SPD. Take away from whichever has the most attribute points. After three rounds they regain loss attribute point.

•         Can only be used once.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

Witches Cloak

•         Grants player invisibility and is immune to traps and enemy attacks for 2 rounds.

•         Can be used 2 times.

•         Players can carry upto 2 Witches Cloaks at a time.

•         Costs 1 MP.

•         Increases Users SPD by +2 during usage.

Apocalyptic Wisdom Scroll

•         Grants initial user +2 INT for 3 Rounds and all teammates +1DEX for 3 rounds.

•         Costs initial user 2 MP, and an additional teammate 1 MP.

•         Can only be used once.

•         Players can only carry 2 at a time.

Almighty Push Scroll

•         Immediately kills all enemies within 1 tile.

•         Costs 3MP.

•         Can be used 3 times per player.

•         Players can only carry 1 Almighty Push Scroll at a time.

Ancient Bell of Mutiny

•         Allows player to give up to 4HP and MP to a teammate.

•         Can only be carried by one person per team.

•         Can only be used once before breaking.

Black Dragon Ash

•         Grants player ability to permanently increase any Attribute by 2.

•         Player must sacrifice 1 point from two different attributes for 3 rounds.

•         Costs 2 MP and 1 HP.

•         Can only be used once per player.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

Shinigami Eyes

•         Player loses 2 HP for 3 turns.

•         After the initial 3 turns, player regains all lost health and gains a permanent +2HP increase afterwards.

•         Can only be used once per carry.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

•         Costs 3MP.

Leviathan Blood

•         Grants player +1 SPD, +2 DEX, and +1 INT, for 3 turns.

•         Can only be used once.

•         Player can carry up to 2.

•         After initial 3 turns player suffers -1 MP and -1 HP.

Sword of Damocles

•         A sword which when used, grants the player +2HP and +1MP.

•         Increases DEX and STR by +2.

•         Can be used 3 times.

•         Player Can only carry one.

Mark of Saturn

•         A scroll that can be used by a player to bring back all fallen teammates.

•         Using the scroll causes player to go to 1HP and costs 3MP.

•         All players resurrected come back with only 25%HP and 50%MP.

•         Can only be used once.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

Baphomet’s Call to Arms Scroll

•         Grants all players with +100%HP and +200%MP for two turns.

•         After the initial two turns, the user must take +50% DMG for the next two turns.

•         Can only be used once.

•         Player can carry 3 at a time.

Pegasus Summoning Scroll

•         Summons a Pegasus and allows players to travel to another map immediately.

•         Usage requires all Players to sacrifice 30HP and 20MP.

•         Can only be carried by one teammate at a time.

•         Can only be used once.

Pandora’s Box

•         Once used, all players will regain all health.

•         Causes nearby enemies to attack eachother and/or lose 2HP.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

•         Can only be used once before breaking.

Chains of Prometheus

•         Disables enemy movement for 1 turn for each teammate.

•         Decreases enemy HP by 50%.

•         Can be used twice before breaking.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

Skull of a Hydra

•         Grants player with any perk of choice for three turns.

•         Player loses 2HP after three turns.

•         Players can only use 2 before 5 round cooldown.

•         Can be used twice before breaking.

Dragons Scale Amulet

•         Allows user to move up to 2 tiles immediately.

•         Player sacrifices 25%HP per use.

•         Can only be used 3 times before breaking.

•         Player can only carry 1 at a time.

Shiva’s Protection Scroll

•         Casts a shield at the cost of 20MP.

•         Protects the player from all damage for 1 turn per use.

•         Increases entire teams HP by 10% for 3 turns.

•         After 3 Turns, the initial user must roll a dice. If they roll anything less than 3, they lose 50% of their current HP. If they roll anything higher than a 3, they gain a permanent 10%HP increase.

•         Can only carry one Shiva’s Protection Scroll at a time, with only one use.  

Scroll of Petrification

•         Freezes all enemies for 2 turns and grants the player with an additional turn/dice roll.

•         Freezes teammates for one turn.

•         Can only be used once.

•         Can carry upto 2 Scrolls of Petrification.

St. Michaels Dagger

•         Player may use dagger to attack, dagger provides player with an additional dice roll, +50%MP, but -50%HP while used.

•         Can be used for 3 turns.

•         Gives teammates +2HP each use. 

Gabriel’s Horn

•         Resurrect a dead teammate, or a soldier who will stick by your side for 3 turns.

•         Can only be used once.

•         If a teammate is resurrected, they are immune to damage for 2 turns.

Fragments of Gaia

•         Fragments of an old world.

•         Consumption allows player to become invincible for 2 turns.

•         After initial two turn invincibility, the player is unable to move for one turn.

Hades Prototype Gauntlets

•         Gauntlets that provide the player with +25%HP but -10%MP.

•         Effects last 3 rounds before needing to cooldown for 3 rounds.

•         Can be used twice before breaking.

•         Players can only carry one at a time.

Chalice of Hate

•         A Chalice which the player can combine with other items to alter their effects.

•         3 Uses before it breaks.

•         Player cannot move for two turns after using.

•         Players may only carry one at a time.

Blood of a God

•         A vial of blood, that once acquired, can be use to regain 5HP and 5MP.

•         Can carry up to 3 at once.

•         If used alongside the Chalice of Hate, effects are doubled. 

Devils Blessing Scroll

•         Once acquired, a player can use the scroll at the beginning of their turn, allowing for them to re-roll if their roll results in a fail.

•         If their second roll is also a fail, they may lose 10 health points and suffer any consequences their fail would provide them.

Enemy

Archangel

An Archangel who

Passive ability allowing to move two tiles at once but can only move once every two rounds.

Weapon-Dagger(0.5HP)

                   -1 tile reach.

Evolved Soul

Passive ability allowing to move two tiles at once but can only move once every two rounds.

Weapon-Dagger(0.5HP)

                   -1 tile reach.

Brainwashed Demon

Tank, does a lot of damage but has long attack cooldown of three rounds, but also has a lot of health.

Weapon:bone mace

-1 tile reach

Mage

Use long range attacks and traps

Medium health

Neo-Quartz staff

Version 3

UMBRA

You are a Lord of Umbra in Mount Transa and you have been chosen by the Dark Lord to fight back against Humanity. For too long Humanity has waged war on itself and to create a unified era of peace the Dark Lord desires to unite the land and bring about order. For the sake of your clan you will pillage, enslave, and slay the humans to ensure your survival. Take what is yours without remorse and strike fear into those that oppose you, this is your descent into UMBRA. 

UMBRA is a four person game. Three players will assume the Umbral Champions and one will assume the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord is the Game Master of UMBRA and will craft the challenges that the Umbral Champions must answer.

Umbral Champions:         Abomination Franky

                                         Lord Dracula

                                         Mastermind Moriarty

Dark Lord: The Game Master

Health Points (HP): The amount of damage a player can receive before incapacitation

Mana Points (MP): The resource spent to activate skills

Skills: Powerful abilities that are available to the player that cost MP to activate.

Weapons: A melee or ranged weapon that modifies your damage.

Choosing your Umbral Champion:           Every player will begin by choosing an umbral champion that they wish to play as. Players will gain stat points they can allocate as a reward for successful purges granted by the GM. Upon cumulative stat totals they will be able to unlock skills within a stat tree (Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced).

The Dark Lord’s Role:

          The Dark Lord is the GM for UMBRA. They craft the layout of the purges, enemies, and weapon stats for the campaign. They can use the predesigned campaign to start with or they can make their own. Their role is to craft a unique experience for the players and guide them along as the leader of the Umbral Army.

Going on purges:

          Players will go on purges where they eliminate heroes from an arena. At the end of these purges they will receive a reward for their efforts.

          Players will be traversing a tile-based map where they can see the layout of the arena and the locations of enemies, chests, keys, and the goal. They succeed in a purge when they have reached the end signified as the flag on the map. Multiple players may inhabit a single tile just as multiple enemies may be found on a tile. Lastly, monsters do not move and can attack any player within that 3x3 tile section.

          Gameplay is a conversation between the Umbral Champions and the Dark Lord (GM). The Dark Lord presents the arena, threats, and challenges, while the Umbral Champions answer them. Most actions are resolved through conversation and dice are rolled when an Umbral Champion acts. There is a risk.

          Umbral Champions describe their action, and decide which stat and weapon they wish to use. They roll a number of d6 equivalent to the stat and they take the highest roll. For example, if Franky uses his STR stat of 6, he will roll 6 dice. The results are:

• 1-2: Failure with consequence
• 3-5: Success with consequence
•   6 : Success with no consequence

          These actions can be taken in any order as long as the player only takes 2 actions. Additionally, they can take 2 of the same action (move twice or attack twice).

Health and Damage:

          When someone is damaged it gets subtracted from their health. Enemies with 0 health are dead. If an Umbral Champion drops to 0 health, they must be resurrected at half heath by a teammate and suffer a consequence. They can choose to either:

• Lose a dice when they roll (n-1 d6)
• Lose any skill of the player’s choice

          This consequence is permanent until the party is able to conquer the current purge at which players are reinvigorated and allowed to recover one consequence. If an Umbral Champion has 2 or more consequences, they can only recover 1 of their choosing.

          The party of Umbral Champions is only defeated when all party members are slain and no one is left to resurrect an ally.

Combat:

          There is no initiative and enemy combatants do not take turns. Enemies react to the actions and rolls of Umbral Champions. Additionally, enemies can attack on the GM’s turn which begins after all of the Umbral Champion’s actions.

          Umbral Champions select a stat and an accompanying weapon to take an action. The stat they choose decides how many dice they will roll with (nd6, n=main stat) and the weapon decides the damage that will be dealt. Some weapons may modify the number of dice while others may modify the outcome of the dice. The weapon chosen for the action must match the main stat chosen for the dice. Additionally, weapons also affect the attack range (AR) for Umbral Champions and can be melee or ranged.

          Enemies do not move on the tiles and take actions as a consequence for the player's rolls and deal damage according to their stats. During this phase the enemy can attack regardless of their AR. However, the enemies can only act according to their range during the GM’s turn after the Umbral Champions have all taken their actions. Ranged weapons can attack any enemy so long as they’re within the 3x3 room. Melee weapons can only act when they are next to an enemy tile.

FRANKY (and dr. frankenstein herself)

Frankenstein’s monster, a blob of zombified human flesh that feels no pain, nor emotions, only obeys command and can be modified by Dr. Frankenstein’s will.

Starts with [A Worn Cleaver]

STR: 2 DEX: 0 INT: 0

HP:10           MP: 5           

An apple a round (P): Heal yourself 2HP at round start.

DRACULA

Infamous Vlad Dracula. Bloodthirsty Vampyr that wields dark magic, stalks his target, goes in quickly as he goes out.

Starts with [A Wooden Stake]

STR:0 DEX: 2 INT: 0

HP: 6 MP: 2

Bloodthirsty (P): You can use HP as a resource instead of MP.

Once per turn, you can spend 1 HP to gain 1 action (Bypass attack cap/ skillcap).

PROF. MORIARTY

Sherlock Holmes’s archnemesis. Genius, devilish schemer, always one step ahead.

Starts with [A Small Pistol]

STR: 0 DEX: 0 INT: 2

HP: 7            MP: 7

The Dirty Work (P): Gain an additional Mana Point for every enemy encounter finished by another Umbral Champion.

Purges:

          Umbral Champions take part in purges all across Mount Transa. A purge involves exploring a tile-based arena to success or failure.

          Arenas consist of a 3x3 grid that contains a pathway the Umbral Champions must traverse. Within Arenas can be Enemies, Bosses, Chests, Keys, Locks, Traps, and the end goal. The GM will organize the tiles in any fashion and use as many repeating tiles as they wish to craft an Arena for the players to engage. Trap tiles are placed underneath tiles so they are not seen by the players, but can be revealed when a player activates them. Trap tiles deal a variable amount of DMG decided by the GM.

          This culminates in every purge being a new experience with new dangers to conquer.

Players can decide amongst themselves who to move first. And they can take two actions that can be:

• Move 1 tile
• Action Phase
• Resurrect an ally
• World interact

○      One use of skill and/or One attack action. (Players can choose to not use a skill)

          Multiple players can inhabit a tile and multiple enemies can be represented as one encounter on a tile. After a successful encounter players are invigorated and recover 1 point of health and mana to continue the fight.

Rewards:

          At the end of a purge, Umbral Champions will receive a reward for their efforts. They can also receive rewards from chests they encounter during a purge. Their rewards can range from:

• Increase in total Health
• Increase in total Mana
• Stat point(s) they can allocate into STR/DEX/INT
• Weapon(s)

Campaign:

10 Purges

Umbral Champions recover 1 HP and MP upon defeating an enemy and 1 skill point upon successfully completing a purge.

[First Purge]

A nearby village is prime for the taking. Strike fast and true and make yourself known to the world.

Place 5-10 total tiles. Include a Starting Point, End Point, 3-4 Enemy Encounters, and 1 Chest.

[Second Purge]

Some nations have deemed you a simple threat, show them how wrong they are by taking control of a local fort.

Place 15-20 total tiles, Include a Starting Point, End Point, 6-8 enemy encounters, and 1 Chest.

[Third Purge]

The world doesn’t take your power seriously. Siege the castle and destroy any that might think light of you.

Place 15-20 total tiles, Include a Starting Point, End Point, 6-8 Enemy encounters, 1 Key, 1 Lock, and 2 Chests. Include 2 trap tiles

[Fourth Purge]

Get to the throne room, with the King’s head at your feet the world will finally know a new age is upon them.

Place 10-15 total tiles, Include a Starting Point, End Point, 5-6 Enemy encounters, 1 Boss, 1 Key, 1 Lock, and 4 Chests. Include 2 trap tiles.

[Fifth Purge]

The nations have united and created a unified army. Show them how futile this is. Take your army and dispose of them.

Place 20-25 tiles, Include a Starting point and 10-12 Enemy Encounters. Purge is only complete when all enemies have been slain. Include 5 trap tiles.

[Sixth Purge]

Like a spear, thrust yourself upon their base encampment and put an end to this farce.

Place 10-15 tiles, Include a Starting point, End Point, 5 enemy encounters, and 2 chests.

[Seventh Purge]

Humans are ever so sly, just before you can deal the final blow you’ve received word that they have a detached force aiming for your homes. Protect your people before they have a chance to do any harm.

Place 10-15 tiles, Include a Starting point, a End point, 10 enemy encounters. Purge is only complete when all enemies have been slain.

[Eighth Purge]

Return back to their base. Finish the job.

Place 5-10 tiles. Include a Starting point, and 2 bosses. Purge is only complete when all enemies have been slain. Include 2 trap tiles.

[Ninth Purge]

The people’s hope against your oppressive force has shown its face. The Hero has appeared. Squash him like a bug.

Place 15-20 tiles. Include a Starting point, 5-8 enemy encounters, 1 boss, and 4 chests. Purge is only complete when all enemies have been slain.

[Tenth Purge]

The Dark Lord has betrayed you. He has grown fearful of your power. You stand between him and complete domination. Show him no mercy for he intends to stamp out your flame. End this game.

Place 10-15 tiles. Include a Starting point, and 1 boss. Purge is only complete when all enemies have been slain. Include 5 trap tiles.

The Dark Lord is slain, and the Umbral Army has lost its leader. With no head to this beast, its crumples and fractures. The once powerful army of the Dark Lord is scattered and Humanity saved. Seeing the terror that has been wrought, the Humans and Monsters make a peace treaty. Though your army is lost, peace has been gained, but at a terrible cost.

Example Templates:

Weapons:

[A Worn Cleaver]

[Melee] [STR] [2 DMG]

[A Wooden Stake]

[Melee] [DEX] [2 DMG]

[A small pistol]

[Range] [INT] [1 DMG]

Enemies:

Village Guard

[Melee]

HP: 3

Consequence: 1 DMG

Action: 1DMG x 2 time(s)

Mage

[Range]

HP:15

Consequence: 5 DMG Action: Can only attack through consequences.

Hero

[Melee][Range]

Consequence: 5 DMG

Action: 3 DMG x 3 time(s), roll d6 if above 4 stuns one target.