Rising Sun Pioneers -Character creation rules- 25 CP 30 SP Use Medieval Fantasy skillset for non-combat skills. All combat skills cost 5 SP. Gun combat is available, but heavy weapons are not. Characters must be human. No more than 20 points total in stats. No OBM. No Telepathy. No Dynamic Sorcery. Item of Power costs 3 points. One Bullet Left adds an extra round of ammunition when the character should have run out. Without magic, speed can be taken to level 2. Other Special Attributes and higher levels of speed can only be taken with magic. Psionics and psychics are not allowed. Magic is. See the magic section below. Accurate and Inaccurate are -2 and +2, respectively. Knockback is a unique weapon/magic attack that will knock a character back three meters per fifteen damage (ACV does not apply) should their target fail a body (acrobatics) roll. Mounted Warrior is a unique attribute that can only be taken at one level for one CP. It counteracts the penalties for defending on horseback (see the Skill Changes file). Judge Opponent will not give specific CV information; rather, it will detail relative strength to that character in the specialty Judge Opponent was bought in (Kensei, Gun Bunny, or Wang-Fu). In addition, Judge Opponent can possibly cancel Intimidation bonuses in dueling (see dueling rules below). Combat: The Attack and Defense skills and specializations have been changed. Check the Skill Changes file for further information. Wealth: Players start with 500 dollars or kanmon, depending on which country they are from. You can start with an extra 250 per level of the wealth attribute (1 point per level). Linguistics: (Specialties: Shomuran, Teckian, Injun, Sign Language, Smoke Signals) There is only one spoken language. However, there are multiple written languages: Shomuran, Teckian and Injun. Linguistics is used to represent the languages you can read and write. Each level will give you one additional language, the first level being your native language. If Linguistics isn't bought, the character does not know how to read or write, though they can tell the difference between the written languages. In addition, Linguistics can be taken to represent Sign Language and Smoke Signal knowledge. Magic: All spells are elemental in nature. Magic is cast by manipulating the mana in surroundings, and it's easier to cast spells when in the proper element. Stronger mana (and therefore stronger magic) is found in rarer elements. Mana in common elements is not as powerful, but is typically more reliable. For instance, earth spells almost always produce the desired effect, and drain the mage just as much as expected, because earth is so common. Fire, on the other hand, is much rarer; it's draining to cast magic without a form of fire present, and the spell may not produce the desired effects. On the other hand, if fire spells were cast in, say, a volcano, the mana would be easier to draw and the effects of the spell would be greatly increased. Because of this, many mages are prepared to adjust their surroundings to allow more favorable casting (even if it's as simple as a fire mage carrying a torch). Each spell must have an element, and elements are as follows: Earth - the ground, natural rocks and soil Fire - volcanoes, fire, heat Air - the open sky, wind Water - seas, lakes, rivers Lightning - fierce weather, imminent storms Metal - metal, money, machines Life - animals, plants, people Death - desolation, disease, decay Sound - music, noise Light - the sun Dark - the moon It should be noted that Death magic is used for plagues and the necromantic arts. Casting of this sort is highly illegal and punishable by execution no matter where you're from. Healing: Characters recover their Body stat in HP per day (double with proper medical attention, halved without resting). Energy is recovered much like body, but at the rate of Soul + Mind (halved without resting. It naturally tends to recover faster than HP, but there's no skill to improve it). The Recurring Nightmares defect affects the rate you heal. At level one, the character must make a soul roll for each night of rest. If the roll fails, the nightmare occurs, and the character doesn't rest, halving his or her HP/EP recovery. At level two, the character doesn't get to roll, and the nightmare occurs automatically. As magic, the healing attribute can be added to a weapon attack. This will make the attack heal instead of do damage. Taking No Damage with this attribute will also negate HP recovery, but can be used to do things like restore drained stats. Weapons: Weapons in the East are basically the same as those in Ancient Japan, and therefore their stats are unchanged from the book. Weapons in the West are a bit different than in the book. Pistols are revolvers. They do +5 damage, but have the limited shots (6) disability. There are light, medium and heavy revolvers, as in the book. Repeating rifles are identical to hunting rifles, only with +5 damage and the Unreliable defect – they jam. Bolt action rifles do 25 damage, but must be reloaded after every use. Shotguns as are the double barreled ones in the book. They can hit twice, but must be reloaded after every use. PCs with any guns are assumed to have extra ammo. Guns can be reloaded at any time, but it takes a round of combat to do so. Dynamite functions like a grenade with a set fuse, and requires a demolitions roll to use properly. If the check is failed, the character mistimed the fuse, and it may explode sooner or later than anticipated. Dueling: When it comes to duels in the East and shootouts in the West, the psychological aspect is as important as the physical one. As such, the Intimidation skill is extremely useful. Every level of Intimidation increases the initiative modifier for that character by one. So a character with level two intimidation would have a +2 initiative bonus. Note that Intimidation can be cancelled out with Judge Opponent. If someone can tell that you can't handle your gun or sword, all the intimidation in the world isn't going to help you. In addition to unique initiative rules, duels also operate under a different system than normal combat: It uses the dodge/block/take system. There are three things that happen when defending in a duel. 1) The defender avoids the attack and takes no damage. This occurs when the attacker fails the roll, or the defender makes the roll by more than the attacker. 2) The defender is hit by the attack, but manages to block, soak, or avoid enough of it to only take half damage. This occurs when the defender makes the roll, but by less than the attacker. 3) The defender is hit by the attack and takes full damage. This happens when the attacker makes the roll, and the defender fails. Kensei - Gun Bunny - Unarmed Combat: The following additional attributes are allowed. See http://besm.sandwich.net/EW/ for further details. Kensei: Delayed Strike Block Bullets (1/round/level, roll against DCV) Perfect Stroke The Air Pressure Thing Strike With No Thought One Strike, Two Cuts The Sudden Strike Strike First, Strike Last Gun Bunny: Judge Opponent Fighting Fire With Fire (1/round/level) Ricochet Shot The Arrow Knows The Way (-2/+2) Long Shot Shoot First, Shoot Last (Note: Functions like Strike First, Strike Last) Wang-Fu: Blindfighting Precise Strike Judge Opponent Midair Combat (doesn't require jump) Fighterdoken! Deflect/Catch Arrows (NOT bullets - 1/round/level) Strike With No Thought Strike First, Strike Last