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Rules of the Game

This chapter contains the complete rule system for the 5th edition of the Talislanta Fantasy Roleplaying Game. It includes:

Introduction

Talislanta is a role playing game (or RPG for short) designed for two or more players. One person must play the part of the Gamemaster (called the GM), while the others take on the role of Player-Characters (called PCs).

Object of the Game

Role playing games are like simulations of your favorite movie or television series. The Gamemaster helps establish the setting and the basic premise of each adventure, while the Players take on the roles of the series’ main characters. Together, the participants will create an ongoing series of adventures called a campaign. A Talislanta campaign is open-ended, and can last as long as the Gamemaster and Players like. The only object of the game is to have fun.

The Role of the Gamemaster

The Gamemaster plays a vital part in the Talislanta game, serving as a combination narrator, moderator, and role-player. As narrator, the GM must set the stage for each adventure the Players will undertake, helping to describe what the PCs see, hear, and sense about their surroundings. As moderator, the GM is required to judge the results of all actions undertaken by the PCs and to remain fair and objective at all times. As role-player, the GM must play the parts of all non-player characters (NPCs) and creatures that the PCs meet during the course of their game careers.

Gamemasters have to know the rules of the game, as well as the Talislantan milieu. They have to be creative, and they should always remember that the PCs are the focal point of the campaign. If the players are enjoying the game, the GM is doing a good job.

The Role of the Player

The main role of each player is to choose and create a Player-Character that will serve as his or her game persona. Because every PC must interact with the Talislantan milieu, you should be familiar with your character’s culture, homeland, and profession. Develop a personality for your PC: is he brave or cowardly, selfish or altruistic? What are his likes and dislikes? What is he afraid of, and what does he believe in? Does your PC have a goal in life? The more you know about your PC, the more interesting he or she will be to you and to the other players in the game.

Players should learn the basic rules of the game, particularly those that pertain directly to their character’s Skills and Equipment. The guidelines in the Character Creation section will tell you everything you need to know about making a good PC.

Materials

To play the Talislanta RPG you’ll need at least one twenty-sided die (called a d20). These can be found at any hobby or game store. Pencil and paper usually come in handy, too. Everything else you’ll need to play has been provided in this book.

Getting Ready to Play

Like most RPGs, Talislanta is not a “pick-up and play” type of game. To get the most out of your Talislanta campaign, the Gamemaster and players should spend some time looking through the Traveler’s Guide section of this book, which describes the continent of Talislanta and its diverse inhabitants. The Gamemaster’s Section in Chapter 6 contains advice on planning a Talislanta campaign that will be best suited to your group. The GM should read this section and discuss it with the players before beginning play.

The Action Table

All actions in the Talislanta game are resolved by a single, simple procedure:

  1. Compare the character’s Skill or Attribute Rating with the Degree of Difficulty (the relative ease or difficulty of the action).
  2. Take the difference (a positive number, a negative number, or zero) and add it to a d20 roll.
  3. Consult the Action Table for the result.

Action Table Key

Mishap: Not only does the attempted action fail, but it fails miserably and may have additional negative consequences (accidental damage to the character attempting the action, opposite of the intended effect, etc.). It’s the GM’s job to determine the actual results of any Mishap, based on the circumstances surrounding the attempted action.

Failure: The action fails to achieve the intended result.

Partial Success: The action is only moderately successful, achieving part but not all of the intended effect (such as half-damage from an attack or partial effect from a spell, for example).

Full Success: The action achieves the intended result.

Critical Success: The action is even more successful than intended, achieving the player’s stated intent and also yielding additional benefits of some sort (attack causes a Critical Wound that disables the opponent, increased effect from a spell, etc.). It’s the GM’s job to determine the actual results and extent of any Critical Success, based on prevailing circumstances.

Action Table Modifiers

Action Table die rolls may be subject to bonuses or penalties for any of the following modifiers:

Rolling the Dice

All actions in the Talislanta game are accomplished by rolling dice and comparing the result to the Action Table. This includes combat, skill use, spellcasting, resisting environmental conditions, etc. Various things go into this simple dice roll including a character’s stated intent for the action, how difficult the particular action might be, whether the action is opposed or not, etc.

Intent

Intent is a player’s description of what his or her character hopes to accomplish by a particular action. This helps the Gamemaster determine the chance of success for the attempted action, as well as its actual outcome. For example, the Intent of an attack might be to injure, disarm, trip, or any of a dozen other stratagems. If the player informs the Gamemaster beforehand of the character’s intentions, the GM will be better prepared to interpret the Action Table die result. Intent is also important in helping the GM establish an action’s Degree of Difficulty.

Degree of Difficulty

Degree of Difficulty is a modifier determined by the Gamemaster. It is based on the GM’s appraisal of how hard or easy it would be for an individual with an Attribute or Skill Rating of “0” to attempt a given action. The Degree of Difficulty modifier typically ranges between +10 and -10, with easy actions being given a bonus (+1, +2, etc.) on the Action Table die roll, and difficult actions being given a penalty (-1, -2, etc.). The character’s Intent and any extraordinary circumstances surrounding the proposed action are also factors in determining Degree of Difficulty.

Degree of Difficulty is covered in more detail in the Talislanta Options including detailed examples and suggested Degrees of Difficulty for many actions and tasks.

Opposed Actions

Whenever a character attempts an action that is directly opposed by another individual or creature, the opponent’s ability rating is used as the Degree of Difficulty. In such cases, the Degree of Difficulty will either be the opponent’s Skill Rating or an Attribute Rating, whichever is most appropriate.

Sherra the thief wants to use her Stealth skill to sneak past a watchman. Because this is an Opposed Action, the Degree of Difficulty is the watchman’s ability to detect the thief. The watchman has the Guard skill at rating 7. Sherra’s Stealth skill rating is 9. Sherra’s player rolls a d20 and adds +2 (the difference between Stealth 9 and Guard 7) to the roll. If the watchman had a Guard skill of +11, Sherra’s player would roll a d20 with a -2 modifier to the roll, instead.

Multiple Actions

As a basic rule, each character is allowed to take one action per round. Optionally, this rule can be modified to allow characters to take Multiple Actions in a single round. For each action already performed during the round, characters suffer a cumulative -5 Action Table penalty. Extra actions can be performed during a character’s turn, or later in the round as responses to the actions of other characters. The GM decides what constitutes an "action" and what doesn't. Simple things like quickly looking around a room or dropping an item probably aren't actions that would add to the multiple action penalty. More complex procedures like drawing a weapon or dismounting from an equs probably would count as extra actions. In some cases, the GM may ask the player to make a skill or attribute roll to determine the success of ordinary tasks performed as part of a multiple action sequence (a DEX roll to quickly throw off a bulky cloak and still make an attack, for example).

Thena the Danuvian Virago wants to throw her empty mug at a rude male across the table, then stand up and punch him in the face. First, Thena’s player makes an attack roll to hit with the mug. This is a normal attack roll since it is Thena’s first action during the round. Next Thena’s player rolls to see if she punches the male. This attack roll suffers a -5 penalty (in addition to any other modifiers) since Thena has already acted once during this round. If Thena wanted to then take a third action, her player would roll with a penalty of -10.

When making multiple actions in a round, the multiple action penalty can be offset by the character’s relevant Primary Attribute. For example, when attacking multiple times in a round, the character's SPD rating may be used to offset the multiple action penalty.

For example,

Thena has a SPD +2, therefore the penalty incurred above on her second action in the round would only be -3 instead of the normal -5.

Gamemasters should use their best judgement and discretion when allowing the multiple action penalty to be offset by a primary attribute.

For example, a character’s DEX rating may offset a multiple action penalty if the character was attempting to grab the rail of a pitching windship while also attempting to cast a spell or pick a lock, etc.

Note that a result of Mishap on any Multiple Action die roll prevents any additional action from being taken in that round. For example, if Thena’s first die roll results in a Mishap, she does not get to attempt the second action.