Vector System/0.1

Vector System is a dicepool-based roleplaying game system intended for easy pickup and flexibility in both combat and noncombat situations.

Character Basics

Vital Statistic

All characters begin with a Rank, which is a number of dice. The dice must be even-sided. These dice then must be assigned to the five vital statistics:

• Agility: Speed, grace, and physical swiftness.
• Intellect: Brainpower and understanding.
• Psyche: Personal force of will.
• Senses: Aiming ability and general perceptiveness.
• Strength: Physical power and bodily toughness.

When undertaking a task, the dice from the relevant statistic are rolled. If the result of a die is even, it counts as a success. If the result is odd, it counts as a failure. Most tasks need only one success in order for the character to actually succeed at them; failures do not accumulate. For instance:

Character A wishes to research some information, rolling Intellect: 3d.

Gets one success and two failures.

Only the success matters, so the research is successful.

Difficult tasks have a penalty, which effectively eliminates one or more successes from the dice roll. For instance:

Character A wishes to force open a locked door, rolling Strength: 4d.

Lock gives the task a 1d penalty.

Gets two successes and two failures.

One success eliminated by the penalty.

One success remains, so the door is successfuly forced open.

When going against another character directly, a character can make an opposing roll, called a defense. Each success on the defense eliminates a success on the original roll. For instance:

Character A attempting to get into melee range with Character B, rolling Agility: 4d. Gets 2 successes.

Character B attempting to stay out of melee range with Character A, rolling Agility: 4d. Gets 3 successes.

B's successes eliminate A's successes, meaning the charge failed. B remains outside A's melee range.

In combat, the total number of successes comes into play. After making an attack, and the subsequent defense, the remaining successes are how much damage has been dealt. For instance:

Character A throws a punch at Character B, rolling Strength: 5d. Gets 3 successes.

Character B attempts to dodge the punch, rolling Agility: 3d. Gets 1 success.

B's success eliminates one of A's successes, leaving 2.

B takes 2 points of damage.

Damage is taken off a character's Endurance, which is equal to their initial Rank by default. However, perks can increase Endurance to make for tougher characters.

Perks and Skills

Perks and skills are character options that expand from the vital statistics. Characters get a number of attribute points equal to their initial Rank. They can spend these points on perks and skills, which have varying costs dependent on their effectiveness.

Equipment

Equipment items are further character options, but can be more easily accrued, swapped out, and lost than perks and skills. Characters get a number of equipment points equal to their initial Rank. They can spend these points on equipment, much like perks and skills.

Conflict Basics

Actions

When undertaking any form of conflict, you are limited to three actions per turn. Any or all of these actions can be attacks, but consistently spending all three actions on simple attacks is dangerous. Moving, switching weapons, and using special abilities all take actions as well.

Because of this action limit, all three forms of conflict are interchangeable: a character can hack a computer while companions provide protection, or a stealthy break-in can turn into a firefight in an instant without skipping a beat.

Turn order is determined by initiative. What you roll for basic initiative depends on the type of conflict. For combat, it is Agility, for hacking it is Intellect, and for stealth it is Senses. Certain perks can add dice to your initiative roll. The number of successes indicate the order in which to progress, starting with the highest and proceeding to the lowest in a cycle until the conflict is resolved.

Combat

Conditions

During the course of combat, characters can be affected by conditions, which can impose penalties or bonuses on their actions.

• Bleed: You take additional hits every turn, specified by the initial attack, until 0 Endurance or the condition is ended somehow.
• Dazed: You take a 1d penalty to your next defense roll.
• Hidden: When making an attack, the target counts as Surprised, but you lose your status of being hidden.
• Pinned: You cannot move, and you take a 1d penalty to all rolls on your turn.
• Slowed: You take a 1d penalty to Agility.
• Surprised: Any attack made against you does full hits. For example, a 4d attack does 4 hits. You can still dodge or soak the damage.
• Unconscious: You are out and can make no actions until you are revived. Usually the result of reaching 0 Endurance.

Range

When in combat, characters are always in one of three ranges, relative to each other: melee range, short range, or long range. Any character further away than long range is considered to be out of combat.

At melee range, characters can engage in melee combat with one another. Most ranged weapons take a penalty at short range, due to the difficulty of engaging close targets. A character can make an Agility roll to move from melee range to short range.

At short range, characters are too far away from each other to engage in melee combat. They are still close enough to talk with each other. Ranged weapons are at their most effective in this range, taking no penalty. A character can make an Agility roll to move from short range to either melee range or long range.

At long range, characters are too far away to engage in melee combat, talk with each other, or even see each other clearly. Most ranged weapons take a penalty at long range, due to the difficulty of aiming at distant targets. A character can make an Agility roll to move from long range to short range.

A is directly adjacent to B, putting them within arm's reach of each other, meaning they are in each other's melee range. C is slightly further away, but still close enough for both A and B to reach quickly, meaning C is in their melee range as well. A, B, and C are all considered to be within the same area for the purposes of splash damage.

D is at short range from A and the others, and therefore cannot be targeted by melee attacks. If A were to charge D successfully, they would end up in melee range. At short range, D can make ranged attacks without penalty against A.

E is at melee range from D, but at short range from A. If D was attacking E with a ranged weapon, he would take a penalty from the close proximity of his intended target E.

Weapons

Weapons come in several varieties: melee, ranged, explosive, and fighting styles. Melee weapons can only be used in melee combat, as extensions of the self. Ranged weapons can be used at any range, but usually take a penalty at melee range. Explosive weapons hit everything within melee range of the intended target, including the wielder if they are within that range.

Fighting styles are not exactly weapons, they are techniques used in combat that provide a character with an edge or bonus when undertaking particular combat actions. But as they increase a character's combat effectiveness, they can be considered weapons.

Equipping or swapping a weapon takes a combat action. Having your weapon ready at all times may make you more prepared for combat, but it will also make you look threatening and occupy your hands, which may not work out well.

Some larger weapons require an additional combat action to deploy. When a weapon is deployed, the character wielding it cannot move, and takes a 1d penalty to dodge attempts. Stowing a weapon is a free action, allowing the character to move elsewhere and deploy again.

Weapons can deal additional hits. These are extra dice that are rolled after a successful attack, and can potentially increase the damage dealt. For example, if a character attacks with 4d using a weapon that does 2d additional hits, then if the attack is successful, they then roll the extra 2d. Some weapons may only deal additional hits on targets with the right condition.

Hacking

Access

Hacking requires gaining access to servers. Servers are connected to each other, but not always directly. Sometimes a route must be taken through several servers in order to reach the intended goal.

When a character starts hacking, they have to gain control over an initial server as a starting point. Once they have control of that starting point, they can attempt to gain access to the servers connected to it, and then the servers connected to those servers.

Barkley Central Bank

username: admin password: *************

System Menu 1. Open new account 2. Close existing account 3. Transfer funds 4. Credit card functions 5. ATM master control 6. Connect to security system 7. Connect to employee database

Select an option: _

To access a server, the character rolls their Intellect (plus any bonuses), and the server rolls its defense value. The more secure a server, the higher the defense value. Like in combat, the server's successes eliminate the character's successes. Defeating the server (by having at least one success remaining) allows the character to control that server and connect to all the servers it is linked to.

North Point Police Department

username: a.reynolds password: ********

Welcome Officer Reynolds Please select an option from the list.  [C]riminal records  [D]uty roster  [P]risoner database  Connect to [E]vidence database  Connect to [S]ecurity system  Connect to county [J]ail

Most servers have special properties. Some may be repositories of information, or control security measures. Others might give bonuses to continued hacking attempts, such as gaining access to password files. If directly trying to break into the main data reserve is too difficult, finding a "back door" may be a better option, although it will take more time.

Tools

Most hacking is done "unarmed" by exploiting existing loopholes in the system. However, some hacking, such as on-the-spot overrides, will require tools. These tools may be physical, such as signal-scramblers for example, or immaterial, like viruses and computer programs. Both count as equipment, and can be purchased as such.

The particular types of tools available depends on the kind of technology used in the setting.

Stealth

Hiding

Remaining unseen is an important aspect of stealth. Hiding is a movement to find cover, and so is an Agility roll. Anyone in the vicinity can roll Senses to keep a character in sight, but like with any defense, their successes must beat the original roll in order for that to happen.

Once hidden, a character can move around and undertake other tasks, but attacking will reveal their presence and may make it impossible to hide again. When making a roll to do anything while hidden, the character takes a 1d penalty to stay hidden. If the roll fails, the character is no longer hidden, but will still have completed the task if the roll only fails by 1d.

The environment can provide a bonus or a penalty to rolls. Bright light will act as a penalty, darkness as a bonus. Ongoing combat can provide a bonus due to the distraction and noise.

Security

Security measures can come in many forms, but all of them are obstacles in the path of a stealthy character. They can be avoided physically, such as staying out of sight of a CCTV camera, by means of an Agility roll. They can also be shut down, sometimes in a variety of ways, from hacking into the security mainframe, to smashing them into pieces. Some approaches may work better than others.

Each security measure has a defense value that signifies how difficult of an obstacle it is. When avoiding a security measure, a character rolls their Agility against its defense value. Sometimes the combined defense values of an area may be too much for a stealthy approach, and a more direct approach may be required, either by finding a way to shut down the security measures, or simply by not caring about them.