Buffy D6

Table of 
Contents

Introduction

Basics

Characters

Attributes
& Skills

Magic

Actions &
Combat

Equipment

Bestiary

Gamemaster's
Section

Links

Email

Guestbook
 

III.  CHARACTERS

TEMPLATES

In order to play Buffy D6, you'll need a character.  You can select one from the Templates section or create your own (see below).

Supernatural characters may have additional powers or Attribute Dice by sacrificing 4 Starting Skill dice.  Demons may choose 2 powers (see Bestiary: Demons); Slayers and Avatars start with 2 additional Attribute Dice;; Witches and other magic-users may put 1 D in Mana and choose a Witchcraft spell (see Magic: Witchcraft).  It may seem that 4 Skill Dice are a small price to pay for such powers, but players (and GM's) should remember that there are additional costs with choosing those character types:  Demons are generally recognizable and often hunted--even if they're benign; Slayers and Avatars have heavy responsibilities and numerous enemies; and magic-users walk a fine line between good and evil, with constant challenges and temptations.

ATTRIBUTES
Each character has 18 dice to divide among the six attributes Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Knowledge, Instincts, and Presence.  For Mundane characters, at least 1D must be placed in each attribute and no more than 4D can be assigned to any one attribute.  Supernatural characters may put up to 6D in anyone 1 Attribute, and up to 5D in two others.

Dice may be broken up into 3 "pips", or "+1's", per die (See example below).  A character may choose to start with 1D in Mana if he sacrifices 4D worth of his starting skill dice (see below).

    Strength:  measure of physical power.
    Dexterity: balance, speed, and reflexes.
    Constitution: physical and mental toughness.
    Knowledge:    breadth of education and intellectual development.
    Instincts:  perception and intuition.
    Presence:  charisma and social abilities.
    Mana:  mystical inner resources.
 

Example:  Dan is making a character named Lector, an Occultist. He decides to create his own template rather than use the one provided.  He comes up with the following Attributes:
    Strength:  3D
    Dexterity:  3D
    Constitution:  2D+2
    Knowledge:  4D
    Instincts:  2D+2
    Presence:  2D+2
    Mana:  1D (he will have 4 fewer Skill Dice to allocate for starting skills).

Note:  Once an Attribute is raised beyond XD+2, it moves to the next dice level (If Dan had assigned the "pip" in Technical to his Mechanical Skill instead, it would be 3D, not 3D+3).

See Attributes & Skills for further descriptions. 

DETAILS
Note:  This section serves the same purpose as that of the same name in the Star Wars rule book.

Description
    Describe your character:  How tall is he?  What kind of clothes does he wear?  Does he have any noticeable marks such as tattoos or scars?

Background
    Give your character a history.  Is she in high school?  Does she have a family?  Any friends?  GM's should encourage characters to develop a decent background, as the characters' associates will create fodder for future plotlines.

Personality
    Is your character a grouch?  Is she impulsive, always itching for a fight, or is she more thoughtful and cautious?

Objectives
    What does your character hope to gain?  Is she caught up in the battle between good and evil, but only wishes to be a normal girl?  Is he hoping to be a great hero?  Is he still looking for his place in life?

Connection to other Characters
    Usually, the character will be friends or associates.  But the GM may dictate that they are just meeting at the beginning of the game, allowing the characters to get to know each other as they begin to battle the forces of darkness.

CHOOSING SKILLS

Starting skills
    Characters start with 7 dice to allocate for starting skills.  Skill dice may be broken up into 3 pips, just as Attribute dice.

Witchcraft Spells:
    Characters who begin with 1D in Mana may choose one Witchcraft spell.  See Magic: Witchcraft for descriptions.

Specializations:
    Many skills have specializations which allow the character to focus on a certain aspect of the skill.  If a specialization is taken, a character may advance in that specialized aspect of the skill at half the normal cost of advancement.  However, uses of the skill not covered in the Specialization remain at the base skill level.

Example:  Lector has Melee Weapons at 4D.  He decides to specialize in Melee Weapons: Wooden Stake.  It will cost him  6 CP rather than 12 CP to advance to 5D.  Any time he uses a Wooden STake, he will get to roll 5D, but for all other Melee Weapons he will only roll 4D.
    Specializations may be selected at Character Creation.  When this occurs, the character's skill increases 2 pips for every 1 pip put in the skill.  Note:  Characters may not start with skills greater than 6D!

    Specializations are independent of the skill from which they are derived.  If the player later increases the skill, the Specialization does not increase.  If the Specialization increases, there is no change in the base skill.

Advanced skills:
    Some particularly complicated skills require two times the normal amount of Character Points to allow for Advancement.  They also typically require some other prerequisite skill.

GOOD & BAD KARMA
Karma symbolizes the inner strength of a character and her internal balance between good and evil.   A character may spend a maximum of one point of Karma per round to double the dice values of ALL actions in that round (See Using Karma).

Getting Good & Bad Karma
Every character starts with 1 Karma Point.  As Karma are spent, characters will have opportunities to gain additional Karma Points when performing heroically and may accrue Bad Karma when acting evilly.

Heroism:  When the character spends Karma to perform a heroic act, she gets the point back at the end of the adventure.  Examples of heroic action include:  risking harm to help others; fighting the forces of evil in any way; making a sacrifice for someone else.

Heroism at a Dramatic Moment:  When the character uses Karma to perform an action integral to the success in the adventure or at another very dramatic moment, she will not only regain the Karma point at the end of the adventure but may also be awarded another Karma point.  Examples include: defeating a major villain; preventing the Apocalypse (again); saving the life of the Slayer.
     Characters who do not have any Karma points but who act heroically at a dramatic moment may be awarded a new Karma point at the end of the adventure.

Pragmatic Action:  If the character uses Karma in a pragmatic, but non-heroic way, she will not gain an additional Karma point at the end of the adventure.  This includes:  avoiding danger; saving your own life; using it for personal gain (without harming another).

Doing Evil:  If the character uses Karma in an evil action, she will lose the Karma point permanently and will gain a Bad Karma point immediately.  Examples include:  killing or injuring someone for any reason other than self-defense or to aid others;  using magic when filled with anger and hate; using magic to accrue personal power over others.
     Characters should be reminded that a particular action will give them a Bad Karma points and given a chance to act otherwise.  Character's with Bad Karma points will have a tainted aura that will be noticeable by certain sensitive observers.  "Good" characters with Bad Karma will suffer from depression, mood swings, angry outbursts and similar un-fun behavior.

Turning Bad:  When a character gets a new Bad Karma Point, roll 1D. If the result is less than the number of Bad Karma Points the character has, the character has turned Evil (or, at least, mostly-evil).  The Gamemaster may decide to take control of the character, or should instruct the player that her character is now "in a bad place" to say the least. 

Being Bad:  Characters may spend Bad Karma Points just as they may spend Karma.  However, when they do, they automatically regain the Bad Karma point and will gain another.  Characters so indulging their evil side will quickly turn into soulless animals.

Penance:  Characters may rid themselves of Bad Karma by doing good acts, talking with friends, fighting the good fight and being nice to small animals.  This will usually take at least 2 adventures of the character "acting nice" and being sorry.

ADVANCEMENT
At the end of each adventure, players will usually be rewarded Character Points at the end of an adventure by the Game Master.  They may keep these CP's for later use or spend them on learning skills.  Game Masters should award no more than 5-10 CP's per adventure.

Increasing skill levels
    Skills increase by "pips" (e.g. from 3D to 3D+1, to 3D+2, to 4D).
    For normal skills, it costs a number of Character Points equal to the current dice value of the Skill.  Thus to advance from 4D to 4D+1, the player must spend 4 CP's.  Specializations cost 1/2 the current dice value (moving from 4D to 4D+1 would cost 2 CP's).  To learn a new skill, the character must spend 3CP's  to get the skill at a level equal to the controlling Attribute.

Example:  Lector has Crossbow at 4D and wants to increase it to 4D+2.  To do so, he must spend 8 CP (4 to get to 4D+1 and 4 more to get to 4D+2)..
Learning new skills
    As per Star Wars rules. 

Improving attributes
     For normal attributes use the standard Star Wars rules (10x current dice value).  Mana may be improved at a cost of 3x the current value..

RETURN TO MAIN PAGE.