Buffy D6: Basics & Game Mechanics

Buffy D6

Table of
Contents

Introduction

Basics

II. The Basics
This game is based on West End Game's D6 system, specifically its Star Wars Role-Playing Game. I recommend picking up a Star Wars rule book (available at some game stores and on many online auctions) to fill in gaps that I don't cover here. If you have any questions or comments, please email me and I'll try to answer them for you.

GAME MECHANICS

The Dice
The system requires players to roll six-sided dice (D6), which represent a character's attributes and skills. When appropriate, the Game Master will tell a player to roll a number of dice equal to either the attribute or skill being used. The player rolls the appropriate number of dice, adds the values together and tells the GM the sum. If the sum is equal to or greater than the difficulty number (See below), the character succeeds. If it is lower, the character fails.

Example: Lector is trying to walk along a thin ledge without falling. He has a Dexterity of 3D. The GM sets a difficulty number and then the player controlling Lector will roll 3 dice and sum the results to see if he is successful.
Example 2: Lector is trying to convince a police officer to let him take a look at a crime scene. He has a Persuasion skill of 2D+2. The GM sets the difficulty and the player controlling Lector will sum the result of 2 dice and add 2.

The Wild Die
Each player should designate one of his or her dice to be the Wild Die (it is helpful if it's a different color or shape).

Whenever the the Wild Die comes up with a 2,3,4, or 5, add the result to the other dice as normal. But, if the Die comes up with a 6, add 6 to the dice total and roll the Wild Die again and add the new value to the dice total. If another 6 comes up, roll and add again. This continues as long as the player continues to roll 6's on the Wild Die.

Example: Lector has a Crossbow skill of 4D. When he fires, he rolls 4 dice. His values are 2,5,3 and on the Wild Die, a 6, resulting in 16. He rolls the Wild Die again and gets another 6! The total is now 22 and he gets to roll again. This time, he gets a 1 and adds that to the sum to get a 23 for his shot.

If the Wild Die comes up with a 1 when a character is first rolling a Skill or Attribute Check, roll the Wild Die again. If the value is 1 through 5, remove the Wild Die and the die with the highest value from the dice to be added.

Example: Lector is shooting again. He rolls a 2,5,6 and on the Wild Die a 1. He rerolls the Wild Die and gets a 2. He removes the Wild Die and the die that came up 6 and adds the remaining two dice together to get 7.

If the second Wild Die roll comes up to be a 6, then the character has Complicated. He or she has screwed up in a particularly bad way...perhaps dropping his weapon down into a sewer grating or twisting an ankle while trying to dodge. Complications should make a character's life more difficult, but never kill them outright.

Example: Lector is running away from a pair of vampires down a wet alley full of debris. The GM has him make a running roll with a difficulty of 10 to avoid colliding with a garbage can. Lector, with a Running skill of 3D, rolls 3 dice. He gets a 2,3 and on the Wild Die a 1. He rerolls the Wild and gets a 6! He not only fails but complicates. The GM tells him that he not only trips over the garbage can, but he falls on his vial of holy water, breaking it. He will be defenseless if the vamps catch up with him!

The GM could have just as well said that Lector got a muscle cramp and is -1D to all Dexterity actions for the next 5 rounds, or that he is stunned for the next round. Anything that makes Lector's life a little more scary.

Difficulty Numbers
When a character makes an Attribute or Skill check, they are usually rolling against a difficulty number. Difficulties are divided into the following categories:

Difficulty	Difficulty Numbers	Description
Very Easy	1-5	Anyone should be able to do this most of the time. Example: Driving a car in moderate traffic.
Easy	6-10	Most characters should be able to do this most of the time, though there is still a change for failure. Example: Driving a car in moderate traffic during a rainstorm.
Moderate	11-15	Requires a fair amount of skill and/or effort. Most unskilled characters will fail such an attempt. Example: Staking a vampire right in the hear when he's standing still.
Difficult	16-20	Only highly skilled characters succeed at these with any regularity. Example: Driving through an intersection full of speeding cross traffic.
Very Difficult	21-25	Even pros have a hard time pulling these attempts off. Example: Steering your car into oncoming traffic and avoiding collisions while at high speeds.
Extremely Diff.	30-40	Only the luckiest and most skilled are successful. Example: Throwing a wooden stake through the heart of a vampire at 20 feet.
Heroic	40-50	The stuff of legends. Example: casting a spell that binds the essences of 4 people into 1 in order to create one powerful entity.
Unearthly	50-75	A character must have advanced supernatural powers to even consider the attempt. Example: Successfully casting a spell to restore a vampire's soul.
Impossible	75+	Only rare beings of unique power will succeed. Practically godlike. Example: Successfully bringing someone back from the dead (in a normal, un-zombie-like state).

Opposed Rolls
When a character is testing his or her Attributes or Skills against those of another (PC or NPC), the parties involved make Opposed Rolls. The one with the highest roll wins.

Example: One character tries to shoot another. The first makes a Firearms roll while the other makes a Dodge roll. If the attacker's roll is higher than the others' Dodge, then he hits.

Character Points
A character may spend his or her Character Points to gain additional dice during an action. They receive an additional die for each point spent. A character may spend up to 3 CP's per action or attack, and up to 5 CP's for any defensive action (Dodging, Constitution rolls versus damage, etc.). If the die purchased with a CP comes up a 6, the player may re-roll it and add the new value to the total (as for the Wild Die, though there is no penalty for rolling a 1). Though CP's may be used to augment an attack, they may not be used to increase damage.

Example: Lector gets punched by a demon for for 23 points of damage. He rolls his Constitution of 3D and gets a 10. That's 13 points below the damage level, which is Mortally Wounded. Lector's player decides to spend some Character Points. He spend one for an additional die and gets a 5, reducing the difference to 8, meaning Lector's Wounded. The player decides to spend an additional CP and rolls a 6! He gets to roll again and gets a 4, which means his Constitution roll is 2 over the damage roll. Lector suffers no damage from the attack!

Character Points may not be used the same around that Karma is used.

Karma Points
Karma represents a character's inner strength and (possible) cosmic "luck". When a character spends a Karma point, all skill and attribute dice totals are doubled for that entire round. Anything which is not part of a character (a weapon or vehicle), is not affected.

Example 1: Lector is in hand-to-hand combat with an vampire. He decides to spend a Karma point one round. His Melee Weapon: Stake skill is normally 4D. This round, it will be 8D. He would normally do 4D+2 points of damage with the wooden stake (if he fails to stake the vampire right in the heart and kill him instantly). This round, he will do 8D+4 points of damage.
Example 2: Lector is firing his crossbow at a demon and decides to spend a Karma point. His Crossbow skill doubles from 4D to 8D, but the Crossbow's damage (4D) remains the same..

See Characters: Karma for rules about using and regaining Karma. Remember, Karma may not be used the same round Character Points are spent.

Effect Value
Some successes (and failures) are more dramatic than others. For each 10 points (round down) a character rolls over the base Difficulty for an action, he will have an additional Effect Value of 1. This may increase damage by 1D for each Effect Value or simply result in a more advantageous outcome.

Example 1: Lector is firing his crossbow at a demon again. The Difficulty is 10. The player rolls Lector's Crossbow skill and ends up with a 31 (nice shooting). Because that is 20 over the Difficulty, he has an Effect Value of 2 and adds 2D to the damage roll from the crossbow.

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