I wrote Brigand on an airplane, and really just established the most basic sketch of how weapons and spells work. Brigand plays around with concepts introduced in Flail, including the elimination of damage rolls, an emphasis on dice-pool to-hit rolls, and the use of poker-style sets in the dice pool to activate additional effects. I hope it will not be the last Flail-like that is created.
However, Flail is fairly complex, with a good number of character options, a (relatively) high power level at level 1, and a heavy emphasis on complex classes. I tend to prefer my games to be classless, more rules-lite, and more focused on inventory rather than defined character abilities.
I was playing around with the system further, and realized one key thing I like to have is missing; the equivalent of Thief and Ranger skills. So, I wrote those up too, again relying on the same core mechanic of rolling 1s in a dice pool to adjudicate whether they work. I also noticed two fairly important spells I forgot to include. See an updated version below, or download it on Itch.
Brigand is also part of Minimalist TTRPG Jam 5, which was a great motivator to get it finished and published! Check it out now and make your own entry!
BRIGAND
The Gold Road connects many of the great empires. Where there's roads, there's merchants. Where there's merchants, there's brigands; hard people, used to arms and armor and magic and their use. A shade over half the Brigands on the road are self-employed, and the other half work for the merchants. You make your story on one side or the other.
Four Attributes: str, dex, con, spirit. Roll 4d6 for each attribute, and record the value of the lowest dice rolled.
HP: 1d8 to start. Die if it goes to 0.
Inventory: spend 3 points on weapons, armor, skills and spells. Each weapon, piece of armor, skill or spell costs 1 point unless listed below. May also spend a point to increase an attribute by 1.
2: all two handed melee weapons. Longbow. Lamellar & chain armor. Spells with DC of 8
3: crossbow, plate armor, spells with DC 10.
Also start with a pack or bag with a sleeping roll, some food, and 3 other useful items of your choice. Decide what they are now, or reveal them during play.
Tests: roll d20 under appropriate attribute + 8.
Initiative: player closest to the action tests dex. On a success, party acts first. Else, opponents. Reroll at the start of each round.
Weapons: roll d6 indicated by attribute + weapon bonus. If one 1: deal damage. If two 1s: deal double damage. If three 1s: kill the target. Additionally, dice other than 1s can be allocated to specials. Each dice can only count towards one special, and 1s may not be used for specials.
If a 6 is rolled and no 1s are, fumble. Weapon breaks, character hits themself, or an ally, etc.
If dual wielding, add the attack bonus for both weapons to the TH roll OR deal the damage of both weapons on a hit. May activate specials from either weapon, but each dice may still be used for only one special.
Knife dex or str + 1d6 = 2 dmg (pair: make a second attack which cannot activate specials, triple: make a second and third attack which cannot activate specials, run of 3: bleed an opponent, doing 2 damage per turn for the duration of the fight)
Sabre dex or str + 2d6 = 3 dmg (pair: second attack which cannot activate specials, triple: make a second and third attack which cannot activate specials, run of 3: treat as a shield on your next turn)
Sword str + 3d6 = 4 dmg (triples: make a second attack which cannot activate specials, run of 2: treat as a shield on your next turn, quad: decapitate your opponent)
Greatsword (2 handed) str + 3d6 = 6 dmg (triples: decapitate your opponent, run of 3: treat as a shield on your turn)
Hand Axe str + 3d6 = 4 dmg (triples: rip an item out of your opponents grasp, pair: the dice value that rolled pairs explodes, adding that many more dice to the TH roll.)
Greataxe (2 handed) str + 4d6 = 6 dmg (pair: rip an item out of your opponents grasp, triples: the dice value that rolled triples explodes, adding that many more dice to the TH roll, run of 2: deal damage to all opponents in an arc)
Mace str + 4d6 = 5 dmg (pair: ignore the piece of armor with the lowest value, triples: break the piece of armor with the lowest value, run of 2: stun an opponent, meaning they can only act or move on their next turn)
Flail str+2d6 = 7 dmg (pair: ignore shields, triples: break the piece of armor with the lowest value, run of 2: rip an item from the opponents hand)
Quarterstaff dex or str+2d6 = 3 dmg (may always reserve an attack to attack when an opponent approaches you, pair: make a second attack which cannot activate specials, run of 3: hobble an opponent preventing them from moving on their next turn)
Javelin str+2d6 = 3 dmg (pair: stick the javelin in an opponents shield or armor, losing the javelin but forcing opponent to lose the armor or have movement halved, may throw the javelin using dex)
Spear str+ 3d6 = 4 dmg (pair: hobble an opponent preventing them from moving on their next turn), may always reserve an attack to attack when an opponent approaches you, may throw the spear using dex)
Polearm (2 handed) str+ 4d6 = 5 dmg (pair: hobble an opponent preventing them from moving on their next turn, triple: break a piece of armor, run of 3: treat as a shield for you and all allies adjacent to you)
All below require 2 hands.
Crossbow dex+5d6 = 8 dmg (requires a turn to reload, pair: ignore the piece of armor with the lowest armor value)
Shortbow dex+3d6 = 4 dmg (pair: second attack which cannot activate specials, triple: make a second and third attack which cannot activate specials)
Longbow dex+1d6 = 8 dmg (triples: make a second attack which cannot activate specials, run of 3: ignore all armor)
Hands str + dex + 0 = (number of d6s rolled). (Pair: Disarm an opponent, triple: break a limb, run of 2: shove away or to the ground, run of 3: Knock your opponent out)
Armor reduces damage taken. May break a shield to reduce damage taken to 0.
Shield (3)
Helmet (3)
Leather (2) (can be worn under chain, lamellar or plate)
Chain (4)
Lamellar (6)
Plate (8)
The Nine Skills
- skills represent things that the average person would have no chance of succeeding at.
- to use a skill, roll d6s equal to a relevant attribute. If a 1 is rolled, succeed. If no 1s are rolled, fail. If a 6 is rolled and no 1s are, fumble.
- on a failure, the character spends time attempting the task, but does not succeed. They can generally spend more time to attempt the task again, and often have a higher chance of succeeding than the first time around. On a fumble, characters fail so badly the same task cannot be attempted again.
1. Scale sheer vertical surfaces.
2. Pick someone's pockets.
3. Move silently and unseen
4. Hide in plain sight
5. Pick locks with whatever tools are on hand.
6. Track an animal or person.
7. Forage for medicinal herbs to heal a wound or cure a disease.
8. Travel at a faster pace for overland travel.
9. Provide emergency medical aid with whatever is on hand.
The Twelve Spells
- when casting a spell, roll d6s equal to spirit. If the sum of the dice hits the target number listed by the spell, the spell casts; on a failure, lose the spell for the day. Additionally, dice rolled may be used to activate combos. Each dice may only be used for one special.
- If a 6 is rolled, and no 1s are, fumble. The spell targets the caster, or an ally, or summons a demon, or shifts everyone d100 years into the future or the past. I mean, really go nuts here.
- Magic is Vancian. Each spell is a series of arcane symbols, hand gestures, and words, initially contained in a scroll, that must be memorized and pictured in the mind or said out loud to cast the spell. "Losing" the spell means forgetting the words and symbols. It takes a few hours to re-memorize it.
Sleep (6): in a 10ft square, creatures fall asleep. (Triples: targets lose memory of the 5 minutes before they fell sleep)
Firebolt (6): 5 damage, 1 target. (Run of 2: 5 foot explosion, dealing damage to all in radius, pair: target is set afire for 2 damage per turn, run of 3: 15 foot explosion dealing damage to all in radius)
Magic missile (6): 3 damage (pair: add a second bolt which may target the same or different target, triples: add two more bolts, run of 2: all targets start glowing)
Fog Cloud (6): 10 ft cube of thick fog (triples: it's tear gas; those in the fog can't see even when they get out, run of 3: the fog is acid, burning all inside for 5 points per turn)
Arcane Eye (8): flying eyeball you can see through appears and moves at your command through the air for minutes equal to your spirit. (pair: double the duration, triples: triple it, run of 3: the eye is invisible)
Flight (10): a creature can swim through air. (Triples: fly at the speed of a duck, run of 3: fly at the speed of a jet)
Hand of Helping (6): a spectral hand appears, which you control, and which can lift up to 15 pounds (pair: the hand is the size of a suitcase and made of dirt, triples: the hand is the size of a gorilla and made of stone, run of 2: the hand can lift up to 100 lbs, run of 3: the hand can lift up to 10000 lbs)
Switch (8): two items up to the size of a large book you can see switch places (pair: items up to the size of a suitcase, triples: items or people up to the size of a horse, run of 2: no need to see both items, run of 3: no need to see either item)
Charm Person (6): choose a person. That person regards you fondly. (Pair: Affect a group max size equal to the total of the spellcasting roll, triples: the person/people continue to regard you as a friend regardless of how you treat them. Run of two: you may give those affected a command, which will be followed unless it causes harm to someone, Run of 3: you may give those affected a command, which will be followed even if it causes harm to someone)
Detect Magic (6): Roll d4: 1 sight 2 sound 3 touch 4 smell. Magic becomes perceptible to you using that sense. (Pair: learn the nature of a magical effect, who casted it, and when, Triples: you can dispel one ongoing magical effect, Run of two: you can choose which sense you use to perceive magic, Quads: the next time a spell is cast near you, you can choose to cancel the effect it creates)
Break (8): an item you can see breaks in such a way that it cannot perform its primary function. (Triples: the item disappears entirely, run of 3: you can reshape the item to your will)
Quicksand (8): 5 ft square of ground becomes sinking quicksand. (Pair: 10 ft square, triples: 20 ft square, run of 3: the quicksand houses tendrils that draw all with 10 feet of it inwards)
Advancement:
Find new weapons or spells in the world.
If you solve a problem for someone, complete a quest, or take vengeance on an enemy who wronged you, choose 1: gain 3 attribute increase points, increase HP by 1d8.
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