Game Rules

Here you can view or download a copy of the full Official Game Rules for the Sol RPG. Simply click Here and you’ll find a Google Docs file. It lists out every game rule we have in its entirety and we will be updating it as we add future content to the game.

The Full Rules are also displayed below as a reference, though we suggest using the Google Doc file because it has a handy-dandy table of contents as well.

SOL RPG: OFFICIAL GAME RULES

 

INTRODUCTION

Ever want to barter with pirates on a space station, battle aliens by smashing them with a door, or crash and spaceship into a base while blaring music out the back of your stolen dropship? Then Sol is the game for you, because not only can you do those things but Sol wants you to do them.

Live the dream. Create that tough-as-nails, futuristic space warrior with a heart of gold only to watch them get splattered by the very angry alien with a giant ice warhammer. In Sol, it can happen.

Sol is an action-adventure style tabletop role-playing game, or RPG, where half the fun is exploring a constantly growing universe and the other half is killing everything you find there. Set in a sci-fi future around the year 2600, Sol is about creating a living, breathing science fiction universe with the use of some fun game mechanics and a little bit of imagination.

In a roleplaying game, or RPG, players create characters and act out their adventures, using dice rolls to decide if any actions the character makes are successful or fail terribly. These adventures, or Campaigns, are controlled by one player referred to as the Game Master, or the GM. The GM creates the start of the story for the other players to enjoy and serves the storyteller and the referee for all the players’ actions. The GM also controls the other people the players might meet along the way.

Sol is also unique as the first live updating roleplaying game. We, the creators, will constantly be releasing new and tweaked content as we create it. Expect new features, classes, and items to appear as we add to the game. We will also be updating these Game Rules with every major release of content. You can find digital copies of the Game Rules and other content at solrpg.wordpress.com.

We also want your input. Once you start playing, you can send us any feedback you might have. Any comments, concerns, or even ideas for new content.

To make it easier to play Sol, we’ve also created a free mod for the video game Tabletop Simulator, available through Steam. For help on installing the mod, please visit solrpg.wordpress.com/installing/.

We really hope you enjoy this game. Happy campaigning!

GAMEPLAY

How To Use The Rules

This document is meant to outline the basic ways to play Sol and explain the core game mechanics. Its divided into a few key sections that explain the basic rules of gameplay, how to create a character, how the inventory and item system works in the game, how roleplaying and character interaction works, and how to use the combat system.

The most important thing to remember though, is that these rules exist as guidelines we’ve laid out to make a fun and interesting role playing game. While the rules are definitely a part of what makes Sol what it is, they are not set in stone.

We will be updating these rules constantly as we change the gameplay or introduce new elements. And again, these rules are meant to be a guideline. There’s only one core rule to Sol.

When in doubt, do what will be the most interesting or the most fun

If you encounter a situation where you, the players, disagree with the rules, by all means ignore what we’ve written here if you think your solution will make the game a more enjoyable experience. If the GM and the rules come in conflict, let the GM make the final decision.

This game is meant to be an imaginative experience between the players and the GM, try your best to make each campaign as fun as possible.

How To Play

There are 2 types of players in Sol. One player takes on the role of the Game Master, or GM. Their job is to act as the director of the story and referee over the gameplay. They set up the campaign for the other players, control all the Non-player Characters, or NPCs, in the game, and describe the story to the other players.

The GM is the one who designs the story he/she wants the players to explore. They have to plan out what goal or objective the players have for the campaign and be quick enough to replan when the characters decide to take the campaign in a totally different direction. The GM is also responsible for creating the game board and all the NPCs who exist in the world.

The rest of the players create Player Characters, or PCs, who live in the world created by the GM and go on adventures in that world. The PCs are created by the imagination of the players and can be as similar or as different from the players as they want. A group of PCs is a Party.

During gameplay, the GM will describe the environment to the players, explaining what they can see, hear, and smell. This gives the players options for what they can accomplish in that environment. (For example: You find yourselves in a small room. There is a metal table, 4 wooden chairs, and a door at the far end of the room locked with a large metal padlock and a chain.)

The players will then describe what they want to do in that environment. Sometimes a single player may speak for the whole party as a party leader. Other times each player may wish to explain exactly what their PC does in the environment. The players actions can vary from investigating something to attacking another person but it is their choice on what they want their PC to do. (Cont’d example: We decided to try and break the chain and open the door)

Finally, the GM describes the results of the players actions. Sometimes this may be decided by a dice roll. Other times the GM may simply narrate how the environment changes or reacts to the players’ actions. This now brings everything back to the first point where the GM is describing the environment in its new changed state and the players now have a chance to describe their next actions again.

This basic gameplay flow is the core of any RPG and Sol is no different.

The Game Board

Sol is played on a physical game board that has a layout of the environments the PCs will be playing in. This can take almost any form, from individual rooms of different builds to massive space stations depending on the campaign itself. These environments or Maps are created by the GM and will hold all the other pieces during the course of a campaign.

The map itself is set up on a large grid. PCs and NPCs exist on this grid as small tiles or miniatures. A player tile should usually take up only one grid space, although there are exceptions for larger creatures. For reference, a single grid space is roughly the equivalent of a 5 foot by 5 foot square. PCs and NPCs can and will move around the grid during the course of gameplay as they explore different locations. How movement works will be covered later in the Rules.

Game Dice

In Sol, the success or failure of almost any action is decided by a dice roll. Sol uses a selection of a few different multi-sided dice, but primarily relies on a 20 sided die for most dice rolls during gameplay. Sol will use a common notation to refer to different types of dice by using a letter ‘d’ followed by the number of sides: a d6 would be a 6 sided die while a d20 is a 20 sided die.

If a dice roll requires more than a single dice, the number of dice is added before the ‘d’ in the notation; a 2d6 would be rolling 2 six-sided dice. Alternatively you could also roll a single 6 sided die twice.

Sol makes use of 3 types of dice; a d20, a d10, and a d4. The d20 is used for determining the outcome of any and every action requiring a dice roll. Firing a rifle, leaping over a chasm, searching through a computer system, or bluffing a military guard, all of it is determined by a roll of a d20.

d20 Outcome Table

d20 Roll 1 2-7 8-11 12-19 20
Outcome Critical failure Failure Possible Success Success Critical Success

As listed in the table, typically a roll of 12 or higher will result in the character successfully completing their action while a 7 or lower means the character failed to complete their action. If a character rolls an 8-11, it means it’s a possible success depending on the GM’s interpretation. If the action is particularly difficult (Say a character who already needs glasses trying to run through a cloud of smoke while dizzy) than even an 11 may not be quite good enough to succeed. However a simpler task (Such as genius scientist finding a piece of information in a library) may still succeed on even an 8.

There are 2 special cases when it comes to rolls on the extreme edges referred to as criticals, or Crits.

Rolling a 1, a critical fail, means not only did the character fail to accomplish their action but they actually messed up so badly that it put them in an even worse position than when they started (Ex. Trying to tackle a character only to miss and trip themselves.). How exactly a critical fail happens is ultimately up to the GM, but should result in an interesting if unfortunate twist in the story.

Rolling a 20, a critical success, on the other hand, means that the character not only succeeded but they also managed to make the outcome of their action the best it could possibly be. (Ex. A thief tries to steal a wallet. Not only does he get the wallet, but in it he finds the security code to the secret base the players need to sneak into.) Similar to a critical fail, the exact outcome of a critical success is up to the GM. The best rule to follow when it comes to any crits is that it should be a result that creates the most interesting story, and not necessarily just the best outcome the character wants at the moment.

When using a d20, the GM may allow for Modifiers, which can take the form of bonuses or debuffs. A bonus modifier is an addition to a roll, making the roll easier while a debuff modifier is a subtraction from the roll to make it more difficult.

(Ex. A GM says a character gets a +1 to a roll, meaning if the character rolls a 10, +1 will be added to that and the roll would be considered an 11.)

One thing to remember as that crits will always take precedence over modifiers. A 20 is always a successful roll and a 1 is always a failure.

Sol uses 4d10 when it comes to character creation and rolling for a character’s base stats. That will be explained further in the Character Creation section. A d4 is used for a few specific class abilities, which will be also covered in Character Creation. Finally, Sol also uses a flipped coin to in some occasional cases. If any action or ability requires something other than a d20 to be used, the action or ability will specifically state what should be used instead.

Gameplay Styles

In Sol there are two main styles of gameplay that both GM and players will go through during a campaign; Roleplay and Combat. Both of these styles act as different phases in the game and the gameplay will alternate back and forth between the two over the course of any campaign.

Roleplaying, as the name suggests, is when you play the role of a certain character. During this phase, you act out the actions of your character, describing what they do and how they interact with the world around them as if you were that character. This can be tricky because any given character may have different goals, emotions, or even an entirely different personality then the player.

Roleplaying in Sol generally consists of players conversing as their characters either with other PCs or with NPCs. It may also include non-aggressive actions

(Ex. Searching a cabinet for supplies or giving another character one of your items.)

During the roleplaying phase of gameplay, actions and movement are more abstract and work at the GM’s discretion.

If a player wishes to take an action or move, they should announce their intention to the GM. The GM will then allow or deny that action. If the player wants to perform an action, the GM may also require that the player roll to determine if the action is successful. Most often this takes the form of a single roll of the d20. The GM may give bonus modifiers to the roll if the action is easy or if the player is skilled based on their stats, or subtract debuff modifiers from the roll if the action more difficult.

Time is also much more loosely handled in roleplaying. A few actions could take a few minutes, for something simple like talking to an NPC, or could take several hours, like travelling from one city to another.

Combat, on the other hand, generally starts when players are either attacked by or are attacking other PCs or NPCs. During combat a more strict system is used. Players take turns and can only make one movement of a specific amount and one action per turn. In combat, only a few seconds of in-game time pass for each turn.

Even though combat is a separate phase from roleplaying, players should keep in mind that they are still playing as their characters which should reflect in their actions as much as possible.

CHARACTER CREATION

The most important part of Sol are the characters. As such, character creation is one of the most important parts of the Rulebook. At this point the things may get a little confusing but bear with us. Everything will be explained, and you can always come back and reread these sections again.

A character as a whole is comprised of their Core Stats, Combat Stats, Race, Sub Race, Class, Abilities, and Background. All of these things affect each other and and help make the character who they are. And with over several thousand possible combinations, it’s extremely easy to make unique characters. Now we will break down this list in order, we will explain how character creation works, and how all these stats interact with each other.

Character Stats

There are 4 main stats for every character in Sol that describe their basic attributes referred to as Core Stats. These core character stats are Strength (STR), Agility (AGL), Intelligence (INT), and Endurance (END). In addition to providing a character’s primary attributes, Core Stats also provide a direct benefit to the character with a Stat Bonus in combat.

Strength

STR demonstrates a character’s physical athletic ability, how much they can lift or move, and how hard they can hit. STR is the main Core Stat for most melee Classes in Sol and allows you to unlock Traits from the Strength tree.

Agility

AGL reflects the character’s reflexes and hand-eye coordination. AGL is the main Core Stat for ranged weapon based Classes and allows you to unlock Traits from the Agility tree.

Intelligence

INT displays how much knowledge a character has, their ability to think critically and analyze, and how well they can use technology. Classes who rely on using Class special Abilities focus on high INT and it allows you to unlock Traits from the Intelligence tree.

Endurance

END shows a character’s durability, healthiness, and hardiness as well as their understanding of how to enhance those attributes. END is mainly used by defensive classes who intent to take most of the damage during fights and healers who want to increase the amount of Stamina they can restore. It allows you to unlock Traits from the Endurance tree.

During character creation each player rolls 4d10. The results of these rolls go to Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Endurance in that order. These are now the characters Core Stats. The player may elect to subtract 2 points from any Core Stat in order to increase another Core Stat by 1 point.

(Ex. Alfredo rolls a 10 INT but a 3 STR. He still wants to play as a melee class, so he can subtract 8 points of INT to increase his STR by 4 points giving him a total of 2 INT and 7 STR.)

While these are rolls are the character’s base Core Stats, the player will be able to increase them when they choose their Race and Class.

Characters may, in some cases, increase their Character Stats by Learning. This requires the character to either critically succeed or fail at actions. This will be explained further in the Learning System section.

Combat Stats

Characters also have Combat Stats which affect the character while in the combat phase of Sol. The first two of the combat stats are influenced directly by their Core Stats. These stats are Stamina (STAM) and Concentration (CON). Players may equip items or have abilities that gives other combat stats such as Damage (DMG), Armor (ARM), and Shields

Stamina

STAM represents a character’s health, ability to take physical actions, and is based on that character’s END Core Stat. Taking damage and using some abilities lowers STAM. Resting outside of combat or using healing items restores STAM. Characters also have a STAM Regen which represents how quickly the character Regenerates STAM during combat. Characters start with 0 STAM Regen.

Character Creation: A character’s STAM is equal to their Race’s base STAM, the character’s Core END, and any Racial Bonus to END.

Character STAM = Race STAM + Core END + Racial Bonus END

Increasing Stamina: Characters can gain +1 bonus STAM for every 5 points of END they gain from from items, classes, and abilities.

(Ex. After creating a character, Alfredo finds an item that grants 10 bonus END. Alfredo’s character now has 2 extra STAM.)

Concentration

CON represents a character’s ability to focus and use special Class Abilities or technology while under pressure. Using Abilities lowers CON. Characters regain a small amount of CON every Combat Round, based on their race. Resting outside of combat restores CON. Characters also have a CON Regen which represents how quickly the character Regenerates CON during combat. Characters start with a flat 1 CON Regen.

Character Creation: A character’s CON is equal to their Race’s base CON, the character’s Core INT, and any Racial Bonus to INT.

Character CON = Race CON + Core INT + Racial Bonus INT

Increase Concentration: Characters can gain +1 bonus CON for every 5 points of INT they gain from items, classes, and abilities.

Damage

DMG directly decreases a character’s STAM. If a player character reaches 0 STAM they must make a d20 roll or fall Unconscious (see Combat Status in the Combat System section). If a player character takes further DMG while Unconscious or takes DMG to the point where they would reach -10 STAM then the player character dies. If an NPC reaches 0 STAM they are incapacitated or dead at GM’s discretion.

Armor

Any DMG taken by the character is reduced by the total ARM the player has through items and Abilities. ARM does not reduce DMG absorbed by Shields or Abilities. Certain items and abilities can reduce ARM and a character with negative ARM will take bonus DMG for each point of negative ARM.

(Ex. If Alfredo has -2 ARM and takes 5 DMG, then he takes a total of 7 DMG.)

Shields

Certain items provide characters with Energy Shields. Shields absorb DMG and decrease by the amount of incoming DMG. If a character’s Shields are above 0 at the beginning of a player’s Character Turn during combat, the Shields increase by the Shield Regen amount. If the Shields reach 0, they no longer block DMG or regen. If there is remaining DMG after Shields have been depleted, that remaining DMG is applied to the character’s STAM.

Plate

Plate (PLT) is much like STAM. Each point of PLT represents the “health” of a machine. The key difference between STAM and PLT is if a character resides inside something with a PLT stat, on critical hits DMG goes through straight to the character. If nothing resides inside the machine, then the PLT will take the DMG instead.

(Ex. Checkers, with 10 STAM, is riding in a vehicle with 5 PLT. Alfredo shoots the vehicle with a rifle that does 10 DMG. The PLT takes 5 of that DMG, and Checkers then takes the remaining 5 DMG, dropping him to 5 STAM and destroying the vehicle. If Alfredo had rolled a 20, a crit, then Checkers would take the entire 10 DMG and drop to 0 STAM while the vehicle would still have 5 PLT. If Checkers were not inside the vehicle and Alfredo rolled a 20, the vehicle would drop to -5 PLT and be destroyed.)

Move

Move, or MOV, represents how many square spaces the character can move during Combat on their Character Turn. An average character has 5 MOV. This stat can be altered depending on the character’s Sub Race. MOV can also be increased by 1 for every 20 points of AGL.

Weight

Weight, or WT represents the physical weight of an item. Smaller items have smaller WT, and larger items feature larger WT. WT is used mainly when a character is attempting to Dual Wield weapons and is used by some Class Abilities.

Learning System

Characters have the ability to increase any of their base stats by 1 when they roll either a critical hit (20) or critical fail (1). This system is meant to show that characters can learn from both their successes and their failures.

These rolls must be natural criticals rolled on a d20. This means modifies to rolls such as increased success or abilities such as coin toss will not lead to an increase in your stats.

The stat that is upgraded upon performing a critical roll is to be determined by the Game Master based on the action the player was performing.

(Ex. If Checkers wants to shoot a target with his rifle and lands a critical hit upon doing so the DM might award him 1 point of AGL. If Alfredo is roleplaying with a NPC and attempts to charm them but rolls a critical fail the game master may award him 1 point of INT.)

Races

After a character’s Core Stats are rolled, the Player may now choose their character’s Race and Subrace. A character’s primary Race determines what special Racial Passive ability they receive while their Subrace gives the character some small Racial Bonuses to Core Stats. When a player chooses a Race and Subrace, they should add the corresponding Stat Bonuses to their character’s Core Stats. You can view the full Race and Subrace List.

Races

Human

Racial Passive: Multiclassing

Humans originated from Earth and have spread to terraform the entire Solar System. Due to genetic modification, each terraformed world is now home to a variant of the original human gene. Humans are average in both physical and mental capabilities.

Multiclassing: A Human character can choose 1 of their 3 Classes Abilities from a second Class. Characters may only take damage multiplying abilities or multiple attack per turn abilities from one of their two multiclasses.

(Ex. Alfredo is multiclassing as a Marksman and a Marine. He may take either Headshot, a x3 damage multiplier, from the list of Marksman abilities, or Adrenaline, a x2 damage multiplier from the Marine ability list. He cannot take both.)

Biss

Racial Passive: Expertise

The Biss homeworld sits at an average temperature 20 degrees below the intergalactic standard. As a result, the Biss have grown larger than most races to handle the cold. Culturally, the Biss are perfectionists, striving to master their chosen field beyond compare.

Human Subraces

Mercurian

A genetically altered variant of humans with tough, rocky skin able to endure the blazing heat of life on Mercury. Some of the strongest in the galaxy call Mercury home. Mercurian’s are healthier and stronger than other humans.

Venerian

With chloroplasts genetics spliced into their skin, Venerian’s ‘breath’ Venus’ carbon dioxide atmosphere just as well as oxygen. Their green tinted skin makes them stand out in a crowd. When searching for agile athletes or fighters, look no further than a Venerian.

Terran

100% homegrown on the planet Earth. No genetic modification, the Terran is the most adaptable of all humans with their knowledge and their survivability.

Lunarian

With the original colonists drawing from the finest minds in the world, Earth’s moon Luna is now home to the brightest minds in the system. The low gravity does make their bones quite brittle and prone to easily breaking.

Martian

Mars serves as one of the major training grounds for the UCS, and boasts a long military history. Children are said to be born with a rifle in their hands. Martians are often experts with any and all ranged combat.

Plutonian

With liquid nitrogen flowing through their veins, denizens of Pluto are some of the hardiest known to man. They have to be to survive the century long Pluto winters.

Biss Subraces

Craftmaster

A subset of the Biss who are determined to enhance their natural skills, and become the best at what they do, throwing aside all desires and not letting anything stand in there way. With practice, they will push their best skill to its maximum potential.

Heartblind

A subset of the Biss who defy their culture and try to become the best at what they love rather than enhancing their innate skills. Driven, they can take their worst feature and turn it into their biggest advantage.

A.I.

A computer chip containing an artificial intelligence programed to help both in scientific endeavors and on the battlefield. Any race can create an AI. AI generally inhabit some form of technology whether that is a ship computer system or a suit of armor.

Classes

Now with their character’s Core Stats and Race selected, players move on to selecting their character’s Class. Class selection is where the player gets to decide what type of gameplay they want their character to lean towards, particularly when it comes to the combat phase of Sol’s gameplay. A Class is effectively a representation of the characters’ training and skills they’ve acquired so far in their lives.

It is meant to be display of what they’ve dedicated themselves to mastering. It is not necessarily a description of their job however. A simple shopkeeper could be an Assassin Class and that legendary soldier might actually be a Doctor Class.

Once a player has selected a Class for their character, they should add any Class Stat Bonuses to their Core Stats and they may now select Class Abilities.

Class Abilities

Abilities are physical demonstrations of the skills a character has developed or knowledge they’ve learned as a part of their Class. These Abilities can take 2 primary forms, Active Abilities and Passive Abilities.

Active Abilities are more usually techniques that the character has learned as a part of their Class. Things such as lining up a headshot with a rifle, a dashing strike with a sword, hypnotizing an enemy, or hacking into a computer. During combat, using an Active Ability takes up a character’s entire action. Active Abilities also have a STAM or CON cost the character must pay when using the Ability.

Some Active Abilities are also Toggled Abilities. A Toggle means the Ability has 2 different states and using the Ability allows the character to switch between those states. Examples of these states include increased DMG but decreased MOV when toggled, or using an Ability to heal STAM versus using an Ability to deal DMG.

Passive Abilities are different and generally represent habits or behaviors the character developed as part of their Class. They can include things like carrying extra equipment, Stat Bonus gained under certain conditions, or unique ways of using items or weapons. Passive Abilities do not have STAM or CON costs, but instead are used whenever any conditions for that Passive are met.

(Ex. Alfredo has a Passive that gives him a Stat Bonus if his character doesn’t move during a Combat Turn.)

Each Class has 5 possible Abilities to choose from, and players may choose 3 Abilities for their characters. A Multiclassing character may choose 2 Abilities from their 5 available for their primary Class and 1 Ability from their secondary Class.

Currently in Sol there are 21 different Classes to choose from. A full list of Classes, Class Stat Bonuses, and Abilities can be found in the Class Ability List.

Class List

Marine

A well-rounded soldier trained in the basics of combat and tactics, threatening alone or in squads, and ready to tackle any challenge thrown their way. An Agility based Class, their abilities allow for sustained, consistent damage to a target.

Bounty Hunter

With humanity so widespread, law enforcement finds itself in need of vigilantes willing to risk limb and life to track down, apprehend, and return wanted fugitives. An Agility based Class, Bounty Hunter abilities focus on slowing, trapping, or hindering enemies.

Pirate
Skilled in the arts of theft, plundering and pillaging, pirates excel in boarding ships and executing prisoners all while drinking a bottle of rum. An Agility and Strength based Class, Pirate abilities excel at hitting multiple targets and causing chaos on the front lines.

Heavy Weapons
Soldiers dedicated to large scale weapons, trained on heavy machine guns and laser cannons. They stand firm while dishing out and absorbing tons of damage. An Endurance based Class, Heavies abilities provide damage to multiple targets, enhance their weapons, and give support to the team.

Knight
Elite soldiers selected to learn traditional swordsmanship and earn their knighthood. These defenders serve as core elements in ship to ship boarding parties. A Strength based Class, Knight abilities allow for aggressive front line soldiers dealing out area damage or protecting their team.

Nomad
Wandering individuals who live most of their lives in space. They dedicate themselves to martial arts in order to protect the ship they call home at any and all costs. A Strength based Class, Nomad abilities enhance their lone nature, allowing them to deal high single target damage and draw attention away from the team.

Explorer
As humanity expands, it needs daring souls willing to navigate any terrain and with the insight to analyze any situation. A true Explorer handles all of that with a smile. A Strength and Intelligence based Class, Explorer abilities let you move quickly around a fight, setting up extra damage for allies and scouting areas.

Assassin
Oft amoral, the best paid killers are able to slit throats and snap necks without a sound. In the assassination business, there are only the skilled and the dead. A Strength based Class, Assassin abilities add bonus damage and let you either sneak or dash in and out of the fight.

Marksman

A trained individual who has mastered the art of precision shooting. Commonly these individuals use caliber sniper rifle but there expertice goes far beond mastering one weapon. An Agility based Class, Marksmen abilities grant massive bonus damage and lends towards the long range sniper or the quick, efficient spec ops commando.

Medic
Marines who receive medical training in addition to combat. They can save the lives of their allies while still holding their own in a fight. An Intelligence based Class, Medic abilities give out quick healing while also enhancing damage and movement in a fight.

Doctor
Medical professionals specializing in surgery and xeno-disease control. Most are commissioned by the Confederation for ongoing studies as humanity expands across the galaxy. An Intelligence based Class, Doctor abilities focus on massive heals and health buffs.

Mad Scientist
A medical professional who toes the line between genius and insanity. Rules are meant to broken and no one ever got their name on a scientific discovery without breaking a few skulls. An Intelligence based Class, Mad Scientist abilities heal in strange ways such as stealing health and dish out debuffs to inhibit the enemy.

Computer Specialist
Experts in electronics, the Computer Specialist can hold command over technology through the use of functions and scripts. An Intelligence based Class, Computer Specialist abilities grant control over technology and can identify or enhance stats for the team.

Diplomat
With their command over language, a diplomat can twist enemies into brothers with a word and the break apart the closest of friends with just a suggestion. A Concentration based Class, Diplomat abilities excel at manipulating emotions and hostility of targets.

Psychologist
With years of study into the way the mind works, psychologists know how to persuade and manipulate people into doing the right thing. A Concentration based Class, Psychologist abilities work best by disabling the enemy via sleep, hypnosis, or amnesia.

Bartender
A professional mixologist with the street smarts to match, a real bartender can hold their liquor just as well as they can hold their own in a fight. A Concentration based Class, Bartender abilities let you deal damage and cause chaos while keeping a constant supply of stat altering drinks.

DJ
Music can inspire people to strive forward or drop them into a sea of sadness. The best DJ’s take this to the extreme, physically influencing the environment with their music. A Concentration based Class, DJ abilities focus on disable large groups while enhancing your team’s own abilities.

Officer
Both a soldier and a leader, they command groups of enlisted Marines in combat missions as well as request fire support from Confederation High Command. An Intelligence based Class, Officer abilities allow for extra turns, extra damage, or extra reinforcements in tough situations.

Engineer

An expert in construction and technology. Their knowledge of battlefield robotics makes them a surprisingly strong force on the battlefield. An Intelligence based Class, Engineer abilities let them build and enhance small armies of robot soldiers.

Merchant
An expert in buying and selling objects and items. The merchant specializes in acquiring large amounts of goods and funds to support themselves. An Intelligence based Class, Merchant abilities give the whole team more items and enhance their luck.

Thief

Attracted to shinies and valuables, the thief lives for the thrill of the heist and the size of their bank account. An Agility and Concentration based Class, Thief abilities focus on making stealing quick and easy, then letting them escape without notice.

Traits

Once you’ve picked your race and class, you should now have all of your core stats totaled up. You can now use these total stat values for STR, AGL, INT, and END to unlock special Traits for your character. Each Core Stat, STR, AGL, INT, and END has a corresponding Trait Category Tree. Within each tree, there are 5 subcategories, Might, Precision, Fortitude, Vigor, and Focus that correspond with different play styles and different characteristics or habits your characters may have.

Might

Might Traits are focused around enhancing a close range fighter, allowing them to hit harder, hit more easily, or survive in fights. They include more straightforward and emotional personality traits like “Aggressive” or “Tenacious”.

Precision

Precision Traits are for the “Calm” or “Confident” persona. They generally aid in accuracy and enhance the mobility of the character.

Fortitude

Fortitude Traits make the character more durable, whether through increasing their ability to soak up pain or helping them to avoid it. These Traits can affect a wide variety of attributes in your character, ranging from physical appearance to “Gullible” to “Steadfast”.

Vigor

Vigor Traits center on those meant to support others through healing and mobility. Some make your character pleasant to be around, such as “Kind”, while other simply make you the kind to give harsh compassion, like “Blunt”.

Focus

Focus Traits are meant for those who avoid direct combat and instead rely more on their skills and training to carry them. They generally make a character more creative. Instead of simply knocking on the door, your character will look for a different solution, whether it’s sneaking in through a window or smash the building down with a tank.

In each Category, STR, AGL, INT, and END, you can unlock a single Trait from any of the Tree’s Subcategories. The Traits have a 5 level tiering system that matches how many points you have in the corresponding stat.

Tier 1 Requires 5 Stat Pts
Tier 2 Requires 10 Stat Pts
Tier 3 Requires 15 Stat Pts
Tier 4 Requires 20 Stat Pts
Tier 5 Requires 25 Stat Pts

You may pick any tier of Trait from a given Category as long as you have an equal or greater amount of points in that given Stat, but remember, you can only pick ONE Trait per Category.

(Ex. Alfredo has 16 STR, 3 AGL, and 5 INT. He can pick any ONE Trait from the STR Category that is Tier 3 or less. He cannot pick any Traits from the AGL Category because he has less than 5 AGL points which is the minimum for a Tier 1 Trait. And he can pick ONE Trait from the INT Category that is Tier 1. Alfredo picks a Might trait from the STR Category and a Fortitude Trait from the INT Category.)

Background

Now that you’ve created what your character is, all their stats and abilities and traits, you need to create who your character is, meaning their mindset and history. This should take into account what their personality is like; is your character shy or outgoing? Quick-tempered or calm and collected? Are they a good person who helps others or a more selfish individual who only looks out for themselves?

You should also decide what kind of moral code the character possesses. They could follow the letter of the law, or maybe they’re more willing to bend the rules in order to get the job done or to get what they want.

Finally, you’ll want to figure out where the character comes from and what their past is. Questions you might want to answer include how your character learned the skills they’ve acquired as part of their class and what events brought them to this point in your life.

A well developed back story should provide enough information to properly explain why your character acts the way they do. The best back stories, however, often leave some things more open ended or vague. Small unsolved mysteries in a character’s life not only reflects that they’re part way through the journey that is their life, but they also leave room for the GM to incorporate elements of your background into the current or even future campaigns. Backgrounds do not need to be epic multi chapter tales. Often the simplest can be the best and give the GM more room to let the rest of your story unfold.

Sol is a full RPG, and as such you can create any story you want using it. However, Sol also has a growing and evolving universe of characters and events as we improve the game. As such, in the Sol Universe, there are pre-existing factions and organizations. While you can certainly create your own stories, you are more than welcome to use these factions as part of your background.

Factions

United Confederation of Sol (USC)

The UCS formed near the middle of the 22nd Century as a centralized government for all of humanity and part of that includes a unified military and exploration force. Boasting the best cutting-edge technology, the UCS is the major force in humanity controlled space. They try to bring peace and justice to the Sol system. Currently they control Earth along with the terraformed planets of Mercury, Venus, Luna, and Mars and have started to extend into other moons and space stations in the outer reaches of the Sol system. While representing order, the UCS is not without its darker side and corruption has started to grow in the heart of the humanity’s military might.

Common Classes: Marine, Heavy Weapons, Knight, SEAL, Medic, Officer, Engineer, Diplomat, Doctor, Computer Specialist

Outlaws

The UCS’s mirror and opposite, Outlaws prefer to settle things through a demonstration of force then following laws or rules. They represent the criminal world of humanity. While not technologically more advanced than the UCS, Outlaws have quicker, harsher ways to get what they want that usually end with one person dead and the other richer. Outlaw groups mainly rely on piracy and theft to keep themselves supplied. The biggest crime lords control the space stations around the gas giants of Jupiter and Saturn and have presences on their terraformed moons.

Common Classes: Pirate, Bounty Hunter, Assassin, Thief, Mad Scientist, Bartender

Civilians

Not everyone breaks the law or works for the UCS. The rest of society still goes about their everyday business and watches the UCS and Outlaws clash head to head on the nightly news. The average person can come from almost any walk of life and could be find anywhere in humanity controlled space. The terraformed Pluto is also the only planet without a large UCS or Outlaw presence and as a result is home to the largest population of Nomads and other Civilians in the Sol system.

Common Classes: Bounty Hunter, Computer Specialist, Nomad, Explorer, Doctor, Diplomat, Psychologist, Bartender, DJ, Merchant

ITEMS AND INVENTORY

Inventory

During the course of a campaign, players will gain items such as armor, weapons, and consumable items. In Sol we represent these items with individual cards that hold the items important Item Stats. We’ll be breaking these Item Stats down later.

A character can hold up to 10 item cards in their inventory. If they try to pick up another item after having 10 items, then they must drop one of their current items. This 10 item limit does not include Consumable Items, which will be explained later, but it does include any items the character is currently using.

(Ex. Checkers is wearing armor and has 2 swords he uses. He can hold 7 other items in his inventory, not counting consumables.)

Credits

The main currency in the Sol Universe are credits. Credits are used by the character to purchase items, services, or anything else that would hold monetary value. Item cards have a Credit Cost Stat displayed on the card.

Items

Sol hosts a full list of items including weapons, armor, attachments, and consumables. We have currently designed 178 different items, with more coming as we release new updates. A full list of all current items can be found through solrpg.wordpress.com/items/.

 

Some Items have Stat Requirements. In order to be able to use that Item, the player’s corresponding stat must be equal to or greater than the requirement listed. Players with lower stats can attempt to use the item anyway, but they will have to make two (2) successful rolls; One to overcome the stat requirement and one to actually use the item.

Items fall into 1 of 3 Rarities; Normal, Rare, and Legendary. Normals are standard, everyday items meant to be perfectly balanced for the average player. Rare items start to skew things in the player’s favor, maybe through increased damage or a special effect. Legendary items work as game changers with higher damage and powerful item effects that make the player a force to be reckoned with.

 

Items are classified into the following Types; Wears, Ranged Weapons, Melee Weapons, Medical Tools, Consumables, and Attachments.


Wears

Wears are, surprisingly, items that you wear into battle. They usually give the player increased defense in some way, and many give passive stat bonuses as well. Wears can be broken down into 3 Subtypes; Armor, Power Armor, Cloaks. A player can only equip a single Armor, Power Armor, or Cloak at any given time.

 

Armor

Armor is meant to add defense to a damage dealer, giving flat damage reduction in the form of an increased ARM stat for the player. Rarer armors can provide additional protection through increased ARM or special item effects.

Power Armor
Another defensive Wear, but more focused on making the player able to take as much damage as possible. Instead of giving flat ARM, Power Armor comes equipped with regenerating energy Shields that block a certain amount of incoming damage while active. Rarer versions have more powerful Shields.

Cloaks
Cloaks work by increasing the movement of the player and giving them the ability to dodge attacks more easily. They work best when worn by high damage dealers who don’t want to risk taking any unnecessary hits.

Ranged Weapons

Since the early days, warfare has been won by those with the ability to hit their enemy harder from farther away and the Sol Universe is no different. Ranged Weapons usually have a slightly lower damage than Melee Weapons, but allow a player to constantly deal damage without being in the thick of things. Ranged Weapons have 5 Subtypes; Pistols, Rifles, Heavy Weapons, Weapons Platforms, and Bows

Pistol
Not much has changed with the Pistol over the years. Pistols have the lowest range and damage of all Ranged Weapons, but are also the easiest to use with few if any stat requirements.

Rifle
The bread and butter Ranged Weapon, a balance of damage and range but typically with an Agility stat requirement. Rarer items will have item effects focused around either dealing extra damage to a single target or spreading damage across multiple enemies.

Heavy Weapons
These include machine guns, laser cannons, and rocket launchers. While offering slightly lower range than a Rifle, they also feature much higher damage along with an Endurance stat requirement. Rarer Heavy Weapons focus on maximizing the amount of damage they can deal to multiple opponents.

Weapons Platforms
Less standardized weapons and more highly advanced weapon systems, these include items like orbital lasers and missile targeting devices. They deal some of the highest based damage in the game, but come with high Intelligence stat requirements.

Bows

With advancements in power armor, bows are now incredible weapons that can penetrate through even thick armor with little to no noise. Favored by the strongest warriors and those in need of quiet takedowns, bows utilize the strength the of the user over a distance.

Melee Weapons

With the dangers of hull breaches and decompression and ever present concern in a space age, civilized close combat has seen a return in the Sol Universe. Lacking the safe range of Rifle and Pistols, Melee Weapons reward players for closing in with their targets by dealing much higher damage. Most Melee Weapons feature Strength stat requirements and have 6 Subtypes; Long Swords, Short Swords, Nomadic Weapons, Knives, Blunt, and Shields


Long Swords
Two handed blades requiring practice and dedication to formal styles. Long Swords have a higher damage and serve as a more consistent source of damage amount melee weapons. Rarer Long Swords can come with item effects that help deal even higher amounts of damage or ignore enemy defenses.

Short Swords
Smaller bladed weapons that can wielded easily in one or two hands. Individually they deal less damage than Long Swords but with their more compact size it’s easier to dual wield two Short Swords. However landing blows with two different weapons is much more difficult.

Nomadic Weapons
Blunt fist based weapons originally created by the wandering Nomads. Roughly equal to Long Swords in terms of damage, Nomadic Weapons help enhance martial arts experts by amplifying their damage or allow their blows to strike multiple targets.

Knives
Small, easily concealed blade weapons. While not intended for direct combat with their lower damage than most Melee Weapons, Knives are best used for quick, efficient assassination kills.

Blunt Weapons
When in doubt and with no other weapons at hand, sometimes you have to work with what you’ve been given. Blunt weapons fall clearly into this exact type of situation, ranging from baseball bats to stop signs. While not designed for combat, blunt weapons can be very effective in all the wrong ways.

Shields

The return of melee combat also brought about the resurgence of shields. They work best paired with a single handed weapon and wielded in the user’s off hand. They generally work to increase the defensive capability of the user, but in a pinch you can always just smash someone in the face.

Medical Tools

Often used by doctors and medics, Medical Tools allow the player to heal the Stamina or Concentration of themselves or another character. The better and rarer tools often have item effects that provide enhanced healing. Items such as Scalpels and defibrillators fall into this category.

 

Consumables

Consumables are single use items with specific unique effects. After the item is used, it is removed from the player’s inventory. Currently there are 4 Subtypes of consumables; Medical, Alcohol, Grenade, Ammo, or Robotics.

Medical
Medical consumables provide single use healing or debuff removal to the player or character the consumable is used on. They often take the form of first aid items and medical drugs.

Alcohol
Alcohol consumables provide brief stat bonuses to the using player in the form of the Drunk passive. However with these stat buffs the player also loses the ability to regenerate their Concentration over time. This passive lasts until the end of combat.

Grenade
Grenades are one use damage items that either deal direct area damage to the target or provide a utility such as a smoke screen or blinding targets.

Ammo

Ammo adds special passives to damage dealt by ranged weapons for 3 turns. Examples of different ammo types include ARM ignoring, armor penetrating rounds or extra damage from plasma rounds.

Robotics

Boxes of premade robotic parts that can be assembled to create a pet robot that will follow the commands of the player. Different kits will created robots with slightly different stats. These are most effectively used by an Engineer, however all classes may use Robotics consumables.

 

Trinkets

Trinkets modify player abilities or enhance their stats and regeneration. While not giving any straight offensive or defensive abilities, Trinkets provide powerful bonuses or modifiers to Class Abilities. The right Trinket can make a player that much more effective in a fight. Trinkets are powerful and as a result harder to find.

Accessories

Accessories are items that work as attachments for the various weapon type, giving the player minor stat buffs when using those weapons. While not as powerful as Trinkets, Accessories are easier to find and can help focus a character’s speciality.

Utility

Interesting or otherwise potentially useful items. They can often help you out in strange situations but it’s also often up to you to figure out when those situations occur.

Equipping Items

A standard character can only use 1 Wear item and up to 2 Weapon items at any given time. These are referred to as Equipped Items. Characters can only use the Item Stats, Item Abilities, and Stat Bonuses from Equipped Items. All other items remain in that character’s inventory and the character gains no effects from those items. A character may have as many Attachments added on to these items as they want.

In order to switch between items, the character must remove or put away their current Wear or Weapon, losing those Item Stats and Stat Bonuses, before putting on and readying the new item. This process is referred to as a Equipping.

Remember, when Equipping the character loses all Stat Bonus so if the new item has a Stat Requirement the character must meet that Stat Requirement without any Items Equipped.

(Ex. Checkers just found a new Legendary Rifle that has a 8 INT Stat Requirement. He currently has 9 INT, but 3 points of that comes from his currently Equipped Sword. When he puts the Sword into his Inventory, he drops to 6 INT and can no longer meet the 8 INT Stat Requirement for the new Rifle.)

When in Sol’s roleplaying phase, Equipping simply takes a minute or two at most as the character switches Items. When in combat, Equipping takes a character’s entire Action for that turn, though the character still has the ability to move.

Dual Wielding

When it comes to using Weapons, characters have the option of Dual Wielding. This allows them to use 2 Weapons at the same time, one in each hand. As a result, they may attack twice during as part of their Action during combat, once with each item. They also receive any and all Item Stats, Item Abilities, and Stat Bonuses affiliated with each Item.

Dual Wielding does come at a cost. Item Cards display a Weight Stat (WT). When Dual Wielding, any and all attacks made have a Debuff Modifier placed on the attack roll equal to the total WT of both Dual Wielded Items.

(Ex. Checkers has a Short Sword with 1 WT and a Long Sword with 3 WT. Checkers can attack twice during combat as his Action, but when he rolls to see if he is successful for each attack, he must subtract a total of 4 from each roll.)

Roleplaying Phase

Now that you have characters, it’s time to go on a journey with your newly created space adventurers to explore that ship with the skull and crossbones painted on the side. Here’s how the Roleplaying phase of Sol works.

Using Stats

When in the Roleplaying phase of Sol, Core Stats should be used as a description of the character’s ability and to judge the success or chance of success of a character’s action. If a character has a high Core Stat then any action that would involve that Stat will either be easier for that character to accomplish or may be so easy that they are automatically successful. The simpler the task and the higher the character’s relevant Core Stat, the easier the task should be.

If a character wishes to take an action where there is at least a chance of failure or success, they should roll a d20. The GM can then apply roll Modifiers depending the character’s Core Stat at their own discretion.

(Ex. Checkers’ character has a 15 STR, one of the highest possible. If Checkers wants to kick in a door while in Roleplaying, the GM may have him roll a d20 and let him successfully kick the door on anything above a 5. Duncan’s character may only have a 2 STR, and may have to roll a 15 or higher to perform the same action.)

The GM should reference the character’s Strength for bursts of physical activity pertaining to brute force or raw power. Intelligence should be referenced for using technology, examining the environment, and other comprehensive activities. Agility should be used when a character attempts a quick physical action such as a reflex or using sleight of hand. Endurance should be used both physical and mental durability, such as holding onto the edge of a platform or enduring interrogation.

Abilities may also be used during the Roleplaying phase, though many of them provide effects that are meant primarily for combat. However, a character may still use an ability provided they make a successful role of a d20, where all normal modifiers apply. If the roll is successful, the ability executes normally and the character pays no CON cost. If the roll fails, the Ability also fails and the GM may elect to lower that character’s current CON by the normal CON cost of the ability the next time they enter combat.

(Ex. Duncan, who has 30 CON, uses Hack, a Computer Specialist ability that costs 6 CON, to break into a locked computer. He rolls a 3 and fails. The GM tells him that he will only have 24 CON the next time he enters combat.)

The same concept applies if characters receive DMG during Roleplaying. If something bad happens, such as setting off an explosive trap or if a character falls off a ledge, then they should take an appropriate amount of DMG and their STAM would be lower the next time they enter combat.

Time and Movement

Time and movement is a very abstract and changing concept during the Roleplaying phase. Some actions may only take a few seconds while others may take hours or even days. It all depends on the actions the players take.

There is a Turn Order to the Roleplaying phase. This can be decided on by highest dice roll. The players will describe their actions one at a time to the GM, starting with the first player. The GM will then describe the reaction to the player action. Then the next player may describe their actions.

If a player wishes to take an action out of turn, they may ask the GM if that would be allowed at the GM’s discretion. It’s perfectly fine to allow this, and in fact may actually make a more interesting story.

If players decide to move their characters as separate groups, it may be more efficient to allow the groups to take their actions at the same time before switching to the other players.

Movement is generally restricted to the immediate area of the map in which the players are located. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to Roleplaying movement. It mostly happens at the GM’s discretion. The player should simply describe where they want to move to the GM and the GM will then confirm or deny that movement.

Resting and Regen

When combat completes and the Roleplaying phase begins again, Resting comes into play. As the characters wind down from battle, they will regain some or all of their lost STAM and CON at the discretion of the GM. The amount of lost Stats that should be regained, or Regenerated, depends on how long the characters have to Rest.

Typically, unless the characters are likely to be immediately thrown into combat again, the GM will want to regen all lost STAM and CON.

The players may also elect to have their characters Rest for a duration of time in order to regen any lost Stats. Again, the amount they regen should be proportional to the amount of time they spending Resting. If players travel between locations, they may also have the chance to Rest during this time period as well.

Combat System

So you’ve made it through Roleplaying, upset a few space pirates who you found on the previously mentioned spaceship, and now they want to kill you. You’ve just entered combat. Let’s break the combat system down.

Initiative

Initiative decides which group will go first in combat, with the players as one party and the enemy as the other party. Initiative is decided, quite simply, by the party who actually started combat first. Combat starts when a party or individual attempts to take a hostile action on another party or individual. Initiative is awarded at the GM’s discretion.

In most cases, both party see that things are coming down to a good old fashioned exchange of blows. However, in some cases one party may not be expecting combat quite yet. These characters are considered Surprised. This overrides any other Initiative. Surprised characters automatically take the second combat turn and are not allowed to use any Interrupt abilities during the first combat turn.

Turns and Rounds

Combat happens solely in Character Turns, Party Turns, and Combat Rounds. These are described below.

Character Turn: A single character’s individual Turn. During a Character Turn the character may make 1 Movement and/or take 1 Action. The order of Action and Movement doesn’t matter and can be done interchangeably.

Party Turn: All characters from one party take their Character Turns at the same time. The Party Turn ends when all characters from that party have finished their Character Turn. Then the second party’s Party Turn starts and all their characters take their Character Turns.

Combat Round: A Combat Round ends when all parties in combat have taken their Party Turns. A Combat Round takes about 15 seconds of in game time. All Character Turns are effectively happening at the same time during that 15 second Round.

Turn Order for combat is decided at the beginning of a campaign. During a Party Turn, character’s take their Character Turns based on AGL in descending order from highest AGL to lowest. This is decided at character creation, and no further increases in AGL from Items will affect the turn order for that campaign. The turn order may be changed with unanimous party request but can only be done once per combat.

Your Character Turn

You’re neck deep in a fight with those space pirates and now it’s your Character Turn. Time to roll some some dice (and heads). During your Turn, you may make 1 Movement and 1 Action.

Movement: During Movement, a character may move any number of squares on the game map up to their character’s MOV Core Stat. They may move before or after their Action. They may not, however, split their Movement. Once a character starts their Movement, that is the only time that Character Turn they may move.

Action: During their Action, a character may do any one single thing that the player wants them to do. This includes Attacking, using an Ability, talking with other characters, and using or Equipping an item. All these would count as 1 Action in combat. You can also use your Action as an extra Movement. See Sprinting for more information.

Sprinting: Sometimes you need to get places in a hurry. Sprinting allows you to give up your Action on your Character Turn in favor of making a second Movement. In order to do this, the player must successfully roll a d20. Failure may mean the character could stumble and not make it as far or even fall over and lose their next turn.

Attacking

It’s now your turn, time to dish out some damage and teach those space pirates a lesson. Weapon in hand, you charge into the fray attacking the Pirate with all you’ve got. Here’s how how attacking works

In basic terms, Attacking works much like any other Action you can take during your Character Turn. When your character attacks, you use any Combat Stats from your equipped weapon and you roll d20. If you succeed, you deal DMG to the enemy you’re attacking. If you fail, you may deal partial or even no damage, or put yourself in an even worse position depending on how badly you fail. You can also use active abilities in the same way as an attack, depending on the ability itself. They function very similarly.

There are some important stats to consider when attacking. These will be explained below.

Range: Range indicates how far away a weapon or ability can be used in square spaces on the game board.

(Ex. A rifle with a range of 5 can be used normally to attack something within 5 spaces.)

Players can increase the range of a ranged weapon at the cost of -1 to the hit roll for each additional space. Melee weapons on the other hand don’t have a range and can only be used to attack a target that is directly adjacent to a character.

Damage: Once an attack is successful, it will deal DMG to the target equal to the DMG of the weapon or ability used for the attack. Weapons will have a specific DMG stat. Abilities may list a specific DMG or may base their DMG on other stats. If a character attacks with no equipped weapon, their attack will do 1 DMG.

Defence: This refers to the ways in which a character can reduce DMG they might receive from being attacked or from traps, falls, or other methods that might inflict harm to them. Defence in Sol Generally takes three forms. Armor (ARM), Shields, and Evade.

Armor

Armor is flat damage reduction. For every point of ARM, the character will take -1 DMG from any attack. This only works to a point though. No matter how much ARM a character has, they will always take 1 DMG from any attack.

Shields

Shields allow the character to ignore some amount of DMG, as if they had extra STAM. 1 point of Shields will absorb 1 DMG from any single attack. Your Shields then decrease by 1 as a result of blocking that 1 DMG.  Shields also regen naturally by a small amount at the start of each Combat Round. Once Shields are depleted, they no longer regen.

Evade

Evade is a passive found on some Wears. While providing no actual damage reduction, Evade gives a character a chance to dodge an attack completely if the attack roll is lower than the amount they can evade.

(Ex. Sawyer has a cloak with Evade for attack rolls less than 12. If the Space Pirate attacking Sawyer rolls an 11, a normally successful attack, Evade lets Sawyer dodge and take no Dmg.)

Dodge Rolls

Normally attacks happen so quickly there’s no time to dodge. But if the GM feels the characters would have the time to try and get out of the way, they can allow the player to roll to dodge. If the player being attacked rolls higher than the attack roll, their character dodges the attack, similar to an Evade.

Damage Application: So you landed your attack. What next? Well, sometimes applying damage isn’t as straightforward as it may sound. Here’s the order in which damage is applied to a target.

  1. Apply additive damage buffs (Add all flat damage first to base damage of weapon or attack, Ex. +1 DMG)
  2. Add multiplier damage buffs (add all x2’s and x3’s together)
  3. Apply multiplicative damage buffs, (multiply the damage from step 1 by the total damage multiplier from step 2)
  4. Subtract shields from total damage from step 3.
  5. Subtract target’s ARM from the remaining damage from step 4.
  6. Subtract remaining damage from step 5 from targets STAM.

(Ex. Sawyer attacks the Space Pirate with his Sword which has a base 6 DMG. As a Knight with high STR, Sawyer gets +1 DMG to all melee attacks. He also has an ability that gives him x2 DMG to a target. Sawyer’s party member Checkers uses an ability to give him another x2 DMG. The Space Pirate in question has 10 Shields, 2 ARM, and 15 STAM. Let’s walk through applying the damage.

  1. Sawyer gets +1 DMG from his STR. Add that to his base Sword DMG gets 7 DMG.
  2. Sawyer’s and Checkers’ abilities each give x2 DMG, for a total of x4 DMG.
  3. With that x4 DMG, Sawyer now deals 28 DMG with his Sword.
  4. The Space Pirate’s 10 Shields absorb 10 DMG before breaking, leaving 18 DMG
  5. The Space Pirate’s 2 ARM reduces the 18 DMG to 16 DMG.
  6. The Space Pirate only has 15 STAM but takes 16 DMG, bringing him below 0. Sawyer has defeated the Space Pirate!)

Healing

Not everything in Sol is about killing things as quickly as possible. Just like any real universe, Sol also has items and abilities that can heal, lessening wounds and restoring STAM to characters. A character can never have their STAM healed beyond their maximum STAM amount.

Healing can only be done with healing items and abilities. Characters can not perform any healing on their own. Characters with an END stat bonus will perform additional bonus healing. This stat bonus healing can only be applied to items and abilities. Even a character with the END stat bonus needs a tool to heal others.

Regen

In combat, characters may receive a small amount of regen to their STAM, CON, and Shields. The amount these stats regen is dependent on the players STAM Regen, CON Regen, and Shield Regen. Generally, a character has 0 STAM Regen, 1 CON Regen, and most Shields feature 3 Shield Regen.  This happens at the beginning of the Combat Round.

Pets

Pets are NPC followers that obey their master’s (a player) commands. Pets are generally obtained through items or abilities.

Pets, similar to most character, have both a Move and an Action. Based on the player’s wishes the GM will move and perform actions with the pets at the end of the player’s turn.

However unlike most NPCs, a player may give up their Action or their Move to give their Pets bonus Actions and Moves in addition to the Pet’s normal Action and Move for that turn. When a player gives an Action or Move, all of that player’s Pets gain the bonus Action or Move.

Combat Statuses

Combat status are effects that are applied to a character that either buff them, providing helpful bonuses, or more often debuff them, providing detrimental effects that hinder them. These are usually provided by Items or Abilities.

Unconscious: Unconscious is a very special Combat Status. This can only happen if a character’s STAM falls below 0. They must then roll a d20. If they fail the save roll, they fall Unconscious. Unconscious characters do not take a character turn. Characters must still roll to attack an Unconscious character, but generally they can succeed above a 5. If an unconscious character takes any additional damage while still unconscious, they are killed.

A player with an unconscious character may roll a d20 at the beginning of their normal turn to try and wake up. If an unconscious character’s STAM is healed to above 0, they wake up naturally.

Ailments

Stun

The character cannot take actions or move on their next character turn.

Blind

The character decreases all hit rolls by -3 for the next 3 turns.

Plasma Burn

The character takes 1 DMG at the end of the Combat Round.

Poisoned

The character takes 1 DMG at the end of the Combat Round. If a Poisoned character drops below 3 STAM while still Poisoned, they die.

Amputation

The character is unable to use an arm or leg. Amputated legs decrease MOV by 3. Amputated arms limit weapon and item use and decrease hit rolls by 3.

Frozen

Decreases MOV by 1 until the end of the next combat turn. All following successful attacks while the debuff is active will cause additional -1 MOV per attack until the end of the next combat turn. If the Frozen character’s move drops to 0 as a result, the character is then Stunned

Slow

The character has decreased MOV for the duration of the status.

Snare

The character is unable to move for the duration of the status. They may still use Actions, however they may not move as the result of any abilities.

Charm

The character listens to the caster of the Charm, trusts them, and will try to obey their orders.

Sleep

The character is unable to move or attack. Attacks on a sleeping character are guaranteed hits.

Enrage

The character attacks the closest available target, friend or foe, and deals bonus damage

Drunk

The character gets a massive Increase to a single stat but has disabled CON Regen and one of their other Core or Combat stats is lowered depending on the alcohol they used to get drunk.

Stack

Stack causes debuffs such as Plasma Burn and Poison to stack instead of renew. Normally, a character can only be debuffed by these status once, and will only take 1 DMG at the end of the Combat Round. Stack allows a character to be debuffed multiple times and take even more DMG.

(Ex. Sawyer is hit twice by a Pirate’s plasma rifle with Plasma Burn and Stack. Because of Stack, Sawyer is Plasma Burned twice and will now take 2 DMG at the end of the Combat Round while he is Plasma Burned.)

THe Cards

Ability Cards

Closing Words

And with that, you now know the major rules behind how to play the Sol RPG. Beyond this, everything is up to you. Use these rules as a guideline, grab a bunch of friends and start playing. Remember the two most important things in Sol are using your imagination and having fun.

Don’t just play it though. If you run into a problem, come up with a great idea for something new to add to the game, or just want to show off your awesome campaign, then let us know! Swing by https://solrpg.wordpress.com/contact/, or any of our other social media and send us ideas, feedback, videos, whatever you have.

So go in and create epic tales of star crossed space pirates who try to join the rebellion to fight off the evil alien space empire focused on destroying the human race. Play out your characters, live their lives to the fullest, and then ruthless watch them get cut down before their time. Be the roguish spaceship captain, or the all powerful space marine. Be whatever you want to be, but most importantly:

Have Fun!

  • Co Creators Nathan “Beetle” Tucker and Kyle “Swarm It” Mooney