Storyteller System Overview

Table of Contents

Time

The Storyteller System has four distinct divisions of time within the game:

Turn: A 3-second period used for combat rounds.

Scene: A division of time based on drama. Like a scene on a tv show, a Scene in the Storyteller System has no set duration. It typically lasts for as long as it takes the character to do something; usually marked by the end of one plot point and the beginning of another. A change in location also often marks a Scene transition. Many supernatural powers operate for the duration of a "Scene".

Chapter: A single session.

Story: An entire story arc.


Dice Pools

◆ The Storyteller's System uses d10s to resolve actions.

◆ The number of dice that the player rolls for a given task is called the dice pool.

◆ Most dice pools consist of the character's relevant Attribute rating, plus that of an appropriate Ability. Roll a single d10 for each dot assigned to those traits.

◆ Some traits, such as Backgrounds, might replace Abilities in a dice pool.

Common dice pools include:

Skill, Talent, or Knowledge Roll: Roll the relevant [Attribute + Ability].

Lore Activation: Roll the [Attribute + Ability] called for by the Lore. If a Demon ravages his Thralls for additional power, he can add a number of dice equal to his permanent Faith score.

Willpower Roll: A Willpower dice pool is equal to the character's permanent Willpower (not his current Willpower Pool).


Difficulty

◆ The target number is called the Difficulty. It ranges from 2 to 10.


◆ The default Difficulty for most tasks is 6. This is the Standard Difficulty.


Success & Failure

◆ Each die that meets or beats the Difficulty number indicates one success.

◆ Any 1s that are rolled must be subtracted from the total number of successes (each 1 effectively cancels out a success). If no successes are rolled, or more 1s than successes, then the attempted action has failed.

◆ The number of successes determines how well the character completed the attempted action. Only a single net success is needed to pull off the task, but the more successes rolled, the more easily and completely the character triumphs.


Botches

◆ A botch occurs when one or more 1s are rolled but no successes.

◆ A botch is an unfortunate result. Not only does the character fail the action, but he does so rather significantly. The specific consequences of botching are up to the Storyteller.


Automatic Successes

◆ Sometimes a character is so skilled at a certain task that he need not roll for it.

◆ If a character's dice pool exceeds the Difficulty number of the attempted action, then the Storyteller may decide that the character automatically succeeds. Still, this is only a single success; a character may still want to roll anyway to achieve extra successes.

◆ A Willpower point may also be spent for a free success. This free success is in addition to any successes gained by rolling, but the Willpower point must be spent prior to rolling. Only one Willpower point may be spent per Turn to gain a free success.

◆ The automatic success rule can never be used for stressful situations, particularly combat.


Teamwork

◆ Characters can work together on a task and combine their successes; usually during an extended action. At the Storyteller's discretion, two or more players may roll separately and total their successes. If anyone botches, then the entire attempt utterly fails.


Second Chances

◆ A character may continue rolling for a failed action until he succeeds. However, prolonged failure can result in fatigue and frustration, which decreases one's productivity. To represent diminishing returns, the Storyteller may choose to impose escalating Difficulty for repeated attempts on the same task.

◆ To reflect this, the Difficulty number for each subsequent attempt increases by one. The more that the character fails and keeps trying, the more difficult the task becomes.

◆ This rule does not apply to combat.


Unskilled Attempts

◆ If a character doesn't have dots in an applicable Ability, the Storyteller may allow him to default to a relevant Attribute. The Difficulty number of the task may increase by one.


Specialties

◆ A Specialty is a particular focus for an Attribute or Ability. When taking an action that falls within one's Specialty, the character re-rolls any dice that come up "10" and adds any additional successes rolled to the total. Continue rolling any re-rolled dice until 10s are no longer rolled.


Extended Actions

◆ Some tasks require a sustained effort to be completed. With an extended action, the character accumulates successes over a period of time in order to accomplish the task.

◆ The Storyteller determines how many successes are required. The character rolls once for each applicable period of time that passes until he gathers the necessary successes, or until he botches. A period of time might be a game Turn, an hour, or even a day. The time factor depends on the nature of the task.

◆ Depending on the situation, botching on an extended action may mean that the character loses a "saved" success for each botch, or that all accumulated successes are lost and the task must start again from scratch. In the worst case, the character may have messed up so badly that he can't try again.


Resisted Actions

◆ During a resisted action, the character's efforts are being opposed by another's. Each opposing party rolls on the appropriate traits against a common Difficulty number. Whoever rolls the most successes is triumphant.

◆ Alternately, sometimes the Difficulty number for a resisted action is equal to an appropriate trait belonging to the opponent.

◆ The victorious character reduces his total successes by the amount of successes rolled by the opponent. The remaining successes are then applied to the action itself. Although opponents might not be able to stop you all the way, they may still be able to stifle you or slow you down.


Willpower

◆ Characters have a permanent "Willpower rating" that measures drive, confidence, and emotional stability. Whenever a Willpower roll is called for, the dice pool is always based on the permanent score.

◆ Characters also have a pool of temporary "Willpower points" that can be spent for various effects. A character's current reserve of Willpower points can fluctuate greatly during a game.

◆ Only 1 Willpower point may be spent per Turn, unless otherwise stated.


Spending Willpower

Willpower points can be spent on the following...

Automatic Success: Gain an automatic success on a single action. This may be used in place of a roll, or in addition to one. This success is guaranteed and cannot be canceled out, even by a botch. If a Willpower point is spent in addition to a roll, then it must be spent before making the roll.

Penalty Mitigation: Ignore any penalties due to wounds or other distractions for one Turn.

Faith: Keep a Faith die from being removed from the character’s Faith pool. The character can spend as many Willpower points as there are failed Faith dice, up to his remaining temporary Willpower.

Resist Instinctual Response: Sometimes a Storyteller may have a character react to something out of instinct - whether fear, revulsion, or rage. A character can resist this urge with the expenditure of a Willpower point (although the urge may return depending on the circumstances, calling for further expenditures).

Resist Mental Powers: A character can resist the effects of some mental powers with the expenditure of a Willpower point, or upon a successful Willpower roll. The specifics depend on the power being used.


Recovering Willpower

◆ Regain 1 point after a full night's rest (or equivalent opportunity to recharge and come at things fresh).

◆ Regain 1 point when the character achieves a significant goal or performs a particularly impressive action that affirms his sense of confidence.

◆ Regain 1 point when behaving in accordance with one's Nature.

◆ Regain 1 point for pushing on through dire straits or refusing to give up despite the odds.

◆ Regain all Willpower points at the end of the story (not chapter).

Time

Combat is measured in 3-second rounds called "Turns."


Initiative

◆ At the beginning of combat, every player rolls a die and adds it to her Initiative rating [Dexterity + Wits]. The character with the highest result acts first, with the remaining characters acting in decreasing order of result. Note that any wound penalties subtract from one's Initiative rating.

◆ If two characters get the same total, the one with the higher Initiative rating goes first. If the lnitiative ratings are also the same, roll again until the tie is resolved.


Combat Maneuvers

◆ A maneuver is an action that one can take during combat. Each maneuver has characteristics that may modify the dice pool and/or the damage.

◆ Combat maneuvers have a default difficulty of 6, but some maneuvers are harder to perform and thus have an increased difficulty. For instance, a Strike maneuver is Standard Difficulty, while a Kick maneuver is +1 Difficulty (Difficulty 7).

◆ Situational modifiers (from weather, lighting, range, etc.) may also adjust the Difficulty of the maneuver.

◆ Accuracy indicates a bonus to the attack dice pool. That means a maneuver with an Accuracy of +3, for instance, adds three dice to the attack dice pool when using that specific maneuver.

◆ Combat Maneuvers are fully described starting on p. 239 of Demon: The Fallen. The tables below summarize most of the available maneuvers:

Close Combat Maneuvers

Ranged Combat Maneuvers


Attacking & Defending

◆ The attacker chooses an attack maneuver (e.g., punch, kick, headbutt, etc.), and then rolls the necessary dice and totals up her successes.

◆ If the attack roll fails, then the attacker misses. If the attack roll botches, the character not only misses but suffers an additional negative consequence (weapon jams, blade breaks, etc.).

◆ The defender chooses her defensive maneuver (e.g., block, parry, dodge, etc.), then rolls the necessary dice and totals up her successes.

◆ Between attacker and defender, whoever rolls the most successes is triumphant.

◆ If the attacker is victorious, she reduces her total successes by the amount of successes rolled by the defender. The remaining successes are then applied to the attack's damage. This means that even if the defender fails to avoid the attack, her defensive maneuver still served to reduce the effectiveness of the attack.


Damage

◆ When an attack has been determined to hit, the attacker rolls for damage and subtracts the defender's soak (see Soak rules below).

◆ In combat, each extra success the character scores on an attack roll equals an additional die that adds to the damage dice pool.

◆ Damage rolls cannot be botched. It simply means the attack glances harmlessly off the target.

◆ Damage rolls are made against a Difficulty of 6. Each success on the damage roll inflicts one Health level of damage to the victim.

◆ A damage dice pool, regardless of modifiers, can never be reduced to less than one die.


Damage Types

There are three varieties of damage in the Storyteller System:

Bashing: This represents punches and blunt trauma, which are less likely to kill a victim instantly. Demons apply their full Stamina to resist bashing damage, and such damage heals fairly quickly. Bashing damage is listed with a "B".

Lethal: This represents attacks meant to cause immediate and fatal injury to the target. Normal humans may not use Stamina to resist lethal damage, and such damage takes quite a while to heal by normal means. Demons, on the other hand, are able to apply their Stamina to resist lethal damage. Lethal damage is listed with an "L".

Aggravated: Some supernatural attacks are exceptionally dangerous to the Fallen. Aggravated damage cannot be soaked at all except with certain rare supernatural powers. For demons, aggravated damage heals at the same rate as lethal damage. Normal humans cannot heal from aggravated damage; for them, such injuries are permanent. Aggravated damage is listed with an asterisk "*".


Soak

◆ All characters can resist a certain degree of physical punishment. This is known as "soaking damage." A character's soak dice pool equals her Stamina rating. Unless they have some form of armor, normal humans can only soak bashing damage, whereas demons can soak both bashing and lethal damage.

◆ Roll to soak against a Difficulty of 6. Subtract the successes from the total damage rolled by the attacker. Rolling to soak is reflexive and doesn't cost an action.

◆ As with damage rolls, a soak roll cannot be botched.

◆ A demon's Faith rating can also be used to soak. See the rules for Faith.


Armor

◆ Armor adds to the character's Stamina when determining the soak (or Faith) dice pool.

◆ Armor helps protect against all types of damage: bashing, lethal, and aggravated.

◆ Attackers may try to bypass armor by targeting unprotected parts of the defender's body. See the rules for Targeting Hit Locations.

◆ If the damage applied from a single attack equals or exceeds twice the armor's rating, the armor is destroyed.


Movement

◆ A character can walk 7 yards per Turn, jog [12 + Dexterity] yards per Turn, and run [20 + [3 x Dexterity]] yards per Turn.

◆ A character may move up to half of her running distance and still take an action that same Turn. In game terms this is not considered multiple actions, though the Storyteller may still choose to increase the Difficulty of the action being attempted.


Multiple Actions

◆ A character can perform multiple actions on a Turn. When taking multiple actions, the character must subtract 2 dice from their first action and 1 die for each additional action (so -3 dice for the second action, -4 dice for the third, etc.). If multi-action penalties reduce a dice pool to 0, the character cannot take that action.

◆ Any defensive actions that the character takes over the course of the turn also count toward the dice penalty. For example: The character wants to strike two enemies with his flaming sword this turn. He subtracts 2 dice from his first [Dexterity + Melee] roll and 3 dice from her second. Later in the turn, both enemy combatants attack him. He subtracts 4 dice from his attempt to dodge the first and 5 from his second dodge (his fourth action this turn). The character can’t attack his opponents again until his next turn, but he can continue to dodge for as long as he has dice left.


Yielding Actions

◆ On her Turn, a character may choose to delay her action, in which case her maneuvers happen when she finally takes action.

◆ A character may act at any time after her designated order in the Initiative, even to interrupt another, "slower" character’s action. If two characters both delay their actions, and both finally act at the same time, the one with the higher Initiative score for the Turn acts first.


Ambushes

◆ Ambushes involve surprising a target to get in a decisive first strike. The attacker rolls [Dexterity + Stealth] in a resisted action against the target’s [Perception + Alertness]. If the attacker gets more successes, she can stage one free attack on the target and adds any extra successes (beyond the first one) to her attack roll.

◆ On a tie, the attacker still attacks, although the target may perform a defensive maneuver.

◆ If the defender gets more successes, he spots the ambush, and both parties roll initiative normally.

◆ Targets already involved in combat cannot be ambushed.


Fighting Blind

◆ Attacking while blind usually incurs a +2 Difficulty. Ranged attacks cannot be made accurately.

◆ On the other hand, acting against a blinded opponent gains the character two additional dice to her attack roll.


Flank & Rear Attacks

◆ A character attacking her target from the flank gains an additional die to her attack dice pool.

◆ A character gains two additional dice for her attack dice pool when attacking from behind.


Multiple Opponents

◆ A character who battles multiple opponents in close combat suffers attack and defense Difficulties of +1, cumulative, for each opponent after the first (to a maximum of +4).


Targeting Hit Locations

Aiming for a specific location incurs an increase in Difficulty, but it can help bypass armor/cover or result in extra damage.



Knockdown

• After suffering a knockdown, the subject makes an Athletics or Martial Arts roll. If successful, she gets back on her feet immediately, but her Initiative is reduced by two in the next turn.

• On a failed roll, the subject spends her next action climbing to her feet.

• On a botch, she lands particularly hard or at a severe angle, suffering bashing damage equal to the botches rolled.

• Maneuvers like Tackle, Throw and Sweep are intended to knock an opponent down. However, an especially powerful attack of any kind may send the target to the ground.


Dazed

• If, in a single attack, the attacker rolls a number of damage successes greater than the target’s Stamina, the victim is dazed.

• The target must spend her next available turn shaking off the attack‘s effects.


Immobilized

• Add two dice to attack rolls made on an immobilized (i.e., held by someone or something) but still struggling target.

• Attacks hit automatically if the target is completely immobilized (tied up or otherwise paralyzed).


Unconsciousness

• If, in a single attack, the attacker rolls a number of damage successes greater than the target’s Stamina plus two, the victim blacks out.

• Unconsciousness lasts from five turns to an entire scene (specific duration is at the Storyteller’s discretion).

Range

◆ The listed range of a ranged weapon refers to the weapon's short range in yards. Shooting within this range calls for a Difficulty of 6.

◆ A weapon's maximum range is double its short range. A weapon fired at greater than short range, but less than maximum, suffer +2 Difficulty.

◆ Ranged attacks made at targets within two yards are considered point blank. Point blank shots benefit from a Difficulty of 4.


Aiming

◆ For each Turn that a character spends aiming, add one die to the attack dice pool. The maximum number of number that can be gained this way is equal to the character's Perception rating.

◆ During this time, the character must focus on aiming and can do nothing else. Taking an action while aiming, even to defend oneself, cancels out the benefits out the time spent aiming.

◆ A character must have at least one dot in Firearms to be able to perform this maneuver.


Automatic Fire

◆ The weapon unloads its entire ammunition clip in one attack against a single target. This attack is permissible only if the weapon’s clip is at least half-full.

◆ The attacker makes a single roll, adding 10 dice to her Accuracy. However, the Difficulty on the attack roll increases by two due to the weapon’s recoil. Extra successes beyond the first one add to the damage dice pool.


Cover

◆ Cover increases an attacker’s Difficulty to hit a target (and often the target’s ability to fire back).


◆ A character who fires back from behind cover is also at something of a disadvantage to hit, as he exposes himself and ducks back under protection. Ranged attacks made by a defender who is under cover are at one lower difficulty than listed below (if a listed difficulty is +1, then the defender suffers no penalty to make attacks from behind that cover.)


Multiple Shots

◆ An attacker may take more than one shot in a Turn as multiple actions. Tthe first shot’s dice pool is reduced by the total number of shots fired, and each subsequent shot is reduced by an additional die, cumulatively.

◆ The attacker can fire a number of shots up to the weapon’s full rate of fire.


Reloading

◆ Reloading most guns takes one full Turn. At the Storyteller's discretion, it may be performed as part of a multiple action. No die roll is required to reload.


Three-Round Bursts

◆ The character fires three shots at a single target. Doing so gains the attack roll two additional dice. Only certain weapons can fire this way.

◆ Recoil adds +1 to the Difficulty of the attack roll.


Strafing/Spray Fire

◆ Instead of aiming at one target, full-auto weapons can be fired across an area. Strafing adds 10 dice to the attack dice pool, and it empties the clip.

◆ This maneuver covers a maximum of three yards.

◆ The character makes an attack roll and divides the success evenly among all targets in the covered area. The successes assigned to an individual are added to that damage dice pool for that specific target.

◆ If only one target is within range or the area of effect, only half the successes affect him. The attacker then assigns any leftover successes as he desires.

◆ If fewer successes are rolled than there are targets, only one may be assigned per target until they are all allocated.

◆ Dodge rolls against strafing are at +1 Difficulty.

Health Levels


◆ Characters have eight health levels, ranging from Bruised to Dead.

◆ When a character suffers damage, each of the attacker's successes removes one level of Health. Multiple successes deliver multiple levels of damage.

◆ As the character gets injured, he suffers a dice penalty that gets increasingly worse the more wounded he becomes. The dice penalty is subtracted from every action (except damage and soak) until the wounds heal. If wound penalties reduce a dice pool to zero, then the action may not be attempted. Remember that a character can spend a point of Willpower to ignore wound penalties for a single action.

◆ As he gets progressively injured, the character's movement also become increasingly impaired. At Wounded and worse, the character can no longer run. At Crippled, the character can only walk (or crawl) one yard per turn.

◆ Incapacitation is the stage immediately before death. When the character's Health drops to Incapacitated, he may or may not be conscious, at the Storyteller's discretion. Alternately, the character may be required to make a Stamina roll to determine whether he remains awake. If unconscious, an Incapacitated character cannot perform reflexive rolls related to Faith or Willpower, but may still attempt to soak any further damage.

◆ When a demon character is reduced below Incapacitated by lethal or aggravated damage, the host body dies. The immortal essence of the demon, however, lives on. It must quickly find another suitable vessel to possess or risk being pulled back into the Abyss.


Applying Damage

◆ A character can sustain three types of damage: bashing (wounds inflicts by blunt instruments, punches, kicks, etc.), lethal (wounds inflicted by knives, bullets, or any attack that actually pierces flesh), and aggravated (wounds caused by certain supernatural forces). All types of damage are cumulative.

◆ Bashing damage is recorded with a slash ("/"). Lethal damage is recorded with an "X", and aggravated damage is recorded with an asterisk ("*").

◆ When the character acquires a mixture of damage types, the aggravated damage goes at the top. It pushes any lethal or bashing damage down. Lethal damage is marked next; it pushes any bashing damage down. Once all the Health boxes are marked, any further damage, of whatever type, causes existing bashing damage to turn into lethal damage on a one-to-one basis.


Recovery

◆ Every level of damage must be recovered individually. Therefore, a character reduced to Incapacitated by bashing damage must spend a full twelve hours healing at that level before moving on to Crippled. At Crippled, he must spend six hours healing until moving on to Mauled, and so on.

◆ Bashing damage heals on its own and does not require medical attention.

◆ Lethal damage requires medical attention to prevent serious bleeding. At Wounded or below, the character suffers an additional level of lethal damage for each hour that passes without medical attention. A single success on an [Intelligence/Wits + Medicine/Survival] roll, by a rescuer or the character (if he's not Incapacitated), stops the bleeding. A demon may also spend a point of Faith and make a Willpower roll to stop the bleeding.

◆ At Crippled or Incapacitated levels of lethal or aggravated damage, the character will not recover at all without medical attention.

◆ A demon can spend a point of Faith to heal either a single level of lethal damage or all levels of bashing damage. Faith cannot heal aggravated damage; only time or certain powerful abilities will do so.