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This is a Pyrates & High Seas take on S. John Ross’s Risus, with add-ons from Tim Huntley for Health Points and related combat rules. Cliches stolen from all and sundry. Specific Pyrates v6 conversion notes here.
Risus is Copyright © S. John Ross, and used with permission.
Ironsides is a C17 adaptation of Risus that I've just found listed on the main site — looks a bit NJ-like at first blush. I see some ideas to incorporate in Pyrates...
Characters are defined by Clichés (sometimes several of them). Clichés are a shorthand which describe what a character knows how to do. The character classes of the Neolithic Period of RPGs were Clichés: Fighter and Magic-User, Space Marine and Star Merchant. You can take Clichés like that, or choose a more contemporary one, such as Biker, Spy, Computer Nerd, Supermodel, or William Shatner (formerly an actor - now just a Cliché). Which Clichés are permitted are up to the GM.
Clichés are defined in terms of Dice (by which we mean the ordinary six-sided kind you can scavenge from your old Yahtzee set). This is the number of dice that you roll whenever your skill as a Fighter, Supermodel, or William Shatner (for instance) is challenged. See Game System, below. Three dice is professional. Six dice is mastery. One die is a putz.
Characters are created by naming and describing them, and listing
their Clichés. When designing your character, you have
10 dice with which to define his Clichés (a Normal Schmoe
would be built on anywhere from 3 to 5 dice). A straightforward
medieval fighter pirate character might look like this:
A character may have any number or combination of Clichés, but more than 10 different Clichés would be odd, considering the number of dice you get. Characters shouldn’t begin their career with more than 4 dice in anything, but just because you’re creating a character today doesn’t mean that he’s beginning his career! The GM will tell you if he’s requiring beginners for the game. It’s not our business.
- and what they are good for
These are just examples to get you started - players should feel free to make up their own Clichés (subject to GM approval). In particular, Note that the GM will require the fine tuning of any Cliché that he considers too broad. If the game is about sorcerers (for example), then sorcerer becomes too all-encompassing for the game, and Clichés like necromancer, mentalist, fire-wizard and wise woman are more the order of the day.
Whenever anybody wants to do something, and nobody is actively trying to stop him, AND the GM doesn't think that success would be automatic, the player rolls dice. If the total rolled beats the Target Number that the GM sets, success! If not, failure!
Target numbers follow this scale:
5: A cinch. A snap. A challenge for a Schmuck. Routine for a pro.
10: A challenge for a Professional.
15: An Heroic challenge. For really inventive or tricky stunts.
20: A challenge for a Master. Nearly superhuman difficulty.
30: You've GOT to be Kidding. Actual superhuman difficulty.
Every character is assumed to be equipped with the Tools of His Trade (at least the portable ones). Conquistadores are wearing armor and wielding good weapons. Pirates have a suntan, open shirt, baggy trousers with a cutlass in the belt, and a bottle of rum.
If, through the course of an adventure, a character LOSES any of these vital totems, his Cliché operates on half the normal number of dice (or not at all, if the GM rules that the equipment was REQUIRED) until they are replaced.
A Pirate(5), for instance, can fight without his cutlass as a Pirate(3), but a Chirugeon can't amputate a leg without his bone-saw. If the Chriugeon manages to borrow another saw (from the carpenter) besides the kind he's used to, he can operate at half-dice.
Some special tools (magic wands, hot-off-the-line rifled pistols, and so on) may give bonus dice to your Clichés when used. Characters never begin the game with bonus-dice gear; they must be acquired in adventures.
"Combat" in this game is defined as any contest in which opponents jockey for position, utilize attacks, bring defenses to bear, and try to wear down their foes to achieve victory. Either literally or metaphorically! Some examples of combat include:
The GM decides when a combat has begun. At that point, go around the table in rounds, and let each player make an attack in turn. What constitutes an "attack" depends on the sort of combat, but it should ALWAYS be roleplayed (if dialogue is involved) or described in entertaining detail (if it's physical and/or dangerous and/or normally requires contraceptives).
Attacks require rolls against character Clichés. The GM must, at the outset of combat, determine what TYPE of Clichés are appropriate for the fight. In a physical fight, Clichés like Soldier, Swashbuckler, and Pirate are appropriate. Clichés like Hairdresser and Rake are not (but may still be used; see next section).
An attack must be directed at a foe. Both parties in the attack (attacker and defender) roll against their chosen Cliché. Low roll loses. Specifically, the low roller loses one of his Cliché dice for the remainder of the fight - he's been weakened, worn down, or otherwise pushed one step towards defeat. In future rounds, he'll be rolling lower numbers.
Eventually, one side will be left standing, and another will be left without dice. At this point, the winners usually decide the fate of the losers. In a physical fight or magical duel, the losers might be killed (or mercifully spared). In Courtroom Antics, the loser gets sentenced by the judge, or fails to prosecute. In a Seduction, the loser either gets either a cold shower or a warm evening, depending on who wins.
You needn't use the same Cliché every round (unless you're part of a team; see below). If a Swashbuckler wants to lop heads one round, and swing on chandeliers the next, that's groovy, too. However, anytime a character has a Cliché worn down to zero dice in combat, he has lost, even if he has other appropriate Clichés left to play with.
Dice lost in combat are regained when the combat ends, at a "healing" rate determined by the GM. If the combat was in vehicles (carriges, wooden sailing ships) then the vehicles themselves are likely damaged, too, and must be repaired.
As stated above, the GM determines what sort of Clichés are appropriate for any given combat. An INAPPROPRIATE Cliché is anything that's left... In a physical fight, Hairdresser is inappropriate. In a Wizards' duel, Barbarian is inappropriate.
Inappropriate Clichés may be used to make attacks, PROVIDED THE PLAYER ROLEPLAYS OR DESCRIBES IT IN A REALLY, REALLY, REALLY ENTERTAINING MANNER. Furthermore, the "attack" must be plausible within the context of the combat, and the genre and tone that the GM has set for the game. This option is more valuable in silly games than in dead-serious ones.
All combat rules apply normally, with one exception: If an inappropriate Cliché wins a combat round versus an appropriate one, the "appropriate" player loses THREE dice, rather than one, from his Cliché! The "inappropriate" player takes no such risk, and loses only the normal one die if he loses the round.
Thus, a skilled hairdresser is dangerous when cornered and attacked unfairly. Beware.
When in doubt, assume that the aggressor determines the type of combat. If a wizard attacks a barbarian with magic, then it's a Wizard's duel! If the barbarian attacks the mage with his sword, then it's Physical Combat! If the defender can come up with an entertaining use of his skills, then he'll have the edge. It pays in many genres to be the defender!
Note: If the wizard and barbarian both obviously want to fight, then both are aggressors, and it's "Fantasy Combat," where both swords and sorcery have equal footing.
Two or more characters may decide to form a TEAM in combat. For the duration of the team (usually the entire combat), they fight as a single unit, and are attacked as a single foe. They roll a number of dice defined by the most powerful Cliché in the team (the "Team Leader" - a title that must be designated if there is a tie), plus one die for each team member beyond the first.
Clichés being added together need not be identical, but they all must be equally appropriate or inappropriate. This means five Vikings could band together in physical fight with no problem. It also means that a Hairdresser, a Parakeet Trainer, and a Career Counselor could team up in a physical fight if they have a REALLY good description of how they'll use their skills in concert to take out the Vikings!
Whenever a team loses a round of combat, the team's dice-value is reduced by one (or three!) normally. In addition to this, one team member's dice are reduced, as well! Any team member may "step forward" and voluntarily take this personal "damage" to his dice. If this happens, the noble volunteer is reduced by twice the normal amount (either two dice or six!), and the team gets to roll twice as many dice on their next attack, a temporary boost as they avenge their heroic comrade. If no volunteer steps forward, then each member of the team must roll against the Cliché they're currently using in the team: Low-roll takes the hit, and there is no "vengeance" bonus.
Disbanding: A team may voluntarily disband at any time between die-rolls. This reduces the Cliché each team-member was using in the team by one, instantly (not a permanent reduction - treat it just like "damage" taken from losing a round of combat). Disbanded team-members may freely form new teams, provided the disbanding "damage" doesn't take them out of the fight. Individuals may also "drop out" of a team, but this reduces them to zero dice immediately as they scamper for the rear. Their fates rest on the mercy of whoever wins the fight!
Lost Members: If any member of the team leaves the team for any reason (either dropping out or having his personal dice reduced to zero), the team's value is instantly reduced by one die to account for the loss. If the team leader ever leaves the team for any reason, the team's value is not affected: rather, they must disband immediately (or after their next attack, if the team leader was taken to zero by volunteering for personal damage!)
Many conflicts that arise in the game cannot be defined as "combat"; they're over too quickly, defined by a single action. A classic pistol-duel isn't combat - the two duelists simply turn and fire, and then it's all over. Two characters diving to grab the same gun from the floor isn't combat. Two cooks preparing chili for a cookoff isn't combat; there's no "wearing down of the foe" and no jockeying for position.
Such "single-action conflicts" are settled with a single roll against appropriate Clichés (or inappropriate Clichés, with good roleplaying). High roll wins.
It will often occur that characters will find themselves involved in a Combat or quicker conflict where they simply have no applicable Clichés, even by stretching the imagination. Or maybe ONE character will have an appropriate Cliché, while the others feel left out. An example might be a pie-eating contest. One character was wise (or foolish) enough to take "Disgusting Glutton(2)" as a Cliché. The other characters are astronauts or accountants, neither of which traditionally engorge themselves on pie.
In situations like this, give everybody two free dice to play with, for the duration of the conflict. This INCLUDES characters who already HAVE appropriate Clichés. In the example above, the astronauts and accountants would get Pie-Eating(2), while the Disgusting Glutton would be temporarily increased to Disgusting Glutton(4). The Glutton, naturally, still has the winning edge, but anyone can TRY to eat lots of pie. This "temporary promotion" applies only in opposed conflicts, not in challenges based on Target Numbers.
No standard time or distance scale is provided for Risus; it really depends on what kind of action is happening. However, the GM should endeavor to stay consistent within a single conflict. In a physical fight, each round should represent a few seconds, and characters should act accordingly. In a long-term fight between a married couple, each round might represent an entire Day (Day one: Husband "accidentally" burns wife's favorite dress in the oven, Wife "accidentally" feeds Drano to Husband's prize goldfish, and so on until there is a victor).
At the end of each adventure, each player should roll against every Cliché that was used significantly during the game (using their current number of dice). If the dice land showing only even numbers, this indicates an increase by one die for that Clichés. Thus, advancement slows down as you go. No Cliché may go higher than Cliché(6), although if Pumping is allowed (see below), they can be pumped past (6).
Anytime you do something really, really, really spectacularly entertaining that wows the whole table, the GM may rule that you may roll instantly (in the middle of the game!) for possible improvement, in addition to the roll at the end of the adventure.
Adding New Clichés: There may come a time when a character has grown and matured enough to justify adding an entirely new Cliché to his character sheet. If the player and GM agree this is the case, and agree on what the new Cliché is, the player rolls for Character Advancement as usual, but any of the new dice earned maye be put toward the new Cliché instead of the ones that earned them. This can also be applied to "in-game" improvements, if the situation warrants it!
ADVANCED OPTION: HOOKS and TALES
Normally, a character is created using 10 dice. With this Advanced Option, players can bargain for extra beginning dice by giving their character a Hook and/or a Tale.
A Hook is some signifigant character flaw - an obsession, a weakness, a sworn vow, a permanently crippling injury - that the GM agrees is so juicy that he can use it to make the characters life more interesting (which usually means less pleasant). A character with a Hook gets an extra die to play with.
A Tale is a written "biography" of the character describing his life before the events of the game begin. The Tale needn't be long (two or three pages is usually just fine); it just needs to tell the reader where the character is coming from, what he likes and dislikes, how he became who he is, what his motives are. Some Tales are best written from the player's omniscient perspective; others are more fun if written as excerpts from the character's own diary. A character with a Tale provided before gameplay begins gets an extra die to play with.
ADVANCED OPTION II: PUMPING CLICHéS
In an emergency, any character may pump his Clichés. If the Ninja(3) comes face to face with a Monster(6), it might be necessary.
When a Cliché is pumped, it received a temporary boost in dice. This boost lasts for a single round of combat, or a single significant roll otherwise. However, after that round or roll is resolved, the character loses a number of dice equal to the number he gave himself in the pump. This is treated like "injury" to the Clichés sustained in combat, and must "heal" in the same fashion.
Example: Rudolph the Privateer has come face to face with a Monster, who attacks him. Rudy doesn't have much of a chance against such a powerful foe, so he opts for a tricky tactic: Since the Monster has attacked physically, Rudolph decides his first round will use his skill as a Cajun Chef(3) - a decidedly Inappropriate choice! He also opts to pump it by two dice up to five... He's REALLY putting his all into his cooking for this fight.
So, the first round happens. The Monster rolls six dice, and the Privateer (quickly whipping up a tempting Gumbo spiked with an old injun sleeping drug and offering it to the monster) rolls five dice.
If the Ninja loses, then he is instantly defeated. His Cajun Chef Clichés drops by two to Cajun Chef(1) just for the pump, plus another die for losing the round. The Monster decides to eat Rudolph instead of the Gumbo.
If the Ninja WINS, however, the Monster(6) is dropped to Monster(3), and his Cajun Chef(3) drops to Cajun Chef(1). In the rounds that follow, Rudolph will switch back to ordinary Privateer tactics - and be on equal footing with the sleepy Monster!
A risky manoeuver, but worth it.
Pumped Clichés are legal in any situation except single-action conflicts.
ADVANCED OPTION III: DOUBLE-PUMPS
If this option is used, characters may be created with double-pump Clichés. These Clichés, when pumped, give you TWO dice in the pumped roll for every die you'll lose at the end of it. Thus, a Sorcerer(5) could be a Sorcerer(11) for a single combat round, at a cost of three dice. This option is appropriate for any Clichés based on supernatural powers, such as wizards, telepaths, and humanoid-torch style superheroes. They're also appropriate for any other Clichés the GM approves them for.
Double-pump Clichés cost twice as many starting dice to buy. Thus, the following would be a legal starting character:
Sinsibi the Bokor
Description: Thin, spindly and mysterious, with a tired cockrel on his shoulder. Likes to poke around where Man Ought Not, turn people in to zombies and the like. Likes the jungle.
Clichés: Bokor [3], Herbalist (2), Boucanier (2)
The hard [square brackets] indicate a double-pump Clichés. Since it costs double, Sinsibi is effectively a 10-dice character.
If the GM considers any Clichés to be too universally powerful, he may REQUIRE that it be purchased in this way, to insure some sort of balance. Overall, double-pump dice are less useful than ordinary dice at the beginning, but since they improve at the same rate as ordinary dice, they are a good "investment."
Inappropriate Clichés, Pumps, and Double-Pumps
ADVANCED OPTION IV: FUNKY DICE
Okay, this is the LAST advanced option.
With the Funky Dice option, we move beyond the standard six-sided cubical dice, and enter the world of the d8, d10, d12, d20 and (heavens preserve us) d30.
These dice allow Risus to represent, say, superheroes or demigods, without resorting to large numbers of dice. Under this system, characters are given points to create their characters with, and each type of die costs points. Specifically:
| d6: 6 points | d8: 8 points | d10: 10 points |
| d12: 12 points | d20: 20 points | d30: 30 points |
Normal characters are created with 60 points to spend. Superheroes and godlings may be created with more (200 is a good number), if the GM wants a high-powered game. Double-pump dice cost double, of course, and 4 dice is still the limit for beginning PCs . . . but they can be 4 big dice. Points not spent when characters are created are lost. Six-sided dice are the smallest permitted, and thirty-sided dice are the largest (and also loopy).
When using this option, a character with Cliché(6) may still roll to improve! If the roll is successful, he drops to (5) dice, but of the NEXT HIGHER TYPE. So, your Swashbuckler(6) becomes an Swashbuckler(5d8).
If the GM is allowing Hooks and Tales, either one will increase available starting points by 10 percent (so, Normal Risus characters will get six extra points each for a Hook or Tale).
Those are the only rule-changes. Dice are still dice - if a Pirate(3) wins a combat round against a Swashbuckler(5d10), the Swashbuckler loses a whole d10. Conversely, at the end of the game, the Swashbuckler has the same odds of adding a d10 to his Clichés as the Viking has of adding a d6 to his.
| Burning Rubber Description: Possessing, or Riding, Barry Parker, a mild-mannered NASCAR driver, Burning Rubber can run really really fast, burst into flame, and stretch his body into funky shapes. Clichés: Speedster [2d10], On-Fire Guy [2d20], Stretching Guy (4d10), Stock-Car Driver(3), Football Fan(3) |
An expanded Target Number list for superhumans, compared to feats of physical strength:
| 30: Throwing a motorcycle. 50: Throwing a tank. 70: Throwing a loaded train. 85: Throwing a pile of 15,000 loaded trains . . . 100: Kicking the Earth five feet out of orbit. |
Note the nonlinearity! This ain't rocket science.