Core Rules

1. The Dice
2. Attributes
3. Skills
4. Talents
5. Combat
6. Wounds and Health
7. Armor
8. Sanity
9. Progression

The Dice

Exitus uses a 3d6 system. Most rolls operate on a 3d6 roll (damage being the exception). These rolls are made by attempting to roll under your own skill or attribute. So you want high stats and low rolls (damage being the exception).

Often there will be something called a "flat check" which usually involves a skill or attribute's number being compared to a requirement. Flat checks are things like attempting to lift a heavy object. A character's strength is either enough or it isn't, a roll is not required. These are invoked fairly often and may then lead to a roll if the flat check is barely met or it is under stressful conditions. This is a counter-balance to the fact that you can ask to build a space rocket and then attempt to roll under your 15 engineering and succeed no matter how hard the task was. So expect a lot of flat checks.

GM's note: +/- refers to the skill not the dice. So +'s are good, -'s are bad. This is just to make things not confusing given that you want to roll low on 3d6.

Attributes

Your race will determine your base attributes but the system's math assumes base 10 as average. At times the game will call for an attribute check, this is done by rolling 3d6. You want to roll under your attribute number. So once again, you want high stats and low rolls. There might also be a flat check, at which point you just want high stats.

Strength:
Melee damage is increased by strength modifier.
Encumberance limit is equal to strength.

Dexterity:
Critical range is 3+([Dex-10]/2) round down. More details in combat section covering criticals.
Personal max range (the range at which you can effectively hit your target regardless of weapon) is equal to double your dex score+5 meters.

Constitution:
Constitution checks are used to resist diseases
Certain levels of armor require a certain constitution score to deal with the weight over long journeys
Pursuit mechanics will flat check your constitution.
GM's note: has no effect on max health

Perception:
Utilized for spotting things in your immediate vicinity that are not otherwise overtly obvious, as well as sensing when someone might be lying.

Willpower:
Resists mental effects.
Used extensively in magic paths.

Speed:
Can move a number of meters equal to speed on a movement action.

Health:
If this hits 0, you dead.

Skills

Skills in exitus are independent of attributes and start at base 6 instead of 10. Skill checks are 3d6 and try to roll under your skill #. Flat Skill Checks are just a comparison of your Skill # to a requirement. There are utility skills and combat skills, mechanically they are the same just sorted due to the different times you'll need to check that section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talents

Talents are often the decisive and characterizing abilities of your character. You can find them on this page with full detail, but in essence you pay their listed xp cost to add them to your character. You can take as many as you want as long as you have the xp to buy them and meet their prerequisites.

Combat Actions

You have 2 standard actions (often just referred to as an action) per turn. You may choose not to use 1 or more of them and instead expend them as a reaction on someone elses turn to one of their actions, though their action will have priority since you are reacting to it. You may use a reaction to any standard action someone else takes. You can take a maximum of 1 free action per turn. A free action is often something granted by a talent, power, or just saying words. Here are some of the standard actions, though more are available through talents and powers.

Aim (1 action)
Increase your ranged or power skill by 2, your effective range by 2, and your crit range by 1 per consecutive aim taken. Stacks up to 3 times. The benefit of Aim is lost if you take any action other then attack or aim afterwards.

Attack (1 action)
You attack using your ranged, melee, or power related abilities.

Draw Weapon (1 action)
Draw a weapon

Move (1 action)
Move up to your speed in spaces.

Reload (1 action)
Reload your weapon

Stand Up (1 action)
Stop being prone

Take a breather (1 action)
Reduce cost of next cast by 3% sanity.

Take cover (1 action)
Get behind an object near you.

Take a step (free action)
Move 1 meter.

Rotate (free action)
Generally used as a reaction so some guy doesn't just run up behind you and call it a backstab in one turn.

Combat is done by utilizing your skill checks. First the attacker will roll their attack against their own skill to see if they succeed, if they do the opponent (if they are aware) may make a defense roll of their choice. These have different interactions.

Ranged
Attacking with weapons where the greatest challenge is actually aiming the weapon falls under the ranged category. Your personal range is equal to double your dexterity attribute in meters, as well as any talents or equipment that might modify it. For every meter out of this range your target is you suffer a -1 penalty to your ranged skill (or a +1 to your roll, however you want to look at it). Ranged attacks are also affected by cover and concealment.

Melee
Melee attacks are unique in that your melee stat can also be used to parry another melee attack that is made towards you. Parrying causes you to take no damage. Doing so applies normal defense action debuffs except you take no attack penalty if you attack the person you defended against (referred to as a counter attack). Melee attacks are usually made toward adjacent targets but weapons with reach properties might be able to strike further away. If you use melee to parry an opponent's melee attack and score a critical success you may immediately take a counter attack action for no action cost. You may wish to remember this paragraph because this is an important defense option that is easily forgotten since it isn't in the defense part of the sheet.

Cast
Using powers or activating items counts as a cast. Casts cannot crit unless otherwise specified.

Defenses are active decisions on which one to use at what time. They each have their strengths and weaknesses particularly against certain types of attack. Blocking a charging elephant is not likely going to help that much and dodging an explosive is also iffy unless you find cover. However, taking any defensive action confers a penalty to any attack roll you make next turn. Each successive defensive action you take continues to stack this bonus. If you have to dodge or block 4 enemies at once, it is unlikely you can put up much of an offense afterwards. Defensive actions are declared before the attacker rolls though you don't have to roll unless they hit. Meaning if you flinch and they miss, you still flinched which will disrupt you from returning the attack. Different defenses have different penalties.

Block
Putting your armor, arm, or hapless victim in your way counts as a block. If you are hit by an attack you may make a block attempt to mitigate the damage by 2+the DR of the blocking item (usually your armor). Note if you hold your armored arm out to protect your face, your total DR will be 2+(2*armorDR) since you gain the block bonus and still keep your armor's stats. While there is no gaurantee this will entirely mitigate damage it can still be used against AoE's and most spells (spells that cannot be blocked will specify). A critical success (as determined by your dex score) can entirely stop damage (within reason, you aren't going to block a tank driving over you). A block action confers -2 flinch penalty, unless you take enough damage that the GM feels you are no longer standing stable in which case the penalty might increase.

Dodge
The greatest defense in the history of combat is to simply not be there. When taking a dodge reaction you must move 1 space sideways of the incoming attack. You can choose towards or away from the attack as well but this renders you prone. You may choose to go prone when dodging sideways of your own volition. If you cannot move in any direction you cannot dodge. If dodging does not get you out of the radius of an area of effect attack you still take full damage from the attack. Dodging confers -3 flinch penalty.

Rebuke
This is specifically only effective against power-based attacks and explosions. This can make you immune to the incoming damage if you succeed the attempt. This incurs -2 to your next attack action, magic that cannot be repulsed will specify in their own listing.

Criticals occur when you roll within your critical range. This range is 3+([Dex-10]/2) rounded down. A critical attack will deal the maximum possible damage instead of rolling the damage dice.

While prone anyone who attempts to shoot you does so at -4 to their ranged skill. Anyone who attempts to melee you gets +4. If you are behind cover this will usually convey full cover so you cannot be shot at. You have -2 to ranged and -4 to melee while prone. You cannot take dodge actions while prone.

Combat Conditions

There are multiple conditions and modifiers that can affect the hit chance of an attack. They are specified here but it is advised to keep a cheat sheet nearby as the majority of arcanist tactics involves manipulating these variables.

1. Cover
2. Concealment
3. Movement

Cover
If you are trying to make a ranged attack or cast against an opponent in cover your roll takes a penalty depending on the level of cover.

Light Cover: Debris, vehicles, or objects that are otherwise not uniform enough in arrangement to easily cover the whole body. Confers -3 to attacker's skill.

Medium Cover: Low walls, columns, the cover is uniform enough to easily protect the body but not comfortable to use. confers -4 to attacker's skill.

Heavy Cover: Solid walls, stationary tanks, and well prepared fortifications. -7 to attacker's skill.

Medium or heavy cover can be used to take full cover, an action that means you cannot attack but you position yourself to be fully protected by the object in question. You cannot be hit if you are behind full cover, though you also cannot hit anyone else. GM's tip: When people are attacking then taking cover repeatedly as their 2 actions, you can save an action to use as a reaction to attack after they make their attack action and they will not be considered in full cover until the action where they take full cover again.

Concealment
Cover that does not actually stop the weapons the attacker is using counts as concealment, as well as things like plants or smoke that simply obscure vision. Note that only some powers will treat flimsy objects as concealment, most powers lack object penetration typical of projectile weapons. The weapon or power will specify if it is penetrating or impact. Note a flipped table doesn't really count as concealment if the table is not large enough to make it difficult to discern where your body likely is. Concealment has to be large enough that whoever is within it can move around enough to keep their exact positioning a mystery.

Light Concealment: There are some jungle plants in the way but you can still generally make out where they are. -1 to attacker

Medium Concealment: Destroyed walls, wreckage, and other non-uniform but thick and obscuring objects that make it hard to tell where they are. -2 to attacker

Heavy Concealment: Smoke screens, waterfalls, situations that make figuring their exact position nearly impossible. -4 to attacker

Full Concealment: A wall that is too flimsy to stop the weapon being used, but still makes it impossible to visibly see where the person is standing. -4

Movement
Moving targets are a bit harder to hit. Attackers suffer a penalty equal to half the target's speed if they want to take a reaction to attack someone upon them using movement.

Wounds and health

Instead of hit points, you have hit locations and wounds. Wounds often have consequences to your attributes and skills. You have 6 body parts, left arm, left leg, right arm, right leg, torso, and head. The maxhp of each limb is determined by your species selection during character creation. The head slot usually has less health then the others and the torso has more. The character sheet will automate some of the calculations for you but here in the core rules are the explanations so you know whats happening. Damage to your attributes is dealt in .5 increments, except your head and torso which are flat 1's. You'll notice you can only take so much damage before an attribute hits 0. Good luck.

D6 hit location rolls:

1. Left leg
2. Right Leg
3. Torso
4. Left Arm
5. Right Arm
6. Head

Damage to your legs will reduce your speed attribute.
Damage to your arms will reduce your strength attribute and offense skills.
Damage to your torso will reduce your constitution attribute and defense skills.
Damage to your head will reduce your will and perception attribute. Also the other effects that can happen will suck. Don't get hit in the head.

If a limb is missing and is hit, the hit counts as torso instead.

Each body part at half health remaining becomes broken and imposes an additional -1 of the stat it affects in penalty and will now take 4 months to heal with proper medical attention. Head is a special case, if it reaches half health you go unconscious. If it (or torso) reaches 0 you are dead.

Healing damage: Broken limbs will heal after 4 months, properly taken care of that is. Health is recovered at a rate of 1hp per week. 2hp with successful medical checks. Required medical flat check to make medical checks is 6+amount of missing hp.

 

Armor

Armor confers damage reduction. Allowing you to more effectively block incoming damage or to make the penalties for failing to defend less severe. You will notice several weapons utilize multiple dice, these are representative of a fire rate and as such the DR applies to each individual die. Armor DR is reduced by the Armor Penetrating stat many weapons and powers will have, for each point of AP reduce DR by an equal amount when calculating damage.

Armor has a durability stat which is deteriorated each time you get hit by an attack with an AP value. The durability is reduced by the attacks AP value. At 0 you're just wearing dead weight. You can commonly expect powers to have no AP value but almost all bullets will.

Sanity

This is a specific stat with its own ruleset. In general this stat will be fairly stable though certain things can affect it, but most frequently it is the stat that affects casting. You generally start with a sanity score of 100%, almost all powers will cost sanity to utilize. Your sanity is restored to full after sleeping. However, it can be permanently lowered if you reach certain benchmarks either voluntarily or involuntarily. These gateways are at every 20%, each time you cross those thresholds your sanity is permanently lowered to treat that threshold as your max and you will acquire a symptom of the GM's choice or roll. Each threshold is considered a tier of madness, the further down you go the more extreme possible symptoms will be.

If you are reduced below a threshold of sanity in mid combat, you lose your next turn.

Progression

Atrributes cost the number you are raising them to*10 xp to increase.
Except speed, speed cannot be increased except by talents.
Skills cost the number you are raising them to *5 xp to increase
Talents list their required cost on the talents page.
Powers require Adept: <Insert type> talent but then require the listed xp cost to acquire
Build your own damned classes.