This section is to explain the mechanics of Nights on the Maltese. The combat system, the Influence system, the party system, and whatever else will be explained here.
Obviously you know this old song and dance by now, but this is more to remind me that this is here than to inform you, the reader.Combat: For this RP, I've established a simple system for combat. A battlefield is generated every combat for your convenience and reference for positioning, and manipulated freely as the game progresses. First, your spot in the turn order is decided by rolling a d12 and adding your Agility. When it's your turn, you get two things you're allowed to do; your Action (attacking/weapon perk, gear perk, item use), and your Move (re-positioning, running away, and changing ammunition). The mechanics for attacking shall now be displayed.
Ranged
Accuracy = (perception + d20 roll + possible weapon bonus) - (enemy's agility + d12 roll). Resulting Accuracy has to be 6 or over.
Damage = (weapon's damage stat + d6 + possible ammunition bonus). Sum subtracts from enemy's shield, or if not present, their health.
IF enemy is behind cover; damage instead subtracts from the cover's durability.
Melee
Accuracy is skipped. Instead, attack has to be made within short range.
Damage = (weapon's damage stat + strength + d6) - (enemy's shield if present). Sum subtracts from enemy's health.
Cover is not factored into melee attacks.
Now is the explanation for a turn's Move. When you're re-positioning, you're changing your current distance from all targets on the battlefield. There are 3 sets of distance called Ranges. Short range (1 to 5 spaces), medium range (6 to 10 spaces), and long range (8 to 14). Ranges are important because your Accuracy will receive a penalty if it's not used at a range your weapon is meant for. The penalties will range from -1 to -2 depending on how close you're shooting to your ideal Range.
Every character gets a base 2 spaces to move, with gear and agility affecting this amount. For agility; every 10 points in agility grants one extra space move. Running away is simply done by leaving the battlefield. It spends both your Action and your Move to double the spaces you can traverse, and when all enemies are outside of long range, line of sight or don't decide to chase you, you escape.
Influence: Influence is basically like a hidden stat for your faction that accounts for how much of the underworld your family has under their control. It's measured in percentages compared to the rest of the underworld, and you're supposed to raise it to 100%. Completing missions, Places of Business (POBs), and destroying enemy family's property all generate Influence in their own way, with completing missions granting instantaneous Influence gain, POBs generating Influence overtime in-game, and destroying enemy family's properties stealing their Influence. You can lose Influence via the following; failing missions, losing properties, getting thrown in jail or being investigated by the police.
Psst! Your Luck can increase your Influence gain!Parties: Because you'll want to have friends. Each character can have up to 2 unique characters in their party, and 4 extras. The difference; unique characters have their own sheets, names, special abilities and are independent. Extras share stats with only a few differences between them, have incredibly generic names I got from a generator, have absolutely no special abilities, and are completely dependent on you. They'll probably be the first ones to die in a firefight 'cause really, they're just expendable bodies.
Shops: I need to explain this so that you know how to get stronger. In this game, you can buy items and gear from shops either affiliated with your gang, or affiliated with no one. Every IC day, I'll calculate the new items the shopkeep has in shop by rolling a d12 to see how many items are replaced in the shop, a d100 with a hard limiter depending on what Chapter the story is to see the quality, and then I'll design the item with the appropriate price and abilities. To decide if it's a weapon, item, or gear; I roll another d100. Both tables shall be displayed below.
Psst! Your Luck stat is converted into a percentage that adds to your chances for something above Rare with every visit.Quality
1 - 20 (Mundane)
20 - 50 (Common)
50 - 70 (Rare)
70 - 80 (Deluxe)
80 - 90 (Ultra)
90 - 95 (Legendary)
95 - 100 (Epic)
Type
1 - 40 (item)
40 - 60 (weapon)
60 - 100 (gear)
Ammunition: There exists tons of different types and kinds of ammo in these times. Gone are the days of normal bullets that do one thing and one thing only. Now; you get a whole selection of tons of different kinds of ammunition. They shall be displayed below.
Shock - Electrical bullets that have a 20% chance to paralyze on hit. Deals 1.3x damage to shields.
Frost - Cold bullets that have a 20% chance to frostbite on it. Deals 1.3x damage to cover.
Incendiary - Hot bullets that have a 20% chance to burn on hit. Deals 1.3x damage to flesh.
AP - Armor piercing rounds. Deals 1.5x more damage to armor, and 1.25x damage to flesh.
Blanks - Special bullets made with strange tech. Deals 3x damage to flesh, armor, and shields.
Specials - Situational use weaponry use this ammo. Damage and effects varies greatly.
Explosives - Literal explosives. Deals AoE (hits adjacent targets) damage.
Stats: Pretty important to explain this. All players and unique NPCs have their own stats. They cannot be increased permanently, but items can temporarily buff them, and gear gives them an active buff that stays for as long as you have it on. They shall now be displayed, along with a list of their functions and importance.
Perception - Used for aiming (obviously) and relevant Perception checks. Example; spotting a trap.
Agility - Used for movement, initial defense, and relevant Agility checks. Example; dodging a trap.
Toughness - Used to add points to your Health equal to this stat divided by 2, and relevant Toughness checks. Example; enduring a trap.
Strength - Used for melee damage, and relevant Strength checks. Example; breaking a trap.
Charisma - Used for spotting lies, and relevant Charisma checks. Example; charming a trap.
Intelligence - Used for hacking, and relevant Intelligence checks. Example; hacking a trap.
Luck - Used for manipulating chance-based mechanics, something else, and relevant Luck checks. Example; triggering a trap but somehow bending down to grab a penny before the arrow hits you, while it sails on to hit an assassin behind you.
Status Effects: We can quickly explain this too. Status Effects are dangerous states that affect your character in either negative or positive ways, but don't worry; they're temporary and will only last 3 turns. However, they can also stack, making the effect worse. If it's stacked 3 times, the Status Effect is given the prefix of 'Badly', which means it won't disappear and will linger after combat. You'll have to use a healing item to clear it. Example; Badly Poisoned. The status effects you may encounter in your combats shall now be displayed.
Burned - You're pretty hot right now. Toughness is no longer accounted for in calculating your defense. If Badly Burned; Agility is no longer accounted for in your initial defense.
Poisoned - You've been poisoned. Take 10% damage to your health per turn. This increases by 5% per turn. If Badly Poisoned; increase by 10% per turn.
Frostbitten - You're ice cold. Movement reduced by half. If Badly Frostbitten; Perception is no longer accounted for in your accuracy.
Paralyzed - You're shocked. 33% chance to fail whatever Action you're taking. If Badly Paralyzed; 50% chance to fail.
Stunned - You're stunned. Skips your next turn. Cannot be stacked or chained.
Bound - You're incapacitated. All turns are skipped until you break out, unless you're inflicted with this and you're the only combatant in your combat - then you're in trouble. You're allowed to perform a Strength check per turn to see if you break the bounds. Cannot be stacked or chained.
A character can only be suffering from 2 status effects.
When I remember, or am reminded of everything else I'm forgetting to add here, further systems will be explained here. EDIT;
I lied. I'll be updating the systems here from now on. It's more convenient.