The first thing to know about the CHEATS System is that it's not just another gaming system. It's so much less than that!
I've used it with several different dice resolution schemes. I will tinker with that forever.
It is pretentiously and aggressively backronymed from its PC building blocks:
Core
Hallmarks
Energies
Approaches
Talents
Stuff
It is influenced by everything I've ever read but specifically by #Risus #BladesInTheDark #HarmonyDrive and #MiniBX .
My intent is to use this toot to create a sort of index to my other replies as I add them. I do not know much about how Mastodon works or how often / long you can edit toots.
This space is subject to immediate and shame-filled deletion without warning.
Stuff is a variety of helpful items, assets or relationships external to the PC but capable of being marshaled in their support in a predictable fashion. This has the aspect of an "Equipment" system and a "Flashback" system depending on how the assistance is narratively introduced.
A mechanical differentiation from the Hallmarks is that Stuff is inherently temporary, lasting at most the course of the current game session and often less than that.
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Typically, a particular Setting will have its own guidelines as to how many "slots" for Stuff a PC has access to and what the initial die type will be. This die can and often will be reduced through use.
Not everything has to be defined as Stuff in order to be available for use by a PC. However, this also means it has no strong narrative weight or tie to the PC, providing a lesser (or no) bonus die and/or being relatively easily co-opted by other actors in the Setting.
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PC Talents don't have an associated die type because they interact with the rolls directly, allowing the PC to do things they couldn't do before or do the things they could always try to do better, more reliably or so forth.
Common examples would be to have access to a novel Energy, use an Energy for resistance without exhausting the die, gain the effects of Advantage on a certain subset of rolls or have access to superior Stuff, below.
The Approaches are PC Attributes dealing with how the PC does things, a showcase for the method or mindset behind problem solving or action taking.
Approach and Energy are the Attributes that apply to almost every Action Roll, with other Attributes being applied only as relevant. Approaches can provide an almost "visual" element for how a PC acts and there is often significant overlap between what each signifies.
My "generic" Approaches are below:
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#CheatsApproach CheatsSystem
EFFICIENT represents a simple, practical or straightforward approach;
GRACEFUL represents an elegant or sophisticated approach;
INVENTIVE represents a creative, imaginative or unconventional approach;
OBSERVANT represents an approach based on managing sensory inputs and taking in information from people and places around the PC;
RAPID represents a speedy, reactive, possibly daring approach;
SUBTLE represents an approach based on hiding your actions or your motives;
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THOUGHTFUL represents a knowledgeable, studious or methodical approach;
VIBRANT represents a direct and flashy or passionate approach.
These are far from the only possible Approaches and, in fact, I, as a person who uses them, am often looking for advice and commentary on other, or additional, Approaches to consider.
My intent is that they be intelligible whether describing Physical, Mental or other types of actions.
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In addition, Approaches should work "forward" or "backward," meaning that a Player could describe the PC's activity and pick an Approach / Energy combo to match or pick their Approach and Energy and describe the action accordingly.
To me, a Player consistently choosing actions based on what the PC is good at, under this system at least, ends up roleplaying their PC well and effectively, so that the sheet translates the concept into what system there is to be had here.
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An Energy is a reducible capacity to perform activities in a certain vein or category of activities important in the Setting. Each Energy is an Attribute used both in rolling via the resolution system and in resisting Consequence.
The most basic setup is probably a Mental / Physical or Mental / Physical / Social Energy grouping but this can also include elements related to Arcane energies, Reputation, Resources and so forth.
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Often, each PC in a Setting will have access to the same Energies, reflecting the emphasis or thrust of the Setting. It is also possible, though, for selection of a particular Core element, Hallmark or Talent to "open up" an Energy that is otherwise unavailable, whether that be magical, psionic, technological or so forth.
The positioning of Energy in the overall system, however, emphasizes that the things that bring potential for power also bring potential for danger.
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Energy can be used to oppose Consequence at Player discretion. Consequence can also be imposed as "damage" directly to an Energy where and when that is appropriate to the Setting.
When either happens, the Player rolls the Energy's associated die as a Progress Roll, reducing the Consequence by the amount of the roll. If this reduces Consequence to zero, the PC has resisted Consequence without effect to their current Energy. If the Consequence is equal or higher, the PC "loses" the
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Energy die, temporarily reducing the value of the Energy to the next lowest die type. This also reduces the Consequence by the amount rolled.
If this roll was imposed, the PC must continue, rolling that Energy die and reducing Consequence by the amount rolled, and potentially losing additional Energy, until the "damage" is zeroed out.
If the opposition was by Player choice, the PC can stop at any time, allowing the "remainder" of the Consequence to proceed to take effect.
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This reduction factors back into rolls the PC makes as they have less Energy to perform their tasks.
This also means that each Energy can be conceived of as an Energy Stack, consisting of the highest die type and one of each lower die type down to D4.
If the D4, the "final" die in the Stack, is lost, the PC takes on a lasting Condition related to the circumstances of the die's removal. The Player decides at that point whether the PC is out of the current scene or struggle.
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If the Player chooses to continue on, the PC recovers a D4 in the appropriate Energy Stack on their next turn.
If the PC is out, they will take no more turns in the current effort, but will not risk further Conditions and will still recover a D4 in the Stack after the current scene or effort is finished.
While the obvious effect of losing Energy is simply to get tired, meaning to have a lower die type to roll, Conditions open up the PC to various effects in the Setting that those who
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lack a particular Energy are typically immune to. This is not to say that a PC without that Energy can't be affected by that Energy, say, being fried by a fire spell, but that some magical disease, malady or corruption may be extant in the Setting that a PC without Magic Energy would not contract.
This Attribute category is similar in many respects to the Hit Dice Chain mechanic established in the MiniBX game referenced in the first pinned post.
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The PC's Hallmarks can be almost anything the Player wants. They are Player-chosen, Player-defined "special abilities," generally a short phrase invoking a quality or role of the PC they would like to see further depicted in the Setting.
Hallmarks have a die type for making rolls as well as being a declaration of who the PC is and what is important to them. This could include elements often defined by specific Attributes in some games, such as
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physical strength or inventive capacity.
Every Hallmark chosen by a Player is "true" in some sense for that PC, though it might contain some amount of hyperbole.
Depending on the Setting, PCs who choose Hallmarks of "A Humble Soldier of the Turtle Clan," "The Last Pupil of Master Rho-Kagan," or "The Greatest Master of the Venerable Art of Swordplay Ever to Live in Any of the Twelve Lands," might all use those in very similar ways with respect to rolls but each PC would "feel" a bit
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different and bring different concepts, flavor and, potentially, NPCs into the Setting with them.
I would certainly allow a Player to rename or reimagine any Hallmark. All of the examples above could easily belong to a single PC at various points in a possibly long and hopefully satisfying adventuring career.
The Cliches in Risus are an obvious influence, here, but many games include loose, evocative, flavorful Traits or Attributes in their makeup. Push is another relatively recent one.
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The Core section of a PC's character sheet is, in some ways, more about the Setting's core than the PC's. It typically includes many aspects that are not going to be directly involved in any roll.
Concept, Background, Look, Pronouns and so forth might all be applicable.
In some Settings, notes regarding Gizmos, Magic, Powers and so forth might be in the Core, but the “activating” Attribute will likely be an Energy, as will be discussed below.
In order to have some idea of what the building blocks build towards, I should mention that many of the Stats in these areas are rated D4 up to D12 with higher being "better," at least potentially. You gather up dice from all relevant stats and roll.
In my current resolution concept, there are two basic types of roll, Action Rolls and Progress Rolls.
In either case, you simply take note of the single highest die result rolled.
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For an Action Roll, the GM will determine, in a process seemingly akin to magic but actually very tightly controlled in ways I will allude to but in no way prove, a Difficulty and a potential Consequence. The roll is compared to the Difficulty. If the roll is higher, Impact is accrued equal to the number of dice rolled. Otherwise, Consequence is accrued.
For a Progress Roll, the outcome of the roll simply is the Impact.
Advantage provides either a Die Up or an increase in Impact.
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