Hell's Garden REDAMNATION

You can't escape Hell so easily.

Rules

Resolution is roll Xd6 and compare success counts. The default success number is 4 but this may be raised or lowered by circumstances. No successes and 1/2 or more 1s rolled produces a botch.

Idol

A character's idol is what they wish to be or achieve. Sisyphus has the idol of getting the boulder to the top of the hill. Tantalus has the idol of eating a good meal. Lucifer has the idol of overthrowing Heaven. Idols are not (always) impossible to achieve, but are always difficult to achieve, and to keep hold of or find lasting satisfaction from.

Achieving or moving toward your idol regenerates Will.

Torment

A character's torment is what they want to avoid but are doomed to constantly confront, such as being enslaved, losing somebody precious, or being burned alive. Characters have a reduced ability to avoid or resist their torment, but enduring it without losing their way can grant a special determination and insight into the hell they are immersed in.

Suffering your torment can generate Fate.

Stats

Power (P): Physical power and strength.

Finesse (F): Physical precision and swiftness.

Toughness (T): Resistance to pain and injury.

Sensation (S): Situational awareness, mental agility and keen senses.

Intellect (I): Mental horsepower.

Charisma (C): The ability to dominate a situation and attract attention.

Deception (D): The ability to deceive others about your nature and intentions.

Skills

Skills are binary: you are proficient or not. If you have a skill, the difficulty of relevant rolls is reduced by one. Some actions may be especially difficult if you lack a particular skill.

Academics (specify): A field of study such as mathematics, history or law. The class you pay attention in.

Athletics: Proficiency in advanced physical feats such as long-distance running, acrobatics, or contests of strength.

Craft (specify): The ability to create objects out of materials without metaphysical exertion. Includes creative arts like painting or writing.

Delinquency: Streetwise. Dealing with the underside of Hell.

Etiquette: Good manners. Dealing with the less-underside of Hell.

Lore (specify): Knowledge of some topic, such as the Fallen hierarchy, youkai, or the 666 mysteries of Pandaemonium Academy.

Martial Arts (specify): Some martial art or other. Reduces difficulty for certain moves, more if a weapon is required.

Military: Strategy, tactics and logistics for large-scale warfare.

Occult: The ability to meddle with infernal objects built according to a magical paradigm.

Perform (specify): A performance art such as dance or music.

Servant: How to wash dishes, serve tea and iron clothes.

Sneak: How to conceal your presence.

Technology: The ability to meddle with infernal objects built according to a technological paradigm.

Will and Fate

Will is your reserves of determination. Characters have a permanent Will that determines the maximum they can stockpile, and is sometimes rolled to defend against some mental assaults (many use Sensibility or Intellect instead).

A point of temporary Will can be spent to:

Add a success to a roll.

Invoke a domain.

Resist a fetter.

Will can be recovered by:

Time and rest.

Moving toward your idol.

Other special circumstances.

Fate represents special insight and determination born of suffering torment without giving in. A point of Fate can be expended to reroll a roll and keep the higher result, or edit a scene or scenario in accordance with your Torment or Fetters. The maximum Fate that can be stockpiled is 3. Fate is gained by suffering one's torment, but only if a character makes meaningful efforts to avoid it or has a pressing reason to accept it. Learned helplessness is the path to scenery, not power.

Combat

Offensive moves include:

Strike: Roll Power or Finesse to attack, and then Power to damage.

Smash: Roll Power at +1 difficulty to attack, and then Power at -1 difficulty to damage. Finesse rolls to defend before your next turn are at +1 difficulty.

Pin: Roll Power or Finesse to attack, and then Power to impose levels of tangle.

Throw: Roll Power or Finesse to attack, and then Power to move the enemy.

A character can feint by rolling Deception against Sensibility. This increases the difficulty of the attack roll by 1 but if successful also increases the difficulty of the defence roll by 1 and can disguise the attack as a different type.

Some tools or appendages may change the relevant rolls, such as using a whip to pin with Finesse.

Defensive moves can be blocks or dodges, and include:

Nix: Roll Finesse against the attacker's roll to negate the attack.

Parry: Roll Finesse at +1 difficulty to defend. If successful, can roll Finesse at +1 difficulty to counterattack in that instant.

Counter: Offer no defence, but attack the enemy after they strike you.

If you fail to defend or opt not to, damage is soaked with Toughness on a 1:1 basis. Some attacks may have increased soak difficulties.

Conditions include:

Tangled: Being grappled, wrapped in drider webs, mired in gore, etc. Each level of tangling imposes a -1 dice penalty on actions. If dice count for an action hits zero, that action becomes impossible. This condition may also have additional effects depending on circumstances, such as needing a Power roll to move against the will of someone grabbing you.

Dazed: Lack of mental coherence and focus. A consequence of mental attacks, trauma, and so on. Increases difficulties. Fades by itself.

Mauled: Massive structural damage. A consequence of grave injuries. Makes certain actions impossible or very difficult. Heals naturally over time, more quickly with care.

Every character has hit points equal to their toughness, +1 per fetter. Damage beyond these is applied directly to Power or Finesse ratings (depending on the attack) and applies Mauled status. If either Power or Finesse hits zero, the character is incapacitated.

Domains

Domains are dominion over some aspect of infernal reality.

Every domain has a keyword and a power rating. The keyword governs the nature of the domain and the power rating its power. When a domain is invoked, the character spends a point of Will, then rolls its power rating in dice and adds its rating in automatic successes.

Domains also have a defined scope from the following lists:

Target

• Self: yourself
• Other: some particular other thing or person
• Scene: larger elements of the scene (this can attack small targets, but at +1 difficulty)

Range

• Touch: You need to touch the target
• Local: Can target within a few dozen metres (prereq Touch)
• Distant: Can target in line of sight (prereq Local)

Duration

• Momentary: one round or less
• Transient: one scene (prereq Momentary)
• Persistent: long-term (prereq Persistent)

Effect

• Damage: Break stuff (like people)
• Repair: Fix stuff (like people)
• Create: Create substantial things
• Move: Move things
• Transform: Otherwise alter things (specify)
• Scan: Gain information about things

Some domains have special modifiers. These can increase or decrease the cost of purchasing a domain at chargen or with experience.

Modifiers

• Coincidental (-1 cost): effects take place through coincidences over time, being less convenient but more deniable.
• Onerous focus (-2 cost): the domain can only be used through some non-trivial process such as a magic ritual or use of technology.
• Sympathetic (+1 cost): the domain can target things by sympathetic connection

Special Qualities

Some characters may have special qualities like wings, fire blood, or goat legs.

• Bad Blood (2): When injured, acid or fire or something else nasty splashes out, doing dice of attack and damage equal to damage taken.
• Digitigrade (1): Movement speed is enhanced (+1 success and -1 difficulty on contested rolls).
• Sense Organ (1+): Eyes that can see heat, antennae that can sense air currents, the ability to smell lust or wrath or greed.
• Wings (3): You can fly.
• And more! Ask the GM.

Chargen

• Specify Genus (demon, devil or damned).
  • Demons have an additional point that can be spent on a special quality.
  • Devils have an additional die on domain invocation rolls.
  • Damned have +2 hit points.
• Specify Idol and Torment.
• Characters have 25 experience points to distribute among stats (max 7), or buy skills at 2/per. These points can also be spent on special qualities.
• Characters have the Pandaemonium Academy Student fetter automatically.
• You also have 15 experience points to purchase domains, fetters, willpower, or additional stats, skills and qualities.
  • 1 point purchases a power level for a Domain (max 4), or two elements of scope. Coincidental reduces the point cost by 1, Onerous Focus by 2. Sympathetic increases it by 1. The minimum cost of a Domain is 1.
  • Additional fetters cost 1 point. The cost of a fetter can be reduced by curses or increased by boons on a case by case basis. The limit for starting fetters is 3, including P.A. Student.
  • Characters have a WP max of 5 automatically. Each additional point of max costs 1 point (max 10).
  • Record starting health (Toughness + 1 per fetter)

NPCs

Fetter: Pandaemonium Academy Student

Manifestation: School Uniform

Students wear the appropriate uniform for whatever they are doing.

Manifestation: Class Attendance

Students attend their scheduled classes.

Mook Student

2 in every stat

No skills

Fetter: Pandaemonium Academy Student

Named Student

1 stat at 3, the rest at 2.

1 skill, typically Athletics, Perform, Craft or Academics.

Fetter: Pandaemonium Academy Student