Chapter 1
Chapter One
Characters
CHOOSING A CHARACTER: There are several ways to choose a character to play for a Rhodes to Glory campaign. Players may choose from the multitude of trading cards available for many reasons and there is no “right way” to choose a character card to play as. There are considerations to make though, like what special abilities are most suited to your play style and what spell types you wish to be able to cast. There is also the consideration of Converted Mana Cost or CMC. Player characters often begin at 1 CMC but a campaign may begin at any CMC that the Game Master or GM chooses. A campaign where the player’s characters have wildly different mana costs can quickly become unbalanced. Some abilities lend themselves to more balanced play for a mixed CMC group so it is up to the GM’s discretion on whether or not to allow certain cards.
You can think of the CMC of a character as representing the accumulated attributes and experience of the character at the beginning of the campaign. As a campaign continues, that character gains experience and eventually makes a big enough advancement in understanding the ways of the Realms that they can become essentially ”different people”. When this happens a character changes their character card and reset their vital scores. The spells characters learn over the course of the campaign can lead the player to choose creatures that they may have not previously considered as they progress. Each time a character begins a new campaign or advances in CMC they choose a new creature or Realmwalker card and fill out a new character sheet. Characters advancing in CMC may retain their name, all spells previously known (as long as they have enough points in their library) and have their level reduced to 1. A level 1 character begins with the ability to cast only a single color of spell.
CHARACTER SHEETS: After choosing the character card to play, players must complete their character Sheet. There are several sections of the player sheets that all have important information. We will explain when you use a specific section and the information that can be found there. We have tried to streamline the character creation process so that players are not bogged down in minutia. The character sheets are only one part of a multiple part game system. The character sheets are used in conjunction with cards and miniature figurines on a battle mat. You can augment your play decks with your favorite Trading Card Games to make your experience truly unique. Important information about your character is held on character sheets and on the playing cards as well. Let’s begin by going over the character sheet.
Name: This is where the character’s or players name is recorded. Characters may maintain their name even after changing creature cards.
Level: This is where the characters level is recorded. Whenever a creature experiences enough of the world, they are able to increase a level and gain skill and feat points. A character that is level 10 or higher can advance the CMC or rarity of their character card by reducing their characters level by 10 for each level of advancement.
As an example; at any level up a character at level 10 or greater can increase their rarity or CMC by 1 and reduce their level by 10. If the character is level 20 then the player can increase their rarity by 2 or CMC by 2. A player may also choose a combination of the two during their level up.
Glory: Characters who enter the arena can fight for Glory. The arena matches offer great monetary rewards but also risk the possibility of defeat or even death. In the event that a character is defeated in battle, the victor looks for a judgment from the sponsors of the event to see if the fighter has earned mercy and their life. Characters that accumulate 20 Glory Points or more are automatically spared their lives and earn full loot at the end of the encounter. Every 5 Glory points below 20 the character is, their loot is reduced by ¼ and every 5 Glory points above 20 the characters loot is increased by ¼. If a player has less than 1 Glory point at the end of a match, their character will die. Characters may obtain Glory Points several ways: Acts of might, magic and wit, and sponsorship.
Acts of Might: Attacking a creature, blocking a creature, dealing combat damage, activating abilities or using skills like Jump, Climb or Intimidate are all acts of might. Every time a player completes an action of might they earn 1 Glory Point.
Acts of Magic: Casting a fireball, healing an ally, countering a spell and enchanting yourself with an aura are all acts of magic. Every time a player completes an action of magic they earn 1 Glory Point.
Acts of Wit: Hypnotizing an opponent, talking your way out of trouble and sneaking up on an enemy are all acts of wit. Every time a player completes an action of wit they earn 1 Glory Point.
Sponsorship: Characters who wish to compete in the highest levels of competition will need many powerful allies helping them to advance. Sponsors are powerful characters who control significant resources in their spheres of influence. Sponsors have unique and personal interests and handsomely reward those who help them advance their machinations. A sponsor will always require the character to perform some form of service before granting the patronage. The specifics of what is required vary from patron to patron. A character who has secured a patron for a specific event always enters combat with Glory Points (actual amount varies by patron) already awarded due to the advertising the sponsor does for the event.
Colors: This is where the color(s) of spells a character is capable of casting are recorded. A characters first spell color must be one of the creature cards color(s). There are six colors of mana: Black, Blue, Green, Red, White and Colorless. A character may learn to cast any color of spell (after their first) in any order they choose. Many characters learn to cast all six colors of spells in their careers. Additional spell colors may be unlocked by putting points into the Extra Spell Color feat.
Attributes: Attributes reflect the basic physical and mental abilities of characters. This is where a character records their power and toughness as major (power) and minor (toughness) attributes. Attributes govern certain skills and enhance a character’s performance in the governed skill regardless of training. Attributes are divided into six categories: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. Players choose which 2 attributes to assign as Major/Minor and may only put skill points into skills governed by attributes that have at least 1 point in them. Players may unlock additional skills by putting points into Bonus Attribute Points or Extra Skill
Strength: This reflects the characters physical endurance and physical performance. Strength is the governing attribute of: Equipment, Grapple, Intimidate and Throw. Characters with a high strength attribute make strong warriors. Wielding artifact equipment in battle, wrestling someone to the ground, bluffing a robber into thinking you are too tough to challenge and throwing a weapon all require strength.
Dexterity: This reflects a characters agility and ability to physical manipulate themselves and the world around them. Dexterity is the governing attribute of: Acrobatics, Artifacts, Escape Artist and Stealth. Jumping through a window, escaping from chains, creating a magical artifact, springing a trap and hiding from pursuers all require dexterity.
Constitution: This reflects a characters ability to perform well over extended periods. Constitution is the governing attribute of: Athletics, Auras, Climb and Jump. Running over rough terrain for many miles, changing a creatures physical properties, scaling sheer cliffs and jumping over wide chasms all require constitution.
Intelligence: This reflects a characters ability to reason and critically examine situations. Intelligence is the governing attribute of: Diplomacy, Enchantments, Gather Information, and Perception. Negotiating with hostile forces, changing the physical properties of objects and places, asking the right questions and recognizing important information all require intelligence.
Wisdom: This reflects a characters mental fortitude and ability to put experiences into action to gain a competitive advantage. Wisdom is the governing attribute of: Appraise, Creatures, Knowledge and Disable Devise. Identifying expensive or quality items, casting creature spells, recalling relevant information, and safely disabling traps and locks all require wisdom.
Charisma: This reflects a characters ability to manipulate their personality and appearance at a moment’s notice. Charisma is the governing attribute of: Autohypnosis, Perform, Disguise and Instants. Convincing a merchant that you are an expert in a field, acting, sneaking through a military checkpoint and quickly changing the properties of items and beings all require charisma.
Power: This is where a player records their characters modified attack power. Some spells and abilities affect power temporarily or permanently. A character’s Major Attribute is initially the power of the creature card. The major attribute can be upgraded if the character puts feat points (extra attribute points) into the appropriate attribute. Spell effects (like +1/+1 counters) are removed at end of combat. A single copy of any permanents (like enchantments and equipment) may remain on your character throughout the campaign unless destroyed (like with a destroy effect). Information in this area includes maximum power as well as current power.
Toughness: This is where a player records their characters modified toughness (defense). Some spells and abilities affect toughness temporarily or permanently. A character’s Minor Attribute is initially the toughness of the creature card and represents the life total of the character. The minor attribute can be upgraded if the character puts feat points into the appropriate attribute. Spell effects (like -1/-1 counters) are removed at end of combat. A single copy of any permanents (like enchantments and equipment) may remain on your character throughout the campaign unless destroyed (like with a destroy effect). Information in this area includes maximum toughness as well as current toughness.
CMC: This is where a player records the converted mana cost of the creature they are playing as. Every 10 levels a player may increase the CMC or Rarity of their character by 1. Players may spend CMC increases they have earned whenever they advance a level. When a player advances the CMC of their character, they reduce that characters level to 1 and redistribute their skill/feat points.
Spells: This is where the spells and artifacts the character knows are recorded. Players may only cast spells that they have in their spell slots. Permanents (like artifacts, enchantments or followers) and other spells (Instants and Sorceries) take up spell slots. There are two bonus slots that can be opened as characters advance. Additional spells may be carried in the characters library or backpack but may not be cast while outside of the spell slots. If a spell card goes to the graveyard from play, it returns to its owners hand at the beginning of that player’s next upkeep. Exiled cards cannot be recovered by characters until the end of combat.
Skills: This is where a characters level in any given area of expertise is recorded. Skills modify dice rolls in order to make achieving a goal easier. As characters level up, they earn more skill points that they can distribute between their available skills. A character earns skill points equal to their minor attribute each level. The attack and defense of each character card is the level of their Major and Minor attributes respectively. There are 30 skills governed by the six attributes (with some having no governing attribute and therefore open to all characters). Available skills are: Acrobatics, Appraise, Artifacts, Athletics, Auras, Autohypnosis, Climb, Cook, Creatures, Deflect, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Dodge, Enchantments, Escape Artist, Equipment, Gather Information, Grapple, Instants, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge, Library, Perception, Perform, Sorceries, Stealth, Throw and Use Rope. Characters may put points into skills that have at least 1 point in their governing attribute or skills with no governing attribute. Characters with high skills are considered more capable and therefore more likely to succeed on skill attempt rolls than a character with lower skills. If a character advances in CMC their skills are reset to level 1. Characters begin with (10 + minor attribute) skill points to spend at level 1 and earn skill points = minor attribute (minimum of 1) at each subsequent level. Characters must distribute all skill points when leveling up before continuing.
Feats: These represent a character’s advancement in the ways of the world and their ever expanding experiences. Feats are divided into four categories: Loot, Stats, Spells and Range. Each category is further subdivided into three categories. Players receive 1 Feat point to spend each level beginning at level 1 and may mix and match categories at will. A player may not put more points that the maximum number into any feat. If a character advances in CMC their Feats are reset to level 1.
Loot: Loot represents your characters savvy at earning a little extra cash off of general items found while adventuring. Jewelry, cash and hard to obtain reagents (which fetch a good price) are all loot but your character has to know what’s worth money and what’s just junk. Characters begin rolling 1D4 for loot at the beginning of the campaign. Their die roll is multiplied by 10 for the number of coins they receive at the end of a battle. Putting points into the loot Feat increase rewards. This Feat category is divided into: Double Gold, Extra Die Sides and Extra Die Number.
Double Gold: This increases the multiplier for loot for each point taken. Base loot = 1D4 x10 although with 1 point in Double gold base loot = 1D4 x20. There are 2 levels to this Feat.
Extra Die Sides: This increases the sides of the die rolled for loot for each point taken. Die progression = D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20. There are 5 levels to this Feat.
Die Number: This increases the number of die rolled for loot by 1 for each point taken. Base roll is 1 die with a maximum of 3 die. There are 2 levels to this Feat.
Stats: Stats represent a characters particular strengths and weaknesses. A character with low wisdom or constitution can’t be relied upon to disable traps or successfully navigate an obstacle course, but a well-trained caster should be able to decipher ancient text. Characters begin with their Major/Minor Attribute scores as their only attribute points and (10 + defense) points to distribute through their skills. This Feat category is divided into: Bonus Skill Points, Bonus Attribute Points and Bonus Trainable Skill.
Bonus Skill Points: This increases the number of skill points available each level up by 1. If a character starts with a Minor attribute of 2 and takes 1 feat point in Bonus Skill Points at level 3 they get 3 points to increase their skills from that level forward. There are 5 levels to this Feat.
Bonus Attribute Points: this increases any attribute by 1. This will raise the bonus to any die roll of skills governed by that attribute by 1. A player may put skill points only into skills with at least 1 point in its governing attribute (this feat does not affect the cook, deflect, dodge, library, sorceries and use rope skills). This will cause an increase to the base attack/defense if a Major/Minor skill respectively). There are 3 levels to this Feat.
Bonus Trainable Skill: This allows a player to put skill points into skills governed by attributes they have less than 1 point into. This will raise the bonus on each skill governed by the given attribute by 1.There are 2 levels to this Feat.
Spells: Realmwalkers develop their powers at different times and under different circumstances. Because of this, there is a great diversity of strengths and abilities. The color of mana represents the dominant mental and physical forces that helped them unlock their powers making the starting mana choices limited only by a characters color. Characters begin only being able to cast only a single copy of known spells and only of a single color. Because characters channel their mana through their emotions, the starting color of spells must be one of their characters colors or colorless. Spells come in six colors and eight spell types. The colors of magic are: Red, Blue, Black, Green, White and Colorless. The eight spell types are: Sorcery, Instant, Enchantment, Artifact, Equipment, Auras, Creature and Realmwalker. Players may not attempt to cast spells of colors they are not proficient in. Spell Feats are subdivided into: Spell Color, Spell Copies and Spell Slots.
Spell Color: This Feat will allow a character to cast any spell of a chosen color that they can otherwise cast. A player may choose any color of spell they are not already able to cast. There are 5 levels to this Feat.
Spell Copies: This Feat will allow a character to cast any spell they know an additional time each round. Each point spent in this Feat increase the copies by 1. There are 3 levels to this Feat.
Spell Slots: This Feat will allow characters to learn additional spells. Each point spent in this Feat opens 1 additional spell slot. There are 2 levels to this Feat.
Money: This is where the accumulated wealth of characters is recorded. This is the total amount of gold accumulated during all of the character adventures. There is no limit to the amount of money a character can have.
Leveling: Players will advance their characters through a series of levels throughout their careers. Leveling is an important way for characters to advance and learn powerful new spells and abilities. When a character levels in RtG, they earn several special bonuses: spell slots, skill points and feat points. Players begin level 1 with a single spell that they can cast, (10+minor attribute) skill points and 1 feat point to distribute throughout their available skills and feats. Every level after the first, characters receive 1 feat point and skill points equal to their minor attribute to distribute. Characters unlock a new spell slot every other level. At certain levels, characters earn special points that allow them to increase their basic power. These special abilities unlock every 5-10 levels.
LEVELS 1-5: Players defeated in battle are not killed, only unconscious. Destroy/exile creature, control/sacrifice creature and damage creature effects (other than combat damage) do not affect players who are creature cards. Players may be targeted or otherwise be interacted with as both a creature and a player. Characters at this level may not advance their character cards CMC or rarity at level gain or death.
LEVELS 6-10: Players defeated in battle are not killed, only unconscious. Destroy/exile creature, control/sacrifice creature and damage creature effects (other than combat damage) do not affect players who are creature cards. Players may be targeted or otherwise be interacted with as both a creature and a player. Characters at this level may not advance their character cards CMC or rarity at level gain or death.
LEVELS 11-15: Players defeated in battle are killed. Destroy/exile creature, control/sacrifice creature and damage creature effects (other than combat damage) do not affect players who are creature cards. Players may be targeted or otherwise be interacted with as both a creature and a player. Characters at this level may advance their character cards CMC or rarity at level gain or death.
LEVELS 16-20: Players defeated in battle are killed. Destroy/exile creature, control/sacrifice creature and damage creature effects affect players who are creature cards normally. Players may be targeted or otherwise be interacted with as both a creature and a player. Characters at this level may advance their character cards CMC or rarity at level gain or death.
ADVANCING CMC/RARITY: After a character has reached level 10, they have developed their skills enough to actually kill opponents with their magic. With this new power come risks, namely the ability to die permanently at the hand of your enemies. When this happens a player may choose to reincarnate their character. When a character is reincarnated, the player changes the creature (or Realmwalker) card used to represent the character. A character that has reached level 10 or higher has learned about aspects of the soul that is immortal and have the ability to reappear years and even centuries later in alternate forms. Characters may be reincarnated instantly after death or after a longer period of time. Whenever a character is reincarnated, its level is reduced to 1.
EXAMPLE: Bobby has played his 1 CMC common black vampire wizard “Alucard” for 10 levels and is ready to reincarnate him. Bobby decides to increase his characters CMC and since Alucard could cast both black and red spells, he chooses a common red goblin rogue with a CMC of 3. Bobby decides to keep the name he has become attached to and reincarnates Alucard. Alucard 2.0 is now a level 1 common red goblin rogue with a CMC of 3. Bobby writes up a new character sheet for the level 1 Alucard 2.0 and retires the old character sheet/card but carries over all spells and money. Players can sell spells they no longer want and/or receive 1 inherited spell per reincarnation up to the maximum number of spells the character could otherwise cast. All of the game world characters who knew the original Alucard recognize 2.0 as the same person only more skilled and Bobby is able to continue adventuring with his favorite character but has been able to significantly boost his maximum power. Those who wield mana instantly recognize when a Realmwalker experiences the phenomenon of reincarnation and most adjust quickly if they learn about it.