Buffy the Vampire Slayer Role Playing game - how to play.
Roleplaying games are still games, and like most games they have rules. The main rule is for you Directors and the players to have fun.
Rules are not necessary for many aspects of the game. Simple things like talking or picking up an object do not require rules. Only if the outcome of an action is in doubt and the results of that action are important, do the rules come into play. That’s when it’s time to start rolling dice.
All tested actions are resolved with a ten-sided die (D10). Basically, a player rolls a D10 and adds the appropriate Attribute and/or skill to the number rolled. If the result is nine or higher, the action was successful. If the result is less than nine, the action failed. A higher total value means a more spectacular success, and some actions may be more difficult than others (when modifiers are applied). If you can't get hold of a D10, don't worry - we've made a special print-out, cut and keep ten-sided top you can use instead.
Most actions add the values of one Attribute and one skill to a D10. You always determine which Attribute and skill should be used for a particular action. When no skill is appropriate, the Attribute is usually doubled and added to a D10. Some tough actions don’t get the doubling. You, as the Director, make the call on which Attribute is used, and whether it is doubled or not.
Example: Kevin is playing Pete Malraux, a White Hat (see below). Kevin wants Pete to climb from a balcony up to the roof of a building. You decide that this should be resolved using Pete’s Strength 4 and Acrobatics 2. The player rolls a four on a D10, and adds six (the sum of Attribute 4 and skill 2). The result is 10. Since this is higher than nine, Pete succeeds in making his way to the rooftop. Kevin then decides that Pete will attempt to jump down to a ledge on the neighboring building. You decide that due to the precarious footing required, once the jump is successful (using a Dexterity + Acrobatics roll), the player must roll a Dexterity (doubled) action for Pete to keep his balance. Pete’s Dexterity is three, so this is doubled to six. A D10 is rolled and comes up six, for a total of 12. You inform the player that Pete wobbles, but is able to keep from falling from the narrow ledge.
There are different types of playable characters in the Buffy Role Play Game, such as White Hat, Hero and so on. Each type has different skills and strengths, but you don't need to worry about this just to play this adventure, only if you're planning to play the game over the long-term.
Sometimes a character attempts something and another character tries to stop her or avoid the action. This is a Resisted Action. It is resolved as a normal action, but both sides get to roll. If both rolls fail, neither side gets the desired effect. If one fails and one succeeds, the successful character wins. If both rolls are successful, the better result wins. In the case of a tie, the defender (if there is a defender) wins; otherwise it is just a tie.
To keep die rolling to the bare minimum, the basic rules apply only to Cast Members (the main Buffy characters) and (if you so choose) important Guest Stars and Adversaries (characters introduced into the game for plot reasons). Whenever Cast Members need to fight or outwit the Supporting Cast, they need only beat the appropriate Ability Score number for the Supporting Cast Member in question. No dice for them!
There are three Ability Scores: Muscle (for Strength contests), Combat (for attacks and defenses) and Brains (for perception and... brainy stuff).
