#universal blackjack system

[palliddata]

UBS In Depth: Wyrd Stat, Magic in Dolonwood and Sylvans

In the recent days, I have written a series of articles going in depth on each of the five UBS stats (Brute, Swift, Wits, Heart, and Wyrd), along with introducing bits and pieces of a fantasy setting I’m working on called Dolonwood. Wondering what UBS is? Well, it’s the zine’s new system, and it can be found in the page listings above, or by poking around the #UBS tag.

We’ve already talked about all the other stats (along with Ogres, Merrow Ashfolk and Geists), so let’s discuss the final stat, Wyrd.

Wyrd is the stat the varies the most from setting to setting. Wyrd represents your ability to harness the supernatural elements of the setting, along with your luck. Your ability with magic in one setting uses Wyrd, but in another setting, it could indicate the ability for you to use Ki Blasts, Psionics or Super Powers. Thus, a Wizard, a Kung-Fu Master, a Psychic would have high Wyrd, but so would a Gambler. As a result, a skill that uses Wyrd might be a particular power, like a Fireball, or different applications of luck, like Mahjong or Having Good Luck When Looting.

Now that we’ve discussed Wyrd, let’s discuss magic in Dolonwood.

There are three broad categories of magic in Dolonwood: Astromancy, Hedge Magic, and Necromancy.

Astromancy is the most scientific magic and is akin to arcane magic in other settings. It involves using Lunite, a magical stone to store moon and starlight. These stone are often made into focuses such as staff, wands or rings. They are also often used in the design and architecture of temples devoted to the Faith of the Divine Star. It’s practitioners most often belong to one of the academies, or belong to the Faith of the Divine Star. By using Astromancy, one can control light, create force fields, and aid the abilities of you and your allies.

Hedge Magic is the magic of nature. It combines prayers to local deities, use of herbs and other components, and the ancient language of Dolonwood known as Sylvas. It is the magic most often used by the Children of the Old Way. Its practitioners are either hermits that act as stewards of nature or aid townsfolk with their daily lives. By using Hedge Magic, one can speak and command animals and plants, attack the enemy with the power of nature by using things like lightning blast or fireballs, and do odd cantrips like throw your voice and perform conjuring tricks.

Necromancy is the magic of life and death. Unlike most other settings, Necromancy is not just used to create and control undead: it is also used to heal. However, all Necromancy comes at a price: all Necromancy costs equivalent life force. In order to heal or one might have to use the blood of another being, such as the blood of a chicken. However, in order to extend someone’s life, you’ll need the life of another person and mastery of Necromancy. As a result, Necromancy is hated by the Society of the Divine Wheel, and members of the Society are barred from practicing Necromancy. Necromancers, however, are beloved by the Merecite Church, as the ability for them to live longer using Necromancy outweighs the cost in life. Most practitioners of Necromancy are members of said church or Geists, with the first focusing on healing and life extension, and the latter focusing on commanding and controlling undead. With the power of Necromancy, one can: heal and extend life, transfer life from one being to another (often unwillingly) and create and control undead.

So, what about the final core species? Well, let me introduce you to the Sylvans.

The Sylvans are about 5 feet tall, with beautiful glimmering wings, antenna, and plant life growing out of their bodies. In fact, they are part plant and part insect. They are naturally playful, and often spend their lives as entertainers.

All Sylvans come from Yggdrasil - The Mother Tree which is hidden somewhere deep in the forest of Dolonwood. When a Sylvan dies, their pollen makes it back to Yggdrasil, where it combines with the buds of the tree and forms pods, where a new Sylvan is born. As a result, the location of Yggdrasil is a closely guarded secret by the Sylvans, and the tree itself is hidden by mystic pollen and powerful Hedge Magic.

Sylvans have plenty of advantages due to their unique makeup. They can use their wings to glide, control the minds of other using their pollen, known as mystic pollen. They also use photosynthesis, so they don’t need to eat if they get sun. However, their strange body comes with some weaknesses, such as being limited by fae taboos and their plant and insectoid bodies. As a result, things like cold iron and frost are their banes.

The Sylvan talent looks like the following:

Mystic Pollen (By using your pollen, you can communicate telepathically, put people to sleep you are touching and make nearby creatures hallucinate)

Gliding (Your wings act as gliders, allowing you to glide).

Photosynthesis (As long as you are exposed to sunlight once a day you are considered to have eaten)

Being a Sylvan comes with the fault Sylvan (Roll Under/Disadvantage), which looks like the following:

Fae Taboo (Things that affect fae, such as cold iron, affect Sylvan as well)

Plant Body (You are affected deeply by the cold, and you begin to fall asleep and die if not kept warm)

Anyway, thank you all for reading these articles! I’ll be writing more on the setting soon, along with converting some of this stuff to DnD 5e. Until next time:

Best Wishes,

Benjamin “Mythossanta” Paulson

[palliddata]

UBS in Depth: Heart Stat, Religion in Dolonwood and Geists

In the recent days, I have been writing a series of articles going in depth on each of the five UBS stats (Brute, Swift, Wits, Heart, and Wyrd), along with introducing bits and pieces of a fantasy setting I’m working on called Dolonwood. Wondering what UBS is? Well, it’s the zine’s new system, and it can be found in the page listings above, or by poking around the #UBS tag.

We’ve already talked about Brute, Swift and Wits (along with Ogres, Merrow, and Ashfolk), so let’s discuss Heart.

Heart is the hardest stat to understand. It is your gut instinct, willpower, faith, perception, and wisdom all rolled into one. A priest or a ranger would have a lot of heart, as would a therapist in a more Modern setting. When you roll under your disadvantage to avoid an impulse or control your emotions, you’re rolling with Heart.

So what are some potential skills that use Heart? Resisting mental attacks is a Heart skill. Most things having to do with nature and survival, such as cooking, light a fire, setting traps and handling animals are all Heart. Using your senses is Heart, along with certain social skills such as diplomacy, sensing people’s motives and performing art and music.

So now that we’ve discussed Heart, let’s discuss Religion in Dolonwood.

Religion is very important to the people of Dolonwood. Nearly everyone has a religion, and people take their faiths very seriously. Intermarriage between different religions is rare, and people, unfortunately, discriminate against people based on their religion.

Though there are many local faiths, there are six major religions in Dolonwood that tend to dominate things.

The first religion is the Faith of the Divine Star. They believe that the constellations themselves are deities, and their temples and acolytes are known to use Lunite, a magical mineral used in certain magic that absorbs the power of the stars and moon.

The most fearsome faith in Dolonwood is the Draconis Cult. Formed after the Draconis, three terrible and ancient Dragons awoke, the cult’s members worship the Draconis as gods. Draconis members are known to raid on behalf of their Dragon gods and often engage in ritual scarring, human sacrifice, and other brutal practices.

On a much lighter note, Dolonwood is home to the Savalianists. Founded by the Savali academy, they believe in the power and majesty of science and knowledge above all else. In stark contrast is the Children of the Old Ways, who follow the local deities and the natural world.

Two of the stranger religions might be the Mericite Church and the Society of the Divine Wheel. The Mericite Church believes that wealth, industry and the transfer of wealth through Mercantilism is a divine force that must be worshipped in order to receive the blessings of the universe. Conversely, the Society of the Divine Wheel believes in worshipping the cycle of life and death, and actively fight and despise Undead, including Geists. They believe in this cycle so much so that they will refuse medicine when close to death, and many suspect their doctors will euthanize certain patients if they see them as “the next turn on the wheel”.

Speaking of Geists, what are Geist? Geists are the oldest species, so old that even they themselves don’t know where they come from. They are immortal, so immortal that even if they are killed they simply reform 100 years later at a new location. Unfortunately, they do age. At one point they were rumored to be beautiful, but not anymore: they are skeletons covered in a dark black mist.

Long-lived and experienced Geists tend to take one of three paths. Some of Geists see the world and the mortal species as things to be cherished and aided, nurturing life. Other take a more neutral path, trying to become the best at something - whether it be trade, art or scholarship. However, some Geists take a terrible path, rejecting life, becoming master assassins and necromancers, spending centuries setting nations against each other in bloody conflicts.

No matter what a Geist does, they are equipped with certain abilities and disabilities. Aside from their inability to truly die, Geists are known for two things. The first is their ability to reject their physical form turn in black smoke, leaving their skeletal form behind. While in this form they can fly and move through small cracks such as grate or jail bars, and cannot be hurt by physical means. However, aside from minor movements and sounds, such as those attributed to a ghost, they cannot interact with the physical world. Furthermore, the remains of their physical body can still be attacked and manipulated, and they cannot turn corporeal again. As a result, the closest a Geist can get to death is being permanently separated from bodies, forced to wander the world forever.

Secondly, Geists are known for their strange ability to absorb undead energies. Geists can approach defeated undead and absorb any special powers they may have. So, for example, if a Geist defeats a Banshee, he may absorb her undead energy, gaining her signature scream. A Geist only has the abilities of the last undead they absorbed, however, so they can’t have the powers of multiple undead at one time.

Being a Geist comes with certain disadvantages though. Primarily, anything that hurts, compels or effects undead hurt Geists. This means that things like salt, holy symbols of the Society of the Divine Wheel and silver all trap and damage Geists. Secondly, Geists are despised and persecuted by the Society of the Divine Wheel and are treated as second class in areas of heavy Church presence.

The Geist talent looks like the following:

Reject Physical Form (Geists may leave their body and turn into an incorporeal spirit)

Undead Absorption (Geists may absorb the powers of defeated undead)

Truly Immortal (If a Geist’s physical form is destroyed, they reform at a new location 100 years later)

Being a Geist comes with the fault Geist (Roll Under/Disadvantage), which looks like the following:

Undead Weakness (Anything that hurts, compels or effects undead effects Geists as well)

Enemy of the Wheel (Geists are hated by followers of the Society of the Divine Wheel)

I’ll be going into more detail about the Geists along with the religions of Dolonwood in a coming article. Next time, however, the final stat: Wyrd!

Best Wishes,

Benjamin “Mythossanta” Paulson  

[palliddata]

UBS in Depth: Wits Stat, Technology in Dolonwood and Ashfolk

In the recent days, I have been writing a series of articles going in depth on each of the five UBS stats (Brute, Swift, Wits, Heart, and Wyrd), along with introducing bits and pieces of a fantasy setting I’m working on called Dolonwood. Wondering what UBS is? Well, it’s the zine’s new system, and it can be found in the page listings above], or by poking around the #UBS tag.

We’ve already talked about Brute and Swift (along with Ogres and Merrow), so let’s discuss Wits.

Wits is a measure of how smart you are. This is knowledge, but also how clever you are. It’s both how smart you are and how good you are at outsmarting others. As a result, a scholar and a mad scientist have high Wits, but so does a conman or a chess master.

As for specifics, you can do a lot with wits. Inventing, crafting and technology use all use Wits. Knowledge of facts is Wits, whether it’s knowledge of space, history, nature, and so on. That said it isn’t your ability to do anything with that knowledge, just your ability to recall it. Finally, deception is Wits, as it’s your ability to outwit someone.

Now that we’ve discussed Wits, let’s discuss Technology in Dolonwood…

Technology in Dolonwood is positioned firmly in the Enlightenment era. Steam engines and electricity don’t exist, so information and goods travel only as fast as water and mounts can carry it. In addition, this chain of transport can be easily disrupted by thieves, soldiers, bad weather or monsters.

Dolonwood is not stuck in the Medieval Era. Gunpowder and Guns are a known factor, though repeating firearms are unknown. Calculus, Astronomy, Alchemy and other advanced sciences have been introduced. There are a wide variety of governments in the world - Theocracies, Democracy, and Monarchies (both Constitutional and otherwise) are the most common, but societies that are Anarcho-Capitalist and Anarcho-Communist exist as well. Due to advances in public and private education, literacy has become more common.

So what has been driving these advances? Well, in the last hundred years academies and societies have become to spring up around Dolonwood, the best of which are concentrated in the Edgeworld Mountains. The Ashfolk are the people that started these great institutions.

Endlessly focused and long-lived, the Ashfolk are about 5-6 feet tall and have ash colored skin and long, pointy ears. When their anger flares, their fiery heritage flares up, and their hairs, eyes, and hands go ablaze. In fact, they are so aligned to flame that ash flakes off of their skin, hence their name. This heritage comes from the volcanic mountains at the center of the world where they used to inhabit until they were booted out by the Draconis Cult.

It took them 10 long years to make it from the center to the edge of the world. However, aided by a collection of Geists, they made it to their home into the Edgeworld Mountains. There, they discovered Lunite deposits, a previously rare mineral, in vast amounts. By mining and selling this mineral they managed to make enough money to form the academies.

The Ashfolks’ bodies are living furnaces. They can create flames at will, breathing fire and boiling things with their hands. They are immune to the effects of extreme cold and heat. However, they are more elemental and thus alien in biology. This means that they cannot be healed through magical healing, and they start to die when become emerged in water or particularly wet.

The Ashfolk talent looks like the following:

Living Furnace (You can create flames and heat your body to scalding temperatures)

Fire Immunity (You are immune to the effects of extreme heat and flame).

Cold Immunity (You are immune to the effects of extreme cold and frost).

Being an Ashfolk comes with the fault Ashfolk (Roll Under/Disadvantage), which looks like the following:

Elemental Biology (You cannot be healed by magical healing)

Weak to Water (You become injured and can die if you become too wet)

I’ll be going into the Ashfolk and their history with the Draconis Cult in a coming article. Next time, however, Heart!

Best Wishes,

Benjamin “Mythossanta” Paulson  

[palliddata]

UBS In Depth: Swift Stat, Geography of Dolonwood and Merrow

In the recent days, I have been writing a series of articles going in depth on each of the five UBS stats (Brute, Swift, Wits, Heart, and Wyrd), along with introducing bits and pieces of a fantasy setting I’m working on called Dolonwood. Wondering what UBS is? Well, it’s the zine’s new system, and it can be found in the page listings above, or by poking around the #UBS tag.

We’ve already talked about Brute (and the large and in charge Ogres), so let’s discuss Swift.

Swift is a pretty simple stat, probably the simplest stat. It is a combination of your agility, your manual dexterity, and your speed. That’s about it. A fantasy thief would have a high swift, but so would a flying ace or a sniper.

So what can you do with Swift specifically, what makes for good fodder for skills? Any sneaky stuff will be Swift, such as picking locks, pockets, sneaking around, disarming devices, and other such roguish things. Quick and agile movements, like dodging, running fast, and acrobatics are all in the domain of Swift. Weapons that use dexterity, like daggers, rapiers and ranged weapons use Swift as well.

Anyway, let’s talk Dolonwood…

For whatever reason, mystical or otherwise, Dolonwood does not have an equator like Earth. Instead, Dolonwood is flat, and the farther you get from the center the colder it gets. Thus, Dolonwood has sort of rings to it. In the center, known as the World’s Center, there are blistering mountains, tropical seas, and fierce jungles. Around that, where most of the action is, is the temperate area known as the Midlands. There, we have rich fields, dark forests and swamps, hills, plains, rivers and great lakes. Finally in the third ring, you have cold, frozen valleys and waterways, and of course the Edgeworld Mountains, which is largely considered the functional end of the world and surrounds the rest of the map.

So where do the Merrow come in? They are the masters of the waterways of Dolonwood. Because Dolonwood is pre-steam engine, lakes and rivers are an incredibly important way to travel and create energy. The Merrow, who are born to the water, are natural traders and pirates, along with spies and information gatherers.

Merrow are about 4-5 feet tall, covered in grey, blue or greens scales. They have webbed hands and feet, internal ears, forked tongues and sharp teeth. Finally, they have fins on their back and sometimes head, and are hairless.

The Merrow themselves have a few abilities unique to their species. They can breathe underwater and swim brilliantly. Their bite is quite poisonous and can cause paralysis. Most strangely, however, they can secrete an oil from their pores that is very slippery and flammable. This can be used to escape capture, sprayed at foes to blind them, use to trip people up, or as a flammable solution for torches and fires.

These abilities come with a price though - if a Merrow isn’t submerged in water every few days, potentially sleeping in it, they dry up and become weak and stiff.

The Merrow talent looks like the following:

Born to the water (You are able to breathe underwater and swim masterfully)

Poisonous Bite (Your bite paralyzes its victims)

Merrow Oil (You can secrete or shoot an oil that lubricates, blinds and is flammable)

Being a Merrow comes with the fault Merrow (Roll Under/Disadvantage), which looks like the following:

Must Stay Wet (If you're not submerged in water for a few hours every few days, you become weak and stiff, making you worse a Brute and Swift tasks).

Flammable (You are very flammable… Watch out for fire!)

I’ll be going into the Merrow and their history in a coming article. Next time, however, Wits!

Best Wishes,

Benjamin “Mythossanta” Paulson  

[palliddata]

UBS In Depth: Brute Stat, Introducing Dolonwood and Ogres

In the coming days and weeks, I am going to write a series of articles going in depth on each of the five UBS stats (Brute, Swift, Wits, Heart, and Wyrd), along with introducing bits and pieces of a fantasy setting I’m working on called Dolonwood. Wondering what UBS is? Well, it’s the zine’s new system, and it can be found in the page listings above, or by poking around the #UBS tag.

So anyway, what is Brute? Fortunately for us, Brute is one of the easier Stats to explain. It’s your physical strength, but also how much punishment you can endure. It doesn’t translate into extra hits, but it might let you absorb a bunch of hits so you never have to mark an injury to begin with. It’s also used for lifting, hitting things hard, and even throwing your weight around socially through physical intimidation. For example, a schoolyard bully has a lot of Brute (for a kid), as does a mafia goon or a giant.

So what are some concrete uses for Brute - what are some potential skills for Brute? Both melee weapons and thrown weapons use Brute. Intimidation uses Brute. Enduring different kinds of physical torments such as harsh weather, torture and poison uses Brute. Feats of strength, such as swimming or lifting objects uses Brute.

Now that we’ve discussed Brute, let’s discuss Dolonwood!

Dolonwood is both a place of science and magic. It is a world without humans, and with a geography much different than ours. Dolonwood is a flat planet which is orbited by a sun, where a region’s heat is measured by how close it is to the center of the world.

Dolonwood has magic, but also science and industry. Dolonwood’s technology is placed firmly in our mid 18th century. Guns are common, for example. However, things like electricity and the steam engine have not.

Dolonwood is not without conflict. Just like in our world, people fight over things like religions, resources, and philosophy. There is discrimination and long-term grudges. Unlike our world, however, having a good harvest, avoiding plague and making ends meet is just as much of a concern as strange and horrible creatures. Lindworms, Undead, Fae and other monsters are as real of a concern as corrupt officials, raiders, and criminals.

For each stat, I wanted to introduce a species that are both from the Dolonwood setting and exemplifies the stat I’m talking about that day. For Brute, I decided to talk about Ogres.

Unlike Ogres in most settings, Ogres in Dolonwood are not dumb and oafish… far from it! They are very refined and no different in intelligence and curiosity than the average human. They can use and understand all of the latest technology, hold political offices, and have interests in fine art, theater and of course… FOOD.

Ogres cannot resist food and ale and have near bottomless stomachs. Around the scent of edibles, they can become animalistic. As a people, this is probably their greatest weakness. This is counteracted by their strong belief in law and order, the arts, and their keen noses and iron stomachs. It’s quite difficult to poison an Ogre’s food, they won’t notice. You could, of course, lure them away or distract them with the promise of food, and then stab them with a poison dagger, which could hurt them well enough.

Physically, Ogres look like heavy set, 7-8 foot tall humans with the head of a vicious animal, such as a Lion, Boar, Bear or Wolf. When in darkness or moonlight, they can transform into the animal associated with their head.

The Ogre talent looks like this:

You are tough (+2 Extra Hits)

Iron Stomach (things you ingest have a hard time hurting you)

Keen nose (you can smell things others can’t, and can use your nose for tracking)

Animal Transformation Under Darkness or Moonlight (pick a ferocious animal upon character creation)

Being an Ogre comes with the fault Ogre (Roll Under/Disadvantage), which looks like the following:

Can’t Resist a Good Meal (You’ll have to roll under to avoid being tempted by good food and drink)

Big (You might have to roll under to do things other species don’t, like moving through small gaps, and you might have to roll with disadvantage to doing things like dodging since you’re such a big target)

I’ll be going into more depth about Dolonwood and Ogres as well in the coming articles. Until next time…

Best Wishes,

Benjamin “Mythossanta” Paulson

[palliddata]

Universal Blackjack System V.02

(Here is the second version of UBS... Enjoy!)

UBS is a d20 roll under system with a unique “blackjack” system for opposed rolls. The core of the game are the five stats:

Brute: physical strength and endurance

Swift: agility and manual dexterity

Wits: charisma and intelligence

Heart: willpower, wisdom, instinct, bravery, faith

Wyrd: ability to use and resist the odd, supernatural and/or bizarre, luck

When I’d want to do something unopposed, like pick a lock, I’d have to roll under my stat in whatever I’m trying to roll for in order to succeed

For example, my pc, Jack Quickfoot is trying to pick a lock to escape the Baron’s dungeon his Swift is 12, so I’d have to roll below a 12 in order to succeed. If I am skilled in what I am doing, I have advantage meaning I roll 2d20 and keep the lowest die.

Depending on the circumstance, the GM might add or subtract from my stat for the roll, up to -5 or +5. For example, my pc, Jack Quickfoot, is trying to scale a cliff in the rain. Since the rain is coming down heavy, the GM decides to subtract -3 from my stat for the roll. Since my Swift is normally 12, I’d have to roll under 9 to succeed (since 12-3=9).

Blackjack rolls come in when I’m doing an opposed roll: opposed skill rolls, such as combat, are “blackjack” rolls. All participants must roll under their stat but over their opponent(s) roll to succeed. If all participants rolled over their stat, the winner is the participant who rolled lower.

Going back to my character Jack Quickfoot, if he was trying to dodge an attack from an ogre’s club, he’d have to roll under his Swift (12) but over the ogre’s roll. Meanwhile, the ogre would have to roll under her Brute (15) while also rolling over whatever Jack rolled. If both characters “bust”, and roll over their stats, the character that rolled lower would succeed. If both rolls are the same, then it goes to the character with the higher stat. And if somehow you’ve managed to outwit the system, then it goes to whatever would make the story progress.

Health works with injuries (also known as wounds) instead of HP. Most PC’s can sustain 5 injuries, though some can take extra hits, in order to simulate toughness, armor, etc.

Whenever a character is injured and they have no extra hits left, they mark a stat of their choice as “wounded” meaning that they get disadvantage with that stat until that wound is healed. Disadvantage means you roll 2d20 and keep the higher result. Furthermore, if you have disadvantage you have disadvantage, even if you would normally have advantage - advantage and disadvantage do not cancel each other out. Once all stats are wounded, they are grievously injured and are out of the scene, and must be healed before they actually die.

NPCs either tend to have either 1, 3, or 5 wounds depending on their importance or toughness, and NPCs don’t have their stats decreased when they take wounds. For example, a bandit mook would only have 1 wound, an ogre hired by the bandits would have 3 wounds, but the bandit lord Stark would have 5 wounds.

Combat is entirely “theater of the mind”, with no turns or initiative. Play progresses in whatever order makes sense for the story. All attacks deal 1 wound, assuming it would make sense for that attack to deal any damage at all. So for example, punching a Kaiju would do nothing, but blasting it with a laser cannon would deal it 1 wound.

Character creation works as such:

Players distribute the following numbers to their stats: 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

Then, players select four skills and two talents *or* two skills and three talents.

A skill is simply having ability in something. For example, Robin Hood would have “Archery” as a skill, Conan would have “Axe-Fighting” as a skill. If you make a roll and one or more of your skills are applicable, you roll with advantage, meaning you roll two d20 instead of one and keep the lower result.

A talent, on the other hand, is something positive and not easily quantifiable.

“I’m tough”, “I’m an elf”, “I’m a wizard”, “I have a pet monkey” are all great talents.

You should always discuss potential skills and talents with your table to make sure they aren’t too broad, to narrow, fit the campaign and so on.

Finally, there are faults. Faults work a lot like disadvantages in other universal systems. However, they do not gain you points to buy you more powers and skills but are instead simply stuff you have to take. In your average UBS game, you must take three faults.

There are roughly two types of faults - disadvantage faults, which simply give you disadvantage on a type of roll, and roll under faults, which trigger if you do not successfully roll under your stat when the GM calls for it.

An example of a disadvantage fault would be “poor eyesight”, which means that whenever you try to use your eyes for something tough, you roll 2d20 and keep the highest result. It is important to note that if you would have disadvantage in something, you roll with disadvantage, even if you’d normally have advantage - they do not cancel each other out.

Roll under faults are a bit different. During play, the GM may ask you to roll for one of your roll under faults, you must roll under a certain stat or suffer the slings and arrows of your fault. An example of this might be “painfully famous”. Meaning that if my character is out in public, I must roll under my Wyrd or be swarmed by fans.

As a quick example, let me take you through the creation of my character, Jack Quickfoot:

Since Jack has a lot of bravery and agility, I gave him a 12 in Swift and an 11 in Heart, since I want those to be his best stats. He isn’t very strong, so I gave him a 6 in Brute. That leaves Wyrd (which I give the 8 to) and Wits (to which I give the 10 to).

I feel that I only want two talents, so I take “I have a pet squirrel” and “I am a member of the Green Cloaks”, a group of rebels that fight the wicked Baron and other evildoers from the depths of their forest compound.

As for skills, I decide that Jack should be good at Archery, Herbalism, Sleight of Hand and Acrobatics.

Finally, faults. I decide Jack is a bit “Shy (disadvantage)”, so social interaction can be tough for him. He also has “Arachnophobia (roll under)” meaning if he encounters a spider, he must roll under his Heart or attempt to flee. Finally, I opt to make him “Wanted (roll under)” - when he’s in a town, he must roll under his Wyrd or someone recognizes him as a member of the Green Cloaks.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I have a few things planned for UBS in the coming weeks/months, so stay tuned!

Yours Truly,

Benjamin “Mythossanta” Paulson

Changelog: Added optional modifiers for passive checks, made wounds gives disadvantage, spelling and grammar.

[palliddata]

Universal Blackjack System V.01

Hello dear readers - welcome back to Pallidata

I know it’s been a hot minute. Lots of us here (me included) have had finals and other college stuff, along with other real life commitments. So without further ado, let me introduce the first version of the Universal Black System (UBS for short).

UBS is a d20 roll under system with a unique “blackjack” system for opposed rolls. The core of the game are the five stats:

Brute: physical strength and endurance

Swift: agility and manual dexterity

Wits: charisma and intelligence

Heart: willpower, wisdom, instinct, bravery, faith

Wyrd: ability to use and resist the odd, supernatural and/or bizarre, luck

When I’d want to do something unopposed, like pick a lock, I’d have to roll under my stat in whatever I'm trying to roll for in order to succeed

For example: my pc, Jack Quickfoot is trying to pick a lock to escape the Baron's dungeon his Swift is 12, so I'd have to roll below a 12 in order to succeed. If I am skilled in what I am doing, I have advantage meaning I roll 2d20 and keep the lowest die.

Blackjack rolls comes in when I'm doing an opposed roll: opposed skill rolls, such as combat, are “blackjack” rolls. All participants must roll under their stat but over their opponent(s) roll to succeed. If all participants rolled over their stat, the winner is the participant who rolled lower.

Going back to my character Jack Quickfoot, if he was trying to dodge an attack from an ogre's club, he'd have to roll under his Swift (12) but over the ogre’s roll. Meanwhile, the ogre would have to roll under her Brute (15) while also rolling over whatever Jack rolled. If both characters "bust", and roll over their stats, the character that rolled lower would succeed. If both rolls are the same, then it goes to the character with the higher stat. And if somehow you’ve managed to outwit the system, then it goes to whatever would make the story progress.

Health works with injuries (also known as wounds) instead of HP. Most PC's can sustain 5 injuries, though some can take extra hits, in order to simulate toughness, armor, etc.

Whenever a character is injured and they have no extra hits left, they mark a stat of their choice as "wounded" meaning that that stat gets -3 until that wound is healed. Once all stats are wounded, they are grievously injured and are out of the scene, and must be healed before they actually die.

NPCs either tend to have either 1, 3, or 5 wounds depending on their importance or toughness, and NPCs don’t have their stats decreased when they take wounds. For example, a bandit mook would only have 1 wound, an ogre hired by the bandits would have 3 wounds, but the bandit lord Stark would have 5 wounds.

Combat is entirely “theater of the mind”, with no turns or initiative. Play progresses in whatever order makes sense for the story. All attacks deal 1 wound, assuming it would make sense for that attack to deal any damage at all. So for example, punching a Kaiju would do nothing, but blasting it with a laser cannon would deal it 1 wound.

Character creation works as such:

Players distribute the following numbers to their stats: 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

Then, players select four skills and two talents *or* two skills and three talents.

A skill is simply having ability in something. For example, Robin Hood would have “Archery” as a skill, Conan would have “Axe-Fighting” as a skill. If you make a roll and one or more of your skills are applicable, you roll with advantage, meaning you roll two d20 instead of one and keep the lower result.

A talent on the other hand is something positive and not easily quantifiable.

“I'm tough”, “I'm an elf”, “I'm a wizard”, “I have a pet monkey” are all great talents.

You should always discuss potential skills and talents with your table to make sure they aren’t too broad, to narrow, fit the campaign and so on.

Finally, there are faults. Faults work a lot like disadvantages in other universal systems. However, they do not gain you points to buy you more powers and skills but are instead simply stuff you have to take. In your average UBS game, you must take three faults.

There are roughly two types of faults - disadvantage faults, which simply give you disadvantage on a type of roll, and roll under faults, which trigger if you do not successfully roll under your stat when the GM calls for it.

An example of a disadvantage fault would be “poor eyesight”, which means that whenever you try to use your eyes for something tough, you roll 2d20 and keep the highest result. It is important to note that if you would have disadvantage in something, you roll with disadvantage, even if you’d normally have advantage - they do not cancel each other out.

Roll under faults are a bit different. During play, the GM may ask you to roll for one of your roll under faults, you must roll under a certain stat or suffer the slings and arrows of your fault. An example of this might be “painfully famous”. Meaning that if my character is out in public, I must roll under my Wyrd or be swarmed by fans.

As a quick example, let me take you through the creation of my character, Jack Quickfoot:

Since Jack has a lot of bravery and agility, I gave him a 12 in Swift and an 11 in Heart, since I want those to be his best stats. He isn’t very strong, so I gave him a 6 in Brute. That leaves Wyrd (which I give the 8 to) and Wits (to which I give the 10 to).

I feel that I only want two talents, so I take “I have a pet squirrel” and “I am a member of the Green Cloaks”, a group of rebels that fight the wicked Baron and other evildoers from the depths of their forest compound.

As for skills, I decide that Jack should be good at Archery, Herbalism, Sleight of Hand and Acrobatics.

Finally, faults. I decide Jack is a bit “Shy (disadvantage)”, so social interaction can be tough for him. He also has “Arachnophobia (roll under)” meaning if he encounters a spider, he must roll under his Heart or attempt to flee. Finally, I opt to make him “Wanted (roll under)” - when he’s in a town, he must roll under his Wyrd or someone recognizes him as a member of the Green Cloaks.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I have a few things planned for UBS in the coming weeks/months, so stay tuned!

Yours Truly,

Benjamin “Mythossanta” Paulson

P.S.

Friend of the zine Fdouglaswall was very helpful in the early stages of design, so a big thank you to him!