Mechanics

The mechanics of Rising of Chaos focuses around Combat and Skills that cannot be replicated through real world aptitude. Most of the skills and abilities in the game use a main skill check system called the **Omni Deck** System. What follows are the very basics. Whilst the basics can be outlined below here is is a more detailed look at the Omni Deck

## What is the Omni Deck?

* It is used to perform specific actions in the system.
* It is a deck of cards made up of 22 standard sleeved playing cards.
* 5 of each suit in number cards and two black jokers.
* Inside each card the system provides a blue slip.
* An Orange Slip appears in all but the Black Joker Cards

## When is it used and How Does it work?

* It is used when you are called on to make a skill check.
* To succeed a skill check you draw a card.
* If the suit from your **Omni Deck** matches any of the suits required by the skill check you have passed.

## Any Other Times?

* If you enter a **Death Count** and are brought back to consciousness.

## How does that work?

* Deathcount *usually* happens during a **Combat**
* When combat has finished pull any card and remove the blue slip: This is a **Wound Card.**
* This will tell you how badly you are wounded and what to do.

## What is the Orange slip for?

* After a scene or combat in which you have cast magic you will draw an orange slip: A **Backlash Card.**
* This will explain the after effects of your casting.

## Combat

* When we are hit in combat or struck with a damaging magical effect we need to understand damage, know when to fall down and when to be dead.
* Each character starts with 3 **HITS**
* Each blow that they receive causes them to lose one of those
* Any “Mighty”, “Giant” or “Supernatural Blow” has a slilghtly more powerful effect:
	+ Might causes 2 **HITS**, Giant causes 3 **HITS** and Supernatural causes4 **HITS**
	+ Additionally anyone struck by such a blow becomes WindedWinded

## Winded

* A **Winded** Character must roleplay being slightly off kilter but more than capable of standard Fighting and difficult casting.
* They may not use Tactical Points at all whilst **Winded**.
* If they attempt to cast Magic they increase the **Magnitude** that they are attempting by 2 **Magnitudes**. A 1 **Magnitude** spell would become a 3 **Magnitude** spell.
* The **Winded** condition lasts for approximately 10 seconds

## Being Wounded

* When you have no **HITS** left you fall to the floor **incapacitated**
* Whilst **incapacitated** you can call for help and crawl slowly around.
* Whilst **incapacitated** you count to approximately **20**in seconds
* This is called your **Incap Count.**
* After the count ends you fall unconscious and start to die.

## Dying

* Now you start counting again.
* This time though it is a **Death Count.**
* If you reach 30 seconds you have died.
* If you are healed back to positive **HITS** before you die you are ready to go again.
* However at the end of combat you now have to draw a **Wound Card** from your **Omni Deck**

## Being Healed

* There are two ways to be healed in The Rising of Chaos: Magically or Medically.
* These are described in detail later but the very immediate guidlelines to remember are as follows:
	+ If you are upright and not in your **Incap Count** you may be healed immediately by Magic for 1 **HIT+** or slowly via Chirurgery for 1 **HIT+.**
	+ If you are in your **Incap or Death Count** you may be healed magically only by the Spell **Fervour** which will return you to one **HIT** or via various Chirurgical procedures.
	+ If you have pulled a **Wound Card** they are, majoratively, healed exclusively via Chirurgery.

## Wound cards

* When you are wounded it is going to be in one of four ways:
	+ **Rain of Blows** – I was hit a lot of times, this is most likely why I fell over.
	+ **Cleave** – I was hit really hard once this is why I fell over.
	+ **Magic**– I was hit by magic a lot, this is most likely why I fell over.
	+ **Poison or Disease** – I am suffering from a malady, this is most likely why I fell over.
* Look at your **Wound Card** and pick the result most applicable to why you fell over.
* If the result has a card suit on it this will tell your healer how difficult it is to treat your injury.
* Do not replace the card in the deck: Anyone checking your injury will have to use the card to know what to do.
* Make sure you roleplay your injury, don’t run around with your wound card – **Act Out** what is wrong with you.
* Any effort to cure a **Wound Card** by someone with the correct skill halts the ongoing effect (I.e. a death count) which will not resume until they have failed in curing that wound.
* If you are not sure about drawing a **Wound Card** a rule of thumb should be: *I think I should*. For example if you hit the deck **incapacitated** repeatedly in a combat but don’t enter **Death Count** you may still feel you should draw a card.
* The process of drawing should take no longer than 10 seconds.

## How dangerous are Wound Cards?

* Pretty dangerous as they show how tough you are and how resilient you are to death.
* Starting **Wound Cards** contain the worst injuries
* Each **Wound Card** can be enhanced to produce injuries of a reduced Severity.
* This can be done multiple times
* A character can increase the rank of their cards as they go through their career
* They may also wear armour or purchase skills that make them more resilient allowing them to pick lesser damaging effects from the wound card.
* The Wounds on the cards will be changed on a regular basis so that the player does not get used to the dynamic of each card.

## Poison and Disease?

* Sometimes you may be under the effect of a lingering malady.
* These will be clearly explained to you but as an example: “Lose 2 **HITS** at the end of any combat as the poison takes hold – This is immeasurably painful.”
* If this puts you down at the end of a fight this is when you read the **Poison and Disease**

## Rules of Thumb

* The game is about roleplaying and reacting to things in the coolest manner that you can.
* The rules outlined so far are designed to give some structure to combat and to remove the need for any refs from your day to day life.

### Rule of Cool

* If it feels cool and you feel like you are in a movie then it is probably right.
* You and the rest of the cast are the big damn hero/anti hero of said movie so you should have all the best scenes and best lines.
* So long as you stick to the safety rules, which are much longer and much more complicated you should be fine. inappropriate

### One Second and three seconds

* Sometimes it looks cool to go for a flurry of blows which is fine
* But that as a rough guideline you should only be taking 1 **HIT** per second no matter how many times one person is hitting you.
* When you use some of the skills described later in combat or you use an effect try and put about three seconds between each one for the scene to recover.

### Rollovers

* An Event is filmed in a number of Acts that are determined by the Directors/Storytellers.
* In the act are a number of scenes whose duration is a number of lined encounters.
* Most magics have durations based on this:
	+ Per **Rollover**.
	+ Per **Scene**.
* Most Omni Deck skills can be used per scene before replenishing.
* Sometimes combats go on for a while and you have some skills that say “You may use these skills once each combat”
* So you might hear a call of **Rollover** which could be a whistle blast – The exact nature of how a rollover is signalled will be explained by your Ref team.
* At that point **Tactical Points** roll over and you get to use them all over again.

## Minimal

* When you hit things they WILL suffer damage either with physical blows or magic.
* At no point does it become worthless to engage in battle against the foe
* However certain creatures have greater resilience to magics or are susceptible to certain types of metal.
* If a foe is not being so affected by your magic and your blow that crew member will attempt to make it known to you by using the call **Minimal.**
* This gives you the chance to change tactics and employ more damaging methods.
* We encourage players to do the same where possible

### Being Shot

* Arrows and Bolts might hit you. You should act as though you have been hit by a fast moving, heavy projectile.

### Ribbons

* You might see ribbons tied to things like trees or props – If you have been given a skill sheet at the start of the day react to them, if you haven’t….don’t.

# Magic

The system does a lot of magic things because it is high fantasy and adding magic to your characters CV makes you interesting in different ways but equally things get a little more complicated.

## Forms

* There are five forms of **MAGIC**
* They share the same principal directions for the game

## Crew vs. Players

* Players and Crew use magic in very different ways.
* As mentioned the players are big damn heroes in the film and the crew is the rest of the cast and quite often the villains of the piece.

## Spells

* Spells fall into two categories:
	+ Combat which requires tighter mechanics than other areas
	+ Transcendental which is looser and more dynamic for player interaction
* Spells are ranked in **Magnitude** between 0 and 10: As spells rise in power they become more powerful and more difficult to cast.
	+ **0 –**Cantrips that have little effect on the game and are free to cast.
	+ **1-3** – Easy to cast and basic spells.
	+ **4-6** – Harder to cast elementary spells that will have more game impact!
	+ **7-9** – Getting even harder to cast but getting quite powerful; they may change a scene!
	+ **10** – Really hard to cast but really powerful and may affect the outcome of the day!

## Combat Casting the spells

* Basically they take some time to cast which is about the same for all forms
* Roughly 4 seconds per Spell
* Each form has its own described flourish to casting like big words or using props
* At the end of a Scene or Combat, when there is no more fighting, draw a **Backlash Card**and follow the instructions therein.
* This should take about 10 Seconds.

## Combat Casting the spells

* Outside of combat they take about 30 seconds per **Magnitude** to cast
* At the end of a Scene or Combat, when there is no more fighting, draw a **Backlash Card**and follow the instructions therein.

## Can I just keep casting?

* Yes you can with one small caveat you have to wait between spells
* The three second rule is applied between spell casting
* So cast, wait 3 seconds before using another skill or casting another spell

## What is a Backlash check?

* It is a pull from your Omni Deck.
* Each card contains positive and negative effects.
* These effects are more potent depending on the magnitude of the greatest spell cast in the scene.

## Is there any way I can ignore effects on the Backlash Card?

* Any flavour of caster comes with what is called **Defiance**
* When you experience a negative effect you can spend a point of **Defiance** to be ok or you can make a casting check.
* If you make the check you gain the beneficial effect on the card but if you fail you take the negative effect and may no longer use defiance.
* **Defiance** comes back every day and you get more as you play.

## When do I pull a Backlash Card?

* At the end of every combat you have cast in draw one
* After any scene in which you have cast a few spells that have affected the outcome of the scene draw one
* Any time you cast one spell outside a combat that is under heavy pressure, saved someone’s life or is just generally dramatic draw one.

## How do I know what difficulty the card is?

* Outside of combat you draw for each spell at the conclusion of that spell.
* After a combat is slightly different:
	+ This is Called Combat **Magnitude** or **Comag** to differentiate.
	+ Combat Spells come between 1 and 5 Magnitudes
	+ At the end of combat take the spell that you have cast at the highest **Magnitude**.
	+ Double that **Magnitude** and draw at that level of Backlash