Gameplay

**Unstuck in Time** is a closed roleplay, allowing for it to have more loose and permissive rules than it would if it were open to the general public. However, there is still merit to having some elements of roleplay left up to chance as opposed to player/DM discretion. This page lists the various rules regarding things like combat and general roleplay.

## Character Creation

### Skills

Regardless of your character type, all characters have a set list of skills organized by what type of skill they are.

* Strength:
	+ **Climb --** The physical ability to climb something, especially difficult surfaces.
	+ **Intimidate --** Being able to intimidate either a person or a Pokémon into doing something. It can be done with words or simply physical presence.
	+ **Jump --** The physical ability to jump high or jump far.
	+ **Swim --** The physical ability to swim. Those without ranks in Swim can still swim, but higher ranks in Swim mean the character is capable of swimming through rough waters or swimming for longer.
* Dexterity:
	+ **Balance --** Keeping one's balance in difficult situations, such as on a shaking surface or when walking along the edge of a precarious drop. Balance also lets one mitigate injuries from falling off something.
	+ **Pick Lock --** Opening locks to gain access to a potentially otherwise inaccessible area.
	+ **Sleight of Hand --** The ability to hide objects on one's person. Someone who's particularly deft at this skill may also use it to perform minor magic tricks.
	+ **Stealth --** The ability to hide or move silently through an area.
* Intelligence:
	+ **Focus --** Keeping one's calm in dire situations. Normally, some situations may put a penalty on actions that require concentration, but those with high Focus can mitigate or even negate that penalty entirely.
	+ **Forgery --** The ability to forge documents or identify a potentially forged one.
	+ **Handle Machinery --** Operating machinery and being able to fix it when it breaks down. Those with high Handle Machinery may even be able to improve their Poké Balls to improve catch chance.
	+ **Knowledge** is actually many skills, which are as follows:
		- **Knowledge: Pokémon --** Knowledge regarding the behavior and biology of Pokémon. While some aspects of Pokémon biology are commonly known, such as Type match-ups, ranks in this skill allow the character to know more in-depth knowledge regarding Pokémon.
		- **Knowledge: History --** Knowledge regarding the history of Lualdi. With time travel being possible in Lualdi, knowledge of its past might be more useful than it otherwise could be.
		- **Knowledge: Local --** Knowledge regarding the social nature of an area, such as famous people or particularly popular places within a city.
		- **Knowledge: Geography --** Knowledge regarding the physical nature of an area, such as the locations of towns or points of interest like caverns and waterfalls.
		- **Knowledge: Politics --** Knowledge regarding the political happenings of Lualdi, such as current Pokémon League members and their reputations, or the governments of provinces.
* Wisdom:
	+ **First Aid --** The ability to administer healing to a person or a Pokémon. While things like potions don't require ranks in First Aid, those with high First Aid may be able to diagnose health problems and heal minor injuries with very basic supplies.
	+ **Intuition --** Intuition is essentially being able to figure things out. In layman's terms, it's a gut feeling. Suspecting another character of lying or otherwise misleading and wanting to see if that's a true feeling could be solved with an Intuition roll.
	+ **Perception --** Being able to notice things falls under Perception. Spotting something unusual, hearing a soft sound -- all of these would be done with Perception.
	+ **Survival --** Survival is the ability to survive outside of civilization or in otherwise bad circumstances. It could be considered "street smarts," in a way. Following a set of tracks or knowing if something is edible or not would qualify for Survival.
* Charisma:
	+ **Bluff --** The ability to lie or mislead. Pokémon may also use this ability in the wild to play dead; it's not just for social situations.
	+ **Charm --** Essentially, one's charisma and getting people to get along. This skill can be used to coax people or Pokémon into doing something they may otherwise not do.
	+ **Command --** Leadership as a skill. Those with high Command may find themselves able to take charge of a situation or an unruly Pokémon that's inclined to disobey. Normally, Pokémon are altogether obedient; having a high Command can be helpful, but is not required, in being a Pokémon owner.
	+ **Disguise --** Being able to disguise or blend in with a crowd.

### Human Characters

Humans are the "default" player type in Unstuck in Time. Most non-player characters that you'll be interacting with are humans, and, in all likelihood, most player characters will be human as well.

To start, all human characters have 10 skill points they can allocate into any of the above skills, but more than 5 points cannot be allocated into a given skill at first level.
The different types of humans, based on their origin, have different perks associated with them:

* **Modern Citizen:**
	+ Modern Citizens can choose to "take 10" on Intelligence rolls pertaining to modern-day knowledge or machinery, which is effectively knowing the basics of the subject in question. Especially rare subjects or subjects pertaining to another time period (unless it's common knowledge) must be rolled normally for.
	+ Modern Citizens receive three bonus points to place in any skill.
	+ Modern Citizens do not have to be from Lualdi natively, if the roleplayer wishes to have them come from another region.
* **Apocalypse Survivor:**
	+ Apocalypse Survivors from Lualdi's grim future can understand basic Pokémon speech. More complex sentences uttered by a Pokémon that isn't speaking a human language can be understood with a successful Perception or Intuition roll.
	+ Apocalypse Survivors also receive +1 Survival, +1 Intuition, and +1 Perception.
* **Colonial Lualdian:**
	+ Colonial Lualdians can use Handle Machinery to construct rudimentary traps or gizmos with basic materials. As they improve their skills in it, access to better materials will give them better results.
	+ Colonial Lualdians can use Knowledge: Local in place of Knowledge: History for Knowledge checks about their home time period.
	+ Colonial Lualdians also receive +2 Handle Machinery, and +1 Focus.
	+ Colonial Lualdians can be humans from the Colonial Era or modern-day descendants thereof.
* **Kingdom Native:**
	+ Kingdom Native humans are capable of using magic (which mimics Pokémon moves at half-effectiveness). To start, a Medieval Period human can use one spell that has a BP of 40 or less (before the half-effectiveness conversion), and they can acquire more by obtaining spell scrolls.
	+ Kingdom Natives can use Knowledge: Local in place of Knowledge: History for Knowledge checks about their home time period.
	+ Kingdom Natives also receive +2 Knowledge (Pokémon) and +1 First Aid.
	+ Kingdom Natives can be humans from the Medieval Period, Colonial Era, or modern-day descendants thereof.

If you do not wish to take these perks for whatever reason (such as wanting to roleplay a Medieval character who is incapable of using magic), different perks can be decided on a case-by-case basis.

### Pokémon Characters

Whether the Pokémon is a non-player companion or a player character in their own right, Pokémon characters follow similar rules to human characters in that they have access to the same skills with few exceptions.

Instead of Forgery, Pokémon characters have **Linguistics.** This gives them the ability to communicate with species other than their own. In some cases, a Pokémon with high Linguistics may even be able to speak a human language.

Instead of Handle Machinery, Pokémon characters have **Strategy.** This improves their ability to battle without the guidance of a trainer.

Instead of Sleight of Hand, Pokémon characters have **Reflex.** This improves their ability to dodge attacks or otherwise perform incredible feats that rely on having good physical reflexes.

Unlike human characters, Pokémon characters level up faster, but they have fewer skill points per level. Pokémon start off with 5 skill points, which are allocated by the player associated with them (or the DM in the case of Pokémon characters that start off as NPCs). Training a Pokémon may improve its rank in a skill without allocating skill points.

### Starting Money

Lualdi's currency is called spruzzo, which is used in many transactions throughout the region. By default, human characters roll for how much money they have on their person at the start of the game. To determine a human's starting wealth, roll 10d6 and multiply the result by 10. Should you desire to buy any starting supplies, you may do so with this starting money. Any unused money stays with your character until it is spent in the game.

Pokémon player characters, with few exceptions, do not have starting wealth. Instead, they may begin with a Held Item of their choosing.

### Time Period, Personality, and Backstory

All characters must determine where and when they come from. As the bulk of the game takes place in modern-day Lualdi, players should determine how their character ended up in modern-day Lualdi (or Lualdi to begin with, if they aren't from Lualdi natively).

Humans can come from the Medieval Period, the Colonial Era, the Modern Day, or Post-Apocalypse. Pokémon characters may come from those time periods, but also Prehistory and the Ice Age.

Players who do not wish to have concrete backstories to start the game with are under no obligation to create them. Even something simple such as "My character is from Kanto and came to Lualdi to beat its Pokémon League" will suffice for the purposes of the game. Players are advised that characters who have backstories are able to have subplots based on their backstory, such as meeting an old rival, which can supply additional opportunities for development and reward. Furthermore, players whose characters have defined goals and personalities will likely get more out of the game than those with characters who have no specific purpose.

## Leveling Up

Generally speaking, human characters level up slower than Pokémon, but they get more skill points per level.

Humans receive 5 skill points per level. Pokémon receive 3.

Both humans and Pokémon require 100 experience points to level up, no matter the level.