How-to-Play
How to Play - Cheat Sheet
What You’ll Need
Dice: You’ll need a d20 (20-sided die) and a d100 (two 10-sided die) to play.
Rulebook: In development but free virtually on World Anvil (Cycleborne Rules)
Rulebook: In development but free virtually on World Anvil (Cycleborne Rules)
Character Creation
Choose your character’s Age Index (Seed, Middle, or Forge). Your age determines your starting Trait and Skill distribution.
Seed (1–30 years): 3 Major Traits, 3 Medium Traits, 3 Minor Traits, 3 Skills
Forge (31–59 years): 2 Major Traits, 5 Medium Traits, 2 Minor Traits, 6 Skills
Echo (60+ years): 1 Major Traits, 3 Medium Traits, 5 Minor Traits, 9 Skills
Seed (1–30 years): 3 Major Traits, 3 Medium Traits, 3 Minor Traits, 3 Skills
Forge (31–59 years): 2 Major Traits, 5 Medium Traits, 2 Minor Traits, 6 Skills
Echo (60+ years): 1 Major Traits, 3 Medium Traits, 5 Minor Traits, 9 Skills
Minor Traits start at 1.
Medium Traits start at 2.
Major Traits start at 3.
Medium Traits start at 2.
Major Traits start at 3.
Minor Traits offer no bonus or penalty.
Medium Traits offer a +2 bonus to dice rolls.
Major Traits offer a +4 bonus to dice rolls.
Medium Traits offer a +2 bonus to dice rolls.
Major Traits offer a +4 bonus to dice rolls.
Dice Rolls
For any task action, roll 1 d20 for each Skill point you have (all max Dice Pools are 6) and add your Trait bonus (ranging from +0 to +10).
Your GM with give you a Target Number (TN) that you need to meet to succeed. You always keep the highest result in your Dice Pool unless stated otherwise.
Your GM with give you a Target Number (TN) that you need to meet to succeed. You always keep the highest result in your Dice Pool unless stated otherwise.
Range and Rolling to Hit
There are five zones of range in Cycleborne. Close range refers to those within reach of your character. Short range refers to anything you could hit with a thrown weapon or compact firearm. Medium range refers to anyone in the preferred range of handguns and bows. Long range is meant to represent combat that requires rifles or targeting assistance. Extreme range is used when the target requires an extremely precise aim with a suitable weapon for the distance as well as guided weaponry.
The base TN to hit a target at these ranges is as follows.
At Close range the base TN to hit a target with a ranged weapon is 13. Melee attacks are always more effective and only require a base TN of 10 to succeed.
At Short range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 12.
At Medium range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 14.
At Long range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 16.
At Extreme range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 20.
The base TN to hit a target at these ranges is as follows.
At Close range the base TN to hit a target with a ranged weapon is 13. Melee attacks are always more effective and only require a base TN of 10 to succeed.
At Short range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 12.
At Medium range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 14.
At Long range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 16.
At Extreme range the base TN to hit someone in ranged combat is 20.
Armor and Weapons
While a more in-depth version of some of these items is in the works, this is a good cheat sheet to reference for games focused more on narrative than combat. All items are scaled from 1-6, with 1 being improvised or makeshift quality, and 6 being prototype technologies that only a handful people on the planet have access to. There will also be an example of what Faction typically carries these items.
Weapons have a Weapon Bonus and a Damage Value which represents the raw bonus to your roll and how many Wounds your target is dealt on a successful hit.
Armor has an Armor Bonus and an Armor Value, which denotes the penalty when trying to bypass the armor and how many Wounds the armor can absorb each turn.
Weapons provide bonuses to Combat rolls while armor adds a penalty to opponents.
Weapons have a Weapon Bonus and a Damage Value which represents the raw bonus to your roll and how many Wounds your target is dealt on a successful hit.
Armor has an Armor Bonus and an Armor Value, which denotes the penalty when trying to bypass the armor and how many Wounds the armor can absorb each turn.
(Weapon Bonus or WB/Armor Bonus or AB) Category (Damage Value or DV/Armor Value or AV)
Category
(+1 WB / -1 AB) Improvised (1 DV / 1 AV)
(+2 WB / -2 AB) Scavenged (1 DV / 1 AV)
(+3 WB / -3 AB) Standard Issue (2 DV / 2 AV)
(+4 WB / -4 AB) High Tech (2 DV / 2 AV)
(+5 WB / -5 AB) Cutting Edge (3 DV / 3 AV)
(+6 WB / -6 AB) Prototype (3 DV / 3 AV)
(+1 WB / -1 AB) Improvised (1 DV / 1 AV)
(+2 WB / -2 AB) Scavenged (1 DV / 1 AV)
(+3 WB / -3 AB) Standard Issue (2 DV / 2 AV)
(+4 WB / -4 AB) High Tech (2 DV / 2 AV)
(+5 WB / -5 AB) Cutting Edge (3 DV / 3 AV)
(+6 WB / -6 AB) Prototype (3 DV / 3 AV)
Example
shiv, cast iron pipe, a leather jacket
antique firearm, steel sword, welded steel plate
modern firearm, composite microblade, ceramic plates
caseless weapons, laser energy weapons, composite plates
sonic energy weapons, rail gun rifles, automaton armor suits
plasma energy weapons, nanite swarm, adaptive armor
shiv, cast iron pipe, a leather jacket
antique firearm, steel sword, welded steel plate
modern firearm, composite microblade, ceramic plates
caseless weapons, laser energy weapons, composite plates
sonic energy weapons, rail gun rifles, automaton armor suits
plasma energy weapons, nanite swarm, adaptive armor
Faction
wasteland survivors, hardened prisoners, cheap muscle
Yukon Dynasty, Comanche, Sunport Bazaar
Orphans of Expansion, L'Armistice du Nord, El Nuevo Legado
UEC, Kōan Vesta, Craterhold
Himmelskrieger, Interfectum, Eidolon Fleet
Olympus, the Artificial Super Intelligence, Voxen Servitor
wasteland survivors, hardened prisoners, cheap muscle
Yukon Dynasty, Comanche, Sunport Bazaar
Orphans of Expansion, L'Armistice du Nord, El Nuevo Legado
UEC, Kōan Vesta, Craterhold
Himmelskrieger, Interfectum, Eidolon Fleet
Olympus, the Artificial Super Intelligence, Voxen Servitor
Healing
The main source of healing in Cycleborne are a mix of organic and non-organic nanite machines that repair cells at a rapid rate. In a standard campaign characters will heal damage in between sessions, or during a Rest at GM discretion. Not everything comes back as quickly as others however, you regain 3 Wounds, 2 Will, and 1 Wane each time your character has one of these breaks.
Hardcore campaigns could exist with less of a hand wave over injuries, either taking place away from modern science or following a more grounded principle of long term consequences. In this case, healing injuries will be handled through consumable medical equipment that will be deatiled in another section.
Hardcore campaigns could exist with less of a hand wave over injuries, either taking place away from modern science or following a more grounded principle of long term consequences. In this case, healing injuries will be handled through consumable medical equipment that will be deatiled in another section.
Abilities & Deviances
Abilities tied to your character’s path will evolve over time as you progress.
These are represented by Deviances (Bionic, Somnic, and Resonant).
You will receive three choices from your GM at the end of each session that you have met the criteria for.
You may only ever take one Deviance per session, and this includes Injury Deviances for falling to 0 in Wounds, Will, or Wane.
You do not start the game with any Deviances unless the GM states otherwise.
GM Notes
The three Conflicts are designed to allow you to choose what you want to include and leave the rest up to ambiguity, or throw it out completely.
On the bottom tier you have a Global Conflict of familiar Earth-bound factions and only a small jump in our own timeline.
The next step up starts tackling the infant deities that humanity has recently breathed life into. This Conflict is designed for more of a narrative experience that includes fun abilities and strategies that function 'outside the box'.
The Cosmic Conflict is one the I myself would not even approach lightly. It is meant to be mysterious, poetic, and would take a talented GM to pull off. This is for a GM that enjoys letting their players run wild and improvising on the fly.
On the bottom tier you have a Global Conflict of familiar Earth-bound factions and only a small jump in our own timeline.
The next step up starts tackling the infant deities that humanity has recently breathed life into. This Conflict is designed for more of a narrative experience that includes fun abilities and strategies that function 'outside the box'.
The Cosmic Conflict is one the I myself would not even approach lightly. It is meant to be mysterious, poetic, and would take a talented GM to pull off. This is for a GM that enjoys letting their players run wild and improvising on the fly.
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