Intro to the Game

[Dark Bunny Lord]

Intro:
Who hasn’t wanted to be a superhero at one time or another? Who hasn’t wanted super-strength, invulnerability, or—most of all—the power to fly? Superheroes have been a major part of our culture for generations. They have become a kind of modern mythology, of heroes and villains with powers and abilities beyond those of ordinary mortals, locked in a never-ending battle of good versus evil.

What is Comic Super Heroes vs Villains?
In the Comic Super Heroes vs Villains RPG, you take on the role of a costumed superhero safeguarding the world from threats ranging from marauding super-criminals to alien invasions, hulking monsters, natural disasters, and would-be conquerors or a villainous mastermind plotting to destroy the world or simply control it with an iron fist. These forums contain all the information you need to play the game. This Introduction provides a quick overview of how the game works. After you read, browse through the rest of the forums and see the various options for creating a character. Then you can read through the following threads thoroughly to see which options appeal to you the most.

 

[Dark Bunny Lord]

Concept Characters
The characters you create are like the heroes of their own comic book series, television show, or movie. Your character might be...

• A patriot subjected to an experiment to create a government supersoldier.
• An alien from a distant world, unfamiliar with Earth and human customs, protecting the world from cosmic evil or seeking to destroy it.
• A brilliant inventor whose creations would have served the greed of less honorable men had he not taken them and turned them into weapons in the fight for justice or instead used them for his own lust for power.
• A teenager coping with sudden strange powers in addition to all the other difficulties of adolescence.
• An immortal champion of the gods who has fought the forces of darkness throughout history or sought to bring them upon the heads of mankind.
• The daughter of a legendary hero, trained to follow in her father’s footsteps, but longing for a normal life or even seeking revenge for her fathers death no matter whom gets in the way.
• A master of the arcane arts protecting humanity from forces beyond its ken.
• An android with abilities beyond those of humans, searching for the meaning of concepts such as “goodness” and “humanity” or spiting humanity for it's hate and misunderstanding.
• A hell-spawned avenger sent to Earth to visit retribution upon the wicked or righteous.
• Or anything else that you can imagine!  

[Dark Bunny Lord]

Dice
The Guild uses a twenty-sided die—available at game, accessible to be rolled when required in a post under "post action". References to “a die” or
“the die” refer to a twenty-sided die unless stated otherwise. The die is often
abbreviated “d20” (for twenty-sided die) or “1d20” (for one twenty-sided
die). So a rule asking you to “roll d20” means, “roll a twenty-sided die.”

Modifiers
Sometimes modifiers to a die roll are specified like this: “d20+2,” meaning “roll the twenty-sided die and add two to the number rolled.” An abbreviation of “d20–4” means, “roll the die and subtract four from the result.”

 

[Dark Bunny Lord]

The Basics
The rules listed in the guild provide a framework for your imagination. It has rules to help you decide what happens in your stories and to resolve conflicts between characters and the challenges they face. With it, you can experience adventure as a hero fighting against the forces of evil or vice versa. Any adventure you can imagine is possible.

The Core Mechanic:
This game uses a standard, or core, mechanic to resolve actions. Whenever a character attempts an action with a chance of failure, do the following:
• Roll a twenty-sided die (or d20)
• Add any relevant modifiers (skills, abilities, powers, or conditions)
• Compare the total to a number called a Difficulty Class.
If the result equals or exceeds the Difficulty Class (set by the BM based on the circumstances for events or by your foe based on an opposing skill or check), your character succeeds. If the result is lower than the Difficulty Class, your character fails. This mechanic is not required for normal role playing, only when in an event set up by a mod or when against another player, with variations based on what modifiers are made to the roll, what determines the Difficulty Class, and the exact effects of success and failure.  

[Dark Bunny Lord]

Abilities
All characters have certain basic abilities. These are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. They each have a numeric ability score averaging 10 or 11 for a normally capable human being. Higher ability scores grant bonuses while lower ability scores impose penalties. As part of creating your hero/villain, you decide how strong, smart, and tough your hero/villain is by choosing the appropriate ability scores.

Skills
Skills represent training in a particular sort of task, everything from complex acrobatics to defusing bombs, programming computers, or piloting a plane. A skill acts as a bonus for actions involving those tasks. Someone trained in climbing can climb faster and with more confidence than someone who isn’t trained, for example. Skills are measured in ranks, reflecting how much training a character has in the skill. You choose the skills your hero knows and how well trained the hero is in them.
These will often come up in events, and some powers/conflicts will call for rolls based on them. They will also set a basic guildline on what things your character can preform better than other characters by comparing your two scores. For example, of two characters are trying to hack into each others computers for secret information during a role playing session, the defending character would add his computer use skill +10 to set a dc for the hacker.
The hacker would then roll (whom gets to go first decided by initiative) against the DC, if they failed the roles would switch if the other user was present. This brings upon a sort of "mini-combat" that can be carried out through the guild.
Note though that such actions may be limited whilst the "victim" of your attempt is away.

Feats
Feats are special abilities—talents or knacks. A feat allows your character to do something other characters can’t normally do, or makes your character better at doing certain things. They give the character an advantage over others. You select your character’s feats based on what you want your hero to be able to do.

Powers
Powers are special abilities beyond those of ordinary human beings. They’re like feats, only more so. Whereas a feat might give your character a minor special ability, powers grant truly superhuman abilities. You choose the powers you want your character to have. The powers thread presents a wide range of powers, along with power modifiers and power feats, allowing you to mix and match to create nearly any super-power you desire.

Drawbacks
Finally, characters often have challenges to overcome. They have drawbacks. Drawbacks range from physical disabilities to unusual weaknesses or vulnerabilities. You choose your hero’s drawbacks, allowing you to define the sorts of challenges your character must overcome in the game.

 

[Dark Bunny Lord]

Die Rolls
There are a number of different die rolls, although they all follow the core mechanic of a 20-sided die + modifiers vs. a Difficulty Class. The three main die rolls are checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.

Checks
To make a check, roll d20 and add any modifiers for traits (abilities, skills, or powers) relevant to the check. The higher the total, the better the outcome.
Check = d20 + modifiers vs. Difficulty Class
Your modifier for all saves other than toughness saves, can not be higher than 5+ your current power level, whilst toughness saves can only have a modifier equal to your power level.

Difficulty Class
Some checks are made against a Difficulty Class (DC). The DC is a number set by the BM during an event, or a foes attack which your check must meet or exceed in order for you to succeed. So for a task with a DC of 15 you must roll a check total of 15 or better to succeed. In some cases, the results of a check vary based on how much higher or lower the result is than the DC.

Opposed Checks
Some checks are opposed. They are made against a randomized number, usually another character’s check result. Whoever gets the higher result wins. An example is trying to bluff someone. You roll a Bluff check, while the BM (or player if another player says the want to see if your lying) rolls a Sense Motive check for your target. If you beat the target’s Sense Motive check result, you succeed. For ties on opposed checks, the character with the higher bonus wins. If the bonuses are the same, roll d20. On a 1–10 one character wins and on 11–20 victory goes to the other character; decide which character is “high” and which is “low” before rolling. Alternately, you can just flip a coin to see who wins.

Trying Again
In general, you can try a check again if you fail, and keep trying indefinitely. Some tasks, however, have consequences for failure. For example, failing a Climb check may mean the character falls, which makes it difficult to try again. Some tasks can’t be attempted again once a check has failed. For most tasks, when you have succeeded once, additional successes are meaningless. (Once you’ve discovered a room’s only secret door using the Search skill, for instance, there’s no further benefit to be gained from additional Search checks.) If a task carries no penalty for failure, you can take 20 and assume the character goes at it long enough to succeed, or at least determines the task is impossible at the character’s level of ability (see Checks Without Rolls).

Condition Modifiers
Some situations make a check easier or harder, resulting in a bonus or penalty to the modifier for the check or the check’s Difficulty Class.
The BM can change the odds of success in four ways:
1. Grant a +2 bonus to represent conditions improving performance.
2. Impose a –2 penalty to represent conditions hampering performance.
3. Reduce the DC by 2 to represent circumstances making the task easier.
4. Increase the DC by 2 to represent circumstances making the task harder.
Bonuses to the check and reduction in the check’s DC have the same result: they create a better chance of success. But they represent different circumstances, and sometimes that difference is important.
Note that usually two players should figure this out themselves, however if you can't agree, ask a mod for help in applying them to any situation that you wish to make a roll or have a foe make a roll that you feel should be modified. Attempt to do so BEFORE you engage in a fight or opposition of any sort, describing the area and the roll modifiers for certain tasks.
(in most standard rp circumstances where no real opposition is going to take place this is not necessary of course.)

Tools
Some tasks require tools. If tools are needed, the specific items are mentioned in the description of the task or skill. If you don’t have the appropriate tools, you can still attempt the task, but at a –4 penalty on your check. A character may be able to put together impromptu tools to make the check. If a mod allows this, reduce the penalty to –2 (instead of –4). It usually takes some time (several minutes to an hour or more) to collect or create a set of impromptu tools, and it may require an additional check as well. Characters with the Improvised Tools feat (see feats) suffer no penalty for not having the proper tools to perform a task. They can make do with whatever is at hand.

Checks Without Rolls
A check represents performing a task under a certain amount of pressure. When the situation is less demanding, you can achieve more reliable results. Applying these rules can speed up checks under routine circumstances, cutting down the number of rolls players need to make.

Taking 1
If your total bonus on a check is equal to or greater than the DC minus 1,
you will succeed regardless of what you roll on the die, even under pressure. In this case, a mod might not require you to roll and just assume you succeed, since the task is a trivial effort for someone of your skill. If the check has varying levels of success, you’re assumed to achieve the minimum possible (as if you’d rolled a 1). You can choose to make a roll to achieve a greater level of success, or a mod may assume a greater level of success, depending on the circumstances.

Taking 10
When you are not under any pressure to perform a task, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling the check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. For average (DC 10) tasks, taking 10 allows you to succeed automatically with a modifier of +0 or greater. You cannot take 10 if distracted or under pressure (such as in a combat situation). A mod decides when this is the case. Characters with Skill Mastery (see feats) can take 10 with some skills even while under pressure.

Taking 20
When you have plenty of time and the task carries no penalty for failure, you can take 20. Instead of rolling the check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20. Taking 20 means you keep trying until you get it right. Taking 20 takes twenty times longer than a single check, or about 2 minutes for a task requiring a round or less. If there are penalties or consequences for failing the check, such as setting off an alarm or slipping and falling, you cannot take 20 on that check.

Comparison Checks
In cases where a check is a simple test of one character’s ability against another, with no luck involved, the character with the higher score wins automatically. Just as you wouldn’t make a “height check” to see who’s taller, you don’t need to make a Strength check to see who’s stronger. When two characters arm wrestle, for example, the stronger character wins. If two flying characters race, the faster character wins, and so forth. Note this does not include the use of extra effort to temporarily increase a character’s score, which can affect the outcome of a comparison check. In the case of identical bonuses or scores, each character has an equal chance of winning. Roll a die: on a 1–10, the first character wins, on an 11–20, the second character does.

Aid Another
Sometimes characters work together and help each other out. In this case, one character (usually the one with the highest bonus) is considered the leader of the effort and makes the check normally, while each helper makes the same check against DC 10 (and can’t take 10 on this check). Success grants the leader a +2 bonus for favorable conditions. For every 10 full points the helper’s check exceeds the DC, increase the bonus by +1, so a result of 20–29 grants a +3 bonus, 30–39 a +4, and so forth. In many cases, outside help isn’t beneficial, or only a limited number of helpers can aid someone at once. A mod may limit aid as they see fit for the task and conditions. Generally this number is up to 2 aids.

Types Of Checks
You use three main traits for checks: skills, abilities, and powers:
• Skill Checks: A skill check determines what you can accomplish with a particular skill. It is a roll of d20 + your rank in the skill and the key ability score of the skill against a Difficulty Class. Skill checks sometimes have gradations of success and failure based on how much your total roll is above or below the DC. For example, if you fail a Climb check, you don’t make any progress. If you fail by 5 or more, you fall.
• Ability Checks: An ability check is like a skill check, but measures
raw ability, without any skill, like strength, endurance, or intellect. It is a roll of d20 + your ability modifier against a Difficulty Class. Ability checks tend to be all or nothing (you can either accomplish the task or you can’t) although there are sometimes gradations like skill checks. Attempting a skill without training (in other words, without ranks in the skill) is an ability check.
• Power Checks: A power check uses one of your hero’s powers as its modifier. It is a measure of what the hero can accomplish with that power. It is a roll of d20 + the power’s rank, which measures how strong the power is, against a Difficulty Class. Some powers do not require power checks; they just work automatically, while other powers have some automatic aspects and others require checks.

Attack Rolls
An attack roll determines whether or not you hit an opponent in combat. It is a d20 roll + your attack bonus. The Difficulty Class is your target’s Defense, which measures their ability to avoid attacks. If you equal or exceed your target’s Defense, your attack hits. Otherwise, you miss. A natural 20 on an attack roll (where the die comes up 20) always hits and may be a critical hit (increases the DC for their saving throw by +5). A natural 1 on an attack roll (where the die comes up 1) always misses.
Note that your limit for an attack bonus or damage bonus is equal to your PL, though a critical hit CAN exceed your PL.

Saving Throws
Saving throws are efforts to avoid different forms of danger, ranging from damage and injury to traps, poisons, and various powers. A saving throw is:
1d20 + the appropriate ability modifier + your base save bonus+ any bonuses for powers
Constitution is the ability modifier for Toughness and Fortitude saves, Dexterity is the ability modifier for Reflex saves, and Wisdom is the ability modifier for Will saves. The Difficulty Class is based on the strength of the hazard, such as the power of an attack or the strength of a disease or poison.
Like skill checks, there are sometimes gradations to a saving throw. For example, a Toughness save against damage results in no damage at all if you beat the DC, but could result in a glancing blow, a stunning blow, or an immediate knockout if you fail, depending on how much the save result misses the DC.
Note that your limit for saving throws is 5+ your PL for all non-toughness saves, and equal to your PL for toughness saves.  

[Dark Bunny Lord]

The Combat Round

When things really start happening in the game, time is broken down into six-second segments called rounds. A round isn’t very much time. Think of it like a panel in a comic book, just long enough for a character to do something. The types of actions your character can perform during a round are standard actions, move actions, full actions, free actions, and reactions. During a round you can:
• Take a standard action and a move action.
• Take a move action and then another move action (in place of your standard action).
• Take a full action.
You can perform as many free actions and reactions in a round as you wish, although the a mod may choose to limit them to a reasonable number. Aka you can shout to your allies or flip a coin, you can not recite a 30 minute speech.

Standard Actions
A standard action generally involves acting upon something, whether it’s an attack or using a power to affect something. You’re limited to one standard action a round.

Move Actions
A move action usually involves moving. You can take a move action before or after your standard action, so you can attack then move, or move then attack. You cannot normally split your move action before and after your standard action, however. Move actions also include things like drawing weapons, standing up from being prone, and picking up objects.

Full Actions
A full action, or full-round action, occupies all your attention for the round, meaning you can’t do anything else. Full actions include a full speed charge at an opponent which ends in an attack, or spending the whole round moving as quickly as you can. Certain powers or maneuvers require a full action to perform, as do some skills.

Free Actions
A free action is something so comparatively minor it doesn’t take a significant amount of time. You can perform as many free actions in a round as is reasonable. Free actions include things like talking (heroes
and villains always find time to say a lot during a fight), dropping something, ending the use of a power, activating some powers, and so forth.

Reactions
A reaction is something you do in response to something else. A reaction doesn’t take any time, like a free action. The difference is you might react when it’s not even your turn, in response to something else happening during the round.
You can also, on your own turn "prep" any action be it a move, standard, or even both to do something as a re-action. Doing so requires you to set a trigger such as "when the foe attacks my ally" etc. This can interrupt the normal turns of combat, and when done your initiative moves to the point you acted (after the trigger persons turn).

Luck Points
Characters have luck points players can spend to improve their abilities in various ways. You can spend a luck point to improve a die roll, push an ability or power beyond its normal capabilities, bounce back from being hurt, and achieve various other effects (see Luck Points, later for further detail).