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UPDATE: It's been over a year since I created this little system. With rumblings of the upcoming Transformers movie sequel I decided to revisit my die system and update the website. Same basic rules + more images.
http://sites.google.com/site/transformersd20/Home
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Hi Guys,
I just created a set of rules so that you can battle your figures against each other. I had been searching for a simple system on the forums but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I made it myself, a simple and easy and fun system.
Try it out and leave comments!
Old website URL removed - see new website link above.
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Smeagolsaur's Transformer Figures D20 Game System
The system works quite nicely so far. It's simple and easy. You need one D20 die, at least 2 figures, and a half-hour. Games work out to be basic bash em up battles, where the vehicles start about 7-10 feet apart on opposite sides and then get closer to have more accurate ranged attack, or even closer to have fist fights. This game is fun if you want to do more with your figs than just stare at them or transform them every couple days. I’ve only played this a couple times so I’m sure issues will arise. I welcome suggestions, additional rules, etc!
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Basic Rules:
Strength: melee attack (robot mode only)
Intelligence: modifies critical hits (divide by 4, then + 1)
Speed: inches of movement (vehicle mode only)
Endurance: modifies sustainable damage (divide by 4, then + size of toy...for sizes see scale below)
Rank: # of actions in one turn
Courage: dodge
Fireblast: ranged attack (must be at least 1ft away)
Skill: transform
Size Scale:
Real Gear: 1///\\\Scout: 2///\\\Deluxe: 4///\\\Voyager: 8///\\\Leader: 16
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Rules Application:
Intro:
This is a turn-based system that utilizes a D20 die. The lower you roll, the better. 1 is a perfect roll and 20 is the worst roll. There are bonuses or losses depending on how you roll. For instance, if you roll a 1 when performing a ranged attack it’s considered a critical hit and your target receives double damage (2 damage instead of 1). On the flip side, if you roll a 20 when attempting to perform any action it’s considered a fumble and that figure loses its remaining actions for that turn.
While lower rolls are better, higher figure stats are better because it gives that figure better probability of making a successful roll, and thus a successful action.
Sustainable Damage (figure size + endurance modifier):
1) Each transformer's sustainable damage (life total) is based on its figure size, which is then modified by its endurance stat. For instance, Starscream is a voyager class figure, so its base sustainable damage is 8. This is modified by his endurance of 7 as follows: 7 divided by 4 equals 2 (always round to the next whole number). So you take the endurance modifier of 2 and add it to 8 to give Starscream his total of 10 sustainable damage. This means that Starscream can withstand 10 successful hits before he falls to pieces.
2) The basic reasoning behind this is that the bigger the figure is, the more damage it can take. Endurance adds to the figure’s sustainable damage because it increases his ability to bear pain and continue on despite stress and hardships.
Actions (Rank):
1) Actions are the number of things a figure can do in one turn. For example, Starscream has a rank of 9, so Starscream can perform 9 separate actions in one turn. So essentially, the higher a robot is ranked, the more stuff they can do.
2) The following items are the actions you can perform: Ranged Attack, Melee Attack, Movement, Transform.
Ranged Attack (Fireblast) & Dodge (Courage):
1) If you want to shoot your missiles/minigun/rocketlauncher/whatever, you can use one or more actions to perform a ranged attack. So roll the D20 and if you roll equal to or under your fireblast, you successfully lock-in and fire at your target. By all means, this missile/bullet is en route to inflicting damage on your target, but if your opponent is courageous enough he might be able to physically dodge that missile (Matrix style baby!). Let’s say Screamscream successfully fireblasts Speed Dial 800 by rolling a 8 (SS’s fireblast is 8 ). Speed Dial must attempt to dodge the missile by rolling the D20 equal to or under his courage stat (which is 5). If Speed Dial rolls a 5 or under, he dodges the missile and does not sustain any damage from the attack. Every time a successful fireblast is performed, the opponent is allowed to attempt to dodge the shot.
2) For every foot over 1ft away from your opponent, you get -1 to your fireblast. So at 1ft away from your target, your figure is at its maximum aiming potential. At 2ft away, you get -1 to your fireblast roll. At 5ft away, you get -4 to your fireblast roll, etc. If Starscream wants to shoot at Speed Dial 800 from 6ft away, he needs to roll a 3 or under (8 fireblast – 5 ranger modifier = 3).
Movement (Speed):
1) In vehicle mode, a transformer can move as far as its speed (in inches) in one action.
2) In robot mode, all transformers move up to 3 inches for each movement action.
3) So since Starscream’s speed is 10, he can move 10 inches per movement action in F22 mode. If he wants to, Starscream can also move less than 10 inches per action in jet mode.
Melee Attack (Strength):
1) Melee attack can only be performed when a figure is closer than one inch from another figure. Let’s not get too technical here, let’s just say they can fight if it looks like they’re in range to punch each other. Roll equal to or under your strength stat to perform a successful melee attack.
2) There is no dodge ability in close combat (this extra little rule was added in to promote players to transform their figures into robot mode and use their melee attack). So if you roll a successful melee attack, your opponent automatically takes the damage.
If one figure engages another in close combat (figures less than one inch from each other), both figures are can only perform melee attacks against each other unless they retreat (create at least 6 inches of buffer space between them).
3) Take this example that occurred when I played against my roommate: it’s Wreckage and Dreadwing versus Starscream. Wreckage (in robot mode) engages Starscream (in vehicle mode) in close combat by getting an inch or so away from him. So Wreckage starts chopping into Starscream with his forearm blades, and then when it’s Dreadwing’s turn, Dread starts firing missiles into Starscream from 2 feet away. When it’s Starscream’s turn, he is in a bit of a predicament. He cannot make a ranged attack against Dreadwing unless he moves at least 6 inches away from Wreckage, and he cannot melee attack Wreckage unless he successfully transforms into robot mode. So there ya go!
Transform (Skill):
1) To transform into robot mode or vice versa, use an action and roll equal to or under your skill stat.
2) In vehicle mode, your figure is limited to ranged attack. In robot mode, your figure can perform both ranged and melee combat.
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Critical Hits (1 + intelligence modifier):
1) As I mentioned before, you achieve a critical hit if you roll a 1 during a ranged attack or melee attack. However, smarter transformers are better at precision shooting/meleeing, so it’s easier for them to make critical hits. To represent this in the game, we use the figure’s intelligence stat, divide it by 4, and add it to the base critical hit of 1.
2) For example, Starscream’s intelligence is 4, so 4 divided by 4 equals 1. Starscream’s modifier (what we just calculated, 1) plus the base critical hit of 1 equals 2. So for Starscream, a roll of 2 or less equals a critical hit, which means he inflicts 2 damage instead of 1. For a figure with 10 intelligence it would be 10/4=2.5, rounded up to 3. Remember to add this modifier to the base critical hit of 1 to get your total critical hit range!
The Void:
The void occurs when there is less than one foot but more 1 inch of space between two figures. The void occurs because figures cannot used ranged attack when they are closer than 1ft from each other, and they cannot use melee attack when they are not closer than 1in from each other. Therefore, the figure must retreat to more than 1ft away or close in on their opponent and engage in close combat. Remember that for close combat the figure must be in robot mode, so you’ll need to transform.
Hypothetical Battle:
It’s Starscream versus Speed Dial 800. We put each figure on the ground about 6 feet away from each other. Roll for initiative (who goes first), the lower the better. Starscream rolls a 5 and Speed Dial rolls a 9, so Starscream starts. F-22 Starscream moves 50 inches (5 movement actions in vehicle mode), and then shoots missiles at Speed Dial 800 because he’s so lame. Starscream is approximately 2ft from Speed Dial, so he gets a -1 range modifier to his ranged attack. Starscream must roll a 7 or below (8 Fireblast – 1) to successfully fireblast. He rolls a 15, so he misses. Starscream has used 6 actions so far so he has 3 remaining. Starscream tries again and rolls a 2. This is a critical hit for Starscream! Speed Dial tries to dodge the missile and rolls a 16, which is not equal to or less than his courage of 5, so Speed Dial gets hit by the missile and sustains critical hit damage of 2 (rather than 1). This puts Speed Dial’s sustainable damage from 3 down to 1. If Speed Dial takes one more hit he’ll die! Happy with his attack, Starscream decides to fire another missile to put Speed Dial out of his misery. Starscream rolls a 20. This is a fumble and he loses his remaining actions for this turn. It is now Speed Dial’s turn.
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Obviously these are very basic rules and glitches/weird issues will surely arise. Suggestions, additional rules, etc are welcome.
Enjoy!
-Smeagolsaur
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