Boundless 1.3 Preview

A preview a Boundless 1.3.

Introduction

This preview chapter imports the current Boundless 1.3 draft. This includes some pretty big changes which I’m hoping to test and get feedback on.

In a nutshell:

  • I added a 2+ Hits, 1 Hit, and 0 Hits spread for success, success at a cost, and failure.
  • I now use 4 Attributes, with a character creation spread of 4D, 3D, 2D, and 1D, similar to classic PbtA +2, +1, 0, and -1.
  • Advancement is now: increase 1 Attribute and gain 2 HP.
  • A short rest now recovers half your HP, rounded up.
  • A long rest now recovers all HP plus 1 Attribute score.
  • Armor is now a flat reduction instead of an HP buffer that depletes.
  • There is now a “PUSH” mechanic to help characters in dramatic moments.
  • Stamina has been removed. I still love it as a system, but I’ll be moving it to an optional extra for the game. The main reason is that it started to feel a bit gimmicky over time. It was fun for 2 to 3 sessions, but my players got tired of having a single stat tied to everything related to avoiding danger. It works well for one-shots or short play, but not for long-term campaigns.
  • I also clarified that if you survive a failed Critical Save, you recover half your HP, rounded up.
  • Combat and damage have been adapted to work better with the success-at-a-cost variant. On a partial success, you take half damage. I also added a proper action type for reading a spell book.
  • I clarified that melee attacks use Strength, ranged attacks use Presence, Agility is used to Defend, and Willpower is used to cast from a Spellbook.
  • I removed the play guidelines in favor of a full list of character kits based on your highest Attribute score. I’ll move those guidelines to an extra section on the website.
  • I also removed encounter and morale rolls in favor of a single, better explained section on how Pools work. This better reflects my vision for handling encounters and morale through Pools anyway.

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Basics

This game uses six-sided dice (or D). When rolling dice, each 5 or 6 counts as a Hit; all other results are a Miss. If you ever need to roll 0D, roll 1D, counting only 6s as Hits.

Characters

Attributes

Attributes represent how capable your character is when tackling risky actions or facing consequences. These are:

  • Strength: Fortitude, toughness, and melee attacks.
  • Presence: Perception, instinct, sway, and ranged attacks.
  • Agility: Finesse, speed, and avoiding attacks.
  • Willpower: Resolve, focus, spells, and magic.

Distribute the following ratings among your four Attributes, in any order you wish: 4D, 3D, 2D, and 1D.

Hit Points

Hit Points (HP) are a measure of your character’s ability to avoid life-threatening outcomes.

Start with HP equal to 8 + your character’s Strength score.

Slots, Items, and Conditions

Your character has 10 Slots for tracking the items they carry and the Conditions that hinder them. Most items take 1 Slot, small items take none, and bulky ones take 2.

Start with 1D×10 coins, rations [P6], and torches [P6] added to your Slots. Then either roll or pick a kit from the table that matches your highest Attribute score, or begin with this starter loadout: sword [6 Damage], leather [-1 Armor], shield, rope, bandages [P6], and a small keepsake.

Slots can also be filled by Conditions like fatigue, sickness, deprivation, poison, and others. When afflicted by a Condition, fill a Slot with the Condition’s name. If no Slots are available, drop an item to make room.

Conditions always hinder your character and can affect their Position for certain actions. Some Conditions can also worsen, taking additional Slots as time passes.

Conditions are only cleared through actions in the fiction that address them, such as resting, receiving care, or treating the underlying cause.

Advancements

When your character reaches a major milestone in the story, they gain an Advancement. Increase one Attribute score by 1, to a maximum of 6, and increase their HP by 2.

Core Rules

Checks

When your character faces a consequence or tackles a challenge, make a Check by rolling a number of dice equal to the most relevant Attribute score: Strength, Presence, Agility, or Willpower. Interpret the roll as follows:

  • 2+ Hits: Your character succeeds at their action. The more Hits, the better the result.
  • 1 Hit: Your character partially succeeds at their action or succeeds but there’s a cost such as a reduced effect, wasted time, a difficult choice, Damage, or something else.
  • 0 Hits: Your character fails their action and there’s a cost.

ASSIST: An ally who could reasonably help may grant an extra 1D to the roll, but will share the risk of the Check.

PUSH: After a Check, you may push it to reroll all Misses. Your character then gains the Fatigued Condition. If they are already Fatigued, it worsens and takes up more Slots.

Damage & Critical Saves

When your character takes Damage, they lose that many HP. When they reach 0 HP, they are in critical danger and you make a Critical Save by rolling a number of dice equal to the most relevant Attribute score: Strength for physical attacks or Willpower for mental ones.

  • 1+ Hits: Your character is wounded, but endures.
  • 0 Hits: Your character is out of action. They will perish unless helped soon. If stabilized, they wake after a long rest with half their HP back, rounded up.

After the roll, reduce your character’s Attribute score by 1 for every Miss, up to a maximum of 2.

Attribute scores cannot drop below 0. Taking Damage while at 0 HP immediately triggers another Critical Save.

Position

When the fiction places your character at an advantage or disadvantage for a Check, establish your character’s Position and adjust how the roll is made as such:

  • Absolute: With success assured, no roll is made.
  • Good: With advantages, a 4, 5, or 6 counts as a Hit.
  • Standard: By default, a 5 or 6 counts as a Hit.
  • Bad: With disadvantages, only a 6 counts as a Hit.
  • Impossible: With no chance of success, no roll is made.

Assume a Standard Position as the default for most rolls.

Combat

Each participant rolls 1D for initiative and acts from highest to lowest. Enemies win ties, those caught off guard act last, and initiative is rolled again each round.

Two players may swap initiative dice if neither has acted yet.

A round lasts long enough for a character to perform one action: Attack, Read a Spell, or some other manoeuvre usually resolved with a Check. When enemies act, they prompt characters to Defend against their attack.

  • Weapons: Weapons have a Damage Rating (DR): unarmed 2, light 4, medium 6, and heavy 8. When used to harm a target, they deal Damage equal to their DR. If a weapon’s Damage is unclear, assign a fair value.
  • Armor: Armor reduces Damage by its Armor Rating (AR): light -1, medium -2, and heavy -3, before affecting HP. A shield may be sacrificed to cancel an attack entirely.
  • Enemies: Enemies have a number of HP: lesser 6 to 8, hardened 10 to 14, deadly 14 to 20, and boss 20+. They may also have Weapons with their own Damage Ratings, and sometimes Armor. At 0 HP, they are taken out.

ATTACK: Make a Strength Check to attack with a melee weapon or Presence for a ranged weapon.

  • 2+ Hits: The attack lands and deals its full Damage.
  • 1 Hit: The attack lands but deals half Damage.
  • 0 Hits: The attack misses.

READ A SPELL: Make a Willpower Check to cast magic.

  • 2+ Hits: The spell takes effect as intended.
  • 1 Hit: The spell takes effect, but your character gains a “Strained” Condition.
  • 0 Hits: The spell fails or goes awry, and your character gains a “Strained” Condition.

Depending on the situation, spells may deal Damage (minor 4, standard 6, and major 8), or alter your character’s Position.

DEFEND: Make an Agility Check to evade an attack.

  • 2+ Hits: Your character avoids the attack entirely.
  • 1 Hit: Your character takes half Damage from the attack.
  • 0 Hits: Your character takes full Damage from the attack.

Recovery

When your character rests for a few minutes, they recover half their HP, rounded up, but may waste time or attract danger in doing so. When they rest for a few hours, they restore all HP and recover 1 point to an Attribute score.

Belongings

Start with 1D×10 coins, rations [P6], and torches [P6]. Match your character’s highest Attribute to a kit table to get your additional belongings.

Kits

Strength Kits

  1. Greatsword [8 DR], chain [-2 AR], rope, whetstone, engraved hilt
  2. Warhammer [8 DR], plate [-3 AR], healing kit [P6], crowbar, poster
  3. Spear [6 DR], scale [-2 AR], traps [P6], hook, broken shackles
  4. Battleaxe [6 DR], shield, rope, bandages [P6], brass compass
  5. Sword [6 DR], leather [-1 AR], shield, whetstone, loaded dice
  6. Mace [6 DR], shield, healing kit [P6], iron chains, wax seal

Presence Kits

  1. Bow [6 DR], leather [-1 AR], quiver [P6], rope, empty locket
  2. Crossbow [6 DR], leather [-1 AR], bolts [P6], lantern, burned letter
  3. Throwing knives [4 DR], shield, disguise kit, poison [P6], deed
  4. Longbow [6 DR], leather [-1 AR], quiver [P6], spyglass, necklace
  5. Sling [4 DR], shield, instrument, stones [P6], half a contract
  6. Hand crossbow [4 DR], shield, bolts [P6], smoke-powder [P6], ring

Agility Kits

  1. Daggers [4 DR], leather [-1 AR], lockpicks [P6], rope, rusted key
  2. Shortsword [4 DR], shield, hook, caltrops, crow feather
  3. Axes [4 DR], leather [-1 AR], caltrops, bandages [P6], tusk
  4. Daggers [4 DR], shield, shortbow, quiver [P6], vial of black sand
  5. Shortsword [4 DR], leather [-1 AR], crowbar, lockpicks [P6], idol
  6. Daggers [4 DR], shield, poison [P6], smoke [P6], red tooth

Willpower Kits

  1. Quarterstaff [6 DR], shield, spellbook, quill, grey lock of hair
  2. Dagger [4 DR], leather [-1 AR], herbs [P6], bandages [P6], map
  3. Quarterstaff [6 DR], shield, chalk, holy symbol, wool doll
  4. Dagger [4 DR], leather [-1 AR], reagents [P6], rope, mirror shard
  5. Shortsword [4 DR], shield, candles [P6], spellbook, painted pebble
  6. Quarterstaff [6 DR], leather [-1 AR], antidote [P6], quill, small skull

Details

Use these tables to help flesh out characters or spellbooks.

Physique

  1. Lean
  2. Broad
  3. Tall
  4. Short
  5. Muscular
  6. Scarred

Age

  1. Very young
  2. Young
  3. Adult
  4. Middle-aged
  5. Older
  6. Ancient

Look

  1. Calm
  2. Sharp
  3. Tired
  4. Focused
  5. Cold
  6. Gentle

Speech

  1. Quiet
  2. Rough
  3. Clear
  4. Warm
  5. Fast
  6. Slow

Physical Spell

  1. Flame
  2. Frost
  3. Stone
  4. Storm
  5. Blood
  6. Bone

Effects

  1. Burn
  2. Freeze
  3. Shatter
  4. Push
  5. Bind
  6. Shape

Ethereal Spell

  1. Shadow
  2. Spirit
  3. Dream
  4. Mind
  5. Light
  6. Fate

Effects cont.

  1. Reveal
  2. Curse
  3. Charm
  4. Drain
  5. Silence
  6. Veil

Tools

Pools

A Pool is a set of 2, 4, 6, or 8 dice, rated P2, P4, and so on. Each Pool is tied to an event so larger Pools take longer to resolve. Whenever a Pool is rolled, reduce its rating by 1 for every Miss, up to a maximum of 2 per roll. When emptied, the fiction changes and the Pool is cleared. Common Pool types include, but are not limited to:

  • Gear Pool: Tracks how long an item lasts or holds together, such as a torch burning down or stressed equipment failing. Roll when the item is used, consumed, or strained before it can be repaired.
  • Event Pool: Tracks how long until an event comes to pass, such as a danger closing in or a faction reaching its goal. Roll whenever significant time passes.
  • Challenge Pool: Tracks progress toward overcoming a complex obstacle, such as a chase, a ritual, a negotiation, a siege, or a journey. When making Checks to face the challenge, roll the Challenge Pool once per Hit.
  • Strain Pool: Tracks a character or NPC’s Stamina, Nerve, Morale, or other aspects that wear down under pressure. Roll when that aspect is tested. When it is emptied, the character gives out in a way that fits the situation.

Fortune Rolls

When the outcome of an event or action is uncertain, and you want to simulate an element of randomness and chance, make a Fortune Roll. Frame the situation as a yes-or-no question, then roll a number of dice based on how likely the outcome feels.

  • If it feels very likely, roll 4D.
  • If it feels likely, roll 3D.
  • If it feels even, roll 2D.
  • If it feels unlikely, roll 1D.
  • If it feels very unlikely, roll 0D. Interpret the result of the roll as follows: You may also use an Attribute score as a basis for the roll if a character’s abilities can influence the outcome. In the case where two parties are directly opposed, roll for each side and compare the number of Hits to see who comes out ahead.
  • 2+ Hits: The answer is yes, extra Hits amplify the effect.
  • 1 Hit: The answer is yes, but with a complication or cost.
  • 0 Hits: The answer is no.