SETTINGS
This system is designed to be used with any particular setting that you could imagine, from high fantasy, to science fiction, to post-apocalyptic and all points in between. However, do keep in mind that some of the Boons and Edges presented here won’t make sense for all settings. For example, the Mysterious Blood Edge grants a Player Character strange and mystical powers that they can wield. If such abilities don’t fit or wouldn’t make sense for your setting, then casually discard them and stick to what makes sense for your particular Campaign Setting.
THE DIRECTOR
This System likes to stick with a cinematic approach to telling stories, and is designed in that spirit of daring adventure and high-risk action. The person calling the shots, setting the stage, and telling the Story is called The Director.
A STAR IS BORN
At its core, a Roleplaying Game Campaign is like a movie, with the Storyteller/Game Master/Narrator taking the role of Director, and the Player Characters taking the Lead roles in said movie. Daring heroes and nefarious villains are far from the rank and file, and nobody reads stories about Paperboys or Cab Drivers. In short, everyone has a Role to play in this System, of which there are three:
-Stars are special people who live extraordinary lives filled with adventure and drama. These are the brave Heroes, as well as the dastardly Villains, that act as the focus to any piece of cinema or literature. All Player Characters are of Star rank.
-Co-Stars are plucky sidekicks and cruel henchman who often times serve beside Stars. They are more capable than the rank and file, but always play second fiddle. With enough time and training, a Co-Star might eventually rise to the lofty role of Star, but this is rare.
-Extras are the vast majority of folks who inhabit your game world. The nameless, faceless sorts who act as window dressing and punch a timeclock for a living. Extras are also bumbling henchmen who bum rush Heroes by the dozen and are promptly thrashed for their trouble.
The rules work a bit differently depending on your Rank, and Stars can perform tasks and survive dangers that would be veritably impossible for mild-mannered Extras to ever dream of overcoming.
DICE AND ROLLS
The Dave System makes use exclusively of the Six-Sided Die. Whenever you are called upon to make a test, you will roll between 1 and 5 d6’s. Each of your dice that come up a 5 or higher result in One Success. The more Successes you roll on a test, the better you do at that test. In Combat, the number of successes you roll directly determine how much damage you deal to your target.
Example: Dave is very angry at life and wants to hurl a brick through the window of an innocent shopkeeper’s place of business. Dave gets to roll 1d6 for this (don’t worry about how we got that number right now, I’ll explain later) and scores a 4. Dave is off his game a bit and the brick he launches ends up bouncing harmlessly off the shop wall.
THE ALMIGHTY SIX
Whenever you make a roll, each of your dice that come up 6’s count as two Successes instead of one. Rolling a 6 means that Lady Luck is on your side. Rolling multiple 6’s on any given roll can often times turn the tide of fortune in your favor in numerous ways, so don’t forget to stack them 6’s!
KNACK
If your character is particularly skilled at a certain task, they will have what is called Knack. Whenever you have Knack on a roll, the difficulty of your roll lowers from 5 to 4. Many Boons provide you with Knack on certain specific rolls, so make sure you keep track! I’ll explain Boons in a bit.
Example: Let’s say that Dave had the “Experienced Looter” Boon, which grants Knack to all rolls to stick it to the man and disrupt polite society. The Narrator decides that this Boon would grant Dave Knack on his brick-toss. Dave’s roll of 4 would have garnered one Success due to his particular expertise in making a mockery of law and order.
CONTESTED ROLLS
Whenever you are faced with opposition that is directly trying to resist an action you are taking, both sides roll a relevant test and compare Successes. Whoever has the most Successes on their roll wins the Contest. If both sides tie or if neither side manages to roll a success, then the Player Character wins.
Example: Dave is trying to sneak past a Police Officer who is on the lookout for roving nomads. Dave has an Agility Stat score of 1 (Dismal), so he would roll 1d6. The Police Officer has a Smarts score of 2 (Average), so he would roll 2d6. Dave doesn’t have Knack on this roll, but the Police Officer has the Perceptive Boon, which grants Knack on all rolls made using the 5 senses. So, the Police Officer makes his roll at Difficulty 4, while Davey Heavyfeet makes his roll at difficulty 5. Dave rolls a 3 and the Police officer rolls two 6’s! Each 6 you roll nets you two Successes each, so the Police Officer wins the contest with 4 Successes against Dave’s 0, and the Copper immediately smells the Big Mac sauce on Dave’s shirt and nabs him!
STATS
The Four Stats are the foundational building blocks of your Character. The Four Stats are detailed a bit further below. Whenever you attempt a task, you roll a number of d6’s equal to your rating in the Stat that is most closely linked to what you are attempting. Trying to lift a hefty rock? Roll a Vigor. Trying to squirm out of handcuffs? Roll an Agility. Trying to hack into a complex computer terminal? Roll a Smarts. Trying to talk your way out of a parking ticket? Roll a Presence.
-Vigor is a measure of your strength, physicality, endurance, and general state of health.
-Agility is a measure of your manual dexterity, flexibility, hand-eye coordination, quickness, and reflexes.
-Smarts is a measure of your formal education, quick wittedness, perceptive ability, reasoning, and strength of will.
-Presence is a measure of your personal magnetism, charm, force of personality, and that certain unique something that makes you stand out from the crowd.
Ratings and Rolls: Stats are rated on a scale of 1-5. Your rating in a Stat directly determines how many d6’s you roll whenever you attempt any action using that Stat. For instance, someone with Vigor 3 would roll 3d6 whenever they were called upon to test their physical strength or hardiness. A Stat rating of 1 is Dismal, 2 is Average, 3 is Good, 4 is Superb, and 5 is World Class.
BOONS
Each Stat has a number of Boons that are exclusive to them. If Stats are the raw, basic potential of a character, then Boons are specialized skills and areas of focus that your Character has learned or picked up along the way. Your Stats tell you generally who your character is, while your Boons tell you what your character can do. Many Boons grant your Character Knack on specific rolls, giving them a chance to rack up even more successes than normal. Some Boons grant your character special abilities in combat, as well.
EDGES
Stats depict your Character’s raw gifts. Boons detail your Character’s unique skills and talents. Edges add a little (or a lot) of Spice to your Character that can drastically alter how they interact with the game world. Edges are less about Game Mechanics, and more about things that make Roleplaying fun and interesting. Is your character filthy rich? Is your character a member of some secret society? Does your character have magical powers or other strange abilities native to your setting? There are Edges that grant all these things and more. However, Edges are something of a double-edged sword, presenting ample drawbacks in addition to the benefits they provide.
ENERGY
Whenever you take damage in Combat, that amount is deducted from your Energy Pool. Think of Energy Pool as your resistance to most attacks. As long as you have Energy to “Absorb” an attack’s damage, you are merely suffering glancing blows and minor damage. When you are reduced to 0 Energy, however, any further damage you take may cause you a Wound, which is far more serious damage, and may Knock Out your character.
Your Energy pool refills quickly and without any medical attention, as Energy damage is only minor scrapes and bruises that heal easily on their own. Wound Damage is far more serious, and can only be healed with Medical Attention. More on this in the Combat Section.
Stars are the only Characters in this System that make use of (or even have) Energy. They bob and weave through hails of bullets and arrows, and casually shrug off attacks that would put someone less special in the ground.
WOUNDS
There is only so much damage that you can take before you are taken out of a fight. Once you sustain a number of Wounds equal to 3, you are Knocked Out.
SPARK
Player Characters in the Dave System are special people and not just rank and file normies. Spark is a very special trait that only bold heroes and nefarious villains have access to, and it allows them to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, or fuel the spectacular abilities they are capable of. Think of Spark as “Hero Fuel” that can be spent to give your character that little added boost at just the right time when the chips are down. Obviously, only those of Star Rank use Spark.
In game terms, all Player Characters can spend a Point of Spark to do any of the following things:
-Re-Roll: You can spend one Spark to immediately re-roll any one roll you make (including attack rolls), using the better result instead of the first. You can also use Spark to force the Director to re-roll any roll they make that directly affects your character (like an attack roll), and use the result of your choice.
-Stack the Deck: If you fail a non-combat, non-contested roll, then you may spend a Point of Spark to tip the scales in your favor and consider your roll a Half-Success. A Half-Success isn’t ideal or pretty, however, and always comes with some manner of complication. For example, if you are trying to hack into a computer program and you fail your roll, but enact this ability, you manage to hack the computer, but due to rushing the job or not being thorough enough in covering your tracks, you could have somehow given away your location or had your hardware infected by some nasty computer virus in the process. Remember, you cannot Stack the Deck on an attack roll or a contested roll. The Director is the final arbiter on the use of this ability.
-Fuel Boons: Some Boons grant special abilities to your character that require spending Spark to activate.
-Second Action: You may spend 5 Spark to push yourself beyond normal limits of activity, taking an extra Full Action immediately (More on Full and Half Actions later).
-Wound Negation: Whenever you suffer a Wound, you may spend One point of Spark to completely negate one Wound. You may spend multiple points of Spark to negate multiple Wounds, but you must do so before the Director describes the results of the attack that Wounded you.
Player Characters begin play with a Spark Pool of 5. Your Spark Pool refreshes fully after you take a full 8-hour rest. Your Spark Pool can only refresh once every 24 hours.
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