Myths and Legends: Core Mechanics

At the heart of Myths and Legends, the core gameplay system is comparable to the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons, making it easy to pick up for those familiar with that system. That being said, there are significant changes to make certain features more unique and involved. To begin, let’s cover the very basics.

Myths and Legends is a D20 based system which utilizes modifiers primarily derived from the following core stats. Fortitude, Resilience, Ingenuity, Devotion, and Social. Determining these stats and their modifiers is the same process as DnD 5th Edition; when creating your character you roll four D6, exclude the lowest roll, and apply the total to your chosen stat. Different aspects of your character creation and progression may further adjust these stats and will be discussed later on in a different post. The modifier for each stat is determined by how far removed from a baseline of 10 the core stat is. Every two points above 10 the modifier is increased by 1 and every two points below it is reduced by 1, i.e. a score of 12 gives a +1 modifier and a score of 8 gives a -1 modifier.

Modifiers can further be grown by Training, a system similar to Proficiency in DnD. Unlike proficiency bonuses however, training is applied in different stages across the various skills and weapons of a player character. Training bonuses range from a modifier of +2 for Light Training up to +5 for Master Training and will be applied at the different stages between depending on skills taken during character progression and/or optional rules for the gamekeeper to teach players skills through roleplay.

A mechanic unique to Myths and Legends is precision or targeted attacks. This is a system in which certain weapons marked as "precise" can attempt to change the way their attacks are made. Before rolling to hit, a player will declare they want to target a specific body part of the enemy, roll as normal, and then roll a D12 before applying damage. This is the precision die roll and will always give results based on the following table. On a result of 1-6 you do not hit the target as intended and damage is reduced by the result of the precision roll but can never be reduced below 1 from this effect, on a 7-11 you are offered a choice between dealing extra damage listed on the weapon as its precision damage or inflicting a status effect on the enemy in accordance with the body part targeted and the weapon used, and on a precision roll of 12 you inflict a status effect and deal precision damage in addition to damage as normal.

Weapons and armor also behave differently in Myths and Legends than in most other TTRPGs. Armor does not reduce the ability for a weapon to "hit" an enemy, but actually reduces the damage dealt from getting hit by a factor equal to its armor rating, potentially requiring more powerful or specialized weapons to overcome stronger defenses. To ensure that every attack isn't a guaranteed hit in this case, all weapons have an accuracy value, a number in their stats which sets the bar for how reliably they hit a target in untrained hands. Weapons that are easier to use have a lower bar, making it easier to be matched or beaten by the attack die roll.

By far the largest change in core mechanics between DnD and Myths and Legends comes in spellcasting. Taking inspiration from the "perils of the warp" rules for the 8th and 9th editions of the wargame Warhammer 40,000 spellcasting is a dangerous but rewarding action to take. Rather than working off of the basic D20 system that the rest of combat and roleplay dice rolls are tied to, spellcasting in any form relies on a D100. Every spellbook has an associated list that the gamekeeper has access to which lists the results for failing to cast a spell depending on the result of the dice. Every spell also has a difficulty level associated with it that determines the result needed for success. The punishments for a failed spell become more dangerous the lower the result of the roll is. As simple, generic examples while I continue to work on these magic backlash tables, higher rolls that still fail to match the difficulty rating of a spell will inflict some harmless effect upon the caster but may make certain rolls more difficult while rolls within the single digits are likely to cause significant damage to the spellcaster as the magic fully backfires on them. This system is put in place to allow casters the ability to use magic as frequently as they want and even attempt to cast spells they may not have proper stat qualifications for, while still requiring them to think critically about how and when they choose to use this powerful resource.

For certain situations a D20 roll may be required to be made either "Fortunately" or "Unfortunately" either by the result of a spell or other effect, or by the determination of the gamekeeper. These terms are akin to Advantage and Disadvantage in Dungeons and Dragons, meaning that the D20 is rolled twice and either the higher or lower result is the one used, respectively.

Beyond these core features there are more rules being worked on in tandem with my stories which range from influencing how players and gamekeepers interact with the world, to changing the way players build and progress their characters, to even adding a layer of depth to character deaths, which I intend to cover at length when discussing the finer details of combat in the next post.