Riftsaga RPG

A pulp fiction fantasy game set in the Jazz Age of another world
Core Rule Document, part 1

Table of Contents:
I. Disclaimer
II. Foreword
III. How to Play
IV. Character Generation Basics
V. Races
VI. Vitals and Vitality
VII. Callings

I. Disclaimer
Though this is a game made of my own creation, I myself confess much has been taken
from other game systems. The most prominent thing that worries me is the fact that this
game’s main style and mechanics are borrowed and modified from White Wolf’s
“Werewolf: The Apocalypse” game. Therefore, I feel the need to state that I do not own
Werewolf or any other tabletop games from which I take my information and game
mechanics from in any way, shape or form, and under the reasoning that this will be a
free ‘indie’ game, I will not be making any profit on it whatsoever and therefore I hope I
will not be sued by White Wolf because I am not making money off of their mechanics.

Furthermore, because I am just a 19-year-old who has no knowledge of how to write a

text version of a gaming book, I apologize in advance if anything in here doesn’t make
sense or is not explained to its fullest potential. In my defense, I intend to have my much
more intelligent friends (AKA the members one of my tabletop gaming groups I’m in)
look this over and proofread it, so hopefully I won’t royally screw this one up too bad.

II. Foreword
I have, ever since the age of the Pokemon video games, been a fan of roleplaying games.
Pokemon and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars would introduce me to the
world of RPGs, even if they were console games. I had always made my own tabletop
RPGs without ever realizing that they were what I call them today since my Middle
School days. RPGs are a big part of my life, needless to say.

So, you’re probably wondering: why a game based on the Jazz Age? To be honest, I must
confess: every other time period seems to be taken already. Late Medieval/Early
Renaissance? There’s D&D for that. Old West? Deadlands. Modern day? D20 Modern.
The future? A supplement to d20 Modern.

I wanted to make a game that was different. Something set in a time that few people had
thought to venture in. For whatever reason, I am a fan of post-World War One to World
War II times. Why? Well, I can blame pop culture for that. Ever read The Great Gatsby,
or been forced to read it because of school? Ever watch the original All Dogs Go to
Heaven? Ever play Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin? All three examples, as different as each
one is, have one thing in common: their stories exist in post-WW1 to WW2 times.

The Jazz Age, the Golden Twenties, the Roaring Twenties. Whatever you may call 1920
to 1929, the time was quite a unique one indeed. It was after World War One, which was
a truly harsh time for the entire world. The 1920’s themselves were a time when the
economy would rise up due to such a harsh war. Yes, the commies and the fascists began
to manifest in this time, and yes, the Wall Street crash leading to the Great Depression
happened in 1929. I know this. I have access to Wikipedia, which I need since I haven’t
been in school for two whole years at the time of my writing this. But come on. Let’s
think of the good things that came of the Jazz Age.

The first televisions were made in 1925. Color TVs were then created in 1928. Warner
Brothers made its first motion picture with a soundtrack in 1926. Also in 1925 was the
invention of the freezing process for foods, and, but of course, the jazz genre of music
was born in the 1920’s. In 1920, the first commercial radio station in the US was created,
and King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922. On top of this there were more things than
mentioned here, but I think you get the point: the problems arising during and after the
Roaring Twenties be damned, this age had some good things that came of it.

So don’t knock this game before you try it. Who knows? You might have some fun. You
might not, but hey. You might indeed have fun playing this game. –Joseph Maxwell

III. How to Play

Riftsaga is a tabletop roleplaying game set in a fantasy world where, in-game, the
timeline is within its own era that is comparable to real-world years between the end of
World War I and the end of World War II. The goal of the players is to take on the
personas of people within this world and to adventure within the daily lives of these
people. Maybe one session will be strictly combat-oriented. Maybe another will be more
storyline-based. A happy medium for both is what I, the writer, like to achieve. The one
presenting the story, the additional characters within the story, and the challenges within
is known as the Game Master, or GM. The fate of the intrepid stars of this story rests in
the hands of the players, the GM, and even in luck itself, as represented in the rolling of a
six-sided die, or d6 as it is often called in RPGs that utilize more than one type of die.

In order to play this game, the GM and players will need various resources, but of course.
In addition to the information doled out by this Word document, a GM can make use of a
companion document that explains information that is best left to GMs only. But
arguably the most important thing needed to play is the d6 die. The roll of this die will
make or break any situation that calls upon it, and trust me, many situations will arise
when one needs to use a d6.

In addition to the information of this and its companion document, alongside a d6 or a

dice rolling simulator of some sort, players will need a specialized record sheet known as
a character sheet. This character sheet will house the information of one’s character,
 displaying their traits in an organized method. I’m not gonna lie, my two parts to the
character sheet I drew for this game suck. It is best used as a template in my opinion, its
information recorded on a scrap sheet of line paper. But, that’s just me.

Now, onto how the game actually works. Once everything is assembled and the game
session is ready to begin, the players must listen to the GM as he or she describes what is
going on in the story. However, unlike telling a story, it is not certain what the results will
immediately be when certain events occur. This is where the six-sided die will come into
play.

The main mechanic of the game is thus: when there arises a situation where the result is
not certain, one must roll a d6. Based on the skill level of the factor related to what a
player or DM-controlled character is trying to accomplish, added with the number of
ranks in a separate factor, one may roll more than one six-sided die at a time. If a certain
number is rolled, this is counted as a ‘success’. Based on the number of successes rolled,
the other party involved will have a tougher time trying to cause the opposite effect.
They, too, must also roll dice equal to the skill of an opposing factor. Whoever wins will
have their effect manifest, and in the event of a tie, specific things will happen to
accommodate for it.

Lost? Don’t worry; I wish I could explain it better in the above paragraph. This is why
people use examples. Below will be an example of what I mean. While you read, take a
glance at the two ‘sides’ of the character sheet.

Let’s pretend we have a roguish character by the name of Cliff. He is currently locked in
battle with a horrid beast known as a Leggins. On his turn in the battle, his player
announces that he will try to shoot at the Leggins with his revolver.

Looking to the character sheet for Cliff, his player notices he has a rank of 3 out of a
possible 5 in the “Firearms” talent. By itself, Cliff’s player would roll three six-sided dice
to try and get as many successes as possible. But a second factor lies within. Each talent
is associated with a particular factor known as Cliff’s ‘vitals’. In this case, the Firearms
talent relies on the Agility vital. Cliff, having three ranks in Agility, would thus roll the
die three more times.

Now, onto how Cliff’s player will get successes. Each dice roll has a particular set of
numbers that, when rolled, will add one success. For most dice rolls in this game, rolling
a 4, 5, or 6 will result in a success. Weapons, however, are different depending on the
weapon used. In this case, Cliff’s revolver has what is known as a ‘difficulty’, which is
the set of numbers he must roll to succeed as opposed to the 50-50 shot usually set. For
Cliff’s revolver, the difficulty is a 5 or 6, thanks to the tremendous kickback of the old
Western model he inherited from his father making his shots less accurate.

So Cliff’s player rolls his d6 six times, thrice for the three Firearms ranks and thrice for
the three Agility ranks. He ends up rolling a 1, two 3s, a 4, and two 6s. This adds up to
just two successes. Now, it’s the turn of the DM, who is controlling the Leggins, to try
and defend the beast. If rolling in to affect another being in-game, there will always be an
opposing talent to try and protect that being from the effect, unless the effect is harmless
or even beneficial. If rolling against challenges presented as opposed to rolling against
beings, there will be a preset number of successes a being must beat in order to have
things go their way.

In this case, the Leggins must rely on its Reflexes talent, which is used to defend against
weapons or projectiles of some sort (i.e. a falling piece of debris from a damaged ceiling).
The Leggins is not the fastest of beings, possessing only a single rank in Agility, but it
has surprisingly good reflexes, having three ranks in it. The DM rolls her six-sided die
four times, once for the Agility and thrice for the Reflexes. She ends up rolling one 2, two
4s, and one 5. This equals three successes for the Leggins, and it ducks under the
lightning-fast bullet with superhuman speed. Things aren’t looking too good for Cliff
thus far…

And that, my friends, is an example (if not a bit of a lengthy one) of how the game’s main
mechanic works. On top of this, though, there are perhaps the most important necessities
to this game that a player or GM must possess. Those are to have fun and to use one’s
imagination. After all, this IS a game, not a chore or something else of the sort. The goal
of any roleplaying game is to entertain and reward both player and GM alike for their
efforts.

Furthermore, let me remind you, the reader that the purpose of Riftsaga is indeed to have
fun while playing it. The rules presented in this document are there to provide fair
structure and help one come up with ideas for creative character ideas. They weren’t
intended to hold back any sort of creativity or to limit one can and cannot do. If need be,
a GM and his/her players may come to an agreement on what rules should be reinforced
and what can be ignored. For a cleverer player or GM who understands the rules, even
‘homebrew’ things can be added to a game with permission from the GM, like new races,
callings, or whatever one’s heart desires!

Ultimately though, at least in my opinion (the opinion of someone who’s been both a
player and a GM), a GM needs to realize the goal of the game is not to overpower and
utterly destroy the characters of his or her players, but to instead provide a fair challenge.
After all, this game is to be enjoyed by ALL involved with a session of it, not just one
particular party. On that same breath though, it is also not the duty of a player to hog the
spotlight in his or her group, but for the players to band together as a team to overcome
the dire straights presented in front of their characters. At the end of the day, just
remember the Golden Rule: do unto others and you would wish to be done unto you.

And so, without further ado, let me begin to explain how to play Riftsaga.

IV. Character Generation Basics

No one said making your dream character was going to be easy, but in this section of the
document, with any luck, I the writer will be able to assist you, the player (or the GM
 trying to make NPCs – Non Player Characters – based off of the game’s character
system), in doing so.

There are a few different steps that may be taken in any order. As a suggestion, here is an
available order of the steps to making your character for Riftsaga:
1. Come up with a main theme for the character
2. Figure out their ‘Cosmetics’ and ‘Descriptors’: their physical traits that may or
may not, depending on the specific cosmetic, determine their abilities; perhaps the
most important of the cosmetics are a character’s Calling and Race, with
honorable mentions going to their Alignment and possibly even Creed, whereas a
character’s descriptors are, well, cosmetic
3. Choose their ‘Calling’ and their ‘Blessings’: one’s calling determines what kind
of hero (or villain) they are, which can also affect what they can and cannot do;
one’s blessings are special abilities or perks given by the selected race and calling.
When creating a character, one chooses one of two racial blessings and two of
three calling blessings
4. Fill in their ranks for their ‘Vitals’ and ‘Talents’: a character’s vitals determine
their raw physical, mental and skill-based talents, whereas a character’s talents
determine, most specifically, what they can and cannot do well in game terms
5. Figure out a character’s ‘Vitality’: not to be confused with their vitals, a
character’s vitality measures their physical health as well as their potential for
using supernatural powers (if they possess any)
6. ‘Buy’ a character’s gear and choose their Psychokinesis powers (if their calling
has any to choose from)
7. Use any Experience Points given by the GM to buy extra things
8. Polish up your character’s concept, and start playing!

Confused still? Not to fret; much of this document is to help explain things necessary to
character creation. First, let’s start with your character’s Cosmetics and Descriptors.

COSMETICS
• Name: This, obviously, is where you would write your character’s name. It
doesn’t necessarily need to be anything specific: it can be a full name (with or
without a middle name), a nickname, just a first or last name, or whatever you
wish.
• Gender: Characters can be male or female. Unless playing a game with sexuality
in it, it’s wise to just leave gender as to how they look, not what they have in their
pants…
• Race: A character’s ‘race’ or species of sentient being. More on that later.
• Calling: A character’s ‘class’, if you will, that describes what kind of hero or
villain he or she is. For more information, consult the next chapter.
• Saga: The current game or ‘campaign’, the latter being a particular mission or
adventure a group of characters, or a ‘party’, is in. It can be as simple as “(GM
name)’s Game” or even have a particular title to it like “The Rift’s Revenge” or
something to that degree.
 • Alignment: Characters can choose from three alignments – Good, Neutral, or
Evil. As morality and ethics are arguably relative, this game’s alignment system is
thus simple and indicated a character’s general intentions.
• Organization: Is your character part of a group of heroes or villains, or working
for a particular company where he or she gets adventures from? If so, this is
where you would write the name of the adventuring group or company.

DESCRIPTORS
• Age: Most humanoid adventurers usually begin at the age of 18 at the youngest
and retire when they are too old to adventure, but this is not always the case. Try
to pick a reasonable age depending on a character’s skill ranks; if a character is
starting out with many skills, it would be most logical for them to be older, but if
they do not possess many, try to have their age be younger.
• Hair Style: Use this space to write about a character’s hair style in anywhere from
one to three words.
• Hair Color: Depending on the race, each character might have different hair
colors than the conventional ones for humans.
• Eye Color: As with hair color, depending on the character’s race, one character
might have different eye colors than your typical human.
• Skin/Fur Color: You read this right – there are humanoids that will have a more
prominent fur color than a skin color.
• Creed: This space is used to describe a character’s particular religion or a cause
that they support (if any). The various religions of the world of Riftsaga will be
revealed later.
• Nationality: As with creed, the various nations of Riftsaga’s world will also be
described later, in the “The World of Riftsaga” chapter.
• Height: A character’s height.
• Weight: A character’s weight.
• Description: This space is used to describe what your character is like, what they
wear, and/or anything else immediately important about the character.

With that settled, it is time to refer to what perhaps are a character’s most specific traits
of these: their race.

V. Races

In the world of Riftsaga, there are more than just one specific sentient species. In addition
to human beings, various other creatures have evolved to the state of being humanoid.
From the cat-like Bastians to the psychokinetic Sophiats, humans aren’t the only sentient
race to occupy Riftsaga’s planet.

Unlike most tabletop RPGs, a character’s race isn’t of drastic importance in Riftsaga.
Sure, one can imagine the coyote-like Coyoten to be more proficient as a spiritual Psion
than a ruthless Scoundrel, but it is truly dependant mainly on the racial-based blessing
that is chosen.
 This section is not only to provide the list of sentient races in Riftsaga, but also to help
one choose a character based on the natural inclinations of a race. Want an adventurous
character? Try a human, or even a bastian. Want a more graceful, wise race? There’s the
sophiat for that, or perhaps a coyoten is more to your liking? It’s all up to you. Each
race’s main inclinations are described in their particular section to further help you
choose. So, without further ado, it’s time to meet the humanoids.

HUMANS (Homo sapiens)

• Description: Since the dawn of time, humans have been the most prevalent of the
sentient races in the world of Riftsaga. To the world’s present day, they are still
the most common race worldwide. Known for their indomitable spirit and will,
humans have always been the pioneers of more secular and technological
thinking. Unfortunately for the race of humans, they also seem to be the easiest to
be converted to the ways of evil.
• Physical Appearance: A human’s physical characteristics vary greatly based on
their climate; in warmer locales close to the equator, humans have evolved darker
skin, whereas in the cold northern lands humans’ skin is paler. But as a single
snowflake in a blizzard is different from the next, so are humans in terms of
bodily shapes, sizes and faces. Humans’ eye colors tend to be brown, hazel, blue,
purple or green. Their hair colors are typically in shades of brown and gold, from
light to dark to even pitch black.
• Innate Qualities: Humans do not possess any specific qualities that set them aside
from other races. Perhaps, in a way, this lack of special biological traits does
indeed separate them from other races.

HUMAN BLESSINGS
• Adaptability: Select one of a human’s Vitals. That human gains a permanent
rank in that particular vital. Once selected, a human cannot change the chosen
vital bonus.
• Natural Talent: Select one of a human’s Talents. That human gains a
permanent rank in that particular talent. Once selected, a human cannot
change the chosen talent bonus.

BASTIANS (Panthera sapiens)

• Description: Hailing from the desert and jungle lands of the world, bastians are so
named after the continent where they are most populated: Bastia, which in turn is
named after the patron goddess of most bastians, Bastet. By nature, the bastians
are typically a curious but intelligent and clever race. When problems come their
way, a bastian’s curiosity will either get them in over their heads or they will
come up with a sagacious solution to their problems.
• Physical Appearance: The first image that comes to mind with a bastian is an
anthropomorphic big cat. Their fur, which covers all their body, has the same
colors and markings of lions, tigers, or spotted big cats such as leopards and
jaguars. A bastian possesses plantigrade (human-like) limbs, hands and feet, but
their fur, cat-like muzzles, cat-like ears, and tails are clearly animalistic. Because
 of the thickness of skin and lower amounts of nerve cells in the soles of their feet
in comparison to other sentient races, a bastian is known to go barefooted more
than any other race. Their hair styles are generally exotic, in colors pertaining to
what kind of big cat they are related to. Lion, leopard or jaugar bastians’ hair are
usually shades of blonde or brown like a human’s, but a tiger bastians’ hair is
usually orange, black or white. A bastian’s eye colors typically are greens and
yellows, but sometimes even pale oranges and beautiful blues have been known to
exist as bastian eye colors. Finally, of any other animal-like race, a bastian’s
claws are more prominent than that of other races, extending more out of the toes
than out of the fingers, and are retractable.
• Innate Qualities: Bastians possess one specific biological quality that separates
them from humans – they can use their claws for unarmed attacks as opposed to
punches, kicks, etc. When one’s claws are used as an unarmed strike, they deal
Slash damage as opposed to Bludgeon damage.

BASTIAN BLESSINGS
• Bastet’s Favor: If chosen, a bastian gains a permanent bonus rank in unarmed that
only applies when using their claws to deal damage.
• Razor-Sharp Mind: Select either IQ or Wits. The bastian gains a permanent bonus
rank in that particular vital. When chosen, a bastian cannot change which of the
two gets the free rank.

COYOTENS (Canis sapiens)

*Also known as “Rolvens” (wolf coyotens), “Anubans” (jackal coyotens), and “Canians” (dog coyotens);
the term “Coyoten” refers to coyote and dingo coyotens.
• Description: Found in almost as many different locales as the human race, the
Coyoten peoples go by many different accepted racial names, depending on what
species of canine they evolved from. They are usually down to the earth, and as a
whole possess ingenuity and inventiveness that sometimes can even surpass that
of the human race. On top of that, the coyoten are also on the whole a spiritual
race, and you will not find a more accepting and fun-loving person than the
coyoten.
• Physical Description: Like the bastians, coyoten are an anthropomorphic animal
race that has evolved into what they are today from members of the canis genus of
animals, as opposed to primates (like humans) or big cats (like bastians). Unlike
bastians, their claws are blunter and are less keen, better for digging than for
fighting. A coyoten’s hair styles are often more conservative, and are typically
short even on females, the pigments being either lighter or darker than their fur
color. Their eye colors tend to be yellow, blue, bluish-tan or even silvery.
• Innate Qualities: A coyoten possesses a major biological trait that, unlike the
‘night vision’ that was dropped by evolution, still remains to this day – an acute
sense of smell. When used to detect a specific being within a 50-foot radius from
the coyoten, that coyoten is treated as having an extra rank in their Notice talent.
However, their noses are sensitive to ANY scent, and if there is an particularly
disgusting or nauseating odor within a 10-foot radius from a coyoten when they
try to use their acute sense of smell, they must make a Toughness save with a
 difficulty of 3 successes to avoid suffering the ‘nausea’ condition. For more
information on ‘nausea’, consult the Combat chapter of this document.

COYOTEN BLESSINGS
• Strife-Cutting Peace: If chosen, whenever the coyoten would suffer a ‘vexation’
due to a failed Willpower save, the player may choose to take another attempt at
the save. If this second attempt is failed, then the coyoten will be forced to obtain
the vexation. This blessing can be used only twice ‘per day’ (Note: for more
information on ‘vexations’, consult the next chapter, ‘Vitals and Vitality’).
• Great Spirit’s Hand: If chosen, this gives the coyoten access to being able to use a
Blessed’s “Lay on Hands” power – in this case, it is treated as a Level 2 version
of such a power and, while this blessing’s use does not cost any PKE, it can only
be used once ‘per day’.

SOPHIATS (Homo spiritus)

• Description: The sophiats are a more human-like race that, in ancient times had
originated in the lands surrounding and within the great lakes of the continent
known as Albayten. They, according to the folklore of their people, were humans
who had been transformed by an ancient hero, a female psychic once known as
Aella of Hearthshire and who is now revered as a demigoddess called “The
Sophia”. Regardless of the validity of these legends, the sophiats still exist to this
day and age in the world of Riftsaga. As a whole, they tend to be more focused on
understanding the world around them than any other race. In addition, they are
often a more stern and serious people than most, preferring to be ‘to the point’.
Though this means they tend to me adamant and stick to whatever plan they
possess, it also means they are considered by some to be too rigid or even
emotionally cold.
• Physical Description: Sophiats tend to be just a couple inches taller than most
races on average. In addition to being lither in comparison to humans, there are
also very striking or even disturbing qualities that set them apart from what they
allegedly once were. Their eyes do not possess irises, for one; they are one big
pupil amongst the whites of their eyes. Their hair is usually in strange colors from
birth, as well – as opposed to the usual browns and blondes of humans, a sophiat
is known to have sapphire blue, deep purple, or even dark grey hair. Finally, a
sophiat’s skin tones are usually a very pale and pastel tint of lavender. Despite
how much their skin color seems to be similar (if loosely) to an albino’s, however,
they seem to not possess a vulnerability to the harmful UV rays of the sun like
that of an albino. In many ways, some more paranoid peoples have wondered if
the sophiats are even of the planet itself, or if they instead hail from
extraterrestrials.
• Innate Qualities: For whatever reason, a sophiat has a very uncanny amount of
luck in regards to getting hurt. Though all sophiats start with less HP than the HP
of any other race’s calling (for a specific amount, refer to each calling in the
Callings chapter), they, regardless of their calling, will start with an additional 2
PKE points. This applies even if the calling in question does not possess ANY
amount of PKE. At the cost of 1 PKE, a sophiat character can increase their one
 of their saves (Toughness, Willpower, or Reflexes) by one rank temporarily. The
length of this boost only applies to a single attack or source of harm that they are
attempting to stop. This uncanny trait, however, can only be used twice ‘per day’.

SOPHIAT BLESSINGS
• Aella’s Aegis: If chosen, the sophiat gains three boons. First, the number of times
that they can use their Innate Quality is increased to three times ‘per day’ as
opposed to twice. Second, they also start play with a +3 bonus to their PKE as
opposed to a +2. Third, they may also use the Innate Quality to affect any being
within 50 feet of them that they can see.
• Revelation of Logic: If chosen, the sophiat gains the ability to increase both its IQ
and Wits vitals by one rank each; if one PKE is spent when this blessing is used,
this boost will also affect all ally characters within 25 feet of the sophiat. This
boost lasts three minutes when activated, and can only be used once ‘per day’.

V. Vitals and Vitality

All living creatures possess specific physical traits, mental traits, and innate skills. But, as
all who lived are cursed with mortality, all living creatures will die as well. These last
two sentences represent exactly what this chapter is all about: a character’s traits and
statistics as well as rules on how much abuse they can take before death.

The role of an adventurer, by definition, will present dangers and challenges. In order to
make the most of these, one will require necessary skills. To start things off, let’s take a
look at these necessary skills and statistics, known in game terms as a character’s vitals.
Each vital has five ranks, and each character will start with one rank in them
automatically. These ranks, as mentioned before, will help determine how many dice will
be rolled when a particular talent comes into play. Note, however that there are instances
in-game where a character can actually be considered to have penalties to their ranks. The
lowest any one vital can get to is a zero, and the highest a vital can reach is a five.

When creating a character for the first time, this game uses a rule known as “3/2/1”. In
other words, a player selects what categories get what number, and those numbers are
used to increase one of the two vitals in that category. The three categories are
“Biological Vitals”, “Mental Vitals”, and “Skill Vitals”. The most number of ranks that
can be invested in one specific vital at character creation is 2, meaning the max starting
rank for a character’s vital can be three.

As an example of what is meant by the “3/2/1” rule, let’s imagine a player who is
creating a bastian character named Holly. The player is looking over his character sheet,
trying to decide what categories she should put the 3, the 2, and the 1 into. She thinks
back to the concept she had for the eccentric ‘flapper’ tigress. Holly’s player deducts that
the most important things that Holly will need are resilience to injury and a powerful left
hook.
 The ‘Might’ vital will help Holly be a good hand-to-hand fighter, and the ‘Endurance’
vital will aid her in surviving strikes that would knock a normal human dead. As such,
both make up the Biological Vitals, and Holly’s player chooses to use her “3” on them.
This means that her player can distribute three ranks between Might and Endurance.

Thinking Holly is more rough-and-tumble, able to take it more than dish it out, she gives
Holly two ranks in Endurance and one rank in Might. As much as Holly’s player wishes
she can just give Holly all three ranks in Endurance, she knows her GM will not allow it,
as that GM is abiding by the rule where a starting vital can only be up to a rank of three.

Now, onto spending the “2”. Holly’s player realizes her character is a bit of a silly one,
and doubts she’d have much in terms of mental vitals. Thus she decides to give the “2” to
her skills vitals instead. She figures Holly is as agile as she is charismatic, so she puts one
rank into Agility and the other into Charisma. Finally, left with the “1”, Holly’s player is
left with deciding where the single rank for her mental vitals should go. She figures Holly
is of average intellect but is rather clever, as a bastian tends to be, so that rank is put into
Wits instead of IQ.

And that is yet another example of how this game’s rules work. When in doubt, consider
what concept you wished for your character to have, or simply place ranks into vitals that
correspond to the talents you want your character to use.

Remember: a 1 or 2 means a vital is at an average level, a 3 or 4 is above average, a 5 is

exceptional, and a 0 is below average and is usually due to some kind of malady. If a
character has had their effective vital ranks lowered to zero, they do not gain ant
additional dice rolls from their vital in regards to associated talents. There is also an
especially nasty side-effect due to a vital being at zero as well. Exceptions to these side-
effects can apply, but even creatures immune to these side-effects still cannot gain any
extra dice rolls due to their vitals if such vitals are at zero.

Below will be the six vitals of a character, and how they impact a character.

MIGHT (Biological)
Might is a measurement of a character’s raw physical strength. Its main purpose is to aid
a character who is trying to fight up-close and personal with or without a melee weapon.
Callings such as the Duelist and Seeker rely on Might to be effective in close-quarters
fighting. A Might of zero means a character is currently too weak to move; as such, the
character is treated as having the ‘paralyzed’ condition until they recover. An exception
applies to insubstantial creatures such as ghosts.

Might is used by the following talents: Athleticism (if Endurance is higher, it is used in
place of Might), Unarmed, and Melee.

ENDURANCE (Biological)
While Might refers to the raw physical strength of a character, Endurance refers to how
much physical strain a character can endure. While a character might be a modern-day
Adonis, if they have no Endurance then, as big as their muscles may be, the muscles will
still be useless. All callings can benefit from Endurance as it will help them survive in
combat situations or situations where physical harm is a threat. An Endurance of zero
means a character is physically exhausted and cannot act at all; they are thus treated as
having the ‘unconscious’ condition until they recover. An exception applies to the living
dead such as zombies.

Endurance is used by the following talents: Athleticism (if Might is higher, it is used in
place of Endurance), Acrobatics, and Toughness.

IQ (Mental)
IQ, short for Intelligence Quotient, is literally a measurement of the raw IQ of a
character, which refers to how well a character can understand, learn, solve problems, or
perform other such tasks using the mind. Both roguish and smart callings such as the
Scoundrel and Psion rely on their IQ to come up with solutions and learn or recall vital
information. An IQ of zero means a character has literally become stupefied; they cannot
think rationally and can barely concentrate, causing them to be treated as if they had a
‘High’ level of vexations. An exception applies to creatures that cannot act or think on
their own accord, such as a zombie or a golem.

IQ is used by the following talents: Intimidation (if Charisma is higher, it is used in place
of IQ), Know-How, and Paranormal.

WITS (Mental)
While IQ refers to a character’s raw intellect, a character’s Wits refer to their ability to
apply rational thought and mental strength. Like the example of a super-muscled
character with no Endurance, a person with a high IQ and no Wits are often no better than
know-it-alls, IQ and Wits going hand-in-hand. The same roguish or smart characters can
benefit from a good amount of Wits as well as a good IQ, for at times an unwise and
unaware hero is a dead hero. An amount of Wits equal to zero means a character has
become too emotionally unsound and too indecisive to act, causing them to be considered
‘stunned’ until they recover. There is no such thing as a creature in-game with a Wits
score of zero that is not affected by this type of stunning.

Wits are used by the following talents: Notice, Smooth-Talk (If Charisma is higher, it is
used in place of Wits), and Willpower.

AGILITY (Skill)
Agility is a measurement of a character’s raw speed and accuracy, be it in the form of
dexterity, footwork, or whatever the case may be. Typically, Agility tends to aid more
modern skills such as medical procedures, the operation of guns, and driving a car or
other automobile. A character with an Agility of zero becomes especially clumsy and
slow; this is especially dangerous to the well-being of a character as it will treat ALL
talents that would use Agility as being only ONE skill rank! This is even more lethal to a
character as Agility has the most talents linked to it than any other vital. Like with Wits,
 in game terms there is no such thing as a being that will be unaffected by the side-effect
that comes into play if their Agility drops to zero.

Agility is used by the following talents: Firearms, Medicine, Stealth, Driving, and
Reflexes.

CHARISMA (Skill)
Despite the other categories of vitals, Agility and Charisma do not go hand-in-hand with
one another. Regardless of this, Charisma is still a useful vital. Charisma refers to a
character’s innate charm, force of personality, and how well they can affect others
through their actions or words. It is important in a modern-day era as it will help in any
type of social interactions a character will encounter. A character with a Charisma of zero
completely loses their self-identity until they recover. Any being who manages to use
their Smooth-Talk or Deception talent to try and manipulate a character with a Charisma
of zero can ‘possess’ that character, as the condition. The character in question must
make a Willpower save or become controlled due the possession-like state for one minute
in-game or until they recover, whichever comes first. Like Wits and Agility before it,
there is no such thing in game terms as a being that won’t be affected by the side-effect of
having an effective Charisma of zero; not even mindless beings like zombies and golems
are unaffected, as they themselves are normally under the control of whatever brought
them into existence.

Charisma is used by the following talents: Smooth-Talk (if Wisdom is higher, it is used in
place of Charisma), Intimidation (if IQ is higher, it is used in place of Charisma), and
Deception.
-----
With the roles of the vitals covered, it’s time to move onto a character’s vitality. Not to
be confused with vitals, a character’s vitality determines their physical and spiritual
health. The four aspects of a character’s vitality are categorized as Health Points, PKE
Points, Conditions, and Biological Harm. Below will be an explanation of each. Note that
conditions are only briefly covered, and only specific ones; for more information on
them, consult the Appendix chapter.

HEALTH POINTS
Health Points (or Hit Points), abbreviated as HP, are a measurement of how much abuse a
character can take before falling into a dying state or even passing away altogether. To
determine one’s HP, one need only to look to their Endurance vital and their calling. The
listed default HP for a calling, plus the character’s ranks in Endurance, will determine
their maximum HP. As experience points are gained, a character may purchase more HP
using the experience points… but more on that particular element later. A character,
unless they sustain biological harm in game terms, is still completely able until their HP
reaches zero or less, albeit they might be varying amounts of pain depending on how
much HP has been lost.

An ‘injury’ in game terms refers to a particularly nasty wound or other injury that, while
not in game terms specific to any particular body part, is enough that a character will be
hindered by it, either through sheer pain, weakness caused by blood loss, or fatigue due to
loss of energy. Because this pain, weakness or fatigue, a character’s effective Toughness
rank will be reduced. There are three levels of Injuries: none, some, and high. A character
with no debilitating injuries will not suffer a penalty, whereas ‘some’ injuries will result
in a -1 to Toughness and ‘high’ injuries will result in a -2. Injuries progress in order: a
character starts with no injuries, and can be risen to either some or high injuries. If a
character with ‘some’ injuries is affected by another effect that causes ‘some’ injuries, his
or her Injuries rank will rise to ‘high’.

When a character’s HP reaches exactly zero HP, they are under a condition known as
being ‘staggered’. When staggered, a character can only take one action on their next
turn. Afterward, a character is instantly dropped to -1 HP and is considered ‘unconscious’
and ‘dying’. When a character is unconscious, any and all turns in any round during
combat or during a scenario is skipped until they come to. When a character is dying,
however, they must make a Toughness save each turn. Failing this Toughness save will
cause them to lose one HP every turn they fail the Toughness save.

Success at the Toughness save will cause the character to stop dying. However, if they
are not treated within an hour’s time by the successful use of the Medicine talent, they
will begin to start dying once again. An exception typically applies to enemy characters,
however; in almost all cases, an enemy controlled by the GM is considered dead upon
their HP reaching zero or less. The lowest any player-controlled character’s HP can reach
is a -10.

Outside of using some applications of the Medicine talent or HP-restoring powers, a

character can regain HP over time as long as they are not at -9 or -10 HP. The specifics to
regaining lost HP will be covered later in this chapter, along with how to regain lost PKE
over time.

DEATH AND DYING

A character whose HP reaches -9 HP will be considered ‘clinically dead’. When this
happens, a character’s body is beginning to shut down, their breathing and circulation
stopping. In this state, a character can no longer stabilize, but is technically not ‘dying’ in
game terms. However, if a character is not brought back up to -8 HP or more within five
in-game minutes, a character will go brain dead, their bodily organs ceasing to function
completely; when this occurs, that character will suffer one final point of health/hit point
damage is now officially dead.

Death occurs when a character’s HP reaches -10, whether it occurs due to complete
bodily organ failure or due to an instant death (i.e. decapitation, being immersed in lava,
disintegration, etc). When this happens, that’s it; he or she can no longer act, or do
anything ever again. Because this is a fantasy game, and because, though experience,
players tend to grow attached to their characters, there are rules to give even a deceased
character another chance to live again.

RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

There are some characters and power sources that can return a slain character back to life.
Often times, however, the chances of this happening become increasingly more difficult
depending on what remains of the victim, and no matter the case, it is always a race
against time. When a character dies in-game, their soul goes down into the plane of
Hades, their spirit entering one of the spiritual planes of the Riftsaga dimension
associated with their alignment and, in some cases, their creed.

In metaphysical terms in-game, one’s soul is a manifestation of all their carnal being:
their logic, their feelings, their emotions, and overall who they were in life. Their spirit,
however, is their true being: it is their ‘ghost’, if you will, which is more affected by the
influence of spiritual beings and by the powers of good and evil. The point is, however,
that both the spirit and soul are needed to resurrect the dead; without the soul, a being’s
effective Charisma score is zero and has no effective ranks in ANY talent, remaining so
until they regain their soul. And without the spirit, a being is considered undead – not
truly alive but not truly dead. In addition, a spirit-less character cannot use Psychokinesis
or any abilities using PKE and, as with being soulless, has an effective Charisma of zero.

The soul of a character enters Hades within 24 hours of their death; their spirit enters
their final resting plane within a matter of seven seconds. The most common form of
resurrection is a Seeker’s “Wail of the Grave” power. Regardless of the strength of a used
“Wail of the Grave” power, however, it can never be used on someone who has been
dead for over a year, on a being which had no soul or spirit (such as a golem), on
someone who had died of natural causes, on a person whose soul has been destroyed or
sealed off, or on a person’s spirit who does not wish to return to life.

If a character is brought back to life or dies, any PKE points the character may have
remain intact; this is due to the character’s spirit being charged with the same amount of
PKE before death as after.

When Revivify or Wail of the Grave is being manifested, a spirit will instantly become
aware of the name and alignment of whoever is trying to bring them back to life. In this
way, for instance, a hero character who is trying to be resurrected by a Blessed of an evil
deity for a sinister purpose can refuse to be revived, and thus wastes the user’s PKE
points.

PKE POINTS AND POWERS

PKE points, an abbreviation of Psycho-Kinetic Energy Points and abbreviated as simply
PKE, refer to the innate psychic energies of reality that flow through a character’s spirit.
In the world of Riftsaga, such energies originate from the spiritual planes of existence
through tears in the fabric of reality, known as ‘rifts’. These rifts cause psychic energy to
flow through the spiritual planes and into the world of the living, where it flows freely
outward. PKE in high amounts will often manifest as a substance known as ectoplasm; it,
like matter, can manifest in three forms: a solid (a purplish crystal known as ‘psi-quartz’),
a liquid (a pale green slime that has an eerie glow in the dark), or a gas (a very pale
lavender smoke).
 Spirits or souls bound to the world of the living, known respectively as ghosts and
shades, can give themselves visible forms by absorbing PKE and emitting as ectoplasm in
its gas form. For the living, however, the natural absorption of PKE by their spirits can,
with the proper application of spiritual training and mental focus, perform superhuman or
even supernatural feats by expending PKE.

To determine a character’s maximum PKE measurement in their body, they, like finding
out their max HP, need only turn to their calling and their vitals. Adding on a character’s
Wits or Charisma, based upon what their calling specifies, to the default amount of PKE
for that calling will determine a character’s max PKE. Note, however, that not all callings
have the power to manifest psychokinetic phenomenon and thus might not possess any
PKE at all. Also note that, regardless of the calling chosen, a sophiat character starts with
a two-point PKE bonus (or three if their Aella’s Aegis blessing is chosen).

A character who would apply their Wits to their calling’s default PKE manifests their
powers through sheer focus, their powers coming primarily from their intentional
thoughts. On the other hand, one who would apply their Charisma to their calling’s
default PKE instead manifests their powers through sheer force of will, their powers
controlled by their emotions. Either way, both types of characters perform a paranormal
feat known as psychokinesis. Psychokinesis is the uncanny power of using one’s mind to
briefly manipulate a physical system without the sole use of physical energies. In short, it
allows one to bend the laws of physics to their will.

Depending on how many ranks one has in a particular power, one can choose to spend
more than the normal amount of PKE on that power. For every rank past a rank of one, a
character can choose to expend an extra PKE point per extra rank to increase its effect
strength. For instance, a character who has a power with a rank of three can choose to
manifest that power as a “Level 3” power, adding on an extra 2 PKE to its cost but
having a stronger effect than, say, a “Level 1” power.

When rolling for successes in using a power, one adds the power’s Level to the vital
which influences one’s max PKE. Just having ranks in a power past one is not enough;
one needs to expend extra PKE and increase the manifested power’s Level to add the
number of dice to the roll.

For instance, say Holly, whom her player had made into a Seeker, is trying to manifest a
healing power known as “Regeneration”. At this time, Holly has effective Wits of two,
and a Seeker uses Wits to influence its max PKE. In addition, Holly has two ranks in
Regeneration. Holly’s player decides to bite the bullet and expend an extra PKE point on
Regeneration. After all, her friend’s character Jay is seriously wounded and will need as
many successes (which will, in this case, restore more HP to Jay) as possible. Because
Holly has a Wits score of 2 and is manifesting Regeneration as a Level 2 power, Holly’s
player now is able to roll 4d6 to try and restore Jay’s HP with the power.

Like an ‘Injury’, certain kinds of harm can affect even one’s connection with PKE. These
particular inflictions are known as ‘vexations’. A vexation in game terms is a lingering
 doubt in the supernatural caused by unnatural emotional strife. Due to this doubt, it,
based on how bad the vexation is, becomes harder and harder to normally manifest a
power. Like Injuries, vexations work exactly the same way in terms of penalties and
‘ranks’ of vexation, but the effect itself is different. For having ‘some’ vexations, a
character tacks on an extra 1 PKE to manifest a power, and for having ‘high’ vexations, a
character must tack on 2 PKE. What makes this even more of an inconvenience is the fact
that this extra PKE cost does NOT influence a power’s Level!

For instance, let’s pretend Holly had a ‘some’ level of vexations in the above example.
Normally, Regeneration costs just one PKE for making it a Level 1 power, two for a
Level 2 version, and so on. In this case, though, Holly would need to use up 2 PKE for a
Level 1 version of Regeneration, or 3 PKE for a Level 2 version!

When a character runs out of PKE, they do not suffer any particular ill effect. However,
this also means that they cannot use any ability that consumes PKE until they gain at least
one more PKE point. A good strategy is to make sure a character only uses extra PKE
when need be, and to have backup plans for when a character runs low or out of PKE. In
Holly’s case, she always can use healing items or try to prevent herself from being
harmed by killing those who would harm her with her unarmed strikes.

SO WHY DOESN’T EVERY CALLING USE PKE?

In the world of Riftsaga, these arts were once practiced in ancient times by whoever had
the innate skill to do so. In the modern day of Riftsaga’s world, however, it has become
such a triviality that many doubt that true psychokinetic powers even exist. Granted, there
are quasi-supernatural effects existent in the world such as alchemy, but they are mostly
based off of sciences of already-supernatural things. One such example is the Wellplant,
a plant that exists in wild forests, that actually sustains itself off of both PKE and
sunlight, and whose berries’ extracts can ‘miraculously’ heal wounds to a certain degree.

In Riftsaga’s world, the fact that the Wellplant lives off of nutrients metabolized from
sunlight through photosynthesis is known through science. What is not known because
physical equipment cannot detect or measure it is that the plant’s amazing restorative
properties are a direct result of it also creating nutrients from PKE. Modern sciences in
Riftsaga’s world cannot prove or disprove the existence of the supernatural, but trust me:
the supernatural does, at least in Riftsaga, exist.

Ultimately, because of the disbelief in psychokinesis, a lack of legit practitioners

worldwide, and the inability of modern science to prove psychokinesis’ existence, despite
the number of callings that can use psychokinesis, not every calling can use it.
Remember: in most tabletop RPGs, your character(s) are generally not a member of the
norm either way, sometimes in more ways than one.

BIOLOGICAL HARM
Even with the dangers of HP loss and sustaining Injuries and Vexations, there are still
more ways than even those for your characters’ adversaries to slay them. One such way
to do so is to impair their skills. This is where Biological Harm comes into play.
When looking over the character sheet, you will notice under the biological harm section
of vitality a quickly-drawn, sectioned-off body and the cryptic instruction next to it to
‘(shade in damaged body parts)’. What does this mean, you may wonder?

Well, this means that specific body parts can be chosen as targets for specific harm.
Sometimes it’s a foe targeting a specific body part (rules of which are covered in the
Combat chapter), or other times it’s due to a power specifically targeting that part. At
times, it can even be caused by some kind of hazard, like a barbed tripwire. When these
body parts are to take damage, one must roll a save depending on what would be
targeting that body part. If failed, a character will take damage, not only to their HP but to
that body part.

Having specific body parts take damage is not even remotely a good thing if it happens to
your character. Though it’s more indirect than HP damage, it means that your character’s
talents and even non-talent-related actions will take a hit until that body part is healed.
For arms or legs, if a single limb is hurt then you will take a -1 to the effective ranks of
talents that need those limbs. Furthermore, when roleplaying, it will be harder to perform
tasks that don’t rely on in-game ‘talents’ but require those limbs. If both of the same type
of limb is damaged however, or if the central body mass or head is damaged, a character
will sustain a -2 effective rank penalty to any talents related to the damaged limbs or
body parts.

Luckily, even though the central body mass and head are the most vital body parts,
characters can wear body armor and helmets which, when worn, will add two additional
dice rolls when trying to save against damage to the CBM or head, depending on what is
worn and what is targeted. Below are the four targets and what talents rely on them to
work.

• Head: Certain uses of Athleticism (i.e. one’s ability to balance), Notice, Smooth-
Talk, Intimidation, Know-How, Willpower, Deception, and Driving. Head
damage will result in a severe headache or migraine due to brain trauma which
will impair skills that require quick thinking or a focused mind. Furthermore,
ANY damage to the head that involves a physical damage type (Slash, Pierce,
Bludgeon, or Ballistic) will be doubled if taken and, if the character’s HP is
reduced to zero or less, they will instantly die. The use of a helmet negates this
side-effect. This especially dangerous rule is enforced due to the sheer lethality of
harm to one’s brain; however, attacking the head specifically is a difficult task
because it is a smaller target than the rest of one’s body.
• Arms: Certain uses of Athleticism (i.e. swimming or climbing), Unarmed, Melee,
Firearms, Medicine, and Driving. Note that the penalty will only apply when the
arm used for such tasks is damaged (i.e. a character with two weapons who is
only damaged in one arm can still use the other arm to fight). Arm damage will
result in a severe ache or even the inability to use the arm, impairing skills that
require one to use their arms or hands.
 • Central Body Mass: All Talents that rely on Might, Endurance or Agility are
affected. Because the CMB is where most vital organs are, damage to it will
impair a character’s physical abilities. In addition, a character who is damaged in
the CMB will suffer from the ‘bleeding’ condition for the same reason.
• Legs: Certain uses of Athleticism (i.e. running and swimming), Acrobatics,
Stealth, and Reflexes. Leg damage will result in a severe ache or even the
inability to use a leg, impairing skills that require both legs. In addition, a
character that has damage in both legs is considered ‘immobile’ until at least one
leg is healed.

HEALING HP, PKE AND BIOLOGICAL HARM OVER TIME

A character, first off, must be properly treated with use of the Medicine skill in order to
recover much of the time. The exception lies if the character’s HP damage is not more
than half of their max HP rounded down, or if trying to recover PKE. Note that natural
HP recovery works in stages; when one reaches a certain stage, their treatment from the
use of Medicine is reset (i.e. it is as if they did not receive a Medicine treatment for that
stage of recovery), and the recovery rate will be different depending on what stage they
are in. To recover as quick as possible naturally, one must be tended to in each stage by a
successful Medicine treatment.

HP Recovery over Time Rules

• For HP damage that is not more than a character’s max HP rounded down, a
character will naturally regain 1 HP for every 4 hours in-game. The successful use
of Medicine, however, will increase the regained HP by 1 for every two hours.
For all intensive purposes, this is how a character recovers HP ‘normally’ in
comparison to other states.
• If a character’s HP damage is more than their max HP rounded down, they will
only recover 1 HP for every 12 hours in-game. If Medicine is successfully used,
however, they will heal 1 HP for every 6 hours naturally. Once their HP has been
recovered to half of their max HP or more, they will recover ‘normally’. This is
because of a person’s body being in a worse state than if their HP was more than
half. For all intensive purposes, this is a ‘delayed’ recovery.
• If a character’s HP is at zero or in the negatives but is not -9 or -10, they MUST
receive a Medicine treatment to regain HP if dying. If they have stabilized either
by themselves and have been treated after, or if by treatment they have stabilized,
they will begin to recover 1 HP per hour until they are at 1 HP. From that point
on, they are in the ‘delayed’ stage of recovery.

PKE Recovery over Time Rules

• As long as a character gets at least so much as one second more than a full
five hours of sleep, their bodies will have enough strength left in them to
start regaining PKE at an accelerated rate. If this occurs, when the
character awakens, they will be back at their max amount of PKE.
• If a character gets less than at least six full hours of sleep, their bodies will
have regained some of its strength but not all of it. If this occurs,
 depending on how many hours were slept away, a character will regain a
certain amount of PKE. If a character sleeps for at least three to five full
hours, they will awaken to find that they have recovered half of their max
PKE rounded down.
• If a character does not sleep for more than two hours, they will regain
none of their PKE through sleep. If they sleep for an amount of time
exactly more than two hours and less than three, even if off by a second,
they will recover ¼ of their maximum PKE, rounded down, upon
awakening. The easiest way to figure out this amount without a calculator
is to take half of that character’s max PKE, cut it in half (rounded down),
and cut that half in half (rounding down, of course).

Injuries and Vexations Recovery over Time Rules

• Any ‘Injuries’ or ‘Vexations’ will be recovered in stages; a character who takes at
least five minutes of rest will be cured of a ‘some’ level of both injuries and
vexations. Those who do not take rest will require 10 minutes to cure both
instead.
• Those who are afflicted with ‘high’ amounts of injuries or vexations will need to
take at least 25 minutes of rest to have their state be lowered to a ‘some’ level; if
they do not take rest, it will take them 50 minutes to cure both.
• Injuries and Vexations are healed separately; the above rules apply literally only if
a character has attained both injuries and vexations in a short period of time after
the other, AND they are at both levels of severity. For instance, a character who
rests for 25 minutes who has both ‘high’ injuries and ‘some’ vexations will have
only ‘some’ injuries but no vexations.

Body Part Recovery over Time Rules

• Depending on the severity of the injury (as dictated by the GM), one may or may
not need medical treatment to start healing their afflicted body parts.
• If the GM does not consider that injury to be too severe, one will regain use of
their damaged limb within 2 hours (or one if medical treatment is applied).
• If the GM does indeed consider the damage done to be serious, that character will
not be able to naturally heal that body part until medical treatment is applied.
Even so, a body part will require 24 hours to function again even if treated.

But of course, the use of supernatural powers or items can invalidate natural healing and
can recover one’s injuries within a very short period of time, from a matter of minutes to
the matter of a single second. But, either way, these rules are written on the off-chance
that these speedy forms of healing are not accessible for whatever reason.

VII. Callings

Whew! That last chapter was pretty dang long, huh? At the point of writing this, I
sincerely hope the other chapters won’t be this long.
 This section of the document covers the meat-and-potatoes of your character. At first
glance, a calling is merely what kind of adventurer your character is. But it is much more
than that. A calling defines how easy or hard it is to raise specific talents’ ranks. A calling
defines how much HP and PKE a character has by default. A calling determines whether
or not a character has psychic powers and, in addition, which ones they can use. A calling
determines how heavy of armor a character can handle properly. And finally, a calling
will give a character two more blessings out of three to choose from, allowing a character
further individuality and special talent.

When choosing a calling, try to remain faithful to your character’s original concept.
When all else fails, and you are trying to make a character from scratch, one can easily
look over one of the nine default callings and say ‘Ooh, that sounds cool, I want to make
one of those’.

When choosing a calling, one of the least obvious things included is what their “Talent
Masteries” are. This refers to, as hinted above, what talents will cost less Experience
Points to improve in comparison to talents that are not part of a calling’s Talent
Masteries.

Without further ado, here are each of the nine default callings of Riftsaga.

-----
DUELIST
In a modern era where firearms dominate the battlefield, there is often not much room for
the traditional arts of combat. Whereas most people would reach for a handgun or
revolver to defend themselves in an urban setting, a duelist would scoff at such
individuals. As living proof of the deadly power of melee weapons, a duelist feels most at
home taking on muggers with a dress sword or a bowie knife than a gun. Not to say he or
she would not use a gun in a last resort; even a duelist knows that firearms are easy to use
and are especially lethal. But no matter which way you slice it, a duelist prefers to fight
with up-close and personal weapons, and such are indeed their forte. Years of intense
physical training have left them with durable bodies, and years of mastering the art of
fighting with melee weapons have made them dangerous even to a gun-toting foe.

Default HP: Endurance +5

Default PKE: N/A
Talent Masteries: Athleticism, Melee, Toughness, Intimidation, and Reflexes
Armor: All

Blessings:
• Body Resilience: If chosen, whenever a duelist fails a save against taking
biological harm, the duelist may make one more attempt. Failure on this second
attempt results in them suffering the biological harm.
• Quick Recovery: If chosen, a duelist is always considered to have a ‘normal’ HP
recovery rate as long as their HP is not at zero or less, regardless of remaining HP
otherwise.
 • All or Nothing Strike: If chosen, a duelist, when attacking with a melee weapon,
may choose to decrease the dice roll bonus from his or her Might vital by as many
dice as can be rolled from Might. If this is done, if the duelist in question is able
to strike the target, the number of dice he or she forgoes will be added to the
damage dealt from the weapon +2. For instance, forgoing two Might dice will
result in a +4 to damage if the attack still lands. In this, a player chooses to reduce
the possibility to hit with the incentive of causing more damage than normal.

Powers: None
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GUNNER
While the Duelist relies on his or her talents at melee combat, the Gunner takes the road
of using firearms to fight. Perhaps one of the deadliest categories of practical weapons
known to man, the gun can be mastered with much less time than an archaic weapon such
as a sword or a bow and arrow. As the saying goes, things change when you’re staring
down the barrel of a gun. It is because of this simple fact that guns are easy to use and
highly dangerous that gives the gunner an advantage over many of its opponents in a
combat situation.

Default HP: Endurance +4

Default PKE: N/A
Talent Masteries: Toughness, Notice, Smooth-Talk, Firearms, and Medicine.
Armor: All

Blessings:
• Deadeye: If chosen, a gunner, when handling a firearm-category weapon, may
choose to delay his or her turn for up to three turns. In doing so, each turn
sacrificed adds a +1 each to his or her dice bonus in Firearms. This bonus is then
applied as, at the end of the delayed turns, the Gunner immediately makes an
attack using the firearm against an opponent. Once used, even if the attack
missed, this bonus is reset. After this changing of turn order, the Gunner is
question skips his or her next turn.
• Bullet Time: If chosen, a gunner is treated as having an extra rank in Reflexes,
even if Reflexes is already maxed out, when being attacked with a firearm-
category weapon.
• Quick Reflexes: If chosen, the Gunner in question gains a bonus rank in Agility.

Powers: None
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SCOUNDREL
A roguish gambler, a secret agent working for the government, a private detective, and a
cold-hearted criminal. These four all have one thing in common: they can all be
considered Scoundrels. In the world of Riftsaga, the Scoundrel is one who uses their wits,
slyness, and raw talent to get themselves in and out of trouble for various causes.
Whether for a heroic or sinister cause, or just looking out for number one, a known
Scoundrel keeps his or her enemies and allies alike guessing. After all, what someone
 doesn’t know can’t hurt them – or the one keeping secret information hidden, for that
matter.

Default HP: Endurance +4

Default PKE: N/A
Talent Masteries: Smooth-Talk, Know-How, Firearms, Deception, and Driving
Armor: Light and Medium only

Blessings:
• Follow Your Gut: If chosen, a Scoundrel gains two boons. First, they receive a
bonus rank in their Notice talent. Second, once ‘per day’, they may immediately
increase their Wits, IQ and Agility by one rank each for 1 minute in-game.
• Thieves’ Tricks: If chosen, a Scoundrel gains a new Talent that is not listed on the
character sheet. Under “Miscellaneous Talents”, add the talent known as
“Thieves’ Tricks” (the modifier being Agility) and start out the Scoundrel at one
rank with it. For more information, look up the “Miscellaneous Talents” section
of the “Talents” chapter.
• Agent Talents: If chosen, a Scoundrel’s Talent Masteries are expanded to include
any two of the following -- Unarmed, Melee, Intimidation, Medicine and Stealth.
Once chosen, these selected bonus talents cannot be changed.

Powers: None
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SEEKER
Respect, keeping of oaths, perseverance, self-control, an indomitable spirit, and a positive
attitude are not just nice ideals. For honor-bound warriors, it is everything they intend to
live by. In ancient times, when psychokinesis and even magic were prevalent in the
world, there existed many warriors of Bastia who fought with the powers of their body,
mind, soul and spirit as opposed to doing battle with weapons of metal and wood. These
warriors referred to themselves as Seekers, their true goal in their mortal lives being to
seek a state of perfection in all of their being. Though the ages where PK was commonly
believed in and fear are over, the arts of the Seeker live on. And even though their martial
arts are the most common form of expressing oneself as a Seeker today, there are still a
chosen few who can employ the arts of PK through their spiritual strength.

Default HP: Endurance +4

Default PKE: Wits +3
Talent Masteries: Athleticism, Unarmed, Acrobatics, Willpower, and Reflexes
Armor: Light only

Blessings:
• Will of the Soul: If chosen, a Seeker can, once ‘per day’, use up their action
during a round of a situation or in combat to recover 1d6 PKE. In doing so, they
must then make a Toughness or a Willpower save (whichever has the least
number of ranks) against a Challenge Level of 5. If failed, the Seeker then gains
one rank of vexations (i.e. if none, then to some; if some, then to high).
 • Impairing Strike: If chosen, when a Seeker makes a successful unarmed attack,
the target must make a Toughness save equal to the damage caused -2. If failed,
the target then gains one rank of injuries. In this way, a Seeker’s unarmed strike
gains the same benefit as using Weighted Knuckle Gloves.
• Fighting Spirit: If chosen, a Seeker may at any time expend two PKE in order to
increase effective the ranks of their Might, Endurance, and Agility vitals by one
rank each for 5 minutes. This blessing effect can only be used once ‘per day’.

Powers:

Regeneration
• Range: Touch
• Duration: Instant
• Base PKE Cost: 1
• Save: None
When manifested, regeneration causes the target’s natural bodily regeneration process to
increase to such a high extent that it will heal wounds within seconds. This power has no
effect on members of the ‘undead’ or ‘construct’ category.
*Effects by Rank
1. Restores 1 HP per success
2. Restores 1 HP per success +2
3. Restores 1 HP per success +3, and lowers one’s Injuries by one rank
4. Restores 1 HP per success +4, and lowers one’s Injuries by one rank
5. Restores 1 HP per success +5, and lowers one’s Injuries back down to ‘none’

Wail of the Grave

• Range: 50 ft.
• Duration: Instant
• Base PKE Cost: 3
• Save: See rules for resurrection
Wail of the grave causes its user to let out a horrid, agony-filled scream. When
manifested, this scream calls out to the spirit of the deceased designated by the player
when this power is used, forcing them back into the world of the living. Because the soul
has not yet entered the plane of Hades, the union of soul and spirit, along with the life-
giving energies of the power, will bring the target back to life. However, this will only
work if the target has died within 7 days or less of the power’s being used. If a body is
not available, a new one is created for the deceased to be reborn into. This new body is an
exact duplicate of the body of the victim before death. This power cannot be used on
‘construct’ targets, for they do not possess any form of true life.
*Effects by Rank
1. Resurrects the target and restores him or her to 1 HP; and injuries, vexations or
biological harm remain
2. Resurrects the target and restores it’s HP equal to half of their maximum HP
rounded down
3. As above, but also lowers any injuries or vexations on the target by one rank
4. As above, but instead cures the target of any injuries or vexations
 5. As above, but also removes any biological harm the character had sustained prior
to death

Aura Wave
• Range: 20 ft.
• Duration: One round/success
• Base PKE Cost: 2
• Save: Willpower negates
When evoked, the user of aura wave holds his or her hands, opened palms facing each
other, over their belly and focuses deeply. After a second of focusing, they then thrust
their palms forth, a barely visible rippling wave of bluish-white energy emanating from
their palms. Upon contact with the target, the target will feel a strange tingling sensation
in their bodies. If they fail the Willpower save against this power’s effect, they will
become ‘paralyzed’ for as many successes as was rolled by the character using this
power. Creatures of the ‘undead’ or ‘construct’ category are immune to this effect.

Spirit Bullet
• Range: 100 ft.
• Duration: Instant
• Base PKE Cost: 2
• Save: Reflexes half
A more contemporary version of a power known as the “Spirit Dart” by ancient
practitioners, the spirit bullet power enables one to fire a concentrated dart-or-
bullet-like projectile of spiritual energy from their fingertip at the enemy. The actual
projectile moves so fast, only a bluish-white trail can be seen by the naked eye.
Because of this, even if an enemy can see the attack being prepared, they can only
hope to brace for impact, hence the use of the Reflexes save. On a successful save,
only half of the damage rolled will be afflicted to the target.
*Effects by rank
1. 1 Spiritual damage per number of successes +1
2. 1 Spiritual damage per number of successes +2
3. 1 Spiritual damage per number of successes +3
4. 1 Spiritual damage per number of successes +5
5. 1 Spiritual damage per number of successes +7

Thin Air Blades

• Range: 50 ft.
• Duration: Instant
• Base PKE Cost: 2
• Save: Reflexes partial
To evoke the thin air blades art, a Seeker places their hands, open palms facing one
another, over their belly and focus their internal energies in between the palms. A
moment later, the practitioner then thrusts his or her hands forth, barely visible,
ribbon-like blades of wind tearing at their foes. Upon contact with these blades, the
target suffers damage and is left ‘bleeding’ from the wounds’ depths. If the target
 saves against this power, they do not suffer deep enough wounds from the vacuum
blades to start ‘bleeding’.
*Effects by rank
6. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +1, and the target is ‘bleeding’ for
one round
7. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +2, and the target is ‘bleeding’ for
one round
8. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +3, and the target is ‘bleeding’ for
two rounds
9. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +4, and the target is ‘bleeding’ for
two rounds
10. 1 Wind damage per number of successes +5, and the target is ‘bleeding’ for
three rounds

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PSION
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and by far, a Psion knows this more than any other
person on the planet. While most Psions lack in the physical might department, they more
than make up for it with the power of their minds. Using ancient techniques from a time
when PK and even magic was commonplace, these psychics can employ real power,
making them dangerous to any who dare have disbelief in the powers of the supernatural.

Default HP: Endurance +3

Default PKE: Charisma +5
Talent Masteries: Notice, Smooth-Talk, Know-How, Paranormal, and Willpower
Armor: Light only

Blessings:
• Power of Suggestion: If chosen, by using 1 PKE, the Psion may increase the
effective ranks of his or her Smooth-Talk, Intimidation, and Deception Talents by
one rank each for 5 minutes. This blessing can be used up to twice per day.
• Ectoplasm Strike: If chosen, any physical attacks a Psion makes can affect a
‘spirit’ category target.
• Ectoplasm in the Blood: If chosen, the Psion’s natural PKE recovery is treated as
taking one hour less than normal (i.e. to recover even the minimal amount of PKE
through sleep, a Psion with this blessing need only sleep for a minimal of over
one hour).

Powers:
Aestuo
• Range: 120 ft.
• Duration: Instant
• Base PKE Cost: 1
• Save: Reflexes negate
The aestuo power launches a burning fireball about the size of an orange at the target
from the hand of the user. On impact, the fireball will burst into an explosion about
 the size of a beach ball, scorching whatever is struck. The force waves from this
explosion are not very strong at all; if anything, one close to the explosion (or in it)
might feel the shockwaves as a slight gust of wind, nothing more and nothing less.
*Effects by rank
1. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +1
2. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +2
3. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +3
4. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +5
5. 1 Fire damage per number of successes +7

Algor
• Range: 25 ft.
• Duration: Instant
• Base PKE Cost: 2
• Save: Toughness partial
When manifested, algor causes the molecules of water in the air around the target to
slow down to the point of freezing over; as much, the damage caused by this power is
due to frostbite from the sudden exposure to the super-chilled water vapor in the air.
Upon a successful Toughness save, the target is able to shrug off the ‘slow’ status
from body heat dropping due to this power. They still, however, suffer from some of
the frostbite, and thus take half damage rounded down from this power.
*Effects by rank
1. 1 Cold damage per success +1, and the target is ‘slowed’ for one round
2. 1 Cold damage per success +2, and the target is ‘slowed’ for two rounds
3. 1 Cold damage per success +3, and the target is ‘slowed’ for three rounds
4. 1 Cold damage per success +4, and the target is ‘slowed’ for four rounds
5. 1 Cold damage per success +5, and the target is ‘slowed’ for five rounds

Frendo
• Range: All targets within 50 ft.
• Duration: Instant
• Base PKE Cost: 3
• Save: Toughness negates
Upon manifesting frendo, the user and all non-targeted beings within 50 feet of the
user will feel as if their legs were made of lead and as if some unseen force was
pulling them to the ground. For those who are targeted (mainly enemies of the user),
however, they will feel a much more harsh sensation; they will feel as if their insides
are collapsing in on themselves. The result of this is due to gravity itself growing
stronger and stronger around the victims, crushing their bodies tightly for a few
seconds upon manifestation. If able to endure the beginning pain of this power, one
will be rendered unaffected by it; otherwise, the gravitational hold on the victim will
crush them so much that their internal organs can rupture and their breath can be
squeezed from their lungs. At higher Levels, the gravitational hold on a victim can be
so great that it pins their feet to the ground for some moments after the crushing ends.
*Effects by rank
1. 1 Force damage per success +1
2. 1 Force damage per success +2
3. 1 Force damage per success +3, and the target is ‘immobile’ for one round
4. 1 Force damage per success +4, and the target is ‘immobile’ for two rounds
5. 1 Force damage per success +5, and the target is ‘immobile’ for three rounds

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