An RPG framework for the supernatural (Prince Adam not included)

Supernatural powers are RPG staples: Fantasy games have spells, sci-fi games have psionics, occult games have ancient rites. But as implied by these examples, supernatural ability is typically tied to the genre, and, by extension, often governed via different mechanics. For multi-genre play (or those times when your D&D characters travel to a telepathic future), it's useful to put the supernatural within a high-level framework that's genre-agnostic.

One Framework to Rule Them All

We'll start by establishing some generalities that can be shared across genres. First, any supernatural ability a character can control is a power, and includes (but is not limited to): spells, miracles, psionics, occult rituals, super powers, etc. In short, if the ability is magical, arcane, divine, extra-sensory, caused by a spider bite, or in any way inconsistent with the normal laws and expected behaviour of the physical world, it's a power.

Second, powers are described in terms of effect rather than cause; this allows the framework to encompass powers regardless of their origin in the setting, or how they're released. A subtle by-product is that this approach removes much of the redundancy in, say, D&D spell lists. For example, curative spells, differentiated only by the amount of damage they restore, can be consolidated into a single healing power. Same with spells that target and damage a single opponent. And don't get me started on all those silly variations of Bigby's Jerking Hand.

Third, a power's effect manifests in whatever fashion fits best into the setting. I call this flavour. For example, a healing power might require the wielder to lay on hands, or the recipient might be bathed in glowing light. Also, the power might require the wielder's holy symbol, or it summons little curative sprites, or it could involve a complex, time-consuming ritual with candles and the sacrifice of goats and maybe the alignment of stars if you want to get all Lovecraft on it. Flavour never has a game effect, but instead gives the GM creative latitude for fitting the supernatural into the campaign's context.

Powers as Skills

For reasons that become apparent below, powers should be treated as skills, arbitrated via whatever mechanism your system uses for skills. If your system doesn't use skills, consider an attribute check. This approach has several benefits, both for game balance and for introducing some cool stuff:

• Permits powers to non-spellcasters by providing access to the skill (e.g., a little girl who can start fires with her mind, or a fortune teller who actually can see the future)
• Improves individual powers by improving the skill (as opposed to providing a blanket improvement to all spells by gaining an experience level)
• Ties a power's effects to skill rank instead of an experience level (so not every 5th-level magic-user is capable of a fireball, and those that are don't necessarily cast the same spell)
• Allows for spell failure (which has always been an important and intriguing possibility in my campaigns)
• Allows for power modulation, or tweaking a power's effects by adjusting the skill roll's chance of success (e.g., heal restores 1d6 wounds, or 2d6 at a penalty of –4; locate has a range of 12", plus 3" for every –1 on the power roll)

Wielding Powers

Using a power requires a skill roll. In Chimera, power use is tied to a specific Attribute, which varies by profession (e.g., INT for wizards, WIL for priests, etc.). Via Chimera's Action Roll system, the Attribute used determines the Target Number required for success (certain powers are more difficult than others, and therefore adjust the TN). Further, each improvement point spent on a power grants a Power Bonus (PB) of +1, which is applied to your power roll.

You can use the powers you know as often as often as you like, though failed rolls can cause Fatigue (which can ultimately be fatal), so you wield powers at your own risk. As a result, there are no artificial, game balance restrictions on spell-casting; the onus of responsible use is on the character. What I like about this approach is that it simulates the physical and mental strain of harnessing and controlling supernatural energies--eventually, a character gets too tired to wield powers effectively, at least until they rest.

Here are the guidelines for arbitrating power rolls:

• Critical Failure: power fizzles; automatic Fatigue
• Normal Failure: power works, but wielder must make a Fatigue check
• Normal Success: power works as anticipated
• Critical Success: power works; range, duration, or damage is doubled (wielder's choice)

Pulling It All Together

Here's a quick example of a power from the Chimera Quick Start, and how it might be used:

Shock
DL +0; Range: PB+2”; Duration: Instant
Shock directs damaging energy that hits targets unerringly; up to PB+1 shocks are loosed and may be directed at individual targets. Each shock inflicts 1d6 points of damage, subject to the target’s normal Protective Value (similar to Armour Class).

Dingle the Wizard assigned Intelligence as a secondary Attribute, so his base Target Number for any power roll is 12 (on a d20). Dingle has Shock +3, meaning that he has allocated 3 improvement points to shock, for a Power Bonus of +3. Not only does this improve his Target Number to 9, but it also means that when he wields shock, he releases 4 bolts at a time, each with a maximum range of 5".

Dingle is typical of fantasy, but consider the variations. This is where the beauty of the power framework comes in. Shock's effect is to cause damage at a distance, but how that damage is delivered is flavour. Here are some examples:

• A priest of Imhotep wields shock as a flurry of scarab beetles directed at an opponent; the beetles disappear after a round of biting the target
• A druid wields shock by creating tiny, turbulent whirlwinds that buffet the target
• A dark lord of the Empire wields shock with a subtle hand gesture that invisibly strangles his target
• A cackling emperor of the Empire wields shock as lightning bolts that shoot from his hands
• A mad scientist's ray gun shoots shocks; he actually found it during an expedition to a Martian ruin
• A troubled little boy uses shock to lash out telepathically at people who make him angry

Final Words

There are a couple of other power tricks up Chimera's sleeve, but I'll save that for a later time. For now, consider how the framework might be adapted to your game--even if you're running a fantasy campaign and especially if you're running something multi-genre. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it--where it works and where it can be improved.