Horizon of Darkness

Character Creation

1. A player can create a sentient character of any humanoid (or not so humanoid) species from any existing fantasy universe
2. Depending on the humanoid's species, certain bonuses may be obtained
3. Do not expect too powerful bonuses
4. Your character does not remember how they ended up in this world, but may remember their own world, who they were there, what they did, and so on. Or they may remember nothing at all
5. Most people in large cities are used to a wide variety of creatures, but in a small settlement you might well encounter ill-wishers or admirers
6. The character could have arrived here either a very long time ago (in infancy, for example) or relatively recently (a couple of years ago)
7. A settlement of the same race as your character may already exist in the world, having lived there for hundreds or even thousands of years; these facts need to be clarified with the GM

Attribute System

Physical Development
+40 to health
+2 to strength
+0.1 to speed
+0.5 to willpower
+0.2 to spellpower

Agility
+10 to health
+1.5 to evasion
+0.2 to accuracy
+0.4 to speed
+0.2 to initiative
+0.5 to stealth
+0.5 to willpower

Perception
+8 to health
+0.3 to evasion
+1.5 to accuracy
+0.8 to initiative
+0.5 to stealth

Cognitive Abilities
+5 to health
+0.1 to evasion
+0.5 to accuracy
+0.2 to initiative
+0.2 to stealth
+0.2 to willpower
+2.5 to spellpower
+0.3 to charisma

Faith
+15 to health
+0.1 to strength
+0.1 to evasion
+0.1 to speed
+0.1 to initiative
+5 to willpower
+1.5 to spellpower

Beauty
Not mandatory to level up
+5 to health
+2 to charisma

Minimum of 1 point for attributes, no maximum

Game Mechanics

1. The game mechanics do not imply specific skills and abilities/spells created by the GM

2. The player can create them themselves before the start of the game, during the game, and also improvise as events unfold

3. There are no limits on the number of skills and abilities

4. Ability Slots
- ability slots are the number of abilities that can be used per battle
- at each character level, a certain number of ability slots are available
- the number of available slots is shown in the level table below
- to replace one ability with another in battle, you need to spend a turn

5. Ability Difficulty
- ability difficulty is the degree of damage, or the degree of influence a specific ability has on an enemy or ally
- ability difficulty comes in six types, denoted by Roman numerals, shown in the level table
- the first type of difficulty is a normal attack

6. Ability Charges
- ability charges are the number of available uses of a specific ability per battle
- a certain number of charges for each difficulty level is available for each battle
- this number depends on the character's level

7. The number of slots and charges increases up to and including level 8, and can later only be increased through equipment

8. Difficulty Check
- a difficulty check is a check performed when using an ability, in case the ability's difficulty exceeds the character's level
- at the very first character level, all difficulty types are available to you
- but to use them, you must pass a difficulty check
- difficulty check = the damage of a normal attack against the value indicated in the level table
- when the character reaches the n-th level, the difficulty check for the corresponding difficulty type is nullified
- if the player's character fails the check, the ability has a 60% chance of not working; 20% chance it is directed at them; 20% chance it is directed at a random character on the battlefield

9. Ability Damage = the character's normal attack damage * the damage multiplier

10. Normal Attack Damage = weapon damage + (strength*1.2) + evasion + (accuracy*0.7) + (spellpower*1.3)

11. The formula for calculating normal attack damage may be changed depending on your character's special features

12. Damage Multipliers are shown in the level table, but may be changed considering the specifics of the abilities you create

13. Multipliers for the effects of abilities that do not deal damage will be calculated based on the specifics of each individual ability

14. Ability Cooldown
- ability cooldown is the time after which an ability of a certain difficulty can be used again
- ability cooldown time depends on their difficulty and is shown in the level table

15. Passive Abilities
Replaceable:
- it needs to be activated before each battle
- an activated passive ability occupies one slot and one charge of the corresponding level
- if you need to turn off the ability in battle and replace it with another, you must spend a turn
- if the ability is of a high difficulty level and the character's level is lower, a difficulty roll will be made before activation

Non-Replaceable:
- a passive ability that does not need to be activated; it always works
- for such an ability, you need to reserve one slot and one charge of the corresponding level
- such abilities cannot be replaced

- abilities like companion/companion characters are passive

16. Free Actions
- a free action is a non-standard action that a player can perform during battle, spending their turn on it
- it can be of any nature and can rely on the specifics of the current situation, the enemy's features, terrain, weather conditions, etc.
- the degree of effect depends on the specifics of the player's request and the GM's decision
- the outcome can be either 100% or depend on a roll
- subsequently, it can be written as a permanent ability
- free action points can also be spent on implementing new abilities during battle that fit within the framework of the initial build
- each level (up to and including level 6) the character receives 1 free action point

17. Character Leveling Up
- players start the game at level 2, with 42 attribute points for free distribution
- completing quests and killing enemies gives player characters experience
- experience is needed to gain attribute points
- the first attribute point, starting from level 2, costs 10 experience units
- each subsequent point costs 5 more experience units
- every 10 points invested in attributes increase the character's level
- attribute points obtained by other means do not raise the character's level

18. Checks in Dialogues
- in dialogues with NPCs, you can make checks to convince them to do what you need (this does not work on all NPCs)
- there is no guarantee that such actions will not have negative consequences for your character in the future or present
- no more than 4 checks per in-game day
- no more than 1 check per NPC per in-game day
- it is advisable to roleplay, not just write "I intimidate"

19. Types of Checks
- intimidation: physical development vs. willpower
- charm: beauty vs. willpower
- trickery: agility or accuracy vs. willpower
- persuasion: cognitive abilities vs. willpower

20. Critical Damage
- in most cases, critical damage with a normal attack can only be dealt using short blade weapons (knives and daggers)
- chance of dealing critical damage = accuracy/2, but not more than 40%
- a downed enemy is guaranteed to receive critical damage, regardless of the type of weapon used against them and if they do not have any immunity to critical damage
- critical damage can be part of the mechanics of a specific ability

21. Accuracy
- for targeted spells, there is an accuracy check
- if the enemy is immobile, the accuracy check in melee combat is nullified

22. Negative Effects
- bleeding: the character loses a certain amount of health each turn
- poison: the character loses a certain amount of health each turn
- disease: the character loses a certain number of attributes immediately, or over a certain number of turns
- stun: the character is unable to perform any actions
- blindness: the character is unable to attack designated targets and moves randomly
- slow: the character's speed is reduced for a certain number of turns
- fear: the character is unable to perform any actions, or tries to flee the battlefield or hide
- domination: the character is subjugated to the will of the NPC
- knockdown: the character is forced to spend a turn getting up

23. Armor Classes
- class 10: -5% damage and speed, requirement: 2 pts. strength
- class 9: -10% damage and speed, requirement: 3 pts. strength
- class 8: -15% damage and speed, requirement: 4 pts. strength
- class 7: -20% damage and speed, requirement: 6 pts. strength
- class 6: -25% damage and speed, requirement: 8 pts. strength
- class 5: -30% damage and speed, requirement: 10 pts. strength
- class 4: -35% damage and speed, requirement: 13 pts. strength
- class 3: -40% damage and speed, requirement: 16 pts. strength
- class 2: -45% damage and speed, requirement: 20 pts. strength
- class 1: -55% damage and speed, requirement: 30 pts. strength

24. Weapon Range
- maximum battlefield size is 50x50

- one-handed, two-handed: 0 cells to target for normal attack; 1 cell to target for abilities V and VI level
- polearm: 1 cell to target for normal attack; 2 cells to target for abilities V and VI level
- thrown: 10 cells to target for normal attack; 15 cells to target for abilities V and VI level
- staves, wands, mage spells: 10-15 cells to target for normal attack; 20 cells to target for abilities V and VI level; 50 cells to target for abilities that do not deal damage, need to see the target at least once during the battle, if the ability is not mass or area-of-effect
- crossbows: 20-35 cells to target for normal attack; 45 cells to target for abilities V and VI level
- bows: 30-50 cells to target for normal attack; chance to hit an enemy if they fled the battlefield (left its bounds), abilities VI level

- special range limits may be set for special weapon types

Level Table