1 This is a quick tweaking of MiniSix to emulate the old Fantasy Games Unlimited RPG, Bushido. Like many an old-school RPG, Bushido is class-based, and to a certain extent these classes have been preserved by way of Perks & Complications. With that being said, the strength of MiniSix (and other non- class-based games, old and new) is that it doesn’t pigeonhole you. So if you want to play a courtly Samurai who doesn’t fight well, or a Yakuza who dabbles in magic (this may be a bit dangerous, but that's because of the place that d6 Bushido happens in, not because of class-based mechanics), or any other “non-standard” character type, go for it. This is the perfect system to try. Note that this system is not necessarily useful only in historical Japan. It is intended to be used in a mythical Japan, and as such is quite useful for playing other settings like Rokugan from Legend of the Five Rings. Typically used Special/Optional Rules from Md6 > Attributes may be purchased up to 5D, but all pips/dice over 4D cost double. More to keep the feel of what it is to be human in an inherently inhuman world with monsters and other magical creatures, though it is easily discarded—or the attribute cap changed—if a group wants more outright heroic- feeling character-building options. > A modified version of Traditional Open d6 Might Damage (½ Might or Lifting—whichever is higher— after ignoring pips; even-numbered Might/Lifting scores result in half-die plus one pip; no lower than 1D Might Damage). This provides lethal and tense combat with weapons, but does not mean that each strike is an effectively guaranteed one-hit kill. It may effect a party's ability to defeat a foe with unarmed strikes, but this is relatively well-tested and it does not often provide a gameplay issue. This system places a higher emphasis on the power of weapons by making it so that characters need weapons to kill each other unless they explicitly try to grapple and use that to break vital bones or sever 2 nerves. Especially when paired with the alternate/special rule below, it clarifies that d6 Bushido is supposed to place a higher emphasis on skill through weaponry and grace; as opposed to, say, d6 Stone where raw power is the order of the day and men beating each other to death with their fists is more thematically appropriate. See the table below for the exact formula on d6 Bushido Might Damage. If Might or Lifting skill is X… ...then Might Damage is Y 1D 1D 2D 1D+1 3D 2D 4D 2D+1 5D 3D 6D 3D+1 And on... > High rolls increase damage: for every full three (3) points an attack roll succeeds by, add +1 to the damage of the attack. Stories taking place in Japan tend to focus around fantastic masters of combat who are capable of amazing feats of striking down foes. This gives a bit of that feel to a d6 Bushido game. It is suggested that this rule be explicitly used alongside the above Might Damage rule, as using this rule without it makes for an exceptionally lethal game that, while engaging, will result in a great deal of character death. > A potential alternate rule would be a die cap. Whatever the cap may be (suggested numbers include 5D or 6D), anything that would add another die to the pool adds instead 3 pips. This may simplify the dice for some, but to others it may be seen as unnecessary book-keeping or math; it is the most modular/optional of these setting-specific rules. > Characters who wish to purchase perks spend ten (10) character points to do so, and discuss it with the GM; who will either come up with a minor plot or quest to justify it. Characters wishing to “buy off,” one of their complications must do the same, but with twenty (20) character points instead. It is suggested that the plot or quest in question be of more significance than one that would allow for a perk. > Characters dual-wielding melee weapons may choose from the following: to strike with both weapons in a sort of hammer-blow, adding +1D to damage of striking with a single of the weapons, but incurring a starting -2D Multiple Action Penalty (MAP) instead of -1D for the following actions of that round; or being able to strike with both weapons in separate strikes, but doing so incurs a starting -3D MAP instead of -1D. This particular rule is in testing, and subject to change. 3 > Mounted character charging enemies add their mounts Move (Agility or Running skill, if the mount is a creature) to their attack and damage rolls. This is not counting attacks made by the mounts, which act on their own statistics. Mounted characters that are not charging still add +1D to their attack and damage rolls when fighting someone who is not mounted, to in some way show the benefit of attacking a foe from such an advantageous position. > Aside from the two points above, d6 Stone games will also use the All-Out, Knockdown/Push, Tackle, Blind/Blinded modifiers, Attacked When Blind or From Blind Spot modifiers, and various Grab rules from OpenD6 Fantasy, pages 68-69. They also use the Break Things, Disarm, Escape, Hit Location Called Shots, Knockout, Prone & Crouching, and Quick Draw rules from OpenD6 Fantasy, pages 69-70. > An alternate rule to keep in mind for the one-on-one swordfights that were so common in both historical Japan and the mythical Japan of our imaginations is Draw! Iai-Jutsu Blade Duel Rules. It is intended to be cinematic and tense, acting as the sword counterpart to Draw! Gunfight Duel Rules—something that shouldn't surprise anyone who's read history. Historical sword duels were not only very similar to gun fights in their heavy inclusion of speed, accuracy, and lethality, but they were also similar in their potential to erupt anywhere. Blades could be drawn on the street corner or at the sanction of the Imperial Court. These rules could also be used to represent a fight between two champions on the battlefield, though Dueling Blades is just as capable to handle this latter event. > If the group in question chooses to act under Traditional OpenD6 Combat instead of the MiniSix static defense rule, then unlike other d6 games—where there is a “melee parry,” or other skill that acts as parrying with weapons—d6 Bushido expects both attacking and parrying with a weapon to act under that weapon's skill. A ronin armed with a katana uses Sword to both attack and defend. If using a shield in the off-hand, it simply adds to the parry use for the weapon in your main hand. If using a shield by itself, then use your Unarmed Combat skill for its parry defense; bringing a shield to bear is very similar to blocking a punch boxing-style. This acts more out of simplicity than anything else if you choose to act under OpenD6 combat. Attributes Mini Bushido uses the standard four attributes found in Mini Six: Might, Agility, Wit, and Charm. Skills 4 Mini Bushido relies mostly on the skills presented in MiniSix, though quite a few have been shuffled around under the “parent” attributes and a few new ones have been added. For more info on those added skills (if you need such a thing) you would do well to grab a copy of the freely-available D6 Fantasy. Note that, because of the amount of ritualized and near- ritualized one-on-one dueling that took part in Historical Japan, all melee weapons have a specialization “Dueling.” This bonus would only apply at either thematically appropriate one-on- one fights (on a case-by-case basis at the GMs discretion or simply any fight that acts one-on-one) or ritualized duels that the character might be familiar with—Iaijutsu, for example. So, for example, a samurai with Sword (3D) and Sword: Dueling (5D) would use 5D when fighting in the above stated appropriate moments, but would use 3D when fighting more than one person or an animal. >> Might > Climbing, Lifting, Running, Stamina, Swimming >> Agility > Acrobatics, Axe/Club, Bow, Chain Weapon, Dodge, Firearms, Knife, Lockpicking, Nunchaku, Pole Weapon, Riding, Sai, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Sword, Throwing, Unarmed Combat >> Wit > Artist, Building, Crafting, Calligraphy, Cultural Scholar, Engineering, Gambling, Geology, Healing, History, Magic, Military Scholar, Navigation, Reading/Writing, Religion/Occult, Search, Survival, Tracking, Traps >> Charm > Animal Handling, Bluff/Con, Command, Disguise, Etiquette, Intimidation, Persuasion, Streetwise, Tea Ceremony, Trading Perks Any of the non-racial & non-esoteric Perks in Mini Six should be fine in Mini Bushido. The Sorcerer Perk is available, see the Magic section below for more information on taking this Perk. A few additional perks designed for the genre are outlined below. > Daisho (2) – You have earned the right—through birth or deed—to wield the pair of blades that denotes one of the warrior class. Keep in mind that, historically, the term “daisho” did not translate to just the katana and wakizashi. It could be a katana or no-dachi, or the latter great blade and a wakizashi. Any combination of blades was allowed, and daisho more accurately translated to samurai. Keep in mind 5 this perk is also what denotes a legal ronin, as a peasant pretending or claiming to be a ronin without the legal precedence is little more than a bandit.