THE VELVET BOOK Persona Tabletop Roleplaying A Personanon Press Game This project is a fan-work and is free to distribute Shin Megami Tensei: Persona is developed and published by SEGA and Atlus Monsters and Other Childish Things is written by Benjamin Baugh and published by Arc Dream Publishing The One-Roll Engine was designed by Greg Stolze Visit this project’s Discord channel at https://discord.gg/aWZMuZP What is Monsters and Other Childish Things? What is Persona? What am I reading? The Velvet Book So, then, without further ado... Table of Contents Chapter I: Characters Sample 3d Persona: Orpheus 47 What Kind of Characters are in a Velvet Book Game? 16 Sample 5d Persona: Arsene 47 What Makes a Character 16 What Personas are Made-Of: Qualities 48 Your Stats 17 Attacks 48 Stat Details 18 Defends 48 Your Skills 18 Useful 48 Diligent Skills 18 What Personas are Made-Of: Extras 49 Gutsy Skills 19 Extras and Multiple Actions 51 Proficient Skills 19 Always Works and Multiple Actions 51 Knowledgeable Skills 19 Special Interactions 51 Expressive Skills 19 What Personas are Made-Of: Hit Points 52 Your Relationships 20 Putting the Pieces Together 52 Relationships, Arcana and Your True Self 21 Small Parts 53 Arcana and Psychology 21 The Other Essentials 53 Arcana and Gender 21 Arcana 53 What Arcana is My Character? 22 Evocation 54 Making your Character 23 Elemental Resistance and Weakness 54 Starting Relationships 23 What are they? 54 ARCANA ARCHETYPES INDEX How they Work 54 Magician, High Priestess, Empress 24 The Elements of Persona 54 Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers 25 Favorite Thing 55 Chariot, Justice, Hermit 26 Persona Themes and Group Dynamics 55 Fortune, Strength, Hanged Man 27 Level-Up: Improving your Persona 56 Death, Temperance, Devil 28 Tips and Tricks for Building Personas 57 Tower, Star, Moon, 29 Optional Rules 59 Sun, Judgement 30 The Voice in Your Head 59 The Fool and the World 31 Visible Personas 59 Useful in the Real World 59 Chapter II: The One Roll Engine Bizarre Personas 59 An Introduction to ORE. 34 PERSONA AND ARCANA COMPENDIUM What Sets Mean 35 Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Strategizing your Sets 35 Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot, Justice 60 Difficulty 36 Hermit, Fortune, Strength, Hanged Man, Death, Bonuses and Penalties 36 Temperance, Devil, Tower 61 Difficulties vs Penalties 36 Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement, The Fool, The World 62 Multiple Actions 36 Chapter IV: The Player’s Manual Doing One Thing Multiple Times 36 Doing Two Things at Once 37 Introduction 64 Called Shots 37 Understanding your Height and Width 64 Gobble Dice 38 Measuring Height 64 Severe Action Penalties 38 Measuring Width 65 Foiling Actions 38 Specific Rules for Skills Blocking Attacks 39 Academics 65 Contested Actions 39 Aim, Beat-Down 66 Awesome Dice 41 Block, Charm, Connive 67 Courage, Fighting 68 Chapter III: Personas Notice, Out-Think 69 What is a Persona? 44 P.E., Put-Down, Reflex 70 How Personas are the Same as Monsters 44 Shop, Wind 71 How Personas are Different from Monsters 44 Your Day-to-Day Life 72 What Personas are Made-Of: Parts 45 Time Slots 72 Should Personas have personalities? 46 How to Spend your Time 72 3d and 5d: The two models of Personas 46 Helping Out Other Players 73 (Page #) Table of Contents Experience Points and Character Growth 73 Redirecting Attacks 112 Arcana Level 74 Damage 112 Aspects 74 Tracking Damage 112 Declaring New Aspects 75 Defense 113 Achievement Unlocked: Improving your Arcana Level 75 Declaring Defense 114 Perpetual Achievements 75 Defense Strategies 114 Unique Achievements 75 Multiple Defense Sets 114 Tips for Players using Aspects 76 Attacking and Defending Simultaneously 115 How GMs Work with Arcana Levels 77 Perfect Defense 115 ARCANA LEVEL ROUTES Rallying 115 The Magician 78 Tilting 116 The High Priestess 79 Emotional Damage: Third-Degree Sick Burns 117 The Empress 80 Playing Out Emotional Damage 118 The Emperor 81 Emotional Damage and Personas: Reverse Feedback 118 The Hierophant 82 Damage Overflow 119 The Lovers 83 Weapons 119 The Chariot 84 A Brief Index of Weapons 120 Justice 85 Elemental Warfare 121 The Hermit 86 Physical Elements 121 Fortune 87 Elemental Skill Names 122 Strength 88 Detecting Weakness and Resistances 122 The Hanged Man 89 One More! 123 Death 90 One More! without an Extra Set 124 Temperance 91 Playing without One More! 124 The Devil 92 Negotiation 124 The Tower 93 Opening Negotiations 124 The Star 94 Shadow Diplomacy 125 The Moon 95 Shadows and Their Favorite Things 125 The Sun 96 Alternatives to Negotiation 125 Judgement 97 All-Out Attacks 126 Situational Advantages 126 Chapter V: Relationships Ambush 126 The Power of Friendship 100 Sudden Attack 126 Casual and Intense: Language of Relationships 100 Problems: How to Make Encounters more Interesting 127 Relationship Dice 100 What Problems Can Do 127 Relationship Shock 101 Overcoming Problems 129 Healing Shock with Quality Time 101 Seizing Problems 129 Awesomely Intense Relationships 102 Healing 130 Relationship Reversal 102 For Humans and Personas 130 Relationships and Personas: Arcana Boosting 103 Healing Humans 130 Relationship Feedback 104 Healing Personas 130 Improving Relationships 105 Healing Under Time Restraints 132 Chapter VI: Combat Defending Against Area Attacks 132 Shadows 101: What Players Need to Know 133 Preface I: What Persona Players Should Know about Minor Shadows 133 Fighting 108 Major Shadows 134 Preface II: Streamlining Monsters Combat for Persona 109 Ending a Battle 135 Who’s the target? 109 Example of Combat 136 Battle for Everyone’s Souls: The ORE Combat Tutorial 110 The Combat Round 110 How to Attack 110 Stunning Attacks 111 Back-Up Attacks 111 (Page #) Table of Contents Chapter VII: The Path to Awesome Power Stacking Buffs and Debuffs 173 What It Means to be Awesome 146 Flight 173 Awesome Humans 146 Induce (Mental Effect) 174 Awesome Personas 146 Negotiation 175 Awesome as a Resource 146 Provide Information 175 The First Path: Preparation (for Humans) 147 Unique Movement 176 The First Path: Preparation (for Personas) 147 The 13 Exotic Qualities 177 You can’t use Preparation to Stockpile Awesomeness 148 Create (Object) 177 The Second Path: Cooperation 149 Deadly Power 177 The Third Path: Sacrifice 150 Exotic Sense 178 The Shadow’s Path to Awesome Power: Smirking 151 Gigantic 179 Major Shadows: Awesome Might 151 Immobilize 179 Invisibility 180 Chapter VIII: Shadows Jinx 180 What is a Shadow? 154 Nullify 181 Where do Shadows Come From? 154 Polymorph 181 Some Shadows are Helpful 155 Refresh/Revoke 182 Shadow Styles 155 Super Strength 183 Shadow Types 155 Tranquilize 183 Arcana Points 155 Warp 184 Minor Shadow Anatomy 156 Useful Attacks 185 Encountering Minor Shadows 157 Useful Physical Attacks 185 Fighting Minor Shadows 157 Useful Elemental Attacks 185 The Shadow Compendium 157 Useful Defenses 186 The GM: Master of Shadows 158 Agility 186 Shadow Mobs 158 Endurance 186 How Shadow Mobs are built 159 Creating Your Own Useful Qualities 187 Shadow Mobs and All-Out Attacks 160 Remember the Cost 187 When Should Mobs be used? 160 Be Mindful of the Action Economy 187 How Major Shadows Work 161 Don’t Be Afraid to Bend the Rules 187 Fighting Major Shadows 162 Chapter X: The Velvet Room Gimmicks 163 Fighting to the Finish 164 Welcome to the Velvet Room 190 Advanced Dice Pool Guidelines 190 Chapter IX: Useful Things One Roll Education 191 Why Useful Qualities Have Their Own Chapter 166 What Roll for Which Class? 191 How Useful Qualities are Supposed to Work 166 Sample Class Schedule 191 Not Everything Needs to be a Useful Quality 167 What Skill for which Assignment? 192 What Makes a Good Useful Quality 167 Work Load 192 Attacks and Defends can also be useful 167 Grades 193 Basic Things Any Useful Quality Can Do 168 Improving your School Work 193 Create an Advantage 168 Time Management 194 Counteract a Useful Effect 168 Obligation vs Freedom (aka Law vs Chaos) 194 Solve a Problem 168 Opportunity Cost 195 The Useful Gallery 169 Under Pressure 195 The 10 Common Qualities 169 Enemy Advantage: Engineering Minor Shadow Analyze 169 Encounters 197 Buff 170 The Golden Rule 197 The Underlying Question: What are These, Anyway? 170 The Arcana Budget 198 Boost Power 171 Further Guidelines 198 Control (Element or Force) 171 Shadow Synergy 199 Debuff 172 Fast and Furious 199 Timing Buffs and Debuffs 172 Tough Enough 199 (Page #) Table of Contents Bodyguards 199 Hidden Passages 219 Healing 199 Population 219 Useful Shenanigans 200 Automated Defenses 220 After-Market Modifications 200 Sanctuary 221 Shadow Antics 200 Physical Challenge 221 Blooming Villains: Creating and Controlling Major Traps 222 Shadows 201 High Security 223 What is a Major Shadow’s purpose? 201 Example Security Patrols 224 Might 202 Hazardous Environment 225 How Mighty? 202 Treasure 226 Arcana Point Budgets for Major Shadows 203 Better Threats: How to Properly Menace your Players 227 Gimmicks 204 The Real World is Threatening Too 227 Do-It-Yourself Gimmicks 204 Standard Threats 227 Ready-to-Play Gimmicks 205 Persistent Threats 228 Heavy Armor 205 Compound Threats 229 Penetration 205 How Many Dice Should I Give my Threats? 229 Unlimited Healing 205 Optional Rule: Loot and Other Valuable Things 230 Regeneration 205 Loot isn’t Mandatory 230 Multitasking 205 Where Loot Comes From 230 Special Dice Pool 206 What is Loot, Exactly? 231 Booster 206 Loot Values 231 Summon Allies 206 What is Loot Good for? 231 Targets All 206 The Loot Exchange 232 Guaranteed Knockdown 206 The Spoils Roll 233 Bypass Personas 207 Attrition and Exhaustion 234 Preemptive Action