Magical Girl CYOA Supplementary Combat System v1.5 Worlds & Wishes: A GM’s Guide to the SCS For use with QuasarBlack’s MGCYOA v1.5 and the SCS v1.5 Created by DarkSunDuelist, with help from a number of IRC regulars, Discord regulars, anons on /tg/ and /a/, and a number of IRL people. This document is intended to be used in conjunction with the MGCYOA SCS v1.5 PDF, and also notes elements of the MGCYOA SCS v1.5 expansion “Order & Chaos, Friend & Foe”. If you don’t have those, then sections of this PDF will likely make little sense. In this expansion, you will find the following: Statistics for Mundane weapons and their use in the SCS. Alternate and Additional Rules for use in campaigns and quests that help change gameplay to better interest/suit specific groups and/or campaign styles. A list of common questions regarding rulings and gameplay. Tips and suggestions for GMs looking to run a game. Rules for converting AMGC characters for SCS use, as an alternative to completely rerolling characters. Tips and suggestions for constructing cinematic scenes and narratives from mechanical interactions. An SCS version of a community-created “stock” quest. Permeable vs Non-Permeable Mechanics Most mechanics are considered to be “true” in every instance and every universe that could reasonably be run in the SCS. This makes those mechanics Permeable, in that so long as the SCS is the game being run, those mechanics will be generally held to be true. Permeable mechanics are things like how Contests work, how many spells your Specialization gives you at character creation, and how much STR you have. Some mechanics, however, are things that are subjective to GM opinion and may not work in every game or universe (even ones being run by the same GM), making those Non-Permeable mechanics. Examples of Non-Permeable mechanics are things such as the required distance for Soul Jar to not penalize you, the distance requirement for Big Damn Heroes’ Hero Token to work, any optional rules (even ones that permanently change your character), created spells, and how many coins you obtain from a quest. When you start playing a game with a new GM or even a new game with an old GM, it may be prudent to check with them what their opinions are on Non-Permeable mechanics. If you’re using an old character and their current method of operation doesn’t sit in line with your GM, it doesn’t necessarily “ruin” the character. Magic is a fickle thing and doesn’t always work the exact same way for everybody, even in the same universe. Perhaps time has passed and the girl’s magic has shifted, creating a disruption in her old spells. Perhaps one day things will shift back and she’ll be able to use her old spells again. Maybe this universe doesn’t “recognize” a Legacy Weapon and renders it as a completely normal weapon of its type, until it returns to a universe that does recognize it for what it is. 1 | P a g e [v1.5] Magical Girl CYOA SCS – Worlds & Wishes: A GM’s Guide to the SCS Mundane Weapons At times, a character might find themselves in a position where they need a weapon. Perhaps they’re former military, looking to fill the void of no raifu, or perhaps they tripped over a vampire who just ate an entire squad of police officers. Or maybe they’ve been challenged to a duel to the death and are being offered a rapier, the only weapon acceptable in that duel. Whatever the reason, there come times where magical weapons aren’t accessible or viable. In this case, the character must turn to mundane weapons. Mundane weapons can be found almost anywhere, and can usually be purchased with regular currency. However, mundane weapons have a number of drawbacks that make them less ideal than the typical weaponry found in a magical girl’s arsenal. Mundane weapons are non-magical in nature, and thus have a harder time dealing damage to creatures that are magical. As such, any damage a magical creature would take from a non-magical weapon is halved (after applying DEF/EVA). Additionally, mundane weapons can’t conduct the magical energies that a girl uses when they utilize their usual weapons. As such, if one or more of the girl’s associated stat(s) are higher than the weapon’s maximum Capacity, they must expend an additional 1 MS to Attack with that weapon. Otherwise, they deal damage as normal, but the weapon loses 1 Durability for every 5 points (rounded up) that the associated stat exceeds the Capacity. A girl with a stat lower than the associated Capacity value cannot use that weapon at all. Everett’s partner, Natalie, is in a pinch. Being completely out of MAG for her Gravity spells, she draws a handgun she kept tucked away. Because her AGI is 4 (within the handgun’s Capacity of 3-5 AGI), she can use the handgun without issue and without having to spend an additional MS to Attack. She shoots the creature attacking Everett for 4d4 Piercing damage (halved because the creature is magical), and then passes out from blood loss. Another girl passing by, Yin, palms the gun off of Natalie’s KO’d body with the Graverobber Ring she has equipped, then shoots the monster herself. Because Yin’s AGI is 8, and she used all of her MS for the turn getting the gun, Yin opts to not bother to restrain herself, dealing 8d8 Piercing damage (again, halved because the creature is magical). Because this value exceeds the Capacity of the weapon, the handgun’s Durability is reduced by 1 point. A mundane weapon’s Capacity and Durability vary based on the type of weapon. When a weapon’s Durability reaches 0, that weapon is irreparably broken and will no longer function properly. The following is a chart of commonly-found mundane objects and their stats as weapons: Weapon Type Capacity Dura Range Damage Type Baton 2-3 STR or AGI 1 Close Bash Knife 2-5 STR or AGI 2 Close Slash/Pierce/Metal Fencing Sword 4-8 AGI 2 Close; Near Slash/Pierce Broadsword 5-9 STR 3 Close Slash 2h Sword 6-10 STR 3 Close Slash Handaxe 4-7 STR 2 Close Bash/Slash 2 | P a g e [v1.5] Magical Girl CYOA SCS – Worlds & Wishes: A GM’s Guide to the SCS Weapon Type Capacity Dura Range Damage Type Mace 6-8 STR 3 Close Bash Handgun 4-6 AGI 2 Mid-Range Pierce/Metal Scattergun 5 AGI 3 Near; Mid-Range Pierce/Metal Assault Rifle 4-8 AGI 3 Mid-Range; Far Pierce/Metal Slugshooter 5 AGI 3 Mid-Range; Far Pierce/Metal Magnum 4 STR and 3-5 AGI 2 Close; Near Pierce+Metal Optional Rules As a GM, you may find many aspects of the SCS interesting, but there’s that “one thing” that you feel the game needs in order to do well. Presented here are a list of tested and balanced Optional Rules for use in single sessions or long-term campaigns. GM’s Note: Make sure ALL of your players know in advance that you intend to use any of these rules, as well as what rules you intend to use. It’s not fair for a character with a backstory rich in Monster Girl Hunting being unaware that they could’ve had Legacy Arms & Armor, just as it’s not okay to bring up that the “No Reincarnation” rule is in effect just before a character is about to die in combat. Weakness and Resistance While under the effect of this optional rule, all characters with a Specialization(s) gain Weakness to one Spec, and Resistance to another, as indicated by the table below. If you are struck by a spell from a Specialization you are weak to, roll 1d12. If the spell is a damage spell, increase the damage you would take by the value rolled. If the spell is a contest spell, decrease your side of the contest by the value rolled. Resistance functions in much the same way, however you instead take 1d12 LESS damage and INCREASE your side of contests by 1d12. Monster Girls, Fused Entities, and users of the Cosmic Band with multiple Specializations will have a Weakness and Resistance for each of their Specializations. If you have both Weakness AND Resistance to the same Specialization, they cancel each other out. Oddball Specialization girls must choose 1 Specialization to be weak to and 1 Specialization to be strong against when they create/convert their character. Specialization Weak To Strong Against Fire Water Wood Ice Sound Metal Air Stone Sound Spirit Illusion Psychic Reinforcement Darkness Light Psychic Spirit Empathic 3 | P a g e [v1.5] Magical Girl CYOA SCS – Worlds & Wishes: A GM’s Guide to the SCS Specialization Weak To Strong Against Time Gravity Time Lightning Wood Water Sound Air Ice Darkness Light Reinforcement Illusion Beast Spirit Light Reinforcement Darkness Wood Fire Lightning Empathic Psychic Beast Water Lightning Fire Gravity Time Gravity Stone Metal Air Beast Empathic Illusion Metal Ice Stone Grit & Grim Mode Using this optional rule, players can take on a more realistic version of gameplay that forces them to manage resources and prioritize survival over victory. While playing in G&G mode, HP and stats do not recover to full during a Reprieve. Instead, each character may recover up to 4 points from any stat(s) of their choice, then they recover HP equal to their (new) current VIT stat.