Boku no Hero Academia (A Minimalist) RPG

From time to time I create small hacks of some RPG from my collection so that I can play with my kids. I’ve been doing this for so long (since my daughter was around 4-5 years old and now she is 10!) that I am faced with two interesting consequences: my children don’t want to play anything “bigger” in terms of RPG as they love these DIY games; and they consider the agency and liberty of actions in TTRPGs to be so fun that they have a hard time playing other games (board, cards, etc.).

We have been watching the awesome shonen anime Boku no Hero Academia, about a world where around 80% of the Earth population has some kind of power (or Quirk as they say). “Super Hero” is a profession and the best super heroes of Japan train at the prestigious university UA. So that is where I am setting our games. We have played around 6 sessions so far and it has been blast.

The system is minimal and was not only by awesome minimalist games, but also the OSR, FKR Movement, and RPGs such as Blades in the Dark (besides other games by the great John Harper) and, more recently, GROK?! (by Lester Burton).

I ended up creating the character sheet first and then coming up with rules for it. The basic roll is trying to roll 4+ for success. Under normal conditions a 4+ is a success, but with the proper narrative position and impact it can be a “yes, but…” or a “ yes, and…” success. With the proper advantage even a 3 might be a “no, but…”.

The three bigger in the character sheet represent Mental, Social, and Physical stats. The player writes the proper attribute at the side of each die. For example, during a fight, if your Physical is a d8, you roll the d8 and a 4+ is success.

The d4 is a disadvantage. Each time I feel it is appropriate I might ask for a d4 roll to see how hampered you are by your disadvantage (with a 4 been the only way to ignore it). Right now, my son’s PC disadvantage is that his body does not support his powers at maximum effect, where my daughter’s PC gets nausea if she by using her powers too much in a short time.

The main circle to the left is where your write your main concept/power. The comic balloons to the right are for power stunts, secondary powers, special moves, equipment, allies, and other assets. I let my kids each start the first game with two balloons filled, besides the main circle.

The circle and the various balloons are like aspects and open new narrative actions (like flying, blast, invisibility), depending on your powers.

The explosive balloons to right are for wound conditions and other impairments (even mental or social ones). Once they are all filled you are knocked out/defeated.

In combat, you can choose to continue fighting after that, but after each hit you must mark off one of your 3 stat and a balloon. You cannot use an action based on a die or balloon that is marked. Once all 3 stats are marked you are dead.

Oh, I almost forgot, the row of stars at the bottom is the XP system. Each game session my kids mark one star. Once a group of stars is marked, they “level up” (at first you only need one game session to level up). Each time that happens they can add a description to a new balloon or try to bump up one of their 3 stats, although the later requires two advances (I am still tinkering with that). I also let then change or refine the description of a balloon are filled with each level up, to represent their progress or evolution.

Monsters In Media Res

The Monster Reaction table is my favorite rule of the entire OSR. In fact, I like to use it even outside of its original purpose. For example, when I want nonbinary results (it even uses 2d6, my favorite mechanical roll). But this post is not about that. In fact, it is about using Monster Reaction to further flavor encounters.

Traditional OSR games (especially retroclones like OSE) are extremely lethal in general. That is not an error but a feature. Look at the Monster Reaction table (OSE Classic Fantasy Basic Rule p. 49) carefully. According to it, only about 2-3%* of all the encounters should start right away as combat. Almost 25% of all encounters will have unfriendly monsters but that does no mean that they will attack.

*I suck in statistics, and might be wrong, but I hope you get the point.

That opens up a lot of opportunities. In fact, considering the Monster Reaction table, most creatures met by the party will be busy with something else instead of “patrolling” the dungeon or wilderness (of course, except things like constructs and most undead).

Using regularly the Monster Reaction table is a great to inject a different feeling to your OSR games, but it does require a good deal of improvisation skill by the referee to make it work properly. Here are a few ideas to further inspire your games if you decide to use the Monster Reaction rules. They are not to be used always but should provide some help when you are at a loss on what to do. Obviously, those suggestions also use 2d6.

Monster Reaction Result: 2 or less – Hostile, attacks
2	The creature can talk, even if that is not possible to its species. It will pretend to be neutral, and offer advise, but as soon as it gets the party in trouble, it will attack cruelly and seeking to maim rather than kill. It doesn’t need to roll morale.
3-5	For some reason, the creature enters an uncontrollable berserker rage upon seeing the party. The focus of its rage might be a specific member of the party (maybe it even knows the name of the character), a type of character (elves, clerics, etc.) or something carried by them. It doesn’t need to roll morale.
6-8	The creature attacks but stays on the defensive and tries to hold the party there. It is expecting reinforcements (maybe others of its kind, or help from another monster in the adventure, or even it might be charging up a specific and unique power).
9-11	The creature is wounded from a previous encounter (roll or chose against which monster). Reduce its hit points (-1 to -4 for each Hit Dice) and final XP accordingly. It will stop attacking if the party retreats and it is more vulnerable to morale checks.
12	The creature is maimed (maybe a missing eye, scarred hide, lost natural attack, etc.) by someone like a member of the party. It will seek to avoid that specific member and might have to roll morale if attacked by him. Nonetheless, if it survives, it will desire revenge in the future.

 

Monster Reaction Result: 3-5 – Unfriendly, may attack
2	The creature deeply fears something otherwise innocuous possessed by the party. If it can get rid of it, it would love to devour, kill, or attack the party.
3-5	The creature is just a scout and will attempt to attract the party to its allies. Only then it would risk an attack.
6-8	The creature dislikes the party but desires something else (a treasure, control over a specific place, to defeat another monster). That is more important… at the moment.
9-11	The creature only hesitates because it was wounded in a previous encounter (roll or chose against which monster). Reduce its hit points (-1 to -4 for each Hit Dice) and final XP accordingly. It will try to buy time to heal or find refuge.
12	The creature misjudges the power of the party, believing them to be a lot more powerful than they look. If given proof otherwise it will attack.

 

Monster Reaction Result: 6-8 – Neutral, uncertain
2	The creature is actually an outsider, like the party, and desires some treasure or magic item in the adventure. It may even ally with the party but it will never divide its desired spoils.
3-5	The creature is running from another encounter (roll or chose another encounter). Probably scared. The pursuers will arrive soon.
6-8	The creature will slowly try to flee, but only to keep following the party from a distance, until it makes up its mind.
9-11	The creature just killed another monster (roll or chose another encounter). For now, it just wants to rest or heal. If necessary, reduce its hit points (and XP) to reflect the previous combat.
12	The creature seeks something possessed by the party (food, a new weapon, a component for a spell, or something weird that is otherwise essential to it). It is willing to trade or follow the party for a while to convince them. It will flee if hurt and probably it will be hostile in future encounters.

 

Monster Reaction Result: 9-11 – Indifferent, uninterested
2	The creature is not what is seems and is in fact more powerful than it looks. It could be a shapechanger, spirit, construct, extraplanar, etc. (if in doubt, just change it to a magic creature with a few HD more or make resist to non-magical attacks maybe). It does not understand pretty much anything about the world.
3-5	The creature is obsessed with hunting or killing another monster (roll or choose another monster). If the targeted monster is a potential future ally of the party that is even better.
6-8	The creature is trying to find another of its kind (its mate?), who is trapped or lost in some location of the adventure. Instead of another creature, it might be looking for an item that once belonged to it.
9-11	The creature is completely amnesic or somehow lost.
12	The creature is actually a mirage, illusion, or haunt. It will ignore the party unless interacted in a strange way (through magic, song, riddles, prayers, or offerings). At best, it might offer a place of refuge or rest. At worst, it might curse the party or force them to expend resources.

 

Monster Reaction Result: 12 or more – Friendly, helpful
2	The creature cannot tell the difference between its kind and others (or does not care). For example, if it is an orc, it will believe that all party is composed of orcs. It is possibly mad.
3-5	The creature seeks protection (or revenge) against another monster (roll or choose the monster) and it thinks the party is the answer to that.
6-8	The creature is ridiculously helpful as long as it is fed with something (rations, candles, paper, etc.) or entertained (with songs, fire, etc.). A turn or two without that and the creature becomes agitated. If the situation persists, it might flee but not before attempting to the take its “favorite” character with it (or some item that it believes to be the source of its desire, such as a wizard’s grimoire if it likes paper).
9-11	The creature is completely in love with one member of the party. It is also very possessive and jealous.
12	The creature is a civilized demihuman, polymorphed or cursed in its current form. It cannot tell the party directly of its condition, but only through signs or indirect clues.

 

Augury - Tome of Heroes (D&D 5E)

Tome of Heroes is latest 5E product crowdfunded by Kobold Press. I have fond memories of the Zobeck Gazetteer and the amazing Midgard Campaign Setting (Wow! Almost 10 years!) and the Tome of Heroes is in many ways may door coming back to that setting. However, while it does have iconic elements from Midgard, it is not necessarily a setting sourcebook. Quite the contrary, we are talking here about a massive expansion for D&D 5E regarding new options for players: 316 pages of content, spread though seven chapters of a beautiful illustrated book.

The first chapter is all about new races and subraces. We have the centauroid Alseid, the almost mandatory Catfolk (Malkin and Pantheran), the definitely obligatory Drow (Delver, Fever-Bit and Purified), the hedgehog-folk Erina, Minotaurs (Bhain Kwai and Boghaid), and the Mushrromfolk (Acid Cap, Favored, and Morel). There are also new subraces for the classics: Dwarves (Fireforge and Spindrift), Elves (Dunewalker and Frostfell), Gnomes (Shoal and Wyrd) and much love for Halflings (5 subraces: Courtfolk, Hinterfolk, Rivefolk, Urban and Winterfolk!). Finally, there is the weird: the cthulhian Satarre (basically you play what sounds like an Elder Race from the Void) and the Shade (which are kind of materialized ghosts who seemed, only at first, to be alive… but they can be also echoes or memories left after someone’s death… as I said: weird).

All of above comes with interesting bits of lore from Midgard that can enrich any setting. Now, there are a lot of refreshing approaches to traditional concepts too. For example: the crazed (or not so crazed) Derro seems to be lots of fun to play, with plenty of insanity, mutations, and psychic awareness for everyone’s taste. However, for me, the real gems are the Darakhul and the Gearforged. Darakhul are the high ghouls of Midgard, but they work perfectly also as Lovecraftian ghouls or just as your basic undead race. Both Darakhul and the Gearforged come with subrace-like templates, which allow you to build, for example, a Darakhul who was a dragonborn before becoming undead, or a gearforged whose body is built like a kobold. The Darakhul’s Imperfect Undeath and the Gearforged’s Living Construct traits are the friendliest approach that I have seen so far to those concepts in 5E.

Chapter 2 is about classes. The Barbarian gets the lion-based Path of the Booming Magnificence, the infernal-themed Path of Hellfire, the fey- (and teleport-) based Path of the Mistwood, the self-explanatory Path of the Dragon, the skald-like Path of the Herald (your friends can rage with you!), the premonitory Path of the Inner Eye, and the plant-based Path of Thorns. Bards get new Colleges: Echoes (yup, you get echolocation), Investigation (perfect for Pathfinder fans of that class), Shadows (weird mix of bard and ninja I guess), Sincerity (the most original one, with a troupe-style mechanic), Tactics (almost a warlord!), and Cat (definitely a ninja). The new cleric domains are Black Powder (my favorite!), Hunt (totally Ranger-like), Mercy (the most original one, dealing both with healing and death), Portal (probably the most fun to play, specially for players that love using teleport through the battlefield), Serpent (you’re a yuan-ti/serpentman), Shadow (magic ninja!), Vermin and Wind. New Druid Circles are Ash (Phoenix-based and very flavorful), Bees (very weird and specific), Crystals (for character optimization’s afficionados), Sand (if you are a fan of the 90s’ The Mummy this one is for you), Green (spirit animal companion), Shapeless (ooze-lovers) and Wind. Fighters get two new Fighting Style Options (Gunfighting and Buccaneer), and 6 new Archetypes: Gun Mastery (for your usual gun fu), Chaplain (a healer), Legionary (fighting with pals), Pugilist (a much-needed non-monk unarmed combatant), the awesome Timeblade (my favorite, for anime and time travel fans), and the Tunnel Watcher. Monks get 7 new Monastic Traditions: Way of the Concordant Motion (for monks that like to empower their allies with ki), Way of the Dragon, Way of the Humble Elephant (seems like the Dwarven Defender prestige class from the old 3^rd Edition days, but it is a monk), the potent Way of the Still Waters, the Way of the Tipsy Monkey (for Jackie Chan fans like me), the bow-based Way of the Unerring Arrow, and the Way of the Wildcat (this one, plus the new Pantheran subrace, and you have basically a Thundercat). Paladins gain the Gunfighting Fighting Style plus 6 new Oaths. Both the Oath of Justice and the Oath of Safeguarding offer interesting tactical powers to control the battlefield, the first one focusing on the enemies, the later one on your allies. Oath of the Elements is self-explanatory, while Oath of the Guardian is another set of powers all about boosting allies. Oath of the Hearth is like a “Paladin of the Frozen North” archetype and Oath of the Plaguetouched is an undead-bane Paladin, but one with an amazingly flavorful description. Rangers can choose between Beast Trainer, Grove Warden, Gunslinger (an interesting choice as this is usually a Fighter Archetype), Haunted Warden (you get a spirit instead of an animal companion), Snake Speaker (another serpentman archetype), Spear of the Weald (limited to Alseids), and Wasteland Striders (Cthulhu Rangers!). Rogues can become Cat Burglars, Dawn Blades (radiant blasters divine thieves?), Sappers (by far my favorite… bombs and demolitions! What its not to like?), Smugglers (good at hiding stuff and using a bit of magic), Soulspy (another divine rogue), and finally the also spellcasting Underfoot (another archetype limited to one race: the Erina). Sorcerers bring a plethora of new Metamagic Options (17!) plus 5 new Origins: Black Powder (the already classic Gun Mage trope), Cold-Blooded (more serpentfolk!), Resonant Body (a sound themed sorcerer), Rifthopper (portal sorcerer), Spore, Wastelander (Cthulhu/ooze sorcerer). The Sorcerer Origins are all very flavourful and well detailed. My favorite class, Warlock, gains new 20 new Invocations. I consider Invocations to be the source of many of my favorite builds of Warlock, as they allow you to play a really unconventional characters in terms of most D&D/d20 games. While most Tome of Heroes’ Invocations are not that much “outside of the box” they do allow you some cool tricks (Convulsions of the World lets you create small focused earthquakes for example) and also a new concept (what I call the ”Forest Warlock” or “Druid Warlock”). New Patrons include Ancient Dragons and Animal Lords (both classical elements of D&D), as well as the Hunter in Darkness (“Predator Warlock” I guess), Old Wood (which fits nicely with the new Invocations), Primordial (the most original for me, where you serve non-Cthulhian chthonic entities or mystery deities), and Wyrdweaver (basically your pact is with chaos itself). Closing the chapter we have new Arcane Traditions: the Cantrip Adept (a very interesting and unusual concept, but that I would love to try at my table), Courser Mage (a weird spellcaster that uses bows and focus on surveillance and stealth), Familiar Master (boosting your familiar), Gravebinding (practically a white necromancer), School of Black Powder (more gun magery!), the School of Liminality (another weird theme that deals with chances and space), and the Spellsmith (a specialist in manipulating the energy behind spells, using it to gain an extra boost). Wizards are by far the place where the Tome of Heroes really went outside of the box for ideas.

Chapter 3 is for Background and Feats. The new Backgrounds are Court Servant (you play Alfred), Desert Runner, Destined, Diplomat, Forest Dweller, Former Adventurer, Freebooter, Gamekeeper, Innkeeper, Mercenary Company Scion, Mercenary Recruit, Monstrous Adoptee, Mysterious Origins, Northern Minstrel, Occultist, Parfurmier, Scoundrel, Sentry, and Trophy Hunter. To my surprise I am old fashioned when it comes to Backgrounds and I really love when their Features are purely narrative (no game mechanics). Kobold Press usually don’t do that. Nevertheless, they managed to create interesting Features, such the one for Court Servant (you are the perfect valet and thus hard to notice). On the other hand, Parfumier is an awesome Background that completely missed the opportunity to create a cool Feature (just give her a super nose for smells or olfactory memory, for example). Mechanic-less Features that I really liked were Destined (you’re a Chosen One), Forest Dweller (you can find safe havens in woods), and Monstrous Adoptee (you were raised by monsters and know their locations as well as how to interact socially with them). Destined and Former Adventurer are not only wonderfully original but also classical themes that I am surprised to never have thought of them as Backgrounds. Mysterious Origins is a nice way for a player to tell the Dungeon Master to create a backstory for her character (something which happens quite a lot at my tables).

Still on Chapter 3 we have 15 new feats. This part of Tome of Heroes has something for everyone. From traditional stuff like Diehard, Forest Denizen, and Giant Foe, to amazingly flavorful things like Floriographer (a new secret language, like Druidic) and Part of Pack (you can talk with wolves and summon a pack). Two of the new feats, Draconic Rune Casting and Hedgecraft, are linked with new magic systems detailed later.

Chapter 4 is about adventuring gear, where (obviously) firearms have their own section. Besides new armor, weapons, poisons, tools, and trinkets, we also have new special materials (cold iron, peachwood, soulbound steel, wave-washed steel, and windforged steel). This is possible the most setting-heavy chapter, bringing a lot of unique elements of Midgard, such as the elven memory spheres and the ghoul saliva paste. There is an entire section on clockworks, as well as new vehicles and war animals.

Chapter 5 is what sets Tome of Heroes as a true expansion of D&D. Here we have a lot of new rules for the game. In Downtime, there are options for Court Reputation, Crafting a Masterpiece, Creating Preserves, Creature Care, Criminal Enterprise, Foraging, Magic Plant Gardening, Managing a Trading Company, and Manor Ownership and Operation. All those activities came with subsystems, most through victory points and complications. While all those activities can be handwaved by most Dungeon Masters using the Core Books, Tome of Heroes provides concrete rules for those that prefer a more robust approach. Bear in mind, some activities can get quite complex and become minigames – and yes, I’m talking about Managing a Trading Company and Manor Ownership and Operation, which consume most of the chapter (Who does not love tables and a spreadsheet?).

The next bit of Chapter 5 is a new rule: Group Themes. This idea is something that I discovered in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3^rd Edition and since them I want to use in every game that I run (another awesome use of that rule is in King of Dungeons). Basically, a group theme is an adventuring party template. Tome of Heroes has Imprisoned, Haunted, Homeward Bound, and Wardens. Each entry comes with a basic description, game hooks, and group benefits (small mechanical bonus). The entire idea is really good, easy to use, and can help many tables to keep a better focus at their goals. The chapter also has guidelines to create your won Group Themes.

Chapter 5 closes with Weapon Options, a series of weapon-based actions that any proficient character can use. Examples are Assail (to distract and force him on the defensive), Disarm, Leash (better rules for whips), Pinning Shot, among others. These maneuvers are, more importantly, a good set of guidelines for Dungeon Masters and players who would like to further differentiate weapons. However, considering the Action Economy of D&D 5E and how most parties are obsessed only in dealing damage, many of the described maneuvers might seem suboptimal without a proper narrative contest (for example, creating a combat where disarming or restraining a foe might be more important than just wounding him).

Chapter 6 is about magic, a strong suite from Kobold Press if you have been following their Deep Magic line. First, we get two new magic subsystems, accessible through feats. The Draconic Rune Casting allows you to create runes by spending spell slots. Once created those runes can be active to change parameters of other spells. For example, the Dubito rune allows you to to double the duration of one spell, while Frigus allows you to change the original damage to cold damage (it works on 3 spells before fully expended). The next subsystem is Hedge Magic, with deals with the magical properties of plants. It is basically a magic herbalism system that require components rated by their rarity. It is the most flavorful system in Tome of Heroes but one that does require bookkeeping (and possibly maintaining a magic garden in some instances). After that the chapter closes with a plethora of new spells (35 pages of it to be more exact).

Chapter 7 has new magic items. Some are a munchkin’s dream, like the Axe of Many Strikes (hit your friends, store the damage, then unleash in on your foes!) or the Javelin of Teleportation (strike and teleport the target to any place within 60 feet… but at least it has a save). Other are very flavorful, such as the Cloak of Tentacles, the Momentblade, the Pouch of Runestones, and the Potion of Infinite Possibilities. This is one of the best chapters and has a cool magic item for everyone’s tastes.

In many ways the Tome of Heroes feels like Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Chapter 2 of Volo’s Guide to Monsters, plus Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, but on steroids! It has a bit of everything that I expected from an official D&D expansion and it is a great source for many campaigns to come. For Midgard fans it is almost obligatory as it brings home to 5E many of the themes and options that were alluded even by the first version of the setting, 10 years ago! (I am talking about stuff that grounds in the social aspects of the setting, such as Court Reputation system.)