Jewelsea RPG - Retreat
It's been a hot minute, but I've still been working on the Jewelsea RPG despite not posting about it much here. I've gone through a few iterations since the playtests back in May, and I'm currently working on an Oddlike base - the rules I tested drew a lot of inspiration from Into the Odd, and most of the parts I didn't think worked very well were my own inventions. Right now, I still envision the Jewelsea RPG as a significant expansion on the core of the system, but who knows where I'll end up.
Today I was thinking on retreat rules - one of the things I always want players to feel able to to is to attempt a retreat. Being able to get out of danger (if at a potential cost) encourages risk-taking, which is something I like to see as a GM. Cautious play is smart, but too much caution turns the game into a slog. Here's the early draft of the retreat rules:
Retreat
When, for whatever reason, an individual or the party decides to retreat from combat, each character must roll a single d20 and treat it as a save against each stat. Each failure has the following effects:
- Prowess - take a blow on the way out - 1d6 damage
- Cunning - get lost or become separated from the group
- Steel - lose your cool - you can't fight or move into uncharted territory until you've taken a breather to calm down
If everyone in the party fails a given save, the following effects also apply:
- Prowess - you don't escape at all. Continue the fight.
- Cunning - the party loses cohesion - every member flees in a different direction.
- Steel - leave someone behind - not everyone makes it away from the fight. The remaining character (chosen at random) is left to fight it out or surrender.