Optional rules
Each of these rules has a place in certain games to support specific styles of play. Collecting, for example, works well in a game where the core gameplay loop involves finding collectable goods, venturing to a haven, and then selling them for profit. Other gameplay loops will emphasize other activities. Feel free to pick and choose which rules support your game.
Collecting
Many games feature some sort of ability to collect raw goods. Fishing, foraging, mining, and salvaging are all examples of activities for which the collecting rules are appropriate.
Collecting raw goods requires that you complete a challenge. Each instance of raw goods is classified by the type of goods that can be collected and the tier of the challenge, which determines the difficulty and the potential value that can be retrieved during the challenge.
List up to six types of goods for characters to collect.
The inertia of a collecting challenge is based on its tier:
- Tier 1 — Easy
- Tier 2 — Normal
- Tier 3 — Hard
- Tier 4 — Tough
- Tier 5 — Arduous
If you successfully reduce the inertia of the challenge to zero before you lose all of your momentum, then you recover 2 units of goods of the site’s type and tier. An unsuccessful attempt retrieves only 1 unit.
To convert your goods to credits (¢), you’ll need to travel to a haven, where you can either take the default offering for your goods or haggle. If you choose to haggle, you have to take the value you roll.
| Tier | Default | Haggle |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 | 1d6x10 |
| 2 | 350 | 1d6x100 |
| 3 | 3,500 | 1d6x1,000 |
| 4 | 35,000 | 1d6x10,000 |
| 5 | 350,000 | 1d6x100,000 |
| 6 | 3,500,000 | 1d6x1,000,000 |
Tier 6 goods can only be created through refining.
Crafting
Crafting allows you to create an entirely new item by using a specific combination of goods. As long as it makes narrative sense, you can craft a new item by undertaking a challenge. The inertia of the challenge is determined by the complexity and quality of the item being created.
- Simple or rough (e.g. whittling a spoon with a pocket knife) — Easy
- Compound or plain (e.g. building a toy car from wood, screws, and paint) — Normal
- Sophisticated or fancy (e.g. building a couch) — Hard
- Complex or elegant (e.g. building a grandfather clock) — Tough
- Intricate or luxurious (e.g. building a pocket watch) — Arduous
If you are successful, then you craft the item at the level of quality that you were attempting to create. If you fail, then the goods you used are ruined and valueless.
You’ll need to provide recipes for any goods that characters in your game can craft.
Investigating
In many games, characters will have to investigate mysteries. Simple mysteries can be resolved via a single challenge, while a complex mystery can merit a whole challenge chain. How you structure the mystery is up to you, but you can use the following rules to structure the challenge of investigating each clue.
When you undertake a challenge to investigate a mystery, you will inevitably discover some amount of information. The inertia of the challenge represents how readily that information can be obtained.
- Easy — you just need to know the right person to ask, and you’re pretty sure you know that person.
- Normal — it takes some research, but it’s nothing that someone couldn’t piece together given the time
- Hard — the clues are scattered all over, and it takes some guesswork and specialized knowledge to fit them together
- Tough — the clues require an insider or an expert to help unravel
- Arduous — time to get out the giant cork board and a ball of red twine
On a success, you manage to uncover the full set of information that you were searching for and are confident that the sources you used are trustworthy. On a failure, your information is either incomplete or untrustworthy, or both.
Money
In games where trade is common, everyone has some amount of access to currency and some ability to buy and sell goods.
Heroic Tales uses a generalized form of currency called credits (¢). As a capable hero, you are assumed to have whatever basic supplies that you might need that are appropriate to the narrative.
You start the game with ¢500 worth of additional equipment and ¢500 in your wallet.
Credits are merely a placeholder. If your game has a thriving economy, swap “credits” for the currency appropriate to your world. In Space Junk, the galaxy uses “points,” while in A Glorious Quest, the elves, humans, and dwarves of the world use a silver coin.
Personality traits
These five traits are an optional but useful structure for developing your character’s personality. You can choose a descriptive word for each trait from the following table, where the descriptive words are presented from low expression of the trait to high, or roll 2d6 for each to generate a personality.
- Openness describes your character’s appreciation for adventure, creativity, and emotion.
- Conscientiousness describes your character’s tendency to display self-discipline and be organized.
- Extraversion describes your character’s tendency to be outgoing and high in social energy.
- Agreeableness describes your character’s general concern for social harmony.
- Stability describes your character’s tendency to be emotionally stable, especially when under pressure.
| 2d6 | Openness | Conscientiousness | Extraversion | Agreeableness | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Close-minded | Irresponsible | Solitary | Manipulative | Volatile |
| 3 | Literal | Sloppy | Shy | Aggressive | Emotional |
| 4 | Rigid | Disorganized | Reserved | Callous | Jumpy |
| 5 | Analytical | Spontaneous | Quiet | Selfish | Nervous |
| 6 | Knowledgable | Effective | Sociable | Gruff | Pessimistic |
| 7 | Smart | Practical | Friendly | Hospitable | Realistic |
| 8 | Curious | Reliable | Energetic | Polite | Optimistic |
| 9 | Imaginative | Responsible | Outgoing | Kind | Centered |
| 10 | Artistic | Careful | Assertive | Thoughtful | Resilient |
| 11 | Creative | Cautious | Noisy | Helpful | Calm |
| 12 | Adventurous | Serious | Gregarious | Generous | Carefree |
Refining
Some characters are content to collect and sell, collect and sell, slowly building up the balance of credits in their wallets. Others, however, turn to refining their goods in order to increase their value.
Refining allows a character to combine two units of the same type and tier. Refining is a challenge that has an inertia determined by the tier of the goods being refined.
- Tier 1 — Easy
- Tier 2 — Normal
- Tier 3 — Hard
- Tier 4 — Tough
- Tier 5 — Arduous
If the challenge is completed successfully, the two units of goods are combined into one unit of the next highest tier and the same type. If the challenge is failed, the two units of goods are rendered valueless.