[DL] Hexes - a different approach

[James Knevitt <jknevitt@yahoo.com>]

Hey all,

Since my DL system conversions have been going pretty
smoothly, I decided to try converting the hex rules to
a non-card based system. Here's the conversion in a
nutshell, then comments later. Leep in mind I've
converted my system to a purely d10s system:

---Hex-a-riffic!---
Hexes are cast in two stages:
- Contacting the Manitou
- Casting the Hex

-Contacting a Manitou-
A manitou is contacted by rolling your Hexslingin’
Aptitude, using the Trait associated with the hex you
want to cast. Your base TN is 5. You gain 1 extra die
for casting the hex for every Raise made on the
Hexslingin’ roll. You may choose the type of manitou
contacted depending on your academia: occult Aptitude.
The base TN and the final number of bonus dice gained
may be modified depending on the type of manitou
contacted.

Apt.	Type	TN Mod.	Extra Dice
1	Lesser	-1	-1
2	Common	+0	+0
4	Greater	+0	+1


* Specific greater manitou may be contacted, but this
requires knowledge of the assumed name of the manitou.
Specific Greater manitou grant special bonuses to the
hex, but occasionally ask for something in return.


-Casting A Hex-
All Hexes are cast using the hex’s corresponding
Trait, the level of the hex and the extra dice gained
from contacting a manitou (i.e. if your character has
a Cognition of 2, a Hex with a level of 2 and gained 3
extra dice from Step 1, your character rolls 7 dice).
Your base TN is 5. Instead of attaining specific poker
hands, the new TNs are listed below.

Hand Required	New TN
Ace		5
Pair		7
Jacks		9
2 Pairs		11
3 of a Kind	13
Straight	15
Flush		17
Full House	19
4 of a Kind	21
Straight Flush	23
Royal Flush	25
Dead Man’s Hand	At least 4 10’s on a roll

If any roll in the hex casting process is botched, the
Huckster takes Backlash from the Hex. If the roll is
still high enough to make the TN, the hex succeeds
unless otherwise noted. If the Backlash occurs after
the manitou has been contacted, additional
consequences may arise, as detailed by the GM.

-------------------------------------------------

OK. Finished? Good. I've tried this out on a very
limited basis, and it seems to work quite well. 

One thing I've changed, at the risk of taking some
flavor out of the setting, was to change a huckster's
reliance on cards to cast hexes. Instead, I have the
player detail to me the type of mental test of wills
the huckster has with the manitou (e.g. the hexslinger
in my group interprets the mental test of wills with
the manitou as a gunfight between two gunslingers). To
this end, I have the player define a 'focus' for his
character's hexes (much like a traditional huckster's
cards). For a lot of hucksters, the cards are still
the main focus, simply because most hex-based
knoweldge comes from Hoyle's Book. 

The aforementioned hexslinger hails from New Orleans,
where his daddy tought him how to shoot and his momma
taught him the arcane arts. He chose as his focus the
family heirlooms - a pair of Tranter duelling pistols.

If a huckster/hexslinger is without his focus, he
suffers a loss of two dice on his casting roll. If the
focus is somehow skill-related, the character gains a
+2 bonus to all relevant rolls (+2 to gamblin' for
hucksters, +2 to shootin':pistols for most
hexslingers, etc.)

I've also decided that the art of casting hexes is not
just something you -must- pick up from a book. It can
be learned from other people, and picked up through
the course of gameplay. but my system, it costs 50
Bounty Points and 25 Fate Points.

(A short tangent: I changed Fate Chips to Fate Points:
White=1, Red=2, Blue=3, Legend=10). Most usages are
the same, with the character spending an appropriate
number of Fate Points).

That's about it. I altered the system so that I can
adopt the mechanics to suit just about any
non-spiritual or non-faith based magic to suit my
game. After all, there are a lot of types of magic
that have been around far longer than most would
beleive ...

Any thoughts?

James

=====
Knowledge is Power. Power Corrupts. Study Hard. Be Evil.

"Lend me your dark & nasty stuff, O my buddy Bert !"
- Paul Jacoby

"Should you choose to test my resolve in this matter, you will be facing a finality beyond your comprehension, and you will not be counting days, or months, or years, but millenia in a place with no doors." - Joe Black, "Meet Joe Black"

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