Feng Shui Task Check Briefing
Whenever you tell the group that tracts the negative result, 5: 10 - 5 = tournament. His Action Value for
your character is trying to do 5. Her final result is 5. Martial Arts is 6. The GM decides
something, your GM has to decide If, on an Open Roll, both dice that the Difficulty of breaking the
whether he is successful. If he is come up sixes (boxcars), the GM board without injury is 6. Chin rolls
successful, your GM will need to should decide that something 2 on his positive die and 4 on his
decide just how successful he is. If unusual happens. You re-roll both negative die, for a total of -2. He adds
he fails, the GM needs to know dice, ignoring each instance of this to his Action Value: -2 + 6 = 4.
what the consequences of the fail- boxcars (but not a single 6) in your This is below the Difficulty, so Jimmy
ure might be. This process is called final total. The unusual happening Kwan fails. The GM decides how to
a task check. may be good or bad, depending on describe the failure. Since the differ-
the overall result of the roll. ence between the Action Result and
The Dice
the Difficulty is only 2, the GM
Whenever you are called upon to Determining Success
decides that Jimmy half-succeeds he
roll dice in a Feng Shui game, you or Failure
breaks the board but stuns himself in
will be rolling two standard six- Usually when you make a roll, you
the process, embarrassing himself in
sided dice. Each should be a dif- will then add the result to another
front of the large audience. Had the
ferent color. One die represents a number that number is usually
difference been 4 or more, the GM
positive value; the other, a nega- one representing one of your char-
might rule that not only did Jimmy
tive. At the beginning of each ses- acter s abilities, and is called an
fail to break the board, but he also
sion, tell your GM which color is Action Value (abbreviated as AV).
injured himself.
which and stick to this choice. No When you choose your character
fair deciding which is positive after type, you will want to make sure Way-Awful Failure
you ve seen the roll results! that she has high Action Values in Even outrageously skillful heroes
Whenever you roll the dice, the abilities you want her to be have their off moments. Bad luck
subtract the negative die roll from especially good at. There s a chart can strike at any time, bringing
the positive. The result may be a in the rulebook (p. 10) that gives with it humiliation, agony, humili-
negative number. you an idea of the level of ability ation, slapstick embarrassment, or
Example: Mary designates her that various Action Values corre- humiliation. A task check that
green die as positive and her red die spond to. results in this sort of way-awful
as negative. She rolls and gets a 3 on When you add the final roll to failure is called a fumble. Fumbles
the green die and a 1 on the red. She an Action Value, you get a number occur in one of two ways:
subtracts the result for the red die we call the Action Result. When
from the green die: 3 - 1 = 2. Her die your character tries to do some- " You get a negative Action
result is 2. thing, that Action Result is com- Result.
pared to a number decided upon " You roll double sixes (boxcars)
Closed and
by the GM which represents the and then fail to meet the
Open Rolls
difficulty of the task your charac- Difficulty of the check when
Sometimes your GM will ask you
ter is attempting. This number is you re-roll.
to make a Closed Roll. This is a
called surprise, surprise the
normal roll of the two dice, as
Difficulty. If the Action Result Most of the time, your GM
given above.
equals or exceeds the Difficulty, will think up excruciatingly appro-
Most of the time, you will be
your character succeeds at the task. priate fates for your character to
asked to make Open Rolls. In an
How well she does depends on the meet when you fumble. Standard
open roll, you reroll any die that
difference between the Difficulty fumble results are provided for
comes up 6, adding to that die s
and the Action Result. The differ- some common task checks. Gun-
total. This gives a wider range of
ence is called the Outcome. If the wielding characters who suffer
results, which simulates the wild
Action Result is lower than the fumbles usually have their guns
and chancy actions typically under-
Difficulty, the attempt fails. Again, malfunction on them. Sorcerers
taken by Feng Shui characters.
the difference between the two suffer something nasty called
Example: Mary makes an open
numbers can determine the degree backlash. But that s detail, and
roll, and gets a 6 on her green die
of the failure if necessary. you can find the details in the
and a 5 on her red die. She rerolls
Example: Chin s character, rulebook.
the green die, getting a result of 4.
Jimmy Kwan, is attempting to break
She adds the results of the two green
a board with his head at a kung fu
die rolls: 6 + 4 = 10. She then sub-
©1999 Trident Inc. Permission is granted to photocopy this page for personal use only.
Feng Shui Character
Creation Briefing
Characters in action movies gener- use them to start new skills.
Skills
ally conform to a number of basic Adding a new skill doesn t cost
Skills are things that your character
types: the maverick cop, the stal- you any extra. You just spend one
has learned to do. They are mea-
wart young kung fu student, the of the skill bonuses you have avail-
sured by Skill Bonuses, which
crusty old kung fu master, and on able, and you get that skill at +1.
reflect the level of training that
and on. So do characters in a Feng Skills may also have Maximum
your character has invested in a
Shui game. Each of these is pre- Action Values, in which case you
skill. The Action Value for each
sented as a type, which provides can t raise them above that num-
skill is based on a secondary
you with a numerical starting ber. If you add a skill that does
attribute (such as Fortune or
point for your character as well as not appear on your type, it auto-
Perception), which is called the
ideas that will help you portray matically has a Max of 12.
Base Attribute for that skill. To
your character in play. Available
get your Action Value for a given
Pick Your Shticks
types are described on pp. 20-45.
skill, you add the Skill Bonus to
Most characters come with
Pick the one you think is coolest.
the Base Attribute.
shticks particular nifty things
Once you ve picked a type,
associated with their character
Don t Forget This
then you should think of all of the
types. For example, many martial
If an attribute or skill appears after
things that makes your character
artist types can perform a number
an  = sign on your type, you can t
unique. Pick a name for her.
of fu shticks, which are described
increase that number at all during
Figure out what her past history is.
in detail in Chapter 5 (p. 75).
character creation.
Decide on her basic personality
Some characters are given
traits is she humble, boastful,
Changing Attributes
Unique Shticks that apply only to
obnoxious, witty, bitter? Pick a
After the type s starting attributes,
their types. You can decide not to
couple of catch phrases she uses in
you are given some changes you
take a Unique Shtick if it doesn t
conversation.
can make to attributes that don t
fit your character conception, but
Each Feng Shui character must
appear after an  = sign. Some
you can t trade it for something
have a melodramatic hook. This
attributes also give you a
else.
is a fact about your character that
Maximum Action Value, abbrevi-
In game terms, shticks operate
the GM can use to create story-
ated as Max. You may not increase
differently from type to type. Some
lines. It should be a classic staple
an attribute beyond its max during
shticks use skills as a base number,
of adventure fiction, one that
character creation.
while other shticks use an
motivates or haunts the character.
Example: The Big Bruiser type s
attribute, such as Kung Fu or Chi.
Whenever this hook comes up in
starting attributes are: Bod =11 (Tgh
Still other shticks don t have a base
the story, your character should
=12), Chi 0, Mnd 5, Ref 5. This type
skill or attribute. Look over the
have a strong emotional reaction
allows you to  Add 2 to one primary
descriptions of each ability, and
to it.
attribute. You could therefore
you ll be able to tell soon just how
increase Chi to 2, Mnd to 7, or Ref to
Attributes that shtick works.
7. (Bod can t be changed here.)
Attributes are numbers that mea- For each type, we provide a
sure the character s innate physical, number of quick shtick picks.
Changing Skills
mental and spiritual abilities. These These are good choices if you re in
For each skill, you are given a Skill
are all natural talents or aptitudes a hurry to create a character and
Bonus and an Action Value.
rather than learned capabilities. want to get started right away.
Changes you make in your
There are four primary attribut- You re not obligated to take them,
character s attributes affect the
es; each of these can, if you want, though, so if you have the time,
character s skills, also. Before you
be broken down into three or four feel free to look over the relevant
start changing your skills around,
secondary attributes. This allows chapters and pick the shticks you
note which skills have increased
you to refine your notion of what like best. If you don t have time
because the secondary attribute on
your character is talented at. A and the GM wants to get started
which they are based has
character s score in all secondary quickly, take the shticks given for
increased.
attributes is the same as the rele- your first session. Like attributes
Below the skill listing for each
vant primary attribute unless other- and skills, you can always choose
type, you are given a number of
wise specified. different ones before the next ses-
skill bonuses you can use to cus-
sion if you don t like the ones
tomize your character. You can
you ve chosen.
add these to the existing skills, or
©1999 Trident Inc. Permission is granted to photocopy this page for personal use only.
Feng Shui Sequence
and Shots Briefing
Combat is handled in sequences. combat, he could go four times his
Snapshots
Each sequence represents roughly Move.)
It is possible to decrease the shot
three seconds of time. In turn, Some simple actions take only
cost of an action by doing it reck-
each sequence is divided into a one shot. In one shot a character
lessly. An action performed in this
variable number of shots. Shots can, for example: parry or block an
manner is called a snapshot. To
are a game abstraction; they are a attack, resist a wrestling maneuver,
reduce the shot cost by 1, subtract
way of determining who gets to do draw a weapon from a scabbard or
2 from your action value for the
something in what order within a holster, reload a clip-fed gun, duck
task check. To reduce the cost by 2,
single sequence. or dive flat, or catch a thrown
subtract 5 from the action value.
object.
You can t reduce your action value
Initiative
Once the GM has counted
any further with a snapshot.
At the beginning of each sequence,
down through the shots, and
For those of you who really
each participant in the fight makes
resolved all actions that take place
like putting things into categories, a
an Initiative Check. This is a roll
on shot 1, a new sequence starts
snapshot can be considered a type
of one die, to which the charac-
with a new round of Initiative
of stunt. It is possible to combine a
ter s Speed is added. Sixes are not
Checks. There is no shot 0.
snapshot with other stunt elements
re-rolled. The resulting number is
for an even greater Action Value
the shot at which the character Running out of Shots
penalty but a cooler result.
first gets to act. A sequence starts At shots 2 and 1, characters may
with the highest Initiative Check take actions that cost up to 3 shots
Continuous Actions
Result of any character participat- even though there aren t enough
Sometimes your character will be
ing in the fight. shots left. There s no penalty for
doing one thing throughout a
Once the highest shot has this, and the unaccounted-for shot
sequence while also trying to per-
been determined, the character cost is not carried over to the next
form other actions. These are
with the highest shot gets to act. sequence.
called continuous actions.
Then the GM counts down shots Actions with a shot cost high-
Examples of continuous actions
from highest to lowest to see who er than 3, however, do carry over.
include driving, attempting to
gets to act next. Actions that take See  Extra-Long Actions for more
remain balanced on a precarious or
place during the same shot occur information.
slippery perch, or using certain fu
in the order of the GM s prefer-
powers. These do not have a shot
Defensive Actions
ence. When a character s shot
cost, but increase the shot costs of
It is possible to take defensive
comes up, he can act. The com-
all other attempted actions by 1.
actions even when it is not your
plexity of the action he chooses to
shot, as long as your next shot is
Extra-Long Actions
make determines how many shots
greater than 0. Defensive actions
Some actions in a sequence take
elapse before he can act again.
include dodging or parrying
more than 3 shots. Certain fu pow-
Even the slowest characters gener-
incoming blows and dodging
ers require more time than it takes
ally get to act several times during
incoming missiles such as bullets
to make a standard attack. Or your
a sequence.
or arrows. Reduce your next shot
character might also be engaging in
Shot Cost of Actions number by 1 unless otherwise
a non-combat action, such as defus-
Most complex actions cost three specified.
ing a bomb or frantically trying to
shots. In three shots a character If your opponent is signifi-
repair an out-of-control vehicle,
can (for example) attack in hand-to- cantly faster than you, it is possible
while her pals and enemies are furi-
hand combat, aim and fire a to spend all of your shots on
ously hammering on one another.
weapon, reload a revolver, draw defensive actions and not ever get
Characters who wish to take
and nock an arrow, pick up an to take an offensive action. Hint:
actions that take 4 or more shots
object, or throw an object. At the You re in big trouble.
when there aren t that many shots
same time, he can also travel a dis- When attacked, often the best
left in the sequence subtract the
tance up to his Move rating in thing to do is to execute a stunt to
remaining number of shots from
meters. If just running, he can not only prevent your opponent
their first shot of the next
travel twice his Move rating in from attacking you, but to give
sequence. This result gives them
meters (this can t be a snapshot). yourself an advantage of some sort
the shot on which their current
In a sequence in which he rolled over that opponent. See the discus-
action is completed and a new one
initiative, he can move a total of sion of stunts that begins on p.
may begin.
three times his Move. (If not in 127.
©1999 Trident Inc. Permission is granted to photocopy this page for personal use only.
Feng Shui Combat Briefing
When you want your character to Value for characters you are run- damage to you when the GM rolls
hit another character in combat, ning available for easy reference. high.) Unnamed characters follow a
you make a task check using the Characters may also choose to different set of rules than named
appropriate combat skill. If you are make an active dodge against any characters, as explained below.
hitting in hand-to-hand combat, attack. This means that the charac-
When Unnamed
the relevant skill is Martial Arts. If ter is, for the moment, concentrat-
Characters Get Hit
you are hitting an opponent from ing entirely on not getting hit. An
If an unnamed character is hit and
a distance with a missile weapon, active dodge has a shot cost of 1.
the Outcome of the attack was 5
the relevant skill is Guns. If you Making an active dodge increases
or more, he is out of the fight. If
are attempting to hit an opponent your Dodge Action Value by 3.
the Outcome is between 1 and 4,
with a spell, use Sorcery. Some An active dodge counts as a
the GM may elect to describe vari-
attacks can be made with the defensive action, as does a parry
ous ill effects of the fight that the
Arcanowave Device or Creature (explained next).
unnamed character might be suf-
Powers skills; if you have a schtick In especially close quarters,
fering, but this is simply a style
that requires that these skills be dodges whether passive or active
thing: the character suffers no
used, this will be indicated in the may be especially tricky: your GM
impairment or other game
schtick descriptions. will reduce your Dodge Action
consequence.
If your opponent is stationary Value accordingly.
and does not defend against you, A parry is a kind of active Named Characters
the Difficulty of the task check is dodge, in which you are placing a Named characters are harder to
0. If the opponent is dodging or hard object such as a shield or take out in a fight, because they are
parrying, the Difficulty equals the sword between you and the incom- sufficiently important to the story
Action Value of the opponent s ing blow. Or maybe you re grab- for the GM to have given them
dodge or parry attempt (this is cov- bing the guy s sword arm or other- names. PCs are all named charac-
ered in the next section). Your wise forcefully preventing him ters, as are the main bad guys your
opponent might also successfully from going upside your head. Your characters will be fighting.
execute a reactive stunt that pre- Parry Action Value is always equal
When Named
vents you from attacking him at to your Martial Arts Action Value
Characters Get Hit
all. (though Sorcerers can use Blast or
Here s the basic formula for deter-
Other factors such as range, Movement schticks instead if they
mining the result of a successful
cover, and impairment from have them). There is no other rules
hit on a named character: Attack
wounds can alter Action Values difference between active dodging
Outcome + Damage - Victim s
and Difficulties during combat. and parrying, but the result is
Toughness = Wound Points
described differently by GM and
How Not To Get Hit suffered.
players. It is merely a matter of
Few characters who know that Here s how this works: when a
style. GMs may rule that parrying
they re in the middle of a fight are character hits an opponent, take
is inappropriate in certain circum-
going to stand stock still waiting to the Outcome of the attack check;
stances, and insist that characters
be creamed. Any character engaged this is the difference between the
dodge instead.
in combat is assumed to be mov- attacker s higher attack Action
ing about; this is considered to be Unnamed Characters Result and the defender s lower
a passive dodge and has no shot Many of the opponents you will Dodge or Parry Action result.
cost. If a character is making a pas- be facing are of low skill; their Add this figure to the dam-
sive dodge, the Difficulty of any only advantage is numbers. Heroes age value of the attack form. Each
attempt to hit her equals her in action flicks mow through type of attack does a different
Dodge Action Value. cheap henchmen with little trou- amount of damage: see the
A character s Dodge Action ble. In Feng Shui, we call these Damage Values Charts on page 139.
Value equals her highest Action opponents unnamed characters. Then subtract the victim s
Value from the following list: If the GM hasn t bothered to give Toughness value.
Arcanowave Device, Creature them a name, they re not really The result of the equation is
Power, Guns, Martial Arts, Sorcery important to the plot. They re set the number of Wound Points that
(if they have Blast), or the Agility dressing, basically, but more fun to the character suffers. If the result
secondary attribute. You should beat up. (Don t get too overconfi- is 0 or less, the character suffers no
always have the Dodge Action dent, though they can still do Wound Points.
©1999 Trident Inc. Permission is granted to photocopy this page for personal use only.