MUSE
MNEMOSYNE SYSTEM QUICK-PLAY RULES
Version 1.10
INTRODUCTION
This is a highly simplified version of the MNEMOSYNE SYSTEM RULES™ roleplaying rules. The MNEMOSYNE SYSTEM RULES allows you to make up heroic characters and pretend to be those characters in a story that all the players help to create. One player is the Game Master (or GM), who plays the part of all the other people the heroes meet. The MNEMOSYNE SYSTEM RULES uses normal six-sided dice, such as you will find in most family board games.
ATTRIBUTES
Attribute scores are numbers that show how good your hero is in that area. Attribute scores are rated from 1 to 10. MUSE has three Core Attributes and four Derived Attributes.
Core Attributes
Body: How strong, healthy and agile your hero is.
Mind: How smart, determined and charismatic your hero is.
Aura: How mystically attuned your hero is.
Derived Attributes
Life (LIF): How hard your hero is to kill or knock out. Your hero’s Life score equals (3 x Body) + (2 x Mind).
Movement (MOV): How far your hero moves in one turn. Your hero’s Movement score equals 2 x Body.
Defense (DEF): How tough it is for someone to hit your hero. Your hero’s Defense equals Body + 10. In a fight, characters can also add their Combat Skill score to their Defense, if appropriate (GM’s choice).
Toughness (TGH): Your hero’s Toughness is equal to (Body + Mind) divided by 2, rounding up. Toughness is subtracted from damage caused by blunt and non-lethal attacks. (Toughness does not protect a hero from piercing and lethal attacks.)
GENERA
Collectively, all sentient beings are called genera or ken. Each type of sentient being is called a genus.
Humans-- Gets +1 to all skill rolls
Elves -- Gets +2 MIND or +2 Aura
Dwarves -- Gets +2 BODY
Halflings -- Gets +1 BODY
SKILLS
Skills are things your hero has learned how to do. Each skill has a number that indicates how much your hero knows about that skill. Each skill is used with an attribute (either the Body or Mind attribute) to figure out if your hero succeeds at a task. The attribute most commonly used is listed with the skill. (The GM may decide to use the other attribute in some cases.)
There are six basic skills in MUSE. This is an intentionally simple list of very broad skills. GMs may create additional skills for specific subjects if they want more variety. For example, a GM could replace the Combat Skill with the skills Unarmed Combat, Bows, and Swords.
Physical: Anything involving physical or athletic activities, including climbing, swimming, and acrobatics. (Body)
Combat: How good your hero is at fighting with bare hands, melee weapons, such as clubs or swords, missile weapons, such as crossbows or any other type of weapon. (Body)
Covert: How good your hero is at not being noticed and getting into secure places. (Body)
Focus: Anything involving the use of psionic powers or magic. (Aura)
Knowledge: Anything involving information your hero about academic or area information. (Mind)
Communication: Anything involving using your hero’s ability to charm or persuade others (Mind).
Using Skills
When your hero attempts an action that involves a skill, you roll dice to see if the hero succeeds or not. When you roll the dice, you add the hero’s Attribute + Skill + 1d6 - 1d6. Make sure that the first die is visually distinct from the second die. The total is compared to a Target Number (or TN), that is determined by the GM. If the total equals or is higher than the Target Number, your hero has succeeded at the task.
| Task Is | TN |
|---|---|
| Easy | 2 |
| Tricky | 5 |
| Challenging | 8 |
| Difficult | 11 |
| Demanding | 14 |
| Extreme | 17 |
| Legendary | 20 |
| Unearthly | 23 |
MAGIC
Magic is nothing more than the speaking of three (or more) Words of Power in a sentence using the Celestial Tongue. The Celestial Tongue is nuanced and can be difficult to learn. However, only gifted individuals known as Atahares or spellcasters can use the Celestial Tongue to wield magic. Those without the gift can speak in the Celestial Tongue as any other language, but no magic will occur.
Using magic in the quick play rules is meant to be lightly structured. Your hero uses three words of power to generate a magical effect and you explain what you hope will happen. The greater your success when casting a spell, the greater the effect of the spell you cast. It is possible to state what you hope will happen in a spell and successfully cast it, yet the effect is less than what you intended. Such is the way of magic.
MUSE – Magic Using Simple Expressions
Spellcasters (Atahares) begin play knowing three Words of Power - either Two Actions and One Vessel, or Two Vessels and One Action. They gain one new Word of Power at a cost of 5 XP * number of word. For example, since all spellcasters begin with three words of power, the fourth word will cost 20 XP (5 XP * 4), the fifth word will cost 25XP, and so on.
The words in parenthesis are available for role-playing the celestial language, but are entirely optional. The action is the verb and the vessel is the direct object. A third word, mihi, is added between the action and the vessel for all spells for the purposes of these rules. Your GM may add more detailed rules for the Celestial Language at his or her discretion. If your hero wanted to cast a Sense Mind spell, the Celestial Language would be aesiarent mihi nostis. It roughly translates to They sense the mind for me. (It’s not a request, but a statement of fact.)
The Six Power Word Actions
Augment (Viterent) Strengthen, Heal, Enlarge, Repair, Sharpen, or otherwise improve an object that already exists.
Decline (Omperent) Weaken, Damage, Injure, Reduce, Break, Dull, Deteriorate, or otherwise destroy or ruin an object that already exists.
Call (Salterent) Create, Summon, Assemble, gather or otherwise create a new object out of nothingness or by assembling its parts.
Sense (Aesiarent) Read, Communicate, Seek, Learn, Comprehend, Scry or otherwise communicate with a creature, thing, or otherworldly being.
Move (Sperent) Relocate, shift, maneuver, rotate, banish or otherwise to change the location or facing of an object.
Control (Praetorent) Shape, Hold, Command, Alter or otherwise direct an object that already exists.
The Six Vessels
Body (Egara) This vessel pertains to the living body of sentient beings, animals, plants.
Mind (Nostis) This vessel deals with that which normally inhabits and animates a body. It also deals with reason, thinking, and mental functioning.
Soul (Quaeos) The soul vessel pertains to the emotions and essence of a sentient being. This vessel also deals with the undead, ghosts, and spirits from other worlds (such as divine messengers, avatars, etc). This Word of Power is very difficult to learn and results are often quite different from the spellcaster’s intention.
Smoke (Simorus) The smoke vessel pertains to illusions of all kinds. Created Illusions have no substance, but can have sound, smell, taste, and realistic visual appearance. Having no substance, however, they cannot be touched.
Energy (Relegas) This vessel pertains to fire, heat (and cold), magic, electricity, magnetism, and other forms of energy. If your GM allows, this vessel also pertains to time.
Matter (Sumenas) This vessels pertains to material with no mind - stone, metal, water, paper, wood (lumber), earth and others. Matter is also used when dealing with the corpse of an animal or sentient being.
Spell Success Chart
Spells are cast by combining a Vessel with an Action and successfully making a Magical Attack (Focus + Aura+1d6-1d6) check.
A Counter-spell is cast by naming the targeted magical effect or spell and making a successful Knowledge+Aura+1d6-1d6 check.
The TN for the check is dependant on the target of the spell.
| Target | TN | TN for Counter-Spells |
|---|---|---|
| Self | 2 | 17 |
| Willing | 5 | 11 |
| Inanimate organic | 8 | 11 |
| Unwilling | 11 | 21 |
| Inanimate inorganic | 17 | 8 |
Each spell cast that day increases the TN by +2. This includes any Counter-Spells attempted as well.
Spells that affect inanimate objects are generally permanent; an enlarged pebble will stay large, a broken belt will stay mended. Magically created fires, etc, will die down naturally. Living creatures will eventually revert back to their normal form, though any healed damage stays healed.
Every point of success is equal to 1d6 effect. This can take the form of damage, healing or transformation; to turn one thing into another the total effect rolled must equal the difference between the two LIFE scores.
WEAPONS
Weapon Attributes
Each weapon has several attributes that describe and rate its performance within the rules. The attributes that describe melee weapons are Damage, Type, Strength Minimum, Weight, and Notes. The attributes that describe ranged weapons are Damage, Type, Strength Minimum, Maximum Effective Range, Weight, and Notes.
Damage (Dmg)
The damage rating for the weapon indicates the number of dice of damage the weapon inflicts when used by a character with Body equal to the Strength Minimum required for the weapon.
Ray’s character, Spike, has a Body of 3. Spike picks up a chain during a fight. The chain has a damage rating of 3d6 and a STR minimum of 3. Because Spike’s Body is equal to the minimum STR required for the chain, Spike will inflict 3d6 when he strikes an opponent.
Characters with higher Body than the listed strength minimum for the weapon will do extra damage with that weapon. Characters with less Body than the listed strength minimum for a weapon may do less damage with that weapon. (See Strength Minimum below).
Type
This describes the type of damage that the weapon inflicts. The letter before the slash represents:
B = Blunt (TGH & armor apply)
P = Penetrating (only armor applies)
The letter after the slash represents:
S = Stunning damage
L = Lethal damage
For example, “P/L” indicates the weapon does penetrating lethal damage, so armor but not TGH is subtracted from the damage before applying it to the character’s LIF. See Doing Damage- for more information about types and forms of damage and their effects in the game.
Strength Minimum (STR Min)
Most weapons have a minimum STR score. This is the minimum Body score required to wield the weapon effectively. Large, bulky or unbalanced weapons will have a higher STR minimum than small, balanced weapons.
If a character has a BODY score lower than the listed STR minimum for the weapon he is using, the character will incur a penalty to his initiative in combat and any skill rolls made for using the weapon. For every point below the STR minimum, the character suffers a -1 to initiative in combat and -1 to all skill rolls involving that weapon. In the case of melee weapons and bows, the character also does 1d6 less than the listed damage for the weapon. If damage for a melee weapon is reduced to “0d6” due to a low Body score, then the character cannot wield the weapon well enough to inflict damage with it in a fight.
If a character has a Body score higher than the listed STR minimum for a melee weapon he is using, the character does extra damage. For every point of Body the character possesses above the listed STR minimum of the weapon, the character does an extra 1d6 of damage, up to a total maximum of twice the listed damage for the weapon. Having a high Body does not allow a character to do extra damage with a bow or crossbow.
Maximum Effective Range (Max)
Maximum effective range (abbreviated “Max”) is the maximum range (in meters) at which a ranged weapon can reasonably hit a target. While weapons can fire a projectile (e.g., an arrow or slug) beyond the listed maximum effective range, the chances of hitting a target at this range becomes a matter of sheer luck more than skill. As a result, shots beyond Max range are not allowed.
Rate of Fire (RoF)
A weapon’s rate of fire (abbreviated “RoF”) indicates how often a ranged weapon may be fired and how many rounds are expended each turn. A whole number indicates the maximum number of rounds that may be fired per turn. A fraction indicates the number of turns required to reload the weapon between shots (e.g., “1/3” means the weapon can be fired once every three turns).
Weight (Wt)
The weight of the weapon, listed in kilograms. If you are not keeping track of the weight of equipment or other items carried by the characters in your game, then you can ignore this number.
Notes
Notes contain additional information about a weapon, such as examples of the type of weapon, special effects, and special uses of or exceptions to the basic rules.
Melee Weapons
| Weapon | Dmg | Type | STR Min | Wt | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ax, battle | 4d6 | P/L | 5 | 10 | |
| Ax, hand | 2d6 | P/L | 3 | 1 | |
| Broadsword | 4d6 | P/L | 4 | 6 | |
| Cane sword | 2d6 | P/L | 3 | .5 | |
| Chain | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | 1 | |
| Club | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | 1 | Tree limb, improvised weapon |
| Club, great/war | 5d6 | B/L | 5 | 8 | Japanese tetsubô |
| Fencing foil | 2d6 | P/L | 3 | .5 | |
| Flail | 3d6 | P/L | 3 | 5 | |
| Glaive | 5d6 | P/L | 5 | 6 | Japanese naginata |
| Halberd | 4d6 | P/L | 4 | 5 | Japanese ôno |
| Katana | 4d6 | P/L | 3 | 1.5 | Samurai long sword |
| Kick | Special | B/S | 0 | 0 | Does dmg for Body+1 (see Doing Damage) |
| Knife | 1d6 | P/L | 2 | .25 | |
| Lance | 3d6 | B/L | 4 | 10 | |
| Long sword | 3d6 | P/L | 3 | 3 | |
| Mace | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | 4 | |
| Nunchaku | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | 1 | |
| Pike | 4d6 | P/L | 3 | 4 | |
| Punch | Special | B/S | 0 | 0 | Does damage based on Body (see Doing Damage) |
| Rapier | 3d6 | P/L | 3 | 3 | |
| Short sword | 2d6 | P/L | 3 | 2 | Gladius |
| Spear | 3d6 | P/L | 3 | 3 | |
| Staff, short | 2d6 | B/L | 2 | 1 | Japanese jô, cane |
| Staff, three-section | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | 3 | |
| Staff, quarter | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | 2 | Japanese bô |
| Two-handed sword | 5d6 | P/L | 4 | 7 | Claymore, Japanese nodachi |
| Wakizashi | 3d6 | P/L | 3 | 1 | Japanese short sword |
| Whip | 1d6 | B/L | 3 | .5 |
Simple Missile Weapons
| Weapon | Dmg | Type | STR Min | Max | RoF | Wt | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlatl | 3d6 | P/L | 3 | x5 | 1/2 | 1 | |
| Bola | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | x5 | 0 | .25 | |
| Boomerang | 3d6 | B/L | 3 | x10 | 0 | .5 | |
| Crossbow, small | 2d6 | P/L | 3 | 50 | 1/3 | 2 | |
| Crossbow, heavy | 3d6 | P/L | 4 | 50 | 1/4 | 3.5 | |
| Longbow | 4d6 | P/L | 4 | 150 | 1/2 | 3 | |
| Shortbow | 3d6 | P/L | 3 | 100 | 1/2 | 2 | |
| Sling | 2d6 | B/L | 3 | 100 | 1/3 | .1 | |
| Slingshot | 1d6 | B/L | 2 | 25 | 1 | .1 |
BESTIARY
There are things that go bump in the night. Here’s what they look like: Every creature is listed with their common name and their name in the Celestial Language. Full bestiary converted into MUSE is located here.
COMBAT
When the heroes get into a fight, the game slows down and is played in Turns. Each Turn represents 3 seconds in game time. Each hero can attempt one Action in each Turn. After each character (including both heroes and bad guys) has acted, the Turn ends and a new Turn begins.
At the beginning of each Turn, all players roll 1 die and add the number rolled to their character’s Body attribute (the GM rolls for any non-player characters, such as bad guys or extras in the scene who are involved in the fight). The character with the highest initiative total goes first. If two characters have the same initiative total that Turn, then the character with the highest Body attribute goes first. If they are still tied, the characters act at the same time.
Actions
Each character can perform one action in a Turn. The Actions that a character may perform are listed below.
Offensive Actions
Attack: Use any type of attack (punch, firing a gun, swing a sword, and so on). Roll Body + Combat Skill + 1d6 - 1d6. If the total is equal to or higher than the target’s Defense, the attack hits the target.
Grab: Grab a person or object; your Combat skill roll is at -2, and your DEF is at -2 this Turn.
Throw: Throw a person or object (-4 to the skill roll if the object isn’t made for throwing).
Defensive Actions
Block: Stop a hand-to-hand attack. The Target Number is equal to the total of the attacker’s skill roll (Body attribute + Combat Skill + 1d6 - 1d6). If a character performs a Block, the player may roll to block any unarmed or melee until the hero’s next Action.
Dodge: Add +3 to your hero’s Defense for this Turn; your hero may not attack this Turn.
Movement Actions
Move: Move up to your Move score in meters, plus take one other non-movement action.
Run: Move up to 2 x your hero’s Move score.
Sprint: Move up to 3 x your hero’s Move score; your hero’s Defense is 10 (i.e., you cannot add the hero’s Body score to Defense).
Change Stance: Your character can change from laying down to kneeling or standing up, and vice versa. Your character may take one other non-movement action.
Other Actions
Cast Spell: State the words of power being used and the desired effect of the spell. Roll Aura + Focus Skill + 1d6 - 1d6. If the total is equal to or higher than the TN listed on the Spell Success Chart, the spell was cast successfully.
Counter-Spell: State the magical effect or spell your hero is attempting to destroy. Roll Aura + Knowledge Skill + 1d6 - 1d6
Doing Damage
If the hero is using their strength (Body attribute) to attack, then roll a number of dice equal to ½ the Body attribute score (any fractions become +2; e.g., a hero with a Body of 5 would roll 2d6+2 for damage when punching). The total rolled on the dice is the amount of damage caused by the attack.
Taking Damage
When a hero is hit by an attack, they can subtract their Toughness from the points of damage from blunt or non-lethal attacks (but not from piercing or lethal attacks). Any left over damage points are subtracted from the hero’s Life points. When a hero has no Life points left, the hero is knocked out or dead (the GM decides, depending on the type of attacks that caused the damage or other circumstances).
Knockback
When your hero gets hit, he or she may get knocked back. If the total damage rolled for a successful attack (before subtracting any points for Toughness or Armor) is greater than the hero’s Body + Toughness, the hero is knocked back 1 meter or knocked down in the same spot (GM’s choice based on the circumstance). For every 5 points of damage beyond the character’s Body + TGH, the character is knocked back 1 extra meter.
Recovering Lost Life Points
Characters can recover lost Life points at the end of a fight. Any Life points lost because of “stunning” (i.e., blunt and non-lethal attacks, such as from punches) are fully recovered after the end of the fight. Life points lost from lethal attacks (such as gunshots, stab wounds or laser blasts) are recovered at a rate equal to the character’s Body attribute score per day. For a more cinematic feel to a game, the GM may allow characters to recover lost Life points from non-lethal injuries during a fight. Characters recover a number up Life points equal to 2 x their Body attribute score at the end of every fourth Turn.