Looking for a suitable Suikoden Pen and Paper RPG

[Goliath_Syndrome]

I've been looking for a Suikoden Pen and Paper for a while now. Does anyone know where I could find one? I love the series and want to experience it in a truely freeform style, like D&D. I've tried making one, but a lot of the math/concepts of the game's mechanics are a little mystifying. Any help would be great. Thank you.

[warmaster670]

hmm, could always take like, 3.5 D&D, and add too it, mainly runes

[Goliath_Syndrome]

Well, I tried adding to 3.5, I have a weapon upgrade system, but I can't nail down the runes spell progression, and various class aspects.

[warmaster670]

hmm, runes could work, maybe each rune has certain spells to it, and maybe each class gets a certain number of spells of each rune level per level.

ex, wizard gets x amount of normal spells per level + int bonus, maybe they start with 2 1st level rune spells, and 1 second level.

doing the runes and all the spells might be troublesome though.

would it be making a unique character, or would it be playing an already established suikoden character?

im gonna do some googling

EDIT: found this, might be worth a look

[Goliath_Syndrome]

Yea, I looked into that, and it's quite good, but unfinished and has been at least for a few years. This would be making original characters in the established world. Haven't thought of when, though. The thing I'm trying to keep as far as runes go are that there are only four levels, and everyone can use them, but obviously some better than others. Also toying with up to three at once, like most of the games. In the right hand, left hand, and forehead.

[warmaster670]

would you be wanting to use like, dnd classes?

cause it could be set up so each class gets a certain number of rune spell uses per level, maybe add a 7th stat, like, spirit, and modify the way bonus spells work for wizards and stuff, only maybe increase the the rate in which the lower levels raise.

example, normaly you get a bonus spell for each level at each stat bonus, depending on which your class uses.

so +1gets a 1st level, +2 gets a second level, +3 gets a 3rd level, +4 gets a 4th level, and then +5 gives a 5th level and an extra 1st level.

the runes could work, like that, only double the rate the lower spells get bumped, and using the "spirit" bonus , and allowing it for everyone instead of just the casters, with tehre respective stats. so at +3 , you would get another bonus 1st level spell+a third level spell.


see if this makes sense before i start rambling

[Goliath_Syndrome]

Ok, the way I can see it is thusly: yes, everyone can use runes of almost any type. The standard classes can be kept basically intact, with some alterations. For example: Eliminate divinity. If gods exist, they do nothing for you game-wise. So out goes the cleric and druid. This also eliminates the spallcasting abilities of the ranger and paladin. Thus, eliminate the paladin, and give the ranger something by way of compensation. Like an animal companion right off. Let it progress in power like a druid. Wild shaping is very iffy, I can't recall anything like that off hand in the series, so I'll come back to that later. The sorcerer/wizards of the world? Eliminate one of them. Change the name: Runecaster or runesmith. Something like that. More as I think on it.

[Atredies Kahn]

How'z it? I've been working on a pen & paper version for several years.
Many current rules systems have been put through trail with no avail. AD&D 2nd Ed. failed due to the lack of customization. 3rd (3.5) Ed. D&D is not a suitable choice as it fails to capture the level-up system of the Suikoden series. As does it fail in linking the stats as they appeared in the game. Lastly, it failed due to the enormous amount of character design required. You cannot simply place Viktor and Flik within the same character class. Each character required a set class designed for them. Let's see 108 characters x 5 Suikoden games.... uh, no.
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS. If you have been dreaming of creating your own tabletop RPG of Suikoden, I'll have this to you shortly. (Within a week or two). This system rips the exact stats from the game and uses it in the exact fashion as intended by the programmers. It also incorporates items, runes, and so on. This ruleset is made possible by heavily modifying the Warhammer Roleplay rules published by Black Industries. Trust me, you'll love making adventures using this new system I have created. Email me if you have specific questions.

rozoomski@ardmore.net

[wataru14]

I'm going to be running a Suikoden based D&D game soon and I created my own Runic Magic system that's pretty simple using the Player's Handbook spells. I assigned each spell to a Rune (there are about 12 in total), gave each class a numer of Rune Slots based on how magical the class is, and gave each class MP based on their magical aptitude as well.

I can post more specifics later tonight if anyone's interested.

[BadPotato]

Well, if you have some good feedback from your game, please go ahead to share with us

[wataru14]

Here is the magic section from the mechanics guide I made for my game. I used standard D&D classes.

MAGIC
To use magic, a character must have a Spell Rune attached to them. The Spell Runes are: Beast, Blinking, Darkness, DoReMi, Earth, Fire, Lightning, Pale Gate, Resurrection, Shield, Sword, Water, and Wind. Each Rune has a small library of spells stored in it. You can cast any spell the Rune has without preparation, as long as you have sufficient MP for the spell level. Rune casters need a normal 8 hours of rest per night to regain their MP, but do not need to pray/meditate in the morning to be able to cast for the day.

Spells are all considered Arcane and there are no material components, so the Eschew Materials feat is unecessary. Spells also do not have verbal components unless the spell requires speech to function (Power Word Kill, Command, Suggestion, Holy Word, etc.) All spells do have a somatic component (see Rune Slots below for exceptions) and the Still Spell feat is disallowed. The standard rules for other Metamagic Feats apply. Spells cast from Runes also have a visual component. The image of the Rune appears in the air over the caster’s head, similar to the Anima Banner Aberration in the Aberrant system. There is a Metamagic Feat called “Invisible Spell” that negates this effect. It adds +2 to the Spell Level and has no prerequisites. Light armor does not have a spell failure chance, but medium and heavy armor does.

Activating a Rune (spell or otherwise) is a standard action, unless the spell description says otherwise. Using a Spell Rune in melee provokes an attack of opportunity. Activating a Combat Rune does not.

Spell save DC is based on the relevant stat for the spellcasting class (Intelligence for Wizards, Wisdom for Clerics, etc.). For non-spellcasting classes, spell save DC is based on Intelligence.

RUNE SLOTS
Rune Slots are places on the body specially attuned to house Runes. A character can have up to three slots based on their classes. If a character has one slot, it is on the back of their primary hand. If they have two, the second is on the back of their off-hand. If they have three, the third is in the center of their forehead. Spells cast from a Rune attached to the forehead do not have somatic components. Consider this when selecting what Rune goes in what slot. In the event a character gains a True Rune, it can go anywhere on the body the Rune desires (the player does not choose). A character with a True Rune can go beyond the normal three slot limit if the Rune decides to affix itself to a nontraditional spot.

All characters will begin with at least one Rune Slot and most classes will gain more as they progress in level. The breakdown is as follows:

Barbarian: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Fury Rune)
Bard: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Jongleur Rune), third slot at level 4
Cleric: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the White Saint Rune), third slot at level 4
Druid: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Howling Rune), third slot at level 4
Duskblade: one slot at level 1, second slot at level 4
Fighter: one slot at level 1
Gunmage: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Boronda Hawk Rune), third slot at level 4
Hexblade: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Condemnation Rune), third slot at level 4
Monk: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the White Tiger Rune)
Ninja: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Mayfly Rune)
Paladin: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the White Saint Rune), third slot at level 4
Ranger: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Howling Rune), third slot at level 4
Rogue: one slot at level 1
Samurai: one slot at level 1
Scout: one slot at level 1
Spellthief: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Magic Draining Rune), third slot at level 4
Spirit Shaman: two slots at level 1 (one is locked by the Isshin Rune), third slot at level 4
Wizard: two slots at level 1, third slot at level 4

With multiclass characters, you can only gain one slot when taking the first level of a second class, even if the class normally gets more than one (no fair Fighters taking one Wizard level to get three slots for Combat Runes). If you take a second class that has a locked Rune, that Rune is the only one you can get for that class. You cannot gain three slots by multiclassing in this way. Multiclass characters can only get a third slot if they have at least 4 levels in a class that has the Third Rune Slot class feature at Level 4 (see above) or take a Prestige Class that grants an additional Rune Slot.. A character can only gain one additional Rune Slot with standard classes, no matter how many standard classes they have. For example, a Level 1 Rogue/Level 1 Fighter gets two Rune Slots. If this character also took one Wizard level, they would gain no additional Rune Slots at that time, but would gain a third slot if they progressed up to level 4 in Wizard.

With Prestige Classes, magic-based classes will grant an additional Rune Slot at level 1 (provided the character doesn’t already have three slots). Nonmagical Prestige Classes do not grant additional Rune Slots. A Prestige Class is considered a “Magic-Based Class” if it contains the “+1 to existing spellcaster level” class feature at least once.

No character can have more than three Rune Slots. Wizard (or equivalent Arcane spellcasting class like Wu Jen) is the only class that can get three unlocked Rune Slots.

LOCKED RUNES
Certain classes come with a locked Rune Slot containing a Rune that grants the class’s spiritual abilities. These locked Runes can never be removed and exchanged, even if the character loses access to the class through alignment violations. Additionally, certain Prestige Classes require a certain spell be in the character’s library in order to advance in the class. If a character takes a level in a class such as this, the Rune that grants the necessary spell also becomes locked.

The list of class-specific Runes is as follows:
- Boronda Hawk (Gunmage)
- Condemnation (Hexblade)
- Fury (Barbarian)
- Howling (Druid/Ranger)
- Isshin (Spirit Shaman)
- Jongleur (Bard)
- Magic Draining (Spellthief)
- Mayfly (Ninja)
- White Tiger (Monk)
- White Saint (Cleric/Paladin)

Clerics get the Domain Spells associated with the Domains they choose for their class through the White Saint Rune and can cast them without having the Rune that normally contains them. For example, a Cleric who chooses the Fire Domain can cast the associated Fire Domain spells through the White Saint Rune without needing a Fire Rune. Clerics lose the ability to spontaneously cast curative spells. Since all spells are spontaneously cast, a Cleric simply needs to take a Resurrection Rune to do this. A cleric who chooses the Healing Domain would gain curative spells without the Resurrection Rune.

SPELL USAGE
All characters have the potential to cast spells, regardless of class. To gain access to higher level spells you must find the character’s “Effective Wizard Level.” The “EWL” is computed using the following table.

Cleric, Druid, Spirit Shaman, Wizard – Level
Bard, Duskblade, Gunmage – ¾ Level
Hexblade, Paladin, Ranger, Spellthief – ½ Level
Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Ninja, Rogue, Samurai, Scout – ¼ Level

Characters use the wizard MP table. A character with an EWL of 0 can cast 1 level 0 spell per day, plus a level 1 spell if they have a high enough intelligence to get bonus spells. I also created Command and Support Runes for noncasters.

We're starting the game in a few weeks, but my group has already run a few mock battles to test the Runic System and it seems to do just fine.

Also, the Duskblade class in PHB2 is a nice hybrid Wizard/Fighter for characters like Flik who are good in both areas.

[KC_MCDOHL]

Hows you guys get on?