Climbing Full System First Draft

Falling Damage.

Falling Damage
Feet fallen	Dice rolled	Max	Min
10	D6	6	1
20	D6*D6	36	1
30	D6*D6	36	1
40	D6*D8	48	1
50	D6*D10	60	1
60	D6*D12	72	1
70	D6*D20	120	1
80	D6*D50	300	1
90+	D6*D100	600	1

(This is longer and more annoying than the standard D&D falling damage chart, and harder to use. But it is a better, more consequential, and less predictable system which makes falling both more dangerous for high level character and also possibly-survivable for low level ones.)

Anyone can climb like a thief if they have time to study the route.

They must be able to see the whole route they will climb. If they cannot see it all, or if the nature of the route changes unexpectedly, or if they can only see one part of it and enter an unseen section, they must pause and roll again.

They must not be encumbered.

Time Available to Study the Route and Think	Roll under this cumulative total on a d100.
No time. Already in the middle of an unexpected climb. Are not stable or safe as they make the roll.	CON
On stable ground. Not currently climbing but have less than 60 seconds to observe and decide.	CON + STR
Have between a minute and a turn.	CON + STR + DEX
Have a turn or more.	CON + STR + DEX + INT
Have an hour or more.	CON + STR + DEX + INT + WIS

These cumulative totals will be written on the character sheet down the top left, replacing, or maybe adding to, the climbing saves on there. So everyone knows how well they can climb at a glance, and how long it will take them.

Thieves and equivalents, can just climb with their thief-roll, no study required at any time.

When Do You Roll?

I wrote a long fucking list of when you do and don’t roll but honestly just use your good judgement. Thieves shouldn’t have to roll for simple shit. If everything is chill and they have time to think then PC’s shouldn’t have to roll for abseils, 45 degree climbs or rope-assisted 90 degree climbs.

Overhangs, horizontals and superhuman climbs should always be rolled for.

The best climber can roll themselves to go ahead and rig a route so no-one else has to roll.

If combat breaks out, the environment changes or time becomes a factor, you might ask for rolls.

What do You roll.

The roll is a straight d100, trying to get under the target number, if they fail, any falling damage will be counted from the mid-point of the climb.

Under certain circumstances the DM can ask for an easy or difficult roll.

An easy d100 roll is one in which the digits on the d10 dice can be read with either one counting as the ‘ten’. So a roll of ‘9’ and ‘3’ could be read as 93, or as 39. If the player passes the roll either way they that is a success.

A hard roll in a d100 is one in which the d10 dice must be read both ways and both results must be below the target number. So if someone has a climb skill of 80% and the roll a ‘3’ and a ‘9’. They pass when the dice are read as ‘39’, but fail when they are read as ‘93’.

 How Do We Know How Hard Climbs Are?

This diagram shows the various difficulties of climbing. Each level of difficulty has an attached failure chart to see what happens if the PC fails a roll.

There are six levels of difficulty. The simplest way to think about which table to roll on is to ask what incline the PC is climbing at. Imagine a tiny person climbing round the inside of the diagram. Are they abseiling down the first vertical, climbing at 45 degrees, climbing a vertical wall, climbing an overhang, upside-down on a ceiling or trying a reverse-overhang from above?

The tables also count for general levels of difficulty. The DM may wish to move the level of difficulty up or down depending on the circumstances and the nature of the surface.

1. Abseiling. Moving down a vertical pitch with assistance and ropes.

2. Slope. Moving up or down a slope somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees, up a very easy broken climb with ledges, or up a lesser slope under very difficult conditions (Ice, Water, Combat.)

3. Hard. This is the standard 90 degree thief-only climb up dungeon walls or rock. No-one encumbered can try this.

4. Very hard. This is for overhangs and very difficult walls. For expert climbers or desperate people.

5. Human Limit. Hanging upside down, transiting the roof of a cavern. This is Olympic or exceptional climbing, at the limit of real-world ability. No one who is not a thief can even attempt this. No matter how long they think about it.

6. Superhuman. A reverse-overhang or other exceptionally difficult piece of work. Probably impossible for a normal human. A D&D thief might make it.

A simple climb roll is made for each with no modifiers. If the roll is failed, each type of climb has its own failure chart.

Each is a single roll-under d20 roll which is checked against each stat in sequence. Failing the CON roll means all other fails are cumulative. If the CON roll is passed, only the first failure counts, the rest are ignored.

1.Abseiling	Results of failing to roll under
CON	All further fails cumulative
STR	Tired. Can’t climb back or help others. Act as 1 level lower for 1 Turn.
DEX	Slip 10 feet on rope. Take damage.
INT	Not enough  rope. It ends 10 feet from bottom.
WIS	You abseil happily right off the end of the rope.
CHA	Your flailing dislodges someone else, they test too.

When you fall and are stopped by a static rope, you still take damage for the length you fell. So if you fail on DEX only, you take d6 damage. If you also fail on CON, INT and WIS, you fall 20 feet and take d6 * d6 damage.

In Veins, normal adventurers don’t have access to dynamic rope that will absorb falling damage rather than transmit it. They can get access to it underground though.

2. Slopes	Results of failing to roll under
CON	All further fails cumulative
STR	You slide to the bottom. Take 1/3 falling damage.
DEX	Scramble and spin around, now facing wrong way. Hard roll to turn round. If slid, save vs death or be knocked out d6 rounds.
INT	Tangled up with your pack, you will need help to free yourself.
WIS	Disco leg. You freeze and are convinced you need help to go on.
CHA	Your flailing dislodges someone else, they roll here.

A climber under stress will sometimes feel their thigh muscle quivering and feel as if it is about to give out. They often freeze. This is called ‘Disco Leg’ or ‘Washing Machine Leg’.

3. Hard	Results of failing to roll under
CON	All further fails cumulative
STR	Shaking. Must rest on your foot holds for d20 seconds, then make a hard roll to go on.
DEX	Feet slipping. Will lose foot holds in d6 seconds. Must pull to upwards hold, then make a hard roll to go on.
INT	No upward holds. Must go back down. Can try again from bottom
WIS	Lost your downward holds. Must go up. Cannot assist others with this climb. They must roll separately.
CHA	You drop a random item. It hits someone below. (If you fall, then you hit them. Share falling damage.)

Obviously if you roll an impossible choice, you fall. So if you fail on Con, DEX and INT then its good bye. If you fail on CON, STR and DEX then you must roll the d6 to see how long your foot holds last. Then the d20 to see how long you need to rest. If the result of the d20 is above the d6, you fall.

If you fail on CON, INT and WIS, you are trapped.

4. Very hard	Results of failing to roll under
CON	All further fails cumulative
STR	Grip failing in d6 seconds, must dyno forward to get out of it.
DEX	Fingertip grip only. Can’t dyno forward. Roll again to go back safely.
INT	No way forward or back. Must grip on for d20 seconds to think, then dyno sideways.
WIS	Fully extended. Can’t dyno. Must grip and move forward within d10 seconds. Roll again.
CHA	If someone has you safety roped, they either let go or are dislodged. Their choice.

Again, incompatible results mean a fall. So any combination of STR, DEX, INT and WIS results in a fall.

A ‘dyno’ is a dynamic leap, fully out of contact with the rock, to a better position. This is always a hard climbing roll. Failure is a fall.

(At the DMs discretion, succeeding with a dyno in front of observing NPC’s may give a PC +1 Cha with those individuals. It looks cool as fuck.)

5. Human Limit	Results of failing to roll under
CON	All further fails cumulative
STR	Fall. If you live, too weak to act for d20 rounds.
DEX	Fall. Land on spine. If you live, crippled till magically healed.
INT	Fall. No way forward. This climb may not be attempted again.
WIS	Fall. You scream as you go. DM may trigger an encounter.
CHA	Fall. Catastrophic incompetence. Observers test morale. PC’s may fight at -1 level for a day. Retainers may flee.

5. Human Limit	Results of failing to roll under
CON	All further fails cumulative
STR	Fall. Exhausted. Save vs paralysis or pass out for d20 hours.
DEX	Fall. Spin in air. Land on head. Save vs death or die.
INT	Fall. Execute prefect move into non-existent hold. If you survive, you no-longer trust yourself. All climbs ‘hard’ till you gain a level.
WIS	Fall. Dislodging d6 chunks. Roll d6 lvl 0 attacks doing d6 damage each and DM may roll for encounter.
CHA	Spastic Fall. If any NPC observes this it becomes world-famous fuckup. Appended to your name in life or death.

THE SIMPLE LIST

·         How hard does it look? LOOK AT THE SEPTAGON-THING

·         Does anything make it especially easy or hard?

·         Ask for a d100 roll.

·         If it fails, roll on the relevant chart.

·         Go on from there.