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A homebrew produced by the collective efforts of the /tg/ community, aiming to put the characteristic elements of the Legend of Zelda video games into a pen-and-paper RPG format and <s>hopefully</s> do it better than the existing d20 Zelda ruleset.
A homebrew produced by the collective efforts of the /tg/ community, aiming to put the characteristic elements of the Legend of Zelda video games into a pen-and-paper RPG format and <s>hopefully</s> do it better than the existing d20 Zelda ruleset.


As a work-in-progress, expect the contents of this page to change fairly frequently until the game nears a more finalized form, and please be understanding if something important is missing.
As a work-in-progress, expect the contents of this page to change fairly frequently until the game nears a more finalized form, and please be understanding if something important is missing.


'''Please Note:''' Since this is a joint effort of the /tg/ community and is currently in an unfinished state, changes to this system should be proposed on /tg/ before being added to this wiki. It's always best to get community feedback to assess whether something is unbalanced or unnecessary, and we don't want this system to become a dysfunctional patchwork of rules added by individuals without any community review for quality and coherence with the system as a whole. The project's been pretty dormant for awhile, but that doesn't mean everyone's gone -- you should be able to catch at least one or two of the regular contributors if you post a thread, and who knows, maybe your suggestion might be the spark it takes to get things kicking again!
'''Please Note:''' Since this is a joint effort of the /tg/ community and is currently in an unfinished state, changes to this system should be proposed on /tg/ before being added to this wiki. It's always best to get community feedback to assess whether something is unbalanced or unnecessary, and we don't want this system to become a dysfunctional patchwork of rules added by individuals without any community review for quality and coherence with the system as a whole.


==The Basic System So Far==
This material is a reboot/overhaul of the original version. In its first run, the project produced a system that was functional, but not quite complete. The project fell dormant for about a year, then was revived; however, having had some time to step back and look at the project with a fresh perspective, it was decided that rather than finishing off the original project it would be better to rebuild from the ground up, correcting certain fundamental issues with the core mechanics that made the original system a real hassle to work with in several respects, ultimately contributing to the decline of the original project. You can find the original material [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG/1e|here.]]
Your stats are divided into three main categories:
#The Virtues of the Triforce (Power, Wisdom, and Courage),
#Your character's basic Attributes (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual),
#Your various skills (most of which are related to item classes -- bows, tools, heavy weapons, etc.).


Conflict is resolved with a d6 roll & keep system, using linear comparison for opposed checks. This means that you roll X six-sided dice (where X = your ranks in the relevant Attribute + 1 for every odd-numbered rank in the relevant skill) and only use the Y highest dice from that roll (where Y = your ranks in the relevant Virtue + 1 for every even-numbered rank in the relevant skill). The abbreviated notation for this type of dice pool system is XkY. Linear comparison means that in the case of a contested roll (such as in combat) you compare your highest roll to your opponent's highest, your second highest to their second highest, and so forth. If one party in the contest has more kept dice than the opponent, the extra dice are simply treated as automatic successes.
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If the kept dice total for a roll would ever be greater than the number of dice rolled, move points from keep to roll until this is no longer the case. For example, if your pool for a check would be 2k3, you roll 3k2 instead. A pool of 2k4 becomes 3k3, 2k5 becomes 4k3, and so on.
THE SYSTEM IS REALLY REALLY EASY, IT'S JUST DIFFERENT FROM D&D AND THAT'S A GOOD THING.
<br/>For those interested in examining the probabilities of various outcomes in this system, there's a spreadsheet in the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#External_Links|External Links]] section.  


Unopposed rolls are compared to a fixed success threshold, with a certain number of successes required to accomplish the intended task. For example, if pushing a heavy block had a difficulty rating of 2(4), two rolls greater than or equal to 4 would be required. One would roll one's Physical and keep one's Power for this case. The number of successes required indicates the general magnitude of the task, and the success threshold indicates the relative level of difficulty within that degree of magnitude. See the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#What_Do_The_Numbers_Mean.3F|end of the Stats section]] for further details on magnitude of difficulty. Unlike for opposed checks, there are no automatic successes in an unopposed check for having more kept dice -- each die must be compared to the success threshold.
==Mission Statement==
This system is intended to accomplish three main goals:
#'''Make a Legend of Zelda RPG, not merely a Legend of Zelda-flavored RPG'''
#*The core mission statement of this system is to make a game that captures the characteristic game-play that the Legend of Zelda video games are known for. This game-play is primarily made up of searching for and acquiring items that are later utilized in later quests. Combat, particularly boss battles, should have a puzzle-like aspect as well. And of course, all the classic LoZ items and races should be represented for use in games. It's not sufficient to merely have a system ''capable'' of incorporating these elements; it should be specifically geared to promote a uniquely and recognizably Legend-of-Zelda style of play.
#'''Synthesize and expand on the video games, don't merely replicate them'''
#*While emulating the characteristic style of the Zelda games is the #1 priority, that doesn't mean we should limit ourselves to only the things you can do in those games. Any archetype that would reasonably fit into any of the Zelda settings should be feasible; not all PCs will be Hylian sword-and-boarders. The beauty of pen-and-paper RPGs is that they aren't limited by the same technical constraints that bind video games, and the Zelda series has very rich settings with lots stuff to work with; we should be free to let our imaginations run a bit wild. Likewise, unless it would add excessive complexity to the core of the system or threatens to render an item utterly redundant, there's no harm in allowing characters to do things that should reasonably be possible but can't be done in the video games. (It's important to note here that even if an item's original purpose in a given game is rendered moot by allowing a certain action, that doesn't mean the item can't be slightly adapted to still have a purpose. For instance, it would be reasonable to allow all characters to swim, barring conflicting racial traits such as a Goron's density, but that doesn't mean you can't still have a use for stuff like the Zora's Flippers or Zora Armor.)
#'''Simplicity and Accessibility'''
#*We want this game to be easy to learn and easy to play, even for Zelda fans who've never played a tabletop game before. Of course, there is a point of diminishing returns where trimming down the rules hurts the system's robustness more than it improves ease of use, and we want to avoid that, but as a rule of thumb, keep it simple.


[[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Character_Advancement|Character Advancement]] is free-form, with XP investment improving skills and attributes. Virtues are extremely difficult to improve, and shouldn't change much over the course of a typical game. There are also a number of techniques available to choose from, each tied to a relevant skill, which give access to special attacks and abilities, such as Link's signature sword spin. Higher skill ranks are prerequisites for more advanced techniques, and some techniques may also require a certain score in a particular Virtue.
==The Core Mechanic==
D6 dice pool. To make a check, roll a number of 6-sided dice equal to the sum of your ranks in the relevant attribute and skill, plus any additional dice you may receive from racial bonuses or demonstrating a particular Virtue. Each die that comes up 4 or higher is a success; the more successes you get, the more impressive your performance. Particularly difficult tasks may require multiple successes to accomplish.


The core races are Bokoblin, Bulblin, Deku Scrub, Gerudo, Goron, Hylian, Kokiri, Korok, Miniblin, Moblin, Rito, Sheikah, Twili and Zora, with more under discussion (Subrosians, Tokay...). Races receive no bonuses to Virtues, save Hylians, who receive +1 to a virtue of their choice. Races other than Hylians receive various special abilities, but also suffer certain drawbacks, most commonly an increase in damage taken from certain sources, as detailed in the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Races|Races]] section.
==The Stats==
 
===Attributes===
Each weapon has a specific increment of damage - i.e. a typical sword might deal 1/2 heart per increment, while an Iron Knuckle's axe would deal 1.5 hearts per increment. When attacking, the number of successes you achieve over the defender determines how many increments of damage you deal to them. Shields add to one's dice while defending, and Armour reduces the base damage increment of an enemy's attack. See the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Combat|Combat]] section for more details.
Attributes represent your character's general, basic abilities. Each Attribute has a minimum rank of 1 and a maximum rank of 5. A basic starting character has 2 ranks in each of two different attributes of their choice, and 1 rank in the rest.
 
* '''Brawn''' represents your physical strength and might.
===Group Opposed Checks===
** If you have at least 4 points in Brawn, you can wield weapons 1 size category larger for no penalty
For cases such as area-effect attacks and spells that affect multiple targets, a special kind of check called a '''group opposed check''' is used. Its purpose is to streamline resolution of these cases by eliminating the need for linear comparison, which works fine for one-on-one contests but can be quite cumbersome when many contestants are involved.
* '''Agility''' represents your coordination and reflexes.
*The attacker first rolls an unopposed check against a success threshold of 4. Each defender then rolls an unopposed check with a success threshold equal to the number of successes scored by the attacker's check. The success threshold set by the attacker's number of successes can't be higher than 6; if the attacker scores more than 6 successes on his check, each success beyond the 6th instead gives a -0k1 penalty to the defenders' rolls. Unlike in a normal unopposed check, it is possible for a defender's dice in a group opposed check to be automatic successes; each kept die in a defender's pool beyond the number of dice in the attacker's kept pool counts as an automatic success for that defender, much like how unopposed dice in an opposed check are automatic successes.
** If you have at least 3 points in Agility, you are not affected by poor footing (e.g. rubble, ice, etc.). If you have 5 points of Agility, your speed increases by an additional 2 meters (1 square). You lose this benefit if you're encumbered by heavy armor or objects.
*Typically, a group opposed check has one or more scaling elements (usually damage or duration). In this case, each defender subtracts the number of successes they scored from the attacker's kept dice total to determine their '''degree of failure'''. Each defender then suffers effects proportional to their individual degree of failure, as described by the particular attack.
* '''Wits''' represents innate and intuitive mental faculties, such as creativity, cunning, and perceptiveness.
**''Example #1:'' Gor Igneus the Goron pyromaster uses Din's Fire, which is an area-effect spell with a damage increment of 1 heart. He rolls 6k5 for this spell, rolling greater than or equal to 4 for three of his five kept dice (3 successes). Each creature in the area of effect then rolls their defense against a success threshold of 3, counting each kept die beyond the 5th as an automatic success. Since Gor Igneus kept 5 dice for the spell, the degree of failure for each defender is equal to 5 – the number of successes the defender scored. Each defender takes 1 heart of damage per degree of failure; for instance, a defender who had 2 dice greater than or equal to 3 would have 3 degrees of failure (5 - 2 = 3), and so would take 3 hearts of damage.
** If you have at least 3 points in Wits, you do not take the success range penalty on harmonics
**''Example #2:'' Impa the Shiekah uses an illusion spell with a duration dependent on a group opposed check to cloud the minds of her enemies and make her escape. She rolls 7k6, rolling at least 4 for four of the six dice (4 successes). Each target of the spell then makes their opposing roll against a success threshold of 4, counting each kept die beyond the 6th as an automatic success. Since Impa kept 6 dice for the spell, the degree of failure for each defender is equal to 6 – the number of successes the defender scored. The spell affects each defender for 1 round per degree of failure; for instance, a defender who had 2 dice greater than or equal to 4 would have 4 degrees of failure (6 - 2 = 4), and so would be affected for 4 rounds.
* '''Guts''' represents your determination, passion, and fortitude, both mental and physical.
*Some group opposed effects might not have scaling effects at all; in this case, defenders simply must make a certain number of successes (as defined by the effect description) in order to avoid the effect.
** If you have at least 3 points in Guts, you automatically pass all fear based Composure rolls. If you have at least 5 points in Guts, SP restoration is doubled for you
**''Example #3:'' Saria the Kokiri musician plays the Sun Song to halt a horde of ReDeads in their tracks. She rolls 6k6 for the song's area-attack mode, rolling at least 4 for five of the six dice (5 successes). Each affected ReDead then makes their opposing roll against a success threshold of 5, counting each kept die beyond the 6th as an automatic success. The Sun Song's paralyzing effect is not scaling, so it doesn't matter how many dice Saria kept. Each ReDead that didn't make at least 3 successes is paralyzed for 2 rounds.
* '''Smarts''' represents learned and rational mental faculties, such as acquired knowledge and logical reasoning.
 
** If you have at least 3 points in Smarts you can utilize Cascade Casting.
===Mass Categories===
 
Each character has a Mass attribute, determined by race and armour, and influenced by other items. Mass affects movement speed, sinking/swimming, use of hookshot, resistance to knockback, and so on. Mass 0 is as light as a feather, while Mass 6+ sinks like a stone.
 
Negligible (0 Mass): -0k2 penalty to Physical|Power checks to lift or move heavy objects.
 
Light (1-2 Mass): -0k1 penalty to Physical|Power checks to lift or move heavy objects.
 
Medium (3-5 Mass): No special game effects.
 
Heavy (6-8 Mass): +0k1 bonus to Physical|Power checks to lift or move heavy objects.
 
Massive (9+ Mass): +0k2 bonus to Physical|Power checks to lift or move heavy objects.
 
For forced movement effects, such as attacks with the Knockback quality (see the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG/GM_Resources#Effects|GM Resources]] section), the movement imposed is increased by 1 for each category lighter, or decreased by 1 for each category heavier, that the moved creature is compared to the one imposing the movement. For example, a Hylian using an attack with Knockback 1 would move another Hylian 1 space (since both are Medium weight), a Deku Scrub 2 spaces (since the Deku is one category lighter), and wouldn't budge a Goron (since the Goron is one category heavier). A Goron using this same attack on a Deku would move the Deku 3 spaces, since it's 2 categories lighter than the Goron.
 
Mass of Player Characters normally only ranges from 2-7 without modifiers from equipment and/or magic. Otherwise, only monsters fit the Negligible or Massive categories.
 
Additional Mass from armor does not increase your Mass Category, but your Mass Category is treated as 1 higher for the purposes of forced movement when wearing heavy armor.
 
==Character Generation==
Choose a '''[[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Races|Race]]''': Currently, the most fully fleshed out are Bokoblin, Bulblin, Deku Scrub, Gerudo, Goron, Hylian, Kokiri, Korok, Miniblin, Moblin, Rito, Sheikah, Twili, and Zora. At this point, you can also choose to move one point of natural Mass to Movement or vice versa.
 
Set your '''[[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Virtues|Virtues]]''': "Courage," "Power," and "Wisdom."  Each starts at 1, and players may allocate an additional 4 virtue points among them.  No virtue may be higher than 4 at character creation. Hylians receive an additional point to allocate in this category at character creation, but still may not exceed 4 in any single virtue.
 
Set your '''[[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Attributes|Attributes]]''': "Mental," "Physical" and "Spiritual."  Each starts at 1, and players may allocate an additional 4 attribute points among them.  No attribute may be higher than 4 at character creation.
 
Acquire '''[[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Skills|Skills]]''': All skills start at 0 and players are given 6 points with which to raise their skills at a cost of 1 point per rank with a maximum of 3 ranks. Players can start with no more than 1 skill at the 3 rank maximum at character creation.
 
Buy '''[[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Techniques|Techniques]]''' or additional '''[[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Skills|Skills]]''': Characters start with 2 XP for learning techniques or additional skills.
 
Increasing [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Stats|Stats]] and purchasing new [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Techniques|Techniques]] can be done with experience points earned from game sessions as outlined in the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Character_Advancement|Character Advancement]] section.<br>
 
A character's maximum starting heart meter is 2 + Physical, and their starting magic points are 6 x Mental.
 
At creation each character can choose 3 pieces of equipment. These can be armor, weapons, other items, magic spells, or songs. The GM must approve all starting equipment, as many items or spells might not be appropriate for a starting character.
 
<br clear="all" />
 
==Races==
''Note: Race avaliability in each game is to be determined by the GM.''
 
 
'''Blin''' (4 Mass, 6 Movement)
*Blin Versatility: Blins get +1 to an Attribute of their choice (cannot exceed the character creation maximum).
*Blin Diversity: Blins choose from one of three races at character creation: Moblin, Bokoblin, Bulblin. This choice determines the costs of certain techniques. Moblins have easier techs in Heavy, Bokoblins have easier techs in Melee, and Bulblins have easier techs in Ranged. The cost of the techs that fall under the specific Blin's specialty is lowered by 1 EXP.
 
 
'''Deku Scrub''' (2 Mass, 8 Movement)
*Deku Spit: Deku scrubs can fire seeds or Deku nuts as a Single Action. Attack: Physical/Courage, (variable)H damage, Range 5
*Deku Buoyancy: Deku scrubs can walk across the surface of water, as long as their movement ends on solid surface. Otherwise, they sink.
*Flammable: Deku scrubs take 2x Fire damage.
 
 
'''Goron''' (6 Mass, 4 Movement)
*Goron Curl: A Goron may take an action to curl into a ball. While curled up, the Goron gains 1/4H damage reduction and a bonus to movement speed equal to its mass, but can take no actions other than uncurling (Single Action) or rolling.
*Goron Roll: While curled up, a Goron can move by rolling around. Treat this movement as a charge, but with the following modifications:
**The Goron need not roll directly at an enemy, but rather can move in any direction (though he still must roll in a straight line).
**Rather than taking a double action to move up to twice his speed, the Goron takes a single action to move up to his speed.
**The only action a Goron can take at the end of the charge is a shove; however, in addition to the normal effects of the shove, the Goron deals 1/4H of damage per success to the target.
*Heat Resistant: Gorons take 1/2 damage from fire and 2x Ice damage
*Dense: Gorons cannot swim and sink to the bottom of any body of water they enter.


 
===Skills===
'''Human''' (4 Mass, 6 Movement)
Skills represent specific capabilities your character has learned through practice and training. Starting characters are given points to purchase skill ranks up to a maximum of 5 ranks.
*Human Versatility: Humans get +1 to a Virtue of their choice (cannot exceed the character creation maximum).
{| class="wikitable"
*Human Diversity: Humans choose from one of three races at character creation: Hylian, Sheikah, and Gerudo. This choice determines the costs of certain techniques. The choice is more cultural than it is racial, so a Gerudo raised in a Hylian city or a Hylian indoctrinated into the Sheikah could choose a race different than their own ethnicity.
|-
 
!Skill Rank
 
!Point cost
'''Kokiri''' (3 Mass, 7 Movement)
|-
*Fairy Companion: (rules about owning and controlling a fairy, including the GM avatar thing, go here)
| 0 (default)
*Fairy Insight: As a single action, the Kokiri can designate a target within 5 squares of them. They have a +1k0 bonus to attack rolls and defense rolls against the target.
| 0
*Kokiri Weakness: Kokiri take 2x Evil(Shadow?) Damage
|-
 
| 1
 
| 1
'''Korok''' (2 Mass, 8 Movement)
|-
*Korok Flight: Korok can sprout propellor like leaves and fly a number of spaces equal to half their speed as a move action, and remain in the air. When the Korok is hit by an attack they lose their concentration and fall.
| 2
*Flammable: Korok take 2x Fire damage.
| 3
 
|-
 
| 3
'''Miniblin''' (3 Mass, 7 Movement)
| 6
*Wall Walk: Miniblins can dig their hooves or claws into walls, thus they can stand upon walls and ceilings. Miniblins can walk along walls and ceilings at their movement but must spend an action to remain clung to the surface or fall. At the start of a Miniblin's turn, if they are clinging to a wall they must spend their first action to cling or else they fall. If hit with an attack, the Miniblin will lose concentration and fall.
|-
*Frail: Miniblin take 2x Heavy Damage.
| 4
 
| 10
 
|-
'''Rito''' (3 Mass, 7 Movement)
| 5 (max)
*Rito Flight: Rito can fly a number of spaces equal to their speed as a move action, as long as they end their movement on a solid surface. Otherwise, they fall.
| 15
*Hollow Bones: Rito are considered 1 Mass category (Light, Normal, or Heavy) lower than their actual mass indicates.
|}
 
While each skill will generally be associated with a single attribute, the attribute used can vary depending on the situation, particularly for certain skills more than others. For example, running a race would always use Athletics, but the relevant attribute might be either Guts or Agility depending on whether it's a long-distance run or a shorter sprint.
 
The skills are intended to be fairly broad and general, so that each skill has a fairly wide array of applicable uses.
<!-- Commenting this out for the time being until the group as a whole can look over it a bit. -->
* <b>Melee</b>(B,A,W): Most all melee weapons, except those that fall under the Heavy skill. Swords, axes, maces, spears, unarmed combat, etc. Brawn is typically the associated attribute for Melee skill checks.
<!-- '''Skull Kid''' (3 Mass, 7 Movement)
* <b>Heavy</b>(B): Big, heavy weapons that are slow and unwieldy, but pack a tremendous punch. Not only do Heavy weapons deal considerably more damage than other types, the force of their blows tends to make the enemy flinch. The Biggoron's sword and megaton hammer are examples of Heavy weapons.  
*Fade Flip: Skull Kids turn Invisible upon dodging an attack.
* <b>Ranged</b>(A): Ranged weapons, such as the bow, boomerang, and slingshot.
*Natural Musician: Start play with +1 Instrument skill and one song.
* <b>Shields</b>(G,B): Exactly as the name suggests -- use of shields, for both defensive and offensive purposes. Guts is typically the associated attribute for defensive Shields skill checks while Brawn is typically used for offensive Shields skill checks.
*Scarecrow Frame: Skull Kids' Knockback is doubled and take 2× Fire Damage.
* <b>Spellcraft</b>(S): Use of magic, whether spells in the conventional sense of powers inherent to your character through study or innate talent, or to invoke magical items like the Fire Rod or Bombos Medallion. Things that use this skill require MP. Smarts is <b>always</b> the associated attribute for Spellcraft skill checks.
 
* <b>Instruments</b>(W): Making music, often to produce mystical effects (e.g., playing the Song of Storms on the Ocarina of Time to make it rain). Wits is <b>always</b> the associated attribute for Instruments skill checks.
-->
* <b>Tools</b>(?): A catch-all skill for all the miscellaneous items that don't quite fit any of the above categories, such as the spinner or beetle. The associated attribute for Tools skill checks varies widely depending on what kind of tool you're using.
'''Twili''' (4 Mass, 6 Movement)
* <b>Athletics</b>(B,A,G): Dodging is the most important related check for this with Agility, but it is also used for more conventional feats of physical prowess such as swimming, leaps, running races, etc. Brawn, Agility, and Guts are all possibly associated attributes for Athletics skill checks. On a jump check, 2 successes is 1 square of horizontal travel.
*Darkvision: Twili can see normally in darkness.
* <b>Riding</b>(S,A): Handling a mount, such as a horse or Loftwing. Your rank in Riding is the highest amount of skill dice you can roll while riding a mount. It is also used to determine your ability to maneuver obstacles at high speed.
*Dark Resilience: Twili take half damage from Shadow based attacks, and receive x2 damage from Light based attacks.
* <b>Stealth</b>(A): For when you don't want to be noticed. This is your passive stealth score, before the various modifiers are applied for how you actually go about hiding yourself.
*Shadow Step: While standing in shadow, Twili can warp instantly at their movement speed for as long as the shadow's length allows them to move. This counts as a move action that costs 4 MP.
* <b>Perception</b>(W): For when you want to notice something. Wits is <b>always</b> the associated attribute for Perception skill checks. This skill is used to notice things you weren't entirely looking for and for particularly well-hidden items. Direct investigation should always be a success.
 
* <b>Survival</b>(W,S): For gathering resources (such as cutting grass for hearts and rupees) and various other tasks, like fishing. Wits and Smarts are typically the associated attributes for Survival skill checks, depending on what's more appropriate for the task at hand.
 
* <b>Lore</b>(S): Knowing about things. Smarts is <b>always</b> the associated attribute for Lore skill checks. To increase the usefulness of this skill, it represents general learning instead of specific areas of knowledge. If for some reason your character would have advanced knowledge in an area, they wouldn't need to roll Lore in the first place.
'''Zora''' (4 Mass, 6 Movement, Swim 8)
* <b>Composure</b>(G): The ability to keep calm, keeping a straight face, feigning interest, ignoring pain, and holding back tears are all uses for Composure; what you actually say and how its received is up to you and your Sage.
*Aquatic: Zora have a natural swim speed, and can speak and breathe underwater.
*Coldblooded: When a Zora takes Ice damage, their movement is halved until the end of their next turn.
 
==Stats==
Your character's main stats are divided into two categories: Virtues and Attributes. All stats including Skills have a maximum of 6 ranks.


===Virtues===
===Virtues===
Your character's virtue scores represent his or her affinity for each of the three virtues of the Triforce. Each virtue is associated with a particular ethos that defines what sorts of actions it applies to, and is exemplified by a major character from the Legend of Zelda video games (though each of these characters of course has elements of the other virtues as well):
Virtues are a special stat, representing the three aspects of the Triforce. These aren't so much about what you do as how you do it. In order to add your rank in a Virtue to your dice pool, you have to do something in a way that demonstrates that Virtue. Virtues start at 0 and can be raised to a maximum of 3, but raising a Virtue is extremely difficult. A basic starting character has 1 rank in a single Virtue of their choice, and no ranks in the rest.
 
* <b>Power</b> is associated with force and authority. The path of Power is one that is blunt and straightforward, often foregoing subtleties and finesse. Power is added when a character approaches a problem with brute force, swift action, or with authority. When a Gerudo warrior makes an example of an enemy to strike fear into its allies. When a Goron brawler thinks a swift kick to the locked chest will do the job faster than the delicacy of a lockpick. When a hardened Sheikah guardian commands a subject to stay their sword. To everyone else you're brutish and grisly. To those who see it you have Power.
*Power is associated with pure force. It is blunt and straightforward, not bothering with finicky matters of subtlety and finesse. It is aggressive and imposing. Ganon exemplifies the virtue of Power.
* <b>Wisdom</b> is associated with contemplation and manipulation. The path of wisdom is refined and precise, preferring to take the time to analyze a situation, being cautious and discerning. You add Wisdom when you decide to act with clear planning. When a Hylian archers waits for the opportune moment to shoot a specific spot rather than fire a volley of arrows. When a Zora sorceress senses what lies in the next room before allowing her party to continue. When a Twili investigates for clues rather than immediately assume a man accused of stealing is guilty. To everyone else you're overly cautious and slow. To those who see it you have Wisdom.
*Wisdom is associated with contemplation and manipulation. It is refined and precise, preferring to take the time to analyze a situation rather than forcing its way through. It is defensive and discerning. Princess Zelda exemplifies the virtue of Wisdom.
* <b>Courage</b> is associated with heroism and bravery. The path of Courage involves putting things on the line and making sacrifices to achieve a goal. Courage is added for actions such as putting their own self in harm's way for an ally, doing things that are risky, facing fears, or making stands against larger forces. When a lowly Deku bravely charges a rampaging Dodongo. When a Hylian explorer braves a trap-lined hallway to get to the treasure chest on the other side. When a Terminan citizen stands up to a knight for picking on the weak. To everyone else you're crazy and reckless. To those who see it, you have Courage.  
*Courage is associated with heroism and a balanced approach. It bridges the gap between Power and Wisdom -- not as brutally aggressive as Power, but much more straightforward and action-oriented than Wisdom. It is persevering and straightforward. Link exemplifies the virtue of Courage.


Virtues are the primary determiner of how many dice you keep from your rolled pool when making a check.
===Hearts, Magic, and Stamina===
<b>Hearts</b> function like hit points, with each heart being equivalent to 4 HP. Damage and health are measured in hearts or fractions thereof, using the shorthand terminology of #H or #♥ -- eg, 2H, ½♥, 1+1/2H, etc. When you run out of hearts, you are down, but not dead. A character whose hearts are depleted has one "Final Heart"; only if the Final Heart is depleted does the character die. The vast majority of enemies will leave a downed character alone until more active threats are dealt with. Hearts can be recovered through enemy drops, foraging (cutting grass, breaking pots, etc.), extended rest, and healing items/magic (such as fairies, potions, healing spells, etc.).
<b>Magic</b> is used for spells and magic items. Each such effect consumes a certain amount of magic power (MP), which is acquired in blocks of 4. A character can have a maximum of 60 MP (15 blocks). Recovering MP requires magic jars (obtained through enemy drops or potions), extended rest, or potions (or a similar effect).
<b>Stamina</b> is mainly used to power special techniques, but is also used when a character does certain actions (such as sprinting). Like MP, stamina is acquired in blocks of 4. Like magic, a character can have a maximum of 60 points of stamina (15 blocks). Stamina can be recovered in combat by giving up actions to rest. Each action restores 1 block. Outside of combat, you can easily recover all your stamina with a short break of only a minute or so.
Each character starts with 3 hearts. A character's base magic is a number of blocks equal to 1+Wits (a character with 2 Wits would have 3 blocks of MP or 12 points). Similarly, a character's base stamina is a number of blocks equal to 1+Guts.


===Attributes===
* Fluff note: Hearts and magic are recovered in essentially the same way they are in the video game -- by picking up items that must be used the moment you get them. Of course, this leads one to wonder why you couldn't just stockpile hearts and magic jars for when you really need them. If you're not content with merely hand-waving the issue away, one explanation we've come up with in the course of working on this project is that hearts and magic jars are in fact crystallized deposits of life and magic energy, respectively. These crystalline forms are extremely delicate, and rapidly destabilize when touched. If the energy is not used immediately, it quickly dissipates into the environment.
Your character's attributes represent their ability in three major areas:


*Physical represents your bodily prowess and vigor, and governs all forms of physical feats, ranging from athletic endeavours to melee combat to precise manipulation of small objects.
===Racials===
*Mental represents your willpower and intellect, and governs memory, logical analysis, and the use of magic.
Many dozens of races have been introduced throughout the zelda franchise and this is by no means a complete list of them in any way. The most popular races have been represented here and the capacity to stat in more of the obscure races is included. This list should be used by players and Sages alike as there is no bestiary aside from a list of example mooks. The rule of thumb for whether something is a mook or not has been whether it can think and if it can climb a ladder, the first being if it's suitable to be played as, the second to determine whether it could actually function in a dungeon. Standard move speed is 3 (6 meters).
*Spiritual represents your personal presence and attunement to your surroundings, and governs social interaction, music, and perception. Contrary to what the name may seem to suggest, the Spiritual attribute does '''not''' govern the use of magic.


===Putting It All Together===
*Human
While certain Virtue/Attribute combinations go better together than others, there's at least some application for each Virtue in the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual arenas.
**Human, Hylian : Size Medium; auditory alignment detection (whether they tend towards Power, Wisdom, Courage, or are forsaken by the Goddesses)
**Human, Gerudo : Size Medium; ignore mild environmental hazards, only female (no Ganondorfs as players)
**Human, Shiekah : Size Medium; may ignore adjacent and field of view penalties to stealth
**Human, Termina : Size Medium; +1 to all rolls involving Narrative Magic
**Human Imp, Skull Kid : Size Small; +1 to instruments, prank cantrip for -1 mp (magically pranking someone nets 1 mana back)
*Allied
**Zora : Size Medium; Water breathing, hydrodynamic, adjustable bouyancy, electric sense (Can detect and glean information from nearby electric currents), double damage from Ice and Fire
**Deku : Size Small; Water walking for no more than 1 turn in a row, wood sense (can detect and glean information from nearby wood), Evolving Tech Spit Attack, Evolving Tech Burrowing, immediate drowning at double damage, double fire damage.
**Kokiri : Size Small; personal fairy with at will Clairvoyance, search checks are twice as bountiful, permanent child, not supposed to leave The Great Deku Tree
**Goron : Size Large; half environmental damage, Evolving Tech Goron Roll, stone sense (Can detect and glean information from nearby stone), eats rocks; -5 bouyancy, 2 movement
**Twili : Size Medium; can Warp for 1 mp during Twilight, fatigued in direct sunlight unless wearing darkness enchanted armor, can see in the dark
**Korok** : Size Small; Evolving Tech Flight, double fire damage, tree themed Stalagmite for 4 mp (make no canonical sense, nor combat sense)
**Rito : Size Small; Evolving Tech Flight, wind sense* (Can detect and glean information from passing wind)
**Subrosians : Size Small; Immune to fire, double damage and stun from Ice, must wear a burqa (light weakness?)
*Enemy
**Construct : Size Large; ignore all environmental hazards, -5 bouyancy, 2 movement, +1/4H damage from imbued Light
**Garo : Size Small; -1H at all times, upon the destruction of their clothing, their spirit body (1H, incorporeal, invisible) is freed to escape and possess a new set of clothing which slowly morphs back into Garo Robes
**Goriya : Size Medium; +1 to Presence when trading
**Blins : Size Small to Medium; Move Speed 4, optional increase from Small to Medium, optional increase to Large and 3 move speed
**Wizzrobe : Size Medium; Jaunt for 1 mp
**Stalfos : Size Medium; Guardian for 0 sp, permanent Soulbond with one other Stalfos, immune to environmental damage
**Lizalfos : Size Medium; Guardian for 0 sp, Double Damage from Ice, Half Damage from Fire
**Mook : Any Size; pick a (low) number, that is their dice pool for everything, their number of hearts stamina and mana, and can have up to that many techs or spells. A mook's attribute is half their rank.  
*More to come


;Physical Power
(*%*)(Player Dekus are not deku scrubs, those are merely enemies. Player dekus are the older dekus that have woody bodies and limbs. The kind that are often shopkeepers and actually help Link from time to time.)
Physical Power controls feats requiring great bodily strength. Examples: |Heavy| weapons, wrestling a Goron, moving heavy boulders.


;Mental Power
An important note on sizes. A medium sized creature is the weight of an average human, . Moving up a size category doubles the weight, so a goron would be about . Moving down a size halves the weight, so a Skull Kid would be about . These continue infinitely, so a kokiri would be about , and a dragon 4 sizes above a goron would weigh . These weights are the same used for objects, so you can actually get a difficulty on picking up your teammate and throwing them at the enemy. These weights are NOT canonical, only inferences used for the conversion to Pen and Paper. Canonically, Link can pick up an iron boot in either leg. You cannot imagine the shenanigans players would get up to with that.
Mental Power is used for solving conundrums, and controls the use of offensive magic, both damaging and debilitating. Examples: doing complex math in one's head, Fire Rod, Bombos Medallion, Thunder Spell, Din's Fire.


;Spiritual Power
(**)Canonically, Koroks are what the Kokiri became in the Era of the Great Sea, but that would make one or the other unplayable in the same campaign, keep if you want to
A high Spiritual Power means an imposing presence, and an aptitude for the more forceful forms of social influence.  Examples: intimidation, silencing fools, being a [[Commissar]], "fear me! but follow"
----
;Physical Wisdom
Physical Wisdom governs the domain of finesse, stealth, control, and that sort of tricky stuff. Examples: the Sheikah, archery, balancing, precise manipulation of small parts of a complex device.


;Mental Wisdom
==Boss Templates==
Mental Wisdom governs knowledge and understanding of lore, as well as defensive and healing magic. Examples: useful information about an unfamiliar item or village, recalling details about something seen only once, Nayru's Love, Reflect Spell.
Boss monsters are the biggest bads of the dungeon, huge, magical, nearly undefeatable, but have their weaknesses. These are to be defeated by clever players, not abuses of the system. For that reason, the following templates are recommended for use. Or go wild.


;Spiritual Wisdom
*Boss Monster : XL, Immune to stun, Immune to poison, Occupy at least two squares, stunned for one round after critical damage while unstunned, 4 actions per turn
Spiritual Wisdom gives an understanding of subtle forces, including the ebb and flow of social exchanges. It governs social graces and logical rhetoric; a character with high Spiritual Wisdom is not only capable of making well-reasoned arguments, but also of noticing and working with the subtle cues indicating a person's disposition.  Examples: discerning motives, spotting hidden items or individuals, haggling for prices, diplomacy.
*Shadow : Constant Imbue Shadow, immune to Shadow, double damage from Light
----
*Infernal : Constant Imbue Fire, immune to fire, double damage from Ice, Ice can stun for 1 action at most
;Physical Courage
*Parasitic : Double health, cannot survive without Host
Physical Courage represents the use of most |melee|, as well as other feats of adventurous derring-do. Examples: swordfighting, riding a wild stallion, swimming in rough waters, climbing a cliff.
*Armored : Double defensive dice, half speed
*Bio-electric : Constant Imbue Lightning, immune to lightning, is not Immune to stun
*Aquatic : double damage from Lightning, double speed in water
*Subterranean : Immune to non-piercing damage
*Burrowing : Burrowing Racial Tech
*Flying : Flight Racial Tech
*Hoarfrost : Constant Imbue Ice, Immune to Ice, Double Damage from Fire
*Undead : Immune to environmental damage, Double Damage from Light
*Amoeba : Only core can take damage but has 0 DD
*Grabbing : Does not need to roll to maintain a grapple after it is established and grappling does not interfere with it's ability to attack other characters.
*Giant : plus one size, only 3 actions per turn
*Gargantuan : plus two size, only 3 actions per turn


;Mental Courage
==Character Creation==
Mental Courage represents tenacity, resolve, and... well, courage.  It also governs the use of magic for travel, utility, and offensive buffs.  Examples: resisting a ReDead's cry, going without rest for long periods of time, "I shall not fear; fear is the mind-killer," not getting lost in the wilderness, Farore's Wind.
*Choose a race
 
*Set two attributes to Rank 2 and the other three attributes to Rank 1
;Spiritual Courage
*Set one virtue to Rank 1 and the other two to Rank 0
Spiritual Courage primarily represents your ability to inspire, so people will trust and like you. Spiritual Courage has a big impact on first impressions, and tends to have an attractive influence -- not just with people, but with flighty magical beings like fairies.  Examples: leadership, improving the general disposition of NPCs, performing with |Instruments|.
*All characters start with three (3) hearts
 
*All characters start with one (1) plus Guts blocks of Stamina
===What Do The Numbers Mean?===
*All characters start with one (1) plus Wits blocks of Mana
Since player characters are typically expected to be a cut above the average for their kind, we can use the typical starting stats to determine qualitative descriptions of what the numbers represent. The most balanced a starting character can spread their Virtues and Attributes (before bonus Virtue points from being human) is 3-2-2, and the most specialized is 4-2-1. Thus, we can refer to them as follows:
*Assign fifteen (15) skill points via point buy [Rank 1 costs 1 skill point. Rank 2 costs 2 skill points, plus the cost to raise the skill to Rank 1 (i.e. 1 more skill point). A Rank 2 skill costs, total, 3 skill points.]
 
*Sage sets the starting rupees, 200 is normal
1 = Below average<br>
*Refer to pricing on the tables to buy
2 = Average<br>
*Training cost is 20/sp, 30/mp, 20/action (action cost is only for songs)
3 = Above average<br>
*Details details details
4 = Phenomenal<br>
*????
5+ = Legendary<br>
*Adventure!
 
Because Virtues are the sole determiner of kept dice count for unskilled checks, these descriptors can also be applied to the magnitude of difficulty for an unopposed check, as determined by the number of successes needed. A check requiring 3 successes is impossible for anyone who doesn't have "above average" talent in that area, so the magnitude of difficulty can be described as "above average". It is simply beyond the capabilities of a typical individual, regardless of how determined or lucky they might be. On the other hand, anyone, even someone of notably below-average capability, can accomplish a task requiring only one success.
 
As noted in the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#The_Basic_System_So_Far|Basic System]] section, difficulty of a check within a broad level of magnitude can still be modified based on the target number needed to qualify for a success. For example, one stone block may require two successes of 2 or greater on a Physical Power check to move, while a somewhat larger block may require two successes of 3 or greater. Both are within the realm of what's possible for someone of average Power, and impossible for one who's below average in that area, but the second block is notably more difficult to move than the first one. However, a block that requires three successes of 2 or greater is actually harder to move than either of the first two, even though its success threshold is lower, because it's simply impossible for one of merely "average" strength to move it.
 
Note that this rule for measuring magnitude of difficulty only applies to checks that don't involve a skill -- since skill ranks increase your kept dice pool, the number of successes required for unopposed skill checks will be higher than those for skill-less checks.
 
However, bear in mind that this is only a rule of thumb; for instance, your odds of making a check requiring two successes of 5 or greater are significantly lower than your odds of making a check requiring three successes of 2 or greater, despite the fact that the latter is supposed to be of a greater magnitude. Those looking to design puzzles, items, or other game elements incorporating unopposed checks would do well to look over the check difficulties page of the dice probability spreadsheet in the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#External_Links|External Links]] section to make sure that the difficulty set for a check is appropriate to the skill level intended to attempt it, since probabilities for roll & keep systems can be somewhat unintuitive. More concrete guidelines for setting check difficulties will be made eventually.
 
==Skills==
Here's what we have for skills so far. As you can see, most are related to item use, in keeping with the theme of the video games.
 
Every odd-numbered rank in a skill adds one die to your rolled pool for checks related to the skill, and every even-numbered rank adds one to your kept total. Skill ranks are the main factor in technique prerequisites.
 
Though a skill may generally be better suited to either combat or noncombat use, most can be applied either way depending on circumstances, particularly when you account for puzzles and techniques. For example, |Ranged| seems like it would naturally be considered a "combat" skill, and indeed that is a major role for it, but there are also a number of puzzles in the Zelda video games that involve shooting a distant target or throwing a bomb just right to blast away an obstacle, and these noncombat actions would also use the |Ranged| skill. Likewise, |Stealth| and |Perception| seem at first glance like they're primarily noncombat skills, but with the right techniques they could be a great benefit in combat.
 
With the system still a work-in-progress, the skill list is open to expansion if something important is missing, but the goal is to keep the skill list as small as possible. Each skill should cover a fairly broad range of actions so that you'll always have plenty to do with your skills no matter which ones you take, and things that aren't explicitly covered by a specific skill are simply handled by rolling the relevant Virtue/Attribute combination. Things that are too narrow to justify having their own skill but still are things you might want to improve can instead be handled via general techniques that give a bonus to the particular task -- the Lore technique is an example of this. Likewise, specialization in a particular facet of a skill (for instance, the intimidation aspect of the |Sway| skill) would also be better handled through passive techniques. Simplicity is the main focus here, not simulationism.
 
'''A note on crafting:''' The idea of a crafting skill for the creation of items by PCs has been proposed several times during the development of this system, and has been consistently rejected. The conclusion is that, since the premise of the system relies upon strict control of player capabilities with regard to the items available to them, a crafting skill would by necessity be too limited to justify investing XP into. A player who wishes to roleplay a craftsman sort of character would do better to work out with the GM ways to incorporate this into the flow of the campaign -- for instance, instead of going on a sidequest to obtain a completed item, the quest can be in search of materials the PC needs to craft the item. Essentially, rather than a mechanical element giving players more options (which risks unbalancing the game and ruining the GM's ability to challenge the players via traditional Zelda-style item based puzzles), it's best handled as a narrative element altering how items are obtained in-game. Thus, no skill or technique is needed for it.
 
=== Skill List ===
 
* |Shield| (Physical Courage) -  Exactly what the name suggests. Eg: Mirror Shield, Hylian Shield, Kokiri Shield, etc.
* |Heavy| (Physical Power) -  Extremely large and powerful melee weapons. Eg: Ball and Chain, Biggoron Sword, Skull Hammer, etc.
* |Melee| (Physical Power/Wisdom/Courage) -  Melee weapons that don't fall under |heavy|. Eg: Sword, Club, Axe etc.
* |Ranged| (Physical Power/Wisdom/Courage) -  Bows, Crossbows, and thrown weapons (including bombs and bombchu).
* |Instrument| (Spiritual Power{?}/Wisdom/Courage) -  Used for all those handy reality-warping songs. Eg: Ocarina, flute, drums, etc. Each song is treated as in inventory item, and must be obtained in-game just like a sword, bow, hookshot, etc.
* |Magic| (Mental Power/Wisdom/Courage) -  "Proper" magic. Eg: The spells from Ocarina of Time, the medallions from A Link to the Past, the magical functions of Cane of Somaria, Fire Rod, Cane of Byrna, etc. Each spell is treated the same as an inventory item, and must be obtained in-game just like a sword, bow, hookshot, etc.
* |Acrobatics| (Physical Wisdom/Courage) - Can be used instead of |Shield| for defence and also covers wall-running, back-flipping, long-jumping, etc. For the more nimble, Sheik-like among us.
* |Perception| (Spiritual Wisdom) - Used to notice hidden details and individuals.
* |Stealth| (Physical Wisdom) - This should be pretty self-explanatory. Hiding, sneaking, all that jazz.
:To be able to make a stealth roll to become hidden You need to have cover (i.e. behind a big rock) or concealment (i.e. in a dense fog or totally dark place) from whomever you're trying to hide from. This is ultimately up to GM discretion -- you may only become hidden when the GM deems it feasible to do so.
:If you have met the prerequisites, you may attempt an opposed |stealth| roll as a free action against a |perception| roll, if you get more successes than your enemy, you become hidden against it, but if both of you tie in number of successes you can't become hidden.
:If you managed to become hidden, it means that the enemy is unable to see or hear you, and is unaware of your specific location (though it may have a vague idea of your general location if it observed you moving toward your hiding place).
:In order to remain hidden, you must make additional |stealth| checks every time you take an action. If you tie you will remain hidden but your enemies will be alerted. Not every action may allow you to remain hidden -- for example, moving out into the open will obviously give you away, as will shouting, setting off a bomb, and so forth.
:When you are hidden from an enemy, it cannot apply active defense bonuses against you, and it takes a -2k2 penalty to defense. To be considered hidden while attacking an enemy, you must either be able to attack from a hidden position directly, or make a single move action after beginning your turn hidden to get into range while remaining out of the enemy's line of sight. This movement requires a successful |stealth| check to avoid giving yourself away. Moving into range of one enemy may give you away to other enemies, but you are still considered hidden from the enemy you're approaching. Even if other enemies shout a warning to your target, since it all happens in one round it can be assumed that the target doesn't have enough time to react, and you still gain the benefits of being hidden.
:Being hidden is a prerequisite for certain [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Techniques|techniques]], such as Sneak Attack.
* |Sway| (Spiritual Power/Wisdom/Courage) - How much influence your character has in social situations and how much he's able to sway others' emotions or ideas. As noted in the introduction to this section, this includes all kinds of interactions, including (but not limited to) bullying others into submission, bluffing a superior foe into standing down, making a well-reasoned argument in a debate, telling a convincing lie, or just softening up a particularly standoffish person. The virtue depends on what you're trying to do -- for instance, the above examples would be Power, Courage, Wisdom, Wisdom, and Courage, respectively. Refer to the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Stats|Stats]] section if you're not sure what virtue best fits a situation.
 
==Techniques==
Techniques are purchased with XP. Most will have a prerequisite of a certain number of ranks in a relevant skill, and some may have Attribute and/or Virtue requirements as well.
 
Active techniques take resources (actions, MP, etc.), while Passive techniques are always in effect.<!-- Not sure if this is correct. -->
 
====Racial Techniques====
 
'''Deku Bubble''' (Active)
*Requirements: Deku Scrub
*XP Cost: 3
*Action: X
*MP Cost: X
This Deku may spend X actions to fire one bubble with the Stun property from his "nose" at a single target. For each action spent, the Deku spends 1 magic point and adds 1/4 heart to the damage increment and 10 metres to the range. The maximum number of actions a Deku can spend on this techniques is equal to their Power, and the attack is made as the final action of the technique.
 
'''Goron Spikes''' (Active)
*Requirements: Goron
*XP Cost: 3
*Action: Double
*MP Cost: 2 Sustained
Goron may spend 1 turn in rolled-up form to generate magical Spikes with a 1/2 Damage increment; each turn this is active, the Goron spends 2 Magic Points. If the Goron leaves the ball form or comes to a stop, they must spend an additional turn to "regrow" them.
 
'''Goron Might''' (Passive)
*Requirements: Goron, Brawler technique
*XP Cost: 3
Your  attacks gain +1/4H damage, and you can choose to do fire damage.
 
'''Stonefist Suplex''' (Active)
*Requirements: Goron Might
*XP Cost: 6
*Action: Double
Make an unarmed attack against an enemy that has equal or less mass than you. You deal 1 Heart dmg increment and you choose one space adjacent to you where you can move your target to, the target is also prone after the attack is resolved. You gain an extra kept dice for this attack for every 2 points of extra mass that you have over your target.
 
'''Shadow Hide''' (Active)
*Requirements: Twili
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Double
You can hide in the shadow of another party member. You occupy their place without taking up any room. You remain in whichever square they happen to be in or enter at any time. You cannot take any actions, but have a general awareness of the situation and your surroundings. If the character whose shadow you're hiding in is hit by light magic, you are forced out and appear in a space adjacent to the character. This uses our next double action.
 
'''Bladed fins''' (Passive)
*Requirements: Zora, Brawler technique
*XP Cost: 2
Your unarmed attacks gain the Edged property. In addition, as a Single Action you can make a Ranged/Wisdom attack using the damage of your unarmed attack damage with a range of 10. Your fins return when you take an extra action to retrieve them, and until then you cannot use them to attack.
 
'''Lightning Shield''' (Active)
*Requirements: Zora
*XP Cost: 4
*Action: Double+
*MP Cost: 2 Sustained
This Zora may exude an aura that hits every creature within 2 meters in water for 1/2 heart of electrical damage. This technique requires an action to activate as well as an action to deactivate (the attack takes effect during both of these actions). This costs 2 points of magic and may be sustained for an additional 2 points of magic per turn. No other actions may be taken while this technique is being sustained. This ability may only be used in water.
 
'''Sustained Flight''' (Active)
*Requirements: Rito
*XP Cost: 3
*Action: Single
This Rito may attempt to stay in the air as part of a move action by making a Physical Power check. Success allows the Rito to remain airborn until the end of their next turn or until they are incapacitated.
 
====Melee Techniques====
 
'''Spin Attack''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Melee| 1
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Double
After taking an action to prepare the Spin Attack the player may make a |Melee|(Power)[knockback] action striking all adjacent targets. Once an action has been taken to prepare the player may hold his action to perform the |Melee|(Power) portion of this technique at any time. Taking damage or performing any action other than moving at half movement interrupts this technique.
 
'''Lunging Strike''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Melee| 1 or |Heavy| 1
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single
Make a normal melee attack with a |Melee| or |Heavy| weapon with an additional meter added to the range of that attack. All your defense rolls have a -1k0 penalty until your next turn.
 
'''Follow-through''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Melee| 3, Lunging Strike
*XP Cost: 3
*Action: Single
In order to use this technique, you must use the Lunging Strike technique immediately beforehand. You move 1 space closer to your enemy and make another attack against that opponent at a -1 penalty to your rolled pool. Use of this technique also negates the defense roll penalty from Lunging Strike.
 
'''Back Slice''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Melee| 1, |Acrobatics| 2
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single
You quickly tumble around your opponent to find a hole in his defense and strike. You may move to another space adjacent to the enemy and make an |Acrobatics|(Wisdom) check as an Attack action. Your target suffers a -1k1 penalty to his defense roll against this attack. If you hold an action and use Back Slice to interrupt an attack action against you, then the target suffers an additional -1k1 penalty to his defense against this attack.
 
'''Evading Slice''' (Passive)
*Requirements: |Melee| 3, Back Slice
*XP Cost: 3
When your opponent is too slow to strike you, it's definitely too slow to avoid your quick blade. When you use your Acrobatics Active or Total Defense to fully evade an enemy's attack, you may freely use Back Slice as if you had it readied against that opponent once per round. If you succeed, you still move as normal.
 
'''Parry''' (Passive)
*Requirements: |Melee| 2
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single
As an active defense, you may use your |Melee| skill with a Physical/Wisdom roll
 
'''Riposte''' (Passive)
*Requirements: |Melee| 4, Parry
*XP Cost: 3
When you Parry an attack, deal an increment of your weapon's damage for each successful die (minus ties). If dual-wielding, only Riposte with one weapon.
 
'''Assassin's Training''' (Passive)
*Prerequisites: |Melee| 2, Wisdom 2
*XP Cost: 2
Wisdom-based |Melee| and small |Ranged| weapons (shuriken, darts, etc.) weapons do +1/4H more damage.
 
'''Backstab''' (Passive)
*Prerequisites: |Melee| 2, |Stealth| 1
*XP Cost: 2
When making |Melee| attacks using Wisdom-based weapons against a foe you are flanking with one of your allies (they are in a square adjacent to the enemy on the opposite side of them) your attacks deal an extra 1/4H more damage.
 
'''Dual Wield''' (Passive)
*Requirements: |Melee| 3, |Acrobatics| 1
*XP Cost: 4
Two blades are better than one. While wielding two |Melee| weapons you get +0k1 to your dice pool for all Defense rolls against any attacker wielding only one weapon, as well as +0k1 to your dice pool for Attack rolls against targets wielding one weapon who do not have a shield. Gerudo may learn this technique for half cost.
 
'''Helm Splitter''' (Active)
*Prerequisites: |Melee| 3, |Acrobatics| 3
*XP Cost: 4
*Actions: 2
You jump over the enemy, striking at its head as you pass. Make a normal |Melee| attack against the enemy, ignoring any damage reduction it might have from armor. You end this technique in the square directly opposite the target from where you started. This technique can't be used on any enemy more than one scale rating larger than you.
 
'''Helm Splitter Combo''' (Active)
*Prerequisites: Helm Splitter, Shield Bash
*XP Cost: 2
*Actions: 1 (special)
You have learned how to use a Shield Bash to set up for a devastating Helm Splitter attack.
You may only use this technique if you used your previous action this turn to successfully stun a foe using the Shield Bash technique. This technique functions as the Helm Splitter technique, except it takes only a single action to use, and the enemy must use passive defense to oppose your attack roll.
 
'''Mortal Draw''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Melee| 4
*XP Cost: 4
*Special: Cannot have weapons drawn last turn.
*Action: Single
Draw weapon and attack as a single action(+2k0 attack, +1/4 Damage increment)
 
'''Counter Attack''' (Passive)
*Requirements: |Melee| 4, |Wisdom| 3
*XP Cost: 5
Unopposed successes on Active Defense rolls now deal damage to attackers as if they were unopposed successes on an Attack roll.
 
'''Sneak Attack''' (Passive)
*Requirements: |Melee| 2, |Stealth| 2
*XP Cost: 2
*Special: You must be wielding a |Melee| weapon or a non-Explosive |Ranged| weapon.
When you attack a creature you are hidden from, your attack uses Wisdom instead of its usual Virtue and does 2x damage. When attacking with a weapons that already uses Wisdom, the weapon's damage increment is increased by +1/4.
 
'''Low Blow''' (Active)
*Requirements: Brawler
*XP Cost: 3
*Action: Single
You make an unsportsmanlike strike to an armored target, ignoring up to 1/2 heart of armor reduction on the target.
 
'''Balanced Charge''' (Passive)
*Prerequisites: Courage 2, Wisdom 2, |Melee| or |Heavy| 2
*XP Cost: 3
When you use a charge, it no longer causes a defense penalty.
 
'''Charge Attack Mastery''' (Passive)
*Prerequisites: Physical 3, |Melee| or |Heavy| 3
*XP Cost: 2
You gain a +1k0 bonus to any offensive option at the end of a charge.
 
====Heavy Techniques====
When you use any Active technique with a |Heavy| weapon, you must take a recovery action as normal for attacking with a |Heavy| weapon.
 
'''Lunging Strike''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Melee| 1, or |Heavy| 1
* XP Cost: 2
* Action: Single
Make a normal melee attack with a |melee| or |heavy| weapon with an additional meter added to the range of that attack. All your defense rolls have a -1k0 penalty until your next turn.
 
'''Heavy Blow''' (Passive)
*Prereq: |Heavy| 2
*XP Cost: 2
Your blows carry unusual force. |Heavy| attacks with the Knockback quality that you make have their Knockback rating increased by 1.
 
'''Brutal Strike''' (Active)
*Prereq: |Heavy| 3
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single
You strike the enemy a mighty blow, pushing it away from you. Make a normal |heavy| attack; it gains Knockback 1.
 
'''Earthshaker''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Heavy| 2, Physical 4, Power 4
* XP Cost: 4
* Action: Single
Smash the ground with your weapon. All grounded enemies directly next to you are Stunned and knocked Prone. All grounded enemies in three meters are knocked Prone.
 
'''Staggering Blow''' (Active)
*Prereq: |Heavy| 4, Brutal Strike
*XP Cost: 4
*Action: Double
You strike a powerful blow with the blunt of your weapon. As a double action, make a |heavy| attack with the Staggering quality.
*A Staggering attack has different effects depending on how the target defends:
**A target using a shield defence is Stunned whether the attack is successful or not (since a successful shield defense is still being struck by the blow).
**A target using a non-shield defence suffers Knockback 1 and Knockdown if the Staggering attack hits, but avoids these effects if the attack misses (since a successful non-shield defense dodges or deflects the force of the attack rather than absorbing it).
 
'''Rubble Spray''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Heavy| 3
* MP Cost: 2 -or- Dazed next round
* XP Cost: ?
* Action: Single
Swing your weapon upward through the ground, smashing and launching debris in a two-meter cone in front of you. Treat this technique as a |Heavy| attack with a damage increment of 3/4H. Make a single attack roll, with each creature in the area of effect rolling defense separately.
 
'''Darunia's Might''' (Passive)
*Requirements: Power 5, |Heavy| 5
*XP Cost: 7
*Benefit: You may attack with a Heavy weapon without recovering after a previous strike, but at a -1k1 penalty to the attack. You may take an action to recover normally to negate this penalty for your next Heavy weapon attack.
 
====Ranged Techniques====
 
'''Take Aim''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Ranged| 3
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single+
You focus your aim to gain a bonus to your next attack with a ranged weapon. You may spend a number of actions on this technique equal to your ranks in Ranged. For the 1st, 3rd, and 5th action spent this way, you gain +1k0 to your attack. For the 2nd, 4th, and 6th action spent, you gain +0k1 to your attack. You must designate a target for your aim, and the target must remain in line of sight for the entire duration of your aim. If you switch targets or the target moves out of your line of sight, you have to start over. If you take any action other than making a Ranged attack after taking actions to aim, your aim is wasted. If you take damage from an attack, you lose the benefit of your previous 2 aiming actions.
 
'''Penetrating Shot''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Ranged| 2
* Weapons: "Piercing" ranged weapon
* XP Cost: 3
* Action: Single
Fire a shot that shoots through your first target into a second. The second target must be within your max range. You and both targets must all be within a straight line. Apply the same attack roll for both targets, with a -0k1 penalty to the roll against the secondary target, minus an additional -0k1 for every 1/4 heart negation from armor on the primary target.
 
'''Explosive Shot''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Ranged| 2, |Magic| 3
* MP Cost: 5
* XP Cost: 3
* Action: Single
You make a shot rigged with either a physical or magic explosive charge that explodes for bomb damage after the shot lands. REquires the expenditure of either one bomb or the cost in magic points of the according spell rigged to the arrow.
 
'''Curved Shot''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Ranged| 3, |Magic| 2
* MP Cost: 3
* XP Cost: 4
* Action: Single
You shoot or throw one direction and then telekinetically redirect the shot toward where you want it to land. This allows you to overcome a target's cover.
 
'''Dual Shot''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Ranged| 4
* XP Cost: 3
* Action: Single
Attack with a ranged weapon twice in one action, provided the weapon does not require an action to reload. Each attack is made at a -2k1 penalty.
 
'''Ricochet Shot''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Ranged| 4
* XP Cost: 3
* Action: Double
You aim your weapon carefully, so that it ricochets off a surface to shoot targets that you don't have a direct shot at. The tightest possible angle is 45 degrees. If the target is out of Line of Sight, the attack suffers a -1k0 penalty.
 
'''Volley''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Ranged| 5
* XP Cost: 4
* Action: Double
You can unleash a barrage of missiles to strike multiple foes.
Make an attack with AoE 1, centered on a space within half your weapon's maximum range. Make a single |Ranged| attack roll, with each target in the area of effect rolling defense separately. If a target occupies multiple squares in the area of effect, it makes a single defensive roll but any damage it takes from the attack is multiplied by the number of affected squares it occupies. This action consumes 5 units of ammunition.
 
'''Tripshot''' (Active)
* Requirements: |Ranged| 3
* XP Cost: 2
* Weapons: "Grip" ranged weapon
* Action: Single
Fire at the the feet of a target to attempt to knock them prone. Make a |Ranged|(Wisdom) attack roll opposed by the target's Physical/Courage. The target may substitute an |Acrobatics| roll to oppose if it has prepared an acrobatic active defense. If you and the target are of different Mass categories, you gain a +1k1 bonus to your roll for each Mass category you are larger than the opponent, or a -1k1 penalty for each Mass category smaller. If you score more successes than the target, it is knocked prone. Note that use of this technique deals no damage.
 
====Shield Techniques====
 
'''Shield Attack''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Melee| 1, |Shield| 2
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single
As a single action this person is able to thrust his shield forward striking an enemy. Make a |Shield| skill check as an attack with your shield. The damage increment is equal to the shield's reduction value.
 
'''Shield Bash''' (Active)
*Requirements: Shield Attack
*XP Cost: 3
*Action: Single
As a single action this person may thrust his shield at his enemy with great force, throwing them off their guard. Make a |Shield| skill check as an attack against your target, opposed by their defense (Active or Passive, whichever they have in place). If you score more successes than your opponent, you deal no damage but the target is stunned for 1 round.
 
'''Shield Slam''' (Active)
*Requirements: Shield Attack
*XP Cost: 3
*Actions: 2
As a double action this person may, from a static standing position, put all of his weight into his shield shield slamming it into an enemy and forcing them back. Make a |Shield| skill check against your target's defense. If you score more successes than your opponent, you deal no damage but the target suffers Knockback 2 and is knocked prone.
 
'''Shield Charge''' (Active)
*Requirements: Shield Attack
*XP Cost: 4
*Action: Double
As a double action this person may charge, running at full speed with his shield and tossing enemies aside. Make an opposed Physical(Power) check against each creature whose space you enter. The creature may instead opt to use |Acrobatics| to simply move out of the way. If you succeed, the target suffers Knockback 2 (always moving out of your path, direction chosen by you) and is knocked prone. If a target beats you at a Physical(Power) roll (not an Acrobatics roll) your movement stops and you are knocked prone.
 
'''Shield Throw''' (Active)
*Requirements: Shield Attack
*XP Cost: 5
*Action: Single
This person may throw his shield as a Range 5 Physical(Power) attack.
 
'''Guard and Attack''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Melee| 3, |Shield| 3
*XP Cost: 6
*Action: Immediate
When you succeed on a |Shield| active defense roll, you can immediately make an attack against your attacker as an immediate action. A Hylian can purchase this technique for half cost.
 
====Magic Techniques====
 
After using an Active magic technique, your next action must be either to cast a spell or use another Active magic technique. When calculating MP cost of a spell modified by an Active technique, figure out the total cost of all modifications to the spell without rounding, and then round up. Note that although the word "spell" is used for these techniques, they can be applied with equal ease whether the effect is produced from a magic item or cast from the character's own learned or innate ability. See the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Magic_Rules|Magic Rules]] section for further details on the distinction (or, more accurately, relative lack thereof) between learned and item-based magic.
 
'''Area Spell''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Magic| 3
*XP Cost: 3
*Action: Single
*Effect: Your next basic spell that targets a single creature or object instead targets all creatures and objects in an area centered in an origin space within range of the spell. This increases the cost of the spell by 100% per meter outward from the origin space the spell reaches, to a maximum number of meters equal to your Magic skill.
 
'''Burst Spell''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Magic| 2
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single
*Effect: Your next basic spell that targets a single creature or object instead targets all creatures and objects in a burst outward from your own space. This increases the cost of the spell by 50% per meter outward from your space the spell reaches, to a maximum number of meters equal to your Magic skill.
 
'''Chain Spell''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Magic| 3
*XP Cost: 4
*Action: Single
*Effect: Your next basic spell that targets a single creature or object also targets additional creatures or objects within range of the spell. This increases the cost of be spell by 50% per additional target, to a maximum number of target equal to your Magic skill.
 
'''Channel Spell''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Magic| 3; |Melee|, |Heavy|, or |Ranged| 2
*XP Cost: 5
*Action: Single
*Effect: The next basic spell you cast is channeled into a weapon or piece of ammunition you touch. After that, the next attack with the enchanted weapon delivers the spell's effect as well as the weapon's damage. After the weapon attack is resolved, resolve the spell effect as if it had been cast normally with your weapon's target as the target and origin of the spell. If the weapon attack is not successful, the channeled spell is wasted. A weapon or piece of ammunition can only hold a single channeled spell at a time, and the channeled spell fades after one minute if unused.
 
'''Charge Spell''' (Active)
*Requirements: |Magic| 3
*XP Cost: 2
*Action: Single+
*Effect: The next basic spell you cast has its effects increased. This increases the cost of the spell by 50% for doubled effects. You may spend multiple consecutive actions charging a spell, adding an additional multiplication of the spell's effects and increasing its cost by an additional +50% per action spent charging. The maximum number actions you can spend charging a spell is equal to your Magic skill.
 
====Miscellaneous Techniques====
 
'''Flash Bomb Vanish''' (Active)
* Prerequisites: |Stealth| 3
* XP Cost: 4
* Action: Single
* Special: Requires a Deku nut/Flash bomb
You activate the flash bomb in your space and can immediately move your speed. Make a |Stealth| check with a +2k2 bonus. You are hidden from enemies who do not beat your |Stealth| roll with their |Perception| for the remainder of your turn, and if you end your turn behind cover you remain hidden. Shiekah can purchase this techniques at half cost.
 
'''Intercept''' (Active)
* Prerequisites: |Acrobatics| 4 or |Shield| 4
* XP Cost: 4
* Action: Immediate
When an ally within a number of spaces equal to half your speed is targeted by an attack, you can immediately move half your speed into your ally's space, push them 1 space, and force the enemy to roll the attack against you instead.
 
'''Heavy Armor Training''' (Passive)
*Prerequisites: Physical 2
*XP Cost: 3
You can wear heavy armor.
 
'''Brawler''' (Passive)
* Prerequisites: |Melee| 3
* XP Cost: 2
Your unarmed attacks do 1/2H damage instead of 1/4H. In addition, you can use Power, Wisdom, or Courage as your virtue when making unarmed attacks.
 
'''Halt the Advance''' (Passive)
*Requirements: Physical 3, Courage 2
*XP Cost: 4
*Benefit: If you deal damage to a target with an opportunity attack, you may end the movement that provoked the attack in the square from which the attack was provoked.
 
'''Dedicated Defender''' (Passive)
*Requirements: Physical 3, Courage 3
*XP Cost: 5
*Benefit: If you have spent your immediate action for the round to make an opportunity attack, anytime an enemy against whom you have not already made an opportunity attack this round would provoke an opportunity attack from you, you may make that attack as a free action. This does not allow you to make extra attacks with a |heavy| weapon without recovering.
 
'''Battle-Hardened''' (Passive)
*Prerequisites: Physical 3
*XP Cost: 5/10/15
*The character is an experienced veteran and has learned to move with the ebb and flow of battle. The character gets a +1k1 boost to passive defense rolls. This technique may be taken up to 3 times, with the XP cost increasing for each additional time you take it, as noted above.
 
'''Natural Rider''' (Passive)
* Prerequisites: Spiritual 3, Courage 3
* XP Cost: 3
You can control your mount's actions without making checks.
 
'''Lore''' (Passive)
* Prerequisites: None
* XP Cost: 2
Your studies have yielded knowledge above and beyond what is commonly known.
When you learn this technique, choose a subject, such as "History" or "Religion". You gain a +1k1 bonus to Mental/Wisdom rolls made to recall stories and facts related to your subject of choice.
This technique may be taken multiple times. Each time you take it, you may apply the bonus to a new subject, or to a subject you have already studied. The bonuses from this technique are cumulative -- for example, if you take Lore (History) twice, you gain +2k2 to checks made to recall historical information.
 
'''Monkey Climb''' (Passive)
* Prerequisites: |Acrobatics| 3
* XP Cost: 2
Your study of acrobatics has made it much easier for you to climb quickly. You can now climb at your full speed, rather than at half of it.
 
====Brainstorming section:====
Minish Cap's Tiger Scroll techniques: Spin Attack, Sword Beam, Dash Attack, Peril Beam, Rock Breaker, Roll Attack, Down Thrust, Great Spin Attack.<br>
Twilight Princess's Hidden Skills: Ending Blow, Shield Attack, Back Slice, Helm Splitter, Mortal Draw, Jump Strike, Great Spin.<br>
/tg/ Ideas: Chu Chu Refiner, Magic Infuser.<br>
As a general guideline, here's one way to consider what rank to set skill requirements at while making Techniques.
*1 - the Technique requires a minimal level of competence in the skill
*2 - you should probably have some level of confidence in your skill level to perform this Technique
*3 - you should be at least somewhat specialized in the skill in order to learn this Technique
*4 - to learn this Technique you should have some dedication to the study of this skill(spent xp on it after character creation) and a significant level of competence
*5 - the Technique requires an impressive level of expertise to perform
*6 - only the truly masterful can learn this Technique
Skill requirements and in some cases Attribute requirements will be the primary factor keeping players from buying powerful Techniques too early in the game rather than exorbitant XP costs, so the XP costs for Techniques should probably start at a minimum of 2 and a maximum of no more than 8.
 
Point requirement for use of Active Techniques ("Tech points"). Should be implemented if technique use completely replaces normal attacking or if it proves a bit more powerful than intended.
 
==Magic & Songs==
Magic and Songs are similar in many ways, but apply to markedly different areas. Both produce supernatural effects, but where magic is more direct and consistent, music is more situational, typically altering the environment in some way. Although there is some overlap, magic is typically more suitable for combat, while music is more geared for utility, puzzles, and general adventuring.
 
Magic may be obtained in the form of an item, such as a magic rod or cape, but may also be learned from a wise mentor or written record, or bestowed as a blessing from a Great Fairy or other powerful being. Songs are always learned, usually from another individual who knows the song (though they can also be learned from written sheet music and the like). However, even though they may not be physical objects, both spells and songs are treated as inventory items the same as mundane gear, obtained during the course of your quest rather than being purchased with XP as you please like [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Techniques|Techniques]]. However, unlike physical items, spells and songs may be entirely unusable to those without training in their use -- each spell requires a |Magic| check of some kind to use, which may be impossible for someone without enough ranks in the |Magic| skill, and each song requires a certain number of ranks in |Instruments| to use its effects. Some songs may have multiple different effects, which may have different prerequisites to achieve -- for example, using the Song of Time to shift blocks affected by that song would have a lower prerequisite than using the song to travel through time yourself.
 
Most spells and songs require a skill check to use, which may be either opposed or unopposed depending on the effect. Typically, direct attacks use opposed checks, while other effects use unopposed. The Virtue used for this check varies depending on the type of spell, according to the following guidelines:
*'''Power'''
**Offensive magic (both damaging and debilitating)
**Terrain-altering magic
*'''Wisdom'''
**Healing and defensive magic
**Illusions and similar "subtle" debuffs
*'''Courage'''
**Travel/exploration magic (think Farore's Wind)
**Offensive buffs
 
====Magic Rules====
*Magic may be obtained either in the form of spells learned from study or tutelage, or in the form of magic items. Any spell may be available in either form, regardless of whether the name listed here would indicate one form or another. For example, the Cane of Somaria is an item from the Legend of Zelda video games that would be treated as a form of magic, but you could just as easily have an identical effect available as a spell called something like Conjure Block learned from an ancient tome or learned sage. There is essentially no functional difference between the two forms; it's essentially a matter of flavor, and GMs and players alike are encouraged to come up with whatever form they like for magic in their game. Unless otherwise noted, the term "spell", when used in the context of this system, may be used interchangeably to refer to either a learned spell or a magic effect cast from an item (such as the Fire Rod), as the two are essentially identical. However, there are a few slight differences in the way the two are handled:
**A magic item is in most respects treated the same as any other sort of physical item -- it must be wielded for use, and it can be lost, stolen, traded, or given away.
**In order to cast a learned spell, you must have a focus readied. Readying a focus is the same as wielding a weapon or tool -- it requires an action to retrieve from wherever you've stored it, and you must have a hand free to use it.
***Your focus can be any sort of object you like -- a spellbook, a wand, a staff, anything at all as long as it is a physical object. It can even be something worn on your person, such as an amulet, bracelet, or circlet, though even in this case you still must spend an action and have a hand free to ready it.
***Your focus does not count against your allotted starting equipment total; only the spells learned do.
***Even if your focus is readied, you must still spend an action to ready a new spell, calling it to mind for use. When you use an action to ready your focus, you ready your first spell at the same time. Once you ready a spell, it remains readied until you ready a different spell or item. For instance, once you ready the Heal spell, you can cast it over and over without readying it again, but if you were to attack with a weapon this would require you to ready the weapon, so you'd have to ready the spell again the next time you wish to cast it.
***The purpose of the focus is to ensure that those who cast spells from memory do not have an inherent in-game advantage over those who use magic items. After all, while one's items can be lost or stolen, it is much more difficult to deprive someone of knowledge. Thus, should a GM wish to deprive a caster of their magic (an act which should generally be discouraged, but may be used sparingly as an interesting development to the story), he or she can take away a practiced spellcaster's focus just as he or she could take away an item-dependent spellcaster's magic items. The focus and spell-readying rules also ensure that a spellcaster who casts spells from items isn't at a disadvantage in terms of actions needed to cast different spells; an item-dependent spellcaster must spend actions to retrieve the proper item from her pack, so it's only fair that a learned spellcaster must spend actions to prepare her mind for casting a particular spell. The goal in this system is to make the decision of whether to use magic through personal ability or through items purely an aesthetic one, a matter of how you wish to style your character.
 
The following rules apply equally to spells of all kinds:
*Each spell has an MP cost, which is deducted from your Magic Meter when you cast it.
**Some spells are "sustained", which means that you must continue paying MP each turn at the beginning of your turn to maintain the effect. These spells have an open-ended duration -- they last until you choose to end them (a free action that can be done at any time) or until you can't spend MP to pay for them. Paying for a sustained spell is a free action.
***You may only sustain a number of spells at once equal to your ranks in |magic|, and you may not cast any spells if you are currently sustaining the maximum number of spells you can. For example, a character with 3 ranks in |magic| could sustain up to 3 spells at once (or 3 instances of the same spell), but couldn't cast any new spells until she ended one of the spells being sustained.
*Unless otherwise specified, damage dealt by spells is not subject to reduction from normal armor, but is affected by damage reduction from magical effects and Warded equipment.
*Each spell requires some sort of |Magic| check to cast it. The check required to cast a spell is indicated under the "Check" line of the spell's description.
**'''Opposed:''' Offensive spells use opposed checks against the target, with the roll used to oppose dictated by the spell's description.
***Unless otherwise specified, a spell opposed by the target's "defense" may be opposed by passive or acrobatic defense as normal, but shield defense may only be used if the shield has the Reflective or Warded property. If the target has a shield defense readied, and their shield doesn't have either of these properties, use the target's passive defense instead.
***Some spells (particularly debuffs) may be opposed by a skill check (often |magic|) from the target. Even if the target has no ranks in the skill, it can still oppose the spell -- it just doesn't get any bonus dice for skill ranks. In these cases, just use the appropriate Attribute and Virtue combination.
**'''Unopposed:''' An unopposed spell requires that you score a certain number of successes on an unopposed check. If you meet the specified number of successes, you succeed in casting the spell; if not, the spell has no effect. The number of successes needed to cast the spell is listed first, with the success threshold listed immediately after it in parentheses -- i.e., a spell that requires an unopposed roll of X(Y) requires X successes, where a success is anything Y or higher.
*** Some unopposed spells list "N" as the number of successes needed. In this case, the spell has an effect no matter how few or how many successes you score, but the number of successes scored affects some variable of the spell's effect (typically duration).
*** Generally speaking, difficulties for non-scaling unopposed checks should be chosen from the following list (in order from least to greatest difficulty: 2(3), 3(2), 3(3), 4(2), 5(2). These can also be referred to in terms of spell "ranks", with 2(3) being rank 1, 3(2) rank 2, and so forth. The low end of the scale is most accessible to those who merely dabble in magic, without a very high Mental score or many ranks in the |Magic| skill, and most anyone can pull off a rank 1 effect with a decent degree of reliability. The upper end requires much more dedication to accomplish, demanding a good Mental score and |Magic| skill to pull off. A rank 5 effect is flatly impossible without at least 1 rank in |Magic| (or a purchased point of Mental, but that's far less cost-effective), and can only be reliably accomplished by a true master, with high ranks in both the Mental attribute and |Magic| skill. Virtues also are more important for the higher-rank spells. For example, a rank 4 spell could be cast with only a 1 in the relevant Virtue, but to do so you'd need to have 6 ranks in |Magic| (the maximum possible for a skill), whereas a character with high scores in both Mental and the relevant Virtue could fairly reliably cast a rank 4 spell with only 1 or 2 ranks in |Magic|.
**'''Group opposed:''' A group opposed check is used for spells that affect multiple subjects. The kind of roll made by the defenders is indicated by the same conventions as for regular opposed checks. The rules for how to make a group opposed check can be found [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Group_Opposed_Checks|in the basic system info section]].
 
====Magic====
 
Spells are divided into Basic and Advanced effects. The list of Basic spells are available to choose as items for characters at character generation, and when spells are available for purchase, these are the spells most commonly available. Advanced spells are rarer, and are most often only found as loot or given as quest rewards. Basics spells are able to be modified by magic techniques, while Advanced spells are generally more powerful or can accomplish things outside the scope of the Basic spells.
 
 
=====Basic Magic=====
Basic spells are more easily obtained than advanced spells, but are also less powerful. A starting character may not select advanced spells as starting equipment, only basic spells. Basic spells can also be obtained in-game by paying rupees -- perhaps for an item that casts the spell, as a fee to a sage or other tutor, to purchase a tome or scroll containing instructions on how to cast it, or some other way that makes sense. The recommended cost for a basic spell is 100 rupees, but this can be adjusted at GM discretion. Basic spells are the only spells that can be modified using general |Magic| techniques.
 
'''Blast''' (Power)
*Single Action
*Cost: 3MP
*Duration: Instant
*Range: 10
*Target: Single creature or object
*Check: Opposed (defense)
*Effect: 1/2H damage per success. If the target takes damage from this spell, they suffer Knockback 1. The spell is considered a Medium creature for the purposes of this knockback effect.
 
 
'''Burn''' (Power)
*Single Action
*Cost: 2MP
*Duration: Instant
*Range: 20
*Target: Single creature or object
*Check: Opposed (defense)
*Effect: 1/4H (fire) damage per success. If the target takes damage from this spell, they catch fire and continue to burn, taking 1/4H (fire) damage at the start of each of their turns until extinguished. The target or an adjacent creature can spend actions to put out the flames, which requires two actions total.
 
 
'''Cripple''' (Power)
*Single Action
*Cost: 4MP
*Duration: Sustain
*Range: 10
*Target: Single creature
*Check: Opposed (defense)
*Effect: The target takes a -1k0 penalty to attack and defense rolls per success. If the target's rolled dice are reduced to less than their kept dice by this spell, the target normalizes their roll as normal by pulling from their kept dice, and then makes their roll.
 
 
'''Freeze''' (Wisdom)
*Single Action
*Cost: 2MP
*Duration: Instant
*Range: 20
*Target: Single creature or object
*Check: Opposed (defense)
*Effect: The target takes 1/2H (cold) damage and their speed is reduced by 2 per success over the target's defense until the start of your next turn. If the target's speed is reduced to 0, it becomes Frozen for 1 round.
 
 
'''Heal''' (Wisdom)
*Single Action
*Cost: 4MP
*Duration: Instant
*Range: 5
*Target: Single creature
*Check: N(4)
*Effect: The target recovers 1 heart per success.
 
 
'''Shield''' (Wisdom)
*Single Action
*Cost: 2MP
*Duration: Sustain
*Range: 5
*Target: Single creature
*Check: 3(2)
*Effect: The target of this spell gains 1/2 heart of damage reduction. This damage reduction stacks with armor.
 
 
'''Inspire''' (Courage)
*Single Action
*Cost: 2MP
*Duration: 1 round
*Range: 10
*Target: Single creature
*Check: N(4)
*Effect: The target gains bonuses to attacks based on the number of successes. For the 1st, 3rd, and 5th success the target gains +1k0, and for the 2nd, 4th, and 6th success they gain +0k1. The maximum number of successes that a target can benefit from is equal to your Magic skill.
 
 
'''Lift''' (Courage)
*Single Action
*Cost: 1MP
*Duration: Sustain
*Range: 10
*Target: Single creature
*Check: N(4)
*Effect: You increase the distance the target can fly or jump horizontally by 1 meter per success, and increase the distance they can jump vertically by half that amount (rounded down).
 
 
'''Shift''' (Courage)
*Single Action
*Cost: 2MP
*Duration: Instant
*Range: 10
*Target: Single creature or object
*Check: N(4)
*Effect: An ally or object up to medium size is telekinetically moved 1 meter per success. This movement can be in any direction (other than up) and does not provoke opportunity attacks. The spell is not strong enough to overcome the resistance of a creature that is unwilling or the weight of a large object. It also may not be strong or precise enough to operate many switches, levers, or buttons, at the DM's discretion.
 
=====Advanced Magic=====
Advanced spells are more powerful than basic spells, but (like most items) are only available as quest rewards distributed at GM discretion. Advanced spells cannot be modified by general active |Magic| techniques, but many advanced spells may have spell mastery techniques specific to the spell that allows for certain ways to modify its use.
 
'''Reflect''' (Wisdom)
*Defense
*Single action
*1 MP (sustained)
*Duration: Sustain
*Range: 5 meters
*Target: Single shield
*Check: Unopposed - 3(2)
*''The shield takes on a brilliant sheen, reflecting both light and magic.''
*The affected shield gains the Reflective property for the duration of the spell.
 
 
'''Fairy Form''' (Courage)
*Transformation
*Single action
*2 MP (Sustain)
*Duration: Sustain
*Range: Touch
*Target: Single creature
*Check: Unopposed - 3(3)
*''With a word, your body explodes into a cloud of glittering dust, revealing a tiny, flying figure when it clears.''
*You or the target becomes Miniaturized and gains a fly speed of 6 for the duration of the spell.
 
 
'''Fire Arrow''' (Power)
*Enchantment (Fire)
*Single action
*2 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous or one round; see text
*Range: Touch
*Target: A single arrow or crossbow bolt
*Check: Unopposed - 2(3)
*''An arrow is imbued with magical flame.''
*Add 1/2 heart (Fire) to the damage increment of the affected missile. If the missile is one that you have loaded in your own weapon, you may fire immediately as part of this spell. Otherwise, the spell persists until the beginning of your next turn.
 
 
'''Ice Arrow''' (Power)
*Enchantment (Ice)
*Single action
*2 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous or one round; see text
*Range: Touch
*Target: A single arrow or crossbow bolt
*Check: Unopposed - 2(3)
*''An arrow is imbued with freezing cold.''
*Add 1/4 heart (Ice) to the damage increment of the affected missile. Additionally, the speed of the target of that missile is reduced for 1 round by 1 for each success on the attack roll. If this would reduce the target's speed to less than half its base value, it is Frozen for 1 round. If the missile is one that you have loaded in your own weapon, you may fire immediately as part of this spell. Otherwise, the spell persists until the beginning of your next turn.
 
 
'''Din<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Fire''' (Power)
*Attack
*Single action
*6 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous
*Range: 5 meters
*Area: 5 meter radius centered on you
*Check: Group opposed (defense)
*''A burst of flame expands out around you, consuming all in its path.''
*Make an area-effect |Magic| check with damage increment 1h (Fire), opposed by defense, against each creature within 5 meters.
 
 
'''Nayru<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Love''' (Wisdom)
*Defense
*Single action
*12 MP
*Duration: N rounds
*Range: 5
*Target: Single creature
*Check: Unopposed - N(4)
*''A shimmering blue diamond encases the target, protecting it from harm.''
*The subject is immune to all damaging effects for the duration of the spell, but the caster cannot use anything requiring magic power until the spell ends.
 
 
'''Farore<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Wind''' (Courage)
*Travel
*Single action
*6 MP
*Duration: Indefinite and instantaneous (see text)
*Range: 0 and unlimited (see text)
*Check: Unopposed - 3(3)
*''You instantly warp to a previously designated point.''
*This spell is used in two phases:
**The first time you cast it, it sets a magical marker at your current location, which is visible to you as a floating green orb but undetectable to all others.
**Subsequently, you can cast it again to instantaneously warp back to the marker you set previously. You may transport yourself and up to one additional creature for each rank you have in |magic|. This erases the marker; you must set another marker before you can warp again.
 
 
'''Magic Cape''' (Wisdom)
*Enchantment
*Single action
*10 MP (sustained)
*Duration: Sustain
*Range: Personal
*Target: You
*Check: Unopposed - 4(2)
*''You become undetectable and untouchable, moving like a ghost.''
*When activated, you become invisible and incorporeal. You are immune to all attacks and can pass through solid objects unimpeded, but you can't interact with the physical world while this effect is active.
 
 
'''Cane of Byrna''' (Wisdom)
*Defense
*Single action
*10 MP (sustained)
*Duration: Sustain
*Range: 1
*Area: 1-meter radius, centered on you.
*Check: Unopposed - 5(2)
*''You are surrounded by a protective field that shelters you and adjacent allies from harm, and damages enemies who get too close.''
*A force field extends out from your space to a 1-meter radius. You and any allies within the field are immune to all harm, and any enemy that comes in contact with it takes 1 heart of damage for each round it touches the field. A creature is only considered "in contact" with the field if it is within the area of the spell or attempts to attack a creature within the field with a melee attack; creatures adjacent to the field's area do not take damage as long as they don't try to attack a creature inside the field. The field is visible as a faintly glowing, sparkling globe; however, although opponents can see it, they may not necessarily realize what it does.
 
 
'''Ether Medallion''' (Power)
*Attack
*Single action
*8 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous
*Range: 15 meters
*Area: 15 meter radius centered on you
*Check: Group opposed (defense)
*''The air crackles with electricity as bolts of lightning pelt the area.''
*Make an area-effect |Magic| check with damage increment 1H (electricity), opposed by defense, against each creature within 15 meters. Airborne targets take a -1k1 penalty to their opposing roll for this spell. Creatures damaged in this way are stunned.
 
 
'''Quake Medallion''' (Power)
*Attack
*Single action
*8 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous
*Range: 15 meters
*Area: 15 meter radius centered on you
*Check: Group opposed (|Acrobatics|/Wisdom)
*Requirements: Must be standing on a solid surface
*''Striking the ground beneath your feet, you cause a violent tremor that damages groundborne foes and knocks them off their feet.''
*Make an area-effect |Magic| check with damage increment 1H (crushing damage), opposed by |Acrobatics|(Wisdom), against each creature within 15 meters. You gain a +1k1 bonus to your roll for this spell if you are in some sort of location, such as a cavern or stone building, where the tremor might dislodge a rain of rubble and debris from above. Each target of this spell is knocked prone unless it makes at least 3 successes on its opposing roll. Airborne creatures and creatures standing on a surface that is not attached to the one you're standing on are unaffected by this spell. Additionally, this spell destroys all breakable objects in its area, such as pottery, glass, and fragile walls, as long as those objects are connected to the ground in some way (eg, resting on the ground, or set into a wall that is connected to the ground you're standing on).
 
 
'''Bombos Medallion''' (Power)
*Attack
*Single action
*8 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous
*Range: 15 meters
*Area: 15 meter radius centered on you
*Check: Group opposed (defense)
*''Fiery explosions rip the air asunder, devastating your foes.''
*Make an area-effect |Magic| check with damage increment 1H (Fire), opposed by defense, against each creature within 5 meters. Each target of the spell is also pushed away from you unless it makes at least 2 successes on its defense roll. Treat this as a knockback 1 effect from a Heavy creature. Additionally, this spell destroys all breakable objects in its area, such as pottery, glass, and fragile walls.
 
 
'''Cane of Somaria''' (Power)
*Creation
*Single action
*2 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous
*Range: 1
*Effect: 1 conjured cube.
*Check: Unopposed - 2(3)
*''A cube of solid matter appears out of thin air, then explodes in a burst of flame.''
*Creates a cube of solid matter, 2 meters to a side, occupying a space adjacent to you. If that space is occupied by a creature, the creature is displaced to the nearest square opposite you from the block, and takes 1/4 heart of damage. This block can be pushed around with a Physical Power check against a success threshold of 4, with each success allowing you to move the block 1 meter (though you may choose to move the block a shorter distance than your check would allow if you wish). The cane can be activated a second time without paying any MP to detonate the block, dealing 1/2 heart of [Fire] damage to all creatures within 2 meters of the block, though you are immune to this damage. Blocks created by the Cane of Somaria also detonate in this way if attacked. You may only create one block at a time.
 
 
'''Fire Rod''' (Power)
*Single action
*4 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous
*Range: 20
*Target: Single creature or object
*Check: Opposed (defense)
*''The air shimmers as a searing bolt of flame streaks toward the target.''
*Roll a |Magic|(Power) attack against the target with a damage increment of 3/4H (fire). Enemies damaged by this attack catch fire, taking 1/4 heart of damage each round until the flames are extinguished (which requires a total of two actions by the burning creature and/or an adjacent creature).
 
 
'''Ice Rod''' (Wisdom)
*Single action
*4 MP
*Duration: 1 round/2 successes
*Range: 20
*Target: Single creature or object
*Check: Opposed (defense)
*''A frigid blast of magic encases the target in solid ice.''
*The target is Frozen for one round for every 2 successes you scored and takes 3/4H (cold) damage as long as you scored at least one success.
 
 
'''Sap Strength''' (Power)
*Weakening
*Single action
*2 MP
*Duration: 1 round/success
*Range: 5
*Target: Single creature
*Check: Opposed by |Magic|(Courage)
*''A shadowy ray shoots from your hands and suffuses the target with weariness.''
*Roll a |Magic|(Power) check against the target's |Magic|(Courage). If you roll more successes than the target, its damage increment with |Melee| and |Heavy| weapons is reduced by 1/2 heart for 1 round per success you scored. If the target scores at least as many successes as you did, the spell fails.
 
 
'''Faultline''' (Power)
*Weakening (Earth)
*Single action
*6 MP
*Duration: Instantaneous and N/2 rounds; see text
*Range: 10
*Area: 3-meter radius
*Check: Group opposed (Mental Courage)
*With a deafening bellow, the earth collapses in on itself, trapping nearby creatures under a hail of debris.
*The affected area becomes dense rubble, reducing ground movement across it by half (moving into an affected space counts as moving twice the distance). This effect is instantaneous. Additionally, make a |Magic|(Power) group opposed check against each non-flying creature in the affected area, opposed by Mental Courage. Each affected creature is Dazed for 1 round for every 2 degrees of failure.
**For example, if this spell was cast by a character rolling 6k5 for the attack roll, and an affected creature rolled 2 successes on its Mental Courage roll to resist, that creature would have a degree of failure of 3 (5-2), and so would be dazed for 1 round.
 
 
'''Haste''' (Courage)
*Enhancement
*Single action
*6 MP
*Duration: 1 round/success
*Range: 10
*Target: Single creature
*Check: Unopposed - N(4)
*''You begin to move with blinding speed.''
*The target creature gains an extra action action per round for the duration of the spell.
 
 
'''Slow''' (Wisdom)
*Weakening
*Single action
*6 MP
*Duration: 1 round/success
*Range: 10
*Target: Single creature
*Check: Opposed by |Magic|(Courage)
*''Your foe's movements slow to a crawl.''
*Roll a |Magic|(Wisdom) check against the target's |Magic|(Courage). If you score more successes than the target, it loses one action each round for one round per success you scored. If the target scores at least as many successes as you did, the spell fails.
 
====Songs====
The action stated on the song's entry denotes the time required to play the song, and its effect takes place immediately afterwards. Only one song's effect can be activated per required action. All songs require at least one rank in songs for their effects to take place. All effects marked with a level require that many ranks in |Instrument| to be activated (songs without a rank can be considered to be level 1). Most songs need an GM-defined target roll to be activated successfully in combat, and a few need one out of combat. Fail the roll and, as you'd expect, the action just spent is lost. Songs with a rank of 1-3 have no limit on usage. Ranks of 4 can only be used twice a day. Ranks of 5 are once a day, as are Rank 6 songs, but these more often play part in story, are harder to find, or at the GM's use.
 
'''Sun's Song'''<br>
A powerful song that harnesses the sun itself.
*Double Action
*Effect 1- Change day to night or night to day. You and your companions alone are aware of the change; other people continue their schedules while you and your allies are "frozen" in time.
*Effect 2 - Make a Music/Courage attack against every undead creature within 10 spaces. On a hit, you Paralyze the creature for 2 rounds.
[Split into two songs? One for the time effect (Song of Passing) and another for the attack?]
 
'''Song of Healing'''<br>
This song soothes broken bones and broken souls equally well.
*Double Action
*Effect 1 - You and each ally within 10 spaces of you regains 5 hearts. (once per dungeon?)
*Effect 2 - (something about relieving spirits?)
 
'''Mambo of The Beast'''<br>
This strong, uplifting forte awakens the inner animalistic soul of a man.
*Double Action
*When this song is played, an ally within 5 spaces undergoes a change into the form of a beast. This beast is different depending on the race of the target - for example, a Zora will turn into a large dogfish, a Rito will turn into a buzzard or eagle, a Gerudo will turn into a boar, a Hylian will turn into a dog or wolf, etc. The character undergoes the change on his/her next turn and cannot make any other actions that turn. All the character's equipment disappears with the change.
*The beast's magic power and attributes become obsolete, except to aid any remaining skills and if necessary to oppose rolls. Its maximum hearts remain. It can make use only of skills that do not relate to creation, combat or social situations. It cannot use techniques relating to weapons, armour, shields, or magic. It has movement 9 + Courage. It has an attack of 2k1 + your Power in keep dice (example: 3 power would be 2k1+0k3; 3k3). It can track a scent on a successful roll of 2k1 + your Wisdom in keep dice, difficulty 2(4). Only one 4 or above results in the beast able to find no scent, and none results in the beast following the wrong scent. It is another double action to transform back, upon which the character's equipment returns.
 
'''Song of Time'''<br>
The eeire melody of an archaic plainchant runs deep in the weave of the ages.
*Double Action
*Effect 1 - Mainly a tool for solving puzzles and removing obstacles - Blocks of Time in the room are moved around in accordance with the GM's design.
*Effect 2 - (some small change of the party's alignment with time? Nothing too game-breaking)
 
'''Command Melody'''<br>
A chilling refrain transplants your consciousness into a friend's body.
*Double Action
*Effect 1: You take control of a willing ally on their next turn. When they make a check, you can choose to use their Skill level or your own. While in control of an ally, you cannot take actions yourself and are helpless.
*Effect 2: You can move certain inanimate objects, moving them in place of yourself. If the object doesn't have the appropriate parts (arms, bending knees, etc), they either take penalties to or cannot take certain skill checks. You cannot use magic through an controlled object.
 
'''Wind's Requiem'''<br>
The wind heeds your command, whipping through you to the direction you ask of it.
*Double Action
*You change the direction of the wind to one of the 8 directions.
(moving in the direction of wind while gliding or using a sail could double your movement, and going against the wind could halve your movement.)
 
'''Rider's Song'''<br>
This tune summons your faithful companion to your side.
*Double Action
*Level 1: (Overworld) You call your mount. If your mount cannot reach you, you will know.
 
'''Song of Embers'''<br>
Wood and flame heed your song.
*Double Action
*Level 2: One Burning object or creature within 10 spaces of you now burns half as fast/ takes half as much damage from the Burning.
*Level 3: Choose a source of fire within 10 spaces of you. Make a Music attack against each enemy adjacent to the fire source, dealing 1/4H (torch), 1/2H (campfire, brazier) or 3/4H (bonfire) of fire damage per success.
 
'''Tango of Tongues'''<br>
Language is no longer a hindrance. This song opens your ears and mind to understand other creature's language.
*Double Action
*Level 1: You can comprehend a sentence spoken from the target.
*Level 3: You can understand the target for one hour.
*Level 4: You can understand the target and be able to speak their language for one day.


==Character Advancement==
==Character Advancement==
We would like to make this system entirely XP-less -- that is, rather than spending some kind of metagame resource to improve your character (as is the case in most every RPG), characters improve through in-game rewards. While this will add a bit more for the [[Gamemaster|Sage]] to do, it strongly supports our goal of making a system with uniquely Legend-of-Zelda-style gameplay.


{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" style="float:right;"
Of course, one of the most important means of character advancement is acquiring '''items'''. In order to advance to new challenges, you'll need to expand your repertoire of tools for handling them -- just like in the video games. Items are most prominently found in dungeons, and the item found in a dungeon is usually crucial for handling that dungeon's puzzles and boss. They also can be obtained in the overworld from side quests and the like. Note that "items" need not necessarily be physical objects -- they might be spells or songs learned from a mentor or ancient writing. Anything that adds a totally new capability that is vital for characters to handle puzzles and similar obstacles is effectively an "item".
|- align="center"
! Virtue
! 1 || 2 || 3  || 4  || 5  || 6
|- align="center"
| Cost
| 0 || 10 || 15 || 20  || 25  || 30
|- align="center"
| Total
| 0 || 10 || 25 || 45 || 70 || 100
|- align="center"
! Attribute
! 1 || 2 || 3  || 4  || 5  || 6
|- align="center"
| Cost
| 0 || 6 || 9 || 12 || 15  || 18
|- align="center"
| Total
| 0 || 6 || 15 || 27 || 42 || 60
|- align="center"
! Skill
! 1 || 2 || 3  || 4  || 5  || 6
|- align="center"
| Cost
| 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5  || 6
|- align="center"
| Total
| 1 || 3 || 6 || 10 || 15 || 21
|}


'''Awarding XP'''
Another important means of advancement is the learning of '''techniques'''. Techniques are special abilities and tricks that your character learns through practice. Like items, they typically add entirely new abilities to your repertoire, rather than merely improving your stats; however, unlike items, techniques rarely play a pivotal role in solving puzzles (though this is not to say that they ''can't'' play such a role occasionally). Rather, techniques help to personalize and flesh out your character's capabilities, adding variety and style to how you do things. Techniques are often combat-oriented, in contrast to items, which are typically puzzle-oriented. Techniques would typically be learned from mentors (such as the Hero's Spirit in ''Twilight Princess''), but could also be learned from studying written instructions (such as the Tiger Scrolls in ''Minish Cap'') or from other sources entirely -- whatever the [[Gamemaster|Sage]] feels is appropriate.
*1 XP just for showing up to the session<br>
*1 XP for generally making steady progress in a session<br>
*1 XP each for smaller milestones (beating a miniboss, figuring out a major puzzle in a dungeon, completing a minor sidequest)<br>
*2 XP each for major milestones (beating a dungeon boss, completing a big sidequest)<br>
*1 XP for each instance of particularly good RP, creative problem-solving, etc.


'''Character Advancement'''
'''Hearts''', as you might expect, should be increased in essentially the same fashion as they are in the video games -- from Heart Containers dropped by defeated bosses, and from collecting Pieces of Heart. Each new heart obtained (whether from a defeated boss or Pieces of Heart) should benefit each party member equally.
*Virtue: 5 &times; Next Level XP.<br>
*Attribute: 3 &times; Next Level XP.<br>
*Skill: 1 &times; Next Level.<br>
*Techniques: XP costs are listed individually for each Technique under the [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Techniques|Techniques]] section.


Hearts are primarily increased by obtaining Pieces of Heart and Heart Containers, which can't be bought with XP, but instead are a reward for defeating bosses, solving difficult puzzles, etc. Gaining more hearts is also possible (albeit in a very limited fashion) through improving your character's Physical attribute. The magic meter is similarly expanded primarily by in-game rewards, though improving the Mental attribute can also increase your available magic power.
The [[Gamemaster|Sage]] should also provide opportunities for characters to acquire additional blocks of '''magic power''' and '''stamina''' in-game. The form this takes is entirely up to the [[Gamemaster|Sage]]; you might use very abstract methods as is done for hearts, or the intervention of a powerful magical being (such as a Great Fairy's blessing or the Mad Batter's "curse", which double your magic meters in the video games that use them), or a powerful potion brewed by a witch, or perhaps even intense training under a suitable mentor to increase your reserves of strength. The number of extra blocks of these resources provided to a character should not exceed twice that character's rank in the associated attribute for that resource -- for instance, the [[Gamemaster|Sage]] shouldn't give a character with 3 Guts more than 6 additional blocks of Stamina through in-game sources. However, [[Gamemaster|Sages]] should be fairly generous in making extra blocks available, not shying away from allowing players to reach this upper limit. The pace at which these increases are provided is up to the [[Gamemaster|Sage]] -- some may find it easier to only rarely give out many blocks at once (similar to the one-time doubling of the magic meter in the video games), while others may prefer the smoother progression afforded by providing one block at a time spread out regularly over the course of the campaign. Extra blocks of magic and stamina may be distributed to the party as a whole (in which case the amount of blocks given should be determined by the average relevant attribute value of all party members) or individually (in which case the number of blocks given can be determined on a character-by-character basis). If using individual distribution, characters should not be permitted to give extra blocks they obtain personally to other party members -- in other words, the whole party should not be able to go out and, for instance, each get a potion that boosts MP capacity and all give their potions to the party's mage.


==Movement==
Finally, of course, there's increasing your stats -- your '''attributes, skills, and Virtues'''. This too must be accomplished through in-game action. Improving your rank in a skill might require studying under a suitable expert in that field. Improving an attribute might take intensive training under a strict coach, or perhaps a magical infusion of ability from a potion or Great Fairy. Improving a Virtue would almost always require some kind of intervention on the part of a powerful supernatural entity -- perhaps even the Virtue's patron Goddess herself! Increasing stats should typically involve a side quest or "minigame" of sorts, determined by the [[Gamemaster|Sage]]. A mentor might require you to overcome some trial to prove your worth before training you; finding a reclusive guru may be a challenge in itself; a witch might need you to gather ingredients for her to make you an attribute-boosting potion; a Great Fairy might require you to prove your Virtue by undertaking some grand endeavour before blessing you with greater strength in that area; and so forth. Increasing skills would require relatively easy challenges -- in fact, the [[Gamemaster|Sage]] may simply require nothing more than the payment of a training fee in rupees at a local guild, if they don't want to spend time on something so trivial. Improving an attribute is a slightly more significant boost, and requires a bit more effort. Improving a Virtue is a momentous task indeed, requiring tremendous effort. While it would be reasonable to expect a character to hit the maximum rank of 5 in their primary attribute and skills by the end of an extended campaign, maxing out a Virtue should be reserved for only the most truly epic campaigns.


===Overland Movement===
Here are the general character advancement Rewards, in descending power.
*Gift of the Goddess : Increase your virtue by 1, all hearts are restored. Granted just before the Final Boss.
*Powerful Essence : Increase 1 Attribute. Dropped by Dungeon Bosses.
*Full Heart : Permanently add 1 Heart, or 1 block of Mana, or 1 block of Stamina. Dropped by Dungeon Bosses.
*Piece of Heart : Collect 4 to create a Full Heart. Granted by side quests.
*Weak Essence : Increase two different Skills by 1. Dropped by Mini-Bosses
*Artifact : An important item. Granted after the Mini-Boss.


While traveling overland, a party's speed is based on the Mass Category of their largest member (unless they want to leave that person behind and let them catch up later).
==Exploration==
===The Effect of Character Size===
Size categories vary widely in the Legend of Zelda universe and that must be represented when you pit a Goron against a Kokiri. Size categories scale infinitely with each category being twice as heavy as the last, meaning Hylians are 70kg and Gorons would be 140 kg. Size is slightly misleading however, because it is based on mass rather than height; a Deku is about as tall as a Hylian, but is spindly, light, and weak, so they are classified as Small rather than Medium. Size impacts a few very important things. First, is your ability to move things and resist being moved. Small size gives +0, and every increment changes that by 1, so medium would be +1, Large is +2, Tiny is -1. This applies to strength checks, similar but not the same as Brawn checks, and knockback checks. Second, is the size of weapons you can easily wield. Weapon size corresponds almost directly to character size by name, but is covered more in depth later. Finally, your size modifies your ability, or inability, to dodge ranged attacks. Center of body mass is considered to be the target however, and a Hylians chest by itself would be small size, so the modifier is set at medium = 0, and goes down with size. Therefore Gorons would have -1 to dodge arrows while a Kokiri would have +2. You can still block arrows, and parry them out of the air.


M. Category----Per Day----Per Hour----Per Minute
An important consequence of large monsters: Monsters often are much larger and stronger than Link (or a simillarily-sized character). As such, they occupy multiple squares at the same time. To account for weak spots, each square has the capacity for different stats. For every attack they possess, it can only come from a certain square, such as the Dodongo's fire breath which only comes from their head. For defense, calculate the number of dice they would have normally, multiply by the number of squares they have, and assign the dice as seen fit. For further example with the Dodongo, if it can normally defend with four dice, since it is over two squares, it would have eight dice to assign, all of which go to its head, giving the head 8 defense dice, and its tail none because the tail is the weak spot.


Light----------35 miles---3.5 miles---350 ft.
When a character is so large they occupy multiple squares area of effects affect them differently. The base damage is applied to every square that is targetted, but otherwise all effects only apply once. So, a spin attack of Ice 1 would only stun for 1 even if you hit them three times with the spin attack.


Medium---------30 miles---3 miles-----300 ft.
===Lifting and Carrying===
Every creature and object has a Weight category, which can also be expressed as a number. The Weight categories, in order from smallest to largest, are Negligible (-1), Small (0), Medium (1), Large (2), Massive (3), and Colossal (4). PC races fall within the range of Light to Heavy (eg, Deku are Light, Hylians are Medium, Gorons are Heavy), and items (such as the Iron Boots) or other effects may modify your Weight, potentially taking it outside of this range. Very large or dense monsters or objects may have weights heavier than Massive, which are simply indicated with a "+" after the word Colossal for each point of Weight beyond 4. For instance, an exceptionally large statue with Weight 6 would be described as "Colossal++". This number is the same as the knockback modifier.


Heavy----------25 miles---2.5 miles---250 ft.
If your Brawn exceeds the Weight of an object, you can lift and carry it without penalty. If your Brawn is exactly equal to an object's Weight, you can carry it, you re encumbered by it and have one less action, -1 to dodge, -1 buoyancy, and +1 against knockback. You cannot lift anything with Weight greater than your Brawn, but you can push or drag any object with a knockback modifier equal to or less than your brawn+size modifier.
 
===Climbing/Jumping/Swimming===
 
The number of meters per action that a character can climb or swim is equal to 1/2 the character's movement speed (round down, minimum 1). The number of meters a character can move in a single jump is equal to their Physical score, and double that if the character moves at least three spaces in a straight line to build up a running start before the jump. Any of these actions can be included as part of a move action that also includes normal movement. For any of these actions, a character can gain additional distance by making a Physical(Courage or Power) check, moving 1 additional meter for every 2 successes on the check (difficulty 4).
 
These speeds may be modified by particularly easy or hazardous conditions, at the GM's discretion.


==Combat==
==Combat==
Combat is turn-based, with an initiative count determined at the start of the scene by an unopposed Physical Courage check with a success threshold of 4. Whoever gets the most successes goes first, with ties resolved by who has the highest Courage score. If there's still a tie, it is resolved by an opposed Physical Courage check (if a two-way tie) or another unopposed check (for a tie between 3 or more characters).
When a fight starts, each combatant rolls for initiative with a dice pool of Agility + Wits to determine turn order. The team with the highest single initiative roll goes first. In case of a tie, reroll.
 
Each turn, you get 2 actions. Each action can be used to attack, defend, move, use an item, or do any number of various things (see [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Actions_in_Combat|below]]). |Heavy| weapons require use of an action to recover from an attack before the wielder can move or attack with that weapon again. You also get one immediate action each round, which is an action taken during someone else's turn during the round. Immediate actions are typically used for [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Opportunity Attacks|opportunity attacks]], but certain techniques or items may allow you to use your immediate action for other things.
Each turn, you get three actions, which can be used in a variety of ways. On your turn, an action can be spent to do just about anything that could reasonably be done in the span of a few seconds -- making an attack, readying yourself for combat, using an item from your c-pool, moving a distance up to your speed, etc. Any actions not used during your turn can be used later in the round as '''reactions''', in response to something somebody else does. Reactions can only be used in certain specific ways, as described below.
 
When it’s your turn to go during a round, you may decide that you’re not ready to act yet. You may be awaiting the outcome of another character’s actions, hoping to interrupt someone else’s action, or may simply be undecided about what to do yet. In this case, you may opt to delay your action. When you delay your action, you’re putting yourself on standby. At some later point in that round, you can announce that you are now taking your action—even if you interrupt another character’s action. In this case, all other activity is put on hold until your action is resolved. Once your action has taken place, the Initiative order continues on where you interrupted.
 
You may delay your action into the next round, but if you do not take it by the time your next action comes around in the Initiative order, then you lose it. If you do take your delayed action during the next round, you lose an action from your normal turn during that round.
 
For each attack, the attacker rolls a check with the relevant skill. The attacker compares his kept dice to those of the defender according to the linear comparison method explained [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#The_Basic_System_So_Far|above]] and deals one increment of damage for every success over the defender. If competing dice in the linear comparison are tied, the success goes to the defender. The damage increment is defined by the weapon -- a knife might have a damage increment of only 1/4 heart, while an Iron Knuckle's humongous axe might have an increment of 1+1/2 hearts.
 
The defender's roll depends on whether he or she is defending '''passively''' or '''actively'''.
'''Passive defense''' is the most general case. The defender rolls Physical and keeps either Courage or Wisdom (their choice).
Taking an action to defend lets you use '''active defense''' against all attacks from a specified opponent for the next round. This can let you use a Shield or Acrobatics skill check (your choice) in place of the normal passive defense roll, meaning your chances of beating the attacker's roll are improved, and gives additional benefits besides. See [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Actions_in_Combat|below]] for more detailed descriptions of how active defense works.
In either case, if you have more kept dice in your defense roll than the attacker has for the attack roll, each unopposed die can be used to negate one of your attacker's successes.
 
Armour reduces the total damage taken from each attack by a fixed margin, but (except for the absolute best-of-the-best armours) can never reduce damage to less than 1/4 heart. Medium armor has a higher reduction value, but increases Mass by 1 on the character wearing it (and thus reducing Movement by 1) and applies a -1k1 penalty to any |stealth| or |acrobatics| rolls. Heavy armor is rare, and has the highest reduction value, but increases Mass by 2 (reducing Movement by 2) and applies a -2k2 penalty on any |stealth| or |acrobatics| rolls. Any character can use light or medium armor, but only those who have taken the Heavy Armor Training [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Miscellaneous_Techniques|technique]] can wear heavy armor.
 
Shields used for '''Active Defense''' reduce damage taken by an additional value listed in their description (usually 1/4 heart).
*For example, the hero Kiln readies his shield for active defense against a moblin. The moblin attacks and Kiln's |shield| check beats the moblin's attack for every die. No damage is dealt. The moblin attacks again, and this time gets two successes against Kiln's |shield| roll, dealing damage. Kiln reduces the total damage from the moblin's attack by 1/4 heart for his leather armor, '''and''' by an additional 1/4 heart because he used his deku shield against the attack.
 
When using Acrobatics for active defense, you may immediately move 1 space, plus one space for each success you roll above your attacker's total number of successes. Note that this movement doesn't interrupt or otherwise stop the current attack, but it does mean that the enemy may not be able to immediately follow up with a second attack.
*For example, Kiln's shield burned to cinders, so he now has to rely on Acrobatics for active defense. A burning keese dives in for the attack, and Kiln rolls poorly, scoring fewer successes than the keese. Kiln takes the damage (minus 1/4 heart for his leather armor), and can immediately move 1 space. The keese tries again next round, and this time Kiln gets 2 more successes on his |acrobatics| check than the keese did on its attack, allowing Kiln to not only avoid some damage but also immediately move up to 3 spaces.
 
===Opportunity Attacks===
When a creature attempts to leave a space adjacent to an enemy, or attempts to use a ranged attack or spell while adjacent to an enemy, that creature provokes an opportunity attack from the enemy. An opportunity attack is a simple attack with a |Melee| or |Heavy| weapon. Making an opportunity attack is an immediate action, of which a character/creature only has 1 per round, and can only be done when an enemy provokes the attack. An opportunity attack occurs immediately before the provoking action, but does not necessarily prevent it. You can only make opportunity attacks against creatures that are immediately adjacent to you, even if your weapon can reach farther for a normal attack. Even though you can extend the weapon to attack, doing so is unbalancing and not conducive to quick responses to enemy actions, so when it's not your turn your weapon is held closer to allow for more effective defense and quicker reactions.
 
Only movement undertaken by a creature's own actions provokes opportunity attacks; forced movement (as from a Knockback effect, for instance) does not provoke opportunity attacks. The Active Defense action can also allow you to move without provoking opportunity attacks; see the Active Defense description below.
 
Using a spell only provokes opportunity attacks if it targets a creature other than the caster or affects an area not centered on the caster, and a spell never provokes attacks of opportunity from a creature it targets. It's not the act of using the spell ''per se'' that provokes the attack, but rather the act of diverting your attention from those threatening you in order to aim the spell at the proper target or area.
 
Ranged attacks made using weapons always provoke opportunity attacks, even from the creature being targeted by the attack.
 
===Death and Dying===
When a player character is reduced to 0 hearts, he or she is knocked unconscious (or similarly incapacitated, if the GM feels that unconsciousness is not appropriate). The character falls prone, can take no actions (not even free actions, like talking), and is unaware of his or her surroundings. A downed character can be revived in one of five ways:
*If a party member has access to a song that restores hearts, it can be used to revive the downed character, restoring as many hearts as the song would normally restore. Healing magic, however, cannot be used to revive a downed character unless explicitly stated otherwise by the specific spell or a technique the caster has that is applicable to that spell.
*If a party member has a healing potion, it can be used to revive a downed character in combat by spending a double action to give it to the character. However, due to the rushed and sloppy nature of the task (after all, it ''is'' rather distracting having a raging melee about you while you're trying to coax liquid down an unconscious person's throat), much of the potion is wasted, and so the revived character heals only half as many hearts as the potion would normally restore. However, if you have a chance to take your time and really focus, you can ensure that none of the potion is wasted, so using a potion to revive a downed character out of combat when you aren't pressed for time or otherwise distracted will allow that character to recover the full amount of hearts normally restored by the potion used.
*A more practical alternative to potions for mid-combat healing is a fairy. You can revive a downed character using a fairy as a single action. A downed character revived by a fairy recovers 6 hearts (the standard amount healed by a fairy).
*If the party acquires a heart container or piece of heart, all characters in the party are automatically restored to full health, including downed characters.
*Finally, a downed character can be revived by 8 hours of rest, recovering the normal amount of hearts restored by resting.
 
A player character can only be killed if he or she takes further damage from a direct attack while downed. Indirect attacks, such as Din's Fire and other area-effect magic, will not slay a downed character.
 
Most monsters are killed outright when reduced to zero hearts, though the players may choose to incapacitate rather than kill if they wish. This intention need not be stated in advance; the players decide when they learn that they've defeated an enemy whether they want to kill or spare their foe. It is common heroic practice not to outright kill humanoid opponents unless absolutely necessary.
 
Generally speaking, friendly and neutral NPCs should be subject to the same rules for death and dying as PCs, always being incapacitated rather than killed when reduced to zero hearts.
 
===Actions in Combat===
 
'''Attack''' (Single action): Roll a check with the relevant skill to attack someone with your weapon. Opposed by the target's defense. Each success deals one damage increment to the target, as defined by your weapon. Ties count as successes for your opponent, and unopposed dice count as normal successes.
 
'''Recover''' (Single action): Used after attacking with a |heavy| weapon; you must do this before you can move or use the weapon again (though you can take other actions, such as making an unarmed attack or dropping your weapon).


'''Load''' (Varies): Prepare ammunition for a ranged weapon. Ranged weapons that launch projectiles (as opposed to being projectiles themselves) must be loaded before you may use them to attack. Some weapons (such as bows) can be loaded as a free action, while others (such as crossbows) may take an action to load, and still others (cannon, trebuchets) may take more than one action.
===Attacks and Damage===
To make an attack, roll the appropriate dice pool for your weapon. For instance, a typical sword would use Brawn + Melee, a Biggoron's sword would use Brawn + Heavy, and a bow would use Agility + Ranged. If you make at least one success, your attack hits, and you deal an amount of damage defined by your weapon. Each additional success you score beyond the first increases the damage you deal by 1/4H (for now, anyway -- eventually different weapons may have different kinds of effects for extra successes, but that can wait). A target that defends itself may cancel out some or all of your successes, as described below.


'''Passive Defense''' (Non-action): Used whenever you're attacked, unless you've readied a form of active defense. Roll Physical Courage or Physical Wisdom (your choice) to oppose your opponent's attack. Ties count as successes for you, and if you keep more dice than your opponent, each unopposed die can be used to negate one success scored by your opponent.
If the target is wearing armor, the damage dealt by a successful attack is reduced by a certain number of hearts based on what kind of armor the target is wearing (see below).


'''Active Defense''' (Single action): Ready a defense against a specific opponent. Whenever that opponent attacks you before your next turn, you use one of the following defenses (chosen as you declare this action) in place of your passive defense to oppose the attack. Regardless of which one you choose, ties count as successes for you, and if you keep more dice than your opponent, each unopposed die can be used to negate one success scored by your opponent. In addition, when you take an Active Defense action you may move up to 1/2 your speed as part of the action, and this movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. Any move actions taken during your turn after readying Active Defense are made at 1/2 speed, but do not provoke opportunity attacks.
Attacking is usually just a single action, but attacking with a Heavy weapon requires two actions, due to their relative unwieldiness.
*Unskilled Active Defense: This uses your normal Passive Defense roll, but has all the other normal characteristics of an Active Defense.
*Shield defense: Roll |Shield| (Courage) to defend. Additionally, you gain the damage reduction benefit of your shield for any damage taken from the attack. Even if the attack deals no damage, it still makes contact (with your shield), which may be important for electrified attacks and similar effects.
*Acrobatic defense: Roll |Acrobatics| (Wisdom) to defend. Additionally, you may move 1 space as a free action (part of your defense), plus one additional space for each success you score over your attacker's total number of successes. This movement does not negate the attack you're defending against, and it never provokes opportunity attacks.
*Other active defense: Certain techniques may allow you to take other forms of active defense; these options are detailed under the technique that grants them.


'''Total Defense''' (Double action): Same as active defense, but the defense you ready is applied to all attacks against you until your next turn; you do not need to choose a specific opponent.
You can only use each of your hands once per turn. This includes : swinging a sword, blocking with a shield, casting a spell, pulling a bow, using an item, throwing a punch, and more. Two handed weapons use both of your hands, one handed weapons use one hand, typical ranged weapons use two hands, and spells use two hands if they are complex, and one if they are simple, refer to the magic section for more information. Anything you can do in your main hand, you can do in your off hand, but at a -1 dice pool penalty to all rolls with it when attacking. Defending with your off hand does not take this penalty.


'''Move''' (Single action): Move a number of spaces up to your Movement, in any path you like.
Certain weapons can attack with Reach. This means that they can threaten two squares away from themselves, given that the middle square is empty. This allows a character with reach to strike a normally armed character when he himself cannot be hit. There is a wielding penalty to Reach weapons.


'''Flee''' (Double action): Move a number of spaces up to twice your Movement, in any path you like. When using this action, you do not provoke opportunity attacks for the first square of movement.
Unarmed is a normal melee attack with either hand. Damage scales with size such that a medium does 1/4 h + 1/4 h per success. Smaller size categories can only damage through successes while every size up adds 1/4 h to direct damage. Unarmed damage cannot remove an enemy's Final Heart. Even when armed, you can make an unarmed attack.


'''Stand Up''' (Single action): Get back on your feet from a prone position.
*A summation table for reference:
*The largest weapon a Medium can wield in one hand is a medium weapon.
*This scales to character size and is all relative.
*The largest weapon a character can draw as a free action is 1 sizes below his main.
*A character can wield a weapon 1 size over his main in 2 hands, each attack taking 1 action and stunning for 1. (Acts as a heavy attack that isn't at the limit)
*A character can wield a weapon 1 size over his main in 1 hand, each attack taking 2 actions.
*A character can wield a weapon 2 sizes over his main in 2 hands, each attack taking 2 actions, and a successful attack stunning the target for 1 action.
*A character can wield a weapon with reach the size of his main, in 2 hands, each attack taking 2 actions and stunning for 1.
*A character can wield a weapon with reach the size of his main, in 1 hand for 1 action, sacrificing reach and 2 offensive die
*A character can wield a ranged weapon the size of his main, taking 1 action to aim and another to fire.
*A character can wield a crossbow 2 sizes above his main, taking 1 action to preload, 1 to aim and a third to fire. Preloading can occur on a previous round.
*A character can throw a weapon 1 size above his main, taking 2 actions. This weapon is treated as a size category lower when not being thrown


'''Shove''' (Single action): Roll Physical Power against an enemy within arm's reach, opposed by your enemy's Physical Power or Physical Wisdom (their choice). Ties count as successes for you. For each success you score, push the opponent back 1 space; modifiers for forced movement based on Mass apply to this movement. If you scored at least two more successes than your opponent did, the opponent is also knocked prone at the end of the shove.
====Ranged Weapons====
*When using a shove as part of a charge, you get a +1k1 bonus to your Physical Power roll, and if you score more total successes than your opponent, you may opt to push the opponent 1 square out of your path and continue the charge (though you cannot attack or shove if you encounter a second opponent in the path of your charge). When shoving an opponent out of the path of your charge, Mass-based modifiers apply to the distance moved, and the opponent is still knocked prone if you score at least two more successes than your opponent.
Attacking accurately with a ranged weapon takes 2 actions -- one to aim, and one immediately afterward to fire. You can attempt a quick shot without taking time to aim, using only a single action to attack, but this comes at a great cost in accuracy -- your dice pool for the attack is halved (rounded down, but to a minimum of 1 die).


'''Charge''' (Double action): Move a distance up to twice your Movement, but no less than two spaces, in a straight line at an opponent. When you reach the opponent, you may make either a shove or a normal |Melee| or |Heavy| attack against that opponent. When you make a charge, you take a -1k1 penalty to all defense rolls until the beginning of your next turn, including defense rolls made against opportunity attacks you may provoke during your charge.
Crossbows additionally require an action to load, but unlike aiming this can be done well in advance of firing, with various other actions done in between. However, crossbows deal considerably more damage -- much like how Heavy weapons, though they take two actions to use, deal considerably more damage than Melee weapons.


'''Grapple''' (Single action): Roll Physical Power against an enemy within arm's reach. The enemy opposes your roll with its own passive defense, unless it has readied acrobatic defense against you, in which case it may use that. If you score more successes than the opponent, you begin grappling that creature. Ties count as successes for you. You must have a hand free to attempt to grapple a foe.
Ranged Weapons have a base range increment of 10 squares. Every increment past that gives a -1 penalty. This applies to magic projectiles as well.


'''Break a Grapple''' (Single action): Roll Physical Courage or Physical Power against an enemy that has grappled you, opposed by that enemy's Physical Power. If you score more successes than the opponent, you end the grapple and may push the enemy one space in a direction of your choice (modifiers for forced movement based on Mass Category apply).
Ranged Weapons take the same damage as melee weapons. A short bow is equivalent to a medium weapon, longbow is Imposing and Crossbow is Hefty. Crossbows would be considered heavy, that is why they have the extra 'load' action.


'''Escape a Grapple''' (Single action): Roll Physical Wisdom against an enemy that has grappled you, opposed by that enemy's Physical Power. If you score more successes than the opponent, you end the grapple and move up to one space in a direction of your choice.
Normal ranged weapons use Agility, thrown weapons such as axes and pots, use Brawn. Thrown weapons use a range increment of 3.


'''Move While Grappling''' (Double action): Roll an opposed Physical Power check against the creature with which you are grappling. If you and your opponent are of different Mass Categories, add +2k2 to the heavier creature's roll for each Mass Category it is larger than its opponent. If you score more successes than the opponent, you and the opponent both move one space for each success you score. You may not move more than half your Movement in this way. You may not attempt this action against a creature that is significantly larger than you.
====Techniques====
There exist many different techniques that can be used in combat, and sometimes out of combat. To use a technique, you typically have to spend the stamina cost and spend a single action on it. Techniques generally represent something you could do normally but would be far more inefficient at without the technique, so the same roll is used as if you were doing it the hard way. For example, you could move forward and attack, or you could jump attack, both would be a melee attack. Techniques require any hands that would be required to do it the hard way, and can only be performed once per turn. In the same example, jump attacking would use your main hand for that turn, but you could still shield bash with the other.


===Special Conditions===
Special techniques exist with 0 stamina cost. These are Traits. They are always in effect. They cannot be trained, but are rather rewards given by the Sage for certain actions at their discretion. Say, if you grappled a dragon to death, you would get the trait Wrestler (+2 to all grapple checks).


*Dazed
==Items and Tools in Combat==
**A Dazed creature has been temporarily befuddled and disoriented by a powerful shock, taxing action, or for some other reason. It can take no actions, but otherwise suffers no other drawbacks. The Dazed condition can persist for any number of rounds, as defined by the effect that caused it.
Items and Tools should be of the weightless size category. As such, they can be drawn freely by any size player. They should occupy one hand and generate their effect at the cost of one action. As improvised weapons they are poor, but using the spell toolkit, their effects can be quite useful. To keep with the theme of Legend of Zelda, although this isn't necessary, a pool of 3 readied items akin to the C-buttons, the C-Pool, can be implemented to make characters think more about preparation for combat. Using a tool from the C-Pool takes merely the action to use it, but changing an item in the C-Pool takes an action, then the action to actually use it.


*Downed
Items and Tools will be changed quickly, much quicker than weapons. As such, the rule should be generic and applied to all of them while a players personal weapon can be more intricate due to the player have a more permanent use and understanding of it.
**A Downed character has been reduced to 0 hearts, and is utterly incapacitated. A character falls prone immediately upon being downed, and a downed character can take no actions, not even free actions. A Downed character is completely helpless and unaware of his or her surroundings. A Downed character is unaffected by damage from indirect attacks (such as area-effect spells), but is killed if he or she takes any damage from a direct attack. A Downed character can only be revived through certain ways; see [[Legend_of_Zelda_RPG#Death_and_Dying|Death and Dying]], above. The Downed condition typically only applies to PCs, though the players may choose to Down a foe rather than killing it when they reduce it to 0 hearts.


*Frozen
===Types of reactions===
**A Frozen creature is encased in ice, rendering it immobile and making it brittle. It can't take move or take any actions requiring movement. It gains 1/2 heart of damage reduction against Piercing and Edged damage, but takes 1 heart of extra damage from Crushing and Fire-based attacks.
'''Defensive reactions:''' A reaction can be used to defend yourself in one of three ways. Regardless of which option you choose, each success you roll cancels one of the attacker's successes. If you roll at least as many successes for your defense as the attacker rolled for their attack, you've negated the attack completely. If you roll some successes, but not enough to negate the attack, you've managed to avoid some of the attack, mitigating it to an extent, but not quite all of it. If you roll no successes, you've failed utterly. Each defensive option has additional effects, as described below.  


*Helpless
In case of a tie, melee defenders win and ranged attackers win. In a melee fight, you are proving your ability to dodge rather than them proving their ability to hit because it's really easy to hit normally. In a ranged situation, you are proving your ability to hit, because it's rather hard to hit something at range.
**A Helpless creature is completely unable to defend itself. Any attack against the creature is opposed by passive defense, and the defense dice are automatically treated as though they rolled 1s.


*Grappling
'''Block:''' Guts+Shields. One action, one roll, defends against all attacks until your next turn. If you have a shield, you can roll Guts + Shields to block an enemy attack. In addition to cancelling out the attacker's successes, as long as you roll at least one success you gain an armor bonus (in addition to any you may have from other sources), which further reduces the damage taken if you fail to negate the attack entirely. The magnitude of this bonus depends on what kind of shield you have. Unlike other kinds of defenses, cancelling successes by blocking does not negate stun.
**A grappling creature can't use active defense, songs, magic, or any item or weapon requiring the use of both hands.
**It has access only to those items it was wielding when it became grappled, and cannot store or retrieve items.
**It can't attack any creatures other than the one with which it is grappling, and can only use unarmed attacks or weapons with the "Brawling" descriptor for this purpose.
**It can't move normally, but can attempt to move using the "Move while grappling" action.
**A creature that is significantly larger than the creature with which it is grappling is exempt from the above restrictions, but instead simply adds the grappling creature's Mass to its own and reduces its Movement by the same amount. However, it can't attack any creature grappling it unless it initiated the grapple against that creature.
**The creature that initiated the grapple may end it at any time as a free action, but the other creature must either break or escape the grapple.


*Miniaturized
'''Dodge:''' Agility+Athletics. Once action, one roll, only defends against the first attack. As long as you're not encumbered, be it from armor or heavy weapons, you can attempt to leap, roll, or sidestep out of the way of an attack. To attempt a dodge, there must be an open space adjacent to your current position that isn't affected by the enemy's attack. Normally this is any other square, but certain area of effect spells can limit your options. To attempt to dodge, roll Agility + Athletics. In addition to cancelling out the attacker's successes, as long as you roll at least one success you move into an adjacent safe space of your choice. If you roll no successes, you failed to react in time and you don't move. In order to dodge, you must move to a spot that is not threatened.
**Your Mass is 0
**Your Movement is half its normal value.
**You cannot deal damage to normal-sized creatures.
**You take double damage from normal-sized creatures.
**You cannot use shield or parry defense against normal-sized creatures.
**You gain a +2k2 bonus to passive defense, acrobatic defense, and |stealth| checks against normal-sized creatures.
**You can fit through grates, holes, and other small openings, as appropriate for your tiny stature. (A Miniaturized creature typically stands no more than 10 cm tall)


*Paralyzed
'''Parry:''' Wits + Melee - 1. One action, multiple rolls, each roll defends against a single attack. If you're using a Melee or Heavy weapon, you can use it to turn aside an enemy's Melee attack. A Heavy weapon is also capable of parrying an attack from another Heavy weapon, but Melee weapons are too small and flimsy to adequately accomplish this. To attempt a parry, roll Wits + melee - 1. If you roll more successes than the enemy does, not only do you negate the attack, but you manage to put the enemy in a disadvantageous position, giving you a +1 bonus to your dice pool the next time you attack that enemy, provided you make the attack before the enemy's next turn. If your offhand is free, you do not suffer the -1 penalty. You do not get the bonus from parrying an area of effect attack like Spin Attack.
**A Paralyzed creature can take no actions requiring physical movement of any kind (including speaking or use of magic), and is completely Helpless.
'''Counterattack:''' If you completely negate an enemy's attack with a defensive reaction, you can immediately spend another reaction (if you have one available) to immediately attack that enemy with a weapon you have on hand. Since a counterattack takes advantage of the momentary opening created when an enemy fails to land an attack, the target can't use a reaction to defend against it; however, Heavy weapons are too unwieldy to use for such a quick response, and thus cannot be used to counterattack. You also can't counterattack if you used an action on your turn to attack (even if the attack failed). Attempting a counterattack costs 1 Stamina. If you counterattack after a defense such as blocking or parrying, then you are no longer protected by that defense and must spend another action afterwards to reinstate your defense.
'''Prepare:''' If you suspect an enemy might try to do something in particular, and you want to respond to that in a certain way, you can prepare a response to such an eventuality. To prepare a reaction, you must spend a reaction in advance and declare that you will do a certain thing when a given condition is met. For example, your prepared reaction might be, "if the Dodongo tries to breathe fire, I'll throw a bomb in its mouth". When the condition you prepared for is met, you can immediately take the action you prepared without spending a reaction (since your reaction was spent in advance when you declared the prepared reaction). If the condition isn't met before your next turn starts, your preparation is wasted. If you don't trust your Sage not to change what the enemies do to avoid triggering your prepared reaction, you can make a secret declaration by writing down the condition and what you plan to do, revealing it when the condition is met. You still have to declare that you are preparing an action, though; you just don't need to announce what exactly you're planning. You can prepare a reaction any time before the event triggering it happens, as long as you have a reaction available to spend for it. Prepared reactions take place immediately before the triggering action, and may prevent the target from carrying out the triggering action -- but this is not always the case! Generally speaking, a reaction prepared to thwart a particular special attack (such as the aforementioned Dodongo example) is hard for the enemy to defend against or recover from, since such actions exploit openings inherent in those attacks; however, such openings may not always be present. For example, you could prepare a reaction to attack an enemy if it tries to attack you (simply with a standard attack). In this case, while you could certainly make your attack, the enemy could still use a reaction to defend itself, and assuming it survives your prepared attack it may still be able to continue with its intended attack against you. Prepared actions can only be used against techniques/spells, saying "I cut him if he steps near me," leads to stand offs so base actions can't provoke a prepared action due to their mutability.


*Stunned
'''A note on Protecting:''' You can occupy the same square as one other ally. In this case, the actual effects of each reaction need to be clearly specified. Only block removes threat from a square. Parry does not nor does dodge. If your square is attacked and you dodge, whoever was also in that square must defend or get hit; but if you block, your ally does not need to spend an action defending.
**A Stunned creature has been momentarily disoriented by a sudden shock, such as a sharp blow to the head. It loses one action on its next turn, then the condition ends.


==Equipment==
Another note. It only takes a single reaction to block every primary attack of all of your aggressors, and another to block all secondary attacks. The action economy breaks down if you need one reaction per attack against you and three people are attacking you. The only viable style would be dodging and counterattacking, which while accurate to reality, flies in the face of the Legend of Zelda style of play, not to mention most all other tabletop systems allow you to defend against everyone attacking you.


While still under development and undergoing brainstorming, here is a list of some basic weaponry and what skills and virtues are probably best to go along them. The fraction at the end indicates the damage increment (in hearts). All weapons are assumed to have a base damage increment of 1/2H and the variances in damage increment come from weapon properties. The base range for Ranged weapons is 20, variances also come from weapon properties.
===Movement and Positioning===
Distances in this system are measured in meters, with combat spaces measured in squares 2 meters to a side. Each race will have a stated movement speed, which indicates how far an individual of that race can move in a single action (without additional modifiers, such as sprinting). The typical baseline speed is 6 m (3 spaces). A character can sprint by spending 1 stamina, doubling their movement speed for a single action.


Each weapon has a number of specific properties that make it different from other weapons. Here's a list of properties that fit most Melee and Heavy weapons along with what bonuses and penalties each property gives.
Two allies can share a space together, but fighting in such close quarters imposes penalties to their ability to attack. These penalties are based on the size of the larger character. If the larger character is Small, both parties receive a -1 to all attack rolls. If the larger is Medium, they take -2. And if they are Large, a -3. If the largest is below Small, they take none, and if they are above Large, they are incapable of sharing a space with any one. Certain techniques can't be performed if a space is being shared, however others can mitigate these penalties, or even turn them into an advantage.
*Piercing - +1k0 vs active defense. A piercing weapon is able to get through an opponent’s defense more easily than other weapons.
*Blunt – Ignores 1/4H armor. The weapon’s shape naturally ignores armor by not needing to pierce through to damage the target.
*Edged - +1/4H to total damage if you have unopposed dice. An edged weapon is able to better cut into an opponent when a distinct advantage is present.
*Reach – Able to reach an additional square further at the cost of taking 2 hands to wield.
*Balanced - +1k0 active defense. The weapon is large enough to deflect another weapon, yet light enough to be able to quickly maneuver yourself and the weapon as you will. The weapon’s balance allows for more freedom of movement while defending.
*Unbalanced – Additional damage increment (1/4H), -1k0 active defense (-1k0 to all defenses with Heavy weapons). The weapon is heavy at one end, allowing more damage when swung at an opponent. In doing so, you unbalance yourself allowing opponents to more easily land a blow.
*Light- Highly concealable, usable while grappling, can be drawn without spending an action, reduced damage increment (1/4H).  
*Heavy – Uses the |Heavy| skill, requires 2 hands and an additional action to wield, adds 1H damage increment. The weapon is oversized for a creature wielding it, doing significantly more damage, but also requiring significantly more effort.
*Special - The item has unusual or unique properties not outlined elsewhere.


Weapons can also have other special properties -- for instance, the lance is only usable when mounted, but deals bonus damage on a charge attack.
Cover plays a role in the midst of battle. There is mild cover (1), medium cover (2), heavy cover (3), and complete cover. If you are using cover less that complete, you gain that many dice to defend with and lose that many dice to attack with. The exception is complete cover. You cannot be attacked and you cannot attack while in complete cover with the exception of attacking the cover. cover must be between you and your opponent somehow for it to be used.


Weapons may also be available later in the game in high-quality forms. A high-quality weapon has a bigger damage increment than a normal weapon of its type (typically +1/4H damage, though the GM may provide even greater damage bonuses for truly legendary weapons like the Master Sword). Some examples of high-quality weapons from the video games would be the Razor Sword and Gilded Sword from Majora's Mask.
===Knockback===
You can spend an action attempting a knockback on an adjacent opponent. The roll is Brawn + your size modifier vs Guts + their size modifier. On a success, they are knocked back one (1) square. They can choose to take 1/4 H damage to roll an extra dice, this can be done as many times as they have points in Brawn. Certain static effects all roll against Guts+size, you cannot take damage for extra dice in this case.


===Melee===
If your hands are free, this check can be used to move them to any adjacent square.


'''Melee/Courage'''
===Grappling===
Anyone can grab onto and wrestle with a foe; it doesn't take any sort of special technique. You cannot rest while grappling. Here's how you handle the various actions involved in grappling:


*Sword (Hero's Sword, Short Sword, Scimitar, etc.)----Edged, Balanced----1/2
*'''Cost of Grappling''' : After every grapple check, whoever netted lower successes loses that much SP. If one of the grapplers runs out of SP, they automatically lose all checks and the other loses 1 SP per round. When both grapplers have no SP, grappling ends, and a melee check is made to see who is pushed from the square to an adjacent square of the loser's choosing. In case of a tie, the check is repeated.
*'''Defending while grappling''' (1 action) You cannot dodge, parry, nor block while grappling. The attacker is attacking into mild cover if the other grappler is smaller or equal size, heavy cover if the other grappler is larger.
*'''Initiate a grapple''' (1 action): Make an unarmed Melee attack. If you hit, instead of dealing damage, you successfully grab hold of the opponent and move into their space. Both you and your opponent are now Grappling each other.


*Brawl----Blunt, Light----1/4
There are two states to a grapple: Equal, and Pinned.
If you are pinned, all you can attempt is
*'''Break the Pin''' (2 actions): with an opposed Brawn check.


*Pike----Piercing, Reach----1/2
If you are Equal, the following actions can be taken:


*Lance----Piercing, Unbalanced----3/4----Mounted only; charging bonus
*'''Escape a grapple''' (2 actions): You can attempt to do this by either overpowering your opponent to break out (a Brawn check) or by wriggling free (an Agility check). In either case, your check is opposed by your opponent's Brawn check; if you win, you end the grapple. You and your opponent are now no longer Grappling each other, and you move out of the opponent's space into an available adjacent space of your choice.
*'''Move the Grapple''' (2 actions): Whether you initiated the grapple or not, as long as your opponent is at least light enough for you to push or drag (Weight no greater than 1 + your Brawn), you can attempt to move both yourself and your opponent by making an opposed knockback check to move one square.
*'''Climb while grappling''' (1 action): If you are smaller than your opponent and initiated the grapple, you may make an Agility check opposed by their Brawn to grapple them at a different square they occupy
*'''Pin your Opponent''' (2 actions): You can attempt to pin your opponent with an opposed Brawn check. If you succeed, you are now pinning them and they are pinned.


If you are pinning your opponent, the following actions can be taken:
*'''Attack your Opponent''' (3 actions): You may make an opposed Brawn check to utilize a held item against your opponent, or lock them out with an unarmed strike. You can only do 1/2H damage.
*'''Hold the Pin''' (3 actions): You may make an opposed Guts check to hold them in the pin.
*'''Release a grapple''' (free action): If you have your opponent pinned, you can release your opponent on your turn as a free action, ending the grapple. You and your opponent are now no longer grappling each other, and you move out of the opponent's space into an available adjacent space of your choice.


'''Melee/Wisdom'''
A fast track explanation on how to throw an opponent
*Grab them (Unarmed attack against their defense of choice)
*Have the Throw tech
*Make a move check (opposed knockback)
*If you succeed, then you move them two squares. Deals 1/2H and Stun 1 to grappled opponent and target.
*if you fail, refer to the rules above


*Improvised (Rods & Tomes, Deku sticks)----Special----1/4----(1/4 damage penalty from using an improvised weapon)
===Status Conditions===
Various effects might impose negative conditions on a combatant. Status conditions of the same type do not stack nor overwrite, the new effect is ignored. The following are status effects that have been defined so far:


*Dagger----Piercing, Light----1/4
*Stunned: A character that flinches (such as when hit by a Heavy weapon) or is knocked down is considered stunned and loses 1 action on its next turn. This can layer however for up 3 stuns total, essentially being stunned for a whole turn. Stun goes away on its own, however there are effects that can absorb some stun.
*Fatigued: A character that is out of their element for to long can become Fatigued. This means an additional 2 SP for all techs and they cannot sprint. However there are effects that can that can remove this status for a time, but generally just leaving the area does that.
*Tired: A character that has ran out of Stamina has become tired and must spend a round of turns to rest. This counts as 2 actions of rest and refills the bar as such.
*Knocked out: A character that has had all of their hearts depleted and are on their Final Heart is Knocked out. Only by recovering a piece of heart can they regain consciences. There are some effects that only activate when a character reaches this point.
*Stuck: A character that is grabbed or falls into the wrong environmental hazard becomes stuck. They can still perform all their usual actions however they can no longer move.
*Sleeping: A character that is sleeping can’t do anything till they are woken up or the effect that put them to sleep ends, however just about anyone can wake an ally up. You can still be considered resisting while sleeping.
*Jinxed: A character that is cursed or jinxed by certain enemies can no longer lift their weapons. Only Tools can be wielded freely. Jinx goes away on its own after 3 turns, however there are effects that can remove it before that.
*Blinded: A character that has been blinded by enemies or an environmental hazard no longer has the ability to aim and must make a perception check before attempting to move or attack. Blind will go away on its own after three turns, but can be removed earlier by various other effects.
*Deaf: A character that is deaf can only roll half dice for perception rolls. For all non mechanical uses, they are still deaf. Temporary deafness goes away after three turns.
*Mute: A character that has been silenced by magic or made mute by other effects cannot verbally communicate with other players, NPCs, or cast verbal spells. Mute will go away on its own after a set number of turns described by the muting effect, but can be removed earlier by various other effects.
*Confused: A character that has been confused by an effect or hazard loses control of their balance and must make an Athletics roll against confusion before each attempt at movement or attacking. A failed roll leads to either only moving half distance, or only rolling half OD. Confusion will go away on its own after 3 turns, but it can be removed earlier by various effects. The amount that needs to be beaten is the number of extra successes when it was inflicted.
*Enraged: A character that is enraged by an effect must use an action every round to attack if able. It doesn't matter if it's an enemy, an ally, or the dirt so long as an attack is made. Rage will go away on its own after 3 turns.
*Poisoned: Poison is a special case status effect. It's complex in that it can be crafted to effect any number of characteristics. It is a serious infliction that lasts after battle for upwards to an hour, but can still be removed earlier by various other effects and antidotes. Poison is also the only status effect that can be fought off when first struck with it. A roll of your Guts + Survival vs the poison source's Smarts (assuming it has any) + the Grade of poison will determine if the poison has any effect.


*Claws----Piercing, Light----1/4
#'''Poison'''
*Applying poison to a weapon, or anything appropriate, takes 1 action and lasts for 1 use or until end of combat. Standard poison loses it's potency after 1 hour of exposure. The effects of poison are resisted by Guts+Survival against Smarts+Lore, determined at time of crafting. Effects range from; movement restriction, health damage, stamina damage, mana damage, to dice penalties. Powerful poisons would require hand crafting or a special license of sorts to acquire, to prevent early players from getting the best stuff in a reasonable manner. Also, if bosses can't shrug poison off and laugh at them, you're probably doing something wrong.


*Rapier----Piercing, Balanced----1/2
===Team Rules===
Groups often act together, as such they take all of their actions simultaneously. Unless there is inter party conflict, which should always be avoided, players will always act as one team. Normally, all enemies are working together as the other team. Any action can be banked to be used as a reaction. All attacks during the same action occur at the same time, so one dodge reaction would apply to all of them. Block and Parry of course apply to all attacks, regardless of which action. For purposes of targeting, a character who spends the action moving, not dodging, is considered to exist in every square he traverses during that action.


*Staff----Blunt, Balanced----1/2----Two-Handed
Spells are cast during the action, or actions, needed for them, and resolve at the very end. So, imbuing a friendly's attack would imbue their attack on the next action. And casting a complex spell means it is cast on the last action needed.


This shifts the flow of the battle to favor the smaller team, since players will be outnumbered by mooks and will outnumber the boss.


'''Melee/Power'''
If a creature is targeted by someone on their own team, they are allowed to spend that action as a reaction rather than the action they planned.


*Axe----Edged, Unbalanced----3/4
As a quick example, A and B are fighting X. A banks his first action while B imbues his attack with magic. Action two A attacks and B retreats. Action three B banks and A moves. Then it is the enemies turn. X attacks A, moves after B and banks his action. And so on.


*Mace (hammer, pick)----Blunt, Unbalanced----3/4
===Combat equipment stats===
Weapons can be classified according to size, with larger weapons dealing more baseline damage. The weapon categories and the damage they deal are, from smallest to largest:
*Weightless (0H) -- tools. (Not all, but most to ensure players can freely draw them)
*Miniscule (1/4H) -- eg, small knife
*Tiny (1/2H) -- eg, dagger
*Small (3/4H) -- eg, short sword
*Medium (1H) -- eg, long sword
*Large (1+1/4H) -- eg, Biggoron's Sword
*Hefty(1+1/2H) -- eg, Ball and Chain
*Massive(2H) -- eg, Nearly a Buster Sword
*Huge(2+1/2H) -- eg, a Buster Sword
*Colossal(3H) -- eg, Ganon's Castle Destroyers


*Halberd----Edged, Unbalanced, Reach----3/4
The effort necessary to use a given weapon depends on your size relative to it. The largest weapon that a Hylian can use one-handed is a Medium weapon; a Kokiri or Deku, being smaller, can only use Small weapons or smaller one-handed; Gorons, being larger, can use Large weapons comfortably in one hand. Weapons one size larger than your one-handed weapon size (for a Hylian, Large weapons) can be wielded two-handed as Melee weapons, and weapons two sizes larger than your one-handed weapon size are considered Heavy weapons. You can't wield any weapon that is more than two sizes larger than your maximum one-handed weapon size.


Note that the damage values listed for each weapon size are merely baseline values for a typical, average-quality weapon of that size. Particularly high- or low-quality weapons may deal more or less damage than others of their size. For example, the Master Sword would likely deal 1+1/2H, despite being a Medium weapon, whereas a wooden sword (also a Medium weapon) might deal only 1/2H.


===Heavy===
Heavy weapons (those that are two sizes larger than the biggest size you can wield one-handed) always use the Heavy skill rather than the Melee skill. As noted above, it takes 2 actions to attack with a Heavy weapon, and you can't dodge or counterattack when using a Heavy weapon. The sweeping, two-handed overhand swings used to attack with such a large, unwieldy weapon carry considerable force -- enough force, in fact, that it can momentarily disrupt the enemy's movement. If an attacker scores at least one success with a Heavy weapon attack, the target flinches (loses 1 action on their next turn). Cancellation of successes from a Heavy attack by dodging or parrying can prevent this effect if all successes are cancelled, but successes in a Heavy attack roll cancelled by blocking only prevent damage, and do not negate the flinching effect of the attack. This effect is more a product of the way the weapon is swung rather than any properties of the weapon itself, so a given weapon may cause flinching when used by a smaller wielder (as a Heavy weapon) but not when used by a larger wielder (as a Melee weapon).


Note that |Heavy| weapons always use Power.
Armor and shields provide a static Damage Reduction in damage taken from each attack, as indicated below. You cannot negate all damage through damage reduction, you will take at least 1/4H from every successful hit. Additionally, each suit of armor has an Encumbrance rating. If the armor's Encumbrance is less than or equal to your Brawn score, it's considered light armor for you, and you can move about in it freely.
*Cloth Armor: -1/4H; Encumbrance 0
*Leather Armor: -1/2H Encumbrance 1
*Chain Mail: -3/4H Encumbrance 2
*Plated Mail: -1HEncumbrance 3
*Full Plate: -1-1/2H; Encumbrance 4


*Great Sword (Biggoron's Sword)----Edged, Heavy----1+1/2
*Armor must be made for your race specifically
*Small Shield: -1/4H : Small
*Medium Shield: -1/2H : Medium
*Large Shield: -3/4H : Large
*Tower Shield: -1H : Hefty, minor cover


*Great Axe----Edged, Unbalanced, Heavy----1+3/4
*adds an Encumbrance if above your standard main hand weight


*Great Mace (Megaton Hammer)----Blunt, Unbalanced, Heavy----1+3/4
Being encumbered results in : 1 less move speed per action, -1 to dodge, -1 bouyancy, +1 against knockback. You are treated as being a size larger than you are to outside effects. You also cannot cast advanced spells when encumbered.


*Ball and Chain----Blunt, Reach, Heavy----1+1/2----Movement is halved
==Magic==
There are three main types of magic in Legend of Zelda. Arcane Magic, which is a generic toolbox of effects to represent the powers of various magicians and items, effects can be creatively combined but there are rules, and an effective upper limit to power. Wave Magic, which is generated through the melodious use of enchanted instruments, this is akin to divine magic and has rules but no upper limit to power. And finally, Narrative Magic, which represents the power of unique items such as masks and the Master Sword, Narrative Magic has no rules but what the Sage gives each specific effect and no upper limit to power.


'''Arcane Magic'''


===Ranged===
Arcane magic in this system may be either inherent (spells learned through study or drawing on innate power) or evoked from items. There is no functional difference between the two form -- in fact, any magic effect may be had as either an item or an inherent spell interchangeably, according to whatever the [[Gamemaster|Sage]] and/or players prefer. Regardless of whether it's inherent or item-based, the spell consumes MP, involves a Spellcraft skill check, and must be obtained in-game in the same fashion that one obtains items. Spells are to be handled in much the same way as items such as a boomerang or hookshot -- they are significant acquisitions that give the character entirely new abilities that are vital for overcoming the challenges that bar one's advancement. Inherent spells may be obtained in the form of a physical item (such as a scroll that can be studied to learn how to use the spell, or a magic crystal that imparts the ability to use the spell), but might also be obtained through other means as well, according to [[Gamemaster|Sage]] and/or player preference.


Ranged weapons have a different set of properties than Melee and Heavy weapons, but function in generally the same way. Remember that the base damage is 1/2H and the base range is 20. The Ranged properties are as follows:
A mage must have his hands free when casting spells. One (1) for a simple spell, one (1) effect, or both for an advanced spell, two (2) or more. There are some items that do not interfere with casting spells, while there are others, rarer still, that will enhance inherent magic when held.
*Projectile – Doubles range, provokes opportunity attacks at close range, requires 2 hands and ammunition.  
*Thrown – Halves range, requires ammunition if not returning. Only provokes opportunity attacks from adjacent enemies who aren't targeted.
*Returning – The weapon returns to the user at the end of the next action after it is thrown. The user may not use another weapon until the item returns. It can also be used to collect magic jars, hearts, and rupees. 
*Stunning – If at least 1 success is made with the weapon, the target is stunned until the beginning of your next round. Reduced damage increment (1/4H)
*Explosive – Adds 1H to the damage increment. Blast zone within 1 square of the target. A linear comparison is used for a single target and group opposed rules are used for many targets.
*Light – Highly concealable, can be drawn without spending an action, range is halved, reduced damage increment (1/4H).
*Heavy – Additional damage increment (1/2H), but requires an additional action to load/reload.
*Special - The item has unusual or unique properties not outlined elsewhere.


Each spell can be classified as either simple or advanced. Simple spells can be used as an off-hand attack, just as a second weapon in the off-hand can be used for a second attack in the turn; using a spell in this way imposes a -1 penalty to your Spellcraft check for that spell (just like an off-hand attack imposes a -1 penalty to your attack roll). Simple spells can also be used to make counterattacks (though this is of course still subject to the usual limit on attacks per turn). Advanced spells cannot be used to make off-hand attacks or counterattacks, because their use requires too much concentration to allow for such quick application. The range for an advanced spell is the range of the base spell.


'''Ranged/Courage'''
The current Spell List is actually an effect list to be treated as a spell creation toolkit. A spell is simple if it uses only one effect. It is advanced if it applies multiple effects. Not all effects can be combined but that depends entirely on how creative a character is in how he explains the intended effects. For example, Imbue Fire and Imbue Ice should cancel each other, unless the character casts it as an antipode type deal. This is to encourage creativity, but can quickly be broken. To balance this and prevent players from going 'I CAST MY UNSTOPPABLE INVILIBILE ILLISIONAIRY ANTIPODIC CHAIN OF SHOCKWAVE LIFT' Casting a spell as a combination of effects uses an action for each effect. MP totals when combining effects. Items can have as many effects applied to them as the Sage sees fit.


*Slingshot----Projectile, Light----1/4----Range 20
To clarify how targeting works on advanced spells, one effect is the base spell. The base spell's targeting is used. All other effects occur at the squares targeted by the base spell, but if the other effects target less than the base spell then their effects are halved. For example, applying Blast to Radiate does not quadratically scale Blast.


*Boomerang----Thrown, Special, Returning, Stunning----1/4----Range 20----Aerodynamic shape gives the boomerang extra range.
There are six Elements, each with unique effects.
*Fire : X damage next turn due to burn
*Ice : X actions worth of stun as knockback
*Electricity : X piercing damage
*Light : X damage as AOE
*Shadow : X dice to next defensive action
*Spirit : X dice to next offensive action


*Clawshot/Hookshot----Special, Returning, Stunning----1/4----Range 20----Uses "Thrown" rules with extra range. Depending on the situation, the weapon will stun the target and: pull a target closer, pull yourself to the target, pull a part off of a target, damage a target. The DM determines which action will happen based on the target and its mass.
Imbued effects do not stack nor overwrite each other, the first effect is kept and the others are ignored. This of course does not apply to effects within the same spell.


*Cascade Casting
After casting a spell, a player can declare a cascade. The next turn, they can cast a spell of total mana cost less than the first spell, for no mana. The next turn, they can cascade again, casting a spell of less cost than the second's normal cost, for no mana. The cost of doing this is an accumulated stun. The process can be repeated turn after turn until three (3) stuns have been accumulated, at which point the player loses a turn and must pay to cast once more. If the player ends the cascade early, they must still take the accumulated stuns.


'''Ranged/Wisdom'''
'''Wave Magic'''
Songs are a very powerful and world changing effect of magic brought about through music, hence the term Wave Magic. Magic songs must be played through an instrument in order to bring about their effects and the cost is in the actions needed to perform the song. While performing, you can do nothing else for your actions, this makes combat songs very difficult, but if you succeed, they are the majority of the buffing magic in the entire system. Some songs can go on for as long as they are needed in order to sustain their effect. To succeed in a song, you must roll Wits+Instruments and get at least as many successes as there is duration in the song or the song fizzles. There is no bonus to excess successes.


*Bow----Projectile----1/2----Range 40
The specialty of Wave Magic is in Harmonics. Multiple performs can join together to perform the song. One person leads the song and is the base of the successes. The others must roll a 5 or a 6 in order to add a success to the overall score, and the duration of the song increases by one with each person.


*Crossbow---Projectile, Heavy----1----Range 40
'''Narrative Magic'''
A lot in the Legend of Zelda universe is just plain old magic and can't be explained, of if it can, would bog this system down beyond use. It's much simpler to just have a type of magic with no rules. So, masks and certain items just have explanations of what they do and the Sage has to do their best to keep them under control.


*Seed Shooter----Special, Projectile, Light----1/4----Range 20----Seeds ricochet off of sufficiently hard and flat surfaces like walls and continue until the maximum range is met.
==Situational Rules==
These rules are for special situations and don't have their own place yet. They're also not set in stone yet, so they might change.
#'''Learning'''
*Pay for training from someone with at least two ranks more than you in the related skill and they can teach you their technique/spell/song. A general price guideline is thus, 30r/MP, 30r/SP, 20r/action. Action cost only applies to songs. 0 cost techniques are Traits, and handed out by the Sage at their discretion. Players can't teach other players.


*Throwing Knife (Needle, Kunai, etc.)----Thrown, Light----1/4----Range 5
*Find an ancient tome crafted by someone with at least one more rank than you in the related skill to learn the technique


*Deku Nut----Thrown, Light, Stunning----0----Range 5----Blast zone within 1 square of the target
*Trial and Error. You can attempt any technique you don't know, but you can't roll more than half the dice you would roll if you did know the technique. If you succeed with the tech, and were rolling with your virtue bonus, then you've taught yourself the tech


#'''Enchanting'''
*The current model for enchanting a magical item is as follows. Cost = A(|Z-X|)^E + B + AZ. Where A is the training cost, currently 20r/MP, Z is the total mp cost if the effects were to be cast, X is the cost to activate the item, E is the number of effects applied, and B is the cost of materials such as the sword being enchanted. The example items have been priced with this system.


'''Ranged/Power'''
*You can only enchant the lowest rank version of a spell. (No permanent Imbue Ice 3!)


*Bomb----Thrown, Explosive----1+1/2----Range 5
#'''Falling Damage'''
1/4H per square fallen beyond your Athletics+Agility, none if you land in water or something similarly soft


*Bombchu----Special, Explosive----1+1/2----Moves up to 10 squares when placed
#'''Brewing'''
Given the ingredients and the recipe for a brew, any player can craft the potion or poison. Given an unknown ingredient and experimentation is needed. A bottle can hold up to three parts. Each ingredient takes up one part. Every active ingredient has an extraction method, ranging from raw to boiling or using acids, and often have denaturing conditionals and how much they can be diluted. If you meat the extraction method, don't denature it, and have not over diluted it, then the brew achieves the effect of all ingredients. Smarts+Lore is rolled to see what denatured the ingredient, successes needed being determined case by case.


*Thrown Item (rock, jar, skull)----Thrown, Heavy----3/4----Range 5----(1/4H damage penalty from using an improvised weapon)
To reduce dilution, the last part added can be decanted off or water can be boiled off. Boiling an acid or a base will reduce the brew by a part, but the pH of the solution will remain.


Ingredients should be custom constructed for the party in order to keep the restrictions secret. Once they have been discovered, players need only find the ingredients and the time and they can make it again.


===Armor===
#'''Mounted Combat'''
The number after the dash indicates the damage (in hearts) by which the armor reduces damage taken, and anything after a second dash denotes additional modifiers. For shields, their values are counted for active defense only. Heavy armor cannot be worn without the Heavy Armor Training technique.
* Mounted Combat still follows basic three action combat. Instead of standard move actions, you move your mounts current speed during every action, unused actions trigger. Your movement can be; moving up to your standard speed, accelerating to standard speed, decelerating to a stop, sprinting at up to double speed, or regenerating your mounts stamina (akin to carrots in OoT) while moving forward at your current speed. The major restriction on movement is turning, you must move in the forward direction relative to your last movement. This is such that you cannot make a 90 degree turn in one action. To jump an obstacle, you must spend the action going straight, otherwise the mount will rear and knock you off. If you would hit an obstacle, your mount instead rears and comes to a stop.


'''Light Armor'''
*The amount of dice rolled for any skill while mounted cannot exceed the riders ranks in Riding.


*Leather----1/4 heart
*To make an attack while riding follows the normal restrictions. To make a melee attack you must be adjacent to your target at some point during your movement for that action. To make a ranged attack you must have line of sight.


*Deku Vestment----1/4 heart----Flammable
*If the mount is pulling a cart or something similar, the cart threatens all adjacent squares for weight dependent damage, and takes as much itself.


*Chain Shirt----1/4 heart
#'''Underwater Combat'''
*Underwater combat follows basic three action combat with three changes; dice and movement penalties, drowning, and buoyancy. The current penalties for being in water are; half movement, -2 dice to attacking, -2 dice to dodging, -2 dice to parrying, and no item use. Racials, magic and other effects can all modify these, such as being a Zora, or underwater bombs. You can spend a number of rounds under water equal to your guts before needing to make a survival roll every round, the difficulty increasing by 1 each time. If you fail the survival you take 1/2H damage. Buoyancy dictates how far you drift up or down during a round. Being encumbered by your armor adds a -1 to your buoyancy. Non-encumbering armor gives a buoyancy modifier of 0. Cloth armor or less gives a buoyancy modifier of +1. A heavy weapon gives a modifier of -1. Racials greatly impact buoyancy; zora can set their modifier from -1 to 1, while gorons have a natural buoyancy of -5. For simplicity, it is recommended that underwater combat take place in vertical zones. Vertical movement eventually moves a character from one zone to the next, but zones not levels determine if you are near enough to attack.


#'''Flying Combat'''
*Combine the rules for mounted combat and underwater combat, giving mounts an adjustable buoyancy affected by the weight of the load. And removing the various action penalties. Buoyancy only applies if there is drag or lift, otherwise you have -9.81 bouyancy.


#'''Lost'''
*Finding your way through changing forests, shifting sands and strange currents is a common challenge in the Legend of Zelda series. Navigating through confusing terrain uses 'Found' landmarks to keep track of your position. Confusing terrain has a difficulty rating, range, attached to it, going from 1 upwards, lower being more difficult. The range is equivalent to squares away from the land mark as a unit. Every range unit away from a Found landmark is 1 success needed on a Wits+Survival check to not become lost that round (does not happen during combat) and end up at the start or an appropriate landmark. Once a landmark is found, a path between it and the last land mark is Found, and travel between the two does not require a check, this does not occur for accidentally found landmarks. If you are within the first range of a landmark, you are considered to be Found. If you are within the first range from an ally who is Found, you are Found, regardless of distance to landmark. An ally's range does not extend beyond one unit. Examples: Lost woods would have a range of about 3, while Hyrule field would have a range of about 100.


'''Medium Armor (+1 Mass, -1 Acrobatics)'''  
#'''Wind and Current'''
*If you are subject to strong wind or water current, you are subject to a constant knockback check equal to the strength of the wind/water in the direction of flow. You cannot sprint will under the effect of a constant knockback. You must make the knockback check every action you are subject to it. If you fail the knockback check, you cannot move that action.


*Darknut Half Plate----1/2 heart
#'''Stealth'''
*Agility + Stealth vs Wits + Perception
*There is a table of modifiers
*You can’t be targeted except by AoE if you have not been spotted. Attacks from stealth can’t be blocked, but if the target survives you are instantly spotted by him. Line of sight is determined by what a straight line from the hider to the searcher intercepts. Being in shadows counts as cover.


*Iron Chest Plate----1/2 heart
*Guard Modes
**Casual    Searches once on his turn
**Alert    Will save an action to use searching during the hider’s turn.
**Alarmed  Will seek out the hider, searching on his turn, and on their turn.
*A guard moves up a mode after a successful perception check or seeing clear evidence of an intruder. The hider has been spotted when an Alarmed guard passes a perception check. Modes infect guards adjacent, the infected guard takes 1 full turn to change modes. Modes go up, resetting the next day. Modes can start however high the Sage wants, but a full garrison is difficult to keep alarmed.


*Stalfos Regalia----1/2 heart
#'''Weapon modulation options'''
*There are many types of weapons that are wielded similarly. Sets of modulations that can be performed on a weapon are as follows. (more may be added) Drop three (3) Standard damage (cannot go below 0), add two (2) Piercing damage. (Piercing damage deals damage first and ignores damage reduction. Example, 2 Piercing and 3 standard versus 3 damage reduction means 4 points of damage is dealt, because 2 DR goes to Piercing and the other nullifies a standard)


*Chain Mail----1/2 heart
*Agility Weapons can be made by sacrificing 1/2H of damage in order to roll Agility rather than Brawn.


#'''Environmentals'''
(m) denotes a mild hazard, (s) denotes a severe hazard
#*Dim Light (m) gives -1 to all rolls
#*Darkness (s) Dim Light, -3 to all combat rolls and Perception
#*Light Debris (m) cannot sprint (knee deep water or similar)
#*Heavy Debris (s) cannot sprint, cannot dodge, all movement is at -1
#*Gust (m) all ranged attacks take -2
#*Gale (s) all ranged attacks miss, all movement is at -1, constant knockback check at speed of wind
#*Rain (m) -1 to Perception
#*Storm (s) Light Debris, Gale, Rain, rare chance to be struck by lightning for 1H piercing 1H and 1/4H radiated
#*Mist (m) -1 to Perception
#*Fog (s) -3 to Perception
#*Extreme Heat (m) Fatigued, considered to be (s) if encumbered, if (s) 1/4H piercing per turn exposed
#*Extreme Cold (m) Fatigued, considered to be (s) if not encumbered, if (s) 1/4H piercing per turn exposed
#*Hazardous Air (s) 1/4H piercing per turn exposed


#'''Sundering'''
*You can acquire specific techniques for different weapon types, such as sword, axe, spear, mace. These techniques can sunder DR from enemies, permanently, but do no damage themselves. For example, Sundering an Iron Knuckle with a Mace would permanently decrease his DR by 1/4H from all future hits. This can be recovered between encounters


'''Heavy Armor (+2 Mass, -2 Acrobatics)'''
#'''Sailing'''
*There are a couple main things to keep track of when in the midst of naval combat. And if they are just on a boat, well you don’t really need to, but you can. The state of the ship is the most directly controlled aspect of sailing. Whether you are using oars, and the state of the boom. You also have to take into account the wind direction and intensity, along with that of the water. The oars are used to double the speed of the ship, at the cost of stamina the same as a sprinting mount. The ship can’t turn at full boom.


*Goron Steel Raiment----1 heart
*Water flows in one of the cardinal directions, with an integer speed representing the flow rate per turn. This is rolled as a knockback check against the size of the ship, the Brawn of the ship is also rolled if oars are out. If the knockback check is lost, the ship drifts that far with the water. This knockback check cannot be flubbed. A waterspeed of 4 is average.


*Hylian Warded Mail----1 heart
*Wind acts the same as water, but in an independent direction. At closed boom, the wind does not affect the ship. At half boom, the speed of the wind is unmodified. At full boom, the speed of the wind is doubled. The ship cannot sail directly against the wind.  When tacking against the wind, half the wind speed is used. When travelling perpendicular to the wind, the wind speed is doubled. Else the straight wind speed is used. The net speed is capped at the speed of the ship. A windspeed of 3 is average.


*Darknut Full Plate----1 heart
*When challenged with a sailing challenge, such as threading between rocks or reading the water, you roll the minimum between Riding and Lore


*Gerudo Black Armor----1 heart
#'''Searching'''
*Every area has it's own, appropriate drop table, that should be d6 capable. If a player is searching an area, they roll Wits+Survival as normal d6, not looking for successes. Each roll is then referenced to the table independently to determine what was found. You can search a room twice, a quick once over, and an in-depth hour long search.
*If you attempt to search a room during combat, you must spend two actions each turn for two turns, a total of four actions, to search the room, however you only roll at half dice. A second search of the room can be made without consuming a large amount of time.


*Iron Knuckle Full Suit----1+1/4 heart----Reinforced
==Some Prefabs==
Link (from the end of Ocarina of Time)
Human, Hylian : Size medium, acoustic alignment detection (whether they tend towards Power, Wisdom, Courage, or are forsaken by the Goddesses)
B3 A3 W2 G3 S1 | Courage 3
160 hp, 44 mp, and 16 sp (that's 20 hearts reinforced with magic to 160 hp, 12 mp base and about 32 from the faeries, and 16 base sp)


Melee(B,A,W): 4 |
Heavy(B): 1 |
Ranged(A): 3 |
Shields(G): 3 |
Spellcraft(S): 0 |
Instruments(W): 2 |
Tools(B,A,S): 3 |
Athletics(B,A,G): 3 |
Riding(S): 2 |
Stealth(A): 1 |
Perception(W): 1 |
Survival(W,S): 1 |
Lore(S): 0 |
Composure(G): 1 |


'''Shield/Courage'''
Items : Master Sword (medium, 5/4H + 1H vs evil [narrative magic]), Mirror Shield (medium, 1/2H DR, Reversal for 0 mp against magical attacks), Goron Tunic (1/4H DR, 0 encumberance, half environmental damage), Fairy Bow (1H, medium), Ocarina of Time (weightless instrument), and the rest of his equipment.


*Deku Shield----1/4 heart----Flammable
Techniques : Jump Attack (2 sp), Spin Attack (5 sp), Forward Thrust (2 sp), Great Spin Attack (5 sp)
 
*Iron Shield----1/4 heart
 
*Mirror Shield----1/4 heart----Reflective
 
*Biggoron Shield----3/4 heart----Double Action
 
 
'''Additional Possible Armor/Shield Qualities'''
 
These qualities can be added to a piece of armor or shield as a natural consequence of its construction, or because of magical enchantment.
 
*Flammable: If the wearer takes fire damage, the armor/shield catches fire and is destroyed in 3 rounds. Each round it deals 1/4 fire damage to the wearer at the start of the wearer's turn, unless the wearer is already also on fire. Ending movement in enough water to swim in will put the armor/shield out.
 
*Reflective (shield only): This shield can be used to reflect light and even magical attacks back at the attacker. If the wearer successfully defends against a suitable magic attack (GM's discretion), the wearer then makes another |Shield| check with a -1k1 against the original attacker's defense. With the GM's permission, the rebounded attack can be directed at a different target, but the target should be in a space the wearer could logically bounce the attack to.
 
*Resistance (armor only): This armor is warded against a particular type of damage, such as cold, electricity, or fire. The resistance quality always has a type of damage and a value from 1-3. The value of resistance directly reduces damage the wearer takes of the indicated type of damage by 1 heart per value. For example, a suit of chain mail with Fire Resistance 2 reduces fire damage by 2 hearts. Resistance cannot reduce damage to less than 1/4 heart.
 
*Reinforced (armor only): This armor provides an additional 1/4 heart damage reduction (included in the description), and increases the wearer's Mass by an additional 1.
 
*Enchanted X: This powerful armor or shield provides additional defense without any drawbacks. Enchanted armor and shields always list a "+" value, such as "Enchanted +1/2". This is the additional amount by which the armor or shield reduces damage taken by the wearer, though damage still cannot be reduced to less than 1/4 heart.
 
*Double Action (shield only): This truly hefty and impractical shield is more like a wall to hide behind. You can only gain the benefit of this shield when using both your actions in a turn for the Total Defense action.
 
==Character Sheets==
<gallery>
Image:LoZ_CharSheet.png|The landscape format is reminiscent of the video games' menu screens and HUD.
Image:LoZ RPG Character Sheet clean.png|A prettied-up version of the landscape format.
Image:LoZ Charsheet (portrait).png|A portrait-layout version, for those who'd prefer a more traditional character sheet.
</gallery>
 
==GM Resources==
[[Legend of Zelda RPG/GM Resources|Moved here.]]


==External Links==
==External Links==
*Probability tables for the roll & keep dice system: http://tinyurl.com/LoZ-Dice
*Source of info: http://www.zeldawiki.org/Main_Page
*Thread #1: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14975165
*All current original art in one package: http://www.sendspace.com/file/xc0at7 (outdated, possibly infected)
*Thread #2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15007189
*[http://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/19797267 Thread 1]
*Thread #3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15015368
*[http://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/19820279 Thread 2]
*Thread #4: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15029972
*[http://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/19844767 Thread 3]
*Thread #5: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15051875
*[http://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/19896559 Thread 4]
*Thread #6: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15069694
*https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgnPdPByfWFTdHZuTGhLcXdrMGNnVzM5ZWkzVjFzOFE#gid=0
*Thread #7: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15091730
*https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgnPdPByfWFTdHZuTGhLcXdrMGNnVzM5ZWkzVjFzOFE&usp=sharing
*Thread #8: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/15139192
*https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtUBhSzwYfnWdDhVVV9Vb0I2ZGJSU0lsV2ljMjUyamc#gid=4 (old)(current technique, spell, song, mask, and item list)
*Thread #9: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15170866
*http://www.mediafire.com/view/7723dfl07gw3jc7/Legend_of_Zelda_RPG_Beta_3.pdf Current .pdf (Beta v3)
*Thread #10: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15229712
*https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sv1UlKkCEU-QFvFRMgH9IRqLqhbbVD3e5xkKE8FDsms/edit?usp=sharing Complaint Page, checked often
*Thread #11: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15253114
*https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwnPdPByfWFTLWhDX3B0ZG9XYkE/edit?usp=sharing (Alternative Character Sheet)
*Thread #12: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15290183
*Thread #13: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15334060
*Thread #14: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15375622
*Thread #15: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15396589
*Thread #16: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15433135
*Thread #17: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15496100
*Thread #18: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15560584
*Thread #19: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15597289
*Thread #20: http://archive.easymodo.net/cgi-board.pl/tg/thread/15663673
*Thread #20.5 (so called since the 20th 404'd prematurely): http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15683716/
*Thread #21: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15759263/
*Thread #22: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15846057/
*Thread #23: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/15918803
*Thread #24: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15957628/
*Thread #25: http://archive.easymodo.net/cgi-board.pl/tg/thread/16090294


*Source of info: http://www.zeldawiki.org/Main_Page
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
*Summary of thread contents up to Thread 10: http://www.mediafire.com/?xpboltmdiicta7z
[[Category:Homebrew Rules]]
*All current original art in one package: http://www.sendspace.com/file/xc0at7

Latest revision as of 11:51, 21 June 2023

A homebrew produced by the collective efforts of the /tg/ community, aiming to put the characteristic elements of the Legend of Zelda video games into a pen-and-paper RPG format and hopefully do it better than the existing d20 Zelda ruleset.

As a work-in-progress, expect the contents of this page to change fairly frequently until the game nears a more finalized form, and please be understanding if something important is missing.

Please Note: Since this is a joint effort of the /tg/ community and is currently in an unfinished state, changes to this system should be proposed on /tg/ before being added to this wiki. It's always best to get community feedback to assess whether something is unbalanced or unnecessary, and we don't want this system to become a dysfunctional patchwork of rules added by individuals without any community review for quality and coherence with the system as a whole.

This material is a reboot/overhaul of the original version. In its first run, the project produced a system that was functional, but not quite complete. The project fell dormant for about a year, then was revived; however, having had some time to step back and look at the project with a fresh perspective, it was decided that rather than finishing off the original project it would be better to rebuild from the ground up, correcting certain fundamental issues with the core mechanics that made the original system a real hassle to work with in several respects, ultimately contributing to the decline of the original project. You can find the original material here.

HERE THIS READ ME READ THIS http://pastebin.com/CsXpe3GR THIS IS THE TL;DR OF THE RULES YOU CAN READ IN THREE MINUTES AND BE READY TO JUMP INTO ANY CAMPAIGN.

THE SYSTEM IS REALLY REALLY EASY, IT'S JUST DIFFERENT FROM D&D AND THAT'S A GOOD THING.

Mission Statement[edit]

This system is intended to accomplish three main goals:

  1. Make a Legend of Zelda RPG, not merely a Legend of Zelda-flavored RPG
    • The core mission statement of this system is to make a game that captures the characteristic game-play that the Legend of Zelda video games are known for. This game-play is primarily made up of searching for and acquiring items that are later utilized in later quests. Combat, particularly boss battles, should have a puzzle-like aspect as well. And of course, all the classic LoZ items and races should be represented for use in games. It's not sufficient to merely have a system capable of incorporating these elements; it should be specifically geared to promote a uniquely and recognizably Legend-of-Zelda style of play.
  2. Synthesize and expand on the video games, don't merely replicate them
    • While emulating the characteristic style of the Zelda games is the #1 priority, that doesn't mean we should limit ourselves to only the things you can do in those games. Any archetype that would reasonably fit into any of the Zelda settings should be feasible; not all PCs will be Hylian sword-and-boarders. The beauty of pen-and-paper RPGs is that they aren't limited by the same technical constraints that bind video games, and the Zelda series has very rich settings with lots stuff to work with; we should be free to let our imaginations run a bit wild. Likewise, unless it would add excessive complexity to the core of the system or threatens to render an item utterly redundant, there's no harm in allowing characters to do things that should reasonably be possible but can't be done in the video games. (It's important to note here that even if an item's original purpose in a given game is rendered moot by allowing a certain action, that doesn't mean the item can't be slightly adapted to still have a purpose. For instance, it would be reasonable to allow all characters to swim, barring conflicting racial traits such as a Goron's density, but that doesn't mean you can't still have a use for stuff like the Zora's Flippers or Zora Armor.)
  3. Simplicity and Accessibility
    • We want this game to be easy to learn and easy to play, even for Zelda fans who've never played a tabletop game before. Of course, there is a point of diminishing returns where trimming down the rules hurts the system's robustness more than it improves ease of use, and we want to avoid that, but as a rule of thumb, keep it simple.

The Core Mechanic[edit]

D6 dice pool. To make a check, roll a number of 6-sided dice equal to the sum of your ranks in the relevant attribute and skill, plus any additional dice you may receive from racial bonuses or demonstrating a particular Virtue. Each die that comes up 4 or higher is a success; the more successes you get, the more impressive your performance. Particularly difficult tasks may require multiple successes to accomplish.

The Stats[edit]

Attributes[edit]

Attributes represent your character's general, basic abilities. Each Attribute has a minimum rank of 1 and a maximum rank of 5. A basic starting character has 2 ranks in each of two different attributes of their choice, and 1 rank in the rest.

  • Brawn represents your physical strength and might.
    • If you have at least 4 points in Brawn, you can wield weapons 1 size category larger for no penalty
  • Agility represents your coordination and reflexes.
    • If you have at least 3 points in Agility, you are not affected by poor footing (e.g. rubble, ice, etc.). If you have 5 points of Agility, your speed increases by an additional 2 meters (1 square). You lose this benefit if you're encumbered by heavy armor or objects.
  • Wits represents innate and intuitive mental faculties, such as creativity, cunning, and perceptiveness.
    • If you have at least 3 points in Wits, you do not take the success range penalty on harmonics
  • Guts represents your determination, passion, and fortitude, both mental and physical.
    • If you have at least 3 points in Guts, you automatically pass all fear based Composure rolls. If you have at least 5 points in Guts, SP restoration is doubled for you
  • Smarts represents learned and rational mental faculties, such as acquired knowledge and logical reasoning.
    • If you have at least 3 points in Smarts you can utilize Cascade Casting.

Skills[edit]

Skills represent specific capabilities your character has learned through practice and training. Starting characters are given points to purchase skill ranks up to a maximum of 5 ranks.

Skill Rank Point cost
0 (default) 0
1 1
2 3
3 6
4 10
5 (max) 15

While each skill will generally be associated with a single attribute, the attribute used can vary depending on the situation, particularly for certain skills more than others. For example, running a race would always use Athletics, but the relevant attribute might be either Guts or Agility depending on whether it's a long-distance run or a shorter sprint. The skills are intended to be fairly broad and general, so that each skill has a fairly wide array of applicable uses.

  • Melee(B,A,W): Most all melee weapons, except those that fall under the Heavy skill. Swords, axes, maces, spears, unarmed combat, etc. Brawn is typically the associated attribute for Melee skill checks.
  • Heavy(B): Big, heavy weapons that are slow and unwieldy, but pack a tremendous punch. Not only do Heavy weapons deal considerably more damage than other types, the force of their blows tends to make the enemy flinch. The Biggoron's sword and megaton hammer are examples of Heavy weapons.
  • Ranged(A): Ranged weapons, such as the bow, boomerang, and slingshot.
  • Shields(G,B): Exactly as the name suggests -- use of shields, for both defensive and offensive purposes. Guts is typically the associated attribute for defensive Shields skill checks while Brawn is typically used for offensive Shields skill checks.
  • Spellcraft(S): Use of magic, whether spells in the conventional sense of powers inherent to your character through study or innate talent, or to invoke magical items like the Fire Rod or Bombos Medallion. Things that use this skill require MP. Smarts is always the associated attribute for Spellcraft skill checks.
  • Instruments(W): Making music, often to produce mystical effects (e.g., playing the Song of Storms on the Ocarina of Time to make it rain). Wits is always the associated attribute for Instruments skill checks.
  • Tools(?): A catch-all skill for all the miscellaneous items that don't quite fit any of the above categories, such as the spinner or beetle. The associated attribute for Tools skill checks varies widely depending on what kind of tool you're using.
  • Athletics(B,A,G): Dodging is the most important related check for this with Agility, but it is also used for more conventional feats of physical prowess such as swimming, leaps, running races, etc. Brawn, Agility, and Guts are all possibly associated attributes for Athletics skill checks. On a jump check, 2 successes is 1 square of horizontal travel.
  • Riding(S,A): Handling a mount, such as a horse or Loftwing. Your rank in Riding is the highest amount of skill dice you can roll while riding a mount. It is also used to determine your ability to maneuver obstacles at high speed.
  • Stealth(A): For when you don't want to be noticed. This is your passive stealth score, before the various modifiers are applied for how you actually go about hiding yourself.
  • Perception(W): For when you want to notice something. Wits is always the associated attribute for Perception skill checks. This skill is used to notice things you weren't entirely looking for and for particularly well-hidden items. Direct investigation should always be a success.
  • Survival(W,S): For gathering resources (such as cutting grass for hearts and rupees) and various other tasks, like fishing. Wits and Smarts are typically the associated attributes for Survival skill checks, depending on what's more appropriate for the task at hand.
  • Lore(S): Knowing about things. Smarts is always the associated attribute for Lore skill checks. To increase the usefulness of this skill, it represents general learning instead of specific areas of knowledge. If for some reason your character would have advanced knowledge in an area, they wouldn't need to roll Lore in the first place.
  • Composure(G): The ability to keep calm, keeping a straight face, feigning interest, ignoring pain, and holding back tears are all uses for Composure; what you actually say and how its received is up to you and your Sage.

Virtues[edit]

Virtues are a special stat, representing the three aspects of the Triforce. These aren't so much about what you do as how you do it. In order to add your rank in a Virtue to your dice pool, you have to do something in a way that demonstrates that Virtue. Virtues start at 0 and can be raised to a maximum of 3, but raising a Virtue is extremely difficult. A basic starting character has 1 rank in a single Virtue of their choice, and no ranks in the rest.

  • Power is associated with force and authority. The path of Power is one that is blunt and straightforward, often foregoing subtleties and finesse. Power is added when a character approaches a problem with brute force, swift action, or with authority. When a Gerudo warrior makes an example of an enemy to strike fear into its allies. When a Goron brawler thinks a swift kick to the locked chest will do the job faster than the delicacy of a lockpick. When a hardened Sheikah guardian commands a subject to stay their sword. To everyone else you're brutish and grisly. To those who see it you have Power.
  • Wisdom is associated with contemplation and manipulation. The path of wisdom is refined and precise, preferring to take the time to analyze a situation, being cautious and discerning. You add Wisdom when you decide to act with clear planning. When a Hylian archers waits for the opportune moment to shoot a specific spot rather than fire a volley of arrows. When a Zora sorceress senses what lies in the next room before allowing her party to continue. When a Twili investigates for clues rather than immediately assume a man accused of stealing is guilty. To everyone else you're overly cautious and slow. To those who see it you have Wisdom.
  • Courage is associated with heroism and bravery. The path of Courage involves putting things on the line and making sacrifices to achieve a goal. Courage is added for actions such as putting their own self in harm's way for an ally, doing things that are risky, facing fears, or making stands against larger forces. When a lowly Deku bravely charges a rampaging Dodongo. When a Hylian explorer braves a trap-lined hallway to get to the treasure chest on the other side. When a Terminan citizen stands up to a knight for picking on the weak. To everyone else you're crazy and reckless. To those who see it, you have Courage.

Hearts, Magic, and Stamina[edit]

Hearts function like hit points, with each heart being equivalent to 4 HP. Damage and health are measured in hearts or fractions thereof, using the shorthand terminology of #H or #♥ -- eg, 2H, ½♥, 1+1/2H, etc. When you run out of hearts, you are down, but not dead. A character whose hearts are depleted has one "Final Heart"; only if the Final Heart is depleted does the character die. The vast majority of enemies will leave a downed character alone until more active threats are dealt with. Hearts can be recovered through enemy drops, foraging (cutting grass, breaking pots, etc.), extended rest, and healing items/magic (such as fairies, potions, healing spells, etc.).

Magic is used for spells and magic items. Each such effect consumes a certain amount of magic power (MP), which is acquired in blocks of 4. A character can have a maximum of 60 MP (15 blocks). Recovering MP requires magic jars (obtained through enemy drops or potions), extended rest, or potions (or a similar effect).

Stamina is mainly used to power special techniques, but is also used when a character does certain actions (such as sprinting). Like MP, stamina is acquired in blocks of 4. Like magic, a character can have a maximum of 60 points of stamina (15 blocks). Stamina can be recovered in combat by giving up actions to rest. Each action restores 1 block. Outside of combat, you can easily recover all your stamina with a short break of only a minute or so.

Each character starts with 3 hearts. A character's base magic is a number of blocks equal to 1+Wits (a character with 2 Wits would have 3 blocks of MP or 12 points). Similarly, a character's base stamina is a number of blocks equal to 1+Guts.

  • Fluff note: Hearts and magic are recovered in essentially the same way they are in the video game -- by picking up items that must be used the moment you get them. Of course, this leads one to wonder why you couldn't just stockpile hearts and magic jars for when you really need them. If you're not content with merely hand-waving the issue away, one explanation we've come up with in the course of working on this project is that hearts and magic jars are in fact crystallized deposits of life and magic energy, respectively. These crystalline forms are extremely delicate, and rapidly destabilize when touched. If the energy is not used immediately, it quickly dissipates into the environment.

Racials[edit]

Many dozens of races have been introduced throughout the zelda franchise and this is by no means a complete list of them in any way. The most popular races have been represented here and the capacity to stat in more of the obscure races is included. This list should be used by players and Sages alike as there is no bestiary aside from a list of example mooks. The rule of thumb for whether something is a mook or not has been whether it can think and if it can climb a ladder, the first being if it's suitable to be played as, the second to determine whether it could actually function in a dungeon. Standard move speed is 3 (6 meters).

  • Human
    • Human, Hylian : Size Medium; auditory alignment detection (whether they tend towards Power, Wisdom, Courage, or are forsaken by the Goddesses)
    • Human, Gerudo : Size Medium; ignore mild environmental hazards, only female (no Ganondorfs as players)
    • Human, Shiekah : Size Medium; may ignore adjacent and field of view penalties to stealth
    • Human, Termina : Size Medium; +1 to all rolls involving Narrative Magic
    • Human Imp, Skull Kid : Size Small; +1 to instruments, prank cantrip for -1 mp (magically pranking someone nets 1 mana back)
  • Allied
    • Zora : Size Medium; Water breathing, hydrodynamic, adjustable bouyancy, electric sense (Can detect and glean information from nearby electric currents), double damage from Ice and Fire
    • Deku : Size Small; Water walking for no more than 1 turn in a row, wood sense (can detect and glean information from nearby wood), Evolving Tech Spit Attack, Evolving Tech Burrowing, immediate drowning at double damage, double fire damage.
    • Kokiri : Size Small; personal fairy with at will Clairvoyance, search checks are twice as bountiful, permanent child, not supposed to leave The Great Deku Tree
    • Goron : Size Large; half environmental damage, Evolving Tech Goron Roll, stone sense (Can detect and glean information from nearby stone), eats rocks; -5 bouyancy, 2 movement
    • Twili : Size Medium; can Warp for 1 mp during Twilight, fatigued in direct sunlight unless wearing darkness enchanted armor, can see in the dark
    • Korok** : Size Small; Evolving Tech Flight, double fire damage, tree themed Stalagmite for 4 mp (make no canonical sense, nor combat sense)
    • Rito : Size Small; Evolving Tech Flight, wind sense* (Can detect and glean information from passing wind)
    • Subrosians : Size Small; Immune to fire, double damage and stun from Ice, must wear a burqa (light weakness?)
  • Enemy
    • Construct : Size Large; ignore all environmental hazards, -5 bouyancy, 2 movement, +1/4H damage from imbued Light
    • Garo : Size Small; -1H at all times, upon the destruction of their clothing, their spirit body (1H, incorporeal, invisible) is freed to escape and possess a new set of clothing which slowly morphs back into Garo Robes
    • Goriya : Size Medium; +1 to Presence when trading
    • Blins : Size Small to Medium; Move Speed 4, optional increase from Small to Medium, optional increase to Large and 3 move speed
    • Wizzrobe : Size Medium; Jaunt for 1 mp
    • Stalfos : Size Medium; Guardian for 0 sp, permanent Soulbond with one other Stalfos, immune to environmental damage
    • Lizalfos : Size Medium; Guardian for 0 sp, Double Damage from Ice, Half Damage from Fire
    • Mook : Any Size; pick a (low) number, that is their dice pool for everything, their number of hearts stamina and mana, and can have up to that many techs or spells. A mook's attribute is half their rank.
  • More to come

(*%*)(Player Dekus are not deku scrubs, those are merely enemies. Player dekus are the older dekus that have woody bodies and limbs. The kind that are often shopkeepers and actually help Link from time to time.)

An important note on sizes. A medium sized creature is the weight of an average human, . Moving up a size category doubles the weight, so a goron would be about . Moving down a size halves the weight, so a Skull Kid would be about . These continue infinitely, so a kokiri would be about , and a dragon 4 sizes above a goron would weigh . These weights are the same used for objects, so you can actually get a difficulty on picking up your teammate and throwing them at the enemy. These weights are NOT canonical, only inferences used for the conversion to Pen and Paper. Canonically, Link can pick up an iron boot in either leg. You cannot imagine the shenanigans players would get up to with that.

(**)Canonically, Koroks are what the Kokiri became in the Era of the Great Sea, but that would make one or the other unplayable in the same campaign, keep if you want to

Boss Templates[edit]

Boss monsters are the biggest bads of the dungeon, huge, magical, nearly undefeatable, but have their weaknesses. These are to be defeated by clever players, not abuses of the system. For that reason, the following templates are recommended for use. Or go wild.

  • Boss Monster : XL, Immune to stun, Immune to poison, Occupy at least two squares, stunned for one round after critical damage while unstunned, 4 actions per turn
  • Shadow : Constant Imbue Shadow, immune to Shadow, double damage from Light
  • Infernal : Constant Imbue Fire, immune to fire, double damage from Ice, Ice can stun for 1 action at most
  • Parasitic : Double health, cannot survive without Host
  • Armored : Double defensive dice, half speed
  • Bio-electric : Constant Imbue Lightning, immune to lightning, is not Immune to stun
  • Aquatic : double damage from Lightning, double speed in water
  • Subterranean : Immune to non-piercing damage
  • Burrowing : Burrowing Racial Tech
  • Flying : Flight Racial Tech
  • Hoarfrost : Constant Imbue Ice, Immune to Ice, Double Damage from Fire
  • Undead : Immune to environmental damage, Double Damage from Light
  • Amoeba : Only core can take damage but has 0 DD
  • Grabbing : Does not need to roll to maintain a grapple after it is established and grappling does not interfere with it's ability to attack other characters.
  • Giant : plus one size, only 3 actions per turn
  • Gargantuan : plus two size, only 3 actions per turn

Character Creation[edit]

  • Choose a race
  • Set two attributes to Rank 2 and the other three attributes to Rank 1
  • Set one virtue to Rank 1 and the other two to Rank 0
  • All characters start with three (3) hearts
  • All characters start with one (1) plus Guts blocks of Stamina
  • All characters start with one (1) plus Wits blocks of Mana
  • Assign fifteen (15) skill points via point buy [Rank 1 costs 1 skill point. Rank 2 costs 2 skill points, plus the cost to raise the skill to Rank 1 (i.e. 1 more skill point). A Rank 2 skill costs, total, 3 skill points.]
  • Sage sets the starting rupees, 200 is normal
  • Refer to pricing on the tables to buy
  • Training cost is 20/sp, 30/mp, 20/action (action cost is only for songs)
  • Details details details
  • ????
  • Adventure!

Character Advancement[edit]

We would like to make this system entirely XP-less -- that is, rather than spending some kind of metagame resource to improve your character (as is the case in most every RPG), characters improve through in-game rewards. While this will add a bit more for the Sage to do, it strongly supports our goal of making a system with uniquely Legend-of-Zelda-style gameplay.

Of course, one of the most important means of character advancement is acquiring items. In order to advance to new challenges, you'll need to expand your repertoire of tools for handling them -- just like in the video games. Items are most prominently found in dungeons, and the item found in a dungeon is usually crucial for handling that dungeon's puzzles and boss. They also can be obtained in the overworld from side quests and the like. Note that "items" need not necessarily be physical objects -- they might be spells or songs learned from a mentor or ancient writing. Anything that adds a totally new capability that is vital for characters to handle puzzles and similar obstacles is effectively an "item".

Another important means of advancement is the learning of techniques. Techniques are special abilities and tricks that your character learns through practice. Like items, they typically add entirely new abilities to your repertoire, rather than merely improving your stats; however, unlike items, techniques rarely play a pivotal role in solving puzzles (though this is not to say that they can't play such a role occasionally). Rather, techniques help to personalize and flesh out your character's capabilities, adding variety and style to how you do things. Techniques are often combat-oriented, in contrast to items, which are typically puzzle-oriented. Techniques would typically be learned from mentors (such as the Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess), but could also be learned from studying written instructions (such as the Tiger Scrolls in Minish Cap) or from other sources entirely -- whatever the Sage feels is appropriate.

Hearts, as you might expect, should be increased in essentially the same fashion as they are in the video games -- from Heart Containers dropped by defeated bosses, and from collecting Pieces of Heart. Each new heart obtained (whether from a defeated boss or Pieces of Heart) should benefit each party member equally.

The Sage should also provide opportunities for characters to acquire additional blocks of magic power and stamina in-game. The form this takes is entirely up to the Sage; you might use very abstract methods as is done for hearts, or the intervention of a powerful magical being (such as a Great Fairy's blessing or the Mad Batter's "curse", which double your magic meters in the video games that use them), or a powerful potion brewed by a witch, or perhaps even intense training under a suitable mentor to increase your reserves of strength. The number of extra blocks of these resources provided to a character should not exceed twice that character's rank in the associated attribute for that resource -- for instance, the Sage shouldn't give a character with 3 Guts more than 6 additional blocks of Stamina through in-game sources. However, Sages should be fairly generous in making extra blocks available, not shying away from allowing players to reach this upper limit. The pace at which these increases are provided is up to the Sage -- some may find it easier to only rarely give out many blocks at once (similar to the one-time doubling of the magic meter in the video games), while others may prefer the smoother progression afforded by providing one block at a time spread out regularly over the course of the campaign. Extra blocks of magic and stamina may be distributed to the party as a whole (in which case the amount of blocks given should be determined by the average relevant attribute value of all party members) or individually (in which case the number of blocks given can be determined on a character-by-character basis). If using individual distribution, characters should not be permitted to give extra blocks they obtain personally to other party members -- in other words, the whole party should not be able to go out and, for instance, each get a potion that boosts MP capacity and all give their potions to the party's mage.

Finally, of course, there's increasing your stats -- your attributes, skills, and Virtues. This too must be accomplished through in-game action. Improving your rank in a skill might require studying under a suitable expert in that field. Improving an attribute might take intensive training under a strict coach, or perhaps a magical infusion of ability from a potion or Great Fairy. Improving a Virtue would almost always require some kind of intervention on the part of a powerful supernatural entity -- perhaps even the Virtue's patron Goddess herself! Increasing stats should typically involve a side quest or "minigame" of sorts, determined by the Sage. A mentor might require you to overcome some trial to prove your worth before training you; finding a reclusive guru may be a challenge in itself; a witch might need you to gather ingredients for her to make you an attribute-boosting potion; a Great Fairy might require you to prove your Virtue by undertaking some grand endeavour before blessing you with greater strength in that area; and so forth. Increasing skills would require relatively easy challenges -- in fact, the Sage may simply require nothing more than the payment of a training fee in rupees at a local guild, if they don't want to spend time on something so trivial. Improving an attribute is a slightly more significant boost, and requires a bit more effort. Improving a Virtue is a momentous task indeed, requiring tremendous effort. While it would be reasonable to expect a character to hit the maximum rank of 5 in their primary attribute and skills by the end of an extended campaign, maxing out a Virtue should be reserved for only the most truly epic campaigns.

Here are the general character advancement Rewards, in descending power.

  • Gift of the Goddess : Increase your virtue by 1, all hearts are restored. Granted just before the Final Boss.
  • Powerful Essence : Increase 1 Attribute. Dropped by Dungeon Bosses.
  • Full Heart : Permanently add 1 Heart, or 1 block of Mana, or 1 block of Stamina. Dropped by Dungeon Bosses.
  • Piece of Heart : Collect 4 to create a Full Heart. Granted by side quests.
  • Weak Essence : Increase two different Skills by 1. Dropped by Mini-Bosses
  • Artifact : An important item. Granted after the Mini-Boss.

Exploration[edit]

The Effect of Character Size[edit]

Size categories vary widely in the Legend of Zelda universe and that must be represented when you pit a Goron against a Kokiri. Size categories scale infinitely with each category being twice as heavy as the last, meaning Hylians are 70kg and Gorons would be 140 kg. Size is slightly misleading however, because it is based on mass rather than height; a Deku is about as tall as a Hylian, but is spindly, light, and weak, so they are classified as Small rather than Medium. Size impacts a few very important things. First, is your ability to move things and resist being moved. Small size gives +0, and every increment changes that by 1, so medium would be +1, Large is +2, Tiny is -1. This applies to strength checks, similar but not the same as Brawn checks, and knockback checks. Second, is the size of weapons you can easily wield. Weapon size corresponds almost directly to character size by name, but is covered more in depth later. Finally, your size modifies your ability, or inability, to dodge ranged attacks. Center of body mass is considered to be the target however, and a Hylians chest by itself would be small size, so the modifier is set at medium = 0, and goes down with size. Therefore Gorons would have -1 to dodge arrows while a Kokiri would have +2. You can still block arrows, and parry them out of the air.

An important consequence of large monsters: Monsters often are much larger and stronger than Link (or a simillarily-sized character). As such, they occupy multiple squares at the same time. To account for weak spots, each square has the capacity for different stats. For every attack they possess, it can only come from a certain square, such as the Dodongo's fire breath which only comes from their head. For defense, calculate the number of dice they would have normally, multiply by the number of squares they have, and assign the dice as seen fit. For further example with the Dodongo, if it can normally defend with four dice, since it is over two squares, it would have eight dice to assign, all of which go to its head, giving the head 8 defense dice, and its tail none because the tail is the weak spot.

When a character is so large they occupy multiple squares area of effects affect them differently. The base damage is applied to every square that is targetted, but otherwise all effects only apply once. So, a spin attack of Ice 1 would only stun for 1 even if you hit them three times with the spin attack.

Lifting and Carrying[edit]

Every creature and object has a Weight category, which can also be expressed as a number. The Weight categories, in order from smallest to largest, are Negligible (-1), Small (0), Medium (1), Large (2), Massive (3), and Colossal (4). PC races fall within the range of Light to Heavy (eg, Deku are Light, Hylians are Medium, Gorons are Heavy), and items (such as the Iron Boots) or other effects may modify your Weight, potentially taking it outside of this range. Very large or dense monsters or objects may have weights heavier than Massive, which are simply indicated with a "+" after the word Colossal for each point of Weight beyond 4. For instance, an exceptionally large statue with Weight 6 would be described as "Colossal++". This number is the same as the knockback modifier.

If your Brawn exceeds the Weight of an object, you can lift and carry it without penalty. If your Brawn is exactly equal to an object's Weight, you can carry it, you re encumbered by it and have one less action, -1 to dodge, -1 buoyancy, and +1 against knockback. You cannot lift anything with Weight greater than your Brawn, but you can push or drag any object with a knockback modifier equal to or less than your brawn+size modifier.

Combat[edit]

When a fight starts, each combatant rolls for initiative with a dice pool of Agility + Wits to determine turn order. The team with the highest single initiative roll goes first. In case of a tie, reroll.

Each turn, you get three actions, which can be used in a variety of ways. On your turn, an action can be spent to do just about anything that could reasonably be done in the span of a few seconds -- making an attack, readying yourself for combat, using an item from your c-pool, moving a distance up to your speed, etc. Any actions not used during your turn can be used later in the round as reactions, in response to something somebody else does. Reactions can only be used in certain specific ways, as described below.

Attacks and Damage[edit]

To make an attack, roll the appropriate dice pool for your weapon. For instance, a typical sword would use Brawn + Melee, a Biggoron's sword would use Brawn + Heavy, and a bow would use Agility + Ranged. If you make at least one success, your attack hits, and you deal an amount of damage defined by your weapon. Each additional success you score beyond the first increases the damage you deal by 1/4H (for now, anyway -- eventually different weapons may have different kinds of effects for extra successes, but that can wait). A target that defends itself may cancel out some or all of your successes, as described below.

If the target is wearing armor, the damage dealt by a successful attack is reduced by a certain number of hearts based on what kind of armor the target is wearing (see below).

Attacking is usually just a single action, but attacking with a Heavy weapon requires two actions, due to their relative unwieldiness.

You can only use each of your hands once per turn. This includes : swinging a sword, blocking with a shield, casting a spell, pulling a bow, using an item, throwing a punch, and more. Two handed weapons use both of your hands, one handed weapons use one hand, typical ranged weapons use two hands, and spells use two hands if they are complex, and one if they are simple, refer to the magic section for more information. Anything you can do in your main hand, you can do in your off hand, but at a -1 dice pool penalty to all rolls with it when attacking. Defending with your off hand does not take this penalty.

Certain weapons can attack with Reach. This means that they can threaten two squares away from themselves, given that the middle square is empty. This allows a character with reach to strike a normally armed character when he himself cannot be hit. There is a wielding penalty to Reach weapons.

Unarmed is a normal melee attack with either hand. Damage scales with size such that a medium does 1/4 h + 1/4 h per success. Smaller size categories can only damage through successes while every size up adds 1/4 h to direct damage. Unarmed damage cannot remove an enemy's Final Heart. Even when armed, you can make an unarmed attack.

  • A summation table for reference:
  • The largest weapon a Medium can wield in one hand is a medium weapon.
  • This scales to character size and is all relative.
  • The largest weapon a character can draw as a free action is 1 sizes below his main.
  • A character can wield a weapon 1 size over his main in 2 hands, each attack taking 1 action and stunning for 1. (Acts as a heavy attack that isn't at the limit)
  • A character can wield a weapon 1 size over his main in 1 hand, each attack taking 2 actions.
  • A character can wield a weapon 2 sizes over his main in 2 hands, each attack taking 2 actions, and a successful attack stunning the target for 1 action.
  • A character can wield a weapon with reach the size of his main, in 2 hands, each attack taking 2 actions and stunning for 1.
  • A character can wield a weapon with reach the size of his main, in 1 hand for 1 action, sacrificing reach and 2 offensive die
  • A character can wield a ranged weapon the size of his main, taking 1 action to aim and another to fire.
  • A character can wield a crossbow 2 sizes above his main, taking 1 action to preload, 1 to aim and a third to fire. Preloading can occur on a previous round.
  • A character can throw a weapon 1 size above his main, taking 2 actions. This weapon is treated as a size category lower when not being thrown

Ranged Weapons[edit]

Attacking accurately with a ranged weapon takes 2 actions -- one to aim, and one immediately afterward to fire. You can attempt a quick shot without taking time to aim, using only a single action to attack, but this comes at a great cost in accuracy -- your dice pool for the attack is halved (rounded down, but to a minimum of 1 die).

Crossbows additionally require an action to load, but unlike aiming this can be done well in advance of firing, with various other actions done in between. However, crossbows deal considerably more damage -- much like how Heavy weapons, though they take two actions to use, deal considerably more damage than Melee weapons.

Ranged Weapons have a base range increment of 10 squares. Every increment past that gives a -1 penalty. This applies to magic projectiles as well.

Ranged Weapons take the same damage as melee weapons. A short bow is equivalent to a medium weapon, longbow is Imposing and Crossbow is Hefty. Crossbows would be considered heavy, that is why they have the extra 'load' action.

Normal ranged weapons use Agility, thrown weapons such as axes and pots, use Brawn. Thrown weapons use a range increment of 3.

Techniques[edit]

There exist many different techniques that can be used in combat, and sometimes out of combat. To use a technique, you typically have to spend the stamina cost and spend a single action on it. Techniques generally represent something you could do normally but would be far more inefficient at without the technique, so the same roll is used as if you were doing it the hard way. For example, you could move forward and attack, or you could jump attack, both would be a melee attack. Techniques require any hands that would be required to do it the hard way, and can only be performed once per turn. In the same example, jump attacking would use your main hand for that turn, but you could still shield bash with the other.

Special techniques exist with 0 stamina cost. These are Traits. They are always in effect. They cannot be trained, but are rather rewards given by the Sage for certain actions at their discretion. Say, if you grappled a dragon to death, you would get the trait Wrestler (+2 to all grapple checks).

Items and Tools in Combat[edit]

Items and Tools should be of the weightless size category. As such, they can be drawn freely by any size player. They should occupy one hand and generate their effect at the cost of one action. As improvised weapons they are poor, but using the spell toolkit, their effects can be quite useful. To keep with the theme of Legend of Zelda, although this isn't necessary, a pool of 3 readied items akin to the C-buttons, the C-Pool, can be implemented to make characters think more about preparation for combat. Using a tool from the C-Pool takes merely the action to use it, but changing an item in the C-Pool takes an action, then the action to actually use it.

Items and Tools will be changed quickly, much quicker than weapons. As such, the rule should be generic and applied to all of them while a players personal weapon can be more intricate due to the player have a more permanent use and understanding of it.

Types of reactions[edit]

Defensive reactions: A reaction can be used to defend yourself in one of three ways. Regardless of which option you choose, each success you roll cancels one of the attacker's successes. If you roll at least as many successes for your defense as the attacker rolled for their attack, you've negated the attack completely. If you roll some successes, but not enough to negate the attack, you've managed to avoid some of the attack, mitigating it to an extent, but not quite all of it. If you roll no successes, you've failed utterly. Each defensive option has additional effects, as described below.

In case of a tie, melee defenders win and ranged attackers win. In a melee fight, you are proving your ability to dodge rather than them proving their ability to hit because it's really easy to hit normally. In a ranged situation, you are proving your ability to hit, because it's rather hard to hit something at range.

Block: Guts+Shields. One action, one roll, defends against all attacks until your next turn. If you have a shield, you can roll Guts + Shields to block an enemy attack. In addition to cancelling out the attacker's successes, as long as you roll at least one success you gain an armor bonus (in addition to any you may have from other sources), which further reduces the damage taken if you fail to negate the attack entirely. The magnitude of this bonus depends on what kind of shield you have. Unlike other kinds of defenses, cancelling successes by blocking does not negate stun.

Dodge: Agility+Athletics. Once action, one roll, only defends against the first attack. As long as you're not encumbered, be it from armor or heavy weapons, you can attempt to leap, roll, or sidestep out of the way of an attack. To attempt a dodge, there must be an open space adjacent to your current position that isn't affected by the enemy's attack. Normally this is any other square, but certain area of effect spells can limit your options. To attempt to dodge, roll Agility + Athletics. In addition to cancelling out the attacker's successes, as long as you roll at least one success you move into an adjacent safe space of your choice. If you roll no successes, you failed to react in time and you don't move. In order to dodge, you must move to a spot that is not threatened.

Parry: Wits + Melee - 1. One action, multiple rolls, each roll defends against a single attack. If you're using a Melee or Heavy weapon, you can use it to turn aside an enemy's Melee attack. A Heavy weapon is also capable of parrying an attack from another Heavy weapon, but Melee weapons are too small and flimsy to adequately accomplish this. To attempt a parry, roll Wits + melee - 1. If you roll more successes than the enemy does, not only do you negate the attack, but you manage to put the enemy in a disadvantageous position, giving you a +1 bonus to your dice pool the next time you attack that enemy, provided you make the attack before the enemy's next turn. If your offhand is free, you do not suffer the -1 penalty. You do not get the bonus from parrying an area of effect attack like Spin Attack.

Counterattack: If you completely negate an enemy's attack with a defensive reaction, you can immediately spend another reaction (if you have one available) to immediately attack that enemy with a weapon you have on hand. Since a counterattack takes advantage of the momentary opening created when an enemy fails to land an attack, the target can't use a reaction to defend against it; however, Heavy weapons are too unwieldy to use for such a quick response, and thus cannot be used to counterattack. You also can't counterattack if you used an action on your turn to attack (even if the attack failed). Attempting a counterattack costs 1 Stamina. If you counterattack after a defense such as blocking or parrying, then you are no longer protected by that defense and must spend another action afterwards to reinstate your defense.

Prepare: If you suspect an enemy might try to do something in particular, and you want to respond to that in a certain way, you can prepare a response to such an eventuality. To prepare a reaction, you must spend a reaction in advance and declare that you will do a certain thing when a given condition is met. For example, your prepared reaction might be, "if the Dodongo tries to breathe fire, I'll throw a bomb in its mouth". When the condition you prepared for is met, you can immediately take the action you prepared without spending a reaction (since your reaction was spent in advance when you declared the prepared reaction). If the condition isn't met before your next turn starts, your preparation is wasted. If you don't trust your Sage not to change what the enemies do to avoid triggering your prepared reaction, you can make a secret declaration by writing down the condition and what you plan to do, revealing it when the condition is met. You still have to declare that you are preparing an action, though; you just don't need to announce what exactly you're planning. You can prepare a reaction any time before the event triggering it happens, as long as you have a reaction available to spend for it. Prepared reactions take place immediately before the triggering action, and may prevent the target from carrying out the triggering action -- but this is not always the case! Generally speaking, a reaction prepared to thwart a particular special attack (such as the aforementioned Dodongo example) is hard for the enemy to defend against or recover from, since such actions exploit openings inherent in those attacks; however, such openings may not always be present. For example, you could prepare a reaction to attack an enemy if it tries to attack you (simply with a standard attack). In this case, while you could certainly make your attack, the enemy could still use a reaction to defend itself, and assuming it survives your prepared attack it may still be able to continue with its intended attack against you. Prepared actions can only be used against techniques/spells, saying "I cut him if he steps near me," leads to stand offs so base actions can't provoke a prepared action due to their mutability.

A note on Protecting: You can occupy the same square as one other ally. In this case, the actual effects of each reaction need to be clearly specified. Only block removes threat from a square. Parry does not nor does dodge. If your square is attacked and you dodge, whoever was also in that square must defend or get hit; but if you block, your ally does not need to spend an action defending.

Another note. It only takes a single reaction to block every primary attack of all of your aggressors, and another to block all secondary attacks. The action economy breaks down if you need one reaction per attack against you and three people are attacking you. The only viable style would be dodging and counterattacking, which while accurate to reality, flies in the face of the Legend of Zelda style of play, not to mention most all other tabletop systems allow you to defend against everyone attacking you.

Movement and Positioning[edit]

Distances in this system are measured in meters, with combat spaces measured in squares 2 meters to a side. Each race will have a stated movement speed, which indicates how far an individual of that race can move in a single action (without additional modifiers, such as sprinting). The typical baseline speed is 6 m (3 spaces). A character can sprint by spending 1 stamina, doubling their movement speed for a single action.

Two allies can share a space together, but fighting in such close quarters imposes penalties to their ability to attack. These penalties are based on the size of the larger character. If the larger character is Small, both parties receive a -1 to all attack rolls. If the larger is Medium, they take -2. And if they are Large, a -3. If the largest is below Small, they take none, and if they are above Large, they are incapable of sharing a space with any one. Certain techniques can't be performed if a space is being shared, however others can mitigate these penalties, or even turn them into an advantage.

Cover plays a role in the midst of battle. There is mild cover (1), medium cover (2), heavy cover (3), and complete cover. If you are using cover less that complete, you gain that many dice to defend with and lose that many dice to attack with. The exception is complete cover. You cannot be attacked and you cannot attack while in complete cover with the exception of attacking the cover. cover must be between you and your opponent somehow for it to be used.

Knockback[edit]

You can spend an action attempting a knockback on an adjacent opponent. The roll is Brawn + your size modifier vs Guts + their size modifier. On a success, they are knocked back one (1) square. They can choose to take 1/4 H damage to roll an extra dice, this can be done as many times as they have points in Brawn. Certain static effects all roll against Guts+size, you cannot take damage for extra dice in this case.

If your hands are free, this check can be used to move them to any adjacent square.

Grappling[edit]

Anyone can grab onto and wrestle with a foe; it doesn't take any sort of special technique. You cannot rest while grappling. Here's how you handle the various actions involved in grappling:

  • Cost of Grappling : After every grapple check, whoever netted lower successes loses that much SP. If one of the grapplers runs out of SP, they automatically lose all checks and the other loses 1 SP per round. When both grapplers have no SP, grappling ends, and a melee check is made to see who is pushed from the square to an adjacent square of the loser's choosing. In case of a tie, the check is repeated.
  • Defending while grappling (1 action) You cannot dodge, parry, nor block while grappling. The attacker is attacking into mild cover if the other grappler is smaller or equal size, heavy cover if the other grappler is larger.
  • Initiate a grapple (1 action): Make an unarmed Melee attack. If you hit, instead of dealing damage, you successfully grab hold of the opponent and move into their space. Both you and your opponent are now Grappling each other.

There are two states to a grapple: Equal, and Pinned. If you are pinned, all you can attempt is

  • Break the Pin (2 actions): with an opposed Brawn check.

If you are Equal, the following actions can be taken:

  • Escape a grapple (2 actions): You can attempt to do this by either overpowering your opponent to break out (a Brawn check) or by wriggling free (an Agility check). In either case, your check is opposed by your opponent's Brawn check; if you win, you end the grapple. You and your opponent are now no longer Grappling each other, and you move out of the opponent's space into an available adjacent space of your choice.
  • Move the Grapple (2 actions): Whether you initiated the grapple or not, as long as your opponent is at least light enough for you to push or drag (Weight no greater than 1 + your Brawn), you can attempt to move both yourself and your opponent by making an opposed knockback check to move one square.
  • Climb while grappling (1 action): If you are smaller than your opponent and initiated the grapple, you may make an Agility check opposed by their Brawn to grapple them at a different square they occupy
  • Pin your Opponent (2 actions): You can attempt to pin your opponent with an opposed Brawn check. If you succeed, you are now pinning them and they are pinned.

If you are pinning your opponent, the following actions can be taken:

  • Attack your Opponent (3 actions): You may make an opposed Brawn check to utilize a held item against your opponent, or lock them out with an unarmed strike. You can only do 1/2H damage.
  • Hold the Pin (3 actions): You may make an opposed Guts check to hold them in the pin.
  • Release a grapple (free action): If you have your opponent pinned, you can release your opponent on your turn as a free action, ending the grapple. You and your opponent are now no longer grappling each other, and you move out of the opponent's space into an available adjacent space of your choice.

A fast track explanation on how to throw an opponent

  • Grab them (Unarmed attack against their defense of choice)
  • Have the Throw tech
  • Make a move check (opposed knockback)
  • If you succeed, then you move them two squares. Deals 1/2H and Stun 1 to grappled opponent and target.
  • if you fail, refer to the rules above

Status Conditions[edit]

Various effects might impose negative conditions on a combatant. Status conditions of the same type do not stack nor overwrite, the new effect is ignored. The following are status effects that have been defined so far:

  • Stunned: A character that flinches (such as when hit by a Heavy weapon) or is knocked down is considered stunned and loses 1 action on its next turn. This can layer however for up 3 stuns total, essentially being stunned for a whole turn. Stun goes away on its own, however there are effects that can absorb some stun.
  • Fatigued: A character that is out of their element for to long can become Fatigued. This means an additional 2 SP for all techs and they cannot sprint. However there are effects that can that can remove this status for a time, but generally just leaving the area does that.
  • Tired: A character that has ran out of Stamina has become tired and must spend a round of turns to rest. This counts as 2 actions of rest and refills the bar as such.
  • Knocked out: A character that has had all of their hearts depleted and are on their Final Heart is Knocked out. Only by recovering a piece of heart can they regain consciences. There are some effects that only activate when a character reaches this point.
  • Stuck: A character that is grabbed or falls into the wrong environmental hazard becomes stuck. They can still perform all their usual actions however they can no longer move.
  • Sleeping: A character that is sleeping can’t do anything till they are woken up or the effect that put them to sleep ends, however just about anyone can wake an ally up. You can still be considered resisting while sleeping.
  • Jinxed: A character that is cursed or jinxed by certain enemies can no longer lift their weapons. Only Tools can be wielded freely. Jinx goes away on its own after 3 turns, however there are effects that can remove it before that.
  • Blinded: A character that has been blinded by enemies or an environmental hazard no longer has the ability to aim and must make a perception check before attempting to move or attack. Blind will go away on its own after three turns, but can be removed earlier by various other effects.
  • Deaf: A character that is deaf can only roll half dice for perception rolls. For all non mechanical uses, they are still deaf. Temporary deafness goes away after three turns.
  • Mute: A character that has been silenced by magic or made mute by other effects cannot verbally communicate with other players, NPCs, or cast verbal spells. Mute will go away on its own after a set number of turns described by the muting effect, but can be removed earlier by various other effects.
  • Confused: A character that has been confused by an effect or hazard loses control of their balance and must make an Athletics roll against confusion before each attempt at movement or attacking. A failed roll leads to either only moving half distance, or only rolling half OD. Confusion will go away on its own after 3 turns, but it can be removed earlier by various effects. The amount that needs to be beaten is the number of extra successes when it was inflicted.
  • Enraged: A character that is enraged by an effect must use an action every round to attack if able. It doesn't matter if it's an enemy, an ally, or the dirt so long as an attack is made. Rage will go away on its own after 3 turns.
  • Poisoned: Poison is a special case status effect. It's complex in that it can be crafted to effect any number of characteristics. It is a serious infliction that lasts after battle for upwards to an hour, but can still be removed earlier by various other effects and antidotes. Poison is also the only status effect that can be fought off when first struck with it. A roll of your Guts + Survival vs the poison source's Smarts (assuming it has any) + the Grade of poison will determine if the poison has any effect.
  1. Poison
  • Applying poison to a weapon, or anything appropriate, takes 1 action and lasts for 1 use or until end of combat. Standard poison loses it's potency after 1 hour of exposure. The effects of poison are resisted by Guts+Survival against Smarts+Lore, determined at time of crafting. Effects range from; movement restriction, health damage, stamina damage, mana damage, to dice penalties. Powerful poisons would require hand crafting or a special license of sorts to acquire, to prevent early players from getting the best stuff in a reasonable manner. Also, if bosses can't shrug poison off and laugh at them, you're probably doing something wrong.

Team Rules[edit]

Groups often act together, as such they take all of their actions simultaneously. Unless there is inter party conflict, which should always be avoided, players will always act as one team. Normally, all enemies are working together as the other team. Any action can be banked to be used as a reaction. All attacks during the same action occur at the same time, so one dodge reaction would apply to all of them. Block and Parry of course apply to all attacks, regardless of which action. For purposes of targeting, a character who spends the action moving, not dodging, is considered to exist in every square he traverses during that action.

Spells are cast during the action, or actions, needed for them, and resolve at the very end. So, imbuing a friendly's attack would imbue their attack on the next action. And casting a complex spell means it is cast on the last action needed.

This shifts the flow of the battle to favor the smaller team, since players will be outnumbered by mooks and will outnumber the boss.

If a creature is targeted by someone on their own team, they are allowed to spend that action as a reaction rather than the action they planned.

As a quick example, A and B are fighting X. A banks his first action while B imbues his attack with magic. Action two A attacks and B retreats. Action three B banks and A moves. Then it is the enemies turn. X attacks A, moves after B and banks his action. And so on.

Combat equipment stats[edit]

Weapons can be classified according to size, with larger weapons dealing more baseline damage. The weapon categories and the damage they deal are, from smallest to largest:

  • Weightless (0H) -- tools. (Not all, but most to ensure players can freely draw them)
  • Miniscule (1/4H) -- eg, small knife
  • Tiny (1/2H) -- eg, dagger
  • Small (3/4H) -- eg, short sword
  • Medium (1H) -- eg, long sword
  • Large (1+1/4H) -- eg, Biggoron's Sword
  • Hefty(1+1/2H) -- eg, Ball and Chain
  • Massive(2H) -- eg, Nearly a Buster Sword
  • Huge(2+1/2H) -- eg, a Buster Sword
  • Colossal(3H) -- eg, Ganon's Castle Destroyers

The effort necessary to use a given weapon depends on your size relative to it. The largest weapon that a Hylian can use one-handed is a Medium weapon; a Kokiri or Deku, being smaller, can only use Small weapons or smaller one-handed; Gorons, being larger, can use Large weapons comfortably in one hand. Weapons one size larger than your one-handed weapon size (for a Hylian, Large weapons) can be wielded two-handed as Melee weapons, and weapons two sizes larger than your one-handed weapon size are considered Heavy weapons. You can't wield any weapon that is more than two sizes larger than your maximum one-handed weapon size.

Note that the damage values listed for each weapon size are merely baseline values for a typical, average-quality weapon of that size. Particularly high- or low-quality weapons may deal more or less damage than others of their size. For example, the Master Sword would likely deal 1+1/2H, despite being a Medium weapon, whereas a wooden sword (also a Medium weapon) might deal only 1/2H.

Heavy weapons (those that are two sizes larger than the biggest size you can wield one-handed) always use the Heavy skill rather than the Melee skill. As noted above, it takes 2 actions to attack with a Heavy weapon, and you can't dodge or counterattack when using a Heavy weapon. The sweeping, two-handed overhand swings used to attack with such a large, unwieldy weapon carry considerable force -- enough force, in fact, that it can momentarily disrupt the enemy's movement. If an attacker scores at least one success with a Heavy weapon attack, the target flinches (loses 1 action on their next turn). Cancellation of successes from a Heavy attack by dodging or parrying can prevent this effect if all successes are cancelled, but successes in a Heavy attack roll cancelled by blocking only prevent damage, and do not negate the flinching effect of the attack. This effect is more a product of the way the weapon is swung rather than any properties of the weapon itself, so a given weapon may cause flinching when used by a smaller wielder (as a Heavy weapon) but not when used by a larger wielder (as a Melee weapon).

Armor and shields provide a static Damage Reduction in damage taken from each attack, as indicated below. You cannot negate all damage through damage reduction, you will take at least 1/4H from every successful hit. Additionally, each suit of armor has an Encumbrance rating. If the armor's Encumbrance is less than or equal to your Brawn score, it's considered light armor for you, and you can move about in it freely.

  • Cloth Armor: -1/4H; Encumbrance 0
  • Leather Armor: -1/2H Encumbrance 1
  • Chain Mail: -3/4H Encumbrance 2
  • Plated Mail: -1HEncumbrance 3
  • Full Plate: -1-1/2H; Encumbrance 4
  • Armor must be made for your race specifically
  • Small Shield: -1/4H : Small
  • Medium Shield: -1/2H : Medium
  • Large Shield: -3/4H : Large
  • Tower Shield: -1H : Hefty, minor cover
  • adds an Encumbrance if above your standard main hand weight

Being encumbered results in : 1 less move speed per action, -1 to dodge, -1 bouyancy, +1 against knockback. You are treated as being a size larger than you are to outside effects. You also cannot cast advanced spells when encumbered.

Magic[edit]

There are three main types of magic in Legend of Zelda. Arcane Magic, which is a generic toolbox of effects to represent the powers of various magicians and items, effects can be creatively combined but there are rules, and an effective upper limit to power. Wave Magic, which is generated through the melodious use of enchanted instruments, this is akin to divine magic and has rules but no upper limit to power. And finally, Narrative Magic, which represents the power of unique items such as masks and the Master Sword, Narrative Magic has no rules but what the Sage gives each specific effect and no upper limit to power.

Arcane Magic

Arcane magic in this system may be either inherent (spells learned through study or drawing on innate power) or evoked from items. There is no functional difference between the two form -- in fact, any magic effect may be had as either an item or an inherent spell interchangeably, according to whatever the Sage and/or players prefer. Regardless of whether it's inherent or item-based, the spell consumes MP, involves a Spellcraft skill check, and must be obtained in-game in the same fashion that one obtains items. Spells are to be handled in much the same way as items such as a boomerang or hookshot -- they are significant acquisitions that give the character entirely new abilities that are vital for overcoming the challenges that bar one's advancement. Inherent spells may be obtained in the form of a physical item (such as a scroll that can be studied to learn how to use the spell, or a magic crystal that imparts the ability to use the spell), but might also be obtained through other means as well, according to Sage and/or player preference.

A mage must have his hands free when casting spells. One (1) for a simple spell, one (1) effect, or both for an advanced spell, two (2) or more. There are some items that do not interfere with casting spells, while there are others, rarer still, that will enhance inherent magic when held.

Each spell can be classified as either simple or advanced. Simple spells can be used as an off-hand attack, just as a second weapon in the off-hand can be used for a second attack in the turn; using a spell in this way imposes a -1 penalty to your Spellcraft check for that spell (just like an off-hand attack imposes a -1 penalty to your attack roll). Simple spells can also be used to make counterattacks (though this is of course still subject to the usual limit on attacks per turn). Advanced spells cannot be used to make off-hand attacks or counterattacks, because their use requires too much concentration to allow for such quick application. The range for an advanced spell is the range of the base spell.

The current Spell List is actually an effect list to be treated as a spell creation toolkit. A spell is simple if it uses only one effect. It is advanced if it applies multiple effects. Not all effects can be combined but that depends entirely on how creative a character is in how he explains the intended effects. For example, Imbue Fire and Imbue Ice should cancel each other, unless the character casts it as an antipode type deal. This is to encourage creativity, but can quickly be broken. To balance this and prevent players from going 'I CAST MY UNSTOPPABLE INVILIBILE ILLISIONAIRY ANTIPODIC CHAIN OF SHOCKWAVE LIFT' Casting a spell as a combination of effects uses an action for each effect. MP totals when combining effects. Items can have as many effects applied to them as the Sage sees fit.

To clarify how targeting works on advanced spells, one effect is the base spell. The base spell's targeting is used. All other effects occur at the squares targeted by the base spell, but if the other effects target less than the base spell then their effects are halved. For example, applying Blast to Radiate does not quadratically scale Blast.

There are six Elements, each with unique effects.

  • Fire : X damage next turn due to burn
  • Ice : X actions worth of stun as knockback
  • Electricity : X piercing damage
  • Light : X damage as AOE
  • Shadow : X dice to next defensive action
  • Spirit : X dice to next offensive action

Imbued effects do not stack nor overwrite each other, the first effect is kept and the others are ignored. This of course does not apply to effects within the same spell.

  • Cascade Casting

After casting a spell, a player can declare a cascade. The next turn, they can cast a spell of total mana cost less than the first spell, for no mana. The next turn, they can cascade again, casting a spell of less cost than the second's normal cost, for no mana. The cost of doing this is an accumulated stun. The process can be repeated turn after turn until three (3) stuns have been accumulated, at which point the player loses a turn and must pay to cast once more. If the player ends the cascade early, they must still take the accumulated stuns.

Wave Magic Songs are a very powerful and world changing effect of magic brought about through music, hence the term Wave Magic. Magic songs must be played through an instrument in order to bring about their effects and the cost is in the actions needed to perform the song. While performing, you can do nothing else for your actions, this makes combat songs very difficult, but if you succeed, they are the majority of the buffing magic in the entire system. Some songs can go on for as long as they are needed in order to sustain their effect. To succeed in a song, you must roll Wits+Instruments and get at least as many successes as there is duration in the song or the song fizzles. There is no bonus to excess successes.

The specialty of Wave Magic is in Harmonics. Multiple performs can join together to perform the song. One person leads the song and is the base of the successes. The others must roll a 5 or a 6 in order to add a success to the overall score, and the duration of the song increases by one with each person.

Narrative Magic A lot in the Legend of Zelda universe is just plain old magic and can't be explained, of if it can, would bog this system down beyond use. It's much simpler to just have a type of magic with no rules. So, masks and certain items just have explanations of what they do and the Sage has to do their best to keep them under control.

Situational Rules[edit]

These rules are for special situations and don't have their own place yet. They're also not set in stone yet, so they might change.

  1. Learning
  • Pay for training from someone with at least two ranks more than you in the related skill and they can teach you their technique/spell/song. A general price guideline is thus, 30r/MP, 30r/SP, 20r/action. Action cost only applies to songs. 0 cost techniques are Traits, and handed out by the Sage at their discretion. Players can't teach other players.
  • Find an ancient tome crafted by someone with at least one more rank than you in the related skill to learn the technique
  • Trial and Error. You can attempt any technique you don't know, but you can't roll more than half the dice you would roll if you did know the technique. If you succeed with the tech, and were rolling with your virtue bonus, then you've taught yourself the tech
  1. Enchanting
  • The current model for enchanting a magical item is as follows. Cost = A(|Z-X|)^E + B + AZ. Where A is the training cost, currently 20r/MP, Z is the total mp cost if the effects were to be cast, X is the cost to activate the item, E is the number of effects applied, and B is the cost of materials such as the sword being enchanted. The example items have been priced with this system.
  • You can only enchant the lowest rank version of a spell. (No permanent Imbue Ice 3!)
  1. Falling Damage

1/4H per square fallen beyond your Athletics+Agility, none if you land in water or something similarly soft

  1. Brewing

Given the ingredients and the recipe for a brew, any player can craft the potion or poison. Given an unknown ingredient and experimentation is needed. A bottle can hold up to three parts. Each ingredient takes up one part. Every active ingredient has an extraction method, ranging from raw to boiling or using acids, and often have denaturing conditionals and how much they can be diluted. If you meat the extraction method, don't denature it, and have not over diluted it, then the brew achieves the effect of all ingredients. Smarts+Lore is rolled to see what denatured the ingredient, successes needed being determined case by case.

To reduce dilution, the last part added can be decanted off or water can be boiled off. Boiling an acid or a base will reduce the brew by a part, but the pH of the solution will remain.

Ingredients should be custom constructed for the party in order to keep the restrictions secret. Once they have been discovered, players need only find the ingredients and the time and they can make it again.

  1. Mounted Combat
  • Mounted Combat still follows basic three action combat. Instead of standard move actions, you move your mounts current speed during every action, unused actions trigger. Your movement can be; moving up to your standard speed, accelerating to standard speed, decelerating to a stop, sprinting at up to double speed, or regenerating your mounts stamina (akin to carrots in OoT) while moving forward at your current speed. The major restriction on movement is turning, you must move in the forward direction relative to your last movement. This is such that you cannot make a 90 degree turn in one action. To jump an obstacle, you must spend the action going straight, otherwise the mount will rear and knock you off. If you would hit an obstacle, your mount instead rears and comes to a stop.
  • The amount of dice rolled for any skill while mounted cannot exceed the riders ranks in Riding.
  • To make an attack while riding follows the normal restrictions. To make a melee attack you must be adjacent to your target at some point during your movement for that action. To make a ranged attack you must have line of sight.
  • If the mount is pulling a cart or something similar, the cart threatens all adjacent squares for weight dependent damage, and takes as much itself.
  1. Underwater Combat
  • Underwater combat follows basic three action combat with three changes; dice and movement penalties, drowning, and buoyancy. The current penalties for being in water are; half movement, -2 dice to attacking, -2 dice to dodging, -2 dice to parrying, and no item use. Racials, magic and other effects can all modify these, such as being a Zora, or underwater bombs. You can spend a number of rounds under water equal to your guts before needing to make a survival roll every round, the difficulty increasing by 1 each time. If you fail the survival you take 1/2H damage. Buoyancy dictates how far you drift up or down during a round. Being encumbered by your armor adds a -1 to your buoyancy. Non-encumbering armor gives a buoyancy modifier of 0. Cloth armor or less gives a buoyancy modifier of +1. A heavy weapon gives a modifier of -1. Racials greatly impact buoyancy; zora can set their modifier from -1 to 1, while gorons have a natural buoyancy of -5. For simplicity, it is recommended that underwater combat take place in vertical zones. Vertical movement eventually moves a character from one zone to the next, but zones not levels determine if you are near enough to attack.
  1. Flying Combat
  • Combine the rules for mounted combat and underwater combat, giving mounts an adjustable buoyancy affected by the weight of the load. And removing the various action penalties. Buoyancy only applies if there is drag or lift, otherwise you have -9.81 bouyancy.
  1. Lost
  • Finding your way through changing forests, shifting sands and strange currents is a common challenge in the Legend of Zelda series. Navigating through confusing terrain uses 'Found' landmarks to keep track of your position. Confusing terrain has a difficulty rating, range, attached to it, going from 1 upwards, lower being more difficult. The range is equivalent to squares away from the land mark as a unit. Every range unit away from a Found landmark is 1 success needed on a Wits+Survival check to not become lost that round (does not happen during combat) and end up at the start or an appropriate landmark. Once a landmark is found, a path between it and the last land mark is Found, and travel between the two does not require a check, this does not occur for accidentally found landmarks. If you are within the first range of a landmark, you are considered to be Found. If you are within the first range from an ally who is Found, you are Found, regardless of distance to landmark. An ally's range does not extend beyond one unit. Examples: Lost woods would have a range of about 3, while Hyrule field would have a range of about 100.
  1. Wind and Current
  • If you are subject to strong wind or water current, you are subject to a constant knockback check equal to the strength of the wind/water in the direction of flow. You cannot sprint will under the effect of a constant knockback. You must make the knockback check every action you are subject to it. If you fail the knockback check, you cannot move that action.
  1. Stealth
  • Agility + Stealth vs Wits + Perception
  • There is a table of modifiers
  • You can’t be targeted except by AoE if you have not been spotted. Attacks from stealth can’t be blocked, but if the target survives you are instantly spotted by him. Line of sight is determined by what a straight line from the hider to the searcher intercepts. Being in shadows counts as cover.
  • Guard Modes
    • Casual Searches once on his turn
    • Alert Will save an action to use searching during the hider’s turn.
    • Alarmed Will seek out the hider, searching on his turn, and on their turn.
  • A guard moves up a mode after a successful perception check or seeing clear evidence of an intruder. The hider has been spotted when an Alarmed guard passes a perception check. Modes infect guards adjacent, the infected guard takes 1 full turn to change modes. Modes go up, resetting the next day. Modes can start however high the Sage wants, but a full garrison is difficult to keep alarmed.
  1. Weapon modulation options
  • There are many types of weapons that are wielded similarly. Sets of modulations that can be performed on a weapon are as follows. (more may be added) Drop three (3) Standard damage (cannot go below 0), add two (2) Piercing damage. (Piercing damage deals damage first and ignores damage reduction. Example, 2 Piercing and 3 standard versus 3 damage reduction means 4 points of damage is dealt, because 2 DR goes to Piercing and the other nullifies a standard)
  • Agility Weapons can be made by sacrificing 1/2H of damage in order to roll Agility rather than Brawn.
  1. Environmentals

(m) denotes a mild hazard, (s) denotes a severe hazard

    • Dim Light (m) gives -1 to all rolls
    • Darkness (s) Dim Light, -3 to all combat rolls and Perception
    • Light Debris (m) cannot sprint (knee deep water or similar)
    • Heavy Debris (s) cannot sprint, cannot dodge, all movement is at -1
    • Gust (m) all ranged attacks take -2
    • Gale (s) all ranged attacks miss, all movement is at -1, constant knockback check at speed of wind
    • Rain (m) -1 to Perception
    • Storm (s) Light Debris, Gale, Rain, rare chance to be struck by lightning for 1H piercing 1H and 1/4H radiated
    • Mist (m) -1 to Perception
    • Fog (s) -3 to Perception
    • Extreme Heat (m) Fatigued, considered to be (s) if encumbered, if (s) 1/4H piercing per turn exposed
    • Extreme Cold (m) Fatigued, considered to be (s) if not encumbered, if (s) 1/4H piercing per turn exposed
    • Hazardous Air (s) 1/4H piercing per turn exposed
  1. Sundering
  • You can acquire specific techniques for different weapon types, such as sword, axe, spear, mace. These techniques can sunder DR from enemies, permanently, but do no damage themselves. For example, Sundering an Iron Knuckle with a Mace would permanently decrease his DR by 1/4H from all future hits. This can be recovered between encounters
  1. Sailing
  • There are a couple main things to keep track of when in the midst of naval combat. And if they are just on a boat, well you don’t really need to, but you can. The state of the ship is the most directly controlled aspect of sailing. Whether you are using oars, and the state of the boom. You also have to take into account the wind direction and intensity, along with that of the water. The oars are used to double the speed of the ship, at the cost of stamina the same as a sprinting mount. The ship can’t turn at full boom.
  • Water flows in one of the cardinal directions, with an integer speed representing the flow rate per turn. This is rolled as a knockback check against the size of the ship, the Brawn of the ship is also rolled if oars are out. If the knockback check is lost, the ship drifts that far with the water. This knockback check cannot be flubbed. A waterspeed of 4 is average.
  • Wind acts the same as water, but in an independent direction. At closed boom, the wind does not affect the ship. At half boom, the speed of the wind is unmodified. At full boom, the speed of the wind is doubled. The ship cannot sail directly against the wind. When tacking against the wind, half the wind speed is used. When travelling perpendicular to the wind, the wind speed is doubled. Else the straight wind speed is used. The net speed is capped at the speed of the ship. A windspeed of 3 is average.
  • When challenged with a sailing challenge, such as threading between rocks or reading the water, you roll the minimum between Riding and Lore
  1. Searching
  • Every area has it's own, appropriate drop table, that should be d6 capable. If a player is searching an area, they roll Wits+Survival as normal d6, not looking for successes. Each roll is then referenced to the table independently to determine what was found. You can search a room twice, a quick once over, and an in-depth hour long search.
  • If you attempt to search a room during combat, you must spend two actions each turn for two turns, a total of four actions, to search the room, however you only roll at half dice. A second search of the room can be made without consuming a large amount of time.

Some Prefabs[edit]

Link (from the end of Ocarina of Time) Human, Hylian : Size medium, acoustic alignment detection (whether they tend towards Power, Wisdom, Courage, or are forsaken by the Goddesses) B3 A3 W2 G3 S1 | Courage 3 160 hp, 44 mp, and 16 sp (that's 20 hearts reinforced with magic to 160 hp, 12 mp base and about 32 from the faeries, and 16 base sp)

Melee(B,A,W): 4 | Heavy(B): 1 | Ranged(A): 3 | Shields(G): 3 | Spellcraft(S): 0 | Instruments(W): 2 | Tools(B,A,S): 3 | Athletics(B,A,G): 3 | Riding(S): 2 | Stealth(A): 1 | Perception(W): 1 | Survival(W,S): 1 | Lore(S): 0 | Composure(G): 1 |

Items : Master Sword (medium, 5/4H + 1H vs evil [narrative magic]), Mirror Shield (medium, 1/2H DR, Reversal for 0 mp against magical attacks), Goron Tunic (1/4H DR, 0 encumberance, half environmental damage), Fairy Bow (1H, medium), Ocarina of Time (weightless instrument), and the rest of his equipment.

Techniques : Jump Attack (2 sp), Spin Attack (5 sp), Forward Thrust (2 sp), Great Spin Attack (5 sp)

External Links[edit]

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