BOSSRUSH: The Basics

timofey stepanov

You are a Hound.
Your objective is to kill bosses and take their souls.
Your secondary objective is to piece together your lost memories.
You start with a weapon, a random item, and a flask (heals you fully, refills at camp)
You have 3 primary tools at your disposal: VIOLENCE, WIT, and the ever-important DODGEROLL

VIOLENCE

VIOLENCE is measured in hits.
If you take 3 hits, you’ll die. Your team will have to find another Hound.
A Boss can take as many as 20 hits. You won’t beat them in a fair fight.
Hits don’t scale linearly: A standard hack, slash, or stab deals 1 hit. Firearms and explosives deal 2. Lightning and falling buildings deal 3.
Some enemies have physical or supernatural weaknesses, like fire or kindness or women. VIOLENCE from these sources deals +1 hit to them.

VIOLENCE can be emotional; the death of a loved one can hit as hard as a cannonball.

Attacks always land, but they don’t always “hit”.
Each enemy has a VIOLENCE threshold. This describes the minimum magnitude of harm that will inflict a hit on them. (i.e. fists, swords, cannonballs)
You can bypass the VIOLENCE threshold with WIT. A dagger won’t pierce plate armor in a stand-up fight, but if you describe wrestling them to the ground and stabbing them in the eyes, that’s going to count for a few hits.
You can raise your own VIOLENCE threshold with armor.

Example: Rudimentary Angel
6H; VT=Dagger; Paper-wax feathers weak to fire.
Airborne. Guards gates/VIPs. Imperious. Grovels if wings are lost.
After players act (d6):
1-4: Fly-by khopesh slash (1H)
5-6: Nurses fireball, winding up. Next action, hurl (2H, ignites area)

sam dutter

DODGEROLL

You can avoid attacks, ignore magic, evade notice, or abrogate responsibility with a well-timed DODGEROLL.

Each player has 5 six-sided dice. To DODGEROLL, roll any number of these.
If the sum equals or exceeds 6, you are safe. Otherwise, you take the hit.
Each die you roll is spent until you fail a DODGEROLL or take a breather.

If you have an edge, roll an additional die from outside your pool and add it to the sum.

This is the only roll players make, analogous to saves. Everything else is adjudicated via facts and logic(tm)

MIRACLES

To perform a miracle, sacrifice something important. Write down your sacrifice; each must be greater than the last.

DODGEROLL to determine your [sum] and [dice]. (So it really was a GLoGhack!)

MEMORIES

A magical lady follows your journey, always a safe distance from danger. She is mysterious, eccentric, and often refers to you in the past tense. She gives good advice, can point you toward the next Boss, and trades souls for memories.

Besides acquiring memories, all other advancement is diegetic; you don’t have stats or a “build”.
Your memories define you; each adds to your backstory and grants an ability. You start with two.
It’s not clear whether these are actually your memories or someone else’s, but does it really matter?

Example 1: The Frozen. The cold of winter creeping down your throat. Peace. You can’t feel cold.
Example 2: The Glutton. A porcine squeal rouses you from rest. Regret. Nothing in your stomach can harm you.
Example 3: The Beaten. The throb of lashes across your back. Hatred. You have an edge against whips and chains.

You can also use RATGLoG, adapt your own templates, or stick around for a more comprehensive list.

"sword collector"
michael macrae

Inspired by Dark Souls and all its descendants, particularly Iron Gates and Through the Veil, as well as VaatiVidya. I guess you could call this my love letter to a game I've never played.

Thanks for your patience as I procrastinated over and over on posting this project. Procedures, setting, and bosses to come, hopefully in a timely manner.