Of Magic and Metal R2D

This will be a soft Sci-Fi/Fantasy I suppose… not sure which, probably more fantasy, as there are primitive guns, machines, but everything is powered by magic, and there are still things such as blades, crossbows, and other medieval implements around, because this new “boom” in magic technology with metal and other substances is currently quite unstable, and some prefer the stability that these older, but just as effective tools provide.
This game will be rolled on a D10, where the rolls are as follows:
1= Epic FaYUL
2= Pretty Bad Fail
3= Normal Fail
4= Small Fail
5= Fail without consequences
6= Slight success
7= Small success
8= Success
9=Above-average success
10=Perfection

The commerce system is currently in a state of upheaval. The money that is currently being passed out are coins made from inexpensive metals with different symbols stamped on them to show their type. They are:
Circlet: The smallest amount of money.
Diadem: 5 circlets
Crown: 10 diadems
Royal: 10 crowns

Circlets and Diadems are considered “loose change”. Crowns and Royals are of a higher worth, and are used for higher-priced purchases, such as houses or solid, quality weapons.
Officials are trying to bring in a new monetary system, to represent the recent technological advancements of magic made, but many are opposed to this, and as a result, a new system has not yet been implemented, though one is in the works.

Players may carry 10 objects at a time. Backpacks, or other methods of holding more items that you come across will increase this amount depending on size and quality, or the nature of the object.
There will be a maximum of six players.

You will be given many choices on what to do and where to go in this game. Please talk amongst yourselves on what to do, and if you cannot reach a decision, vote on it. I will go with the majority.

Major actions are things such as learning skills like persuasion, swordsmanship, gunman, etc. Buying items, teaching another player or NPC, fighting, meditating, crafting, things along those lines.

Minor actions are things like talking to NPC's, trading with other players, etc.

Combat will be done on a dice determined by what skills, items, or proficiencies your character or the opponent has. Any armor you have will add to your defense roll, and any penalties you have will take away from your roll. The starting dice is a D6.

Ex) Jack has a sword that gives him +1 to any attacks with his sword, but he also has a sprained ankle that gives him -1 to any rolls where he moves. Because of his sword, Jack rolls a D7 to attack a Metal One.
If Jack rolls a 4, his ankle takes away 1 from that, leaving him with a total of 3.
The higher the number of the dice, the more powerful the attack will be.

When you have an action to throw something, you can throw two objects (one for each hand) without any penalty, but for each subsequent throw of two objects, a -1 penalty is applied (it stacks as well), and if you fail any throw, if your action had more throws lined up to go after that one, they are negated.

Ex) Kreja wants to throw six shadow blades at something. She throws the first two, which connect. The second volley of two will have a -1 penalty applied to them, but one throw is blocked. Now the last volley of two cannot be thrown on that turn.

You can attack more than one enemy in a turn… you just get a -1 to the attack roll for each extra opponent that you targeted, distributed like this:

Tim attacks 3 people in a turn. He gets no penalty during his attack roll for the 1st, -1 for the 2nd, and -2 for the third.

To learn non-magic related skills like crafting or forging, you can simply state “Practice my sword skills.” However, you must have the required tools nearby. You cannot practice forging without a forge or some sort of equivalent nearby. The same goes for all skills. Skills are anything you can think of (realistically), such as stealth skills, archery, climbing, marksman….
If you have someone skilled in the skill you are trying to train, you may have them teach you. If they do, the roll is an automatic success. The teacher can be another player. Teaching is a major action.

Magic is present in this game, and you can learn it. However, you must be tested first by a magic teacher. If you pass, you may learn magic. Magic can be taught to you by a teacher, and any rolls that involve someone teaching you magic is an instant success. You may learn spells on your own, but you will suffer a penalty to the roll unless you meditate towards learning said spell for the turn prior to your learning attempt. You cannot meditate or learn while in combat. Meditating will also show you how much experience you have, and in what areas.

Using skills and training will increase your experience in that skill. How much you have is confidential, but when you have enough, you will level up in that skill.

Discussions happen every once and a while during the game. They serve to acquaint the players with certain mechanics of the world that they and their characters know little about, or answer any questions. Discussions are indicated by large letters that say "Discussion Roll". They can last more than one turn, and during discussions you cannot learn or train any skills that do not relate to speaking. Skills such as Persuasion, Speaking(makes you more charismatic, and gives you a bonus to speaking rolls), etc.

Discussions are not rolled as an action would. You can ask any questions to the NPC. If they do not want to answer, there will be a persuasion roll on a dice determined by your skill, starting at D6. You may ask any number of questions to the NPC during discussion mode.
Intimidating armor, weapons, etc, may give you either a bonus-if the person you are talking to is intimidated- or no bonus-if the person is not intimidated easily. You may even get a penalty if the characters personality makes him disdain any attempts to impress or intimidate.
An NPC's personality is something hinted to you by their dialogue, demeanor, etc. If you attach a 'look" to your action, it may give you a bonus or a penalty, depending on the NPC you are communicating with.
For example, John is speaking to a veteran warrior. This warrior does not like attempts to intimidate, and, in fact, enjoys feeling as though he has intimidated others. John knows this. So John attaches a "look" to his action, which is:
Ask:"Can you teach me any fighting skills?"
Look: Slightly intimidated by the warrior
Since John knows that the NPC enjoys being intimidating, his speech roll would get a bonus. As with combat, bonuses increases how high the die rolled is. A higher dice roll will give you a greater effect. So, If John rolls a D8 thanks to his look bonus, and Jill rolls a D6, If they both roll the highest number they can, John's will be more effective.

Mini-Discussions are when a single player initiates Discussion with an NPC. Only that player can speak in discussion with the NPC(s), but another player can join in if their action asks for it. Joining a Discussion is a minor, and your Major will be replaced by any questions to ask.

Any Discussion continuing for more than one roll will have the NPC(s) unanswered questions listed at the bottom, along with any other similar things, such as an optional response to an NPC's intimidation or insult.
NPC's, if the character has any reason to want to learn anything from you that you may not want to willing give, may have a speech roll against you. If successful, your character will tell the NPC any amount, from a little to all of it, depending on the roll.

If you ask for an NPC to train you while in a discussion and they agree, you must leave the discussion and then tell them that you are ready to be trained.

In this game, the recent advances in magic over the last twenty years have resulted in a mix of magic and metal. Machines are being made to do work, not through technology or any way they work in our world, but through the clever use of magic.

Areas of the world are being terraformed to a new, “better” state, made of metal. Numerous cults have risen up around this new method of using magic, each using it in their own way. Under the surface, vast tunnels and mines are being formed by mages controlling lumbering beasts made entirely of metal, created by their own hand. The world is turning smoggy in heavily populated areas, due to experimentation with the effect of magic on different states of metal. Organizations sprang up, offering new kinds of metals, either created, or formed naturally. Mages and other types are looking to the use of gemstones being combined with magic and metal. The results were a crude firearm. Since then, more ambitious projects were undertaken. Ships to leave the planet and search for life elsewhere. And now, only recently, changing parts of the worlds landscape itself to metal, then mining it up, and taking it to some foundry, or directly to a MetalCaster, or other similar Mage of Metal.

Not to be outdone, the users of Terralius, the magic of earth, and life, promptly came up with a way to imbue rock itself with life. After the success of creating their first golem of rock, modeled after a stolen metal one, they moved on to granting sentient life to plants, and evolving them.
The result was trees, plants, and even some animals evolving at a rapid rate. Trees grew to an enormous size once tempered with magic, and began to walk the world, spreading their seed. These new trees grew exceedingly fast, and to great heights, before they too began walking the world. Plants did the same, spreading vast tangles of underbrush everywhere. The changes in animals, while just as horrible to the worlds balance, effected it differently. New breeds sprang from animals choosing other species to mate with, a direct result of rampant magic from the Terralius casters. These new creatures went on to mate with others, who mated with others….
In their rapid state of evolution, the animals have adapted so that those who cannot follow the herds of tree’s migrating across the land, feeding on their leafy greens, grew an intense appetite for flesh. They then evolved quickly into fierce carnivores, roaming the land, turning the wilderness into a danger zone. As vegetation quickly began engulfing the land, people began sending out parties to chop down trees and clear vegetation. It is a dangerous and high-paying job, for between the sentient plants and voracious wildlife, you are not expected to live long.

But not all vegetation or animals were effected by magic. Indeed, some who are born of the moving plants seed are not affected, and stay in place as nature intended.
This is where the world is now. War has broken out among the nations for more territory-for more metals. Terralius casters continue to experiment, as do those who practice MetalCasting. Ships, currently crude and unsafe, are beginning to be launched to search out other planets that have been sensed by Terralius users. Danger stalks outside of town walls, and people fight the land itself for the right to farm. Users of the third magic, one that harnesses the elements themselves, hire out for clearing forests with fire, fighting in battles, and numerous other tasks. In the midst of this, creations of metal, rock, and other materials, brought to life by MetalCasters and Terralius roam the land, their creators long since lost control of them, or mine the underground, build massive buildings, working as free labourers, or even as bodyguards for their creator.

Terralius is the study of rock and life. It’s users can combine them to create rocky, living beings, or focus on just one branch of the magic. Anything concerning earth and life can be controlled with this magic, but it is impossible to bring one back from the dead, except as a mindless zombie.

MetalCasting is the name for manipulating or creating metal with magic. Despite not having control over life, metalcasters can nevertheless breathe life into their creations. Anything having to do with metal falls under this magic.

Elementalists focus on three elements: Water, Fire, and Air. Anything concerning these three lements is possible, from lightning bolts to fireballs. This magic is frequently referred to as the combat magic, though terralius and MetalCasting also have their uses for combat.

“Move it, worm! We don’t pay you to stand around!” The Mine-Ward shouted, his whip crashing down upon Gerrick’s back with a sharp retort.
“Yes sir,” Gerrick managed, feeling fresh blood running down his back from the re-opened scabs from previous blows. Hefting his pickaxe once more, he sent it crashing down upon the rough rock wall infront of him.
“You okay?” Vitr asked, concerned for his friend.
“I’ve had worse.”

For two months now, the five of you, Gerrick, Vitr, Jayk, a man who still refused to give you his name, and Kreja have been laboring in the vast network of tunnels and caverns that ran under the Reyna Mountains, along with countless other war slaves. When your nation, the Feol Empire, went to war with the Crasain’s, most of the nation celebrated for days at the prospects of more territory to settle, more minerals to shape, and, above all, more prisoners to work in you mines. The five of you volunteered to go on a scouting mission, for any who joined the Empire’s forces were promised a share of the conquered land.
None of you had expected to be caught by patrolling guards while sneaking by the border. They immediately identified you as Feolians, and you were rounded up, shoved into dirty-brown jumpsuits with a strange insignia on the back, and sent here.
Since then, the five of you had lost hope of ever getting out, since if peace is declared between nations, usually exchanging captured prisoners isn’t part of the treaty.
At least, you had lost hope until you were approached by one of the other miners. A man by the name of Ordal. He had been a war prisoner too, once. But after working for a few years without disobeying, and after passing tests to determine if he was trustworthy, he was promoted to a higher position, where he worked closely with the MetalCasters living in the Reyna Mine. He told the five of you about the escape being planned, and asked if you were in. Noticing the other miners around were watching you closely, and the discreet absence of a Mine-Warden nearby, you quickly surmised that if you declined, you would be killed.
With that hard choice to make, you quickly agreed, eager to escape as soon as possible. Ordal told you he would tell you when he had need of you, and when the break would begin.
That was two weeks ago. Earlier this same day, Ordal, in the company of two Mine-Wards, along with a hulking bipedal construction of metal, came to you and demanded you all go to work in the underlevels, the deepest section of the mine, where strange creatures of the deep, along with humanoids such as roaming goblin tribes, roamed. Orval gave you a look that told you to go without comment.

And that’s what brought you here. The five of you, plus another fifteen miners, a Mine-Ward, and two Metal Ones- man-sized creations of a pure white, smooth, unblemished metal with two arms that ended in blades, with four legs that tapered to sharp points- were mining down here for a certain mineral that the MetalCasters called “soul rock”. You were told it was a deep blue colour, with flecks of white in it. That’s it. With not much information to go on, you set about mining on the floor of a massive cavern. On one end was a fortified, brown-metal building, with an elevator shaft piercing it’s roof, and climbing up to the ceiling of the cavern. The roof was peppered with small, glowing stones that cast the floor, far below, in a dim light.
Kreja cracked her pick against the wall with a grunt of effort yet again, expecting to see nothing but more greyish-brown stone, but as the chunk of rock falls away, it reveals a deep blue stone flecked with white. As you stare at it, you begin to feel your awareness of the world around you slipping away, only caring to stare into the depths of this beautiful, precious, amazing…
“Kreja? Are you all right?” The man who had not given a name yet asked.
With a start, you break out of your trance, your gaze flicking between Nameless and the stone fearfully.
“I… don’t know.”
Nameless stares at you for a moment, then flicks his gaze over to the wall. He opens his mouth, about to say something, when he is shoved aside by the Mine-Ward. He is a huge, hulking brute, with a thick brow and an even thicker chin. His deep set eyes glared at the two of you with contempt, before he saw the soul stone staring at his from the wall. A grin splits his face, and a strange sound bursts from his lips. You assume its how the man laughs, until one of the Metal Ones begins moving your way, it’s four pointed legs chipping the rock wherever it stepped.
“Stand aside, women, and gather your companions by that mushroom. Move, and you will die.”
He flicks his hand towards a huge mushroom that grew out of the wall of the cavern. It’s stalk was a good barrel width, with huge, flat green cap perched atop it. You all gather around under the mushroom, not considering anything different, until you notice how absorbed the Mine-Ward is with the soul stone. He speaks some more of the strange sounds, which you guess are words, and one of the Metal One’s arms changes seamlessly into a pickaxe, and it begins to delicately chip at the stone encasing it. Surreptitiously glancing around, you note that the other Metal one is standing in the middle of the cavern, a good stone-throw away. You can’t tell what direction it’s facing, as it’s face has no distinctive features, but you don’t think it’s watching you. The Mine-Ward and other Metal one are about ten feet away.
“Here’s our chance!” Gerrick whispers.
“Ordal told us to stay put.” Kreja replied quietly.
“Well then…. What should we do?” Jayke asks.

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