The Game

How to explain the ‘Game” of “Weasel Knight” in a way that is quick and makes sense. I imagine there is the quick way that glosses over detail (see front page text) or a more detailed way that illustrates some of the more complicated mechanics that will be in use in the weaving of this tale. The idea is to make most of this very easy and approachable to get into so do not consider this some kind of long thing you MUST read into order to play along–buuut if you are at all interested in how the sausage gets made or table top games in general…then let’s continue!

I’ve mentioned quintessential TTRPG (table top role playing game) Dungeons n’ Dragons and if you have played a session, you will be at home here. If you haven’t…well,here is the thing that happens at it’s most boiled down:  You and maybe half a dozen of your coolest–I swear, they’re cool–friends sit around and run imagined scenarios in a fantasy land. One is the DM or “Dungeon Master” or even the term “GM” for “Game Master” is used. The other players are called “PCs” or “Player Characters”. While we are all nice and cozy, lets run a small example of something that might happen in one of these TTRPGs.

The Scenario-How a TTRPG Plays

See the number of different choices that were made? There are dozens more like simply firing into the shadows or the party staying down to stealth it out. I want some of that freedom experienced in TTRPGS given to the audience when it comes to this webcomic. Weasel Knight is going to have the mindshare of the audience control a focused character at the time, making the calls and decisions seen and not seen in the example–Good and bad! 

But let’s go back.

How did the result of the example above happen?
What is a perception check?
Well, this is where dice come in. The system a lot of tabletop games run upon is centered around is the ‘D20’ which is a small dice with 20 sides. The result can be anywhere from 1 to 20. So the Player 1 from above called for a perception check, right? The DM probably asked them to roll, and the result we saw would imply that the check was probably not good. The higher the result the more effective the action is. A 20 is a ‘critical success” and a 1 is a “critical failure”. 19-11 are typically positive results. 10 is absolutely average. 9-2 are typically negative results.

So, each action is simply luck? Nah.

Character Mechanics

Take you. And then, take someone else you know. Anyone. Got ’em? Okay, there are things that person will be generally better at than you and there are things that you will be generally better at than them. Much like we all have pluses and minuses here and there– Characters have STATS. Some obvious, some that the audience will have to intuit to an extent. For example: If you need a character to quietly infiltrate an enemy stronghold the vote may ask who to send. The giant rhino paladin with heavy armor would…be a choice to make but if the goal is to evade notice the lithe minx rogue would probably be ideal–more on class (A characters job) and race (literally what they are!) later.

Stats are broken down into 6 main modifier values that serve to describe what this individual character is good at and what they maybe aren’t so much. 

  • Strength- How physically strong a given character is
  • Dexterity-Describes physically abilities like speed and agility
  • Constitution-Represents general health and vitality. HP.
  • Intelligence- Book learning. How smart one is in an academic sense.
  • Wisdom-Street learning. How smart one is as a result of experiences
  • Charisma- How potentially handsome and charming a character is

These stats are rolled upon character creation and assembled to what suits the character according to its player. There is a generic roll spread (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8) that is sometimes used if the player doesn’t wish to roll themselves. If one decides to roll, 6 d20s are rolled and each number is recorded and assigned to these modifiers to determine what a character is best at! In our game, sadly this is a process the audience is currently excluded from. However… I may in the future live stream or pull submitted rolls from. In the meantime–Scouts honor–no dice rolls are ever fudged! 

Race

What the character is? Weasel, duck, chicken? It matters!

For our game, most of the races are animals and thus, homebrew (meaning something not in the text of the existing TTRPG universe but created by a third party. I’m the third party). You can count on certain things like large clawed creatures getting two attacks per turn. Winged creatures can naturally fly. Certain creatures get different pluses and minuses. For example, Weasel Knight being a small mustelid gets +3 to dodge on any given creature’s first melee attack against him. He also gets a -1 against ranged weapons as this buff is supposed to represent how he is flexible and able to avoid a lot of attacks up close but ranged attacks might escape his notice.

Some of the homebrew used to create the various creatures will likely be published somewhere but for right now, frankly, we’re still kind of figuring this out as we go. New races, creatures and ideas will fly fast and free in our adventure so stay tuned as we flesh both this game and this document out!

Class

Finally something that is already in the DnD microchasm that can be used and doesn’t need to be created! So ok.
Each character should have a sort of profession when it comes to the adventuring life and these are the following 

  • Barbarian – the relentless combatant, fueled by fury and capable of large scale damage whilst in a rage. In tune with the natural order.
  • Bard – a story teller or musician using his wits, magic, and lore to get out of (or avoid) tight situations
  • Cleric – a Holy man devoted to a deity. capable of bolstering the party and healing their wounds, or laying low their enemies with divine wrath.
  • Druid – a nomad devoted to the world and the powers of Nature. Capable of adopting the form of a beast for battle or utility
  • Fighter – Skilled combatant or strategist typically relying on his heavy armor and weapons to cut down their enemies. His training gives him unique abilities
  • Monk – martial artist pulling on the power of his own body to produce impressive results.
  • Paladin – A skilled battler whom bolsters his efforts with divine magic. Through his devotion he gains special boons from his god.
  • Ranger – one who uses a unique blend of wilderness knowledge and martial ability to be a deadly hunter, with a bow, or melee weapons
  • Rogue – a thief, assassin or stealthy character who has a knack for picking out his enemies weaknesses and exploiting them.
  • Sorcerer – a magic user who draws his power from within, summoning his innate magical power and bending it to his will
  • Warlock – pacted to a powerful entity the warlock trades favors for boons and spells.
  • Wizard – keeper of arcane secrets and forgotten knowledge, the wizard manipulates magic and spells with cunning.

It’s known that some of these jobs benefit certain stats whilst others are not so much. The Fighter can be expected to have great strength and a Sorcerer’s magic is derived from their charisma!