Viciousness
A simple system for troupe-based games. The Devil City & Its 77 Vicious Princes is powered by Viciousness.Each player in Viciousness has a troupe, consisting of a captain and one or more minions. These characters are player characters, or PCs.
The troupes band together to create a company--this is the name for the entire group of players.This system is CC0. No rights are reserved unless you make a game with fascist sympathies in it, in which case I reserve the right to shit on your desk.Everyone else please tweet at me and show me what you make with it!Thank you to Legacy of Defeat for the vector art which decorates it.
Games Powered by Viciousness
The Devil City & Its 77 Vicious Princes is a game of scheming nobles.Level 1 Goblin is a game about being stinky little goblins.If you have made a game Powered by Viciousness let me know and I will add it!
Characters
Creating a Company
The players name their company and give it an ambition. The GM gives them a starting wealth rank. The default rank is 2, but the GM may raise or lower it at their discretion.
The company begins play with the minimum investment points for their rank. They must move quickly to ensure they aren't demoted.
Creating a Troupe
A troupe begins with a captain and one minion (the GM may remove the starting minion or provide more than one at their discretion). As they play, the troupe may hire extra help or henchmen besides, but minions are the only ones they may directly control.To create a PC (player character), give them a name, a concept, and traits. Minions get 2 traits; captains get 3.
Each trait gives a character a strong contact. This may be generated at creation, or filled in during the session.A player portrays every character in their troupe; at their discretion they may give one of their PCs over to the GM to portray instead. GM-controlled troupe members must follow the player's orders.
Assets
A troupe will obtain assets as the game progresses. An asset is any material they can use to your advantage–from liquid coin to a nice car to a noble title. Each troupe begins the game with one asset chosen from the following list.
◘ A liquid coin
◘ A secured headquarters
◘ A luxury item of 1 rank above theirs
◘ A favor owed by an NPC of 1 rank above theirs
Traits
A trait provides dice to any pool in which they are applicable. A gain condition must be met before an add condition may apply.Any die shape is permitted in any pool to which it applies--due to the target numbers, d4s are more effective for Violence, and d6s for Knavery.
Pushing and Rattled Characters
A PC may push themself to perform to perform the push effect of one of their traits with no roll required. A PC may also push in order to reroll the dice they contributed to a pool. Immediately after a character pushes, they are rattled.Dice contributed by a rattled PC are rolled twice, and the lower results taken. Rattled PCs can't push themselves.A PC may stop being rattled by taking one turn to rest.
Knowledge
Some traits, instead of a push, have a Knowledge associated with them. These are marked with 💡.Knowledge traits cannot be pushed. Instead, a PC may roll a knowledge d6 to attempt to answer an obscure or difficult question pertaining to the trait's field. One knowledge d6 may be rolled per turn; it may be done without using an action and does not rattle the PC.On a 5 or 6, the GM informs the PC of the answer to their question. On a 4, the PC doesn't know the exact piece of knowledge, but knows where they can find it.
Magic
Magic traits do not provide dice to any rolls. They cause physiological changes as noted in the DICE entry.
Their push allows for spells to be cast. With the GM's permission, the starting spell may be replaced with another. Additional spells may be learned under the tutelage of a devil.
Example Traits
| Name | Dice | Push/Knowledge |
|---|---|---|
| Acrobat | Gain 1d6 when climbing, leaping, or balancing. | Land safely from a long fall. |
| Alchemist💡 | Gain 1d6 in situations requiring the knowledge of strange substances or materials. | Recall information about potions, poisons, and drugs. |
| Berzerker | Gain 1d4 if you are outnumbered by enemies. Add 1d4 by making yourself unable to do anything but fight until you or your enemies are dead. | Gain 1d4 during a crisis, but you must test for death at its end, wounded or not. |
| Chameleon | Gain 1d6 when adopting a false identity. Add 1d4 if attempting violence on someone who doesn’t realize you’re a threat. | Perform a flawless 10-second quick change into a new set of clothes. |
| Daggertwist | Gain 1d4 if armed with a knife and confronting an enemy you can get close to. Add 1d4 in confined spaces. | Reveal a hidden dagger at any time. |
| Defender | Gain 1d4 in a confrontation while wearing bulky, loud, and eye-catching armor. | Take a blow meant for another character. |
| Driver | Gain 1d6 when operating a vehicle. Add 1d4 when driving as fast as you can. | Evade a pursuing vehicle or perform an improbably vehicular stunt. |
| Duelist | Gain 1d4 if engaging in 1-on-1 combat. Add 1d4 if you've both saluted each other first. | Demand your honor be satisfied so dramatically that neutral onlookers are swayed. |
| Engineer💡 | Gain 1d6 when studying curious edifices, building complicated engines, or seeking secret chambers. | Recall information about devices or structures. |
| Hacker💡 | Gain 1d6 when cracking digital security. | Recall information about computers and their security. |
| Honeytrap | Gain 1d6 when distracting someone. Add 1d6 if the target is eager for this form of distraction. | Perform a sudden, attention-grabbing, and public distraction. |
| Historian💡 | Gain 1d6 in situations requiring historical knowledge. | Recall information about historical events or personages. |
| Insurgent | Gain 1d4 when fighting law enforcement. Add 1d4 when your foes are heavily armored. | Hurl a string of invective that incenses law enforcers and incites revolt in rebellious listeners. |
| Pikeman | Gain 1d4 when fighting with a polearm and open space with which to use it. Add 1d4 when your flanks are protected from attack. | Completely halt the momentum of someone attempting to pass you. |
| Lurker | Gain 1d6 when attempting to stay unnoticed. Add 1d4 when pouncing from an unseen place. | Confound someone actively searching for you. |
| Machinist | Gain 1d6 when dealing with locks or devices. Add 1d6 if willing to leave clear evidence of tampering. | Quickly break a device in a loud and noticeable way. |
| Marksman | Gain 1d4 when using a ranged weapon. Add 1d6 when stationed at a proper vantage point away from the action. | Make a snap shot with amazing accuracy. |
| Medic | A character you provide medical attention to during violence is not in danger of dying. | Reduce a wounded character's recovery time by 1 turn. |
| Mystic💡 | Gain 1d6 when dealing with strange magical phenomena. | Recall information about magic, magicians, and devils. |
| Streetsmart💡 | Gain 1d6 when dealing with sensitive criminal etiquette or crooks with hair triggers. | Recall information about important figures and goings-on in the underworld. |
| Strongman | Gain 1d6 when accomplishing feats requiring great strength. Gain 1d4 in a confrontation if neither you nor your foes are armed. | Bend bars, lift gates, or perform another improbable feat of terrific strength. |
| Wizard of Beasts | You have a nagging craving for raw meat. | Issue a simple command to a nonsapient animal, which it will attempt with single-minded determination. |
| Wizard of Mind | Your ears occasionally release gentle puffs of steam. | Touch someone's head to invent or delete a memory. |
| Wizard of Shadows | Your pupils are always dilated. | Pull an object or person’s shadow off a surface and convert it to a physical object in your hand. Physical shadow has the consistency of stone. |
| Wizard of Shape | Your nails and hair grow thrice as fast as usual. | Obtain a beast's natural weapon or unnatural form of locomotion for one hour. Water reverses all changes. |
| Wizard of Tongues | Your tongue is forked. | Determine whether a target's next statement is the truth or a falsehood. |
| Wizard of Water | Your skin is constantly clammy. | Unleash a firehose torrent of water. |
Advancement
Upon the completion of a company's ambition, it names its next ambition, and advances. Each troupe may decide between giving one of their existing PCs a new trait or adding a new PC to their company. A character may have 4 traits at most.
Death and Retirement
Should a minion die or retire, two investment points may be spent to replace them with a new one. If the character had extra traits, their replacement may have them as well--but each trait replaced in this way costs an additional investment point.Should its captain die or retire, a troupe dissolves, and a new one must be created. A merciful GM will allow the troupe's player to begin with all or a portion of their predecessor's advancements.
Violence
When opposed forces are attempting violence on one another, time is measured in 10 second rounds. A round has 3 phases: Clash, Wound, Flight.
1: Clash Phase
At the beginning of the round, each side constructs a pool of dice.◘ Each combatant in a side adds 1d4 to its roll.
◘ Each combatant may add any trait dice that apply to the situation.
◘ The GM awards 1d4 or 2d4 to the most well-equipped side.All sides roll simultaneously. Each side gets one hit for every 4 they roll. The side with the most 4s assigns their hits to the opposing side. The opposing side may use its hits to cancel out the winning side’s hits.
More than 2 sides
When there are more than 2 sides, hits are assigned in descending order of total achieved. A side with hits remaining after they’ve canceled out hits toward them may assign the remainder to any side with fewer hits.
2: Wound Phase
Any hits that weren’t canceled out land on their targets, wounding them. A wounded target can’t fight any longer and has a 2-in-4 chance to die. This is reduced to 1-in-4 if they receive medical attention within 30 seconds. Extra hits applied to a combatant who has already been wounded are wasted.Surviving wounded characters require 3 turns of bed rest before they may recover from their wound. This time may be shortened by expert surgery, alchemical tonics, or supernatural intervention.
3: Flight Phase
Each combatant decides whether to continue fighting or flee from the battle. Then the next round begins. Ten seconds have passed.