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.
Knavery
1: Challenges
When a PC or group is attempting a risky task, they inform the GM of their goal. The GM comes up with a list of challenges that stand in the characters’ way. Challenge examples include:◘ A small patrol or well-trained individual
◘ A hidden trap
◘ A good lock
◘ A difficult-to-reach entranceThe GM tallies the total and informs the group of any obvious or pre-discovered challenges.
2: The Plan
The group describes a plan to build a dice pool.
◘ Each participant with an additive, meaningful role adds 1d6.
◘ These participants may add any trait dice that apply to the situation.
◘ If the group has discovered every challenge against them, they are prepared.Challenges may be removed from the total as a result of a particularly clever plan or pushed trait.
3: The Roll
The group rolls the pool. Every die result of 4 or above is a success. Every die result of 6 grants a free push to be used if the scheme fails.For each success, a challenge is thwarted. If the number of successes meets or exceeds the number of challenges, the plan has succeeded just as described.If there are fewer successes than challenges, the group’s scheme is disrupted, and the scene jumps to the moment of failure. A prepared group may decide which challenges have been thwarted and which are now an active threat. Otherwise, the GM decides.Once a plan has failed, the scene shifts immediately to the action. No more group rolls are possible until the fallout is dealt with and time taken to regroup and recover—until then, each PC must act alone, rolling all knavery dice pools solo.
Contacts
Strong Contacts
Each PC has as many strong contacts as they have traits.Each strong contact a PC knows at the start of play comes from their respective trait. A player may work with the GM at character creation to formulate a contact, or create one retroactively with them during the session. The Streetsmart trait may furnish a mobster captain, Acrobat an old ringmaster, Honeypot a jilted lover in a useful administrative position, &c.A PC's strong contact is willing to put themselves at risk to assist them, though the contact will expect renumeration or a favor done for significant danger.
Weak Contacts
As an action, a PC may seek out a weak contact who may be able to assist them or give them information. A weak contact needs incentive to inconvenience themselves for the PC, and will usually expect it upfront.A weak contact may be made a strong contact with the proper gift, favor, or conversation. An old strong contact must be removed to make room.
Discovery Roll
If the GM isn't sure that a proper weak contact may be found from a PC's inquiry, they may make a discovery roll. The PC's search has a discovery value, which starts at 0. The GM adds 1 point per condition met, asking the player if they are not sure.◘ The PC has a trait that could help them (add 1 per appropriate trait)
◘ The PC has a reputation that could help them
◘ The PC has a strong contact who can help them out
◘ The PC is asking the right questions while searching
◘ The PC is looking in the right place
◘ The PC has an appropriate asset they’re willing to useRoll a d6. If the result is equal to or below the discovery value, the NPC can be found. Otherwise, the PC’s search fails.
Turns
The game is played in turns, each of which lasts a length of time determined by the GM--by default, a turn is one day. The company begins each turn with one coin of its Wealth rank for each troupe that constitutes it.Each character in a troupe may take one turn action. An action is a task with notable effort or time involved--the GM will decide whether a task is an action or not.Success might come automatically, or require a roll; alternatively, the player or the GM may call for a scene, a zoomed-in and moment-by-moment enacting of the action. A character's inventory for a scene is whatever made sense for them to bring, and may be agreed upon retroactively.With the permission of the GM and the player who took the turn, a character may expend an action to include themselves in the scene, even retroactively. Scenes where this isn't possible are called closed scenes. The GM or turn-taking player may close a scene at any time.
Example Actions
| The character takes part in knavery | The character rests in order to stop being rattled | The character takes part in violence |
| The character meets a strong contact | The character looks for a new weak contact. | The character acquires an asset using wealth |
Rivals
A rival is a powerful NPC in competition with--or opposition to--the players. Rivals are an important part of the game; they are where the Viciousness comes from. At any time, there should be roughly as many rivals as player troupes.Rivals have designs, which they will use to achieve their own goals and undermine the players.
Creating a Rival
Give your rival a wealth rank.Rivals have minions, just as player troupes do. They may have henchmen or employees besides, but their minions are their most powerful servants. Give your rival as many minions as seem appropriate. If in doubt, use their rank minus 2.Give your rival four assets fitting their rank.
Rival Designs
Give each rival up to three designs--objectives they are working to accomplish. They pursue them with vicious determination. Designs must be within realistic reach; a rival can have sky-high ambitions, but they go one step at a time.When creating a design, prioritize the impact its completion will have on the PCs. The hurt can be unintentional—rivals need not even be aware that the players are affected or even exist—but it’s what defines a design. If a rival has no designs that would hurt the PCs, they no longer count as a rival.Rival designs are not tracked with the same exactitude of the Company's schemes. Instead, Rival Dice are used.
Rival Dice
Every turn, a rival has a number of ambition points they may invest in their designs, equal to their wealth rank. If they have multiple working designs they may split the points between them. Points carry over between turns; the design continues to build until acted upon.Should a rival have an asset that would come in handy while pursuing their design, add one extra point per turn.At the end of each turn, roll a d20 (called the rival die) for each rival. If the result is equal to or below a design's ambition point total, they may initiate it; as the next turn begins, the rival makes their move. If the rival's plan is unsubtle, give the PCs the chance to interfere. Only one design per rival may initiate per turn.Roll the rival’s chance of success on a d4; default to 3-in-4, with 2-in-4 for rash designs or 4-in-4 for shrewd ones. Should they fail, create interesting fallout.VARIANT RULE—Speed Chess: If a rival’s plan is interruped or foiled, they recover half the points they invested in it (rounded down) and reinvest them in other designs. Use this for fast-paced, frantic games.
Consequences
Rival designs, once complete, exact a consequence on the PCs. Have the consequence in mind while creating a design.Below are examples of consequences by severity.Light consequences: Accidents, incidental damages, & petty meanness
1. The wealth track lowers by 1
2. A strong contact is placed in jeopardy
3. A PC is rattled
4. An asset is lost
5. An unfriendly NPC emerges
6. A medium-consequence design beginsMedium consequences: Provocations & incursions from committed rivals
1. The wealth track lowers by 2
2. A strong contact is lost
3. A PC is wounded
4. An unfriendly faction is established
5. A friend is financially ruined or seriously hurt
6. A heavy-consequence design beginsHeavy consequences: Direct attacks by dangerous foes
1. The wealth track lowers by 3
2. An attempt on a PC’s life
3. A friendly faction is destroyed
4. A friend is murdered
5. An ally betrays the PCs
6. A setting-altering calamity begins
Rival Deals
If a PC fails at an important task, the GM may choose to offer a rival deal.A rival makes themself known, and offer to complete the task for the PC. This is automatically successful, but it somehow serves the rival’s interest; one of their designs advances by points equal to the PC's wealth rank.
Wealth
Wealth Rank
Everyone in the company shares a wealth rank. It is numbered from 1 to 7. Every turn, each troupe generates one coin.A rank 4 company with three troupes generates three rank 4 coins.Any coin that is not spent by the end of the turn is discarded.
Coins
A coin's buying power depends on your rank. Ranks are exponential; each rank is roughly ten times richer than its previous rank. The following items each cost 1 coin to their corresponding rank.
| Rank | Item examples |
|---|---|
| 1 | A pair of used boots, a drafty roof, stale bread. |
| 2 | Meat and ale, a knife, sturdy tools or furniture. |
| 3 | A beautiful gown, a sword/handgun, a round of drinks for a tavern, concert tickets. A task done by an average citizen. |
| 4 | A horse, a suit of armor/bulletproof vest. A task done by an expert hacker or warrior. |
| 5 | A portrait of yourself. A task done by a mercenary company. |
| 6 | A gold statue of yourself. A task done by a powerful wizard. |
| 7 | Whatever money can buy. |
When attempting to obtain an item, its price is modified by the following factors:◘ Each rank below yours: -2
◘ Each rank above yours: +2
◘ Custom-built: +1
◘ Low quality and secondhand: -1
◘ Requires a trained expert: +1
◘ Illegal (a narcotic, a bribe): +1
◘ Very illegal (a poison, a hit): +2
◘ Supernatural: +2
◘ A one-of-a-kind item: +2If something's price ends up below 0, it may be obtained without spending coin. If it ends up above 4, it isn't obtainable with money.
Liquid Coins
Liquid coins are obtained as rewards. They have the same buying power as standard coins of their rank, but are not discarded at the end of the day.Liquid coins remain at the rank at which they were earned. Should a company raise or lower their rank, the liquid coins they earned do not increase or decrease in buying power with them.
Reward Amounts
Monetary reward depends on the nature of the NPC from whom the company is earning. For every rank above the company's they are, the reward is increased by one liquid coin, and vice-versa for every rank below.The baseline reward is determined by method of extraction:Work for someone: Do a skilled task for an NPC or sell something pricy to them. This method is no longer available once your company reaches rank 4.
◘ Baseline 1 coin.Extract a rare reward: Take or steal a vast sum or rare asset.
◘ Baseline 2 coins.Destroy someone: Take everything they have, leaving them dead or destitute.
◘ Baseline 3 coins.A rank 4 company, extracting a rare reward from a rank 3 NPC, earns one liquid coin.
A rank 2 company, slitting the throat and emptying the coffers of a rank 5 NPC, earns six liquid coins.
Investment Points
A liquid coin (and only a liquid coin) may be traded for an investment point for the company; a company's rank is determined by how many investment points it has. The following table has the minimum investment points per rank.
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Points | 0 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 60 | 75 | 90 |
Investment points may be traded in to retrieve liquid coins, at a rate of 2 points per 1 coin.IThe designs of rivals can remove investment points from the company.
