This is a full compilation of the rules, with a few minor changes since it was last posted. Be sure to read everything...

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Nayno's RPGers' Paradise: The Mechanics of the Rule System

Section 1: Surviving Attacks

If you've ever played an RPG before, you'll know what HP is; an abstract representation of the amount of damage a character can survive. A character's HP is equal to:

(2 x End x level) + 50 x level

When hit by a special attack that causes a status effect, a character must make a saving throw using an appropriate stat. For special techniques involving physical attacks or breath weapons, the stat involved is Agility. For techniques causing poison, disease, petrification, etc., the stat involved is Endurance. For all other attack forms, the stat involved is Wisdom. The percentage chance to make a successful saving throw is equal to:

(stat) - (opponent's stat) +/- (10 for every resistance or vulnerability level against that attack form)

possibly bonused or penalized depending on the attack form used. (For example, an insta-kill or similarly debilitating attack would give a bonus to the saving throw.) A successful saving throw against a status-effect attack protects the character from the effects of thatat particular attack for the rest of the battle. (This prevents abuse of insta-kill or paralysis attacks by repeatedly using them until the opponent dies - this way, if it fails once, using it again won't help.)

Resistance isn't just an all-or-nothing deal; it comes in multiple categories, ranging from +X (strongest resistance) to -X (strongest vulnerability).

+X: Total immunity
+5: 90% resistance
+4: 75% resistance
+3: 50% resistance
+2: 20% resistance
+1: 10% resistance
0: No resistance or vulnerability
-1: 10% vulnerability
-2: 20% vulnerability
-3: 50% vulnerability
-4: 100% vulnerability (double damage)
-5: 200% vulnerability (triple damage)
-X: Must make a successful saving throw to avoid instant death; even if save is successful, takes triple damage

Obviously, -X vulnerability is very rare - we don't want to make things too easy for people, do we? However, it is not unheard of: weaker vampires, for example, would have -X vulnerability to light-based attacks.

Of course, if there is to be resistance, there must be attack types to resist. There are 11 basic elemental types:

Physical Damage: Self-explanatory. Resistance to physical damage is uncommon, and mostly restricted to non-corporeal creatures.
Fire: Damage from flames or intense heat.
Cold: Damage from intense cold.
Acid: Damage from corrosive substances.
Electricity: Damage from electric charges.
Poison: Damage from toxic, harmful or otherwise noxious substances.
Light: Damage caused by energy in the electromagnetic spectrum, including radiation. Not to be confused with Holy, which is an entirely different element.
Sound: Damage from powerful waves of sound. Basically similar to physical damage, except that brittle creatures (made of stone, crystal, etc.) are vulnerable to it.
Psionic: Damage from mental attacks. Weak-minded monsters are vulnerable to psionics, but completely mindless monsters are immune.
Holy: Positive energy. Strong against evil creatures (although extremely powerful evil creatures are less vulnerable), weak against everything else. Powerful good creatures are immune.
Evil: Negative energy. Most living creatures are vulnerable to this element - very powerful creatures of good are somewhat resistant, while very powerful creatures of evil are highly resistant.

It is rumored that other elements exist; ancient energies channeled only by the most powerful of sorcerors. If they do exist, they are undoubtedly dangerous in the hands of an amateur, and perhaps best left alone.

Section 2: Physical Attacks

The formula for calculating the percentage chance of hitting with a physical attack is as follows:

75 + Level + Agi - Opponent Level - Opponent Agi

Damage inflicted by a physical attack is as follows:

(Base Damage* x (3/5 of Str + 2/5 of Agi) x Random Number from 0.5 to 1.5) / (Opponent Armor * (3/5 of Opponent End + 2/5 of Opponent Agi))

*If using a weapon, base damage is the weapon's attack power. If unarmed, base damage is usually quite low; higher if the user has natural weapons such as claws or training in unarmed combat. If the user has brand new weapons or is well-trained in their unarmed combat technique, attack power of the weapon should be equal to 450 x level for a two-handed weapon, 250 x level for a primary one-handed weapon and 200 x level for a secondary one-handed weapon. (Wielding two weapons isn't twice as effective as wielding one - it tends to reduce co-ordination.) If they are using older weapons or techniques, their weapon's attack power will still increase with each level, but will become a few percent further below the optimal power with each level. (Artifact weapons are mostly immune to this effect; they continue to gain in power as the user does, at least until a certain level. The level at which the artifact weapon ceases to remain at the optimal strength depends on how powerful it is, but is typically 50-100% greater than the user's level at the time of acquisition.)

Shields are treated much like weapons - the optimal defensive power of a shield is 20 x the user's current level. However, they are ineffective if the user is using a spell or most types of missile weapon in that round - the shield must be put away to allow the mobility needed to cast the spell. (Missile weapons requiring only one hand can be used with shields, but only do as much damage as a typical one-handed weapon.) Two shields cannot be wielded effectively together - they're too bulky and get in the way of each other.

Because shields and weapons are treated in a similar way, shields may have some attack power (at the expense of defense) and weapons may have defensive power (at the expense of offensive strength). Unarmed combat techniques typically behave as a two-handed weapon with an attack power of 350 x level and a defensive power of 10 x level - these values may be more or less, depending on how offensive the combat style is. As with shields, the defensive bonus of unarmed combat techniques is negated if a spell or two-handed missile weapon is used in a round.

Armor other than shields is treated separately, but in a similar way to weapons - each piece of armor provides a certain amount of protection, added together to form total protection. The optimal protection from body armor should equal 15 x level. Unfortunately, for reasons of game balance, it's necessary that each piece of armor protects the whole body, regardless of where the character was hit (just don't ask how your boots could possibly protect you from a hit to your eyes...)

Occasionally, a weapon will inflict a critical hit. Critical hits cause double the normal amount of damage if untargeted; if the attack was targeted at a specific body part, instead of increased damage the attack will incapacitate the part struck. The percentage chance of inflicting a critical hit is equal to 1/5 of Str + 1/5 of Agi.

Section 3: Special Attacks

Firstly, we must give a special mention to special attacks that involve a physical attack. Special physical attacks either have damage increased in exchange for a special disadvantage, or have damage reduced by some percentage in exchange for a special advantage. A special advantage or disadvantage might include an increased or reduced chance of hitting, infliction of a status effect, or temporarily weakening the character performing the attack, among other possibilities.

For example, a special attack might give up the character's turn in the first round, in exchange for an automatic critical hit (if the attack hits) at the start of the following round. This is actually less efficient in terms of damage per round than normal attacks, since the character might have inflicted a critical hit anyway, but the attack would be useful near the end of a battle for defeating an enemy quickly.

Non-physical special attacks are entirely different from physical special attacks. Since magic does not involve weapons and armor, the base weapon damage is discarded in favor of a base amount of damage for each such ability. This base is normally 30 for a single-target attack, 20 for a single-band attack (see Initiative and the Five-Band Battle System below), and 10 for a multi-target attack, but may be reduced further if the attack has any special effects. The formula for calculating spell damage is as follows:

Base Damage x Level x (Wis+50) x Random Number from 0.5 to 1.5 / (Opponent Wis+50)

Section 4: Character Attributes

When a character is created, statistics and resistances must be allocated to it. In stat allocation, a character has 100 points to spend on Strength, Endurance, Agility and Wisdom.

Resistance allocation is separate from stat allocation, and Holy/Evil resistance allocation is separate from normal resistance allocation. Normal (non-holy/evil) resistances and weaknesses could be allocated using something like the following point system:

Each resistance is worth a certain number of points, and each weakness gives a certain number of extra points to spend. Total number of points remaining after all values have been calculated must not be less than zero.

Resistances and weaknesses cost or give the following amount of points for different resistance levels: 1 for +/-1, 2 for +/-2, 5 for +/-3, 8 for +/-4, 10 for +/-5, 12 for +/-X.

Resistance or weakness for physical damage is worth double the normal value for that resistance level.

Obviously, this point system only applies to PCs: NPCs and monsters can have whatever resistances the DM deems appropriate.

Holy/Evil resistance is somewhat different - it cannot be purchased in the normal way. Normal PCs are +3 vs. Holy and -3 vs. Evil. Evil PCs, or those who study the dark arts, could be +2/-2 vs. Holy/Evil, or +1/-1, or even further beyond, perhaps up to 0/0 for truly depraved characters. (Evil PCs will probably be limited to +1/-1, though - playing an extremely evil character just isn't a good idea.) Exactly how evil a character must be to change resistance groups is up to the DM.

Very good characters, on the other hand, do not gain resistances and weaknesses equally - they gain both Holy and Evil resistance at once, from +4/-2 for a pious priest up to +X/0 for the most holy of paladins. However, although this resistance is a great boon to good characters, it is not earned easily - holiness is measured by deeds, not words. To earn additional Holy/Evil resistance, a character must adhere rigidly to a strict code of conduct over a long period of time, to the point of sacrificing significant material gain for the sake of their beliefs. A minor breach of the rules will reduce resistances and/or increase the time it takes to gain more, while serious transgression against the code of conduct will cause immediate loss of Holy/Evil resistances back to the normal +3/-3, and characters must atone for their actions in a suitable way before they can even begin to regain the extra resistances.

As far as NPC Holy/Evil resistances go, normal creatures, whether intelligent or not, are governed by mostly the same rules as PCs. (Unintelligent animals and plants, being unable to be good or evil, will be +3/-3.) Angelic creatures or other guardians of good are treated as holy PCs, and receive the same bonus resistances - all but the weakest of them will be +X/+0, and it is possible for them to have stronger Evil resistance, up to +2, if they are uncommonly strong and pious. Demonic creatures and other unholy monstrosities are different again - resistance to both Holy and Evil is related, not to evilness, but to power. Minor demons might be -4 or -5 against Holy and +3 against Evil; a powerful demon lord would be +5 or +X vs. Evil, and perhaps only -1 or -2 vs. Holy. Undead are always +X vs. Evil, but tend to be weaker against Holy; lesser undead may well be -X, and even a powerful Lich Lord might be -3. Creatures that have a questionable status as life-forms (such as slimes) are +3 vs. Holy and +2 vs. Evil; non-living creatures (including undead, but also golems and other magically animated creatures) are +X vs. Evil. Apart from undead, most are also +X vs. Holy.

Section 5: Initiative and the Five-Band Battle System

Initiative is affected by Agility, but is mostly determined by chance except where Agility differences are extreme. Initiative number is calculated by 1d100 + Agi. Battle then proceeds in descending order of initiative number.

The five-band system is a convenient way of representing character placement. Characters and monsters on the battlefield are divided into five adjacent bands by position. For the moment, we'll call them A, B, C, D and E. (However, there won't *always* be five bands - in enclosed areas there might only be one or three bands, while wide open spaces might have more than five. We'll use five in this example, though.) At the start of an encounter, one group is in band A while the other is in band E. Without teleportation or hasted movement of some sort, a character can move a distance of up to two bands (e.g. from A to C) in one round - if making a physical attack, the character may move only one band in that round. If using a spell or missile weapon, the character usually cannot move at all in that round.

In general, physical attacks may only be used to attack creatures in the same band - some long polearms may be able to reach adjacent bands, but they will have either a reduced damage or an increased cost. Most missile weapons and spells have no range limit, although some missile weapons cannot be used on creatures in the same band as the archer. (Firing an arrow at point-blank range isn't really very effective.) Some area-effect attacks will damage all the creatures in one band.

The advantage of the band system is that it is a simple and convenient way of reflecting battle positioning that allows for considerable flexibility. It also has the effect of making a missile attack of some sort highly valuable in long-range combat, which is a good thing since missile weapons are often not particularly useful in free-structured RPGs such as this one.