The Runcible Speculum

My Homebrew OSR (HOSR) System

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Written by: Pseudovolt

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Published: 11 August 2023

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Having mulled over the relative pros and cons of the various systems I'd looked at, I started assembling the parts I liked into a patchwork system that I have come to refer to as HOSR.  (Yes, it's pronounced "hoser" because I think that's funny.  Don't judge me.)  I used Macchiato Monsters as the base, whittled the attributes down to the three from Into the Odd, adopted ItO's combat system, created a hybrid magic system that is equal parts MM and Maze Rats, and then added or tweaked a few things.  I then renamed the attributes, et voila, I had the system that follows.  Some parts may not make total sense unless you have copies of the games I stole from.  There are many more parts of MM that I intend to use that are not presented here, such as risk dice for both encounters and resource depletion.  I also intend to use all of the great random tables from Maze Rats and many from Into the Odd and/or Cairn.  All of these games are very reasonably priced (Cairn is free!), so I encourage you to go out and get them.

Macchiato Monsters X Into the Odd X Maze Rats (a.k.a. Homebrew OSR, a.k.a. HOSR)

Character Generation

Attribute scores are generated by rolling 3d6 three times, in order.  The attributes are:

•   Vigor - for strength, health, and endurance
•   Finesse - for speed, dexterity, and skillful execution of tasks
•   Presence - for charm, intimidation, willpower, and magic resistance

Invent a trait that describes who or what the character is (species and/or profession, for example).  Traits allow a character to do specific things that others cannot do and/or provide advantage or disadvantage in situations where the trait is relevant.

Choose two of the following:

• Add 1d6 to any attribute that is 10 or less
• Write down another trait
• Gain a hit protection die of a type you already have
• Martial training: step up your hit protection die (starts at d6)
• Special ability: come up with a daily ability (usually not spell-like)
• Magic training: Roll for 2 magic words known (player’s choice of effect, element, or form) or step up Faith die

Starting Hit Protection is d6, modified by martial training, if any.  A point of Vigor can be permanently spent to allow the player to re-roll HP.  If the result is less than the previous HP total, increase HP by one instead of taking the lower roll.  Hit Protection represents the character’s experience with or innate talent for self-defense, as well as their ability to stay calm and ignore pain in combat.  It is not an indicator of damage capacity.  It is the character’s Vigor score that determines how close they are to death.

Choose or randomly generate equipment, name, and descriptive elements until the character is fleshed out to the player’s liking.  The better defined the character is, the fewer rolls the player will generally have to make, since the DM will have a good idea of what the character’s capabilities are.  Rolling less means failing (and possibly dying) less.

Index cards for character sheets.

Attribute rolls: Attribute tests and saves are made with 1d20.  Rolling less than or equal to the attribute’s score is required to succeed.  A 1 on the die is always a success, and a 20 is always a failure.  Generally, the character’s capabilities and limitations are agreed upon by player and DM, so rolls frequently aren’t required.  Attribute rolls should only be made if there is significant danger (physical, social, or otherwise) inherent in failing at a task. (Alternate version: Subtract the rolled attribute score from 20 and then use a roll-higher check.  This makes all rolls in the game higher-is-better.)

Luck rolls:  Whenever sheer chance is the only determiner of success or failure and the odds are equal, the DM will roll 1d6, with luck smiling on the character on 4+.

Magic system: Use effects, elements, and forms from Maze Rats, but otherwise magic is as presented in MM.  The player can combine any known words to cast a spell.  DM sets a cost, which is subtracted from Presence (or Faith or a focus/reagent).  Faith-based casters cannot use reagents or their Presence to cast spells, nor can they make Chaos rolls (unless, perhaps, they worship a Chaos deity).  Obviously, any spell they cast that does not align with their patron’s ethos will cost much more, if it can be cast at all.  A Presence roll is required to cast a spell, regardless of whether it is arcane or divine.

Combat: Like Into the Odd, all attacks automatically hit.  If the character has multiple attacks, then all damage dice are rolled, but only the highest scoring die is used for a given target.  For example, if a character has two attacks that do 1d6 and wants to attack the same target twice, then the player rolls 2d6 and uses the highest result rolled.  If the character instead attacks two separate targets, then 1d6 is rolled for each of them, and damage is applied as normal.  If the character had three attacks, then they could be directed at three targets (1d6 each), two targets (1d6 for one and the higher of 2d6 on the other), or one target (highest of 3d6).  Targets should be declared and dice allocated before any dice are rolled.

Damage:  When a character takes combat damage, points are subtracted from armor first, then HP, and finally from Vigor.  After losing points in Vigor (or possibly another attribute), the character must successfully test against their newly adjusted Vigor score (or possibly another attribute).  If they succeed, they are hurt but not out of the fight.  If they fail, they are gravely injured, almost totally incapacitated, and will die if their wounds are not attended to within an hour.  Magic and other effects can bypass armor or do damage to other attributes.  If a character’s Vigor is reduced to 0, then they die immediately.  Losing all of one’s Finesse or Presence paralyzes the character, puts them in a coma, or drives them insane.  Unless otherwise stated, these effects are permanent without magical intervention or extensive professional care.

Healing: Hit Protection refreshes after a short rest and a drink of water.  Lost attribute points return at a rate of one per week of downtime.  That is one point per week, not one point per attribute per week, so if the character has lost points in more than one attribute, the player must choose which attribute regains the point each week until all attributes are back up to their maximum score.  Attributes reduced to zero usually do not heal naturally, no matter how much time spent resting.

Karma points: Characters start out with three Karma.  One point of Karma can be spent to re-roll any one die.  Karma can be spent to help another character if the player chooses, so long as the donating character is somehow affected by the outcome of the roll.  Failing a save or test grants the character one Karma.  (Note that Karma gained this way cannot be used to re-roll the failed test that generated it, nor is Karma gained for a failed test which resulted from a die re-rolled with Karma.)  The DM can also award Karma as they see fit for anything from good roleplaying to hosting the game or providing snacks.  A character’s karma pool does not automatically refresh after a rest or at the beginning of a new session.  A DM may allow a Karma Point to be spent to effect a minor change in circumstances, proposed by the player.  Changes could include such things as a previously unnoticed door when a character has been pursued into a dead end, the availability of an uncommon poison antidote at the local apothecary, etc.  This kind of change should only be made when the situation would ordinarily come down to a luck roll or when the suggested change would improve the story and/or move the action along after it has stalled.  The DM is the final arbiter of this rule, is in no way obligated to accept any suggestions, and may demand more than one point of Karma for the change proposed.

Encumbrance and deprivation:  A character who is too overburdened or suffering from the effects of hunger, thirst, fatigue, heat, cold, etc. is too weak or sluggish to defend themselves properly.  They will most likely make all attribute rolls with disadvantage, and their HP is considered to be 0 until they are sufficiently unburdened or recovered.

Advancement: Characters advance by completing goals they set for themselves.  At the beginning of a session, the players should decide what it is they wish to accomplish, both as a group and as individuals.  A goal should require considerable effort to accomplish.  As a rule of thumb, each goal should take one or two game sessions to complete.  The party as a whole can have any number of goals, though they should not overlap such that completing one completes or significantly advances progress on another.  Individuals can have one goal listed for advancement purposes at a time.  Obviously, for narrative purposes alone, the character can have as many goals as they wish.  Once a number of goals equal to the character’s next level have been completed, the character is elevated to that level and receives any two of the following benefits (cannot choose the same one twice in the same advancement):

• Add one to an attribute of the player’s choice (max of 18)
• Research a new magic word (magic training required)
• Gain a new daily ability and an additional use per day of an existing one (specialist training required)
• Gain one extra melee or missile attack (martial training required)
• Gain a new HP die of the character’s current type and re-roll total.  If the new roll is less than the character’s current total, ignore the roll and add 1 to HP.  A point of Vigor can be sacrificed to roll the dice again.

At levels 4, 7, and 10, the character can also take another trait or choose a new training.

Level is denoted on the character sheet with the current level followed by a dot or decimal point followed by the number of completed goals.  So, a third level character who has completed three goals has a level of 3.3.  When the next goal is completed, the character’s level is denoted as 4.0.