Power Rangers | Super Sentai - Custom system and Freeform

Gauging interest.

I designed a custom system for running Power Rangers / Sentai style games. I've had a chance to run this several times IRL and it has always been a blast! I think the rules are favorable for PbP play, so I'd like to give it a go here as well.

I'll link to the rules sheet I made for my last group soon, but I think it might be helpful to list some basic tenets that inform the flow of the system.
• Almost entirely freeform outside of combat. Just old school roleplay between DM and Players to negotiate events.

• All stats are "Active" stats. There are not stats that measure "Intelligence" or "Charisma," because these things are character traits that should be defined by the players (in this game). Instead stats directly determine how one goes about the job of being a ranger and what kind of special abilities they will gain. 

The stats are thus:

STRENGTH
SPEED
SKILL
TECH
PILOTING
COLOR

Most are self-explanatory. Color deals with the more mystical/magical abilities that rangers use. Sentai and Power Rangers shows tend to have lots of zords and combat vehicles, the Piloting stat deals with mastery over these. Stats usually range between 2 and 10 for rangers - and are applied in their raw state rather than being converted down in any complex way. So for example, a Strength of 4 would often lead to a bonus of +4 or its multiples rather than anything else.

Each stat grants bonus abilities, and also has special auxillary benefits. Some examples: Strength improves all melee attacks, but especially unarmed ones - and it can defend against any melee attack. Skill also improves any melee attack, but it has more of an impact when using weapons such as swords. It also comes into play in ranged combat when using guns, and can defend against ranged attacks as well. Speed improves one's movement abilities and their initiative - and it is also one of the most generally useful defensive stats. Tech improves gunplay like Skill does, but it can't normally be used to defend. It provides special episode long abilities which usually cost 2 ability points. Defensive tech abilities allow you to use your tech score to defend against various kinds of attack. Piloting gives you versatile vehicle options and allows you to be more powerful in your personal Zord. Color can't defend against melee, but it gives more ability points. 

• Impactful abilities. Every player has a base ranger kit of actions they can take, as well as a group of special abilities. Some special abilities come in the base kit, but over time most of one's special abilities will depend on how they decide to upgrade their stats. There are dozens of awesome bonus abilities for grabs, and a built-in mechanic for players to design and add their own abilities. Each time one of these special abilities is used, it will have a fairy big impact compared to a round where no ability points were spent. This is partially because actions...

• Assume a hit. In this system, one does not make an "attack roll" which is checked before applying effects. Instead, one simply rolls for the effects if necessary, and assumes that it will work. Most of the time it will. Because ability points are scarce, it is not appropriate for special abilities to fail without some kind of resistance. What is this resistance?

• Active blocking. When a player or monster is about to be hit by something that they would really rather avoid, they can attempt to Contest that action or ability. Initiating a contest costs one ability point, so there is a tradeoff to attempting this. Once the targeted player calls a contest, a contested ability check is made. The attacker uses the appropriate ability for the attack, whereas the defender can choose which ability score he wants to defend with (not all abilities can defend equally).  The results are compared, and the contested attack either goes off normally, is mitigated, or is fully prevented (or is totally countered in a more severe way in freak cases).

If the ability scores of the two are even, the numbers are weighted in favor of the attacker. Simply beating the attacker's roll only gives mitigation (usually half the full effect). The defender has to beat the attackers roll by 4 or more to fully negate the attack. But because the alternative is an automatic hit, mitigation is still very desirable against powerful attacks.

In a PbP setting, a contest can be totally resolved by the defender in one post. This is because each ability that is used lists its full effect and the relevant stat. The rules for contest resolution are consistent, so a player can work out all of this in one post.  An example may be demonstrative.

DM: Lord Zedd uses Evil Lightning (CLR 6) - a zap of thunder hits up to three targets for 30 damage each!
Player: Woah, that's more hp than I have left. I want to contest that attack with my best stat, Speed. I'll dodge that lightning.

Player rolls 1d10+6 = 10 for Lord Zedd's attack.  (1d10 is the base roll. 6 is the Color stat of Lord Zedd, listed in parenthesis after the ability)
Player rolls 1d10+7 = 13 for his defense.  (1d10 base roll. The player chose to dodge with speed, and their Speed stat is 7.)

Player: I just barely get out of the way in time. My hair is singed, but I'm still standing! (Player only took 15 damage)

• Episodic Mechanics. There is a sort of meta-element in this game, and it involves the knowledge that the game is happening inside of a TV show. When a bonus ability is gained by a player, this represents the creation of a new animation reel for use with that ability in the show. A gained bonus ability can only be used once per episode, because the producer does not want us reusing too much footage. At the end of each episode, all characters level up and gain a new bonus ability. They can choose to gain a new one at random related to an attribute of their choice, or they can duplicate a bonus ability they already know. (Which would allow 2 uses per episode, as there are now two unique animation reels.) This feels very right for those who have seen the sentai shows and know how much footage has to be shared between episodes due to budget constraints.

Another famous aspect of Ranger/Sentai shows is the character episode. Sometimes, a DM will declare that an episode is (for example) a Red Ranger episode. This does not mean that the other rangers will have less impact or freedom, only that that specific ranger will have more screentime and focus in the narrative. At the end of an episode which was focused on your ranger, you gain a special benefit. Instead of gaining a bonus ability randomly from a stat of your choice, you can design your own ability and request it from the DM. He will balance the mechanics and cost and make it usable in all future episodes as a bonus ability for that character.

• Cinematic Camera. One of the DM's primary abilities in this game is the ability to set Scenes. This is very similar to the usual narrative description DMs provide in other games, but there is an additional active element that can be played with. This element is the optional rule listed with the scene. A DM can use the "Draw In" camera rule to put the spotlight on only one or two characters at a time. Or the "Monologue" rule to have one character turn himself out for the sake of the show. These rules are used somewhat sparingly, and some kind of reward is usually offered for playing along. These can make for really fun RP incentives in the right circumstance.

Full Writeup: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fimVNzd3s_segoJCQXHzs5EDe0JHsvmu/view?usp=sharing

The formatting got a little whacky upon conversion, and there may be some remaining grammatical errors. I will provide a cleaner version in the game forum if this gets interest. Note: There are rules for play with Zords and Megazords, but I will share these later. I am refining them after learning a bit from my last playtests. Zord combat will not be every episode like it generally is in actual power rangers shows.

That about does it for a mechanical summary. Despite how it may look, this is actually a very simple and intuitive system of play. My last game had two players who were new to tabletop entirely, and two experienced D&D players. All were able to get into things without a hitch, and most focus was on the roleplay opportunities provided.

My plan is to run this story drawing inspiration from the Mirai Sentai Timeranger / Power Rangers Time Force series - a personal favorite. The basic conceit is that in the far future, the Time Protection Agency sends a team of agents into the past to track down a gang of time criminals and prevent them from destroying the future. They travel to the year 2000, and there meet their fifth member. Most of the show will take place in the year 2000 in a Monster of the Week fashion - but the potential for further time travel or space travel remains wide open. I am rather fond of this setup, but I am also willing to run a more traditional Sentai startup if that is favored by potential players. More traditionally, a group of normal teenagers or young adults is initiated into some kind of high magic or technology which can grant them ranger powers in exchange for their vow to defend earth against the constant monster of the week style threats. (With some overrarching plot elements, of course.)

So, what do you all think? Are any of you ready to don the Red, the Blue, the Yellow, the Black, the Pink, or the Green? I am looking for 4-5 players who can get into a semi-serious, semi-comedic action drama about finding themselves and their motivation to be protectors. Each player will need to choose their own color and mask design. I will request that special colors such as Titanium, White, Silver, Gold, and so on be held off on for now (sticking to rainbow colors and black), but Color Changes are a strong possibility if the game continues onward!

I have a heavily multimedia PbP style where I include images and gifs along with text to paint a picture. It would be a great boon to find other potential players who enjoy playing along in this way. This game is particularly ripe because the Sentai/Rangers verse has a ton of images to draw from!

Looking for: Consistent Characterization, Sense of Humor, Roleplay Experience, Cool ideas.

No knowledge or passion for Super Sentai or Power Rangers needed.

Here are some sample abilities, to give you all an idea of what we are working with. There are a few other sample abilities in the full write up document if you’re curious.

FIST UNDER ELBOW (0 AP) 
Strength 
Passive. If you sucessfully execute a contest which fully negates
the damage of a melee attacker, you can automatically perform a basic attack against
that enemy.

FLASH OF COLOR (2 AP) 
Speed
When one of your allies is about to take damage, you appear and 
spirit them away in a blur. If your ally is within your sprint distance and they are targeted
for an attack, you can activate this ability. Both you and your ally appear at a location 
of your choice that is also within your sprint distance from your original location, and
neither of you suffer any effects from that attack. This counts as your contest for that 
round.

TRICK OF THE OLD COWBOY (2 AP)
Skill
You must have either Vector arms or Vector Guns out to activate
this ability - the other can be summoned for free in the activation. Throw your Vector Gun
into the air, then quickly materialize and draw your Vector Arm to make a slash against your
enemy. Then drop your sword, catch the falling gun and shoot him. Make an Attack! action
with both your Vector Arms and Vector Gun this turn. The second attack gains a +3 on the 
contest roll if contested.

MUTANT DNA EXTRACTOR (0 AP)
Tech
Replace this ability with the Mutant Ability of one Mutant you
have captured. Mutant abilities are usually very powerful but very expensive. Anything that
is labeled a Super-move cannot be stolen with this ability or must be modified by the DM first.

MINI-MECH (4 AP)
Piloting
Call forth a personal mech which covers your body like an exoskeleton.
While you wear the suit, your strength is increased by 2, and all damage you take is reduced
by 5. The mech can fire lasers as a basic attack with a damage of 2d6 + 2x Piloting. You 
get a one time volley of rockets on your shoulder that does 4d12 in a 20 foot radius at one
point within 200 feet.

BASILISK GAZE (2 AP)
Color
You lock eyes with an enemy through your visor, and they become 
paralyzed for 1 turn, unable to move or take any actions. If they have less than 20hp, 
they are instead turned to stone forever. Does not work against robots or 
mutants with no eyes. A successful partial contest against the paralyze effect means the
target can act but not move; against the petrify effect it means the target is only partially
turned to stone but cannot act or move.

Power Rangers | Super Sentai - Custom system and Freeform

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