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Hiram McDaniels
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### Bear World - Rules Lite Narrative RPG

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Post by Hiram McDaniels » Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:42 am

Bear World
A rules-lite narrative RPG set in a world of magic and mystery, monsters and heroes; A world under the ever-present threat of invasion by quantum bears from the Elemental Plane of Bears.
In Bear World, you can attempt any action that your imagination can dream up:

- Want to magically pluck a meteor from the sky and hurl it at your foes? Yes you can!
  Want to rip a great oak tree from the ground and wield it like a club? Go right ahead!
  Want to summon an army of giant robots that combine to form even gianter robots? Of course!
  Want to con an entire nation into thinking you are the rightful king and heir with a smile and a wink? You do you, bro!
  Want to scry on an evil sorcerer king and teleport into his commode while he's on the toilet? No. That's cheating, you goddamn munchkin.

Be warned though: dabbling with the mysterious forces of the universe can bestow great power, but there is also the threat of bears!
The Basics
Anything you want to attempt in the game can be resolved by one simple and intuitive mechanic:
Declare your action: tell the Bear Master (henceforth referred to as “BM”) what you want to happen, what Trait you are using (more on these later) and how you plan to make it happen.
Roll the dice: roll 2d6 + The relevant trait; the results determine success or failure:
6- = Failure. You do not succeed in your action. Bears appear.
7-9 = Partial success; You barely manage to succeed in your action, but now there are bears.
10+ = Critical success! An amazing effort! You totally succeed in your action! And there's bears!
It's really that easy!
Character Creation
Unlike other games, Bear World does not have set stats and skills like Strength or Agility or Stealth. Instead, players get to define their own Traits, allowing them to make any kind of character they can imagine.
Here's how it works. Think of a character concept that you want to play and distill that into three broad traits, and simply rank those traits in order of importance from 3 to 1. This will determine the bonus that is applied to each trait:

- Rank 1 = + 2 bonus to Action rolls.
  Rank 2 = +4 bonus to Action rolls
  Rank 3 = +6 bonus to action rolls.

Each time your character gains a level, you can buy a new Trait at Rank 1, or you can promote an existing trait up to Rank 3.
Your Traits can be anything you can dream up, form powers to skills to personality quirks. They can be things like:

- Wielder of the Sun Sword
  Champion of the Wolf Tribe
  Wandering Samurai
  Mage of the Silver Tower
  Mystical Gunslinger
  Arcane Engineer
  Raider of Ancient Tombs
  Court Jester
  Proficient Juggler
  Always Remembers Birthdays
  Emotional Sponge
  Introverted-Intuitive-Thinking-Judgment
  Sassy Haircut
  Todd!

These are just suggestions. Feel free to let your imagination soar when coming up with your own Traits.
Next record your Life Points on your character sheet, which at character creation is 6 + if you brought snacks or not. At each new level, you will roll 1d6 and add the result to your Life Point total.
Roll 5d6 and record the total under wealth. You will use this to buy starting gear:
Weapons

- Good – 30 credits; 3d6 + Level damage
  Average – 15 credits; 2d6 + Level damage
  Poor – 7 credits; 1d6 + Level damage

Armor

- Good – 100 credits; +3 to Defense rolls
  Average – 25 credits; +2 to Defense rolls
  Poor – 50 credits; +1 to Defense rolls; +1 to Action rolls

Adventurer's Kit – 10 credits
This contains useful things that adventurers use in the course of their expeditions. It contains:

- Torches
  Rope
  Mirror
  Chalk
  Goat
  10 ft. Pole
  Tinderbox
  Mixed CD
  Travel-sized Stratego game
  Toothbrush and 3 oz. Bottle of Scope brand mouth wash

Lastly, be sure to flesh out the fine details on your character sheet: height, weight, eye color, hair color, political affiliation, HIV status, dominant hand, blood glucose level, etc.
Advancement
Over the course of your character's career, he or she will gain experience and grow in power. This progress is tracked through Milestones. These are events that help shape the character and realize their ultimate potential.
Throughout the game, the BM will mark milestones for each player character where appropriate. Milestones can be any formative experience, but should be limited to more novel occurrences like:

- Defeating a powerful foe
  Overcoming a daunting obstacle
  Completing a long journey
  Outsmarting your competition
  A crushing defeat
  Quitting that job you hate
  Coming out to your parents
  Evolving on the issue of climate change
  Standing up for yourself when someone cuts in front of you in line
  Telling your landlord what you REALLY think of her

When a character gains a number of Milestones equal to 3 + his/her current level, they gain a new level and with it more damage, new Traits, and more Life Points. And of course, more bears.

Character Level | Milestones Needed | Life Points | Damage | Trait Points Accumulated | No. of Bears Appearing
1 | 0 | 6 | 1d6 | 0 | 1d4
2 | 4 | +1d6 | 2d6 | +1 | 1d6
3 | 5 | +1d6 | 2d6 | +2 | 2d6
4 | 7 | +1d6 | 3d6 | +3 | 2d8
5 | 8 | +1d6 | 3d6 | +4 | 1d20
6 | 9 | +1d6 | 4d6 | +5 | 3d10
7 | 10 | +1d6 | 4d6 | +6 | 4dF
8 | 11 | +1d6 | 5d6 | +7 | 6 Bears
9 | 12 | +1d6 | 5d6 | +8 | d%
10 | 13 | +1d6 | 6d6 | +9 | A Gajiggidy Bears

Combat
From time to time, your characters will find yourselves in armed combat with oppositional forces. It's simply a hazard of adventuring.
Combat is resolved much like any other challenge, except that many foes take a few blows to vanquish.
When a monster or NPC or bear is attacking a player character, the player makes a Defense roll to avoid damage and more bears. When making a Defense roll, the player adds his/her Trait Bonus + any bonuses from armor or magic items to 2d6.
6- = Failure; player takes full damage from the attack. Also, bears.
7-9 = Partial Success; player takes half damage and must now contend with bears.
10+ = Critical success! No damage to the player, which is good because of all the bears.
Conversely, when attacking a foe the player adds Trait bonus, plus any bonuses from weapons or magical equipment to 2d6. The player can choose to target multiple foes, but they suffer a -2 penalty for each additional target.
6- = Failure; player does not damage the target(s), and the target receives reinforcements in the form of bears.
7-9 = Partial Success; player deals half damage to target(s), but alas more bears.
10+ Critical Success! Player deals full damage to target(s); this damage does not apply to bears appearing during the resolution of this action.
Combat unfolds over the course of round and turns. Each combatant gets a turn in order of initiative wherein they can make one action. After each combatant has taken their turn, a new round begins at the top of the initiative count.
Initiative – I dunno...go whenever you want. I'm not your goddamn mom.
Adventuring
Oh come on man, you're killing me! Just wing it.
Okay fine. Group travels overland at the rate of 2d6 miles per hour. 3D6 with mounts. For every 10 miles traveled, make a Basic action roll, adding any relevant Trait bonuses to determine bears.
In extreme or hazardous conditions such as severe weather, inhospitable environment, exposure and starvation, the player characters lose 1d6 Life Points per day and can only regain ¼ the normal amounts of Life Points from rest; also they suffer a -2 penalty against bears.
When a character completes a short rest (~15 – 30 minutes), he or she regains 1d6 Life Points. This value increases by 1d6 at levels 2,6 and 10.
When a character completes an extended rest (~6 – 8 hours), he or she regains 1d6 Life Points + an additional 1d6 per level.
During each rest, the BM should make a check for wandering bears.
Enemies
Creation of monsters and NPC's pretty much follows character creation. The BM assigns and ranks the monster's/NPC's Traits and derived stats according to level when generating them above 1st level.
“Mook” type monsters like Orcs, Bandits, Goblins and Italians are set at level 0.
Level 0 mooks get:
2 traits, Ranked 1 and 2.
1d6 Life Points
1d3 damage
They get to choose one of the following for equipment
Poor armor and 1 poor weapon
1 Average weapon
Average Armor
Bear whistle
They also get 1d6 credits.
Example:
Klingon
Level 0 mook
Traits – Proud Warrior (+4); Steaky thighs (+2)
Life Points 4 (1d6 +1 Armor)
Damage 1d3+1
Poor weapon; poor armor; 3 (1d6) currency
Bears
Level 1 monster
Traits – Bear! (+6); Loves picka-nick baskets (+4); Shits in the woods (+2)
Life Points (6)
Damage 1d6 + Claws
7 (2d6) currency
Lich
Level 5 monster
Traits - Undead Sorcerer (+6); Zombie Minions (+6); Possessor of Dark, Forbidden Knowledge (+4) Really Misses Mac N' Cheese...not the cheap shit from the box, but that good, rich, gooey stuff your mom made from scratch on Sundays: with that golden brown crust of bread crumbs and she'd even bake it with ham or bacon mixed in. God what I wouldn't do for a plate of that...but my tongue is too dessicated to even taste anything. Plus she's not wild about the whole Lich thing. She wanted me to be a dentist. Can you believe it? Me! A dentist! (+2)
Life Points 20 (6 + 4d6)
Damage 3d6
Necronomicon; spell reagents; dusty robes; passive-aggressive birthday card; 21 currency
Great Red Dragon
Level 10 monster
Traits – Ancient and Terrible Foe (+6); Breath of Flame and Destruction (+6); Colossal Beast (+6); Terror of the Smoke-filled Skies (+6); Draconic Greed (+2); Played by Benedict Cumberbatch (+2)
Life Points 40 (6 + 9d6 + Armor)
Damage 5d6+3 (claws and teeth and flame)
Vast hoard of treasure; Great red scales impervious to flame; Journals of ancient, lost histories; A “Best Revival” Olivier Award for 2010's After The Dance.
Example of Play
Dave (BM): Okay Musclethor, Delilah and Professor Huh???, the three of you climb up onto the ledge at the top of Mount Surname and see the dreaded Ogre, Thugnutz. He stands on his feet and bellows a challenge, swinging his great club at YOU, Musclethor...what do you do?
Seth: Musclethor uses his “Half-Sasquatch” trait to plant his giant feet and parry the blow with his battleaxe. He rolls a 9 total, so a partial success.
Dave: Okay...you manage to deflect the ogre's blow, but you are knocked back into the mud. A bear appears, and swipes it's massive claws at you, Delilah...
Preetha: Okay...I use my “Smarter Than The Average Bear” trait to teleport behind the bear, and pluck it's eye out with my dagger. I rolled...darn! Only a 4!
Dave: So you get behind the bear, but it sees through your subterfuge and swats you away. Two bears appear. What are you doing, Professor Huh???
Trevor: I use my “God of Space and Time” trait to banish all of the bears from the material plane and seal the way close behind them for all time. And I rolled...13! Critical success!
Dave: Good job! The bears fade out of existence, and the way between worlds shimmers and closes with a shudder of finality.
Group: Cheers!
Dave: Four bears appear.
Trevor: Fuck you, Dave! I'm missing Scandal for this!
The most dangerous game is man. The most entertaining game is Broadway Puppy Ball. The most weird game is Esoteric Bear.
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OgreBattle
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Post by OgreBattle » Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:45 am

Dang this game sounds even more lite and imaginative than my fantasy heartbreaker: Magic Tower Patrol
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radthemad4
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Post by radthemad4 » Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:13 am

I like how average armor is cheaper than poor armor
Okay, let me give this a shot.
Sir Bearington
Life Points: 6
Rolled 17 wealth
Adventurer's Kit
Poor Weapons: 1d6+ level Claws
Traits:
Bears are my allies +6
Bear! +4
Bluff +2
I have a patreon. If I get enough, I could quit my day job and do stuff full time
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Dean
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Post by Dean » Wed Sep 24, 2014 12:35 am

Only problem I see is a "Bear Calling" trait would be totally OP.

> DSMatticus wrote:Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I am filled with an unfathomable hatred.

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fectin
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  Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:54 am

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Post by fectin » Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:34 am

Bravo.

> Vebyast wrote:Here's a fun target for Major Creation: hydrazine. One casting every six seconds at CL9 gives you a bit more than 40 liters per second, which is comparable to the flow rates of some small, but serious, rocket engines. Six items running at full blast through a well-engineered engine will put you, and something like 50 tons of cargo, into space. Alternatively, if you thrust sideways, you will briefly be a fireball screaming across the sky at mach 14 before you melt from atmospheric friction.

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Hiram McDaniels
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  Posts: 393
  Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:54 am

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Post by Hiram McDaniels » Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:42 am

> radthemad4 wrote:I like how average armor is cheaper than poor armor
> Okay, let me give this a shot.
> Sir Bearington
> Life Points: 6
> Rolled 17 wealth
> Adventurer's Kit
> Poor Weapons: 1d6+ level Claws
> Traits:
> Bears are my allies +6
> Bear! +4
> Bluff +2

Awesome! You're gonna get sooo many bears!
The most dangerous game is man. The most entertaining game is Broadway Puppy Ball. The most weird game is Esoteric Bear.
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JigokuBosatsu
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  Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 10:36 pm
  Location: The Portlands, OR
  Contact:
  Contact JigokuBosatsu
  Website

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Post by JigokuBosatsu » Mon Sep 29, 2014 9:39 pm

I wasn't so sure about you, McD, but at the very least you have created a legit hack of the *World games. Good show.

> Omegonthesane wrote:a glass armonica which causes a target city to have horrific nightmares that prevent sleep

> JigokuBosatsu wrote:so a regular glass armonica?

You can buy my books, yes you can. Out of print and retired, sorry.
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8d8
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  Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2014 5:41 pm

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Post by 8d8 » Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:50 pm

This is lovely.
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Dean
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  Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 3:14 am

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Post by Dean » Fri Oct 10, 2014 9:35 am

I just noticed that the guy running the game is called the BM. Wonderful.

> DSMatticus wrote:Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I am filled with an unfathomable hatred.

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RedstoneOrc
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  Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:10 am
  Location: The Continental USA

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Post by RedstoneOrc » Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:00 pm

I just read the example play and laughed so much I became undead thanks a lot dude.
I have currently hit the ignore feature 5 times on accident, and only once on purpose. This has got to be some kind of record.
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Ikeren
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  Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:07 pm

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Post by Ikeren » Sun Mar 19, 2017 8:13 am

I stumbled into this because I forgot the name Apocolypse World, and had to google "Bear World" to remember that it was called Apocolypse World.
And then I laughed until I sobbed for 5 minutes.
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Hicks
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  Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:36 pm
  Location: On the road

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Post by Hicks » Sat May 13, 2017 11:10 pm

Picture and relevant link below.
So sorry I didn't remember this sooner.
"Besides, my strong, cult like faith in the colon of the cards allows me to pull whatever I need out of my posterior!"
-Kid Radd

> shadzar wrote:those training harder get more, and training less, don't get the more.

> Lokathor wrote:Anything worth sniffing can't be sniffed

Stuff I've Made
Mage
Dread Necromancer
Spell Breaker
Scaling Magic Weapons
True Dragon
AVATAR: THE LAST RPG
Favored of Nerull
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Hiram McDaniels
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  Posts: 393
  Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:54 am

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Post by Hiram McDaniels » Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:28 am

Haha. I forgot about writing this. Some guy on the SA:TG forums read it and called me an asshole. Worth it for that alone.
The most dangerous game is man. The most entertaining game is Broadway Puppy Ball. The most weird game is Esoteric Bear.
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Hicks
  Duke
  Posts: 1313
  Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:36 pm
  Location: On the road

### Re: Bear World - Rules Lite Narrative RPG

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Post by Hicks » Tue Sep 27, 2022 2:28 am

I was bummed out because a cool mecha RPG was secretly PbtA and I didn't find out until page 53... but then I remembered this exists and now I'm cheered up again.
Thank you for the gift that keeps giving ~♡
"Besides, my strong, cult like faith in the colon of the cards allows me to pull whatever I need out of my posterior!"
-Kid Radd

> shadzar wrote:those training harder get more, and training less, don't get the more.

> Lokathor wrote:Anything worth sniffing can't be sniffed

Stuff I've Made
Mage
Dread Necromancer
Spell Breaker
Scaling Magic Weapons
True Dragon
AVATAR: THE LAST RPG
Favored of Nerull
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