How To Play New Edo

Firebreathing Kittens

How To Play New Edo, a tabletop roleplaying game.
Transcript: Hello! I'm the GM for an upcoming episode of Firebreathing Kittens. I'll be running using the gameplay mechanics from a game called NewEdo, a Neon Samurai role-playing game. This is a rules discussion episode meant to help teach my players and any listeners the basic mechanics of NewEdo so it's easier to begin playing. I'll be going over two main topics. The first topic is character creation, where I'll discuss Paths, Lineages, and the Priority Buy System, that’s B-U-Y buy, with its five associated Priority Abilities. I’ll explain starting equipment and cash at the end of this topic. The second topic is gameplay mechanics. Since NewEdo is a 300 page rulebook, I won't have time to go over every single mechanic, but I will go over mechanics that pertain to some of the characters playing in my upcoming episode, as well as common mechanics used in most TRPGs. I'll also discuss Legend and Fate, two important mechanics that are exclusive to NewEdo.

With that said, I'll begin discussing character creation, starting with Paths and Lineages.

Paths

A Path is similar to a class, but instead of defining your character's archetype going forward, it sets up your character's purpose with some starting features and equipment, allowing you to build yourself however you want. You can decide which Path best suits you and what it provides starting on page 72.

Lineages

A Lineage is what would be considered a race in other TRPGs. With the exception of Hisanaka, you have unrestricted access to all Lineages, each with two Cultures to choose from, providing unique gameplay differences. Hisanaka is a special Lineage only available with a Priority A Ranking in Augmentations, and has no special Culture. Lineages are found starting on page 132.

The Priority Buy System

After deciding your Path and Lineage, you need to decide what order you prioritize your Priority Abilities. You have five Priority Abilities to consider:

● Backgrounds

● Magic

● Augmentations

● Skills

● and Core Traits

You must assign Ranks A through E (highest to lowest) between these five Priority Abilities in order to determine your character building resources. Refer to the Priority Buy Resource Allocation Table on page 58 to know what you get at each Rank.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are associated with your character's backstory and grant certain benefits. There are five Backgrounds you can invest points into:

● Contacts

● Followers

● Soul

● Status

● and Wealth

You can study up on what each Background provides at each Rank starting on page 144. Refer to the Background Score to Rank table on the same page to know how many points are needed to increase your Rank. All Backgrounds begin with 1 point each, and no Background may be higher than 61 at character creation.

Magic

Depending on your Path, Lineage, and Priority Rank, you can gain access to Magic. If you’re looking for a Path with access to multiple spells, called Rotes in this system, choose Shugonshi. If you just need a single Rote, such as an attack or heal, look through TIer Zero through Three for an appropriate Rote, then choose D through A for a Magic Priority Rank that gives you access to the Rote you chose. Keep in mind the Casting Skill associated with each Rote, as you need to roll that Skill plus Shinpi Rank to cast.

When you gain access to Magic through methods mentioned earlier, you should receive a bonus amount of Shinpi. Shinpi is a special Core Trait that, unlike other Core Traits, begins at zero instead of ten. You’ll need to raise your Shinpi Rank through bonuses mentioned previously and Trait points received from Priority Buy in order to cast Magic effectively.

If you happen to choose the Shugonshi Path, Awakened Kitsune Lineage, or Priority A Magic, you gain access to a Mikata Kami. You can choose any Kami you have access to and gain the associated Mikata Kami bonus. A Mikata Kami is also a pet with its own character sheet. For more details, read pg. 268 through 274.

Augmentations

Each Augmentation, or Aug, has a Noise Rating and Biofeedback Percentage. The points from the Priority Buy System are spent on the combined Noise Ratings of each Aug you get. If you increase an Aug’s Rank, you multiply the Noise cost by the Aug’s Rank. You need to have enough Core Trait points to install any Augs. If the combined Noise of a single Trait from all Augs exceeds the associated Trait, you can’t install anymore with that Trait.

For any leftover points, you can spend four points for a permanent 1d4 bonus to any Skill. This doesn’t count as a Skill Rank; rather it’s an external bonus to those Skill rolls. Any other leftover points may be added to the Wealth Background one for one.

Biofeedback Percentage is added to the Fate Card for each Aug you gain. Keep in mind the percentage does not multiply with each Aug Rank. So if you install a Rank 5 Aug with 1% Biofeedback, it’s still 1%.

Skills

The list of Skills starts on pg. 191. You have a certain amount of dice to spend on Skills called Focus. You’re limited to three Focus per Skill at character creation. Each Focus you put into a Skill increases that Skill’s Rank, which may grant a bonus. Bonuses can be found under each Skill’s description.

Traits

There are seven Core Traits to choose from:

● Heart

● Power

● Reflex

● Presence

● Perception

● Savvy

● and Shinpi

Each of them, except Shinpi, begin with ten points. Shinpi begins with zero. For every ten points in a Trait, you gain a d10 to all associated checks. You can only invest up to 15 points in any Trait, though bonuses from things like Lineage and Backgrounds don’t count towards this limit. At the end of character creation, your highest Trait becomes your starting Legend Score. There are also four Derived Traits that are affected by the previously mentioned Core Traits:

● Resolve

● Move

● Initiative

● and Defence

Starting Equipment and Cash

You gain basic starting equipment from your Path. The Path descriptions each include a note on starting equipment, and all of them grant at least one weapon. That weapon, and any other items, will be described only by its Quality rating. You can look up item qualities on the tables in Chapter 13 starting on pg. 233. In addition, you start with cash equal to a Wealth roll, 1d10 per Rank in the Background, times 100.

That wraps up Character Creation. I’ll now begin going over various combat mechanics that my players and I will be using in our upcoming session. Again, this won’t be a list of every mechanic in the 300 page rulebook, but I’ll be going over some universal actions and their mechanics in NewEdo. I’ll end with an explanation of this system’s unique Legend and Fate mechanics.

Movement

One of the first things everyone needs to understand in any TRPG is movement. In NewEdo, your Move determines how many metres you can shift per turn. Move is equal to your Reflex and Heart Trait divided by your Size rounded up.

Moving takes up a Move Action, which is one of three types of actions a character can make on their turn. The three types of actions are:

● Move Action

● Quick Action

● and Full Action

You can make one of each of these actions per turn. As I mentioned earlier, moving uses up a Move Action, however there may be other actions that specify using a Move Action other than just moving, such as Taking Aim or driving a vehicle.

Attacking

Another common mechanic in any TRPG is attacking. An attack is usually a Full Action, but can also be a Quick Action in some cases. Two common types of attacks are Melee and Projectile. I’ll explain the mechanics of each.

● Melee Attacks are made by rolling Power plus the appropriate weapon Skill, and your

Target Number is your opponent’s Defence.

● Projectile Attacks are made by rolling Perception plus the appropriate weapon Skill, and

your Target Number is your opponent’s Size multiplied by your weapon’s Range Modifier.

○ You may call Raises before attacking to increase damage. Each Raise adds five

to your Target Number, but increases the weapon’s damage by 1d10. After hitting with an attack, you need to roll for damage. Here’s what you need to roll:

● For Melee, roll Power plus the weapon’s damage dice.

● For Projectile, roll the weapon’s damage dice. Remember to add any d10’s from Raises.

Taking Aim, Advantages, and Disadvantages

When setting up for a Projectile Attack, you can use your Move Action to Take Aim in order to gain an Advantage. An Advantage is simply an extra d10 added to a roll, one that can explode like a Trait dice. A Disadvantage is the opposite, removing a d10 from a roll. If there are no d10’s remaining, you remove the highest dice instead. Advantages and Disadvantages come up in many different scenarios, and can cancel each other out if both are present. Taking Aim is one of the most common ways to gain an advantage in combat.

Rolling Skill Checks

To determine what dice you roll during an attack or skill check, you need to check the appropriate Trait and Skill. For your Trait, the tens place of your Trait determines how many d10 you can roll for the check. Keep in mind that d10’s explode, meaning that if you roll a ten, you can re-roll that dice and add the next result to the total. After determining how many d10’s from your Trait, add the Focus Dice from the appropriate Skill. These dice can range from a d4 to d12, but they don’t explode on rolling max. The Target Number of non combat related skill checks is determined by the GM based on the difficulty. A Sample Contest Target Number table can be found on pg. 212.

Casting Magic

Similar to attacks and skill checks, casting magic also uses a Trait and Skill. All Rotes use Shinpi as its Trait, and with the exception of the four Common Rotes, all Rotes have an associated Skill that is rolled when casting. For example, the Soothe Rote uses the Meditation Skill, so if you plan on using Soothe, it's recommended you also have training in Meditation. You can find a list of all Rotes starting on pg. 158. Each Rote lists the following:

● Name

● Action

● Target Number

● Legend Cost

● Range

● Duration

● Casting Skill

● and a Description

Restoring Legend

If you find yourself casting a lot of magic and running out of Temporary Legend, you can use your Followers Background to restore some lost Legend Points. Rolling for Followers takes a Full Action, and you roll d10’s equal to your Followers Rank. You can roll Followers once per session.

Stealth

To make an attempt at Stealth, there must be some reasonable chance of you not being seen: darkness, fog, a distraction, someone or something blocking sight of you. You don’t necessarily need to know where your (potential) observers are to attempt Stealth, but if you’re able to scout out all observers (guards, cameras, etc.) prior to or during your Stealth attempt, you gain Advantage on subsequent Stealth rolls.

A Stealth roll is made as an Opposed Contest, where the character attempting Stealth rolls Reflex plus the Stealth Skill against any opponent’s passive or active Perception. Passive Perception is a Free Action, rolled using only Perception, and is for situations where no one’s actively watching. Active Perception is a Quick Action Interrupt, rolled using either Perception plus Survival or Perception plus Investigation.

While in Stealth, you may only move at half your Move speed and must end your turn obscured or hidden in some way, or you immediately lose Stealth. If you dash across an open space while in Stealth, you may become Exposed if any observers catch sight of you.

Cover

Cover can only protect you from Ranged attacks. There are three types of Cover:

● No Cover: Protects less than 30% of your body. Provides no bonuses.

● Half Cover: Protects between 30 to 95% of your body. Ranged Attacks against you have

Disadvantage.

● Full Cover: Only 5% of your body is exposed. You can’t be targeted by Ranged Attacks

barring a few exceptions.

With some of the basic mechanics out of the way, I’d like to focus on some specific Skills that certain players for my upcoming game have chosen. There are 37 different Skills to choose in NewEdo, so this is only a small fraction of what’s available.

Dodge

Dodge is a unique Skill that adds to a character’s Defence against Melee Attacks. An invaluable Skill for an up close and personal fighter. At Rank 3, you can start Dodging Projectile Attacks. Dodging is a Quick Action Interrupt, so it’s useful in conjunction with moving and acting while being attacked. Perfect for a martial fighter or ninja.

Banter

A fun social Skill that uses the Reflex Trait. Banter is used to steer a conversation with multiple people, helping or hindering others. At Ranks 2 and 3, you gain the Abilities Chime In and Burn, which allow you to make a Quick Action Interrupt to either add or subtract your Banter Roll from someone else’s Social Roll.

Athletics

Like in most TRPG’s, Athletics is your physical prowess in running, jumping, climbing, swimming, etc. In NewEdo, you unlock some special bonuses at later Ranks. At Rank 2, your Climb, Swim, and Lifting modifiers all increased. At Rank 3, you gain Tumble, an ability that allows you to reduce falling damage by the amount rolled from an Athletics Check.

Unarmed

Unarmed is your ability to fight without a weapon. It increases your ability to Grapple, and quickly increases damage to unarmed attack early on at Ranks 1 and 2. At Rank 3, you gain the ability to call Raises with unarmed attacks, a mechanic usually reserved to Projectile Attacks.

Tactics

Tactics checks are made right before the beginning of a fight. The leaders of both squads roll Savvy plus Tactics plus 1d10 for every active teammate to determine who’s superior. The losing team begins combat Demoralized, a status condition that reduces their Initiative and Resolve by 5 each, and they can no longer take Quick Action Interrupt Attacks against Exposed targets.

If you need to look up other Skills and what bonuses you get at each rank, begin on pg. 191. I’ll finish things up by going over two of NewEdo’s unique mechanics: Legend and Fate.

Legend

Legend is your character’s overall power level, and measures how “Legendary” you are in the world. At a certain Legend ranking, your Path is increased, giving you new abilities. In addition to acting as your power level, it also fuels a resource known as Temporary Legend. Your Temporary Legend is restored between sessions, and it’s used to cast Rotes and activate certain abilities, usually from Skill Ranks. It also acts as a last ditch HP Pool, known as Burning Legend. If you take damage past zero, you begin burning through Temporary Legend. Once all of your HP and Temporary Legend are depleted, you die for good.

Fate

Every character has a Fate Card, which acts as a personal random d100 roll chart. There are many things you can add to your Fate Card that come from character creation. You can roll for Fate once per turn, unless otherwise specified, to gamble for good fortune versus bad luck. When rolling for Fate, it’s important to remember you can only roll when there are stakes, and only before you roll for a normal check. If you roll a Critical Success, you automatically succeed. Rolling a Botch means you automatically fail.

And that concludes this episode of Rules Explanation for NewEdo! I hope that my players can use this to help prepare them for their upcoming game, but it should be noted that there’s much more to learn than what was mentioned here. I encourage my players and anyone else listening to read up on more of the rules, especially those that pertain to your character. This is a large game, so it’ll require a lot of trial and error, even for veterans like myself, however this system holds a lot of potential for detailed character development, tactical combat, and immersive storytelling. If you haven’t picked this game up yet, and it sounds interesting, please consider buying it from Salty dash Games dot com. That’s Salty, HYPHEN, Games dot com. If you still aren’t convinced, please listen to my upcoming episode, listen in on our game, and decide then! Thank you, and goodbye!