MARROW Magic II: Electric Boogaloo

 MARROW MAGIC

For a long time I’ve been struggling with how to handle magic in MARROW. I’ve never found or developed a system where I was satisfied with the depth, flexibility, and consistency of a spellcasting system and how it fit into the rest of MARROW. Here’s my first draft at something coherent and usable.

CASTING A SPELL

To cast a SPELL, roll...

INT: If you’re using an object, like a spellbook or wand, to cast

WIS: If you’re calling upon another entity to use your magic

CHA: If the magic was inside you all along…

If you CRIT, you cast the SPELL successfully without USE. If you succeed, you cast the SPELL, but USE it. If you fail, the SPELL fizzles, but you don’t USE it. If you FUMBLE, the SPELL flops, you USE it, and things usually go sideways.

PUSH

Once you’ve cast a SPELL, you can voluntarily take STRESS to PUSH it. There’s no limit to the STRESS you can take, but be careful- PUSH yourself too hard and things might get out of hand fast! There are three axes upon which you can PUSH yourself: Duration, Versatility, and Intensity.

	1 STRESS	2 STRESS	3 STRESS
DURATION	+d4 TURNS/ROUNDS	+d4 days	Eternal
VERSATILITY	Tiny bend in use	Reasonable enough use	Vaguely similar at best
INTENSITY	Perceptible boost	Significant boost	Mighty power!
(Extra damage)	+1	+2	+4
(Decreased casting time)	Halved	Quartered	Instantaneous

You can also PUSH yourself to the limit, casting epic magics that define eras. Nothing is outside of your grasp, from time reversal to deicide to mass resurrection. However, when you do so, you die with no hope of return, or suffer a worse fate. There is no escape from the scales of death.

USE

Depending on the form your SPELL takes, USE looks different. Here’s some examples:

STR: Wands, staves, orbs, rods, scrolls, spellbooks, and all sorts of eldritch bric-a-brac can contain SPELLS in STR slots. Most of the time, they have one SPELL apiece, with as many as 3 or 4 in a more powerful object, like an archmage’s book. They also contain a set pool of USE upon finding (d20, if you’re in a pinch). You can also use that USE as STRESS in the case of PUSHING SPELLS the object casts. These objects FUMBLE like anything else!

DEX: Magical tattoos, hereditary witchery, and parasites from other dimensions all might be sources of SPELLS that occupy DEX slots. Whenever you take USE from a SPELL cast in this way, take 1 FATIGUE instead. If you FUMBLE, instead take d6 FATIGUE, or induce an arcane catastrophe.

WIS: Most SPELLS as people know them, memorized bundles of arcane energy, are stored in WIS slots. If an ABILITY grants SPELLS, this is the form they take. When a SPELL takes USE, it instead is destroyed, no longer occupying a SLOT- you have forgotten the ancient rune-words you need for your invocation.

CHA: Most of the time, SPELLS themselves won’t occupy CHA slots, but instead, many ABILITIES grant SPELLS in various forms. However, a SPELL so mighty that attaches itself to the magician’s identity, something as world-shattering as Wish or Apocalypse...

TOKENS

Every SPELL on Aeros has an associated TOKEN. It might be a common item (a penny with two “heads” faces, a cat’s whiskers), or something unique and magical (a cockatrice egg, the Apocrypha Orb). If you have the appropriate TOKEN while you cast a SPELL, make your casting roll with ADVANTAGE.

D10 random TOKENS:

1 A spool of silver

2 A dream about the ocean in a bottle

3 A Nemidian rune-rock

4 A red mole’s molehill

5 The sword of Khar Vendis

6 A green glass eye

7 A staff carved from the world’s oldest tree

8 An angel’s toenail

9 A child’s favorite marble

10 A lightning bolt

PROCEDURE

• Roll to cast the SPELL

• If you have a TOKEN, roll with ADVANTAGE

• Allies can roll INT to assist, if they succeed, you roll with ADVANTAGE

• Expend USE as needed

• If you failed your roll, stop after this step!

• PUSH yourself, if you dare

• The effect takes hold

VULGAR ARCANA

This is the equivalent of your basic SPELL list. Roll a d4 (for one of the four types of rune magic) and a d8 to determine a random SPELL. SPELLS are described as follows:

Spell Name. Spell description, in terse terms. (TOKEN here)

1 RAVEN

1 Swarm. A scratching mass of claws and craws deals 2 WOUNDS and causes a lot of havoc before scattering to the wind once more. (Stillborn animal with a conjoined twin)

2 Feather Cloak. This cloak woven from the blackness between the stars clads you for a TURN; while wearing it, you’re only perceptible by magical entities. (Broken humerus)

3 Word of Murder. Call out in blasphemous tones and point at someone. A feather tattoo appears on their body. It will kill them in 13 days. (The skull of a Demon Lord)

4 Bird Soul. Animate an object with the spirit of a dead bird for a TURN. Good luck getting it to do anything useful. (A tea kettle filled with boiling blood)

5 Crowsflesh. You take a half-avian form for a TURN, your toes morphing into claws and your arms into atavistic wings of jet. (A statuette carved from a petrified tree)

6 Warp. The flesh of your target blooms and calcifies under your touch, inducing a random MUTATION. (A Moon Orchid)

7 Cry. Your mournful laments are understood by all who hear, so long as they are utterly pessimistic. Choose one living creature, you two can converse for a TURN. (Tears)

8 Psychopomp. Kill someone. You can pull the soul of a FRIEND dead for no more than a day into that body. That body can never heal through natural means. (A golden scythe)

OTHER POSSIBLE SPELLS: Wardenship of the Flock, Bird Familiar, Beast Command, Growth

2 MOON

1 Terraform. Everything FAR from you becomes a lunar biome: salt spires, crater-valley, fungal pit, sulphur sea, sugar-hive, the Moon Monarch’s Manor, or another. (Moon rock)

2 Crown of the Lunar Queen. A halo of glowing moon rock appears above a touched target’s head; they obey your commands for d4 ROUNDS. (Crown of a dead ruler)

3 Moon’s Nimbus. Moonlight shines around you for a TURN. It acts as natural sunlight, and no creature can enter the light without your permission. (Blue flame)

4 Regality of Moths. For a TURN, people assume you’re important, and you can levitate a handspan off the floor. (A living moth the size of your head)

5 Bind Moon-Beast. 50% this is some wildlife, like a Trilobite or a Stone Flower. 40% this is an intelligent member of the Moon Court, like the Bubble Wizards of t’Keem. 10% this is the Moon Monarch herself, who can grant wishes or bestow knighthoods. (Mithril bell)

6 Phase Change. The moon immediately changes to your choice of phase, or if it’s during the day, a solar eclipse occurs, lasting a TURN. Don’t overthink it. (A silver blade)

7 Melancholy Melody of the Moon Monarch. For a TURN, the minds of all who hear you sing are filled with thoughts of the worst outcomes of their actions. (Musical instrument)

8 Lunar Lock. Spend d4 ROUNDS carving zodiac symbols on a doorway or entrance to make it impassable for a TURN. (A key made for no door)

OTHER POSSIBLE SPELLS: Lycanthropy, Meteor, Zodiac Invocation, Solar Wrath, Read Stars

3 GLASS

1 Lacerating Carapace. You get +1 DEF for d4 ROUNDS as your skin sprouts broken flesh-shards. When something CLOSE hits you, it takes 1 WOUND. (Trilobite shell)

2 Prism. Create a monochromatic illusion your size or smaller for d4 ROUNDS. (Prism)

3 Sanguine Signatory. Take a WOUND to write a command in blood. As long as it’s wet (usually a TURN), all who read it must follow it. (A Devil’s quill pen)

4 Oubliette. Open a portal to a random place in the cosmos; a target you touch is banished therein for d4 ROUNDS or until a countercharm is performed. (Gold manacles)

5 Invulnerability. Touch an object to make it impervious to damage or FUMBLES for d4 ROUNDS. If you touch a creature, they are petrified for the duration. (Adamant dust)

6 Mirror Walk. Shatter the fabric of space-time to teleport FAR or open a portal to a random part of the cosmos that persists for d4 ROUNDS. (A mirror containing a soul)

7 Ocular Pearl. Summon a small ball of glass. You can see auras while holding it, and can see through it remotely if it’s in the same HEX as you. (Diamond monocle)

8 Open Door. Millenia ago, before the Cataclysm, the Doors were a network of inter-cosmic portals. They probably still work fine. (Keystone of a wizard’s front door)

OTHER POSSIBLE SPELLS: Resonance, Eldritch Lenses, Reverse Time, Shatter Reality

4 ASH

1 Emberwind. Anyone caught in this cone of whirling cinders takes 2 WOUNDS, and anything flammable ignites. (Weeds from under the First Tree)

2 Blitzschreiben. Carve a rune of lightning into something. The next thing to touch it takes 2 WOUNDS and is deafened by a peal of thunder. (Lightning in a bottle)

3 Fever Dream. Touch someone to cure them of all their Addiction to a drug, or all of their WOUNDS, STRESS, or FATIGUE. They fall into a coma for 24 hours. (‘Shrooms)

4 Memento Ignius. Touch a fresh corpse and ask it a question; it must answer as truthfully as it can, though bodies know less than minds. (A 6-fingered cat’s paw)

5 Maelstrom. Control the weather for a TURN; you can make it as extreme or strange as you please. (The claws of a Wind Dragon)

6 Erode. Touch something inanimate; it crumbles, rusts, or otherwise decays. (Bone axe)

7 Creation’s Song. Spend d4 ROUNDS singing sacred, cosmically resonant tones to manifest a simple object made of one material that takes up one slot. (432Hz tuning fork)

8 Conduit. Your flesh invokes a long-forgotten primordial form; you become an Angel of Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, or Air for a TURN, taking 1 FATIGUE after. (Burned effigy)

OTHER POSSIBLE SPELLS: Summon Mephit, Deaden the Ley, Call Colossus, Homunculus

CREATING AND RESEARCHING SPELLS: SPELLS can be researched with LONG EXPENSIVE PROGRESS. At the end of that time, roll INT. If you succeed, you have made the SPELL, and whenever you roll for a SPELL, you can choose that SPELL instead. If you fail, you know how to obtain the SPELL, but it won’t be easy. It may be contained in a wand sequestered in a distant crypt or locked in the failing mind of the Archdruid in the Maze, for example. You can research the location of a TOKEN for any given SPELL with SHORT PROGRESS, though if the TOKEN is a ubiquitous object, it won’t be very fruitful.

MAKING A SPELL

• There are no generic SPELLS. Every SPELL should have some unique dimension or bit of flavor beyond the lowest common denominator. For example, there’s no Magic Missile, but instead Screaming Skull, whose whispers of madness cause STRESS.

• 2 WOUNDS, d4 ROUNDS, and a TURN are good starting points. You want each SPELL to be capable of being PUSHED, so err on the side of weak.

• Chaos is your friend. SPELLS should shake things up when used, and be found randomly, with strange effects and narrow utility. What might the spell Hold Acorn do?

• Implications are your friend. A SPELL shouldn’t go for more than 2 or 3 lines. Assume that ambiguity can be cleared up by PUSHING the SPELL to get it to do what you want.

• As a rule, summoned creatures don’t have to like you by default. They behave as they normally would, which could create more problems than it solves.

In Praise of Single-Step Resolution

     First of all, I want to thank everyone reading. Last year, I got nearly 10,000 views on this blog and 100 posts out, which is staggering to me. I would have never anticipated this sort of productivity or this response, and it means so much to me that you're here hearing me ramble.

    Second, I wanted to talk today about what I inadvertently discovered about my GLoGhack MARROW (it's getting more and more complete and fleshed out every day, and soon I'm gonna transition into writing GM advice for new people to run this system well, so I think it's worth checking out) recently. As I was thinking about how typical MARROW play works, and why it runs so well, I came to a conclusion about the resolution mechanism that MARROW uses, and why it makes the game so darn speedy.

--If specific examples of the principles I'm going to discuss bore you to tears, skip this.--

    MARROW is roll-under. That means that all the necessary info is facing the player. They calculate the difficulty of their actions, make the roll, and tell me if it works or not. Now that might not be to everyone's tastes, but when I started to integrate this system into my game, I found it intuitive and fast because the step where the player asked me if their number was high enough was cut out. Keep a hold on that concept, I want to move on to another example.

    Another development in MARROW is how WOUNDS and STRESS occupy standard inventory slots. As the number of slots is so limited, the numbers are kept usually below 5, so that means that I could make weapons take up a number of slots equal to the WOUNDS they deal. Another benefit of this was cutting damage dice out of the equation. While they are fun to pile up and roll, I found that this step added calculation, and wasted time. MARROW removed the step where players roll for damage. Hopefully you're starting to sense a pattern here.

    And my third and final example: the tri-act system. MARROW lets players take three "actions", each one separated by the word 'and'. This makes things a lot faster. There is still a constraint on action, but there is a freedom from constraint that makes systems with maneuvers or bonus actions seem clunky in comparison. Instead of creating these artificial constraints and choices, MARROW's action economy puts that player agency center with an aggressive focus on cutting out the multi-step decision process.

--Here's the good stuff.--

    What's my point here? What's my thesis? Well, here's what I think. One of the core ideas that MARROW has captured for me is the idea of single-step resolution. Instead of having to jump through hoops and take overwrought processes to determine the impact an action has on the story (processes like, say, using an action to take an attack, then asking the DM if it beats the AC, then rolling damage, then rolling INT to cast a spell with a bonus action, then rolling extra damage from the spell), MARROW puts all the information into a single dice roll or action point (roll to hit under STR with the magic sword that deals 3 WOUNDS, with a -2 due to armor). That way, the narrative action is condensed into a single step. The benefits, I argue are threefold:

    1) Haste. It speeds up the game. One roll instead of two will take about half the time, and in the example above where I contrast an average 5e action vs. an average MARROW action, the difference could not be so stark. Once you get used to putting all the information needed to "set up" rolls early, you can get the blood pumping a lot quicker, which helps with the emotional tension of a game session.

    2) Narrative Clarity. Imagine you're swinging an axe in ICRPG. You bring the blade down on the demon. 19! You roll your effort and get... a 2. What a bummer! You already rolled well the first time, why doesn't that reflect as strongly on the narrative as the second roll does? With this one-stop-shop system, you don't have to worry about describing and making sense of that tension, you can

    3) Universality. The more you cut away, the more you'll discover your core mechanics. If you can set up umbrella mechanics that apply in a lot of situations in reliable ways, you'll get a lot closer to single-step resolution, and your game will be clearer and more cohesive.

    I understand that many people have emotional attachments to the multi-step systems, and sometimes they do have a lot of weight (like the ICRPG EFFORT system, which I would argue is worth the extra resolution granularity). But when you're designing your game, think about how you can cut out the maximum number of steps and get as much information into the player's hands about the rolls they're making as possible. Your game will be smoother and translate easier to the narrative space for it.

GLoG reviews 1

    Obligatory "this is my opinion" preamble, you're on a blog so you should know that. Keep in mind that if I reviewed it, I liked it enough to read it all the way through. In every GLoGhack there is something valuable and super cool, and I will do my best to point out what things those are at every turn. Getting on this list meant I want to see more of what you're putting out and are invested in your hack being the best it can be. Here is the matrix for my reviews (numbers on a scale of 1 to 5):

OVERVIEW I chat about the system, giving my impressions and understandings of the mechanics and world.

FLAVOR A 1 is a totally generic system I could see working in any game. A 3 means I can draw a picture of a scene from a game after reading, but the world is subject to interpretation. A 5 is a game sourcebook that doubles as a world manual.

PLAYABILITY If someone suggested they wanted to play a game with a 1, I would not join the game. With a 3, I would play if offered, but not on my own. With a 5, I would like to play it someday. This scale can go above 5- a 6 means I will bring it to my table, and a 7 means I have brought it to the table.

COMPREHENSIBILITY A 1 means I could not grokk even the basics of the rules. A 3 means there was a lot I couldn't wrap my head around, but could still feel good running it. A 5 means that I understand the game forward and back.

OVERALL Just because some other scores are low doesn't mean I don't genuinely enjoy a game. This is a standard one-to-five of my overall impression of a game.

THINGS TO STEAL A short list of mechanics, ideas, and concepts to steal- after all, this is GLoG!

--

LIBRA, by Archon

OVERVIEW A modern occult RPG based off of a Delta Green like premise and an innovative core mechanic, based off of Zener cards. Based off of a 2-class core and incredible flexibility in the core mechanics, this is one of the most interesting and out-there GLoGhacks I've seen. It has as few rules as it needs to make a playable game, an incredibly admirable aim that makes this game read fast and easy.

FLAVOR 3. The look and feel of the heroes is unmatched, and the adventure bullets and descriptions are great, but I keep finding I never understand what the heroes are up against. Monsters? Other organizations and psychics? Eldritch terrors? Some combo? A sample adventure or two would help, and would be super cool- I want to see more of this setting for sure.

PLAYABILITY 3. This is a great idea executed pretty cleanly, and if I got the opportunity to play or run it, I would certainly not decline, though I'd love to have more info to back me up going into an experience (see the other bullets).

COMPREHENSIBILITY 2. The mechanics that were there were plenty clear, but I don't think I could improvise in a complex novel situation, which happens incredibly often in my game. Especially given how strong the central mechanic is, having to improvise in a way that detracts from that would weaken the integrity of the game. More advice on improvisation would be appreciated.

OVERALL 3. A great game, and one that's really good at what it does, I just want MORE of it so I can congeal my picture of what stories this game is designed to tell.

THINGS TO STEAL This is a masterclass in upending the assumptions of roleplaying game resolution and building something new and flavorful from the ground up. When I think occult government experiments, I think Zymer cards. When you're making a game designed to fit a niche, try thinking about a different way to exemplify that story. A game about a dad and a son bonding and overcoming adversity that uses a game of catch with a football as the central mechanic? A game about nobility based off of coin pools (like dice pools, the more coin you can muster the better)? A game about trouncing the sewers where you have to reach into a box and guess what you're touching? Return to the base of your concept, and build your game around that.

Also, the setup of the Psychic class is intuitive, flexible, and easy to remember. It is one of the best ways of framing a magic class in GLoG I have yet seen.

--

NUCLEAR OOZE, by Micah A

OVERVIEW A grungy, dark hack, clearly very inspired by Goblin Punch's worldbuilding in the best way. The pages are dark and edgy, filled with pseudo-industrial art, that makes you wonder if the world is truly as it seems, or if is the darkened and apocalyptic ruin of an oil-soaked world (especially given the title).

FLAVOR 4, not for completeness of worldbuilding, but clarity of mental picture you get from reading the rules and looking at the document. I immediately see landscapes of towering, rusted machinery and broken earth, chainmail-clad warriors and sleep-deprived mages combing the wreckage for coin and keeping an eye out for mutated demons.

PLAYABILITY 2. All and all, this is very close to orthodox GLoG, which generally doesn't appeal to me very much. Someone would have to sell me on the world or the adventure to get me to play (which, if it were anything like the flavor in the manual, would have the potential to be a terribly enticing draw), but I wouldn't say yes just on behalf of the system itself.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3.5 I'm not proficient in orthodox GLoG, and a lot of what's here relies on that fluency, but it would be easy enough to pick up on, especially with a copy of a character sheet in front of me. I feel like I could run or play a game if I had to. Loses points for having character creation after the core mechanics. You fly in the face of the natural RPG order!

OVERALL 3. Again, great game, great flavor, lots of good tidbits, but the fact that it runs on orthodox GLoG really drags it down for me.

THINGS TO STEAL There's a great downtime section full of flavorful and useful options that you should check out if you're designing a robust downtime system. The Race table is phenomenal- Unman? Dungeon Rose? Electric Ghost? Sign me up! In the back, there are some terribly useful and flavorful tables. If you steal nothing else, this hack is full of great tables you can cannibalize.

--

YAGH, by Walfalcon

OVERVIEW A scrappy, wild three-stat hack with a big dose of irony and random sprinkled into the low fantasy. Defined by headings written in a low-resolution SUPREME logo, which is perhaps the most memorable piece of graphic design I've ever seen in a GLoGhack, perhaps in recent life.

FLAVOR 4. Again, like NUCLEAR OOZE, the flavor doesn't come from what's written, it's a gestalt effect. I get the impression that this game doesn't take itself seriously, it is a funhouse dungeon made into rules, but that doesn't stop it from being punchy and having a lot of impact. Like most casual DnD campaigns.

PLAYABILITY 4. The more I read, the more interested I am to see just what would go down if I got a group of rowdy-ass players together, found a generic, small dungeon, and let them loose with these rules. It's got this terrific commitment to speed, simplicity, and strong choices that I admire dearly.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4. Simplicity is my friend here, and while there is a bit I'll have to look up and feel out in play, for the most part, it all reads easy. Order is a little wonky at times- why have weapons and XP after classes?

OVERALL 4. It's got a great niche, and the simplicity is inspiring. One of my favorites thusfar.

THINGS TO STEAL The "friendship ended with DnD" image should adorn every GLoGblog. The up-front, no-frills, no-nonsense tone of the rules is incredibly clear. The core system is clean, and while I myself would rearrange the stats, it works very well as a lite framework upon which to build. The classes are great, especially the paragraphs of background with the red highlights- leaves just enough to the imagination to get it firing all cylinders. Steal that formatting, if nothing else.

--

BONES, by The Guy Whose Name Gives Me A Stroke To Type Out

OVERVIEW The game that started me on my GLoG journey. Looking back for the first time in months, as I've been tinkering with MARROW, my take on this premise, it'll be interesting to see how my experience has colored this game. If I recall, the inherent worldbuilding is for an Aztec Underworld, but it reads just as odd fantasy on a casual read. 3 stats, with each stat operating as an inventory.

FLAVOR 2. I can't really see a scene in my mind, but it's definitely got some proto-world elements built in,  like the race list and dedicated drug/hallucination rules, so there's that little bit of groundwork upon which to build for your game.

PLAYABILITY A few months ago, this was 5.5. I made MARROW, my hack, because BONES lit a fire in my brain. But looking back now, that number drops to a 4. There's a lot of cruft here that could be further cleaned, and a lot of vestiges that could be cut and congealed, that keep this good game from being a great one.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4.5. The author knows that everyone who is reading has a lot of context in both RPGs and GLoG, and so the tone of the writing caters to those warrants, which makes things quite clear and easy to grokk. I could run a RAW BONES (ooh, now THAT's fun) game and not feel terrible about it.

OVERALL All in all, 4.5. Not perfect, especially as I look back, but the fact that it lit a fire and inspired me enough to carry me here is enough to give it a great score.

THINGS TO STEAL Well, where to start. I found a lot of inspiration in stats-and-inventories, and counter to Obsillypitchman's experience, I've found it to work smoothly and intuitively. Mental inventories are particularly interesting to think about and add to your game, as are mental HP pools. This game lays out a lot of generic mechanics (hexcrawling, reaction rolls, morale) cleanly and simply. All in all, this hack is great food for thought. Plus, I forgot how good that trinket table was.

--

That's it for today! I've got a lot of fun hacks piled up to read through. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below! Thanks, and happy gaming.

Character Matrix for MARROW

 Go down with your highest stat, across with your lowest, and roll a d4 for your Occupation. You may also choose or make up an option instead, if you wish. If two stats are tied for top or bottom, take your pick of which box to roll in.

+/-	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
S T R	--	1 Knight 2 Miner 3 Smith 4 Shopkeep	1 Carpenter 2 Lumberjack 3 Stonecutter 4 Mercer	1 Sailor 2 Soldier 3 Construction 4 Farmer	1 Firefighter 2 Gladiator 3 Rancher 4 Sellsword	1 Bandit 2 Crusader 3 Guard 4 Assistant
D E X	1 Clockmaker 2 Surgeon 3 Craftsperson 4 Barber	--	1 Addict 2 Diseased 3 Refugee 4 Ghost Writer	1 Dancer 2 Swashbuckler 3 Child 4 Archer	1 Forger 2 Guttersnipe 3 Acrobat 4 Runaway	1 Assassin 2 Cursed 3 Exile 4 Hunter
C O N	1 Beekeeper 2 Mortician 3 Fisher 4 Brewer	1 Executioner 2 Plumber 3 Coal Shoveler 4 Rag-and-Bone	--	1 Drunk 2 Baker 3 Demolitionist 4 Ex-Adventurer	1 Undertaker 2 Polymorphed 3 Parent 4 Gardener	1 Beggar 2 Cleaner 3 Grave Robber 4 Prisoner
I N T	1 Tinker 2 Lawyer 3 Apothecary 4 Scientist	1 Astronomer 2 Zoologist 3 Pawnbroker 4 Mathematician	1 Magician 2 Retired 3 Teacher 4 Consultant	--	1 Alchemist 2 Fleshcrafter 3 Innkeeper 4 Entrepreneur	1 Disgraced 2 Moneylender 3 Advisor 4 Washed-Up
W I S	1 Jeweller 2 Author 3 Cartographer 4 Doctor	1 Cultist 2 Journalist 3 Supernaturalist 4 Sommelier	1 Collector 2 Priest 3 Psychic 4 Banker	1 Fortune Teller 2 Guide 3 Shaman 4 Student	--	1 Survivalist 2 Ascetic 3 Servant 4 Detective
C H A	1 Noble 2 Diplomat 3 Charlatan 4 Messiah	1 Barkeep 2 Carney 3 Crime Lord 4 Merchant	1 Librarian 2 Artist 3 Storyteller 4 Animal Tamer	1 Musician 2 General 3 Gambler 4 Indebted	1 Cook 2 Snake Oiler 3 Planehopper 4 Politician	--

This is the version of the Character Matrix (originally from here, with new iterations for other games here) that I'm putting into MARROW 0.4, which is evolving from my playtesting and thinking deeper about the mechanical tenants of this game after having run a few sessions on this system. Here are some of the changes:

-Codified rules for retreat and running away that makes it always have a cost, and rather significant risk. Hopefully, the fact that getting out of combat is risky and difficult will make the PCs less inclined to enter it in the first place!

-Altered some of the healing mechanics and resting mechanics- what was there really stunk of bloat, I narrowed it to easy memorability.

-Consolidated SUPPLY, because I hate rations and torches. You can use SUPPLY in some nifty ways!

-Cleaned up a lot, on d4Stepper's behalf. Thanks so much for the lookthrough, you inspired a lot of changes, in particular...

-The Friends mechanic has been altered, being made simpler, broader, blanketing the whole party, and given at DM discretion. Previously, it was a terribly unpopular mechanic, so I'm keeping it, but altering it and simplifying it.

Here's the new version, tell me what you think! Happy gaming.