Game systems
A game's system is the set of rules it plays by, which decides a character's stats, how rolls work, what a rest does and which conditions exist.
Every game plays by one system, and you choose it when you create the game. Pick the one your group's rulebook uses: most fifth edition groups want 5e Compatible for the 2014 rules or 5.5e Compatible for the 2024 revision. If you play something RollQuest doesn't have, choose None (generic HP): tokens still track hit points, and your group handles the rest of the rules itself.
The systems
| System | What it is |
|---|---|
| 5e Compatible | The 2014 fifth edition rules, from the System Reference Document 5.1. |
| 5.5e Compatible | The 2024 fifth edition rules, from the System Reference Document 5.2.1. |
| Ashfall (d100) | RollQuest's own roll-under percentile system. |
| None (generic HP) | No rules: tokens have hit points and nothing else. |
A System Reference Document (SRD) is the part of a game's rules its publisher releases for anyone to use. Ashfall is a survival-horror game written for RollQuest; "roll-under percentile" means you roll a d100 (1 to 100) and succeed if you roll your skill or lower.
What the system changes
- Character sheets: the stats, the character builder's steps (the screens that walk a player through making a character), and the sheet's layout. See Create a character.
- Rolls: 5e and 5.5e offer Advantage and Disadvantage (roll two d20s and keep the higher, or the lower), Bless (add 1d4) and Bane (take 1d4 away). Ashfall offers Fortune (roll two d100s and keep the lower, which is better when you roll under) and Misfortune (keep the higher). With no system, every roll is flat: one roll, no extras.
- Rests: 5e and 5.5e sheets have Long Rest and Short Rest, the breaks that bring back hit points and spent abilities. See Hit points and rests.
- Conditions, damage types, currency and encumbrance. Conditions are states such as poisoned or prone that change what a creature can do; see Conditions.
- Enemies and NPCs: those without a sheet of their own use the system for their hit points and damage. (An NPC is a non-player character, such as a shopkeeper, played by the Game Master.)
- Content: each system comes with its own spells, gear, monsters and more.
Choose a system
When you create a game, pick one under Game System. See Create a game.
A game started from a Campaign pack uses the pack's system. A game started from a Scene pack has to use the scene's system. (A content pack is a ready-made game someone has published: a Campaign pack is a whole adventure, a Scene pack one map.)
Change a game's system
Open Game Settings and change Game System. You can only do this while the game has no character sheets: once one exists, the system is fixed. Only the game's creator can change it. So if you're unsure, settle the system before your players make their characters.
Systems and what fits a game
- A character from your account library, the collection of characters you keep outside any game, can only be brought into a game with exactly the same system. See Your account library.
- A Scene pack can only be added to a game with the same system. A scene made with no system fits any game.
- Ready-made characters are listed for the game's system. See Ready-made characters.
Licences
The 5e and 5.5e content comes from the System Reference Documents: SRD 5.1 is used under the Open Game License 1.0a, and SRD 5.2.1 under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. See Open Game License.