WARNING: The Stalkers RPG: Dustwoken contains mature, horror-themed content, vulgar language, and imagery that some people may find disturbing. PG13+ recommended, possibly M.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Background Storyline
- Signing Up
- Objectives
- How to Play
- Main Action and Team Status Thread
- Dealing With Puzzles
- Default Actions
- Perks
- Health, Sanity, Purity
- Equipment and Items
- Game Component Markings
- Traps: ## Markings and @@ Markings
- Hazardous Areas: %% Markings
- Interactive Elements: {} Brackets
- Useful Links
Introduction
Stalkers RPG rises once again, this time as DUSKWOKEN!
For those who are new, Stalkers RPG Pokémon-oriented horror/mystery game where you take the role of a Savant, a former human that has become a Pokémon in an effort to uncover the dark mysteries of the Demoni.
The first iteration of Stalkers RPG (what I now call “Stalkers Legacy”) began in 2016 as part of a Halloween event. Where this first iteration ended with Season 5, Stalkers Dustwoken shares a very similar playbook as the first Stalkers RPG series, but the lore is drastically different. Many of the game mechanics and handling have carried over, so if you are a Stalkers RPG veteran and familiar with the Legacy version, you should feel right at home here. But if you’re new, you joined at a good time as the lore and background storyline is completely fresh and has no connection to anything that happened before.
Background Storyline
Arise, Savant.
What you are about to be told is far beyond the knowledge of most of the living and is not to be disclosed to those who should not know what lies beyond the veil of life and death.
Vie.
What is “Vie” you ask?
Vie is everything you have ever known in this life. The living realm, the universe of all that lives and breathes air, both the born and reborn, and all that exists from the stars in the skies to the far reaches of the ends of space. Humans, Pokémon, and the worlds they share and the worlds they have to themselves. That is Vie.
And then there is Afterhaven, a place the living and the reborn in Vie don’t remember until after they have passed and suddenly they recall who and what they truly are in spirt. It is here within the safety and sanctuary of Afterhaven where they are judged by what they did and accomplished in Vie. The faithful, the righteous, and just will be reincarnated to return to Vie in a new life. The more righteous and just they were in their previous lives, the more freedom of choice they will have with the decisions of what they wish to bestow in their new one. They can have more options in what they set for themselves in terms of what Pokémon they become, what talents they will be born with, and what kind of family they wish to be born into, all dependent on what they did in their previous lives. On the other hand, those that were cruel are to be reborn with less to their name and with their options greatly restricted, facing humility and poverty where they had arrogance and greed. Those that tumble down this mountain must pursue redemption and correct their ways if they ever wish to embrace a better reincarnation and regain that freedom of choice.
But despite this cycle, there is an end. When a Pokémon has passed through several lives and has lived as a just leader to inspire and strive as a force of good, they are reborn as humans upon the world of Origine, a world of both humans and Pokémon living, working, training, and striving together. It is here where souls, now as humans, embrace the common practice of training and leading a team of Pokémon as an extension of their own leadership and understanding. And it is here where their Pokémon brethren acknowledge and heed their commands, even without directly knowing the human they follow into battle are spirits now at the final stage of their journey in Vie. And yet, despite their lack of this knowledge, they can still feel a commanding presence of spiritual authority within them, even when these humans lack the commanding power of the elements and forces of nature that Pokémon possess. To live a pure life no longer possessing such powers of their own and to assist in the growth and strengthening of their former Pokémon brethren… this is truly the last and final selfless test of these souls.
Should these humans fulfill a life of just leadership under this restriction, the stairway to the heavenly realm of Paradis will be shown before them, and they will ascend to an eternity of peace, prosperity, and fulfillment where all their hopes and dreams can be found in infinite freedom. Humans that fail to show honor and righteousness in this life of humility may have to try again, or even face reincarnation back into a Pokémon depending on how far they tumbled down the ascension of this mountain.
And thus, this is what is known as the “Paradis Ascension.” Only the truly brave, the truly committed, and the truly honorable will reach the top by accepting the sacrifice of the powers they once had as Pokémon in their previous lives and will accept the humility of becoming a human without elemental powers of their own. To lead a team of Pokémon allies of their own, strengthening them through leadership and empathy to help them harness and grow their powers despite no longer possessing such powers of their own, even while the knowledge of the Paradis Ascension is temporarily withheld from their memory…
…this is the true and final test of the spirit of strength and compassion.
Despite all this, there is a safety net, even for the darkest and cruelest of souls that have woefully lost their way. This net, called “Bas,” exists where even these dark souls are not past redemption and can still be given a chance even if they must start from the very bottom of this mountain of ascension to Paradis. At worst, Bas ensures even the most wicked will only be stuck in a loop of miserable Pokémon forms until they learn to correct their ways and learn empathy and compassion from the humility. Even in dark places with dark punishment, there is still a glimmer of hope and a bridge to find their way back.
But Bas did not always exist. There was once the hellish realm of Unohdus, a place of damnation where once the darkest of souls plunged so hopelessly into evil that they were forsaken. And those dark spirits that dwelled in this brutal wasteland of fire and suffering were enslaved and suffered alongside those known as the “Demoni,” dread spirits that preyed upon each other.
Thankfully, Unohdus was destroyed many thousands of years ago, but the mystery remains as to who completed this valorous act and how they accomplished it. There are many who believe such selfless heroes did not wish to be known for their valor, while others believe they did not survive the collapse of Unohdus and made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy this realm of darkness.
Unfortunately, not all was destroyed. A handful of Demoni managed to escape the collapse of Unohdus and discovered a way to cross the veil into Vie itself, hiding among the living, attempting disrupt and break the Paradis Ascension cycle while establishing a new Unohdus. Where this new rendition of Unohdus will be, no one knows, but it must be stopped at all costs…
Savant…
You were a human…
…a human embarking on the final stages of the Paradis Ascension. A human that was formerly a Pokémon multiple times, and proved yourself righteous and honorable throughout most, if not all of those previous lives. But you are needed for a different mission now. A mission to stop the Demoni and their dark intentions of recreating the unholiness of Unohdus… or possibly something even worse.
The Demoni have untaken a new step into darkness: infesting the minds, hearts, and bodies of innocent Pokémon that were simply living out their lives as part of the Paradis Ascension that they remain unaware of. Pokémon that have been assimilated by Demoni are known as STALKERS, helpless victims that the Demoni are using as a conduit to commit their heinous acts of sin. However, they hide among the innocent… living… waiting… hunting… and murdering for some dark, nefarious purpose we are still trying to investigate. We may not know all the answers, but already the first steps of that long path into darkness are splattered with blood and sin.
For this mission, you have been made aware of this divine knowledge in the hopes that it will help you understand what is at stake and know what must be done. The memories, the knowledge, and the awareness of who you once where as a human and in all the previous lives you were a Pokémon now rests in your memories in the hopes that it will aid you. When all of these lives become as one and the knowledge of them all has been rejoined together… that is the true meaning of SAVANT.
Savant…
Step back into what you once were… and what you must become again for the sake of us all. The time has come. The Demoni must be stopped and their dark work must be shut down and eradicated.
Seabourne… it is a small seaside town in the Pokémon world of Étoile that has been targeted by the Demoni. Already several lives have been lost in a dark, sacrificial ritual that the Demoni here have initiated and will continue if not stopped. We do not know what will ultimately arise if they are successful, but we have already caught of glimpse of what may come from the victims they have claimed and it is beyond dreadful. It must be stopped.
And thus the memories come back to you, the memories of all the lives you’ve lived… now in the body of a Pokémon that you were many years ago. At first it feels foreign, but then all so strangely familiar, like coming home to a place you forgot was your home many years ago.
It all begins again right here in Seabourne. Do whatever you can to ensure it does not all end here as well…
Signing Up
You are not alone and you have been joined by fellow Savants that have been drawn away from their human lives to become Pokémon that they once were before. Xerneas, the life entity behind this operation, has given you everything you need to know about who you truly are and what is at stake here. Vie depends on you. The very universe depends on you. We cannot afford the consequences of failure knowing who and what we’re dealing with.
Upon signing up, choose the starting Pokémon that you feel best resembles yourself. There are also a few other things that you get to decide on as well, but overall, the sign up includes these components:
Pokémon: Any type, any evolution stage, any form, and even legendary Pokémon are permissible. You are free to pick whichever one you think suits you. The Pokémon you choose will determine a few things:
Type and Evolutionary Stage
Interview: Firstly, your type and evolutionary stage will affect rapport score when interviewing citizens. If you have a type advantage over the Pokémon you're interviewing, you will appear intimidating to them. If they have a type advantage over you, you will appear modest, or possibly brave. If you share one or more of the same types as the interviewee, you will gain a +1 to your overall rapport score, which basically means that your interview will be more successful than if you had a negative score and may yield more critical information if the Pokémon feels they can trust you more. Your evolutionary stage will also bring either a negative score if there is a large difference in stages, a neutral score if the stages are not the same but aren't too far apart, or a positive score if you and your interviewee are the same evolution stage. A mega-evolved Pokémon will count as a third-stage.
Additionally, if you are the same species as the citizen you interview, you will automatically gain a positive rapport (provided you have not upset them prior).
Damage taken/given: Thirdly, your type will come into play when taking or dealing damage from traps or attacks. Types work the same as in-game. If you are unsure on how types interact with one another, refer to this chart.
Size
There are three size categories, being small (S), medium (M) and large (L). A small Pokémon might be able to fit through a tight space, whereas a large Pokémon might be able to reach something up high. A medium Pokémon could do either. In addition to this, each size category has different Health and Purity scores. All have the same Sanity score, however.
S (Small) = 2' and under
16 max Health, 20 max Sanity, 24 max PurityM (Medium) = 2'1" to 4'11"
20 max Health, 20 max Sanity, 20 max PurityL (Large) = 5' and over
24 max Health, 20 max Sanity, 16 max Purity
Size will also affect your evasion. Smaller Pokémon are more nimble and can dodge threats and traps, but are fragile in terms of Health. Larger Pokémon may not be as nimble, but they make up for it in endurance and can soak up more damage.
Perk: Perks enable you to perform certain tasks, such as unlock a tricky door or convince an NPC to hand over an item. Be sure to read all the details for each perk before deciding what you want to go with! And it's also important to see what other players have chosen, because you'll do much better if you diversify with your team.
A completed sign-up will result in Stats that look like this (blue text resembles bonuses from upgrades/items):
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/587.png Neo the Emolga (S: Electric/Flying)
Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Bellossom, Cinccino, Umbreon, Raichu, Ninetales
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|D| Chain Armor]+ (3H)
Jewelry: +|J| Moon Crescent Necklace+ (2P)[/list]
More on all these details will be explained later in the equipment and perks sections
Objectives
The main, overall core objective is to eliminate all of the Stalkers before they kill too many additional innocent civilians (as the storyline goes, there are quite a few civilians that are already dead).
How to WIN
There are a few different ways to win the game. Depending on what you and your team does and how they deal with certain situations, there are various different ways the ending will be determined for better or for worse.
The main victory condition is to eliminate all of the Stalkers before time runs out. The Demoni are lurking out there. They must be found and eliminated, but it cannot be done by conventional means. Attacking the Stalker outright will only kill the victim while the Demoni escapes onto to infest another innocent’s spirit and body.
Something else must be done. A secret within the shadows that must be found…
Losing
Unfortunately, there's ways your team can lose, also.
DARK EVENT 1: STALKERS KILL TOO MANY CIVILIANS: It is estimated that the Stalkers only need 20 more kills before some infernal ritual is accomplished by the Demoni. You must avoid this outcome before it happens in this race against time.
DARK EVENT 2: THE DEMONI COMPROMISE THE MISSION: Xerneas wasn’t the first to call upon Savants to investigate a source of Demoni and attempt to stop them. It has been tried before by other legendary and mythic Pokémon. And it wasn’t always successful. If the Demoni discover the presence of Savants and the mission is exposed to them, it will end horribly as it has for other Savants in the past that failed to keep their secrets intact. Do not let this happen.
Ending variances
The ending is very dynamic, which means certain events, outcomes, and decisions will affect exactly how the story ends. It's best to make your choices wisely and talk things out with your team if you want to shoot for the most ideal ending. Specific things that can affect the ending include how you choose to deal with the Stalkers, how many civilians are killed, and whether or not Side Missions are completed.
How to Play
You know how to win, so now you just have to get started. You can progress through the game by taking Actions available to you, namely interviewing NPC Pokémon and searching places on the map. There are also other means to get the information you need and to protect your team and innocent Pokémon during the course of the game.
The flow of the game is divided into Day and Night cycles, and certain events happen during each. Depending on the current cycle, certain actions are available. You get to choose one action during the Day cycle and one during the Night cycle. Note that you will only have a limited amount of time to submit your action before the outcomes of each player's action are resolved by game master(s), or GM. Once you've made your move, simply wait until the action submission time is done and then wait for a GM to resolve the outcome. In the meantime, you can still talk things out with your teammates in the separate discussion thread. If you don't make a choice during the action submission period, your action will be skipped.
Communication is key: talk things out with your teammates and diversify how you will go about your cycle actions to make best use of what you have. Discuss what you have found and learned by interviewing and searching.
Main Action and Team Status Thread
The Main Action and Team Status Thread will be where most of the action will happen. It is where actions are submitted and narration posts tell you the outcome of your actions. Here's how it will be laid out so when you see it in the first post, you know where everything is and what they mean. I'll chuck it in spoiler tags so it takes up less room.
[spoiler]
CURRENT CYCLE
Stalkers RPG works off cycles; one day cycle and one night cycle per day. Once both cycles have completed, one day has passed. This section will show what the current cycle is, and what day it is. It will also contain a timer stating how long you have left to submit an action in the current cycle, if any time at all. Each timer starts at 72 hours (3 days).
PLAYERS
The Players area is a list of all the Emissaries that are in the game. These will be your teammates for the duration of the game. Each player's name, what Pokémon they are, what Abilities, Perk and Trait they have, what their Health, Purity and Sanity levels are, and what they have equipped. All this will be displayed in this format for each player:
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-sm/icon/587.png Neo the Emolga (S: Electric/Flying)
Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Bellossom, Cinccino, Umbreon, Raichu, Ninetales
EQUIPMENT:
Defense Armor: +|D| Chain Armor]+ (3H)
Jewelry: +|J| Moon Crescent Necklace+ (2P)[/list]
Don't worry about all these details for now; they all get explained later. As long as you're familiar with the layout format for now, it's all good.
DOOM TRACKER
The Doom Tracker counts down two different things:
Dark Event #1: Kill Counter
Dark Event #2: Mission Disclosure
You definitely don't want either of these to fill up. Very bad things happen if either of these events happen. It's Game Over for everyone.
"Dark Event #1: Kill Counter" is related to the number of kills left on the Stalkers' list. Once they hit 20 more kills, they will have enough power to unleash doomsday. There will be an "X/20" tally, where "X" is the current total of kills the Stalkers have made. If the Kill Counter hits 20/20 kills, doomsday will begin and the world will be plunged into an endless living nightmare. These kills include civilians the Stalkers have killed during Night cycles and well as Savants they kill in battle or kill as a result of their traps and other hazards.
"Dark Event #2: Mission Disclosure" refers to information that the Demoni have acquired about the Savants and this mission. There will be an "X%/100%", where "X" resembles how much the Demoni have learned about the Savant mission. If the known percentages hits 100%, the Demoni will learn the full extent of the Savant mission and use this information to end everyone.
STALKERS ELIMINATED
This is a record of how many Stalkers have been successfully eliminated. Both their Demoni's name and their host Pokémon's name will be displayed.
TEAM INVENTORY
Players have one shared inventory. Non-equipment items will added to the team inventory as Key Items. This inventory can be accessed by everyone. Equipment items found will be automatically equipped if the player has a free slot. If they don’t, it will be added to the Team Inventory for other player to pick up and use.
TEAM RECORDS
Team Records is usually filled with records of things found that you can not take with you, such as a message on a brick wall written in blood. Mostly, this section is filled with == markings. Each object on the list will have an accompanying link to remind you what it is you found. Sometimes items with == markings will be puzzles, which can then be turned into useful Key Items once they are solved.
SEABOURNE MAP
In this section, the map of Seabourne will appear, as well as a list of all its locations. It will log what locations have been searched, what was found there, and links to the post where the Search happened will be provided for reference.
SEABOURNE CIVILIAN REPORTS
This will be a directory of all the potential suspects in Seabourne. All of these civilians will start with only having "<UNQUESTIONED>" by their name. By using Interview, Investigate, and Diplomacy on them, you'll uncover more details about them, such as if they have a Perk that the team can employ or if they handed an item to the team. Links to Interviews and Investigations will be added once these actions occur. Note that it is possible to encounter Pokémon in the town who are not on this list. They cannot be questioned, as they are not potential Stalkers, and are usually only mentioned in passing.
Dealing With Puzzles
There are many puzzles buried within the Stalkers RPG. Some of them take the form of word or number puzzles, decryption puzzles, and the like. Very often, completing these puzzles successfully yields key items that are necessary to progress and get to the bottom of finding out who the Stalkers are. For example, one item that might be created from a number puzzle might be something like [Code 3814] for a four digit lock, such as {Locked Footlocker: Four Digit Combination Lock}.
When you find a puzzle, anyone on the team is allowed to solve it at any time and it doesn't take an action to submit it. You can either choose to solve it as a group or designate someone on the team to handle it. However, instead of posting the solution in the Team Discussion thread, you need to submit the results to the game moderators through PM. If you completed the puzzle successfully, a notice about the successful completion will be announced in the Team Discussion thread and the new key item will be added to the Team Inventory.
Very often, use of Perks involves solving a puzzle. Use of <Lockpick> is represented by solving a maze, use of <Diplomacy> is represented by completing a word search, and using <Repair> involves piecing together a jigsaw puzzle.
Default Actions
These actions can all be performed by any player.
Actions make up most of the gameplay. In Stalkers Season 5, you can submit one action in the Day Cycle, and one action in the Night Cycle. Most actions take up one cycle, but some take up two (which means one action will need to stretch across two cycles). Each action is listed below, and details how many cycles they take up to use as well as when they can be used. Some things are done as a free action, which means that they do not take up an action to do. Rather, you can do them in addition to regular actions, but they must be done at the start of your turn.
When a new Cycle begins, an announcement post will be made in the Main Action and Team Status thread, and a 72-hour timer will be set. During this time window, you may submit your action(s). An example is below:
"For my Day Cycle action, I will Search (41) Old Laboratory."
SEARCH (ANY CYCLE) - 1 Action
This action allows you to search any location on the map. This will allow you to locate items, locked doors/containers, and objectives of interest. Because of your special power as a Savant, you will be able to distinguish these important items from everything else.
While using the Search action, if you happen to come across a situation where a perk and/or Pokémon size condition (more on these later) is needed and your character already has the necessary means to fulfill those conditions, they will be automatically fulfilled. Such as: if your character knows the Security Perk and while searching you come across a container that requires the Security skill, you will automatically use the Security perk on it. However, items in the Team Inventory do not automatically fulfill condition requirements like perks do. If you come across {Blue Door: Blue Slot} and you have a [Blue Key], you will need to come back another time to use [Blue Key], as you do not carry items like that with you all the time. You will need to specifically state what item is being used on which object.
INTERVIEW (ANY CYCLE) - 1 Action
This action allows you to question a civilian on the Suspect List and ask them anything you like. You can specify questions when you take the Interview action, or it will be assumed that you are questioning the NPC about anything suspicious they've seen with regards to the Stalkers. Asking specific questions, such as ones pertaining to clues or items you've found, NPCs commonly suspected, or anything else you deem relevant, will often turn up better results than simply stating "I want to Interview this NPC." Interview responses also depend on the interviewee's personality, and various other details, such as your species and your type. This is referred to as a Rapport check.
How to use:
When using the Interview action, simply state what Pokémon from the civilian list you are interviewing and what type of interview you're going for, such as posting "Interview (Regular) #27, Dalex the Bulbasaur" or "Interview (Mission) #49, Vlye the Pikachu." During Regular Interviews, you are also allowed to take the interview a few questions further, such as "Interview (Regular) #27, Dalex the Bulbasuar about (35) The Hilltop Diner and Vlye's note that I found." Feel free to write out whole questions in a more roleplay fashion.
EQUIP ITEM (ANY CYCLE) - FREE
Changing your Armor and/or Jewelry is a free action and can be done if you want to exchange the Armor and/or Jewelry you’re currently wearing for something else in the Team Inventory.
How to use:
Simply state, "I would like to remove my +Plate Armor (Absorbs 2 Health Damage each time Health Damage is Taken)+ and instead equip the +Shadow Cloak (Absorbs all Purity Damage)+.” In this
USE ITEM/PERK (ANY CYCLE) - 1 Action
This action allows you to use any item(s) in the team inventory, and/or perks on an object or Pokémon of interest. This includes using keys on locked doors or certain perks on things they can be applied to. If you are going to the same location, you may use multiple items/perks available to you in the one action.
How to use:
When using this skill, simply state something like "Use [ABC Key] and [Blue Orb] on {Locked Steel Door: ABC Emblem, Circular Blue Emblem} at (32) The Boland Building" This is considered the use of the items "[ABC Key]" and "[Blue Orb]" on the locked door "{Locked Steel Door}" at the Boland Building location. If the item fits and belongs there, chances are good you'll come across something helpful that adds to the team's progress.
The use of a Perk can be done by stating something like "Use Security Perk on {Locked Steel Door: <Security>} at (32) The Boland Building" or "Use Diplomacy Perk on {Kannous the Dragonite: <Diplomacy>}."
REST (ANY CYCLE) - 1 Action
This action allows your character to rest in bed and recuperate from Health, Sanity and Purity loss. Resting will always restore 50% of each of your natural max total stats (natural as in your default stat with no equipment modifications), so for example, if you have a max natural Health stat of 20, then you will recover 10 points of Health each time you use Rest. Using Rest twice will restore you to full health. Make sure to take the Rest action to recover after sustaining an injury or coming across traumatizing findings, especially if you suspect that the next areas you want to head into may be dangerous.
How to use:
Simply state something like, "I want to take the Rest action," and your character will recover 50% of their max natural Health, Sanity, and Purity stats.
ESCORT (DAY OR NIGHT CYCLE) - 1 Action
This skill works in two ways depending on which cycle you use it for.
Escort allows you to talk an NPC Pokémon into using a Perk they have at a certain location. This is useful for the fact that if they have a Perk that you do not, you'll be able to use their know-how to aid in the completion of your objectives. This can be done without fail, regardless of the rapport score.
At the same time, this makes the NPC a temporary companion of yours and will also assist you in battles if you encounter hostile enemies along the way of wherever you’re bringing them to. Meanwhile, taking this NPC along gives them immunity from being targeted by a Stalker attack if you Escort them during a Night cycle.
How to use:
Simply state "Escort #32. Nepp the Sableye and use his Security Perk on {Locked Steel Door: <Security>} at (32) The Roland Building." This will persuade NPC Nepp the Sableye to use his Security Perk on the door.
INVESTIGATE - 1 Day Cycle & 1 Night Cycle (Any Cycle)
This action provides a highly advanced amount of intel on what a civilian does on a day-to-day basis as you watch and record everything they do while hidden from scrutiny. Using Investigate will allow you to fully learn where that Pokémon lives, where they work, their personality traits, their likes, dislikes, friends, profession, what their hobby is, and if they have any items of interest within their possession.
As a result of the stakeout time needed to conduct this level of work, using this ability will take two consecutive Cycles to complete. It can be started on the day cycle and carry on to the night cycle, or started on the night cycle and carry through to the day cycle. Because this means you will be tailing your target almost all day and all night, you will be required to make a stealth check (a percentage roll) to see if you remain hidden. You will need to exceed 50% or above to remain hidden, and your dodge rate is taken as your stealth rate. These checks are made automatically and do not require user input, and will be made once at the end of each Investigate. If you pass the stealth check and remain hidden for the entire investigative process, your target does not spot you and you will return back to base with all the information you were after. If you fail the stealth roll, you will still get the information you learned, but the Pokémon you are tailing notices you and either confronts you or flees, based on their personality. This may result in a -1 to your rapport score with that Pokémon. This negative effect does not affect any other Savant's rapport with this Pokémon.
LUCKY STRIKE: It's possible to get a "Lucky Strike" with Investigate. This will happen when you use Investigate on a Pokémon and it just so happens that they're either the Stalker who makes an attack during the Night Cycle, OR they just so happen to be the victim during that particular Night Cycle. If you manage to pass your stealth check and you happen to be following either the attacking Stalker or the victim, you will witness the murder and will be 100% sure of the attacking Stalker's identity. If you fail the stealth check, the Pokémon will notice you before they attack or are attacked, and you will not know if they are a Stalker or a Stalker's victim, but you will prevent the victim from being killed and having the Dark Event #1 Kill Counter go up that night.
How to use:
Investigate takes 1 day action (the second day action) and 1 night action to perform. Simply state, "Investigate #27, Dalex the Bulbasaur." You won't get the outcome results until AFTER the second Cycle has passed, however. You're also free to abort the Investigation early if you feel the need to take a different action during what would have been the second Cycle, but you will only get limited information on them, such as just learning their workplace.
Perks
Perks are like proficiencies that characters can use to accomplish objectives and gain access to areas. Using a Perk works the same way as using an item. Your character starts with one of these Perks, and this is the only one they can get during the course of the game. Using a perk to complete an object uses one action.
SECURITY
The Security Perk allows you two basic skills.
First, it allows you to bypass certain locks without a key by picking them. Just note that this cannot be used for all locked doors and containers. Some of the more complex locks may have components that go beyond normal picking tools, especially if they do not involve a traditional key. When it is used to pick locks, very often this results being presented with a maze puzzle to simulate picking the lock with a tension wrench and delving into the inter mechanisms of the tumbler pins. Anyone can do the maze and submit it, but it will be taken as if the Savant using Security did it, and whatever they find on the other side of the lock as a result of picking the lock will be done by the Savant performing the Security Perk action.
Secondly, this perk allows you to disarm booby traps in the field and trapped items that are marked with ## indicators or reoccurring traps with @@ indicators. There is an 80% chance of success for disarming a trap of this nature. If the attempt fails, the trap goes off and the Pokémon using the Security Perk will suffer whatever harmful effects that are the result, but the trap effect will still be removed in both cases.
Some items are trapped or cursed and have ## or @@ indicators wrapped around the object’s name, such as #{Metal Panel: Broken Switch} DARK – (3 Purity Damage)# or @[Flask of the Undead] – GHOST (2 Sanity Damage)@. When using Security to disarm traps on items, you can select as many trapped items as you want in one turn and your character will attempt to disarm them all if possible. This is useful for clearing off many traps on many items, but it bears the risk of failing multiple attempt rolls which will do more damage.
How to use:
As an example of when the Security perk can be used, something like "{Steel lock: <Security>}" would be a container where only the Security perk can get it open. Secondly, you could say "I would like to use Security on @[Cursed Ring] Infernal Presence (2 Purity Damage)@" which would disarm the trap on the item and eradicate its harmful effects permanently.
REPAIR
The Repair Perk is often used to fix machines and mechanisms that have been damaged. In many cases, this perk is necessary to continue making progress. This perk also allows you to repair or restore damaged equipment you find. Use of the Repair Perk often results with being presented with a jigsaw puzzle to simulate fixing and reassembling equipment and broken pieces.
How to use:
An example where the Repair perk is needed would be something like "{Broken Door Mechanism: <Repair>}" In this case, the broken door is an object of interest, but it cannot be used until it is fixed.
To repair damaged equipment, simply say "I would like to use Tinker to repair [Titanium Dagger (Broken)]."
DIPLOMACY
The Diplomacy perk is like a social override. It grants you the ability to persuade an NPC to cooperate and hand over items they're holding onto for the Savant cause. It also puts them into the Compliant State, which means all future Interviews with them will be Highly Positive to all players. For some of the more adamant Pokémon that call out a specific instance of Diplomacy (Such as “Tamjo the Bewear: <Diplomacy>”), there may be a word search puzzle to simulate negotiating and finding the right words to persuade this civilian.
How to use:
Simply select what NPC Pokémon from the list you want to put into Compliant State and say something like "Use Diplomacy Perk on #24 Moxie the Espeon." In this case, Moxie will become Compliant and will be a lot more helpful for interviews regardless of her personality traits.
Health, Sanity and Purity
The Health, Sanity and Purity stats that each player has determine your overall wellness and mental state. During the course of the game, these stats can go up and down depending on things that happen. Each stat is affected by your size (small, medium or large), and will be displayed within your stats on the main page. You should always keep track of your health, sanity and purity.
HEALTH
Health represents how injured your character is. The main method to restore Health is by Resting, although there may be other methods. In most cases, damage to Health is caused by traps and cursed items, but there may be other instances where it happens.
Small sized Pokémon have a base value of 16 Health, medium size Pokémon have a base value of 20 Health, and large size Pokémon have a base value of 24 Health.
If Health falls to 0...
Your character will die. If killed at the hands of a Stalker or from a Stalker-created trap, it will add a kill to the Kill Counter for Dark Event #1. If, however, they die from something unrelated to the Stalkers (very rare), it will not add to the kill counter.
SANITY
Sanity resembles how your character is faring mentally and how much psychological stress and strain they've undergone. It can be restored by Resting. Damage to Sanity is usually caused by coming across macabre sights, horrifying encounters, booby traps, and the like.
Sanity will always be X/16. No matter what Pokémon you are, your max Sanity is 16 (before equipment modifiers).
If Sanity falls to 0...
Similarly to what happens when you drop to 0 health, 0 sanity will result in a feeling of absolute deranged madness and brain scrambling. The effect is so severe that it will result in your character’s death.
PURITY
Purity is the measure of innocence you have. It is a representation of how pure in spirit and soul you are, and can be damaged by the Abyssal taint of the Demoni’s evil. It can be restored with Rest and sometimes other means.
Small sized Pokémon have a base value of 24 Purity, medium size Pokémon have a base value of 20 Purity, and large size Pokémon have a base value of 16 Purity. Essentially, the inverse of Health values.
If Purity falls to 0...
Like the other two values, dropping to 0 Purity results becoming so corrupted and vile that the Savants’s body is forced to self-terminate to avoid becoming devoured by evil.
AFTER DEATH
As a result of falling to 0 or below any of the three stats, your character dies and whatever Armor and/or Jewelry they were carrying are permanently lost.
Whatever items that were not lost will be transferred to the Team Inventory. If your character had Mercenaries, they lose them as well and those Mercenaries run away successfully (meaning they don’t die and aren’t counted in terms of the Doom Tracker). If a character dies from traps or enemy encounters while undergoing a Search or after using a perk/item at a location, any items that would have been found at that location remain there. To recover those items, the Emissaries will have to return to the site at a later time (obstacles bypassed remain bypassed).
Once your character has been killed, they will be automatically reincarnated (essentially one of the other Pokémon lives you once lived). The exact form of reincarnation is decided randomly among the five Pokémon you pre-selected on your sign up sheet (rolled only among Pokémon that you haven’t been incarnated into yet). Your stats will be reset and adjusted to your new form’s size, but perks/abilities will remain the same.
Equipment and Items
Your character comes with two slots of equipment. For Equipment, players have a slot for each of the following:
- Defense Armor
- Jewelry
Defense Armor – Basic armor, such as plate straps, bangles, and cloaks/robes provide minor bonuses for any Pokémon regardless of shape, size, and species.
Defense armor can do a variety of things such as nullifying incoming damage and/or giving additional points to Health beyond your maximum amount (this does not get factored when using Rest).
Defense armor will always appear to be ++ Items with a |D| tag in them, such as +|D| Shadow Cloak+ or +|D] Steel Bracer+ with a short description of the item’s effect following them.
Jewelry – Jewelry, which usually takes the form of necklaces, rings, bands, and the like, can do a variety of different things such as adding more points of damage in combat, grant resistance to Sanity and Purity damage (or give additional points to those stats), or give Health/Sanity/Purity regeneration per cycle.
Some pieces of jewelry may also provide one-time protective uses, such as automatically reviving your character upon death or even grant mysterious abilities beyond what is normally obtainable.
Jewelry will always appear to be Items with a |J| tag in them, such as +|J| Ruby Pendant+ or +|JY| Pearl Bracelet+ with a short description of the equipment’s effect following them.
About Equipment Attributes:
Most equipment pieces deal with absorbing damage each time damage is taken, and they have a number designation and a letter designation, such as “2H” or “1P.” So, what do these mean?
The [b]number[/u] value refers to how much damage is absorbed each time the wearer takes damage of that type whereas the letter indicates what type of damage is absorbed.
H – Health
S – Sanity
P – Purity
So in this case, an equipment piece that has “2H” will absorb 2 Health damage each time Health damage is taken. So if you were wearing armor that had “2H” and suffered 6 Health damage from a trap, the armor would absorb and subtract 2 Health damage from that damage infliction and instead you would only suffer 4 Health damage.
Most pieces of armor will protect your Health while jewelry will protect your Sanity and Purity, although there are a few exceptions! Generally, better armor and jewelry are in tougher to find places where danger tends to be higher. Some pieces of equipment may have features even beyond damage absorption!
Game Component Markings
The Stalkers RPG is all about interactive components, and here is a legend that explains what all these mean:
[] Brackets : This signify an Item such as a [Silver Key] or [Computer Parts]. When items like these are found, they're usually immediately added to the Team Inventory and can then be used by other players.
Some items will need to have a perk or other action used on them, such as [Broken Electronics: <Repair>] or [Broken Doll: Missing Head] before they can become something more useful.
<> Brackets : These signify when a Perk can be used, such as <Repair> or <Security>. You must have the corresponding Perk to activate these when they occur.
== Marks : This signifies detailed clues, puzzles, or visual image links that usually include important details. Usually completing a puzzle successfully will result in a key item being created, such as [847 Combination] or [“OHANA” Security Password]. Some of these may be images of notes or other key clues of significance.
Some objects with == marks are simply lore or graphic items while items that have =[Name]= to them also count as objects that can be used somewhere in some fashion.
++ Marks : These are equipment items, where a +|A| Name+ indicates an armor item and a +|J| Name+ indicates a Jewelry item. As mentioned before, armor items tend to offer Health damage protection while Jewelry items tend to offer Sanity and Purity protection, but there are plenty of exceptions.
^^ Marks : These signify a condition where Pokémon size comes into play and only Pokémon of certain sizes can access these areas. Some examples include ^Large Pokémon^ to access something on a higher elevation and ^Small Pokémon^ to access something in a tight, claustrophobia-inducing area.
Note that if your character already satisfies the size condition when searching that spot for the first time, they will automatically explore what's there.
## and @@ Marks : These signify booby traps, hazards, and curses. More details on these below.
%% Marks : These indicate extreme locations of deathly horror and suffering. Such places would undoubtedly kill most normal Pokémon. But thankfully you’re not like most normal Pokémon. More details on these below.
{} Brackets : These signify something that can be interacted with, such as a locked container or an object that can have something done to it to "activate" it. More details on these below.
Traps: ## Markings and @@ Markings
Generally, booby traps are hidden threats and in most cases are engineered to cause harm, but in some cases, they can be environmental hazards, such as a collapsible floor. Some traps are persistent while others are only activated once. ## marks indicate a trap that will only activate once, which includes things like explosive devices and engineered spring-loaded projectiles that only fire once. Once a ## trap goes off, it will never go off again. @@ marks indicate persistent traps that will inflict damage again and again each time anyone comes in contact with it. The only way to remove this effect is for someone to disarm it with Security.
Some traps have a damage type that behave as if they were a Pokémon attack (will appear in ALL CAPS as part of the name of the trap). But if no type is mentioned (many Demoni cursed or demonically-infused items are beyond the type chart), then it is not subject to the type chart. Some examples of traps that can be found include:
@Acid Trap - POISON (3 Health Damage)@
#Spring-blade Trap - STEEL (2 Health Damage)#
@Dark Essences – (3 Purity Damage)@
When a trap is triggered, the trap's type (if there is one) is weighed against both the size of the Pokémon (small Pokémon are more able to avoid them due to their small and nimble sizes) and their types. A #Flame Jet Trap – FIRE (4 Health Damage)# would do very little, if any, damage to a Fire type Flareon, while a #Electric Discharge Trap – ELECTRIC (3 Health Damage)# would do double damage to a Flying or Water type Pokémon like Pidgey or Squirtle (or quadruple to a dual-type if both types are weak against the trap type). Some traps have no types at all, which means they do the same amount of damage no matter what the Pokémon is.
Players with the Security Perk will always attempt to disarm the trap before it goes off (recall that it’s an 80% chance of success). If they fail, then they will at least attempt to dodge it. Whether or not they dodge it.
Items may also have traps on them (hexes, curses, poison coatings), which persist until they are disarmed by use of the Security perk. In these scenarios, the item markings and description will be nested within the trap markings, such as @[Dark Amulet] – Infernal Aura (3 Purity Damage)@.
If someone attempts to use or place an item with a trap on it, they will have to attempt to dodge the attack again before it is successfully used.
Trapped items will still be added to the Team Inventory after being picked up and can still be used. Every time it is used, however, the user have to attempt to evade the trap. A player with the Security Perk who discovers a trapped item will automatically attempt to disarm the trapped item before adding it to their inventory. Meanwhile, a player with Security can spend an action attempting to disarming trapped item(s) that someone else added to the inventory.
Hazardous Areas: %% Markings
Hazardous Areas are places that are so deeply tainted by the Demoni that they cannot be dodged, disarmed, and they persist incessantly. The only way to prevent this damage is through equipment. Examples of what might be a hazardous area would be a room filled with gas, a horrific slaughterhouse not meant for mortal eyes to see, and a deeply cursed chamber. Thankfully these areas are rare and usually there are warning signs as to when places like these are up ahead. Read narration posts carefully for signs that the container or door you're about to break open may contain something nefarious or if demonic items are being used to enter foreboding-sounding places. If you think you may come across an area that has dark damaging effects, ensure that your Health, Sanity and Purity are all sitting comfortably high and you have decent gear to provide the possible protection you may need.
Interactive Elements: {} Brackets
Objectives and elements that can be interacted with appear with {} brackets and can involve just anything that has activation conditions. In all cases, the conditions for what is needed are included in these brackets after the ":" colon. Here's how to better understand them with some examples.
{Locked Wooden Door (Short description label of the object): X Emblem (A condition that needs to be satisfied before the object is activated.)}
Here are some examples to help you understand these:
Single Condition Activations:
{Locked Wooden Door: X Emblem} - In this case, to unlock this locked wooden door, something needs to address the "X Emblem" condition. The word "Emblem" refers to a corresponding key, so in this case, the [X Key] is needed here.
Multiple Condition Activations:
In these cases, multiple conditions need to be satisfied before the object is activated. These are grouped together with the word “AND” in all capital letters, such as in this example:
{Locked Wooden Door: Diamond Hole AND Heart Hole} - In this case, you need to satisfy both the Diamond Hole AND the Heart Hole conditions. Most likely you'll need to find items that match the description labels, such as a [Diamond Stone] and [Heart Stone] that need to be placed here.
{Broken Engine: Missing Power Unit AND <Repair>} - This case signifies that you need an item such as [Power Unit] to address the "Missing Power Unit" AND you'll need to use the Repair Perk to fix this engine to make it usable. Simply having only one or the other isn't enough. Just note that if you have the item and the Repair Perk, you can use both in the same turn. But if you only have one or the other, you can address only those conditions for the time being and have someone else come back later to finish the job. Completed conditions will be struck out,like this. So if you used the Repair Perk but you didn't have the necessary [Power Unit], the end result would be "{Broken Computer: Missing Power Unit AND<Repair>}.
Multiple Option Activations:
Whenever the word “OR” appears, this signifies that there are multiple methods to activating this object and doing any of them will satisfy the condition. As an example:
{Steel Security Door: X Emblem OR <Security>} - The “OR” serves as a separator between the methods. In this instance, there are two ways to activate and unlock this Steel Security Door. Either by satisfying the "X Emblem" condition with the [X Key], which will unlock the door, OR by having a Pokémon use the Security perk on it.
POP QUIZ!
How could you activate something like {Locked Steel Door: Triangle Hole AND Square Hole OR <Security> OR ^Small Pokémon^}?
If you said there are three possible methods, you're right!
First method: Fill the Triangle Hole and Square Hole with two items. Something like [Crimson Triangle Stone] and [Azure Square Stone] would most likely go here.
Second method: Use the Security Perk.
Third method: Have a small-sized Pokémon approach the door. This will likely mean there's a small broken window or open door ventilation grate they can slip through.
If you understood this concept, you're totally ready to go!
Useful Links
