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Errata & Frequently Asked Questions
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Errata
The Glossary entry for Character Class says:
Character Class – This is method of defining certain aspects of the character, such as which skills are Favored Skills and which are not, as well as how many Hit Points he receives each level and any special training or ability the character receives.
It should read
Character Class – This is method of defining certain aspects of the character, such as which skills are Favored Skills and which are not, as well as any special training or ability the character receives.
The section “how many Hit Points he receives each level and” should not be within the book since the awarding of hit points based on levels was removed from the game during early Beta testing.
The description for the Martial Artist says that he is allowed to select 2 weapons to use as weapon katas with his martial arts skills.
To clarify, this should be 2 Tiny Weapons (i.e. Baton, Dagger, etc.), not weapons of any other size.
The text currently reads:
Sometimes a player will want to hold off performing his declared actions for a little while. In doing this, the character loses 1 AP from the total amount that he is allowed to use for the round. The character may then perform his actions at whatever initiative point he wants, so long as it is lower than the initiative that he rolled for the round. Should he decide to take action during the same initiative as somebody else, his actions will resolve first.
The loss of 1 AP should only occur if the player decides that the character is going to hold his action after he has already declared his actions for the round.
Should the player declare his character’s actions for the round as “Holding his Actions”, he will not lose the 1 AP, and he may then declare and perform his actions at any initiative point below his rolled initiative. Should the character decide to act during the same in initiative point as another character, then the GM should use Opposed Saving Throws vs. Spd (TN 15) to determine who resolves their actions first.
The revised text reads as follows:
Holding an Action: Sometimes a player will want to hold off performing his declared actions for a little while. Should the player decide to hold his character’s actions prior to declaring his character’s actions for the round, there is no penalty.
However, should the player decide to hold his character’s action after he has already declared his actions, he will lose 1 AP from the total that he has available for the round and must re-declare his actions to fit within this revised number of AP.
The player may then perform have his character perform his actions at any initiative point that he desires, so long as it is lower than the initiative point rolled for the round.
Should the player want his character to perform his actions in the initiative point as somebody else (PC or NPC), the GM should Opposed Saving Throws to determine which goes first.
The core rules do not explain what happens in regards to Spell Points when a spell using character fails to properly cast a spell. The following errata should be considered to be inserted on page 57 of the core rules, just above the Recovering Spell Points header.
Spell Failure
If the casting of a spell is not successful, the caster does not lose any Spell Points unless the failed spell earned one or more Snag Points. In which case, the caster loses the full amount of Spell Points that would have been required by the spell had it succeeded normally.
On the right hand column of page 59, there is the following example:
Example: The spell, Flash, has a Save TN of 16 normally. If the caster decides to increase the spell so that it lasts for 2 rounds instead of one, the Spell Point cost of the spell is increased by 2; one for the “Use Casting Options” option and 1 for the “Increase Duration” option. This means that since 2 extra Spell Points are required by the altered spell, that the Save TN is increased from 16 to 17. If the caster also increased the effects of the spell to Stun the target, the Save TN would be increased to 18, since that adds another 2 Spell Points to the casting cost.
It should read as follows:
Example: The spell, Flash, has a Save TN of 16 normally. If the caster decides to increase the spell so that it lasts for 3 rounds instead of one, the Spell Point cost of the spell is increased by 2 points for the “Increase Duration” option. This means that since 2 extra Spell Points are required by the altered spell, that the Save TN is increased from 16 to 17. If the caster also increased the effects of the spell to Stun the target, the Save TN would be increased to 18, since that adds another 2 Spell Points to the casting cost.
This spell was originally supposed to include the following Casting Option, but it was left out by mistake.
Casting Options CTN SP Increased Effect (target Stunned) +5 +2
The spell, Summon Familiar, is the only spell in Novus that does not include a Casting Option. After publication, I came to realize that I could have and should have added the following Casting Option to the spell. Consider this as errata for the spell.
Casting Options CTN SP +/-1 to roll on Familiar Spirits table +3 +1
The attributes for the spell had the target making a Save vs. Will instead of a Save vs. Int that is indicated within the spell’s description.
The Save should be versus Int, not Will.
The list of Casting Options in the book for this spell contains a Casting Option entitled Use Casting Options (required). This was a hold-over from the Open Beta, from the introduction of Casting Options and it is not required and should be ignored.
The list of Casting Options in the book for this spell contains a Casting Option entitled Use Casting Options (required). This was a hold-over from the Open Beta, from the introduction of Casting Options and it is not required and should be ignored.
In the listing for the spell’s attributes, the Vs: entry says “—” when the spell should read “DEF”.
This is an attack spell that manifests as a bolt of elemental energy that is shot at the target. Therefore, it should always be against DEF.
The third entry for the Casting Option, Increased Duration, is missing the actual duration that the spell would be extended to. It should read Increased Duration (1 day).
Additionally, the CTN modifier for this Casting Option says +7. This is incorrect, it should be +8.
The CTN and SP modifiers for the last Casting Option, Increased Duration (20 minutes), are reversed. The CTN should be +4 and the SP should be +2.
The entry in Novus is as follows:
Necklace of Protection from Spirits: This necklace prevents spirits from approaching within 5’ of its wearer.
It should read as follows:
Necklace of Protection from Spirits: This necklace prevents spirits from approaching within 5’ of its wearer.(cost: 8,500 gp — 2,000 gp base, +1,500 gp to prevent spirits from entering a 5′ radius, +5,000 to make this a continuous ability)
General
Novus uses a 2d10 roll-over Target Number system.
Basically, this means that you roll 2d10 and then add any modifiers. If the total result is equal to or greater than the Target Number, then you have succeeded. This mechanics applies to all skills, Saving Throws, Combat, and Spellcasting, so that it is essentially a universal mechanic.
The page, Novus, gives a general overview of the system.
Whenever you roll the dice and you roll a “10”, you get to reroll that individual die and add the second result to the first. If the second roll is also a “10”, then you get to do it again, and keep on doing it for as long as you continue to roll tens.
Novus uses 2 ten-sided dice. They are the only dice you will need.
Whenever you make a dice roll, if you roll a “1” on the die, you roll that individual die again and subtract it from the total of the initial dice roll. If the second roll was also a “1”, you roll again and subtract again, and continue to do this as long as you continue to roll ones.
Note: You may notice that this means that the potential range of results on the low side of the dice range is much smaller than the potential range on the high side (with Exploding Rolls). This is intentional.
When you roll a “1” on one die and a “10” on the other die, that is a Nova Roll.
When you make a Nova Roll, the “10” does not explode and the “1” does not implode. Instead, the dice are simply added together (for a total of “11”) and the results of the roll are figured from there. Success or failure is figured from that point.
However, a Nova Roll does indicate that something unusual has happened, regardless of whether or not the roll was successful. The GM will determine the unusual circumstances according to the situation.
The Nova Roll also earns the character a Fate Point that may be used whenever the player wishes.
Novus does not include any specific rules for exhaustion. However, if you wish to use some exhaustion rules, it is quite easy to add some in.
Simply have the player roll a Save vs. Con for his character after every increment of activity. The TN of the Save is 15. For each time increment spent performing the activity, increase the TN of the Same by 1. Succeeding at the Save means you may continue on without problem. Failure has results that depend upon how many times you have failed the Save while performing the activity.
- 1st Failure: -2 to all actions, including future Exhaustion Saves, until the character rests for 5 minutes + 1 minute for each point that the Save was failed by.
- 2nd Failure: -4 to all actions, including future Exhaustion Saves, until the character rests for 30 minutes + 2 minutes for each point that the Save was failed by.
- 3rd Failure: The character must stop and rest for a minimum 30 minutes, and then is at -4 to all actions, including future Exhaustion Saves, until the character rests for another 30 minutes + 5 minutes for each point that the Save was failed by.
The suggested time increments are as follows:
5 Minute Increments — This is for extended physical activities that the character would find normal for him. This may include such things as running (moving at 2x normal base movement), or swimming for somebody who is used to swimming.
10 Minute Increments — This is mildly tiring activities over longer periods, such as moving at an alternating jog or run.
Short answer is yes, maybe.
Half-rations will prevent a character from getting worse via starvation & thirst, but it also prevents him from getting better as well. And that “getting better” includes all types of natural healing. Therefore, a character who is on half-rations will not heal naturally at all simply because his body does not have the fuel/energy to actually heal.
Character Classes
This is kind of tricky.
Technically, we only list 8 Character Classes in Novus, but the two Mage Classes have a a number of options. The Mage (Classic) is actually 6 different Classes in one, and the Mage (Dual) is actually 15 different Classes in one. So that would bring our total number of actual Classes up to 27 potential Classes to select from
The available Classes are as follows:
- Archer – Specializes in ranged combat with a bow
- Fighter – Generic warrior type, can be specialized in various ways by the player
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Mage (Classic) – Spell caster, this is actually 6 different Character Classes under a single banner as the player must select a single School of Magic that his character will specialize in. Each specialist has his own title as follows:
- Cleric – Practices Divine Magic in service to a specific deity
- Druid – Practices Natural Magic to better protect the natural world, sometimes from its own inhabitants
- Magician -Practices High Magic, this spell caster is the closest to stereotypical fantasy spell user
- Mystic – Practices Mysticism, the magic of choice for those who seek to their inner selves
- Warlock – Practices Black Magic, while not evil in and of itself, it often leads its practitioners down a dark and dangerous path in that direction
- Wizard – Practices Wizardry, and proves that words have power, especially the power of magic
- Mage (Dual) – Spell caster, similar to the Mage (Classic). However, the Mage (Dual) specializes in 2 Schools of Magic at the same time. His costs for spells are slightly higher, but he has more options as to what spells he may learn and that makes his a bit more versatile overall.
- Martial Artist – Skilled in unarmed combat and the martial arts, including weapon katas
- Minstrel – The consummate performer, the Minstrel is often welcome in places where others cannot go
- Scout – Sort of a Jack-of-all-trades, combined with a bit of the outdoorsman, Scouts make great hunters and if they turn to a life of crime, may be considered or called Highwaymen or Rogues
- Thief – Sneaky fellows, they are more mechanically inclined than their fellows, not to mention a bit more dextrous
Now, as mentioned above, the Mage is essentially 6 different Character Classes under a single banner. In early versions of Novus, they were separate Character Classes, but it was soon pointed out that other than than their choice of School of Magic, their Prime Stats, and a one or two Favored Skills, they were all essentially identical.
This observation led to combining them into a single Class, and letting the player simply select his School of Magic. This provides the character with his Mage sub-class, as well as his Prime Stats.
Stats
Novus has 8 stats. They are:
- Charisma (Chr)
- This is the character’s strength of personality, his ability to inspire others and to command a group or gathering. It is sometimes referred to as leadership, psychic ability, perceived power, bardic voice, etc.
- Constitution (Con)
- This is the general health and well being of the character. His resistance to disease and the ability to absorb physical damage are also reflected in this stat. It is sometimes referred to as health, stamina, endurance, physique, etc.
- Dexterity (Dex)
- This is the character’s hand and eye coordination. It is sometimes referred to as deftness, manual dexterity, grace, adroitness, etc.
- Intelligence (Int)
- This is the character’s ability to absorb, comprehend, and categorize data for future use. It also reflects his ability to draw logical conclusions. It is sometimes referred to as reasoning, logic, deductive capacity, wit, IQ, etc.
- Speed (Spd)
- This is essentially a measure of how fast and agile the character is. It is sometimes referred to as quickness, agility, reaction time, readiness, reflexes, etc.
- Strength (Str)
- This is the character’s ability to use his existing muscles to the greatest advantage. It is sometimes referred to as power, might, force, conditioning, physique, etc.
- Willpower (Will)
- This is a measure of the character’s control of the mind over body, his ability to stay focused or push harder in pursuit of some goal, or to draw upon the inner reserves of determination. It is sometimes referred to as mental strength or power, self-discipline, mental fortitude, etc.
- Wisdom (Wis)
- This stat measures a combination of luck, genius, precognition, empathy, and the favor of the gods. It is sometimes referred to as perception, sixth sense, luck, talent, guessing ability, psychic ability, etc.
Unlike in some other games, your character’s Stats do not automatically increase whenever you go up a level. Instead, to increase a Stat, you are required to purchase the Talent, Stat Increase. This allows you to increase 1 Stat by 1 point.
This increase can never raise a stat higher than a number equal to 20 plus the Racial Stat Modifier for that Stat.
Yes, there is a maximum that any stat may be raised to. This maximum is equal to:
Combat
DEF stands for Defense, and this is the number that a foe has to meet or beat when making an attack against your character in order to hit your character.
Your DEF is equal to 15 + your character’s Speed Stat Bonus. Additionally, you also get a +1 to your DEF for every 5 ranks that you have in your best melee Combat Skill (ranged skills do not count for this). Shields, Spells and/or even specific Combat Moves can also add to your DEF.
AR stands for Armor Rating. This number is based upon the armor that your character is wearing at the time of the attack. It is subtracted from the damage to be dealt by the attack. This is subtracted from damage dealt prior to any additions or enhancements to damage from Boon Points.
The short answer to this question is: No, not normally
Basically, when a person is in combat, they are not standing still, but moving and jumping and going back and forth as they press for advantage or are pushed back as the other person presses for advantage.
With all this movement, it will normally be impossible to sneak up on somebody in combat. Notice that I said “normally.” There may be situations where it may be possible, and those calls are up to the GM to determine.
However, I would recommend that if the foe knows that there is a person attempting to move around to flank them and/or sneak up on them, that a Sneak Attack not be allowed. If the target of the Sneak Attack is in melee, the TN for Sneaking up on them would be a minimum of 30. Higher if the target is aware of the character, but just does not know where he is.
Of course, such things as invisibility can aid in making a Sneak Attack, but that would still require a Stealth roll of at least 20.
The short answer is that no, they do not stack with one another. Nor is it possible to have one and then acquire the other.
As the rules state, you may only have/acquire a given Talent once unless its description states otherwise. What this means, in regards to the Combat Training Talents, is that you may only ever have one Combat Training Talent (either I or II), but never both.
And unlike the Armor Talents, you cannot scale up to the next more powerful version of the Talent either.
The answer to this lies in an axiom used in math. That axiom being:
Which can be restated for our purposes as:
This is simply another way of saying that Combat Styles are simply a subset of all of the available Combat Skills.
A Combat Move is a special trick or move that is used with a Combat Skill (including Combat Styles). There are 2 types of Combat Moves, Basic and Advanced.
Basic Combat Moves – These have a cost of zero and the character automatically knows all of these that apply to his Combat Skill as soon as he has a single rank in that skill.
Advanced Combat Moves – These will always have a cost that is above zero, and they must be learned (i.e. purchased) separately for each Combat Skill that they are to be used with.
When used, Combat Moves will often modify the character’s Attack Bonus, his DEF, the number of Action Points required by the attack, and sometimes the range of the attack as well. Combat Moves will often also have another effect as well. This could be doing a specific type of damage, getting extra Boon Points for the attack, or doing extra amounts of damage. The specifics vary from Combat Move to Combat Move.
Magical
Every character is capable of using magical energy, often referred to as mana. Each individual unit is called a Spell Point.
However, this name, Spell Point, is easily interchangeable with other names such as Power Point, Mana Point, Chi Point ki Point, Psi Point, etc. The name can be easily swapped out and used to describe the source of this energy.
Spell Points are not a measure of how much magical energy a person has, but of how much they may channel or manipulate before they are required to rest. While resting, we say that the character is regaining his Spell Points. This is a bit misleading, as he is not actually regaining spell point, but regaining the stamina required to manipulate more of this magical energy.
The simple answer is that you pay for them using Character Points. This is a one-time cost. Once payed, the spell is known and the character may attempt to cast the spell whenever they wish, so long as they have enough Spell Points available.
Every spell in Novus has 3 separate Character Point costs. This is because the amount of background training that a character has in the magical arts determines how easy it is for him to learn the spells.
- Mj – This is the highest level of training that a character can possibly have. All characters of the Mage (Classic) Class are Major Adepts and thus use this. They have the best (lowest) costs.
- Mn – This is the middle cost. Dual Mages (who actually Minor Adepts), Semi Adepts and Major Adepts who have learned a second School of Magic all use this cost.
- N – This is the cost paid by those who have the least magical training, for Non Adepts who have little or no magical training. It is the highest of the CP costs for spells.
When a new spell is created, using the rules from Libram Novus #1, the table that shows the CP cost is showing the cost for Non Adepts. This cost is then used to determine the Mn and Mj costs.
The number of spells that your character is allowed to learn is based upon how many ranks he has in the skill, Magecraft. This is added to a starting base of 3. Thus, if he has 5 ranks in Magecraft, he is allowed to know 8 spells in total. If he has 10 ranks, he is allowed to know 13 spells in total.
The skill, Spellcasting, is used to actually cast the spells.
Skills
The short answer is yes. The full answer takes a bit more explanation.
Any character may move at a walk (Base Movement) or a run (2x Base Movement – 20′ per Action Point (AP)). This does not require any sort of skill roll to accomplish.
To move faster than a 2x Base Movement, will require the player to make a successful Athletics skill roll for his character. The player’s total result is the number of feet that the character is able to move for each AP spent. Thus if the player has a total of 28 for his roll, his character is able to move 28′ per AP spent.
Moving at a run (2x normal movement) gives the character a -2 modifier for all other actions performed in the same round for every AP spent running. For every 5′ of movement per AP above 2x base, this negative modifier is increased by another -1 (i.e. moving 28′ per AP means a -3 modifier for other actions in the same round).
If the character spent one or more rounds running and then tried to do something in the first round after they stopped running, then that action would also receive the same penalty as if the character spent 5 AP running.
The short answer to this question is: No, not normally
Basically, when a person is in combat, they are not standing still, but moving and jumping and going back and forth as they press for advantage or are pushed back as the other person presses for advantage.
With all this movement, it will normally be impossible to sneak up on somebody in combat. Notice that I said “normally.” There may be situations where it may be possible, and those calls are up to the GM to determine.
However, I would recommend that if the foe knows that there is a person attempting to move around to flank them and/or sneak up on them, that a Sneak Attack not be allowed. If the target of the Sneak Attack is in melee, the TN for Sneaking up on them would be a minimum of 30. Higher if the target is aware of the character, but just does not know where he is.
Of course, such things as invisibility can aid in making a Sneak Attack, but that would still require a Stealth roll of at least 20.
The Common Tasks table on page 86 says that Moving Silently (i.e. using Stealth) allows for moving at a rate of 5′ per Action Point spent moving, but that this requires a skill roll with a TN of 18.
That rate of 5′ is based upon a medium sized character moving at half their normal Base Movement Rate. Small races, such as Halflings, would move 3′ per AP spent, but they would also have a TN of 15. Larger races, would move half their normal Base Movement per AP, but the TN for them would be increased by 2 for each 1′ faster than 5′ per AP that they attempt to move (i.e. moving 6′ per AP would require a TN of 20).
A character may attempt to move faster than half their Base Movement Rate when using Stealth, but the TN for doing so should be increased by 2 for each foot of speed about that normally allowed while sneaking.
The answer to this lies in an axiom used in math. That axiom being:
Which can be restated for our purposes as:
This is simply another way of saying that Combat Styles are simply a subset of all of the available Combat Skills.
Page 90 of the Novus rulebook details the TN of the the First Aid roll required to stop a character from losing hits each round. However, the bandage on such a wound would need to be changed every couple of hours, with a new First Aid roll being made each time.
So long as the bandages are in place, each point of bleeding should be considered to be a -2 modifier to all of the character’s actions.
Bleeding wounds will, if treated with First Aid, heal themselves, reducing the rate of bleeding by 1 point every 24 hours. As the rate of bleeding drops, the negative modifier will also drop 1 point per day. Thus the negative modifier will be completely gone in twice the number of days that it takes the bleeding to be completely healed.
Talents
The short answer is that no, they do not stack with one another. Nor is it possible to have one and then acquire the other.
As the rules state, you may only have/acquire a given Talent once unless its description states otherwise. What this means, in regards to the Combat Training Talents, is that you may only ever have one Combat Training Talent (either I or II), but never both.
And unlike the Armor Talents, you cannot scale up to the next more powerful version of the Talent either.
The short answer is — Yes, Talents may be purchased across multiple levels.
However, it is also strongly recommended that if the Game Master does allow for purchasing Talents across multiple levels, that the following guidelines are used:
- The player must spend a minimum of 3 Character Points (CP) on the Talent each level until its cost is paid in full. Paying more than the minimum is always allowed.
- The player is not allowed to purchase any other Talents while working on paying for a Talent across multiple levels.
- If a player goes 1 level without paying the minimum CP cost, then he has abandoned the Talent, and loses all CP previously spent on the Talent.
- If a player abandons a Talent, he cannot purchase another Talent in the same level as he abandons the first one.
- If a player abandons a Talent, and later decides to acquire it again, the CP that were previously lost are not regained or applied to the second attempt to acquire the Talent. The player must pay the full CP cost for the Talent, starting over from scratch.
Monsters
As listed in the Action Points table on page 43 of the Novus rules, natural attacks require 3 AP to perform. So, basically, no, only one attack may be used each round normally. Certain monster entries, such as for the Trapping Plant, may specify otherwise.
Those entries simply list what types of attacks are available for the creature to select from.
However, it is important to point out that creatures and monsters also get Snag/Boon Points and Fate Points the same as characters and that there are various methods which may allow for multiple attacks in a single round, and that those also apply equally to monsters and creatures as they do to the PCs.
Yes. If a monsters or creature is able to make multiple attacks in a single round, then they are subject to all of the same penalties that would apply to a player’s character making multiple attacks.
The only current exception to this is the Trapping Plant which makes multiple, independent attacks. Since they are independent, that means that they do not affect one another in any way.
There are a number of monsters and creatures that have various special abilities that they can use.
If that ability is some sort of attack, then it requires the same number of Action Points as a Natural Attack as given in the Activity Points table on page 43 of the Novus rules.
If the ability is a constant ability, such as Regeneration, then it is always on, though you may not notice it until it is triggered (i.e. Regeneration that heals 1 hit per minute likely would not be noticed until at least 1 minute after the creature had taken damage since that is the first point at which some healing would have occurred).
If the ability is one that is consciously triggered, such as the Invisibility that some demons/devil have available, it takes them 1 round to activate it without requiring a roll. This is the standard. However, a GM may wish activate it quicker. Our suggestion is that the monster/creature would need to make a Will Save (TN 15 to activate in 4 AP, TN 17 to activate in 3 AP, TN 19 to activate in 2 AP, and TN 21 to activate it in 1 AP). Use this method for any ability not covered in this answer.
For abilities such as shapechanging, the creature/monster should make a roll each round, adding his Will Stat Bonus to the roll, and also totally the roll from each round. Once the monster/creature has achieved a total roll of 50 or higher, he has fully changed shape. Yes, this roll is explosive and implosive.
Other abilities may require concentration, such as the ability to Sense Magic. Since that basically requires a Perception roll, use the same number of AP as a perception roll requires.