Spirit of Eberron

The following is an adaption of the Spirit of the Century rules for playing in the Eberron campaign setting. It draws from both these sources in addition to Diaspora and homebrew projects such as Spirit of Iron Kingdoms, Spirits of Steam and Sorcery, and the similar Eberron/SotC homebrew of an unknown GM who ran such a game for LogicNinja, who was kind enough to provide a summary of that GM's take on the matter when work began on this.

A basic character sheet is available here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/ubcskzsbthjrhbg/Charsheet.pdf

General Tweaks

It is assumed that player characters in Eberron, while still pulpy badasses, are not quite the world-saving heroes of Spirit of the Century's more purely pulp environment... or, in a long-form game, at least they aren't yet! Therefore:

The skill pyramid's "size" is reduced; the peak skill is now Great (+4) with the usual pattern following below that (two Good skills, three Fair skills, and four Average skills, with the rest assumed to be Mediocre).

Health and Composure stress tracks start at 3 boxes instead of 5.

Aspects

Permanent Aspects of characters are categorized into groups called Scopes (similar to their handling in Diaspora). Note which Scope each aspect lies within on your character sheet. On any single roll, you may Invoke no more than one of your own Aspects from each category; this encourages creative use of scenery and interaction with other characters while helping to prevent characters from simply stacking all their Aspects with synonyms for "complete badass" and then simply Invoking them all at once to overwhelm any challenge. Note that Tagging other characters' Aspects is not restricted in this manner.

The Scopes are:

• Race – This Scope is special; every character must have at least one Aspect of this scope. It describes the relationship the character has with the nature of his race: are you a beer-guzzling, beard-stroking "Iconic Dwarf?" Perhaps you're a surprisingly "Studious Half-Orc," or even "Secretly a Shifter?" In a land with as many peoples as Eberron, the differing specializations and, perhaps even more importantly, perceived expectations of a given race are a significant part of every character.
  Remember that this applies to ALL characters, not just yours. Requiring a Racial Aspect ensures that however a character cleaves to or strays from the norms of his people, that relationship is available to be Tagged if it can be ferreted out. Use this to your advantage!
• Innate – Innate Aspects describe elements of a character which do not directly deal with the character's race, but which is still part of their nature rather than things chosen or acquired; typically they are things your character was "born with" rather than something learned or picked up during life. A bad leg, noble blood, kleptomania, captivating beauty, alcoholism, agoraphobia, or a Dragonmark are all fine examples. Typically, Aspects gained through play should rarely be Innate, but it's certainly possible to uncover new, hitherto unforeseen depths of a character's core nature, or for truly momentous events to change that nature.
• Developed – Developed Aspects describe elements of a character which, while still being self-integral to the character, are learned or chosen as part of that character's story. Mastery of clockwork construction, prison tattoos, training in the art of unarmed combat, familiarity with languages, or a rude manner of speech would all qualify.
• Associative – Associative Aspects describe a character's relations with other people. An honored mentor, an unrequited love, a friendly (or not!) rival, a hated enemy, an unusual family, membership in organizations of any kind, or a beloved role model are some examples. Don't be shy about using other player characters in these!
• Accessory – Accessory Aspects describe a character's most important tools, equipment, or property. A ship, a weapon with a unique history, an estate in Aundair, an apartment in Sharn, a very mysterious tome, or "Always Has Another Dagger" would all qualify. Note that this can potentially overlap with Gadgets, Artifacts, and even whether or not your character is Armored; it's up to you whether you feel any of these are really central enough warrant inclusion as an Aspect but you should include only colorful, "trademark" gear that really speaks of the character's personality.

Skill Adjustments

Drive applies normally to all ground transportation including carts, stagecoaches, and the Lightning Rail.

Guns becomes Marksmanship, and applies to any non-thrown ranged attacks whether with wands, bows, shipboard weapons, etc. Certain stunts may not apply depending upon the equipment used.

Pilot applies normally to flying craft (including airships), and sea ships, though certain stunts may not function with the latter.

Science becomes Wizardry, covering the learned and reliable areas of magical study. By default, it functions normally but with appropriate flavor alterations as necessary. Iconic wizardly types are encouraged to either create Gadgets with which to manifest tangible sorcerous power, or to write or choose stunts allowing them to do so directly.

Mysteries continues to cover esoteric lore outside normal study, be it academic, magical, or otherwise, including unexplored or inexplicable magic and knowledge of peoples and forces outside Khorvaire and on other planes of existence.

Resolve and Empathy remain unchanged but may for some characters cover the intuitive and innate magic some species or fortunate individuals are capable of manifesting through sheer will or force of personality.

Engineering becomes Artifice and covers the practical application of magical and mechanical knowledge, functioning normally by default with appropriate flavor alterations as necessary.

New Skills

Faith

Faith represents the strength of a character's conviction in a higher power, be it the members of the Sovereign Host, the power of the Silver Flame, or any other of the faiths of Khorvaire which grant otherworldly power. Trappings are as follows:

• Prayer: The character can recite a prayer, setting at ease the hearts of any true believers who listen. This functions like the Medical Attention trapping of the Wizardry skill except that it can only remove Composure stress.

• Judgement: As a maneuver, the character may pronounce judgement on an enemy which has violated or offended the principles of his faith, rolling Faith to place an appropriate temporary Aspect such as "Stricken from the Eyes of Dol Arrah" or "Weak Blooded." Defending against this maneuver is done with Faith or Resolve. As always, maneuvers granting temporary Aspects in a conflict allow one free Tag.

• Blessing: As a maneuver, the character may bless a fellow true believer in the pursuit of a specific endeavor. The GM sets the difficulty for this based on how well aligned the endeavor is with the tenets of the faith and how important members of the faith might consider the endeavor. If successful, the blessed character gains an appropriate temporary Aspect such as "Quest for the Sign of Five" or "Sanctified in the Flame" until he has either succeeded or failed at the endeavor. Blessing anyone already carrying such an Aspect always fails; any pursuit worthy of holy benediction by definition demands undivided attention. Anyone who fails the blessing maneuver cannot succeed on further attempts until the named endeavor has been succeeded or failed.

• Shield of Faith: When confronted by an enemy of the faith a believer can armor themselves in righteousness. The character may use Faith as a complementary skill to defend against any attack directed at their Composure or attacks directed at their Health from heretics and abominations.

• Zeal: When confronted by an Enemy of the Faith a believer can arm themselves with righteousness. The character may use Faith as a complementary skill on attacks against heretics and abominations.

Armor

Armor represents a character's skill at moving with and properly utilizing heavy defensive gear such as chainmail or a shield. A character who chooses to wear armor may use their Armor skill to defend against physical attacks and forced movement and may take an additional severe physical Consequence before being Taken Out. This Consequence should be something appropriate to their chosen gear, such as "buckled shield." However, an armored character also treats Armor as a restricting skill for most Athletics, Endurance, and Stealth rolls (conferring a -1 penalty on them if the character's Armor skill is lower than the primary skill). An armored character may set their gear aside to ignore both the benefits and penalties of the skill; any Consequence granted by Armor remains but probably can no longer be Tagged, Invoked, or Compelled until the equipment is again in use.

Of course, Consequences granted by the Armor skill cannot have their duration reduced via medical attention, requiring instead an equivalent process backed by Artifice rather than Wizardry.

Armor may also come into play in other, less direct ways, such as modifying an Academics roll to identify the origins of a piece of armor or a heraldic symbol or an Engineering roll to alter a ship hull to better deflect enemy fire.

New Stunts

Resolve

Natural Adept

"A lot of unfortunates claiming to have power really mean that they just study it, tinker with it, and use what they find left by others. I'm one of those others."

Maybe it's in your blood. Maybe you were born under a sign. Maybe it's just normal for whatever sort of creature you are. For whatever reason, where others must find sorcery in ancient artifacts, bound outsiders, Dragonshards, or years of study, you can manifest it directly with sheer will. If you lack subtlety or understanding, who can blame you; it's as natural to you as throwing a stone. You may use Resolve in place of Wizardry for the effects of the Conjuration and Evocation stunts, and Empathy in place of Wizardry when administering medical aid.

Wizardry

Conjuration

"So, it's a sword-fight you want? I can make those…"

Your knowledge of the arcane arts is such that the spontaneous creation of tangible effects, without the necessity of Artifacts or Gadgets, is within your grasp. In conflicts, you may roll Wizardry to perform Maneuvers (but not Attacks) through magical creation. For example, you could try placing a Blustering Steam or Cloud of Daggers aspect on the scene, create a barrier between two zones by causing the floorboards to grow a line of grasping hands, attempt to disorient an opponent with a Blinding Flash as a temporary aspect, or similarly help an ally's attempt to sway a noble court by giving him a Resplendent Outfit. The effects are always indirect and impermanent, but the possibilities are otherwise limited only by your skill.

Evocation

Requires one other Wizardry or Resolve stunt

"I don't need trinkets or weapons to make a barbeque of you!"

Your aptitude at utilizing raw magical power is such that you can wield it directly as a fearsome weapon without the need of an Artifact or Gadget. You may make attacks with your Wizardry skill against targets you can see in any zone, but at a penalty equal to their distance from you (So, against a target in your own zone, there is no penalty, where a target in an adjacent zone away is attacked at -1 effectiveness, a target two zones away at -2, and so on). By default, Athletics, Armor, and Endurance can all be used to defend against these attacks.

In addition, you may use Wizardry in place of Marksmanship when attacking with magical implements such as wands, staves, or gigantic and ominously thrumming lightning cannons.