Variant Rules

Every rule in this system can be thrown out and replaced, every GM can build the game as they see fit. The following are simply guidelines on how to change the game and the possible consequences of those changes.

Sneak Attacks
Normally stealth gives advantage on attacks and other checks associated with being undetected, a small but effective boon that has tangible effects at all levels. Sneak Attacks give a possible to a single Melee attack a guaranteed hit rather than a chance to hit a more vital area.

Variant: Attacking an unaware target with a melee weapon does not grant advantage to the roll. Characters cannot miss an unaware target regardless of how low the attack roll, including on missed Targeted Strikes. Attack rolls of a Natural 2 still miss and critically fail. Only applies to the first melee attack while hidden to target.

Grimm RoC Boosts
When outclassed by a character’s RoC, basic enemies use a Swarm mechanic of adding an additional group to their ranks and gaining power as that happens. This increases their effective attacks and total health, but remain easy to dispatch. Boosts present an alternative that keep combat simple, but slightly breaking the mold set by the skill thresholds.

Variant: Basic enemies do not increase their number when facing Characters of higher RoC. Instead all attacks and defenses are increased by +3 for every level of RoC that characters out class the Basic Enemy.

Advanced Enemies as Characters
Advanced enemies present unique challenges to players. They are set piece encounters and require a group effort to defeat. They follow a different set of rules from Basic Enemies to further detail their strengths and weaknesses. Running Advanced enemies as Characters and making their encounters function similar to PvP makes those encounters “special” as it is the only time that the GM uses dice. The downside of this variant is it increases GM prep time and slows down combat.

Variant: Advanced enemies are given new attributes using the same system as players. They cannot generate RoC on their own, but gain an extra die every time the players do. Combat is run as a PvP encounter. All attacks and defense actions made by the Advanced Enemy are rolled against Player actions, but damage from the Advanced Enemy remains unchanged.

Alternate Attribute Generation
The given system of ranking attributes from 5 to 0 starts all Characters at the same level, and forces every player to make tough decisions regarding their skills. However, a more random system can be put in place to make attributes more even and less extreme.

Variant: Roll 1d6-1 six times. This can give a completely randomized array between 0-5.

Variant: Roll 2d4-2 six times. This gives a possible array between 0-6, with more common 3’s.

Variant: Ranking of 6 to 1. Players are more powerful in every aspect, for an even more over the top and heroic game.

Variant: Ranking of 4 to -1. Players are weaker in every aspect for a more difficult game. If DIS score is -1, character does not start with a ranged weapon.

Making Heritage Matter
Characters hail from all corners of Remnant. Depending on their personal history and heritage, characters can gain boons that are not normally represented.

Variant: Characters declare one of six heritages that they have. These boosts do not stack, even if a character associates with multiple in their personal history. Each heritage boosts a given attribute by 1 point. This does, however, incentivize players to build certain play styles into certain histories.

Atlas: Characters receive rigid military training, increasing their natural Strength by 1.

Vacuo: These Characters are rugged individualists, and are used to their native land’s harsh climate, increasing their Endurance by 1.

Mistral: Mistral is known for its massive universities and libraries. Characters from Mistral are often very learned and naturally have a large breadth of knowledge, increasing their Discipline by 1.

Vale: Vale lies in the center of the four kingdoms, and those who have lived their whole life in its borders are well versed in the ability to influence others, increasing their Willpower by 1.

Wilds: Two kinds of people are in the Wilds between the Kingdoms, the quick and the dead. Characters need to be quick because they are well within the food chain, increasing their Agility by 1.

Faunas: Characters with any Faunas blood have heightened senses regardless of the Kingdom they hail from. They have an acute sense of smell and their acclaimed night vision, increasing their Perception by 1. This replaces the night vision mechanic in the core game.

Exotic Weapon Modifications
Some players will want to craft characters that are simply not possible under the presented system. A simple way to further customize characters is to allow them to spend a weapon modification on other abilities that are not specifically tied to the weapon. For example a character wishes to have an animal companion of some kind. This companion is not able to attack enemies, but can scout or distract enemies in combat. Similarly a character can devote their energy to make effective use of their Faunas biology. For Example: A character with avian heritage could glide from great heights, an aquatic Faunas could have exceptional lung capacity or even gills.

Character Progression
Characters in the base RoC system do not level up, as they are very powerful out of the gate, and the primary drive to overcome obstacles is creative thinking and generation of RoC. However some players will be looking to play the long game and would want a means to represent their previous experiences.

Beyond Remnant
The RoC system is meant to be a recreation of elaborate action scenes and reward player creativity in a simple and easy to pick up manner. These concepts are not limited to Remnant and the world of RWBY. Characters could just as easily be super heroes inspired by comic books, or soldiers in power armor during an alien invasion, mech pilots on the frontier of space, or even the generic medieval fantasy that was the origin of tabletops in general. Any story a GM wants to tell, any land players wish to live in, Remnant is only the beginning of the worlds to be explored.