Legends of Today RPG

Having run Open Legend with a few different groups, I have some opinions on how to get character creation going and have fun playing at level 1. To really maximize character creation: Make it an event! Schedule character creation with your group (commonly called a Session Zero), especially if this is the first time the group is playing Open Legend. This works best as a face-to-face session, whether that's in person or over video chat. I have done this through Messenger as well, but time delays and message threads make cohesive campaign prep harder. Explain some of the rules and how they work. My quick list would be: All Attributes, no Skills. Everything is a roll, no modifiers. All dice explode! Explain Banes and Boons. No spell lists, more than just Attacks. Explain the game campaign concept that you have. Hopefully your players know what they are showing up for and are interested, but now take that large concept and allow players to contribute and add to it. Make it i...

The Golden Body is a martial artist with a focus on enhancing the physical body with extraordinary abilities. They are able to move faster, take more damage and deliver stronger strikes than a normal person. STRATEGY The Golden Body is focused on physical perfection, so in combat its range is immediate. There is nothing extraordinary that they can do beyond the length of their arm or leg. For best effect, the Golden Body engages directly with a foe or uses their exceptional abilities to affect the environment: knocking down a pillar to create a barrier, punching the ground so hard the floor breaks, kicking a car at an opponent to force them to move back. Attributes: Agility 4, Fortitude 3, Will 3, Energy 5, Movement 2 HP:22 Guard: 19 Toughness: 16 Resolve: 13 Speed: 30' Feats: Attribute Substitution (Energy -> Might) II, Lightning Reflexes II Favored Actions: Fist of Gold (damaging attack): Energy v. Guard Golden Stance (defense): Energy v. relevant defense Push...

Gifted with the ability to speak with the dead, the Spirit Speaker walks a delicate balance. Communicating with the dead strengthens its senses and allows it access to information lost to others, but the expectations of the dead hold the Spirit Speaker accountable. Causing death or telling lies would tarnish the delicate reputation the Spirit Speaker has made for itself. The Spirit Speaker is not fast or physically trained but its connection with the spirits allows it to act quickly in response to danger (through Attribute Substitution). STRATEGY The Spirit Speaker excels in social situations and investigation due to its ability to speak with the dead. In combat it is a hesitant combatant, willing to disable or disrupt an opponent but not cause death. It has a Companion spirit that follows it to do its bidding, protecting and defending. The Spirit Speaker can also summon further spirits to do its bidding by using its Summon Shade action. Attributes: Perception 2, Will 2, Persuasio...

The Geomancer makes the earth do its bidding. Its magic focuses on shaping and commanding the earth, breaking rocks, causing earthquakes and opening fissures.The Geomancer can also easily move around obstacles by riding waves or earth or traveling beneath the earth itself,only to reappear elsewhere. STRATEGY The Geomancer is a battlefield controller. Its focus is on baneful attacks that slow and disable opponents, which should also allow allies to take advantage of the situation. The Geomancer is also capable of moving around the battlefield quickly through its Boons of Haste and Teleport. As a character type, the Geomancer needs to stay on the ground! Without a connection to the land, its attacks become meaningless. Attributes: Fortitude 3, Might 3, Will 2, Energy 5, Movement 4 HP: 20 Guard: 15 Toughness: 15 Resolve: 12 Speed: 30' Feats: Master Tracker (from reading the impressions in the earth or feeling vibrations), Multi-Target Attack Specialist (Area) II, Area Mani...

The Binder is a magician its power that focuses on controlling others. As part of a team, the Binder's particular charm makes it useful in social situations. There's nothing simpler for a Binder than gathering information or negotiating a favor. In combat, the Binder's powers turn enemies into allies. STRATEGY The Binder enters combat hesitantly. The Binder always prefers when a situation can be diffused using words and charm. In combat, it uses its Potent Dominate Bane to control its enemies. Ideally, before combat even starts the Binder has Dominated others to do the fighting for it. When direct fighting is necessary, the Binder's magic can crush the minds of its opponents, leaving them psychically drained. Attributes: Agility 2, Logic 2, Will 4, Persuasion 2, Presence 3, Influence 5 HP: 24 Guard: 12 Toughness: 14 Resolve: 17 Speed: 30' Feats: Potent Bane(Dominate), Ferocious Minions II Favored Actions: Binding Word (invoke Dominate ): Influence v. ...

The Keeper uses their expertise in Monster Lore to aid a Monster Slayer in their fight. Their training focuses on learning the secrets of Monsters and how to overcome them, but also teaches them mental strength that allows them to face the extraordinary abilities of Monsteres without being subdued. STRATEGY Physical attack is the last resort of a Keeper. They focus on using their extraordinary abilities to protect and support others, particularly the Monster Slayer. When their foes close in, the Keeper uses its mystical learning to break their defenses and leave them open to the attacks of others. Attributes: Agility 2, Learning 3, Will 4, Influence 3, Protection 5 HP: 18 Guard: 12 Toughness: 14 Resolve: 16 Speed: 30' Feats: Hospitaler, Indomitable Resolve II, Knowledge (Monster Lore) I Notable Equipment: Scimitar, Medium Crossbow Favored Actions: Restoring Word (invoke Restoration ): Protection v. CR (varies), advantage 1 Healing Word(invoke Heal ): Protection v....

Monster Slayers use their abilities to keep the world safe from magical threats. Slayers tend to have a focus, a particular type of monster that they fight against. Their powers lend them exceptional strength and can protect them from some exceptional forms of attack. STRATEGY A Monster Slayer focuses on its foe above all else. Many monsters have exceptional defenses such as Aura, Barrier or Resistance. A Slayer uses its Cancelling Strike ability to destroy these defenses and leave its target vulnerable. Closing in for the kill, the Monster Slayer keeps its target from recovering, using powerful strikes and draining attacks. If the monster tries to flee, the Slayer can use its Exploit Weakness attack to deal a Lethal blow, making it easier to follow up in the future. The life of a Monster Slayer is difficult and often short; they tend to act quickly without thinking about the consequences. ***EDITED 6/13/17*** After watching this Archetype played in an Open Legend game, the foc...

New Perks Magic Resistant : You are exceptionally difficult to charm or affect with magic. Once per game session when someone targets you with an Extraordinary bane they have Disadvantage 1 on their roll. New Flaws Antiquated: You have trouble keeping up with the world of today. Things change so quickly, you  find yourself out of date. Doubting: You actively disbelieve in magic. The presence of magical creatures hasn’t made the world better; you would rather they all just went away. Mundane : You don’t feel the presence of magic in the world. Being without the spark that allows one to learn magic yourself, you find it difficult to comprehend. Magic passes you by without notice. Technically Impaired: You have difficulty working with technological devices. The more complicated things are, the harder they are for you to use. New Feats Minor Seeming Cost: 1 point Prerequisites  1 in any Extraordinary Attribute Description You have a minor ...

Open Legend makes a fantastic, fast-moving story engine but the story that you tell is yours. This is a game setting that could be used to play at several different levels of influence and power. Power Levels A 'street' level game about young adults learning to cope with magic and power in their normal lives. (Stranger Things ) A 'local' level game where the players work to protect and understand their community of magicals, dealing with exotic threats and mundane predjudices. (Buffy) A 'nation' level game could have the players battling enormous magical threats while being chased by the government under the threat of jail or dissection. (X-Files) A 'world' level game pits the players against magical forces that will destroy the world if they are not stopped. The governments of the world seek to control and shackle the players at every turn. (Avengers) See more Campaign Power Levels Here are a few campaign concepts: Infiltrators The par...

Legends of Today characters are powerful, proactive forces in the world. They understand the world is more than the mundane. For some characters, this might just be a feeling that motivates them to explore the world, but for others, they themselves are magical, powerful beings that cannot be restrained by the mundane world. Legends of Today is an Open Legend RPG setting.This means that while a character's may define them as a person, their experience, their capabilities; it does not affect the statistics that they can be assigned. For Legends of Today, play the character that you want to play. Races The Races of Legends of Today are limited only by your imagination. The magical people of the world represent all the races of lore, while the mundane are exclusively human. Remember that Race choices in Open Legend are cosmetic in terms of character attributes. Ss and flaws are particularly appropriate to each race, as listed below, but the race you play should be something you ...