Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 1

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition Contents Revised August 2010

2010, Michael T. Desing mtdesing@roadrunner.com http://splinteredrealm.blogspot.com

Thanks to Mary & Grace Desing, Andrew Domino, Warren Henderson, David Kot and the Kotch Family

Some work of noble note may yet be done, not unbecoming men that strove with gods. Tennyson, Ulysses

1. Introduction

In the realm of superhero comics and movies, heroes

perform feats of incredible prowess, doing things

beyond the pale of mortals. As a role-playing game,

Resolute allows you to create and play the full range of

superhero archetypes, ranging from street-level fighters

battling crime with their fists and gadgets to heroes of

epic scope, wielding earth-shaking powers, shaping the

destiny of mankind itself.

The World of Resolute

The turn of the millennium has seen unprecedented

change. Visitors from other worlds have made contact,

initiating incredible events that have changed the face of

the world, altering the fate of humanity forever.

A Timeline of Recent Notable Events

15 Years Ago. The alien Emissary arrives, warning mankind of the impending threat of invasion, and

awakening dormant powers in the world; he brings

with him the secrets of the omega gene, the key to

unlock the latent talents of many mortals.

13 Years Ago. The messari, an evil race of alien conquerors, launches a military strike against earth,

destroying ten world capitals, including the great city of

Meridian in the heartland of the Americas.

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10 Years Ago. Spurred by the death of Baldur the Beautiful, the elder races of earth, including the

ancients of Atlantis, Olympus and Valhalla, reveal

themselves to mankind, forging new alliances and

helping to form a new international governing body,

the United World Council. The City of Nativity

breaks ground on the ruins of Meridian. The UWC

founds the Citadel of Tomorrow at the North Pole,

undertaking every effort to empower mankind to

fight the messari. The UWC sanctions the

Ambassadors as the worlds premiere team of

supers, and establishes Project Javelin as a powerful

military force. This combined effort turns back the

messari.

5 Years Ago. The United World Council declares martial law, giving Project Javelin untold authority.

The City of Nativity reaches a population of 30

million. The Citadel of Tomorrow comes under

intense scrutiny for its methods, including

experimentation with dark magic and cloning,

leading to considerable public outcry.

2 Years Ago. The messari launch a second invasion, activating hundreds of sleeper agents

among mankind. Dozens of world leaders die, the

Citadel of Tomorrow falls into ruin, and mass chaos

ripples across the globe. Inexplicably, the messari

retreat while on the threshold of victory. Nativity

reaches a population of 50 million.

Now. Mankind remains fearful but resolute in the face of a third messari invasion.

1. Introduction . 1

2. Number Crunchin: Game Mechanics . 2

3. Building Your Super . 3

4. Abilities and Resources . 4

5. Combat . 8

6. Playing the Role of Referee 11

7: Adventures on Resolute Earth 14

Appendices 15

Sidebar: The Tomorrow Project

(The Ruined Citadel of Tomorrow)

The Tomorrow Project was a collaborative effort by the

United World Council to gather thousands of the greatest

minds in the world to develop technologies and weapons

systems to defeat the alien invaders. The three major aims

of this project, housed in a massive hidden complex at the

North Pole (and consisting of over a thousand sections),

included:

Technology. This phase of the Tomorrow Project researched and developed robots, battle suits, weapons

systems, teleportation devices, anti-matter and alternate

energy, trans-dimensional and anti-gravity technologies to

aid in the war effort against the messari.

Biological Mutation. This phase of the Tomorrow Project focused on the development of superhuman

abilities: first in animal test subjects, and later in human

test subjects. This resulted in not only the creation of a

wide range of superhuman soldiers, but in the genesis of

thousands of monstrosities including genetically altered

and giant-sized animals, monstrous insects and artificial

intelligences.

Mysticism. This phase of the Tomorrow Project gathered and worked with ancient relics, items of antiquity

and sources of magical power to find new ways to combat

the messari. The most-secretive activities undertaken by

this department included experimentation in un-life,

including the creation of zombies and research into

vampirism and mummification. All of these activities were

disavowed by the UWC as rumors and an effort to

undermine the UWCs mission to maintain world order.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 2

2. Number Crunchin: Game Mechanics

Resolute takes place primarily in your imagination. As

you play, you need only a sheet of paper (or even an

index card) with details about your super on it, a pencil,

and a pair of standard six-sided dice (abbreviated 2D).

Using the Dice In Resolute, you roll and add together two 6-sided

dice for all situations needing dice resolution. You often

add this roll result to a modifier. If you have might +3

and are told to roll might, you roll two 6-sided dice,

add them together, and add 3 to the total.

Key Terms Used Throughout These Rules Ability: any innate, learned or imbued trait, talent, skill or power. Ability is a broad category for anything

that makes a person unique.

Action: anything you do. Actions are opposed by resists. An action result equal to or greater than the

resist result succeeds. Any action roll of two 1s (a

natural 2), is a botch, and automatically fails. A free

action does not require a turn. Most powers are

activated as free actions; you do not have to warm up

your energy blast to use it.

Character Point (CP): a base point used to build a character. All abilities are purchased with CPs. The

more CPs you have, the more powerful you are.

Combat Round: a complete rotation of combat including every participant in the combat situation; a

combat round includes a preparation phase and a

resolution phase.

Combat Sequence: the order in which you act. At the start of every combat round, every participant rolls

to determine the sequence of action. See page 8.

Difficulty Rating (DR): the target result to succeed at an action. While many difficulty ratings are set by

dynamic resists (trying to hit a foe with your energy

blast), other actions are against static resists (using your

might to rip a door off of its hinges). Static DRs are set

as a base of 7 modified by the situation (see static 7).

Level: a relative comparison of power. See page 3. Mook: a supporting or secondary character. You are able to attack several mooks at once. Packs of zombies

and hordes of ninjas may be mooks.

Resist: the opposing roll or value vs. an action roll, setting the target for success. A resist must beat the

action roll to neutralize the action. If you roll 6 to resist

an opponents fighting action roll of 6, the attack hits

you. If you roll a 9 to resist a damage result of 9 from

that attack, you suffer 1 wound.

Success: any action equal to, or more than, one multiple of the resist. If the resist = 7, successes are

scored at 7-13 (1 success), 14-20 (2 successes), etc. Score a

success against any resist of 10+ in increments of 10;

against a DR 13, score successes at 13, 23, 33, etc.

Super: one with abilities beyond ordinary mortals. Soak: a resist roll to absorb damage after a successful attack against you. Add your invulnerable

rating to soak physical damage; add willpower to soak

mental damage. The total soak result sets the target for

success. Each multiple of the soak result = 1 success. For

example, an invulnerable soak roll of 5 sets 5 as the

multiple; a damage result of 1-4 = no damage; 5-9 = 1

wound; etc.

Static 7: In some situations, instead of rolling dice, you use a static result of 7 as the baseline to determine

the difficulty rating. For example, inanimate objects

have a static value of 7, modified by their rank.

Target: any object or creature that resists an action. Unit: a measurement of 10 in any direction. A unit may be a 10 line, a 10x10 area, or a cube of 10 on each

side, depending on what you are measuring. Measure

consecutive units in a straight line across a grid. When

measuring at an angle across a grid, count every two

consecutive diagonal units as three units.

Wounds: the total damage you can suffer before being defeated. Your wounds = level + stamina.

Ratings Every ability and item in the game has a rating, a

numeric value between -1 (impaired) and +13

(supreme). While normal humans range from -1 to +2,

supers far exceed this range. No ability may be rated

beyond +10 or modified to beyond +13.

Relative Rating Values An abilitys rating indicates what you could

reasonably be expected to do under normal

circumstances; with might +3, you could reasonably

expect to lift 500 lbs; you could

attempt to lift a ton with some

chance of success (needing a 9+ on

the die), while youd struggle to lift 5

tons (needing 11+ on the die). To use

your flame control to temporarily

extinguish a portion of the sun, you

will need at least +11 to have a

legitimate shot at it!

Sidebar: Gimme Three!

If you can accomplish something with a natural

roll of 3 or lower (a challenge rated below your rating

by 4 or more points), the action automatically succeeds.

For instance, with your might +7, you can rip a door

rated at +3 or lower off of its hinges without rolling;

your vast strength allows you to do this with ease.

Rating Ranking Weight Hardness Intensity (Heat)

-1 Poor 20 lbs. Cardboard Room temperature

+0 Normal 50 lbs. Fiber Board A hot summers day

+1 Improved 100 lbs. Plywood Death Valley

+3 Exceptional 500 lbs. Hardwood Inside an oven

+5 Heroic 1 ton Concrete/Steel Inside a blast furnace

+7 Superior 5 tons Reinforced Steel A rockets engine

+9 Titanic 25 tons Titanium Inside a volcano

+11 Legendary 100 tons Diamond The earths core

+13 Supreme 500 tons Adamant The suns surface

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 3

3. Building Your Super

Follow the steps below to design a super, either working

from scratch or modeled off of a favorite character.

Step One: Determine Level

Levels

Levels CP Range

0 (normal) 0-9

1 (exceptional) 10-19

2-3 (elite) 20-29/30-39

4-5 (superhero) 40-49/50-59

6-7 (champion) 60-69/70-79

8-9 (world class) 80-89/90-99

10+ (godlike) 100+

If your game will include street-level combat and

conflicts with petty criminals, you are going to build

supers in the exceptional or elite range (Level 1-2).

However, if your game will involve threats to humanity

and adventure on a cosmic scale, you may begin the

game as champions (Level 6-7) or even world class

(Level 8-9). Your referee will make the final decision

about the level of new supers in the game. While your

super will grow more powerful over time, it takes quite

a while to move from elite to world-class.

Step Two: Select a Faction You are a member of one of the factions below:

As an elder, you see the Messari Invasion as a key moment in the history of the world; your people must

now safeguard humanity as you had in ancient days.

Elders come from the sunken city of Atlantis, the hidden

frosty stronghold of Valhalla, the lost Amazon Island or

the confines of Mount Olympus. To be an elder, you

must be built on at least 40 CPs.

As a guardian, you see your powers as a duty, answering the call to serve mankind and defend earth.

You have likely registered with the UWC, and may act

as an agent of Project Javelin.

As an apocalypse mutant, you see the Messari Invasion as a signal that the age of humanity is over,

and the age of the mutant has come. Most apocalypse

mutants are villains, seeing humans as inferior.

As a redeemer mutant, you see the Messari Invasion as a signal for all sentient creatures to band together

under a single banner, working together for a common

purpose, and befriending humanity as a valuable ally.

As one of the pariah, you live outside of society, eking out an existence on the fringe. Many pariahs

escaped the Tomorrow Project and now live in ruined

buildings, abandoned subway tunnels or on the streets.

As an outsider, you are not part of any race or society. You may have been created in a lab, magically

generated or ripped from another dimension-

regardless, you are alone, possibly the last (or only)

creature of your kind.

At some point during character creation, you will

develop a moniker, your super-hero name, and write a

purpose for your hero, one sentence that sums up your

supers beliefs and aims.

Ability Rating Cost Hierarchy

Step Three: Purchase Abilities You can already do anything about as well as a

typical person without spending character points. Your

super can probably drive a car, but if you want to leap

tall buildings in a single bound, you have to purchase it.

Costs listed are to purchase the rating outright. To purchase an ability at +2, you have to spend 2 CPs.

However, to move an ability from +4 to +5 costs 3 CPs

(the difference between the cost for +4 and +5; you

already spent 6 CPs to get an ability at +4).

You may not put more than half of your total points in any one ability. If you are building a level 2 super (20

CPs), you cannot put more than 10 CPs in any single

ability, meaning that your maximum rating is +5.

A ranked ability is purchased at between -1 and +10. A fixed ability costs 2 CPs. Some fixed abilities are linked to a ranked ability to determine how and when

they are used (detective links to sense), while other fixed

abilities are always active and have no rating attached to

them (water breathing).

Focusing Abilities

You may focus an ability by increasing its rating in

one way while decreasing its rating in other ways.

When you focus an ability, your better bonus cannot

apply to more than half of the uses for that ability.

Ability Focus Limits

Rating +1 to +2 +3 to +5 +6 to +9 +10

Max Mod. N/A +1/-1 +2/-2 +3/-3

With your science +6, you could elect to focus on the

science of physics, either taking +7 in physics and +5 in

all other sciences, or +8 in physics and +4 in all other

sciences. Your rating is still +6, but the way you apply

that rating is tailored to your concept.

Rating +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10

Cost 1 CP 2 CPs 4 CPs 6 CPs 9 CPs 12 CPs 16 CPs 20 CPs 25 CPs 30 CPs

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 4

4. Abilities

Abilities marked with * may be focused

Accuracy (ranked). Add rating to damage rolls with ranged attack actions, including

missile weapons and energy projection; targets

roll invulnerable to soak.

Ability Chameleon (ranked). Once per scene per target, use 1 turn to add rating to action rolls

to mimic one of the targets abilities at range. Targets

roll willpower to resist. You mimic the targets ability

for 1 round per success. The target does not suffer any

penalty (while you mimic the targets might +7 for 2

rounds, the target still has might +7 as the two of you

start swinging at each other). You may only mimic one

ability at a time from the same target, although you may

mimic abilities from several different targets

simultaneously. Abilities cannot exceed your rating of

ability chameleon. With ability chameleon +6, you could

mimic up to speed +6, even if your target has speed +7

or higher. You can use this to mimic fixed abilities (for

example, mind control), at the rating the target has it

(linked to the targets willpower, not yours).

Air Supply (fixed; linked to stamina). You may hold your breath or survive without air for 1 hour per point

of stamina.

Burglary (ranked). You may bypass security systems, locks and traps. Roll the rating against the

situational DR. The time required depends on the

situation; a simple lock may be picked with 1 turn, while

a complex automated security system may take an

entire scene to deactivate.

Burrowing (fixed; linked to speed). Travel through rock and earth at your normal speed rating.

Communication (fixed). You communicate with one type of creature at will (examples include aquatic life,

animals, plants).

Contact (ranked). Once per issue, you may call upon your contact to get information for you or help you with

a problem. Roll your rating of contact based on the DR

of the favor youre trying to call in. At contact +1, you

may know a beat reporter or a patrol officer; at contact

+5, you are good friends with the editor-in-chief or the

captain of police. You must define the role of your

contact. You may purchase multiple contacts if desired,

calling on each contact once per issue.

Danger Sense (fixed; linked to sense). Make an automatic sense roll (as a free action) whenever any

possible threat moves within sense range; even if the

threat appears mundane, you may detect the presence of

potential danger.

Detection (fixed; linked to sense). Once per scene, use 1 turn to attempt to detect the presence of a specific

energy or object, rolling sense up to sense range. With

sense +4 and detect magic, you may use 1 turn to detect

the presence of magic up to 4 units away.

Detective (fixed; linked to sense). Use your sense to find and analyze clues. This may take from 1 turn up to

1 scene, depending on the amount of information.

Drain (ranked). Use 1 turn to diminish one of the targets abilities (at range). Targets roll willpower to

resist. Drain 1 point per success on the action (returning

at the rate of 1 point per round). You neutralize fixed

abilities for 1 round per success. You may drain several

abilities from the same target, but you cannot

drain the same ability again until the first

effect expires. You cannot use this ability to

drain willpower.

Duplication (ranked). Once per scene, you may use 1 turn to create a number of

duplicates of yourself equal to your rating.

Each of your duplicates takes 1 turn per round, on your

first turn that round (or on the first turn after you create

the duplicates, if in that round). Duplicates act as you do

during the preparation phase. Each of your duplicates

has all of your abilities (except duplication), but can

suffer only 1 wound before being defeated. An attack

against you will automatically strike a duplicate unless

the foe uses 1 turn to make a sense roll to find you, DR

7+ the total number of current duplicates; while you

have 5 duplicates up, an attacker must use 1 turn and

roll sense DR 12 to target you from among your

duplicates. Your duplicates constantly move to make

you less likely to be targeted. Once a foe finds you, he

may continue to attack you without making additional

sense rolls.

Elasticity (ranked). Use 1 turn to stretch a number of units equal to rating. You may land hand-to-hand

strikes against targets up to rating units distant. Roll

elasticity to carry weights as a glider, parachute or boat;

allowing three normal-sized allies as a hang glider is DR

10 (+3 from approximately 500 lbs.), while turning

yourself into a boat to support a small tank (25 tons, +9),

is DR 16. Each change in shape or form takes 1 turn.

Energy Projection (ranked). You may strike a foe at range with one energy type (examples include flame,

frost, lightning and darkness). Roll 2D + your rating

attack. Roll 2D + accuracy for damage with your energy

projection abilities.

ESP (fixed; linked to willpower). Once per round, use 1 turn to roll willpower to read the surface thoughts

of living creatures in willpower range. Unwilling targets

roll willpower to resist.

Abilities You Should Consider

While you can take any ability you want, all supers should consider

purchasing an attack power (for example, energy projection) and a linked

damage ability if applicable (for example, accuracy). You will probably benefit

from evade, speed and stamina; all of these are important to your supers

survival. A few points in invulnerable or willpower will never hurt, either!

About Range

Any ability that can be used at range is effective to

a number of units equal to its rating. This is the total

units you can attempt to strike a target with no

penalty. Each unit beyond this gives the target +1 to

the resist roll. With energy projection +7, you may

strike a target up to 7 units away; a target 9 units away

gets to add +2 to evade your attacks.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 5

Evade* (ranked). Add evade to resist rolls against all physical hand-to-hand and ranged attacks. You may

focus evade on fighting or ranged attacks.

Flight (ranked). Use 1 turn to travel your rating units in any direction.

Fighting (ranked). Use 1 turn to roll fighting to strike a target in hand-to-hand combat (unarmed or

with melee weapons) or with thrown weapons; targets

roll evade to resist.

Improved Range (fixed). Add +3 to your range rating for all ranged actions.

Invulnerable* (ranked). Add rating to soak rolls to absorb physical and energy (but not mental) damage.

You may focus invulnerable on physical damage or

towards a specific energy, for example taking

invulnerable +4 (+5 vs. flame or heat/+3 vs. all others).

Jump (fixed). Double your might when leaping. Knowledge (ranked). Add the rating to rolls to use your talent and/or education in some area: this may be

law, math, science, or another discipline.

Luck (ranked). You receive a pool of bonus fate points each scene equal to the ability rating, to use as

desired (see page 7). You cannot bank these points, and

they expire at the end of the scene they are awarded.

Might (ranked). Add might to damage rolls with hand-to-hand (fighting) attacks; targets roll invulnerable

to soak. Use 1 turn to leap a number of units up to your

might rating.

Mind Blast (ranked). Use 1 turn to roll 2D + your rating to wound a living target with mental power at

range. Mind blast automatically hits; targets roll

willpower to soak.

Mind Control (fixed; linked to willpower). Once per scene per target, use 1 turn to roll willpower vs. the

targets willpower to attempt to take control of a living

creatures mind. You control the target for a number of

rounds equal to successes. You must be able to

communicate with the target. Targets of higher level

than you are immune.

Non-living (fixed). You are not a living creature; you do not eat, sleep or breathe, and are immune to

effects such as poison and gasses; you cannot drown.

Phasing (ranked). Use 1 turn to activate phasing. When phased, add your phasing rating to melee

damage (in place of might), and use your phasing rating

in place of invulnerable. Use 1 turn and roll phasing to

move through solid objects at your speed rating.

Poison (ranked). Once per scene, you may envenom (add poison to) one of your successful physical attacks.

The target rolls stamina (DR 7 + your poison rating), or

suffers poison rating additional wounds.

Rage (fixed). Once per scene, you may spend 1 turn to activate a battle rage. While enraged, you take +1 to

all combat-related action, resist and result rolls

(including combat sequence, attacks, damage, soaks

against magical damage) for the remainder of the scene.

Ranged Weapon (ranked). You have a weapon that gives you a ranged physical attack to rating range. Roll

your rating to attack; roll accuracy for damage.

Regeneration (fixed). Recover 1 wound at the end of every round as a free turn.

Returning Weapon (fixed). Your melee weapon will return to your hand after you throw it; you can

immediately use it on your next turn.

Sense (ranked). Add your rating to rolls to notice or perceive the unknown. Use 1 turn to choose to search an

area up to rating units distant for specific things; roll

sense as a free action to resist stealth used against you.

Shape Change (ranked). Use 1 turn to change shape into a form of your choosing, built on rating x10 CPs, up

to your CP total. With shape change +5, you can take a

form built on up to 50 CPs, as long as your super is built

on 50 CPs or more. If you are reduced to 0 wounds or

lower, you automatically revert back to your normal

form; damage you suffer moves between forms. Use this

to assume animal forms, to grow, or to shrink (pick

one). Create statistics for your form(s) as another super.

Shield (ranked). Use the rating as a pool of points to add to evade or invulnerable soak rolls each scene. With

shield +7, you have 7 points to add to evade or

invulnerable rolls each round; you could add all 7 to one

roll, +3 to one roll and +4 to another, or any other

combination you desire. This pool refreshes at the

beginning of every scene; unused points do not carry

over.

Sidekick (ranked). You have an apprentice, ally or companion. Your sidekick has 10 CPs per rank; a

sidekick +4 is level 4 (40 CPs). Your sidekick must be at

least 1 level lower than you are. Build your sidekick as a

second super. Sidekicks earn no hero or fate points, but

you may spend your fate points for your sidekick.

Sonar (fixed; linked to sense). You may see in complete darkness or when blinded up to your sense

rating units as a free turn. Sonar is always active.

Speed (ranked). Add your speed rating to sequence rolls at the beginning of a round; use 1 turn to travel a

number of units of up to your speed rating. Even with

speed +0, you may travel 1 unit per turn.

Stamina (ranked). Add your rating to resist rolls to withstand poisons, diseases and toxins. Add your rating

to your level to determine your total wounds.

Stealth (ranked). Add your stealth rating to action rolls to move about undetected. You stay in stealth until

you attack. Once you choose to act, you may not use

stealth again during that combat round. If you

successfully use stealth before the beginning of the first

combat round (to surprise an enemy who doesnt know

you are about to strike), take a free turn before rolling

sequence. You must use one turn to activate stealth. At

lower ratings, stealth may be a learned ability, while at

higher ratings (5+) you actually turn invisible. While

stealthed, you get +3 to resist rolls against foes that

cannot see you.

Summon (ranked). Once per round, use 1 turn to summon 1 or more creatures to serve you. Creatures are

worth a total of 10 CPs per rating, up to a maximum

equal to your CP total (See page 13 for CP values of

multiple creatures). Creatures remain for the rest of the

scene or until defeated. Appropriate creatures will

appear (i.e. undead for a necromancer). You may not

have more than your rating in creatures summoned at

one time.

Swing Line (fixed; linked to evade). You may travel your evade rating with 1 turn, as long as you have an

anchor point for your swing line.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 6

Technology (ranked). You may manipulate, repair and diagnose technological devices. Once per scene, you

may attempt to create a gadget (see sidebar below).

Sidebar: Technology and Gadgets Once per scene, you may use your technology ability

to craft a gadget. A gadget is a single-use item that

grants you access to one other ability. The duration of

the ability depends on what you are activating. You

must use 1 turn to activate the gadget. You have to

design the gadget before the scene you use it; before you

go into the villains secret lair, you develop a gadget that

gives you a binding attack to use against him.

If you already have an ability, the gadget grants you a temporary bonus to it. Add the CP value of the two

ratings together to determine a new rating. If you have

might +4 (6 CPs) and have a device granting might +5 (9

CPs), you have 15 CPs of might; this takes you to might

+6 (12 CPs) but is not enough to get to might +7 (16 CPs).

Abilities like invulnerable, might, or energy control become active for the full scene. Abilities like drain,

energy blast or teleport are active one time.

Your technology rating becomes the active rating for the ability, as applicable; if you use the gadget to fire a

burst of electrical energy, you attack at + technology,

dealing damage at + accuracy.

Telekinesis (ranked). Use 1 turn to manipulate objects up to rating units away with rating might. With

telekinesis +4, you may manipulate objects up to 4 units

distant (but no further) as if you had might +4; you still

use fighting to hit with a weapon at that range, if

applicable. If you use your telekinesis to pick up a car

and strike a foe with it, you are effectively using a found

weapon from a distance, using fighting and telekinesis

in place of might.

Telepathy (fixed; linked to willpower). Use 1 turn to communicate with others mentally, up to your

willpower units distant. You may conference with a

number of different targets equal to your willpower

rating. Unwilling targets roll willpower to resist.

Teleport (ranked). Once per round, you may use 1 turn to travel a number of units

equal to your rating squared. With teleport

+1 you can travel 1 unit, but with teleport +5,

you can travel up to 25 units. You may

teleport beyond solid objects, but your

knowledge of the area may require a teleport

action roll. For example, to teleport to the

other side of a door may be DR 7 (+0), while

teleporting into the correct spot in a maze is

quite a bit more difficult at DR 14 (+7). Each

additional creature you take with you

reduces your rating of teleport by -1. With

teleport +6, taking 2 others with you when

you teleport reduces your rating to +4 for that

action.

Vehicles* (ranked). Your rating sets the maximum level for vehicles you may operate.

You may focus on a specific type of vehicle:

air/space, land, or sea.

Wall Crawling (fixed; linked to speed and might). You may travel your speed along

walls and ceilings. Roll might to cling to the

surface if needed, as a free turn.

Water Breathing (fixed). You can breathe underwater as a free turn.

Weapon, Melee (ranked). You wield a melee weapon that allows you to deal bonus

damage. Add the weapon rating to your

might rating for damage in hand-to-hand

combat. Note: Supers wielding melee

weapons tend to deal exceptional damage.

Willpower* (ranked). Add focus to resist rolls against mental attacks (either to resist

the attack or to soak damage). You may focus

willpower on either acting or resisting. Use to

coerce, convince or intimidate others.

X-Ray Vision (fixed; linked to sense). Once per scene, use 1 turn to see through

solid objects up to sense units away. Roll

sense based on the density of the object. Lead

is always DR 20 to see through.

Omni-Powers

With an omni-power, you package a group of abilities linked by

a common theme or concept. An omni-power may be a series of

magical abilities, a group of trick arrows for an archer, or even a suit

of armor with a number of built-in features.

You designate one power as the primary power of your

package. This is always active, usable at will; you also purchase

fixed abilities linked to the power. Each of these abilities is usable

once per scene, and each is at the rating of your omni-power.

Omni-Power Options:

Binding Attack. Use 1 turn to force a target at range to remain in the same unit for 1 round per success. Targets roll might to resist.

Energy Control. Use your rating to manipulate, shape, or diminish the same energy. Note: Weather control is linked to energy

projection: lightning.

Force Field. Once per scene, you may use 1 turn to activate a force field covering one unit. This force field has static resists of 7+

your force field rating; your force field absorbs rating wounds

before falling. Those attempting to attack you or allies in the force

field must first bypass the field, but those within may launch ranged

attacks out with no penalty. Those within the force field may elect to

leave it at will; force fields are one-way barriers. The force field stays

up until you take it down (as a free turn) or it is destroyed.

Healing. Use 1 turn to heal yourself or an ally in rating range. You have a pool of wounds equal to your rating to distribute each

scene. You may use as many points from this pool as you wish with

any single healing you do.

You may also purchase ranked abilities as part of your omni-

power. By doing this, you limit the ability to being used once per

scene, linking it to your base ability. Some abilities you could

purchase in this way include: energy projection, ESP, shape change,

summon, telekinesis, telepathy, teleport. By purchasing these

powers at a lower cost, you limit their use to only once per scene:

this gives you more bang for your buck, giving your hero more

things he can do, but less often.

Sample Omni-Power: The Quiver of Arrows. You have a ranged

attack +5 that you can use at all times. In addition, you have several

trick arrows, all rated at +5: a bola arrow (binding attack, +2); a

flame arrow (fire energy projection, +2), a cold arrow (cold energy

projection, +2), and drain arrow (drains stamina, +2). Your whole

omni-power costs only 17 CPs, but gives you a wide variety of

options. When you spend 3 CPs to move your rating to +6, all of the

abilities linked to the omni-power also increase.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 7

Sidebar: Limitations

A limitation is a weakness in your super. This is

something that foes can exploit, using it against you to

their advantage. Unless otherwise noted, taking a

limitation grants you +2 CPs to use to purchase other

abilities. Some limitations include:

Allergy. You are allergic to an element or object. When within 3 units of the allergen, you suffer a -1

penalty to all of your abilities. (Option: A severe allergy

is worth +5 CPs, and causes you to suffer -1 to all

abilities cumulative each round, with abilities ultimately

dropping to +0).

Dependent. Someone relies on you, and may call for help at inopportune moments.

Enmity. A powerful force, organization or entity has it out for you, and will not rest until you have been

destroyed.

Impaired Ability. You take an ability that normal humans have access to at -1, granting you +1 to use

elsewhere. You may impair invulnerable, evade, might,

stamina, or willpower. You may also impair intellect,

meaning that you cannot take science or technology.

Psychological Limitation. You have a fear, anxiety or compulsion that controls you. You must make a

willpower roll (DR based on the situation) any time you

encounter the situation. For example, your fear of

heights may force a DR 8 willpower roll to fight atop a

2-story building, but may force a DR 14 willpower roll

to wage battle against robots swarming 45 stories up the

side of the Nativity State Building.

Monstrous. You are ugly or frightening. Secret Identity. Your true name is a carefully-guarded secret.

Vow: Youve promised to do, or never to do, something.

Vulnerability. You suffer extra damage from one energy or attack type. Those using this ability against

you take +3 to action rolls. Examples include fire, cold,

electricity.

Referees Note: Each limitation should come into play

an average of once per issue.

Advancement: Hero, Fate and Group Points

Hero Points (abbreviated HP) You earn hero points by completing heroic actions,

finishing missions, defeating foes and accomplishing

your goals. The referee awards hero points. Use hero

points to increase the overall power of your super by

purchasing CPs to increase your existing abilities or buy

new ones. Once you spend hero points they are gone, so

you need to be careful how you spend them. Redeem 10

Hero Points for 1 Character Point. To move your

fighting from +4 to +5, you need to earn 30 hero points;

spend these to purchase 3 CPs, and improve your

fighting. If your hero had previously been built on 32

CPs, note that you are built on 35 CPs going forward.

When you go up a level (for example, moving from 39

CPs to 40 CPs), you also gain +1 wounds.

Fate Points (abbreviated FP) You receive your level in fate points (maximum

+10) at the beginning of every issue. You may spend

these fate points during any one scene, or you may bank

them for use later that issue. Unused fate points expire

at the end of the issue. You may spend a fate point to:

Increase any action, resist or result roll you make, rolling another 2D and adding the sum to the previous

total. For example, if you miss with an energy blast after

you roll a total action of 14 against a targets resist of 16,

you could spend a fate point to improve your attack,

rolling an additional 2D and adding this to your

previous total. If you roll 6 on the dice, your new action

roll for the energy blast is 20, and you hit.

Trump a turn. At any time between the turns of other participants in combat, you may declare that you

are spending a fate point to take an extra turn. You must

do this before the next turn begins (i.e. the person with

the next turn rolls dice), but once you declare this, you

immediately take your turn. If others declare this as

well, order of preference goes to order of declaration.

This turn does not count towards your total for the

round, nor does it change the order of any other turns

that round, including your own. For instance, if you

have just landed a blow that nearly defeats an

adversary, and you think you could finish him with one

more strike, you immediately declare after your attack

that you are trumping the next turn, spending 1 fate

point; you attack again before anyone else gets a turn.

Even if the foe attempts to trump as well, he or she must

wait until after your turn, since you declared first. You

may only trump a turn once per round.

Neutralize a Resist. Instead of using a fate point to increase your action, you may instead neutralize a

targets resist. For example, you could use a fate point to

prevent the target from adding evade to an attempt to

dodge your energy blast, or you could use a fate point to

prevent a foe from adding his invulnerability to a soak

roll. The target still rolls 2D, but does not add the

applicable resist rating to the roll. You only neutralize

the resist for that one action.

Recover 1 wound. You may declare this at any point, even as you are suffering damage that would

reduce you to or below 0 wounds. You may only spend

a fate point to recover 1 wound once per round,

regardless of how many fate points you have banked.

Group Points (abbreviated GP)

For every hero point that you and your allied

supers earn while working together, you collectively

earn a group point. All supers who helped to earn

group points get a vote in how those points are spent.

You use group points to purchase vehicles (and other

things like bases in future supplements).

For example, at the end of the battle with a super

villain, each hero earns 3 hero points. You earn an extra

hero point for a special action you took, and another

member of your group earns 2 bonus hero points for a

particularly noble sacrifice made during the fight. Your

whole group also earns 3 group points- these are the

points that everyone was awarded (not counting

separate individual awards). These 3 points go in a pool

for you to purchase vehicles for your whole group to

use. Some common purchases, and their group point

costs, are listed on page 15.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 8

5. Combat

Game Time An issue is the full length of a game session (or several sessions), covering a full story arc. An issue may

include several scenes in a number of different locations;

for example, an entire issue may take place while the

supers invade a villains lair or investigate a lost island.

A scene is how long a battle lasts or an encounter takes place. A scene may take several minutes - or

several hours - depending on what the scene is about. A

scene may revolve around a battle with a super villain, a

meeting with the editor of the Nativity Herald, or a

daring escape from a devious trap.

A round is a single rotation of combat. Measure combat time in rounds. A round is how long it takes to

get through a full rotation in which every participant

gets to take his full complement of turns. A round only

lasts for a few seconds of game time, but will take much

longer in actual play time.

Phases

A round has two phases: preparation & resolution.

Preparation Phase

During the preparation phase, you take a single free

turn (without using any of your combat turns). This

allows you to do anything except attack. You could use

the preparation phase to move your speed rating units,

prepare to defend yourself, ready a weapon, or activate

an ability.

Take turns in order of participant sequence rolls

(see below), starting from lowest and going to highest;

with a higher result, you get to see what your opponents

are going to do before you have to decide what you are

doing. During the preparation phase, you could do any

of the following:

Use an ability that affects you, an ally, or the environment (activate a force field or stealth, change

shape into an animal form).

Move up to your speed or flight rating (or leap up to your might rating) in units.

Ready your first action. This gives you +3 to your first action roll, in addition to all other bonuses. If you

have fighting +4 and you use your preparation phase to

ready your fighting ability, you make your first action

(attack) roll of the resolution phase at fighting +7.

Ready your defenses. This gives you +3 to the first resist roll you make that round, in addition to all other

bonuses; this does not apply to invulnerable (soak) rolls,

only to evade rolls against physical attacks and

willpower rolls to resist mental attacks.

Combat Sequence

Before a round begins, you must make a speed

roll for combat sequence. This determines the order

of action, and how many turns you get to take that

round. Roll speed vs. a static DR 5. Each success =

1 turn that round. Act in order of total speed rolls;

the highest total speed roll result goes first, the

next result goes second, etc.

If you botch sequence (your total speed roll is

4 or less), you take only 1 turn that round, but you

do not get to act during the preparation phase.

Resolution Phase

During the resolution phase, each participant acts

in rotation, starting from the highest sequence roll and

going to the lowest. Ties act in order of CP total, highest

to lowest. Once each participant has taken its first turn,

each participant takes its second turn (as applicable).

You continue to participate in the rotation until you are

out of turns. The participant with the most turns may

take several turns at the end of the round, after all other

participants have dropped out. During resolution, you

may use one of your abilities, or you may complete

anything you could have done during the preparation

phase (sacrificing your turn to take +3 to your next

action, moving your speed rating units).

The Basics: How Do I Attack?

You attack either in melee (hand-to-hand) or at range:

Attack in melee combat. Roll 2D + fighting, and the target rolls 2D + evade to resist. If you succeed

(your action equals or exceeds the targets resist roll),

you add the difference between your action and the

targets resist to the subsequent damage roll. For

damage, you roll 2D + might (+ any weapon you

carry), and the target rolls 2D + invulnerable to soak.

The foes invulnerable result sets the target for

successes. If the target rolls 8 to soak and you roll 17

for damage, you deal 2 wounds (you deal 1 wound at

8+, 2 wounds at 16+, 3 wounds at 24+, etc.). Thrown

weapons work exactly like melee weapon attacks, with

a base range equal to your might.

Attack with a ranged ability. Roll 2D + attack ability, and the target rolls 2D + evade to resist. If you

succeed (your action roll equals or exceeds the targets

resist roll), you add the difference between your action

and the targets resist to the subsequent damage roll.

For damage, you roll 2D + accuracy and the target rolls

2D + invulnerable (or, for mental powers, you and

your target both roll willpower). The targets

invulnerable result sets the target for successes. If the

target rolls 9 to soak and you roll 12 for damage, you

deal 1 wound (you deal 1 wound at 9+, 2 wounds at

18+, 3 wounds at 27+, etc.).

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 9

Sidebar: Found Weapons Strong supers often gather weapons from the

environment; the bruiser picks up a tank and uses it to

smash a foe. You may use 1 turn to gather a weapon

from the environment. Roll D6 for the rating of the

weapon; the weapon will never be rated better than

your might. Found weapons degrade quickly; each

time you use your found weapon, its rating drops -1.

With your might +5, you attempt to pick up a car and

use it as a found weapon. You roll D6, and get a 6;

however, your might limits this to +5. With your first

strike, you deal +10 damage (+5 might/+5 weapon).

With your second strike using the car, you deal +9

damage (+5 might/+4 weapon), with your third strike

+8, etc. You may drop a found weapon as a free action.

Ability Synergy

As a super, you can do incredible things with your

abilities- and that includes synergizing abilities together

to do unusual things. Any time you attempt ability

synergy, you must use a fate point. You have to describe

how you are going to synergize the two abilities

together, combining the bonuses from both abilities.

Some Examples of Ability Synergy Add your energy projection (flame) to your fighting to punch a foe with a flaming fist.

Add your speed (or flight) to fighting to charge a foe, using your body as a battering ram.

Add your might to fighting to leap on a foe, delivering a particularly brutal blow.

Add your phasing to fighting to deliver an exceptionally potent strike, reaching directly into your

targets central nervous system.

Negative Wounds You continue to function normally until reduced to

negative wounds. At the end of the round, if you have

-1 wounds or lower, you must make a stamina roll (DR

7 + inverse of your wounds rating) or you are defeated,

and out of the fight. If you suffer damage during a

round, and you end the round at negative wounds, you

must roll stamina to continue; if you end a round at

negative wounds, but you have not suffered damage

during that round, you do not have to roll stamina to

continue. You continue acting during a round in which

you have been reduced to negative wounds; you do not

roll stamina until the end of the round.

Example: You suffer damage taking you to -2

wounds; at the end of the round, you must roll stamina

DR 9 (7+2) to remain in the fight. You do, but the next

round you suffer 3 wounds of damage from a series of

attacks, leaving you at -5 wounds. At the end of this

round, you roll stamina DR 12 (7+5). Again you succeed,

and the next round you actually recover 3 wounds

(being healed by an ally) but suffer another wound in

damage, leaving you at -3. You make another stamina

roll DR 10, since you have taken more damage, even

though this is less damage than you had previously.

Recovering Wounds You can recover using healing, regeneration, or by spending a fate point.

While at negative wounds, you automatically recover 1 wound per round that you make your stamina

roll (2 with regeneration). You stabilize at 0 wounds,

and from there recover slowly- typically you only

recover 1 wound between each scene, although between

issues you will recover completely to your full wounds.

If you recover (someone heals you) after you have been defeated, you do not rejoin

combat until the round after you

are healed.

Delivering A Coup De Grace You can declare that you are killing a wounded and

defeated foe. This takes 1 turn, but automatically

succeeds; however, heroes should not deliver a coup de

grace without severe consequences; the eyes of the

world are watching, and intentionally killing a helpless

foe, regardless of how vile the person, is an action

unbecoming a hero.

Battling Mooks Mooks are secondary characters of lesser

importance; they are the hijackers taking over the train,

the thugs serving the master villain, and the pack of

zombies lairing within the vampires tomb. Mooks are

defeated at -1 wounds, regardless of stamina. Mooks

never have fate points. A mook is any character,

creature or foe built on half your level or less. If your

super is level 5, any foe of level 2 or lower is considered

a mook to you. It is possible that in a large battle, what

is considered a mook varies from foe to foe. It is also

possible that your hero is a mook compared to a

powerful foe- so be wary who you pick a fight with!

While you must use a turn to attack a single foe of

comparable stature, you can cut through legions of

mooks quickly. You take a simultaneous attack against

a number of mooks equal to the rating of your attack

ability. With fighting +4, you decide to lay into a

chamber full of zombies; attack 4 zombies with each

swing of your fist. Using energy projection +6, you may

attack 6 zombies with each turn you take. When you

make a combined attack against a group of mooks, you

make a single attack roll, but all mooks must roll to

resist. You score damage normally. You may target

either mooks or a comparable foe, but not both; you

cannot attempt to hit a sorcerer and 5 of his summoned

shadows with a single attack; pick one or the other- the

sorcerer (being of comparable strength), easily evades

any attack that does not directly target him. Situational

bonuses (for example, +3 from readying an action) do

not affect the total number of mooks you may target;

you are still limited to your attack ability rating.

Sidebar: Ability Synergy as a Fixed Ability (Optional)

Your referee may allow you to purchase synergized abilities as a fixed

ability, usable once per round with no fate cost. For example, if your concept

is that your super acts as a human battering ram, you may purchase charge

as a fixed ability (for 2 CPs); this allows you to synergize your speed and

fighting once per round without spending a fate point. If you want to do this

a second time in any one round, you would need to spend a fate point.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 10

En Masse Actions Several creatures of the same type may attack en

masse, taking one combined action at + the number of

creatures. Three alligators biting the same target can

take a single combined strike at +3. This has no effect on

other abilities like poison; a group of poisonous snakes

would force a single normal poison resist. Supers cannot

attack en masse, since they are not the same creature

type.

Special Situations:

Defenseless Targets. A defenseless target cannot move (is sleeping, stunned, etc). Make any action

against a defenseless target vs. a static 7 resist.

Falling. You may fall up to 1 unit before you take damage. After that, each unit fallen deals 1 wound. Roll

evade (DR 5); each success negates 1 wound. If you fall 5

units and roll 10 on your evade roll, you suffer 2

wounds (4 wounds base -2 from 2 evade successes).

Each rating of invulnerable also negates 1 wound. You

cannot suffer more than 10 wounds from falling,

regardless of the distance you fall; with invulnerable

+10, you never take falling damage!

Grappling. You may attempt to grapple a target in melee range. Use 1 turn to roll might vs. the targets

might. If successful, the target cannot move (but can still

act and resist) until you let go. Your allies get a bonus to

actions vs. the target = to the number of successes you

rolled to grapple. To maintain your hold, use your

preparation phase turn in subsequent rounds to grapple

again. You cannot do anything else while grappling a

target. At the end of the round youve grappled a target,

you automatically deal 1 wound per grappling success

you rolled on the action.

Ground Target. Rather than directing your physical attack at a foe, you direct the attack at the

ground/wall/ceiling near that target. Rather than rolling

evade to resist, the target must roll stamina. You roll

your attack and damage normally, and the target still

rolls invulnerable to soak. Use ground attack against

especially fleet-footed foes with high evade and lower

stamina.

Timed abilities tick at the end of the round. If something lasts for 3 rounds, it will continue until the

end of the third round. Any ability that happens once

per round (like regeneration) happens at the end of the

round, after everyone has acted.

Vision. If you cannot see a target (for example, you are in darkness), take -3 to your action roll.

A Sample Hero

The Emissary (L 17; 170 CPs; Wounds 24) Accuracy +8; Energy Control (+2); Energy Projection +9;

Evade +6; Fighting +5; Flight +9; Invulnerable +7; Might

+5; Sense +6; Speed +6; Stamina +7; Willpower +6

The Emissary (the visitor from the beyond) may be the most

powerful hero on earth, wielding pure cosmic energy. He

serves as the leader for the Ambassadors, the worlds premiere

team of superheroes.

Sidebar: Exchanging Wounds

You may exchange 1 wound you deal vs. a foe for

another effect. If you land a strike dealing 3 wounds to

a foe, you could instead stun that foe for 1 turn (still

dealing 2 wounds). You may only exchange wounds

once per round. Some options include:

Disarm. You force the target to drop a carried weapon; a dropped weapon travels D6 units. Drawing

another weapon is a free turn, but recovering the same

weapon requires travel.

Draw Aggression. You exchange 1 wound to force the target to focus all of its attacks on you

exclusively for the remainder of the scene, or until you

are defeated.

Knock Back. You force the target back D6 units.

Lower Defenses. You for the target to take a penalty of -1 to evade for the rest of the scene.

Stun. You force a living target to lose 1 turn. This can carry over between rounds, causing the target to

lose its first turn (likely preparation) next round.

Weaken Armor. You force the target to take a penalty of -1 to armor soak rolls for the rest of the

scene.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 11

6. Playing the Role of Referee

As the referee, it is your responsibility to run the game.

While players take the roles of supers in the game

world, you set the framework for the story, put the

supers into it, and make the whole thing go.

A Good Referee Is: 1. Fair. These rules give you considerable latitude in

assigning difficulties to actions, building foes,

structuring the narrative and controlling the fates of the

supers. It doesn't matter how you approach these

elements of the game as much as it does that you do so

consistently. If the supers constantly face overwhelming

challenges and obstacles, their rewards should be

commensurate.

2. Prepared. It is important that you have written notes

for a scenario (if the session will be original) or youve

read through the adventure (if running a published

scenario) before playing. You need to be familiar with

the rules for the game to run smoothly.

3. Flexible. Leave room for players to bring things to the

game. If the players veer off course and try something

you didn't expect, do your best to go along with it.

Allow the other players to dictate elements of the story

that you are building together. Flexibility also includes

being prepared for what to do if things don't go as

planned. What if one player in the group doesn't show

up and you've planned a session that relies on his

supers abilities? Have a back-up plan.

4. Creative. This is listed as the final rule, but is the most

important. Resolute is a simple, open game system. The

game is designed to provide a framework within which

you and your players can create an imaginary world of

super-heroic action. While these rules provide

guidelines for handling situations as they arise,

inevitably, it will be up to you to decide how something

happens or why it works the way it does. Use the rules

herein as a guide, and your own experience to make the

judgment call in the moment. Dont stop to haggle over

a +1 or +2 bonus; pick one and keep playing.

Running the Game

You have several responsibilities before, during and

after play.

Before You Play

Review the rules before the session, so that you have key rules fresh in mind.

Use an organizational method (like sticky notes or 3x5 cards) to mark information on the important foes

and abilities that will be used during that session, or

create notes for quick reference.

Read through the adventure scenario so that you know what will happen.

Review your notes from the previous session for things that may still need to be resolved, or for lingering

plot threads that you want to pursue.

Prepare any other materials you may need. If you want to have a battle map and miniatures, special forms

for keeping track of turns and wounds, handouts with

maps or item descriptions, or special music you want to

play during the game, make sure these are ready to go.

You dont want to get to the climactic fight and have to

flip through 200 songs on your mp3 player to find the

perfect track for background music.

As You Play

Set the Stage. Let the heroes know where they've been, what they're doing, and where theyre going early

in the session. It may help to give written recaps of

previous sessions. A good referee uses a wide range of

sensory description to immerse players in the game

world. The crumbling ruins of the subway tunnel, thick

roots pushing through the rotting beams is preferable

to the old subway tunnels. Prepare important

descriptions or characters ahead of time. Use music,

artwork, or even food to help create this sense of

atmosphere.

Role Play. Play the parts of the supporting characters populating the environment. Feel free to add

voices, develop personalities and give vivid

descriptions. The more real your characters are, the

more the players become involved in the game world. If

the chief of police speaks in a booming voice with a

sarcastic tone, hell be much more memorable to your

players. Keep notes about what characters are like, so

that when the heroes return and speak to him again two

sessions later, you use the same qualities; this makes the

whole game more consistent and alive.

Run Combat. Keep track of the sequence results for all parties involved in a combat situation. While players

should monitor their own supers' wounds, turns, and

fate points, you should keep track of these statistics for

all foes during combat.

Award Hero Points. See page 13 for information on awarding these.

After You Play Help to make arrangements for the next session. Tell the players about any expectations for things that they should do before the next time you play.

Make sure you gather your notes for anything important that happened during the game session that

may impact future games.

Sidebar: Game Balance

One of your jobs as the referee is to help

maintain game balance- and these rules are intended

to help you do it. However, the whole idea of a

super-hero game is that the heroes can do ridiculous

things. Whenever possible, encourage the players to

find new and creative ways to use their abilities. The

more you can encourage the players to role-play their

supers, and the less time they spend figuring out how

to maximize a dice result, the more fun everyone will

have, and the more balanced the game will be.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 12

Assigning Difficulty Ratings Decide on the difficulty of an action based on the

situation, using the table on page 2 as a guide.

The Environment Not only do villains and other foes stand as

obstacles in the supers paths, but the environment itself

often presents a challenge.

A wall or cave in may stand in the supers way. Locked doors can present obstacles. Traps and security devices can prove to be a nuisance, or even a deadly encounter unto themselves.

Adventuring environments have a number of hidden objects. Discovering a hidden object requires a

sense roll, DR 7 + the relative challenge of finding the

object (see table on page 2). While a secret door hidden

by a gang of thugs may be +3 (total DR 10) to find, a

secret door crafted by the Master Tinkerer in the Halls of

the All King is +11 (DR 18) to find.

Against Objects

All objects have a default resist against attacks

based on their rank (see page 2). In addition, an object

has a resist rating. Use this rating (added to a base of 7)

for all resists (vs. both attacks and damage); the base

rating = wounds of the object. For example, an above-

average door has a rating of +2. If a hero tries to break

through, he rolls fighting against the door to damage it.

As long as the attack roll is 9 or better (7+2), he is able to

deal damage to the door. He rolls damage normally; if

he deals 9 or more damage, he deals 1 wound to the

door (since the door has a total invulnerable soak result

of 9). If he deals 18 or more damage, he deals 2 wounds

to the door, and breaks it down (since it has 2 wounds,

being a +2 object). All physical objects work the same

way.

However, rather than destroying the door, supers

can use might to force the door, or use burglary to pick

the lock. For a door rated +8, the hero must make a

might or burglary (accuracy) roll DR 15 (7+8).

Otherwise, hes going to have to destroy door, which is

pretty tough, having a static resist of 15 and 8 wounds.

Swimming and Climbing Both swimming and climbing require stamina rolls.

Base the DR on the situation, modified by distance (+1

per unit). Swimming across thundering rapids (heroic

action DR 12) that are 30 wide (+3) is DR 15. Climbing a

rope requires a stamina roll DR 7, regardless of distance.

Degrees of Success

For the most part, non-combat action rolls either

succeed or they fail. However, some situations may

provide degrees of success. If the supers listen to a door,

one success may tell them that there several guards wait

beyond; two successes tells them that three guards stand

watch; three successes tells them the general locations of

the guards in the room; four successes tells them that

one of the guards sounds more important, and is likely

the leader. In this case, the better the roll, the more

information the supers are able to glean, or the more

definitive the result. For a situation like this, the sense

roll to listen is likely DR 7, since there is nothing to

complicate the action. If the supers stand in the same

chamber as a rushing waterfall, the sense roll may

increase to as much as DR 15.

Failed Actions You cannot attempt a failed action against a static

resist again during the same scene. If you fail to use

burglary to pick a lock, you cannot attempt this lock

again during this scene; although you can come back

later and try again!

Dice Options You have several ways to resolve dice rolls in play:

Option 1: Roll everything. In this option, every action, resist and result is rolled normally.

Option 2: Only roll active dice. In this option, all resistances are static, assigned as 7 + rating. This gives

more predictable results, but also limits the number of

action successes you will roll.

Option 3: Only players roll. In this option, the referee rolls nothing; all foes have static results (7 +

rating), and the players roll all actions and resists. This

option allows the referee to focus on other aspects of

running the game, and makes combat run more quickly,

but may take some of the drama out of play.

Option 4: Mix-n-match. In this option, multiple dice resolution methods are mixed based on the situation.

For example, you may determine that for most scenes,

option 3 will be used, but when the supers reach the

climactic scene, option 1 will be used.

Regardless of which dice option you use, you and

your players should agree on the method that will be

used before you play so that there are no surprises.

Some players will prefer to have more control, and will

want to roll everything. Other players will elect to have

fewer rolls to make, and will prefer some static results to

make the game run more quickly.

How & When to Use the Dice

How and when you use dice is a matter of personal

taste, play style, and the dynamics of your group of

players. Remember, however, that using the dice is one

of the primary ways you create tension. Here are some

suggestions for ways to roll dice, or for situations where

you may want to change the way you roll dice.

If the players can role play even when the dice dont go their way, it may be more fun to make all rolls

visible. If you tell a player that his super failed to find

the security device and he will continue to open the

door (because his super would), then it is probably okay

for this player to see the roll.

Sidebar: Multiple Negative Effects You will only suffer a particular negative effect

once per round; thereafter, you are immune to the

same effect for the remainder of that round. For

instance, if you are stunned for turn 2 of round 1, you

cannot be stunned again during round 1, even by a

different attacker.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 13

If the player will change what he does based on knowledge he has (but which his super would not have)

based on a dice result, then you should roll dice in secret

(or allow the player to roll, but dont tell him the DR);

tell the player only what his super would know. For

example, for a failed roll against a difficult security

system, you may say, It seems like youve disarmed the

system. Youve seen one like it before, and disarming it

worked last time, so you have no reason to suspect this

will be any different, although the roll failed.

If a foe controls or manipulates the super (for example, the super is under the effect of mind control),

the player may not even know what he is rolling for. For

example, you may take the character sheet from the

player and find the appropriate resist rating as you say,

Jeff, go ahead and roll. I want to see something In

this case, the player may not find out until later (if ever)

what really happened.

Once again, if the player will continue to role play

in the situation despite the roll result, include the player

in the process. In the above example, Jeffs character

fails his mind control resist roll, and Jeff jumps up from

his chair as he says, I let forth a huge laugh! Hah! You

thought I was going to SAVE the world?! Im here to

DESTROY it bwahahahaha. In this case, the player

makes the situation more dynamic and interesting by

creating an authentic reaction for his super.

Challenges: Combat Encounters

In a combat encounter, the primary means of

resolving the scene is through combat. Some encounters

start as combat encounters from the get go, while others

start as non-combat encounters that escalate. Not every

obstacle the supers face should be a combat encounter.

Resolute is a role-playing game, and opportunities for

other play beyond simply punching and blasting

through foes should be presented.

Challenges: Non-Combat Encounters Two basic types of non-combat encounters may

challenge the supers: role-playing and problem-solving

encounters.

Role-playing encounters rely on the players taking the roles of their supers in order to overcome the

obstacle. Winning a battle of wits, convincing a neutral

character to come to the supers' aid, or persuading the

general to loan the supers a stealth fighter are all role-

playing encounters. These may require ability rolls, but

should primarily be resolved through player interaction

with the game world.

Problem-solving encounters rely on the skills and abilities of the players themselves. These include

riddles, math puzzles, word scrambles and other

intellectual challenges you place before the players, but

which their heroic supers solve within the game world.

While these rarely involve the use of dice and game

mechanics, you may include such elements, giving the

players clues to help solve the puzzle or piece together

the riddle. Sample problem-solving encounters include

a guardian that will only allow passage if a riddle is

correctly answered or a door that will only open if the

correct number sequence is entered on its over-sized

combination lock.

Encounter Difficulty Each encounter has a total level rating. To

determine this, use the foe with the highest level as the

base, and add half the level of each additional foe. The

sum is the total level value of the group. For example,

the group of supers may be composed of four supers of

level 4. You add 4+2+2+2= level 10. A group of 6 zombies

each of level 2 has a total CP value of 2+(1x5)= level 7.

When foes are mooks, however, cut their total value in

half (rounding up). If each of the supers in the group is

level 5, these zombies are considered a level 4 challenge.

Encounter Hero Point Value

Encounter Level = The Heroes Earn

4+ levels lower than supers

(Effortless)

No hero points

3 levels lower (Easy) 1 HP each

2 levels lower (Moderate) 2 HPs each

1 level lower (Tough) 3 HPs each

Same level (Grueling) 4 HPs each

1 level higher (Grueling) 5 HPs each

each level higher (Deadly) +1 HP each

A group of four supers of level 2 has a total value of

level 5 (2+1+1+1). They earn nothing for defeating a

single foe of level 1, but they earn 4 hero points for

defeating a foe of level 5. A foe of level 12 is worth 11

hero points if they defeat it, but they are likely to fall to

this foe. Be wary of putting the supers against foes built

of higher level than they are- because they are probably

going to lose!

Non-combat encounters should be worth between 1

and 3 hero points, depending on the complexity of the

encounter and what the heroes accomplish.

Redeeming Fate Points

At the end of the issue, each super earns a number

of bonus hero points equal to the number of unused fate

points he redeems.

Purpose Hero Point Bonus Whenever a super wins an encounter that directly

accomplishes his purpose (see page 3), the super gains 1

bonus hero point. For example, if my supers purpose is

to defend Nativity, after every scene in which he

overcomes a threat to the security of Nativity, he

receives 1 bonus hero point. As the referee, you should

be careful that purposes are not constructed to take

advantage of this: the purpose to defeat evil should

only earn bonus points when the evil was of

considerable power or scope. The broader a supers

purpose, the more stringent you should be in applying it

for bonus hero point awards.

Sidebar: Bosses A boss is a foe that youve defined as special, being more powerful than

others of its type. A boss has a number of fate points = to level, and may have

unique abilities; an encounter with a boss is worth +1 hero point.

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 14

7: Adventures on Resolute Earth

The Messari The ultimate aims of the illusion-using messari

remain cloaked in mystery. The messari have hidden

their agents among mankind, and these could actively

oppose the supers. The messari have infiltrated every

part of human life, taking positions of power and

influence, and subtly working to pave the way for the

ultimate conquest of the messari over mankind.

The Megalopolis of Nativity The City of Nativity, founded over the ruins of

Meridian, has become a symbol of mankinds progress.

The ruins of Meridian remain below, teeming with

pariahs and holding thousands of miles of ruined

basements and abandoned subway tunnels. In addition,

Nativity borders Echo City, a sprawling expanse of

slums set apart from the city proper, housing a huge

lower class and a vast, seedy, criminal empire.

The Citadel of Tomorrow The messari, rather than simply destroying this

installation, implanted a psychic bug within the Citadel

that drove its residents insane. A riot broke out as

hundreds of scientists and thousands of subjects died.

Countless others fled, taking powerful technologies, the

fruits of their research and a reckless insanity with them.

As a result, hundreds of mad schemers have moved

throughout the world, constructing powerful

technologies in secret labs.

Meanwhile, the ruins of the Citadel of Tomorrow

lie in the frosted, mountainous wilds of the far northern

Americas, with dozens of competing factions warring

with one-another, their mechanical servitors doing

battle in the dark with monstrous insects, gargantuan

animals, and mutated humans who barely cling to the

last vestiges of their humanity, all the while the undead

are rumored to travel in the deep.

Lastly, some believe that a series of teleportation

devices continue to operate within some sections of the

Citadel, transferring creatures from this facility to other

locations in the world.

The supers could undertake an expedition into a

part of the ruins of the Citadel of Tomorrow to rescue,

recover, find or destroy. The introductory adventure on

page 16 takes place in a branch of the Citadel of

Tomorrow.

36 Ways to Involve the Supers

1. Cries for Help! 2. Crime! 3. Disaster! 4. Rampage! 5. War! 6. Quirky 1 Aliens call for help

to defend their

home.

The supers try to

foil an

assassination.

Earthquake: stop it

and save the

victims.

Animals: one of (or

all) the animals

flee(s) the zoo.

Civil war within a

society.

Clones: you look

familiar

2 A visitor from the

future arrives with

an unusual need.

The supers learn of

a blackmail

scheme.

Fire: as above Super: another

super goes

ballistic.

Gang war within a

city.

Defense: the

supers must hold

down the fort.

3 The government

asks for help from

outside its forces.

A villain or evil

force attempts to

conquer a land.

Technological: (a

nuclear

meltdown).

Monster. A beast

escapes from the

Tomorrow Project.

International war

between countries

or elder races.

Haywire: a power

or device goes out

of control.

4 Another super

faces a problem he

cant solve alone.

A villain or evil

force hijacks a

vehicle.

A vehicle sinks or

crashes.

Riot. The people

storm into the

streets.

Interplanetary

war: the messari

are back!

Jail break: A whole

bunch of villains

break out.

5 A villain is in over

his head, and

needs the supers!

A villain steals

something the

supers must

retrieve.

A volcano erupts:

stop it, save

victims, you get

the idea.

Robot. It was

working fine this

morning

Inter-dimensional

war: an invasion

from other realms.

Media attack: One

(or more) hero is

attacked publicly.

6 A contact or

normal comes

calling.

The supers break

up a smuggling

operation.

Weather: a flood,

monsoon or

blizzard.

Villain. Insanity +

Anger =

Destruction.

Epic war: the

supers become

playthings of gods.

Mistaken identity:

Oh, it wasnt you?

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 15

Appendix 1: Roll Call: A Roster of Characters of the Game World

Normals (Level 0)

Beat Cop (8 CPs; Wounds 1) Accuracy +1; Evade +1; Fighting +1; Knowledge (law)

+1; Sense +1; Stamina +1; Weapon +2 (pistol & baton)

Doctor (5 CPs; Wounds 1) Knowledge (medicine) +3; Stamina +1

Reporter (6 CPs; Wounds 1) Contacts +2; Luck +1; Sense +2; Stamina +1

Thug (7 CPs; Wounds 2) Accuracy +1; Fighting +2; Stamina +2; Weapon +2 (pistol & knife)

Exceptionals (Level 1)

Goonsquad Tough (12 CPs; Wounds 3) Accuracy +2; Evade +1; Fighting +2; Might

+1; Stamina +2; Weapon +3 (pistol & knife)

Master Burglar (14 CPs; Wounds 1) Burglary +3; Evade +2; Sense +3; Stealth +3

SWAT Trooper (16 CPs; Wounds 4) Accuracy +2; Evade +1; Fighting +2;

Invulnerable +1; Sense +2; Stamina +3; Weapon (rifle & knife) +3

Veteran Reporter (12 CPs; Wounds 3) Contacts +3; Luck +2; Sense +3; Stamina +2

Elites (Level 2)

Javelin Agent (22 CPs; Wounds 5) Accuracy +3; Evade +2; Fighting +2; Invulnerable +2; Might +1; Sense +2; Stamina +3; Weapon +3 (rifle and knife); Willpower +1

Night Stalker Ninja (24 CPs; Wounds 4) Evade +3; Fighting +4; Sense +3; Speed +2;

Stealth +3; Stamina +2; Weapon (sword) +2

Zombie (20 CPs; Wounds 6) Fighting +4; Invulnerable +2; Might +3; Stamina +4;

Weapon (claw) +2

Animals (L = Level)

Alligator (L2; 24 CPs; Wounds 4) Evade +1; Fighting +3; Invulnerable +3; Might +3;

Sense +1; Speed +2; Stamina +2; Weapon (bite) +4

Bear (L2; 25 CPs; Wounds 5) Fighting +3; Invulnerable +1; Might +4; Sense +3; Speed

+2; Stamina +3; Weapon (bite) +3

Great White Shark (L4; 40 CPs; Wounds 8) Evade +1; Fighting +4; Invulnerable +3; Might +4; Speed +4; Stamina +4; Water Breathing (+2); Weapon (bite) +5

Tiger (L2; 24 CPs; Wounds 4) Evade +2; Fighting +3; Might +2; Sense +2; Speed +3;

Stamina +2; Stealth +2; Weapon (bite) +4

Tyrannosaurus Rex (L6; 60 CPs; Wounds 12) Fighting +6; Invulnerable +5; Might +5; Speed +4; Stamina +6; Weapon (bite) +6

Archetypal Supers (Level 4)

Blaster (40 CPs; Wounds 7) Accuracy +5; Energy Control (+2); Energy Project +6;

Evade +4; Flight +3; Speed +1; Stamina +3; Willpower +2

Brawler (40 CPs; Wounds 8) Evade +3; Fighting +6; Invulnerable +2; Might +3; Speed +3; Stamina +4; Weapon (melee) +4; Willpower +2

Bruiser (40 CPs; Wounds 9) Fighting +4; Invulnerable +5; Might +6; Speed +2;

Stamina +5; Willpower +2

Mentalist (40 CPs; Wounds 6) Evade +3; Flight +1; Force Field +4; Mind Blast +6; Mind Control (+2); Speed +1; Stamina +2; Willpower +6

Speedster (40 CPs; Wounds 8) Evade +6; Fighting +4; Might +2; Speed +6; Stamina +4; Willpower +2

Appendix 2: Vehicles

Vehicles are built as heroes, with abilities and totals (the CP total becomes the Group

Point cost to purchase a vehicle for a group of supers). Vehicles have wounds = to

level + durability. A vehicle will continue to operate until in negative wounds. Those

within the vehicle will not take damage until the vehicle has been disabled. Use control

for evade rolls while operating the vehicle. You must have vehicles ability rated at or

above the level of the vehicle to operate it; you need vehicles +3 to drive a heavy tank.

Body. Add rating to static 7 to set target for soaking wounds. Control. How well the vehicle evades attacks. Durability. Adds to the total wounds the vehicle can suffer before being disabled. Weapons use the rating to attack; use the operators accuracy for damage.

Common Vehicles (L = Level)

Armored Car (L1; 12 GPs; W 4). Body +3; Durability +3; Speed +3

Commercial Airliner (L1; 18 GPs; W 5). Body +2; Control +1; Durability +4; Flight +5

Fighter Jet (L2; 28 GPs; W6). Body +2; Cannon +4; Control +2; Durability +4; Flight +6

Light Walker (L1; 16 GPs; W 4). Body +2; Cannon +4; Durability +3; Speed +3

Motor Cycle (L0; 9 GPs; W1) Control +2; Durability +1; Speed +4

Police Car (L1; 11 GPs; W3) Body +2; Control +1; Durability +2; Speed +4

Stealth Jet (L3; 35 GPs; W8) Body +4; Cannon +4; Control +2; Durability +5; Flight +6

Tank, Light (L3; 30 GPs; W 8). Body +5; Control -1; Durability +5; Cannon +5; Speed +3

Tank, Heavy (L4; 46 GPs; W10). Body +7, Control -2; Durability +6; Cannon +7; Speed +3

Resolute: The Superhero RPG 2nd Edition (Revised August 2010) 16

Appendix 3: Introductory Adventure: Section 2175-D

Note: Read this only if you will be serving as referee.

Setup

This adventure (for four level 4 supers) is an

introductory scenario for new supers in a Resolute game.

This scenario is designed so that you can quickly get a

new team up and running. You dont have to have the

players do more than give their supers monikers and

powers. If you really want to get going quickly, have

each player take one of the temp