1. © Magnus Bergfall
Striders (Beta)
==Quick Summary of the game's intention==
Unlike many RPGs where your chosen class hands out a specific set of abilities and powers, the
Path-system in 'Striders' allows players to find their own unique set of powers and abilities.
The way the paths are acquired is through the interaction between the player character and their
environment; people, objects, nature etc.
Usually the characters start off without any extraordinary abilties, only to discover them later
through one of many ways, for example:
- Finding a magical artifact.
- Interacting with a secret place of power.
- The group, when together, displays their hidden potential.
and many other ways.
What reveals these abilities is usually a form of "Source" that is connected to the entire being of the
world. This source bestows the Paths on the characters and will give them a task to uphold in return
for this power.
==Creating a character, your concept==
When creating a character you start off with making a short background explanation of what your
character like to do. This will help give the GM a good idea of what paths your character is most
likely to receive.
The GM can set up a variety of conditions to make this clear, anything from "Three sentences of
your character's hobbies" to "A full page description, complete with families, hobbies, fears,
aspirations etc."
It's all subject to the GMs decision and depending on how much info they need.
After writing your character background you will need to roll dice for each starting attributes:
- Physique
- Agility
- Intellect
- Willpower
- Charisma
- Luck
Secondary attribute:
- Senses (Sight, Hearing, Scent, Touch, Taste and Magic-sense)
- Hit Points (Add your two highest attributes together and multiply the result by 3)
- Flow Points (Intelligence + Willpower or Charisma multiplied by 2)
You roll 3d6, dividing the result by 4, for each main attribute (including Senses).
There are no other steps to create a character, but more explanation about the mechanics are to
follow.

2. © Magnus Bergfall
==Attributes and how they work==
Each attribute is used for different tasks, but depending on the task that attribute which is usually
associated with can be substituted for a different attribute. Provided that the reasoning behind the
swap of attribute is logically sound.
- Physique:
Used for all physical checks to know how well a character can perform a physically demanding
task. Examples of these tasks are things like lifting heavy objects, climbing, attacking with heavy
weapons, breaking down doors etc.
- Agility:
Used for tasks that require precision and delicacy. Examples such as picking a lock, moving
stealthily, firing a bow, attacking with light weapons, crawling through tight spaces etc.
- Intelligence:
Used for tasks that require know-how and logical thinking. Examples such as gathering information
in a library, reading difficult texts, problem solving, casting spells etc.
- Willpower:
Used when performing tasks requiring a strong will of the mind. Examples such as resisting magic,
resisting intimidation, resist continuous pain, extended marching etc.
- Charisma:
Used for tasks that require a charming personality or glibness. Examples such as convincing people,
lying or bluffing, blending into a crowd, seduction etc.
- Luck:
Used for situations where luck could be a major factor. However, even if luck is a very broadly
applicable it has to make sense.
Simply using a reasoning such as "I trust my luck will kill/hurt this enemy" will not make it
applicable.
Applicable situations as examples, trying to find something (within reason), meeting an important
and busy person just as something in his/her schedule was canceled etc.
=Secondary Attributes=
- Senses:
Represents the 6 different senses Sight, Hearing, Scent, Touch, Taste and Magic-sense.
They are checked to spot, hear, smell, feel or taste anything which the character is looking for.
Magic sense is predominantly used by caster and any character that doesn't have an appropriate
magic Path can attempt Magic Sense at ½ their Senses attribute. Casters have no such penalty
unless what they are trying to sense is modified some way.

3. © Magnus Bergfall
- Hit Points:
This is your character's health and if this drops below 0 the character is dying and unconscious.
When a character's negative HP is equal to half the total HP the character is dead.
While dying, the character loses 1 HP per round until they are treated.
Each day, after 8 hours of rest, characters recover an equal amount of HP to their Willpower
Attribute.
- Flow Points:
Flow is used for Abilities and Spells and recovers completely after 8 hours of rest.
Flow is magic energy that runs through the Source and to the user of Paths, without a connection to
a Source it is not possible to use Flow Points.
==The rolls and checks==
When two characters are opposing each other (in combat or not) they use the applicable attributes
according to the table below and roll 1d6 multiplied by the attribute used. Whomever has the
highest result is the winner and works as follows (assuming both parties have matching Physique):
Melee Attacker rolls 1d6x3 (result 12) vs Defender rolls 1d6x3 (result 9).
Attacker wins by 3 over the defender and deals that much damage to the defenders hit points.
If the defender is the winner then he takes no damage, depending on the abilities the defender has,
they may be able to counter attack with a high enough defense result over the attacker.
Attack types | Base Attribute | Defensive Action | Base Attribute
| | |
Slashing |Phy or Agi |Block Parry Dodge |Phy or Agi
Piercing |Phy or Agi |Block Parry Dodge |Phy or Agi
Bludgeoning |Physique |Block Parry Dodge |Phy or Agi
Non-lethal |Physique |Block Parry Dodge |Phy or Agi
Ranged |Agi or Phy⁵ |Block Parry¹ Dodge |Phy or Agi
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire |Intellect |Resist Parry² Dodge³ |Will or Agi⁴
Ice |Intellect |Resist Parry² Dodge³ |Will or Agi⁴
Lightning |Intellect |Resist Parry² Dodge³ |Will or Agi⁴
Earth |Intellect |Resist Parry² Dodge³ |Phy or Agi⁴
Wind |Int or Cha |Varying |Varying
Dark |Charisma |Resist Parry² Dodge³ |Will or Agi⁴
Light |Charisma |Resist Parry² Dodge³ |Will or Agi⁴
------------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------------
¹ = Parry has to be checked with Agility to account for reaction.
² = Parry must be made with a prepared spell or ability (counter spelling)
³ = You can dodge projectile, cone and area spells but at a -2 multiplier penalty.
= Agility is only used for dodging.⁴
= Physique is allowed if provided with a path enabled the attribute or the weapon itself allows for⁵
it.

4. © Magnus Bergfall
Varying = Wind, Abilities or Effects have different properties which rely upon the GM to decide
which attribute should be used (unless the Ability/Effect itself specifies the required defensive
action).
Wind in itself, as an example, might have push force effects which could be avoided using Block &
Physique to stand your ground.
It could also have a wind shearing effect, cutting at the victim, which could be Resisted with
Willpower or Dodged with Agility (if the wind acts as a projectile).
=Skill checks=
To speed things up in Striders, there are no selected skills which players use. Instead, if a player is
faced with an obstacle, the GM may tell the player to roll a selected attribute multiplied by 1d6.
Alternatively the GM may allow the player to choose an attribute and explain how and why it
would work.
The check the player rolls for is opposed by a limit which is decided by the GM. For example, the
GM sets a limit of 10 to succeed and resulting roll is:
-3 or lower below the limit, the action fails.
-2 to -1 below the limit, barely fails but can be retried.
0 which is right on the limit, the action succeeds.
0 to +5 over the limit, the action succeeds well. (Player or GM can add a bit of flair to the result)
+6 and beyond, the action succeeds extraordinarily
The general idea of difficulty could look like this (GM may alter the numbers depending on
situations):
No effort: = 2 or less
Easy = 4
Moderate = 7
Challenging = 11
Difficult = 15
Near Impossible = 20
==Combat==
If the party would happen to run into combat here is how it works.
Start off by rolling Agility+1d6 to determine your initiative and the GM sorts it into the order of
highest to lowest, where the highest initiative acts first. This order persists throughout the entire
fight, unless someone has an ability which changes their initiative after the results are revealed.
Each character has two actions, one to move and one to attack. These actions can be substituted
with other actions, but you cannot use your move actions to make an additional complex action.
Complex actions being; casting spells, attacking, using an ability or anything that requires a lot of
dedication.
You can move before or after attacking, but unless specified you cannot attack while moving.

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Normal movement is 5 squares, this can be modified by paths and abilities. You cannot pass through
the corner of an opponent, instead you must round the corner completely.
Here are some actions which can be made during combat:
=Offense=
Melee: A physical attack which uses Physique or Agility to check the roll.
Ranged: Physical attack using Agility to check the roll.
Magic: Supernatural attacks using Intellect, Willpower or Charisma to check the roll.
Ability: Has its own specific description of how and when it works. Checked with the attribute
which it is tied to.
=Defense=
Defending is a reaction to someone attacking you, you may only use each defensive action once if
you are being attacked multiple times during a round.
Block: Using something (shields, planks, plated gauntlets, armor etc.) to block attacks and
projectiles. Usually checked with Physique.
Parry: Unless changed by abilities, parrying must be checked with the same attribute the enemy
used for attacking. You can parry weapons while being unarmed, but you do so at a -2 multiplier
penalty because of difficulty.
Only spells can 'parry' other spells.
Dodge: Most attacks can be avoided by sidestepping, dropping prone, bending your body etc. You
can attempt to dodge an area of effect attack/spell if you are positioned at the very edge of the attack
(adjacent to one untargeted square). After dodging you must move to that square.
Dodging is usually checked with Agility.
Resist: You can attempt to resist magical effects by checking Willpower to decrease or nullify the
effect directed at yourself.
Ability: Some abilities offer defensive effects to avoid damage or effects from special attacks or
other sources. Checked with the attribute it is tied to.
=Preparing=
You may choose to prepare an action in response to something, such as:
"If an enemy moves close to me, I will attack it with my weapon."
The action prepared will be spent immediately, meaning you cannot prepare an attack and then do
an (additional) attack on the same round you declared to prepare.
You can prepare spells the same way, but the caster risk being interrupted if they are attacked while

6. © Magnus Bergfall
waiting for the trigger to cast said spell.
==Spells from Paths==
Some Paths provide the user with magical abilities and these often take the form of spells.
Spells are manifested from the imagination of the user and have few limits, instead of having a
specific purpose from the beginning the user can improvise:
- Pyromancer can summon a puff of flame to light enemies/objects on fire.
- Hydromancers can control the moisture in the air to cause a shroud of mist.
- Geomancers can pull up patches of earth to use as a temporary wall/shield.
- Aeromancers can knock down objects/enemies with strong gusts of wind.
- Evangilists can light up areas with light/blind enemies temporarily.
- Heretics can cause darkness in small areas.
These are only a few examples of what some of these magic users can do, imagination is the limit.
Of course, there are obvious boundaries to how powerful a spell can be. A GM may allow the
casting of an ice spear to pierce a foe, but not an entire avalanche from nowhere to bury an entire
city.
Each of the 'formless' has to be reasonable, the GM may allow the spell to be a bit stronger if there
is a matching element neadby to pull from.
Each time a spell is cast, the caster spends 1 Flow Point to do it.
=Effectiveness and Resisting=
Spells are checked like anything else in Striders, the caster rolls their Intellect x 1d6 and compare it
to the defender's defense check of Attribute x 1d6. Before casting the spell the caster must make a
few choices:
1. Choose a Form for the spell. This being either a Projectile, Ray, Cone or an Area Effect.
- Projectiles are created as physical objects and then launched at the desired target by direction of
the casters mind. (regular caster check vs resistance)
- Rays are aimed like a beam from the caster and must roll Agility x 1d6 to hit the desired target. It
denies the target from using Dodge as a defense action and will help to hit evasive targets. If the ray
is a hit the caster rolls the normal Intellect + 1d6 to deal damage as normal.
- Cones are projected from the front of the caster in a 90° angle and can hit several enemies at once.
Using this Form incurs a -1 multiplier penalty to the caster since the energy is spread out among
several potential targets.
- Area Effects are projected onto an area of (½Intellect x ½Intellect) spaces in the shape of a square.
This is the most difficult form as it incurs a -2 penalty to the casters multiplier, but enemies caught
in the center mass of an Area Effect cannot dodge, block or parry the spell.

7. © Magnus Bergfall
2. Add Effects to the spell being cast.
The spell has a form now, but without a purpose it is just energy which does nothing useful.
The caster picks one effect the spell will perform, for example; Damage, Healing, Bleed, Freeze,
Burn, Stun etc.
Each added effect, with exception of the first selected, incurs a penalty of -2 to the caster's check
and adds 1 additional Flow Point cost.
Effects lasts for an equal amount of rounds of half the user's checked Attribute. The inflicted may
attempt to Resist the Effect each round and for each consecutive round the threshold to Resist the
Effect is decreased by 10.
A target which is affected by one Effect cannot be targeted by the same Effect while the previous
one is on-going.
3. Caster check.
Now the spell is complete and can be cast. The caster must summarise the spell's penalties, if any,
and roll their caster check which is usually Intellect x 1d6 to attempt to overcome the enemies
defenses.
For example:
Sand wants to cast a spell at a slippery thief whom just stole his scroll case.
Sand chooses the Spell Form 'Ray' and imbues it with Fire from his Pyromancy Path. After that, he
picks Damage and Knockdown Effects. He summarises the spell will have a total penalty of -2 and
cost 2 Flow Points for the additional Effect he picked to stop the thief.
Sand need to roll Agility(4) x 1d6 to attempt to hit the thief, whom has no available option to parry
or block the Ray and must attempt to Resist it with Willpower(4) x 1d6.
- Sand rolls an astonishing result of 24 on his ranged attack. The thief rolls a slightly worse 16 to
resist the spell.
Upon which Sand rolls his Caster Check of Intellect(7-2) x 1d6 to deal damage and possibly knock
the thief down.
- Sand rolls a total of 25 on his Caster Check and the Thief attempts to Resist at a 12.
Result: The Thief takes 13 damage and is knocked down to the ground.
=Healing Spells=
Healing works the same way as above, but the caster is not opposed by resistance and must divide
the result by 4 for the total healing done. If healing is used to harm undead the caster will use the
full result and undead have to roll a Resist check to negate damage.
If a cure disease, remove curse, dispelling a debuff Effect is added the caster has to roll a Caster
Check against the opposing effect. The Effect being removed rolls a Resist check to try overcoming
the dispel and remain on the target.
=Buffs=

8. © Magnus Bergfall
Buffs are always cast using the caster's original Caster Check, meaning you cannot buff your own
Caster Attribute to increase the Buff Effect which in turn increases the Caster Attribute even higher
and so on.
When casting a buff it lasts for an equal amount of rounds of half the caster's checked Attribute.
The buff increases a chosen Attribute by 1/4 of the caster's original checked Attribute and has an
equal amount in Flow cost.
If the Buff is targeted by a dispel the buff uses the caster's attributes to resist being dispelled.
==Paths and Creating abilities==
When characters receive their paths, not only do they gain bonuses to their attributes, but they also
gain abilities which corresponds with the specific path the abilities are created from. Abilities
change the way Striders work in a multitudes of ways, ranging from 'making arrows shot ricochet'
to 'melee attacks to the ground causing an area of erupting fire from underneath' and many more.
Abilities can also bend some of the basic rules of Striders, you can change which attributes can be
associated with certain actions and improve Common abilities in a multitude of ways.
The players can choose themselves how the abilities work, but there are boundaries to how
powerful these abilities can become. But to start off, let's address a few things:
Each Path starts off with 2 Commons & 1 Ability.
'Commons' are repeatable skills which are modified standard attacks, movements, spells etc.
Abilities are functions which bend the rules and change how the character works within Striders,
these abilities can be combined with Commons to create unique attacks.
Passives give the character a passive bonus all the time or under certain circumstances.
=Commons=
Commons can work in many ways, the player that is building the Common can make it work as an
active skill. The Common has to function as you would expect from the name of the Path.
For example, Player A decides that his first Common from the Lorekeeper path will allow his
character to instantaneously read a book from cover to cover. Afterwards, Player A may choose to
create another Common from Lorekeeper which increases the multiplier for Intellect-check toward
figuring out monsters weaknesses.
Commons can:
- Grant an attack-specific skill. (weapons, magic or other ways)
- Grant a function which works in an extraordinary fashion. (Run up walls, jump twice as high, a
semi far-reaching dash ability etc.)
- Slightly increase multipliers for certain checks. (The more specific, the stronger the bonus
multiplier becomes)
Ex: +1x to all attacks made | +2x to know more about Herbology | +3x to disarm enemies
wielding Maces
- Create a passive function. (An effect or function that is always active on the character and is only
deactivated when the player expressively says so)
- Add effects to spells and attacks. (Freeze, Bleed, Burning etc. and these effects can be resisted

9. © Magnus Bergfall
with an appropriate check)
- Anything that is within conventional rules and logic, GM has the last say about what is allowed.
=Abilities=
Abilities change the way this game is played, it can permanently alter or bend some rules to the
player's will.
There are limitations of course, but we'll go over them right here. Even though the player decides its
ultimate use, the abilities:
- Must not become a singularity loop. (Create a cycle of Commons and/or Abilities which loops
infinitely with each other.
Ex. Increasing the effect of Alchemy, creating a potion that improves ability multipliers, drink it to
improve the Ability, create a more potent version of the same potion, etc.)
- Must have a specific purpose. (If a character with a spellcasting path has a much better Charisma
attribute, they can change the the attribute used to Charisma for the purpose of casting spells.)
- Must not contain meta-specific functions. (Must not allow characters to skip parts of an adventure
to reach the end goal or a part of the goal)
Here are a few example of how it can work:
- Combine with a Common for a special effect or function. (A character that has a Common skill to
fire an arrow and lay a patch of darkness in a small area, with the ability it can allow the character
to instantly teleport to the space which the arrow lands)
- Add more numbers of defense actions and attack actions. (This will be limited by the GM, usually
you get one bonus action per Ability but this is subject for change according to GM's wishes. This is
also limited to which path it belongs to and if belongs in that path category.)
- Enable some cross-path functions. (This is mostly up to GM's preference, but it can allow a
character without a spellcasting path to cast -some- spells. Which spells and how many is to be
discussed between the player and the GM.)
- Can be used later for Compound Abilities. (Will be shown in more detail in its own section.)
- Change which attribute, within reason, is associated with certain actions
- Depending on the strength of the Ability, the GM may impose a Flow point cost on the Ability so
it cannot be abused infinitely.
- Anything which the GM may allow and deem logical for the path.
=More on Abilities=
- Abilities may have multiplier bonuses, but it is only applicable one time and does not transfer over
to other abilities.
- Abilities can affect Commons, but Commons cannot affect Abilities.
=Compound Abilities=
After reaching 2nd Tier of a Path, the player can choose to combine two abilities, from two different
Paths, into one for a very strong combined effect.

10. © Magnus Bergfall
It follows the same rules as regular abilities, but the effects are strengthened depending on how and
what they are combined with.
Examples:
- An Healer and Evangilist-path mix can create holy spells/effects which may inflict harm to
enemies -and- heal allies simultaneously.
- Mixing Sniper and Void-paths could create a special arrow shot which on hit causes a gravitational
surge to draw all enemies in a certain radius to the center of that surge.
- Combine Leader and Silvertongue-paths to allow the character to influence a whole city with their
impressive speech.
- Blend Infiltrator and Specter to teleport short distances between shadows.
There are a lot of combinations to be made, the players just have to discuss with the GM what
combinations would be reasonable.
=Path & Categories=
There are many different paths which accomodate for what players choose to do in their
environment and here is a list of the available paths and corresponding actions as examples:
Acrobat +2 Agility -1 Luck
(Climbing, Jumping, Rope Swing, Balancing etc)
Aeromancer +1 Intellect +1 Charisma -1 Luck +1 Senses
(Uses the wind in clever ways)
Alchemist +2 Intellect -1 Physique +1 Senses
(Cooking, gathering & mixing herbs, using ointments etc)
Anarchist +1 Physique +1 Willpower -1 Intellect -1 Senses
(Blatantly breaking the law and causing trouble)
Artisan +2 Physique -1 Agility
(Creating things, sculpting, painting, smithing etc)
Chariot +1 Agility +1 Physique -1 Intellect
(Uses a mount, taking care of a stable, controlling a vehicle etc)
Companion +1 Agility +1 Charisma -1 Willpower +1 Senses
(Chooses to bring a pet or attack animal, handling animals etc)
Defiler +1 Willpower +1 Intellect -1 Agility -1 Senses
(Lies and corrupts people with bad ideas, constant bad hygiene, interacts with disgusting
things)

11. © Magnus Bergfall
Evangilist +1 Charisma +1 Willpower -1 Agility +1 Senses
(Goes to church often, reads holy texts, prays, handles religious artefacts etc)
Fighter +2 Physique -1 Charisma -1 Senses
(Weapon practice, often engages in melee combat etc)
Fool +1 Charisma +1 Luck -1 Intellect
(Tells jokes often, handles instruments/singing, parlour tricks etc)
Gambler +2 Luck -1 Willpower +1 Senses
(Gambles, takes calculated risks etc)
Geomancer +1 Intellect +1 Luck -1 Agility
(Uses earth and dirt in different ways etc)
Healer +2 Willpower -1 Physique +1 Senses
(Treats wounds, helps incapacitated people, diagnoses sicknesses etc)
Heretic +1 Intellect +1 Willpower -1 Charisma -1 Senses
(Worships evil deities, handles cursed artefacts, preaches omens etc)
Hermit +1 Intellect +1 Agility -1 Charisma +1 Senses
(Tracks footprints, handles nature in clever ways, finds shelter in the wild etc)
Hydromancer +1 Willpower +1 Charisma -1 Physique +1 Senses
(Swimming in water, using water in clever ways, interacts with moisture etc)
Infiltrator +2 Agility -1 Physique +1 Senses
(Sneaking, stealing important documents, unlocking doors etc)
Justiciar +1 Physique +1 Willpower -1 Intellect
(Upholding the law, tracks down criminals, punishing criminals justly)
Leader +1 Willpower +1 Charisma -1 Agility
(Creates plans for the group, speaking with a large group of people and convincing them etc)
Lorekeeper +2 intellect -1 Physique -1 Senses
(Solves puzzles, reads books, learns history and finds weaknesses of enemies etc)
Mentalist +2 Willpower -1 Agility +1 Senses
(Plays mind-games with enemies, predicts events of what people will do, influences peoples
actions etc)
Morale +1 Charisma +1 Willpower -1 Luck
(Motivates people and party members, intensive pep-talks, drinking speeches etc)
Oracle +1 Intellect +1 Will -1 Luck +1 Senses
(Consulting and consoling people, having visions,

12. © Magnus Bergfall
Pyromancer +1 Intellect +1 Charisma -1 Physique
(Interacts a lot with fire, using fire in clever ways etc)
Scout +1 Agility +1 Luck -1 Willpower +2 Senses
(Goes off alone to check a situation, spots things in the distance etc)
Shapeshifter +1 Physique +1 Agility -1 Intellect +1 Senses
(Drinking transformative concoctions, disguising, imitations etc)
Silvertongue +2 Charisma -1 Physique
(Convincing people, seducing, bluffs and lies, haggling etc)
Sniper +2 Agility -1 Willpower +1 Senses
(Ranged combat, hits difficult targets etc)
Specter +1 Willpower +1 Charisma -1 Physique
(Scaring people, hiding in dark places, interacts with the occult etc)
Tinkerer +1 Agility +1 Intellect -1 Charisma -1 Senses
(Create gadgets and useful items, interacts with mechanisms etc)
Treasury +2 Luck -1 Intellect -1 Senses
(Handles economy well, finding rare treasures, appraising valuables etc)
Tyrant +1 Physique +1 Charisma -1 Intellect -1 Senses
(Treats people poorly, makes unreasonable demands, hamfisted etc)
Void +1 Willpower +1 Charisma -1 Physique
(Nihilistic, pessimistic, destroys important objects, etc)
Wild Child +1 Agility +1 Luck -1 Charisma +1 Senses
(Wild behaviour, sleeps outdoor, explores wilderness etc)