The Matrix Role-Playing Game

D6
Legend

Table of
Contents

Game
Mechanics

Characters

I. The Basics (D6 Legend)
This game is based on West End Game's D6 Legend system, specifically its DC Universe game. I highly recommend that you pick up the DC Universe rules (available at game stores and the WEG website) to fill in gaps that I don't cover here. There are many differences between the Matrix D6 Legend and DCU. See my Comments in the What's New section for more information. As always, I encourage you to tweak the system in any way that works best for you. If you have any questions or comments, please email me and I'll try to answer them for you.

GAME MECHANICS

The Dice
The system requires players to roll six-sided dice (D6), which represent a character's attributes and skills. When appropriate, the Game Master will tell a player to roll a number of dice equal to either the attribute or skill being used. The player rolls the appropriate number of dice, counts the number of Successes and tells the GM the result.

Regular Die

Die Roll Result

1,2 Failure

3,4,5,6 Success

Wild Die

Die Roll Result

1 Critical Failure

2 Failure

3,4,5 Success

6 Critical Success

If the Success Total is higher than the difficulty number (See below), the character succeeds. If it is lower, the character fails.

Example: Rom is trying to walk along a thin ledge without falling. He has a Dexterity of 3D. The GM sets the difficulty number at 1 Success. The player rolls 3 dice and gets a 2, 3, and 5, resulting in two Successes. Rom traverses the ledge with ease.

The Wild Die
Each player should designate one of his or her dice to be the Wild Die (it is helpful if it's a different color or shape).

Critical Successes: Whenever the the Wild Die comes up with a 2,3,4, or 5, treat the result as if it were a normal die. But, if the Wild Die comes up with a 6, the player receives 1 Success and rolls again. On a 1 or 2, the player does nothing more (1's do not count as Critical Failures after the first roll of the Wild Die). On a 3-5, the player adds yet another Success to his total. On a 6, the player adds another Success and rerolls! This continues as long as the character rolls 6's on the Wild Die.

Example: Rom has a Firearms skills of 4D. When he fires, he rolls 4 dice. His values are 2,5,3 and on the Wild Die, a 6, resulting in 3 Successes He rolls the Wild Die again and gets another 6! The total is now 4 Successes and he gets to roll again. This time, he rolls a 1. The 1 is counted as a failure (but not a Critical Failure) and he stops rolling with a final total of 4 successes.

Critical Failures: If the Wild Die comes up with a 1 when a character is first rolling a Skill or Attribute Check, roll the Wild Die again. If the value is 1 through 5, remove the Wild Die and deduct one of the Successes from the other dice (if any Successes were rolled). If the result of the second rolls is a 6, the character has Complicated. He or she has screwed up in a particularly bad way....perhaps dropping his gun down into a sewer grating or twisting an ankle while trying to dodge. Complications should make a character's life more difficult, but never kill them outright.

Example: Rom is shooting again. He rolls a 2,5,6 (2 Successes and 1 Failure) and on the Wild Die a 1. He rerolls the Wild Die and gets a 2. He removes the Wild Die and subtracts 1 Success, resulting in 1 Success remaining.

Example 2: Rom is running away from a pair of Agents on a crowded street. The GM has him make a running roll with a difficulty of 2 Successes to avoid colliding with a bystander. Rom, with a Running skill of 3D, rolls 3 dice. He gets a 2,3 (1 Failure and 1 Success) and on the Wild Die a 1. He rerolls the Wild and gets a 6! He not only fails but complicates. The GM tells him that he runs into a homeless woman pushing a shopping cart and drops his cellular phone into the gutter, short-circuiting it. He'll have to find another way to contact his Operator outside the Matrix!

The GM could have just as well said that Rom got a muscle cramp and is -1D to all Dexterity actions for the next 5 rounds, or that he is stunned for the next round. Anything that makes Rom's life a little more scary.

Difficulty Numbers
When a character makes an Attribute or Skill check, they are usually rolling against a difficulty number (Note: I think these difficulty numbers are two easy! I may recommend increasing them all by one after some playtesting. Let me know what you think). See my comments in the What's New section for more information). Difficulties are divided into the following categories:

Difficulty	Difficulty Numbers	Description
Very Easy	1	Anyone with slight skill should be able to do this most of the time. Example: Driving a car in moderate traffic.
Easy	2	Most characters should be able to do this most of the time, though there is still a change for failure. Example: Driving a car in moderate traffic during a rainstorm.
Moderate	3	Requires a fair amount of skill and/or effort. Most unskilled characters will fail such an attempt. Example: Avoiding jaywalkers who suddenly step in front of your car during a high-speed chase.
Difficult	4	Only highly skilled characters succeed at these with any regularity. Example: Driving through an intersection full of speeding cross traffic.
Very Difficult	5	Even pros have a hard time pulling these attempts off. Example: Steering your car into oncoming traffic and avoiding collisions while at high speeds.
Extremely Difficult	6	Only the luckiest and most skilled are successful. Example: Jumping from a rooftop into a small window across the alley (like Trinity from the movie).
Heroic	7	You'd better be skilled and lucky. Example: Holding onto a cable strapped to a plummeting helicopter as it pulls you off of a rooftop. Example: As Neo did in the movie.
Unearthly	8	A character can only achieve this with some skill in the Matrix. Example: Jumping from one building to another (as Morpheus did in the Construct in the movie).
Legendary	9	A character must have advanced skill in the Matrix in order to even think of attempting such an action. Example: Stopping bullets in mid-air.
Impossible	10	Only those who have mastered the Matrix may attempt these tests. Example: Decoding an Agent.

Opposed Rolls
When a character is testing his or her Attributes or Skills against those of another (PC or NPC), the parties involved make Opposed Rolls. The one with the highest roll wins.

Example: One character tries to shoot another. The first makes a Firearms roll while the other makes a Dodge roll. If the attacker's roll roll results in more Successes than the others' Dodge, then he hits (see Actions and Combat for more information).

Character Points
A character may spend his or her Character Points to gain additional dice during an action. They receive an additional die for each point spent. A character may spend up to 3 CP's per action or attack, and up to 5 CP's for any defensive action (Dodging, Strength rolls versus damage, etc.). If the die purchased with a CP comes up a 6, the player may re-roll it and add the new value to the total (as for the Wild Die, though there is no penalty for rolling a 1, other than it is a Failure).

Example: Rom must leap from the ledge of a building to a hovering helicopter. The GM sets the difficult at Very Difficult (5). Rom has a 5D in Jumping and rolls the dice. He gets a 3,4,1,4 and on the Wild Die a 2 (3 Successes and 2 Failures). He decides to spend some CP's to avoid plummeting to his death. He spends one and rolls a 6! That's one success and he rolls again, getting a 3. He makes the jump!

Character Points may be used in or out of the Matrix. Furthermore, they may be used for the same action as a Chi Point.

Chi Points
Chi represents a character's inner strength and the extent to which they have control over the Matrix. When a character spends a Chi point, all dice on his next action are doubled (Note: This is different than the D6 Classic rules, in which Force points double all actions in a round. In Legend, it applies only to a single action!). Anything which is not part of a character (a weapon or vehicle), is not affected.

Example 1: Rom is in hand-to-hand combat with an Agent. He decides to spend a Chi point one round. His Martial Arts is normally 5D while in the Matrix. For this action, it goes to 10D! For purposes of damage, his Strength remains the same.
Example 2: Rom is in a firefight with an enemy and decides to spend a Chi Point. His Firearms skill doubles from 4D to 8D, but the damage from the gun (5D) remains the same (though there's a chance for a great Effect Value).

See Characters: Chi for rules about using and regaining Chi. Remember, Chi may only be used while inside the Matrix. .

Effect Value
The difference between the number of Successes a player rolls and the Difficulty Number is called the Effect Value (EV). EV's are a measure of how successful a character's attempt has been (or, in some cases, how dismal the failure turns out). In combat, the character rolls one additional damage die for EV point. In non-combat actions, EV's can indicate the speed, grace or ingenuity with which a character succeeds. See Actions and Combat for more information.

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