Hello and welcome to the second edition of the roleplaying game which lets you play not werewolves, not vampires, not wraiths even, but Goths. Perhaps you are an unbeliever who is nevertheless curious about what life as a goth might be like. Or perhaps you are yourself a goth, and are tired of the same old gaming systems and the ordinary, 'normal' characters they generate. Then Goth: the Degeneration is for you!
This new, updated edition gives you extra skills and powers to choose from, to create a more, ahem, fully-fleshed character.
As with most roleplaying games, the character you play (who may be male, female, or anything else you come up with, and may have the name and occupation of your choice) is defined by a set of vital statistics, or 'stats'. In Goth: the Degeneration, characters have the following stats.
Brain - How intelligent sie is, how capable of solving problems
and having new ideas.
Cool - How able sie is to stand up under pressure, go outside
without make-up, etc.
Dexterity- How good sie is at physical manipulation and tasks
requiring agility, such as dancing.
Liver - How much alcohol, caffeine and / or other dubious
chemical substance hir system is capable of
withstanding.
Strength - How heavy an amp sie can carry, how hard sie can punch if
cornered.
Style - How good sie is at creating an impressive appearance in
hirself or hir art, how much sie can get away with.
These stats can be arrived at in a random manner by rolling three six-sided dice (d6) each to give a number between 3 and 18, or chosen deliberately by the allocation of sixty eight points across the six attributes.
Your character will also have certain secondary abilities based on these stats. These are worked out as follows:-
Intoxication points - These are equivalent to the Liver stat
multiplied by three. Intoxicating
substances are categorised into the number of points they take off
this score per dose (with an alcohol unit equalling one intoxication
point). For every three intoxication points below normal, a character
must take a minus five penalty on all dice rolls. When a character's
intoxication points reach zero, sie is unconscious.
Hit points - These are equal to the Strength stat multiplied by two, plus
the Cool stat. They indicate the amount that your character
can be damaged in a fight before sie dies. When a character has only half of
hir original hit points left, the player must roll less than hir strength stat
on three six-sided dice, or sie will faint. When a character is in a relaxed
situation (eg: sitting in a nice, dark corner with some beer) hir hit points
will regenerate at the rate of one per hour. If sie is in a more active
situation, hir hit points will regenerate at the rate of one every two
hours.
Damage bonus - one point of extra damage for every point in
strength over fifteen.
The average height for male goths is five foot ten, and for female goths five foot seven, plus or minus points from the advantages / disadvantages section.
The starting character posesses rented accomodation and just enough income to pay for it every month. Sie will also have a starter kit of make-up, clothes, books, records and other essentials. The starter character does not have a big lump sum of cash to spend - come on, this game is about goths, for God's sake!
As every starting character has two hundred and fifty points in hir Skill Points Pool, points can be gained or lost according to the advantages and / or disadvantages selected by the player at this stage. The extremity of a particular advantage or disadvantage is expressed by its rank, between one and ten (ten being the most extreme). Each rank costs one point per advantage, or generates, per rank of disadvantage, one point which the character may use elsewhere (eg: to buy more skills).
These attributes can be selected from the list below, or invented at the GM's discretion. ;)
Good / bad figureAll skills are based on two of the character's stats. To make a skill roll, the player should roll two ten-sided dice (percentile dice) to give a two figure number. This number should then be added to the character's skill rank. If the total is over a hundred, the character can complete the task successfully.
If a character has no skill in a particular area, the number sie rolls should be added to the sum of the two stats on which that skill is based. Thus, a character who is particularly brainy will have a better chance at a brains based skill, even if it is not a skill with which sie is familiar.
GMs may wish to modify skill rolls for particularly easy or difficult tasks. This is done by requiring the player to roll a higher number in the case of a really hard task, or allowing them to aim for a number less than one hundred if the task is especially easy. If a player rolls two nines or two zeroes (99 or 100) on the percentile dice, hir character has achieved a critical success. In the case of combat skills, this means the character does double the usual damage. In other skills, in means sie has succeeded amazingly well.
Likewise, if a player rolls 01 or 02 on the percentile dice, hir character has done especially badly. Such a failure will sometimes result in the character being injured, or it will have the opposite effect to that which the character was aiming for.
In creating a character, the player should select the skills sie wants and then divide points from the Skill Points Pool between them. Each player stars with two hundred and fifty of these points, plus or minus those spent or gained on advantages and disadvantages. Points allotted to a skill are added to the total of the two stats on which the skill is based, to give the skill rank. However, no skill may rank over seventy five before the game begins.
Experience points given out during the game may be used to boost the level of a character's skills.
You may want to make your goth stand out from the crowd by giving hir a special power. These powers are passive, and their effect will occur all the time whether or not the player desires it; so think very carefully before you choose. You may only have one special power, at a cost of thirty points.
Absorb Light - shroud yourself always in stylish shadows Attract Storm - dramatic wind, lightning etc. will follow you around Disturb Normals - your physical proximity will upset mundane folk Pursued by Tragedy - stylish, heartrending disasters surround you Uncanny Aura - no-one is sure why, but they know you're wierd
Finally, you will want to choose a Clan for your goth character to be a part of. Each Clan has a minimum requirement in one Stat, but also gives your character special advantages. The Clan expresses roughly what type of personality your character has, and who sie is likely to hang around with.
Industrial - Minimum of 12 in Dexterity (to avoid flying off the dancefloor). Industrogoths get an extra 10 points in the combat skill of their choice, and 10 points in Scream. They have the disadvantage that dancing causes their make-up to run and their clothes to become sweaty, giving a minus ten to all style based rolls after they have visited a club.
Mopey - Minimum of 12 in Brains, so as to convince parents not to send you to the psychiatrist every morning. Mopeygoffs get an extra 10 points in each of Angst and Write, because they do a lot of it. They have the disadvantage of being pursued by cheerful normals who insist they should "cheer up", and receive a minus ten on all cool based rolls in this situation.
New Romantic - Minimum of 12 in Style, naturally, it being more important than substance. New Romantic Goths get an extra 10 points in Apply Make-up, and 10 points in Shop. They have the disadvantage of not being able to go outside without their make-up, and receive a minus to ten to all strength based rolls if they attempt to do so.
Perky - Minimum of 12 in Cool, or you won't be able to stand the pace. Perkygoffs get an extra 20 points in Persuade, unless they are trying to persuade a Mopey, because they are so enthusiastic. They have the disadvantage of failing to notice when situations are becoming dangerous or unpleasant, and receive a minus ten to all brains based rolls when disaster is impending.
Punk - Minimum of 12 in Strength, which you'll need to deal with your capacity (intentional or otherwise) to attract aggro. Punkgoffs get an extra 10 points towards the combat skill of their choice, and 10 points in Pierce. They have the disadvantage of frequently exhausting themselves after a night (or several) spent dancing, drinking and becoming inebriated, after which they receive a minus ten to liver based rolls for the following twenty four hours.
Waster - Minimum of 12 in Liver, because the Wastergoff must be able to consume large quantities of hir chosen substance(s) before passing out. Wastergoffs get an extra 10 points in each of Mix Drink and Prepare Drug. They have the disadvantage of being almost perpetually inebriated to some extent, and receive a minus ten to all dexterity based rolls in the twenty four hours following any party or visit to a club.
We hope you have fun playing Goth: the Degeneration.
Goth: the Degeneration was written by Jennie Kermode, with thanks to ZeN, Columbine and Seraph of Dusk for some helpful suggestions, and to Gotterdammerung for the title.last updated April 2001