# Hunter x TTRPG x System ## Why does this exists? I have worked on this project for quite some time already: it changed more times than I can count them, starting from a D&D clone, to a new system but way too bloated to now this -hopefully- final iteration. At this moment in time, the goal of this document is to record and display progress as to gather feedbacks from the community. I think I have a solid idea, but I know that now I need some wider input to steer the development in the right direction. Whenever you see a box like the following, it will contain some "design notes" about what has been just described. > This will be done not only to explain the reasons behind some decision, but also to ask for feedback on a specific topic. You can contact me at the following email: dokkan.finev@gmail.com ## Character Creation ### General overview Generally speaking, character creation is going to be very similar to PF2E. As I want to keep the combat light and fast -as much as possible-, the character creation will necessarily be a bit more heavy. The PF2E comparison stems from my plan of using Feats and Feats trees as a way to build the character in what they can do and using backgrounds as *Classes*, but to represent a starting package of abilities they have. The idea is to have two different groups of Feats: * **General Feats**, which represent the character physical and mental capacities, as well as other social things (for example being a licensed Hunter, would be a General Feat). Feats that affect the [Aura Pool](#hunter-x-ttrpg-x-system-nen-combat-and-abilities-aura-pool), would be General Feats. These are gained at 1st level and every odd level. * **Nen Feats**, which represent the character Nen Proficiencies in the Four Principles and their advanced applications. These are gained at 1st level and every even level. ### Nen Scores Aside from Feats, a character is defined by a set of *Nen scores* for the Nen Principles and *some* of their advanced techinques. These scores will be used in combat and as pre-requisites for acquiring more advanced Feats. Before talking about the Nen scores, a mention of part of the combat system is necessary. The idea is somewhat inspired from Avatar Legends Center feature, but heavily reworked. The idea is that during combat one has to move their *Aura stance* to adapt to the flow of the combat and to do this without falling into desparate pits of design I came up with the following *Nen board*: > I wasn't able to uplaod the image to imgur so it will be attached to the reddit post where this was first published. The scores are and their meaning in the system are: * Ten, which measures the basic amount of offensive and defensive Nen power. * Ren, which measures how much more aura one can output. * Zetsu, which measures the amount of aura regained each turn in Zetsu. * Ko and Ken, they are respectively the most offensive stance and the most defensive stance. Higher values mean that it can be accessed from further away from the maximum. * Ryu, which measures how much one can move their own aura stance on the Nen board. Each position on the board symbolizes a different aura distribution from a offensive/defensive point of view. At the center we have Zetsu and Ten, going left we have defensive distributions and going right we have offensive distributions; then above and below we have Ko and Ken respectively, which are accessible from more than one distributions. <div class='classTable'> ##### Level up path | Level | Features | |:---:|:---:| | 1st | Background bonuses, General Feat, Nen Feat, Hatsu| | 2nd | Nen Feat | | 3rd | General Feat | | ... | ─ | | 9th | General Feat | | 10th | Nen Feat | </div> > Why 10 levels? I honestly don't know, it just seemed fitting, as 20 feels like too much. An argument could be made that even something like 5-7 levels could be enough, depending on how frequently a GM would make the players level up. <div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Character Creation</div> \pagebreakNum #### Missing Nen techniques As for the missing Nen techniques, which I know you noticed, I have my reasons for not including them. Starting with Hatsu, it is simply not used for combat directly. It will be used when creating abilities and only then. As for the others (Gyo, In, En), they will all be available via Feats as I did not see any reason for them to be on the Nen Board or having a scale of values. Shu, however, is completely removed for now as I don't see any practical reason for it to exist except as a limitation/condition for some abilities that can only be used with a tool or weapon of some kind. > I know that En makes kinda sense to have as a numeric scale, however I think that it is better to have it as feats insted of a stat, as to keep down the number of, well, numbers to keep track of. As for Shu, I don't see why a purely aesthetic choice needs to be blocked behind a feat or a score, and if needed a Limitation/Condition feat could be created in its stead. ### Backgrounds A background in this system acts as both a background in the usual sense and a class, mostly because it should give a bit more to start with than a regular background. The backgrounds are: * Nen prodigy * Criminal * Survivor * Pro Hunter * Street Urchin > I really couldn't come up with anymore backgrounds. It could be interesting to create a sort of background point pool with which one can build their own background and have these as pre-built options. ### Choosing a Nen Affinity Choosing a Nen affinity is definetely the most important part of the Character Creation process. This choice greatly impacts the direction of a PC character arc, as developing different abilities will lead to different interactions with the world. One way to chose a Nen affinity is to simply choose one (You weren't expecting that, huh?). But I feel like there could be some fun in doing a little game with the rest of the table during character creation, or session 0. #### Affinity x Assigning x Game Every player prepares the story background of their character in a brief but relevant summary. My suggestion would be their upbringing up to their late teens (or earlier, depending on their PC's age), but it's up to the player how much they want to share at this moment. A player reads their background summary. The other players, then, discuss and decide a Nen Affinity for the character, either relying on [Hisoka's Personality Test](#appendix-a-hisokas-personality-test) or not (remember the test is not 100% accurate). > This way, a player needs to come up with abilities of an affinity they may have not desired, which is something that could happen in the world of HxH. I think that it is a fun option to have, and having this kind of limitation can possibly lead to more ingenious abilities. <div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Character Creation</div> \pagebreakNum ## Nen Combat and Abilities ### Aura Pool Every PC and NPC have an Aura Pool. Activating abilities, being in an aura stance different from Ten or Zetsu or activating Nen Feats (such as Gyo) are all things that consume Aura. And that is pretty straight forward. However, in the name of simplicity and keeping things interesting, getting hit also reduces your Aura. The quantity that gets lost can be thought of as Aura being shaved off to defend oneself and can be calculated as: <div style='margin-top:20px'></div> <font face='scalysans' size='2'> <center> **Aura lost** </font> = <font face='scalysans' size='2'> Enemy Attack Value - </center> <div style='margin-top:-8px'></div> <center> Your Defense Value </center> </font> > I think that making the Aura Pool a value that stands for a fight time limit, a health bar and a resource pool for abilities gives the system a special feeling that increases the strategic value of every given action one might take. ### Nen Abilities A Nen ability is the ultimate expression of a person's personality and experiences. Most times they are very nuanced and specific, and require a series of condition that need to be met in order to even think to activate an ability. It is something very complicated to create in the HxH verse, and that is why a system to create Nen abilities in a TTRPG is a difficult task to accomplish. My idea is to have a Point-buy Feat system. When starting to create a Nen Ability, you have a certain amount of Ability Points (AP) that you can spend to buy feats to add effects or power to the ability. On the other hand, you can "loan" some AP by adding to the ability a limitation or a condition. ### Nen affinity The first step in creating a Nen ability is choosing the affinities it will rely on. Whenever you start creating an ability, you can add two Feats of your affinity, or a Feat of another adjacent affinity, without paying their AP cost. Then, every other Feat needs to be paid according to the following rules: * Feats of your own affinity cost exactly their AP cost. * Feats of one-removed affinities cost 2 more. * Feats of two-removed affinities cost 4 more. * Feats of opposed affinity cost double. * Specialization feats can only be taken by Specialists. A player can talk with a GM to get a Specialization feat even if not a Specialist, but their cost follows the rules above plus another 4. > We now know from the Manga tha Specialization is a far more common and accessible category that we originally thought. ### Modes Some abilities could have multiple parts, or modes, like Gon's Jajanken. This means that the several modes share some characteristics, be it an initial charge up or condition, a common set of effects, or a common ending set of coniditon or effects. To create such abilities it is no different than to create a regular ability, with a slight adjustment: the common set and the first mode are created as usual; then, feats for the second mode will cost 1 more, feats for the third will cost 2 more and so on. If you want a specific feat on some modes, but not all of them, you will need to buy it multiple times. > I feel like Modes can be very useful to use Feats of affinities different from your own in a more efficient way. ### Secondary Abilities This type of abilities are those that follow-up an ability fulfillment or extend/facilitate the usage of an ability. Take in consideration what the secondary ability does and ponder the possibility of adding a Mode to one of your abilities, instead of creating a secondary ability. #### Follow-up abilities These abilities are created regularly, but they have a necessary condition of doing something with an existing ability of the user. As such, they have an extra amount of AP at their disposal when creating the ability. > Amount to be decided, but they have every right to more powerful in some way, depending on the starting ability. #### Extending and Facilitating Abilities These abilities are far stronger, being able to outright remove limitations or alleviate them: one example is Chrollo's Double Face. These abilities should be disccussed and worked out with the GM. They should cost an extra amount of AP to be created. > I feel like the limitations are a big fun factor of the system and I would lift them only for important narrative events and not to just ease an ability. <div class='footnote'>Part 2 | Nen Combat and Abilities</div> \pagebreakNum # Appendix A ## Hisoka's Personality Test Thanks to [Hunterpedia](https://hunterxhunter.fandom.com/wiki/Nen#Hisoka's_Personality_Test "title"). ### Enhancers Enhancers are simple and determined. Most of them never lie, hide nothing, and are very straightforward in their actions or in their thinking. Their words and actions are often dominated by their feelings. They are generally very selfish and focused on their goals. This is reflected in their Nen as Enhancers typically rely on simple and uncomplicated Nen abilities. ### Transmuters Transmuters are whimsical, prone to deceit, and fickle; they can quickly consider something trash that they once treasured. They have unique characteristics; many are regarded as weirdos or tricksters. They often put forth a facade while hiding the truer aspects of their personalities. Even when they don't hide their personalities, they rarely reveal their true intentions. Many Transmuters rely on techniques that give unique and unpredictable properties to their Nen that reflect their personalities. ### Emitters Emitters are impatient, not detail-oriented, short-tempered, and quick to react volatilely. They resemble Enhancers in their impulsivity, but the difference between them is that Emitters tend to calm down and forget more easily. Because of the nature of Emission, many Nen abilities created by Emitters are primarily long range. \columnbreak ### Conjurers Conjurers are typically high-strung or overly serious, stoic, and nervous. They are often on guard as to be cautious. They are very observant and logical, rarely falling into traps. Being able to analyze things calmly is the strength of Conjurers. Many of the items that Conjurers create are often used by them deliberately, practically, and logically. ### Manipulators Manipulators are argumentative and logical. They advance at their own pace and tend to want to keep their families and loved ones safe. On the other hand, when it comes to pursuing their own goals, they do not listen to what others might have to say about it. While Manipulators often use techniques that allow them to control their opponents, some choose an inanimate medium to control. ### Specialists Specialists are independent and charismatic. They won't say anything important about themselves and will refrain from making close friends. However, because of their natural charisma that attracts others, they are always surrounded by many people. <div class='footnote'>Appendix A | Hisoka's Personality Test</div>