Cineflex

1.
Familiarize yourself with the game world
2.
Come up with a concept
3.
Choose up to 10 Traits that make your character unique; Traits can be
o
personality characteristics e.g. hot-tempered, honorable
o
appearance characteristics, e.g. beautiful, ferocious stare
o
habits or compulsions, e.g. alcoholism
Your character's Traits are there to help you role-play the character more consistently and colorfully. That's
why there is no point cost for getting Traits - their price is only that you should roleplay them. Traits do
two things for you: First, Traits can be used to accent or inspire appropriate actions - for example, a Crafty
person is better at pulling off tricks than one without a similar Trait. Second, Traits can make the game
world react to your character - for example, a tavern crowd would react very differently to a character with
Intimidating Scars and to a character who's Sexy. The other side of the coin is that Traits can hamper you
in certain actions - for example, trying to negotiate with a Troll when you have the trait Hates Trolls - or
can make the world react to your character in unpleasant ways, e.g. people tend not to like your character
because he's too Intimidating. When rolling in a situation where a Trait hinders your character, the roll is
made Handicapped; any failure is interpreted as a disastrous Flub. If you deliberately deny a Trait - refuse
to roleplay it in situations where it should affect your character - the GM can declare that Trait "in doubt;"
fail to roleplay it again, and the Trait is removed - your character's personality has changed because that's
how you chose to play it.
4.
Choose Abilities
o
Main Ability: you have 1 Main Ability
o
Major Abilities; you may have up to 4 Major Abilities
o
Minor Abilities: any number, as long as appropriate to concept
Any skill or knowledge can be taken as an Ability. The idea is you get what's appropriate to your character
concept. For example, Driving: Driving as a Main Ability: racecar driver; Driving as a Major Ability:
police patrol officer; Driving as a Minor Ability: any modern 20th century urbanite. Abilities are rated with
dice: Main Ability 3d; Major Ability 2d; Minor Ability 1d. Minor Ability Rule: If during the game you are
given a test for an Ability your character should have, or you think your character should have, but forgot to
take, you may claim it as a Minor Ability. i.e., your character is a modern professor of archaeology, and
finds himself in a car chase; you didn't give him the Driving skill, but you can claim it now because it's
appropriate for the character to have at least a routine level of ability in driving a car. No Ability Rule: If
the GM requires a specific Ability for a roll but you don't have it, you will roll Handicapped. This
represents the likelihood that a character attempting something he has no idea at all how to do properly will
do something horribly wrong. For example, a person who does not know how to swim is likely to thrash
about in panic and increase his chances of drowning.
5.
Spend 25 Character Points to buy Attributes
o
cost is 1:1
Attributes measure the character's basic mental and physical capabilities. There are only four basic
Attributes in Cineflex - Body represents physical size, strength, health, and endurance; it is the basis of
physical damage resistance. Wits represents intelligence, perception, the ability to think and react quickly,
and void deception. Psyche represents willpower, courage, and in fantasy games magical power; it is the
basis of resistance to psychic damage and mental domination. Luck can be interpreted as the power of fate,
destiny, divine favor, etc; it is the basis of resistance to curses and transforming magics. Luck dice are a
fund of dice you can use to add to your die pool when you roll, giving you a better chance of success. You
have Luck dice equal to your Luck rating, and this fund is refreshed every game session. Attributes for
normal human beings range from 1 to 10, the average being 5. Exceptional humans can go to about 12-13;
Conan the Barbarian would probably have 13 Body. In a usual game, you will have 25 points to distribute
between these four Attributes; if the GM wants more powerful characters, he can increase this allowance as
desired. Check Die Pools: Attribute values are associated with Check die pools for Checks; Wits for
perception tests, Psyche for willpower or courage tests, Luck for tests of blind chance. The die pool
equivalents are derived by dividing the Attribute rank by 3 and rounding up. Luck Die Pool: You have Luck
Dice equal to your Luck rating. You may spend Luck Dice to increase your chances of success by rolling
more dice. The Luck Dice pool is refreshed every game session
6.
Note your Check die pools
o
1-3 = 1d

o
o
o
7.

4-6 = 2d
7-9 = 3d
10-12 = 4d
Write down your character's Outfit (items and equipment)

Sample Character ROBIN HOOD, aka Robin of Locksley, Saxon noble turned outlaw. Robin is sandyhaired, lithely built, and sports a narrow mustache and short spade beard. A merry rogue, he is most often
encountered smiling or laughing. Robin is crafty, glib, an incorrigible prankster, honorable, loyal to King
Richard Lionheart, loves Maid Marian, and can't resist a challenge.
Body
6
2d
Main Ability
Archery
Wits
8
3d
Major Abilities
Sneaking, Trickery, Sword, Leadership
Psyche
6
2d
Minor Abilities
Quarterstaff, Riding, Swimming, etc.
Luck
5

Outfit
green hunting clothes, feathered cap, longbow, quiver of arrows, sword, dagger
Character Development As your character goes through adventures, you may earn various rewards along
the way, rewards that allow you to improve or develop your character as you wish. There are no
"experience points" in Cineflex; all awards are given in a much more concrete and intuitively useable form.
A material award is simply the GM allowing your character to gain a desired item, wealth or property. This
is a fitting reward for adventures following the treasure hunt theme, or for characters who have made
material gain a main objective of their lives. A story award is the GM arranging for Something Nice to
happen to the character; boy gets girl or vice versa, getting promoted, getting knighted, being given a new
fief to rule, finding a lost loved one, finding out the secret of your past, etc etc. Goals written into your
character background can guide the GM as to what story awards to plan for your character. Story awards
fulfill the character by making it more complete in some way, or taking the character in a new and exciting
direction. i.e., being made a baron will create new adventures, as the character deals with the problems of

ruling a barony. A window of opportunity is a chance for your character to change or improve himself in
some way. This may be from being able to take the time to reflect, time to train in an existing Ability, a
career change, or meeting a master of some art the character wants to learn. When the GM offers you one
or more windows of opportunity, you may collaborate with him on what form those windows take and how
your character will use them. Or you may tell your GM beforehand what your character plans to do with
his free time, and the GM creates the window of opportunity using your input. A window of opportunity
can be used to:
* gain a new Minor Ability
* raise a Minor Ability to a Major Ability
* change Main Ability*
* gain a new Trait
* lose an existing Trait
* learn a new magic Motif
* raise an Attribute by one point
*Note: You may only have ONE Main Ability. There is no limit on the number of Major Abilities,
however. When you change your Main Ability, the old Main Ability is demoted to Major, and you may
promote a previously existing Major Ability to Main. You may not promote an Ability more than once at a
time - you cannot have an Ability go from Minor to Major to Main in just one window of opportunity.
Declaring Actions Describe your character's intended action to the GM as clearly as possible. Try to add
some color and detail, to make it more fun. Bland declarations can get boring after a while - liven it up!
You'll even get bonus dice for it. i.e. Bad: "I attack." Good: "I get behind the table, make like I'm going to
go around, then leap and slide across the table, kicking a mug at him, then launch a full attack as soon as
my feet touch the floor again." Much better; the stunt will have a pretty low Target Number to roll against,
since it's not going to be easy, but the color and sheer fun of this action is worth at least a +1d bonus. As
you notice, in Cineflex you're allowed to declare actions as sequences of several actions put together.
Rather than bog down a game by trying to parse and resolve each action in a sequence separately, Cineflex
resolves the whole sequence as one action; just be aware, though, that the more you try to get away with the
lower the Target Number will be .Rule: Let the GM worry about the numbers. Think of what should work
based on logic and good tactics/planning, and describe it clearly so the GM can understand what you're
after. Rule: What Ability to use? Always use the most appropriate Ability listed on your character sheet. If
what you need isn't there, but your character should logically have it, roll as though you had it as a Minor
Ability; otherwise, you are regarded as not having any requisite Ability.
Eyeballing Many tasks that do not require a specific skill can be resolved simply by comparing the
appropriate Attribute value to the difficulty or scale of the task. For example, can a character lift a stone
slab? The GM rules that any character with Body 8 or higher can do so, no need to roll.
Task Rolls are used to resolve attempts by the character to perform an action whose outcome is uncertain.
Easy or routine actions under normal conditions require no roll.
1.
GM describes the situation
2.
You describe your intended action and what Ability will be used
3.
GM gives a Target Number (TN) based on the difficulty of the action
4.
GM may give bonus dice for
o
good roleplaying
o
good tactics
o
highly entertaining descriptions and narrative
5.
You can get more bonus dice by:
o
having assistance
o
spending Luck Dice
o
using a Trait to accent your action; e.g. a dirty trick with Crafty
o
claiming inspiration from a Trait; e.g. Chaste vs. seduction
o
Note: maximum bonus for using Traits is +1d, regardless of number of Traits involved
6.
Roll the appropriate die pool + bonus dice
To succeed, at least one of your dice must roll less than or equal to the TN. As you can see, the more dice
you get to roll, the better your chances of making it. Die results are read thus: Simple Success: at least 1
die < TN, Critical Success: at least 1 die = TN (aka Crit) , Simple Failure: all dice > TN, but no die = 20,

Disastrous Failure: all dice > TN, at least 1 die = 20 (aka Flub) Complication: as an added fillip, the GM
may rule that a success wherein one or more dice rolled 20 has a minor complication. i.e., in a firefight this
could mean that a character's gun has jammed. Handicapped: a character is Handicapped when acting
against a personal Trait, or when he overreaches his capabilities - e.g. attempting to swim without knowing
how. When Handicapped, a character is highly likely to do something very badly wrong; any failure is
interpreted as a disastrous Flub.
Target Numbers represent how easy or difficult a task is, in the GM's judgment. The lower the TN, the
harder the task; the higher the TN, the easier the task. The default TN for a task is based on its general
difficulty; factors like trying to speed up the pace of the action will lower the TN. In other words, a TN not
only represents the difficulty of performing an action correctly, but also of being able to accomplish an
action in time.
Easy
18
Challenging
15
Difficult
12
Very Difficult
9
Extremely Difficult
6
Incredibly Difficult
3
Checks test a character's reactions (as opposed to Task Rolls, which test voluntary actions); passing a test
means a character can react as desired, while failing the test means the character was not able to react
quickly enough or remain in control. These are some of the Checks that frequently occur in a game:
Perception Check: use Wits check pool, plus any Trait bonus. Perception checks are made to see if a
character notices something unusual or concealed in some way. Traits like Perceptive, Alert or Suspicious
will add a bonus die. The TN reflects how well-hidden the clue is. Nerve Check: use Psyche check pool,
plus any Trait bonus. Nerve checks are made to see if a character can resist terror, severe pain, and other
similar influences. Success allows the character to continue, failure means the character behaves according
to the influence; e.g. failing a Nerve Check vs. a siren's song means you dive into the sea to join her.
Claiming inspiration or from an appropriate Trait, will add a bonus die. The TN reflects how strong the
influence is. Luck Check: use the Luck check pool. Luck checks are made to see if circumstances beyond
a character's control are in his favor. For example, a character crosses a rickety rope bridge, that has only a
13-in-20 chance of holding under his weight; roll Luck dice vs. a TN of 13, success means the bridge holds,
failure means the bridge gives way. Note: Luck checks do not deplete the Luck Die pool. They are rolled
using the Check pool, not Luck Dice. Abilities may also be used to perform Checks; when a situation is
forced upon a character, the character's response is resolved as a Check using the appropriate Ability die
pool. i.e., a storm forces the captain of a ship caught in it to make a Check against a TN representing the
difficulty of weathering the storm.
Effects The effect of an action can be expressed either as a Force - causing direct change or impact on the
target of the action, or as a Check Value - the TN for a test which affected characters or creatures must pass.
i.e., a wizard who wants to sink a ship may hurl lightning bolts at it to cause direct damage, or raise a storm
that will test the captain's seamanship, failure meaning that the ship will sink. Both ways of expressing an
effect are based on the Power Level (PL) of the effect: Force = Power Level Check Value = 20 - Power
Level, to a minimum of 3 So our wizard, who wants to raise a storm to sink a ship, will want to cast at a PL
that gives the ship captain a pretty low chance of succeeding his Seamanship Check; PL 10 or higher, to
give the captain a Seamanship Check at 10 or lower.

Rating
Power Level
Check Value
Minor
3
17
Moderate
5
15
Major
10
10
Great
15
5
Epic
20
3
Mythic
25
3
Rule: When the Force of a direct effect exceeds the resistance value, the target is overwhelmed by the
effect. If the effect was physical damage, this kills or incapacitates the target; if the effect was a mind
control spell, the target falls under the control of the spellcaster. Rule: Use the most appropriate Attribute as
the basis for resistance value. Body resists physical damage, Psyche resists psychic damage and mental
domination, and Luck resists being cursed or transformed. Protective factors, such as armor, may add to
the appropriate resistance value against some effects; for example, armor is usually good vs. weapon
attacks, but does not count vs. magical blasts.
Group Effort Working together on a single task increases the chances of success. For every doubling of
the number of participants, add +1d to the die pool. The leader of the work group rolls using his Ability,
plus the bonus dice for having assistants. In addition, characters working together can all spend Luck Dice
for the roll; when casting spells together, sorcerers can spend their Magic Reserve Points to boost their
effect.
Combat is run in "rounds" of about 10-30 seconds each; for purposes of timekeeping, assume that a round
is 10 seconds. The exact amount of time is not important, only the rule that a character gets one rolled
action per round. A character's combat action" may consist of a whole sequence of attacking and
defensive maneuvers; it is assumed that a character in combat is doing everything possible to avoid being
hit, unless specifically stated otherwise. Pacing is very important; if you can act faster than your opponent
can successfully respond, you win. The pace at which combat happens is reflected by TN; the faster the
pace, the lower the TN. The damage system tracks only solid, significant hits; being hit only once with
most weapons heavier than a knife can easily take down most characters, so defense is very important.
Unlike other RPGs where you metronomically trade smacks with your opponent until one is whittled down,

in Cineflex most combat will consist of a series of ever-more desperate and exciting exchanges until one's
defense is broken. (And if you're wondering what that means, watch a movie like Highlander or Star
Wars: the Phantom Menace and observe the swordfighting sequences closely.)
Enemies come in two basic flavors: Goons and Villains. Goons are the faceless thugs that typically attack
characters in hordes, aren't very bright or competent, and die like flies. Villains are the special monsters,
enemy leaders, and main bad guys who are meant to present a major challenge to player characters. Goons:
Have a Threat Rating (TR) of 1d ; May have a Check Value to represent stealth, terror, etc.; Have no other
stats ; Are automatically Finished (killed, KO'd, etc) when hit. Villains: Have a Threat Rating of 2d to 5d ;
May have a Check Value to represent powers of stealth, terror, etc. ; Have no Luck attribute - this is
subsumed into Threat Rating ; Have the attributes Body, Wits and Psyche like player characters ; Take
damage normally. Threat Rating dice represent the overall challenge that monsters and villains present to
the player characters; this includes fighting skill and any other ability that the enemy may try to use against
a PC, and their luck. TR dice are used for all actions and tests taken by the monster/villain. This simplified
treatment makes the GM's job easier, since with several players to handle he will not have the time to keep
track of depleting Luck Die pools and such. Check Values represent special abilities or skills that present
obstacles to the PCs; they are expressed as a TN against which the player must roll.
Range determines the highest TN possible for a ranged attack.
Range
TN Limit
Benchmark
Point-blank
18
melee distance
Close
15
across a room; thrown knife
Short
12
across a gym; thrown spear
Medium
9
across a football field; bow
Long
6
about 500 yards+; most rifles
Extreme
3
limit of vision; artillery
Action Bidding This mechanic can be used to resolve a wide variety of direct conflict situations, from
chases to melee combat to aerial dogfights.It is specially suited for highly cinematic, dramatic duels.
1.
Declare an action and bid a TN for it

2.
Your opponent may either:
o
Call for the roll at current TN, or
o
Bid an action that tops or defeats your action, and bid a lower TN
3.
Bidding may continue until either party calls for the roll
4.
Make an Opposed Task Roll at the last TN bid
5.
If you win the roll-off, you are allowed to narrate the final sequence of events
Opposed Roll Resolution The usual result of a contest between reasonably well-matched opponents is a
draw; in the movies, you don't see swordsmen standing toe to toe hacking pieces out of each other until one
disintegrates, you see them trading attacks and parries until at a dramatic moment one pierces his
opponent's defense and lands a hit. The Opposed Roll mechanic models this.
Victory
you succeed, your opponent fails
Defeat
you fail, your opponent succeeds
Standoff
both fail or both succeed
To win, you will probably have to risk bidding a TN low enough that your opponent is likely to fail. This
simulates the fact that to attack more ferociously or at faster pace is more difficult, and opens you to a
larger chance of error. After all, combat is always a gamble. Note that Victory can be anything that decides
the fight in your favor, even if only momentarily; you can use a Victory result to declare a solid hit for
damage, to disarm your opponent, pin him against a wall, etc.
Advantage: the Great Tie-Breaker If you can claim an Advantage over your opponent, and the roll is made
at your bid TN, a Standoff result is reinterpreted as Victory in your favor. You can claim Advantage by
bidding a maneuver or trick that gives you a definite edge over your opponent: you trap his blade, or fling
sand in his face, or in an aerial dogfight you maneuver to come at him with the sun behind you. However,
the "window of opportunity" created by such tricks is fleeting; this is reflected by the fact that you usually
must bid pretty low in order for the opponent to accept your bid.
Hazard Roll Sometimes you will need to move through a zone of danger, where getting to your destination
requires you to dodge and weave things that can hit you - enemy fire, asteroids, moving cars, etc. The GM
can resolve such actions with a Hazard Roll.
1.
GM gives a Target Number, and possibly the damage potential
2.
Roll the appropriate movement Ability
3.
Success = you got through unharmed
4.
Failure = you got hit
5.
Flub = you got hit for maximum (triple) damage
Ex: You must pilot a starship through an asteroid field, and you want to do it at breakneck speed because a
squadron of enemy fighters is on your tail. The GM declares a Hazard of 6 for both you and your pursuers.
You roll, spending a lot of Luck Dice, and make it; a few small ones graze your ship's shields, but you pass
through unharmed. All but one of the pursuing fighters fail, and explode against asteroids.
Damage Cinematic Convention: In Cineflex, the ordinary Goons the villain uses as cannon fodder are
regarded like film extras. Goons are considered Finished - down and out or killed - with only one hit.
More important characters and creatures get damage against them resolved in detail. Detailed Damage:
Weapon damage is rated with a base Power Level (PL) and a Maximum level which is triple the base. i.e., a
typical pistol will have a damage rating of 5/15; it does 5 damage on a normal hit, and 15 damage on a
critical hit. The damage is then compared to the target's current DR.
Damage Resistance = Body + Armor.
Every
time you take a hit, you take Wounds equal to the damage value. When total Wounds taken exceeds your
Damage Resistance, you're Finished; dead, knocked out, or otherwise incapacitated. Note that Damage
Resistance includes armor: armor soaks up damage, but as it does so it degrades. Thus rather than have
armor as a constant modifier against damage taken, armor just allows you to take more Wounds. You'll
notice that this system is deadly. The system tracks only solid hits - with many weapons, even the base
damage alone is enough to kill or incapacitate a human being. This too is a cinematic convention cinematic combat is meant to resolve quickly and dramatically, even if it has to exaggerate the lethality of

combat a little. The cinematic hero does not rely on having gallons of spare blood, he relies on not getting
hit as much as possible.
Superficial Injuries: Superficial injuries such as minor scratches, shallow cuts and bruises, simply have no
game effect. A GM may include the infliction of superficial injuries on either side of a combat exchange
for color and to add tension. Frex, telling a player that his character takes an unexpected cut to the face in a
Standoff could be used as a hint that he has a fast or skillful opponent. Called Shot Rule: Normal hits land
in non-vital parts of the target, while critical hits land in vital parts, thus the increased effect. You can also
choose, before attacking, to nominate the specific part that will be hit on a critical success, in order to
impose a specific desired result. For example, you want to send a torpedo down a ventilation shaft and into
the reactor core of a giant killer satellite ... get a Crit and you do it, and the satellite will blow up; get a
normal success and you just hit the heavily armored satellite hull. The trick is you have to know where to
place the hit.
Weapons and Armor
Weapons
Damage
Range
bare hands
3/9
Melee
knife
4/12
Close (thrown)
typical sword
5/15
Melee
battleaxe, big sword
6/18
Melee
really big sword
7/21
Melee
bow
4/12
Medium
spear
5/15
Short
typical pistol

5/15
Medium
typical rifle
6/18
Long
heavy rifle
7/21
Long
Dramatic Ammo Rule: simply assume that a character carries enough ammo to finish the current fight.
The GM may rule that after the fight the character must find more ammo, or require a Luck Check to see if
he still has any left. The TN for the check will be based on the kind of weapon used, the nature and number
of the foe, and the length of the fight. Frex, it is quite likely that you would have to empty your assault
rifle to even have a prayer of stopping that rampaging T-rex .Autofire Bonus: autofire weapons such as
submachine guns add a +1d bonus to attack.
Personal Armor
light armor
+4
medium armor
+6
heavy armor
+8
shield/helmet
+2/+2