JASCI
Created by John McCarthy
Influenced and built with aspects of the D20 Modern System
The GM tells players what to roll when they ask to do something.
Combat is turn-based. Each turn, players have one action and one movement. The action and movement can be performed in any order, so players can move then act or act then move. Out of combat, players and NPCs take actions freely and without structure.
When playing JASCI, the players will encounter many people and do more than just kill, they talk. The GM has lots of control over NPCs and can ultimately decide anything they do and their reactions. However, in some situations, players can use their natural Charisma or their developed skills such as Intimidation or Persuasion to get what they want from NPCs. When players are trying to convince an NPC, they need to roll a Persuasion check. If it only makes sense for the NPC to agree with the player, then the GM can decide to not have the player roll and continue with the exchange without the player rolling. When intimidating someone, the player must roll an Intimidation check to see how effective their intimidation is.
When scavenging for supplies or looting bodies, the GM can have players use their Investigation skill to see how well they scrounge for stuff and use the Loot Sheet to roll for loot or make it up on the spot. The GM should add more or less items based on the location of the loot and the outcome of the roll.
This system is based on self inserts where the player plays themselves as the base character so that they could see if they could survive in the world the GM creates. However, it is entirely possible to create original characters and is fine, lol.
Start with writing your name. That’s it.
The stats of your character are based on yourself, so rate your stats out of 10 and the sheet will calculate your ability modifiers. (Mod = Score/2 rounded down)
To find your base skill level, set the colored skills to double the corresponding stat. I.e. Strength 6 → Unarmed 12. The Sheet will calculate the modifier for the skills. (Mod = Score/12.5 rounded down) Every character starts with 30 free skill points to allot to any set of skills they want. It is HIGHLY recommended that these skill points are based on you so that the experience is more genuine. Feel free to max out your character after you start playing.
Most people will start without attributes. Only add attributes if the GM allows it or suggests it.
Next, write down everything you are wearing at the start of the campaign and everything on your person. The GM will instruct you on how many inventory slots a specific clothing has. Generally Utility belts have 6 slots, Jeans, Hoodies/Jackets, Fannie Packs, and small bags have 12, Cargo pants or hiking jackets have 18, Small backpacks or grocery bags have 24, Normal backpacks have 36, and backpacking bags have 72. Your hand slots are only for equipping items and are in your hand if they are in those slots. Highlight the clothing when they are equipped to easily let the GM know what is equipped. When placing items in your inventory, make sure that what is going into your pockets or bags could feasible fit in or attached to it. Do NOT shove 36 microwaves in a backpack. If items take up more than 1 spot then group the item into multiple inventory slots.
The GM awards XP as they see fit, however, XP is normally earned by killing creatures and solving quests. Experience points can also be gained for disarming mines and traps, picking locks, hacking computers, doing sections of a quest and completing challenges like killing a set amount of an enemy.
Skill points are used to increase skills that are easily changed by gaining experience with them. These are gained after every level up but can also be gained after quests, especially hard challenges, or whenever the GM sees fit.
When a player reaches the XP cap, their character levels up. They first gain 15 skill points and get one attribute from a list of attributes to choose from. These attributes are made by the GM based on the specific player and what they have accomplished.
Every 5 levels your character gains 2 Stat points to allocate to Str, Int, Dex, Con, Per, Wil, Cha, or Mar. You can put both points into a single stat or split the 2 points into two separate stats.
Level | Total Required |
1 | 0 |
2 | 300 |
3 | 900 |
4 | 1800 |
5 | 3000 |
6 | 4500 |
7 | 6300 |
8 | 8400 |
9 | 10800 |
10 | 13500 |
11 | 16500 |
12 | 19800 |
13 | 23400 |
14 | 27300 |
15 | 31500 |
16 | 36000 |
17 | 40800 |
18 | 45900 |
19 | 51300 |
20 | 57000 |
21 | 63000 |
22 | 69300 |
23 | 75900 |
24 | 82800 |
25 | 90000 |
26 | 97500 |
27 | 105300 |
28 | 113400 |
29 | 121800 |
30 | 130500 |
31 | 139500 |
32 | 148800 |
33 | 158400 |
34 | 168300 |
35 | 178500 |
36 | 189000 |
37 | 199800 |
38 | 210900 |
39 | 222300 |
40 | 234000 |
41 | 246000 |
42 | 258300 |
43 | 270900 |
44 | 283800 |
45 | 297000 |
46 | 310500 |
47 | 324300 |
48 | 338400 |
49 | 352800 |
50 | 367500 |
Players have a body condition system that serves as their health metric. When a player takes damage, the damage is subtracted from the condition points of the affected body part(s). If a body part's condition drops to 0, the player suffers a health crisis specific to the damage or event that caused the injury. This injury must be addressed within three turns; failing to do so, or if the injured part sustains further damage during this period, results in the player's death.
Injuries are treatable with varying degrees of medical attention. The quality of treatment determines the difficulty of successful care (Difficulty Class or DC) and the rate of healing:
Well Tended: DC 18. Heals 2 condition points per rest period and fully restores health after a long rest.
Standard Treatment: DC 15. Heals 1 condition point per short rest (an hour or more of rest) and 3 points after a long rest.
Poorly Tended: DC 10. Heals 1 condition point per long rest (a sleep cycle).
Players with medical supplies can apply them to improve their medical checks. These supplies provide positive modifiers to their rolls, enhancing their ability to provide effective treatment and accelerate healing.
Treatment | Short Rest | Long Rest | Heal Health Crisis |
Well Tended | 2 CP | Full CP | Restore to 1 CP |
Standard Treatment | 1 CP | 3 CP | End crisis |
Poorly Tended | - | 1 CP | Ineffective |
Roll to heal or stop a health crisis with the Medicine Skill; CP -> Condition Point |
Rolling a 20 for attack is an automatic hit even if the Defender rolls a 20 for defense. If someone is shot in the head and rolls a natural 1 for defense, they immediately die.
Each body part has a different difficulty to hit. From easiest to hardest to hit goes, Torso, Legs, Arms, Feet, Hands, Head. These modifiers apply to both Melee and Ranged attacks. When someone is blocking use the modifier for the targeted body part and not the blocking body part.
Body Part | Attack Modifier |
Torso | - |
Arms and Legs | -1 |
Hands and Feet | -2 |
Head | -4 |
When attacking unarmed, use your Unarmed skill to hit and use your Unarmed skill modifier as the max damage roll. I.e. Unarmed Modifier = +4, Damage = 1d4. If your unarmed modifier is 0 then roll 1d2-1.
When an attacker attempts to grapple someone, they roll their Unarmed Skill vs the Defender’s Unarmed Skill and if the Attacker rolls higher, the defender is grappled, and if the defender rolls higher, the grapple fails.
When attacking with melee weaponry, use your Melee Weapon modifier to hit. And the weapon’s damage dice for damage.
Dodging uses Dexterity + Unarmed Skill.
Defender describes the dodge.
Blocking uses Constitution + Unarmed Skill
Defender explains how they are blocking
If they fail with a roll 11 or higher, then the limb that they blocked with takes the full damage. If they fail with a roll 10 or below, the attacker gets past their defense and hits their intended target.
Blocking uses Melee Weapon Skill
Defender explains how they are blocking
If an attacker is holding a melee weapon in each hand, (Dual Wielding) then they can attack twice during their attack turn and have a bonus to blocking but attack with disadvantage on the second attack and cannot grapple. When attacking with the offhand weapon, it rolls to hit with disadvantage but does full damage. When blocking attacks while dual wielding, the defender gets a +2 defense bonus as long as their Melee Weapon Skill is 5 or greater.
When an attacker is using a ranged weapon, they use their Guns Skill to roll to hit (Thrown uses Strength). There is no dodging or blocking ranged weapons (Unless they are thrown). Instead, cover, concealment, and positioning play a role in defense during combat.
It’s harder to hit things farther away. Bows have -3 to Long+ ranges, Shotguns have -2 to Long+ ranges, Pistols have +0 to Long+ ranges, Rifles have +2 to Long+ Ranges, and Snipers have +5 to Long+ ranges.
Range | Attack Modifier |
Point-blank (Basically touching the defender) | +15 |
Close (Other side of a car longways) | +5 |
Medium (~30 feet) | - |
Long (~100 Feet) | -5 |
Very long (~600 Feet) | -10 |
Extremely long (~1200+) | -15 |
When a shot is landed, roll the damage dice with no additions and subtract the points from the body part(s) that were damaged. If multiple body parts were damaged with a single hit, then split the damage up equally between the parts (Unless the GM instructs a specific damage pattern)
There are three modes of fire, Single shot, Burst, or Automatic. When firing a single shot, the attacker rolls for one shot per attack turn. Burst fires shoot 3 bullets in one turn, but the attacker adds a -5 modifier to their attack roll. If they hit, they roll a d3 to see how many shots hit and roll damage for each bullet that hits. Automatic fire shoots 6 bullets during the attack roll and adds a -8 modifier. If they hit, they roll a d6 with disadvantage to see how many bullets hit and roll damage for each bullet that hits.
If an attacker is holding a gun in each hand then they can attack twice during their attack turn but attack with disadvantage on the second attack and cannot grapple. When attacking with the offhand weapon, it rolls to hit with disadvantage but does full damage if it hits.
Reloading takes one action
One can only move into cover on their turn, and not while defending. Defenders add the cover bonus to their defense roll.
Degree of Cover (Example) | Cover Bonus to Defense |
One-quarter (standing behind a 3-ft. high wall) | +2 |
One-half (fighting from around a corner or a tree; standing at an open window; behind a creature of the same size) | +4 |
Three-quarters (peering around a corner or a big tree) | +7 |
Nine-tenths (standing at an arrow slit; behind a door that’s slightly ajar) | +10 |
Total (on the other side of a solid wall) | - |
If the defender is moving, then the defender gets +2 to defense. If the attacker is moving, the attacker gets -2 to hit.
Rocket Launchers and Grenade Launchers are treated the same as rifles when firing to hit. It is possible to dodge a grenade by rolling a dodge roll (Dexterity Roll) higher than the attacker’s throw roll. To dodge a grenade’s effect, roll a d20 + Dex Mod. To throw a grenade, use the attacker’s Explosive Skill to throw the grenade at the target. When taking damage from an explosion the results are normally catastrophic. If a body part is reduced to 0 from an explosion, it is destroyed.
Armor gives protection to the wearer. YAY! Armor adds modifiers to defense rolls and reduces damage done to the wearer. When writing down armor it is written as Item (Armor Type).
Armor | Defense | Incoming Damage |
Light armor (Heavy Leather jacket, Gloves, Ushanka) | +1 | -1 |
Medium armor (Civilian body armor, Hard hat) | +2 | -2 |
Heavy armor (Plate carrier, Military Helmet) | +3 | -3 |
Very Heavy armor (Bomb suit, Spetsnaz Helmet) | +5 | -5 |
When being attacked, the defender only uses the defense and mitigated damage for the targeted body part, you don’t add all the armor as a total.
Each time you wake up and each time you go to sleep, remove 1 morsel of food and one drinkable liquid from inventory. If you don’t have any left, you take one point of damage on your torso for food and water each. If you have food but no water, 1 damage, if you have water and no food, 1 damage, if you have neither, 2 damage. If you eat spoiled food or drink dirty water you must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution check or get food poisoning. With food poisoning you have disadvantage on every roll until the next day.
To live, one must sleep. One full night of sleep is required every day. If you skip a night of sleep, you gain disadvantage on perception, and dexterity until the next night. After 48 hours without sleep you will automatically fall asleep unless you make a Willpower check to stay up another day, however, during that third day without sleep, you have disadvantage on all rolls until you sleep.
There is no restriction on walking too much in a day or doing too much physical activity. Unless you hurt yourself doing something, there is no penalty for exercising such as soreness or fatigue. In fact, doing more physical tasks may incentivize the GM to give you skill points or introduce a Strength attribute next level up.
Body Part | Attack Modifier |
Torso | - |
Arms and Legs | -1 |
Hands and Feet | -2 |
Head | -4 |
Range | Attack Modifier |
Point-blank (Basically touching the defender) | +15 |
Close (Other side of a car longways) | +5 |
Medium (~30 feet) | - |
Long (~100 Feet) | -5 |
Very long (~600 Feet) | -10 |
Extremely long (~1200+) | -15 |
Degree of Cover (Example) | Cover Bonus to Defense |
One-quarter (standing behind a 3-ft. high wall) | +2 |
One-half (fighting around a corner; standing at a window; behind a creature) | +4 |
Three-quarters (peering around a corner or a big tree) | +7 |
Nine-tenths (standing at an arrow slit; behind a door that’s slightly ajar) | +10 |
Total (on the other side of a solid wall) | - |
Armor | Defense | Incoming Damage |
Light armor (Heavy Leather jacket, Gloves, Ushanka) | +1 | -1 |
Medium armor (Civilian body armor, Hard hat) | +2 | -2 |
Heavy armor (Plate carrier, Military Helmet) | +3 | -3 |
Very Heavy armor (Bomb suit, Spetsnaz Helmet) | +5 | -5 |
Treatment | Short Rest | Long Rest | Heal Health Crisis |
Well Tended | 2 CP | Full CP | Restore to 1 CP |
Standard Treatment | 1 CP | 3 CP | End crisis |
Poorly Tended | - | 1 CP | Ineffective |
Roll to heal or stop a health crisis with the Medicine Skill; CP -> Condition Point |