Dragon Ball - The Roleplaying Game

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The document discusses the development of a Dragon Ball roleplaying game and thanks various people for their contributions.

It is a rulebook for a Dragon Ball roleplaying game that covers character creation, transformations, combat and ki techniques.

Character creation aspects discussed include power level, races, attributes, skills, Z-souls and transformations.

DRAGON BALL

THE ROLEPLAYING GAME

VERSION 0.52

SPECIAL THANKS!
Cody, James, Patrick and Michael for playtesting
Jonathan, Peter and Gavin for GSD 301 and 302
Thomas for Legacy War (Jesus Christ)
Mike Labrie, Heath Cutler, Julian Grybowski, Jake Schutz, and
everyone else over at Kanzenshuu.
All of the guys on facebook
All of the fa/tg/uys on /tg/
Tournament Guy and the tournament chat
All of the people responsible for being awesome, being excited
with us and for us, and for fueling us with the burning power of
hotblooded friendship
and readers like you! <3
Written by BASED Regalia !dGeyRY6iVs and EPICMASTERMIND
Want to keep in touch? Follow US AT:
@TheCreamGames
https://www.facebook.com/TheCreamGames
http://thecreamgames.tumblr.com/
[email protected]

CHAPTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ............... 4 COMBAT .......................... 46
The Basics ......................................... 6

CHARACTER CREATION 10
Power Level ...................................... 12
RACES ................................................... 12
ATTRIBUTES ........................................ 23
SKILLS ................................................ 24
Z-SOULS ............................................ 26
Willpower ......................................... 27
FINISHING TOUCHES ...................... 28

TRANSFORMATIONS .... 30
TIERS OF POWER ............................. 33
ARCOSIAN TRANSFORMATIONS ... 34
SAIYAN TRANSFORMATIONS ......... 36
Namekian Transformations ..... 38
MAJIN Transformations ........... 38
android transformations ....... 39
OTHER TRANSFORMATIONS .......... 40
Improving a transformation .. 42
fusion ................................................ 44

ACTIONS ............................................. 47
Standard ACTIONS ........................ 48
MOVE ACTIONS ................................. 49
FULL ACTIONS .................................. 49
REACTIONS ........................................ 50
FREE ACTIONS .................................. 50
ATTACKING AND DEFENDING ......... 50
Awe ......................................................... 51
Tension ............................................... 52
mook combat .................................. 54
dueling ............................................... 55
BEAM STRUGGLES ............................ 56

KI ..................................... 59

Ki Attacks ......................................... 60
Attack type ....................................... 61
Attack modifiers ........................... 61
attack properties ........................ 63
using ki ATTACKS ............................ 68
pre-made ki attacks .................... 69

EPILOGUE ...................... 73

this pdf is a fan-based game not intended for commercial


release. it is currently unfinished, with key features missing and
incomplete. please keep this in mind when reading this pdf!
If you have any suggestions for improving the game, dont
hesitate to contact us on the devblog!
dragon ball, dragon ball z, dragon ball gt and dragon ball super are all owned by
FUNimation, toei animation, fuji tv, viz media, and akira toriyama.
this is not a supplement for, nor is it based on, Dragon ball z: the anime adventure
game published by r. talsorian games.
please support the official release!
the cream games is a pseudonym that the group responsible for this pdf operates
under. it is not associated with Randy Mario Poffo (better known by his ring name
Macho Man Randy Savage) or his estate. it is not associated with the wwF, wcw or wwe.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER 1
THE PROLOGUE TO BATTLE!
WELCOME TO DRAGON WORLD
LONG, LONG AGO, IN A DEEP, DARK FOREST
FAR FROM CIVILIZATION, BEYOND A TOWERING
RANGE OF... WELL, YOU GET THE IDEA. ITS THE
PLACE A STORY LIKE THIS HAS TO BEGIN...

CHAPTER

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF


DRAGON BALL Z!

Remember when youd run home from school


every day so that you could finish your homework
in time to watch Toonami? Tenchi Muyo, Gundam
Wing, Outlaw Star - it was the American golden
age of Anime. Of all of the shows Toonami aired,
the one that absolutely defined it was Dragon Ball
Z. In this game you get to take on the role of a
character in the Dragon Ball Z universe, one that
you know or one of your own making, and fight
through the stories you know or ones that are
entirely original.
Grab some friends, con a guy in to GMing a
campaign for you, and relive one of the coolest
parts of your childhood.

during gameplay. References to dice and pools


refer to the ten sided dice (d10s) youre rolling.
Roll 3d10, for instance, refers to rolling three ten
sided dice.

MODIFIERS

Modifiers in the DBZ RPG typically refer to either


Bonus Dice or Penalty Dice. A Bonus Die is a die
that you add to your pool. A Penalty Die is a die
that is removed from your pool. Gobble Dice or
Nullification Dice refer to the same thing - the
removal of successes after youve already made
your roll. Well expand upon this here in a minute.

USING THIS BOOK

The best way to read this book depends on


whether or not youre going to be GMing a
campaign or oneshot of Dragon Ball Z or if youre
going to be a player in a campaign. If youre
GMing youre going to want to read the entire
Heres what youll need to start playing the
book and maybe run a few combats using some
Dragon Ball Z roleplaying game:
of the pre-made characters just to get a feel for
things. If youre a player, you really only need

This book, for one, which contains all of to read the introduction and character creation

the rules in order to create a character and sections.

play the game

WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY

A copy of the character sheet (found at


the back of this book)

A pencil and some scratch paper

Lots of ten sided dice

DICE

The DBZ roleplaying game uses a dice pool


system that uses ten sided dice to resolve actions

BEHIND THE SCENES


Throughout this book youll find some Behind
the Scenes boxes (like this one right here).
These take a look at the logic behind some
design decisions and rules as well as offer
advice on how to handle common problems
or issues that might show up. Be sure to take a
look at these when they show up, especially if
youre a GM.

INTRODUCTION

THE BASICS

This game provides a framework of sorts that you


can use to bring out that kick ass story youve
had up in your imagination since you were like
twelve years old. With it, youll be able to tell
amazing stories of heroes clashing with villains to
save the world, the universe, or all of space and
time itself. If you want to do it, you can do it.

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE

Rule number one, the first and most important


rule, is: Do whatever is the most fun for your
game. While weve made a great deal of effort
to ensure that this game and the systems within
are as complete as possible, theres no way
that weve covered every possible situation that
you could encounter. In addition, some of the
solutions provided may be ones that you dont
like. In those situations, feel free to ignore our
rules and substitute your own to maintain the
spirit of your game. Its your game broheim, run it
how you want to.

THE CORE MECHANIC

So youre a page in and probably wondering how


in the hell to play this thing. Its okay, when we
were a page and a half in we were wondering the
same thing too, so we wrote the rest of the book
so we could find out.
The DBZ RPG uses a single, standard mechanic
to resolve nearly every single action. Whenever a
character attempts to perform an action that has
some chance of failure, this should happen:

The player adds the values of the


relevant Attribute and Skill

Add any relevant modifiers (Bonus Dice


and Penalty Dice).

When under Passive Opposition,


compare the number of successes to a
number called a Difficulty Number (DN).

INTRODUCTION


When under Active Opposition,

compare the number of successes to a

the number of successes achieved by the
opponent.
Passive Opposition means that the obstacle
the players are attempting to overcome is
static. These can be forces of nature (flying
against strong winds or looking through fog) or
otherwise unchanging obstacles (making a long
jump or tossing a frog in the way of an oncoming
beam). Active Opposition means that the
obstacle is a threat that is actively rolling against
a player, such as an enemy combatant.

SUCCESS

Oh man, whats a success? Success is a value by


which you judge how well a character performed
an action. When you roll a pool of dice, the
following values correspond to successes and
failures:

VALUE
ROLLED
10

SUCCESS

9-6

Counts as a success and adds a


bonus die to the pool.
Counts as a succes.

5-2

Is not a success.

Counts as a failure, gobbling


or nullifying a success starting
with the highest rolled die and
working down. If a 10 is gobbled
then you do not gain its bonus
die. If you roll a 1 as a bonus,
then it doesnt nullify. If you roll
more failures than successes
then you have failed.

Well, how should I interpret these successes?


Well, it depends on the situation. When your
players are overcoming passive opposition then
you should reference the chart on the next page.

6
6

Number of
Successes
10+
10

Fighting game-esque combo meter value


SPARKING!!
Unstoppable!

Epic!

Amazing!

Incredible!

Wonderful!

Stylish!

Excellent!

Good!

Solid!

You did it exactly well enough to quantify having done it.

0
<0

Nice one Yamcha.


Go cry in to the shoulder of your disappointed mom, you failure.

When rolling against passive opposition the


player must meet or succeed the DN of the
obstacle.

FOR EXAMPLE
Turabaga has managed to find the approximate
location of a Dragon Ball using a Dragon Radar.
After searching the canyon for some time, he
pinpoints the position to be just under some
incredibly large boulders. The DN for lifting the
boulders would be 4 (in Dragon Ball Z thatd
be a relatively simple task). Turabaga adds his
Brawling to his Strength, coming to 5 as his
total. He rolls 5d10 and gets a 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10.
The 10 grants him a bonus die, which comes out
to 7. That makes four successes, so Turabaga
just barely lifts the boulder over the Dragon
Ball!
If the player fails to meet the proper number of
successes then the action was a failure, and the
outcome that the player desired doesnt occur.
For particularly horrible failures its recommended
that the GM penalize the player in some way,
such as rolling negative successes. Thats not just
a failure, its a goddamned travesty. I mean, well
run those numbers for you. Just believe us, its
bad.

INTRODUCTION

With that example fresh in your mind, youre


probably wondering how difficult these
challenges should be. Luckily, we crunched those
numbers for you homeboy.

Assuming that you manage to get 10d10 in your


pool (the maximum), your probability of getting
successes looks something like this:

Number of
Successes

Probability

Suggested
DifFiculty

10+

0.09%

Almost Absolutely Impossible

9+

1.07%

Very Nearly Impossible

8+

5.46%

Absurdly Difficult

7+

17.18%

Very Difficult

6+

37.69%

Certainly Difficult

5+

62.30%

Probably Difficult

4+

82.81%

Potentially Difficult

3+

94.53%

Laughably Easy

2+

98.92%

Absurdly Easy

1+

99.90%

Absurdly Laughably Easy

0.09%

Why would you do this?

Of course, your players wont always have 10d10


at their disposal. Typically, players will have
between four to seven dice in their pool for any
given check. That doesnt account for bonus dice,

penalty dice, gobble dice or any other bonuses.


That chart looks slightly different. Take a gander
at the numbers for a pool of six dice:

Number of
Successes

Probability

Suggested
DifFiculty

6+

1.56%

Very Nearly Impossible

5+

10.93%

Very Difficult

4+

34.37%

Certainly Difficult

3+

65.62%

Probably Difficult

2+

89.06%

Laughably Easy

1+

98.43%

Absurdly Easy

1.56%
Why would you do this?
0
With this information in mind the GM should
is mundane. There should only be a test when
plan on making most checks require between
failure could not only potentially occur, but that
three to four successes depending on the
failure matters to the events currently unfolding.
build of the party. This, again, doesnt include
bonus or penalty dice. Given all of the absurd
SITUATIONAL MODIFIERS
bonuses that your players can accrue during their Sometimes the character in question is at an
adventures, its recommended that you make
advantage or a disadvantage to complete an
checks more challenging. On principle, a check or action or pass a test. Maybe the weather is rough,
test shouldnt occur when the action in question
or the character prepared for this action way

INTRODUCTION

8
8

ahead of time. In those situations the GM may


grant penalties or bonuses in the following ways:

Grant additional dice to the player,

representing conditions improving
performance.

Remove dice from the players pool,

representing conditions hampering
performance.

Reduce the DN to represent


circumstances making the task easier.

Increase the DN to represent


circumstances making the task harder.

winds up with 1, 4, 6, 6. Her 1 gobbles her 6,


leaving her with one success. The GM rolls for
the worker, and he winds up with 2, 4, 4, 6, 10.
The additional bonus die is a 7, leaving him with
three successes. She tries to shrink in to the
corner to hide her silhouette, but her movement
gives her away. The worker sprints off screaming
for help and raising the alarm.
Combat in this game is based almost entirely
upon opposed tests, but typically you need to
have characters to fight. So lets go ahead and do
that.

Generally speaking adding or removing dice


is representative of the performance of the
character themselves (preparation, training,
expertise, ect) whereas modifying the DN
represents a change in the circumstances around
the test or check (hurricane force winds, gravity
increasing, the planet exploding).

OPPOSED TESTS

Opposed tests and checks result when your


character is making a test against another
character or active opponent. In these situations
you dont test against a DN, but against the
number of successes that the opponent rolls to
ensure that your action fails.

FOR EXAMPLE
Seleri suppresses her ki and attempts to tip-toe
through the ship unseen. She deftly maneuvers
her way through a few rooms, most of them
littered with exposed piping where maintanence
is being performed. She gingerly drops to
a knee near a Planet Trade Organization
rejuvination chamber. She makes a Search
check to find the maintanence panel and begins
harvesting data. A worker happens by, forcing
her to make a Stealth test. She has two dice in
Sneak and two in Agility, bringing her to a total
of four dice. The worker has three in Intelligence
and two in Perception. Seleri rolls her dice, and

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2
BIRTH OF THE MIGHTIEST
WARRIOR!! THE STRONGEST UNDER
THE HEAVENS ARRIVES

CHARACTER
CREATION

Creating a character in the Dragon Ball Z RPG


follows a series of relatively simple steps and the
entire process can be done using the information
presented in the next few chapters of this book.
Youll need a copy of the character sheet and will
almost certainly need some scratch paper.

1. CHARACTER CONCEPT

Before you get knee deep in lists and numbers


youre going to want to consider what kind
of character you want to create. What are
your characters basic abilities? What are their
awesome powers? Peruse a few of the next
chapters. Anything jump out at you? Use that
concept and run from there. Maybe you want to
base a character off of your favorite character
from another television show, comic book, anime
or manga. Just jot down some notes and refer to
them along the process.

2. CHECK WITH YOUR GM

After coming up with the character concept make


sure to run it by your Game Master to see if its
appropriate for the game. Maybe you want to
play as an alien but the campaign will be a pulp
kung-fu affair. Maybe youre using powers that
dont exist in the setting the GM has created. You
might be sending Yamcha to Namek alone. Make
sure that isnt happening, talk to your GM.

11

3. POWER LEVEL

Consult your GM to determine what the power


level for the campaign should be. Generally
GMs will want to start out at around 500 EXP.
For balancing purposes we reccomend that at
character creation a character use no more than
150 EXP for Ki Attacks.

4. RACE AND APTITUDES

Your race will inform the traits and aptitudes


of your character, your aptitudes in turn help
determine how your character will develop
by making some attributes and skills easier to
purchase.

5. BASIC ATTRIBUTES

Determine what your characters basic attributes


are. Theyre the framework for your characters
actual abilities in-game, so be careful when you
pick them!

6. SKILLS

Specialize your character by picking up some


skills to fortify your attributes with.

7. Z-SOULS

Time for some abstract shenanigans. Pick a


Z-Soul for your character, breathing some life in
to them!

8. FINISHING TOUCHES

Determine your health points, Power Level, Ki


Pool and Power Up stats.

Character Creation

POWER LEVEL

Power Level (Sent Ryoku; literally combat


power or fighting strength), also refered to as
Battle Power, is an approximate measurement of
the combat abilities of a character. In the world of
Dragon Ball, Power Level can either be discovered
through sensing ki or through the use of a
Scouter, a sensory device used by Freezas Planet
Trade Organization that converts that sense in to
a numerical reading.
In the DBZ RPG Power Level is an approximate
measurement of a characters combat ability
that is determined by the amount spent on their
attributes, skills and feats.
Players are awarded EXP/Experience after every
session that the GM deems necessary. For every
point of experience spent the characters Power
Level increases.

DETERMINING STARTING POWER


LEVEL
The starting power level for a campaign is
honestly up to the discretion of the GM.
Obviously, the higher the power level the
stronger everyone will be.

RACES

One of the largest factors that decides how your


character interacts with the world around it is the
race that you choose to give them.
Determining your race will determine how easy
it will be for you to progress in certain areas
through Aptitiudes, which make purchasing some
Attributes and Skills much easier. Each player
begins with their two aptitudes and may choose
any single additional aptitude. They also have
specific racial traits which only they have access
to that can affect how they play.

Character Creation

APTITIDUES
AGILITY
CHARISMA
DEFENSE
INTELLIGENCE
KI
OFFENSE
SOCIAL
STRENGTH
TOUGHNESS

12
12

HUMANS

Earthlings are the main inhabitant of planet


Earth. With the exception of some funky hair and
whatever is happening to
Tenshinhan and Chaotzu, they are
completely identical to their real life
counterparts. While Humans might
not be the strongest race outright,
they are certainly the most resilient
and determined. Their sheer tenacity
in some cases has been
known to completely
make up for their lack of
raw strength.

APTITUDES
DEFENSE
CHARISMA

RACIAL TRAITS
GIFTED

Humanity as a race
has shown that they are
incredibly talented. They
have managed to become
one of the most powerful
races in the universe
through their mastery of
skills. When purchasing skills,
humans may spend EXP as
though they have one aptitude
relevant to that skill if they
would otherwise pay full
price.

TOUGH AS NAILS

Humans are incredibly


resistant to damage. When
burning a fate point to
survive a fatal wound, roll
1d10. On a 10, the fate point
returns to the character at
the end of the session.

13

Character Creation

SAIYANS

Saiyans are a naturally aggressive warrior


race that made their home on Planet Vegeta
after wiping out the native Tuffles. They were
eventually found by Freeza and employed by
his Planet Trade Organization. Freeza used the
Saiyans to conquer planets, subjugating or
eliminating their native populations and then
selling them to the highest bidder. Their
natural strength is almost unrivaled.
Their Saiyan blood and warrior
culture has molded them into
some of the strongest fighters in the
universe. The entire race was eventually
wiped out by Freeza when he
destroyed Planet Vegeta.

APTITUDES

STRENGTH
OFFENSE

RACIAL TRAITS
SAIYAN BLOOD

Saiyans get stronger every


time they fight. For every level of
fatigue induced by damage, this
character gets an additional 10% EXP
boost.

SAIYAN TAIL

Saiyans posses a tail that is


instrumental to bringing out their
full power. If a Saiyan has their tail
they are able to transform by
absorbing Blutz Waves - a form
of light that is reflected by a
planets moon. When a Saiyan
looks at a full moon or any other
object capable of producing Blutz
Waves they transform in to an
Oozaru - a Giant Ape with
immense strength. This
character also gains
the OOZARU transformation.

Character Creation

14
14

HALF SAIYANS

With the physiology of Saiyans and Humans


being so similar, it was eventually discovered
that they were biologically compatible. Partialblooded Saiyans are the offspring of Saiyans and
Humans that exhibit the strengths of both races
without nearly as many weaknesses. While they
are capable of competing with the strongest and
most skilled of fighters, they typically lack the
ferocity of Saiyans, instead boasting the drive and
ingenuity of humanity and backing it with the
absurd strength and potential of Saiyans.
As they are part Saiyan and part Human, HalfSaiyans may choose any two aptitudes from the
list below and may take any single racial trait
from Saiyans or Humans in addition to their own.

APTITUDES
STRENGTH
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
CHARISMA

RACIAL TRAITS

UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE

Half-Saiyans dont typically share the bloodlust


of their Saiyan brethren, but are capable of
intense outbursts of strength and fury. If any
character in the Half-Saiyans party, including
themselves, are forced to burn a Fate Point in
order to recover from a fatal injury, or if a
similar act of violence against a loved one is
witnessed, the Half-Saiyan may choose to
spend the remainder of their Fate Points
(to a minimum of 1) to enter a state of
uncontrollable rage.
For a number of rounds equal to the
number of Fate Points spent, the Half-Saiyan
is granted two consecutive turns in combat.
During these rounds the Half-Saiyan must be
in combat. The Saiyan also gains a number of
bonus dice equal to the number of Fate Points
spent for the duration of their outburst.

15

Character Creation

BEASTMEN

Some animal species were able to evolve past


their meager beginnings and achieve sentience
on par with even the most intelligent of races.
We think. Maybe. No one knows how or why,
but for some reason there are animal people
walking around on Earth that appear to share
equal rights with humans and other races. The
President of Earth is a dog, remember? Its pretty
progressive all things considered. Cats, dogs,
tigers, wolves, pigs. You name it, its probably
been anthropomorphized.

APTITUDES

INTELLIGENCE
SOCIAL

RACIAL TRAITS

NATURAL WEAPONS

Many Beastmen have some form of claw,


talon, beak or what-have-you that assist them in
combat. When electing to attack with any natural
weapon, Beastmen use the Martial Arts skill to
reflect that weapon as being a part of them.
This weapon has the following stats:
NATURAL WEAPON
BONUS DAMAGE
MAXIMUM SUCCESSES

2
5

INSTINCT

Beastmen owe several of their


advantages to their animalistic
heritege. A Beastman may choose
to reroll any non-ki based Sense
test due to their powerful senses.
In addition to this, they gain a
bonus die against detecting hidden
or sneaking opponents.

Character Creation

16
16

NAMEKIANS

Namekians are the predominant form of


intelligent life on the planet Namek. They are
among the most important race in the universe
due to their apparently unique ability to create
Dragon Balls and the dragons they summon,
allowing for wishes to be made. They are
traditionally a peaceful species, but due to
the horrible strife that has plagued their
planet since the discovery of the Dragon
Balls they have had to adapt. Namekians
have since created a cast of warriors
whose sole duty is to protect the
people of Namek and to ensure
the Dragon Balls dont fall in to
the wrong hands ever again.

APTITUDES
INTELLIGENCE
KI

RACIAL TRAITS
EXTENDING ARMS

Namekians have the unique ability to


extend their arms beyond what would
seem naturally possible. This allows
them to manipulate objects with their
hands at long distances as well as
attack opponents with single
standard attacks or grapples at
range.

REGENERATION

Namekians, having a completely alien biology,


are able to heal themselves by regrowing their
limbs, much like reptiles. A Namekian may
make a DN 5 Healing test to replace any lost
limbs or non-vital organs. The torso and
head cannot be regenerated. This takes a great
deal of energy and, as such, inflicts a degree of
fatigue when used.

17

Character Creation

ARCOSIANS

They have been called many things: Arcosians,


Changelings, Frost Demons, Glaeris, Evil. No one
for sure knows where they come from or what
they are called, leading many to mistakenly call
them by the name for the largest organized
clan of their race in the known universe: Freeza
Clansmen. Arcosians are a race that is simply
naturally stronger than any other known race.
They are so powerful that
they are forced to develop
transformations to conceal their
uncontrollable power. As such, by default
they remain in their first form and have
access to a 2nd, 3rd and Final Form.
They own and operate the Planet Trade
Organization, responsible for the subjugation
and genocide of
thousands of peoples.

APTITUDES

AGILITY
CHARISMA

RACIAL TRAITS
PRODIGIOUS SKILL

Arcosians are so
absurdly strong that they have no
need to train in order to hone their
skills. When purchasing skills,
pay as though you had one
less aptitude than you
actually have. When
purchasing attributes or feats,
pay as though you had one
more.

SUPERIOR SURVIVAL

Arcosians have evolved in order to


deal with a myriad of harmful
environments. As such, they cannot
suffocate in space and cannot
be poisoned.

Character Creation

18
18

MAJINS

The Majins are a growing race of beings that


coexist with humans on the planet Earth.
They are easily distinguished by their unique
amorphous bodies and bizarre morphology. A
Majin can, temporarily, mold itself into almost
any form and take on new physical aspects at
will. With an elastic consistency that is able
to absorb almost any blow and the ability
to quickly regenerate lost mass, the average
Majin is extremely resilient to damage. Though
possessing a great deal of natural power, the
Majins are a capricious race at heart who can find
fun in almost anything, though it may be difficult
to hold their attention for any longer than a
few minutes at a time. Prone to releasing
bursts of steam through small
puncture-like vents that ride their arms
and shoulders, especially during
particularly intense moments of
emotion.

APTITUDES
DEFENSE
KI

RACIAL TRAITS
AMORPHOUS BODY

By spending a Fate Point, a


Majin may temporarily
redistribute the points invested in
their physical Attributes: Strength, Toughness,
and Agility. This change lasts for a number of
minutes equal to the sum total of the physical
Attribute Points they possess. Afterwards the
Majin returns to their original Attribute Scores. A
Majin may also choose to revert to their original
Attribute scores at anytime before that limit is
reached.

RAPID RESILIENCE

Anytime a Majin takes damage, they may


instead choose to incur a single point of fatigue
in order to subtract that damage from their Ki
Pool instead of their Health Pool. Any overflow of
damage is inflicted on their Health.

19

Character Creation

ANDROIDS

Androids (or cyborgs or bio-androids) are a form


of artificial fighter pioneered by the Red Ribbon
Armys Dr. Gero. The programs have since been
picked up and expanded upon by many black
market oragnizations and defense contractors.
They come in a wide variety of models. Due to
the differences in these models, players may only
recieve one of the Racial Traits listed below.

APTITUDES

OFFENSE
DEFENSE

RACIAL TRAITS

INORGANIC CONSTRUCT

These types of androids are made completely


from artificial parts. Their purely mechanical
nature means that they are uneffected by fatigue.
They have no Ki, and as such they cannot use the
Charge Ki action and cannot be sensed. On a
successful grapple, inorganic androids may use
one Willpower to use the Charge Ki action using
the targets attributes and skills instead of their
own, inflicting one level of fatigue on the target.

CYBORG

Cyborgs are androids created by mechanically


modifying a human. Their semi-mechanical
nature means that they are uneffected by fatigue
not directly related to the loss of health points.
They have no Ki, and as such they cannot be
sensed or use the Charge Ki action. Since
they were once human, they may pick either of
humanitys racial traits in addition to this one.

BIO-ANDROIDS

Bio-Androids are synthetic fighters composed


using the cells of organic materials. On a
successful grapple, bio-androids may use one
Willpower to use the Charge Ki action using the
targets attributes and skills instead of their own,
inflicting one level of fatigue on the target. They
may also pick a racial trait of any other race in
addition to this one, save for Saiyan Tail.

Character Creation

20
20

ALIENS

The world of Dragon Ball is home to hundreds of


different sorts of alien races, many of which were
mentioned once or twice in the series proper but
never heard from again. What is
Zarbon? Jeice? Burter? How can you
play as a Kanassan? What about
those creepy Arlian guys?
In the interest of simplicity, we
wont supply
you with the
rules to play as
each individual race.
Rather, weve created a
catch-all class that you
can use to create any weird
alien youd like to play as.
Ask the GM which two aptitudes
and which two Racial Traits
your character should have.
If you want to make a
character of a race that
was depicted in the show,
see if they have a premade
character in the back of the
book and reference that.

APTITUDES
AGILITY
CHARISMA
DEFENSE
INTELLIGENCE
KI
OFFENSE
SOCIAL
STRENGTH
TOUGHNESS

21

Character Creation

RACIAL TRAITS

EXTRAORDNIARY SENSES

As an alien your body may look similar to that


of any other humanoid race, but its composition
is anything but. Your body is able to contort in
freakish and hilarious ways! You gain a bonus die
to all acrobatics tests and may extend your limbs
as described in the Namekian Extending Arms
feat.

FISSION

ALIEN BIOLOGY

ATMOSPHERIC ADAPTATION

Youre used to a wide variety of harmful


atmospheres and planetary conditions. Thin
atmospheres, poisonous atmospheres, lava
planets, high gravity planets, radioactive planets,
and the like. When the state of the planet or
atmosphere would nullify or gobble your dice,
reduce the penalty by 1.

BIOLOGICAL ARMOR

Parts of your body are actually an armored


carapace created from your own tissue. Once per
combat when you would take damage that would
reduce your health to below zero your health is
instead set to 0.

CELESTIAL

Youre not actually an extraterrestrial, but


rather an agent of the Kaio. Youre a divine being
and as such begin the game with an additional
die in Knowledge: Afterlife. Since your strength is
derived from your divine status and not your Ki,
your Ki cannot be sensed using the Ki Sense skill.

DEMONIC

Youre not actually an extraterrestrial, but a


member of one of the numerous demon clans
from the afterlife. When making a non-combat
opposed test a Demon gains an additional bonus
die for every vaguely evil Z-Soul the opponent
has. Additionally, for every vaguely evil Z-Soul an
opponent has a Demon takes one less damage
and deals one more damage. However, you
cannot burn fate points to recover from fatal
injuries. When killed, you return to the demon
realm from whence you came.

Character Creation

One of your senses is far more sensitive


than those found in most other races. Not even
the slightest change goes unnoticed to your
superior senses. Pick one of your senses. For any
Perception test where that sense would prove
useful, add 2 bonus dice.
Your rapid regenerative ability doesnt
function as a healing mechanism, but rather as a
cloning mechanism. By incurring one fatigue you
are able to split yourself in to two simultaneous
physical manifistations of yourself. While
split, each of you has exactly one half of your
maximum Ki Pool and Dice Pool when calculating
damage or making combat rolls. For every turn
that this clone remains on the field, you incur one
additional point of fatigue. When either of you
take at least 10 damage from a single attack, you
are returned to your standard form.

HEALING

Some aliens have an acute ability to control


mystical forces yet unknown to most of the
universe. One such ability is the ability to heal
others of their wounds. Free of charge, this
character begins with the following Ki Attack:
NAME

Healing Beam

TYPE

BLAST

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

SIZE

Standard

KI USE

PIERCING

BURST VALUE/
MAGNITUDE

PROPERTIES

HEALING

22
22

ATTRIBUTES

In the Dragon Ball Z RPG, attributes form the


foundation of your characters physical, mental
and social capabilities. They are a quantifiable
measurement of your characters inherent
abilities. The six attributes are:

STRENGTH (STR)

APTITUDES: STRENGTH, OFFENSE

The physical might of your character. It


determines how strong your character actually
is - how much they can lift, how much they can
push and, most importantly, how hard they can
hit.

TOUGHNESS (TOU)

APTITUDES: TOUGHNESS, DEFENSE

How resistant your character is to both physical


and energy attacks. With higher toughness youll
be more likely to block and parry attacks. When
you do get hit, youll take less damage.

AGILITY (AGI)

APTITUDES: AGILITY, DEFENSE

allowing them to go first in combat and be more


likely to dodge attacks.

KI (KI)

APTITUDES: KI, OFFENSE

The characters proficiency at using techniques


that require Ki. This can be sensing someone
elses ki, charging your ki, attacking with your ki,
and the like.

INTELLIGENCE (INT)

APTITUDES: INTELLIGENCE, SOCIAL

The measurement of your characters knowledge


and ability to think critically. Allows characters to
more intelligently interact with the world around
them.

CHARISMA (CHA)

APTITUDES: CHARISMA, SOCIAL

Traditionally charisma could be described as


how well liked your character is, or how well your
character interacts with others. Given the second
definition, that doesnt entirely rule out the ability
to manipulate through strength and terror.

How quickly your character can move. Characters


with higher agility can move faster than others,

PURCHASING ATTRIBUTES
MATCHING APTITIDUES RANK 1 RANK 2 RANK 3 RANK 4 RANK 5
TWO

30

45

60

75

ONE

45

60

75

90

ZERO

60

75

90

105

Characters are able to purchase attributes using


experience points during character creation and
during their downtime. Consult your GM for how
much experience you should start with and be
sure to log how much youve had and how much
youve spent either on a scratch piece of paper
or on your character sheet. For each rank gained
in that attribute the character adds a die to their
pool when making a check that involves that
attribute.

23

BEHIND THE SCENES


Youll notice that RANK 1 for attributes doesnt
have a cost in EXP listed here. Thats because
the first rank is entirely free and completely
mandatory. Without at least one die in an
attribute, the player would have no dice to roll
and be completely unable to make any checks
or tests related to that attribute.

Character Creation

SKILLS

Skills are a measurement of more specific abilities


than those represented by attributes. Increasing
a skill is a representation of training or practice
in order to further your characters abilities in
relation to that skill. Each skill is paired with the
attribute that that skill is tested with. The skills are
as follows:

FLY (AGI)

APTITUDES: AGILITY, GENERAL

Your characters ability to fly through the sky.

HEALING (INT)

APTITUDES: INTELLIGENCE, KI

Used to heal minor wounds and stabalize more


severe ones.

ACROBATICS (AGI)

INTIMIDATE (CHA)

Your characters ability to engage in physical


activities and navigate physical obstacles.

Appearing imposing or otherwise threatening to


instill fear.

APTITUDES: AGILITY, GENERAL

BLOCK (TOU)

APTITUDES: TOUGHNESS, DEFENSE

Used to interrupt combo strings and to absorb


damage. As a full round action the character
may block any successful attack by testing block
in additioning to toughness when determining
damage taken.

COMMAND (CHA)

APTITUDES: CHARISMA, SOCIAL

The ability of your character to proficiently


organize and lead a group.

DECEPTION (CHA)

APTITUDES: CHARISMA, SOCIAL

Your characters ability to lie and otherwise


mislead people.

DRIVE (AGI)

APTITUDES: AGILITY, SOCIAL

APTITUDES: CHARISMA, SOCIAL

KI BLAST (KI)

APTITUDES: KI, OFFENSE

Your characters ability to use ki blast attacks such


as the Kamehameha, Gallick Gun and Masenko.

KI CONTROL (KI)

APTITUDES: KI, DEFENSE

Your characters ability to manipulate ki in order


to reinforce the characters abilities or to take
defensive actions such as Ki Barriers and the
Zanzoken.

KNOWLEDGE (INT)

APTITUDES: INTELLIGENCE, GENERAL

Representative of a formal or informal sort of


education that has been received in specific
subjects.

MARTIAL ARTS (STR)

APTITUDES: STRENGTH, OFFENSE

Your characters ability to operate vehicles such


as space ships, flying scooters or hover cars.

Your characters mastery of various forms of


martial arts. Rolled with Strength when making
unarmed attack tests and checks.

EVADE (AGI)

PARRY (STR)

APTITUDES: AGILITY, DEFENSE

Used to avoid incoming attacks and obstacles.


As a reaction the character may make an evasion
test in order to evade a number of attacks.

Character Creation

APTITUDES: STRENGTH, DEFENSE

Your characters ability to deflect incoming


attacks. Used to deflect various melee, ranged
and ki attacks.

24
24

PERCEPTION (INT)

WEAPON/RANGED (AGI)

Your characters awareness of the environment


arount them. Generally tested to see if the
character manages to observe something.

Training, be it formal or informal, in the practical


use of firearms and other ranged weapons.

APTITUDES: INTELLIGENCE, GENERAL

APTITUDES: AGILITY, OFFENSE

SEARCH (INT)

APTITUDES: INTELLIGENCE, GENERAL

Your characters ability to actively look for a


person, object or occurance.

SENSE KI (KI)

APTITUDES: KI, INTELLIGENCE

Your characters ability to search or percieve


through awareness of ki signatures.

STEALTH (AGI)

APTITUDES: AGILITY, DEFENSE

Your characters ability to remain unseen,


unheard and undetected.

WEAPON/MELEE (STR)

APTITUDES: STRENGTH, OFFENSE

Training, be it formal or informal, in the art of


combat using melee weapons such as swords,
clubs and axes.

PURCHASING SKILLS

MATCHING APTITIDUES RANK 1 RANK 2 RANK 3 RANK 4 RANK 5


TWO

10

20

30

40

50

ONE

25

35

45

55

65

ZERO

40

50

60

70

90

Like attributes, characters are able to purchase


skills using experience points during character
creation and during their downtime. Consult your
GM for how much experience you should start
with and be sure to log how much youve had
and how much youve spent either on a scratch
piece of paper or on your character sheet. For
each rank gained in that skill the character adds
a die to their pool when making a check that
involves that skill.

25

BEHIND THE SCENES


All else being equal skills are less expensive to
aquire than attributes. Our reasoning is that
players should have to work harder to increase
their attributes seeing as attributes are used for
more than one skill check while skills can only
be used with one attribute. This way, players
must specialize to some degree in order to
compete with other players and enemies.

Character Creation

Z-SOULS

Sure, characters in Dragon Ball Z are able to fly


around, shoot lasers and punch really hard, but
whats their essence? What makes a Dragon Ball
Z character a Dragon Ball Z character? The answer
is their soul - their Z-Soul. Z-Souls are traits
that generally offer both a benefit and a penalty
depending on the context in which they come up.
They can be famous character quotes, personality
types, fighting styles or other abstract concept
that fosters character personality. Each character
must have three Z-Souls.
The easiest way to make up your own Z-Soul is to
just ask yourself how to describe your character
in three short words or phrases.

FOR EXAMPLE
Vuvuz is a mighty Namekian demonic clansman
that, at one point, attempted to enslave an
entire Namekian continent before being
exiled and sent in to the depths of space. One
could give Vuvuz the Z-Souls Demonic Aura
(because hes a demon), Genocidal Tyrant and
Forsaken Son of Namek.

FUNCTION OF Z-SOULS

Youre probably wondering what Z-Souls


can actually do mechanically. They have two
primary functions that they fufill - first of all,
they establish some abstract character traits that
define your character in some way. Its important
to have that framework to work from to ensure
that your character is something that isnt just
a piece of paper full of bubbled circles. Second,
they give players an incentive to properly roleplay
their characters. In an event where a players
Z-Soul would come in to play they will get either
a bonus die added to their pool or a penalty die
removed from their pool.
Is your character a horrible dictator that is
attempting to convince a small village of farmers
that hes a good man? Take a penalty die. Is your
character known for being the Team Dad, and
attempts to intercept an attack meant for another
player? Give that player a bonus die. It gives the
characters character, and gives incentives for the
players to give their characters character as well.

Each of these three phrases embodies some key


trait of the character, so theyre good Z-Souls.
A more familiar example would probably be Son
Goku. You know that guy, right? Here are some
Z-Souls hed probably have:
Saiyan from Earth.
Pure of Heart, Awoken by Rage.
If I dont, who will?
A World youll Never Understand.
Stop Enjoying Destruction!
Heroic Soul
There are dozens more we could pick, but here
are some you should probably know.

Character Creation

26
26

WILLPOWER

Sometimes, when everything seems to be at its


worst, thats when a warrior has to dig deep and
give it everything theyve got. Thats when they
have to draw on their Willpower. Willpower is a
measure of personal resolve and represents the
ability to turn that resolve in results. In the end,
Willpower is part decision and part commitment,
and as such it is derived from a combination
of Intelligence and Charisma. To determine
Willpower, you add the Intelligence attribute to
the Charisma and divide the result by two. If
necessary, round down.
Willpower = (Intelligence + Charisma) / 2

FOR EXAMPLE
Majin Buula needs to determine her Willpower.
She has an Intelligence of three and a Charisma
of two. She adds the attributes together to
get a total of five. She divides the total by two:
52=2.5. In order to find her actual Willpower,
Majin Buula has to round down to the nearest
whole number. That is two. So, Majin Buula has
a maximum of two Willpower.

Points, even though the cumulative damage


is thirty. In addition, whenever a character
must make an opposed roll to resist fear or
intimidation, that character loses a Will Point for
every failure that is rolled. The GM may deduct
additional Will Points as a situation demands.

USING WILL POINTS

Will Points serve two vital basic functions. The


first is Pushing Actions. The second is Fortifying
Actions. Both provide unique advantages that
can give any character the edge they need in a
pinch. As both can prove to be a valuable tool,
that means that they are mutually exclusive. A
Player may Push or Fortify an action. They may
never do both. So, lets take a look, shall we?
Whenever a warrior digs deep to give an attack
or action that extra little oomph, that is called
Pushing. After an action is declared, but before
the roll is made, a player announces that they
wish to Push the action. They declare how many
Will Points that they plan to spend on the action.
They may choose to spend as little as one point
or as many as all that they possess.

After determining how many Will Points they


want to spend, the player makes the roll as
normal. The total is calculated as normal,
Will Points are constantly in flux. Gaining Will
however, a number of dice equal to the amount
Points is simple. Whenever a character earns any
of Will Points the Player spent automatically
bonus dice on a roll, as awarded by the GM, a
explode, regardless of the threshold, so long as
player may choose instead to convert any number
those dice counted as a success.
of those dice into Will Points. The character loses
whatever immediate benefits the converted dice
If Pushing is about skirting a characters
would provide in exchange for the opportunity
limitations, Fortifying is about making the most of
to increase the power of a later roll. A character
those limitations. Whenever a character steels to
may only stock a number of Will Points equal to
make a single action, prepares to make as much
their Willpower attribute. In addition, the GM
of that action they possibly could, that character
may award additional Will Points as a situation
is Fortifying that action. Fortifying, like Pushing,
demands (such as a reward for good roleplay).
is very simple. After an action is declared, but
before the roll is made, a player announces that
Losing Will Points is just easy. Whenever a
they wish to Fortify the action.
character takes any kind of damage, they lose
one Will Point for every ten damage received
Like Pushing, they can spend as little or as many
from a single attack. This is not cumulative. If
as they desire, assuming that they spend at least
one attack does seventeen damage and the next
one Will Point. After determining how many
does thirteen, the character only loses two Will

GAINING WILL POINTS

27

Character Creation

Will Points they want to spend, the Player then


increases their threshold for success by a number
equal to the amount of Will Points spent. The
roll is then made with that new threshold for
success. While this allows a character a much
higher margin for success for a single action,
the amount of preparation and focus the action
requires means that a Fortified dice pool cannot
be divided. When a player chooses to Fortify,
they may only take a single standard action that
turn.

WILLPOWER RECOVERY AND


REINFORCEMENT

BEHIND THE SCENES


So, youre probably looking at this and realizing
that Push and Fortify lose a lot of their utility
in higher level play, and, well, youre right!
At the highest Tiers of power, a character is
approaching a state of mechanical perfection,
and once you reach that point, there isnt much
you can do to push your actions much further.
When that happens, a character is going to
start relying a lot more heavily on Refreshment
and Reinforcement to get mileage out of
their Willpower. That means that higher level
characters are going to seem even more durable
and tireless! A clash between two characters
who can afford to throw their Willpower around
like that will be even more titanic!

Willpower can also be used to recover and


reinforce other derived attributes. A player may
spend Willpower to heal wounds, regain Ki, or
remove fatigue from their character. In order to
do so, the player must decide at the beginning of
their turn, before taking any other actions, that
they wish to spend Willpower on recovery. They
then must declare which attribute they wish to
recover. For every point of Willpower spent, they
may recover three Ki, two Health, or one Fatigue.
Health points (HP) are very important, given
Recovery may not allow a character to exceed
that they determine the physical status of your
their natural limit.
character. Every character begins with a
baseline of 10 HP. For every additional rank of
Willpower may also be spent to temporarily
Strength or Toughness that your character gains
reinforce a characters defense. In this case, like
your character also gains 10 HP.
recovery, a player declares at the beginning of

FINISHING
TOUCHES
HEALTH POINTS

their turn that they wish to spend Willpower on


reinforcement. For every point of Willpower
a player spends, the character gains one extra
defense for the sake of determining damage
reduction. This lasts until the characters next
turn.

Character Creation

POWER LEVEL

Your Power Level doesnt mean much


mechanically but theyre iconic to the setting.
Your characters powerlevel is equal to the sum
of all of your Attribute and Skill ranks times a
multiple dependent on your Tier of Power, a
concept well get in to later. If youre seeing this
for the first time, assume that you are 1st Tier.

28

TIER OF POWER
FIRST

MULTIPLIER
x100

SECOND

x1,000

THIRD

x10,000

FOURTH

x20,000

FIFTH

x50,000

SIXTH

x75,000

SEVENTH

x100,000

EIGHTH

x200,000

NINETH

x250,000

TENTH

x500,000

KI POOL

Your characters Ki Pool is a representation to the


total amount of Ki they can draw from in order
to use Ki attacks and techniques. To find your
characters Ki Pool you simply need to find the
sum of all of their Ranks in all Ki related attributes
and skills and double it. Ki Pool = 2x (Ki + Ki
Blast + Ki Control + Sense Ki).

POWER UP

FATE POINTS

Fate Points may be spent or burnt in order to


change destiny in your favor. Fate Points may be
spent to perform the following actions. A player
may elect to reroll any failed test. Alternatively,
a player may add a number of successes to an
already successful roll equal to the amount of
Fate Points spent or add a number of bonus dice
to their dice pool equal to the number of Fate
Points spent in order to increase their odds of
success. A player may also spend a Fate Point
to recover 2d5 health and 1 fatigue. Fate Points
recover at the beginning of every session.
Burning Fate Points, however, remove them
permanently from play, essentially decreasing the
total number of Fate Points available to a player
by the number of Fate Points burned. Burning a
Fate Point allows a player to prevent sustaining
fatal damage or to allow them to die with dignity
and honor.
What exactly burning a Fate Point may do is up
to the discretion of the GM, however, the result
should be exceptional and sweeping.
To determine your starting Fate Points roll
1d10. On a success, you start with 3 Fate Points.
Otherwise, you start with 2 Fate Points.

A characters Power Up stat determines


how much Ki they generate without actually
attempting to generate it. For every turn that
passes in combat, your characters Ki Pool
increases by their Power Up stat to a maximum of
their Ki Pools maximum. Your characters Power
Up stat is identical to their Ki attributes rank.

FOR EXAMPLE
Amond is a human fighter with 2 ranks in his
Ki attribute, 3 ranks in Ki Blast, 2 ranks in Ki
Control, and 1 rank in Sense Ki. This brings his Ki
Pool to 16.
His Power Up would be 2, equal to his rank
in his Ki attribute. When he spends ki, it will
increase by 2 every turn to a maximum of 16.

29

Character Creation

CHAPTER 3
THE WARRIOR OF LEGEND AWAKENS!
ILL SHOW YOU A WORLD YOU WILL
NEVER KNOW

TRANSFORMATIONS
Perhaps the single most iconic image in all of
Dragon Ball Z is the legendary transformation,
the pinnacle of strength for the entire Saiyan
race - the Super Saiyan. The Super Saiyan is but
one of many transformations that were featured
throughout the run of Dragon Ball Z. There were
so many transformations and advancements that
Dragon Ball Z is considered the trope codifier
for Super Modes and Super Forms and their
depiction in anime and manga.

It goes without saying that as your campaign runs


on that your players will eventually encounter
and obtain several transformations. Youre going
to want to know how to handle that when it
happens. Weve got your back.

OBTAINING TRANSFORMATIONS

Aside from Arcosians (and maybe Namekians or


Aliens, if the GM is kind enough), no race starts
with transformations at the start of a campaign.
Transformations should always be either the
climax of a story arc or the main reward that that
arc gives the players. Be creative! Need Kaioken?
Total party kill. Its not like they cant come back.

31

TRANSFORMATIONS

TRANSFORMATIONS

32

TIERS OF POWER

Some transformations may have specific


prerequisites that are necessary before it can be
used, such as currently possesing the previous
form of that transformation. There may be a
necessary minimum tension required to use a
transformation. In addition, transformations may
confer additional bonuses such as bonus dice or
special abilities. They may also impose additional
penalties, such as incurring fatigue.

One of the main features of transformations


is that they modify a mechanic called a Tier
of Power. Tiers of Power are this games
answer to the shows constant power creep. To
prevent increasing the size of the dice pool to
unmanageble levels, Tiers of Power change what
constitutes a success.
Tiers of power broaden the gap of what is
considered a success and what is considered
a bonus. This is to allow for progress at higher
levels to be concentrated on maximizing success
without necessarily increasing the size of your
dice pool.

Ki Drain is the amount of Ki Pool that a


transformation drains per turn it is active. When
using a transformation the user must have at
least one turn worth of Ki to use, or else they
cannot transform. A turn of transforming is a
full action, and being interrupted breaks the
transformation.

For instance, at Tier 1 a character with five dice


in any pool has a 50% chance of getting at
least 3 successes. That same character at Tier 2
would have an 83% chance of getting at least
3 successes. At Tier 3 your dice start exploding
just a bit earlier. This, of course, doesnt include
bonus dice or penalty dice, but you get the
idea. Increasing the breadth of success greatly
increases a players chance of success.

Similarly, each transformation takes a certain


amount of time to transform, represented
in combat turns. Transformations may be
completed earlier, but for each turn early that
a transformation is completed the character
transforming suffers a level of fatigue.

TIERS OF POWER MODIFIERS

TIERS OF POWER BONUS SUCCESS NON-SUCCESS

FAILURE

TIER 1

10

9-6

5-2

TIER 2

10

9-5

4-2

TIER 3

10-9

8-5

4-2

TIER 4

10-9

8-4

3-2

TIER 5

10-8

7-4

3-2

TIER 6

10-8

7-3

tier 7

10-7

6-3

tier 8

10-7

6-2

tier 9

10-6

5-2

tier 10

10-6

5-1

33

TRANSFORMATIONS

ARCOSIAN TRANSFORMATIONS
SECOND FORM
TIER 2 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

Physical damage healed upon full transformation


completion.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 1 turn to transform. Minimum of 5 Tension


to transform.

THIRD FORM
TIER 3 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

Physical damage healed upon full transformation


completion.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 2 turns to transform. Minimum of 10


Tension to transform.

FINAL FORM
TIER 4 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

Physical damage healed upon full transformation


completion.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 2 turns to transform. Minimum of 15


Tension to transform.

100% POWER
TIER 5 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
+2 bonus dice to Strength
+1 bonus die to Ki Blasts

KI DRAIN: 5
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 1 turn to transform. Minimum of 20


Tension to transform.

TRANSFORMATIONS

34

FIFTH FORM
TIER 5 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

Physical damage healed upon full transformation


completion. +2 bonus dice to Strength, Agility
and Toughness

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
Takes 1 turn to transform

DESCRIPTION
This form, obtained by Cooler, is far more powerful than the traditional Arcosian final form. Unlike
100% Power and Golden Form, this form is a biological augmentation that greatly increases physical
power with no true drawbacks. It is not naturally obtainable by Arcosians, unlike Second Form, Third
Form, Final Form and 100% Power.

GOLDEN FORM
TIER 7 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+3 bonus dice to Strength/Agility/Toughness


+2 bonus dice to Ki Blasts

KI DRAIN: 5
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 1 turn to transform. Minimum of 20


Tension to transform.

DESCRIPTION
This form, obtained by Freeza, is considered by him to be the a true Further Evolution or Ultimate
Evolution. It can only be obtained by releasing a prodigious strength through intense training. As
such, it is not a transformation naturally obtainable by Arcosians.

BEHIND THE SCENES


Arcosians naturally have Second Form, Third Form, Final Form and 100% Power. There is absolutely
nothing stopping them from hunkering down and going all out from the very beginning.
The Fifth and Golden Forms, on the other hand, are forms that are only obtained through forms of
arduous training.

35

TRANSFORMATIONS

SAIYAN TRANSFORMATIONS
OOZARU
TIER 1 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+3 bonus dice to Strength and Toughness

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 3 turns to transform.


Dice results do not grant additional bonus dice.

DESCRIPTION
This form is only obtainable by a Saiyan that retains their tail. This transformation may only be made
when the Saiyan is able to absorb Blutz Waves through the eyes by seeing a Full Moon or equivalent
phenomenon. When transforming, the user must make a DN 5 Intelligence test. If they fail, they lose
all control of themselves and will randomly attack any target, including their own comrades. If this
test is passed, all control is retained. This transformation can only be reversed by robbing the user of
Blutz Waves, either through destroying the source, blinding the Saiyan or removal of the tail.

Super Saiyan
TIER 3 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

Once per combat, remove 1 fatigue.


+2 bonus dice to Strength and Ki

KI DRAIN: 3
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 1 turn to transform. Minimum 5 Tension to


transform.

ultra Super Saiyan


TIER 3 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+3 bonus dice to Strength and Ki

KI DRAIN: 5
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

-2 penalty dice to Agility


Takes 2 turns to transform. Minimum 15 Tension
to transform.

TRANSFORMATIONS

36

Super Saiyan 2
TIER 4 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+3 bonus dice to Strength and Ki

KI DRAIN: 3
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 1 turn to transform. Minimum 15 Tension


to transform.

Super Saiyan 3
TIER 5 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+3 bonus dice to Strength, Agility and Ki

KI DRAIN: 8
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 4 turn to transform. Minimum 20 Tension


to Transform.

Super Saiyan God


TIER 6 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+4 bonus dice to STR, TOU, AGI and KI.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
See Description

DESCRIPTION
The Super Saiyan God can only be formed when five Saiyans pure of heart transfer their own energy
in to another Saiyan. The pure hearted Saiyans, who must be holding hands, must make a DN 6 Ki
Control test to transfer their Ki in to the host. The host then assumes the form of a Super Saiyan
God for a number of turns equal to the remaining fate points of all of the Saiyans involved in the
transformation. Minimum 20 Tension to Transform.

37

TRANSFORMATIONS

SUPER SAIYAN BLUE


TIER 6 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+4 bonus dice to STR, TOU, AGI and KI.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
Takes 1 turn to transform

DESCRIPTION
Super Saiyan Blue is a form related to the mastery of God Ki granted by the Super Saiyan God
transformation. This form is capable of being used by a single individual by manifesting their
own God Ki. A Saiyan may choose to use this transformation in place of Super Saiyan. Minimum 5
Tension to transform.

BEHIND THE SCENES


It was previously assumed from Gokus dialog in Resurrection F that he managed to achieve Super
Saiyan Blue (formerly Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan) due to his having reached Super Saiyan
Godhood. Now that we know that Vegeta managed to achieve the form through six months of
training under Whis without having reach Super Saiyan Godhood, we have no idea how this form is
reached.
Not to mention, in six months of training Vegeta managed to match Gokus strength in Super Saiyan
God which, according to Dragon Ball Super, he retains the full abilities of despite losing (according
to Beerus in Episode 14) as opposed to just a bit of it, as alluded to in Battle of Gods.
Basically, what were trying to say, is we have no idea how Super Saiyan Blue is reached or what
Super Saiyan God does to the user after using it. Have fun, GMs!

NAMEKIAN TRANSFORMATIONS
GREAT NAMEK
TIER 2 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

The user may choose to increase


their Strength pool by sacrificing Agility for the
duration of the transformation. For each penalty
die taken in Agility, gain a bonus die in Strength.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

Takes 2 turns to transform.


Take 2 fatigue, inflicted on exit.

TRANSFORMATIONS

38

NAMEKIAN FUSION
TIER X TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
See Description.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
See Description.

DESCRIPTION
Namekian fusion is a technique that allows one Namekian to absorb another Namekian in to them
permenantly. A Namekian may only fuse with another willing Namekian of similar power. When they
fuse, the hosts tier increases by one permanently and the host also gains a free rank in the highest
ranked attribute of the absorbed Namekian.

MAJIN TRANSFORMATIONS
ABSORBTION
TIER X TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
See Description.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
See Description.

DESCRIPTION
Majins are able to break off part of their bodies and use them to envelope and absorb others.
Majins may make a deception test to hide the chunk of Majin flesh, or may throw it as a ki attack
with 0 ki cost. The target, if they fail to notice and/ or dodge the flesh, is absorbed. A Majin must
spend a Fate Point to attempt to absorb a character, and if the absorbtion is successful that Fate
Point is then burned. The Majin then gains a free rank in the targets 2 highest skills and highest
attribute. Their tier then increases by one. They are also influenced by the targets personality, and
have access to one of the targets ki blasts without spending the necessary experience to learn it.

ANDROID TRANSFORMATIONS

GENERAL UPGRADE
TIER X TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
See Description

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
See Description

DESCRIPTION
A mechanical upgrade that permenantly increases the Androids combat prowess. The Androids tier
of power permenantly increases by 1 each time this upgrade is obtained. Unusable by Bioandroids.

39

TRANSFORMATIONS

ABSORBTION
TIER X TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
See Description.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
Bioandroids Only

DESCRIPTION
Bioandroids are able to use an appendage to either stab an enemy and absorb their essence or
envelope them and absorb the target into themselves. In order to do this, the target must be
grappled or otherwise incapacitated. As a standard combat action a bioandroid may spend a fate
point to attempt to absorb the target. If the bioandroid chooses to stab the target and absorb their
essence they completely heal their fatigue and increase their health points by the targets toughness
value. If they absorb a non-android character of significant strength through envelopment, their tier
permenantly increases by 1 and they gain a permenant bonus die in the targets highest attribute.
When enveloping a target, the target may contest the absorbtion a number of turns equal to their
toughness value as a grapple. If the target successfully escapes, they take 1 fatigue.

SEMI-PERFECT Form
TIER X TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
See Description.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
Bioandroids Only.

DESCRIPTION
If a bioandroid successfully absorbs a cyborg or bioandroid, they may choose to assume a new
form. If they choose to transform, they compare their own attributes to their target and take a free
rank in all attributes that exceed their own. If this would force the bioandroid to exceed 5 ranks in
any attribute, they take a permenant bonus die in that attribute instead. Their tier is permenantly
increased by half the tier of power of the target to a minimum of 1.

Perfect Form
TIER X TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
See Description.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
DESCRIPTION

Bioandroids Only. Must have Semi-Perfect Form.

If a bioandroid successfully absorbs a cyborg or bioandroid, they may choose to assume a new
form. If they choose to transform, they compare their own attributes to their target and take a free
rank in all attributes that exceed their own. If this would force the bioandroid to exceed 5 ranks in
any attribute, they take a permenant bonus die in that attribute instead. Their tier is permenantly
increased by half the tier of power of the target to a minimum of 2.

TRANSFORMATIONS

40
40

OTHER TRANSFORMATIONS
Kaioken
TIER 1 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+1 die per level for all physical or ki checks.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

1 fatigue per turn per level used


inflicted on exit.

DESCRIPTION
Users may add an additional bonus die to their pool while using Kaioken by increasing fatigue
gained per turn by the number of dice added.

SHIN KAIOKEN
TIER 2 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+1 die per level for all physical or ki checks.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
DESCRIPTION

1 fatigue per turn per level used inflicted on exit.

Users may add an additional bonus die to their pool while using Kaioken by increasing fatigue
gained per turn by the number of dice added.

PERFECT Kaioken
TIER 3 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

+2 dice per level for all physical or ki checks.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:

1 fatigue per turn per level used


inflicted on exit.

DESCRIPTION

Users may add an additional bonus die to their pool while using Kaioken by increasing fatigue
gained per turn by the number of dice added.

41

TRANSFORMATIONS

Awoken Potential
TIER X TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:

Grants the user an additional tier of power and


grants them two bonus dice in an attribute,
determined upon gaining the transformation.

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
N/A

Full POTENTIAL UNLOCK


TIER 5 TRANSFORMATION
ADDITIONAL BONUSES:
+2 Bonus Dice to STR/TOU/AGI/KI

KI DRAIN: 0
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES:
N/A

DESCRIPTION
This transformation draws out all of the users latent power. The awakening of the potential strength
and skill within a fighter necessary for this great a leap in power is so difficult to perform that it is
typically only done by dieties, and even then it takes a great deal of time.

IMPROVING A
TRANSFORMATION
Oftentimes throughout Dragon Ball and
Dragon Ball Z characters are able to train in
such a way that they manage to improve their
transformations or the ability to use their
transformations. Now, through intense training,
the same is possible here.

Just note that these arent values for creating a


transformation, theyre values for modifying ones
that you already have.

HOW TO IMPROVE A
TRANSFORMATION

First, improving a transformation takes intense


training. In the franchise proper we only see this
occuring over timeskips or in the Room of Space
and Time, which is like a tiny timeskip. For that
reason, this sort of training can only occur when

TRANSFORMATIONS

the characters have a non-negligable amount of


downtime. Ideally, were talking a week or two at
a minimum. GMs, feel free to have your players
improve their transformations at their leisure, but
make sure its thematically appropriate.
Second, all a player has to do is ensure that they
have enough EXP to purchase the upgrade they
want. If a player has enough EXP to purchase
multiple upgrades during a single training
session, they may.
Note: These upgrades and improvements are
for non-permanent transformations, such as
Super Saiyan, and not permanent upgrades
such as Semi-Perfect.
Its up to the GMs discretion whether they
will allow bonus dice to carry from a previous
transformation to an advanced transformation (ie:
Super Saiyan 2 to Super Saiyan 3).

42

UPGRADES
KI DRAIN
BONUS DICE
(ATTRIBUTES)
BONUS DICE
(SKILLS)
TRANSFORM
SPEED

Tension

43

DESCRIPTION

Cost

Reduce Ki Drain by 1 Point

25 EXP * Tier of Power

DESCRIPTION

Cost

+1 Bonus Die to an Attribute

50 EXP * Tier of Power

DESCRIPTION

Cost

+1 Bonus Die to a Skill

40 EXP * Tier of Power

DESCRIPTION

Cost

Reduce time to transform


by one turn, where 0 turns
constitutes a Free Action.

25 EXP * Tier of Power

DESCRIPTION

Cost

Reduce minimum Tension by


1 to a minimum of 0.

15 EXP * Tier of Power

TRANSFORMATIONS

FUSION

When a single warrior is not enough, and when


two just wont cut it, two-in-one might be the
way to go. Two characters can combine their
strength into a single new character that is a
great deal stronger than either of its separate
parts. This allows them, together, to make up
even vast power gaps when battling extremely
powerful foes.

PERFORMING FUSION

So, how do two become one? Through a little


thing called the Fusion Dance. The characters
who are going to fuse must be of similar height
and build. In order to perform a Fusion, both
characters who want to take part in the Fusion
must know the Fusion Dance and must be
standing adjacent to one another. Performing
the Fusion Dance is a full round action for
both characters involved. If either character is
interrupted while performing the Fusion Dance,
then the attempt fails and they are unable to
fuse.
Once they commit to a Fusion, both characters
then make an Acrobatics check. As long as
both score at least a single success and neither
are interrupted, the Fusion is a success. Any
net successes both characters score are added
together and the sum is counted as temporary
Fate Points that persist for the duration of the
Fusion. If either player presents no successes,
then the Fusion fails to happen. If either player
presents more net failures than successes, the
Fusion happens, but with flawed results.

FUSIONS IN ACTION

When fusing, both characters add together their


remaining Fate Points together with the sum total
of the net successes both characters made when
performing the Fusion Dance. This total is the
amount of Fate Points the Fused Character now
possesses. A Fused Character counts as being
one Power Tier higher than the highest rank of
the two characters who took part in the fusion.
The Fused Character has access to every attack
and technique possessed by either character. By
spending a Fate Point, the Fused Character may
combine the traits of any two techniques they
possess as long as long as at least one attack
comes from both original character.
When called on to make a test, the Fused
Character uses the highest combination of
Attributes and Skills offered by the two characters
who make up the fusion. However, for every turn
the Fusion remains active, the Fused Character
loses one Fate Point. When the Fused Character
reaches zero Fate Points, the Fusion ends and
both of the characters to their original state
before performing the fusion dance. Both
characters take one fatigue for every turn they
were fused.
A Fused Character may spend Fate Points
normally, however, this will cause the Fusion to
end prematurely.
In the result of a Flawed Fusion, the Fused
Character takes the lowest combinationAttributes
and Skills offered by both characters who
performed the fusion when making a test. In
additional, a Flawed Fusion does not count as
being a higher tier of power and may not spend
Fate Points normally.

When two characters fuse, they cease operating


as separate entities and instead are treated as
one character. The result is a Fused Character
who exhibits personality traits from both of its
original parts and is controlled in unison by both
players, who must agree on what actions it will
take. The name of the Fused Character is often
some combination of the names of its original
parts.

TRANSFORMATIONS

44

CHAPTER 4

A FINAL, DESPERATE ATTACK!! ILL


PUT THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF
EVERYONE INTO THIS FIST

COMBAT

Dragon Ball is all about the fantastic fights that


take place between monumental powers - the
earth shaking ki charges, the blows so strong that
they shatter the world around the impact, the
flurries of attacks so fast that they cant be seen
by the naked eye.
Combat in the Dragon Ball Z RPG is all about
making a series of Opposed Tests. Back in the
introduction we mentioned opposet tests as
being tests whose successes are compared to a
comprable test of an active opponent.

ORDER OF COMBAT

Combat in the Dragon Ball Z RPG is a cyclical


series of events. Everyone acts in turn in a regular
cycle called a Round of Combat, or a Round.
Combat typically goes something like this:

1. The GM determines which of the


characters are actually aware of their

opponents at the beginning of the

battle. If some but not all of the

combatants are aware of their opponents

then a surprise round happens before

standard combat begins. During this

round, all aware combatants roll initiative

(Agility + Agility Test Successes) and

act in order from highest initiative to

lowest, performing either a standard

combat action or a move action. Unaware

combatants are unable to act during this
time.

COMBAT

2. Remaining combatants roll initiative and


regular rounds of combat begin.

3. Combatants act in initiative order,


taking their normal number of actions.

4. When everyone has had a turn, the


combatant with the highest initiative acts
again, repeating steps 3 and 4 until
combat ends.

46
46

ACTIONS

Things characters can do in combat are broken


down in to types of actions. These different types
of actions are necessary because theyre either
intrinsically mechanically different or take up a
different duration of time.

COMBAT ROUND

A combat round in most games is given a definite


length of time. Most d20 systems tend to make
a round of combat around 6 seconds long, but
some games go as far as 10 seconds or even
full minutes. The Dragon Ball Z RPG has no set
amount of time that a round lasts. The characters
are moving so fast that assigning a definite
length of time would prove fruitless anyway due
to how quickly characters act - the last 5 minutes
of Namek lasted for 10 episodes, each of those
episodes lasting for roughly 22 minutes for a
total of around 220 minutes. This means that
the actions that we can observe occurring in 220
minutes only took Goku and Freeza 5 minutes.
Using d20s logic, Freeza and Goku fought for 50
rounds of combat and in that length of time they
actually made around 2200 rounds of combat
worth of actions.
So that youre not fighting for literally thousands
of rounds feel free to express different rounds as
having different lengths of time.
Regardless, a round of combat should have a
length that allows for each player to complete
one Standard Action and one Movement
Action. They may choose to replace these actions
with one Full Action. When attacked or otherwise
acted against, players may make a Reaction.

TYPES OF ACTIONS

STANDARD ACTIONS
aid
attack
combined attack
Cover
feint
grapple
prepare action
Move actions
Afterimage technique
Manipulate Object
move
FULL ACTIONS
AIM
BLOCK
CHARGE KI
RUSH
TRANSFORM
REACTIONS
Evade
Parry
FREE ACTIONS
STANDARD TESTS*
*Check the Free Actions section for further
clarification.

All of the actions that your character takes can


be broken down to one of five kinds of actions
depending on the nature of the action and its
duration.

47

COMBAT

STANDARD ACTIONS

COMBINED ATTACK

If youre in a position to attack an opponent,


you can instead aid an ally in melee combat with
that opponent. Make a standard Martial Arts
test - if your successes exceed the successes
the opponent has to dodge, then the ally youre
assisting may gain a bonus die to hit the enemy
or a bonus die to dodging the enemys attack.
Multiple aid bonuses stack.

Multiple attackers may attempt to combine


and synchronise their attacks to overwhelm an
opponents defenses. The attackers must both
delay their turn to the same point in the initiative
order (the end). When the attackers attack they
must both be making the same type of attack
(ie: a martial arts test or a ki attack test, but not
both). If the tests of all attackers are successful,
take the largest amount of successes between
the attackers and designate that as the number
of successes that each player gets to attack. Take
the lowest number of successes and use that as
the number of dice nullified from the defenders
pool.

ATTACK

COVER

Standard actions are actions that allow you to do


something, most commonly make or assist in an
attack in some way.

AID

Make a melee or ranged attack on an enemy.


Make a:






Martial Arts test for a hand-to-hand


attack.
Ki Blast test for a ki attack.
Melee Weapon test for a melee weapon
attack.
Ranged Weapon test for a ranged
weapon attack.

To calculate damage, add the number of


successes you got in order to hit the opponent
to the ranks you posses in the relevant attribute
used in the test.

FOR EXAMPLE
Turabaga has been fighting off Amond for a few
rounds, trading powerful blows. With every hit
that connects the Earth trembles below them.
Turabaga, with 3 dice in Strength and 3 dice in
Martial Arts, bringing his total pool for this test
to 6 dice. He goes in for the punch and gets a
startling 10 successes. His 10 successes and 3 in
Strength mean that Turabaga deals a massive 13
damage to Amond with the next hit.

COMBAT

A variation on preparing an action, the attacker


uses a standard action to make a Ki Blast or
Ranged Weapon test against an opponent,
as if they were attacking. However, instead of
attacking, the attacker holds the attack until
they choose to release it. If the attacker is later
attacked, the coverage is lost.

FEINT

On a successful deception test, the attacker


completely bypasses the opponents defenses,
rendering them unable to block, evade or parry
the next attack that hits them. The attacker may
spend a fate point to use this as a move action
instead. If the target isnt attacked by their
next turn of combat, the effect is lost and the
opponent may defend once again.

GRAPPLE

The attacker makes an opposed Martial Arts


test on the target. If the target fails, the attacker
grapples them, rendering them each unable
to make standard attacks, block, or parry. The
grappled character is rendered unable to move
or evade. If airborn the target may attempt to
move or evade after a successful opposed Fly
test versus Martial Arts. While grappled the
target may make opposed Martial Arts tests or
Acrobatics tests in an attempt to escape.

48
48

PREPARE ACTION

The user may prepare an action to be taken later,


after they would normally act but before their
next turn. The user may prepare any standard
or move action. If the character doesnt take
their action before their next turn they lose the
prepared action, but may prepare that action
again.

MOVE ACTIONS

Move actions are actions that involve the


movement of the character in some way and are
rather straight forward to that end.

AFTERIMAGE TECHNIQUE

On a successful AGI + Deception test versus


the targets perception, Ki Sense or search, any
opponent in the area loses awareness of the
user. The target may only attack the user on a
successful perception, Ki Sense or search test.
The user gives up their reactions this turn in
order to use this technique. A character using this
technique can still be hit by an attack using an
Area of Effect attack. If a character takes damage
while using the Afterimage Technique the effects
end and opponents may resume normally
attacking and targeting the user.

MANIPULATE OBJECT

In most cases, manipulating an object (using a


Scouter, holstering a weapon, lifting a dinosaur)
would be a movement action. In the event that
the action requires a test, it would be a standard
action.

MOVE

The simplest move action - just moving around.


Includes walking, flying, ect. Moving over large
distances or performing extremely complex
movement manuevers may be considered a full
action and require additional tests.

49

FULL ACTIONS

Full actions are complicated manuevers that


require an entire turn to complete.

AIM

Similar to prepare action, this action allows the


user to take a full turn to carefully aim their
attack. After performing this action, the user gains
a number of bonus dice equal to their perception
or search skill rank to hit a target.

BLOCK

During a turn, a player may perform a Block


test and add their successes to their ranks in
toughness for the purpose of calculating damage.
If the player does not move or act outside of
blocking, they may continue to block until they
are actually attacked.

CHARGE KI

The user of this action takes a full round to


concentrate and increase their ki. Make a Ki
Control test and add the number of successes to
your Power Up value for this turn.

RUSH

After a movement action (and only after) the user


may attempt a standard attack. Rushing in to the
opponent and successfully hitting them sends
them reeling backwards and out of melee range.
If in the air, they are sent flying. This attack is easy
to defend against, seeing as the attacker must
by flying in nearly a straight line in order to build
up enough force. The defender gets two bonus
dice to defend against the attack, but if theyre hit
then their Toughness is treated as though it is at
half value for the purpose of calculating damage.

TRANSFORM

Transformations take full turns worth of time


in order to complete, and that being the case
no other action can be taken without either
cancelling the transformation. This action
includes attempts to fuse.

COMBAT

REACTIONS

Reactions are actions that are performed in


reaction to an opposed action, such as an attack.

EVADE

If this test is successful, then your attack hits your


opponent. If this test fails, you miss completely. If
you hit, you need to calculate the damage of your
attack using this formula:
(Successes to Attack + Strength*3)

When attacked, a player may perform an evade


test. If the successes to evade are greater than
the successes the opponent rolled to attack, then
the user dodges the attack, taking no damage.

PARRY

When attacked, a player may perform a parry


test. If the successes to the test are greater than
the successes the opponent rolled to attack, then
the user deflects the attack completely, taking no
damage.

FREE ACTIONS

Free actions, unlike the other types of actions,


may be taken at any time. Free actions consume
a very small amount of time or effort and include
things such as Ki Sense tests or Perception
tests. While they take little effort there are still
reasonable limits to what you could really do in
the space of a turn with free actions.

ATTACKING AND
DEFENDING

When the opporitunity presents itself players


may choose to attempt to attack their target.
Wonderful! This is what we wanted. Now, you
must be wondering how exactly you do that or
how you should handle it. Well, thats easy.

PHYSICAL ATTACKS

Physical attacks are made by using any of the


actions that result in actual punches, kicks or
grapples. When making a physical attack, make
the following test:
(Strength + Martial Arts)

COMBAT

This damage is then removed from the


opponents health value.

MULTIPLE ACTIONS

Sometimes you just need to hit a lot of guys at


once or one guy a million times. In the manga
and anime proper this is represented by a flurry
of rapid attacks all occuring in a short period of
time.
First, to determine the dice pool you roll, use
the dice value of the lowest stat combination
for the associated tests (ie: if you want to fire a
ki blast and throw a punch in the same turn, but
have a total of six dice in the Ki + Ki Blast pool
and four in the Strength + Martial Arts pool, you
would use the Strength + Martial Arts pool), and
for every additional action you take you must
remove a die from your dice pool.
For example, if you would normally have 6d10 in a
pool for making standard melee attacks, you may
remove 2d10 from that pool in order to perform
three total attacks.
The results from these modified pools are then
split evenly among the actions being made. In
the event of an uneven pool, the first actions are
to be granted more successes than later actions.
This means that if you attack three times with a
total of six successes, each individual attack then
has two successes. A character must be able to
have at least a single success per action in order
to perform those actions, with later actions being
the first to fail.

DEFENDING FROM PHYSICAL


ATTACKS

When you get punched in the face, even if its


really hard, its not the end of the world (though

50

there are attacks that do that, were assuming


you didnt just get hit in the face by one). Its
completely possible for you to reduce the
damage you take or completely avoid damage
alltogether!
The first thing to note is that when you take
damage you reduce the amount of damage
you take by your Toughness value. This means
that if you take damage from an attack that
doesnt even exceed your Toughness, you take
no damage at all! You also have reactions that
you can use in order to reduce damage. Evading
an attack (Agility + Evade) will let your character
completely dodge an attack while parrying
an attack (Strength + Parry) will allow you to
deflect an attack completely. However, you only
have one reaction per round, so use it wisely!
In addition to these actions, a character may
also attempt to block an attack. Using a full turn
you may make a basic Toughness test and add
those successes to your Toughness value for the
purpose of damage calulation that turn.
When defending against multiple attacks, make
tests as you normally would. Since each die you
get to defend nullifies a success your opponent
got to attack, that very well may mean that you
outright nullify multiple blows. If your opponent
gets six succeses to hit you three times and you
get four successes to dodge, that means that two
punches miss you, since the successes are spread
evenly between the actions.

FATIGUE

For every 10 points worth of damage your


character takes they incur one point of fatigue.
Fatigue is a representation of the physical and
mental toll that constant combat and damage is
taking on them. It results in slower reaction time,
slowness of thought, and general exhaustion. This
is represented in-game by removing a die from
all pools a character has for every level of
fatigue that they are suffering. In the event that
your character is unable to attack or defend due
to the amount of fatigue they have, then

51

that character is rendered unconcious, and may


not regain conciousness until they have had their
fatigue removed.
Fatigue can be removed by resting, being healed
or eating a senzu.

DAMAGE

You can expect to get hit by attacks that will


mean the end of the world. If an attack deals
more damage than you have Toughness, and if
you fail to evade or parry it, you have no choice
but to take it on the chin.
Aside from incurring fatigue, other bad things can
happen to you upon getting punched really hard
in the face. When an attack reduces your health
to 0, your character automatically takes a level of
fatigue. For every additional damage below 0 that
your character takes, they incur yet another level
of fatigue. If your character somehow manages
to reach a negative number equal to one half of
their total health, they die, and must burn a Fate
Point in order to survive.

AWE

When an enemy is transforming, choosing to


power up, or performing another amazing feat it
may leave other characters in shock or paralyzing
fear. This is called awe. A player or character may
elect to enter a state of awe in response to or
preparation of another characters actions at the
GMs discretion.
When in awe a character may not attack or
act upon the character performing the action
that leaves them in awe. They may continue to
perform simple actions such as using items and
equipment or taking free actions.
A character in awe heals an amount of fatigue
equal to the number of turns the state of awe
lasts and an amount of health equal to double
that.

COMBAT

TENSION

Some situations are obviously more important


than others. Some fights are more difficult, and
far more serious. Theres a marked difference
in tone between, say, Vegetas fight with Cui or
Dodoria and his fight with Freeza. For measuring
this difference the GM has a tool called Tension
at their disposal.
Tension is a measurement of how focussed all of
the fighters are in combat and how willing they
are to win. The higher tension gets in combat, the
more powerful Ki Attacks and Transformations
can be used. We recommend using a D10, D20
or D100 as a marker for measuring this value
throughout the encounter.
At the beginning of each combat the GM should
place Tension at a thematically appropriate value.
Beginning at 1 Tension is representative of a
practice or sparring match or a fight against an
enemy that poses no realistic threat (ie: Trunks vs
Freezas Minions). For big boss battles or climactic
struggles, feel free to increase the Tension as you
see fit. A fight such as the Z-Fighters against Broly
or against the resurrected Freeza would begin at
a much higher tension due to the immediacy of
the stakes.
For every round that passes in combat,
increase Tension by 1.
In addition to just waiting for Tension to increase,
players can take actions to manipulate it as well!
Any time one of the following occurs, Tension
increases or decreases by the specified amount:
If a single attack deals 10 damage or more,
Tension is increased by 1.
If a character performs any action that leaves
them unable to react or defend themselves,
Tension is increased by 1.
If a fighter transforms to a higher tier, increase
the Tension by the number of tiers increased.

COMBAT

If a player character has their HP reduced to 0 or


below, increase Tension by 5.
If a player character engages in a Duel or Beam
Struggle, increase Tension by 3.
If a character spends a Fate Point, increase
Tension by 3.
If a character burns a Fate Point, increase Tension
by 5.
Furthermore the GM may manipulate Tension as
they see fit. If the players are bantering amongst
each other over how much of a pushover an
enemy is, they may lower Tension a substansial
amount. If the end-game boss launches a huge
attack that could destroy the planet, they can
increase Tension to 100. Its all a matter of what
the GM feels players should have access to in
combat at that time.
Tension itself allows players to access stronger
attacks and transformations at a rate that allows
climactic battles to be ramped up to.
It should be noted that if Tension somehow
drops to a level below that necessary to use a
Transformation that a character is currently using
or a Ki Attack that they are currently charging,
then they maintain those transformations and
attacks for their standard duration.

BEHIND THE SCENES


As youve probably noticed in this version
of the game, some transformations have a
Required Tension number. That means that this
transformation cannot be used without GM fiat
until combat Tension has reached that level.
Same goes with the new Minimum Tension
modifiers for Ki Attacks. Theoretically speaking,
the stronger the transformation or attack, the
more Tension will be necessary to use that attack.
This is being done in the vain hope of preventing
munchkining in a point-buy system. May God
have mercy on our souls.

52

53

COMBAT

MOOK COMBAT

What evil army, galactic empire, or invading force


is complete without a few (hundred) jobbers to
make the players feel nice and secure before
the big bad shows up to takes them down a few
notches? Well, those guys are your standard
mooks, the faceless meat just waiting to get
tenderized by a few willing fists. No matter how
many get put on the ground, it seems like there
are just two more waiting behind him, and ten
more behind those. They may not pack a whole
lot of punch, alone or cornered, but there always
seem to be just enough of them to pose a threat.
Alone, they may not stand a chance against a
real warrior, but together they might just crush
one under the weight of numbers or with enough
firepower.

MOBS

Mooks attack in large groups called Mobs. Each


Mob should be treated as an individual enemy
with its own individual attributes. A single mass
of enemies does not have to constitute a single
Mob and can be divided between as many Mobs
as the Game Master deems necessary. Unlike
player characters or regular enemies, a Mob does
not have regular attributes or skills. Instead,

COMBAT

these values are derived from the Determination


of a Mob.

DETERMINATION

A Mob can range from a few to a few hundred.


The abstract number of enemies that constitute
a Mob and their overall strength of arms is
reflected by its Determination. This represents
the power an individual Mob possesses. It is not
necessarily an exact measure and one point does
not have to equal one enemy. A few hundred
under armed and never trained locals might
constitute a Mob of the same Determination as
a few dozen well-prepared and highly proven
Elite Warriors. They may share the same
abstract value, but offer vastly different narrative
scenarios.
The Determination of a Mob may not exceed 50.
For every ten points of Determination a Mob possesses, it adds two dice to its pool for determining the outcome of any action or attack. When
taking an action or rolling a test, the number of
successes are added to the current ten digit of
the Mobs Determination in place of any attribute
when necessary.

54

A Mob must roll a minimum of one die. The


Game Master determines when and what a
Mob can test for. While a Mob may not have a
Charisma Attribute, the Game Master may decide
they can use Intimidate to terrorize the locals and
roll the dice pool accordingly. A Mob incurs all
normal penalties for multiple actions.

FOR EXAMPLE
Demon King Vuvuz launches a vicious
counterattack against the Mob of warriors
attempting to defeat him. He decides to
capitalize on his speed in order to take down as
many opponents as possible and elects to take
three different attack actions. The combination
of his Strength Attribute and Martials Arts skill
gives him a dice pool of eight. He subtracts
two dice for the two additional actions which
gives him a total of six dice to roll. Vuvuz rolls
a 2, 5, 9, 1, 6, and 8. That is three successes
and one failure, which gives him a total of two
successful hits. Vuvuz lashes out with a series
of rapid punches and kicks, sending several of
his opponents to the ground, and lowering the
Mobs total Determination by two.

DUELING

Few things are more breathless than a steely


eyed stare down between two titanic powers
waiting to clash. Add in a few stray shunts of
lightning, a little dramatic wind to set the mood,
ten tons of levitating earth, and an awesome
score by Bruce Falconer, and youve got some of
the most memorable moments that defined your
childhood. So, you are probably wondering just
how this kind of epic prelude to a world shaking
clash plays out in game, right? Its pretty simple,
actually, so, lets break it down bit-by-bit.
There are three major parts to a classic DBZ
duel and the whole thing takes place over three
rounds, but dont worry, no one ever interrupts
this kind of thing. All stages happen on the
initiative of the highest participant and each
stage counts as both participants action for that
turn.

55

THE STAREDOWN

This is the opening gambit to a Duel. The Stare


Down makes up the entire first turn of the duel.
To enter the Stare Down phase, a player must
designate an enemy within visual range and then
spend a single Fate Point in order to begin the
Duel. However, the target may spend a fate point
to avoid the duel. During the Stare Down, both
Warriors quietly assess one another, searching
for any and all strengths to defend against or
weaknesses to exploit, while hiding those same
things from their opponent.
To resolve, both participants roll an opposed
Perception Test. The winner gains information
about their opponent based on the difference in
the number of successes rolled. In other words,
the number of successes over those rolled by
their opponent up to a difference of five. They
may learn the following information:

SUCCESSES
1
2
3
4
5

EFFECT
The opponents highest
attribute.
The opponents highest
skill.
One Z Soul possessed by
the opponent.
The opponents remaining
health.
The opponents remaining
Willpower.

PREPARATION

During the Preparation phase, both participants


must spend Willpower in order to generate a
dice pool. For every Willpower a participant
spends, they gain a single die to roll. Once both
participants are done assembling a dice pool,
they roll an opposed check, with the winner
rolling the most successes. If both participants
roll the same number of successes, even if that
number is zero, then they perform a simultaneous
Cross-Counter.

COMBAT

STRIKE

This is the third and final turn of the Duel, and its
where everything comes to task. The winner of
the Preparation phase strikes home a powerful
blow that the loser is powerless to defend
against. The attacker rolls a single standard
melee attack using Strength + Martial Arts. The
strike automatically hits and the defender may
neither block, dodge or parry to avoid damage.
In addition, the attack ignores any armor the
defender may be wearing, however, they will
still soak an amount of damage equal to their
Toughness. Damage is otherwise inflicted
normally.
If the Preparation phase resulted in a tie, then
both participants strike simultaneously, resulting
in a staggering Cross-Counter. In this case,
both participants make a single standard attack
melee attack. The strike follows the same rules
as above. It hits automatically and neither may
defend against it. In addition, it ignores any
armor that either participant may be wearing,
though, they will still soak an amount of damage
equal to their Toughness. Damage is otherwise
inflicted normally.

INTERRUPTED

If, for any reason, the Duel cannot be completed


normally, than both participants return to normal
combat action.

BEAM STRUGGLES

A beam struggle is a situation that ensues when


two beam or ball type ki attacks collide. These
conflicts can be Earth-shattering, leaving nothing
but smoldering ruin in the wake of the victor.

INITIATING A BEAM STRUGGLE

In order to start a beam struggle each participant


may either agree to hold their attacks and release
them simultaneously or if one prepares a Ki
attack with the intent on releasing it when their
opponent releases theirs. When the attacks are
released, the process begins.

COMBAT

56

OBSERVATION

While preparing their attacks, fighters carefully


analyze their forms and the natures of their ki in
order to find exploitable weaknesses, much like
in the stare-down phase of a duel. At this point,
participants make an opposed Ki Sense test. The
winner gains information about their opponent
based on the difference in the number of
successes rolled to a maximum of five succeses.

SUCCESSES
1
2
3
4
5

EFFECT
The opponents Ki + Ki
Blast value.
The magnitude of the
opponents attack.
The size of the opponents
attack.
The opponents remaining
Ki Pool.
The opponents remaining
Willpower.

CHARGING

After each player finishes observing their


opponent, they must spend their remaining Ki
to build up a pool of dice. For every 5 Ki that a
participant uses they gain an additional die. If the
magnitude of one participants attack exceeds
that of the other, add one die to the pool per
degree that it is larger. If the size of one attack
exceeds the size of the other, add two dice per
degree that it is larger.

COLLISION

In the event that one of the participants does not


have at least double the successes of the other,
this phase is entered. Each participant must
build up a new dice pool using their remaining
Willpower. They then make another opposed
check. If the defenders net successes dont
meet or exceed the amount by which they were
exceeded in the initial attack, they are overtaken
and take full damage from their opponents
attack and half damage from their own. If they
are able to match it, they recieve damage from
their opponents attack, but not their own. If
they are unable to do either, then they take full
damage from both attacks.
If the defender is able to double the successes of
their opponent or double the degrees by which
they failed in the initial test, the bracket is reset
so to speak. Each player recieving their Will Points
back and their full Ki Pool. They then make a final
test with a large pool. For every 2 Ki, they recieve
a die. For every degree larger their magnitude is,
they recieve a die. For every degree larger their
size is, they recieve two dice. On top of that, for
every Will Point they spend they get an additional
die.
After this test, the losing participant recieves the
full damage of both attacks.

Once each participant finishes building their pool,


they make a single opposed check to launch their
attacks. In the event that one participant has
more successes than the other, they are on the
defending end of the struggle. If one participant
has double or more the successes of the other,
then their opponent is instantly overtaken and
recieves the full damage of both attacks. If the
participants have an equal number of successes,
then they are at a stalemate.

57

COMBAT

CHAPTER 5
BEYOND THE LIMIT!! AN ATTACK TO
SURPASS ALL!

KI

According to Akira Toriyama, Ki is made of three


components: Genki (Energy), Yki (Courage),
and Shki (Mind). These aspects come together
to form a sort of latent energy or fighting power,
that has come to be known as Ki (in the anime),
Chi (in the Viz translation of the manga) and
Energy (in the Funimation Dub).
Its a force of tangible energy inside of every
being that the most skilled of fighters are able to
draw out through intense training. This energy
can then be controlled to form new attacks,
power up normal attacks or to increase ones
own latent abilities.

BEHIND THE SCENES


I hope youre ready to math out of control.
This part of the game is really the only part
that gets really numbers intensive. Its entirely
possible to make new Ki techniques off the top
of your head and to perfectly execute them,
but for the sake of ease weve placed an area
on the character sheet to track your characters
signature moves, that way you can immediately
reference how much ki they use and what
properties they have.
That way you can have the Kamehameha on
there and still occasionally fire like, I dunno, a
fireball or something on a whim.

59

KI ATTACKS

KI ATTACKS

STEP THREE: PROPERTIES

There are an almost limitless number of attacks


that a character could make and then use in
the DragonBall universe. They run the gamut
from laser beams to shockwaves to fire blasts to
barriers and on and on.

The third step in the process of making an


attack is to choose properties that change the
fundamental behavior of the attack. These are
things like Homing, Piercing, Stunning, and the
like. Each one makes the attack act completely
seperately from the others.

MAKING A TECHNIQUE

STEP FOUR: CALCULATION

Making a Ki attack is a rather simple process that


involves the player picking out a foundation and
then adding modifiers to it that manipulate how
the attack functions. Its like going to an icecream parlor. Youll see what I mean in a second.

STEP ONE: FOUNDATION

The final step to creating an attack is figuring


out how much experience it costs to create. Each
attack type, modifier and property has a specific
value that informs how much more or less an
attack costs with those properties and modifiers.
Examples will follow, of course.

The first step to creating an attack is to decide


on what basic form of attack its going to be.
Running with the ice cream parlor metaphor, this
is picking the flavor of ice cream where the rest
of the steps are picking out toppings. There are
four core types of Ki attacks: Ball, Blast, Beam and
Strike.
Ball attacks are attacks that take the form of
a small orb. They may be dodged, blocked or
parried. Blast attacks take the form of a surge
of explosive energy. They can be dodged or
blocked, but not parried. Beam attacks take the
form of a concentrated beam of energy. They
may be dodged, blocked or parried but uses
Magnitudes instead of Burst Value. Strike
attacks take the form of ki-infused melee attacks.
They are treated as standard melee attacks that
are rolled using Strength + Martial Arts to hit and
Successes + 2*Strength for damage, but can be
given Ki Attack Modifiers and Properties.

STEP TWO: MODIFIERS

The next step involves choosing modifiers that


directly effect the quality of the attack. This
includes Ki Usage, Damage Amplification, the
length of time it takes to Charge the attack and
the Burst Value of the attack.

KI ATTACKS

60
60

KI ATTACK TYPE

ATTACK TYPE

COST

DESCRIPTION

BALL

x1

BEAM

x1.5

BLAST

x1.5

Consists of a single ki orb. They are able to be dodged,


blocked or parried.
A wave of ki that is fired as a consistant beam of energy. It
can be dodged, blocked or parried. These attacks use the
Magnitude modifier rather than Burst Value.
A surge of raw ki that explodes forth from the user. Due
to the nature of the attack it cannot be parried, but can be
blocked or dodged.

x1

STRIKE

The user channels ki in to their limb for the purpose of a


melee attack using Strength + Martial Arts instead of Ki +
Ki Blast or Ki + Ki Control.

KI ATTACK MODIFIERS

*These descriptions are abbreviated. Full descriptions may be found after these tables.

DESCRIPTION

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

Modifies how much additional damage the ki attack inflicts.

Damage

10

COST

10

12

14

16

18

20

KI USE

DESCRIPTION
Modifies how much Ki from the Ki Pool the attack uses.

Ki USED

10

COST

x4

x3.5

x3

x2.5

x2

x1.5

x1

x0.75

x0.5

x0.25

BURST VALUE

DESCRIPTION
Modifies the number of attacks made in a single action.

Burst Value

COST

x1

x1.5

x2

x2.5

x3

Charge

DESCRIPTION
Modifies how long an attack may be charged for.

Charge

COST

x1

x4

x6

x8

x10

61

KI ATTACKS

MINIMUM
TENSION

DESCRIPTION
The miminum amount of Tension necessary to use an attack.

TENSION

10

15

20

COST

x2

x1

x0.5

x0.35

x0.2

PIERCING

DESCRIPTION
Modifies how much armor the attack negates.

PIERCING

COST

x1

x2

x4

x6

x8

x10

DAMAGE AMPLIFICATION

Amplifying the damage of a Ki attack further


increases the amount of damage it does in
addition to the standard Successes to Attack +
Ki Attribute.

KI USE

This determines how much Ki from your Ki Pool


your attack uses. If you do not have enough Ki in
your Ki Pool to meet the necessary amount, you
may not use the attack. Naturally, the less ki the
attack uses the more expensive it is.

BURST VALUE

This determines how many times any single


target may be damaged by this attack. For each
success the attacker gets to attack over the
successes the defender gets to defend then this
attack does additional damage. An attack may
only do damage a number of times equal to
its burst value. Narratively speaking, if a player
attempts to dodge or parry an attack with a high
burst value, each success they get parries or
dodges an individual attack in the burst.

the charge value indicates (ie: an attack with 3


charge held for 5 turns will still only have the
effects of having charged it for 3 turns). When
a player charges an attack they multiply the
damage that the attack does by the number of
turns that attack has been charged for. An attack
that charges for 2 turns does double damage, an
attack charged for 5 turns does 5x damage.

MINIMUM TENSION

This determines what the tension rating of the


combat at hand must be in order to use the
technique.

PIERCING

This determines how much armor the attack


being used negates. For every additional level in
piercing, an attack negates one more armor or
toughness for the purpose of calculating damage.

CHARGE

This property determines how many full rounds


of combat may be taken in order to increase the
damage of this attack. An attack that is charged
may be fired at any time and may be held for
as long as the player would like, but the effect
of charging the attack will only last as long as

KI ATTACKS

62
62

KI ATTACK PROPERTIES
AREA
OF EFFECT

COST
X

BARRIER

COST
x1.5

DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

An attack with this property is able


to strike multiple users within a
certain radius. It may only be used
with Blast type attacks.

An attack with this property must


be of at least standard size and
does not inflict damage. On a
successful Ki+Ki Control Test, it
soaks an amount of damage from
Ki Attacks equal to the amount of
successes made to create it. Any
Damage Amplification applied
to an attack with this property is
addedd to the number of successes
for the purpose of calculating the
strength of the barrier.

Radius

Cost

5 Meters

x1.25

25 Meters

x2

50 Meters

x3

100 Meters

x5

ARMOR
BREAKER

COST
x20

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property is able
to completely pierce armor. For
the purpose of calulating damage,
this attack ignores Toughness and
physical armor.

63

Using Area of Effect with this


property extends its effects to
everyone with its radius. This effect
lasts for a number of turns equal to
its achieved Burst Value.
For every other quality an attack
possesses that does not cause
damage, increase the cost of this
quality by 1.0.

KI ATTACKS

BLINDING

COST

BURNING

COST
x1.25

x3

DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

An attack with this quality does not


inflict damage. The target must
make a DN4 perception test. If
they succeed, they may spend a
single reaction to block their eyes.
If they fail, they take a number of
temporary fatigue equal to half of
the damage amplification of the
attack for 1d2 rounds. Blinding
may not reduce a targets dice pool
below one and they may otherwise
act normally during this time. A
blinded opponent cannot suffer the
effects of a second blinding attack
and the effects of blinding do
not stack. After 1d2 rounds have
past, the target recovers from the
temporary fatigue loss.

An attack with this property


causes the target to combust
on a successful hit. In addition
to normal damage, the target
continues to take an extra point of
damage for a number of rounds
equal to amount of net successes
generated by the attack. This
damage ignores toughness and
armor. The target must make a
DN2 Intelligence test in order to
remain calm and act normally,
otherwise they panic for one round,
unable to perform any action.
The target may spend a single
movement action in order to douse
the flames and end the effect.

For every other quality an attack


possesses that does not cause
damage, increase the cost of this
quality by 1.0.

Controlled
Effect

COST

The flames, if not put out, last for a


number of turns equal to the size of
the attack (Small = 1, Standard = 2,
ect).

DONATION

COST

x1.5

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property allows
the attacker to be completely
selective in who it affects. The
attacker may choose to attack
specific targets and omit others.

x1

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property doesnt
do damage, but instead transfers
Ki to the target. On a successful
Ki + Ki Control test, the user may
transfer an amount of Ki equal to
the number of successes achieved
during the test.
Ki donated to a character may
exceed the Ki Pool limit.

KI ATTACKS

64
64

Electrical

COST
x1.25

DESCRIPTION

COST
X

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property is able
detonates on contact with the
target. When calculating damage,
this attack may get bonus dice
earlier than standard attacks.

65

Bonus

Cost

Standard -1

x2.5

Standard -2

x5

Standard -4

x7.5

COST
x1.5

An attack with this property


electrocutes a target, racking their
body with pain and making it
difficult to act. The attack causes
damage as a standard Ki Attack.
In addition, the target must make
pass a Toughness test with a DN
equal to the attackers Ki Attribute
or suffer temporary paralysis.
This means that the target will be
unable to act on their next turn at
which point they will automatically
recover. Willpower can be spent to
negate the paralysis effects of any
attack with the Electrical effect.

EXPLOSIVE

FREEZING

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property
begins freezing the target when
successfully hit. The attack inflicts
damage as a normal Ki Attack.
A character being attacked by
a freezing attack must make a
toughness check with a DN equal
to the attackers Ki attribute. If
this test fails, the defender gains 1
Fatigue for a number of turns equal
to the amount by which they failed
to meet the DN, unless they can
warm themselves. Warmth as part
of the environment is ultimately
defined by the GM, however, the
use of (or strike by) any attack
with the Burning quality will warm
the user (or target). In addition,
should the target spend a full
round charging Ki, the residual heat
created by the excess energy will
also end the effect. In addition, if
the target generates more failures
than successes, then they are frozen
for a number of turns equal to their
net failures and may not act. The
target may spend Willpower to act
normally.

KI ATTACKS

HANDS FREE

COST

HEALING

COST

x3

x2

DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

An attack with this property can


be used without making a physical
effort to do so - no channeling the
ki through the hands or making a
cute fighting pose. It leaves your
hands free to make standard melee
attacks, grapple, prepare actions,
evade and parry.

An attack with this property does


no damage. Instead, on a successful
Ki + Healing test, the amount of
damage that would be inflicted is
healed. If this attack has a charge
up time, instead of charging this
attack heals the amount gradually
over a number of turns equal to
the charge time. (IE: If a character
would heal 9 HP over the course of
3 turns, they would heal 3 HP per
turn). When calculating HP healed
over time, round up.

Standard charging rules still apply.

quickshot

COST
X

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property is
performed incredibly quickly. For
each level taken in Quickshot the
attacker temporarily moves up
in the turn order by that number
of characters for the purpose of
making this attack.
Level

Cost

x2

x3

x5

x8

x10

KI ATTACKS

HOMING

COST
x2

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property has
limited tracking ability. If this attack
misses, the attacker has the option
to reroll their attack with a number
of penalty dice equal to half the
number of failures and nonsuccesses they had last attack, to a
minimum of 1.

REMOTE
CONTROLED

COST
x3

DESCRIPTION
An attack with this property is
actively controlled by the user. If
this attack misses, the attacker has
the option to reroll their attack. If
the defender attempts to dodge
the attack the attacker may make a
Search test and have the defender
oppose that test rather than the
initial attack test.

66

SUICIDAL

COST
X

SHOCKWAVE

COST
x0.5

DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

An attack with this property attacks


at the cost of inflicting heavy
damage on the body of the user.
For each level of Suicidal on an
attack, the attacker gains a level
of fatigue and takes x3 the level
of Suicidal in damage ignoring
toughness.

An attack with the quality does


not inflict damage. The attacker
makes a standard Ki Blast roll. The
target must then make an opposed
acrobatics roll. If the target fails to
generate more net successes than
the attacker, then they are affected
by the attack. In that case, the
target may only make a standard
action or movement action on their
next turn, not both. Should they
generate more net successes than
the attacker, they may act normally.
For every other quality an attack
possesses that does not cause
damage, increase the cost of this
quality by 1.0.

Level

Cost

x0.8

x0.7

x0.6

x0.5

x0.25

BEHIND THE SCENES


Im sure you guys understand by now, but this
stuff is all extremely early and hasnt undergone
much playtesting. In a game where it can cost
hundreds of points to make a decent starting
character, being able to make an attack that
does Standard Damage + 10 that completely
ignores armor and toughness that can be fired
instantly and costs less than 50 EXP is probably
bad - and youre probably right. It is bad. But a
great deal of this has yet to be playtested.

(For example, for an attack that


possesses both Shockwave and
Blinding. The cost of Shockwave
would be (x1.5) rather than (x0.5)
and the cost of Blinding would
become (x4) rather than (x3),
meaning total, the two would cost a
combined (x6) on a single attack.)

These are preliminary numbers that were


rushing out there just to see if the system itself
is mechanically sound. Once were sure that
the system is both viable and enjoyable we will
continue to flesh it out and balance it.
Please, if you have suggestions for how to
better the system feel free to post it to the
devblog!

67

KI ATTACKS

CALCULATING COST

Actually calculating the cost of an attack is rather


easy, assuming that you have a calculator handy.
Its just a bit of multiplication with decimals!
First, you have to look at the type of attack
you have. Well say for this example that youre
making a Beam attack. That puts you at a
beginning modifier of x1.5
1.5 * (n)
Okay, next you have to look at the modifiers
you placed on the attack. The most important
modifier for how this math is going to work out
is Damage Amplification, as that provides us
with the number by which everything else is
going to be multiplied. Lets go with Damage
Amplification 2, which has a cost of 4 EXP.
1.5 * (4)
Nice. Now we need to add the remaining
modifiers. For Ki use, well say that it uses 5 Ki
from the Ki Pool (Cost is x2). Its a beam type
attack, so we ignore Burst Value. Well say that
we Charge it for 3 turns (Cost is x6). Well settle
for 0 Piercing (Cost is x1)
The equation for that cost comes out to this:
1.5 * (4*2*6*1) = 72
Thats pretty solid, all things considered. This is
before using any properties to further customize
the move.

USING KI ATTACKS

Using a Ki Attack or Technique is done much in


the same way that making physical attacks are.
Ki Attacks are Standard Actions to be performed
during a players turn using one of two tests:
(Ki + Ki Blast)
For offensive actions, such as firing a ki blast.
(Ki + Ki Control)
For non-offensive actions, such as creating a
barrier.
Calculations for damage are carried out in
an identical fashion to physical attacks. Use
(Successes to Attack + Ki + Amplified
Damage). Ki blasts, by type, can similarly be
dodged, blocked and parried using the same
checks as physical attacks.

THE KI POOL AND YOU

So then, now that youve done all of this math,


its important to figure out how that math figures
in to the other math - namely the turn-to-turn
math.
The Ki Pool, as has already been described, is the
total amount of Ki that a character can draw from.
A characters Ki Pool can be calculated thusly:
2x (Ki + Ki Blast + Ki Control + Sense Ki)
In standard play, a character has a resting Ki Pool
of about half of their total Ki. When the situation
is tense, that increases to full.
The Power Up rating of a character is identical to
their Ki attribute. A characters Ki Pool increases
by the value of their Power Up rating at the top
of every round of combat, ensuring that they
always have some ki to use. A characters total ki
cannot surpass their Ki Pools maximum.
This is all incredibly important in Ki based
combat, as you have to carefully manage your ki
pool.

KI ATTACKS

68

PRE-MADE KI ATTACKS

For those who need a bit more reference for how their characters attacks would function, heres a
tiny shop of pre-made ki attacks for you to look at, in the same format that theyre laid out on the
character sheet. Each also has a small narrative explanation where necessary.
NAME

Bakuhatsuha

KI USE

TYPE

Blast

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

PROPERTIES

EXP SPENT

113

Controlled Effect, Explosive (-1)

Min. Tension

10

burst value

1
Area of effect (100m)

DESCRIPTION
This attack, used by Nappa and others, is primarily used to destroy large areas with a huge
explosion. It covers a 25 meter radius and selectively hits targets. The Controlled Effect, in this case,
is meant to replicate the effect of the attack coming from the ground rather than the hand of the
user, though the hand motion is still necessary.
NAME

Barrier

KI USE

TYPE

Blast

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

PROPERTIES

EXP SPENT

17

barrier, Controlled Effect

Min. Tension

69

burst value

1
Area of effect (5m)

ki attacks

NAME

BIG BANG ATTACK

KI USE

TYPE

BALL

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

200

Min. Tension

10

NAME

burst value

PROPERTIES

Explosive (-2)

BLASTer shell

KI USE

TYPE

BALL

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

50

Min. Tension

10

NAME

burst value

PROPERTIES

Explosive (-1)

Death Beam

KI USE

TYPE

Beam

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

126

Min. Tension

15

NAME

destructo disk/kienzan

KI USE

10

TYPE

Ball

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

PROPERTIES

EXP SPENT

200

homing

Min. Tension

15

ki attacks

burst value

PROPERTIES

burst value

o
Armor breaker,

70

NAME

Energy-Dan

KI USE

TYPE

BAll

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

15

Min. Tension

burst value

PROPERTIES

DESCRIPTION
The Energy-Dan is a generic catch-all technique for those barrages of energy balls that you see the
cast use from time to time. It uses virtually no ki and has no huge benefits other than its Burst Value.
Luckily, due to the lack of ki used theres no huge risk in using it.
NAME

Final Flash

KI USE

10

TYPE

Beam

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

10

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

150

Min. Tension

10

NAME

Gallick Gun

KI USE

TYPE

BEAM

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

96

Min. Tension

NAME

KAMEHAMEHA

KI USE

TYPE

BEAM

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

72

Min. Tension

71

burst value

PROPERTIES

burst value

PROPERTIES

burst value

PROPERTIES

ki attacks

NAME

Solar flare

KI USE

TYPE

blast

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

CHARGE

EXP SPENT

72

Min. Tension

NAME

burst value

PROPERTIES

Blinding

spirit bomb

KI USE

10

TYPE

ball

PIERCING

DAMAGE
AMPLIFICATION

10

CHARGE

PROPERTIES

EXP SPENT

1875

explosive (-4)

Min. Tension

20

burst value

0
armor breaker,

BEHIND THE SCENES


Removing Armor Breaker from the Spirit Bomb drops the price to 94 EXP!

g
n
i
m
o
c
e
r
o
m
!
n
o
o
s
Ki attacks

72

all!
b
n
o
g
a
r
D
,
day
happy birth
On this day in 1986, the first episode of dragon ball aired on
fuji tv! Thirty years later, the franchise has continued to gain
popularity, change lives and define childhoods. were happy that
we could enjoy this journey with you, and hopefully well have
plenty of dragon ball to enjoy in the years ahead!

THINGS TO DO:
- create an items/equipment/vehicle chapter
- implementation of the villain creation system
- a bunch of premades that run the gamut.
- Continue updating and expanding the character sheet
Thank you for being patient with us as we worked on a new
release. I know this isnt version 0.6 like everyone wanted, and
i know some of the balancing tweaks swing a little far on the
pendulum, but please be continue to be patient with us as we
continue developing the game into something that is both fun to
play and properly emulates the franchise we all love so much.
players and gms, thank you so much for playing! from the bottom
of our hearts, we sincerely thank you!
As always, please contact us on facebook, twitter, tumblr or even
Gmail!
thecreamgames.tumblr.com
@TheCreamGames
Facebook.com/TheCreamGames
[email protected]

Change log

- Starting EXP increased to 500


- Starting health increased to
10 times Strength + toughness
- Saiyan Blood clarified
- Tension system implemented
- Minimum tension added to
required transformations
- general balancing tweaks
surrounding transformations
- system for improving
transformations using EXP
added
- Melee attacks now use the
formula:
(Successes to Attack + Strength*3)

- Combined Attack modified to


actually do things
- Ki mostly overhauled and
given general balancing
adjustments (were mostly
throwing stuff at the wall to
see what sticks)
- Magnitude and Size removed
as Modifiers, minimum tension
added
- charging an attack now grants
it magnitude
- Barrier slightly buffed
- small ki attack library added

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