ABOUT INTERMAGICA

Intermagica is a special test-run of a tabletop RPG in-development, adapted for forum play with the intent to test the system's basic dice rolls for combat. The RPG itself - working title Universal Heroines - is intended to be an original work based on a combination of the magical girl/mahou shoujo genre of Japanese manga and anime and Western ideas of superheroes/heroines, specifically from around the Golden Age of comics. It's based in the real world, and is intended to be lighthearted (the tabletop version is meant for impromptu play but has provisions for consecutive games) although considering the subject matter...serious situations is also very much a possibility.

Intermagica is set within a specific example scenario outlined during the worldbuilding of Universal Heroines. The time period is modern-day, including current international events and relations. The specific location is the US Branch of the Bureau of Intermagical Cooperation, near the United Nations building in New York City.






The time is now. The dangers are everywhere. And the heroes are...all girls? Welcome to a world where superpowers come from within - but only for a special few among the populace. Magical Girls are more than just mascots having adventures on TV. They're very real, they're just like you and me, and they're out there every day - sometimes in the spotlight, sometimes behind the scenes - trying to keep order amidst the modern chaos of civilization. With the help of brave souls willing to jump in to provide backup and support, and under the watchful eye of the Bureau of Intermagical Cooperation, these ladies can turn the tide of the future for the better!

• Magical Girls are approximately 1/1,000,000 of the general population - literally 'one in a million'.
• Magical Boys do exist, at about 1/1,000 of the Magical Girl population, but are only male in civilian form - they become female upon transformation.
• Magical Girls age at about 1/4 the normal human rate, beginning at their first transformation, which is usually around adolescence.
• Magical Girls can only use their Powers while transformed.
• Magical Girls can only remain in their transformed state for 1 hour before becoming Exhausted. Those with Guardian Familiars may remain transformed for up to one additional hour per Guardian Familiar.
• Trauma and Fading are entirely roleplay-based and their effects are up to the player.
• We are obviously not playing in realtime and as such, the passage of time is not as absolute as it should be. Please keep this in mind when adhering to in-game time limits.
• Similarly, distance and range measurements arealso not absolute. Adjustments will be made (see COMBAT below) for movement, but range is left to the discretion of the player - please keep it as real as you can.
• The Bureau, much like the UN, is neutral international territory for Magical Girls. It contains offices, conference rooms, dormitories similar to small townhouse units for those employees who choose to live on-site, and has basic amenities such as a cafeteria and laundry rooms, but is not otherwise self-contained. Specialty food or entertainment are available in the city outside.
• The Bureau itself may be in New York City, but Magical Girls are everywhere - action can happen wherever you choose.

Bureau employees have a standardized Uniform*, as follows:

• Simple Uniform: Sleeveless, white with gold trim
• Collar: Ankle length in back, waist length in front, split in the center, with gold trim
• Hand- and/or Footwear: White with gold trim
• Brooch: Gold, with Bureau Insignia

*Style of Uniform to reflect individual Employee's Theme, and Collar to be Employee's signature color/pattern. Weapons and other accessories remain unchanged.

• MG: Short for Magical Girl. Human females (or in rare cases males - see above) with the ability to tap into the energies of the universe around them, channel those energies into Powers, and transform themselves in order to use those Powers.
• Power: Used by Magical Girls to attack, defend or assist in combat situations. Any ability given a specific name is considered a Power, and that name can be used as a battle cry or activation trigger when using the Power itself.
• Trigger: An item of personal significance that helps MGs focus their energies in order to transform. Every Magical Girl has a Trigger, and each one is unique. Most Triggers become part of the MG's Uniform after transformation, but some may also be used as weapons or shields. Id a Magical Girl's Trigger is destroyed, she detransforms and must find a new Trigger before she can transform again.
• Uniform: A Magical Girl's outfit when transformed. Uniforms are unique to their wearers and each one is different, but all are always clearly not civilian clothing and more closely resemble costumes. A Magical Girl's Uniform is drawn from the most dominant aspects of her personality and ideals, and will change over time just like its wearer, responding to her subconscious. Uniforms and Weapons will usually follow a Theme, and Magical Girls who form long-standing Teams may eventually find their Uniforms mirroring each other’s in appearance, especially if the Team has a united Theme. Themes can also be influenced by Elemental affinities, if the MG happens to have one.

• Heart Type: A Magical Girl who specializes in physical attacks and weapons. All Heart-Type Magical Girls have passive access to Malletspace when in combat. They can be unstable when emotional, and are quick to show visible signs of Fading. Heart-Types are also more likely to become Shades if not purified.
• Spirit Type: A Magical Girl who specializes in energy-based weapons and attacks. They are more sensitive to magical energies in civilian form, but are also more vulnerable to Corruption. Spirit-Types can lose control of their powers if Corrupted. They are more likely to become Guardians.
• Familiar: A physical creature (usually small animals) who assists younger Magical Girls with potential, usually acting as advisors and reservoirs for powers the Girl may not yet be able to control. Most Familiars disappear when their Magical Girl Levels Up.
• Guardian Familar: Beings that assist higher-level Magical Girls, extending their endurance. They’re small and look much like ghosts, being human in appearance but without visible legs, and usually wear more simplified versions of their Girls’ Uniforms.
• Guardians: The spirits of Magical Girls who chose to linger on and assist the newer generations. They are unable to leave the spiritual plane, but are highly effective within those boundaries, especially against Shades. Guardians mostly act as advisors and make contact through dreams or visions, though the intrepid (and psychically skilled) can venture to their plane to speak to them in person. Guardians look much like they did in life. Some specialize in particular areas of influence and can be sought out by name.
• Shades: The spirits of those Magical Girls who died or were killed while Dark. All Shades are malevolent in nature, and all target Magical Girls in some form or another. While they themselves can’t act physically, they can and do influence others to do their dirty work for them. Shades look like insubstantial inky silhouettes of their past selves, and are anchored to the Transformation Triggers they carried in life. Destroying the Trigger will banish the Shade from the physical plane.
• Civilians: Those among the general population who choose to assist Magical Girls when and where they can. Bounty hunters, professors, survivalists, the generally well-armed…or even a bystander caught in the crossfire who finds an inner well of bravery in the heat of battle. Most Magical Girls appreciate the assistance!

• The Bureau of Intermagical Cooperation: Officially sanctioned at the start of World War II, the Bureau is a worldwide organization specific to the Magical Girl community and has offices in all major nations. Its main function is to provide support, mediation, and networking for Magical Girls on every continent. While it does maintain a comprehensive directory of known Girls both active and retired, and a record of threats, the Bureau refrains from governance, and their policy is to intercede directly only in extreme circumstances. Governments and leaders can petition the Bureau for assistance, but are not allowed by law to use it or any of its agents for political gain or acts of war. Magical Girls working for the Bureau collect information, monitor international and local activity and alerts, and organize events such as large-scale training camps for any Girls who wish to attend. They spend most of their time in civilian identity, as business professionals.

• The Department of Intermagical Affairs: A liaison branch of the Bureau specific to the United States, specializing in international MG relations and activities.
• Redeemers: A specialized branch of the Bureau, and probably the most well-known. Redeemers are Magical Girls tasked with searching out and hunting down powerful sources of corruption, and cleansing those Girls gone Dark before they can do too much damage to themselves or others. Redeemers specialize exclusively in purifying, healing, and other support skills. Their ranks are widely considered an elite, consisting of experienced Girls with higher power levels than the average. Most of them are reasonable even in the heat of combat, but the rule of thumb is if the Redeemers show up, everyone else had best just step back. Sound advice since once deployed, Redeemers remain active until their objective is completed…by any means necessary.

• Exhaustion: Occurs if a Magical Girl spends more than one hour in her transformed state. Exhausted Magical Girls must remain in civilian form for one day before transforming again.
• Trauma: A result of combat stress or other events outside of battle, and is entirely determined by the Player. Traumatized Magical Girls have a 50/50 chance to Fade.
• Corruption: The result of any attack with this effect, and can only be removed through purification. Corruption automatically causes Fading.
  Fading: The process by which Magical Girls go Dark, and is seen as a more or less occupational hazard. A Magical Girl in a Fade will slowly change in appearance and abilities. Mid- to late-Fade Magical Girls are generally referred to as Rogue and may begin targeting their former allies. A Fade will always end in Darkness, unless the affected Magical Girl is purified or killed.
• Dark: A Magical Girl who has Faded or otherwise been Corrupted and is no longer a force for good. Dark MGs can be saved, but the cost is memory loss of all events leading up to their Fade. The event itself will never be good for any parties involved, regardless of the outcome. Magical Girls gone fully Dark are twisted opposites of their former selves in both appearance and powers and will inevitably attack other Magical Girls, or side with other enemies. Magical Girls who die while Dark often become Shades.

All Character Types have a starting HP stat - to calculate it, roll the indicated number of D6 and add the base number to the result. Each Character Type has different abilities and drawbacks. Types listed in RED are NPC-ONLY.



Magical Boys and any magically-powered villains/antagonists are subject to Magical Girl base statistics as listed above. Nonmagical villains/antagonists are subject to Civilian base statistics as listed. Characters of extra-small size (36? and under) are subject to Familiar base statistics. Note that weapons with energy-based ammunition, lasers, and other technological wonders can have Effects.



PER ROUND (a ROUND here is two posts: the player's action, and then their opponent's reaction) a character has:
1x Attack OR 1x Block and 2' Move OR 1x Dodge and Counter (if Dodge successful) OR 1x Move

ABILITIES are usually physical attacks involving weapons, fists, or just picking up the nearest thing not nailed down and improvising. Everyone has abilities! Energy Attacks that are NOT Powers also fall into this category.

• MELEE (2D6 damage) – adjacent – 1' (at 1' distance, half damage – at 2', 50/50 chance to hit)
• RANGED (2D6 damage) – 1'-2' (at 3' distance, half damage – if adjacent, 50/50 chance to hit)
• PROJECTILE (1D6 damage, 2x roll) – 1'-4' (for every foot over 4, -1 damage – must have line of sight on target)
• ENERGY (2D6 damage) – 50/50 chance for Effect, if any assigned (NOT Physical – must have line of sight on target)

POWERS are entirely unique to Magical Girls. Any Ability with a name/title/attack phrase is considered a Power, and all Magical Girls start out with 2 Powers: 2x Offensive, 1x Offensive and 1x Defensive, or 2x Defensive. Attacks are Offensive, Buffs are Defensive.

BUFFS (duration 1D6 rounds) – adjacent – 1' (at 1' distance, 50/50 chance of success)

• STRENGTH (+2 to damage dealt)
• TOUGHNESS (-2 to damage taken)
• FLEETNESS (Automatic success to Dodge and Counter)
• SHIELD (1/2 damage taken by all affected characters inside the area) – 3' area of effect

EFFECTS are not required, but may be assigned to further hinder an opponent in battle. Energy Attacks, Weapons, or Powers may have Effects.

• BURN (-1HP/round until healed)
• SLOW (Automatic fail to Dodge and Counter for 2 rounds)
• PARALYSIS (affected character can’t move for 1 round)
• BLINDNESS (affected character has 50/50 success for all attacks for 1 round)
• DRAIN (-1HP extra damage – 50/50 chance of detransformation against Magical Girls)
• HEAL (+2 HP)
• CORRUPTION (causes Fading in Magical Girls)
• PURIFICATION (50/50 chance to heal Corruption)

ELEMENTS can give a Magical Girl an edge, but have their pros and cons. Each Element has its own Effect.

• FIRE (+ vs Ice/- vs Water) – 50/50 chance to Burn
• WATER (+ vs Fire/- vs Electric) – 50/50 chance to Slow
• ICE (+ vs Earth/- vs Fire) – 50/50 chance to Burn
• ELECTRIC (+ vs Water/- vs Earth) – 50/50 chance of Paralysis
• EARTH (+ vs Electric/- vs Ice) – 50/50 chance to Slow
• LIGHT (+ vs Darkness) – 50/50 chance of Blindness
• DARKNESS (+ vs Light) – 50/50 chance of Corruption

RESISTANCE (+1D6 damage/-1D6 damage) – Element vs Element, as listed above.
Resistance does not negate Effects

ARMOR (-1D6 damage taken) – ONLY APPLICABLE IN COMBAT
Armor and Resistance can combine for a total of -2D6 damage where applicable
Armor does not negate Effects

MOVE is the distance characters can move per round. Move can be applied to either single characters or designated groups.

BLOCKing an incoming attack is -1 to damage taken OR if the character would otherwise be KO’d, reduces them to 1HP.
Block does not negate Effects

COUNTERattacks are a 50/50 gamble, but if successful both characters take 1/2 damage.
Counters of opposing Elements cancel both attacks for 0 damage taken

DODGE if you think you’re fast enough! You have a 50/50 chance to get away with 0 damage taken.

DETRANSFORMATION occurs automatically at 1HP. A detransformed Magical Girl must wait at least one round before transforming again, unless Exhausted.

RECOVERY RATES are passive, and vary. Lost HP can be Healed, or the player can simply choose to wait.

• ALL Magical Girls regenerate 3HP/hour out of combat.
• ALL Magical Girls* regenerate 1HP/2 rounds in combat.
• Magical Girls with Familiars regenerate 1HP/round in or out of combat.
• Magical Girls with Signature Moves recover all HP upon detransformation.

CONTINTUOUS PLAY PROVISIONS (IMPROVISED):

• Magical Girl and Civilian characters add 2 to their total HP for every fight they survive.
• Familiars/Guardian Familiars add 1 to total HP.
• Magical Girls LEVEL UP after 10 fights survived, and may add a Signature Move to their Powers.
• Signature Move is Energy-based, 3D6 damage with a 50/50 chance of Effect
• Signature Moves are in addition to existing Powers
• Magical Girls may choose to acquire a Guardian Familiar after 20 fights survived.
• Existing Familiars will disappear if a Guardian Familiar is acquired.

Ready to play the game? Copy and paste the following code into a new thread on the Applications board, and fill in the blanks with your character's information. Note that there are two different templates for Magical Girls and Civilians. Familiars and Guardian Familiars are included with their Magical Girls.
IMPORTANT: remember to use your character's name as the title for the new thread.


[div align="center"][font size="6"]Name[/font]
[font size="3"](Is this character AU or board canon? Add 'AU' here if they're for AU play.  Otherwise, ignore this and remove the formatting tags.)[/font]
______________________________[/div]

[b]Alias:[/b]  (Magical Girl Name goes here.  Names can be more like titles, or have a superhero-y flavor to them.)
[b]Type:[/b]  (Heart or Spirit?)
[b]HP:[/b]  (Calculate their HP and put that here - edit this total according to the provisions outlined in the rules later.)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (Magical Girls often look completely different when transformed.  Include a description of their Uniform here.)
[b]Transformation Trigger:[/b] (What's their Trigger item and what does it become after they transform?  If they have a transformation phrase, include that here as well.)
[b]Weapon:[/b]  (If they have one - if not, just leave this blank.)
[b]Power 1:[/b] (Power name, type (attack or Buff) and Effect if it has any.)
[b]Power 2:[/b] (Power name, type (attack or Buff) and Effect if it has any.)
[b]Signature Move:[/b] (If they already have one, or if they acquire one, put it here.)

[b]Familiar:[/b] (Not all Magical Girls have one, but if they do, name and describe it here.  If they don't, remove this section.)
[b]HP:[/b] (Calculate their HP and put that here - edit this total according to the provisions outlined in the rules later.)
[b]Power:[/b] (Power name, type (attack or Buff) and Effect if it has any.)

[b]About:[/b] (Magical Girls can be completely different in personality from their civilian selves - being in disguise is a heady experience!)

[hr]
[b]Civilian Name:[/b] (Secret identities can be FUN!  If you want this to be a mystery to begin with, you can leave it blank OR cut this section entirely and add it back in later.)
[b]Gender:[/b] (Remember - Magical Boys always become Magical GIRLS when they transform.)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (Include age, height, weight, and any distinguishing features.)
[b]About:[/b]  (Backstory and any personality quirks or habits that make them unique.)



[div align="center"][font size="6"]Name[/font]
[font size="3"](Is this character AU or board canon? Add 'AU' here if they're for AU play.  Otherwise, ignore this and remove the formatting tags.)[/font]
______________________________[/div]


[b]Civilian Name:[/b] (Name goes here.)
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]HP:[/b]  (Calculate their HP and put that here - edit this total according to the provisions outlined in the rules later.)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (Include age, height, weight, and any distinguishing features.)
[b]Weapon 1:[/b] (Weapon description and Effect if it has any.)
[b]Weapon 2:[/b] (Weapon description and Effect if it has any.)
[b]About:[/b]  (Backstory and any personality quirks or habits that make them unique.)


credit to Jadine Rhine for the title of Intermagica!

credit to Meshia for kicking my ass into actually getting this off the ground =p