Atenean TTRPG
A tabletop game about annoying richkids
Introduction 🦅
This is a reference document for Atenean TTRPG, a game about annoying richkids getting into stupid problems. (Written by an Atenean; I get to make these jokes.) To play, you will need 4-6 players, one whom will facilitate the story as Game Master (GM), as well as two six-sided dice (d6). For further information on the mechanics, please see the Bloom SRD.
What Kind of Atenean Are You?
Ateneans are basic, and therefore usually fall under a general category or archetype. This determines your abilities.
The Fboy 🤙🏼
Bougie AF: You always have enough cash on-hand to buy anything you want. Once a session, you can make a truly exorbitant purchase.
Pogi: You gain +1 Heart, and once a scene can charm someone into doing a favor for you without needing to make a roll.
Talking Stage: You’ve always got people in your DMs, and once a scene can make a Heart test to enlist their help with the current scenario.
The Partygirl 🍸
Just a Regular Friday: Your nights out have given you experience in handling wild scenarios. You gain +1 in getting out of scrapes or talking yourself out of trouble.
Chismosa: You’ve got an entire barkada of gossipy friends, and once a scene can contact them to gain private information about someone in the community.
Velvet Ropecutter: You know practically all the party organizers in Metro Manila, and can get yourself and your allies into any party or social event without a reservation.
The Best Friend 🎒
Pick Me Guy: Pick an ally. For the rest of the scene, you gain +1 on all Heart rolls that involve helping them out or doing something in their best interest.
Actually Uses a Backpack: You’ve always got something on-hand to help with the current scenario. Once a scene, you can make a Wits test to have something truly unusual in your backpack.
Matters of the Heart: You automatically know when someone is lying, and gain +1 on Poise tests to discern their emotional state.
The Artsy One 🎨
Acoustic: You can draw attention to yourself using song, dance, or some other method of performance. Anyone present who fails a Poise roll must pay attention to you for the rest of the scene, or until you decide to stop performing.
Easy Access: You’ve got access to all the coolest spots on campus that are normally reserved for specific clubs or groups. Once a session, you can uncover a shortcut that leads from one part of the campus to another.
Expo Girl: You gain +1 on rolls to commute or find your way around.
The BS Org 📦
Logistics God: You gain +1 at planning events and finding solutions to logistics problems.
Iced Coffee Against the World: You gain +1 on Might rolls to deal with adverse environments or exhaustion.
Unfazed: You can reroll a failed Poise roll once a scene. You can also ignore effects that would make you suffer -1 on rolls due to something in a situation that is unfamiliar.
The Gamer 🎮
Gamer Rage: You may enter a state of rage for the rest of the scene. During that time, you suffer -1 Poise, but gain +1 at playing games such as computer games, cards, or chess.
Extensive Lore: You gain +1 on rolls to recall trivia and obscure knowledge. Once a scene, you can offer advice from your unique viewpoint to give an ally +1 on their roll.
Smuggle the Console: Your baggy clothes allow you to hide any handheld item on your person; it cannot be found even when you are searched.
The Influencer 📣
Rally Together: Once a session, you can gather together the people present into a crowd, either using your fame or your advocacy. You can compel the crowd to do whatever you say for ten minutes before it disperses.
Well-informed: You always have knowledge of the latest news and online trends, and once a scene can make a Heart roll to recall something useful to the current scenario.
Clout Chaser: Once a session, you can post about a single person, product, or event and make it viral for the next 24 hours.
The Taga-Province 🏝️
Multilingual: You’re fluent in the local language or dialect of your province, and gain +1 on Wits rolls to use that language, such as speaking to locals or translating literature.
Biyahero: Your frequent P2P rides to and from your provincial home have made you used to long trips. You gain +1 Might and are impervious to dizziness or carsickness.
Chaotic Reunions: You’re used to tense arguments between your relatives, and as such can stop a fight from breaking out as long as you keep talking. Conversely, once a scene know exactly what to say to make an argument break out between two people.
Traits
After the initial name, pronouns, and course of your Atenean, you must come up with four traits, short descriptions about your character. These traits can be used to improve your dice rolls, which will be covered in the next section.
Your first trait, called your Main Trait, is something that should encapsulate who your character is is. Maybe they’re a Carefree Star Athlete or a Sheltered Heiress.
Your second trait is your Weakness. It can be a character flaw, or even a recurring problem that you can’t shake off. Some examples would be Easily Distracted or Not Well-liked.
Your third and fourth, your Bonus Traits, will be a bit trickier to create. They should be both advantageous and disadvantageous at the same time; for example, someone Knee-deep in Gossip would definitely know a lot of secrets, but sometimes be deemed untrustworthy by others.
Stats
Stats are used to measure the skills and aptitudes of your Atenean. They are as follows:
Agility - represents physical speed, flexibility, and deftness.
Heart - represents passion, charisma, and emotional strength.
Might - represents physical strength, forcefulness, and hardiness.
Poise - represents calmness, mental clarity, and self-control.
Wits - represents intelligence, problem-solving, and knowledge.
Each stat starts at 0, with 8 more points to distribute. No stat may go above 4, unless you make another stat -1.
Dice Rolls and Doing Stuff
When the outcome of an action is uncertain, you must roll 1d6-1d6 - basically, two six-sided die, then subtract the score of the second one from the first. For physical play, you can do this by having two dice of different sizes or colors, and making sure to remember which one’s score you subtract from the other’s. Afterward, you must add the relevant stat as prescribed by the GM. A total roll of +1 or higher is generally counted as a success, though the GM may set the threshold higher for rolls corresponding to particularly difficult actions.
You can improve the results of your rolls by calling upon your applicable traits. For example, the trait of Skilled Chef would definitely give an advantage in a roll to cook food. Applying a trait to the roll grants +2 to the final result, thus upping your chances for success. To apply traits, you must spend boons, tokens representing favorable luck; each character starts the campaign with 3 boons, with boons carrying over between sessions. You may earn more boons by calling upon your Weakness (or interpreting your Bonus Traits’ disadvantageous side) to make your roll more difficult.
Atenean Weaknesses
Ateneans, despite their socioeconomic advantages, also have challenges to face. Aside from weaknesses specific to your character, you also suffer from these general ones:
Kuya Driver: Every time you use public transportation, you must make a Wits roll. If failed, you either get on the wrong vehicle or get off at the wrong stop.
Conyo: Your command of the Filipino language leaves much to be desired. You suffer -1 on actions that involve speaking in straight Filipino.
Everyone Knows Everyone: The circles you move around in are close-knit. You suffer -1 on staying anonymous or remaining unrecognized.
Plot Scenarios
What kind of problems do Ateneans even face? Here is a list of story hooks to get your campaign running.
Your org event is in an hour, but logistical issues are abound. The sound system isn’t working, the caterers have backed out, and your AVP is not replying to messages. Can you band together and pull through?
It’s Friday night, and you’ve just finished an extremely stressful long test. You want to let loose in Pop Up or BGC, and as always drama is bubbling just under the surface of your friend group - who secretly started dating, who has beef, and so on. On nights like these, anything can happen. And most importantly, can you get home in one piece?
You’ve gotten wind of an earthquake drill later today - right after your class ends. You’re not sure when exactly it will be, but you definitely don’t want to wait in the hot sun with only your MacBook as shade. Can you find a way to get out of campus in time?
It’s Holy Week, and you’ve got a fun beach trip planned. You’re all meeting up in McDo Katipunan before going there, but the journey is fraught with obstacles - the car breaks down, there’s traffic due to a procession, you get lost, etc. Can you still enjoy your vacation?