Chapter D The Dice ![]() All action within the BrikVerse originates in the Farce, and the Farce expresses Itself through the six archetypal Dice. These Dice shower down throughout the lives of minifigs, determining their every success and failure in an uncaring downpour, imperceptible without magikal or pharmeceutikal aid. Few minifigs are granted the vision to see the Dice, and those who do are often driven permanently and horrifyingly sane.
own illustration Uploaded, final To respectable minifigs, Dice are a myth, superstition, or blasphemy. Minifigs of all ages get their mouths washed with soap if they're caught saying the four-letter D-word in the wrong company. But to Dieists whose snake eyes have been opened, the Dice are real - the living instruments of the Farce itself, willful and treacherous and definitely not on anyone's side. The creation of the infinite BrikVerses are the purview of Humans, but the will of those realities is decided by the Dieties of higher and lower Diemensions who express their influence through the unfathomable Dice.
The only element of BrikWars outside of Humans' direct control, the geometry of a rolling Die is a reflection of its internal Diemons, tiny elemental spirits who act as polyhedral agents of chaos to disrupt the best-laid plans of Humans and minifigs. When minifigs manage to harness the powers of one or more Dice, they can be used to create SuperNatural Effects according to the elemental properties of the Dice's inner Diemons, but Diemons are treacherous and have a will of their own. Depending on his nature, a minifig may be able to summon or release the Diemons from his Dice. Less commonly, Diemons can escape on their own, crossing the barriers between Diemensions and leading unpredictable Dice rebellions.
When a Diemon appears in the physical BrikVerse, it appears as an elemental Vermin with Size 0" and Armor:0, normally taking the form of a MunchFig or other small one-piece creature. During its turn, a Diemon can either engage in movement with its own Die roll worth of inches, or take a single Action using its own Die as an Action Die. A Diemon who earns a Bonus Die from its Move roll can spend the extra die on an Action, and vice versa.
In addition to these attributes, each variety of Diemon has one extra bonus ability or advantage in accordance with its associated element. The A A 4pion burns with its own elemental corrosion, damaging objects it touches. A 4pion is immune to the effects of its own element (an Acid 4pion can't be harmed by acid attacks, for example), but on a poor roll it can burn itself out of existence without warning. At the beginning of its turn, a 4pion makes a Burning Roll as if it were on Fire (F.1: Hazard Dice), rolling 1 As the blockiest die, the The The SuperNatural The When an 8vian is created, it may choose a single The SuperNatural The Diemon of a
The SuperNatural The 12vard is the rarely-seen Diemon of a A 12vard can phase itself (along with any objects it's carrying) through solid objects during movement, making it immune to any non- The Inescapable 20kles of BrikThulhu Water and chaos are associated with the SuperNatural ![]() The most magikally advanced military force in the BrikVerse, the fighting battle mages and soldiers of RedRover's Imperial Magikstrate incorporate magikal effects into all levels of their fight to restore the lost Uasciri Empire.
BrikWiki entry: The Imperial Magikstrate
Illustration generously sponsored by Red Rover own illustration Uploaded, final In every age, there are minifigs gifted with abilities that defy natural explanation, allowing them to grab the laws of physiks and twist them into pretzels. Some are blessed with arcane knowledge, psychik ability, divine favor, or affinity with the Farce. Others attribute their powers to martial-arts mastery, genetik mutation, or an unforeseen reaction to the rays of a yellow sun. Many have no explanation other than complete Koincidence and dumb luck. It would be impossible to list every super power, spell, psychik ability, and avenue of divine intervention that might occur to the imaginations of players. Instead, SuperNatural Powers in BrikWars are based on a system of SuperNatural Clichés and powered by SuperNatural Dice. ![]() The Imperial Magikstrate is led by five members of the Pendragon family known as the Pentagram. Four are among the most powerful magik users ever known. The fifth is just Cecil.
Photo rights: Red Rover
signed 12/9/20 In the same way that Heroic minifigs pursue an Action-Hero Cliché, SuperNatural minifigs gain their powers through a SuperNatural Cliché. (A few minifigs develop both types and become SuperNaturalHeroes, but this is largely redundant and is not considered the most efficient use of their efforts.) DC Comics and Marvel Comics tirelessly defend their joint trademark on the word "SUPERHERO®." Players who have Heroes that are also Super should avoid making the mistake of ever using the two descriptors in conjunction, because corporate rights are more important than Humans being allowed to use words.
SuperNaturally-powered minifigs draw their stereotypes from the same video games and cartoons as Heroic ones, but their powers are inspired by the supporting cast as often as by the main protagonists and villains.
When choosing a SuperNatural Cliché, it often helps to have a specific character in mind. Three units with the "Vampire" Cliché might have completely different powers if one is based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, one is pulled from an RPG sourcebook, and the third is just made of glitter.
Where Heroes develop ridiculous accents as an involuntary side-effect of Heroism, SuperNatural units develop funny voices on purpose, in response to years of persecution from jaded skeptiks and jealous MereMortals. The more SuperNatural power a unit collects, the greater the SuperNatural chip on his shoulder grows, and the more likely he is to limit himself to speaking only in booming echoes, testosterone growls, or mysterious whispers. Before long, he's put together a ludicrous outfit and accessories to match, inevitably resulting in being taken even less seriously. ![]() Flanked by squads of Dungan poop troops bearing Talismans of power, the Dank Lord Jarth Jawl prepares to seize control of the Senate waste disposal committee.
own photo Uploaded, final ![]() Little is known about the Foreman, one of the founding members of the Planetcrackers, but plenty is known about the Foreman's gear. The experimental armor is equipped with jumpboots, a standard portable drill, an energized rock saw, a pair of gravity manipulators, a solidslight shield, and the fabled beam-hammer Stonesmite.
remove
A SuperNatural unit's ridiculous accessories do more than just make him an easy target for mockery. They're the physical Talismans that bind the SuperNatural Dice to his will. As with Minds, weapons, and other instruments of mayhem, each of a SuperNatural unit's SuperNatural Dice must be based in a specific physical component so that enemies have the chance to target them for destruction or theft. A component that carries a SuperNatural Die is called a Talisman, and a separate Talisman is required for each SuperNatural Die. The powers of these Talismans are controlled by whatever unit possesses them, inevitably making them the targets of avarice and violence.
Any object can be used as a Talisman and imbued with SuperNatural power. SuperNatural abilities can be placed directly into a minifig's body parts - skulls, beards, and mustaches are popular Talismans - but machines, animals, fancy outfits, and random inanimate objects can be Talismans as well, through enchantment, possession, alien teknology, or by a minifig's continuous failure to realize the power was within himself all along. The more SuperNatural Dice under a unit's control, the more Talismans it has to carry. It's hard for Talismans to be subtle, especially when glowing crystals tend to be their main component. SuperNatural units, devices, and vehicles become increasingly more ostentatious and ridiculous as they become more powerful. The SuperNatural power of a unit or object is determined by the SuperNatural Dice under its control. A unit spends its Dice, singly or in combinations, to produce SuperNatural Effects appropriate to its own Cliché, or to the Clichés of the Talismans the Dice are bound to. The Effects can be used to create or modify the Actions, movement, or attributes of units, vehicles, and equipment, or to affect the results of die rolls as they happen. Each SuperNatural Die may be spent once per turn to add to one Aspect of a SuperNatural Effect, described further below. Like Action Dice, a spent SuperNatural Die returns at the beginning of its controlling unit's turn and becomes available to spend again, unless the unit decides to keep it active in a Lasting Effect or as a summoned Diemon. ![]() In the Konfederacja and the Republik of Magyar, priests of the Church of the Great Creator accompany troops to provide spiritual guidance and morale. Armed with Holy Staves, these cleriks are known for bringing about wonders that even the most educated are unable to explain.
remove
Wand:
![]() Use:2
Range:CC or 6"
Effect: extends the reach of SuperNatural Effects
Staff:
![]() Use:3
Range:CC or 10"
Effect: extends the reach of SuperNatural Effects
By default, minifigs can channel their SuperNatural powers by touching a target with their Bare Hands. For willing targets or inanimate objects, this is automatic and requires no Action. To touch a hostile target, the SuperNatural unit must successfully Strike, Shove, or Grab them in Close Combat. For targets that aren't close enough for Close Combat, the unit has to add SuperNatural Range inches to move the Effect from itself to the target. In either case, aiming SuperNatural Effects at a hostile or distant target spends the SuperNatural unit's Action for the turn.
![]() ![]() Wands and Staves are special categories of minifig weapons that have no Damage stat of their own, but can be used to extend the reach of a minifig's SuperNatural Effects by a successful touch, melee attack, or ranged attack. A Wand is a Small-sized weapon that can be used in one hand, while a Staff is Medium-sized and is Two-Handed. Wands and Staves can be used in both Ranged and Close Combat, and are often made Talismans in their own right. Under normal circumstances, spent SuperNatural Dice return to their owner at the beginning of the owner's next turn. In some cases, however, the owner may wish to leave one or more of the Dice on their targets as a Lasting Effect. The Die is kept next to the affected target and its Effect continues for as long as it remains — an extra Armor Lasting Effects are limited by the SuperNatural Dice left behind. For example, a minifig may spend an Arc Range A SuperNatural unit can cancel any of its Lasting Effects at any time, including during an opponent's turn, but the unit only gets its SuperNatural Dice back at the beginning of its own next turn. The unit is allowed to sustain a previous turn's Lasting Effect right up to the beginning of its turn and then cancel the Effect to get the Dice back immediately. SuperNatural units don't need to decide ahead of time how many SuperNatural Dice they're going to spend, if any. SuperNatural Dice are spent and rolled one by one as needed. However, SuperNatural Dice can only affect events as they occur. They can't change what's already taken place and been resolved. It's important to know exactly when and where an Effect is targeted. If a BattleMage has his hand on the shoulder of an allied bowman firing an arrow, the BattleMage can spend a SuperNatural Action Die to boost the bowman's Action Roll directly. Because he's touching the bowman and not the weapon, he would have to buy Range and spend an Action to have an Effect that reached the bow itself - turning the arrows into Explosive or Fire Arrows, for instance. If the bowman's attack hits, but the Damage Roll isn't high enough, then it's too late to boost the attributes of the bow - the arrow has already left the string. The BattleMage must now buy Range all the way out to where the arrow is striking if he wants to add additional Damage Dice. Like regular dice, a SuperNatural Die can earn a Bonus Die whenever it lands on its highest-numbered face. But the SuperNatural Bonus Dice behave differently, due to the chaotic nature of the Farce that powers them. SuperNatural Bonus Dice are always the same size as the SuperNatural Die that spawned them. A roll of 8 on a SuperNatural Unlike regular Bonus Dice, players who earn SuperNatural Bonus Dice don't get to decide how or whether to spend them. A SuperNatural Bonus Die automatically adds to the same Aspect as the SuperNatural Die that spawned it. These supercharged Aspects are normally beneficial, but occasionally disastrous - a couple extra inches of Explosion radius, for instance, can lead to all kinds of unintended consequences if the minifig wasn't planning for them. Whenever a SuperNatural Die rolls a "1," it doesn't add anything to its Aspect. Instead, it turns into a traitorous Fumble Die, and is handed over to an opponent of the player's choice to use in sabotaging the Effect. The enemy may use the Fumble Die for any Aspect, adding or subtracting in whatever way seems best designed to thwart the Effect in the enemy's favor - for instance, sending the Effect in the wrong direction, strengthening a target rather than harming it, or giving unholy life to an equipment item rather than responsibly retrieving it. The opposing player should try to come up with an explanation for why the Effect Fumbled in that particular way, but this isn't a strict requirement. A Fumble Die that rolls its highest-numbered face can spawn SuperNatural Bonus Fumble Dice for the enemy player. A Fumble Die that rolls a "1" is double-Fumbled right back to the original SuperNatural unit's control. Regardless of how it's used, the Fumble Die returns to its owner at the beginning of the next turn as a regular SuperNatural Die again, feeling no remorse for its transgression. ![]() These conscripts are unable to explain to Admiral Gradenko why they decided to summon a polar bear onto the Soviet flagship. Luckily, the bear brings the discussion to a quick close with several convincing points.
remove
![]() Kaptain Jy'udi, Heroine of Esduin, takes advantage of an abandoned Frostborne campfire to commune with the spirits of fire and summon a fire matriarch.
image rights: Kommander Ken Uploaded, final Some SuperNatural Effects occur as invisible stat boosts or penalties, creating no visual or physical evidence that minifigs can detect. More flashy Effects might involve the creation of a SuperNatural object, like a ball of fire, energy beams, wings, claws, a solid wall, or loaves and fishes. Even more ambitious Effects might conjure up a SuperNatural creature, like a steel golem, a lightning rat, a swarm of duck-sized horses, or a manic pixie dream gorilla. SuperNatural objects and SuperNatural creatures only last until the SuperNatural unit decides it needs its Dice back. When the Effect ends, the objects and creatures disappear.
A SuperNatural Effect can take whatever form is appropriate to its nature. By default, a SuperNatural Effect can freely produce a Size 0" equipment item with no weight or substance and zeroes for all stats. A SuperNaturally-created object might start as a knife that does no damage, a rope that can't support any weight, or a helmet that protects against nothing. By themselves, these are fine for creating dramatic illusions or spooky sounds, but if they're going to be used for tangible effects then their stats will need to be boosted with SuperNatural Dice. For each SuperNatural Die used in an Effect, the Use rating of the created object increases by one, along with the object's maximum Size inches, Weapon Size inches, or Explosive Size. Rather than creating SuperNatural objects from scratch, a unit can spend SuperNatural Die rolls to summon regular minifig equipment into existence (Chapter Three: Minifig Weapons). This can be useful for equipment items whose abilities aren't easily replicated by SuperNatural Dice. Summoning the object must fit the unit's SuperNatural Cliché. The player chooses one or more items to summon and adds up their SuperNatural Price. Short items have a Price of 2, Medium items have a Price of 3, Long items have a Price of 4, and any item with Ranged capability adds 1 to the total Price. The unit rolls its SuperNatural Dice against the SuperNatural Price total. If the roll is equal or higher, the unit receives the objects as planned. If the roll is lower, the Dice are wasted. If one of the Dice rolls a 1, then it's Fumbled and may be used to sabotage the summoned objects. If all of the Dice roll a 1, then the entire summoning is a Fumble and the unit may discover that it's summoned something it didn't want to. Once created, SuperNaturally summoned items can be maintained as Lasting Effects, and can be augmented by additional SuperNatural Dice like any other object. ![]() Even after death, the people of Caelesterra can look forward to continued service in combat as skeletal thralls to the IceLich.
"IceLich" by Bolicob image rights: Bolicob, signed 7/23/20 Uploaded, final
SuperNatural Effects can also take the form of summoned creatures. SuperNatural creatures start with the stats of the Diemon associated with the first SuperNatural Die spent (D.1: Dice and Diemons). The creature can then be augmented with additional SuperNatural Dice, making it as large or as ridiculous as the Dice allow.
A
![]() Each SuperNatural Die may be spent on one of five SuperNatural Aspects. The effects of these Aspects are combined to create a SuperNatural Effect that fits into the unit's SuperNatural Cliché. Increase/Decrease Range:
+/- inches of Range to SuperNatural Effect, ranged weapon stats, or other ranged effects A
![]() A
![]() A
![]() ![]() For any Effect, the first order of business is making sure the Effect can reach the target. Depending on the nature of the SuperNatural Cliché, a SuperNatural unit may center an Effect on itself, it may be able to transmit Effects through physical contact (by touching an ally or inanimate object directly, or by making a successful Grab or Shove on an enemy target), or it may be able to channel Effects through a weapon or tool (by touching an ally or object with the weapon, or making a successful Close Combat or Ranged attack on an enemy target). If the SuperNatural unit isn't able to touch, hit, or be a target directly, then it has to spend a SuperNatural Die as a SuperNatural Range die to reach it. Each Range die is rolled to add inches of Range (spending a Range
When rolling Range dice, the dice are rolled one at a time and placed on the table in the position where the Effect has been moved to along the path of its Range. This is done in case a Fumble Die is rolled before the Effect reaches its target, and the players need to know where in Effect's path the Fumble occurred. Knowing where a SuperNatural Die takes effect is also important when using Range Besides covering the distance to a target, Range can also come into play when trying to hit multiple targets or to cover an area. By default, a standard Effect affects up to a single minifig-sized (Size 1") target or area, or a minifig-sized section of a larger target. A SuperNatural Effect can be made to cover a larger area by spending SuperNatural When When What happens if a minifig uses a
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Increase/Decrease Move:
+/- inches of non-Flight Move to target object, creature, or vehicle Increase/Decrease Flight Move:
+ half inches or - inches of Flight Move to target object, creature, or vehicle Direct Movement:
apply inches of controlled motion to target small object (<1") or larger object covered by area of Effect Thrust:
apply inches of Thrust to object
A
![]()
A
![]() ![]() A SuperNatural Die spent as a SuperNatural Movement die can be used to affect the Move rating of mobile units, creatures, and vehicles, or to move targets directly. Increasing or decreasing a mobile target's Move attribute is the simplest use of a Movement die. The die roll is added to or subtracted from the inches in its Move rating for the turn. Move ratings can't be reduced below zero inches. A unit whose Move is reduced to 0" is Stopped but not inanimate. It can still perform regular Actions as long as they don't require moving around. When adding Flight, a Movement Like Range Changes to Move ratings can also be used to give movement to inanimate objects. This is best limited to objects with a clear movement style already in place — stone statues and end tables can start walking around, shopping carts and boulders can start rolling, but the results of animating a suspension bridge or a shipping crate will mostly be the confusion of everyone involved. If units insist on animating an object without an obvious style of Propulsion, the object moves at Half Speed. An animated object won't be able to make use of its new Move inches unless it has a set of controls (allowing it to be used as a vehicle) or it's given a Mind (turning it into an animated creature). For loose objects of Size 1" or smaller, SuperNatural Units can use Movement dice to move them directly, for as many inches as are rolled on the Movement dice. This can be used for Effects ranging from hurling rocks, pulling levers, lifting kilts, or tossing enemies over a cliff. Directly moving a larger object or group of objects is also possible, but more difficult. The Effect has to cover the larger target area completely, using radius inches from SuperNatural If a SuperNatural Unit doesn't have the right combination of dice to move a large object directly, it can use Movement dice to create inches of Thrust to push things around instead (9.3: Thrust Vectors). Thrust Effects are not size dependent and can be effective against even very large targets. Movement Dice can't be used to separate objects from their moorings. A door can be opened and closed, but not removed from its hinges; an enemy soldier can only be tossed around until he manages to grab hold of something and stabilize himself. An unattached unit that's able to actively resist being moved does so with its Physical Opposition dice (9.5: Collisions), subtracting its POP roll from the number of inches moved. Increase/Decrease Damage:
+/- Damage to SuperNatural Effect, weapon stats, or other damaging effect ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() A mysterious Quantumstalker powers up his staff for a devastating attack, before blowing his roll and landing face-first in the snow. Even the doots of mr skeltal's trumpet are unable to help him.
image rights: Kommander Ken Uploaded, final The most common application of SuperNatural Dice is as SuperNatural Damage dice. Each type of SuperNatural Die delivers a specific damage type:
When used to subtract damage, if a subtracted SuperNatural Die matches the die type of one of the dice in the affected Damage rating (for instance, using a SuperNatural Increase/Decrease Armor:
+/- Armor to target object Increase/Decrease Deflection:
add or subtract one level of Deflection against all damage dice of equal or smaller size A
![]() ![]() Rather than dealing or nullifying Damage directly, it can be more advantageous to SuperNaturally weaken or strengthen a target's Armor instead. A Supernatural Die can be spent as a SuperNatural Armor die to affect a target's Armor or Deflection. Armor dice are kept with the affected target for as long as the Effect persists. If Armor dice are used to modify an Armor stat directly, they're rolled again any time the Armor stat is called for. Subtracted Armor dice can never lower a target's Armor below zero, and can never damage or destroy a target outright. Adding or subtracting an Armor When an Armor Die is used to affect a target's Deflection, it only adds or removes Deflection for damage dice of the SuperNatural Die's size or smaller. A Action Modifier:
+/- Bonus or Penalty to a single Action or Specialty Roll Blessing or Curse:
+/- a potential re-roll to target's Action or Specialty Die of the same die size or smaller Increased Action:
add an extra Action die or Specialty to a unit or inanimate object ![]() A SuperNatural Die spent as a SuperNatural Action die can be used to enhance or impair a unit's Actions and Specialties in a number of ways, from changing the success of an individual roll to creating SuperNaturally animated units from lifeless objects. The simplest use of a SuperNatural Action die is as a direct modifier to be added to or subtracted from a single Action or Specialty Roll. SuperNatural Action dice don't affect whether an Action Roll results in a Critical Failure, even if they reduce the result of the Action Roll to zero or less. A Critical Failure only occurs when a unit's own Action die rolls a natural result of "1," regardless of added or subtracted SuperNatural Dice or other modifiers.
While SuperNatural Action dice can be spent to modify individual rolls, they can't be used to modify a target's own Action and Specialty dice directly. These must always be a single die with no modifiers
( Instead, SuperNatural Action dice can be attached as a Blessing or a Curse to a target's Action or Specialty die of its own die size or smaller. (A SuperNatural Blessing and Curse dice are rolled along with the Action or Specialty die they're attached to. If the die is Blessed, the unit keeps the highest roll as the result; if Cursed, the unit uses the lowest result instead. When a target unit is larger than the Effect area of a Blessing or Curse, a SuperNatural unit will have to settle for affecting a smaller portion of the target - perhaps a single arm, a weapon, or the creature's head. Only the Actions that involve that part of the target will feel the Effect of the Blessing or Curse. Blessings and Curses suppress each other. A die that's both Blessed and Cursed ignores one Blessing for every Curse, and one Curse for every Blessing, as chosen by the affected unit's player.
![]() Deceived by Pacifass's horrifying illusion of Peace overtaking the battlefield, this knightly King is tricked into slaying all of his own men in a panicked frenzy.
image rights: Samuel "Quantumsurfer" Stephen Uploaded, final A SuperNatural Action die can be given as an Action Die to animate an inanimate object, or to give an extra Action to an existing unit, as if the die were a new SuperNatural Mind. The target keeps its existing attributes (such as Armor and Move) and physical abilities (like its attack capacity, loadout, and Power level); a Death Tank with three Minds can still only fire its main cannon once per turn, but the two extra Minds mean it can also launch its missiles at a secondary target and fill out questionnaires on Death Tank dating sites at the same time. If a unit uses a SuperNatural Action die to animate an enemy vehicle while one or more enemies are still piloting it, it's treated the same as a vehicle with opposing operators at the controls (9.4: Piloting). The SuperNatural Mind and the enemy operator can each use their Action on whichever systems they have access to in order to interfere or prevent each other from operating them at all. Rather than adding a Mind, a SuperNatural Action die can also be used to add a new Specialty. For Specialties marked with a die, the SuperNatural Die is treated as the new Specialty die; this may result in Specialists who are either phenomenally skilled or abysmally incompetent, depending on the die in use. For Specialties without a Specialty die, the SuperNatural Die must be as large or larger than the affected unit's Action die. |