Rules of the Game

Preface

JoJo's Bizarre Tabletop is a tabletop role playing game featuring the power systems of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The combat systems, dice mechanics, and character building are all the same as D&D 5th edition, but there are some key differences. The 5th edition Backgrounds, Races, and Classes have been replaced with custom Passions, Races, and Classes, respectively.

If something seems to be missing or unexplained, you may find what you're looking for within the 5th edition rules for D&D. Combat and Skill Check mechanics aren't explained here for this reason, and certain 5e features like weapons, items, armor, etc can be brought in at DM discretion.

Key Changes

- Humans do not get any special racial features or bonuses. Check the Races page for more information.

- Supernatural Checks will be used to help you determine unexplained phenomena. A successful Supernatural Check will reveal if an item has been infused with a special energy, or if it is just a trick that can be explained through conventional technology. For example, if you were to see a floating toaster, a successful Supernatural Check could reveal that it is floating because there are probably magnets inside, or it might clue you that something else is going on. As a Reaction, when you are affected/damaged by an unknown phenomenon that you suspect is an Ability, you may make an Supernatural Check in order to determine the function of the Ability.

- Initiative is calculated by adding your Dexterity AND Wisdom instead of just Dex. Stand stats can not be used to calculate initiative.

- Free Actions are things you may do at any time without expending any of your Action Economy. You may take as many Free Actions as you want.

- Talking is a Free Action. This module is based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure after all, and it wouldn't be JoJo's without a side character commenting on everything happening, as it happens, even if the talking takes more than 6 seconds.

- The Tile System is meter-based. Each 'square' represents 1 meter (3 feet).

- The Maximum Level in this module is not necessarily twenty. There are certain characters and enemies that may be more powerful than the normal 5e Level cap, but allowing this is up to the DM's discretion.

- Bonus Feats are granted to make characters more powerful and interesting. You may select an amount of additional Feats equal to your Proficiency Bonus.

- Proficiency Bonus scales with your total Level and provides a bonus to any Attack Rolls, Skill Checks, or Saving Throws that you're Proficient in. There are 3 levels, Proficiency, Expertise, and Mastery, with each level adding the bonus an additional time. Going past Mastery is technically possible in some situations, in which case you continue adding the bonus an additional time each for each level.

- Bonus Proficiencies are granted based on a character's Intelligence Modifier. You may pick that number of Skills (minimum of zero) and gain Proficiency in them. You may also swap some or all of these Bonus Proficiencies for Human Languages, Instruments, or Tool Proficiencies. These Proficiencies do not count against any Proficiencies gained by any Feats or from your Passion.

- Armor Class (AC) is calculated as either 10 + Dex + Con, 10 + Dex + Wis, or 10 + Wis + Con. You may still use armor from 5e if you wish, but this 'Unarmored Defense' will not stack with it.

- Medicine Checks may be performed on a character with 0 Hit Points. If you succeed the Medicine Check (DC 10), they are not just stabilized, but also return to 1 Hit Point.

- Advantage allows you to roll 2 d20s and take the higher result. Disadvantage works the same, but you must take the lower result. If you get two stacks of Advantage, you still only roll 2d20, but get a +2 bonus to the total result for each additional stack of Advantage. The same goes with Disadvantage, but with a -2 penalty for each stack of Disadvantage. Stacks of Advantage and Disadvantage cancel each other out, so if you'd have 2 sources of Advantage and 1 source of Disadvantage, you'd effectively have regular Advantage.

- Inspiration can be used to reroll something entirely, rather than just granting Advantage. It also has no upper limit in terms of how much you can have and can be given to another character over the course of a Short or Long Rest.

- Unarmed Strikes deal 1d4 Bludgeoning Damage. You may choose to add either your Strength OR Dexterity to the Attack Rolls, but only Strength may be added to the Damage Rolls. Unarmed Strikes are considered to have the Open Hand, Light, and Fist weapon attributes.

- Light Weapons may be dual-wielded alongside another Light weapon or an empty hand. For this purpose Unarmed Strikes are considered to have the Light property.

- Speed Duels may be performed when you wish to take an action before your target can react (stealing, disarming, quick draw, etc.). To do so, you must use a single Attack and both creatures must roll an Athletics (Wisdom) Check, or an Athletics (Speed) Check if using a Stand. If the attacker rolls higher, they successfully carry out the desired action. Otherwise, nothing happens.

- Multiclassing is allowed. For example a Stand User with a Power Type Stand might also choose to use The Ripple. However, each character can only have one Stand. Typically this means each character can only have one Stand Type, but Multi-Type Stands are allowed. The rules for this are detailed on the Classes page.

- Doubling/Halving Effects do not stack directly. If you would have multiple effects that double or halve something, each effect increases or decreases the value by an additional 1x. Effects that would triple instead increase by an additional 2x, and so on. For example, 2 doubling effects would result in a 3x multiplier, and a doubling and tripling effect would result in a 4x multiplier. This rule does NOT apply to the calculation of character/Stand Ability Scores, those stack as you'd expect.

- Damage Resistances, Immunities, and Vulnerabilities may not stack with each other. For example, you cannot gain Resistance to a damage type that you're already Vulnerable to.

- Flanking applies a +2 bonus to Melee Attack Rolls when you and an ally are on opposite sides of a target. You may not flank with your Stand unless it is a fully separate entity from you (Remote-Types, Independent-Types, and the Sentient Stand and Uncontrollable Stand Feats).

- Non-Lethal Strikes are always an option when you damage any creature and reduce its HP to 0, causing it to become Downed and Stable so they do not need to make Death Saves.

- Limited Resources will not be consumed if they have no effect for any reason. This does not apply to real physical resources like material or ammunition, but game resources such as energy, dice, charges etc.

- Weapon Proficiencies may stack. If you gain Proficiency in a weapon you were already Proficient in, you gain Expertise in it instead. If you already have Expertise, you gain Mastery instead. This may also continue to higher levels of Mastery.

- Improvised Weapons deal a d4 of damage and have the Thrown (5/15) attribute unless otherwise specified. Thrown and Melee Proficiencies may be used if the weapon is used in those respective ways. Some improvised weapons may have different damage and attributes, some examples can be found on the Weapons page.

Skills

To better fit the settings typically seen in the world of JoJo's, some of the Skills in our system are slightly different.

• Acrobatics: Uses Dexterity. Used to determine precise movement in the air, balancing abilities, and can be used to contest a grapple/shove.
• Athletics: Uses Strength or Wisdom. Strength is used to determine success of athletic activities that require a sudden burst of strength, such as jumping, climbing, swimming, lifting, pushing, or grappling/shoving. Wisdom/Speed is used to determine the result of Speed Duels.
• Bluff: Uses Charisma. Used to determine deception, bluffing, or other methods of making people believe or think something other than what is true.
• Care: Uses Wisdom or Charisma. Used to determine handling and proper care of animals, children, wounded or elderly people, etc. Wisdom is typically used for dealing with animals, Charisma for people.
• Diplomacy: Uses Charisma. Used to influence other people into thinking or understanding things in a certain way.
• Finesse: Uses Dexterity. Used to determine careful and precise movements including sleight of hand, pickpocketing, and smaller, more delicate movements.
• Grit: Uses Constitution. Used to determine pain tolerance, ability to exert yourself for long periods of time, and ability to handle large amounts of substances.
• Intimidate: Uses Strength or Charisma. Used to threaten or coerce other people with the threat of physical force, or something they fear just as much.
• Investigation: Uses Intelligence. Used for puzzle solving and finding clues, doesn't help you find something, just helps you know if what you sense is relevant or not.
• Medicine: Uses Intelligence or Wisdom. Used to figure out things that require medical knowledge, tend to a wounded creature, and bring a downed ally back to 1 HP.
• Knowledge: Uses Intelligence. Used to determine recall of historical information, as well as general information recall.
• Perception: Uses Wisdom. Used to find hidden creatures or objects and detect small sensory details.
• Presence: Uses Charisma. Used to determine success at blending in or standing out in social settings, as well as seeming like you belong in a place, and a measure of your ability to hold an audience's attention
• Science: Uses Intelligence. Used to determine recall of scientific knowledge and understanding, as well as scientific procedure.
• Sneak: Uses Dexterity. Used to determine how well someone can move silently and stay hidden.
• Supernatural: Uses Intelligence or Wisdom. Intelligence is used for recalling information regarding religious, spiritual, or otherwise supernatural occurrences, events, and rituals. Wisdom is used to determine part of the cause or effect of a supernatural ability when observing it directly or indirectly.
• Survival: Uses Intelligence or Wisdom. Intelligence is used for recalling information about the functions of nature, including determining safe or valuable plants. Wisdom is used to determine tracking, creating a trap, or navigating an unknown region.
• Vibe: Uses Wisdom or Charisma. Used to determine if someone may be hiding something, as well as if they have any ulterior motives. Failed checks don't give you false information, they just don't give you any.

The effective conversions from 5e Skills are as follows:

• Animal Handling becomes Care
• Arcana becomes Supernatural
• Deception becomes Bluff
• History becomes Knowledge
• Insight becomes Vibe
• Intimidation becomes Intimidate
• Nature becomes Survival
• Performance becomes Presence
• Persuasion becomes Diplomacy
• Religion becomes Supernatural
• Sleight of Hand becomes Finesse
• Stealth becomes Sneak

Conditions

For the sake of balance and consistency with the setting of JoJo's, Conditions work slightly differently in our system.

• Blindness: The afflicted cannot see, failing any sight-based Skill Check. Attack Rolls against Blinded targets have a +4 Bonus, and Blinded creatures have a -4 penalty on Melee Attack Rolls. When making a ranged/thrown weapon Attack, a Blinded creature may only target creatures in its Short Range and has a -4 penalty to the Attack Roll. Blinded creatures also have a -4 penalty to Perception Checks. Creatures with skill in some other sense (such as Ripple Perception or Additional Sense) are immune to the penalties of Blindness if they're able to use it to detect what they're aiming or looking for.
• Charmed: The afflicted cannot attack the charmer or target them with any harmful effects. The charmer has a +4 Bonus on any Check to socially interact with the creature. A Charmed creature cannot be ordered to do anything that would obviously cause them bodily harm.
• Confusion: The afflicted has a -4 penalty to all mental Checks, Saves, and all Attack Rolls. In addition, they cannot perceive anything over 10 + Perception Bonus meters away from them, automatically failing Perception Checks past that. The -4 penalty does not apply to Saves to remove Confusion.
• Deafened: The afflicted cannot hear, failing any sound-based Skill Check. They have a -2 penalty to Perception Checks. If a Deafened creature is Flanked, Flanking creatures gain an additional +4 to their Attack Rolls, rather than the typical +2.
• Decay: The afflicted cannot regain HP or gain Temp HP from any source until the effect ends. However, they may still be revived to 1 HP if Downed.
• Downed: A creature is Downed when they fall to 0 HP, causing them to become Incapacitated and Prone until they are tended to or healed in some way. A Downed creature drops anything they were holding and may not take actions or perceive anything. Unless they were Downed through a Non-Lethal Strike, the creature must begin rolling Death Saves (DC 10) on each of their Turns. After three successes the creature becomes Stable, no longer needing to make Death Saves unless they're damaged again. After three failed Saves, the creature dies. A Downed creature may be revived and lose this condition through any source of healing, or another creature may spend an Action to make a DC 10 Medicine check to bring the Downed creature back to 1 HP.
• Exhaustion: There are 6 levels of Exhaustion that a creature may be afflicted with. Each level grants a scaling -2 penalty to all d20 rolls. At level 4, the creature's Movement Speed is halved. At level 5, their maximum HP is halved. At level 6, the creature is immediately Downed and must begin making Death Saves. If a creature with 6 levels of Exhaustion becomes Stable, they remain in a comatose state until they are able to remove a level of Exhaustion. An amount of Exhaustion levels equal to half your Constitution Modifier (minimum of 1) is removed at the end of each Long Rest. 1 level of Exhaustion may be removed during a Short Rest if the creature spends half of their Hit Dice to do so. Exhaustion is typically resisted through Constitution Saves.
• Frightened: A creature may typically resist becoming Frightened through Wisdom Saves. The effect differs depending on how much they failed the Save by:
  • Fear (Failed Save): The afflicted has a -2 penalty to all d20 rolls while they can see or hear the source of their Fear.
  • Terror (Failed by 5+): The afflicted has a -4 penalty to all d20 rolls while they can see or hear the source of their Terror. Additionally, they can only willingly move closer to the source by an amount equal to half of their Movement Speed each Turn, unless they spend an Attack to move up to their full Movement Speed.
  • Panic (Failed by 10+): The afflicted has a -6 penalty to all d20 rolls while they can see or hear the source of their Panic. Additionally, they must use at least half of their Movement Speed to move away from the source each Turn, unless they spend an Attack to stand their ground or spend 2 or their full Action to move up to half their Movement Speed towards the source.
  A Frightened creature may spend their full Action or have an ally use the Help Action on them to reduce their Fright level by 1, removing the condition completely if at the lowest level (Fear).
• Grappled: The afflicted's Movement Speed is reduced to 0 and they can be easily dragged along, allowing the grappler to move at half their Movement Speed while keeping the target Grappled. The grappler gains a +2 bonus to Attack Rolls against the Grappled creature. Grappled is typically resisted through Strength Saves and Checks or Dexterity Checks.
• Hypnotized: The afflicted will do whatever they're ordered to do, performing these tasks to the best of their ability. They cannot follow orders that would cause them bodily harm, but do not have control over their faculties otherwise. Hypnotized creatures can perform complicated tasks like social encounters and critical thinking, appearing normal to strangers, but those familiar with the creature will know something is wrong. Hypnotized is typically resisted through Charisma Saves.
• Incapacitated: The afflicted cannot act in any way.
• Invisible: The afflicted cannot be seen visually, though they still have a thermal signature and will make noise when moving or interacting with objects. They have a +4 bonus to all Sneak Checks and a +2 bonus to Attack Rolls and Attack Rolls against them have a -2 penalty. A creature that has another way of sensing an Invisible creature such as tremorsense, thermal vision, blindsense, truesight, etc. is unaffected by these penalties and bonuses when perceiving them.
• Overwhelmed: The afflicted cannot gain buffs, bonuses, or temp HP from any source and has a -2 penalty to all Saving Throws. The -2 penalty does not apply to Saves to remove Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed is typically resisted through Intelligence Saves.
• Petrified: The afflicted is transformed into a solid and inanimate substance, increasing their weight tenfold and stopping the aging process. They are considered Incapacitated, Restrained, and are unaware of their surroundings. They are also immune to all poison and disease, suspending (but not removing) any existing ailments. They are also considered Resistant to all damage.
• Poisoned: The afflicted takes an amount of Poison damage equal to their Level at the beginning of each of their Turns. This damage cannot reduce the Poisoned creature to less than half their max HP. They also have a -4 penalty to all physical Checks, Saves, and Attack Rolls. Poisoned is typically resisted through Constitution Saves.
• Possession: The afflicted has a spirit or other force controlling their body and will do exactly what is ordered of them, performing these tasks to the best of their ability. They cannot perform complicated tasks like social encounters or critical thinking. Possession is typically more intense than Hypnosis, but over a shorter period of time. Possession is typically resisted through Charisma Saves.
• Prone: Melee Attacks against Prone creatures have Advantage, and Ranged Attacks against them have Disadvantage. A Prone creature may spend half its Movement Speed to stand up and remove the condition. Prone is typically resisted through Strength Saves and Checks or Dexterity Checks.
• Restrained: The afflicted's Movement Speed becomes 0 and they may not benefit from any bonuses to their Movement Speed. Attack Rolls against Restrained creatures have a +2 bonus and they have a -2 penalty to all Attack Rolls. Additionally, Restrained creatures have a -4 penalty to Strength and Dexterity Saving Throws. Restrained is typically resisted through Strength Saves.
• Staggered: The afflicted has a -2 penalty to all Saving Throws, as well as Acrobatics and Athletics Checks made to avoid being grappled or shoved. Additionally, creatures targeting a Staggered creature have their Critical range increased by 1 (for example, allowing a 19 to act as a Critical Hit). The -2 penalty does not apply to Saves to remove Staggered.
• Stunned: The afflicted's actions are limited. When a Stunned creature takes their turn they must choose to either use their Action or Bonus Action, as well as have either half their Movement or their Reaction available. If the Stunned creature chooses to use their Action to Attack, they may only use up to half their number of Attacks with a minimum of 1. The creature may still use any Free Actions they have available. A Stunned creature also has a -2 penalty to all Attack Rolls and a -4 penalty to all Strength and Dexterity Saving Throws. Creatures targeting a Stunned creature gain a +2 bonus to their Attack Rolls.

Tools

These items may be acquired and gained Proficiency in through various means. Using them may allow you to make various Skill Checks that you otherwise might not be able to perform.

The list of tools and their various use cases is as follows:

• Artist's Tools are used to create or analyze various forms of artistry, and may specifically be one of the following: A Filmmaker's Camera, Glassmaker's Tools, Jeweler's Tools, Painter's Supplies, Potter's Tools, Sculptor's Tools, Weaver's Tools, Woodcrafter's Tools, Writer's Tools.
• Blacksmith's Tools may be used to maintain metallic weapons or create a basic tool or trinket from metal.
• Chemist's Tools may be used to create basic chemical compounds, identify a chemical, store a small amount of a strange substance, or create chemical reactions.
• Cook's Utensils may be used to create a variety of meals, dice something finely, identify ingredients in a dish, or experiment to find a new dish.
• Diviner's Tools may be used to predict the future, often in ways that don't make sense without context until the moment of truth.
• Engineer's Tools may be used to move something heavy, measure a precise amount of distance, or to repair certain structures or machines that have been damaged.
• Fletcher's Tools may be used to create and maintain weapons and ammunition made out of wood and natural materials, including bows, crossbows, atlatls, spears, clubs, and darts.
• Gunsmith's Tools may be used to create and maintain firearms, to identify a shell casing, to create gunpowder, or create ammunition for such weapons.
• Herbalism Kits may be used to identify and treat the symptoms of a poison or disease, or identify plants and their potential medicinal purposes.
• Thieves' Tools may be used to pick a lock, hotwire an engine, or grab something small precisely.

Running a Game

Being a DM for this game is a lot more challenging than a standard D&D 5th edition game, but if done right, it can be just as fun. This is because rather than fighting a bunch of Monsters and a boss every once in a while, you have to create a character for every fight. Therefore, for encounters with enemy Stand Users you will need to create a unique Stand for the enemy to have.

If you have Stand Users in your group things start to get complicated once Abilities come into play. Abilities vary Stand battles and make them interesting, and as DM you may have to help your players create a Stand Ability from scratch. You can allow your characters' abilities to be as powerful as you like, but make sure that each ability has some sort of weakness. A Stand that is stronger underwater, for example, might be weaker outside of it. A Power Type Stand may have great stats and an incredible ability, but greatly limited range.

Another thing to be aware of is the importance of Inspiration. They should be given when a particularly good joke is made, when roleplay is exceptional, or when players are creative in the use of their environments or abilities. On average players should receive 1-2 points per session. It is recommended to not give more than 3 points of Inspiration per session, but this is up to DM discretion.

Character Creation Checklist

When creating a character using this module, you want to make sure that they are built solidly and correctly.
If desired, you can use our custom character sheets, or create one online using our editor.
Characters should be built roughly in this order:

1. Roll and assign Stats
2. Choose the character's Passion
3. If your character isn't Human, add the character's Racial Bonuses and Abilities
4. Pick the character's Bonus Proficiencies, as well as Feats
5. Find what Class(es) your character will be playing and add the Abilities
6. Determine your character's Maximum Hit Points, Armor Class, and Stand Armor Class (If Applicable)
7. Talk with your DM regarding your Starting Equipment
8. If your character is a Stand User, find your Stand's stats and Modifiers, as well as your Stand's Ability, and how it works