System Differences (PSR Supplement)

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Proxi's System Reference is 5e but with the following changes.

Alternate Terminology

• Narrator is DM or GM.
• Protag, short for protagonist, is "player-character".
• Mark is DC ("Difficulty Class").
• Defense is AC ("Armor Class").
• PB is proficiency bonus.
• Enemy and ally are codified in NPC Attitudes.
• Encounters are instances of combat, or any time turns are used.
• Folks are humanoids.
• Bash, slash, and pierce damage is respectively bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage.
• Knowledge and Perception almost exactly replace Intelligence and Wisdom respectively. The biggest difference is that cleric-types cast with Charisma instead of Wisdom.

General

• All default character build options are removed. This includes races, classes, backgrounds, feats, and spells. Character creation itself is omitted. These are meant to be added by supplements outside the scope of PSR itself.
• Dice mechanics have several additions and codifications: Expert Dice, Ability Mark, Rerolls, etc.
• Carry slots replace the rules for carry capacity. Losing carry slots replaces exhaustion, Hit Dice, "dropping to 0 hit points," death saves, and to some extent inspiration.
• Max Damage replaces the extra damage for critical hits and vulnerabilities.
• Each day is optionally divided into six Shifts. During exploration time is optionally broken into 10-minute periods called Phases. Breaks, attunement, ritual spells, and other activities each specifically take a shift or phase to complete.
• Cohort rules provide clear guidance on NPCs in the direct service of players.
• More common hazards and extreme climates are codified.
• Conditions are radically different, as detailed in the sidebar on that page. Many pseudo-conditions in 5e are codified. Some conditions are removed for balance, but can be re-added if desired.
• The "god stat" status of Dexterity has been somewhat reduced. Under default options there is no weapon which can only use Dexterity, for example.

Skills & Ability Checks

• The default Skills are slightly different to support "Skills With Different Abilities" as the default instead of a variant, and to merge some underpowered or underused skills.
• Except for Stealth, skills are referenced sparingly to potentially support any alternate set of skills.
• Skills and ability checks are omitted from combat actions.
• The Perception skill is removed, with its role effectively replaced by Perception saves.

Encounters & Combat

• If turn order is decided with an ability check, Perception is used by default instead of Dexterity.
• Three alternative encounter turns are offered: Group Turns, Round-Table Turns, and Staggered Turns.
• Default bonus actions include Jump, Gulp, and Mount.
• Default reactions include Arrest Fall, Catch, and Opportunity Attack. Opportunity attacks are not universal, and cannot be used if the attack roll has disadvantage.
• Default actions include Improvise and Influence. Several default actions are tweaked:

• Attack specifies that weapons can be drawn or picked up as part of the action.
• Help and Use are expanded.
• Dodge effectively incorporates Disengage.
• Hide is more clearly codified, and does not involve a dice roll from the user.
• Deduce replaces "Search" and Intelligence checks.

• Unarmed Strikes are more versatile.
• Sundering items is codified.
• Defeat has more (optional) guidance, including both the aftermath of death, and some options to deal with TPKs.

Items

• Defense and Attire replace AC and armor respectively. Among many other changes, there is no armor proficiency (except for shields), and you can wear up to four pieces of attire in different "slots."
• Wielding a shield provides a +1 defense. Wielding a shield proficiently provides +2 defense. Wielding a heavy shield proficiently with Strength 15 or higher provides +3 defense.
• Material goods and downtime enterprises empower crafting.
• Proficiency with both skill & tool gives advantage.
• Artillery and vehicles are more nuanced than in DMG guidance.
• Consumables are a distinct item category.
• Item rarity has in-game effects, most notably with downtime trading.
• Only "example" items are presented in PSR, with the assumption they will be replaced in any supplement built on PSR. Most items made for 5e can still be used, if desired.

Rest & Downtime

• Short rests are replaced with Breaks, which freely restore up to (but not above) half of max hp. A carry slot can be expended to fully restore hp.
• Long rests are replaced with Camping and Downtime.
• Downtime is treated as an integral part of the game, and downtime enterprises are streamlined to be easy to implement.
• Players can buy and sell common items as part of downtime without necessarily needing to interact with the narrator; see Downtime Trading.
• Food and water are needed to camp, but otherwise there is no codified drawback for going without either. Downtime assumes characters sate basic needs to last a few days, including things like sleep and hygiene.

Supplemental Material

The following differences are not codified within PSR itself, but are intended for content built on it.

• No extra attack or multiattack. One normal action means one normal attack. If a feature lets you make multiple standard attacks in a turn, it does so by letting you take multiple actions in a turn.
• Increasing size category doesn't inherently increase a weapon's damage dice.
• There is no benefit which enables broadly ignoring the material component (M) of spells. Any spell listing a material component specifically involves the item somehow, as detailed in the description.
• Tiny Target. Tiny protags always have at least half cover against ranged attacks, but carry half as many items, and typically have a lower speed. A Tiny protag can't add a positive ability modifier to the damage roll of a weapon, unless that weapon is light. Heavy items can't be wielded at all.
• Large Target. Large protags are Exposed to all ranged attacks and usually start with lower Dexterity, but can carry twice as many items, and can carry up to one heavy item (which occupies 2 slots). Typically a Large species grants more hit points (such as +1 per level).

Note: Virtually all creatures made for 5e can be used without any changes.