Base Requirements:
At least one twenty sided die will be needed to begin playing Somnihil. Additionally, each individual playing as a Cipher will need to create a physical or digital character sheet, while a single individual will take on the role of the Chronicler, the games storyteller who collaborates with players to create the events and locations within the game.
Player Safety
As the story will be shaped by each Cipher and Chronicler, it is recommended to discuss the needs of each player at the table for their enjoyment and safety. This often involves discussing which topics or themes would be preferable to experience alongside which topics or themes would be better to exclude from the story.
There are many approaches for determining how to make stories as accommodating as possible, such as using the X-Card, Lines and Veils, and Script Change.
Everyone involved should feel safe and welcome when playing Somnihil. For more on this topic see the TTRPG Safety Toolkit and Consent in Gaming
How to Play
Somnihil is a game centered around telling a story together with friends about magic in an illusive cyberpunk dystopia. In order to play, at least one individual is required to take on the role of a Chronicler, the individual responsible for setting the narrative and describing the scene that unfolds for the rest of the players. The Chronicler describes the surroundings and lore of the world, while also performing as the many non-player characters that inhabitant Nihil. Their primary role is to help the party imagine the world and the events transpiring around them from one moment to the next.
The players that are not the Chronicler will take on the role of Ciphers, the mages in Nihil that move through the shadows waging a covert war to unravel a nightmarish enchantment that has been woven over humanity. Players will create their Cipher based on these guidelines for character creation. The Cipher created by the player can be of any background and players are encouraged to explore different ideas with each character they make while playing Somnihil. The primary responsibility for the players is to be intentional actors in the world their Ciphers are surviving within, requiring them to make decisions and take actions in alignment with their own Cipher’ ambitions and flaws.
Setting a Scene
Once a scene has been described by the Chronicler all of the players will say or perform what their characters do within the scene. When attempting more difficult actions or overcoming challenging obstacles the Chronicler may ask the player to roll a twenty sided die to determine the outcome of their Cipher’s efforts. After all of the players have interacted in the scene the Chronicler then imagines what happens next and describes the scene as it changes from the player’s actions. These interactions repeat until the Chronicler and all of the players feel satisfied to end the current scene and finish the session of play.
Taking Actions and Spending Action Points
When a player takes their turn, they are able to describe what their Cipher does in the scene. When involved in combat they may choose to move their Cipher and take one action per turn. This action may be to cast a spell, attack an opponent, or interact with the world around them.
Whenever a Cipher attempts to cast a spell, their player will need to pay any associated action point cost to represent the challenge of using magic to fundamentally break and rewrite reality. Each Cipher has ten action points to spend during a session of Somnihil and any points spent are restored the next time everyone meets to play the game again. Additionally, there are two other ways to recover action points while playing Somnihil:
- The Chronicler may choose to reward a player with action points for their Cipher successfully performing a heroic, clever, funny, or significant action.
- Every time a player rolls a 1 they recover a single action point.
Action Points can be abbreviated as AP when describing spell costs.
Spells
During the first session Ciphers can know a total of 10 spells that can be from two different protocols of magic. Each session after the first the Cipher will gain the ability to know one additional spell up to a maximum of 20. Any player may choose to replace their Cipher’s known spells at the beginning of a session to be entirely different spells, so long as their Cipher only knows spells from two or fewer protocols of magic.
Protocols
Magic can be a sublime and inexplicable experience for many who are unaware of its workings, but Ciphers are able unravel its mysteries with unique perspective. In Nihil, Ciphers have found that magic can mostly be categorized into eight different forms of manipulating reality. The following list of Protocols contains each form of magical communication and knowledge required for distorting reality in spectacular ways:
The Dangers of an Anomaly
When Ciphers use magic to control or distort reality, there is always a risk that their intentions will not be applied as desired. This may occur when a Cipher casts a spell in the presence of dreamers, humans who have not awoken to the presence of magic, as their perception of magic will cause spells to distort uncontrollably. The spell may inadvertently target a different object or lifeform, or cause an entirely different effect to be applied to the intended target of the spell. Distortions in space and time are common and the influence of the Anomaly on the surroundings where the spell was cast can vary in intensity and scale rapidly. The Chronicler will describe how the Anomaly manifests based on the significance of the spell to the current scene. All players take disadvantage to their rolls when in the area under influence of the Anomaly and the AP cost spent on the spell that created the Anomaly determines the amount of turns the Anomaly will be in existence before spontaneously collapsing and vanishing from existence:
| Action Point Cost | Duration of Anomaly |
|---|---|
| 1 AP | 2 Turns |
| 2 AP | 4 Turns |
| 3 AP | 6 Turns |
| 4 AP or more | 8 Turns |
Rolling the Die
Players will often need to roll a twenty sided die when faced with an obstacle in the current scene described by the Chronicler. The following are a few examples of when the Chronicler will ask a player to roll the die to determine the outcome of their chosen action in a scene:
- When the Cipher attempts to attack another lifeform.
- An attack is when a Cipher attempts to use a weapon, gear, or their own body, to deal damage to an object or another lifeform.
- When the Cipher is engaging in a challenging task requiring all of their attention.
- When overcoming difficult obstacles in their surroundings.
- When opposing another lifeform’s hostile actions towards their Cipher.
- When casting a spell that requires the player to roll to determine the outcome.
Spells only require rolls if they explicitly include instructions to do so, but typically they only require a certain amount of AP to be spent. Chroniclers may also choose to ask a player to roll when the actions of non-player characters in a scene attempt to oppose a player’s goals or actions.
Outcomes:
The number that is shown on the top of the die after rolling informs how well the Cipher was able to accomplish their action:
- 20: Triumph- The Cipher automatically succeeds at what they were attempting to do and may even find added fortune or receive a benefit for their efforts. If this roll was made for an attack, double the damage dealt to the target.
- 11-19: Success - The Cipher is able to accomplish what they were trying to do without any compromises. Deal the standard amount of damage to your target if this was an attack roll.
- 6-10: Tough Choice - The Cipher is able to succeed in the intended action, but at a cost. The Chronicler will allow the player to choose from two setbacks as a result of their successful action.
- 2-5: Failure - The Cipher is unable to perform the action they intended and suffer a setback of the Chronicler’s choosing.
- 1: Catastrophe - The action automatically fails and two significant setbacks occur. If this roll was made while attempting to cast a spell then the Cipher loses control of their spell and an Anomaly is created.
Setbacks
When the outcome of a roll is low, the player may be able to succeed but at some undesired cost. A setback is described by the Chronicler, with the outcome being possible only because of the Cipher losing something of value or missing something of importance. This may mean the player receives disadvantage on their next roll, takes damage from an opponent of the environment, is forced to pay a higher AP cost for casting a spell, or any inconvenience the Chronicler determines best matches the current events within the scene.
There are three outcomes that involve setbacks when rolling the die. If a Tough Choice outcome was rolled, then two setbacks are described and the player chooses one to resolve their action. Otherwise if the outcome of the roll was a Failure or Catastrophe the the Chronicler chooses the setbacks that occur based on the severity of the failed roll. When the roll results in a Catastrophe then the player recovers a single AP, but their action automatically fails. Two setbacks are chosen by the Chronicler and if the roll was associated with an attempt to cast a spell then an Anomaly is created.
Dice Roll Modifiers
Advantage: When a Cipher gains advantage, the player will roll the dice two times for their next action and choose the highest outcome for the roll.
Disadvantage: When a Cipher gains disadvantage, the player will roll the dice two times for their next action and choose the lowest outcome between the two rolls.
Gauging Distances
There are several categories of distance in Somnihil, each providing spatial context and limitations to the possible actions of the Ciphers in a scene.
In Reach:
If something is in reach, a character can touch or hit it from where they stand.
Nearby:
If something is nearby, a character can move to be within reach of it during their turn.
In Range
If something is in range, a character can perceive it and hit it with a ranged attack this turn but cannot move to be within reach in a single turn.
Too Far:
If something is too far, it’s beyond a character’s perception and they will have to get closer in order to interact with it.
Movement
Each turn a player may choose to have their Cipher move within their surroundings in the scene. The distance traveled can allow them to do any of the following:
- Close the distance from being nearby to a target object or lifeform and become within reach to them.
- Close the distance from being in range to being nearby to a target object or lifeform.
- Attempt to close the distance from being too far to a target object or lifeform to becoming in range to them.
- Travel a distance within the environment that their body is capable of moving within ten seconds of time within the scene.
Vitality
Mortality is measured by the amount of vitality that a being posseses. When damage is inflicted upon a Cipher, they lose points of vitality. Reduction of vitality is referred to as “damage.” All Ciphers begin with 10 vitality, which is also the maximum amount of vitality they can have in the game.
There are two primary ways Ciphers can regain lost vitality:
Regroup:
- When Ciphers rest for a short time without conflict, they regain up to the half of their maximum vitality, usually bringing the Cipher’s to five vitality points each.
Rest:
- When a Cipher completes a full night’s rest while in a safe place, they recover all of their lost vitality.
Injury and Death:
Ciphers cannot be seriously hurt until they run completely run out of vitality points. At exactly zero hit points a Cipher is at risk of being eliminated, and any damage sustained after this point will result in a Cheat Death check:
- Any time a Cipher at zero hit points would take damage or otherwise suffer vitality loss their player roll will roll the die. If the result is equal to or higher then the amount of vitality loss, prevent the Cipher from taking damage. If the result of the roll is less then the amount of vitality loss then the Cipher perishes, their spirit pulled into the Wired to be harnessed as fuel to power the magic of Nihil.
One Ending, Another Beginning:
When a Cipher perishes their player will have three options for resolving the scene in which their character dies.
Seditious Spirit
The Wired is a dangerous place for incorporeal lifeforms, but it is not without its safe havens. The Stiff’s power schisms have caused disruptions across the Wired, allowing many departed souls opportunities to untangle themselves and gain some measure of freedom in their spectral form. Players may choose to continue to play as a spirit, using the following guides for updating their character sheet and resuming play:
As a spirit, the diversity of magic available to the deceased Cipher is much more limited then it was when they were living. The only Protocol spells that the Cipher may cast after dying must be from the Grimoire of Void Spells, with the specific effects of those spells being determined by the Glitch chosen when becoming a Terminal Apparition. As part of this transformation in the relationship between the Cipher and magic, increase their AP maximum to 15 for each subsequent session.
Spectral Ciphers often struggle with their fate after their demise, slowly losing their sense of awareness and memories the longer they remain in existence after death. Many remain committed to overthrowing the Stiffs, but others discover themselves to be more cautious and self-preserving in their new state of unlife. This is due to the guaranteed permanent death that will occur should the Cipher lose all of their vitality and fail a Cheat Death roll again. With no vitality as a spirit, the Ciphers essence scatters and they are erased from existence permanently.
Hollowed into a Shill
If the Cipher is engaging with a Shill and fails a Cheat Death check their spirit is harvested by the Shill, causing the Cipher to suffer ego death while their body is transformed into a Shill. The Chronicler may transfer the Cipher’s abilities, gear, and spells to the newly formed Shill, which will remain as an antagonistic force in service to the Stiffs until a Cipher destroys their body.
The player who has lost their Cipher in this way is able to make a new character to join the session and continue shaping the story with everyone.
Passing into the Void
The player may choose to allow their Cipher to die a permanent death instead of surviving on as a spirit. The player may then make a new character to join the session and engage with everyone to continue the story together.
Find Fun when all Rules Fail
It is recommended to adjust these rules as needed to find the best combination of guidelines that everyone playing enjoys engaging with. When there is confusion on how two mechanics will interact with each other, it is best to decide with the players engaged in the scene to collaborate to find an outcome that is the most thematically appropriate. But if a rule doesn’t allow for the most enjoyable moment to occur in a scene it is absolutely encouraged for the Chronicler to bend or break these rules to deliver a balanced narrative experience.