This page describes the mechanics used for the Nonsanc tabletop. They are not necessarily identical to the mechanics that will be used in the computer game, and indeed these represent a simplification since there are many aspects of the computer game that do not need to be replicated in a tabletop. The GM may deviate from the mechanics for reasons of realism or storytelling.
Mons
Stats
Mons' combat capabilities are quantified by stats.
- Physical Defense (PDE) - How resistant a mon is to physical (i.e. real, as opposed to elemental) damage.
- Physical Attack (PAT) - How strong a mon's physical attacks are.
- Elemental Defense (EDE) - How resistant a mon is to elemental damage, i.e. damage mediated by the uMon battle system.
- Elemental Attack (EAT) - How strong a mon's elemental attacks are.
- Agility (AGI) - How well a mon can evade most attacks (some attacks affect all enemies, or otherwise don't use AGI.) Applies to both melee and ranged attacks.
- Dexterity (DEX) - How well a mon can aim its attacks (some attacks do not require aiming.) Applies to both melee and ranged.
- Willpower (WIL) - Quantifies the mon's "psychic fortitude." This is used by some elemental attacks. As it is one of the stats assigned to mons by uMon as part of their battle system, it doesn't necessarily reflect the mon's actual willpower in the conventional sense (though by design, there is a general tendency to correlation.)
Mons also have other, secondary stats:
- Health points (HP) - A tally of the mon's current vitality. When this reaches 0, the mon is incapacitated. At a level equal to the negative of its nominal full value, the mon is destroyed.
- Morale points (MP) - Quantifies the mon's current morale. When it reaches 0, the mon will refuse to fight and generally flee, if it can. Some battlesport moves (generally dangerous ones) have morale cost, and a mon will usually refuse to take its morale negative. Other moves improve morale.
- Energy points (EP) - Quantifies the mon's current "energy level;" this is an artificial stat imposed as part of the uMon battlesport system. Moves have an energy cost; when a mon exhausts its EP, it is incapable of executing elemental moves. In the sanctioned battlesport, draining EP also means a mon is considered "defeated" - this is not the case in nonsanc.
- Experience points (XP) - An artificial stat that accumulates points as the mon defeats more opponents. When it reaches certain levels, the mon becomes eligible for higher-power moves at the uMon store and receives certain bonuses to artificial stats.
Moves
Mons have a list of moves they know. In the sanctioned battlesport, the list of moves is set by uMon, mons must meet strict level requirements to use moves, and they are limited to a certain number of moves in their moveset. In Nonsanc, none of these are required (though if moves are to be obtained licitly through the uMon store, the level requirements do apply.) Mons in nonsanc can also improvise moves, and "typeless" mons (e.g. utility mons) who may have no elemental moves at all regularly participate.
Most obviously, moves can be attacks that do damage. They can also modulate aspects of the elemental damage system (e.g. give a bonus to attacks of certain types). Some moves directly drain, or restore, energy points of other mons. Moves can also inflict or remove status effects. Of note, "Healing" moves are relatively rare, because while mon healing is fast, it is not fast enough to be tactically useful in most situations. Moves can inflict "status effects," mostly through the uMon battlesport system rather than as reflections of physical conditions, e.g. slowing down enemies.
Moves that are part of the elemental battle system do typically have some physical damage associated with them, though it is often small compared to the elemental damage. By contrast, "typeless" attacks - which include some sanctioned battlesport moves such as those involving biting, slashing, etc - are not affected by the type of the victim.
There is a bonus to the effect of many elemental moves when they are used by a mon of the same element as the move's nominal type.
Some moves have limited ammunition, either for natural reasons (the move actually uses some kind of physical object which is not reusable or is not recovered, at least, not recovered during a battle) or simply to give people something to buy at the uMon store.