So Ya Wanna Be A
Rock ’N’ Roll Star!
Updates & Errata, 2007
ADDENDUM
(“Give me just a little more . . .[Reprised]”)
By William A. Barton
All material herein is © 2007 by William A. Barton/Bill Barton Games
(http://bill-barton-games.iwarp.com)
Well, nobody’s perfect, it seems—especially in
rock ’n’ roll. After formatting and creating the PDF
of my Update & Errata 2007 document for R&R
Star—and sending it off to Tri-Tac—I realized I’d
left out a new optional rule that I’d created for an
NPC in one of the scenarios I’m running at Gen
Con this year (sigh!). It involves a new skill that
rockers may obtain during character creation—
something that could prove useful in battles of the
bands, auditions, and live concerts (although little
else, which is why it’s optional). I’ll include it in
the second printing of the game, but for now, here
it is:
Skills, Page 10, before first skill table:
Optional! If they wish, players may roll 3D6
against the average of their TAL and ORG
attribute scores to determine whether their rockers
get an additional free skill. That skill is
Showmanship (TAL), which determines how good
of a show each rocker puts on while onstage. The
rocker of any player who makes that roll gets an A-
level skill in Showmanship for no cost. If a higher
level in the skill is desired, roll 1D6:
1-3 = No additional level
4-5 = Professional level
6 = Expert level
After the roll(s), if the player wishes additional
levels of the skill for his rocker, he may purchase
them as he would levels for any skill. If he’s rolled
Showmanship skill for his rocker and he wants
something else, the player may trade it—at
whatever level he’s rolled—for any other skill for
his rocker (except Jack of All Trades, Martial Arts,
Medicine, or Trivia).
Whenever he’s performing onstage, for any
purpose, the rocker may roll against TAL +
Showmanship skill to determine success rather
than against straight TAL, ORG, or even SUC.
This reflects the fact that his ability to put on a
good show makes up for any lack of talent or
originality the rocker may have (and inhances his
chance of success, if SUC is lower than TAL +
Showmanship). In addition to the skill’s use in
stage performances, the GM may decree that
Showmanship can also be used as a distraction—
putting on a flashy show for a captor, for example,
so that he doesn’t notice that another rocker is
cutting through his bonds and so on.
Example: Punk-bluegrass rocker Chauncy
“Loudmouth” Banjovi has a TAL of 13 but an
ORG of only 3. The average of these two is 8. His
player rolls 3D6 and gets a 12—Chauncy has no
Showmanship skill whatsoever. Onstage he just sits
there and plays his electric banjo, singing at the top
of his lungs, and otherwise doesn’t move or put on
a show. His bandmate and percussionist, Dale E.
“The Beat” Williams, has a TAL of 14 and an
ORG of 16, so his player must roll 3D6 against 15
to give him Showmanship. He succeeds in this roll
and then rolls 1D6 for a 6—Dale E. gets an Expert-
level in Showmanship. While keeping the beat, he
dances around stage, smiles and winks at the
audience, and puts on a great show for them
(fortunately making up for Banjovi’s abysmally
lacking performance).