Welcome to Nephibis

Nephibis is a tabletop action RPG set in a sci-fi universe where mutants, demons, angels, nanos, cyborgs, and baseline humans collide. The system uses deterministic formulas with controlled randomness — no dice rolls. Damage, accuracy, crits, dodge, and status effects all resolve through flat calculations with percentage-based variance. If you've played action RPGs with stat scaling, crit builds, and damage ranges, the math will feel familiar.

This manual is for builders — anyone creating content for the Nephibis system. Whether you're adding a new planet, designing a species, writing a world event, or building an entire questline, this guide explains how your content fits into the existing framework and what conventions to follow.

Design Philosophy

The system has a few core commitments that shape everything:

Power scales dramatically. A level 1 baseline human and a level 100 Omega Mutant exist in the same world but operate at completely different scales. Street-level thugs are not a threat to an Omega. A mech cannot catch a mutant who can dodge buildings. This is intentional — the system supports everything from noir crime stories to cosmic-scale battles, and the power curve reflects that.

Formulas replace dice. Every mechanical interaction — attacking, dodging, crafting, status effects — uses formulas. Players calculate their stats and know exactly what they can do. Randomness exists only in damage ranges (Min%–Max%) and hit/dodge rolls (1–100 against a threshold). This means encounters are more predictable but still tense.

Species and Type are separate. A character's biology (Species) is distinct from their modification (Type). A "Human Mutant" is a human with mutant powers. A "Demon" is a demon — their species IS their power. This split determines which resource pools a character accesses (Stamina, Energy, or Mana) and what progression path they follow.

The world doesn't wait. Events advance, factions maneuver, and NPCs pursue their goals whether the player is watching or not. The Living World system ensures the universe feels real and that player choices have lasting consequences.

What You'll Find Here

This manual covers:

• File Types — the building blocks of Nephibis content and when to use each one
• Characters — how Species, Types, stats, and resources fit together
• Locations & Maps — the six-level cosmic hierarchy and how to expand it
• Encounter Design — scaling philosophy, enemy archetypes, and boss encounters
• The Living World — events, factions, and NPC agency
• Crafting & Economy — credits, equipment, and the quality tier system
• Voice & Style — how to keep new content consistent with the existing world

Each chapter focuses on intent and constraints — what the design is trying to do and what rules to follow — rather than restating formulas you can already find in the GM instruction files.