With the Internet various hobby communities have the potential to reach out globally beyond the United States. Sometimes however it hard to gauge just how much impact this has.
Since the beginning of May, the Fantasy Hero kickstarter had plateaued roughly $2,000 short of it goal. It was slowly increasing but it was looking like it would not make it. Since the announcement of the kickstarter, international fans had been asking for an option to enable them to get into the kickstarter.
Then a few days ago the Hero Games teams crunched the numbers and came up with an option. The result? The Kickstarter got funded a day after the announcement. You can see the effect in the daily data tab of Kick Traq.
Thought this may be of interest to people involved in publishing or thinking of getting involved.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Weighing in on the DnD 5e annoucements
First off we don't know enough of Wizard's marketing and distribution plans to do a critical review of what they are doing. Except that they should quit the dribbles, drabs, and teases of information and just tell us. I understand they need to get the distribution process going which means pre-orders and cover images on Amazon, game stores, etc. But only telling half of the story just means the peanut gallery is going to make up the other half.
As to what I think about what has been announced? I am cautiously optimistic. I will get the books just I did with all other previous edition. I still feel that DnD Next will be a good second choice for the OSR. A game that we can play and enjoy at conventions and game stores but still continuing to use our favorite editions as our main system.
I think that the signs are there that Wizards is going to distribute a set of character creation rules covering the basics. That it will probably look similar to the B/X style character creation rules both in content and brevity.
Continuing the speculation, it will be a end run around Paizo if Wizards prints this as well as a freebie that anybody can pick up at their game store. Especially if they consider this primarily a marketing tool and use the marketing budget to fund it. Then turn around and use what they saved on the Starter Box budget to pack it additional content they otherwise could not include.
I don't consider pre-gen characters bad as long as they are an addition to the regular character creation rules and not in liu of it. I am also open minded that they just may found a better way of distributing a RPG ruleset other than putting everything in a box or books.
I will also point out that while the Pathfinder Beginners Box set is pretty good, it still a sealed game box. To somebody in the game store, they have to buy the box and open it before they can see what it truly is. If Wizards is smart and has a printed booklet sitting in the stores, this allows gamers to read something substantial before deciding whether the Starter Set is worth buying.
But in the end until Wizards get their marketing communication straightened out we are all guessing.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Fudge Playtest Report #4 (Magic) and the very alpha rules.
Monday I ran another playtest of the roleplaying game I am working on that is based on Fudge and Fate.
I talked about the adventure I ran.
As well as some rules on the Characters.
And the combat system
Today's post is on Magic.
Magic
I am on the third version of the magic system. The first version was a spell slot system similar to DnD. The second... well it just didn't work. The third is a mana based system that works as follows.
There are two classes of spells. Arcane and Divine. The spell lists derives directly from the d20SRD. I don't include all the d20 spells however. It basically the list from Swords and Wizardry with some additional spells that fits in with the flavor side of the system.
Arcane caster start with a Mana Pool equal to their Fortitude + 4. Caster regain mana at 1 point per minute. Each spell has a mana cost associated with it. Arcane spells are caster with the Thamautology skill. The caster needs a 1 or better to cast the spell. The level of the spell subtracts from the roll making higher level spells more difficult to cast. The degree of success impacts the spell in various ways. Most importantly in making resisting certain spells more difficult. After Monday's playtest the degree of success will add to the damage of the spell. If the mage rolls a critical failure (natural -4) he rolls 4dF+ the mana cost and consults the Disastrous Magical Results table. If the mage has exhausted his mana pool, he can still cast a spells but immediately rolls 4dF + the mana deficit and consults the Disastrous Magic Results table.
The spells that a individual mage can cast are the spells written in his spell book. However unlike D&D the caster doen't have to memorize the spell. The act of writing the spell into the spell book allows the mage to cast the spell. The mage can scribe spell of a level equal to or less than his Thamautology bonus. The spellbook also have to be available to the mage to use as part of the daily routines needed to cast arcane magic.
The Divine caster starts with a Mana Tally, initially set to zero. The Divine caster can cast any spells equals too or is less than his Religious Ritual bonus. To cast a spell the divine caster has to get a 1 or better on a Religious Ritual Roll. The level of the spell subtracts from the roll. The mana cost is added to the religous caster's Mana Tally. If the Tally exceeds 20 then the caster has to immediately roll on the Violations of the Compact table. The gods of the default setting as largely agreed to operation on the basis of divine faith and excessive use of divine spells by a caster may result in the gods considering the spell a violation of the compact. Like arcane casters the degree of success effects the spell's effect particularly any required resistenance rolls. The Mana Tally is reduced by performing acts of piety. The most common of which is the daily prayer which subtracts 4 off of the tally.
Both Arcane and Divine caster can cast their spells as rituals. Instead of gathering mans quickly and releasing it as a spell. A slow ritual gathers in the mana through the use of magical components. In general a ritual takes ten minutes and requires components equal to the spell level squared times 10 silver. Zero level spells cost 1 silver (or d) to cast.
Included in the rules will be a magic item creation system. For example a scroll for one spell cost 100d per level to make and takes 1 day per 100d to write. A scroll can be made for any spell the caster knows, and doesn't require mana or adds to the tally.
In Monday's playtest these was well received. The biggest issue is that I didn't add the degree of success to the damage caused by a magic missile. In the future this will be the case.
Conclusion
What goint to make this work are the numbers. Having the right numbers to reflect a generic fantasy world that most gamers have experience with. +1 in Fudge is a significant bonus so it going to take some carefully planning to make it work.
My goal is to create a system that is flexible but at the same time provides plenty of ready to run content. A system that make it easy through the use of aspects to implement specific setting details.
A lot of been asking to look at the rules. I warn you, although nicely formatted, they are very rough and are only lightly edited at best. The major pieces that are missing are anytype of Monster list or NPC galley. Aspects are vaguely define and I only provide concrete example for a generic Fighter, Burglar, Mage, and Priest. Only one example of a gift granted by an aspect, the ability of priests to turn undead.
You can download the various PDFs from here.
I talked about the adventure I ran.
As well as some rules on the Characters.
And the combat system
Today's post is on Magic.
Magic
I am on the third version of the magic system. The first version was a spell slot system similar to DnD. The second... well it just didn't work. The third is a mana based system that works as follows.
There are two classes of spells. Arcane and Divine. The spell lists derives directly from the d20SRD. I don't include all the d20 spells however. It basically the list from Swords and Wizardry with some additional spells that fits in with the flavor side of the system.
Arcane caster start with a Mana Pool equal to their Fortitude + 4. Caster regain mana at 1 point per minute. Each spell has a mana cost associated with it. Arcane spells are caster with the Thamautology skill. The caster needs a 1 or better to cast the spell. The level of the spell subtracts from the roll making higher level spells more difficult to cast. The degree of success impacts the spell in various ways. Most importantly in making resisting certain spells more difficult. After Monday's playtest the degree of success will add to the damage of the spell. If the mage rolls a critical failure (natural -4) he rolls 4dF+ the mana cost and consults the Disastrous Magical Results table. If the mage has exhausted his mana pool, he can still cast a spells but immediately rolls 4dF + the mana deficit and consults the Disastrous Magic Results table.
The spells that a individual mage can cast are the spells written in his spell book. However unlike D&D the caster doen't have to memorize the spell. The act of writing the spell into the spell book allows the mage to cast the spell. The mage can scribe spell of a level equal to or less than his Thamautology bonus. The spellbook also have to be available to the mage to use as part of the daily routines needed to cast arcane magic.
The Divine caster starts with a Mana Tally, initially set to zero. The Divine caster can cast any spells equals too or is less than his Religious Ritual bonus. To cast a spell the divine caster has to get a 1 or better on a Religious Ritual Roll. The level of the spell subtracts from the roll. The mana cost is added to the religous caster's Mana Tally. If the Tally exceeds 20 then the caster has to immediately roll on the Violations of the Compact table. The gods of the default setting as largely agreed to operation on the basis of divine faith and excessive use of divine spells by a caster may result in the gods considering the spell a violation of the compact. Like arcane casters the degree of success effects the spell's effect particularly any required resistenance rolls. The Mana Tally is reduced by performing acts of piety. The most common of which is the daily prayer which subtracts 4 off of the tally.
Both Arcane and Divine caster can cast their spells as rituals. Instead of gathering mans quickly and releasing it as a spell. A slow ritual gathers in the mana through the use of magical components. In general a ritual takes ten minutes and requires components equal to the spell level squared times 10 silver. Zero level spells cost 1 silver (or d) to cast.
Included in the rules will be a magic item creation system. For example a scroll for one spell cost 100d per level to make and takes 1 day per 100d to write. A scroll can be made for any spell the caster knows, and doesn't require mana or adds to the tally.
In Monday's playtest these was well received. The biggest issue is that I didn't add the degree of success to the damage caused by a magic missile. In the future this will be the case.
Conclusion
What goint to make this work are the numbers. Having the right numbers to reflect a generic fantasy world that most gamers have experience with. +1 in Fudge is a significant bonus so it going to take some carefully planning to make it work.
My goal is to create a system that is flexible but at the same time provides plenty of ready to run content. A system that make it easy through the use of aspects to implement specific setting details.
A lot of been asking to look at the rules. I warn you, although nicely formatted, they are very rough and are only lightly edited at best. The major pieces that are missing are anytype of Monster list or NPC galley. Aspects are vaguely define and I only provide concrete example for a generic Fighter, Burglar, Mage, and Priest. Only one example of a gift granted by an aspect, the ability of priests to turn undead.
You can download the various PDFs from here.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Fudge Playtest Report Part 3 (Combat)
Monday I ran another playtest of the roleplaying game I am working on that is based on Fudge and Fate.
I talked about the adventure I ran.
As well as some rules on the Characters.
Today's post is on Combat.
Combat Round
A combat round is six seconds with ten rounds in a minute.
In general characters can perform two actions one of which can be an attack (melee, missile, spell, item). In general the idea is that you can perform a move and then attack. Quaff a potion and attack and so on.
Character move in the order of their initiative roll. 4dF + Initiative. Or if you want they just move in the order of the their initiative score with dexterity breaking ties. I used the latter method for Monday's game.
Attacking
To attack with a melee or missile weapon is an opposed roll.
The attacker rolls 4dF+Dexterity+Skill.
For melee the defender has the options of blocking, parrying, or dodging.
Parrying the defender rolls 4dF+Dexterity+Weapon Skill+Shield Bonus
Blocking the defender rolls 4dF+Dexterity+Shield Skill+Shield Bonus
Dodging the defender roll 4dF+Dexterity+Acrobatics skill+Shield Bonus.
You can parry once, block once, and have unlimited dodges. Except that every dodge after the first one is at -1 accumulative. (-1 for the 2nd dodge, -2 for the 3rd dodge, and so on). You can only block or dodge missile fire.
If this sound familiar to GURPS it is. However what different compared to GURPS are maneuvers. In GURPS maneuvers are distinct actions to achieve a specific result. Maneuvers in the Majestic Realms RPG are lifted from Runequest II/Legends.
In Runequest you compared the degree of success c if the attacker and the defender have the same level of success, then combat proceeds. However if there a different whoever have the better degree of success is able to perform one or more special maneuvers. (Disarm, bypass armor, trip, etc).
I lifted this directly from Legend (Isn't the OGL great!) and applied this to game. I feel it really adds a lot to combat as the opposed rolls generate a richer set of results other than damage.
What I am not sure of is how to generate the number of maneuvers. Either to use the same degree of success as Runequest. Defining critical results as either a natural +4 or -4 or a +5 or greater degree of success.
Or just keep track of the relative degree of success from round to round allowing the person with a positive result to cash in for maneuvers. In previous playtest I allow players to hold their degree of success rather than just going for damage right away. It was felt that this represented gaining a positional advantage. The final damage roll represents exploiting the advent. The problem with this is what to do with the relative degree of success by the defender.
Damage and Injury
The degree of success is applied to the damage roll.
Attacker Damage = 4dF+Weapon Damage+Degree of Success+Strength+Scale.
The defender rolls his Damage Threshold which is
Defender Damage Threshold = 4DF+Fortitude+Armor+Scale.
If the attacker wins then injury results.
A character can take 3 scratches, 2 hurts, 1 very hurt, 1 incapacitated and of course 1 death.
If you are hurt, you are a -1 to all rolls. Very hurt you are at -2 to all rolls.
If they are out of any level the damage is applied to the next worse level. So if you are out of hurts and you take another hurt it is applied as a very hurt wound.
So far the system feels fairly deadly.
Keeping Track
Finally I added a combat section to the characters that has everything pre-calculated. Hopefully this is to speed up play over the long term.
The total modifier for the Attacker is the Offensive Combat Value or OCV. For the Defender it is a the Defensive Combat Value or DCV. Yeah a little Hero System in those terms.
Next time the magic system.
I talked about the adventure I ran.
As well as some rules on the Characters.
Today's post is on Combat.
Combat Round
A combat round is six seconds with ten rounds in a minute.
In general characters can perform two actions one of which can be an attack (melee, missile, spell, item). In general the idea is that you can perform a move and then attack. Quaff a potion and attack and so on.
Character move in the order of their initiative roll. 4dF + Initiative. Or if you want they just move in the order of the their initiative score with dexterity breaking ties. I used the latter method for Monday's game.
Attacking
To attack with a melee or missile weapon is an opposed roll.
The attacker rolls 4dF+Dexterity+Skill.
For melee the defender has the options of blocking, parrying, or dodging.
Parrying the defender rolls 4dF+Dexterity+Weapon Skill+Shield Bonus
Blocking the defender rolls 4dF+Dexterity+Shield Skill+Shield Bonus
Dodging the defender roll 4dF+Dexterity+Acrobatics skill+Shield Bonus.
You can parry once, block once, and have unlimited dodges. Except that every dodge after the first one is at -1 accumulative. (-1 for the 2nd dodge, -2 for the 3rd dodge, and so on). You can only block or dodge missile fire.
If this sound familiar to GURPS it is. However what different compared to GURPS are maneuvers. In GURPS maneuvers are distinct actions to achieve a specific result. Maneuvers in the Majestic Realms RPG are lifted from Runequest II/Legends.
In Runequest you compared the degree of success c if the attacker and the defender have the same level of success, then combat proceeds. However if there a different whoever have the better degree of success is able to perform one or more special maneuvers. (Disarm, bypass armor, trip, etc).
I lifted this directly from Legend (Isn't the OGL great!) and applied this to game. I feel it really adds a lot to combat as the opposed rolls generate a richer set of results other than damage.
What I am not sure of is how to generate the number of maneuvers. Either to use the same degree of success as Runequest. Defining critical results as either a natural +4 or -4 or a +5 or greater degree of success.
Or just keep track of the relative degree of success from round to round allowing the person with a positive result to cash in for maneuvers. In previous playtest I allow players to hold their degree of success rather than just going for damage right away. It was felt that this represented gaining a positional advantage. The final damage roll represents exploiting the advent. The problem with this is what to do with the relative degree of success by the defender.
Damage and Injury
The degree of success is applied to the damage roll.
Attacker Damage = 4dF+Weapon Damage+Degree of Success+Strength+Scale.
The defender rolls his Damage Threshold which is
Defender Damage Threshold = 4DF+Fortitude+Armor+Scale.
If the attacker wins then injury results.
+1 to +2 a scratch
+3 to +4 a hurt wound
+5 to +6 a very hurt wound
+7 to +8 incapacitated.
+9 or greater dead.
A character can take 3 scratches, 2 hurts, 1 very hurt, 1 incapacitated and of course 1 death.
If you are hurt, you are a -1 to all rolls. Very hurt you are at -2 to all rolls.
If they are out of any level the damage is applied to the next worse level. So if you are out of hurts and you take another hurt it is applied as a very hurt wound.
So far the system feels fairly deadly.
Keeping Track
Finally I added a combat section to the characters that has everything pre-calculated. Hopefully this is to speed up play over the long term.
Next time the magic system.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Fantasy Grounds is on Steam
Fantasy Grounds is now available on Steam.
You may want to check out the comments in the Steam discussion. Ignoring the troll posts it is interesting to see the question and comment made by a group of gamers who are mostly outside of the hobby of tabletop RPGs. Also there is more than a few "How do I get started with Pen & Paper" questions. It would be nice those veteran tabletop gamers with Steam Accounts took the time to answer. New blood always helps the cause.
I blog around Fantasy Grounds here.
I compared Roll 20 and Fantasy Grounds here. The only thing I will add that last Monday I experienced my first downtime with Roll20 (lasted for a half-hour).
Right now I consider Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 the two choices. Likely this remain so in the near future, mainly because they have two fundementally different approaches for presenting a tabletop. One is standalone software that each member of the group have to own. The other is a web based app that has a subscription fee of up to $120 a years to get all the bells and whistles. Which one works bests depends on the individual. In terms of overall quality they are equally good.
You may want to check out the comments in the Steam discussion. Ignoring the troll posts it is interesting to see the question and comment made by a group of gamers who are mostly outside of the hobby of tabletop RPGs. Also there is more than a few "How do I get started with Pen & Paper" questions. It would be nice those veteran tabletop gamers with Steam Accounts took the time to answer. New blood always helps the cause.
I blog around Fantasy Grounds here.
I compared Roll 20 and Fantasy Grounds here. The only thing I will add that last Monday I experienced my first downtime with Roll20 (lasted for a half-hour).
Right now I consider Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 the two choices. Likely this remain so in the near future, mainly because they have two fundementally different approaches for presenting a tabletop. One is standalone software that each member of the group have to own. The other is a web based app that has a subscription fee of up to $120 a years to get all the bells and whistles. Which one works bests depends on the individual. In terms of overall quality they are equally good.
Fudge Playtest Report, Part 2 (Characters)
Monday I ran another playtest of the roleplaying game I am working on that is based on Fudge and Fate.
I talked about the adventure I ran in yesterday's post.
Now onto the game itself.
First off I do not use the adjectives of either Fudge or the Fate Ladder. I will provide a chart at the beginning of the rule but everything is expressed in numbers. In general if you roll a +1 or better you succeed at whatever you are doing.
Attributes
The primary Attributes are Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Constitution. The secondary attributes are Endurance, Reflex, Will, Perception, Fortitude, Move, and Initiative. Endurance is based off of strength. Reflex off of dexterity. Will and Perception off of Intelligence. Fortitude is based off of Constitution. Initiative is equal to Constitution + Dexterity. And Move is your Initiative +4 and is the number of yards per action you can move.
Scale represents the size and mass of the person/creature. Each point of scale is 1.5 greater size and/or mass. If a normal human averages 6 feet and is at Scale +0. A +1 Scale creature is around 9 1/2 feet tall. A -1 scale creatures is around 4 feet tall. Note that Halflings are at scale -1 while Dwarfs are at Scale +0. The dwarves are short than human but have a similar mass. Scales factor into strength, and damage rolls. As well as damage resistance. It is a simple but elegant method that Fudges uses to handle character of radically different sizes.
You buy your Attributes in accordance to this chart.
Skills
I have about 63 skills defined. Divided into Adventuring (Climbing, Stealth, etc), Arcane (Thaumatology, Alchemy, etc), Melee (Sword 1H, etc), Missile (Bow, etc), and Professional (Animal Handling, Mining, etc).
Each skill defaults to +0 (Brawling), -1 (Sword 1 handed), or -2 (Thaumatology). You buy skills in accordance to the following chart.
Aspects
For a campaign, I recommend picking five aspects. A high concept, a trouble/complication, and three background aspects.
My take on aspects probably will be the most controversial thing about this game. In a nutshell they replace what GURPS and Hero System uses for Advantages and Disadvantages. They can be purely roleplaying or they include additional powers and mechanics for the character. For example taking the High Concept of "A priest of Delaquain, goddess of justice." Will confer the ability of turning undead on the character. Taking one of the mage high concepts will allow the character to use Thamautology to cast spells.
YOU DON"T PAY CHARACTER POINTS. Nada, zip, zilch. You just right it down on your character sheet. So what the catch? The catch is that your referee will define the available aspects for his setting. In addition these aspects will come with consequences as defined by the referee. For example a Paladin of Delaquain will have superior abilities over that of an ordinary fighter. But a consequence is a requirement to follow the Five Fold path. And a big consequence is the undivided attention of the goddess Delaquain as you are now one of her champions in the mortal world.
So what to stop a group from having aspect like God of Thunder on their sheets. Nothing, if that how you want to play your campaign go for it. I know for me having uber power quickly becomes boring and soon I am seeking other challenges. I suspect most of you are like that as well.
You see GURPS, Hero System, Fudge and all the other point buy systems with their advantages, disadvantages, gifts, faults, talents, etc, etc are a rat race in my opinion. What does a point mean, how much work is enough to balance everything out according to cost? I been playing some of these systems so long that some are on their third or fourth cycle of rethinking costs.
What works consistently is making the mechanics reflect your setting. If a character is required to do X, Y, and Z to achieve the maximums fitness package, then that what the character needs to do during the campaign. Not trying to scrimp together X points to buy it. To fair what GURPS and other games do is recommend both. You have to do the roleplaying in-game AND have the point on hand to get whatever. However my group (+Tim Shorts +Dwayne Gillingham) we wind up ignore the points stuff after the campaign starts. Dwayne as William Enderil becomes the wealthiest man in the City-State. Does he have to buy Very Wealthy, nope it just the consquence of how the campaign played out. His points went into improving things like accounting, and his weapons skills. Maybe buying the Fit Advantage. The same for Tim's character Dracolindus who manages to become a Duke. Does he need to buy social status, nope.
This will codify what I been doing across multiple systems for the last 15 years. That many issues with mechanics cease being important if the focus on making the mechanics reflect the reality of the chosen setting.
Now right now in this playtest I don't have a lot of these aspects defined. I plan to draft a "ready to run" set of aspect to allow a bog standard fantasy campaign to be run. For those of you who have my Majestic Wilderlands Supplement can see some of these ideas in a more polished form. Particularly in my comments about how the classes and races are not "balanced" but rather reflect how the Majestic Wilderlands works.
Tomorrow we will look at combat and then in the concluding post the magic system.
I talked about the adventure I ran in yesterday's post.
Now onto the game itself.
First off I do not use the adjectives of either Fudge or the Fate Ladder. I will provide a chart at the beginning of the rule but everything is expressed in numbers. In general if you roll a +1 or better you succeed at whatever you are doing.
Scale represents the size and mass of the person/creature. Each point of scale is 1.5 greater size and/or mass. If a normal human averages 6 feet and is at Scale +0. A +1 Scale creature is around 9 1/2 feet tall. A -1 scale creatures is around 4 feet tall. Note that Halflings are at scale -1 while Dwarfs are at Scale +0. The dwarves are short than human but have a similar mass. Scales factor into strength, and damage rolls. As well as damage resistance. It is a simple but elegant method that Fudges uses to handle character of radically different sizes.
You buy your Attributes in accordance to this chart.
I have about 63 skills defined. Divided into Adventuring (Climbing, Stealth, etc), Arcane (Thaumatology, Alchemy, etc), Melee (Sword 1H, etc), Missile (Bow, etc), and Professional (Animal Handling, Mining, etc).
Each skill defaults to +0 (Brawling), -1 (Sword 1 handed), or -2 (Thaumatology). You buy skills in accordance to the following chart.
Aspects
For a campaign, I recommend picking five aspects. A high concept, a trouble/complication, and three background aspects.
My take on aspects probably will be the most controversial thing about this game. In a nutshell they replace what GURPS and Hero System uses for Advantages and Disadvantages. They can be purely roleplaying or they include additional powers and mechanics for the character. For example taking the High Concept of "A priest of Delaquain, goddess of justice." Will confer the ability of turning undead on the character. Taking one of the mage high concepts will allow the character to use Thamautology to cast spells.
YOU DON"T PAY CHARACTER POINTS. Nada, zip, zilch. You just right it down on your character sheet. So what the catch? The catch is that your referee will define the available aspects for his setting. In addition these aspects will come with consequences as defined by the referee. For example a Paladin of Delaquain will have superior abilities over that of an ordinary fighter. But a consequence is a requirement to follow the Five Fold path. And a big consequence is the undivided attention of the goddess Delaquain as you are now one of her champions in the mortal world.
So what to stop a group from having aspect like God of Thunder on their sheets. Nothing, if that how you want to play your campaign go for it. I know for me having uber power quickly becomes boring and soon I am seeking other challenges. I suspect most of you are like that as well.
You see GURPS, Hero System, Fudge and all the other point buy systems with their advantages, disadvantages, gifts, faults, talents, etc, etc are a rat race in my opinion. What does a point mean, how much work is enough to balance everything out according to cost? I been playing some of these systems so long that some are on their third or fourth cycle of rethinking costs.
What works consistently is making the mechanics reflect your setting. If a character is required to do X, Y, and Z to achieve the maximums fitness package, then that what the character needs to do during the campaign. Not trying to scrimp together X points to buy it. To fair what GURPS and other games do is recommend both. You have to do the roleplaying in-game AND have the point on hand to get whatever. However my group (+Tim Shorts +Dwayne Gillingham) we wind up ignore the points stuff after the campaign starts. Dwayne as William Enderil becomes the wealthiest man in the City-State. Does he have to buy Very Wealthy, nope it just the consquence of how the campaign played out. His points went into improving things like accounting, and his weapons skills. Maybe buying the Fit Advantage. The same for Tim's character Dracolindus who manages to become a Duke. Does he need to buy social status, nope.
This will codify what I been doing across multiple systems for the last 15 years. That many issues with mechanics cease being important if the focus on making the mechanics reflect the reality of the chosen setting.
Now right now in this playtest I don't have a lot of these aspects defined. I plan to draft a "ready to run" set of aspect to allow a bog standard fantasy campaign to be run. For those of you who have my Majestic Wilderlands Supplement can see some of these ideas in a more polished form. Particularly in my comments about how the classes and races are not "balanced" but rather reflect how the Majestic Wilderlands works.
Tomorrow we will look at combat and then in the concluding post the magic system.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Print copy of Blackmarsh is now $4,99
You can read the blog post about pricing here.
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