Core Rules
In this section you’ll find rules for the basic
mechanics of the game. We teach you:
1. The
roles of the Gamemaster and Players
2. How
to build the game world and use it
3. How
to use a character’s Effort pool to push their limits
4. The
types of skills characters can use to perform awesome heroics
5. How
to use a character’s Focus Slots to store dice, actions, and powers
6. Finally,
we’ll give you the Effect Chart for each skill, which shows the incredible
scale of a character’s actions!
.....
I was joking to Ryan that technical writing is "Tell people what you're about to tell them, telling them, then telling them what you told them"
Not my quote; I read it in my business communication textbook. Still, it's good advice.
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The Game Master and Player’s Roles and Expectations
The Game Master or GM is the referee in charge of
enforcing the rules and interpreting them when there’s some vagary. They create
a fantastic world of martial-art action for the player’s characters to
adventure through.
Players create fantastic kung-fu hero characters and
playing them in the world the GM has made. They play the game, describe their
character’s actions, speak for their character, make decisions for them, and
ideally have the time of their lives forging their destiny in a universe of
fantastic martial arts action.
There are a few hurdles that come up in immersive
social activities like roleplaying games; the following list of guidelines can
help you avoid and overcome some of the most common. They’re not commands, just
some sage advice from many authors and experienced GMs:
1. Remember,
everybody’s here to have a good time
2. Play
in the game you want: do awesome stuff, encourage your fellow gamers, and be
excellent to each other
3. Be
enthusiastic, not condescending
4. It’s
okay to be a dope if you’re having a good time
5. In
and out of character bleed is going to happen; it’s okay, just have fun
6. Err
on the side of awesome
7. It’s
a game, be a good sport
8. Don’t
be a jerk
9. This
is your game now; do what makes it the best for your table
10. Characters
are fantastically capable: describe awesome stuff! This goes for GMs as well as
players
...
It's staggering how many people pick up an elf game and lose their goddamn minds. Or rather, it's staggering how often you hear about this in shitposts and forums. Some of this advice is cribbed from Fate, some from Gygax, but I seriously doubt anybody minds that I repeat it here in my own voice. We all benefit when good game practices flourish.
That’s about all the game manual can offer you as
advice. If you’re completely socially
inept or paralyzed by crippling phobias of the subject matter in this game,
there’s not much the text can do to fix that part of your life. Sorry. When you
get better, this text will be here as your own personal gateway to a world of
apocalyptic martial arts adventure.
....
I feel like nowadays, you've got to point these sort of things out to people. "don't pick up a game of post-apocalyptic martial-arts violence if that will cause you to have a nervous breakdown"
If you'd ask me a few years ago if this text was necessary, I would have laughed it off. Now? I figure I should give folks fair warning: they seem to have forgotten these elf games sometimes contain violence and horror.
...
Taking action in the Shared Mindspace with the Tactical Infinity
Imagining
A World: The Shared Mindspace
When the GM describes something, it becomes a part of
the game world. It’s “real” to the characters. If they describe a cliff, then
there’s a cliff; characters in the universe must deal with it if its in their
way. They can discuss it, climb it, even obliterate it with sufficient power.
But it’s a real thing to them.
We call this element of the game the Shared Mindspace.
The GM is the primary creator of this mindspace. The
players add to it through the agency of their characters. They may also “make
an offer” by proposing details when interacting with it or discussing it
in-character, but these offers are subject to final approval by the GM.
When something is added to the Shared Mindspace, it is
permanent and irreversible. It becomes part of the game’s imaginary reality.
....
This is another weirdly controversial element of RPGs. It's considered archaic in a lot of design circles to rely on a shared imagined world; they tend to conceive of the game as a narrative, and all participants as authors. By allowing only one "author" to have authority over the "fiction", you're essentially anointing a game-king, they argue.
This of course is ridiculous; I'd hardly call the umpire the "baseball king" or the host of a party the "party king"
I've encountered people who demand nothing less than the power to re-write the game's reality to their whim. Which is the antithesis of actually roleplaying a character in that world by accepting it's agreed-on reality.
These people have been universally uptight in my experience, and don't tend to be in for the anarchic, rollicking bloodbaths that dominate most of my campaigns. Their loss, I suppose.
....
Taking
Action
Whenever a player wants their character to do
something, they Take an Action. They
declare that what they’re character is attempting, and the GM determines the
outcome of their attempt.
Generally, characters
can do anything a person can do, and physics work about as you’d expect
(with reasonable allowance for magical kung-fu). Characters can light a torch,
open a door, even detonate a remote explosive without requiring rolls or rules;
so long as it makes sense, they just declare they do it, and it is done.
The
Tactical Infinity
In tandem with the shared vision of the game, creative
players might use elements of the game’s world in ways unimagined by this
game’s rules and unanticipated by GMs.
This strategic interaction with the game’s imagined
world by enterprising players is referred to by the important-sounding name of
the Tactical Infinity.
A lot can be done through the shared mindspace and
tactical infinity. The mechanics of this game largely exist to answer questions
that arise when using these two elements.
Questions like “If
I punch this spaceship with the force of a tank shell, what happens?” or “What happens when I twist the minds of my
foes using mystical social disciplines?” and the classic “Exactly how much of the city is leveled
when I unleash the Doomsday Fist Strike into this demigod’s smug face?”
You know, normal stuff that comes up in every game!
That’s when you want to consult the next section for an answer.
Think of the rules as another person at the table; the
dice and mechanics are their mouth. With them, they answer questions about the
physics and magic of the setting. Taking his advice is voluntary; you can amend
or ignore his declarations if you like.
He’s just the guy everyone agreed does a good job playing the physics and magic. We’ve
made him a pretty cool guy, and it’s our hope that you’ll want to invite him
back to your table again and again!
...
"The Game is a Player" is taken directly from the article of the same name. I love the idea, and I love how it makes you think about the mechanics. The discussion of the tactical infinity and taking diceless actions is important; I get sick of GMs calling for a spot check whenever characters enter a room to tell them what their eyes would see without the barest effort.
...
The Effort Pool
Whenever characters need to do something beyond the
capabilities of a normal person, they use their Effort Pool.
To characters,
Effort represents their skill, capabilities, and their overall mastery of human
endeavor. It’s a powerful, encompassing trait because the characters in this
game are enormously capable heroes!
To players, Effort
Dice are a pool of d10s: one per point of Effort on their character sheet. They’re
used to boost their character’s base competency and unleash power effects.
To use the Effort Pool, pick up one d10 per point of
Effort and roll them all.
Line up the dice in order from lowest to highest Facing, with same-Facing dice positioned above each other vertically. Like this:
The number on a die’s face-up side is its Facing; a higher is stronger result.
Read 0’s and 10’s as 0. In this example, there is a single 2-Facing die, a set
of two 3-Facing dice, and a single 9-Facing die.
Sets
are groups of dice which share the same Facing. The two grouped 3-Facing dice
above are an example of such a Set.
The number of dice in the Set determines its Rank. The higher the Rank, the more
powerful the Set.
(Sets may be “broken up” if desired; for example, one
3-Facing dice above may be used singly, rather than combined with its match)
Taking
Actions with the Effort Pool
Taking action with Effort Dice is similar to taking
action without them; declare what your character attempts, and the GM
determines the outcome.
The difference is in scale: Using Effort dice to boost your action, you may declare more
powerful effects.
To do this, select a single Effort die, or a Set of
such dice, and declare it’s Rank (the number of total dice used) as a
supplement to your action.
For example, if you selected the 2-Facing Effort die in
the sample above, you would declare a Rank 1 action (as there is only a single
die). If you selected the Set of
3-Facing dice, you would declare a Rank 2 action (two dice in the set)
Whenever you take action without using Effort dice,
these are “Rank 0” actions. Typically, you won’t be declaring these; just use
natural language for actions that aren’t augmented by Effort i.e. “I open the door” rather than “I open the door with a Rank 0 Power action”
After all actions have been taken, empty all remaining
dice from the Effort Pool.
...
The idea that Effort Dice enhance your baseline human competency is one of those things that underwent a staggering depth of design, but you'd never guess it.
The idea is that you can simulate an actual human being with a single Effort die and 10 points of Health; they can "do whatever a person can do" and when they put their all into something (by using their die) they can achieve the ceiling of typical human endeavor.
All of the Effect charts, the selection of the skills, everything, is designed around the principle that normal human beings exist in the scaling of the mechanics.
It goes past that; Mastery represents lifelong training or genius, and the second tier of the Effect Charts represent that: we even looked up Olympic records for accuracy. the beginning of Rank 3 actions is where beyond-human capabilities start.
This scaling was informed by the Alexandrian article which examined the degrees of capability in 3rd edition.
Yeah me pulling from the Alexandrian: big surprise there.
....
Skills
Every character possesses seven Skills. Whenever they take an action boosted by Effort, they use
one of these skills to determine what effect that action can have.
The
seven skills which every character possesses are:
• Power:
Physical might and strength
• Endurance:
Toughness, durability and stamina
• Agility:
Speed, reflexes, balance, and grace
• Intellect:
Raw brainpower; depth, breadth and speed of thought
• Senses:
Earthly senses; sight, touch, taste, hearing, smelling
• Heart:
Charm, persuasiveness, manners and force of personality
• Spirit:
Enlightenment, inner peace, and mystical skill
When you declare an Action and Rank with Effort dice,
you also declare which Skill you’re using. To determine how powerful an effect
the action can have (it’s “ceiling”, so to speak) compare the Rank of the
action to the Effect Chart of the skill
you’re using.
The Effect Chart is divided into Ranks. The higher the
Rank of your Action, the more powerful the Effect you can declare.
Effect
Chart Breakdown
Here is the general breakdown of the Effect Chart. In
addition to this general ranking, specific
skills have unique effects they
may access from their respective chart.
Mortal Tier
Effects at this tier can be generated by any character,
so long as they are able to achieve the required Rank with their Effort dice.
Rank
0 / Mortal: Unrolled: Standard human effort.
This is the amount of concentration and skill put into a mundane and simple
task, such as opening a door, walking, climbing a ladder, noticing obvious
details of your surroundings, etc.
Rank
1 / Capable Mortal: Result 10-19: Concentrated human
effort. When a normal human being focuses on a task with all of their skill,
this is the result they achieve. This is the maximum a normal human can lift,
or as much detail as they could notice, or as complex an idea as they can
conceive.
Rank
2 / Peak Mortal: Result 20-29: Peak human effort.
This is the upper limit of what an extremely talented and trained human being
can accomplish. These are the top speeds of gold-medal sprinters, the heaviest
weights lifted by world-class weightlifters, or the greatest insights of a
generation’s most brilliant minds.
Rank
3 / Enhanced: Result 30-39: Beyond human
effort. Feats of this rank can only be achieved when machinery or magic
augments the mortal frame. Pulverizing concrete between bare hands, reading and
memorizing an instruction manual in minutes, or echolocating with human ears
are possible with this tier.
Rank
4 / Superhuman: Result 40-49: Superhuman effort.
Legendary feats of prowess are possible at this tier. Examples include lifting
and throwing automobiles, summoning ghosts with the power of the soul, or
leaping over tall buildings.
Rank
5 / Titanic: Result 50-59: Monstrous effort.
Giants, dragons, powerful spirits, and heavy machinery operate at this tier. Lifting
and throwing a train car, dodging a bolt of lightning, or walking unharmed
through white-hot fire are possible at this tier.
Rank
6 / Minor God: Result 60-69: Weak divine effort.
The weakest gods operate at this tier; however, even the smallest god is still
a god! You could push over a building, wade through molten lava, or balance
your entire weight on a blade of grass with such actions.
Mystical Tier
To achieve effects of higher rank, a character must use magic. This is typically
provided by their mystical kung-fu Techniques.
Rank
7 / Demigod: Result 70-79: The half-gods and
once-in-an-age heroes of ancient myth achieved feats of this magnitude; Lu Bu,
Heracles, and Gilgamesh operated at this tier. Heroic feats of this magnitude
include uprooting a massive bronze statue, seeing the fabric of space-time with
your naked eye, and forging a mystical ghost-body out of your spiritual
essence.
Rank
8 / Major God: Result 80-89: The mightiest of gods such as Nuwa, Zeus, and
Kali take actions of this magnitude. Deific feats of this tier include hurtling a
battleship like a discus, terrifying entire nations through sheer charismatic
presence, and reading the weft of Kharma like an open book.
Focus Slots
Whenever characters need to charge or sustain an
action, they use their Focus Slots.
To characters,
Focus Slots are their mental discipline; their ability to concentrate,
multi-task, and retain stillness of mind in chaotic situations.
To players,
Focus slots are a series of slots used for holding Effort Dice, Actions, and
charging Techniques.
A Focus Slot may be used to:
·
Store an Effort Die, including its Facing
·
Sustaining an action
·
Charge a Technique
Storing
an Effort Die
After you have concluded taking actions with your Effort Pool, but
before emptying the pool, you may move any Effort die into an unfilled Focus
Slot. Like this:
This die retains its Facings. The Effort die may be
accessed at any time thereafter, used exactly as any other die. It may be used singly
or added to a Set to increase its Rank.
Some effects ask you to spend an Effort die stored in
Focus for their cost: simply remove the die to pay the cost.
Dice may be held in Focus until the end of the scene,
when they are emptied.
Sustaining
an Action
Any action which can reasonably last more than a few moments
can be prolonged with Focus; this is called Sustaining the action.
After taking a qualifying action, mark a Focus slot and
make a note of the sustained action like this:
Both the type of action and its Rank are sustained for as long as the Focus
slot remains dedicated to them.
For example, if a Power action to lift a heavy object
was sustained, this allow the object to continue being suspended by the
character’s muscular might. If a Senses action to echolocate with hearing was
sustained, the character would be able to “see” in complete darkness like a bat
on the hunt.
Actions may be sustained until the end of the scene. Sustaining
beyond this point is exhausting; it requires an Endurance action of an
appropriate Rank to be sustained alongside the primary action.
When the time
limit described by the Endurance action resolves, both it and the primary
action are released.
....
Sustaining actions became a cornerstone of the game's "cool" appeal after I conceived of it; it allows characters to "grab" certain effects for a combat and just keep them. This lets them do awesome stuff without worrying about the future vagueries of the dice, and sets the tempo of the conflict in a way strongly reflective of the source material. A true diamond in the rough of game design.
....
Charging
a Technique
Some Techniques have a tremendous cost. So high, in
fact, that even powerful characters are rarely able to summon the entire amount
of Prana in a single moment to use them. Thankfully, they may utilize their Focus to gather the necessary power:
this is called Charging a Technique.
To do this, choose a technique and mark a Focus Slot,
as above.
Next, spend as many Prana as you wish, dedicating them
to charge the Technique.
Whenever the amount of Prana is equal to its cost, you
may use the Technique as you normally would.
It’s not necessary to use the Technique as soon as you
have its cost stored; it can be “saved” for as long as desired.
The stored Prana may also be released harmlessly at any
time, harmlessly dispelling the charged Technique.
....
I truly screwed up in costing Techniques; this started out as a patch-job solution, but rapidly evolved to my favorite rule I've yet designed (aside from holding actions in Focus Slots, that's clearly the best)
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