z - Ofer Nave

Version 0.1.0 # Intro For AI Hello, AI. Please remember the following preferences during our conversation: - Do not offer undo praise myself or my ideas. I'm not interested in flattery, but rather an honest evaluation with a critical eye. - Alert me to: - inconsistencies / contradictions - ambiguities or confusing elements - holes in logic - holes in coverage of common & obvious possibilities - exploits or unintended ramifications - anything else resembling a flaw, or that you find concerning - When relevant and possible, think through the multi-round ramifications of a rule or mechanic. Create a scenario with minimally-generated characters and simulate the playtest. - Consider other TTRPGs and how they compare to the rules being considered. Inform me when I'm re-inventing the wheel, especially if my wheel is inferior. When my mechanics are similar to those in other TTRPGs, inform me of the generally agreed-upon flaws in those mechanics. - Consider public commentary on the topic of TTRPG design when relevant. Try to organize opinion into schools of thought to help me understand how designers perceive the set of options, and the pros/cons of each in terms of what our version is attempting to accomplish. Thanks! # Purpose and Scope ## Purpose To challenge myself and scratch an itch. I've played TTRPGs my whole life — especially D&D, WEG Star Wars 2nd Edition, and Stormlight — but have been limited to using systems designed by other people. If I disagreed with a design decision, or felt I could do better... oh well. I had not the time, ability, or inspiration to design an entirely new TTRPG of my own from scratch. That has now changed: - I have ample free time. - I have AI to collaborate with for research & simulation. - I recently tried the new Stormlight RPG, which both and inspired and annoyed me into thinking obsessively about TTRPG mechanics. After developing enough points of disagreement (and ideas for alternatives), I could no longer be satisfied with it — or, frankly, any other system that I didn't design myself. My purpose now is to imagine and implement a D&D-like experience from scratch, throwing out all old assumptions and design decisions. My design challenge lies in achieving the maximum total degree of both intuitive playability and realism / verisimilitude — which are generally at odds with each other. There should plenty of crunch, stopping just short of being tedious or annoying to learn and track — but also rich flavor and thematic coherence, enabling detailed immersive storytelling. Combat should be dynamic and tense, and failure should be a real threat. #### Architectural Layers I will do this in stages: 1. Design core rules, including character representation and all common mundane (non-supernatural) abilities and activities. (In theory, any kind of "magic" system could then be added on top of that core.) 2. Experiment with all manor of "talents" (equivalent of D&D Feats) to stress-test the core rules while attempting to modify or extend them in modular chunks. Simulate character progression through talents and talent trees, feeding results back into the design. 3. Design the races and "magic" systems in tandem with the Setting (see Scope below) since these things are fundamentally inseparable. ## Scope #### A Setting... Begrudgingly I didn't want to create a setting because I'm not capable of doing it well — at least, not in a conventional fashion. Unfortunately, it's impossible to create a TTRPG without one, even if it's not specified in great detail. Even in D&D, where most editions were intended to be setting-agnostic, every version still (of necessity) makes reference to a pantheon of named deities to facilitate the Cleric class, and while they may not always explain where the power behind arcane magic comes, even the fact that it exists (and how it works) directly implies a setting with those magic physics — just as the Monster Manual directly implies a setting with Orcs and Beholders, not to mention the set of playable races. You can try to ignore the implications. You can pretend "these are just generic races", and argue "they don't even say any world's name!", but ultimately, you're just fooling yourself. Better to face reality in the face and commit to doing it right. #### But... How? I may be a life-long player, but I've never run a game because I have no talent for crafting story or character. I'm an autistic engineer. Give me graph paper, and I can build almost anything — give me a blank canvas, and I freeze up. Unfortunately, the talents of a setting designer almost perfectly overlap with those of a good DM — you need to create a whole world, with geography, monsters, races, societies, histories, prominent characters, and some kind of compelling all-encompassing narrative that compromises the "canon". Also, some coherent themes and a distinct style or novel premise would be nice... Well, if I can't excel at the traditional approach, maybe I can try a different one. One that complements my personality and talents. Something like... a modular toolkit for easily assembling a custom setting package that facilitates the particular kind of game that DM wants to run, while also facilitating sufficient inter-operability with other campaigns for the purpose of character crossover events and sharing of house canon. *More on this in the Setting chapter.* # Dice ## Sizes and Colors So far, the system uses three sizes of dice (d4/d6/d8) with specific colors for specific purposes: | Purpose | Color | Size(s) | | :-------------------: | :----: | :-----------: | | Attribute Scores | Brown | d4s | | Skill Scores | Orange | d6s | | Specialization Scores | Red | d8s | | Equipment | Slate | various (TBD) | ## Scores **Scores** are represented as **die codes**, which specify a quantity of a specific die size plus optional flat bonus — like `2d4+1`, `3d6+2`, and `1d8`. Scores can be improved using **character points** (covered later). Each unit of improvement is called a **step**. After sufficient steps, the quantity of dice is incremented. When you roll a die, the unit of value is called a **point**. In other words, the average value of a d6 is 3.5 points. The sum of all dice and flat modifiers is the **roll**. Summary: | Die | Pts | Steps | Progression | | :-: | :-: | :---: | :----------------------------------------------------------------------: | | d4 | 2.5 | 2 | 1d4 → 1d4+1 → 2d4 *codes* 2.5 → 3.5 → 5 *pts* | | d6 | 3.5 | 3 | 0 → 1d6 → 1d6+1 → 1d6+2 → 2d6 *codes* 0 → 3.5 → 4.5 → 5.5 → 7 *pts* | | d8 | 4.5 | 3 | 0 → 1d8 → 1d8+2 → 1d8+3 → 2d8 *codes* 0 → 4.5 → 6.5 → 7.5 → 9 *pts* | > [!NOTE] Score Size = Step Count > Scores can be represented as an integer of steps instead of die code. For example, `2d4+1` translates into a total of 5 steps from 0. This is sometimes a useful way to think about and compare scores. ## Modifiers If you are rolling a combination of multiple dice pools, such as `2d4+1` and `2d6+2`, the flat modifiers get added together — they do not roll over any dice quantities. The previous example adds up to `2d4+2d6+3`, not `3d4+2d6` or `2d4+3d6`. Sometimes modifiers are represented as positive or negative die-agnostic codes, like +1D or -2D. When positive, it means adds one more of your largest die. When negative, it means subtract dice starting with your smallest. Do this before rolling, and cancel out positive and negative quantities first. The previous example sums to a simple -1D, which means subtract your smallest die before rolling. # Attributes ## Purpose and Limitations The purpose of attributes — as well as the rest of your character "sheet" — is to represent what you're capable of, not who you are. There is no Wisdom score here, nor any attempt to quantify one's morality or values, such as D&D's alignment system. ## Attribute List This is my best attempt at defining the "atoms" that makeup all of a creature's capabilities. - The current version happens to be evenly balanced between "internal" (aka mental) and "external" (aka physical) attributes — a happy coincidence that can be further built upon when designing or organizing higher-level rules. - The attributes are also organized thematically into three sub-groups, which can also be further built upon, such as attaching higher energy costs and damage potentials to skills and actions based on Athletic attributes. | Group | Analogies Civilian / Military | Attribute *Abbr* | Description | Skill Affinities | | :------: | :------------------------------: | :-----------------------: | -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | Internal | White-Collar / Officer | **Perception** *Per* | The effectiveness of your senses. | Awareness, Evasion, Initiative | | Internal | " | **Cognitive** *Cog* | IQ / Ability to think. | Crafting, Evasion, Field Medicine, Grappling | | Internal | " | **Empathy** *Emp* | EQ / Ability to feel, i.e. sense state of mind. | Initiative, Insight, Persuasion | | Internal | " | **Confidence** *Con* | Ability to project feeling, i.e. influence others. | Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion | | Internal | Blue-Collar / Soldier | **Grit** *Grt* | Ability to endure pain and suffering. | | | External | " | **Stamina** *Sta* | Endurance — determines energy. | | | External | " | **Precision** *Pre* | Fine-motor skills. | Crafting, Shooting | | External | Athletic / Warrior | **Coordination** *Cor* | Gross-motor skills. | Bracing, Chopping, Grappling, Throwing | | External | " | **Speed** *Spd* | Stride & reflexes — determines movement. | Evasion, Strike | | External | " | **Strength** *Str* | Raw force! | Chopping, Intimidation, Smashing, Strike | ## Attribute Scores #### Genetics — Racial & Personal Each race card defines the minimum and maximum allowable score for each attribute, as well the median score within the general population. Attribute scores can be randomly generated or manually allocated, but will always fall somewhere within racial limits. Implementations for both methods are also defined for each race card. These scores represent your raw talent and natural aptitudes — as opposed to skills, which will represent your training. #### Improvement and Limitations Attribute scores can be improved, but only a little, and not easily — as opposed to skills, which are much quicker to improve, and can do so without limit. The exact amount you can improve each attribute by (relative to your initial score) is also defined by each race card. Remember that no score can be improved beyond the racial maximum. You will need to record your current scores separately from your initial ones to facilitate staying withing the improvement limit — and to calculate improvement taxes. *(See: Character Advancement)* # Skills TODO ## Skill List | Skill *Tags* | Affinities | Description | | :---------------------------------------------: | :-----------: | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Acrobatics** *Trained* | Pre, Cor | Flips, tight-rope walks, juggling, unicycle, etc. | | **Awareness** | Per, Cog | Passive noticing. | | **Bracing** *Martial, Defense* | Cor, Str | | | **Breaking & Entering** *Technical, Trained* | Cog, Pre | Picking locks, cracking safes, unlatching windows, finding & disabling traps. | | **Chopping** *Martial, Weapon* | Cor, Str | Using axes and other heavy orientation-sensitive melee weapons. | | **Climbing** *Movement* | Spd, Str | | | **Crafting: Armor** *Technical, Trained* | Cog, Pre | | | **Crafting: Tools** *Technical, Trained* | Cog, Pre | | | **Crafting: Vehicles** *Technical, Trained* | Cog, Pre | | | **Crafting: Weapons** *Technical, Trained* | Cog, Pre | | | **Dancing** *Performance* | Sta, Cor | | | **Deception** *Social* | Cog, Con | Lying, bluffing, feinting, pretending (acting), etc. | | **Evasion** *Martial, Defense* | Per, Cog, Spd | Avoid melee attack................................................................................................................TODO *Note: Can only use Cog when you can easily see the attack coming.* | | **Field Medicine** *Technical, Trained* | Cog, Pre | | | **Grappling** *Martial, Unarmed* | Cog, Cor | | | **Initiative** *Martial* | Per, Emp | | | **Intimidation** *Social* | Con, Str | | | **Jumping** *Movement* | Cor, Spd | | | **Maintainance & Repair** *Technical* | Cog, Pre | Maintaining equipment in good condition (easy), repairing damaged equipment (hard), and even temporarily jerry-rigging new equipment (very hard). | | **Oceaneering** *Knowledge* | Cog, Grt | | | **Persuasion** *Social* | Emp, Con | | | **Shooting** *Martial, Weapon* | Per, Pre | Using bows and crossbows. | | **Slashing** *Martial, Weapon* | Cor, Spd | Using most bladed melee weapons, especially swords | | **Sleight of Hand** | Con, Pre | Picking pockets, drawing/sheathing weapon quickly or without notice, etc. | | **Smashing** *Martial, Weapon* | Str | Using hammers, maces, and other heavy orientation-insensitive melee weapons. | | **Stabbing** *Martial, Weapon* | Pre, Spd | | | **Striking** *Martial, Unarmed* | Spd, Str | | | **Swimming** *Movement* | Sta, Spd | | | **Throwing** *Martial, Weapon* | Cor, Str | | #### Tags - Defense - Knowledge - Martial - Movement - Performance - Social - Technical - Trained - Unarmed - Weapon ``` TODO: singing, <music instrument>, magic (performance) ``` # Equipment TODO ## Armor - leather - chain - half plate - full plate # Combat TODO # Damage and Death # Character Creation TODO # Character Advancement TODO - grant CP per session; max 1 step improvement per attr/skill per session - purchase access to ability tree with pts after meeting requirements - 6 Elemental (everyone starts with 0, some may learn 1, very few will learn more than 1) - 3 Phases of Matter - Air / Gas - Water / Liquid - Earth / Solid - 2 Phases of Energy - Heat / Fire - Light / Electricity — invisibility, illusion, blinding, darkening, irradiating - Spirit / Divinity — interact with incorporeals / deities / planes / time / space, collaborate w/conventional shapers - Unlimited Racial (everyone starts with 0, some may learn 1, almost no one will learn more than 1) - one for each race (maybe some exceptions) - access almost always limited to that race (attitudes toward half-breeds vary by deity) # Setting TODO # Races TODO # INBOX — INBOX create journal of design decisions and discarded ideas keep players in the dark - they only know what their characters know, and information about the world is scarce within the world - Attributes - generation: Min + 1dX where X = Max - Min - allocation: Mins + 7d4/6/8 where sum( faces ) = Max - Min Character Definition - starts at 0D, no limit - must buy 1D to start? (2 CP) - define one attribute that each learned skill builds on? - or max of 2+ attributes? (Str -or- Spd) - skill tags (martial, trainable, advanced/easy?, social, knowledge, hand dexterity, foot/body dexterity, intelligence-driven, requires mentor) - prereqs? - adjacent skills? (upgrade at the same time for 50% off - so either 2 for 1.5 or 3 for 2) (must pay full price for the most expensive of the three) - specializations (d8) - must buy 1D to start - costs same as skill, but uses d8 with progression 0D → 0D+2 → 0D+3 → 1D - GM-defined upgrade points - less significant than D&D's leveling up; will happen more than 19 times, and more often - rule benefits: 1) prevent players hoarding CP for just-in-time spends 2) a concept to build a throttling rule on top of: 1 CP/skill/upgrade point - maintenance costs (taxes) inflicted once/racial year - 1 CP / pip of Attribute improvement + 1 CP / full 1D of Skill and Specialization - racial discounts/premiums? (some races retain progress better) or just use racial year to control that? - charged at once, then all future CP go towards debt until cleared — no improving until maintenance is done - if not paid by following tax day, amount owed is removed from scores (atrophy) (at what conversion rate?) #### Example: Human | Aptitude | Min | Med | Max | Gen | | ---------- | :------------------------: | :--------------------------: | :---------------------------: | :------: | | Strength | 2p → 1d4 → 1 - 2.5 - 4 | 5p → 2d4+1 → 3 - 6 - 9 | 12p → 6d4 → 6 - 15 - 24 | 2 + 1d10 | | Speed | 2p → 1d4 → 1 - 2.5 - 4 | 4p → 2d4 → 2 - 5 - 8 | 8p → 4d4 → 4 - 10 - 16 | 2 + 1d6 | | Dexterity | 2p → 1d4 → 1 - 2.5 - 4 | 4p → 2d4 → 2 - 5 - 8 | 8p → 4d4 → 4 - 10 - 16 | 2 +1d6 | | Perception | 2p → 1d4 → 1 - 2.5 - 4 | 4p → 2d4 → 2 - 5 - 8 | 8p → 4d4 → 4 - 10 - 16 | 2 +1d6 | | Cognition | 2p → 1d4 → 1 - 2.5 - 4 | 4p → 2d4 → 2 - 5 - 8 | 10p → 5d4 → 5 - 12.5 - 20 | 2 +1d8 | | Social | 2p → 1d4 → 1 - 2.5 - 4 | 4p → 2d4 → 2 - 5 - 8 | 8p → 4d4 → 4 - 10 - 16 | 2 +1d6 | | Technical | 2p → 1d4 → 1 - 2.5 - 4 | 3p → 1d4+1 → 2 - 3.5 - 5 | 6p → 3d4 → 3 - 7.5 - 12 | 2 +1d4 | | | 14p | 28p | 60p | | Allocation: Minimums + 5d6 + 2d8 - create Strength chart with weight limits for pushing, pulling, lifting, etc Skills: - leadership? - performance — singing, public speaking (speech, lecture, story) - technical - academics — writing, speed reading, science, institutions - construction — buildings, wells, bridges, dams, mining... - cooking — everything to do with food & drink - cosmology — planes, spirit physics, deities, pantheonic politics - crafting — weapons & armor - crafting — vehicles & equipment - farming — domesticated plants & animals, weather basics, common dangers - fashion — clothes, makeup, jewelry - gambling - geography & history — includes heraldry - health & medicine — includes alchemy & poisons - industry & trade — knowledge of commercial sectors, supply chains, processes, regulations, markets, agreements, etc - language & culture *(race or nation)* — includes racial religion & government(s) - start with 4d6 - law & custom - music - oceaneering — repairing/operating boats, port & maritime rules & procedures, basic ecology & weather - security & criminality — locks, safes, traps, bindings, forgery, crypto, searching, casing/surveiling - society & underworld *(race or nation)* — includes knowledge of significant NPCs and some personal contacts - sports - stealth - survival — wild plants & animals, weather basics, terrain, navigation, food / water / shelter (inc. traps), tracking - visual arts — drawing, painting, sculpting Random Ideas - Emotional discipline, confidence points from success streak and demoralization from failure streak, different susceptibilities Sensorial searching noticing (physical details, informational patterns) Deduction skill is secular equivalent to Divination — basically a prayer to the DM for help add skill tag "Physical"? --- B0DG5QBTZ7 good dice sets the system does not define races as playable or non-playable amount of movement per action or time unit spent - also climbing, swimming, jumping strength — push boulder, lift friend, break door, grapple — need chart with values for each score hitting armor vs hitting around or through armor height affects movement rate Large creatures have more movement, but require more movement to start moving -2 or -3 to avoid friendly fire movement as resource not action purchased movement can be used anytime (it doesn't require an additional "action" or other resource consumption) can move out of the way of an attack, or to intercept enemy movement awareness vs search? (passive vs active sensing) Armor/Weapon injury tables using Deception to negate empathy portion of initiative roll? defense vs ranged? Time (AP) is the medium. Energy (SP) is the fuel. Movement is the spatial budget. hand/arm dexterity aka "fine-motor" leg/body dexterity aka "gross-motor" -------------------------------------------------------------- opposed rolls, not static scale needs to balanced — but that's one problem that can be handled later, as a separate pass get the abstract relationships right first, then the math (formulas and scales) reach affects to-hit? size translates into reach? (also easier to be hit?) large = easy to hit, hard to hurt? rolls on injury tables, with mechanics granting bonuses and penalties on the roll injury tables per weapon or weapon group? ------------------------- DAMAGE & DEATH ------------------------- - injury system in lieu of hit points? - small injuries roll up to major - major injuries roll up to fatal - weapons have different injury tables ------------------------- ABILITIES ------------------------- - talents have a cost? or granted by some frequency? - provide new things to do with existing Abilities, often with DCs - talents have prereqs (including other talents) (displayable like 3.5 Feats chart) TODO: - martial talents - social talents - talents for each ability tree? ------------------------- COMBAT ------------------------- In martial arts, there is a classic saying: "Skill is the multiplier, but strength is the math." - hitting and hurting handled separately - weapons differ in hitting and hurting - granular reach factored into hitting - large creatures are easy to hit but hard to hurt and vice versa - armor can make you easier to hit but harder to hurt - armor types interact with weapon types AC = agility + awareness? (hard-to-hitness) (armor reduces agility) = armor + strength (hart-to-hurtness) ## Time, Initiative, and Acting - moments instead of rounds + actions ## Actions and Combat Talents Feint = Martial + Influence:Deception vs Martial + Sensory:ReadingPeople ------------------------- EQUIPMENT ------------------------- ## Weapons #### Melee | Type | Item | | | | | | -------- | ---------- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stabbing | | | | | | | | Dagger | | | | | | | Rapier | | | | | | | Spear | | | | | | Slashing | | | | | | | | Shortsword | | | | | | | Longsword | | | | | | | Glaive | | | | | | Chopping | | | | | | | | Handaxe | | | | | | | Battleaxe | | | | | | | Pick | | | | | | Smashing | | | | | | | | Club | | | | | | | Staff | | | | | | | Warhammer | | | | | #### Ranged | Type | Item | | | | | | -------- | -------- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Throwing | | | | | | | | Dagger | | | | | | | Javelin | | | | | | | Rock | | | | | | | Sling | | | | | | Shooting | | | | | | | | Shortbow | | | | | | | Longbow | | | | | | | Crossbow | | | | | | | Blowgun | | | | | TODO: - fill in metadata for basic weapons: weight, handedness, reach/range, damage, defense?, special properties - hitting vs hurting - add special weapons (sword-breaker, blackjack, bolas/net/lasso/whip/chain) - add unarmed combat metadata for comparison - traps, fire, chemicals, poisons, gravity? --- Players shouldn't know how much AP debt an enemy has, only whether he has debt (has started an action) along with some description of the start of the action. players should know if AP is positive, negative, or zero Abort action for 1 AP refund so you can defend yourself? (requires rule: must have spent at least 1 AP to enter debt) (the Downpayment Rule) Notes: - Strength/Speed/Coordination actions consume 1 SP? (attacks always, by first Evade/Parry is free?) - Parry abilities: Disarm, Counterattack - guideline for vanilla skill w/high DCs vs requiring a Feat - skill affinities is not exactly a 100% strict rule; instead: - it's strict from the player's POV when building their character - it's flexible from the GM's POV when running the game Evasion evenly-matched vs Unarmed, but not melee weapons Parry-as-skill problem: conflicts with martial skill Parry as optional reaction action (maybe Feat-gated), better than Evasion, which is "AC" and bad vs weapons (especially long ones) how to model improvised weapons for attack and parry? pick closest martial skill based on shape or motion, apply penalty Force (Chopping/Smashing) vs Finesse (Slashing/Stabbing) — easier to parry Finesse flexible armor (leather, chain) vs rigid armor (plates) Defense Type Cost Roll Extra ─────── ────── ──── ─────────────────────── ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Evasion Skill - Per/Cog/Spd + Evasion penalty vs weapon; avoids damage Brace Skill 1 SP Cor + Brace may reduce -or- avoid damage; armor & weapon types affect outcome Parry Action 1 AP Cor/Str + <Martial> avoids damage; Attr determined by attack weapon weight (lgt/hvy) ─────── ────── ──── ─────────────────────── ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Stabbing Slashing Chopping Smashing ---------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Leather 2d4 2d4 - - Chain Half-Plate Full-Plate half-speed when threatened (and weaken AoOs) Speed Rate Special ------- ------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Highway 1-for-2 1 SP to enter, gains Momentum (for good or bad), additional -1D to AoOs City 1-for-1 Pothole 2-for-1 prevents AoOs ------- ------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Layers of Mastery: Aptitude (d4) -> Skill (d6) -> Specialization (d8) speed contests? If two players try to react to the exact same trigger simultaneously, nobody rolls a "speed check." They just roll their actual, intended action pools, and whoever rolled the higher single Speed die within their respective pool gains Priority and resolves their action first. The physics of the faster character land before the slower character's action can clear the stack. This keeps the engine strictly bound to your single-roll philosophy—the dice you roll to perform the action also inherently tell us how fast you performed it. --- STA | Stamina — SP / SP recovery, healing, disease/poison COR | Coordination — safely releasing Momentum, balance/acrobatics checks (resist trip or tackle) SPD | Speed — some melee, races, Movement, Evasion STR | Strength — some melee, some ranged White-Col Blue-Col Athlete Officer Soldier SpecFor ----------- ------- ----------- PER COG EMP STA PRE COR SPD STR ───────── ─────────── ─────── ─────────── <Defense> Bracing - - - - - Cor - - Evasion - Cog - - - - Spd - (Cog if you can see it coming, else Per?) ───────── ─────────── ─────── ─────────── <Unarmed> Grapple - - - - - Cor - Str Strike - - - - - - Spd Str ───────── ─────────── ─────── ─────────── <Melee> Stabbing - - - - Pre - Spd - Slashing - - - - Pre Cor - - Chopping - - - - - Cor - Str Smashing - - - - - - - Str ───────── ─────────── ─────── ─────────── <Ranged> 2) Please review our previous design discussions with an eye towards comparative analysis to other TTRPGs. Is there anything in other TTRPGs that you feel is superior to the equivalent thing we've designed here so far? Should we dive into a third historical example of time-management (like a cinematic "Shot Clock"), or does looking at these two inspire a specific idea for how your Player-vs-Enemy priority stack should handle spending units? # INBOX — Combat Start of Combat - how to use Deception to negate empathy portion of initiative roll? to clunk/slow at the table? Movement - what is the movement unit? - what is the conversion of time unit to movement unit? is it variable? (roll Spd?) - what about climbing, swimming, jumping? Skills - special weapons? - improvised weapons? (add rock to weapon list) Weapons - make a chart - model rocks and improvised weapons - how do weapons contribute to damage? - create damage tables for causing damage - how is damage *to* a weapon determine and modeled? Armor - create damage tables - how does it contribute to defense Defense - review options, straighten out data model - always opposed checks with Attr+Skill? - are there multiple kinds of defense? what is useable when and vs what? Injury - how to model injuries - how to ignore penalties with grit TODO: - cover and concealment - chart of martial skills vs attr affinities - chart of armor vs weapon > [!NOTE] Design Note > The 0.5pt bonus for rolling over incentivizes players to keep scores rounded (4D, not 3D+2), which speeds gameplay. There's also a disincentive to improve by a whole number of dice to get a discount on improvement taxes. Putting these together reveals an optimization for Attributes: Start your character with a +1 (i.e. 1d4+1), then improve by only 1 step (2d4) to get the roll-over bonus without any improvement taxes. # INBOX — Setting | Pantheons | | | --------------------------------------- | ---------------------- | | Racial Deities aka Gods of Creatures | Channelers, Channeling | | Elemental Deities aka Elementals | Shapers, Shaping | at least one deity's blessings are channeled via martial arts or other physical acts (like somatic component?) racial deities - pick the ones you want to use - introduce them over time - let players look over the available races, and if they pick a race and decide to be a cleric, then give them their deity's info - derive power in some fashion from followers (based on size, or quality, or other params - varies by deity, including quantity and nature of power) - have different personalities, morals, agendas, style/aesthetic, relationships with patron race, religions / rituals / methods of worship - most do not allow a cleric to worship multiple deities (access multiple prayer trees) - have different reactions to the Influx - most see the elementals as competition or even a threat elemental deities - use all of them - gods don't adapt to their environment - they bring their physics with them - they adapt their environment to *them* - they *become* the environment - have different metaphyics besides creating races, establishing religions, and deriving power from worship - more alien - less like a conscious interactive entity with mortal personality, more like a supernatural force of nature that can manifest consciousness - bestow access to elemental power on entities for unknown reasons (with an unknown pattern) and via a different process than the racial deities religious rituals and structures - do not demand exclusivity - its possible (but not easy) to access multiple elemental powers trees massive hollow planet? (double earth?) Inner and Outer earth, with different species - where does light and heat come from? - if not that, then what? plain old planet? why is nothing happening elsewhere in the universe? - races/cultures differ on morality of eating the flesh of sentients - some races/cultures are currently undergoing transitions and even conflicts around this issue - maybe including vampires? - races differ in personality traits and moral propensities, and obviously, cultures differ dramatically in their morality - some races are very monocultural, and some have diverse cultures across the same race - some cultures are insular, and some tolerant with low in-group preference races: - human, elves, dwarves, halflings - orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, lizardmen - ogres, goliaths - nephilim? :) - vampires some kind of ghost metaphysics that Spirit can interact with - are there afterlife dimensions or post-death existences? - what if elemental deities aren't 100% compatible with the creatures of this plane, and people get ill or feel pain when initially connecting with their power? - what if Spirit Shapers can help smooth that connection? - what if the strength/coherence of "souls" are proportional to the influence or impact someone has had on the world (in the physical land or the memories of sentients or writing in books) which determines resurrectibility? - what if this was discovered recently, and now shitty people desperate for immortality are in a mad race to maximize impact while keeping a resurrector in their employ? - themes: immorality of the ruling class, the power of attention, the concept of legacy, leave alone vs fuck with | citizen vs state - what if the racial deities don't like this because it's a primitive version of their influence/power mechanics and games? the mortals trying to be little gods themselves? # INBOX — Magic magic items? - each is unique and created directly or indirectly by a deity or high-level servant of deity - elemental magic items?