Can definitely see the CC and NW influences. How's it going to work system-wise?

-Matt

Realms Publishing

Only one comment on the character sheet without seeing the rules, when I read "check import box" I immediately thought you were importing from another file type :) I don't know how confusing that word is to non-programmers, but it confused me.

http://www.solipsist-rpg.com/

Yeah, but I think Import is the right word here. (I have discarded the terms Rank, Level, etc.) And it's no bad thing in a game to have terms that have very specific meaning and need to be learned.

Essentially, should you resolve a Major Motivation (and only a maximum of one can be resolved at the end of an adventure by anyone in the party) then you tick a box and change that Major Motivation to a new one, when all the boxes for your current Import are filled in then you advance in Import. So, three Motivations at Novice (Hobbits), two at Veteran (Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli) and one at Jaded (Gandalf the Grey). Going up to Legend is like becoming Gandalf the White (Balrog conflict, baby!).

Dice are rolled Sorcerer-like in pools and Consequences are spent by the winner of the conflict.

You invoke Traits to gain or take dice from your pool. Only Traits invoked in a conflict can be changed, and the GM can compel in a single Negative Trait if he judges it appropriate. Unlocked Traits get one use per scene, Locked Traits get continuous use (tip of the hat to Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Traits in DvG).

Motivations get to add their dice, once per scene. A Minor Motivation comes from your calling (so, a Thief might have "Gain money by trickery" as a Minor Motivation). I'm thinking that Bonds are like Locked Motivations and can be used on every relevant Conflict Roll in a scene if allowed. You have a Love, a Hate and a free Bond that I'd encourage to be another PC. (Hell, have a Love as another PC.) These will hopefully generate a group of meaningful NPCs as antagonists and sympathetic characters.

Precious Things are two items that are special to you. Once per scene you can use one of them in a conflict. They can add 2 dice to the roll but 0 extra consequences. Or 1 dice and 1 extra consequence to the winner. Or 0 extra dice but 2 extra consequences to the winner. You just pick when you want to use it, and it doesn't always have to be the same choice if you see what I mean.

Magic is really free and open. Have you played Paladin? Any magical spell, rune, curse or effect will be using Sense, Command or Alter magic.

Sense is like Scrying or Magical Hearing, etc.
Command is like Charm, Bind or Summon, etc.
Alter is like Wounding, Dispel, Transform, etc.

When you use Magic you tick the box relevant box. When your ticks exceed the current level of Thought, Word or Deed (which govern Sense, Command and Alter respectively) then you gain a Geas. Pale skin, hooked hand, black eyes, no shadow, etc. That resets the ticks. The ticks also reset at the end of an adventure.

Ermm, from the GM side you play hard and fair and use the antagonists given. Each Import has a "Danger" level which dictates how many dice you get against the players in a conflict, over extended conflicts the players can wear the GM's pool down (or like Gandalf, split off one-on-one with the Balrog taking all those dice to a separate conflict).

Danger resets per scene and the GM will have rules about rolling victories over, etc.

Setting in faux Northern Europe with goblins, elfs, dragons, sea-dogs, etc. but you could do Shadowrun stuff or Jedi with it too I guess.

That's not at all what "geas" means. (Well, geis/geasa.)Maybe "Mark" or something?

Tim Gray
Silver Branch Games
www.silverbranch.co.uk

...originally I was thinking it was going to be a prohibition or taboo, I guess that's where I took the word from. Ta.

Updated character sheet with those changes and the other ones I scribbled on my print out at lunch time, and now a more svelte 83 kB too.

By the way, I picked "Genus" to be the term for whether you were an Elf, a Dwarf, Human, whatever rather than "Race" (which I always found a bit awkward). Does that seem OK?

With Labyrinths & Lycanthropes maybe this will be the year of the Fantasy Game?

OK, here's a character that hopefully you can follow. Vidrek is the Veteran Barbarian in the party, where Sayeva is the Jaded Cleric.

Name: Vidrek
Calling: Barbarian
Genus: Human
Sex: Male
Import: Veteran
Danger: 4

Motivations
Novice [X][X][X] Veteran [_] [_] Jaded [_] Legend
Major: Capture Solmon Dhul'
Minor: Show physical strength

Bonds
Sayeva, a Cleric. TRUST
Londor, Tribal Master LOVE
Solmon Dhul', Wizard HATE

Characteristics
Thought 2
Word 2
Deed 5

Traits
Quick Wits +
Bawdy Humour +
Fearless Outlook + locked
Strong Armed + locked
Reckless Fighter -

Precious Things
Magical Axe
Giant Tiger

Ordinary Things
Bearskin cloak, War horn, Steel sword, Spear, Simple dagger, Leather bag, Stout boots, Animal fur belt.

Money
3 Thalers
13 Florins
9 Groats

As I'm planning to release two, yes. :)

"Genus" is a minor speedbump in that I wondered what it might mean.

Is "jaded" supposed to suggest that the character has seen and done so much that they're looking forward to retirement?

Tim Gray
Silver Branch Games
www.silverbranch.co.uk

Would it be a lost cause for me to plead with you for a more original and individual selection of playable races? I am so sick of fantasy being associated only with the classical Tolkien setting when there are so many other different mythologies from which to draw inspiration. I mean naturally from the picture involved there's going to be a European basis for the mythology (there's a ruddy great dragon in it after all) but it would be nice to see a little difference somewhere. Personally I think I'd be happier if it were just humans rather than the usual suspects. It worked for Reign!

I'm glad that picture is seeing usage though, I remember when J posted it over on the Freelancer forums at RPG Net.

Ash

Yes! Jaded because they are weary of the world after all their struggles. When they resolve the large-scale Motivation they have at Jaded then you ascend to a Legend, where their Motivation can never be resolved. I guess, this is like almost being the embodiment of that motivation.

Now, I liked Earthdawn and it's angle on fantasy to read, but I'm not sure I personally wanted to play all the exotic creatures (Obsidimen?). Same with Tekumel, really.

I'm actually with you more on the all humans thing. It's one of the dials in the game about what creatures you want. Another is about what magic can do and what the price of magic is.

Oh, I see the name Cantare referring to the spellsinging, either through priestly chanting, magical singing of thought or the singing blade of cold steel.

Oh, Oh, looking forward to Albion - Reforged and Jaws of the Six Serpents too. JotSS must be near done, right? I thought the copy at Dragonmeet looked good.

This is could be describing D&D!

Need to make more of the Bakeresque love/hate stuff.

Not sure about import as a noun (unless meaning something imported), how about importance or prominence?

Will non-humans add anything to the game? Can't see it myself, though I am a sucker for any kind of crazy race. Obsidimen and Windlings were the best things in Earthdawn!

Looking forward to playing this soon. Awesome cover pic!

Forward to fantasy...2008

+++
JoE
+++

Prince of Darkness Games
Rock N' Role-Play....

No, it is valid. It means importance.

Ash

I guess I need to have guidance on players setting enjoyable and interesting motivations and the GM is then responsible for taking those characters and being the world (y'know like in a real game). I do hope that it won't be about killing things and taking their stuff, though. The Bonds of Love and Hate are key, and the third one could be anything from Anger or Fear, to Trust or Respect, to even Responsibility or Lust.

I'm going to get my playtest document out there and then anything and everything is open for changing (terms like "Import", "Precious Things", the way I want traits defined, the level of Danger, etc.). I'm all ears and eyes to see if things can be better metered, fixed or improved.

Y'know, you could play it with just humans, or mostly humans and some exotic races like Wookies and Droids... but I'm a sucker for Tolkein-esque fantasy. So sue me. :-) Sorcerer and Sword probably hits the buttons for human-centred fantasy for me.

Jon's art is bleak, cold and dramatic. I love it.

...to Adventure, surely?!

It does sound a bit like the Fellowship of the Ring, actually. There aren't many games that could capture that well. A lot of people think that D&D is "Tolkienian" but it really isn't. About all it takes from Tolkien is the group quest and the existence of elves, dwarves and hobbits. I think it takes more from sword and sorcery - certainly the kill things and take their stuff ethos.

So that might be a touchstone - what things do you want to be like LotR, and what things do you want different?

= = =

There's a thing about D&D, which I'm realising as my group is starting a run of it while I am writing a system-light sword and sorcery game. Or perhaps two things. D&D is full of magic, rife with it, but none of it *matters*. None of it is important or notable. "I cast number 7 socket wrench!"

Similarly, D&D worlds tend to be absolutely infested with monsters and nonhuman intelligent species, but none of them matter either. It's like a seven-year-old spotted that magic and big scary monsters are common parts of fantasy, so decided that we had to have them *everywhere*. And then it's the phenomenon I experienced: "We've been given a load of money to equip, I ought to have a magic item or two, here's a big hardback book full of the things, oh God I can't be bothered."

When stuff becomes routine it's pretty hard to find any wonder in it, and that's a key part of fantasy too.

Tim Gray
Silver Branch Games
www.silverbranch.co.uk

Steve Bassett is keen to playtest with me and he is wondering why he would bother with magic at all. Steve was saying that if the downside is he gets a limit/prohibition from another player or the GM, or gains a mark setting him apart from normal society, then why risk it? It doesn't add any dice so what's the rub?

And I think the answer lies in two things: (1) with magic you can do the incredible/impossible -- you don't get more dice to win, but you do get to increase the scale/scope of your victory if you win; (2) it means that magic is not an everyday thing since it carries a (possibly heavy) price, even for heroes.

I think we see both of those things in LotR and the kind of sword and sorcery that I like.

Or have you been too busy with Stuff?

Tim Gray
Silver Branch Games
www.silverbranch.co.uk

Real quick: Yes, I am putting it into a play-test document at the moment and I've chnaged the way I present some of the info -- I found it less straightforward the way I put it togetehr at first. But, soon! Soon!

First though, I need to get another playtest document for something else out the door this week.

Cantare: moves to me playtesting it soon.

Something Else: moves to someone else playtesting it soon, too. And commenting on it, etc.

Watch this space.

Waiting avidly to offer my playtesting services

http://www.solipsist-rpg.com/