I have returned with my game, now called "MAYA", to be offered suggestions, criticism and hopefully some people that would be willing to playtest it. I am working on the website probably as you are reading this. I have incomplete "MAYA Basic" information up right now, but more than enough for you to pick up on and start messing with it.
http://mayatherpg.webs.com/
Keep in mind, "MAYA" is a little more complicated than MAYA Basic in that there are attributes and such, but I am still working on a character sheet. This will be uploaded to the sight as a .PDF very soon and the rules for MAYA will be uploaded in their complete form.
MAYA is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MAYA-the-RPG/222105103495
I am "Scott" on the page if'n you need another facebook friend. I don't post hourly twitter updates on there.
Please let me know what you think about MAYA! I am totally open to constructive criticism. Thanks in advance!
I see you're into eastern philosophy. A cosmic journey rpg sounds really cool, and I would like to see you polish it up. What types of scenarios will the players find themselves in, and how will the system allow them to tackle conflicts, or overcome attachments?
QuoteI see you're into eastern philosophy.
I sort of stumbled into it backwards. I just did a LOT of thinking and read a few books. Everything sort of pointed me that direction personally.
QuoteA cosmic journey rpg sounds really cool
Thank you! One of my first books was "The Cosmic Book" by Itzhak Bentov and Mirtala Bentov. I thought it was an original idea, but who am I kidding? I later found the games "Kult" and "Ultima IV" are very similar. I was influenced by "Call of Cthulhu" in that, what exactly does it mean to be insane and why can't I play a permanently insane character?!
QuoteWhat types of scenarios will the players find themselves in
Depending on the setting and the character, they may be fighting against a tyranical government of some sorts, Fighting against their own worst nightmares in deep space, they might be caught up in crazy adventures fighting against the illuminati, learning about a cult that worships some strange dark chaos god, who knows. Basically, the characters learn secret knowledge and battle dark forces trying to hide the secret knowledge. The characters may wish to impart this knowledge to others to try and improve conditions in their world (kinda like in "underground"). I guess the system is kinda compatible with the "Star Wars" universe too.
Quotehow will the system allow them to tackle conflicts, or overcome attachments?
This is a difficult question and a simple one at the same time. It is an easy answer, but difficult to actually do. It takes time. Get your ego points low enough and you are able to work miracles, automatically succeed at tasks or at least have a 10% chance of failure or less and other cool stuff. Think of MAYA as very similar to Call of Cthulhu, but you are already insane and you have to lose your insanity points (attachments, actions, memories, physical body, astral body, etc. etc.). The system itself is not anything spectacular in that it is the usual d10 roll above character's "ego level". Now ego level is determined by ego points which number anywhere from -300 to +300. These are lost and gained in a manner similar to sanity points in Call of Cthulhu, only if you see a deep one or whatever, you gain ego points (Bad memories, nightmares, Horror). Gain enough and your ego level raises and you might go from being an open-minded mystic shaman to a resentful and confused one. Personality-wise characters have the Personality Matrix to use. Modifying their behaviors will automatically reduce their ego. I guess meditation, is another way. Drugs (Just kidding), religion, adventuring, exploring....
Personality Matrix:
>>>----------------high ego this way!------------>>
Trusting O O O O O O O O O O Paranoid
Honest O O O O O O O O O O Dishonest
Humble O O O O O O O O O O Arrogant
Tolerant O O O O O O O O O O Hateful
Carefree O O O O O O O O O O Controlling
Heroic O O O O O O O O O O Cowardly
Wise O O O O O O O O O O Zealous
Relaxed O O O O O O O O O O Frantic
Objective O O O O O O O O O O Judgemental
Fulfilled O O O O O O O O O O Empty
>>>-----------------high ego this way!------------>>
For a fun thought experiment, I considered how I would adapt my engine to your game's concept. Here's what I came up with:
1. My 12 attributes would be replaced with your personality matrix. So instead of Strength, you have something like Compassion.
2. My skill set would be replaced with various bodhisattva disciplines.
3. So let's say your player was a Vietnamese monk, and you wanted to use the skill "Self Immolation". You would compare your Relaxed attribute to the difficulty of murdering yourself in an excrutiatingly heinous and painful way, so let's give it a 10. The GM doesn't tell you it's a 10, but you can safely assume this is an extremely difficult feat to accomplish. Your attribute is 7, so you decide to tap into your Concentration effort pool by meditating, which allows you to apply the randomizer (exploding 1d4-1). You roll a natural 4 (+3), so add another roll on top of it, which gave you another 2, therefore 7+3+2=12 meaning you pass with a moderate effect. Looking at the effects table for Self-Immolation, it says you wince and grunt a bit from the pain (attachment to self-preservation), but you let go before the end, maintain your lotus position, and burn to a crisp gracefully.
4. Humoring myself further, along with attribute development points, should you fail an important check, you'll earn Ego points, which subtracts points and can cause your attributes to go back down.
5. Expounding even further, if we want to explore the concepts of right action, right speech, right understanding, etc., then we can add a strategic element to the way you utilize your skills. Let's say someone is attacking the integrity of your wife. You know she's wrong/lying/in denial. Now, you can try to settle things by using a skill based on Objectivity, but your wife will probably resent you for it so your attribute is -2 in this situation. It would be far better to use a skill based on the Heroic attribute, and stick up for her when her character is being trashed (+2 because it appeals right understanding: understanding her emotional needs). And then afterwards, between you two in private, you may objectively work it out as she'll be more receptive.
I like the ego table, I was wondering if you were going to offer more paths to it, seeing as it only branches off two ways.
QuoteI like the ego table, I was wondering if you were going to offer more paths to it, seeing as it only branches off two ways.
I'm thinking you are refering to the Action and Reaction part of the table. If so, thanks! I spent way too much time perfecting this, and Yes I do have many different interpretations for the ego roll. Check out these:
http://omnirpg.webs.com/taskresolution.htm
(MAYA used to be called OMNI)
QuoteFor a fun thought experiment, I considered how I would adapt my engine to your game's concept. Here's what I came up with:
1. My 12 attributes would be replaced with your personality matrix. So instead of Strength, you have something like Compassion.
2. My skill set would be replaced with various bodhisattva disciplines.
This is really interesting! I think I should point out now, cause I havent posted it on the website yet that there are several things that make up the character's ego:
Physical Abilities
1-10 each all totaling 0 to 100
Fitness - Muscle Memory, Agility, Toughness, Strength
Senses - Awareness, Intuition, Perception, 6th sense
Hands - Hand-eye Coordination, Fine motor skills, Aim
Mind - Retained Knowledge, IQ, Trivia, Experience
Cool - Sanity, Chi, Luck, Willpower, Pain Threshold
Charm - Diplomacy, Influence, Likeability, Attractiveness
Rank - Position, Resources, Credit, Allies, Power
Stuff - Money, Territory, Posesseions, Equipment
Looks - Appearance, Symmetry, Genetics, Quality
Fame - Reputation, Popularity, Reputation, Infamy
Personality Matrix
1-10 each all totalling -100 to 0
Trusting O O O O O O O O O O Paranoid
Honest O O O O O O O O O O Dishonest
Humble O O O O O O O O O O Arrogant
Tolerant O O O O O O O O O O Hateful
Carefree O O O O O O O O O O Controlling
Heroic O O O O O O O O O O Cowardly
Wise O O O O O O O O O O Zealous
Relaxed O O O O O O O O O O Frantic
Objective O O O O O O O O O O Judgemental
Fulfilled O O O O O O O O O O Empty
Physical Penalties
1-10 each (start at 10) totalling 0 to 100
TOX - poison
VIR - viral
BAC - bacteria
ACD - acid
RAD - radiation
HOT - heat
SUS - food/water
DMG - damage/pressure
CLD - cold
AGE - age
Metaphysical Penalties
1-10 each (Start at 10) totalling -100 to 0
Telekinesis - move things
Telepathy - communicate/share
Intuition - know things
SUggestion - manipulate
Creation - bring forth something from nothing
Alteration - slightly affect something's nmbers
Hurt - cause pain, damage
Change - change something into something else
Restore - change something back/heal someone
Protection - protect from being hurt or manipulated
Early Life Experiences
(I have a lifepath generator like in Cyberpunk but not nearly as detailed for this part. This can yield a number fro 0 to 100)
Adult experiences
There is no limit on these, but the total should be from -100 to 0
(These are more for in game play, but can be modified during character creation as well)
Hang-ups - Socio/political and religious sore spots.
Trauma - Horrible car wrecks, massive head wounds etc.
Horror - Things that measely little humanoids were not meant to know...
Phobias - Mundane irrational fears like knives and needles
Other - Reserved for random stuff that just does not fit in with the others.
So you got a powerful guy with physical abilities of like 70, horrible personality so like -30 (70 - 100 = -30), completely mortal +100, -0 no metaphysical bonuses, +75 bad childhood, and 75 for adult experiences that are not typical = like 289 or something (I'm tired!!) which is ego level 10 "insane"
The rest is just silly stuff and combat rules that I am just not sure about...
Quote3. So let's say your player was a Vietnamese monk, and you wanted to use the skill "Self Immolation". You would compare your Relaxed attribute to the difficulty of murdering yourself in an excrutiatingly heinous and painful way, so let's give it a 10. The GM doesn't tell you it's a 10, but you can safely assume this is an extremely difficult feat to accomplish. Your attribute is 7, so you decide to tap into your Concentration effort pool by meditating, which allows you to apply the randomizer (exploding 1d4-1). You roll a natural 4 (+3), so add another roll on top of it, which gave you another 2, therefore 7+3+2=12 meaning you pass with a moderate effect. Looking at the effects table for Self-Immolation, it says you wince and grunt a bit from the pain (attachment to self-preservation), but you let go before the end, maintain your lotus position, and burn to a crisp gracefully.
That's awesome! In MAYA, this would not be the end for a character, but this could almost be an example of play in some setting/situation. I think...
Quote4. Humoring myself further, along with attribute development points, should you fail an important check, you'll earn Ego points, which subtracts points and can cause your attributes to go back down.
Correctomundo! That's the ticket. There is a risk with failure in that you feel bad about yourself or resentment that others can and you can't or whatever.
Quote5. Expounding even further, if we want to explore the concepts of right action, right speech, right understanding, etc., then we can add a strategic element to the way you utilize your skills. Let's say someone is attacking the integrity of your wife. You know she's wrong/lying/in denial. Now, you can try to settle things by using a skill based on Objectivity, but your wife will probably resent you for it so your attribute is -2 in this situation. It would be far better to use a skill based on the Heroic attribute, and stick up for her when her character is being trashed (+2 because it appeals right understanding: understanding her emotional needs). And then afterwards, between you two in private, you may objectively work it out as she'll be more receptive.
This is an interesting take on the game and social dynamics that I never thought of applying skills to, but they are skills aren't they? Still trying to hone my own skills. ;^) This is really interesting here. I need to let this sink in... Thanks for all the feedback! Seeking even more!
In that case, I would like to make a critique. Although I don't know yet the exact intentions of your game, I think I have a conceptual grasp of what you're trying to do, but please correct me if I'm inaccurate. It seems to me that combat rules, or an emphasis on combat, seem out of place for this game. Think about it: the more your ego drops, the less combat becomes likely. In my opinion, if there is combat at all, it would be best to generalize it so that the player may approach it from a role-playing stance rather than a boardgame/tactician stance.
Take note that this is coming from someone who has developed an elaborate combat system and loves that aspect of play.
So, let's say your character studied at Shaolin Temple, and someone tries to mug you on the street. If you decide to fight him off, do you pull out your gun and shoot him, or do you subdue him with your martial arts skills? Naturally, the former will be easier, but you'll accumulate tons of ego. You'll accumulate much less ego should you choose the latter, but it would require a much higher Heroic attribute to pull off. Now let's say you don't pull it off with that much success or you fail minorly, then a struggle ensues and you roll again, or you get hurt or both get hurt and the mugger runs off. You can keep trying to subdue him, but instead of taking any further risks, you can also use your deadly poison palm technique and just end the fucker for massive ego points.
QuoteIn my opinion, if there is combat at all, it would be best to generalize it so that the player may approach it from a role-playing stance rather than a boardgame/tactician stance.
That's my critique as well! At least for a long time it was! About a year ago, I posted a power 19 about this... it was called OMNI before. Someone else said the same thing. I, too, have questioned it's inclusion in the rules (I have devised an alternative 'quick and dirty' combat system inspired by The Riddle of Steel's combat system). I made the command decision to include combat rules or maybe "tactical rules" so as to not limit the character's actions anymore (the whole ego thing is a big enough limitation on them) and to, more importantly, allow players to play a character that is, well, kinda bad even. Or at least to be able to play a character that stays at ego level 8 (for instance)~just like in real life. There are some who move that direction (as it is our true purpose to do so) and there are many others that don't. The illusions ARE kinda nice sometimes. This is where I have kinda been working on (off and on for a while) a list of organizations that cover this. For example: the Galactic Federation is one that is devoted to unity, but not perfect unity according to all the sentient beings that they give ultimatums to (the USA being one of them according to conspiracy theories). the Illuminati are those that get power from demons and have High ego, but get all the worldy benefits, the tradeoff is they got demons runnin' all through 'em. Parasites are those that latch onto a physical being from "beyond" to steal their energy and to give them their ego, just enough to exist on their own current level. I have others too, I just can't think of them all.
All of this is not so that I can include combat (I also enjoy Warhammer and rpg combat systems) and combat was not just thrown in because rpgs have combat in them. It's in there because combat is a matter of fact in life. In fact, I went even further with this last year to start working on duh duh DUUUHH! Wargame rules. I know... sounds really bad in a game about enlightenment or whatever you want to call it, but consider this: the game is ultimately about chaos (duality/opposing sides) versus unity. This means that on some level, there is eternal spiritual warfare going on. I placed this happening at the zero point. That's why it's a dangerous crossroads. Kind of like in Star Wars when it's easy to be tempted by the power of the dark side. If you think about it in this way, it makes sense that there would be combat rules. I just want them to be streamlined and lean towards role-playing and narrative descriptions (and very deadly because life is fragile).
I think my only critique is that I would definitely include a setting, with a way to "unbolt" the mechanics from the standard setting to another one. You have an interesting idea, and the mechanics seem like they will support what you're trying to do, but there's no way to anchor the players unless you have a setting to showcase these ideas.
Still, with enough playtesting and continuous evaluation, you may well end up with the game that does for journeys of spiritual enlightenment what Sorcerer does for deals with the devil.
Also, I see you have rough descriptors of what your life is like at various Ego levels. That's a good start, but they look a little specific to KULT for me. Unless you are going for a battle against the Demiurge, you may want to include descriptions more pertinent to your basic setting.
And be sure to stress to people who are making their homebrew settings that defining how Ego Levels look in that game world is one of the most important part of setting creation. If you have that information, the rest of the details will fall into place.
QuoteI think my only critique is that I would definitely include a setting, with a way to "unbolt" the mechanics from the standard setting to another one.
Maybe I should aproach the descriptions as if they are a scientist's observations. This could be more easily adapted to any character regardless of the setting. That's what I guess I would like at least. If I am misunderstanding you, please give me an example. I would appreciate that.
Originally, I was developing a fantasy/low tech setting, but my continued interest in sci-fi made that difficult as I was trying to create an "ALIEN"-like universe too. I have since decided they are in the same universe just light years apart. It would almost be like space opera and unfortunately now that "AVATAR" is out, [hopefully] not too much like that. Maybe just a matter of writing the descriptions which I totally admit are lame and kinda stream-of-consciousness/copy & paste from old notes (some of which were directly from KULT). I am a HUGE Kult fan even though I never have played the game one time. I bought the book, someone stole it. Bought it again and lost it (probably stolen again) and years later, I just got a .pdf version (let them try to steal that!). I then came to realize that KULT had similar mechanics and just threw in some of the rules there to compare notes more or less. They fit almost exactly with what I was aiming for, but the developers of KULT knew what they were doing better than I and they said it better than I can. My writing style is a little hard for some people to read so I copy and paste stuff A LOT, but this is only for the early development stages. I can eventually brush things up and put them into my own words.
QuoteAnd be sure to stress to people who are making their homebrew settings that defining how Ego Levels look in that game world is one of the most important part of setting creation. If you have that information, the rest of the details will fall into place.
Maybe what would make this a lot easier is to somehow break it all down like Gurps does with a Planetary worksheet or something. Any ideas?
By the way, thanks for the compliments! They are much appreciated and much needed!
The marriage of humans to machines (implants, prosthetics, nanomachines, network interfaces etc.) could play a pivotal role, or obstacle, to a player's quest for enlightenment. And what about AI? If they have the same capacities for abstract thought as humans, is it possible for them to attain enlightenment too? How cool would it be to climb the mountains of Tibet only to find out that the sage meditating at the summit is a robot?
QuoteThe marriage of humans to machines (implants, prosthetics, nanomachines, network interfaces etc.) could play a pivotal role, or obstacle, to a player's quest for enlightenment. And what about AI? If they have the same capacities for abstract thought as humans, is it possible for them to attain enlightenment too? How cool would it be to climb the mountains of Tibet only to find out that the sage meditating at the summit is a robot?
How interesting! I was thinking about astral races and considering silicon based life. This fits in nicely. I did plan for AI, but had not really put in a lot of thought about such an idea. This is something to consider! Thanks! I was thinking of a race of something like the 'borg' that was an 'organization' like the galactic federation. They seek unity, but on a higher level of ego than 0, so they are with chaos. I had not thought about them reaching enlightenment! Thats car-ayzee and I love it!
Quote from: whoknowswhynot on January 24, 2010, 11:11:27 PM
QuoteI think my only critique is that I would definitely include a setting, with a way to "unbolt" the mechanics from the standard setting to another one.
Maybe I should approach the descriptions as if they are a scientist's observations. This could be more easily adapted to any character regardless of the setting. That's what I guess I would like at least. If I am misunderstanding you, please give me an example. I would appreciate that.
Originally, I was developing a fantasy/low tech setting, but my continued interest in sci-fi made that difficult as I was trying to create an "ALIEN"-like universe too. I have since decided they are in the same universe just light years apart. It would almost be like space opera and unfortunately now that "AVATAR" is out, [hopefully] not too much like that. Maybe just a matter of writing the descriptions which I totally admit are lame and kinda stream-of-consciousness/copy & paste from old notes (some of which were directly from KULT). I am a HUGE Kult fan even though I never have played the game one time. I bought the book, someone stole it. Bought it again and lost it (probably stolen again) and years later, I just got a .pdf version (let them try to steal that!). I then came to realize that KULT had similar mechanics and just threw in some of the rules there to compare notes more or less. They fit almost exactly with what I was aiming for, but the developers of KULT knew what they were doing better than I and they said it better than I can. My writing style is a little hard for some people to read so I copy and paste stuff A LOT, but this is only for the early development stages. I can eventually brush things up and put them into my own words.
QuoteAnd be sure to stress to people who are making their homebrew settings that defining how Ego Levels look in that game world is one of the most important part of setting creation. If you have that information, the rest of the details will fall into place.
Maybe what would make this a lot easier is to somehow break it all down like Gurps does with a Planetary worksheet or something. Any ideas?
Okay, what I meant was: include the examples/definitions of Ego for the homebrew setting, then do a different example setting (robots/sci-fi/whatever) and show how the Ego levels differ a bit for that setting, due to the differences in the setting.
Example: You have what is essentially KULT with the serial numbers filed off, and the journey to transcendence front and center worked into your Ego level examples. That works well with
that setting. However, if you switch over to a sci-fi setting where the PCs are people who've chosen/been chosen to be Jedi or something, those definitions and examples won't make any sense. Different setting, different priorities, different background color, but essentially the same journey. You have to rewrite the Ego level examples and side-effects accordingly.
Also, and I think you need to answer this before you go much further:
what happens when the dice hit the table? If you want the spiritual journey to follow the template in the game, and have that be the "universal truth", then when the PC succeeds, he essentially has to narrate how his character acted correctly in regard to getting further enlightened, and narrate how his character fell back into bad habits if he fails. However,
and what might be more interesting, is to let the player react however s/he feels the character would act in that situation, and then roll the dice to see if the PC got enlightened or lost by acting the way they did. Maybe doing the "wrong" thing finally jarred them into self-awareness, or maybe the "wrong" thing was actually the "right" thing to do. It may yield contradictory results, but that's kinda how enlightenment looks to someone who isn't also enlightened. (This is similar, although not the same, as how Humanity works in
Sorcerer. I strongly recommend buying and studying that game for research purposes.)
Also, do only PCs roll for results? Because I'm not seeing a lot of NPC information. I almost think that's the way it should be, since the players are traveling through the game inside their character's heads. Would cut down on the rolling.
QuoteOkay, what I meant was: include the examples/definitions of Ego for the homebrew setting, then do a different example setting (robots/sci-fi/whatever) and show how the Ego levels differ a bit for that setting, due to the differences in the setting.
Gottcha! That would be more helpful for everyone for sure. I will work on that. I guess I have had this idea in my head for so long as a concept more than as a list of actual things that I just havent had a lot of material to write in for each level, but I have the concept down, the cosmology mapped out and 3 days off to work on it, so expect some stuff to change on the website soon! Definitely I want to make it less "KULT" and more MAYA. Perhaps I should go with descriptions according to each organization
QuoteAlso, and I think you need to answer this before you go much further: what happens when the dice hit the table? If you want the spiritual journey to follow the template in the game, and have that be the "universal truth", then when the PC succeeds, he essentially has to narrate how his character acted correctly in regard to getting further enlightened, and narrate how his character fell back into bad habits if he fails. However, and what might be more interesting, is to let the player react however s/he feels the character would act in that situation, and then roll the dice to see if the PC got enlightened or lost by acting the way they did. Maybe doing the "wrong" thing finally jarred them into self-awareness, or maybe the "wrong" thing was actually the "right" thing to do. It may yield contradictory results, but that's kinda how enlightenment looks to someone who isn't also enlightened.
I agree and to me, this would be the most fun part about the game. Ideally, the character's would not spend a lot of time in "game time" and instead in "real time" so they would do more role playing. I think both ways are great. This would definitely mean that other players could try to emulate each others actions but not get the same results. That too is the case sometimes. I like that and will include it in the player's handbook/paragraph part! Thanks! Just thought of this. If a character is posessed, maybe thats when there are certain behaviors that come out. I have some woik 2 doo!
QuoteAlso, do only PCs roll for results? Because I'm not seeing a lot of NPC information. I almost think that's the way it should be, since the players are traveling through the game inside their character's heads. Would cut down on the rolling.
PCs will also roll for results except in situations where the players would'nt roll either. I created MAYA with that as a main concern... I too much rolling. Too many dice. That said, you have a great point there. I had thought of a completely diceless system at one time, but decided to go with 1 die roll to cover both action and reaction, so the NPC's ego is factored into the results that way.
When you have a chance, could you explain "density" and what role it will play in this game? I was a bit confused by your website.
QuoteWhen you have a chance, could you explain "density" and what role it will play in this game?
Absolutely! Density is how "pysical" a character is or what vibraton or frequency it is at. I know you might think "alive" or "dead" there's only 2 levels, but I intend there to be "many mansions". This way, after death, a party may still lose one of it's members for what ever reason but once their own density is reduced they may find them again. Basically it's role in the game is to differentiate between non-physical or energy beings and physical beings, but this can happen on any level of reality all the way down to zero ego which also means zero density (by the way, 0 ego means omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent).
QuoteI was a bit confused by your website.
Yeah, sorry about that one! It's because I started somewhere in the middle and am working my way out. Perhaps that could be covered best in a new thread about organization. I need to start that one soon! Also It's probably because I copy and paste without fully reading what I paste and only edit for spelling. I am going to clean that up tonight. There should be better explainations and fewer inconsistencies, less KULT and more MAYA too.
Quote from: whoknowswhynot on January 25, 2010, 10:18:05 PM
QuoteWhen you have a chance, could you explain "density" and what role it will play in this game?
Absolutely! Density is how "pysical" a character is or what vibraton or frequency it is at. I know you might think "alive" or "dead" there's only 2 levels, but I intend there to be "many mansions". This way, after death, a party may still lose one of it's members for what ever reason but once their own density is reduced they may find them again. Basically it's role in the game is to differentiate between non-physical or energy beings and physical beings, but this can happen on any level of reality all the way down to zero ego which also means zero density (by the way, 0 ego means omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent).
Ah, planes of existence. Makes more sense, and I do like the idea that death is not the end. Can I assume lighter=closer to 0, while higher density=closer to 10?
And sorry for the question bombardment, but...character advancement is obviously an issue in this game. How is that done?
QuoteAnd sorry for the question bombardment, but...character advancement is obviously an issue in this game. How is that done?
No worries! That's what I am here for! By character advancement I'm thinking you mean ego reduction or skills and abilities.
Ego reduction is the main goal and this is a slow process for a character, similar to the way a Call of Cthulhu character's sanity dwindles to 0 slowly. I have a few important rules and a few ideas for "house rules".
1.) Failure of a roll by ego-3 or more adds 1 ego point. (Blunder or Disaster = +1)
2.) Success of a roll by ego +4 or more subtracts 1 ego point. (Excellent or Phenomenal = -1)
3.) Success of a roll by ego +4 WITHOUT a skill modifyer subtract 2 ego points.
4.) As a result of certain resistance rolls such as the all too popular "Sanity roll".
Ideas for House Rules:
Player says "can't", complains because of a roll or shouts expletives due to frustration, he or she gains a point (not because the word is offensive). This is for the more judgemental Master I guess, but it would ad another element of excitement to the game.
Skills are treated as experience and experience is treated as ego. Creating a character is easy becaue I did away with skill lists (For the most part). There are an infinite number of skills available and I don't want to list them all. That said, each "Setting" will have exampes or templates to go by. The idea is that these pathetic skills are nothing compared to omnipotence. Skills really act more like a crutch in this sense. They add to the roll to increase chances, but at the cost of the character having high ego and hardship in other areas of life and a character can have a lot of skills, but not ALL skills. Skills advance quickly from unskilled to familiar, but from then on it's a slower process. This is done in a more descriptive way in character creation giving the player creative license.
QuoteMetaphysical Penalties
1-10 each (Start at 10) totalling -100 to 0
Telekinesis - move things
Telepathy - communicate/share
Intuition - know things
SUggestion - manipulate
Creation - bring forth something from nothing
Alteration - slightly affect something's nmbers
Hurt - cause pain, damage
Change - change something into something else
Restore - change something back/heal someone
Protection - protect from being hurt or manipulated
Just a suggestion: KULT 2nd Ed. did something interesting with the Sorcery ability that I thought was interesting, and might work here.
If the majority of the PC's balance is in the positive range (meaning he's mired in chaos), then the powers improve as he's becoming more and more fucked up, and add to the psotive score as they improve. If the majority of the scores of the PC are negative, meaning he's freeing himself from the Chaos of reality, then the scores count as negatives, and negative Ego improves them.
What that means is, these supernatural attributes are neutral, essentially tools, usable however the wielder wants them to be used. However, they are also
polarizing, in that once you learn them, you will be weighted to the positive or negative side, but will have a tough time reaching 0 ever again. Essentially, you are asking for trouble learning the secrets of the universe, which is why many enlightened types don't bother learning them, and are very conservative about passing those secrets on. If you aren't ready (freeing yourself from ego), those secrets will sandbag you into a spiral of personal suffering.
Just a thought. There are good arguments either way.
Quotethese supernatural attributes are neutral, essentially tools, usable however the wielder wants them to be used. However, they are also polarizing, in that once you learn them, you will be weighted to the positive or negative side, but will have a tough time reaching 0 ever again.
Woah, yeah! Another reason Kult rocks! I certainly don't want MAYA characters to be powerless either. This is sort of how a character in MAYA would be, except it is not specific about it. A character that would hurt another with it's metaphysical skills would be one that has high ego and specifically a high "hatred" or something similar. That is a little too little for me. I am going to work on the other more "generic" ego pieces like the life experiences part. Child experience is good, but adult-wise I think that using these powers would be damaging. This way would really work even better with MAYA because it would allow some crazy magical powers at the 0 ego level! I guess this would be a psychic trauma or bad karma type experience that I need to factor in so that if a PC starts firing off magic missles or the Darth Vader's force choke this increases so that ego cannot reduce to zero because the PC is too afraid of losing what it has... attachment to life, power, survival, winning, etc. This got me thinking that I should sort of include with it some defining factors for the PCs alignment in general. These would be tested in some cases and if failed an ego point would be gained or lost depending.
By the way, I'm experiencing a little bit of dissonance here. Do you think you could have the people who are losing Ego go into the positive, whereas those who are gaining in Ego go into the negative? For some reason, I'm having an easier time picturing it that way.
Or do you prefer keeping negative=ego-free, and positive=ego-heavy?
Good question! I have thought about it a lot, changed my mind over and over again, but I finally decided to keep it this way even though it is harder to visualize mainly because I feel that if I were to spend more time with the descriptions, writing style, and all that it would be easier to grasp. Plus...
I started thinking about what I was mentioning in my last post about Karma which will be a negative/high ego and positive/low ego scale. This is another reason I wanted to keep it like as is. I don't like the name "Karma" because it is a more religious term and MAYA is not about promoting any religion, but it goes along with my other idea about past lives and the alter ego thing* that I haven't mentioned here yet.
*The character's true identity at a lower density. This would be an astral race and rank from like a "Messenger" (Angel or whatever) or a "god", "God" or whatever. This part is still being detailed, so I have'nt really mentioned it till now. It's where a ghost person goes to when they are finally moving on. Johnathan Livingston Seagull left Sully behind, Donald Shimoda left Richard behind. This is potentially a place where they may have gone to.
Good fictional inspiration: Demons by John Shirley. If you haven't read it, you should. It's what happens when the battle between Order and Chaos spills out into the public in a huge way. Conspiracies on both sides.
As far as games go, the early Mage: the Ascension games (if you pay attention to the fiction and ignore the mechanics) were inspired by Lila.
Frankly, I don't know what else we can discuss until you put up more information about your advanced rules, or setting ideas, or something.
Yeah, no doubt! I have had a busy work week, but it's closing here in 2 more days! I am doing some stuff tonight finally!