[The Cauldron] Writing Down the Rules

[Joshua Tompkins]

Hmm, not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I can't seem to find any better forums here at the Forge.

This is my first post here at the Forge, though I've been reading it for a while.  I'm so excited.  *grins*  Like most people who post for the first time here, I'm working on a game and wanted some input.

Briefly:  this is a Pool variant with a new resolution mechanic similar to the one in Sorceror (or so I hear, as I've never played that game, though the Actual Play posts here make it sound pretty awesome).  In other words, it's a narrativist game with strong director-stance elements (I think), with an all-opposed resolution system and not much else (it's very rules-light).

I'm tentatively calling it "The Cauldron" (because, you know, it's based on the Pool, with a mechanic similar to Sorceror, and a sorceror is sort of like a witch, and a witch uses a cauldron, and a cauldron is sort of like a very small pool, ...and round and round we go).

So, first question:  is there already a game with a similar name?  I don't want to step on anyone's metaphorical toes here...

What I'm mostly wondering now is how exactly to go about presenting the rules, or, more precisely, in what order to present the rules.

D&D and a lot of the d20 games have ended up with essentially the same structure:  character creation, task resolution, combat, magic, etc.  I've noticed that a few other games tend to follow basically the same pattern.

It's never made sense to me, though, that a game would give you rules for choosing character options when you have no idea how they're going to end up being used!

So I've come up with something a little different.  Basically, I'm thinking about starting off the game document with a brief introduction, outlining the various parts of the game (the narrator, the actors, what makes up a character, etc), and following that with a short sample of play.  Then I start with a detailed description of the resolution mechanic (how it works, optional variations to the base mechanic, etc), and following that with information on creating a character (since most of the character creation options directly impact the conflict resolution rolls).

Does that make any sense?  There's a PDF version of my working outline here:

http://www.joshuatompkins.us/downloads/rpg/cauldron_outline.pdf

which might serve to make what I'm saying a little more clear.

So, my second question is:  do you think this is a clear way of layout out the rules?  Would potential players be better served with a more traditional ordering, or do you think that the way I've got it makes sense?

Having been reading the Forge for a while now, I'm sure that there are some of you who are dying at this point to list a number of games that have already been down this path.  So:  lay 'em on me.  Previous examples of what I'm trying to do can only help me make this thing better.

Any other questions or suggestions about the game are always welcome.  I've got a working rules document where I write down the basics of the rules (though it's not publication quality stuff, really only for my personal reference) that I'd be happy to send any interested parties or post here as well.

Thanks in advance for your time & suggestions!  It's great to finally be something other then a lurker!

-joshua

[ethan_greer]

Welcome!

Regarding your title, I'd recommend a google search to settle question like this. "cauldron rpg" doesn't seem to find any matches, so I'd say you're safe. Cool title, by the way.

I like the outline - seems like the structure would serve your purposes and be easy enough to follow and use. If you're anything like me, organizing the text is the hardest task in game writing.

[ErrathofKosh]

It is never wrong to start with a good outline.  Yours looks good! :)
As for the matters of when a subject should be introduced into the rules; your method will work. Instead of introducing several small samples of play at the beginning, make it a single, slightly more involved episode.  Provide sample characters from the episode, with at least one having notes pointing to the various important aspects of the character.  (As good marketing technique, write a good hook, don't make it too long, keep the reader excited...)  that's my $0.02.

I'm interested that you mentioned Earthsea style magic.  Could you give us more of a hint about the setting?  I'm intrigued.  This looks like could be really fun.

Cheers,
Jonathan

[GregS]

Interestingly enough, this was actually a major source of questioning I put to my playtesters.  What I found is that it's a 50/50 mix.  Half the people like the "traditional" method of character genning first, though all admitted it was because that's what they're used to not that it's what makes the most sense, while the other half prefer to know what they're doing before they make a character.

What ends up happening is that players who are used to the old way now use character creation as a walk through to learning the rules.  Though, to me, the idea is still rediculous so I refuse to do it...and I think you'll find that new rpers will be more appreciative of a logical layout than the veterans will be tied to the old ways.

[Joshua Tompkins]

Guys, thanks for the kind words and your thoughts on my outline.  As to the setting:

Well, the Cauldron is a pool variant, which means that it can generally be applied to almost any setting.  Yes, this is the dreaded "universal" game, though it's universal only inasmuch as it's so rules-light that just about anything goes.

Concurrently with working on the game itself, I'm developing a couple of settings to play test in.  One is a real world, historical setting with a background based loosely on WotC's Urban Arcana setting (though it's starting to develop in a slightly different direction now).  The other is called the Thousand Isles, and it's the one with the Earthsea magic.

I'm trying to only establish general background on the setting, and let potential players take it anywhere they want to go.  So:  there's a sketchy history, and some of the major cities and personas will be described, along with brief cultural sketches, and that's about it.  No metaplot, no massively developed and detailed world.  Thousand Isles will (hopefully) be whatever the players want it to be.

Generally, though, it's a colonial Europe era place set in a large island chain.  Think "Pirates of the Caribbean", but with common magic and you'll be on the right track.  It's sort of a "magepunk meets steampunk" setting right now - magic is everywhere, and powers much of the world's available technology.  Guns and swords are still prominent, though - I don't want to loose sight of the original inspiration.

The magic system is going to the big deal with this setting.  Briefly, it's a system based on the magic in the Earthsea novels - it's all about the language.  Anyone can use magic by speaking the "magic words", but only trained and disciplined mages can reliably create and control really complex magic stuff.  There will be descriptions of how individuals and groups can create and control magical effects, including stuff on cooperative and ritual magic.

There's a map here (PDF format):

Thousand Isles Map

I'm sorry this is so vague - this whole thing is still very much "in development" (including the map).  I plan to post more here on the Forge as I progress with it (both the game and the setting), and I'll release the whole thing, for free, under a Creative Commons license.

Anyway, hope this answers some of your questions.

[ErrathofKosh]

I love maps! (That's almost all I used to draw as a child.)  Both Pirates and Earthsea are favorite settings for me, so I'm very interested in seeing more of this.  In fact, at one point I thought of doing an Earthsea campaign, but it never panned out.  

Keep on keeping on.

Cheers
Jonathan