Power 19 concept

[evancolson]

   I'm a real first-timer here and after reading a few other people's posts, I have decided to sketch out a "Power 19" for a game I'm thinking of creating. Criticism as well as suggestions pertaining to mechanics are extremely welcome. Keep in mind that this is a basic brainstorm of the game as I haven't really thought about mechanics yet. If my idea is too unoriginal, than please suggest a game that it is derivitave of.

1. What is your game about? My game is about creating a hero based on asian history, focusing on China and Japan, and roleplaying this hero through historical or fantastical events.

2. What do players do? Players will role-play asian-inspired heroes such as marital artists, samurai, ninja or monks. The focus will be put on creativity in social situations as well as adaptivity in a fast-paced combat system.

3. What do characters do? Characters will defeat powerful enemies, engage in engaging investigations, become a part of complex intrigues, and get to know each other.

4. What does your setting reinforce what the players do? Since the game is inspired by Asian history and martial arts movies, its setting is Asian history or mythology is appropriate and lets players become absorbed by Taoist, Buddhist, Shinto, and Hindu ideas. Players are expected to role-play according to the alignment of their ideas and in relation to the setting.

5. How does the Character Creation process of your game reinforce what the game is about? The Character Creation system in my game will emphasize one of the core concepts of the game - a fast pace. I want to create a system that streamlines character creation so that the game can be picked up and played within a short session.

6. What types of behviours/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)? The GM of the session will have control over rewards in the game, but he or she is encouraged to consider both sides of the spectrum, rewarding action with consequence rather than good with treasure or evil with increased difficulty. Power-gamers and metagamers will be punished.

7. How are behaviours/styles of play rewarded or punished in your game? People who do not have any respect for roleplaying  (i.e. focusing only on combat, meta-gaming) will be punished with challenges that are significantly harder than those faced by the other players, and according to the specific GMs, possibly kicked out of the session.

8. How are the responsabilities of narration and credibility divided in your game? Narration should be detailed and realistic, but should avoid long-windedness and trivial details. Narration should also contribute to the belieivability of the setting.

9. What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? The game will offer streamlined, mechanic-light combat and social interaction and will offer siginificant rewards for creative play.

10. What are the resolution mechanics of your game like? I am not quite sure about the mechanics as of right now, but I would prefer a simplified dice based (d6) system. The most important part of the mechanics will be the ease with which actions can be executed.

11. How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about? I want combat to be visceral, realistic and fast paced, reflecting and showcasing "styles" and "special techniques" that can be seen in martial arts cinema.

12. Do characters in your game advance? If so, how? Characters will have opportunities to advance based on their actions. Victories in combat will award points that can be allocated to combat skills while social successes will award points that can be allocated to social skills. If possible, I want to avoid a level-based system.

13. How does character advancement or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about? Since the game is about easy mechanics and a shallow learning curve, character advancement will avoid a level-based mechanic and allow players to adapt their skills to current challenges through quick,skill-based advancement.

14. What sort of product or effect do you want to produce in or for the players? I want the players to beleive that they are a part of Asian history, mythology or a character that would be portrayed in a martial arts movie.

15. What areas of your game receive extra attention and colour? Why? Combat mechanics will be a major part of the game, as they will be streamlined enough to quicken the pace, but detailed enough to create a variety of gameplay possibilities.

16. What part of your game are you most excited avout or interested in? Why? I am excited to see the various playing styles and creative ideas that the players can come up with.

17. Where does your game take players that other games can't, don't, or won't? I am really seeking a combat system gives players freedom and options, but is light on dice-rolling and also a social interaction system that won't leave less creatvie players in the dust.

18. What are your publishing goals for this game? I'd be happy if I finished creating this game and played it with my friends. I would be very surprised if I brought this game to the publishing stage.

19. Who is your target audience? Anybody who has an interest for Asian culture, martial arts movies, or roleplaying in general. Like any good game, I want it to be simple to pick up and play, but have the depth required to keep players hooked.

 

[matthijs]

Hi!

This game seems to be very combat-focused - yet you want to punish players who focus too much on combat. Why?

[dindenver]

Three questions from the power 19 deserve more attention I think:
1)

7. How are behaviours/styles of play rewarded or punished in your game? People who do not have any respect for roleplaying  (i.e. focusing only on combat, meta-gaming) will be punished with challenges that are significantly harder than those faced by the other players, and according to the specific GMs, possibly kicked out of the session.

OK, I get what you are saying. You want the players saying "My Kung Fu is stronger than your kung fu" and not "My THAC0 blows away your AC and I can defeat you in 2.4 rounds" etc.
  But, how do the rules know when the player is being a power gamer or meta gamer? And by extension, how does the GM? I know there is a bit of "I can't define obscenity, but I know it when I see it" going on with this issue. But at the same time, by making stringent rules around this issue, you need stringent guidelines. As in the law, you will find that as the penalty goes up, the legal definitions of what is and isn't allowed, become tighter and more defined. So to should it be in a successful game, no?
  Furthermore, you have a game and a culture that is obsessed with combat (not saying asian culture is obsessed with combat, but Asian action cinema/mythology sure is). Combined with a respect and admiration for cunning and conniving characters. You don't have to look any further than the accomplishments of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to see how the most manipulative and cunning soldiers were the most successful, right? So, if a player is immersed in the game and focused on combat (like Musashi) or is constantly scheming and gaming the system in order to achieve their ends (Like Hideyoshi), how do you know if its power gaming/meta gaming in this genre?
  I am not saying I have the answer, and it is clearly a serious issue for you, so I won't try to persuade you to ditch the concept. BUT, I will tell you that you need to have clearly defined rules so that players know when they are crossing the line, right?

2)

8. How are the responsabilities of narration and credibility divided in your game? Narration should be detailed and realistic, but should avoid long-windedness and trivial details. Narration should also contribute to the belieivability of the setting.

This question is not about the quality of the narration (although, some attention should be given to that in your rules if that is a priority for you), but about who is allowed to narrate what. From an Indie perspective this means, who has authority over the tone and direction of story arcs. And how much control do players/GMs have over the content of narrating a success for instance. From a Trad perspective this covers issues like mind control, rules on social conflict (If my PC wins a Diplomacy roll against your PC, what does that mean, what does/can the GM narrate?). I think its important to identify your stance on this issue early in the design process so that when you write rules related to these issues, you write them all with the same intent (no mind control or whatever). Does that make sense?

3)

11. How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about? I want combat to be visceral, realistic and fast paced, reflecting and showcasing "styles" and "special techniques" that can be seen in martial arts cinema.

OK, I get this, but sometimes (in my opinion, a lot of times actually), when designers say this, they mean, they want the fights to be realistic and deadly. And this is all fine and dandy. Unless you combine this with intricate settings/chargen. So, if it takes an hour to make a character, or if it takes an hour to get the current story arc to a point where a new character can be introduced, then we have a problem, no? That means that the poor guy who got killed by one bad mistake/die roll basically does not get to play for an hour, right?
  Also, Asian mythology/cinema is typified by lengthy fights and unrealistic combat (Crouching tiger anyone?). So, I think it might be worth your time to approach the design of your game mechanics from one of two perspectives:
i) How do I make chargen/new character integration into existing stories as painless as possible
ii) How do I make combat rewarding and less than ultra lethal
  Sounds like you know what you want, so your answer should be obvious to you. And it sounds like you have the chops to pull it off.
  Honestly, I haven't found a good asian-themed RPG that has worked for me. I find that many (far too many in my opinion) use a generic rules systyem and the problem with this is, it doesn't force the player to get immersed. Meaning, the players just make their favorite fighter and pretend he's a Samurai or whatever. My L5R campaign went terribly wrong and no one cared about their honor or duty. My game of Usagi Yojimbo went just as bad. So nowadays, I don't even try to play Asian RPGs (how sad)...
  So, good luck man!