Son of Iron Game Chef!

[Dav]

Holmes-sama:

I humbly submit for your judgement: Broken Vows.  I have kept things short, and relatively sweet.  Notice the utter lack of flash and delivery... as the honorable Holmes-otennoo-sama has said that they will not gain me anything...

This will be my finished product, as I am out of town this weekend, and will be unable to polish later on.  So, here it is, without grammar or spelling checked!

Humbly,
Dav-chan


Broken Vows (The Dawn of the Final Judgement)

The Premise:
   Three days ago, you were alive.  You lived by one of four paths: the sword, the scales, the cloth, or the crown.  You had traveled far through this path.  Your life was something to earn you both enemies and allies.  You were loved, you were feared.  
   
And three days ago, you were murdered.

   
Unknown to most, you had made a decision.  This decision was one of the oldest mankind had ever endured.  In time before hours or days, before years or months, God had set before mankind a choice: to be righteous and obedient, or to be wise and ashamed.  As your mother before you, you made your choice.  You sold your soul.
   
More than this, you contrived to lead a life of sin, a life of iniquity.  Admired, indeed; coveted, assuredly… but now your life has ended.  Now, the Devil must be given his due.
   
Or must he?

   
You find yourself resurrected.  Not to dwell in the lands of your birth, nor to the eternity of everlasting torment.  You are awakened to a world between heaven and hell, between paradise and oblivion.  You are in the Islands of Between.
   
Here, your status is gone, your life spent hoarding, or spending, a life of excess… a life of sin.  All of it is gone.  You are at a beginning, a final chance for salvation.  There can be but one of two outcomes: forgiveness by God, or purchase by the Devil.
   
Given one final chance, can you discover your greatest sins and put them aright?  Can you reclaim what you lost in your bargain with the Devil?  Or, will you fall from grace once more, and this time, there will be no ground to halt your descent.

   
These are the Islands of Between, and here, your fate will be decided.


Character Creation:
   
While it can be said that there is benefit to reading the entirety of a game before delving into the rigors of creating a persona for the world, this time it works differently.  All you need, for the moment, will be some paper and a pen, perhaps a copy of the character sheet.  We will create as we explore, and by the finish, you will be ready to begin your first journey into Broken Vows.
   
First, you must choose the manner in which your character once lived.  There are four choices: the cloth, the crown, the scales, or the sword.  What was the manner of living for your character?  A priest?  Nobleman, or merchant?  Or someone who dealt the wages of death, a soldier and knight?  Choose what brought you your station.
   
Next, we must choose how you died.  Again, there are four choices.  While you may have lived by the cloth, did you die by the crown?  Or was it butchery at the hands of an embittered merchant?  Perhaps war brought you the same end it brings so many.  Choose how you found your death: cloth, crown, scales, or sword.
   
Now that we have seen your beginning and ending upon the earth, perhaps we should see how you tread from one end to the other.  Every man sins, this is fact put forth by church and God. While some may find forgiveness through repenting, this was not an option for you.  You died with sins staining your soul.  What sins were they?  Eight grievous sins still weigh heavily upon you.  Eight sins will form your trials within the Islands of Between.  Name them, give them voice and form.  Do not hide from your wickedness.
   
Be specific in your descriptions.  Did you murder a baker who refused you rent as his rightful lord?  Did you covet the wife of a knight and don the antlers of cuckoldry?  There are seven deadly sins, and you consulted that list eight times.  Avarice, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath.  Seven sins.  You committed some more than others, and perhaps some none at all.  Name your eight sins, name them all.  What inaction brought about great harm?  What fleshly delight brought shame to your house?  Name your darker deeds.
   
But darker only, for your darkest deed remains your singular understanding, your contracting of your spirit, your soul, your animus.  What did you sell this most precious of assets for?  Was the gain worth the cost?  You have four choices, budding character, to set a price upon that priceless commodity.  What was the price of your soul: blood, breath, flesh, or shadow?
   
That, then, is a fine beginning.  We will return to this building of your character’s self in a bit.  For now, let us understand the world you just departed; a brief bowing of our heads in remembrance, if you will.
   
The world of the earth is rife with chaos.  Future times, should the world struggle that far, will refer to these days as Dark Ages.  The church is powerful, and seems to find the souls of many burdened heavily with avarice, and thus, they benevolently take this sin upon themselves as they wrest such trying burdens from the arms of the plebeian masses.  The nobles purchase their way to heaven, and the serfs starve, and find what blessings they may in lives far shorter than those of better station.
   
Merchants travel far and wide, and carry their scales everywhere.  A pound may not be a pound tomorrow, but the scales only lie at the soft caress of the broker.  None are innocent, and those who might be freest of sin, find themselves darkest within.  These ages, these Dark Ages, find equal filth in all walks of life, but the higher the station, the more blessed the water required to cleanse such stains.
   
But, enough of this dreadful land; it is behind us, and surely, there will be enough dread in looking forward to spare us the trouble of expounding upon what happened before.  Let us look upon these Islands of Between and discover what we may.
   
The Islands of Between:
   
There are four main provinces of the Islands of Between, each ruled by a different master.  Each finds their own way to govern their citizenry, and their own path to salvation… or not, as the case may be.  Each walk of life, be it sword or cloth, crown or scale, will begin in one of the four lands.  Salvation, however, often requires a long journey, and sometimes, even the damned are known to neglect their duties.  Therefore, it is in God’s own hands as to where one will find oneself, thus, it is best to know something of each province.
   
The Islands of Between are myriad islands joined by the Sea of Ash.  This ashen expanse is all that remains of those who have died being decided between heaven and hell.  To touch this gray remain is to die, thus, few sail these seas.  Only two navies exist: the ships of the Crescent Chain, and the Unmanned Fleet.  Both use boats of bone, powered by slaves at the oars, to sail between islands.  A few private ships remain, and the other two rulers have their own ships, but nothing rivals the two powers of the Sea.
   
The lands of the Islands of Between are hot and cold, lush or barren, much as the earth you left.  However, no animals, or natural animals, walk, fly, or crawl.  The plantlife is inedible.  Little exists that could be considered beautiful or pleasurable.  The dead do not litter the ground after a battle, as all men who die here are rendered to ash immediately upon death.  This ash blows away to the Seas of Ash, its touch dealing the same death as the seas the small pile will eventually join.

   There are, however, four main lands of the Islands of Between:


The Lands of the Crescent Chain:
   Ruler: The Witch-King Ashyyn Taifa “The Uncrowned”
   Often Starting Point of: Sword lives

   The lands of the Crescent Chain are rife with the Moors and Saracens of the world.  They spurn Christ, and fight in the name of their own prophets.  Many godless abide here, and the ruler of the land, the Witch-King, is said to be a master of all four forms of magic.  

   There is but one God in this land, and his name is Allah.  Laws stem from this God, and are draconian at best.  The ruler is a strong supporter of slavery, but only those who do not know the worship of Allah and his prophets.  It is known that the Witch-King’s favored method of execution is drowning one in the Seas of Ash.

   Ashyyn Taifa, called the Uncrowned, as the viziers of the land have refused to anoint him in the name of Allah, has ruled the land longer than people may recall.  His capitol, Al-Bedii, has stood longer than any other city, though it is plagued by the demonriders of the sands.

   The Crescent Chain is six islands, with the largest housing the capitol.  Other islands are dominated by smaller cities, and the desert sands are rife with tribal wanderers that claim what the term “wells of faith”.  Largely, these are nothing more than pits of ash, but wanderers, known as the demonriders for their hellish steeds, mix this ash with blood and drink it as a delicacy.  As it is one of the only means of sustenance in the lands of the Between, it is sought after greatly.  The magics and spices put into this mixture render the ash inert, allowing it to be consumed by the beings of the lands.  

The Isle of Penitence:
   Ruler: Pontifex Merrin “The Red Father”
   Often Starting Point of: Cloth lives

   The Pontifex Merrin, known as the Red Father for his constant warring on other lands in the name of the One True God, is a man that seems, on the surface, to be a holy and devout man.  However, his obsequious nature masks a fervent desire.  He has long since lost his soul and his place in heaven and now thinks that only through eliminating every unbeliever of every land may he gain entrance to heaven.  He calls himself the Sword of God, a nickname that many have corrupted to a baser nomenclature.  

   His lands are ruled by a dark version of the Catholic Church, torturing victims until they confess, then turning them to ash.  The Tower of Righteousness is filled with the ash of those executed in the name of the Lord.  The hope is that when the tower is filled, God himself will descend from the heavens and carry the Red Father back to eternal paradise.

   The Isle of Penitence is small in size, but has bountiful trees, and myriad dark forests.  It is said that dragons wait in the forest, stealing those who waver in their faith.  None have seen these beasts, but the soldiers of the Pontifex are known to keep a wary eye on the wood’s edge.

The Sands Forever:
   Ruler: Empress Catherine “The Iron Dowager”
   Often Stating Point of: Crown lives

   The Iron Dowager cares nothing for God, and nothing for mankind.  She rules from her court, where intrigue and plots twist and twine until they are unrecognizable.  None can determine whether the Iron Dowager is working for some unknown goal, or is mad and works only to create more secrets.  

   Her secret police force, though widely known, is called the Iron Hand.  They are swift and cruel, and listen for words of ill against their lady, taking such victims in the night and “sending them away”.  

   The name of her lands “The Sand Forever” is a joke, as the land is blighted with snow and ice.  Beneath this permanent freeze, however, is clearly visible a layer of sand.  At one time, this great island was a desert.  Some great catastrophe turned it to ice.  Most say the snows will not melt until the heart of the Iron Dowager is freely given to another.  None are holding their breath for such an occasion.

The City of Dawn:
   Ruler: Jack Dendrist “The Philanthropist” “He-Who-Almost-Is” “The Unmanned”
   Often Starting Point of: Scales lives

   Handsome Jack, Jack of Many Names, Jack Short-Cock, all of these are titles by which the ruler of the City of Dawn is known.  The City of Dawn is a small island, dominated by a bustling metropolis.  The land has no laws save that Jack may tax anyone, anytime, anywhere.  He rules by virtue of having a large navy, and a number of soldiers who will enforce his will.  It is said he gained this army from the father of one of his countless paramours.

   One night, the father caught Jack in bed with the paramour, and the father demanded Jack’s death.  Jack refused, and the father, knowing the prowess of Jack with a blade, decided to bargain with Jack.  Jack said he would wager his life on the roll of the bones.  When the bones came into Jack’s favor, the father demanded a turn rolling the bones.  Everyone knew Jack’s loaded dice always rolled 7, and the father said that he would wager his navy on one roll of the dice.  Jack decided on 7, and the father said the price of his navy would be the honor of his daughter returned to the family.  Jack agreed.

   A seven was rolled.

   Jack, a man of his word, went for a cloth to grant the blood of the father’s family honor to be returned.  The father said he would not permit a man of common filth to dirty his wife’s linens.  He handed Jack a butcher knife and told him to keep his word.  Jack, being a man of honor, of a peculiar sort to be sure, but a man of honor, chopped his manhood from his body and gave it to the father.

   It is said that even with half his cock, he is still more man than any in the City of Dawn, and should the day come when someone has a better manhood than Jack, he will grant them half his navy.
       

   This is where you may find yourself, now we must look at how.  How did you die?  Hanged?  Stabbed?  Burned?  That is how you appear.  All men wear their proof of citizenship to the Islands of Between as a mark on their flesh.  Some may have died of poison, and appear with blackened teeth and nails, others may be burned horrifically, all of it is in how you died.  Some appear without an arm, others with their heads sewn back to their body.  Whatever you wore or carried when you died is likewise with you.  Depending upon the manner of your death, this could be nothing, or quite an ensemble.
   

   Now that we understand where it is your soul has made its way to and how it appears, we must understand what it is you might do there.  Your God (the GM), will pit you against this world, challenge you, find the evidence of your fate.  Will you be damned, or will you be saved?  To determine this, you will be faced with situations that mirror your eight sins.  These situations will be thematically similar, and will occur no more than twice, but no less than once in each session.  It will be the decision of the each damned soul to determine how often the trials are faced.  Will things move swiftly, testing you twice each session, or will it proceed slowly, with a chance for judgement occurring but once each session?

   Each time a character passes a trial by changing the outcome to a favorable position, that character has succeeded in regaining some of their grace.  Each time the character falls back into their old ways, committing sins, they forever stain their soul with sin.  Not all trials will be passed, and not all trials will be failed.  Humans err, and you have proven that you are, indeed, human.

   Each time you fail a trial, killing a merchant for the love of his daughter, similar to the actions you took to dally with the prefect’s wife when you lived, the Devil grants you more power.  The link you have formed by selling your soul to the dark one strengthens.  This strengthening is known as “Burning the Soul”.  When you burn your soul, you gain a bonus of +1 to any roll involving a single Fire Trait.  Which trait, you must decide when you gain this hellish gift.  One point is added to your Fire Soul meter, measuring the total of your damnation.

   When you succeed at a trial, resisting temptation, however, you feel the grace and joy of God surround you.  It is not enough to say “get thee behind me” this time, but true action to make amends for former wrongs, and to show the err of the action is required.  Not merely resisting the daughter of the merchant, but exposing her evil for the world to see.  Should you do this, you gain a bonus of +1 to any roll involving an Ice Trait.  Which trait, again, you must decide when you gain this honor of God.  One point is added to your Ice Soul meter, measuring your possible salvation.  This process is known as “Quenching the Damned”.

   But this talk of bonuses, and fires and ices must confuse a man, no?  Let us speak of that which we mean.  Each person is made of four things: Blood, Breath, Flesh, and Shadow.  Each of these things controls the actions of a person, moving them, giving them shape.  Your blood gives you humors, creates thoughts and moves these thoughts through your flesh.  Thus, the Blood controls the mind, and all aspects of the mind.  The Breath carries the winds of your soul through you, the center of all things spiritual.  Thus is Breath the aspect of the spirit.  The Flesh is what covers you, gives you form and allows movement and action, thus, the Flesh controls your body.  Lastly, the Shadow is what is cast upon the ground, the image of how you are seen in the light of day.  Shadow is what you seem to be to others, the aspect of your tongue and lung.  Shadow controls how you interact with others.  One of these four traits is your weakness, two are your foundation, and one is your strength.  Choose them and align them.  The weakest trait is rated at 2D6.  Your two foundation traits are rated at 2D8.  And your strength, your trait of reliance, is rated at 2D10.

   But, be careful, for those who have the greatest understandings often fall the hardest.  In the Islands of Between, all things are in balance, hovering.  Thus, though you may find your Flesh strong and hardy, quick and agile, it also means that your failures may be greater, and your losses ever-painful.  In the end, many have thought that which we are strongest at might also be our weakness, and our weakness, in truth, our strength.  It is possible.

   But before we speak of this, two of these traits are linked to your grace, your Ice Soul.  The other two are your darker aspect, your Fire Soul.  You must mark them appropriately.  You must understand what this means.  Your Ice traits, when used for righteousness, truth, or things considered Godly, are more effective.  When your character wants to begin a challenge with someone or something, he must choose an Ice trait if the action is for the good of his soul.  Conversely, when acting in the purview of the Devil, a Fire trait must be chosen.  Do you react with words when you seek to destroy someone’s livelihood, or is it with steel?  Resolve this before you move forward.

   And finally, this is important, but whatever trait you sold your soul for must be a Fire trait.  Blood, breath, flesh, or shadow, you gave a portion of yourself to the Devil, and now the Devil has sway over that aspect of your life.  

   The mechanics of the Islands of Between are simple in their execution.  All things are in balance, and thus, all things have their success measured by the fulcrum.  When rolling a challenge, the center, the median, is the point of balance.  With 2D6, the balance is 7; with 2D8, it is 9; with 2D10, 11.  All things are measured by how far from the center your roll lies.  A result of 4 on 2D8 is 5 points under the center mark.  This means that you have 5 Underpoints to be spent on the outcome.  Similarly, a roll of 11 would mean that you have 2 Overpoints to spend on the outcome.  Not all points must be spent, but the GM may detest waste, and has the option to spend any unspent points.

   In general, Underpoints are marks of failure, and Overpoints are marks of success.  Thus, a bonus of +1 to a trait is a good things, and penalties are less than fortunate.

   The form of these bonuses are left to you to determine.  A hellish servant, or sword of righteousness could be the manifestation of the Devil’s, or God’s, pleasure.  Unlike most equipment bonuses, these are not subject to the limitations and strictures of most benefits (described later).  Instead, these are dedicated items, and grant a bonus to the roll, rather than set outcomes.

   Challenges are determined by defining a goal, choosing a trait to govern the action, setting bonuses and penalties, then rolling and spending points upon the outcome.  When a player requests a challenge, the trait governing the challenge is determined by the GM.  When the GM requests a challenge, the trait is determined by the player.  When the points are spent, the determination for who narrates the outcome is decided by point expenditures.  Some challenges will not be resolved in one roll, others will be.  Stated goals for a challenge should be directly stated aims, such as “overpowering the guard”, “convincing the baker I did not cheat him”, “hiding from the enemy”, “gaining a room in a high-class establishment”.  The GM should design a goal for the opposition (this goal may not necessarily be the reverse of the character).    

   In any challenge, a person has at least 2 Action Points.  These points may be spent to Take Action, Resist Action, or Augment Action.  Taking an action means that you are taking the offensive in a challenge, attempting to bring about your stated goals.  Resisting an action means you are making it harder for an opponent to bring about their goals.  This resistance is measured by giving a -2 penalty to the roll of the opposition.  Augmenting an action can only occur if 1 point has already been spent on taking an action.  The augmenting function boosts the roll to the next die level (a 2D10 roll will be boosted to a 2D12 roll, with the median being 13).  

   Should the person or side who initiated the challenge obtain their goals before the opposition, it is the decision of the initiator to cease action, or continue, which may force the opposition to fail in their stated actions, which could have favorable consequences for the initiator.  In some cases, this may be impossible (such as when your stated action is to kill someone, and their goal is to kill you.  Once you succeed, the opponent cannot, very easily, continue the challenge).  Remember, the outcome of a challenge is determined by the expenditure of Overpoints or Underpoints on a given roll.  Points left unspent by both the GM and the player are lost, and not carried over to future rolls.  The following is a list of possible expenditures for Overpoints and Underpoints.

   There are times when a challenge is considered “balanced”.  This may only occur if a trial is occurring, or other significant point in the game.  During this challenge, the GM and player determine the combat to be “to the death”, and eliminate the “Win challenge” and “Lose challenge” options from the charts below.  Only total loss of all points under the life stat will determine this outcome.

Underpoints:               
1:    -Gain disadvantage (-1 to a future roll against this opponent, the opponent    chooses when to exercise this bonus).  This may be chosen up to three times in    one roll.

   -Lose a Trait bonus (gained through situation, equipment, trial successes or    failures) for the duration of the challenge.


2:   -Take 1 damage.

   -Lose the challenge (GM narrates outcome)


3:   -Drop 1 Die Rating (2D8 turns to 2D6, etc.) for duration of challenge (2D6 is    lowest)


4:   -Lose 1 Action Point on next roll.
   
   -Lose a Trait bonus (see above) for the duration of the game session.

   -Lose the challenge (player narrates outcome)


5:   -Drop 1 Die Rating (see above) for the duration of the game session.

   -Permanently reduce Life stat by 1.


6:   -Win challenge (GM narrates), but the GM has 4 points to spend on Underpoints


10:   -Win challenge (player narrates), but the GM has 4 points to spend on             Underpoints.


Overpoints:
1:   -Gain advantage (+1 to a future roll against this target, you decide when to spend          this bonus).  This may be chosen up to three times.


2:   -Opponent takes 1 damage.


3:   -Move up a Die Rating for the duration of the challenge.


4:   -Change challenge type next roll (Blood to Breath, etc.)


5:   -Bonus Action Point next roll

   -Win challenge (GM narrates)


10:   -Win challenge (player narrates)

   When you first created your character, you determined the method by which your character lived.  You also determined how the character died.  This is important, consult that trait now.  The manner by which you died has all “Lose the challenge” traits reduced in cost by 1 point, when you are involved in an action appropriate to the manner of your death.  Being executed at the order of the king makes you nervous around nobility.  Similarly, dying on a battlefield brings back memories whenever you enter combat.  

   However, the method by which you lived gains a similar bonus, all rolls involving the manner of your chosen life have the cost of “Win the challenge” reduced by 1.


   The tools of man carry forward into the realm of the Islands of Between.  Armors, weapons, scales, carts.  All of these exist.  Some things that do not, however, would be the soulless.  Animals.  Thus, without beasts of burden, slavery and forced servitude have become something popular within the world.  Slaves to pull wagons, slaves to pull oars, all of this is commonplace.  While each province has its own manner of deciding what constitutes servitude or slavery, all provinces utilize this means of labor to some degree.  

   Equipment, servants, and protection can often mean the difference between life and death.  In a world where words can draw blood, and the mind can perceive the unknown without hindrance, all manner of benefit is precious.  Equipment bonuses should never exceed +2, and in most cases, are determined purchases of Overpoints.  For instance, a sword, rather than giving a +2 to a roll, may instead mean that any roll resulting in Overpoints automatically has 2 points spent on 1 damage for free.  Similarly, armor could grant a negation of the 1 damage each round, rather than giving a penalty to an opponent.  Such determinations are left to the hands of God.

   Servants and helpers are likewise restrictive.  A servant may be able to absorb damage at some rate (such as 2 per round), but when they absorb a full ten, they are killed again, and transformed to ash, as is anyone who dies in the Islands of Between.


   Magic also exists, such as it is.  Such powers are always determined by rolls involving a the trait that the character sold their soul for, as magic is the purview of the Devil.  But, sometimes from dark actions, great light is shone.  Magic is not fire and brimstone, but rather, it is the bringing about of unseen powers through the Devil’s will.  While magic in Broken Vows is not throwing fire and brimstone, it is still a potent tool.  All characters have knowledge of one type of magic: gleaning, flaying, obscuring, or calling.  

   Gleaning and obscuring are used to find people and things, or hide people and things, respectively.  Flaying is used to strip flesh from bones, break objects, or generally be destructive.  Calling is summoning forth hellish aid in the form of imps or minor objects.  All uses of magic are made as normal challenges, however, there is a cost.  Each time magic is used, at least 1 damage is taken by the user.  Only death can pay for life, and only blood calls the magic.  Sacrifice is the key to calling forth the Devil’s knowledge.  

   All magics may also be used to heal yourself of Life.  When doing so, you must make a sacrifice appropriate to the type of magic you use.  Flaying requires destruction of something precious, calling requires a bargain with an imp, gleaning requires something secret to be found and given to the magic, and obscuring requires something to be given to hell, hiding it from men for all time.  Such actions of magic do not require a sacrifice of Life as normal, as the sacrifice is given the alternate form described above.  Success indicates that the character is healed, completely.  Failure means more damage.

   When initiating a magic challenge, however, each point of Fire Soul gains you a bonus of +1 to the roll.  Each point of Ice Soul, however, penalizes you 1 point.


   The End:
   

   While all men struggle for salvation, in theory, others do not seek redemption or damnation.  The folly of this is for you to decide, but one thing is certain: you have tasted damnation by the selling of your soul, and you want none of it.  You know your eight trials, and you must find who holds that bargained portion of your soul.  Once the trials are over, and your soul recovered, you will be Judged.  For each trial passed, you have obtained a point of Ice Soul.  For each trial failed, one point of Fire Soul.

   Should you end in balance, four and four, you are doomed to spend your existence as a wanderer in the Islands of Between, eventually to be given to the Seas of Ash.  Should you have more Ice than Fire, however, you have cast the chains of damnation to the side, and may ascend to heaven.  In the event that Fire has province over Ice in your soul, you are given to the Devil and eternal torment.


   Death:


   Should you lose all Life points before finding your ultimate destination, you are condemned to ash, and find oblivion in its grip.



     





Character Sheet:

Name:

Lived by the: [Cloth, Crown, Scales, Sword] (circle one)
Died by the: [Cloth, Crown, Scales, Sword] (circle one)
Sold my Soul for: [Blood, Breath, Flesh, Shadow] (circle one)

(1 at 2D6, 2 at 2D8, 1 at 2D10, choose 2 Fire and 2 Ice traits (damned trait must be Fire))
Blood: (Fire/Ice)
Breath: (Fire/Ice)
Flesh: (Fire/Ice)
Shadow: (Fire/Ice)

Soul:   Ice:
   Fire:

Life (10):
Magic Type: [Calling, Flaying, Gleaning, Obscuring] (circle one)


Equipment:         Bonus Traits:         







Sins (8):

[timfire]

The Mountain Witch
Mechanic Preview

-------------------------------
Restless but tired, you agree that the group should sleep one last time before attempting its unholy assault. As you slowly drift off, you are surprisingly greeted by memories of times past, memories of happiness and former loved ones that give your heart warmth atop this cold and desolate rock. But other memories slowly creep into your vision, memories of heartbreak, hardships, and betrayals. Memories of both others and yourself that you long sought to forget. As the warmth of your heart is slowly drowned in regret and despair, new and unknown visions begin your fill your sleep, visions that soon become nightmares. Visions of the Mountain Witch himself and the horrors that might await you.

What was that, a dream? Whatever it may be, you know it must be a bad omen. And judging from the tension and unease that seems to have fallen upon the party, you realize you were not the only one to have been visited that night.

Fate Cards
At the start of the game, each player is given a 'Fate Card.' Each Fate Card has a different Fate that the Players must play out.

Some Fates hinge on a personal weakness in the character.
Some Fates hinge on a dark secret in the character's past.
Still other Fates hinge on some unholy alliance with the Mountain Witch himself.
Needless to say, none of the Fates are good, and each one will require a betrayal of some sort.

At the start of the game and after shuffling the Fate Cards (maybe a dozen of them total), the GM deals one to each player. The cards must be kept secret. If any of the players are unsatisfied with their cards, they may exchange them for another card of their choosing from the unused deck. [Doing it this way ensures that players aren't sure what cards the other players have.] After the cards are determined, the GM announces what cards have been picked, though who holds which cards is still kept a secret. This way players have an idea of what's to come, though from whom they aren't sure of.

I'm not sure how, if at all, I'm going to enforce these Fates.

-----------------------------------
How did you let yourself get pulled into this mess? Oh yes, the money. Lots of money. You were told that there was a sum of money for the group of men that defeated the Mountain Witch, a sum large enough to set you up for a long time. A sum large enough to finally let you settle down and forget this endless drifting. Funny, though, the thought that first popped into your head. "If anyone doesn't make it, that's just more money for myself."

What's also funny was your second thought: "I'm sure everyone else is thinking the same thing."

Trust
I'm still working the kinks out of this one, but needless to say, players will need to build Trust between their characters. Trying to build trust will put your character in some sort of vulnerable position. It may also be tied into conflict resolution & narration privileges.

[Thanks to Rich Forest for a bit of inspiration here!]

---------------------------------
Conflict Resolution
Probably simple 1d6 vs. 1d6, with degrees of success.

--------------------------------
That's what I got right now. Tomorrow I hope to have the mechanics solidified, Saturday I hope to have some monsters and other challenges, and then Sunday I'll get everything written up.

[lumpley]

BADASS the roleplaying game
every man is an island

Q&A
Q: Are there badass chicks, too?
A: Yes.
Q: Are they still an island?  Because, y'know, the "every man" thing.
A: Badass chicks are even more an island than men.
Q: No shit?
A: You have occasionally read a book or watched a movie, right?

-Vincent

[Lxndr]

Question:  can I have multiple entries?

if not, can I scrap my first dish and start another?

[Mike Holmes]

Question:  can I have multiple entries?

if not, can I scrap my first dish and start another?

Uh, sure. I mean, if it gets people to make more games, why not? I don't think that cutting your cooking time in half will help, but I'll taste any dishes placed before me.

Eggo-san, as mentioned, it's actually probably best to post any graphics off site (doesn't matter to me either way, but Ron had a problem with it last time). A PDF character sheet would certainly count in that regard, you can't post that here. As mentioned earlier, however, I tend to only look at the functionality of such things, and try not to consider the artistic value. So that people with better access to graphic programs and whatnot don't have an advantage over people who do not. And I will not consider any rules posted off site. Essentially, I only look at what makes the game play. If I could play the game without the character sheet, then it's nice, but won't score any points.

What this does mean is that if you have some graphic that's neccessary for play, that this is something that I will be checking out with interest. For example, John's winning entry in IGC - Gamist, Court of the Nine Chambers needed a graphic of the court to make play understandable. But I only condsidered it in terms of the functionality (there were several much prettier graphics).

[Shreyas Sampat]

Snow From Korea: Optional Rules

Fighting Schools:
Obviously, not everyone in Nihon fights the same way. This is represented through the use of Fighting Schools. Each School has an unusual take on the kamae, a special method with a strength and a weakness. These apply to all types of encounters and challenges, not only those of Kenjutsu; each school teaches a philosophy harmonious with its battle techniques. When creating your samurai, choose one School. To use a School ability, roll a die. On a one or two, the Low effect takes place. On a five or six, the High effect does. Some sample Schools:

Mirror and Tree School:
The practicioners of the Mirror and Tree School have trained themselves to respond to every situation in the same way, reflecting or standing still as the necessity demands. Any kamae, usable only in Challenges.
Low: Your Facet is set equal to your opponent's.
High: Your opponent's Facet is set equal to yours.

Two Swords One Heart School:
The Niten Isshin Ryu teaches that one can approach a problem from two angles at once. Unfortunately this can divide one's attention. Kagai or Ariake no kamae.
Low: Roll your Facet twice and take the lower number of successes.
High: Roll your Facet twice and take the higher number of successes.

Ocean Flower School:
The Ocean Flower School teaches that strength, like the moon and tide, waxes and wanes. Ariake no kamae.
Low: You do not count sixes as successes, but roll three extra dice.
High: You count threes as successes, but roll three fewer dice.

Culture and Inheritance:
Just like one's knowledge of poetry and strategy can come from many places, one's upbringing can affect one's skills as well. When creating your samurai, you may exchange one point of Facet for a Culture trait or an Inheritance trait. No Facet may be affected by more than one of each type of trait. Every possible Culture and three example Inheritances follow.

Inheritance:

[*]Dayforged Yari: You have a magical weapon - most often a spear - made with a little piece of the Sun herself. This weapon's radiance beats in time with your heart. Anytime you would raise your Kenjutsu, you may redirect the raise to Snow or Awaré instead.
[*]Lotus Sutra Armour: You can calm the hearts of beasts and men with a gesture and the words, "Buddha bless you." When challenged, you may flip a coin, and if it lands heads, you may change the challenge to one of Tanka. When an encounter would raise your Tanka, you may redirect the raise to Snow instead.
[*]Wind-Carried Sakura Heart: You have a deep, intuitive understanding of the beauty of falling blossoms and melting snow. You can reroll your School die once whenever testing your Awaré. When an encounter would raise your Awaré, you may redirect the raise to Snow instead.[/list:u]Culture: Any Culture Trait adds 1 to one Trait for encounters and to a different Trait for challenges.

[*]Earth and Sky Warrior: The kami of your home province have given you a deep respect for nature and its fragility. +1 challenge Awaré, +1 encounter Kenjutsu.
[*]Bureaucratic Prodigy: You were a star at your provincial college, and your family is at least slightly upset that you are gallivanting in the wilds instead of finding a proper job as a clerk or courtier. +1 challenge Awaré, +1 encounter Tanka.
[*]Ancestral Daishô: You carry an ancient weapon, which buoys your heart with honour and is legendarily sharp. +1 challenge Kenjutsu, +1 encounter Awaré.
[*]Iaijutsu Enthusiast: You have studied the methods of ceremonial duelling. +1 challenge Kenjutsu, +1 encounter Tanka.
[*]Buson's Haiku School: You know fashionable literature and are well-versed in the spontaneous composition of poetry. +1 challenge Tanka, +1 encounter Awaré.
[*]Temple Guardian Training: You have spent time as a sohei, one of the legendary holy berserker-monks of Buddhist temples. +1 challenge Tanka, +1 encounter Kenjutsu.[/list:u]Please note the terminology shift:
Kagai no kamae: Assault posture
Ariake no kamae: Dawn posture
Mujintou no kamae: Island posture

[quozl]

Another entry from one who usually sits on the sidelines:

Fantasy Ice Breaker #1: The Dragon's Lair

The king, who has no children, has decided that the one who kills Fuego, the old dragon who lives on the island just off the coast of Fantasia, will succeed him as king.  You are a dragonslayer.  A group of dragonslayers will be assaulting the island tonight.  At dawn, one dragonslayer will emerge victorious and the rest must serve him as king.

Step 1: Create your dragonslayer

Step 2: Assaulting the island

Step 3: Victory at dawn

[Lxndr]

Oh, I don't expect that cutting my cooking time in half will help at all, but my first game sort of floundered in the dust, looking perfectly playable but without that final spark.  Its final form, such as it is, is already in this thread.

Meanwhile, a new idea popped into my head.  So I want to develop it.  It has the spark that my other game lacks, I think.  Without further ado, the introductory text to my new game.  It's a little crass.

Frigid Bitch

How did you get yourself into this mess?

Deep in the forest, with no company but your trash-talking buddies, the ones who got you up here in the first place.  You were all lazing about the village square, drinking and avoiding work like usual, when one of you brought up the idea of finding the Frigid Bitch and curing her little man problem.  

I mean, it was almost the Solstice, and the village was full of so-called heroes talking about how they'd be the one to succeed when all else failed.  Someone in your little group said "y'know, it can't be that tough.  I bet you we could do that."

It sounded like a good idea when the sun was high above your shoulders and the ale was warming your belly, but with sobriety came sense, and the dull ache of fear.  But you weren't going to back down from the Ice Queen first - you weren't going to look like a coward in front of your buddies.  But none of 'em backed off either.

So now you're all standing on the edge of the bluff, miles from home, as the sun dips down towards the horizon.  Past the bluff to the west, in the shadows, you can see the outline of the castle poking out of the forest like an island on a sea of green.  It's been grown over for quite some time - vines, weeds, and of course rosebushes.  They always said the Bitch liked roses.  It doesn't surprise you - they're all blood and thorns.  Nothing a decent lady would like.

You've got some leftover leather jerkins from the last war, stolen from the miller's stores.  You've got some knives and pitchforks and maybe even a scythe that hasn't seen work in years.  But the castle is guarded by more fearsome things than that - things that have eaten many a real knight, out for glory or to make a name.  Heck, you grew up with stories about the Ice Queen, watching people going off, never to return - you should know better than anyone.

Yet here you are, on the night of the Winter Solstice, waiting for the sun to go down and the castle to awaken.  The legends say the curse can only be lifted if someone melts the heart of the Ice Queen - but if you can't do it, you better be ready to run, because when dawn comes, you'll be trapped, frozen in the castle just like everyone else who's come before you.  And you're not alone - there's the real heroes, the champions who've cone this far.

The only way to make it into the castle is to trust your friends, to go as a group.  But you can't trust your friends for too long, because in the end, if you're lucky enough to get through the death trap and find the Ice Queen, it's every man for himself.

Anyway, the sun's going down.  You better get going.  After all, the Bitch waits for no man.

[Dav]

A game to talk smack about:

I made this in the last hour or so.  Mike said multiple entries okay!  This might not fall under "RPG".

This also might not be functional, I haven't played it.

Dav

The Dangerous Island of Much Treasure and Terror!

What you need to play: Some graph paper.  A d20, a d6.  Some pencils.  Some scrpa paper.  A certain degree of boredom.



The idea of the game is that you have found a deserted island that only appears during certain tides.  On this island, there are ruins containing a vast treasure.  Being treasure hunting types, in you go.  The problem is that, while you found the treasure at the center of the labyrinth, you now have to get out.

Further problem: the treasure is actually the prison for a host of malevolent spirits… probably.  

Still further with the problems: at dawn, the tides change and the island is washed under the sea.  This is bad, as you are not fish people, but treasure hunting people of the human persuasion.

A final little problem: there is one boat, and your companions aren’t so trustworthy.

Off you go!

Each player creates a Malevolent Spirit, and 2 Treasure Hunters (you go through the hunting types rather swiftly, I would think).

Malevolent Spirits have 2 Attributes:
Assault: the ability to affect things in the physical world in a rather forceful manner.  Hitting levers, knocking people over, the like.

Coercion: Tricking someone you are possessing into taking actions and such.  I would think this is pretty useful as well.

Malevolent Spirits have 7 points to put into these attributes.  No higher than 5, no lower than 1.

Treasure Hunters likewise have 3 Attributes:
Superstition: How suspicious and such you are about the possession bit.  It can be a good thing, I promise.

Trap-Looking-For-Dealy-Ability: Ability to find and disarm traps.  A good thing for a treasure hunter.

Didn’t Hurt: Avoiding the anger of Malevolent Spirits.

Hit Points: 5

Treasure Hunters have 10 points, again with the upper-cap of 5 and the lower-cap of 1.


Here’s the deal.  

The Malevolent Spirits want to get all hell off the island.  Little problem.  They are trapped inside diamonds (y’know: “ICE”… okay, okay, stretching, but I got the other 3 so fuck-off).  Some diamonds have a baddy spirit, others, not so much.

The goal: get out of the cave as a Malevolent Spirit and row all fuck-out to the horizon, stranding other sorry spiritual saps in limbo.

Obstacles: traps, a maze, other treasure hunters, other malevolent spirits

Here is what happens.  Take all the treasure hunters and put them face-down in a pile, after numbering them (or naming them, if you want to get all “immersive on it”).  Mix ‘em up and pick one without looking at it… okay, now look at it.

That’s the sorry bloke that picked up your diamond (ICE!).  All right, return your little hunter to the pile.  Hand-out 2 hunters to each player.  If you get the hunter that has your diamond (ICE!), toss all them hunters back in the pile, tell a quick story as to why that little round of picking didn’t work-out (you know, get all narrativist or something), and pick again.  Keep doing this until no one has a guy that is carrying their malevolent spirit.

(For you simulationists: you come from a weird Aztec-meets-Aleutian-by-way-of-Philippines fantasy-land.  Name your spirit appropriately)

Everybody let’s everyone else know which hunters they are controlling.  Now, on your turn, as a Malevolent Spirit, you can do one of many things:

Assault some sorry sap.  Coerce a hunter.  Nothing.

If you coerce a hunter, that hunter can take a Superstition check to discover if the command came from one of the diamonds he is holding, or make a Will check to avoid the command (either Superstition or Will, NOT both).  If you assault someone, they take 1 damage (or you can trigger a trap if you want, as a Malevolent Spirit who was cooped up in this tidal island paradise for the last 1000 years, you know where they are (in theory… not so much in practice))  Assaults may be resisted by a Didn’t Hurt roll.

Roll 1D6.  If you roll equal to or less than your number, you succeed, if not, so sorry.

Now, each hunter also gets to move 4 squares on a turn (they don’t have to move the full amount).  
  *or*
If the hunter made a successful Superstition roll, the hunter may discard 1 diamond (each hunter carries 5 diamonds.  Due to mental control stuff, the Malevolent Spirit is always the last diamond picked and tossed.

The hunter must follow the commands of a successful Coercion (if possible, and not resisted by a Will thing) in terms of movement or direction.  The hunter also takes 1 damage from any Assault successful upon them (hunters have 5 Hit Points).

Each player also gets a “Build Phase” after hunter movement and such.

In a build phase, you may make 10 lines of map.  Roll a D20: on a 20, the exit is in that area, go ahead and mark it with an X.  On a 1-5, there is a trap, go ahead and mark it with an O.  By the way, there aren’t any rooms, all hallways are 1 square wide and just go and go.  You can make a dead end, but only so long as there are other open paths on the map (or if the exit has been found).  All 10 lines must be contiguous.  All future build phases gain a cumulative +1 to the roll.  A natural 1 always means a trap.  Once an exit is established, it is the only exit, and screw off on finding more exits.  By the way, the edge of the paper counts as an automatic wall.

A hunter may not walk into uncharted territory.  That is bad, and not possible.  Because I say so (go ahead and tell a fucking story about it if you want).

When walking over a trap, the hunter may roll Trap-Findy Skill to see the trap before walking over it.  Doing so means the trap is avoided and remains for future hunters.  Avoiding a trap takes 2 movement squares, rather than 1.  A hunter walking blissfully unaware over a trap (failing the Trap-Findy roll), takes 1 damage… go ahead and tell a little story about how much that sucked (you can go ahead and be as descriptive as you like, but you may get stuff thrown at you if it gets too long-winded).  

If the hunter carrying your Malevolent Spirit dies, FRET NOT!  If another hunter walks over the dead hunter’s square, the hunter gets to pick up 1 diamond.  If the hunter had a Malevolent Spirit, then guess which diamond that hunter picked?  That’s right, the diamond with the bad, naughty spirit in it.  This may mean that a hunter has two Malevolent Spirits on his person.  This is not good… but, there is nothing to do for it.

Some little nit-picks:
How to resolve multiple successful Coercions or Assaults: the Coercion that succeeded the most goes through.  In the event of a tie, the hunter becomes psychically scrambled and sits on his ass for the turn.  

Multiple Assaults are resisted once, but each successively successful assault reduces the poor hunter’s Didn’t Hurt skill by 1 for the turn.  On a failure, only 1 damage is sustained (because it would hurt too much to do more).

If all hunters die: everyone loses.  That’s right, loses.

If more than 1 Malevolent Spirit makes it out alive due to a hunter carrying many possessed diamonds, they fall madly in love and get to drop the “Malevolent” part of their title.  They make baby diamonds.

If, after twenty turns no one has made it out, dawn rolls in and you are all buried in a watery grave.  That, by the way, sucks.

You all start in the center of the graph paper in a room that is 6x3 (vertically tall, rise over run people!)  There are a number of exits equal to the number of spirits in the game.  Yes, a multiple hunters may occupy the same space.

Go play the game!

[Rich Forest]

The final weekend of the competition approaches.

Throughout the contest, aside from a short comment to praise the quality of the other chefs' work, Chef Forest has been very slow and quiet. Calmly, methodically, just outside the spotlight, he has been gathering his ingredients and writing and re-writing his recipe by hand. So many ingredients have been thrown out. The recipe is a chaotic jumble of revisions. Only now has he managed to write down his final recipe and gather those ingredients that he wishes to keep.

Some would call this madness--the final weekend is already upon him, and he has only now finished writing his recipe by hand and stewing his base! How can he hope to finish his game with only the weekend to fill in so much! And what does he have, brewing in the pot, a dish as yet not even named? Some ingredients we recognize: ice, assault, and islands. But what are these other ingredients he has added?

Strange ingredients for a tabletop RPG indeed... Super Mario Brothers? The Legend of Zelda? Donkey Kong Country? Super Smash Brothers? Mario Cart?

What kind of dish could this be? Could it possibly live up to the proud legacy of Chef Forest's role model, the eminent Shigeru Miyamoto-Ou-Sensei? Or would he be shamed by the dish?

And wait, is Chef Forest adding a final ingredient to the mix? Can you see it? Yes, it's, it's... can it be? Playtesting?! A powerful ingredient indeed. But will he have time to see the dish to its completion?

[hanschristianandersen]

Much of this is not strictly speaking new; rather, it's an outgrowth and clarification of some earlier ideas.  Besides Ice Monsters,  Thermoses and Slush Points represent the other noteworthy bit of resource management.

So, without further ado:

Snow Day - Special Expanded Rules for Thermoses and Cocoa

The first time a kid goes inside for Hot Cocoa, he may fill a thermos full of cocoa and take it with him.  At any time - EXCEPT during a Snowball Fight - a kid carrying a full thermos can drink it, removing six Slush Points.  Only kids can drink cocoa; Ice Monsters can't.  In fact, if you pour Hot Cocoa on an Ice Monster, it inflicts six Slush Points on the monster itself!  (In a Snowball Fight situation, this requires a Fantasy Check to succeed; failure means that your just spilled some perfectly good hot cocoa all over the place.)

Any subsequent time that you go inside for Cocoa, you can fill up any empty thermoses that you're carrying.

Carrying a thermos occupies one hand.  Because it takes two hands to scoop up a snowball, you have to drop a thermos that you're carrying first!  Alternatively, hand it to another Kid, or to an Ice Monster that has the power to Carry Things.  Or hold onto it yourself, and have someone else craft snowballs for you.

If you Cry Uncle or are Driven Off in a Snowball Fight in which you have previously dropped a Thermos, then you have to leave the Thermos behind, and hope your side wins the fight!  Otherwise, the other side can scavenge the thermos.

If you lose your thermos, you can't get another one automatically; your parents would just scold you for losing it.  Picking a snowball fight with another bunch of kids is the most expedient way of getting your hands on a new thermos.

You can safely stash your thermos indoors or in the Secret Base without fear that another kid might steal it, but if you leave it anywhere else, it's fair game.



Two posts to go - Neighborhood Hazards and Midnight Moonlight Magic Monster Mojo!  Then I'll probably condense all the posts into a single final document for judging.

In the meantime, I'm going to go have some cocoa.

[talysman]

IceRunner: a dweomerpunk fantasy setting

part 2 (part 1 located here)

Overview:

IceRunner is intended to be a typical small-group fantasy RPG for 2-5 players, one of whom will take the traditional "GM" role. aside from the usual pencils and paper for recording character data, the group will also need dice: at least one d10 and two sets of four d6s with different colors; these rules will refer to the d6 groups as black dice (aka Curse dice) and white dice (aka Magic dice).

you may also wish to use small transparent plastic beads, glass marbles or some other counters to represent Ice stones collected, but Ice stones can be tracted as a score on the player sheet instead, if desired.

the feel of the game is intended to be somewhat gritty and "realistic" rather than cinematic or mythic. the setting is Western Europe in the Dark Ages or a parallel universe version (to avoid worrying about details of geography, economics and the like.) treat the world as a somewhat simplified version of history, rather than an exact duplicate. technology is low, superstition is rampant, and magic is a rare, mysterious force.

the spirit of the game is cyberpunk without the technology: somewhat pessimistic, but rebellious and individualist, with the player characters fighting an oppressive, intractable system. the PCs have magic, but it's hard to use in the ordinary world; it should *not* be treated as a fantasy replacement for high-tech or cybertech. magic in the game should look as much as possible like the medieval superstitions that inspired it.

the PCs and other sorcerors in the world are part of a loose "underworld", a hidden society all to itself existing alongside ordinary society. since magic is feared and hated, sorcerors are either pariahs (voluntary or involuntary) or leading a double life. sorcerors meet under cover of darkness at crossroads or in the depths of the wilderness to trade forbidden goods, exchange arcane secrets, or sell services to desperate people willing to risk damnation to fulfill their desires.

ordinary conflicts in the game are resolved with a quick roll of a single d10; on an even result, the action succeeds and does 1 point of "damage", which may be physical damage, social damage, or other metaphorical forms of damage. players can invoke Advantages to boost how much damage is done on a single roll, or they can save their Advantages until after the roll, to allow a reroll if the first fails. failing a roll has no effect unless it's a reroll, in which case the character takes 1 point of damage instead.

magical conflicts work the same, except that additional dice (black Curse Dice or white Magic Dice) are rolled; magical or curse effects are invoked if the d10 result is less than or equal to the highest Magic or Curse die result. also, if a Curse die matches a Magic die, the two cancel out.

Chargen:

to create an IceRunner PC, choose a class and estate (social rank) and think of a short character concept built around the two, then choose five advantages. CLASS in IceRunner indicates what magical acts the character is especially good at (granting a temporary Magic Die any time the character attempts that action under the appropriate conditions.) ESTATE is one of the four broad social categories of medieval Europe and grants an advantage under specific social situations. ADVANTAGES in general allow potential rerolls and possibly boost "damage" on successful actions.

the sorceror classes and their bonuses are:

[*]Enchanter: gains 1 temporary Magic Die when creating astral islands or "magic items";
[*]AssaultMage: gains 1 temporary Magic Die when using magic in a physical attack;
[*]Warlock: gains 1 temporary Magic Die when using magic in a social attack;
[*]Witch: gains 1 temporary Magic Die when using magic to heal (plants, animals, humans... physically, socially, spirtually.)
[*]IceRunner: gains 1 temporary Magic Die when entering or leaving the astral realm;[/list:u]
there is a fuller explanation of these classes and how the bonuses work in the Magic section

the social estates are Peasantry, Merchantry, Nobility, and Clergy. functionally, the Peasantry supplies all the food (farming, hunting, fishing) as well as grunt labor; the Merchantry includes anyone practicing a skilled trade (including mercenary soldier) as well as actual merchants; the Nobility own the actual land, ensure its defense, and enforce the law; the Clergy provide moral and spiritual guidance as well as spiritual defense. each estate gets one social reroll when dealing with social equals and one social level boost when dealing with social inferiors; Peasantry are considered social betters of outlaws, including known sorcerors. Clergy in theory cannot exercise control over the Nobility, but threats of excommunication or interdict essentially make them the highest social level.

when selecting Class and Estate, be sure to indicate in your character concept what happened when the character took up sorcery: is the character an outlaw, a hermit, or a "mole"?

[*]OUTLAWS were discovered to be sorcerors and are subject to capture, punishment or death in their home village.
[*]HERMITS abandoned their village and former life; they are not known as sorcerors, but may be treated with suspicion.
[*]MOLES continue to lead a double life in both normal society and the sorcerous underworld; they are treated as ordinary members of their Estate unless they behave in a suspicious manner.[/list:u]
since sorcerors grew up within normal society, they still have the mannerisms and force of personality of their Estate. thus, a sorcerorous Noble Outlaw can gain the Nobility bonus when not recognized as an outlaw; a Clerical Hermit can gein the Clergy bonus on a first meeting, until the other party becomes suspicious about the hermit's lifestyle; a Merchant Mole will gain full social benefits until the secret is revealed.

Advantages, as mentioned above, will either boost how much damage is done on a successful roll or allow a failed roll to be rerolled. the types of Advantage and examples of each are:

[*]Talents: quick, strong, stealthy, gentle with animals, sharpsighted, quickwitted, charismatic
[*]Allies: brother, cousin, widowed aunt, old mentor, kindly priest, horse
[*]Equipment: finely crafted swords, shields, and armor or other equipment[/list:u]
all beginning Advantages are extraordinary but non-magical in nature. sorcerors can gain supernatural bonuses through play, however.

after choosing Class, Estate, concept, and five Advantages, think up a name for your character, flesh out any other details (like personal possessions that do not count as extraordinary equipment,) then decide as a group where the characters just came from and where they are going. they do not need to know each other yet.

Ordinary Conflicts:

when characters are involved in a conflict, whoever controls each character (player or GM) states what the character's intended action will be ("I will attempt to open the sealed crypt", "Theobold will try to rip off the lowest branch of the tree".) whatever each character is in conflict *with* on the current turn is called the Obstacle; the character and the Obstacle are examined to see if one has a clear approriate advantage over the other, either because of a listed character advantage ("Theobold has Great Strength, but this is an ordinary tree") or because of a temporary situational advantage ("the branch is unusually brittle".) each advantage that favors the character for this kind of action gives +1 damage on a success; each advantage that favors the Obstacle gives -1 damage. if a player sees that the total basic damage in this conflict will be -1 (or otherwise doesn't like the potential result,) the player can change the character's intended action.

the player and the GM must also agree on a backfire effect. in some form of combat (physical sparring, social maneuvering, emotional abuse,) the backfire effect would simply be the same kind of damage dealt to the character instead of the Obstacle. in other actions, it is something else detrimental to the character: a character firing a bow might have a backfire effect of damage to the bow, for example, or injuring an Ally; a character sneaking past guards could have a backfire effect of alerting the guards.

once the intended actions, total basic damage, and backfire effects for each character involved in the conflict is determined, initiative is set based on highest total basic damage (which can be a maximum of +5). ties are resolved in alphabetical player order but considered to take effect simultaneously. each player in order rolls a d10; if the result is even, the action is successful with +1 to total basic damage; otherwise, the action failed to have the desired effect. the player gets to narrate the effects of the action; it's up to the player whether the character fails badly or simply struggles valiantly without making significant headway.

if a character scores 5 or more points of damage against an obstacle after one or more rolls, the overall goal of the damage is achieved: in a physical attack, this means the obstacle was killed or broken; if making a social attack, the obstacle is expelled from the social context (if the context is an entire village, the opponent is driven away as an outcast; if it's just a heated discussion in a village market, the opponent is made a laughingstock.)

failed rolls can be rerolled by invoking appropriate advantages that were not used to boost total basic damage. thus, if Theobold has the Great Strength advantage but does not invoke it to boost physical damage in a fight, on a failed roll the player can narrate "Theobold's sword can find no opening in the enemy's defensive sheildsweeps, so he attempts to knock the man aside with his mighty blows", then make a reroll. rerolls are exactly the same as regular rolls *except* that a failed roll causes 1 point of damage to the acting character, with the damage type determined by the backfire effect chosen. players can reroll as many times as they have appropriate advantages that can be used creatively in the current conflict, but take 1 point of damage on each failure. after taking 5 points of backfire damage, rerolling stops -- and the character may be dead or otherwise incapacitated, depending on teh backfire effect.

players can attempt to gain temporary situational advantages, rolling to push for higher ground in a combat, or rolling to secure a rope before climbing a cliff. the "damage" in these cases is rolled over into future actions that exploit that situational advantage; the bonus disappears when the situation changes again or the conflict is finished.

players can attempt appropriate actions to heal damage -- applying bandages after a combat, eating a meal to repair hunger damage, etc. again, this is figured as for an ordinary conflict, with "damage" being applied to removing accumulated damage.

another (desperate) option, particularly for physical damage, is to convert the temporary injuries into a more permanent injury, which is treated as a disadvantage (advantage applied negatively.) for example, if Theobold has 4 points of physical damage and fears the enemy's next blow will kill him, he can erase the 4 points and take a "maimed leg" or "severed hand" disadvantage. it doesn't matter whether the damage erased is 1 point or 4 points; the disadvantage taken in exchange is worth 1 level as an advantage to an opponent. so, a player could choose to risk letting damage rise to 4 before converting into permanent wounds, or play it safe and convert damage early and often. disadvantages can only be removed through roleplaying and will take more than one scene.

Magical Conflicts will be covered in detail in the next installment.

[talysman]

Iron Chef Laviolette blinks in surprise at the number of typos that are making their way into his carefully prepared dishes. perhaps his continuing bouts of fever are affecting his sensibilities?

he shakes his head and downs a shot of NyQuil. perhaps the Giant Q will aid him in completing his culinary treat. if not, at least the final recipe can be corrected later, after the judge has made his decision...

[quozl]

My entry in its final form:

Fantasy Ice Breaker #1: The Dragon's Lair

The king, who has no children, has decided that the one who kills Fuego, the old dragon who lives on the island just off the coast of Fantasia, will succeed him as king. You are a dragonslayer. A group of dragonslayers will be assaulting the island tonight. At dawn, one dragonslayer will emerge victorious and the rest must serve him as king.

Step 1: Create your dragonslayer

The purpose of this game is to "break the ice" or get to know the other people in a safe and fun environment so each dragonslayer will be a projection of each player.  All dragonslayers will be assumed to be quite capable in their profession.  All the player needs to do is to give themself a lofty title.  For example, if Eric is playing the game, he may call his dragonslayer "Eric the mighty".

Step 2: Assaulting the island

Each player makes a monster card for each other player in the game.  Monster cards are simply blank cards where you a player can write down the name of a monster and draw a little picture.  Additional information about the monster may also be written on the card (such as
breathes fire") if desired.  Once everyone has made their cards, they are played face down in piles in front of each player.  Each player may only place one card in front of each player.

Now, one player is elected to start the game.  That player narrates their assault on the island.  The player on the left of the starting player keeps track of time and after every 60 seconds, flips over the top card on the starting player's pile.  The narrating player must then incorporate the monster into his narrative.  If the narrating player fails to incorporate a monster card before the next monster card is flipped over, the narrating player must take a wound token.  After the last card in front of the narrating player is flipped over, the narrating player has 60 seconds to end his narrative with the dragonslayer's arrival to the dragon's lair.

Then the player on the left becomes the narrating player and the player to his/her left becomes the timekeeper and card flipper.  This repeats until everyone has had a turn.

Step 3: Victory at dawn

Once all dragonslayers have made it to the dragon's lair, old Fuego reads their minds.  Each player must write down a personal question for each other player on a blank card.  If a player has any wound tokens, they must write down a personal question for themself for each token.  Once all questions have been written, all question cards are shuffled together.  The cards are then dealt out to each player with the players with wound token receiving an extra card for each token.  Starting with the first narrating player, each player then reads one card and answers the question.  Then the player on the left does the same and the process repeats until all questions have been answered.  Once all questions are answered, each player secretly votes for any player besides themselves to be the winner, slay the dragon, and become king.  The votes are counted and the king is hailed!  If there happens to be a tie, the player with the least wound tokens wins.  If there is still a tie, just arm-wrestle for it or something.

[Zak Arntson]

Terra Australis

What does he pull out next? A durian? Heavens, no! Oh, he's only joking. The durian goes back under the table and out comes a bucket of li hing mui! Candied squid!?

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With the competition nearing a close, I need to hammer out the mechanics. To get that solid foundation, I've been pulling out every design trick I know! I've even come upon a few new ones (for me), such as What does the player/gm/character do? Another new thing for me, regarding rolelaying game design, is a state machine. What's this? The marriage of computer science and roleplaying games? And in a way that doesn't produce Rolemaster-like complexity? That's right.

The basis of a state machine is that at any point, the machine is in a specific state. The machine receives input and changes its state. You graph these states and their connections out with little bubbles and arrows. I figured, in game design, you have specific states the game is in. For Terra Australis, I initially defined the states as follows:

GM control: This is when the GM is moving the game along, players state actions which don't require mechanics, (i.e, "I'm going down the steps"), and so on.
Players Roll: Any player initiating a Conflict, Resource creation or Evidence creation causes all players to make a Roll.
Player creates Evidence: The player is creating/modifying Evidence.
Player creates Resource: The player is creating/modifying a Resource.
Conflict:  The players deal with the conflict using further Rolls. During a Conflict, things can be shifted around (with Evidence and Resource creation & use), but this is all considered part of a Conflict.

The connections are pretty simple. From GM control, the GM can move into a Conflict or a player can move into Players Roll. From Players Roll, the successful player moves the state into creating Evidence, Resource or Conflict (if nobody succeeds/wants, the state moves back to GM control). Here is a graphic diagram (I hesitated on including an image, but figured a schematic wins the information vs. promotion battle).

Now, after studying this, I realized that during a Conflict I want the players to be able to add Evidence and Resources. I also figured the state machine could be simplified. And it could!

With simplifying, the states are now: GM Control and Conflict, with Conflict having its own various internal states. But since I already have this early state machine prepared, I don't need another one to figure out how Conflict will play out.

Conflict, whether GM or Player initiated, consists of all the Players making a Roll. This Roll encompasses initiative (which player acts first, in the case of competing interests) and success. A Roll can be modified by expending a player's resources (relationships, abilities, etc).

- If a player initiates Conflict, they receive automatic first-dibs on initiative. They also get to declare the whether the Conflict will be a straight-up Conflict (fight, argument, etc), Evidence creation/modification, or Resource creation/modification (relationships, mostly).

- If the GM initiates Conflict, the Players Roll, but the GM sets everything up as if she were successful from the get-go (without rolling). This means the GM can create/modify Evidence, Resources, etc. without risk.

Once the Conflict is over, play returns to GM Control. Conflict can be especially quick if the initiated Conflict is simply a new piece of Evidence.

With that settled, finishing up is a matter of how Rolls work, and how players use their resources to modify those Rolls.

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That's my dish so far. It's nearing completion. Hopefully the delightful wafting of sickly-sweet, li hing-dusted calamari doesn't overpower the judges!