[Realm] Original fantasy setting [long!]

[sayter]

I've had this idea in my head, which has developed over the last several years bit by bit into its' current state. I have some issues in regard to keeping things unique however, at least in terms of the "prehistory" which occured before the setting of the game itself.

so, what i am essentially looking for is opinions on what i will relate regarding the game at this point.

There are (at current time) 7 species which are playable. Each has their own specific strong points as is the norm. However, not a single one is a familiar fantasy species. There are no elves, dwarves or other "cloned" races from other games.

One thing I am not yet solid on is whether or not to include humans. The world did not originally contain them. But, does it kill a game outright to not even include humans as the "baseline" race? thats issue #1


issue #2 is the backstory. The way I HAD it was full of war and such. Trimmed that out, because there is just too damn many war-influenced worlds. So instead  (and in VERY brief format)

Two races allied in old times. They created several races to be slaves when they reached a high technological level. The races eventualyl rebel against their "gods" (the creators). In the revolution, the masters used a machine they had created, to kill all the slave races and start fresh. it didnt work, and instead caused a massive flood of power and created in that instant, what is now known as "magick".

About this time a brutal plague starts, worldwide, and literally overnight. It kills anything it infects. even plants and animals. Within a few months (this time was hereby dubbed the Autumn of Ashes) billions are dead. Technology and magick are powerless against it. Then one day the sky opens up, and massive spires of stone plummet from the heavens. They crash into the planet doing immense damage. Continents are shifted, and billions more are killed.
The survivors decide to call a full alliance of all races, working together to rebuild as best they can. But the spires then open up, one day, and spill out a strange gaseous energy which soaks into everything it crosses paths with.
And then , abotu a week later, everything that was capable of dreaming fell asleep. For a very, very long time.

They awake with no knowledge of anything in the past, but still know their skills, languages and family (what little remains, since most of the sleeping people were devoured by creatures that do not dream. easy food)

the energy source from the spires is now woven throughout every aspect of the planet. it is "sentient" in a way, and its food source is dreams. its belly is full, so to speak and thus the populace is able to awaken.  The real issue though, is that the energy source can manifest dreams into reality. All manner of horrific things lurk about now, but so do truly good things.

The players come in abotu 200 years after everyone awakens. Fate has seen fit to give the current struggling world a hope of survival. The wilds are untamed and extremely dangerous, and only a single continent holds any hint of intelligent population. the rest is wild and unknown.
    And from the shadows of this world come the Dreamers. Those who somehow exist outside the influence of the energy source that permeats every thing on the planet. They can pull power directly from it, and use it to their will. They can be attuned in 13 different "Strata" of dreams, each with its own unique influence (Life, Death, energy, etc).
    Of course, players arent FORCED to be dreamers. They can take the role of heroic individuals without dream powers too. But the maleability of the system is just too damn cool NOT to want to try one.


There is of course a lot more to it, but that gives you the jist of it. How does it sound? any questions or concerns? and what about the no-human factor? am i better to at least include that aspect into it? i can easily modify appearance of a species to suit.  just looking for feedback. currently i have about 120 pages typed out and am ready for revisions.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

players arent FORCED to be dreamers

First knee-jerk question: Why?

Second Questions:

Part A) As far as system and player motivation, what is your game about?

Part B) What do the characters do?

In the end, the setting back story isn't nearly as importat as the answer to the two questions above.  If you cant answer what your game is about and what the characters do, then all the cool history in the world isn't going to matter.  This is not to say I don't like your history.  I'm cool with it, but whether or not there are humans in your game is going to be one of your last concerns when it comes to its design.  The two questions above go to the very essence of your game and tell us tons more than history every could.

Peace,

-Troy

[sayter]

"players arent FORCED to be dreamers"
First knee-jerk question: Why?

Reason: there are a few motivating factors here. First and foremost, this is oriented towards a Pulp fantasy feel. Cinematic action, simple dice rolls to keep things fast paced and exciting. The main heroes of the game are indeed the Dreamers, but they are a rare breed and there are those who use magick as well as standard aventurers in the world.

Id like to keep options open, and focus on Dreamers but leave the possibility for heroic mortals without extremely unusual and potent powers. Plus, Dreamers are not born as them. They manifest after a brutal series of dreams which come about for reasons none know.


Second Questions:

Part A) As far as system and player motivation, what is your game about?

   The system is a hybrid of concepts, using things I adore from Exalted/WoD d10 system, Rifts, GURPS, Cyberpunk and Shadowrun and mutating them into my own beast.
   Every player requires only 1 dice. There are no pools to worry about (though of course the occasional modifier). Everything works off either 6 or 12. At the tiem being I am using d12 to resolve rolls, though 2d6 could work jsut as well.
   There are nine base attributes:

Brawn
Agility
Endurance
Focus
Awarness
Intellect
Charm
Demeanor
Manipulation/Sway

on top of this, every character has a set of 4 different aptitudes. These are developed from a mix of Species choice as well as background information. Thus, a character without melee skills who is from a warrior-centric society would likely at least have rudimentary knowledge of weapons (daddy might have showed him a few things, or perhaps he spent his boyhood watching the Guard go through drills?)
     Many species, based on their natural strengths and weaknesses, will take a point cost bonus or penalty on some skills (see below)

Knowledges (skills) are diverse, but generalized. For instance, instead of Swords, Daggers, Maces, Axes as all separate skills we have simply Melee (catering again to a high-fantasy pulp-action feel) but with an option to specialize if desired.

This is a skill based system, because I loathe level based. Freeform is where its at. Character creation uses a set number of points. a certain # (18) for attributes, 22 for skills, and 30 Skillpoints to do whatever they wish with. Species selection grants certain natural abilities and stats bonuses (as they should) but nothing imbalancing.

average attribute rating is 3. above average is 6.

Normal play limit is 8, with  9-12 being supernatural ratings.

 Rolls are resolved using a Attribute+Skill+Aptitude(when applicable)+d12 roll, adding any modifiers into the mix. This is compared to a difficulty (12,18,24,36,48,etc). If the difficulty is reached, the player succeeds.

combat employs, also, an "Action" stat, which is derived from Awareness, Focus and Agility. This means that every character has equal chance at high action since it wont be only warriors who need it. Every action in combat will require Action. It can be spent on initiative, or used for offense and defense, pure defense, all out attacks, fleeing, magick casting and of course Dreamer powers. It refreshes every combat turn. This means initiative wont wind up almost always the same, and keeps things dynamic and interesting.
    Note however, that I want as few die rolls as possible. Any normal action will be assumed successful unless it warrants rolling (ie: the character is DEFINITELY not skilled in that area, etc). Basically, common sense applies. Combat is naturally always rolled, and is always treated as an opposed roll. Same ruels apply here, att+skill+apt+d12 vs oponent. Highest wins. The amount of points OVER the opponent are considered "bonus points" and can be used to add to actions and perform crazy stunts.

   Players narrate their own actions, the GM stepping in only when it should be necessary. If Gary rolled against Paul and had 14 bonus points over then he has potential to do some pretty crazy combat moves or other actions.  bonus points can be left alone, but CANNOT be saved.

im sure i forgot somethin here...but does that answer the Q?

oh right player motivation. see below.




Part B) What do the characters do?

Could be misinterpreting this a little, but....

Characters take the role of a Dreamer or a Magick user (Mage-Borne cannot be Dreamers, and vice versa) ideally. They could, again, be a heroic person too of course (Xena, Worf, Alexander, etc).
    In the case of Dreamers, they are people who do not know what the nature of their power is, or where it comes from. To become a dreamer they had to undergo a VERY potent series of dreams, the last 3 of which will affect them forever and influence their decisions and attitudes. The dreams are so real that they are impossible to tell any different.
   They woke up after that and suddenly were able to make things happen. Not by wishing them to, not by chanting a few words. Just...somehow what you picture in your head just ...happens.  And now they have this immense power and dont know what it is or what they should do with it.
   You have many things which would hunt and kill you if they knew what you can do. And there are others who would worship you as a god. Your destiny is in your own hands, and you can literally shape it out of nothing at your whim. The only thing you know for sure is that you can feel Void (the strange dream energy that came in the spires) and know what it is "thinking" in some limited fashion and that when you use your power, Void feels it and is not happy.

    Now, there are 13 different Dream Strata (areas of power) and a dreamer can only have access to 7 of these (up to the player). Of these 7, they cannot choose 2 which are opposites (Ie: Life and Death, would have to choose either Life, OR Death). So you have Life, Death , Light, Shadow, Physical, Mental, Form, Decay, Force, Spirit, Temporal, Spatial and Void. These Strata can be used alone or paired with others (again, never opposites) for a literally unlimited amount of effects. Void strata is a special case, save that for a later post when more details are required for posting ...its gettin late.

    They could, technically, play out an ENTIRE campaign in the city of Balo, which is about as big as modern day new york city land mass wise. It has individual sections of the city for each species as well as a single central area that houses parliament and whatnot. There are various intrigues going on at all times not to mention a massive criminal underworld which operates for their own interests.
   And beneath it all there are the Eyes of the World.
The Eyes of the World are essentially madmen under the influence of a dark god (the first truly Evil thing manifested by the strange energy force) who believe they are doing the work of good. They see visions of torutre and despair so vivid that the governments think them divine men and women. They have beeng granted authority to do as they please to "avert the coming darkness" and in so doing are actually causing those visions to occur.

   The continent of Laos forms the backbone of the core story, as the rest of the world is unknown to almost every living person and is more a myth than a fact that it even exists anymore. Basically I am aiming to give GMs a wealth of info to use but not forcing them into a metagame (so to speak) and allowign them to freeform it as need be.

 
    There are of course limitless possibilities in a world where dreams can become reality without any real warning.


lets keep this going :) heheh. time for bed. gnite

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

Follow up knee-jerk: Why do you want both Magick users and Dreamers?  They would seem to serve the same function in your world's culture, lore, and history.

Part A and B follow up:

It's kind of funny.  You answered question A in the first paragraph of your answer for questions B, and you ended up leaving B completely unanswered.  When you say:

Characters take the role of a Dreamer or a Magick user (Mage-Borne cannot be Dreamers, and vice versa) ideally. They could, again, be a heroic person too of course (Xena, Worf, Alexander, etc).
In the case of Dreamers, they are people who do not know what the nature of their power is, or where it comes from. To become a dreamer they had to undergo a VERY potent series of dreams, the last 3 of which will affect them forever and influence their decisions and attitudes. The dreams are so real that they are impossible to tell any different.
They woke up after that and suddenly were able to make things happen. Not by wishing them to, not by chanting a few words. Just...somehow what you picture in your head just ...happens. And now they have this immense power and dont know what it is or what they should do with it.
You have many things which would hunt and kill you if they knew what you can do. And there are others who would worship you as a god. Your destiny is in your own hands, and you can literally shape it out of nothing at your whim. The only thing you know for sure is that you can feel Void (the strange dream energy that came in the spires) and know what it is "thinking" in some limited fashion and that when you use your power, Void feels it and is not happy.

That is what your game is about.  And it sounds interesting.  There is a lot of cool stuff in that.  I see a lot of room for built in conflict, character development, and storytelling.

However, it doesn't tell me what the characters do.  Do they search out the Void and kill it/embrace it/learn from it?  What is the purpose of playing a character in your game? (Note: "to have fun and adventure" is already covered by a number of games.)  What do characters do in your game that is different from any other?  I know you said the Dreamers dream and change things, but what are they supposed to do with that?  What direction should the PCs take with their power?  Are their directions, hints, clues, choices, temptations?

All that stuff about stats, resolution systems (go with 2d6 btw), and races/species is all well and good, but that's not the first thing you should be concentraiting on when it comes to building your game.  If you can nail questions A and B, then everything else will flow from that and you'll be well on your way! :)

Peace,

-Troy

[daMoose_Neo]

I am using d12 to resolve rolls, though 2d6 could work jsut as well

Mathmatical nitpick:
- On a roll of 1d12, you have equal chances of a 1, 6, or 12 showing up: a 1/12 chance per.
- On a roll of 2d6, however, the spread is entirely different:
1 - 0 (Lowest possible roll on 2d6 is 2)
2 - 1 (1/1)
3 - 2 (1/2, 2/1)
4 - 3 (1/3, 3/1, 2/2)
5 - 4 (1/4, 4/1, 2/3, 3/2)
6 - 5 (2/4, 4/2, 5/1, 1/5, 3/3)
7 - 6 (3/4, 4/3, 6/1, 1/6, 5/1, 1/5)
8 - 5 (4/4, 2/6, 6/2, 5/3, 3/5)
9 - 4 (5/4, 4/5, 6/3, 3/6)
10- 3 (6/4, 4/6, 5/5)
11- 2 (6/5, 5/6)
12- 1 (6/6)

As you can see, 7 is the likeliest to show up, with a 1 in 6 chance (6/36). The d12 approach is similar to the d20 approach, a flat chance. The 2d6 approach (also favored by myself) allows something of a curve. You KNOW the closer you get to 7 the easier it is.

[sayter]

"why magick AND dreamers?"

Two reasons. One, because Magick is a completely different form of power and Magick is cool. However, magick in this world is shunned, viewed as a dark and evil thing because surely (even though it isnt) it is a part of the Void.
    Two, because I wanted to add an interesting conflict. see, Mages are completely fascinated by Dreamers. They have power even the magick users find unbelievable. Some want to study them. Others want to dissect them. And there are, of course, those who want to kill or enslave them. The "Eyes of the World" are a secret sect composed entirely of insane magick users tainted by the will of a dark god. They hunt mages and dreamers and force them either into sacrifice, or joining the Eyes (and thus eventualy insanity and madness)

This places the players into a world FULL of potential dangers. Not only do they have to worry about the Void and its nightmares wandering around causing hell. They also have to constantly watch their back for fear of the Eyes and other such people that could very well be their own best friends.

And of course in some cases, other dreamers.

And since almost no one but a dreamer or a magick user would stand a rats chance against a Dreamer with a mid-level amount of power MAgick became a mild necessity for Drama.


"what do characters DO?"

Allright, let me try to make it more clear. Was writing that last night on 2 hours sleep the day before after a 12 hour shift on no coffee. Ahem.

The characters, as stated above, are surrounded by potential threats. While as Dreamers they do not stand out in any particular way to those who do not know where to look (upon their final Dream before awakening as a Dreamer, they are branded witha  tatoo on the palms of each hand that denotes their "core" strata (primary)) they still need to keep a watchful eye out.

Though the Void in itself is not "evil" as we understand it, it is a predator and it constantly feeds. Thus I suppose by D&D terms you coudl call it "neutral evil" or somethign equivalent. It only seeks to serve itself and will go to any lengths for such things. The Void itself hunts them, for they steal its food source every time they call their power.
   
The characters are explorers, or sorts. They explore the vast unknown world for answers about what they are, how to use their power for good or for ill. They are constantly watched by Void, for it is within everything. Though it cannot SEE them, it knows where they are and if they become a threat to it, it will try to deal with them.
 Among the dreamers several factions have sprung up. Dreamers can "sense" those who possess ability in the same Strata as themselves and they naturally band together to learn and teach one another. Some of these factions are less than scrupulous (I doubt any faction arising from Death, Shadow and Spirit would be a super-happy group of people, though there would be good people among them). Players might seek to join a faction (not like Clans in V:tM, the only thing that joins you to a faction is your Core or secondary strata) and push their view, and ability to MAKE that view real, on the world.
   
    As I said before, dreamers awaken into their power having absolutely no idea what has happened. They will instinctively use their power for the first time, and then realise they are special. They will want to learn more about this new power within them, and thus will try to find information or others like themselves. So, largely, the concept is of people coming to grips with their own power and either abusing it or taking responsibility for it.
  Within every dreamer lies The Beast, sort of an Alter Ego that could rise forth if their power gets out of control. The Beast is usually a polar opposite of the Dreamer. So Bob the Pacifist becomes Sam the Ultra-Violent Murderer. Sara the Balanced becomes Sasha the BiPolar. Course its a bit more involved than that but you get the idea. The factions each have their own view about The Beast. Some embrace it and others shun it. The others try to keep it in balance. This is a large source of conflict among their kind.

As for the powers themselves, it is freeform (think Mage:The Ascension only not freaking impossible for non-gamers to understand). For example, Jimmy the Warrior has a rating of 2 in Physical Strata, and a 1 in Form. The levels themselves are not very powerful.
   Level 2 Physical allows Jimmy to alter his physical ability (and ONLY his, at this level) some minor way. Form at level 1 allows him to understand and visualize the complexities of structure in both life and inanimates. He is thus able to "improve" himself or objects in minor ways. Jimmy uses his Strata for the following effect:

He lunges at a target. While he moves closer, he channels the power within him. His strength, as he willed it to, increases by 2 points (1 point per level in Strata). His arm already raised to strike, the Form power he channeled into his sword takes root. The blade seems to shimmer brighter than before, as if it were sharpened and cleaned in mid-swing. The blade has -1 weight now, making it faster in combat.

The player is limited only by common sense and of course imagination. The Beast was added into the mix to keep things balanced. I may alter this play mechanic to something else, but there needs to be a counter-balance in play or there will be Uber-Characters running around who cannot be destroyed.

(this is incidentally where I am most divided, and input would be keen. Should the "conflict" be from within themselves as The Beast? Or should the Void itself be the conflict? As it is, from what I have told here is only the very bare-bones. There is a whole realm of interesting crap going on in the backdrop behind the scenes.)

Each species has their own views on magick, Void, etc. Obviously the magick-dependant race would not mind it at all, and so forth. The ideas have developed a LOT over the last few years, and mostly overr the last few months they have exploded into over 100 pages of typed goodies :)

did i get it THAT time?

[sayter]

oh and on that note: As the players learn of their newfound powers they will undoubtedly encounter conflict through wanting to use their power for good or evil.

saving/harming others(preferably good guys of course), and honing their powers will be extremely important. They will , in their travels, gather many comrades and people who see their amazing abilities and think them gods, saints...whatever the case would be with local superstitions and so forth.

this would increase their status , for they would soon build a reputation and their name might become known. thus, the social intrigue part of the game comes into play.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

Okay, let me see if I can summarize what you have there as far as what the characters do:

First- They are either hunters or hunted.  If hunters, their mission is to go forth and subdue their prey.  Their prey consists of two groups of people: Mages and Dreamers.  If hunted, their duty is to run, find others like themselves for protection and learning, and advance their cause.  Their enemies are both regular society and the "Eyes."

Second- Characters are to explore their powers and make a choice: good or evil.

Third- Motivation for characters and perhaps players can also come from a Fame mechanic that denotes how well known each PC is and how well accepted or hated they might be.

Before I go on, I just want to make sure I understand you correctly.  Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of this or let me know if I am at least in the same ball park :)

Peace,

-Troy

[sayter]

Well, let me say that I am still shaping the ideas into a full concept I am happy with, and that will work in the game world.

"First- They are either hunters or hunted. If hunters, their mission is to go forth and subdue their prey. Their prey consists of two groups of people: Mages and Dreamers."

Not exactly. They, again, are not exactly aware of what they are or where their power stems from.  They are aware of Void, and know it is a taint on the world. So in essence they hunt Void, whether it be to take down the nightmares it spawns or simply to drain it of its lifeblood by using their powers.
" If hunted, their duty is to run, find others like themselves for protection and learning, and advance their cause. Their enemies are both regular society and the "Eyes."  "

This is pretty accurate, yes. Though they are not necessarily hunted when this occurs. Since society as a whole is mostly ignorant to their existence, the Eye is the real threat. Likewise, the nightmares of Void are a threat to them. Society can be a problem, if those loyal to the Eye and their vision of Taboo see what they can do and make note of it to them.

"Second- Characters are to explore their powers and make a choice: good or evil. "

That seems wholly accurate. A constant personal conflict, in a dark and forbidding world where people suffer from the wrath of Nightmares, or are elevated from the powers of Good dreams (not quite sure what to refer to these as yet). They do not really understand their powers but as they develop they realise they could be used to reshape the world. They could cast down the nightmares and horrors beyond the borders of the civilized kingdoms. Thus, they would be heroes of great importance. Or rise against the society and become inheritors of the world, using lesser people as slaves and fodder.

"Third- Motivation for characters and perhaps players can also come from a Fame mechanic that denotes how well known each PC is and how well accepted or hated they might be. "

This is largely conjecture and highly a concept at the moment. The way I see it, since there is such a small population, any exploits which are sung about by bards, told in tales by witnesses and so forth would spread swiftly and be known too all before too long. Thus, being nameless would eithe be a massive advantage or huge detriment depending on the nature of it.

I am currently re-evaluating the Dreamer vs Magick concepts based on your questioning earlier. I need to make each unique in some way. As it stands I have a very flexible (unlimited capacity) system for dreamers, but an equally flexible system for magick. Thus both can essentialyl cause the same sort of effects. Overlap isnt a big deal as long as it isnt total. Finding a balance is key.

Thus I am trying to decide whether to lessen the flexibility of Dreamers somewhat. Instead of having the Strata offer extreme influence,give each Strata a number of "powers" within them. Thus, the 3 strata a dreamer is initialy allowed would give access to a wealth of different powers.

However, this hampers the initial concept, and sort of amputates the entire set of ideas it was based around.

I could do a similar thing to magick, but likewise that hampers it.....so what to do..... A tough one.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

Good answers.  Let me help you elaborate on them now :)

They [the PCs], again, are not exactly aware of what they are or where their power stems from. They are aware of Void, and know it is a taint on the world. So in essence they hunt Void, whether it be to take down the nightmares it spawns or simply to drain it of its lifeblood by using their powers.

-Okay, if this is true then it tells me that the Void is not just a prop or plot device but MUST also be a mechanic in your game.  If it taints the world, it must (at least potentially) taint the characters.  Likewise, the character must be able to "hurt" it in some way.  How would you plan on encorporating Void into the daily lives of the PCs?

" If hunted, their duty is to run, find others like themselves for protection and learning, and advance their cause. Their enemies are both regular society and the "Eyes." "

This is pretty accurate, yes. Though they are not necessarily hunted when this occurs. Since society as a whole is mostly ignorant to their existence, the Eye is the real threat. Likewise, the nightmares of Void are a threat to them. Society can be a problem, if those loyal to the Eye and their vision of Taboo see what they can do and make note of it to them.

-Alrighty.  That sounds great.  Being hunted must also be a mechanic.  I suggest putting it in the character generation part of your game.  The PCs should start out with something like a mortal enemy, angry guild, bounty hunter, or mob who either has or is harrassing them.  That way conflict starts right off the bat.  There is no need to give the PCs breathing space in the begining, start them off with a history of being hunted even if they haven't realized they are a Dreamer or Magus yet.  How might the GM use "being hunted" besides the initial conflict after Chargen?  Is is the central focus or the subplot of a campaign?

"Second- Characters are to explore their powers and make a choice: good or evil. "

That seems wholly accurate. A constant personal conflict, in a dark and forbidding world where people suffer from the wrath of Nightmares, or are elevated from the powers of Good dreams (not quite sure what to refer to these as yet). They do not really understand their powers but as they develop they realise they could be used to reshape the world.

-Good.  Again, this needs to be represented by a mechanic.  The choice between good and evil must be a focal point of the character.  It doesn't need to be an all-or-nothing mechanic where the PCs make a final choice.  Instead it could be a journey that leads them down one path or another.  Perhaps even character advancement could be tied to it and certain powers gained by traveling down one path or the other.  You might have a better idea :)

"Third- Motivation for characters and perhaps players can also come from a Fame mechanic that denotes how well known each PC is and how well accepted or hated they might be. "

This is largely conjecture and highly a concept at the moment. The way I see it, since there is such a small population, any exploits which are sung about by bards, told in tales by witnesses and so forth would spread swiftly and be known too all before too long. Thus, being nameless would eithe be a massive advantage or huge detriment depending on the nature of it.

-Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like this idea for character advancement.  Perhaps you make your game set up to where the PCs must make a name for themselves to gain power and understanding.  They earn Fame Points lets say.  For every so many Fame Points they gain power and knowledge.  However, more people will hear about them.  In some areas where Dreaming and Magick are excepted, the PCs will be treated with hospitality and reverence.  In places suspicious or even violent against such things, the PCs will be attacked on sight.  Thus you are piling on more conflict- the more they get ahead, the harder it is to get by.

I am currently re-evaluating the Dreamer vs Magick concepts based on your questioning earlier. I need to make each unique in some way. As it stands I have a very flexible (unlimited capacity) system for dreamers, but an equally flexible system for magick. Thus both can essentialyl cause the same sort of effects. Overlap isnt a big deal as long as it isnt total. Finding a balance is key.

-I might suggest you make Mages have a wide variety of powers but that power is limited, while Dreamers have very specific powers but that power is almost unlimited.  For instance, a Magus might know about stone and he can conjure a stone golem.  A Dreamer that knows about stone might be able to move an entire mountain!  However, the Magus also knows about fire, water, teleportation, mind reading, and so on.  The players have to make a choice: a variety of powers versus a single limitless power.

-Hope this helps! :)

Peace,

-Troy

[Andrew Cooper]

"Third- Motivation for characters and perhaps players can also come from a Fame mechanic that denotes how well known each PC is and how well accepted or hated they might be. "

This is largely conjecture and highly a concept at the moment. The way I see it, since there is such a small population, any exploits which are sung about by bards, told in tales by witnesses and so forth would spread swiftly and be known too all before too long. Thus, being nameless would eithe be a massive advantage or huge detriment depending on the nature of it.

-Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like this idea for character advancement. Perhaps you make your game set up to where the PCs must make a name for themselves to gain power and understanding. They earn Fame Points lets say. For every so many Fame Points they gain power and knowledge. However, more people will hear about them. In some areas where Dreaming and Magick are excepted, the PCs will be treated with hospitality and reverence. In places suspicious or even violent against such things, the PCs will be attacked on sight. Thus you are piling on more conflict- the more they get ahead, the harder it is to get by.

My first thought was to actually tie in the "Fame" stat to the power level of a Dreamer.  After all, if dreams and nightmares have some sort of power might not being infamous and the subject of many people's nightmares garner a sort of power... or being a hero and the subject of those types of dreams garner another sort of power.

Just brainstorming a little...

[Valamir]

-Alrighty. That sounds great. Being hunted must also be a mechanic. I suggest putting it in the character generation part of your game. The PCs should start out with something like a mortal enemy, angry guild, bounty hunter, or mob who either has or is harrassing them. That way conflict starts right off the bat. There is no need to give the PCs breathing space in the begining, start them off with a history of being hunted even if they haven't realized they are a Dreamer or Magus yet. How might the GM use "being hunted" besides the initial conflict after Chargen? Is is the central focus or the subplot of a campaign?

Yeah "Being Hunted" needs to be part of the actual mechanics.  Too many games make the mistake of just making it part of the background setting where it just sits twiddling its thumbs until the GM decides to do something with it.  Better to make it a staple part of the rules.

Something like this:

1) The player can choose to reroll any failed roll whenever he wants.
2) Each reroll adds a die to the Hunted pool.
3) When the number of dice in the Hunted pool reaches a threshold equal to the character's Fame, the Hunters strike.  This means that the more Famous you become, the fewer strikes you'll suffer (you're too powerful / well known / important to harass casually) but when the strike does come it will be that much greater.
4) Roll the dice in the pool and sum the results.  The total is used (in some fashion) to determine the strength of Hunter's strike.
5) The strike is immediate, potentially derailing whatever the character is involved in.
6) At various times in the game the players will have the option to flee and abandoned something important to their characters.  When they do this, the hunted level drops as they've gone underground and are harder to find.

That's just a rough brainstorm but its an example of how you can make these concepts a central feature of the game mechanics.

[Andrew Morris]

Interesting background, but listen to the advice given so far. Knowing what the game is about, and designing your mechanics to support that is crucial.

Also, you mention a plague. What happened to it? It's only referenced once, but we can infer that it stopped or was stopped. Is it a necessary element? Because if it's not, I'd just get rid of it.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

Wow, Ralph!  That idea rocks!  I highly recomend Ralph's suggestion or a form of it, Satyer.  It sounds a lot like what you might be looking for. :)

Peace,

-Troy

[Simon Marks]

I'd also suggest as an addendum to Ralph's hunted mechanic, that there is a random element to how much the Hunters Pool goes up by.

Otherwise you may find that the Hunted's pool = Fame Level - 1, more or less consistently.

Essentially, I would suggest that each reroll alters the Hunted Pool by 1d6 with the results being -1,0,+1,+1,+2,+3 or some such.

Or, as another thought, allow other people to re-roll using your Hunters dice.