[Stealing Heaven]- a game of occult initiation and human limitations

[Spooky Fanboy]

Also, the more I think aobut it:

Let there be two systems for the game: dice rolling for the struggles to set the elements of a Design in order, but use Cards to show how many Elements are filled in. Once all of them are filled, the Design works, and the character narrates the result. Several Designs could be kept up and running, but then it starts to divide the character's supply of cards...and makes it easy for others to block or pervert the Design.

Also, here's a fun idea: Malice, Ambition, and Insanity show how much oomph the Designs have, how effective they are. But let's throw in a twist to say that Designs to boost one's Scale (how much of an are one can effect) are based on Sanity, Empathy, etc. the opposites of your "effectiveness" traits. You have to move in harmony with The Great Work to understand it; the more you move with it, the more it opens itself up to you. So it ppays to restrain yourself and work on your good side.

Is there a way around that, so that you can move up while being as much of a prick as you can be? Sure, but it requires a contract with The Enemy. Just sign right here, ignore where it says "soul", that's a typo...

[charles]

whoo. very very cool. my ideas?

* love the 3-stats-only. keep it simple, keep it clean. there's enough conceptually to wrestle with (& that's a Good THing) that the less distraction & clutter the better. You could name the opposite axes, but why? If the mechanics are clear and simple, there'll be no need. And I think you'll really really want clear simple mechanics to make this soar in play the way it does when you describe it here.

* love those 3 stats being 'the good', ie Empathy, Peace, Sanity (or whatever, the exact names aren't so important. You can tweak those). Why? Well for one, who wants to run a character defined by Malice, Anger and Insanity? I say go with the good--its more of a jolt when the player's gotta try to diminish them as they play. Incrementally, it starts to sink in. But go for the cosy surburban idyll, before slowly parting the curtains on the seething, crawling morass beneath.

* The reduction of all your character scores also fits with the whole Stolen Enlightenment: the reduction of self to 0, represented visibly by those shrinking scores. Your scores thus become a powerful and exceedingly visible metaphor for the goal of the game. Because that's what its all about, right? To get close enough to the vanishing point to be able to scale Heaven's walls, while keeping back whatever you can of what you must by rights give up entirely--and still pulling it off.

* If you go with cards or dice, my advice is stick to one method only. Be ruthless in the leanness of your mechanics. Pare away the complexity wherever you can. There will be enough to juggle (for you to write & explain, & for players to understand & implement) with Designs and strangeness and and the whole conceptual richness of it all.

and.. whoo. very VERY cool.

good luck!

charles

[Doug Ruff]

Looks like another cool Bailywolf setting, grats!

Random thought inspired by reading this: identity is a key issue in this game. If you know the true nature of something, you have power over it. And if anything understands your true nature, they have power over you!

To enter heaven 'legitimately' you have to erase all trace of your individuality and identity. From the human perspective, this sucks: you get to go to heaven, but it's not really you going there, you've just become what heaven wants you to be. The protagonists effectively are saying "screw that".

Just as Heaven wants to erase your identity, the Enemy wants to erase your actual existence. You're causght in the middle. have a nice day.

Mechanical impact of this? Cool Initiate powers are an expression of your individualism, and refusal to accept the metaphysical status quo. However, this makes you a target, as you are (a) sticking your head above the parapet and (b) giving away a clue to your true nature, which makes it easier for other Initiates to manipulate you.

(Which also conveniently explains a lot of the secret society mumbo-jumbo - it's the occult equivalent of the Witness Protection Scheme.)

Hope you find this useful, and I await more details with great interest.