a new fantasy game

[Patrick Boutin]

This post is a logical sequel to the thread "some questions about fantasy" in the Rpg Theory forum.

First thing first, I want to let you know that the game in itself is at a foetal stage. I'm only toying with ideas but it's coming clearer as time goes by. I will have my first "playtest" of ideas this weekend with my group.

General idea for the setting:

The Land was a great place to live. Everything was flourishing and Mother Goddes was good with all her children. Than it came. The Apocalypse. The Plague. Nobody knows where they come from but everybody knows that it's the end. The end of the world as they know it.

The sun doesn't shine anymore. The laws of The Plague are cruel. No more flowers, no more love, no more life. Women don't have human child anymore. They only breed Brakhs. Love as we know it is punishable, yes, bye death.  Mother Goddess has abandoned us. Where our powers gone?

Finally, it came back. She didn't abandon us, we forget her. The powers is comin again. Maybe it's time that we regain our world.


Premise of the game:

Your living in a world controled by dark evil creatures and you're trying to get back your world has it was before the Plage ("grosso modo").


The first time I tought about the game it was going to be an epic sword & sorcery game. Epic because I want to talk about "mature" theme and sword & sorcery because I want only human in it.

Then I tought about Dwarf and Elf. What if the response of Mother Goddess to the Plague was Dwarf and Elf? What if she created some races to adapt part of the world to better fight the Plague? What is the life expectancy of Dwarf and Elf? Nobody knows. Nobody knows nothing about them because they're new. They are no more long lived immortal races.

I don't really where I will go with it, geezz, it's working really hard in my head right now. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

Patrick

[Mike Holmes]

OK, we got yer basic Post Apocalyptic fantasy here. Earthdawn, while post-Armageddon, might hold some insights for you.

Other than that, what sort of feedback would you like? Just how interesting the premise seems? Or are you looking for something in particular?

Mike

[Patrick Boutin]

Post Apocalyptic? Not necessarily. Apocalyptic yes. You're confronted to the Apocalypse every day. It's the way the world is now.

Yep, I forgot Earthdawn. But it's not about "fixing" Earthdawn. Earthdawn is more about exploring a devasted world. The game I want to make is more about taking back the world.

Yes some feedback about how interesting the premise seems would be great. And some feedback about the old fantasy feel with a new twist can be good or if it's a bad idea.

I know that it's easier to comment about rules, character creation, magic system and I will come back later with that (just want to really flesh out the basics around the game before beginning to talk about it).

Patrick

[thoth]

Seems interesting to me. Seems very "little guy versus the big evil"-ish, but without a "lost cause" feel. A story of hope and the fight for it, is what I see :)

[Patrick Boutin]

You've got it  thoth.

Patrick

[Mike Holmes]

You know, I'm sure this has been done, but can't think of where.

But that's not important. I think that premise is really the easy part of design. Most are "cool enough" (I've never seen anyone actually propose Accountant: the Ledgers; though done right, even that might work) to get people to play. It's all in the execution. Asking should I do it will mostly just get you, "yes, but only if you do it well".

Which we can't determine from just a premise. Details, man, details!

Mike

[Patrick Boutin]

Yes Mike it's always the same thing: only if you do it well :o)  It apply not only to game design but to everything.

What kind of details do you want?  Ask me and I will do my best to answer your questions.

Patrick

[Mike Holmes]

What will the characters be? What can they do to make a difference (or what scale)? Why do they care? How will this be reinforced in-game?

Oh, and any mechanics you care to share would be good. :-)

Mike

[Patrick Boutin]

Ok I will try to give you a little bit more... to what it's worth. Don't forget that it's really at the "brainstorming" stage. And before I go on, you have to know what kind of game I want: a fast and furious game, low on rules and fast on play. I don't really mind the "realistic" side of the rules (there some games that are doing really well in this domain... The Riddle of Steel suppose to be... yep, it's on the "to buy" list) and I really don't mind with "game" balance (more on this later).

What will the characters be? They will be the extentions of Mother Goddess. In some way they will have some "powers" (will it be combat, elemental magic, druidic magic, etc.) provided by Mother Goddess. Imagine a world were Demons run it, where you are slave. Before, you were a champion of the Mother and it's all gone with the Plague. Now it's coming back, differently but it's coming back. The taste for battle is returning, the hope is returning.

I know that somebody can say: he it's like Exalted. No it's not like that. The characters are not god. They cannot shake mountains but they have certain advantages beside normal mortal.

What can they do to make a difference? They can fight, they have too. They can try to make alliance with their ennemies of before.

Why do they care? How will this be reinforced in-game? Well. What would you do if I tell you that there is no more male child that see the day... only demon and female. What do you think they do with women? It has been 5 years since the Plague came... the youngest male have 5 years. The women are kept in what they call a "Nursery". You can no more make love to your wife anymore... it's punishable by death. You can no more take your child in your hands... you have no more child. All the Land is in slavery. But one day, it came back, Mother Goddess called you... Hope came back. It's why they care.

Now for the "mechanical" part of the thing :o)

I will separate it in character creation process and rule mechanics

Character Creation Process:
--------------------------------

You remember when I talked about in-game balance? It's all come here.  Anybody remember the movie "The Professional"? (with Jean Reno and Natalie Portman) I have this image in my mind: the seasoned warrior, sure of his battle skills, no one can beat him in a single combat and you have this little girl, so frelty, so innocent, not really skilled in nothing but she has "insight", it's a raw potential but her visions seems always to be true. It's in this way that the game will be "un-balanced".

A player will be able to create the character he want. The system will not be point based or random based. The only restriction will be based on the age of the character. Older the character will be he will have "acquired" habilities (skills, attribute, or whatever) and younger the character will be he will have "potential" habilities.

It will goes around this for character creation process.

Rule mechanics:
-------------------

Right now I'm really toying with rules.  One thing I'm lookin at currently is the rule of "Ten". Ten because for each action that will need the application of the rules you will have to throw then dice.

I know that ten dice may seems a lot but they will be a combination of 3 differents kind of dice: Success Dice, Miss Dices and Potential Dice.

A seasonned warrior with an Agility of 3 and a sword skill of 3 will throw 6 success dice and 4 miss dices. If he is in battle with another warrior then the warrior that has the more "successes" at the end of the action hit the other one. Something like that.

It's really in the "infancy" stage and any comments or feedback will be really appreciated.

Patrick

[Christoffer Lernö]

Are we talking about a Slaine-kind of thing here? The Mother Goddess and demons taking over the world but with elves. Kinda Slaine meets fantasy in a really dark setting?

- Just trying to figure out what you're saing.

[Patrick Boutin]

I'm sorry Pale Fire but I really don't know anything about "Slaine". Can you tell me more about it (Who wrote it, something like that)?

Yes it will be in a really really dark setting where nothing is anymore as ist was before. Mother Goddess here is the "good girl". When the Plague (the "bad" guys) came people forgot her. Now, with one act of love, she's coming back, slowly. Some people are chosen, given powers. They became holly warriors (not necessarily just "warriors").

Here "demons" only means "bad" guys not demons in the sens that we normally see it.

The first time that I was brainstorming the game I only thought about human in it after that I came with something like in "The Chronicles of the Shadow War" (Willow movie, books by Chris Claremont and Georges Lucas) for "faery tales" races and finally I had this idea: what if the creation of Dwarf and Elf was a reaction of Mother Goddess to the invasion.

Today, as I write this, I'm thinking that I will stick with only human as a player's race.

Hopes it clear things a bit. If you have more question feel free to ask.

Patrick