Unworthy - A Working Mechanic?

[Enoch]

A long long time ago, I posted woes over coming up with a rule mechanic.  Settings are freaking easy.  Rules are hard.

Anyway, I don't have a cohesive mechanic right now.  This post's purpose is kind of selfish.  Its an excuse to help me solidify my ideas.

Anyhoo.  The following is kind of long.  If you want you can just pass this part and go down to the part where I talk about the rules.

Unworthy was originally just a setting that first formed when I was just a youngster (hrm... maybe 6th or 7th grade).  The setting has matured over time (at first there were space aliens and special power sattelites ^_^).  I've always used another system instead of making up my own.  Well...everytime that I've ran the damn game I've changed the rules to something differant in hopes that the new system will fit the setting better.  Eventually I realized I should just develop my own rules systems.  That ended up being a lot harder than I originally thought.

Unworthy is about an otherworldly invasion (not space aliens) where the majority of the world was taken prisoner and brought back to the invaders own dimensions (it only sounds cheesey I promise!).  Because the invaders were truly alien in mind and body they objectively decided which people were worth taking.  They did this through society's own qualification.  The unworthy are those 17 and under (not considered citizens in most countries), the terminally ill, the handicapped, prisoners, and the elderly (I believe 65 or up, I'll have to check my notes).  This of course leaves the current population decimated, with only about 40% of the Earth's human population left.

Most of the world, being the weaker part of society, did not fare well at first.  Two reasons.  The strong preyed upon the weak.  The prisoner population being the strongest of the leftover population quickly dominated the other groups.  The second reason is that the otherworldly beings left behind guardians and executioners for whatever reason.  These guardians are usually only found in cities, thus blocking off great amounts of the world's resources.

This leaves behind a strange 'post-apocalyptic' world where children and young adults try to survive (by far the most numerous population).  The earth hasn't been decimated.  The only major damage would be the roads which, because of the way the otherworldly beings (from here on referred to as outsiders) carried out there kidnappings, left behind unmanned vehicles still in motion.  Tools and the like are easy to come by because there are far too many than needed.  Shelter is easy to come by.  Simply find an abandoned building.  Most populations group together into enclaves or gangs, with a few weird 'public' outposts.

I didn't really give it justice, cause I'll need to sit down and squeeze out all of the atmosphere that the setting has from my brain.

-------------------start rule system here------------------------

Ok, I don't have anything in concrete yet.  Here goes...

Characters are defined by skills and quirks (which can be good and bad).  There are no stats, and if needed things like strength can be represented with a quirk (e.g. 'really strong' or 'weakling').  There will be a skill list, but the quirks won't be set (I'm thinking of doing the same with skills just to be consistent).

Skills are ranked 0 to 5.  0 being no skill.

The task resolution system is kind of iffy right now.  Unopposed tasks are simple.  An unopposed task is given a difficulty and if the character has a skill equal to it he succeeds.  It is usually assumed that unopposed actions do not need to be handled with much detail.  

Opposed actions use something I call the Edge System (que- cool anime slashs).  It is similar to HeroWars slightly.  All characters have a pool of Edge to work with.  It represents how much of an advantage you have compared to your opponents that you have. (Damn my sentences seem awkward tonight).

1. When two characters face off (combat, racing, diplomatic debate, sneaking, etc.) they multiply the relevant skill by 3 (or 5, I'm not sure how much inflation I want).  This is their Skill Edge.  
2.  Next any helpful/harmful quirks are added in.  Usually on a 1 for 1 basis, but some quirks will provide differant points of Edge in differant
3.  Then any situational modifers from environment or position are added in (a guide to help determine how much differant situations effect Edge will be given).

All these factors add up to your starting Edge.

Here's the undeveloped part.  You face off.  You can gamble Edge for a variety of effects.  Raise your own edge, lower your opponent's, size up your enemy, accomplish minor things, run away.  Also gambling Edge isn't always required, simple actions and good ideas can also raise your Edge.  Depending on how you play it you'll either want to extend the contest to make sure you have enough Edge to win.  Or attack right away if you know you have enough to safely win.

Anyway at anytime any character involved in a contest can call for an Ending Contest (terminology still being worked on).  To do this the person must spend Edge, and anyone who doesn't want the Ending Contest can spend Edge as well.  If the person who called the Ending Contest spent more (its all done secretly) then the Ending Contest occurs.  If not the opponent still has time to gain the upper hand.  An opponent can also spend Edge before an Ending Contest occurs to help limit the things the opponent can do to him if he wins.

Ending Contest:  This part is real easy.  Roll 2d6 add your current amount of Edge.  Whoever rolls higher gets to narrate the results of the contest (similar to Dust Devils).  The higher the margin the more brutal you can trounce your opponent.

-Err... this post went way longer than I planned.  I'll leave it at this for now.  I should catch some shut eye.

-Joshua

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Joshua,

Two games you might check out include:

The End - a game about those who are left over after the Last Judgment has come and gone. Its general setting has some similarities with your idea.

The Pool - a system built for gambling dice and organizing narration. See the Random Order Creations forum here at the Forge.

I offer these in hopes of helping you solidify some of your ideas and whip this (obviously long-standing) set of notions into a game.

Best,
Ron