It's a great bunch of questions to help me focus my game.
Answers to Power 19

1.) What is your game about?It’s about strong dilemas like “If I could drain the sun’s energy to save my lover’s soul, should I do it?”. Some sacrifices are necessary to gain something, and the planet is often the one making the sacrifice.
Kissanil is also about evasion from reality by playing a character very different from our daily reality.

2.) What do the characters do?The characters are generally adventurers or important characters hoping to change the face of the world in whatever way they want. They are rarely seeking glory, fortune or danger for the fun of it (respect is not acquired this way in Kissanil). They are generally in conflict with one or more factions. I also work presently on the need to respect the usefulness of a team. Characters used to be able to do everything; now they are more specialized (team play never occurred in my Vampires camapign and it is one thing I don’t want see again).

3.) What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?The players have one character each, detailed on a complex character sheet. It meticulously shows all their abilities and skills. There is also a storyteller with much job to do. He must choose what rules to use (I hope he will use them all!), what story to tell and how to describe what the characters perceive.
I also advise to play at least one NPC following the player’s characters wherever they go. This character could be better developped than those of the players. He must have flaws and be as complex as necessary; he could be a traitor or have a difficult personnality. Many dilemas will probably come from that character (for exemple: difficult roamance like Escaflowne).
Furthermore, the Storyteller must remember that he is the only god of Kissanil. He is like Bastien in the Neverending Story novel. He can make strange things happen like 0,0000001% chances events.
-As a Storyteller, do you like to have that much responsabilities?

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?My world is in the throes of constant apocalypse. It is not to say that it is never calm but the storm is always brewing. That constant life threatening situation creates readiness in people. They don’t create communities to discuss ideas, they rarely write books or think a long time. They act, and when dilemas occurs, it is resolved quickly. Many such decisions were made in the heat of tension. It is not to say that diplomacy doesn’t exist, it’s just that cold war don’t last long.
My Frakal (factions) are also the major source of conflict. The tangled web of politics quickly creates dilemmas (for example, the merchants are allied with the demonic slavers. Even then, it would be catastrophic to destroy the world economy).
As for the evasion of reality, there are no humans in Kissanil. There are no cats, dogs, horses...There are no marblestone, no pinetrees, no oxygen (there is breathable air but it is not oxygen). The situations must also be stranger like living fireballs walking toward a city. To make it stranger, I choose not to use Elves and Dwarves as they are too common.

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?Everyone in Kissanil is powerful. They can transform the world around them much more than a simple human could. For exemple, they can craft stone with their hands very quickly, creating a house in less than 3 hours. Every character also has flaws giving him more depth.

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
I reward fun around the table. I award xp for a good laugh or intense drama and emotion. I would punish hack and slash gamers.

7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?I award xp points for good roleplaying, drama and humor. I also reward xp for overcoming physical, mental or social obstacles. I punish hack and slash with characters repercussions in his life or finding a more enjoyable player. Violence in game is good if there is a story reason.

8.) How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?Oldschool type. The Storyteller describes the world and the players describe their character’s action. However, the Storyteller must always crush credibility for the sake of the story. If a character can explain everything around him, the sense of wonder is lost.

9.) What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)The game is created to instill a sense of wonder in the players and the complex plots were designed to make them feel emotive. I always center my campaign around the characters and not the other way around. A Storyteller must know what kind of game a player want before making it.

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?It is resolved by task rolls. Every sword strike need a dice roll. I could explain my choice by writing that I love unexpected situation ---. It is calculated by an ability (like Dexterity) added with the skill (Melee) added to a D10 and a D8. These dices are the basic roll.

11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?Should I save my dying friend or strike my nemesis now? Dilemas like that happen a lot when tactical battle is involved. Critical hits and miss are also fun and we often forget our daily life when we fear losing our loved character.

12.) Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?I don’t know other methods than Legend points of Earthdawn (I don’t like), XP and Levels in Dungeon (I don’t like) and Karma in Shadowrun (my xp are like that). XP points are spent to raise attributes, skills, Kissan…At any point during the game. Character training dictates where to invest those xp and so a very powerful wizard who never felt physical pain will have only 5 hp.
Any character could try to learn any Kissan (power) and so, it’s possible that any character learn to fly without being a wizard.
When a character acquires a total of 10 Xp, he gains 1 more Fëas. These Fëas points are like fatigue point. You spend it to use Kissan (powers) or to put more energy in a die roll (every Fëas point spent grant you +1 on your roll).
The award in equipment, money and friends is also evident.
-Is there an xp award that could be more useful for me?

13.) How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?With awards comes power. With power comes responsibility. Dilemas like the one I explained comes from these responsabilities and power. Imagination is also more prevalent when a character can fly surrounded by fire and shooting lightning from his palms.

14.) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?I want players to feel memorable moments around the table to tell around the campfire. I want them to feel emotive about the situation their characters are in. I also want them to be fascinated by the wrld and their actions.
Some aspect of my games make people wonder about our human life after the game. The Merchant Revolt in my game is my critic about the Mega Corporation, the pollution and alienation in our world.

15.) What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?The strange species and their almost alien psychology. My Kissan (powers), my equipment (I want to create only new, never seen before, weapons), and my locations were made to be strange. My new language called the Minshä was also meant to create a sense of otherworldness (even if you can play without).

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?The power and character diversity. The strong emotions felt during the dilemmas. I’ve tried my game as a player 5 times and I loved it (I Storytell in it since 18 years now). I loved to play a mute cursed Qysrith able to telekinetically move almost anything. The romance was great and the plot was very complex (it is still unfinished but I hope to play again soon). I always like to play something very different from me.

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can’t, don’t, or won’t?Many games prevent people from playing that kind of powerful characters (except Shadowrun’s mages). Even then, they never gave me the stats for all the important characters in the universe. I want to give a clear meticulous product. In my humble opinion, I dislike buying a book giving me only the cream of the cake, I want to know everything inside.

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?I wanted to concurrence Dungeon with Kissanil when I was 14 years old...I disliked every games I swaw because it was too simple or I had few information. Now, I think more rationally and my greatest aspiration would be to create a community of paying members (not much, maybe only 10$ per years to pay those millions of pictures I want) who could get an automatic update of a PDF Kissanil (with Lulu.com, I will have my book and be happy now).
-I really need some pictures. Without them, I will never write post my entire game. (my Site has less than 10% information on Kissanil)

19.) Who is your target audience?People who want to evade from the dull metro and try something strange. People who don’t have time to create a very complex world and are as meticulous as me. Peope who like details, who like tactical combats, who like complex metaplots, who like mangas and very magical world.
-Are there people like that somewhere? (maybe my product is too precise)

A few points I'm having trouble reconciling.  You say:

Conteur wrote:
1.) What is your game about?It’s about strong dilemas like “If I could drain the sun’s energy to save my lover’s soul, should I do it?”. Some sacrifices are necessary to gain something, and the planet is often the one making the sacrifice.

2.) What do the characters do?The characters are generally adventurers or important characters hoping to change the face of the world in whatever way they want. They are rarely seeking glory, fortune or danger for the fun of it (respect is not acquired this way in Kissanil).

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
. . . I award xp for a good laugh or intense drama and emotion.

Conteur wrote:
2.) What do the characters do? . . . I also work presently on the need to respect the usefulness of a team. Characters used to be able to do everything; now they are more specialized

19.) Who is your target audience? . . . Peope who like details, who like tactical combats

Conteur wrote:
11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?Should I save my dying friend or strike my nemesis now? Dilemas like that happen a lot when tactical battle is involved.

I commonly put an action scene right in the beginning of the game but I don't like boring combat. So, tactical combat is something I like.
Then, I love it when the whole game continue in dramatic roleplaying.
Sometimes, there is no combat at all but when there is one, I want it to be tactical and dramatic.
As for the dilemas during a fight, I can think as a war veteran and count my soldier's heads but I can also do stupid things because my emotions drive me to do them. Hmmm.Maybe my example is not clear...
As my new Game Example in my site show, I use task resolution to increase tension in players and in characters. If a character knows he's not a good lie detector, he could jump on you by suspicion of treachery...
Maybe my mechanic is flawed but it's the only one I knows...

Hi Patrick !!! Me again ...

Your power 19 gives me information about your goals... but not how your mechanic helps you reach them !!!

For instance :

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?Everyone in Kissanil is powerful. They can transform the world around them much more than a simple human could. For exemple, they can craft stone with their hands very quickly, creating a house in less than 3 hours. Every character also has flaws giving him more depth.

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
I reward fun around the table. I award xp for a good laugh or intense drama and emotion. I would punish hack and slash gamers.

As I said, I would punish hack and slash for no reason. One of my player play a very deep Dh'Flnds character named Thandarryllh. It's a kind of angry flaming demon with a weak spot for an innocent Zarag.
Sometimes, when he's really angry, hate consumes him and he go on a rampage of destruction. It's okay with me so far as he recognize many people will hear about that and consider to eliminate him. Many games passed by without any fights (that player dislike fighting) but when it's story oriented, it's necessary...
Furthermore, the risk of losing your character is very real in Kissanil (in less than 3-4 hits or 1 lucky hit). I could say it's easy to punish stupidity...
As for my flaws, I didn't say it but you gain Character Creation points for every flaws you take. Most players also love to have flaws that adds a great roleplaying complexity.
I play a cursed mute Qysrith and I love my flaws. The gamemaster based the story on it. I would probably have never tried that kind of character in a game that would give me nothing for my flaws.
So, one thing I don't know yet, is about xp. I tried to read more about Shadow of Yesterday and I didn't find many things...I want to know if I could use something else than xp (or check like Cthulhu) to show character advancement?
I also want to know if my site colors are good now, then I could work on the contents some more (I already wrote a game example and two species details).

Merci.beaucoup Sébastien!
Thanks again for your help!

Patrick, here are my comments :

Sometimes, when he's really angry, hate consumes him and he go on a rampage of destruction. It's okay with me so far as he recognize many people will hear about that and consider to eliminate him. Many games passed by without any fights (that player dislike fighting) but when it's story oriented, it's necessary...

As for my flaws, I didn't say it but you gain Character Creation points for every flaws you take. Most players also love to have flaws that adds a great roleplaying complexity.

I think it would make this post too long for nothing. It’s not because Power 19 is not useful, far from it. It’s because my product is about a Setting more than about a System.
I’ve played Star Wars with the Shadowrun system, Call of Cthulhu with the old White Wolf system.
I’ve begun Kissanil with the Rolemaster system, and then we played it with the Earthdawn system. My system came only lately and is still somewhat unfinished (some Kissan are still flawed).
More than that, though, is that I dislike things like Nature/Demeanor of the old White Wolf or the Keys system of TsoY. They try to link system with roleplay, I prefer to award xp for good roleplay. One of my ex-player often took Bravo as a Nature and tried to play a hack and slash brujah vampire…

Some things that my system is good for are:
-Character creation involves spending a great amount of points wherever the player wishes. He can create a very weak character with much magical potential or a very charismatic noble character. Creating a very powerful Wizard mean he will be very weak both physically and socially (many games force you to be well-rounded; Kissanil is not one of them).
-Character’s advancement is progressive. There are no leaps of power like levels. There is also no maximum so you can play the same character for 8 years in a row (that is our way to create depth in a character). Furthermore, we never liked creating a character; we love playing her a long time.
-Eventually, a strong character would drain Kissanil’s resources very quickly. When he controls the Fëas (soul’s energy) or the element’s energy of Kissanil, he taps directly into her. The more powerful he is, the more power he drains from her.
-Tactical and quick combat with infinite magical effects. The dices tell you where each strike landed on your target. The system makes it easy to describe exactly the result of your skill or power.
-Diversity between every character. You can be quick; you can draw very well or draw very quickly. There are three different types of proficiency.

So I think the meat of my system is mostly centered on character’s advancement rather than on Character creation. My System is not really made to force roleplay. My Setting is.
Finally, I have a question about enforcing my goal in some mechanical way. I've seen some games and I've never found something I liked there. Do you have an idea?

Thanks again Sébastien,
I had to think very much on this one. I hope you’re not disappointed…

I think it would make this post too long for nothing. It’s not because Power 19 is not useful, far from it. It’s because my product is about a Setting more than about a System.

I’ve played Star Wars with the Shadowrun system, Call of Cthulhu with the old White Wolf system.
I’ve begun Kissanil with the Rolemaster system, and then we played it with the Earthdawn system. My system came only lately and is still somewhat unfinished (some Kissan are still flawed).

More than that, though, is that I dislike things like Nature/Demeanor of the old White Wolf or the Keys system of TsoY. They try to link system with roleplay, I prefer to award xp for good roleplay. One of my ex-player often took Bravo as a Nature and tried to play a hack and slash brujah vampire…

Some things that my system is good for are:

So I think the meat of my system is mostly centered on character’s advancement rather than on Character creation. My System is not really made to force roleplay. My Setting is.

Finally, I have a question about enforcing my goal in some mechanical way. I've seen some games and I've never found something I liked there. Do you have an idea?

I've played Kissanil with many games but none could give me what I really wanted. I think you could still play Kissanil with D20, Rolemaster, Fudge or TSoY. However, some adjustment would be necessary because the setting was made around the rules. In Kissanil, a house takes about 3 hours to build and so the magic must be boosted very much...
The overral goal of Kissanil is dilemmas and evasion, but more than that, every RPG goal should be to have fun. If a Storyteller don't like rules, he has the duty to change them the way he like.
I would not play TSoY as it stand because I think xp should be always awarded for what you learn, not what you are. I learned many things in my life that are in no way linked to my Key (or my personnality). I'm learning maths right now and maths continue to be my weak point. I changed my Key many time in my life and still I can return to my origin.
It's only my opinion and maybe I don't understand the Key system correctly but I know I don't want to make xp system centered on roleplaying. I didn't compare TSoY and White Wolf, just the way they reward roleplaying.
I thought of a new system I could use by seeing some of the games you mentionned. Instead of awarding xp for roleplay and fun (like I do), I would award something like a Player's pool. They could have a communal pool of point increasing every time we have fun or we see good drama. Every player could boost one of his roll by using these communal points. Is it a good idea?

The overral goal of Kissanil is dilemmas and evasion, but more than that, every RPG goal should be to have fun.

I would not play TSoY as it stand because I think xp should be always awarded for what you learn, not what you are.

I thought of a new system I could use by seeing some of the games you mentionned. Instead of awarding xp for roleplay and fun (like I do), I would award something like a Player's pool. They could have a communal pool of point increasing every time we have fun or we see good drama. Every player could boost one of his roll by using these communal points. Is it a good idea?

pells wrote: Be careful with fun. Fun is just like humor, it depends on the person. What you might think as fun may not be found fun by others. For some people, having fun in a rpg is to play without DM, short games with a strong system that takes into account narrative power. That might not seem fun to you.

your approach should not be "do I like this ?", but "do these rules help reach the designer's goals ?".

That said, the place of your setting in your product, the way it is written, the information you provide : state this and tell the public how it helps reach your goals.

In d20, you earn xp by killing monsters, so this is what is encouraged.

Anyway, Patrick, I strongly advice you, again, to think about your game as a whole, not just separated pieces (PC creation, progression ...).

You said that maybe that goal wasn't for me. Why it it, so, that every player felt my world was the most dilemma-making world they have seen? I don't think it's just my Storytelling style...

I know my rules are not really oriented for dilemmas but that's only because I can't find a way that please me to do that. If I don't like the rules I create, I will stop to create my game right now. My goal was and is achieved through my setting, if I could achieve it through my system in a way that I like, I would do it.

I could use an example about that. Is the way I wrote my Frakal (in my PDF) a good way?

In fact, in D20, you can earn xp with any challenge. I've played intrigue, horror and political game with that system. You earn xp when you learn. I want to use a system like that. In fact, that's why the D20 system and Rolemaster work so well in Kissanil (I could also try Fudge). Anyway, all Storyteller use the Golden rule and keep only the core idea).

I just think you can also have poor roleplay in TSoY when a player choose to take every Key just to gain more xp (yeah, stupid of them but when you think about power, you think this way (and you forget the rule about Transcend)).

At long last, I was able to do a part of it and discuss it with my players. In my pdf (english only), I now explain the way to use Kissanil to create dilemma in a step by step method of creating a campaign. I saw that dilemma could happen in any game but now, it's impossible to play to my game without it (in fact, this game is intented to be played a long time and not for just one quick story).
Thanks a lot Sebastien, this was a truly great question I had to answer. I'm still not finished with it but I just wanted to know if I'm on track...
As for a game system about dilemma, one of my player made me look upon my Fëas Pacts system. I wasn't discussing it and it's one of the primary way to create hard dilemma. Maybe I should find a way to create weaker Fëas Pacts that are more common.

I'm still not finished with it but I just wanted to know if I'm on track...

As for a game system about dilemma, one of my player made me look upon my Fëas Pacts system. I wasn't discussing it and it's one of the primary way to create hard dilemma. Maybe I should find a way to create weaker Fëas Pacts that are more common.

Meanwhile, the Storyteller decides that to create confusion and wonder, the KissanJiJi must succeed.