Once Upon a Time in a Role-playing Game

Anybody can be average, it's those of us with drive that excel beyond the ordinary. Nothing about this game is average and ordinary. Everything in it is a little bit larger than life.

The Means
The Means are what we have to work with, the foundation of it all. But as with all structures, each foundation is different to accommodate the need.

Means begin being rated at 1-5 except for Soul.
To get your starting Means roll 3d6 and spread out the total
If no Way applies to the roll needed, then players can use their way as a target number.

Mind
It's our Mind that gives us the tools to overcome problems of a cerebral nature.

Body
It's our Body that is our tool against physical adversity.

Heart
Heart is what it takes to carry on, to overcome our demons
Villians are rated in negative heart
In Once Upon a Time, people don't get hurt in a physical body point sense. They lose Heart.
Heart can be used to replace any other means if you are facing a personal demon.
If you lose all Heart, the Character can die, or it is possible they become a villian. Or vice versa. You can gain Heart back by spending six points of Drive per die of Heart lost.

Where as villians are made just like heroes, goons would only have one in Heart, so it's okay to take out a room full of them.

Soul
We all have our inner demons. It's those inner demons that focus our life.
You can increase your Soul points during character creation by taking more inner demons.
If you overcome an inner demon, you keep the soul point.
You can get more Soul points if you take more inner demons.
Soul Points can be spent like Drive, but cannot be regained until the end of the game, or you take another inner demon.
Inner demons and Soul can be gained through your actions in play.
Soul can be used to replace another means to make a roll but at a cost of a Soul point.

Drive
Drive is what it takes to make it all happen, especially when you need it most.

Your Drive total is all of your Means added together
Drive points can be used to add to success, eliminate failures, or boost the Means when you need it the most.
Drive point refresh at the beginning of each game session, or if the GM feels a significant amount of time has passed for rest etc.

The Way
As the Means are what we have to work with, the Way is how we do it.
Ways are rated between 1-5

Examples would be:
Way of the Sword
Way of the Gun

Doing what you do best
To do what you do best you roll a number of d6 equal to the Means you are going to use under or equal to your way. 6's count for nothing and take away a success and ones re-roll for an extra chance at success.

If something is harder to do, GM's take away a Means die. If it's easier they can add to them.

1 success- You almost did it but.
2successes- You did it, barely
3 successes- You did it just fine
4 successes- you do it better than most
5 successes- you do it better than anybody

Experience can be used to Raise Ways and Means up to five, except for soul which is limitless.


This is something I've been working on to keep from going insane. I'm not sure what experience costs would be but I'm real interested in hearing what you guys think of it.

Sylus

There doesn't seem to be too much to it at this point....I mean the mechanics are nothing all that new, aside from some different names.

You allude a lot to inner demons, so I assume the game is somehow about them. But how are these actually involved? What's the purpose of the game, and what is play like? (Standard questions I know, but applicable.)

There doesn't seem to be too much to it at this point....I mean the mechanics are nothing all that new, aside from some different names.

You allude a lot to inner demons, so I assume the game is somehow about them. But how are these actually involved? What's the purpose of the game, and what is play like? (Standard questions I know, but applicable.)