Desperately Seeking Quiddity

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Desperately Seeking Quiddity
« on: February 27, 2012, 12:04:18 AM »
First, I am not happy with this name... I never have found one that did it for me. Its been called so many other things; The Salandi Game, Ahtalis, and even The Entourage. I will say that this is a pretty deep hack, bits and bobs stolen from a lot of great minds, so it may not fit anywhere here on these boards.

Here is the pitch:
Chosen to join in the Circle, to lead your House, your family, and friends in the name of the Empire. You are a member of ruling elite, one of several people that rightfully claim stewardship over an Imperial House of the Salandi Empire. Trapped in a primal land that lies between the shattered remains of Creation, you must face the obligations of your own desire, your family's needs, and the demands of the Empire... To further the very continuation of Creation as you know it, you will lead a war of shadows against the hollowed shell of illusions left by the Sundering and the very real enemies of the Void, while honoring tradition and revering Quiddity itself.

I will post more over the next couple of days, but I figure I might get some interest (and push my self into completion) if I just throw a bit out there for otehrs to see.

Re: Desperately Seeking Quiddity
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2012, 01:22:33 AM »
What does this hack aim to accomplish? Why bother?
Well, I can honestly say that why boils down to mostly vanity. Between the hacks of DW and what John Harper has done I think I could play the setting with a fair bit of fidelity to what I had envisioned. One of the main goals is to create more granularity to a roll. The system sings to me of a fractal scaling of narrative motion, the story being able to focus in on those tender moments between two people  and then pulling back to see the grand march of time and nations ticking by... and best of all they can affect each other.

What I want out of this is something that players into a position of power and responsibility, to explore the bounds of obligation. I want room for a lot of growth within your own role, with the option to branch out.

Big Changes
The biggest change is in the dice mechanic. I drifted it to a die pool so we can count success and gain that granularity I wanted. Instead of three zones to guide the narrative, we will have varying dice types that create hits and misses. Each die that scores a of 5 or higher is a hit, while 1’s are misses. You use hits to shape the narrative according to the Move and MC (or opposing Player) uses misses to create complications that make the narrative more interesting.

Note: Many Moves will state +Attribute or Style (i.e. +Physique or +Acumen), this does not mean you are limited to that single category, it’s just the basis of the roll and you must use that aspect of your character in the roll that best suites your character and the situation.

If a die is reduced below the d4, it's an automatic Miss.
d4
d6
d8
d10
d12
d20
If a die is boosted beyond the fifth step, it is an automatic success.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2012, 01:37:39 AM by Weaverchilde »

Re: Desperately Seeking Quiddity
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2012, 01:52:58 AM »

You are allowed to roll up to 5 dice, that’s it. One die from each of the following categories: Attribute, Style, Gear, Trait, and Circumstance.

Attributes:
Physique
Finesse
Mettle
Gnosis
Verve

Styles and their related Basic Moves
Prowess
  • Engage in Violence
  • Walk through Fire

Daring
  • Laugh in the Face of Death
  • Seize By Force

Acumen
  • Asses a Sitch/Person
  • Make a Plan

Mythos
  • Call on a Pact
  • Spout Lore

Guile
  • Manipulate Someone
  • Skullduggery

Gear, Traits, and Circumstances are a bit more free form.

Re: Desperately Seeking Quiddity
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2012, 01:59:54 AM »
Prowess Moves

Engage in Violence
When you engage in violence, roll +Prowess.
For each Hit, choose one of the following:
•   Inflict Harm as established.
•   You seize an advantageous opportunity. Take +1Hit forward for yourself or another within your circle. (2)
•   You force your opponent back and they must disengage for a moment, inflict 3 Stress for the next exchange
•   You detect a weakness in your opponent’s defense. Do +1harm when you next inflict harm on them.
•   You take defensive measures. +1armor for the next exchange.
•   You change the fighting distance, terrain, or nature of the contest
•   (e.g. from swordplay in the hall to close grappling on the balcony)
For each Miss, the MC may choose one of the following:
•   Make a Hard Move
•   Take a Special Move as Established.
•   Inflict harm as Established
 
Walk through the Fires
When you Walk through the Fires of unprepared or ill-equipped tribulations roll +Prowess.
For each Hit, choose one of the following:
•   You pull it off
•   You did it with style and panache, roll to Recover Prestige
•   You gain insight from the trial, mark 1 Experience
For each Miss, the MC may choose one of the following:
•   Make a Hard Move (3)
•   Take a Special Move as Established
•   Hesitation costs you Reputation or spend a Favor to all those that see you
•   Stalled out and now you must also Seize by Force
•   You Flinched and are now shaken, take 1Stress forward.

Re: Desperately Seeking Quiddity
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2012, 11:35:02 PM »
So Mechanics are great and all.... but this, this is what I want to capture:

"This world is fallen. Corrupt and imperfect, its rot is almost unbearable... but its people, they are not all forsaken. We shall save all those touched by Quiddity that we can.." Daynielle of House Dei'el before the invasion of World <<Unraveled>>

Creation is shattered. Broken like a mirror before the horrors of the Enemy. The splintered shards casting back a dark and misshapen reflection of Creations' Brilliance and Quiddity. Hidden among the cracks and spaces between the shards is the Enemy, hunderging for the Essence of all things, it gnaws at the edges of the splinters of reality as they drift through Void.

"Each world unraveled before us is another meal denied the Enemy, another piece of Creation saved from the maw of the Void. And someday, we will have all that we need to face the Enemy..."