Fortune's Fool
Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 4:13 amI'm not entirely sure where this train is headed, but I'm not getting off until I'm there.
So this is the game I mentioned over in the cowboy thread, the bigger one that I've spent more time on and will spend more time on.
The year is 1904. The industrious reign of Queen Victoria remains fresh in the memories of the British, President Roosevelt looks sure to serve another term over in the states, Titania remains an aloof and detached ruler to the Fae, elfkind remains without a ruling body and with much apathy towards the fact, the Trolls of Scandinavia are beginning to spread out geographically and integrate with their human neighbours, masters in Germany have begun to produce the vary first thinking, living machines with the aid of enchanters and the runeworkers of the Orient, Scotland and Italy remain in argument over whose school of magic is superior, while the French maintain their balance between enchantments and spellwork is the clear victor, and the Spanish are in constant correspondence with the steamworkers of England and the clockworkers of Germany on how to make the most interesting, most modern, most efficient gun.
As you can see, it's a bit hard to properly nail down what to call this setting. Steampunk doesn't quite work, because clockwork is just as prominent. Elfpunk? I guess that's sort of accurate, but the tech is as featured as the folkloric creatures. This is why I say screw it and call it whatever I feel like at the time. Right now I'm thinking omniretropunk.
In terms of mechanics, the game uses a hand of playing cards rather than a roll of dice to represent the machinations of fate. A character has four Attributes, Sinew, Legerity, Reason, and Spirit, and any number of Skills, of which the sourcebook will have a big list, but I encourage players to homebrew them if there's something they want that isn't there. Skills come in three levels, which impact how much they contribute to a check relevant to that skill. Skills can also have Specialities, which give a +2 to checks that use the Speciality, and require at least a Level 1 in the relevant skill. In addition to Attributes and Skills, a character is also defined by Traits, any character aspects that contribute to gameplay. Again, big list, encouraged to homebrew. Traits will usually give specific bonuses or drawbacks (or both).
The races available in the core book will be;
Human - Versatile, with the most expendable attribute points at character creation and a good amount of skill points.
Clockwork Automata - Your basic magical living machine. They get a natural boost to Sinew with a slight drawback in Spirit. They also have the Racial Traits Android Convenience, which means they don't need to eat, drink, or sleep, and Unfeeling, which means they have no tactile sense (Though a trait point can be spend to give them feeling in their fingertips, and another can be spent to remove this trait entirely)
Troll - Taken from whichever parts of Scandinavian myth appealed to me, Trolls are hardy creatures, a little bigger than humans, who are generally laid-back and non-confrontational. They get a fair amount of expendable attribute points with a bonus to Sinew and a drawback in Reason. They have the Racial Trait Delicate Ears, which causes all of their Attributes to drop by two for half an hour after hearing church bells (A trait point can be spend to give them a resistance to this)
Huldra - Because I love Scandinavian folklore. Beautiful, forest-dwelling creatures with the tail of a fox and tree bark for a back. They get less attribute and skill points than most, but have a good bonus to Legerity, as well as the Racial Traits Elfish Beauty, which gives them a +2 in all checks against characters that could theoretically be attracted to them, and In Touch With Nature, which means no wild animals will attack them and they get a +1 on all checks involving nature.
Some representative from the Fae, probably a Hobgoblin or Brownie - I may in fact just cherrypick which bits from either creature I like more, or indeed amalgamate the role into the more general Hob, I do want to keep the Brownie's ability to become a Boggart for a sort of Jekyll and Hyde dynamic.
Questions, comments?
So this is the game I mentioned over in the cowboy thread, the bigger one that I've spent more time on and will spend more time on.
The year is 1904. The industrious reign of Queen Victoria remains fresh in the memories of the British, President Roosevelt looks sure to serve another term over in the states, Titania remains an aloof and detached ruler to the Fae, elfkind remains without a ruling body and with much apathy towards the fact, the Trolls of Scandinavia are beginning to spread out geographically and integrate with their human neighbours, masters in Germany have begun to produce the vary first thinking, living machines with the aid of enchanters and the runeworkers of the Orient, Scotland and Italy remain in argument over whose school of magic is superior, while the French maintain their balance between enchantments and spellwork is the clear victor, and the Spanish are in constant correspondence with the steamworkers of England and the clockworkers of Germany on how to make the most interesting, most modern, most efficient gun.
As you can see, it's a bit hard to properly nail down what to call this setting. Steampunk doesn't quite work, because clockwork is just as prominent. Elfpunk? I guess that's sort of accurate, but the tech is as featured as the folkloric creatures. This is why I say screw it and call it whatever I feel like at the time. Right now I'm thinking omniretropunk.
In terms of mechanics, the game uses a hand of playing cards rather than a roll of dice to represent the machinations of fate. A character has four Attributes, Sinew, Legerity, Reason, and Spirit, and any number of Skills, of which the sourcebook will have a big list, but I encourage players to homebrew them if there's something they want that isn't there. Skills come in three levels, which impact how much they contribute to a check relevant to that skill. Skills can also have Specialities, which give a +2 to checks that use the Speciality, and require at least a Level 1 in the relevant skill. In addition to Attributes and Skills, a character is also defined by Traits, any character aspects that contribute to gameplay. Again, big list, encouraged to homebrew. Traits will usually give specific bonuses or drawbacks (or both).
The races available in the core book will be;
Human - Versatile, with the most expendable attribute points at character creation and a good amount of skill points.
Clockwork Automata - Your basic magical living machine. They get a natural boost to Sinew with a slight drawback in Spirit. They also have the Racial Traits Android Convenience, which means they don't need to eat, drink, or sleep, and Unfeeling, which means they have no tactile sense (Though a trait point can be spend to give them feeling in their fingertips, and another can be spent to remove this trait entirely)
Troll - Taken from whichever parts of Scandinavian myth appealed to me, Trolls are hardy creatures, a little bigger than humans, who are generally laid-back and non-confrontational. They get a fair amount of expendable attribute points with a bonus to Sinew and a drawback in Reason. They have the Racial Trait Delicate Ears, which causes all of their Attributes to drop by two for half an hour after hearing church bells (A trait point can be spend to give them a resistance to this)
Huldra - Because I love Scandinavian folklore. Beautiful, forest-dwelling creatures with the tail of a fox and tree bark for a back. They get less attribute and skill points than most, but have a good bonus to Legerity, as well as the Racial Traits Elfish Beauty, which gives them a +2 in all checks against characters that could theoretically be attracted to them, and In Touch With Nature, which means no wild animals will attack them and they get a +1 on all checks involving nature.
Some representative from the Fae, probably a Hobgoblin or Brownie - I may in fact just cherrypick which bits from either creature I like more, or indeed amalgamate the role into the more general Hob, I do want to keep the Brownie's ability to become a Boggart for a sort of Jekyll and Hyde dynamic.
Questions, comments?