Setting Objectives
As I ease into work on One Hundred Kingdoms -- which isn't going to be its real name, as we've already established -- I want to hit the system first. I already know that story flow and characterization are going to be important, and I want systems that enhance that. I don't want to design the setting first, though, because I don't want the setting to dictate the system, I want the play style to dictate the setting, and therefore support the system.
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Going into that design, I know I want two things: resource management and a very simple mechanism. This latter probably doesn't surprise anyone who's familiar with my work on the Storyteller system, and the second-generation Storytelling system is a bit too mechanically heavy for my tastes here. With simple systems you give up a certain amount of realism, but that's okay. My intent is to effectively "play" a story or novel, and since the only thing governing realism in such an environment is the author's whim, that's okay.
As to making resource management part of the resolution mechanic, it's because in certain situations, I want to be able to alter the odds in my favor, or even control them outright. There's a certain satisfaction, especially in a narrative environment, to be taken in knowing that what I say I want to do I can do, and I won't have to wait for the dice to tell me that I can do this.
To that end, I've come up with something I'm calling trumps. As a verb, trump means to override; as a noun, one of its meanings is as decisive factor. I like the way that word describes the effect I want such a tool to have in the game, and I like the way they imply they can affect the flow of the story -- this is what happens, because a trump made it so.
So that's a rough start: Extremely simple and flexible system. Resource management. A definitive and reliable way to govern an outcome. Knitting the systems together would be a benefit, as well, so that'll stay in the back of my mind.
Work on the system is already underway, but I'll save that for another post.
More...
Going into that design, I know I want two things: resource management and a very simple mechanism. This latter probably doesn't surprise anyone who's familiar with my work on the Storyteller system, and the second-generation Storytelling system is a bit too mechanically heavy for my tastes here. With simple systems you give up a certain amount of realism, but that's okay. My intent is to effectively "play" a story or novel, and since the only thing governing realism in such an environment is the author's whim, that's okay.
As to making resource management part of the resolution mechanic, it's because in certain situations, I want to be able to alter the odds in my favor, or even control them outright. There's a certain satisfaction, especially in a narrative environment, to be taken in knowing that what I say I want to do I can do, and I won't have to wait for the dice to tell me that I can do this.
To that end, I've come up with something I'm calling trumps. As a verb, trump means to override; as a noun, one of its meanings is as decisive factor. I like the way that word describes the effect I want such a tool to have in the game, and I like the way they imply they can affect the flow of the story -- this is what happens, because a trump made it so.
So that's a rough start: Extremely simple and flexible system. Resource management. A definitive and reliable way to govern an outcome. Knitting the systems together would be a benefit, as well, so that'll stay in the back of my mind.
Work on the system is already underway, but I'll save that for another post.