lategamer
Writer, Sailor, Filmmaker, Irishman,
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I'm so busy this week that I decided to procrastinate and write card based narrative rules for Skyrealms ofJorune.
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Example 1:
Drenn Cala Borg is an attractive and imposing woman who achieved Drenn in a relatively short period of time due to the connections of her family. Despite the accusations of nepotism within the Drenn system (which she undoubtedly benefitted from), she is highly capable, fairly skilled with the sword and has access to the family Earthtec cache. She makes friends easily and, possibly as a result of wealth, is generous to a fault.
Cala is a Human, but it’s not a Key. She’s attractive, but it’s not a Key. The words “highly capable> are too vague to be allowed as a Key. Generosity is also not a Key.
Example 2:
Hishtin Ler Mala:
Ler Mala has Boccord (larger human subspecies) as a Key so it can be used when the larger size of the Boccord subspecies is useful. He is Cerebral, proving that he’s not all brawn but implying his intelligence is academic. His key of Hishtin indicates he will have Interference abilities. Having gambling debts asa Key not only means they’re serious but people know about them.
- Boccord
- Cerebral
- Hishtin
- Reputation as dangerous
- Strikes fear in the heart of Dyte Punks
- Good with a spear
- Gambling Debts
Now that you have a baseline for the character, how does the system work?Example 3:
Vacy Desti-Sa
Vacy is a Dyte Punk. (Vacy’s player will pick more when she feels they’re needed in the story).
Vacy can choose Keys later at the Referee’s leisure. She might get into fight and choose the key “Scrapper”. She might need to squeeze into a chimney and chooses the key Contortionist. The keys chosen will indicate the type of character that Vacy’s player wants to play.
Example 4:
Vacy is angry at Ler Mala and fires a Desti dysha. Her player pulls a card from the pool, getting a 7. Ler Mala’s player pulls a 6 from the pool but not wanting to take a hit, decides to go all in with Hishtin and Strikes Fear into the Heart of Dyte Punks. This allows Ler Mala’s player to select two cards from his hand and add them to the pile. He choose a 4 and a 3 from his hand. They’re low value but they push his score up to 13. Vacy can still win though and adds her Dyte Punk keyphrase card – choosing a 10 from her hand and bringing her score to 17. She wins! She describes how a Desti bolt catches Ler off guard and knocks him off his feet. With no alternative in mind (and feeling a little foolish for being arrogant), Ler Mala takes a Dysha hit and loses 1 card from his hand. He’s down to 2 cards now, while Vacy has 4 in her hand, severely hampering his ability to retaliate. However, as Vacy’s player hasn’t chosen her extra Keyphrases, she’s can’t play her cards this scene unless the Referee allows her to take another keyphrase mid-fight. She watches as Ler Mala clambers to his feet, dusts himself off and inspects the scorch marks on his tunic. Ler Mala shouts “Right, you’re dead” in an attempt to intimidate. He argues his Strikes Fear and Dangerous reputation allow him to use the last two cards, two 8s, in his hand. He pulls a third card from the pool, a 7. This pushes him over the 21 he needs for an absolute success. Vacy is intimidated and decides to run for it….
Example 5:
Drenn Cala Borg has an advantage over Ler Mala because she has a Wealth key and he has Gambling Debt. Without playing a card, she can manipulate him and remove one of the cards he has in play without sacrificing a card in her hand. How this is done must be role-played.
Example 6:
At the end of the Scene above, Vacy and Ler Mala are allowed to refresh their hand from the Pool. Vacy is allowed to have all of her cards back, Ler Mala’s hand is still reduced by 1 due to the Desti bolt injury he received. Until he gets that healed, he’s going to be at a disadvantage.
Personal Advancement comes from receiving 1-2 points for advancement: one for experience and one for role-playing. The roleplaying is based on the assessment of other players. The Referee asks the players: Who roleplayed well? If a player is mentioned, they get a point. The second point, for experience, comes from the Referee asking the players themselves: What have you learned? This can be from successes or mistakes.Example 7:
While she was still Tauther, Cala Borg needed help as she had been tasked with helping remove a stubborn tree by a Drone. She bargained with another farmer, to use his farm animals as lifters. She sacrificed a Mark for this, rationalising that she would get it back but also all of her group would still get their Marks. A net gain for the party.
Example 8:
Vacy is a Dyte Punk (a subculture of Muadra society). After a few more gaming sessions, she has chosen the keys Scrapper and Thief (which both reflect her character idea). She wants to get good at Desti and Tra dyshas ands the Referee rationalise that she has found a teacher and is permitted to take them as Keys. She just got a whole lot more dangerous. She can use three cards when using a Desti lightning bolt but also combining Tra means an extra card is used and can literally shoot thorough walls.
It had actual generations of terrible rules. Which is an achievement.This game had a great setting but terrible rules so this is a great idea.
Eh, when the biggest game on the market has got it as well, it's just following the market leader!It had actual generations of terrible rules. Which is an achievement.