Nepenthe
2012-07-25, 12:49 AM
This began with a simple idea for a playing card mechanic. The mechanic then inspired a setting, which informed more mechanics. Now I have enough of a start that it would seem a waste not to make a good go of it.
For flavor: Another restless night in Fortuna City. A gutter lined with broken bottles and shattered dreams guides me to my rest. I turn the corner and at last arrive; here is Sadie's Bar.
The cackling hiss of old neon whispers sweet nothings in my ears.
“Here will you find respite.”
I trace each illuminated character in mind. The final 'R' winks out and I am lost adrift in a sea of uncertainty until, with a miracle of electric rebirth, it springs once more into existence. I pound my request for entrance on the door. A small window slides open to reveal a lone, Cyclopian eye. I let the bouncer see my face. He studies every line of sorrow and every wrinkle of regret. In that moment he knows me more intimately than any other soul in Fortuna.
The heavy door groans open so I step inside. My ears are assaulted by a wretched tinkling from the jazz pianist in the corner. The minotaur behind the bar watches warily as he puts cloth to glass and twists. But tonight I bear no desire for drink. My destination is the card table where an old goat in a green visor deftly shuffles and waits for fresh victims. Who am I to deny him? We nod each to the other as I take a seat.
Mayor Randall may pretend to govern Fortuna City, but we know who's really in charge. This city is ruled by Lady Luck, and tonight... I feel lucky.
The setting is Pulp-noir with fantasy elements -- most notably the inclusion of races like Satyrs, Minotaurs and Ogres. When I started researching card-based games, nearly all of them were Western themed, so I wanted to steer away from that. The game takes place entirely within Fortuna City. New people show up from time to time, but no one ever leaves. There's no obvious barrier. People within Fortuna just lose all desire for anything outside. Most residents of Fortuna City carry a deck of cards as a good luck charm, but certain mystical individuals called Gamblers can use these cards to manipulate the world around them.
Some very basic mechanics:
Resolution:
Tests are resolved using a standard deck of 52 cards. Aces are always low except for determining who has a better hand. Face cards are always worth 10.
Basic test:
Player draws three cards. If the total value of these cards is less than the value of the player's appropriate skill + Modifiers, the attempt succeeds. Otherwise the attempt fails. Regardless of the success or failure of the attempt, if the three cards drawn form a hand of Queen-high or better, the player receives a special bonus based on the value of the hand.
Opposed test:
Aggressor draws three cards. If the value of these three cards is less than the aggressor's appropriate skill + Modifiers his attempt succeeds. Otherwise his attempt fails and the opposed test is over. If the attack succeeds the defender has a chance to negate. Defender draws three cards. If the value of these three cards is less than the defenders appropriate skill + Modifiers, compare the defender's hand to the aggressor's. Whoever has the better hand is victorious. If the defender fails his attempt, he is unable to defend and the aggressor is victorious. As with a basic test, if either the aggressor or defender makes a hand of Queen-high or better, that party receives a special bonus.
Conflict:
Conflicts represent complex disputes that involve more than two individuals or are too nuanced to be resolved by an opposed test. Gun fights, car chases and interrogations are all examples of conflicts. Player and Non-Player Characters bid their Edge in a series of hands until one character takes all the Edge or until all characters remaining in the conflict agree that the conflict is settled.
First, a turn order is established. Everyone involved in the conflict draws a single card and adds its value to the relevant skill (usually Agility for physical conflicts or Mettle for intellectual conflicts) to determine his Initiative Score. All characters involved in the conflict must ante a certain amount of Edge and choose which skill they would like to use for the current round. Then each character in turn, beginning with the character with the highest Initiative Score and descending, may choose to either stay or raise the ante. When all characters have either matched the ante or folded, three cards are dealt to each character.
Bidding follows, beginning with the character with the highest Initiative Score as before. He may risk any or all of his remaining Edge. Characters may check, call, raise or fold as in poker. The characters who haven't folded by the end of the bidding reveal their hands and the character with the highest hand that is under his chosen skill takes all the Edge in the pot. The players then describe the actions of their characters' which led them to gain or lose their Edge. A character reduced to 0 Edge is helpless and at the mercy of the opposing side in the conflict. Play continues in this manner with the character with the next highest Initiative Score acting first in the following round until the conflict is settled.
Beyond that, I'm thinking the system will be skill-based (i.e. no attributes) and use something similar to aspects in the FATE system (The bonus for making a hand could be something like adding or removing an aspect).
Equipment will probably be fairly abstract. Just a +1 or so to a relevant skill. No fancy wealth system or anything. I love what Mouse Guard did in that regard.
Where I'm having issues:
Character creation. I need to crunch some numbers and figure out what values work well for skills and how to reliably generate these values. Maybe just a flat point buy?
Magic. I want this to be distinct from just a "Magic Skill" check. I also want it to be risky and unreliable. Right now I'm thinking of something that requires building a specific hand (straight, flush, etc.) to cast. But then there's the question of how spells should even work. Since there's no hit points, direct damage would be pretty useless. And just changing aspects seems lame if everyone can do that anyway. I guess I could make it so all PC's are Gamblers. Hmm...
I'm going to stop there for now. Thoughts?
For flavor: Another restless night in Fortuna City. A gutter lined with broken bottles and shattered dreams guides me to my rest. I turn the corner and at last arrive; here is Sadie's Bar.
The cackling hiss of old neon whispers sweet nothings in my ears.
“Here will you find respite.”
I trace each illuminated character in mind. The final 'R' winks out and I am lost adrift in a sea of uncertainty until, with a miracle of electric rebirth, it springs once more into existence. I pound my request for entrance on the door. A small window slides open to reveal a lone, Cyclopian eye. I let the bouncer see my face. He studies every line of sorrow and every wrinkle of regret. In that moment he knows me more intimately than any other soul in Fortuna.
The heavy door groans open so I step inside. My ears are assaulted by a wretched tinkling from the jazz pianist in the corner. The minotaur behind the bar watches warily as he puts cloth to glass and twists. But tonight I bear no desire for drink. My destination is the card table where an old goat in a green visor deftly shuffles and waits for fresh victims. Who am I to deny him? We nod each to the other as I take a seat.
Mayor Randall may pretend to govern Fortuna City, but we know who's really in charge. This city is ruled by Lady Luck, and tonight... I feel lucky.
The setting is Pulp-noir with fantasy elements -- most notably the inclusion of races like Satyrs, Minotaurs and Ogres. When I started researching card-based games, nearly all of them were Western themed, so I wanted to steer away from that. The game takes place entirely within Fortuna City. New people show up from time to time, but no one ever leaves. There's no obvious barrier. People within Fortuna just lose all desire for anything outside. Most residents of Fortuna City carry a deck of cards as a good luck charm, but certain mystical individuals called Gamblers can use these cards to manipulate the world around them.
Some very basic mechanics:
Resolution:
Tests are resolved using a standard deck of 52 cards. Aces are always low except for determining who has a better hand. Face cards are always worth 10.
Basic test:
Player draws three cards. If the total value of these cards is less than the value of the player's appropriate skill + Modifiers, the attempt succeeds. Otherwise the attempt fails. Regardless of the success or failure of the attempt, if the three cards drawn form a hand of Queen-high or better, the player receives a special bonus based on the value of the hand.
Opposed test:
Aggressor draws three cards. If the value of these three cards is less than the aggressor's appropriate skill + Modifiers his attempt succeeds. Otherwise his attempt fails and the opposed test is over. If the attack succeeds the defender has a chance to negate. Defender draws three cards. If the value of these three cards is less than the defenders appropriate skill + Modifiers, compare the defender's hand to the aggressor's. Whoever has the better hand is victorious. If the defender fails his attempt, he is unable to defend and the aggressor is victorious. As with a basic test, if either the aggressor or defender makes a hand of Queen-high or better, that party receives a special bonus.
Conflict:
Conflicts represent complex disputes that involve more than two individuals or are too nuanced to be resolved by an opposed test. Gun fights, car chases and interrogations are all examples of conflicts. Player and Non-Player Characters bid their Edge in a series of hands until one character takes all the Edge or until all characters remaining in the conflict agree that the conflict is settled.
First, a turn order is established. Everyone involved in the conflict draws a single card and adds its value to the relevant skill (usually Agility for physical conflicts or Mettle for intellectual conflicts) to determine his Initiative Score. All characters involved in the conflict must ante a certain amount of Edge and choose which skill they would like to use for the current round. Then each character in turn, beginning with the character with the highest Initiative Score and descending, may choose to either stay or raise the ante. When all characters have either matched the ante or folded, three cards are dealt to each character.
Bidding follows, beginning with the character with the highest Initiative Score as before. He may risk any or all of his remaining Edge. Characters may check, call, raise or fold as in poker. The characters who haven't folded by the end of the bidding reveal their hands and the character with the highest hand that is under his chosen skill takes all the Edge in the pot. The players then describe the actions of their characters' which led them to gain or lose their Edge. A character reduced to 0 Edge is helpless and at the mercy of the opposing side in the conflict. Play continues in this manner with the character with the next highest Initiative Score acting first in the following round until the conflict is settled.
Beyond that, I'm thinking the system will be skill-based (i.e. no attributes) and use something similar to aspects in the FATE system (The bonus for making a hand could be something like adding or removing an aspect).
Equipment will probably be fairly abstract. Just a +1 or so to a relevant skill. No fancy wealth system or anything. I love what Mouse Guard did in that regard.
Where I'm having issues:
Character creation. I need to crunch some numbers and figure out what values work well for skills and how to reliably generate these values. Maybe just a flat point buy?
Magic. I want this to be distinct from just a "Magic Skill" check. I also want it to be risky and unreliable. Right now I'm thinking of something that requires building a specific hand (straight, flush, etc.) to cast. But then there's the question of how spells should even work. Since there's no hit points, direct damage would be pretty useless. And just changing aspects seems lame if everyone can do that anyway. I guess I could make it so all PC's are Gamblers. Hmm...
I'm going to stop there for now. Thoughts?