Tenra Bansho Zero

[themocaw]

I didn't see a thread for this one. Forgiveness please if there is one already.

So yeah. Tenra Bansho Zero. TBZ.

http://www.tenra-rpg.com/

Anyone else tried this out?

[Doorhandle]

No, but it does seem interesting...

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I've read through the rules, though I still have a bit of nervousness regarding actually running them. I dunno, I just have a netbook, so it's been tricky to flip through the pages. I'll be much more comfortable when my hard copies come in. (I backed the Kickstarter when it came out.)

Suffice it to say, I love so much about this game. It's really interesting to note that the base game itself predates 3rd Edition. So this was what was developing in tandem with what we consider to be the modern editions of D&D. It's a totally different slant to things.

Also cool is the idea that you're supposed to pace it such that you end the whole story after 6-8 hours of play. I've known people who played single sessions of D&D for that long.

The Fates/Karma/Kiai cycle is the coolest bit, though. You earn Kiai, which you can use to boost your rolls. Kiai, when spent, turns into Karma. The only way to get rid of Karma is by "sublimating" Fates, which are your emotional, personal ties to the world (such as a lover or a duty). Sometimes, this means achieving them; sometimes, it means letting them go. Fates, though, are how you earn aiki from other players, by playing dramatically to them. (Aiki is like Toon's Fan Mail.) Aiki converts into Kiai.

It's one of the coolest little mechanics around, and I love how it integrates into the game. (Karma matters, because when you reach 108 Karma, you become so attached to something that you obsessively pursue/protect it, causing death and destruction. Effectively, you turn "Dark Side".)

[Grinner]

The Fates/Karma/Kiai cycle is the coolest bit, though. You earn Kiai, which you can use to boost your rolls. Kiai, when spent, turns into Karma. The only way to get rid of Karma is by "sublimating" Fates, which are your emotional, personal ties to the world (such as a lover or a duty). Sometimes, this means achieving them; sometimes, it means letting them go. Fates, though, are how you earn aiki from other players, by playing dramatically to them. (Aiki is like Toon's Fan Mail.) Aiki converts into Kiai.

It's one of the coolest little mechanics around, and I love how it integrates into the game. (Karma matters, because when you reach 108 Karma, you become so attached to something that you obsessively pursue/protect it, causing death and destruction. Effectively, you turn "Dark Side".)

That. Is. Genius.

I remember seeing the name somewhere and thought it sounded cool. But this...Where can I buy it?

[Wyntonian]

This actually looks really fun. If I had a good gaming group, I'd be all over this.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

That. Is. Genius.

I remember seeing the name somewhere and thought it sounded cool. But this...Where can I buy it?

It's not quite on sale yet. For the moment, the focus is on getting the print version off to the printers (and then shipping it out). The Kickstarter was wildly successful, and it also produced a lot of error reports, because the readers were super-finicky.

After the print PDF is out, they can cut down the PDF for normal form, I think. So, sometime around February or March is my estimate. (I was in on the Kickstarter to get it rolling, so they sent out beta PDFs of the translation.)

[Totally Guy]

I just had the PDF only level backing but I think I'm going to need to get the books to really read the whole thing. I didn't think there'd be so much of it!

[Craft (Cheese)]

Setting doesn't sound like my bag but it has some good ideas: I'm especially interested in the emotion matrix idea. I'll have to read this when it becomes available; Unfortunately I didn't participate in the kickstarter.

[themocaw]

I've read through the rules, though I still have a bit of nervousness regarding actually running them. I dunno, I just have a netbook, so it's been tricky to flip through the pages. I'll be much more comfortable when my hard copies come in. (I backed the Kickstarter when it came out.)

I've run a game of this already. I had the PDFs on my android phone, but I worked mostly off of a few printouts of the "comic book" pages from the rules.

Setting doesn't sound like my bag but it has some good ideas: I'm especially interested in the emotion matrix idea. I'll have to read this when it becomes available; Unfortunately I didn't participate in the kickstarter.

The Emotion Matrix was. . . one of the weirder parts of the system. There were a few players who hated it in my group, mostly because their mindset was, "This is my character I should decide how he feels." Suffice to say I didn't have them roll on the Emotion Matrix very much.

TBZ also has the best consensual death system: basically, you are only vulnerable to death (as opposed to being knocked out) if you choose to be. But the benefits for "checking off your dead box" are so big that eventually you will hit a point where your character will find something worth dying for. It feels a lot like going all-in in poker.

[Craft (Cheese)]

The Emotion Matrix was. . . one of the weirder parts of the system. There were a few players who hated it in my group, mostly because their mindset was, "This is my character I should decide how he feels." Suffice to say I didn't have them roll on the Emotion Matrix very much.

Well I'm going by what it says in the rules summary on the website: The emotion matrix is a source of ideas, not a rule on how your character operates per se. If you don't like what it says, you are free to ignore it and substitute your own idea, without breaking anything.

I like it because this is more or less how I already run NPCs: It's interesting because this tool is two-way.

[themocaw]

Well I'm going by what it says in the rules summary on the website: The emotion matrix is a source of ideas, not a rule on how your character operates per se. If you don't like what it says, you are free to ignore it and substitute your own idea, without breaking anything.

It's a little more substantial than that, actually: I'm pretty sure you're expected to hew to the Emotion Matrix at least for the first scene, although you are allowed to change your mind very quickly. Otherwise, there's really little to no reason for the rules regarding "moving on the matrix" by granting Aiki or spending Karma. On the other hand, the Emotion Matrix is generally vague enough that you can find a nearby slot that will fit a preconceived idea fairly well.

On the grasping hand, it also led to some hilarious reactions, like when the ninja bodyguard rolled "killing intent" on the kugutsu she was pledged to protect. Also, I can almost guarantee that you will end up rolling "Love At First Sight" in some of the most inappropriate situations. . .