Lord Heru
New Member
Hey all,
So since I was a little kid and the game Myst (and all its sequels) came out I have been basically addicted to the concept behind it. The whole idea of the ability to write into existence worlds that one could then visit, and an ancient primordial civilization that mastered said ability, has always been something that has called to me. I would love to run or play in a game with such a concept, but I don't exactly know the best ways to go about it that would maximize fun but minimize the stress of having a million million rules.
I wanted to create this thread to share my love of the idea and to see if anybody on the site might also share it. And if so, would they be be interested in discussing it and maybe working together to create something that becomes better than the sum of its parts.
As a little bit of idea presenting I came up with this basic idea that I wanted to post. Its not complete, not set in stone, but its a little bit of information that could work as a sort of saga seed and basic rule base.
REALITY WRITING
Setting
A long time ago an ancient civilization with an unknown history managed to discover the symbols of a language that enabled them to create and travel to different planes within reality. This manifested as the Art of Writing and the development of the greater Descriptive and the lesser Linking Books. Centuries ago the civilization collapsed into chaos and mostly died out as a stable and functioning society.
The characters are friends who manage to discover first the existence of ages and later the ability of the Art of Writing. This let them travel, explore, and discover the mighty vistas of reality. It also caused them to become effected by a great mystery that spans many different ages.
At first the characters will be restricted to using already created links to travel to and from ages. Not long afterward the characters will learn how to create links themselves, but only to ages established by some other force. Eventually, after some time, the characters might learn how to create their own ages - first small but eventually growing in size and complexity.
Rules
Players will make a d100 roll with modifier to see how successful the age writing actually is compared to what was wanted. Reaching a certain point means stability. Below a standard point random factors become involved, at a certain point its exactly what was wanted, and above a certain point its even better than what was wanted. Certain special needs increase the base minimum to reach for stability. (Wanting an age that is an entire planet, with a paradise surface full of every resource imaginable is going to require much higher minimums than the 'simple' island in the ocean containing a single terrain type.)
Ages are built out of components that players combine together to create the essential traits of the Age. Descriptive prose is then applied to connect the features of the cards together, to create a complete age. Players may only utilize those components that their characters have managed to procure through discovery, sharing, or adventure. Once created an Age cannot normally be modified through the Art. That said, certain special Traits do create exceptions to this general rule.
Activities on an Age are never moderated by the player who wrote the age in-game, the responsibility is handed over to a different player (who becomes a Beta Moderator). This individual is the one who monitors all actions and plots that occur on said age, while working with the Alpha Moderator for universal story elements. The Earth is moderated by the Alpha Moderator, though various zones may be moderated by a player acting as a Beta Moderator.
The Ages that can be visited come in two types: those created by a player and those created by an ancient civilization. Technically, ages do exist that were manifested by the Universe, but with the exception of the Earth said ages cannot normally be visited as they do not have links.
All rolls are 2D10 + modifier, which is compared to a Target Number. The first die serve as ones and the other die serves as tens, giving totals between 01 to 100. A player must equal or get higher than the target number to succeed at the task.
Characters are described with these characteristics:
Traits: This covers the skills and stats of a character.
Qualities: This covers the special, social, and physical advantages and disadvantages of a character.
Components: This covers what symbols of the Art a character knows.
Traits: This covers the skills of a character. The traits chosen are highly modular and player driven.
Qualities: A player might choose something like Great Teacher, which gives bonuses when teaching others. Or Problem Solver, which grants a bonus when trying to solve a puzzle. Or Researcher, which provides a bonus when working on discoveries.
I haven't fleshed it out or anything further, but I figure this might be an interesting starting off point.
So since I was a little kid and the game Myst (and all its sequels) came out I have been basically addicted to the concept behind it. The whole idea of the ability to write into existence worlds that one could then visit, and an ancient primordial civilization that mastered said ability, has always been something that has called to me. I would love to run or play in a game with such a concept, but I don't exactly know the best ways to go about it that would maximize fun but minimize the stress of having a million million rules.
I wanted to create this thread to share my love of the idea and to see if anybody on the site might also share it. And if so, would they be be interested in discussing it and maybe working together to create something that becomes better than the sum of its parts.
As a little bit of idea presenting I came up with this basic idea that I wanted to post. Its not complete, not set in stone, but its a little bit of information that could work as a sort of saga seed and basic rule base.
REALITY WRITING
Setting
A long time ago an ancient civilization with an unknown history managed to discover the symbols of a language that enabled them to create and travel to different planes within reality. This manifested as the Art of Writing and the development of the greater Descriptive and the lesser Linking Books. Centuries ago the civilization collapsed into chaos and mostly died out as a stable and functioning society.
The characters are friends who manage to discover first the existence of ages and later the ability of the Art of Writing. This let them travel, explore, and discover the mighty vistas of reality. It also caused them to become effected by a great mystery that spans many different ages.
At first the characters will be restricted to using already created links to travel to and from ages. Not long afterward the characters will learn how to create links themselves, but only to ages established by some other force. Eventually, after some time, the characters might learn how to create their own ages - first small but eventually growing in size and complexity.
Rules
Players will make a d100 roll with modifier to see how successful the age writing actually is compared to what was wanted. Reaching a certain point means stability. Below a standard point random factors become involved, at a certain point its exactly what was wanted, and above a certain point its even better than what was wanted. Certain special needs increase the base minimum to reach for stability. (Wanting an age that is an entire planet, with a paradise surface full of every resource imaginable is going to require much higher minimums than the 'simple' island in the ocean containing a single terrain type.)
Ages are built out of components that players combine together to create the essential traits of the Age. Descriptive prose is then applied to connect the features of the cards together, to create a complete age. Players may only utilize those components that their characters have managed to procure through discovery, sharing, or adventure. Once created an Age cannot normally be modified through the Art. That said, certain special Traits do create exceptions to this general rule.
Activities on an Age are never moderated by the player who wrote the age in-game, the responsibility is handed over to a different player (who becomes a Beta Moderator). This individual is the one who monitors all actions and plots that occur on said age, while working with the Alpha Moderator for universal story elements. The Earth is moderated by the Alpha Moderator, though various zones may be moderated by a player acting as a Beta Moderator.
The Ages that can be visited come in two types: those created by a player and those created by an ancient civilization. Technically, ages do exist that were manifested by the Universe, but with the exception of the Earth said ages cannot normally be visited as they do not have links.
All rolls are 2D10 + modifier, which is compared to a Target Number. The first die serve as ones and the other die serves as tens, giving totals between 01 to 100. A player must equal or get higher than the target number to succeed at the task.
Characters are described with these characteristics:
Traits: This covers the skills and stats of a character.
Qualities: This covers the special, social, and physical advantages and disadvantages of a character.
Components: This covers what symbols of the Art a character knows.
Traits: This covers the skills of a character. The traits chosen are highly modular and player driven.
Qualities: A player might choose something like Great Teacher, which gives bonuses when teaching others. Or Problem Solver, which grants a bonus when trying to solve a puzzle. Or Researcher, which provides a bonus when working on discoveries.
I haven't fleshed it out or anything further, but I figure this might be an interesting starting off point.
