SARPS Preview

Production has started on a free preview version of the Setting Agnostic Role Playing System. Using a stripped back version of the rules (if that were possible!) and simplified combat, we've nutted out an adventure idea with pre-generated characters to whet the preverbial whistle of interested parties. 

The setting takes place in a fairly standard fantasy world, with the players taking the role of a Warrior, an Assassin, a Priest and a Wizard who all have a personal vendetta in taking down several bad guys holed up in the fortress city of Cahr Mordain. With each character comes an objective, defeat their nemesis and the help the others defeat theirs. For each personal nemesis slain, a boost the Advantages of the characters enhances their abilities.

There is no advancement rules, but certain milestones in the adventure offer ways to increase the powers of the characters in order to simulate advancement, but true statistical advancement through the use of experience points is being saved for the full SARPS rules.

Offering well over a dozen monsters and NPCs, each with unique Advantages to showcase the flexibility of the Advantage system, there is plenty of stock material to pique the interest of the players and GM alike. Full colour maps of the dungeons, sewers and various hold outs of the nemeses for the characters fill out the content nicely.

The product is expected to be released as a free download, possibly with a built in code offering a discount on the full SARPS Basic Rules when it is released. Now, to finish the artwork....

Character Concepts

A playtester asked me the other day to clarify a few things regarding the Academics skill in SARPS. Specifically, they wanted to know how a character's fields of study can be reflected by a single 'knowledge' skill. This was a good question, as it had come up during play before. The character in mind had been built as a sort of chemist, turned drug king pin (someone watches too much tv :)) and they were arguing that as they had an Academics skill that was quite high, they should know about all sorts of sciency stuff. 

To a degree, this is correct, however the player was neglecting one of the most important parts of their character; the Concept.

A character's Concept is what guides the entire character generation process, but it doesn't stop there. The Concept provides a 'flavour' to a character that distinguishes it from other characters with similar skills. As the character in question had a Concept that specifically mentions they're a chemist with legal issues, I would say they know quite a bit of sciency stuff...Chemistry in particular. Other fields, while all part of 'Science' and therefore one could say 'Academics', are not mentioned in the character's Concept and there is no indication that they would know much beyond their indicated field. As a result, Academics checks may still be made to know things in fields other than chemistry, but the difficulties of such rolls would be greater than if it was a straight chemistry question.

This same idea can be applied to all of the Skills; Boxing can be flavoured to resemble kung fu, so long as the Concept points at a background in Eastern fighting styles. A track and field athelete would be very good at running and long jump and such things, but may find rock climbing to be out of their depth, conversely a character whose Concept specifically mentions an outdoorsy type explorer would be an experienced rock climber. 

It is this idea that makes 'rules lite' or old school gaming an effective system for many people. They don't need dozens of skills and perks to detail what a character can and can't do, they simply need a backstory. All the extra details tend to do is create a rigid set of limits that don't necessarily define a character, but simply point to what it can do in a set list of parameters. 

For example, get a piece of paper and try to write down all the skills you as a person may possess... try as you might, working out all these skills is going to take some time, and there's always something that you forgot you know how to do until the situation comes up. But if you instead list your background, activities that you like to do, you begin to see that each concept that makes you you also shows how well you can do certain things.

I have a background in the military, in particular electronics, so if I was to say that I know Academics that would be appropriate. The same cannot be said of the level of biology or philosophy I know. Sure, I may be intelligent and know how to learn things (at least I think I am), I can answer questions much more confidently if they're about electronics, especially if they're military electronics, than I can answer questions regarding Plato's Dialogues.

Happy Eostre's Day!

A bit late, but screw it, I ain't christian. Whatever you believe to be the origins and reasons for celebrating Easter, at least be safe and enjoy the 3 day week that we get here in Australia due to the near overlapping of Anzac Day.

Onto business!

Playtesting for SARPS is coming along nicely, gotten several good ideas and feedback that we've incorporated into the next version. Overall, we're happy with the general rules (with some minor tweaks as playtesting progresses), enough that we can start in earnest on the up coming companion setting 'Atlas City Almanac'.

The Almanac takes the SARPS Basic Rules and adds a skin to it, a cyberpunk-esque dystopian city of rampant crime and mutating nano-technology. Players have the choice of playing private law enforcement officers called Watchdog Operatives, or getting theirs on the other side of the law as a crime Crew. There's also plenty of adventures to be had in the Wilds, searching for valuable salvage and technology from before when a nano-Virus and the nuclear measures taken to stop the mutated hordes from spreading pretty much wiped out civilisation.

Playtesters looking for examples on what the system can do (and those looking to become playtesters) can email me directly, post in the comments or otherwise get in contact as the beta version will be available in about 2 weeks (less if I get motivated). All up it should be close to 100 pages of flavour and additional rules, new Archetypes and Advantages, full equipment lists and expanded Wealth system, adversaries and nano-tech powers. Plus a whole city waiting to be explored and plundered!

Change is Progress

After a rather successful week of playtesting, we've made the first round of major changes to Public Beta versions of SARPS. Received enough great feedback to start tweaking and modifying, finding things we wouldn't have found by ourselves (kind of the same as why you can't proof read your own work).

Change log is as follows:

Archetypes

• Now all Archetypes receive 1 free Bump on their Skills, on top of +1 to each Skill at Generation. Without this, they were kind of meaningless.

Skills

• Removed alternative references to Combat Skill as Combat Style. Clarified the Combat Skill base skill in descriptions

Combat

• Removed requirement to 'Declare Actions' and removed the reference to it in the Order of Combat.
• Highest Initiative simply acts first, and may delay their actions
• Categorised Actions into Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Actions; Primary were main actions, Secondary remains the same, Tertiary are free actions.
• All Primary and Secondary Actions produce Slides on subsequent actions, regardless of which type.
• Added the Execute Exploit Action; previously the Bump/Slide economy was left a little vague, Exploits are ways to use a character's Skills in conjunction with an attack to grant a Bump. Exploit Actions can be opposed, and don't add a Slide to subsequent actions like regular actions do.
• Shields allow for the Block Defence to be performed as if holding a weapon with the Fast trait.
• Weapon Skills have their effects removed, these will now be added as Traits on individual weapons. Weapon Skill now simply act much as proficiencies, and detail which attribute is used with the weapons.
• Burst Fire and Indirect Fire have had the penalty removed and changed to allowing anyone targeting them to Execute an Exploit with an Intelligence based Combat Skill check.
• Mounted Combat allows the rider to move 1 Range Category as a Tertiary Action instead of a Secondary.
• Unarmed Attacks work much like untrained attacks do.
• Untrained attacks (always a tricky mechanic in an RPG system) now simply use the Combat Skill base skill and suffer a Choke.
• First Aid is updated to match the previous change of damage per Wound. Now 3 successes on an Intelligence based Academics check is required to heal 1 Wound, and 1 per damage during combat.

Equipment

• Updated the sample equipment list to include more traits since the weapon skills had them removed.
• Added a few more entries because I could.
• Tweaked Wealth success requirements for purchasing items. We're sill not 100% sold on the Wealth system and but may end up just leaving there for those that don't care for book keeping coins.
• Added the Slow, Armour Piercing and Bump on Exploit traits; Slow provides an additional Slide on subsequent actions, Armour Piercing removes Slides on armour and Bump on Exploit provides a Bump...on...Exploits...yeah, thought we didn't have to explain that one.

Playtesters, expect the newest version in your inboxes soon, this time they're amended with a version number for reference, which is the date of the update in day/month/year format.

If you find any references in the rules that don't make sense, flag it as it's probably something we missed after we made the changes. Keep it coming in!

Play Testers Wanted!

This week we kick off the public testing phase of Project SARPS:

What is Project SARPS? SARPS stands for Setting Agnostic Role Playing System. As the acronym indicates, it's a setting free roleplaying game thats both flexible and easy to understand. Once you have a grasp of the rules, you can tweak it, bend it and twist it to fit nearly any genre of roleplaying. We started the Project as a sort of internal challenge, to create a generic system that can be used as a base for further projects. The more we wrote, the more ideas we had. 

Some key features:

4 Attributes - Strength, Cunning, Intelligence and Personality - combine with 9 Skill - Academics, Athletics, Communications, Perception, Mechanical, Stealth, Stunts, Crafting and Combat Style - to produce 36 different ways to tackle problems. All with a just a few dice.

Attributes determine the type of die, Skill detemine how many - A Strength of d8 and a Combat Style of 3 means 3d8 on an attack roll. Successes scored based on individual dice, generally a 4+ is a success.

Modifiers produce 'Bumps' and 'Slides' that upgrade or degrade a single die at a time to the next higher or lower die type; a Bump on a d6 makes it a d8, a Slide makes it a d4 etc. 

Success and Failure are not absolute - Many complex tasks require multiple successes to perform, sometimes more than a character has in a single skill roll. As long as a character gets at least 1 success, and the situation warrants it, the next round can be spend making another skill check and adding the successes to the total until the require number is  met. Failing to get a single success on the first roll is a Total Failure, the task may not be attempted again soon, while getting at least 1 success, but failing to get any further successes is a Partial Failure - the character can attempt again but loses all previous successes. This can also be narrated instead, success at a cost to character, for example.

Advantages - Nearly anything can have an Advantage, magic, reputation, wealth, a car, a weapon, a potion, a piece of tech, a spaceship, an NPC or an area. This feature allows a GM to produce almost any effect, based on a simple roll of 1d6 per point in the Advantage. For example, a Gangbanger NPC has the Advantage of Thug Life 1; once per battle the Gangbanger may make a Thug Life Advantage check by rolling 1d6. If they score a 4+ then in 3 rounds time 1 more Gangbanger arrives to help out.

Wounds reduce Attribute die types - Someone with a Strength of d8 suffers a Strength Wound, and their Strength gets reduced to d6.

Abstract Wealth system - As Wealth can be an Advantage instead of an exact figure, you can treat it as a simple die roll to purchase things or achieve results by spending cash. Items can have a Wealth requirement, meaning the number of successes needed on such a roll to be able to purchase it. Partial successes could mean the item is purchased but the Advantage suffers a loss, or a temporary penalty.

Flexibility is the theme, and we want to know just HOW flexible we've made it. 

This is where YOU come in. We'd like to send out free copies of the beta version for play testing, with the one condition that you send us an email with your thoughts and discoveries, as well as any cool settings you've come up with and how you used the system to do what you wanted. Either post a comment or PM with your email address and we'll try and get you a copy to toy with!

Enjoy!

#RPG #Playtest #openbeta

It's ALIVE!! It's alive!

Well, folks, we got it out! At long last the Hands of Fate Sci-Fi edition is here!

To celebrate, we're sending out special discount codes for customers who've purchased our products before, and for those who read this blog! Simply click on the hyperlink below to be sent to the store page with the discount applied. Hurry, though, this code expires in a month's time!

Hands of Fate - Exile's End DISCOUNT!

Oz Day Long Weekend

In 2 days, the Australia Day Long Weekend starts and so does a good solid grind to get the final stages of Exile's End proof read. If all goes well, and I'm not too distracted with BBQs, Triple J's Hottest 100 countdown, or other frivolities and festivities, I should have a new product being uploaded onto RPGNow.com and Drivethrustuff.com.

Plans for the future:

• Get back on track with Behind the Throne - it's all written, just not formatted or had artwork added.
• Consult the crew on a direction to take the first supplement for Exile's End; do we expand Psionics? Equipment? Starships? Or do we flesh out an entire Network, perhaps the Known Network, to support more than just sandbox style play?
• Advise and take notes; Colin is doing a Conan port of Hands of Fate, and armed with the revised system from Exile's End this is an opportunity for me to start pooling together ideas for HoF 2nd Ed.
• That's right, Hands of Fate Second Edition! It's in no way started yet, but the more we play, the more we build, the more ideas are coming forth; modelling Sorcery and Benedictions on the easier, yet still fluid Psionics; the Penetration vs. Fortification dynamic; Fatigue system revamped. Lots of positive changes to come. Don't worry if you've already purchased the Print on Demand version of the Core Rules you'll be getting a free update, the Pay What You Want version will be assessed at the appropriate time.
• A Benedictions Supplement, and possibily one or two others focused on either Factions or combat in general.
• Teaching myself 3D artwork using a few really handy programs. Already made a few beauts for Exile's End, and with some of the proceeds of selling Exile's End I'll be getting more resources to play with.

Back to Exile's End; if anyone would like to help out proof reading there's a free copy in it for you (with mistakes) on the condition that you send me back a word or openoffice document with all the typos and incorrect references in it. Just PM me or leave a comment for me to get in touch with you.

Well, thats all for this entry...oh wait...almost forgot ;)

The final short story from Behind the Throne:

The Eye Gazes West

Kalia, although a woman, bore the title of Master of the West. She paced before her subordinates, handpicked men and women from all over the Empire. They knelt before her as she paced, faces toward the ground in supplication. They all knew of her wrath, had tasted it first hand on their own rises to power. Momentarily, Kalia stopped.

“Nifam, you shall travel to this northern city, Skoro, and control this new conglomerate of merchants causing all the stirrings we’ve heard reported. Take whoever you need from New Corah, but for Lokan’s sake, do not let that pig of a Stralhd buffoon screw up the tributes to Anselm Gladius. He must receive the Tributes on time, or else the Emperor’s own agents will come looking for answers. How you ensure this occurs is your job.”

“Yes, Mistress” the young Kallamus Sorcerer struck a fist to his chest, then cupped his eye like a monocle. He rose and left the darkened chamber.

“Vance, you will monitor the retired good General Firebrand, ensure his forces pull out of the cities on schedule, if you can convince him to leave Karth altogether that would be grand, but not necessary; so long as the Magistrates have full authority to police their states I will be happy. Understood?”

A burly soldier, crippled but still strong, rose from the floor, a solemn nod followed by a repetition of the previous salute and the man limped from the room.

“Listian, my sweet spider, you will infiltrate the Great Houses in Karth. Use your body, use your brains, use other peoples bodies. Seduce who you must, but get them fighting with each other like ever before. We must have them more involved with themselves than with noticing who is really pulling the strings.”

“Mmm…seducing young noblemen is my specialty, Mistress,” came the sultry reply from the seductress Listian, as she too rose, a suggestive glance at her Mistress and the two remaining Overseers. Her perfume lingered for minutes after she exited the chamber.

“Langor, you will stir up the barbarian tribes. Cause unrest. Test the defences and security of the cities and find their weaknesses. You will spend the most time in the wilderness, so report what you can about these wild men and Alfari demon worshippers that I keep hearing about. I want to know more. If you can find a way to control them, I want to hear about it.”

A tall, weathered man with a hook instead of a left hand rose, “As you command, my lover.” he said, a knowing smile on his roguish face. Kalia returned the smile, and waited until only one man remained before her.

“You, my beloved, may rise. I have a special task for you.”

The last man stood, brushing off his knees. A wry grin on his dark, handsome face. “He still does not suspect. Poor Langor.”

“Hush, no more talk of this. Before you bed me, my true lover, I must get a pledge from you.”

“Anything, my mistress of the heart.”

“Watch the others, your task is to keep them in line. If one of them falters, or shows signs of slipping and you cannot intervene to recover their endeavour without revealing yourself; kill them.”

“Even your puppy, Langor?”

“Especially him. Our work is too important to let emotion get in the way.” Now she smiled at the unnamed man, “Despite his prowess on the silken battlefield…”

“Prowess, has he?” the man stepped closer to Kalia, drew her scent into him, “what does the boy know of prowess…”

Kalia’s heart thudded in her chest as for a moment she swore she could see his eyes change, a flash of the beast’s power within him. Such power is intoxicating, she thought, and it is mine…all mine…
 

She grabbed the man by the sleeves and pulled him to her.